Counting Book Podcast #3

A new counting book podcast is up over at Open Wide, Look Inside.

Today's podcast highlights Ellen Stoll Walsh's book, Mouse Count.

You Must Read This

I was happily preparing dinner last night when one of my favorite occasional series aired on NPR. Called You Must Read This, the series gives authors a chance to talk about the books they love. In the newest installment, Sloan Crosley discusses The Secret Garden, one of my childhood favorites. It's a lovely essay. Do listen.

Counting Book Podcast #2

A new counting book podcast is up over at Open Wide, Look Inside.

Today's podcast highlights Yuyi Morales' book, Just a Minute: A Trickster Tale and Counting Book.

The Act of Reading

While at a faculty meeting today, I stole a few minutes to reread Ursula Le Guin's article in Harper's Magazine entitled Staying Awake: Notes on the Alleged Decline of Reading. There is a particularly noteworthy section where she talks about the act of reading. A portion of it resonated with me and reminded me of something John Green said in the talk he gave at UR last fall. John talked about reading as an act of negotiation between writer and reader, in which the reader engages in quiet conversation with the author. Here's Le Guin's spin on the same idea.

A book won't move your eyes for you the way images on a screen do. It won't move your mind unless you give it your mind, or your heart unless you put your heart in it. It won't do the work for you. To read a story well is to follow it, to act it, to feel it, to become it--everything short of writing it, in fact. Reading is not "interactive" with a set of rules or options, as games are; reading is actual collaboration with the writer's mind.

I think this might have been what Sara was getting at yesterday when she wrote I don't need you to be me.

Counting Book Podcasts

My students turned in their very first podcasts this week. Each one has highlighted a counting book for instruction in early elementary grades. Over at Open Wide, Look Inside I will be posting one podcast every day for the next week. Please stop by, have a listen, and leave a comment for them. I know they will appreciate the feedback.

Today's podcast highlights Tana Hoban's book, So Many Circles, So Many Squares.

Preserved by Poetry

Today in the Guardian, Sam Jordison gives us much to think about in his piece, A Nation Preserved by Poetry. It is poignant and thoughtfully written. Do take a few minutes to read it.

Thinking Ahead - Cybils 08

I know that the Cybils 2007 winners have just been announced, but I'm already looking ahead to 2008. I reviewed the forthcoming book It's Moving Day! over at my other blog. (Read it here.) Looking into my crystal ball, I predict it will be a nominee for picture book nonfiction.

I'm starting my lists now. How about you?

Monday Poetry Stretch - Rhyming Chant

Mary Lee over at A Year of Reading wrote about April Pulley Sayre's book Bird, Bird, Bird for Nonfiction Monday at the beginning of the month. In that entry, she wrote:

How's this for a poetry stretch -- could you take the names of a group of, say, 10-20 rodents, or mammals (or even poets, authors or bloggers) and make them into a rhyming chant? I'm heading over to Miss Rumphius right now to suggest it!

Gauntlet thrown and accepted. For me, the ultimate rhyming chant is Tom Lehrer's song The Elements.

All my chant attempts so far have fit this tune (a parody of Modern Major General from The Pirates of Penzance). It's sad, really, because I can't get it out of my head. I began with this:

Counting 1 and 2 and 3
Shapes and patterns, symmetry
Algebra, geometry

I'm not sure I have enough math to write about, so I set it aside and began thinking about mammals. Here's how it started.

Elephant, rhinocerous
kangaroo and platypus
Rabbit, fox and polar bear
Bats are flying through the air

The rhyme works, but I have a strong desire for these animals to be related in some way. Perhaps I'll try continent or biome.

So fair poetry writers, your challenge for this week is to write a rhyming chant of your own. What will you choose? Will it be cities, food, flowers, or something else? I'll continue working on my mammal chant. Leave me a comment when your poem is complete and I will post the results here later this week.

Happy Birthday to Art Spiegelman

When I began teaching a course in Content Area Literacy, I decided to introduce preservice teachers to graphic novels as a means of integrating reading into middle and high school subject area classes. They were skeptical, but after reading Art Spiegelman's book Maus I: A Survivor's Tale: My Father Bleeds History, they were convinced. This graphic novel presents the story of his father's struggle to survive the Holocaust and is drawn from information gleaned when Spiegelman interviewed his father about these events. In graphic format, the Jews are portrayed as mice, the Germans cats, and the Americans dogs. In addition to presenting the events of the Holocaust, Spiegelman shares the effects of these events on survivor's years later, as well as the impact on later generations. Despite the graphic format, Spiegelman was able to convey the terror of the Holocaust. Maus is not an easy read, largely because it places readers squarely in the midst of the action and forces them to rethink their views of these events.

Maus was the first graphic novel I read. I fell in love with the form and have not been disappointed since. I was particularly moved by his recent book, In the Shadow of No Towers, a collection of comics in response to the events of 9-11. You can learn more about this book at these sites.

• Read a review of the book.
• Listen to an NPR story on the book.

Together with his wife, Françoise Mouly, Art Spiegelman has edited three anthologies of comics for children, entitled Little Lit. You can read more about Little Lit in this interview with Françoise Mouly.

Art Spiegelman celebrates his 60th birthday today. You can learn more about this talented comic artist, author and illustrator at these sites.

• Comic Creator: Art Spiegelman
• Book Sense interview
• Video interview with Charlie Rose
• RAW Profile: Art Spiegelman
  

Best wishes for a fabulous birthday, Mr. Spiegelman, and many happy returns.

Poetry Friday - Babylon

My amazing boy will be seven tomorrow. It's heartbreaking, really. He's growing up too fast. This year, for some reason, it's hitting me hard. Perhaps it's all the new babies I'm surrounded by at work these days. It seems just like yesterday that we were driving to the hospital for delivery day, not sleeping at night, celebrating first steps, and many other milestones. I read this poem a while ago, and it captures the melancholy I feel.

Babylon
By Robert Graves

The child alone a poet is:
Spring and Fairyland are his.
Truth and Reason show but dim,
And all’s poetry with him.
Rhyme and music flow in plenty
For the lad of one-and-twenty,
But Spring for him is no more now
Than daisies to a munching cow;
Just a cheery pleasant season,
Daisy buds to live at ease on.
He’s forgotten how he smiled
And shrieked at snowdrops when a child,
Or wept one evening secretly
For April’s glorious misery.
Wisdom made him old and wary
Banishing the Lords of Faery.
Wisdom made a breach and battered
Babylon to bits: she scattered
To the hedges and ditches
All our nursery gnomes and witches.
Lob and Puck, poor frantic elves,
Drag their treasures from the shelves.
Jack the Giant-killer’s gone,
Mother Goose and Oberon,
Bluebeard and King Solomon.
Robin, and Red Riding Hood
Take together to the wood,
And Sir Galahad lies hid
In a cave with Captain Kidd.
None of all the magic hosts,
None remain but a few ghosts
Of timorous heart, to linger on
Weeping for lost Babylon.

