The Wait is Over - Cybils Announced!

Finally, the winners of the Cybils have been announced. Head on over and check out the winners of the 2006 Cybils.

African American Scientists and Inventors

While writing my dissertation I agreed to research and write two chapters for a book on African American Scientists and Inventors. I adored the professor who asked me, and gladly embarked on a journey to research two men I knew little about, though could at least admit I had heard of them. They were Elijah McCoy and Charles Turner. The book was published by an academic press in 1996. Since then, it has done nothing more than collect dust on my shelf. This saddens me, because there are so many great stories of (mostly) men who overcame great diversity to give the world the benefit of their knowledge and creativity. It is unfortunate that there still remains a dearth of good children's books about these men. Of course, it is relatively easy to find material on George Washington Carver, but look beyond him and few others stand out.

Here, at least, are a few of the gems in my collection.

A Weed is a Flower: The Life of George Washington Carver by Aliki - The bold illustrations bring the text alive in a story that follows the life of the man who found more than 300 uses for the peanut. Did you know he also experimented with the sweet potato?

George Washington Carver: The Peanut Wizard by Laura Driscoll - This lovely addition to the Smart About Scientists series introduces Annie Marcus, who is just nuts about peanut butter! When Annie finds out that George Washington Carver was responsible for the popularity of peanuts, she picks him for her scientist report. This is a fine introduction to Carver's career and discoveries.

Dear Benjamin Banneker written by Andrea Davis Pinkney and illustrated Brian Pinkney - This beautifully illustrated volume provides a brief overview of the life and work of Banneker from his years as a tobacco farmer through to his decision to write an almanac.

Bug Watching with Charles Henry Turner by Michael Elsohn Ross - This entry in the Naturalist's Apprentice series introduces the life and work of entomologist Charles Henry Turner while including ideas for the reader to conduct his/her own bug investigations.

Onward: A Photobiography of African-American Polar Explorer Matthew Henson by Delores Johnson - This stunning book uses archival photographs from the early 20th century to tell the story of Matthew Henson, an African-American hired for the expedition to the North Pole as Robert Peary's manservant.

Ten Books I Can't Live Without

Thanks to Kelly over at Big A, little a for the link.

Michele at Scholar's Blog has come up with a World Book Day meme. The question is: What ten books can't you live without?

If I were stranded on a desert island and required to read the same books over and over, these would get me through.

• Straight Man by Richard Russo
• Howard's End by E. M. Forster
• On Beauty by Zadie Smith
• Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
• The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco
• The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkein
  
• All Creatures Great and Small by James Herriot
  
• Peter Pan by J. M. Barrie
• Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury
  
• The Poetry of Robert Frost: The Collected Poems, Complete and Unabridged edited by Edward Connery Lathem

When Books Fall Out of Fashion - Part 2

Following on the ramblings of my last post, I have been thinking a lot about the process I use to select pieces for historical fiction for my methods class. Currently, I review the following resources before I begin reading likely titles:

• Newbery Medal and Honor Books
• Scott O'Dell Historical Fiction Award
• Jane Addams Children's Book Awards
• Notable Social Studies Trade Books for Young People

From these lists, I select books that I think will appeal to my students, be challenging to teach, and are most open for discussions from varied perspectives. Once I have a shortlist, I read, read, read. Then I search for anything and everything I can find about teaching with these books. I try to select books that represent a range of viewpoints (male, female, African American, Native American, immigrants, etc.) and times in American history. Some years I pick multiple books and assign them to small groups, while in others we all read the same book.

Regardless of the books I choose, I often worry that the selections will offend some or all of my students. However, do I want students to read what is "polite," or what is true? For sure, there will always be disagreements about whose truth is recorded, but I would prefer to face these difficult issues head-on and desire to read pieces that describe history as it was, and leave the interpretations of right and wrong to the reader.

Anne Scott MacLeod wrote a thoughtful piece on this historical revisionism in Writing Backward: Modern Models in Historical Fiction (Horn Book Magazine, Jan/Feb 1998). Here is an excerpt:

"Didacticism dies hard in children’s literature. Today’s publishers, authors, and reviewers often approach historical fiction for children as the early nineteenth century did — as an opportunity to deliver messages to the young. Bending historical narrative to modern models of social behavior, however, makes for bad history, and the more specific the model, the harder it is to avoid distorting historical reality. The current pressure to change old stereotypes into “positive images” for young readers is not only insistent, but highly specific about what is the desirable image, and often untenable. If the only way a female protagonist can be portrayed is as strong, independent, and outspoken, or, to take a different example, if slaves must always be shown as resistant to authority, and if these qualities have to be overt, distortion becomes inevitable. Betty Sue Cummings’s novel about the American Civil War, Hew against the Grain (1977), establishes her heroine’s strength as a credible result of wartime conditions. Her picture of slavery, however, is less easily reconciled with history. How many slaves this Virginia family owns is not clear, but the four described in any detail are all free-thinking and outspoken“Elijah neither looked nor acted like a slave” — and the two younger ones, at least, can read. The odds against such a situation in Virginia on the eve of the Civil War were considerable. More important, however politically acceptable it is, this kind of idealization glosses over the real price slaves paid for slavery."

