Here is a short video of the show.
Things - Edith Kollath Creates Books that Breathe
from Bre Pettis on Vimeo.
The blog of a teacher educator discussing poetry, children's literature and issues related to teaching children and their future teachers.
You can participate and help breathe life into this dream by purchasing a book or two for Flying Horse Farms. Here are several ways you can contribute.This special place is located in the heart of the Midwest, Mount Gilead, Ohio. Situated on nearly 200 acres of gently rolling hills, lakes, woods, trails, meadows, and wetlands, Flying Horse Farms promises to help children and their families trade the restraints of hospital visits, blood transfusions, chemotherapy treatments, overwhelming stress, worry and fear with days of swimming, fishing, horseback riding, and nights of campfires and singing! All camp activities are designed to allow campers to experience success no matter what their disease or disability. The camp will focus not only on activities but also on building self-confidence, friendships and, of course, providing good old-fashioned fun... at no cost to the campers or their families.
Flying Horse Farms is a nonprofit organization committed to building a summer camp and year-round retreat center that inspires children with serious illnesses to reach beyond their diseases and embrace the healing power of unbridled fun!
1. Where Does It Belong?That's all for now. I still have more book reviews to post, so don't forget to come back and look for them in the new year.
The organizers for all the categories worked behind the scenes as nominations rolled in to determine the eligibility of titles and to ensure proper placement of books. This required a lot of hard work and some intense discussion. In some cases, where a book belongs isn't evident until a panelist sees it first hand. One of our books was moved to fiction picture books because the note in the back of the book explained the book was "based on a true story." The cataloging information just wasn't enough go on when deciding where to place the book.
2. Is It Nonfiction?
During the nomination stage, a few titles were moved to the fiction picture book category. While they were clearly "informational" books, they weren't strictly nonfiction. I tend to think of these books as "faction"--a nice blend of fact and fiction. One example of this was Boycott Blues: How Rosa Parks Inspired a Nation, written by by Andrea Davis Pinkney and illustrated by Brian Pinkney. Narrated by a guitar-playing hound dog, it's a beautiful, blues-inspired account of the Montgomery bus boycott. Another example can be found in Fartiste, written by Kathleen Krull and illustrated by Paul Brewer. This biography of Joseph Pujol, a Frenchman who built a stage career using fart effects, reads on the cover, "an explosively funny, mostly true story." It's unfortunate this disclaimer appears so boldly from the outset, as it seems designed only to let readers know that the title relies on fact as well as legend in telling Pujol's life story.
There are always so many titles in the category of fiction picture books that I fear some of these more "information-oriented" books may get lost in milieu of more traditional stories.
3. First Person Narratives?
I was surprised by the number of titles that used first person in the writing. In some cases, the author included extensive notes that lent veracity to their use. However, in other cases there was no such information. How then, is a reader to take this information? Keep Your Eye on the Kid: The Early Years of Buster Keaton, written and illustrated by Catherine Brighton, is a fantastic biography of Keaton's early years, but it is written entirely in the first person. The author's note provides sources for further reading, as well as some Keaton films that are currently available on DVD, but she never explains the first person use.
4. Common Themes
Biographies abounded in the list of nominees this year. At least 25 titles were accounts of important events in the lives of historical figures or works that recounted a large portion of their life stories. Two very different biographies on Nobel Peace Prize winner Wangari Mathaai were included in this number. In addition to these, one title provided a biographical look at the Statue of Liberty!
Always popular, books about animals made a strong showing. Two of these animal titles were inspired by events following hurricane Katrina. There were also 2 books about bears, 2 about frogs, and 2 about ocean life.
I found it interesting that a number of the nominees contained photographic illustrations. These tended to be books on science (animal) topics.
5. Publisher Participation
Nearly one third of the nominated titles in our category were not sent to the panelists. (One panelist informed us that two titles arrived on her doorstep yesterday!) Fortunately, most of use were able to wrangle books through local libraries or interlibrary loan. In the end, there were only 2 books we never saw. I must say that I'm a bit puzzled by the lack of participation. Members of our panel highlighted nominees on their blogs. The titles got face-time at the Cybils site and even more publicity from the Cybils widget. Based on the strength of many of these titles, I purchased some for my own collection. I also took books into local schools and read them with kids. While there I made recommendations to classroom teachers and school librarians.
