Books That Measure Up

It's that time of year. The students have just returned from spring break and as I look over my syllabus, I grow weary, as I am STILL pushing my way through arithmetic. We have covered number sense, counting, place value, whole number operations and computation and estimation. Now we are well into fractions and decimals. I am so ready to move on. I think my students are too. Looking down the road, I am gleefully anticipating the arrival of measurement and the opportunity to do all kinds of wonderful activities.

As I begin to plan for this new topic, I find myself on the floor of my office, pulling books from the shelves, happily deciding which ones to use for lessons. Here are some of my favorite books on standard and nonstandard measurement.

• I am CRAZY about the work done by Steve Jenkins. His size books are marvels, as are his comparative books. I can't say enough good things about them, so do check out ALL of these fantastic titles.
• Actual Size - If the gorilla hand and pygmy mouse lemur on the cover don't grab you, check out the Goliath birdeater tarantula inside!
• Big and Little - This lovely book offers pairs of animals that are related but vastly different in size.
  
• Biggest, Strongest, Fastest - This book presents 14 record holders in the animal world along with some amazing facts about them.
  
• Hottest, Coldest, Highest, Deepest - Read this book to learn about some amazing places on Earth and how they measure up.
• Prehistoric Actual Size - Following on the heels of Actual Size, this book features interesting aspects of prehistoric figures.
  

• Inch by Inch by Leo Lionni - In this Caldecott honor book, an inchworm measures a robin's tail, a flamingo's neck, a toucan's beak, a heron's legs, and a nightingale's song in order to keep from being eaten.

• How Big is a Foot? by Rolf Myller - When a king measures his wife for a bed (using his feet to pace off the distance), he is surprised when the bed that is made is much too small for the queen.
  

• Jim and the Beanstalk by Raymond Briggs - The giant Jim meets at the top of the beanstalk is in sorry shape, so Jim helps by measuring him for new teeth, hair and eyeglasses.

• Measuring Penny by Loreen Leedy - When a young girl is challenged by her teacher to measure things in a number of ways, she measures her dog and her dog's friends using both standard and non-standard (dog biscuits, cotton swabs, etc.) units.

• Twelve Snails to One Lizard: A Tale of Mischief and Measurement by Susan Hightower - When a beaver needs to cut a log to "fit just right" in his dam, Bubba Bullfrog suggests a variety of ways to measure the length.

• Esio Trot by Roald Dahl - A lovestruck Mr. Hoppy is determined to find a way to Mrs. Silver's heart. When he provides her with some strange language to make her tortoise grow bigger, amazing things begin to happen to Alfie's (the tortoise's) weight.
  

• Fannie in the Kitchen: The Whole Story from Soup to Nuts of How Fannie Farmer Invented Recipes with Precise Measurements by Deborah Hopkinson - Fannie Farmer is a mother’s helper in the Shaw house, where the daughter gives her the idea of writing down precise instructions for measuring and cooking. This eventually became one of the first modern cookbooks.

• Millions to Measure by David Schwartz - Marvelosissimo the Magician explains the development of standard units of measure, and shows the simplicity of calculating length, height, weight, and volume using the metric system.


• George Shrinks by William Joyce - George wakes one morning to find that he is three inches tall and that his parents have left him to mind the house and his younger brother. This is a terrific look at what life would be like if you were smaller in size than a toy soldier.

• Pair the above book with this wonderful poem by Shel Silverstein, found in Where the Sidewalk Ends.
  
  One Inch Tall
  If you were only one inch tall, you'd ride a worm to school.
  The teardrop of a crying ant would be your swimming pool.
  A crumb of cake would be a feast
  And last you seven days at least,
  A flea would be a frightening beast
  If you were one inch tall.
  
  If you were only one inch tall, you'd walk beneath the door,
  And it would take about a month to get down to the store.
  A bit of fluff would be your bed,
  You'd swing upon a spider's thread,
  And wear a thimble on your head
  If you were one inch tall.
  
  You'd surf across the kitchen sink upon a stick of gum.
  You couldn't hug your mama, you'd just have to hug her thumb.
  You'd run from people's feet in fright,
  To move a pen would take all night,
  (This poem took fourteen years to write--
  'Cause I'm just one inch tall).
  