So, I return to my original question in yet another form. If a book is written to accurately portray historical opinions, values and sentiments, should it be discarded because it does not square with the modern view of things? I should hope not. But I would also hope that teachers arm themselves as best possible by knowing the stereotypes portrayed, displaying the necessary sensitivity to read and discuss such books with their students, and finally understanding and empathizing with those who may feel offended by the "history" presented in such works.

In concluding her article, MacLeod writes:

"But people of the past were not just us in odd clothing. They were people who saw the world differently; approached human relationships differently; people for whom night and day, heat and cold, seasons and work and play had meanings lost to an industrialized world. Even if human nature is much the same over time, human experience, perhaps especially everyday experience, is not. To wash these differences out of historical fictions is not only a denial of historical truth, but a failure of imagination and understanding that is as important to the present as to the past."

We must recognize that historical fiction may offend, for the very reason that the positions and views held in the past would be untenable today. There must be some lesson that we can take from these works, if we examine them critically enough, and encourage our students to do so as well.

For another perspective on the issues I am trying to give voice to, read Multicultural Literature as Curriculum. Thanks to Elaine Magliaro over at the Blue Rose Girls for the link.

When Books Fall Out of Fashion - Part 1

I was planning for a workshop recently and was packing a box of books to bring along. Since this was a workshop for PLT, I included lots of books about trees and habitats. One that I always bring along is the Caldecott Medal winner from 1957, A Tree is Nice written by Janice May Udry and illustrated by Marc Simont. It's a lovely little book that very simply describes the pleasures provided by trees. One of my co-presenters was a forestry employee who, while looking through the book, found that it contains a scene where leaves are burned. I was told immediately that this was a dated book and not appropriate to use, since leaf burning was no longer condoned.

Hmmmm . . . So here's my dilemma. Instead of merely tossing a book because it's outdated, why can't we take the opportunity to turn this into a teachable moment and explain WHY we no longer burn leaves? This isn't just about the Udry book for me. I've been thinking about these "out of fashion" books for a while. Some may view them as politically incorrect, others insensitive, and some just plain inaccurate. Take for example the The Sign of the Beaver, a 1984 Newbery honor book written by Elizabeth George Speare. When I discussed this with a few professors of children's literature about my use of it in my methods class, they suggested that this was not an appropriate work because of its poor treatment of Native Americans. They recommended the 1995 Newbery Medal winner Walk Two Moons by Sharon Creech as an appropriate substitute. I stuck with The Sign of the Beaver, only because I thought there was much to be learned about the attitudes described in and portrayed by the book. In fact, the Hudson Museum at the University of Maine has a curriculum page devoted to the book where they highlight areas for discussion. They describe the derogatory use of the word squaw and caution teachers about the negative stereotypes that exist in the book.

I suppose we all have favorite books from childhood that when examined today, might not hold up to scrutiny. But the question still remains, is there no instructional value left because they don't meet current standards? Surely many have a deep affection in their hearts for the Laura Ingalls Wilder books, but they are terribly stereotypical in their portrayal of Native Americans. Should we dismiss these classics simply for this reason? I'm afraid that if we excise these books from the curriculum because they offend, we lose the opportunity to examine why such stereotypes and perspectives were/are wrong, and do little in the way of teaching our students to appreciate the diversity that every person brings to the community. And what of confronting directly the very ugly nature of much of this nation's history?

I don't have answers to these questions, but I still continue to grapple with them. Over at educating alice, you can read a post with similar thoughts, entitled Changing Communities, Changing Controversies.

*Just Added - It appears I still have much to think about. Denise Johnson at Joy of Children's Literature sent me this link to a critical review of Walk Two Moons. In further searches I found reviews critical of The Sign of the Beaver and, you guessed it, Little House on the Prairie. Once you read the review, follow the link to Little House on the Osage Prairie.

These Times They Are A Changin'

My faithful readers (all 3 of you) and students know well that I teach a course that focuses on teaching science and social studies. It is called Integrated Curriculum Methods because I want students to think about the curriculum as a whole and connected piece, not discrete little units that never relate to one another. Wherever possible we look at the ways these subjects relate to English and math, but more importantly, to each other. One way I do this is through leading professional development workshops using Project WILD, Project Learning Tree (PLT) and Population Connection. I also have the Virginia Farm Bureau folks come in and lead a workshop on Agriculture in the Classroom.

One common theme that connects all these programs is change. In science, one way we explore change is to look at the ways in which humans have changed the natural world. In social studies, we look at differences between past and present and compare changes in community life over time. There are many books that look at change over time, and most of them integrate the science and social studies aspects of this change. Here are some of the titles I like to use.