The positive press generated by the Cybils should not be underestimated. I'm not sure how we get more publishers to participate, but I would think that this kind of free advertising is worth giving away a book or two.
Good Hours
by Robert Frost
I had for my winter evening walk—
No one at all with whom to talk,
But I had the cottages in a row
Up to their shining eyes in snow.
And I thought I had the folk within:
I had the sound of a violin;
I had a glimpse through curtain laces
Of youthful forms and youthful faces.
I had such company outward bound.
I went till there were no cottages found.
I turned and repented, but coming back
I saw no window but that was black.
Over the snow my creaking feet
Disturbed the slumbering village street
Like profanation, by your leave,
At ten o’clock of a winter eve.
Sally from Paper Tigers shares some thoughts on poetry for parents.Original Poems
John Mutford of The Book Mine Set reviews his year of reading poetry and ranks his favorites.
Carol of Carol's Corner shares a haiku from Pat Mora's book Yum! Mmmm! Mmmm! Qué Rico!.
Marietta from The Bookworm's Booklist reviews some Mother Goose and Mommy & Me CD's.
Sylvia Vardell from Poetry for Children shares her thoughts on the best poetry of 2008.
Tiel Aisha Ansari from Knocking from Inside gives us a poem entitled A Winter's Discontent.Poetry of Others
Elaine of Wild Rose Reader has an original rhyming acrostic poem entitled Chameleon.
David Elzey, writing at Fomagrams, recaps his year of blogging with a found poem of his own posts. This is very cool!
Author Amok (Laura) and her daughter wrote a parody entitled We Wish it Was a 'Winter Wonderland'.
Laura Purdie Salas rounds up all the original poems from her 15 words or less challenge.
Lorie Ann Grover of On Point shares an original haiku entitled Melting.
Over at DeoWriter, Jone also shares a few seasonal haiku.
Julie Larios from The Drift Record shares her poem entitled Months of the Year.
Over at Blue Rose Girls, Elaine shares the Naomi Shihab Nye poem Snow.Enjoy this marvelous feast of poetry, and if I haven't said it before now, happy holidays.
Barbara from The Write Sisters shares a Christmas classic.
Jill Corcoran gives us The Christmas Cactus by Liz Rosenberg.
Mary Lee over at A Year of Reading shares Oliver Wendell Holme's Contentment.
Over at Into the Wardrobe, Tarie gives us the T.S. Eliot poem The Journey of the Magi.
Lisa Chellman of Under the Covers shares an epigraph written by Samuel Taylor Coleridge entitled What If You Slept?.
Laura Purdie Salas shares the poem The Snake from David Elliott's book On the Farm.
Douglas Florian from the Florian Cafe is in today with two poems on mortality.
Stacey from Two Writing Teachers shares an excerpt from the Maya Angelou poem Amazing Peace.
Over at readertotz, Lorie Ann Grover has posted the nursery rhyme Come to the Window.
Erin of Miss Erin is sharing the poem she found in her Christmas stocking, Mary's Song by Luci Shaw.
Suzanne from Adventures in Daily Living is also sharing Luci Shaw's powerful poem.
Kelly Fineman of Writing and Ruminating shares my love of Frost with the sigh-inducing To Earthward.
Little Willow of Bildungsroman shares the first stanza from The Night-Piece: To Julia by Robert Herrick.
Tiel Aisha Ansari from Knocking From Inside shares a poem entitled Faust in the Industrial Age.
Kim Kasch left this poem in the comments.SNOW DAY
See the flakes dancing in the air-
White, fluffy, like cotton candy
Look around – they’re everywhere.
Floating slowly they hit the ground
Squishing as they hit their landing
They do it all without making a sound.
Now, run and build a snowman – quick!
Don’t wait for later in the day
Hurry, do it, lickity-split.
Or the snow might melt away.
So, go outside, now, run and play!Julie Larios from The Drift Record shares a poem called The Doctor Says, "He Has Meningitis”.
lirone from Words that sing shares a poem entitled What Remains.Laura Purdie Salas shares a poem entitled Tarnished Silver.
sister AE from Having Writ gives us Hunting Season.
Libby from Lessons from the Tortoise wrote a terza rima about advent.
Winter Hues
by Douglas FlorianWinter has to pick and choose.