• To keep the theme of "little people" going, read one of my favorites from childhood, The Borrowers by Mary Norton. In this book, the Clock family lives under the floorboards of a country house in England where they "borrow" objects for their home, making use of such items as matchboxes for storage and postage stamps for paintings.
  

• Is It Larger? Is It Smaller? by Tana Hoban - No math collection is complete without the fabulous wordless books of Tana Hoban. Using stunning photographs, the book introduces young children to examples of big and small in the world around them.

• How Tall, How Short, How Far Away? by David Adler - This book introduces the history of measurement and looks at several measuring systems, including the ancient Egyptian system, the US customary system and the metric system.

• Robert Wells has written two wonderful books about size comparisons.
• Is a Blue Whale the Biggest Thing There Is?
• What's Smaller Than a Pygmy Shrew?

• The Librarian Who Measured the Earth by Kathryn Lasky - A great book for older students that looks at how Eratosthenes calculated the circumference of the Earth.

• How Big is Big? by Stephen Strauss - This is a lovely book of poems that examines at the relativity of measurement terms, such as big and small, fast and slow, deep and high. Here is an excerpt from the book.

How big is big?
A super fat pig?
A giant tomato?
A skyscraper potato?
No, bigness is something no one can consume,
Like how many oceans
Fit into the moon.

There are many other books about measurement found within different math series, including Stuart Murphy's MathStart (I love these), Hello Math Reader, Math Matters, Math Counts by Henry Pluckrose, and many more. Even though our state curriculum includes time and money in the study of measurement, this list focuses largely on length, mass and volume. Please let me know if I've missed any stand-out titles.

On Building a Classroom (or Home) Collection

My parents made the trek to Richmond, VA from Rochester, NY for Thanksgiving 2006. We had only been in our new house for a few months, but even with a few unpacked boxes still hanging around, I was determined to have them visit. Both of my parents were born before 1930, so I can tell you that as much as I love them, they have some "old-fashioned" ideas that at times, I just find hard to swallow. Here's one example. Upon entering my son's new room (yes, we bought bunk beds for an only child), my mother commented on the bed first and then on the enormous number of books he owns. What can I say, I love to read and so does he. During the visit I was surprised by the comment that there were lots of (forgive the language here) "black and oriental" books in the collection, as well as many books about girls.

I still think about this comment. It wasn't meant to be offensive, it's just that my mom reads about the world she is comfortable and familiar with, and I read about the world that I don't know, want to know better, or fear/hope I will never be exposed to in this lifetime. I want my son to read for the same reasons. I want him to experience what he may not know or see, but I also want him to know that there is so much more beyond his little corner of the world.

I think this holds true for classroom collections. As a teacher, I made an effort to purchase books that covered a range of genres and included characters from all walks of life. I began my career teaching in a preK-8 private, Catholic school. There was not a lot of diversity in the student body, but there was diversity in my collection, precisely because I wanted students to know that not all children in this world were like them. This is what I want for my son. Perhaps I am still feeling the pangs of guilt about abandoning the city and its urban schools for a suburban neighborhood closer to work with a fantastic school system. William loves Kindergarten and is thriving, but I can't help but worry about the startling lack of diversity in the school. How will he learn to appreciate the gifts that children from different races, ethnicity, religion, and background (think SES and family structure) can bring to the life of the classroom and our world if he doesn't experience them first hand? This is why we read such a broad range of books. It is why I hope teachers will build collections that represent this colorful quilt of humanity. It is why in my thematic book list posts I try hard to provide a selection of titles that cut across these lines.

In a recent post on PlanetEsme, Esme Codell wrote:

Teachers and parents, especially if you work or live in a homogeneous school or community, you don't have to apologize or rationalize or explain when you buy a book that widens horizons and gives children the chance to vicariously meet people they would not or could not in their day-to-day lives. Recognize that you have a special opportunity, maybe even a responsibility to take integration another step from the classroom to the bookshelf. Be inclusive in your collection based on the excellence of the text and illustrations sooner than the race of the reader, and in this way, your collection will be richer and naturally more representative of many people, and your children can fully benefit from the empathy towards the human experience that great children's literature--and great literature at large-- has to offer.

Thanks, Esme, you've given voice to what I feel in my heart, and I couldn't agree more.