The Little House by Virginia Lee Burton - The classic tale of a house in the country slowly taken over by urbanization has a message that still rings true today.

A River Ran Wild: An Environmental History - Follow the evolution of the Nashua river, from earliest days, through times when only Native Peoples lived on the land, to colonial settlement and on through today. Though the river is damaged, an important message that we have the power to make things right is delivered.

New Providence: A Changing Cityscape by Renata von Tscharner and Ronald Lee Fleming - This picture book documents the physical evolution of a typical small American city between 1910 and 1987.

Heron Street by Ann Turner - This books documents what happens over the centuries as people settle near the marsh by the sea, and herons and other animals are displaced.

Two wordless picture books by Jeannie Baker.

• Home - When a new baby arrives home, the view outside her window is not a pleasant one. As she grows, the beauty of the urban area is reclaimed.
• Window - Each year as a young boy grows, the view outside his window changes, from one of the countryside to one with housing developments and the golden arches.

Shaker Lane by Alice and Martin Provensen - This books tells the story of a depressed rural area that is slowly taken over by suburban development. When land developers arrive and build a reservoir, the poor must move out to make way for new, middle class housing.

Hudson: A Story of a River by Robert C. Baron - Akin to Cherry's book on the Nashua river, this book follows the life of the Hudson river.

Where Once There Was a Wood by Denise Fleming - In beautiful cut paper collage, the author introduces the animals that live in an area, and are then displaced by a housing development. The book concludes with suggestions for creating backyard habitats and directions for establishing butterfly and hummingbird gardens.

What Ever Happened to the Baxter Place by Pat Ross - Watch what happens as a farm family sells their land piece by piece and urbanization creeps farther and farther into the country.

There are many other ways to look at change in science. The seasons and life cycles are two topics I will tackle a bit later. The books above are just a representation of those that help bridge the gap between science and social studies and allow us to look at change both historically and environmentally.

The Poetry of Science

My college roommate was an English major. I was a biochemistry major. At the very least, this strange combination of interests made for very lively conversations. I listened while she read passages and poems aloud while trying to make sense of them, and she was subjected to my ramblings about oxidative phosphorylation and the right-hand rule.

When I started teaching (science, of course!), I wanted to find ways to make science come alive for students. I wanted it to be enjoyable and exciting. But most of all, I wanted it to be accessible. Science is so often about textbooks and vocabulary. I was convinced there had to be other ways to deliver the content. I found one of my greatest tools in the Far Side cartoons of Gary Larson. I would often begin a lesson by showing one on the overhead projector (yes, I taught in the days before we had computers in the classroom). One would always appear on a test as a short answer question of the variety "Explain the science behind this cartoon and why knowing the science makes it funny." My favorite is one of an alligator sitting in the witness box being grilled by an attorney while the jury looks on. The alligator shouts, "Of course I did it in cold blood you idiot, I'm a reptile!"

In addition to cartoons, I used songs (think Schoolhouse Rock, but updated) and poetry. While I still use all of these devices, poetry is the one form that I continue to seek out for use with my preservice teachers. I have a growing collection of books on science topics that use poetry as a means to make science understandable. Here are a few of my favorites.

• The Earth is Painted Green: A Garden of Poems About Our Planet edited by Barbara Brenner - A lovely volume that combines art and poetry, this book contains a wide-ranging collection of 91 poems by the likes of Edna St. Vincent Millay, Carl Sandburg, Charlotte Zolotow, Jack Prelutsky, and Shel Silverstein. Nicely divided into eight sections, including earth, trees, plants, seasons, and environmental well-being, this volumes provides a fitting tribute to nature.

• Spectacular Science: A Book of Poems by Lee Bennett Hopkins - This anthology of 15 poems includes work by Valerie Worth, Lilian Moore, Carl Sandburg and others. Covering topics such as rocks, snowflakes, and stars, readers are invited to think about science and the work that scientists do.
  

• Science Verse by Jon Scieszka - This terrific collection of witty poems tackles science content while parodying poems by writers including Joyce Kilmer, Edgar Allan Poe, Lewis Carroll, Robert Frost and more.

• Scien-Trickery: Riddles in Science by J. Patrick Lewis - Here is a book that presents 18 riddles, all in verse and inspired by science.
  

• There are MANY absolutely terrific books by Douglas Florian that combine art and poetry. Here are a few of animal titles.
  
• beast feast - A collection of 21 poems and paintings about a variety of animals, including walrus, kiwi, lobsters, camels, bats and more.
• in the swim - A collection of 21 poems and paintings about sea life.
  
• insectlopedia - A collection of 21 poems and paintings on spiders and insects.
• lizards, frogs and polliwogs - A collection of 21 poems and paintings on a variety of slimy and scaly creatures.
• mammalabilia - A collection of 21 poems and paintings on all manner of mammals.
• on the wing - A collection of 21 poems and paintings on a variety of birds.
  