The round up this week is being hosted by Vivian over at HipWriterMama. Do stop by and read all the great poetry being shared this week. But wait! Before you go, be sure to check out this week's poetry stretch results. Happy poetry Friday, all!

Poetry Stretch Results - Metaphor Poems

This week I challenged folks to write metaphor poems. All I can say is, what a clever lot you are! Here's what the creative people have done.

just paisley shares a poem entitled fire, or the lack there of.

cloudscome at a wrung sponge has a photo and the poem In February.

Daisybug from Things that make me say ... gives us a Glimpse of Stillness.

Laura Pudie Salas wrote A Dream Is ..., while she was unable to sleep.

sister AE at Having Writ shares a poem entitled Criminals.

Elaine at Wild Rose Reader has a number of metaphor poems for us.

Amy at My Breakfast Platter joins us for the first time and shares A Classroom is ....

Cheryl Rainfield also joins us for the first time with this lovely piece.

Marianne at Doing the Write Thing! is another first timer who shares a poem entitled A Leak.

It's not too late if you still want to play. Write your metaphor poem and leave me a comment, then I'll add your poem to the list.

Notes on the Alleged Decline of Reading

In the February issue of Harper's Magazine you can read an article by Ursula Le Guin entitled Staying Awake: Notes on the Alleged Decline of Reading. In it, she directly challenges the "moralizing tone" of the NEA report, To Read or Not to Read. You'll remember that this report, released last November, found that nearly every kind of reading, at nearly every level, is on the decline.

Le Guin has an interesting response. Do try and get your hands on a copy of the magazine. This is provocative stuff.

Cybils Love

The wait is over! You know you want to see them. Go Now!

Contests for Students

Doodle 4 Google - You know all those great thematic banners Google has? Well, Google has announced a competition that invites school children to design a Google logo inspired by the question, “What If ...?” The winning student’s doodle will be displayed on the Google homepage on May 22, 2008, with the champion “doodler” winning a $10,000 college scholarship and a $25,000 technology grant for his/her school.

America the Beautiful Scavenger Hunt - School Library Journal is sponsoring a contest where participants submit 10 questions and answers that reveal the most wonderful and wacky facts that answer the question: What should everyone know about your state? Hurry, the deadline for this one is March 15th. Two winning librarians in each state will receive a free collection of America the Beautiful, Third Series and the scavenger hunts will be published in an additional title of America the Beautiful WOW! WEIRD, wacky and OUT of this WORLD state facts!

Australia Apologizes

Important news today from down under.

"Australia apologized Wednesday to its indigenous people for past treatment that "inflicted profound grief, suffering and loss," in a historic parliamentary vote that supporters said would open a new chapter in race relations in the country."

Read more about this historic event. I'd lay odds that our Congress will never go this far, but wouldn't it be nice to see the US government consider making an apology to Native peoples?

Steve Jenkins Writes on Science and Censorship

The inaugural post of Steve Jenkins is up at I.N.K. this morning. Entitled Science and Censorship, he speaks eloquently about the more subtle forms of censorship that exist when we choose to ignore the science behind something because it's easier or more economic.

This is thoughtfully written and makes for good reading. Do take a look.

Homework a Homewrecker

Okay, here's one more article I had to share. This one is from the The Star. It is titled Homework a Homewrecker. Here's how it begins.

Homework is of little benefit to students from junior kindergarten to Grade 6, say the authors of a just-released Canadian study, who also found it is often the source of stress and burnout in children, as well the cause of conflict – even marital stress – for many families.

I spend a lot of time with my students discussing the merits of homework. I recommend a lot of games for math homework as a fun way to practice skills. What do you think? What are the advantages/disadvantages of homework?

Free Books on the Web

I read this in today's NY Times. HarperCollins Will Post Free Books on the Web. Go now and read.

Monday Poetry Stretch - Metaphor Poems

I was cleaning out the files in my office this week and came across some literacy poems published in The Reading Teacher. One got me thinking about about similies and metaphors. Here it is.

A Book Is Like
by Kathy Leeuwenburg

A book is like an open flower, scented pages, fragrant hours.

A book is like a crafty fox, surprising in its clever plots.

A book is like a fairy's wings, with princesses, enchanted kings.

A book is like a windowsill, where breezy thoughts are never still.

A book is like an hour glass, whose pages flow as hours pass.

A book is like a lock and key that opens doors and sets minds free.

A book is like an ancient clock that speaks the times but never talks.

A book is like an open letter, when read again the friendship's better.

A book is like an apple core with seeds inside for growing more.

A book is like a trusted friend that keeps its secret to the end.


Leeuwenburg, K. (1994). A book is like. The Reading Teacher, 47(6), 463.

Elaine left a comment suggesting this poem would work better as a metaphor poem (taking out all the "is like" statements). I completely agree. Here's what it would look like with this revision.

A Book Is
adapted from a poem by Kathy Leeuwenburg

A book is
an open flower
scented pages, fragrant hours

a crafty fox
surprising in its clever plots

a fairy's wings
with princesses, enchanted kings

a windowsill
where breezy thoughts are never still

an hour glass
whose pages flow as hours pass

a lock and key
that opens doors and sets minds free

an ancient clock
that speaks the times but never talks

an open letter
when read again the friendship's better

an apple core
with seeds inside for growing more

a trusted friend
that keeps its secret to the end

So, your challenge is to write a metaphor poem. Once you're done, leave me a comment about your work and I'll post the results here later this week.

Poetry Friday - William Butler Yeats

Last week I picked up a copy of Under the Moon, a book of unpublished early poetry of William Butler Yeats. It contains thirty-eight poems written between the poet's late teens and early twenties, and was published under the title Yeats had once planned to give his first volume of collected poems. Here is one poem I can't seem to shake.

Wherever in the wastes
by William Butler Yeats

Wherever in the wastes of wrinkling sand
Worn by the fan of ever flaming time
Longing for human converse, we have pitched
A camp for musing in some seldom spot
Of not unkindly nurture, and let loose
To roam and ponder those sad dromedaries
Our dreams, the Master of the pilgrimage
Cries, "Nay -- the caravan goes ever on,
The goal lies further than the morning star."