Caldecott 2008 Announcement - My Grand Idea

I may as well get it out there and admit that I carry a huge blog crush for Read Roger. Therefore, I was tickled pink to learn that Roger Sutton is currently enrolled in a cabaret singing class, as the six-CD changer in my car is never without Cole Porter and at least one Broadway soundtrack.

So, here is my grand idea. Wouldn't it be amazing if the 2008 Caldecott winner learned of his/her honor with an early morning call that began with a brief, yet delightful rendition of Cole Porter's You're the Top? Mr. Sutton is on the committee. It could happen!

Kids' Favorite Reads

Thanks to Ruth over at Inspiring Readers and Writers for this tidbit.

At the Center for Teaching and Learning, a K-8, non-profit, demonstration school in Edgecomb, Maine and the working home of Nancy Atwell, you will find a list of books recommended by kids. Here is the introduction from the page.

We asked our students to list the ten books each of them loved enough to believe they would convince a kid in their grade who was like him or her but didn't like to read that reading is great. These were their picks.

Frankly, I was surprised that the lists are separated by gender. I was a reader in school, so I took peer recommendations very seriously, regardless of whether they came from boys or girls. This may make more sense at the upper grades, but I'm not convinced it should be a division we push in the early elementary grades. Since my son is in Kindergarten, I looked carefully at the lists recommended by boys and girls at this level. Believe it or not, I was astounded by the results. Sure, Eric Carle, Mem Fox, Kevin Henkes, Leo Lionni and a few other notables appear on both lists, but there are more differences in the two sets of selections than there are similarities. Here are a few things I noticed.

• There are a total of 41 authors on the K boys list and 53 on the K girls list.
• While the boys and girls may share similar authors, they don't necessarily share the same books by those authors.
• The only Eric Carle book on the shared list is The Mixed-Up Chameleon.
• The Magic School Bus series appears on one of the K lists. (My thought - really???)

I'm not quite sure what to make of these lists. I reread a lot of books as a kid, so I wonder how many books on the K list appear on the 1st and so on. With so many kids working through AR these days, rereading is not something many kids are encouraged to do. I also worry about the dichotomy between books for boys and girls. While my son reads his fair share of train books, he also reads Eloise and Madeline, loved The Year of the Dog, and is now laughing his way through the Ramona series with me. I want him to love books about both boys and girls. In addition to our books about girls, we have read the Stuart books by Sarah Pennypacker and just about every Henry and Mudge book that's been written.

I have lots of questions, but no real answers. Head on over and check out the lists, then please come back and share your thoughts. I'd love to hear them.

Birthday Wishes for Leo and Diane Dillon

Leo and Diane Dillon are known for their outstanding body of work in illustrating children's literature. Born 11 days apart in 1933, Leo on March 2 and Diane on March 13, they met at the Parsons School of Design in New York City and married in 1957. They are the only recipients of back-to-back Caldecott medals, for the works Ashanti to Zulu: African Traditions (1977) and Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People's Ears (1976). In 1997 they celebrated their 40th anniversary and completed their 40th book together, To Every Thing There Is a Season, a beautifully illustrated version of passages from the Book of Ecclesiastes. I wonder what the 50th anniversary will bring this year?

Here is an excerpt about them from Embracing the Child.

There are two major messages the Dillons want to convey. The first is that all people, whatever their culture or race, experience the same things. "We all have a lot in common. It is our beliefs that divide us. We have little control over what life brings us but we can change our thoughts." The second is that since the beginning of history, people have expressed themselves in wonderful and unique ways. "Art in its many forms has survived to inform us of lives long gone. Art inspires, lifts our spirits, and brings beauty to our lives. We wish to pay homage to it and the people that created it."

Nowhere are these ideas more apparent than in To Everything There is a Season. Each passage in the book is accompanied by artwork from one of 16 different cultures, Celtic, Egyptian, Japanese, Mayan, Green, Indian, Medieval European, Ethiopian, Thai, Chinese, Russian, Aboriginal, Inuit, and Arab. This is a book that truly captures the similarities and differences that all people share.

So, happy birthday, Diane, and happy belated birthday, Leo. May you have many more years and beautiful books together.