• zoo's who - A collection of 21 poems and paintings on a variety of animals, including the bush baby, tortoise, ladybugs, slugs and more.
  


• Our Seasons by Grace Lin and Ranida McKneally - In this book, questions related to the changing of the seasons are answered in a clear and concise way. Each question and answer is accompanied by a beautiful painting by Grace Lin, along with a haiku that relates to the illustration.

• Two books by Amy Goldman Koss.
• Where Fish Go in Winter and Answers to Other Great Mysteries - This collection of poems provides answers to simple science questions in rhyme. Questions answered include "How do seeds know which way is up?" "Why do leaves change color" and as the title suggests, "Where do fish go in winter?"
• Curious Creatures in Peculiar Places - "Toads with fire-engine red tummies, goggly-eyed tarsiers with sticky fingers and sloths who hang upside down from their toes are among the many creatures you'll find in this look at some of the nature's most bizarre animals and where they live. Lively rhymes provide oodles of facts to fascinate all readers (from the book)." A map is provided so readers can identify where each animal comes from. This book was a selection of the 1989 John Burroughs List of Outstanding Nature Books for Children.


• Animal Sense by Diane Ackerman - This wonderful volume contains 15 poems, 3 for each of the 5 senses, with each one about a different animal.

• Footprints on the Roof: Poems About the Earth by Marilyn Singer - This fine collection, accompanied by black-and-white India ink drawings, pays homage to the wet, dry, hot, cold and messy natural places of the planet.
  

• Voices From the Wild: An Animal Sensagoria by D. Bouchard - This volume contains 25 poems, 5 for each of the senses, with each one about a different animal. Each poem describes how animals use their senses to survive in the wild. A lifelike painting of each animal accompanies each poem. Finally, the book concludes with short paragraphs about each of the animals.
  

• Land, Sea & Sky: Poems to Celebrate the Earth - Supported by photographs from the Sierra Club, this book contains a collection of poems celebrating nature that includes such authors as Walt Whitman, Langston Hughes and others.

• Old Elm Speaks: Tree Poems by Kristine O'Connell George - This collection of poems captures the beauty of trees through the seasons.

• Ordinary Things: Poems From a Walk in Early Spring by Ralph Fletcher - This lovely volume of 33 poems celebrates the experiences of a walk through the woods in spring while encouraging readers to observe such objects as birds' nests, birch trees, shed snake skins, and many other treasures.
  

My Friday Poetry offering comes from this last volume. Enjoy!

Walking

Time to leave my desk
and leave my house,
pulling the door behind.

I walk the way I write
starting out all creaky,
sort of stumbling along,
looking for a rhythm.

Each footstep is like a word
as it meets the blank page
followed by a pause
before the next one:
step, step, word . . .

Just Added - Elaine Magliaro over at the Blue Rose Girls wrote on this topic last fall. Check out her November 10, 2006 post on Poetry & Science. I've found a kindred spirit folks, someone else who loves language, children's books and science. Thanks, Elaine!

Reading Your Way Through the 100th Day of School

Yes, it's that time of year. The 100th day of school will soon be celebrated in classrooms around the country. There are many great web sites that suggest activities for the 100th day of school, but since I'm all about using children's literature, here are some terrific books for both the study of place value AND the 100th day.

• The Hundred Penny Box by Sharon Bell Mathis - This Newbery Honor book is about Michael and his great-great-Aunt Dew. She has a box with 100 pennies, one minted each year since she was born. This is a short but moving read aloud.

• The Wolf's Chicken Stew by Keiko Kasza - A hungry wolf delivers 100 pancakes, 100 donuts and a 100 pound cake to a chicken he wants to fatten up for a stew. When he arrives to retrieve the chicken, he gets a big surprise!

• From One to One Hundred by Terry Sloat - This terrific counting book counts from 1 to 10, and then by 10's to 100. The pictures are detailed and contain many things to count.

• One Hundred is a Family by Pam Muñoz Ryan - This books looks at all the different ways people can come together to become "a family."
  

• One Hundred Hungry Ants by Eleanor Pinczes - Find out all the different ways a group of ants can arrange themselves while marching to a picnic.

• Curious George Learns to Count From 1 to 100 by H. A. Rey - I'm a big fan of this little monkey. The man in the yellow hat challenges George to count to 100, so this book delivers many things to count, including a parade of ants, leaves blowing in the air, and rungs on a ladder.
  

• 100th Day Worries by Margery Cuyler - What's a young girl to do when she can't find a collection of 100 items to bring to school on the 100th day?

• 100 Days of School by Trudy Harris - This book presents many different ways to count to 100. "If 99 dots are on a clown's suit, what do you get? 100 polka dots. Those . . . (on his clothes) plus 1 on his nose."

• Miss Bindergarten Celebrates the 100th Day of Kindergarten by Joseph Slate - On the eve of the 100th day of school, Miss Bindergarten asks her students to bring in "100 of some wonderful, one-hundred-full thing!" Find out what they bring and how the class celebrates. The illustrator, Ashely Wolff, has some ideas for celebrating the 100th day. Go on, take a look!