The clothes she wears
Are few in hues:
A raw sienna,
A dark burnt umber,
Some yellow ochres
Scant in number,
Steel gray day,
Navy night,
And winter white
And winter white.
Story is a powerful tool for teaching humane concepts like compassion, responsibility, and respect. Good books provide context, create empathy, and give children characters to identify with, care about, and learn from. Stories can even inspire moral action and good citizenship.
Each year, Humane Society Youth recognizes an exceptional children's book with a humane focus on animals or the environment with the KIND Children's Book Award.
The 2008 winner was Before You Were Mine (2007), written by Maribeth Boelts and illustrated by David Walker.
Honor books for 2008 were:
For more information on these titles you should read the entire annotated list for 2008. You can also view the list of winners and honor books from previous years (1995-2007) for some outstanding choices.
In the meantime, perhaps we can try to predict some of the titles that will appear on the 2009 list. My suggestions include poetry, nonfiction and a picture book.
Will you play along with me? What was your favorite book published in 2008 with a "humane focus on animals or the environment"?
Is there anyone in this world that hasn't cried while reading Charlotte's Web? I have to wonder how classroom teachers get through read aloud with it, because I still cry.One of my mother's favorite stories about my childhood is the time she heard me sobbing in my bedroom, and came in to see what was wrong.
"Christie, what is it?" she asked from the doorway. "Why are you crying like that?"I looked at her, my face a swollen mess. "I'm crying because Charlotte died, and she saved Wilbur's life!"
"Who are Charlotte and Wilbur?" she said, sounding somewhat alarmed.
I swallowed a sob. "Charlotte's a spider, and Wilbur's a pig."
That's when she realized I was clutching a book in my hands . . .
The Classics are books published until the mid-60s and the Not-quite Classics come after that. The mid-60s were a clear watershed moment in American culture. Themes in children's books changed along with the music, films, and books written for adults, becoming more sophisticated, more about urban settings, more psychological and less overtly sentimental.
. . .
I included suggested reading levels with each description, based on the sometimes conflicting information given by publishers, librarians, and children's book reviewers. These are meant to be suggestions only. I read most of these books when I was quite a bit younger than the given age ranges, and some of them I still enjoy as an adult. Let the reading level of the individual child be your guide.
Here are the lists, without annotations. They are listed in order of publication date.
Classics
Newer Books (Not Classic YET)
This is not only a very smart article, but the annotations provide some real perspective on the choices. Do take some time to read it. Once you've finished, please come back and comment on the lists. Did you find any surprises? Do you have a real favorite that's missing? Let's chat, shall we?
We have already taken the first steps on our journey to a new form of literacy—“digital literacy.” The fact that we must now distinguish among different types of literacy hints at how far we have moved away from traditional notions of reading. The screen mediates everything from our most private communications to our enjoyment of writing, drama, and games. It is the busiest port of entry for popular culture and requires navigation skills different from those that helped us master print literacy.
Enthusiasts and self-appointed experts assure us that this new digital literacy represents an advance for mankind; the book is evolving, progressing, improving, they argue, and every improvement demands an uneasy period of adjustment. Sophisticated forms of collaborative “information foraging” will replace solitary deep reading; the connected screen will replace the disconnected book. Perhaps, eons from now, our love affair with the printed word will be remembered as but a brief episode in our cultural maturation, and the book as a once-beloved technology we’ve outgrown.
My favorite quote, and the one I'm thinking quite a bit about, actually comes from historian David Bell.
As he tried to train himself to screen-read—and mastering such reading does require new skills—Bell made an important observation, one often overlooked in the debate over digital texts: the computer screen was not intended to replace the book. Screen reading allows you to read in a “strategic, targeted manner,” searching for particular pieces of information, he notes. And although this style of reading is admittedly empowering, Bell cautions, “You are the master, not some dead author. And that is precisely where the greatest dangers lie, because when reading, you should not be the master”; you should be the student. “Surrendering to the organizing logic of a book is, after all, the way one learns,” he observes.
Terza rima is a tumbling, interlocking rhyme scheme that was invented by the thirteenth-century Italian poet Dante for the creation of his long poem, The Divine Comedy.
Terza rima (an Italian phrase meaning "third rhyme") consists of a series of three-line stanzas (tercets) with the rhyme scheme aba bcb cdc ded and so on. It can go on as long as the poet wishes. At the end of the poem an extra line is often added to complete the structure: yzy z.