The round up this week is being hosted by Gina at AmoXcalli. Do stop by and read all the great poetry that's been offered up. Before you go, be sure to check out this week's poetry stretch results. Happy poetry Friday, all!

Poetry Stretch Results - February Inspired Image

This week's challenge was to write a poem to accompany this image. The photograph was taken by Mark Knobil, a freelance video/film photographer from Pittsburgh. The image is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 License.

Here are the poems inspired by this photo.

cloudscome at a wrung sponge shares a haiku.

Diane Davis gives us an untitled piece.

sister AE at Having Writ gives us a limerick.

Laura Purdie Salas also shares a haiku.

For me, this photograph got me thinking about eating the same thing day in and day out, which led to some thoughts about single life and Ramen Noodles.

I Had It Good

I shudder when I pass them in the market,
the Ramen Noodles and Mac & Cheese,
sometimes even peanut butter.

I wonder how I made it through the
weeks and months on cheap food,
sleepless nights, and days upon days
in front of wide-eyed kids,
wondering if I was doing it right.

I entered adulthood
earning $8000 a year,
living in a tiny space, made larger
only by the Murphy bed.
Exactly one mile from school,
I walked when the snow wasn't
blinding or deep.

My window looked out on the zoo
just across the street.
In the dead of winter
over howling winds,
I could still hear the elephants trumpet
and lions roar,
so far from their homes.

See those yams? They remind me of
Ramen Noodles. Do you think
those women ever hate
that which nourishes them?
Get tired of it? Regret not having more?
I did. But those yams,
baking in the sun,
feeding the hungry,
remind me how good I had it,
even when it didn't feel that way.

It's not too late if you want to play. Take a look at the image and see what it inspires. Leave me a comment about your poem and I'll add it to the list.

Story Contest Fails to Find a Winner

Thanks to the Guardian blog for this one.

It seems that this year's Willesden Herald International Short Story competition is over, and that the winner is ... no one. Due to the judges' inability to a find truly outstanding entry, the decision was made not to award a prize.

Here is an excerpt from Zadie Smith's post, breaking the news.

And we received a whole bunch of stories. We dutifully read through hundreds of them. But in the end – we have to be honest – we could not find the greatness we’d hoped for. It’s for this reason that we have decided not to give out the prize this year.
.
.
.
The little Willesden Herald Prize is only about good writing, and it turns out that a prize faithfully recognizing this imperative must also face the fact that good writing is actually very rare. For let us be honest again: it is sometimes too easy, and too tempting, to blame everything that we hate in contemporary writing on the bookstores, on the corporate publishers, on incompetent editors and corrupt PR departments – and God knows, they all have their part to play. But we also have our part to play. We also have to work out how to write better and read better.

There are many thoughtful comments, but this one had me nodding in agreement.

I wonder how many PUBLISHED stories Zadie Smith and the other judges would read to find one “great” story? Of course a free competition will have some chaff, but to expect “greatness” in a mid-level short story competition might be overstating the competition’s importance. Especially one “established to support unpublished writers.” Few writers achieve greatness without first passing through mediocrity, promise, proficiency…

Are We Stifling Imagination?

At the end of January, the results from a national poll were released indicating that "30% of American voters are not only dissatisfied with public education’s narrow focus on the “so-called” basics but that they also believe developing the imagination is a critical, but missing, ingredient to student success in 21st century schools and moving students beyond average. . . The majority of voters surveyed believe that it is extremely important to have good public schools nationwide, but there is also concern that public education in the United States is behind what is offered to students in other parts of the world and that we devote less attention to developing the imagination, creative skills, and innovation than other nations."

Here are some of the results of the poll.

Almost nine in ten voters (89%) say that using the imagination is important to innovation and one’s success in a global knowledge-based economy and essential to success in the 21st Century.

69% of American voters believe that, when compared to other nations, America devotes less attention to developing the imagination and innovation.

88% of respondents indicated that an education in and through the arts is essential to cultivating the imagination.

63% of voters strongly believe that building capacities of the imagination that lead to innovation is just as important as the “so called” basics for all students in the classroom and that an education in and through the arts helps to substantiate imaginative learning (91%) and should be considered a part of the basics.

This is interesting stuff. It is particularly timely for me, as my class is discussing the impact of NCLB on subjects outside of reading and math.

For additional resources and more information on the poll, please visit the imagine nation.

Teaching Resources - African American History

Each week I receive messages from EdInfo, an informational list that highlights new resources at FREE (Federal Resources for Educational Excellence). If you are interested in finding good resources for teaching and learning, this is a great list to join.

This week a number of really outstanding sites and materials were listed for African American history. Since I was moved when exploring them, I thought you might want to see them as well.

We Shall Overcome: Historic Places of the Civil Rights Movement
This site from the National Park Service shows 49 churches, houses, and other properties related largely to the post-World War II civil rights movement. The links to these properties consist of photographs and texts, and the exhibit offers a bibliography and links to websites relating to civil rights. Here is an excerpt from the Introduction.

In visiting the 49 places listed in the National Register for their association with the modern civil rights movement, as well as the Selma-to-Montgomery March route--a Department of Transportation designated "All-American Road" and a National Park Service designated National Historic Trail--two things will be apparent. First, although they had white supporters and sympathizers, the modern civil rights movement was designed, led, organized, and manned by African Americans, who placed themselves and their families on the front lines in the struggle for freedom. Their heroism was brought home to every American through newspaper, and later, television reports as their peaceful marches and demonstrations were violently attacked by law enforcement officers armed with batons, bullwhips, fire hoses, police dogs, and mass arrests. The second characteristic of the movement is that it was not monolithic, led by one or two men. Rather it was a dispersed, grass-roots campaign that attacked segregation in many different places using many different tactics. On this itinerary you will learn about the people and places associated with one of the most important chapters in our history.

Born in Slavery: Slave Narratives from the Federal Writers' Project, 1936-1938
From the American Memory Project at the Library of Congress, this site offers 2,300 first-person accounts of slavery and 500 photos of former slaves. The collection can be searched by name, city, state, topic, or other key words. These narratives were collected in the 1930s as part of the Works Progress Administration (WPA). This is heartbreaking and essential reading.

Drop Me Off in Harlem
This ArtsEdge site, a project of The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, is a multimedia exploration of the Harlem Renaissance (1920s-1930s). Students can hear Langston Hughes read his poems, listen to Duke Ellington direct his orchestra, or watch "Shorty" George Snowden dance the Lindy Hop. An interactive map displays important cultural, social, and political establishments. Lesson ideas and learning activities facilitate an arts-integrated approach to the study of key works and themes that emerged.