• 100 Days of Cool by Stuart Murphy - In this MathStart book, 4 students dress up ("funky") for the first day of school thinking their teacher wants to celebrate cool, but she really wants to celebrate 100 days of school. She challenges them to keep it up for the next 99 days, but how will they do it? You can visit Stuart Murphy's web site to check out some suggested activities.

Once you've done some reading, why not create a class book for the 100th day? ReadWriteThink has a fabulous lesson on Descriptive Writing and the 100th Day of School. All students bring in a bottle containing 100 items. Along with this, they write descriptive clues about the mystery items. Once the items have been revealed, students them complete pages of a book on each bottle and its contents.

If this list has served only to pique your interest, then head on over to these sites for more ideas.

• Complete the Wacky Wish poem (If I could have 100/of anything at all/ ...)
• Songs and Poems for the 100th Day of School
• Celebrate the 100th Day of School (Scholastic)
• Celebrate the 100th Day in 100 Ways

Do you celebrate the 100th day with some great books, poems or songs? I'll bet you do, so please share!

A History Lesson From Swinton's Word-Book of English Spelling (1872)

And now for some entertainment from my collection of antique school books.

"Learning to spell the English language correctly is the most difficult task of school life. Hence correct spelling is rightly regarded as a sign of culture, and bad spelling as indicating a lack of it."

Section I. First Year's Work. First Month. 16. Articles of Dress

• bonnet
  
• mantle
  
• gaiters
  
• apron
  
• trousers
  
• mantilla
  
• parasol
  
• pantaloons
  
• pantalets
  
• petticoat
  
• tunic
  
• wrapper
  
• corset
  
• cravat
  
• jacket
  
• necktie
  
• collar
  
• slipper
  
• drawers
  
• overcoat

Alright, I have two questions. First, is spelling really the most difficult task one learns in school? (Not for me, I LOVED spelling.) Second, since when is a parasol an article of clothing?!

All silliness aside, this list has started me thinking that perhaps there is a social studies lesson here for next fall. There are several elementary objectives that relate to describing everyday life in the present and in the past and recognizing that things change over time. This list might make for some interesting comparisons.

On Reading Aloud

I have been thinking a lot about reading aloud these days. Last fall I had a student teacher (let's call her R.) working in a first grade classroom with a very rough schedule. There was a fifteen minute slice of time between resource classes and recess that needed to be filled. I suggested that this was the perfect time to read aloud. R. liked this idea, so together we selected some books that might be appropriate. The plan was for R. to share this idea with her teacher, the book selections, and then together, they would choose the book. A few days later, a very dejected R. entered my office. Here's a snippet of the conversation:

Me: What's wrong?
R.: I need to find a way to fill that 15 minute time slot with instruction.
Me: Aren't you going to read aloud?
R.: No.
Me: Why not?
R.: My teacher says the kids can't handle it.
Me: What do you mean, "can't handle it."
R.: Mrs. X. has been teaching a long time (30+ years) and says that these kids are not mature enough and not well-behaved enough. She thinks it will be a classroom management problem.
Me: Uh-huh. What else did she say?
R.: I need to find something academic for them to do.

This is the point where I turned away from R. to stare at my computer screen, shake my head, and mouth a few choice words. What kind of teacher believes that kids can't handle being read aloud to? What kind of teacher believes that this is not an academic exercise?

Months later, I still cannot shake this exchange. Ladies and gentlemen, this was an experienced first grade teacher. Every child/student needs to have books read aloud to them. I read to my middle school students ALL THE TIME. I kept an enormous library of science and math books that they regularly perused and even enjoyed! There were days when they begged me to read aloud. I simply cannot imagine a first grade classroom where the children would NOT want to have a story read aloud to them.

The sad reality here is that as I send more and more students to Title I and Reading First schools, the emphasis is on worksheets and basal readers. There seems to be little reading for enjoyment or modeling of that process. I suppose that is why I try to get my students (preservice teachers) to think about integrating children's literature wherever possible. When they write lessons for math, science and social studies, I require them to look at the English curriculum standards and include those that are appropriate as lesson objectives, recognizing that while we may choose to think about the curriculum in compartmentalized ways, real learning never happens in such a single-subject vacuum.

I still read aloud to students these days, though now it is to college students preparing to be teachers. Sure, they roll their eyes at me sometimes, but what better way to model the very behaviors I want to encourage? The first class of the semester in my Foundations of Math Instruction course I read aloud Math Curse by Jon Scieszka. We spent one whole session on reading and writing in math, where we looked at criteria for evaluating children's literature for use in math and practiced using them to examine a set of books. Last week when I taught counting and number sense, each student selected a book, did a quick review, and shared it with the class while outlining the concepts the book could be used to teach. This week when I begin to teach about place value and understanding large numbers, I will read How Much is a Million and an excerpt from G is for Googol, both by David Schwartz.

