World Animal Day is Coming - Celebrating with Books (and More!)

October 4th is World Animal Day. The goals of this day are to:

• Celebrate animal life in all its forms;
• Celebrate humankind’s relationship with the animal kingdom;
• Acknowledge the diverse roles that animals play in our lives – from being our companions, supporting and helping us, to bringing a sense of wonder into our lives; and
• Acknowledge and be thankful for the way in which animals enrich our lives.

In the next few weeks I hope to launch a series of posts about ways in which you might celebrate this day with books and activities. To get things started, here are a few useful resources.

The Humane Society: Best Books - Since 1995 The Humane Society has recognized "an exceptional children's book with a humane focus on animals or the environment with the KIND Children's Book Award." The results for each year include best picture book, best chapter book and a number of honor books.

The Gryphon Press is a publisher dedicated to "picture books for children that explore the human-animal bond." You can learn more about their books here.

The Humane Society's Kind News has been published since 1983 for classroom use. In addition to resources for kids, you will find a series of lesson plans on responsible pet care.

Humane Education Children's Literature Index - The site Humane Education Teacher was created by Stephanie Bucalo as a way to combine her love of animals and children's literature. The index contains a lengthy list of books around themes including, but not limited to Animal Shelters, Animals Used for Entertainment, Farm Animals, Homeless Animals, Kindness, Loyalty, Wildlife Rescue and Rehabilitation, Wildlife, Sharing the World with, and much more.

Last fall I put together a list of books for kids who love animals. It's organized around the nonfiction works of Steve Jenkins, Sneed Collard III, Gail Gibbons, and Nic Bishop.

The Hennepin County Library has an annotated list of realistic stories about animals.

National Poetry Month Starts TOMORROW!

National poetry month begins in just one short day. Here are some of the celebrations you'll find around the blogosphere.

Greg K. at GottaBook is celebrating the first annual 30 Poets/30 Days, where every day in April he'll be posting a previously unpublished poem by a different poet!!

Sylvia Vardell at Poetry For Children will be reviewing a new children's poetry book every day.

Elaine Magliaro will be giving away children's poetry books at Wild Rose Reader and books of light verse at Political Verses in celebration of National Poetry Month.

Anastasia Suen at her new Pencil Talk blog will be collecting school poems written by children throughout April and posting one every day.

Jone, at Check it Out, will be doing a variety of poetry projects with students in her school, including a “Write a Poem-Send a Postcard” event with her students. Contact Jone if you would like to receive an original poem from one of her students.

Here at The Miss Rumphius Effect my Poetry Makers series will feature at least one interview (sometimes two!) with a poet every day during the month. The complete schedule is below.

April 1. Kenn Nesbitt
April 2. Rebecca Kai Dotlich

April 3. Avis Harley / Ann Whitford Paul

April 4. Joyce Carol Thomas
April 5. J. Patrick Lewis
April 6. Janet Wong
April 7. Joseph Bruchac

April 8. Ralph Fletcher / Steven Schnur

April 9. Jane Yolen

April 10. Linda Ashman / Julie Larios

April 11. Adam Rex
April 12. Marilyn Singer
April 13. Lee Bennett Hopkins
April 14. Georgia Heard
April 15. Joyce Sidman
April 16. Paul Janeczko

April 17. Arnold Adoff / Jaime Adoff

April 18. Joan Bransfield Graham
April 19. Bobbi Katz
April 20. Kristine O’Connell George
April 21. Jorge Argueta
April 22. Carole Boston Weatherford
April 23. Betsy Franco

April 24. Lisa Westberg Peters / Laura Purdie Salas

April 25. Calef Brown
April 26. Marilyn Nelson

April 27. Helen Frost / Sara Holbrook

April 28. Douglas Florian
April 29. Mary Ann Hoberman
April 30. Pat Mora

As you can see, there will be much to celebrate. I hope you will join us for all the April festivities.

Beyond Poetry - Other Literary/Bookish Events in April

We all know that April is National Poetry Month, but there are other celebrations of books and reading happening in April that you should know about. Here are a few.

Every year since 1967, International Children's Book Day (ICBD) is celebrated to inspire a love of reading and to call attention to children's books. It is celebrated on or around Hans Christian Andersen's birthday, the second of April. (View the poster and message.)

The week of April 12th-18th is National Library Week. During this time we celebrate "the contributions of our nation's libraries and librarians and promote library use and support." This year's theme is "Worlds connect @ your library." (Download the poster.)

World Book and Copyright Day is celebrated on April 23rd. Sponsored by UNESCO, the goal of this day is to "pay a world-wide tribute to books and authors on this date, encouraging everyone, and in particular young people, to discover the pleasure of reading and gain a renewed respect for the irreplaceable contributions of those who have furthered the social and cultural progress of humanity." (Download the poster.)

April 30th is the 12th anniversary of the celebration Día. Día is an enhancement of Children’s Day, which began in 1925. Thanks to the efforts of Pat Mora, the day was expanded to link the celebration of childhood and children with literacy and became known as El día de los niños/El día de los libros (Children's Day/Book Day). (Download the brochure.)

Okay, I do need to add one poetry event. April 30th is also the second national Poem In Your Pocket Day. Simply select a poem you love and carry it with you to share with co-workers, family, and friends.

Guess Who's Turning 40?

No, it's not me. Been there, done that. However, knowing that this literary staple is marking a major milestone makes me feel just a wee bit old. Who is it, you ask?

It's Eric Carle’s The Very Hungry Caterpillar. On March 20th, Philomel is launching The Very Hungry Caterpillar Day. You can download an activity kit which includes a commemorative poster and a booklet with lesson plans, book lists, and art projects. You'll also be interested to know that a special edition of the book in pop-up format will be released in March.

You can read more about this at School Library Journal and at Eric Carle's web site.

I use TVHC to introduce math (counting, days of the week) and science (life cycle, metamorphosis) concepts, though there are many other ways to use it in the classroom. Here are some additional ideas and resources you may find helpful.

• Ideas for using TVHC in the classroom.
• Lesson ideas and reproducibles for TVHC.
• Emergent reader booklet (pdf) for TVHC.
• Story sequencing with TVHC.
• TeacherVision lesson plan for TVHC.
• Art activity on where butterflies come from (metamorphosis activity).
  

Poetry Blast - THE Place to Be

Where do I want to be this Saturday? Without a doubt, at the NCTE Poetry Blast. Here's the scoop. The Poetry Blast will be held on Saturday, November 17 from 2:45-5:30 pm at the Marriott Marquis Times Square, Broadway between 45th and 46th Sts., Astor Ballroom, 7th Floor. If you are at the NCTE Annual Convention, don't miss this opportunity. The program description reads:

Poetry demands to be heard! Michael Cart and Marilyn Singer co-host the Poetry Blast, where poets read their own work, featuring Helen Frost, John Grandits, Nikki Grimes, Lee Bennett Hopkins, Alan Katz, Curtis Krisler, Marilyn Nelson, Lisa Ann Sandell, Joyce Sidman, Marilyn Singer, Charles R. Smith, Jr., and Janet Wong.

Doesn't this sound amazing? I hope some of our friends in the kidlitosphere go, and I hope they report back! (Hello, Mary Lee???)