Let Your Motto Be Resistance: African American Portraits
This site from the National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution presents photos of 100 famous and influential African Americans, from with Frederick Douglass and to Wynton Marsalis. Each portrait includes a brief biography.

Exploring Amistad: Race and Boundaries of Freedom in Antebellum Maritime America
Mystic Seaport's site explores the Amistad Revolt of 1839-1842 and how we make history of it. It uses timelines, a library of historical documents, a discovery section and bibliography to teach about this watershed historical event, which set off a legal, political, and popular debate over the slave trade, slavery, race, Africa, and ultimately America itself.

This should be enough to get you started. If you are hungry for more, visit African Americans Teaching and Learning Resources.

Judy Blume Interview

Shriek now in horror as I admit I have never read a book by Judy Blume. My son has Freckle Juice on his bookshelf, so I'll get to one soon, but I've not read the stuff everyone talks about, like Are You There, God? It's Me, Margaret (which came out when I was 5), Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing, or Blubber.

Scary admission aside, I do know a good interview when I read one. The Guardian writes about Judy's Blume's Lessons in Love as she approaches her 70th birthday. Once you're done with the article, head on over and check out her blog.

I guess now I'll need to pick up a title or two. Which one, dear readers, should I start with?

New Blog for Nonfiction!

I.N.K. - Interesting Nonfiction for Kids
http://www.inkrethink.blogspot.com/

Here's what the sidebar says.

Here we will meet the writers whose words are presenting nonfiction in a whole new way. Discover books that show how nonfiction writers are some of the best storytellers around. Learn how these writers practice their craft: research techniques, fact gathering and detective work. Check out how they find unusual tidbits, make the facts interesting and write something kids will love to read. Explore how photos and illustrations are integrated with the text to explain an artists vision of the world. Consider what subjects are flooding the market and what still needs a voice. Rethink nonfiction for kids.

Contributors include (just look at this list!):

• Vicki Cobb
• Linda Salzman
• April Pulley Sayre
• Jennifer Armstrong
• Padma Venkatraman
• Don Brown
• Bob Raczka
• Loreen Leedy
  
• Anna M. Lewis
• Sue Macy
• Kelly Fineman
• Steve Jenkins
• Kathleen Krull
• Sneed B. Collard III
  

Woohoo! I can't wait to read what these fine folks have in store. Do click on over and check it out.

Steve Jenkins Talks - Take Two

Last week over at the Cybils, we got a sneak peak at Steve Jenkins. Today, the entire glorious interview is up at Seven Imp. Stop by and learn more about this talented author/illustrator.

Monday Poetry Stretch - Inspired Image

Last month I promised to devote the first Monday of each month to writing poems inspired by images. If you like this kind of stretch, you can take it up every week with Laura Purdie Salas and her 15 words or less challenge.

Here is your inspiration.
This photograph was taken by Mark Knobil, a freelance video/film photographer from Pittsburgh. The image is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 License. Please be sure to include this information on your site if you include the image with your poem.

Alright, there's your stretch. Write any form of poetry inspired by this image. Leave me a comment about your poem and I'll round them all up later this week.

P.S. - Next week we'll take up rhyming chants, as suggested by Mary Lee over at A Year of Reading, so be prepared to put your thinking caps on!

Poetry Friday - The Secret of the Universe

While going through some old journals this week I came across some some poems I wrote in high school. After forcing myself to read some excruciatingly bad stuff, I was rewarded when I found scraps of paper among the pages. Folded carefully and hidden between lists of favorite words and poem ideas were works by real poets. I didn't remember most of them, but they must have meant something to me at one time. Here's one that I've been thinking about since I pulled it from those dusty pages.

The Secret of the Universe
by Edward Dowden

I spin, I spin, around, around,
   And close my eyes,
   And let the bile arise
From the sacred region of the soul’s Profound;
Then gaze upon the world; how strange! how new!
   The earth and heaven are one,
   The horizon-line is gone,
The sky how green! the land how fair and blue!
Perplexing items fade from my large view,
And thought which vexed me with its false and true
Is swallowed up in Intuition; this,
   This is the sole true mode
   Of reaching God,
And gaining the universal synthesis
Which makes All—One; while fools with peering eyes
Dissect, divide, and vainly analyse.
So round, and round, and round again!
How the whole globe swells within my brain,
The stars inside my lids appear,
The murmur of the spheres I hear
Throbbing and beating in each ear;
Right in my navel I can feel
The centre of the world’s great wheel.
Ah peace divine, bliss dear and deep,
   No stay, no stop,
   Like any top
Whirling with swiftest speed, I sleep.
O ye devout ones round me coming,
Listen! I think that I am humming;
   No utterance of the servile mind
With poor chop-logic rules agreeing
   Here shall ye find,
But inarticulate burr of man’s unsundered being.
Ah, could we but devise some plan,
Some patent jack by which a man
Might hold himself ever in harmony
With the great whole, and spin perpetually,
   As all things spin
   Without, within,
As Time spins off into Eternity,
And Space into the inane Immensity,
And the Finite into God’s Infinity,
   Spin, spin, spin, spin.

The round-up this week is being hosted by Karen Edmisten. Before you head over to read all the great posts, be sure to read the results of this week's poetry stretch, where lots of creative people wrote roundels. Happy poetry Friday, all!

Poetry Stretch Results - Rondel/Roundel

This week we worked on the roundel, a poem with eleven lines in the rhyme scheme abab bab abab. But wait! Lines 4 and 11 must be the same. Here's what the creative people came up with.

Daisybug at Things The Make Me Say... shares a roundel called Stillness.

Andi at a wrung sponge was inspired by a rock she photographed on a walk and wrote a roundel entitled Rough Cut Stone.

Diane Davis reflects on her the naughty housemates who share her home in Empty Nest.

sister AE at Having Writ reflects on a sailor's adage and gives us Blue Roundel.

Laura Purdie Salas captures dreams and nightmares in her roundel.

I spent some time this week reading through really bad high school poetry (mine!) and was inspired to use some of my previous words in this roundel.

Spinning, Spinning

With arms held straight out from my side
and wearing a giddy grin,
to the left I turn, eyes open wide,
and the world begins to spin.

On the Ferris wheel, high above the din,
I want to whisper and secrets confide.
But where on earth to begin?

You stand so close -- I've nowhere to hide,
my heart you're trying to win.
Lost in your gaze our lips collide,
and the world begins to spin.

It's not too late if you still want to play. Try your hand at a roundel and leave me a note. Then I'll add your poem to the list.