Reading aloud has a place in MY classroom, and I'm a college professor. So, where does it belong in the elementary classroom and where does it "fit" in the elementary curriculum? Anywhere and everywhere. Period. No excuses. Any good teacher will tell you so.

Saturday Morning Silliness

Thanks to CynJay for the link to Planet M&M.
Here's my M&M alter-ego. Darn cool!

Remembering Molly

Molly Ivins died on Wednesday. Whether you loved or hated her work, she always made you think. You can read some of the pieces written about her at Remembering Molly Ivins. Her longtime editor, Anthony Zucher, wrote a piece about her that moved me, and since he felt her greatest words of wisdom came with children's books, I just knew I had to share them.

For me, Molly's greatest words of wisdom came with three children's books she gave my son when he was born. In her inimitable way, she captured the spirit of each in one-sentence inscriptions. In "Alice in Wonderland," she offered, "Here's to six impossible things before breakfast." For "The Wind in the Willows," it was, "May you have Toad's zest for life." And in "The Little Prince," she wrote, "May your heart always see clearly."

To read more, check out the Molly Ivins Tribute. So long, Molly. We'll miss you.

Groundhog Day Poetry (Yes, It's Friday!)

I found this lovely gem at CanTeach: Songs & Poems.

Groundhog Day
Old Groundhog stretched in his leafy bed.
He turned over slowly and then he said,
"I wonder if spring is on the way,
I'll go and check the weather today.
If I see my shadow between eleven and noon,
I then will know that I'm out too soon.
I'll crawl back in bed for six weeks more,
Pull up the warm covers and snore and snore.
But if no shadow gives me a scare,
I know that spring is in the air,
I'll wake my friends and wish them cheer,
With glorious news that spring is here."

Here's a haiku from a site on Groundhog's Day Literature.

Groundhogs are sleeping
They don't give a flying fluff
About the weather.

And finally, since no shadow was sighted, here is a spring poem written by my favorite poet.

Spring Pools by Robert Frost
These pools that, though in forests, still reflect
The total sky almost without defect,
And like the flowers beside them, chill and shiver,
Will like the flowers beside them soon be gone,
And yet not out by any brook or river,
But up by roots to bring dark foliage on.
The trees that have it in their pent-up buds
To darken nature and be summer woods --
Let them think twice before they use their powers
To blot out and drink up and sweep away
These flowery waters and these watery flowers
From snow that melted only yesterday.

History's Tangled Threads

Thanks to Mr. Sutton over at Read Roger (call me old-fashioned, but I simply cannot refer to the editor of The Horn Book by his first name!) for the link to the Fergus Bordewich's Op-Ed piece on the Underground Railroad. Entitled History's Tangled Threads, Bordewich turns the freedom quilt myth head on. It's an interesting read. I was most moved by this conclusion:

"In an age when self-interest has been elevated in our culture to a public and political virtue, the Underground Railroad still has something to teach: that every individual, no matter how humble, can make a difference in the world, and that the importance of one’s life lies not in money or celebrity, but in doing the right thing, even in silence or secrecy, and without reward."

I don't have many books about the Underground Railroad, but I do have one that is just fabulous. Check out the Caldecott Honor book, Moses: When Harriet Tubman Led Her People to Freedom, written by Carole Boston Weatherford and illustrated by Kadir Nelson.

Celebrating Langston Hughes

On this day in 1902, James Langston Hughes was born in Joplin Missouri. He began writing poetry in the 8th grade. He dropped out of a degree program at Columbia University to pursue his writing. He was prolific in his work. He wrote sixteen books of poems, two novels, three collections of short stories, four volumes of "editorial" and "documentary" fiction, twenty plays, children's poetry, musicals and operas, three autobiographies, a dozen radio and television scripts and dozens of magazine articles. In addition, he edited seven anthologies.*

Here is one of my favorite Langston Hughes poems.

April Rain Song

Let the rain kiss you
Let the rain beat upon your head with silver liquid drops
Let the rain sing you a lullaby
The rain makes still pools on the sidewalk
The rain makes running pools in the gutter
The rain plays a little sleep song on our roof at night
And I love the rain.

*Information on the work of Langston Hughes from Poemhunter.com.

News From The Leaky Cauldron

And now, drumroll please! Just in from The Leaky Cauldron:

"J.K.Rowling.com has been updated to announce that the last Harry Potter, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, will be released on JULY 21, 2007."

Need I say more?!

(Thanks to Kelly at Big A little a for the update.)

Snowflakes on My Mind (and in My Books)

I have a son who is desperate for snow. Not in the "I want a snow day" kind of way, but in that "I'm nearly six and have yet to spend any real time playing in this fabulous stuff" sort of way. As someone who grew up outside of Rochester, NY and then later lived in Buffalo, NY, I've had enough snow to last a lifetime. However, you can't blame a kid for wanting to build a snowman. It snowed once last winter, in November 2005, and of course, we had no mittens, snow pants, boots, or any other appropriate garb. Once I went out and bought them, the promise of snow disappeared.