Celebrating Virginia Hamilton

Virginia Hamilton was born on this day in 1936. One of five children, she traced her interest in literature to the fact that her parents were "storytellers and unusually fine storytellers, and realized, although I don't know how consciously, that they were passing along heritage and culture and a pride in their history." She was so moved by this tradition that oral storytelling methods appear in her writing. For her work, she was honored with the National Book Award, the John Newbery Medal, the Edgar Allan Poe Award, the Coretta Scott King Award, the Boston Globe-Horn Book Award and the Hans Christian Andersen Medal.

Even though M.C. Higgins, The Great won the Newbery and all sorts of other awards, my favorite book is still The People Could Fly. This terrific collection of American Black Folktales was honored as the Coretta Scott King Award winner, a New York Times Best Illustrated Book (with fantastic illustrations by Leo and Diane Dillon), a School Library Journal Best Book of the Year, a Horn Book Fanfare selection and a Notable Social Studies Trade Book (just to mention a few).

Ms. Hamilton died five years ago, but her family has kept her web site going. Stop in and take a look, then pick up one of her books and remember her this day.

Happy Birthday to Naomi Shihab Nye

Naomi Shihab Nye was born on this day in 1952. The daughter of a Palestinian father and American mother, she grew up in Missouri, Jerusalem, and Texas. Both a poet and author (and plenty of other things, I'm sure!), she has won many awards, among them the Jane Addams Children's Book award for Sitti's Secrets and Habibi. If you don't know this award, it is given to works that effectively promote the cause of peace, social justice, world community, and the equality of the sexes and all races as well as meeting conventional standards for excellence.

Among my favorite books of Nye's poetry are 19 Varieties of Gazelle: Poems of the Middle East and Come With Me: Poems for a Journey. She was also responsible for collecting the works in the terrific volume The Space Between Our Footsteps.

Here is the title poem from Come With Me: Poems for a Journey (Greenwillow, 2000).

Come With Me
To the quiet minute between two noisy minutes
It's always waiting ready to welcome us
Tucked under the wing of the day
I'll be there
Where will you be?

Why don't you take the journey with this wonderful author and poet? Open up a book or volume of poetry by Naomi Shihab Nye and find your way to a world where many of us have never been.

Happy Birthday, Ms. Nye!

Publisher Spotlight - Sleeping Bear Press

In recent weeks I have noticed that many books by a few small or regional publishers are appearing with regular frequency in my posts. I thought it might be nice to actually feature some of these folks, as I regularly search out their books and am rarely disappointed by what I find. So, without further ado, I present the first in what I hope will be a series highlighting publishers with a catalog of works of which I am particularly fond.

I was first introduced to Sleeping Bear Press through two books. H is for Home Run: A Baseball Alphabet and Z is for Zamboni: A Hockey Alphabet. I wrote a post a few weeks ago about baseball books, and frankly, I'm surprised I left this one off! In addition to being a lover of all things related to baseball, I also love hockey. I was a fanatic when I lived in Buffalo, but it's a bit hard to follow now without an NHL team in the city. I fell in love with these books for the way they both captured the spirit of the games, and for the format in which the letters introduce the concept in rhyme, but also in anecdotal bits of information in the margins. I was intrigued and looked for other books in this series. There are LOTS of them, and they're all terrific. Some of my favorites include:

• D is for Dancing Dragon: A China Alphabet
• G is for Galaxy: An Out of this World Alphabet
• I is for Idea: An Inventions Alphabet
• P is for Passport: A World Alphabet
• R is for Rhyme: A Poetry Alphabet
• W is for Wind: A Weather Alphabet

Another popular series is Discover America State by State, an alphabetic tour of the United States (51 volumes with D.C.) that examines what makes each state unique, from indigenous plants and animals to the famous people and significant landmarks.

There are many other wonderful selections in the Sleeping Bear Press catalog. In addition to many fine books, you will find that this publisher is particularly teacher friendly, as evidenced by the extensive list of downloadable (PDF) teacher guides for many of their books.

All-in-all, this is a publisher with works that elementary teachers will enjoy using in their classrooms.

Celebrating Valerie Worth

The March issue of Book Links arrived in my mailbox today. I was overjoyed to see that the Literary Legends feature has reappeared, and that this month it is devoted to Valerie Worth. Here is an excerpt from this terrific piece.