Steve Jenkins Talks

If you've spent any time here, you know that I'm a huge fan of Steve Jenkins. He's highlighted at the Cybils today, talking about his work. It's a great interview, so do make some time to check it out.

First Podcast is Up!

Okay, deep breath. My very first podcast is up over at Open Wide, Look Inside. It is surprisingly long (16 minutes!), but covers a good bit of ground. If you're interested in counting books, this one's for you.

Podcast No. 1 - What Makes a Good Counting Book?

Please Note: If you have subscribed to Open Wide, Look Inside in blog reader/aggregator, the link to the audio file does not work from within the reader. You need to go directly to blog entry containing the podcast. Sorry for this. We are still working out technical issues.

Author Visits - From Both Sides

Camillle at Book Moot wrote a wonderful post about authors and school visits. Once you've read it, be sure to read another perspective published in the Guardian today, where Sian Pattenden writes My Favourite Critics.

Monday Poetry Stretch - Rondel/Roundel

A rondel is a variation of the roundeau. In the book A Kick in the Head: An Everyday Guide to Poetic Forms, Paul Janeczko calls it a roundel and defines it this way.

A roundel is a three-stanza poem of 11 lines. The stanzas have four, three, and four lines in them and a rhyme scheme of abab bab abab. Ah, but there's more. Line 4 is repeated as line 11 -- not an easy trick!

The roundel in the book, entitled A Silver Trapeze, was written by Alice Schertle, a woman who once said "Writing poetry is difficult, absorbing, frustrating, satisfying, maddening, intriguing – and I love all of it!" I'm with her there.

Here is a roundel about a roundel.

The Roundel
By Algernon Charles Swinburne

A roundel is wrought as a ring or a starbright sphere,
With craft of delight and with cunning of sound unsought,
That the heart of the hearer may smile if to pleasure his ear
A roundel is wrought.

Its jewel of music is carven of all or of aught--
Love, laughter, or mourning--remembrance of rapture or fear--
That fancy may fashion to hang in the ear of thought.

As a bird's quick song runs round, and the hearts in us hear
Pause answer to pause, and again the same strain caught,
So moves the device whence, round as a pearl or tear,
A roundel is wrought.

Will you join us this week in writing a roundel? Leave me a comment about your poem and I will post the results later this week. Happy writing!

Lee Bennett Hopkins Poetry Award

Last week the Pennsylvania Center for the Book, the University Libraries, and the Pennsylvania School Librarians' Association announced the winner of the 2008 Lee Bennett Hopkins Poetry Award.

Winner

Birmingham, 1963
by Carole Boston Weatherford

Honor Books

Blue Lipstick: Concrete Poems
by John Grandits

This is Just to Say: Poems of Apology and Forgiveness
by Joyce Sidman

All three books were Cybils nominees for poetry. This is Just to Say was named one of the poetry finalists.

Thoughts on Poetry

In the Guardian this morning was an article entitled Finding the Right Words to Define Poetry. Here's how it begins.

Poetry can quite easily be seen as the poor relation of the arts. Collections of poetry sell in remarkably small numbers and almost nobody earns a living from writing the stuff. And yet, if the internet is to be believed, hundreds of thousands of people seem to be writing poetry, and a lot of them are also discussing this most noble of arts in blogs and other online forums. One of the things most often discussed is the fundamental question, "what is poetry anyway?"

And here's how it ends.

Other definitions of poetry have tended to avoid questions of harmony and morality entirely. For instance, William Carlos Williams wrote that a "poem is a small (or large) machine made out of words". Williams points to a distinction between prose and poetry that, by analogy, lies somewhere in the self-sustaining economy of effort and complete lack of sentimentality that characterises machines. Williams's words also, I believe, sit very comfortably with Samuel Taylor Coleridge's famous dictum, "I wish our clever young poets would remember my homely definitions of prose and poetry; that is, prose - words in their best order; poetry - the best words in their best order."

This last is the definition that most pleases me. Now all we have to do is agree on what we mean by the "best words" and the "best order" and we're laughing.

In the spirit of poetry Friday, this is a worthy entry. Do click on over and read all the stuff in the middle.

Poetry Friday - A Lesson in Latin

While working on my macaronic verse this week, I experimented a bit with Latin. I studied Latin through high school and into college. The appeal for me was in both the etymology and the connection to science. I still love the language, though I don't read it much these days. Since I've been thinking Latin lately, here's a favorite poem that mentions it.

A Lesson in Latin
by Lewis Carroll

Our Latin books, in motley row,
Invite us to our task-
Gay Horace, stately Cicero:
Yet there's one verb, when once we know,
No higher skill we ask:
This ranks all other lore above-
We've learned "'Amare' means 'to love'!" -
So, hour by hour, from flower to flower,
We sip the sweets of Life:
Till, all too soon, the clouds arise,
And flaming cheeks and flashing eyes
Proclaim the dawn of strife:
With half a smile and half a sigh,
"Amare! Bitter One!" we cry. -
Last night we owned, with looks forlorn,
"Too well the scholar knows
There is no rose without a thorn"-
But peace is made! We sing, this morn,
"No thorn without a rose!"
Our Latin lesson is complete:
We've learned that Love is Bitter-Sweet!

The round-up this week is being hosted by Mentor Texts, Read Alouds & More. Before you head over to read all the great posts, be sure to read the results of this week's poetry stretch. Lots of creative folks wrote macaronic verse, or poems in more than one language. It's great fun, so do take a look. Happy poetry Friday, all!

Poetry Stretch Results - Macaronic Verse

This week's challenge was to write macaronic verse, a poetic form that uses more than one language. Folks really seemed to have fun with this one. Here's what we have so far.

Fiona Bayrock wrote a tasty verse entitled Lasagna, But Do You Love Me?

just paisley gives us a meditation on a photo, in English, English and Spanish, and back to English again. Do read the three versions of Sepia and weigh in on your favorite.

The Crafty Green Poet at Over Forty Shades (of green) gives us a verse entitled Untranslateable.

cloudscome at a wrung sponge also wrote from a photo, then replaced all the nouns with words from a made up language. Now if only someone would read it aloud!

Over at Things that make me say..., daisybug gives us Sub Ubi. That's underwear for you non-Latin types.

sister AE at Having Writ gives us a song and lesson in Yiddish with her verse Oy Vey, Tateh!

Sandy at Sensual Senryu has written a senryu in macaronic verse.