The YachtsHere is a clearer example of the form.
contend in a sea which the land partly encloses
shielding them from the too-heavy blows
of an ungoverned ocean which when it chooses
tortures the biggest hulls, the best man knows
to pit against its beatings, and sinks them pitilessly.
Mothlike in mists, scintillant in the minute
brilliance of cloudless days, with broad bellying sails
they glide to the wind tossing green water
from their sharp prows while over them the crew crawls
Read the poem in its entirety.
Ode to the West WindWill you join me in writing a terza rima? Leave me a comment about your poem and I'll post the results later this week.
Percy Bysshe Shelley
O wild West Wind, thou breath of Autumn's being
Thou from whose unseen presence the leaves dead
Are driven like ghosts from an enchanter fleeing,
Yellow, and black, and pale, and hectic red,
Pestilence-stricken multitudes! O thou
Who chariotest to their dark wintry bed
The wingèd seeds, where they lie cold and low,
Each like a corpse within its grave, until
Thine azure sister of the Spring shall blow
Read the poem in its entirety.
"A self-styled literary snob, I began buying titles in the children's and young-adult section of the bookstore. I became an addict, and what's worse, I started to act like one. "Go now and read the entire article, Wonder Rediscovered in Children's Books, by Andrew Martino.
"I realized that what drew me was not just the superb storytelling but the speed with which I could get through the texts. It was a rhythmic experience I was encountering every time I opened a book."
"In other words, the texts I was reading told their stories in an economical and exact style, without the unnecessary burden of digression or overexplication."
"The literature I was reading was every bit as complicated and thought-provoking as the texts I included on my syllabi."
"It would be a mistake to say that these texts are simplistic. They contain all the complexities we look for in any well-written narrative. "
Sorley’s WeatherThe round up this week is being hosted by the amazing Elaine over at Wild Rose Reader. Do stop by and take in all the great poetry being shared. Before you go, don't forget to check out this week's poetry stretch results. Happy poetry Friday, all!
by Robert Graves
When outside the icy rain
Comes leaping helter-skelter,
Shall I tie my restive brain
Snugly under shelter?
Shall I make a gentle song
Here in my firelit study,
When outside the winds blow strong
And the lanes are muddy?
With old wine and drowsy meats
Am I to fill my belly?
Shall I glutton here with Keats?
Shall I drink with Shelley?
Tobacco’s pleasant, firelight’s good:
Poetry makes both better.
Clay is wet and so is mud,
Winter rains are wetter.
Yet rest there, Shelley, on the sill,
For though the winds come frorely,
I’m away to the rain-blown hill
And the ghost of Sorley.
This poem comes from the book Fairies and Fusiliers, published in 1918. You can read more poems from the book here.
Terry, one of my amazing colleagues, left this poem in the comments.I chose to write about seasonal characters this week. Here are two of my efforts.When Old Man Winter comes out to play
Julie Larios from The Drift Record went WILD and wrote six, count 'em, six poems!
Children put their bikes away
And, gloved and coated, they ride instead
The slippery roads on a saucer sled.
Elaine from Wild Rose Reader wrote clerihews for the first time and came up with these three gems.
Jane Yolen stopped by and left this poem in the comments.Emily Dickinson stayed at home
And each day wrote a little poem.
A little poem each day turns out
To be a lot to write about.
Frosty was a man of snow
who liked it ten degrees below.
He feared for days that were too warm,
for melting ruined his boyish form.
The shiny nose on Rudolph's face,
gives the 'deer a special place.
Leading the sleigh through fog and snow,
he's grateful that his bum don't glow!
Project Learning Tree (PLT) will award a $500 cash grant to four randomly selected schools throughout the country. All you need to do is register before the December 30th deadline and you’ll be eligible to win a Learn Outside GreenWorks! Grant for your school. Winners can create a butterfly garden, host a PLT Learn Outside activity day, or even create an outdoor classroom. Enter today!Entry Deadline is December 30, 2008. Winners will be notified by January 15, 2009.
To enter, sign up now at:
http://www.forestfoundation.org/gw_grant.html
William Shakespeare is one of the leading dramatists of all time; the first true master of the modern English language - but he was a pioneer in more ways than one. Researchers at The History Bluff have discovered that Shakespeare may well have been the first person to sell cosmetics and perfumes door to door.Hungry for your own morning giggle? Then get thee to the post entitled William Shakespeare: The Avon Lady.