In an interview with poet and anthologist Lee Bennett Hopkins in Pass the Poetry, Please! (HarperCollins, 1972; reissued 1998), Worth observed, "Written poetry is simply a way of revealing and celebrating the essentially poetic nature of the world itself." Worth was able to find poetry in the most unexpected places, and her writing encourages readers (and writers) of all ages to follow her lead.

For those of you looking for an introduction to Worth's work, this is a wonderful article. Also, don't miss the terrific review of Animal Poems, the latest posthumous publication of her work, by Elaine at Blue Rose Girls.

I'll leave you with a Valerie Worth poem I've been thinking about lately. I'm hoping we will have a need to use this machine VERY soon!

lawnmower
The lawnmower
Grinds its teeth
Over the grass,
Spitting out a thick
Green spray;

Its head is too full
Of iron and oil
To know
What it throws
Away:

The lawn’s whole
Crop of chopped
Soft,
Delicious
Green hay.

Poetry Friday - Birches

I spent the day yesterday with a terrific group of teachers, leading a Project Learning Tree workshop. We spent time outside and found, to our great delight, that the maple and cherry trees were beginning to bud. It may be cold here, but the promise of spring is on the way.

In honor of trees and spring, I present one of my favorite poems by Robert Frost.

Birches
When I see birches bend to left and right
Across the line of straighter darker trees,
I like to think some boy's been swinging them.
But swinging doesn't bend them down to stay.
Ice-storms do that. Often you must have seen them
Loaded with ice a sunny winter morning
After a rain. They click upon themselves
As the breeze rises, and turn many-colored
As the stir cracks and crazes their enamel.
Soon the sun's warmth makes them shed crystal shells
Shattering and avalanching on the snow-crust—
Such heaps of broken glass to sweep away
You'd think the inner dome of heaven had fallen.
They are dragged to the withered bracken by the load,
And they seem not to break; though once they are bowed
So low for long, they never right themselves:
You may see their trunks arching in the woods
Years afterwards, trailing their leaves on the ground
Like girls on hands and knees that throw their hair
Before them over their heads to dry in the sun.
But I was going to say when Truth broke in
With all her matter-of-fact about the ice-storm
(Now am I free to be poetical?)
I should prefer to have some boy bend them
As he went out and in to fetch the cows—
Some boy too far from town to learn baseball,
Whose only play was what he found himself,
Summer or winter, and could play alone.
One by one he subdued his father's trees
By riding them down over and over again
Until he took the stiffness out of them,
And not one but hung limp, not one was left
For him to conquer. He learned all there was
To learn about not launching out too soon
And so not carrying the tree away
Clear to the ground. He always kept his poise
To the top branches, climbing carefully
With the same pains you use to fill a cup
Up to the brim, and even above the brim.
Then he flung outward, feet first, with a swish,
Kicking his way down through the air to the ground.

So was I once myself a swinger of birches;
And so I dream of going back to be.
It's when I'm weary of considerations,
And life is too much like a pathless wood
Where your face burns and tickles with the cobwebs
Broken across it, and one eye is weeping
From a twig's having lashed across it open.
I'd like to get away from earth awhile
And then come back to it and begin over.
May no fate wilfully misunderstand me
And half grant what I wish and snatch me away
Not to return. Earth's the right place for love:
I don't know where it's likely to go better.
I'd like to go by climbing a birch tree,
And climb black branches up a snow-white trunk
Toward heaven, till the tree could bear no more,
But dipped its top and set me down again.
That would be good both going and coming back.
One could do worse than be a swinger of birches.

Happy Poetry Friday!

Beyond the Wild Wood

Kenneth Grahame was born on this day in 1859. He was raised by his grandmother in the village of Cookham Dene, which served as the chief setting of The Wind in the Willows. The author created the character of Toad to amuse his son, but it was not until 1908 that the book was published. It was originally published without illustrations, but in 1931 was released with lovely illustrations by E. H. Shepard.

"Beyond the Wild Wood comes the Wild World," said the Rat. "And that's something that doesn't matter, either to you or me. I've never been there, and I'm never going, nor you either, if you've got any sense at all..."

The remarkable story of Rat, Mole, Badger and Mr. Toad and their adventures in the English countryside is a classic of children's literature. It is a fabulous book to read aloud. If you haven't read this one, you simply must.