While thinking about this challenge I experimented with Latin (5 years in high school and college) and Yiddish (thanks to the very funny Yiddish with Dick and Jane and the head full of words my Jewish friends have taught me). However, I just couldn't get away from the snippets of various languages that are rattling around in my brain. Here's my verse.

The Necessary Linguist
How do I love thee?
Let me count the ways.
Shall I un, deux, trois or
uno, dos, tres?

I can raise my glass
and offer a toast,
with sláinte or yasas,
gan bei or prost!

Traveling abroad
I say hello,
with Merhaba, Ni hao,
Shalom and Jambo.

I can please and thank you
in languages ten,
but I must beg forgiveness
again and again.

I'm a necessary linguist,
for I speak only English,
though I hope to know more
one day.

It's not too late if you still want to play. Read the rules and then leave me a comment about your verse. I'll add it to the others here.

It's Called Therapy

My accreditation review is almost over. To keep me going through stressful times, my colleagues sent me this gem this morning. Man, I love them.

To Maintain a Healthy Level of Insanity

1. At lunch time, sit in your parked car with sunglasses on and point a hair dryer at passing cars. See if they slow down.
2. Page yourself over the intercom. Don't disguise your voice.
3. Every time someone asks you to do something, ask if they want fries with that.
4. Put your garbage can on your desk and label it "in."
5. Put decaf in the coffee maker for 3 weeks. Once everyone has gotten over their caffeine addictions, switch to espresso.
6. In the memo field of all your checks, write "for smuggling diamonds". (Keep an eye out for FBI or IRS agents afterwards.)
7. Finish all your sentences with "in accordance with the prophecy."
8. Don t use any punctuation which seems to be an accepted format for people using e-mail on a regular basis and who really don't care how or what people think about their ability to communicate using the English language with the printed word.
9. As often as possible, skip rather than walk.
10. Order a diet water whenever you go out to eat...use a serious face.
11. Specify that your drive-through order is "to go."
12. Sing along at the opera. (Be ready to duck).
13. Go to a poetry recital and ask why the poems don't rhyme.
14. Put mosquito netting around your work area and play tropical sounds all day.
15. Five days in advance, tell your friends you can't attend their party because you're not in the mood.
16. Have your coworkers address you by your wrestling name, Rock Bottom.
17. When the money comes out of the ATM wave it around and scream "I won! I won!" Then watch to see if others line up for your machine.
18. When leaving the zoo, start running towards the parking lot, yelling, "Run for your lives, they're loose!!"
19. Tell your children over dinner that, "Due to the economy, we are going to have to let one of you go."
20. And the final way to keep a healthy level of insanity......send this e-mail to someone to make them smile. It's Called Therapy.

I'm smiling, and I hope you are too. I'll get back to my regularly scheduled program shortly. I promise.

Mathematics Achievement Gaps

Last week the National Science Board (NSB) released the Science and Engineering Indicators 2008, the 18th in a series of biennial science indicators reports. The report provides information on science, engineering, and technology at all levels, including K-12. Since I'm teaching Foundations of Mathematics Instruction this semester, I was most interested in the data regarding mathematics. A number of achievement gaps are noted at the elementary level. Here's what the report says about this.

Changes in achievement gaps are most easily summarized by examining average scale scores, which place students on a continuous ability scale based on their overall performance. Results indicate that all demographic groups gain mathematical skills and knowledge during elementary school but the rate of progress varies.

• Gender Gaps. Boys and girls started kindergarten at the same overall mathematics performance level, but by the end of fifth grade, boys had made larger mathematics gains than girls, resulting in a small but observable gender gap of four points.

• Race/Ethnicity Gaps. Gaps between white and black students and between white and Hispanic students existed when students started kindergarten and they widened over time. In mathematics, from kindergarten to fifth grade, white students posted a gain of 93 points; Hispanics, a gain of 89 points; and blacks, a gain of 80 points. By fifth grade, the gap between white and black students in average mathematics scores was 19 points, and the average score of black fifth grade students was equivalent to the average third grade score of white students.

• Mother’s Education and Family Income Gaps. Students whose mothers had higher levels of education entered kindergarten with higher average mathematics scores than their peers whose mothers attained less formal education and these gaps increased as students progressed through elementary school. By grade 5, the gaps in mathematics scores were substantial, with students whose mothers had dropped out of high school posting a lower average mathematics score than students whose mothers had graduated from college had posted at grade 3. Students living in families with incomes below the poverty threshold also entered school with lower mathematics skills than their peers from higher income families, and those discrepancies in scores grew by fifth grade.

These data are startling and frankly, a bit depressing. Now, I must arm my students with this information and ask them what they intend to do about it. It should be an interesting discussion.

Lies, Damned Lies and Statistics

I am under the microscope right now, being poked, prodded and examined. Well not me really, but my department. Most of you who read this blog know that I am an education professor, but what you probably don't know is that I chair the department. I've held this unhappy position since 2000. Unhappy? Absolutely. Administration is not my cup of tea. I am a teacher. Just put me in a classroom and let me do my stuff. Because of my administrative responsibilities, I teach less than some of my colleagues. I'd like to teach more.

I've spent the last year and half (longer, perhaps) looking at our program to prepare teachers, and analyzing miles of data in an effort to demonstrate that we prepare teachers who are "competent, caring and qualified." I've correlated, calculated measures of central tendency, run regressions, created scatterplots, analyzed variance (have I lost you yet?) and gone bug-eyed over statistics. What has it told me? Well, I'm not sure. I know it's not enough to say that experience has taught me what a good teacher looks like, and that on paper, the numbers don't always tell the whole story. For example, that 4.0 graduate may be an outstanding student and know his/her content, but will he/she be flexible enough to meet the demands of the classroom? The answer? Not always. How about that 2.9 grad? Some of my most creative and passionate teachers have less than stellar grades.

I had professor in grad school who insisted that gifted statisticians could make the data "say" whatever they wanted. I guess it all depends upon the "lens" through which we choose to look at these things. The numbers can be helpful to an extent, but seeing candidates in action is really the most telling piece of evidence we have. I DO know a good teacher when I see one, and so do you.

What say you, dear readers. What does a good teacher look like? Share your thoughts, because I would love to hear them. And by the way, no statistics needed.

Monday Poetry Stretch - Macaronic Verse

I reviewed the list of poetry stretches to date and am amazed by how much we've tackled. I want to try something else new to me this week, so I've selected macaronic verse. The Handbook of Poetic Forms defines macaronic verse in this fashion.

Macaronic verse is a peculiar, rare and often comic form of poetry that sometimes borders on nonsense. It is a mixture of two (or more) languages in a poem, in which the poet usually subjects one language to the grammatical laws of another to make people laugh.