Sir Isaac Newton, mathematicianYou can read all the results at this post. This time around I'm going to attempt to skewer some well-loved holiday types, like Rudolph or Frosty. We'll see how that goes.
scientist of recognition,
saw an apple fall from a tree
then shouted, "Yes, that's gravity!"
Isn't that beautiful? Are you nodding in agreement with the sentiment? This is why I love opening a book. Each one I read surprises, comforts, and often teaches me in some way. After only three pages, this one is off to a grand start.Stories were different, though: they came alive in the telling. Without a human voice to read them aloud, or a pair of wide eyes following them by flashlight beneath a blanket, they had no real existence in our world. They were like seeds in the beak of a bird, waiting to fall to earth, or the notes of a song laid out on a sheet, yearning for an instrument to bring their music into being. They lay dormant, hoping for the chance to emerge. Once someone started to read them, they could begin to change. They could take root in the imagination, and transform the reader. Stories wanted to be read, David's mother would whisper. They needed it. It was the reason they forced themselves from their world into ours. They wanted us to give them life.
Pages from the middle of the book have been torn out by the school district after having been deemed "inappropriate" by school officials due to sexual content and strong language. Removed is a scene where the rebellious Lisa (played by Angela Jolie in the movie) encourages Susanna (played by Winona Ryder) to circumvent hospital rules against sexual intercourse by engaging in oral sex instead."The material was of a sexual nature that we deemed inappropriate for teachers to present to their students," said English Department Chariperson Leslie Altschul, "since the book has other redeeming features, we took the liberty of bowdlerizing."
Read more at Book Interrupted. I am shaking my head in stunned silence.
The next time you step out in the rain, sport one of these Literary Luminaries umbrellas. Perhaps you have a friend who loves to read comic strips just as much as Shakespeare. Then the choice is a Gazette Comic Umbrella. (And really, sporting an umbrella with Kalamazoo on it will inspire such interesting conversations!)You don't need to be a published author to be a writer. My mother continues to write actual letters, and lots of folks I know write thank you notes. Others still like to scribble away in notebooks. Here are some ideas for them.For the friend or family member with a large collection of titles, you can't go wrong with bookends. I'm quite enamored of these James Thurber Dog Bookends. My favorites, however, are the Reading Gargoyles that adorn my shelves.
These days lots of folks take their own bags to the store for groceries, or the library to carry their books. You can carry a tote bag with Driven to Read (Mo's pigeon), Click, Clack Read (farmer Brown's crew), Share Books (Kevin Henkes characters), or several other options.
On those days when you need a good insult for co-worker or friend (or heaven-forbid, a family member), try a package of Shakespearean Insult Gum. Each set includes seven boxes that look like miniature Shakespeare volumes. Inside each box are two fruit flavored gum balls and an eloquent Shakespearean insult printed on the inside.
Bookplates are always a good idea, but they can be expensive. Here is a relatively inexpensive source of customized bookplates with some very cool vintage images.
For the reader who must mark important lines, but hates to write in his/her books (that's me), these Book Leaves are folded bookmarks with inspiring quotes about collecting meaningful words on the front. There are also lines to write your thoughts.
Do you have a Jane Austen lover on your list? Here are some ideas from the ridiculous to sublime.I have a love for notebooks and notecards made out of recycled paper. Give your eco-loving writer friends a journal or stationery made out of elephant poo. Believe it or not, elephant poo is largely made of fibrous material (undigested plant matter) that can be processed to make lovely, STINK-FREE paper.
I'm also quite fond of this set of 10 Quaderno notebooks in a rainbow of colors.
If you have a friend writing a novel or working on revisions, I suggest the T-shirt that reads "Careful, or you'll end up in my novel." (Being nice to your writer friends is always a good idea!)
Let your writer show his/her love for children's literature with a packet of notecards featuring Curious George, Olivia, Max and the Wild Things, and more.
While scribbling away in your notebook, tickle your fancy with these sweet smelling pencils called Smencils. If you like to write in color, try these Colored Smencils.