In Honor of Lisa Yee - Check Out the Peeps!

For those of you who haven't heard, Lisa Yee has been named the 2007 Thurber House Children's Writer-in-Residence. Congratulations, Lisa!

Since this post is for Lisa, I am going to direct you to two sites that I know would hold a special place in her heart. Anyone who reads Lisa Yee's blog knows that she is a total freak for Peeps. Yes, those disgusting marshmallow chicks and bunnies that pop-up during this time of year. In her honor, I recommend that you run, don't walk, to the Brotherhood 2.0 site (What? You haven't been there?!) to see John Green's brother Hank take on the challenge of eating as many Peeps as possible in 6 minutes.

Once you've seen the vlog entry for March 6 (perhaps March 5 as well so you can understand the punishment that was established), head on over to the Washington Post to learn about the Peeps diorama contest. No, really, this article is not a joke.

Lisa Yee, wherever you are, enjoy the Peeps and again, congratulations!

Adventures in Saving: Story-Writing Contest

I don't normally write about things like this, but the contest described below would make a fabulous writing project for the classroom. Read on!

As part of its commitment to financial literacy, ING DIRECT has created the Adventures in Saving story-writing contest to recognize people in 3 age groups (ages 6-12; 13-19; and 20+) for writing a children’s fictional story focused on a basic financial topic. The story should address a concept that teaches kids a basic lesson about responsible money management. Each grand prize winner (one per age group for a total of 3) will have his/her prize-winning story published and receive an ING DIRECT Orange Savings Account containing $1,000. Stories must be submitted online by 11:59 p.m. EST on June 30, 2007.

Guidelines:

• Must be targeted to 4- to 7-year-olds.
• Must not exceed 1,400 words.
• Must follow proper spelling, punctuation, and grammar rules.
• Must incorporate a basic financial theme such as:
  


• What money is
• How to save money
• Making money
• Wise spending
• Budgeting
• Banking cash

For more information, visit the Adventures in Saving web site.

Selecting Literature for Math Instruction

In thinking about choosing and using children's literature in the mathematics classroom, my students and I spend considerable time on the topic of evaluating the appropriateness of books for instruction. With so many reviews and tidbits of information at our disposal, how does one choose? If a book receives a 3 or 4 on the Horn Book scale, is it worthy? What about books that are poorly evaluated by The School Library Journal, but rated enthusiastically by other reviewers? Because students are new to process of critically evaluating literature, they look to "expert" reviews for guidance, but when there is not clear concurrence on a work, they are often stumped as to how to rate a selection.

Because of this, I introduce them to two sets of evaluation criteria and practice the art of critiquing books with them. The first set of guidelines comes from the November 2000 article entitled Making Informed Choices: Selecting Children's Trade Books for Mathematics Instruction (from Teaching Children Mathematics), the authors present the scale below for evaluating mathematics trade books.

I like the notion of using a continuum to rate books in these five areas, as not all books will be outstanding in every one. Indeed, the authors conclude with this statement:

"A rare mathematics trade book would excel in all five criteria; many books will be noteworthy in one or more aspects but weak in another dimension. Most mathematics trade books are potential resources for instruction if the teacher devises ways to use them to help children learn concepts meaningfully."

One cannot dismiss the importance of the teacher's ability to think creatively about these things. It is one thing to suggest useful books, but teachers must then take a suggested book and develop a motivating and engaging lesson based on its use.

The second set of criteria comes from the book New Visions for Linking Literature and Mathematics by Phyllis and David Whitin. Briefly outlined they look like this:

Mathematical integrity

• accuracy of the mathematical ideas and vocabulary
• functional use of math in believable contexts
• accessibility of ideas through illustrations, analogies, real-life examples, clear explanation

An aesthetic dimension

• heightened appreciation of form and design
• compelling illustrations, charts, diagrams, photographs
• well-crafted, beautiful language

Potential for varied responses

• hook the reader by the intrigue of the story
• open-ended nature of the illustrations
• natural integration of mathematical ideas
• invitational tone, not didactic

Racial, cultural and gender inclusiveness

• free of bias and stereotypes
• content, language and illustrations promote equity and diversity

These criteria, for the most part, embody the qualities that teachers look for in selecting any book for the classroom. In fact, the authors state in the introduction to their criteria that:

"First and foremost, math-related books should be good literature."