You can read more at Wikipedia and learn a bit about the history of this form. You can also read something by an academic (c'mon, don't let that stop you). I was interested to note that the Carmina Burana is a fine example of this.

So, that's your challenge for this week, to write a poem that uses more than one language. If you don't know another language, make one up. Pig Latin, anyone? Leave me a comment about your macaronic verse and I'll post the results here later this week.

January Carnival is Up!

Susan over at Wizards Wireless has put together this month's carnival of children's literature, focused on book awards. There is much here to think about, so head on over and check it out.

School Around the Globe

Dear Readers,

Please forgive the cross-posting for a while. I want to make sure people find their way to my other blog. Yesterday I wrote a post entitled School Around the Globe. It is a thematic book list about schools around the world. Please stop by and take a look. If you know of title that I have missed, please let me know about it. I'm looking largely for nonfiction, but if you know of a picture book (fiction) that would fit, please mention it.

Best,
Tricia

Poetry Friday - More Alcott

I'm still thinking and reading about Louisa May Alcott. Since I'm such a fan of Thoreau, I found this poem gave me much to think about.

Thoreau’s Flute
by Louisa May Alcott

We, sighing, said, “Our Pan is dead;
   His pipe hangs mute beside the river;
   Around it wistful sunbeams quiver,
But Music’s airy voice is fled.
Spring mourns as for untimely frost;
   The bluebird chants a requiem;
   The willow-blossom waits for him;
The Genius of the wood is lost.”

Then from the flute, untouched by hands,
   There came a low, harmonious breath:
   “For such as he there is no death;
His life the eternal life commands;
Above man’s aims his nature rose:
   The wisdom of a just content
   Made one small spot a continent,
And turned to poetry Life’s prose.

“Haunting the hills, the stream, the wild,
   Swallow and aster, lake and pine,
   To him grew human or divine,—
Fit mates for this large-hearted child.
Such homage Nature ne’er forgets,
   And yearly on the coverlid
   ’Neath which her darling lieth hid
Will write his name in violets.

“To him no vain regrets belong,
   Whose soul, that finer instrument,
   Gave to the world no poor lament,
But wood-notes ever sweet and strong.
O lonely friend! he still will be
   A potent presence, though unseen,—
   Steadfast, sagacious, and serene:
Seek not for him,—he is with thee.”

The round up today is over at Farm School. Please stop by and check out all the great poetry being shared this week. Before you head on over, do read this week's poetry stretch results. We have some great centos created from titles of favorite books.

Poetry Stretch Results - Modified Cento

Inspired by the spate of book awards and "best of" lists announced recently, I thought it might be fun to write some centos using book titles. Here's what the creative people came up with this week.

cloudscome over at a wrung sponge gives us a cento inspired by the Cybils finalists. It is called Short List.

Laura Purdie Salas has poetry on the brain, so she used titles from poetry books. It's titled Why I'm Crazy.

Elaine at Wild Rose Reader has written two centos using titles of poetry books. The first is a lovely little haiku. The second is a poetry invitation.

Sara Lewis Holmes at Read*Write*Believe is thinking about her pile of books to be read. Her cento, An Alphabetized, Prognosticating Cento of Fortuitous Couplets, is meant to organize this pile. Good luck with that, Sara!

MotherReader also gives us a list of upcoming reads in her cento.

Susan at Wizards Wireless takes us on a walk back through 70 years of the Caldecott medal winners with her cento (story).

I was inspired by some of my favorite books to write a poem entitled Nobody's Fool.

It's not too late if you still want to play. Read the directions here. Then leave a comment and I'll add your cento to the list.

The MRE is a Beauty - What Does Your Blog Look Like?

Over at Weekend Wordsmith, Bonnie has linked to a cool site that graphs your blog. Here's what The Miss Rumphius Effect looks like.

Yes, I'm a math lover, but even if I wasn't I would think this graph was amazingly beautiful. Now, go and find out just how pretty your blog is. In the meantime, I'm going to ponder this and see if it inspires something poetic.

Nobody's Fool - My Book Title Cento

The poetry stretch this week was to write a cento using book titles. Here's what I wrote while perusing some of the titles on my bookshelf.

Nobody's Fool
He waits in the secret garden while his
love is lost to the housekeeping.
He knows the name of the rose,
and all creatures great and small.
He meditates on beauty,
and walks where angels fear to tread.
He is the constant gardener,
tending the family orchard while
the sun also rises.
He lives in a brave new world,
without pride and prejudice,
by a thread of grace.
He dreams of Gilead,
the wide Sargasso Sea and
going to the lighthouse,
but dreams blow away
on the shadow of the wind.
He views the world through
an imperfect lens, and knows it's all
one big damn puzzler, but
he believes that life is a miracle and
that the Lord God made them all.

Here are the books that make up this cento.

1. Nobody's Fool by Richard Russo
2. The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett
3. Housekeeping by Marilynne Robinson
4. The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco
5. All Creatures Great and Small by James Herriot
6. On Beauty by Zadie Smith
7. Where Angels Fear to Tread by E.M. Forster
8. The Constant Gardener by John le Carre
9. The Family Orchard by Nomi Eve
10. The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway
11. Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
12. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
13. A Thread of Grace by Maria Doria Russell
14. Gilead by Marilynne Robinson
15. Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys
16. To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf
17. Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon
18. An Imperfect Lens by Anne Roiphe
19. One Damn Big Puzzler by John Harding
20. Life is a Miracle by Wendell Berry
21. The Lord God Made Them All by James Herriot

It's not too late if you still want to play. Read the directions here. Then leave a comment and I'll post links to all the centos later this week.

ALA Notable Children's Books

The 2008 list of notable children's books is out. (Thanks to Elaine for the notice.) Here is the description of notable from the ALA web site.

"According to the Notables Criteria, "notable" is defined as: Worthy of note or notice, important, distinguished, outstanding. As applied to children's books, notable should be thought to include books of especially commendable quality, books that exhibit venturesome creativity, and books of fiction, information, poetry and pictures for all age levels (birth through age 14) that reflect and encourage children's interests in exemplary ways."

This is an exceptional list. Many of these titles were nominees for the Cybils or are currently Cybils finalists. Here are the finalists that appear on the list.