This year, snow has been only hinted at, and like many parts of the country, we've experienced warmer than normal temperatures. As Virginia now braces (possibly) for what may be an inch or two of snow, I am quietly rooting for a snow day so that I can play in the snow with my son.

So, in homage to the fleeting white stuff, we have been reading lots of books about snow and winter. Here are some of our favorites.

• Snowflake Bentley written by Jacqueline Briggs Martin and illustrated by Mary Azarian - This Caldecott Medal winner tells the true story of Wilson Bentley, a farmer who spent his life photographing snowflakes. The Buffalo Museum of Science has a digital library of these amazing photographs. You can see them at The Bentley Snow Crystal Collection.

• Snow by Uri Shulevitz - Even though the adults believe that it will not snow, a boy and his dog don't give up hope. This is a Caldecott honor book that beautifully portrays the transformation of a city when it snows.

• The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats - What's not to love about this 1963 Caldecott Medal winner? Discover what happens when Peter awakens to find snow has fallen during the night.

• In the Snow by Huy Voun Lee - When a young boy and his mother walk through a forest in the snow, his mother scratches Chinese characters with a stick. Words represented include tree, forest, pond, rest, rain, snow, sun, moon, sparkling, and bright. The glossary includes a cut-paper picture, the character, its meaning in English, a transcription in Mandarin Chinese, and pronunciations.

• The Snowman by Raymond Briggs - A fantastic wordless picture book. A young boy builds a snowman, only to find that it comes to life in his dreams.
  

• Katy and the Big Snow by Virginia Lee Burton - In the summer, Katy is a bulldozer. When winter comes, she waits for her big chance to clear snow in Geopolis, and boy, does she get it!

• The Mitten by Jan Brett - Find out what happens to Nicki's lost mitten when a mole, rabbit, hedgehog, an owl, a badger, fox, and finally a bear seek refuge in it.
  

• Snowballs by Lois Ehlert - I'm a big fan of Ehlert's artwork. This book on building a snow family shows that the "traditional" snowman can be improved upon!

• Owl Moon by Jane Yolen - A young girl and her father go owling on a winter night, where they make their way through snow that is "whiter than the milk in a cereal bowl." Illustrated by John Schoenherr, this won the Caldecott Medal in 1988.
  

• Charlie and Lola: Snow is My Favorite and My Best by Lauren Child - Charlie takes his little sister Lola out to play in the snow, but sadly, it has melted by the next day. When Lola is disappointed by this turn of events, Charlie tries to explain why snow is special.

• Dear Rebecca, Winter is Here by Jean Craighead George - In a letter to her granddaughter, a woman describes the advent of winter.

• Martin MacGregor's Snowman by Lisa Broadie Cook - Martin desperately wants to build a snowman, but what's a boy to do when the weather won't cooperate?
  

• There Was a Cold Lady Who Swallowed Some Snow! by Lucille Colandro - A fun and seasonal twist on the old lady who swallowed the fly.

• Snow by P.D. Eastman - This is the classic beginning reader about all the great ways to enjoy snow.
  

I could go on, but these are titles that top the list. Have I missed some great ones? I'm sure I have. Click away in the comments section and let me know about the beauties that I've overlooked.

Happy 80th to Ms. Vera B. Williams! (A Few Days Late)

I just discovered today that my husband and Vera Williams share a birthday, January 28th. Vera Williams is an author I share with my students because of the way her works share the plight of everyday working people. We are saddened when Rosa's house burns in A Chair for My Mother, but rejoice with the family when the tip money her mother saves is enough to buy a chair that everyone will enjoy. Rosa returns in Something Special for Me, when she is allowed to use the earnings in the money jar to buy anything she wants for her birthday. However, instead of a gift only she can enjoy, Rosa selects something that everyone can share in. In the final book featuring Rosa, Music, Music for Everyone, Rosa and her friends play in a band to raise money for her grandmother's medical care.

Ms. Williams has won numerous awards for her work, including:

• Boston Globe-Horn Book Award for A Chair for My Mother (1983 - picture book)
• Caldecott honor for A Chair for My Mother (1983)
• Jane Addams Children's Book Award honor for Music, Music for Everyone (1985)
• Boston Globe-Horn Book honor for Cherries and Cherry Pits (1987 - picture book)
• Boston Globe-Horn Book honor for Stringbean's Trip to the Shining Sea (1988 - picture book)
• Caldecott honor for "More More More," Said the Baby (1991)
• Boston Globe-Horn Book Award for Scooter (1994 - fiction)
• Jane Addams Children's Book Award honor for Amber was Brave, Essie was Smart (2002)
• Boston Globe-Horn Book honor for Amber was Brave, Essie was Smart (2002 - fiction and poetry)

In addition to her wonderful works, I simply love this quote from an interview she gave in CBC magazine:

"But a book is not only words and pictures. It's a whole little world. The chosen proportions—covers, endpapers, decorations, pacing, and font (perhaps hand lettering as in More More Said the Baby), even spine and flaps—are all expressive of the particular story and its creator, who is in turn costume designer, psychologist, mayor, city planner, garden and house designer, sociologist, world changer. . . ."