The Whitins carefully consider a range of books and their classroom applications in ways that allow teachers to meet curriculum objectives in both language arts and mathematics. This is exactly where the book differs from so many others that offer up suggestions for integrating children's literature into math instruction. It's dual emphasis leads to a general exclusion of books that are didactic in nature, and written expressly for instruction, albeit in perhaps more interesting ways than a textbook, but certainly nowhere near as entertaining as those that more naturally integrate mathematical ideas. (To learn more about these criteria, you can read the introduction online.)

For my students, the challenge then becomes one of finding a way to blend the guidelines in these two examples in order to come up with some personal measures for evaluating children's books for instruction. In many cases, the responses students have to a book are visceral, and no matter how well the book scores on the majority of criteria, this initial response, or gut feeling, may override all other reasonable responses to it. One example of this is Feast for 10 by Cathryn Falwell. In the last two years, nearly every group of students I share this with dislikes the book. Why? They don't like the illustrations. Even though the book scores relatively well in the other categories, students say they won't use it. Then I ask the all-important question: "If you won't use this text, then name another counting book that features African-American children or families that you can use instead." Silence. The fact that they haven't seen any other books that promote this kind of diversity is astonishing. This is a powerful moment for students, and one that encourages them to view more holistically the books they are evaluating.

I don't know that I have lived up to the title of this post yet. I suppose I hope merely to offer some insights into the process I teach others to use, and the one I use myself. The best tool I have in finding books for instruction is to read, read, read. I spend a lot of time in libraries and bookstores, really looking closely at this amazing world of children's literature.

If you're still not convinced of the value of using children's literature to teach math, you should read the article Using Storybooks to Teach Math by Marilyn Burns (my hero in all things related to pedagogy in elementary math.)

Drafting the Fib

Here are several drafts of a fib on triangles. I thought it might be interesting to look at it's evolution.

one,
two,
three sides
three corners
equilateral
fish tail, bird beak, ship's sail, tipi

guess
who
three sides
three corners
equilateral
fish tail, bird beak, ship's sail, tipi

yield
sign
three sides
three corners
equilateral
fish tail, bird beak, ship's sail, tipi

guess
who?
three sides
three corners
find me in your world
fish tail, bird beak, ship's sail, tipi

I write a lot of poetry, but most never sees the light of day. I actually write in lots of different notebooks (on my recent trip to NYC I bought 4 notebooks, one in nearly every store we went in!), and rarely on my computer. The pages are messy with lots of cross outs and a rainbow of colors. This fib will probably go through at least 10 or 20 more iterations before I feel comfortable sharing it with my students, a group of friendly but extremely critical evaluators.

**Here is the final version (I think!).

I
have
three sides
three corners
find me in your world
fish tail, bird beak, ship's sail, tipi

Happy Birthday to Mem Fox!

Mem Fox was born on this day in 1946. She is the author of such books as Possum Magic, Koala Lou, Hunwick's Egg and many more terrific titles. William and I are most fond of Hattie and the Fox and The Magic Hat. We know these by heart and often recite the words before we turn the pages.

Since the publication of her book, Reading Magic: Why Reading Aloud to Our Children Will Change Their Lives Forever, she has been on an all-out campaign for reading aloud to kids. Visit her web site for more information. Be sure to take a look at her Ten read-aloud commandments.

Happy birthday, Ms. Fox!

P.S. - One More Note on Math Poetry

Here is the post script to my entry on the poetry of math. My dream math poetry book is a book of Fibs about shapes, numbers, patterns, and all manner of things mathematical. Such as:

guess
who
three sides
three corners
equilateral
fish tail, bird beak, ship's sail, tipi

Okay, so a tipi is conical, but kids look at it and think triangle. And, how do we feel about punctuation in a Fib? Do I need a question mark? (That who just screams for one and I really want it!) Perhaps Gregory K can help me out here, or my favorite poetry aficionado, Elaine at Blue Rose Girls.

The wheels are turning, folks. Perhaps what we need is a book of math riddles written entirely in Fibs! This may be a fun activity for my preservice teachers to take to their classrooms when they return from spring break. I'm going to ponder this for a bit, while I attempt to write some more Fibs.