Young Readers

Lightship
by Brian Floca
Cybils Category - Nonfiction Picture Book

The Chicken-Chasing Queen of Lamar County
by Janice N. Harrington
Cybils Category - Fiction Picture Book

Vulture View
by April Pulley Sayre
Cybils Category - Nonfiction Picture Book

Knuffle Bunny Too: A Case of Mistaken Identity
by Mo Willems
Cybils Category - Fiction Picture Book

Here's a Little Poem: A Very First Book of Poetry
edited by Jane Yolen and Andrew Fusek Peters
Cybils Category - Poetry

Middle Readers

One Thousand Tracings: Healing the Wounds of World War II
by Lita Judge
Cybils Category - Nonfiction Picture Book

Robot Dreams
by Sara Varon
Cybils Category - Elementary/Middle Grade Graphic Novel

Older Readers

Tasting the Sky: A Palestinian Childhood
by Ibtisam Barakat
Cybils Category - Middle Grade/YA Nonfiction

Tracking Trash: Flotsam, Jetsam and the Science of Ocean Motion
by Loree Griffin Burns
Cybils Category - Middle Grade/YA Nonfiction

Who Was First?: Discovering the Americas
by Russell Freedman
Cybils Category - Middle Grade/YA Nonfiction

Marie Curie: Giants of Science #4
by Kathleen Krull
Cybils Category - Middle Grade/YA Nonfiction

Good Masters! Sweet Ladies!: Voices from a Medieval Village
by Laura Amy Schlitz
Cybils Category - Poetry

The Wednesday Wars
by Gary D. Schmidt
Cybils Category - Young Adult Fiction

The Wall: Growing Up Behind the Iron Curtain
by Peter Sís
Cybils Category - Middle Grade/YA Nonfiction

The Arrival
by Shaun Tan
Cybils Category - Teen/Young Adult Graphic Novel

The ALA also named the Top Ten Graphic Novels for Teens. There are a few Cybils books on this list as well.

Laika by
Nick Abadzis
Cybils Category - Teen/Young Adult Graphic Novel

Both The Wall: Growing Up Behind the Iron Curtain and The Arrival also made this list.

Monday Poetry Stretch - Modified Cento

I'm late in posting, but today was the first day of classes and I am 6 days away and counting from our accreditation review. I'll also admit to spending a fair amount of time reading about the book awards announced today.

I was inspired by the titles of current and past winners and thought that together, they might make an interesting poem. So, let's try a modified cento this week. Using titles from your favorite books (or award winners, classics, etc.), create a poem. I'm calling this a modified cento because I don't want to restrict you simply to the titles. Connect them together in any way that makes sense. When you're finished, don't forget to give us a "key" to the books you used.

So, what kind of poem will you write? Leave me a comment about your piece and I will post the results here later this week.

Book Awards Galore!

For the second year in a row, the live webcast from ALA midwinter was a bust. Perhaps there is just too much traffic for the server, but once again I was left out in the cold. However, I was saved by the amazing Tasha Saecker at KidsLit who posted from ALA as it was happening! Head over to her blog to learn the winners. I won't spoil it for you here, as some of these are terrific surprises. But here are a few clues.

• The Newbery was won by a librarian again this year.
• Mo Willems and Peter Sis each won TWO awards, though Mo won for different books.
• All those mock Newbery committees pretty much picked the four titles that won medals or honors, but not necessarily the correct winner.

Okay, go now and have a look. Many of my favorite Cybils finalists are on these lists.

• Geisel, Caldecott and Newbery Awards
• Sibert Medal
• Coretta Scott King Awards
• Michael L. Printz Award
• Belpre Award
• Batchelder Award
• Odyssey Award (new award for audiobooks)
  

New Data on Reading

From the National Center for Education Statistics report America's Children: Key National Indicators of Well-Being, here are some interesting (startling?) data on reading.

In 2005, 60 percent of children ages 3–5 who were not yet in kindergarten were read to daily by a family member. This rate is higher than the rate in 1993 (53 percent), but the rate fluctuated in intervening years.

In 2005, 72 percent of children whose mothers had at least a bachelor’s degree were read to every day. In comparison, daily reading occurred for 60 percent of children whose mothers had some postsecondary education, 55 percent of children whose mothers had a high school diploma or equivalent but no further education, and 41 percent of children whose mothers had less than a high school diploma.

White, non-Hispanic and Asian, non-Hispanic children were more likely to be read to every day than either Black, non-Hispanic or Hispanic children. Sixty-eight percent of White, non-Hispanic children, 66 percent of Asian, non-Hispanic children, 50 percent of Black, non-Hispanic children, and 45 percent of Hispanic children were read to every day by a family member.

Children in families with incomes of 200 percent or more of the poverty level were more likely to be read to daily by a family member (65 percent) than were children in families with incomes below the poverty level (50 percent) or those in families with incomes 100–199 percent of the poverty level (60 percent) in 2005.

Children living with two parents were more likely to be read to every day than were children living with one parent. Sixty-two percent of children in two-parent households were read to every day in 2005, compared with 53 percent of children living with one parent.

Children in the Northeast (66 percent), Midwest (62 percent), and West (61 percent) were more likely than their peers in the South (56 percent) to have been read to daily by a family member in 2005.

The fact that 40% of children in this country were NOT read to every day is very discouraging. Jen Robinson has done a great job over at the PBS Parents Expert Q&A and on her blog collecting and sharing a range of ideas for helping kids learn to enjoy reading. (You can even download a pdf file of all these great tips!) However, none of these tips will help if parents aren't reading to kids. This is an issue of race, class and education. My question to you is, how do we reach out to folks who don't read blogs, or much of anything else, and get them to understand how incredibly important reading to children is, and what a long-term impact this practice (or lack of it) makes?

Best of Science in 2007

Frustrated by the lack of science books on the BCCB list of blue ribbon winners for nonfiction (see my last post), I decided to name my own winners for science. Check out my post on Outstanding Science Books Published in 2007. Since everyone is in the predicting business these days (Newbery and Caldecott), consider these my predictions for the upcoming NSTA list.

BCCB Blue Ribbons - Nonfiction

Each year the staff of The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books awards Blue Ribbons to the books they believe to be the best of the previous year's literature for youth. Here is this year's list for nonfiction.

The Strongest Man in the World: Louis Cyr, written and illustrated by Nicolas Debon

Henry’s Freedom Box, written by Ellen Levine and illustrated by Kadir Nelson

Houdini the Handcuff King, written by Jason Lutes and illustrated by Nick Bertozzi

Good Masters! Sweet Ladies!: Voices From a Medieval Village, written by Laura Amy Schlitz and illustrated by Robert Byrd

The Wall: Growing Up Behind the Iron Curtain , written and illustrated by Peter Sís.

This is an outstanding list, full of great biographies and interesting history, but I do have one question. WHERE IS THE SCIENCE?