You can learn more about Vera Williams at these sites:

• Kidsread.com - Vera B. Williams (interview)
• CBC Magazine Meet the Author/Illustrator (interview)

Happy birthday, Ms. Williams!

Books to Count On

We have just begun to talk about number sense and counting in my Foundations of Math Instruction class. While children first learn to count by manipulating real objects such as blocks, cars, buttons, marbles, etc., the move to counting pictures in books allows students to make the transition from the concrete to a visual representation.

There are many terrific books out there for developing counting skills. Be sure to look for books that not only count up, but count down, skip count, and develop general number sense by looking at different representations for any particular number. This is also a great place to include literature that represents diverse perspectives. Here are a few of my favorites.

1 Hunter by Pat Hutchins - Children will enjoy following the unobservant hunter and predicting what animals will appear next. A good book for counting up and back.

Anno's Counting Book by Mitsumasa Anno - This wordless picture book counts to 12, with each picture spread representing a month of the year. Also included is the written numeral and representation of each number with counting blocks.

Can You Count Ten Toes? Count to 10 in 10 Different Languages by Lezlie Evans - Though not a counting book in the traditional sense (children aren't counting individual objects), children who have mastered the counting sequence in English will enjoy learning to count to 10 in other languages.

Emeka's Gift by Ifeoma Onyefulu - On the way to visit his grandmother, Emeka sees people and objects from 2 to 10. This book features photographs taken in a Nigerian village, and includes with each spread, a description of the importance of objects and/or scene.

Feast For Ten by Cathryn Falwell - The numbers one through ten are used to show an African-American family shopping for food and later preparing the meal.

Mouse Count by Ellen Stoll Walsh - Illustrated in cut-paper collage, this book counts up to 10 and down again as a hungry snake tries to eat a group of sleepy mice.

One is a Drummer: A Book of Numbers by Roseanne Thong - This counting book introduces aspects of traditional Chinese culture in bouncy verse.

Two Ways to Count to Ten: A Liberian Folktale retold by Ruby Dee - When leopard decides the way to determine his replacement is with a contest to see who can count to 10 before a thrown spear hits the ground, it is the smartest, not the strongest animal that wins, by finding a different way to count to 10.

Zin! Zin! Zin! a Violin by Lloyd Moss - This is a Caldecott honor book with beautiful illustrations and graceful language. Not only does the book count from one to ten, but presents names for groups, such as duo, trio, quartet, quintet, etc.

And finally, here are two books that must be read together! A Frog in the Bog by Karma Wilson and My Little Sister Ate One Hare by Bill Grossman. Here are excerpts from each:

"ONE tick, TWO fleas, THREE flies (Oh my!),/ FOUR slugs (Ew, ugh!) in the belly of the frog/ on a half-sunk log/ in the middle of the bog."

"My little sister ate 3 ants./ She even ate their underpants./ She ate 2 snakes. She ate 1 hare./ We thought she'd throw up then and there./ But she didn't."

Get the connection?! There is great fun for all in these two delightfully gross counting books.

There are many great resources for finding additional books. Don't miss the article from Book Links entitled Picture Books + Math = Fun. Also check out this list of books for counting to ten.

Poetry Friday - First Time

Okay, I'm finally getting into the Friday poetry swing of things. Here are three offerings.

#1 - Did you know that my life began with poetry? I was adopted and it happened that, although my parents had been waiting a long time for a baby, the call came unexpectedly and afforded them almost no time to prepare. Since my brother and sister were nearly 9 and 10, baby things were long gone. Here is the poem lovely Marion (my surrogate grandmother) inscribed in each and every shower invitation.

We're gonna' have a shower
(No don't go gettin' mad)
'Cause when you find out who it's for
It's sure to make you glad

We've got a brand new baby
At least they have next door
A tiny little sister
For Sue and Jimmy Stohr

Of course this child is chosen
How lucky can she be
To be so loved and wanted
As little Patricia Marie

#2 - I was a published poet at the ripe old age of 7. Here is my contribution to the Times-Union's version of the Mini-Page, called Young World.

Rain
Clouds turn black
weather turns cool
Clouds start to cry
in the big swimming pool

#3 - Because I LOVE both science and the work of Jon Scieszka, here's an excerpt from Science Verse and the page entitled "Why Scientists Don't Write Nursery Rhymes."

Mary Had a . . .
Mary had a little worm
She thought it was a chigger.
But everything that Mary ate,
Only made it bigger.

It came with her to school one day,
And gave the kids a fright,
Especially when the teacher said,
"Now that's a parasite."