Is your writer friend suffering from writer's block? Try The Observation Deck: A Toolkit for Writers. Inside the portable box is a 160 page book of proven techniques and 50 cards with verbs to stimulate action. The book offers inspiration and practical advice from writers and shares their secrets to approaching work with renewed creativity.
Finally, for readers and writers who love to cook, I recommend the book Writers in the Kitchen by Tricia Gardella. It contains 200 hundred recipes, including appetizers, entrees, and desserts, from more than 150 writers.Do you know someone trying to get her inner Jane on? Get her this Jane Austen finger puppet for a bit of fun.
For even more inspiration, superhero style, go for the Jane Austen Action Figure.
Lesley at Small Meadow Press makes "beautiful and useful papers for everyday life." Her gorgeous Jane Austen stationery consists of three missives each of three different designs, with nine decorated envelopes in matching colors. The quotes are from Jane's letters to her sister Cassandra in the early 1800's.
Laini Taylor, author and artist extraordinaire makes Laini's Ladies, beautiful adornments with inspirational quotes. Perfectly Happy and Silly Things both contain quotes by Austen.
While rereading your favorite Austen novels, keep your place with a Jane Austen bookmark.
ConventionBefore I send you to the round up today, I must first encourage you to visit this week's poetry stretch results, where you'll find climbing rhymes by the likes of Jane Yolen, Julie Larios, doug florian, many of your favorite bloggers (TadMack, Laura Purdie Salas) and others. You won't want to miss the wonderful, original poems being shared.
by Agnes Lee
The snow is lying very deep.
My house is sheltered from the blast.
I hear each muffled step outside,
I hear each voice go past.
But I’ll not venture in the drift
Out of this bright security,
Till enough footsteps come and go
To make a path for me.
11:24am: On to the fourth tale, Babbitty Rabbitty and her Cackling Stump. The best title so far.
Brief précis: foolish king, wants to be the only one with magic, forms a brigade of witch-hunters. He's been a bit silly though, because he needs an instructor and they're all too scared to come out of hiding, so he ends up with "a cunning charlatan with no magical power".
I'm not sure this is going to end happily.
Go on and read it. You know you want the skinny on the tales!
Jane Yolen stopped by to share this poem.Here are the poems I wrote this week. I'm sharing two variations on the squirrel theme. Let me know which you like better.Nearing Winter
Julie Larios from The Drift Record wrote two poems! The first strictly follows the structure of climbing rhymes and is called Heard Over the P.A. System at the Mall. The second poem uses the 4/3/2 rhyme position in separate 3-line stanzas. It is entitled Christmas.
The bare boned trees
Bereft of bees, birds,
Welcomes freeze with limbs
Raised, sings hymns as
Light dims, throwing shade.
Sam left this poem in the comments.Song of the Discount Scarf Weaver
lirone from Words that sing shares a poem entitled Man in my mind.
When warping the weft
I'm often left with
A cleft among thread.
Wind in said gap
Your head may freeze
But remember please the
sales policies. No refunds.douglas florian from Florian Cafe (check out the new banner on his blog!) stopped by to share this poem.Winter Night
TadMack from Finding Wonderland left this poem in the comments.
The squirrels all climb
In hurried time all
While I'm warm, snug
As a bug and
Mom hugs me twice-
That feels nice, as
House mice kiss-Bliss!Tough, terse, family life:
Laura Purdie Salas is fretting along with many others about the state of publishing in these tough economic times. Her poem is entitled Resignations, Restructuring, Layoffs, and Buyouts.
You endure strife, scenes,
Weekends rife with rages...
Spiked pressure gauges screech!
Turning pages, breathing, steam
Releases. You dream "somedays"
Where clean calm reigns,
Sans family strain, tensions
Drain.
cloudscome from a wrung sponge shares a poem entitled End of the Day.
Delicate flakes of laceIt's not too late if you still want to play. Leave me a note about your poem and I'll add it to the list.
twirl through space to
swiftly erase fall’s last
canvas. Dancing fast across
fields vast and stark,
heralding the dark days
that mark the long
song of winter.
Untitled - Version 1
Dashing up and down
the leafless crown and
scarred brown bark, spry
bushy tails cry for
winter’s nigh again. Sigh.
Untitled - Version 2
Dashing up and down
the leafless crown of
squirrel town—pitter patter,
run skitter scatter, they
loudly chatter 'bout acorns.