**Updated with second draft! Thanks to Gregory K and Elaine for commenting.

Here it is, the second draft. I didn't like the first two lines, although my very first draft was one/two instead of guess/who. Technically, a yield sign has rounded corners, but kids will see the general triangular shape. I could argue that most of these examples are isosceles, but that's 4 syllables, not 5. Talk about choosing words effectively, whew!

What Shape Am I?

yield
sign
three sides
three corners
equilateral
fish tail, bird beak, ship's sail, tipi

I'll just keep drafting away here. Your thoughts? Send 'em!

Used Bookstores and the Poetry of Math

I dragged my son to cantor practice with me Friday afternoon. He was not pleased (he hates it when I sing), but well-behaved nonetheless. As his reward (oh heck, my reward too), we went to a lovely little consignment shop that has a huge room full of used books. Upon arrival we both promptly took seats on the floor and began rummaging through stacks of hardcover picture books. William found some I Spy (four of them for $5 each!) and Curious George books, as well as Eloise, his new favorite. I was delighted to find an enormous stack of poetry books. I'm always amazed that people can part with books in this fashion, as I can't stand to give a single one away. I did find several treasures, including Hummingbird Nest: A Journal of Poems and The Great Frog Race: And Other Poems by Kristine O'Connell George, mammalabilia by Douglas Florian, and a copy of Please Bury Me in the Library by J. Patrick Lewis.

However, my two favorite purchases were mathematical poetry books. These are:

• Marvelous Math: A Book of Poems by Lee Bennett Hopkins - This collection of poems, by a variety of authors, looks at math in interesting ways, and allows students to see how math is useful in everyday life.

• Arithme-Tickle: An Even Number of Odd-Riddle Rhymes by J. Patrick Lewis - These 18 rhyming riddles present word puzzles to be solved. Answers are written upside-down below each entry.

These books will make a nice addition to my growing collection of math poetry books which includes:

• Math Talk: Mathematical Ideas in Poems for Two Voices by Theoni Pappas - Theoni Pappas has written a wide range of mathematical books, most of the them for secondary classrooms, but the dialogues in this book are appropriate for elementary kids.

• Mathematickles! by Betsy Franco - This book offers brief poems using forms suggested by mathematical processes, all within a seasonal framework changing from fall to winter to spring to summer. As it says on the cover, "words + math + seasons = Mathematickles!"

• Riddle-Iculous Math by Joan Holub - This very funny book contains verbal puns, riddles and rhymes based on math.

• Ten Times Better by Richard Michelson - This quirky book of poetry uses the idea of multiplying by 10 to present facts about various common and unusual animals.

• Mr. R's Math Poems by Mr. R - Grouped by grade level, this book has a range of funny poems written by a teacher just for elementary school kids. You can read some examples at Mr. R's web site.

• Einstein, the Girl Who Hated Maths by John Agard - This is a wonderful book of poems about the world of numbers. (This is from the UK, hence the word maths.)

• Number Parade: Number Poems From 0-100 - This collection of numerical poems comes from a variety of authors including John Agard, Jackie Kay, Grace Nichols, Nick Toczek and Mike Rosen.

• Greg Tang has written a series of books that use rhyme and riddles to get kids thinking about creative problem-solving. Titles include:


• The Grapes of Math
• Math Potatoes: Mind Stretching Brain Food
  
• Math for All Seasons
• The Best of Times
• Math Appeal: Mind Stretching Math Riddles
  
• Math-terpieces
• Math Fables

Here is an example from Math-terpieces, a book that uses famous works of art to get kids thinking mathematically.

Peachy Keen
For Paul Cezanne, still lifes would do,
A cloth, a vase and peaches, too.
His planes of color, pure and bright,
So smartly capture form and light.
Can you make 10 with bowls of fruit?
Find all 5 ways if you're astute!

I wouldn't think of teaching basic math concepts without copies of Where The Sidewalk Ends and A Light in the Attic by Shel Silverstein. Some of my favorite math-related poems are:

• Band-Aids
• Hungry Mungry
  
• One Inch Tall
• Smart
• Eight Balloons
• Shapes
  

I also have a couple of teacher resource books on using poetry to teach math. These titles are well worth the investment.

• Circle-Time Poetry: Math by Jodi Simpson (Read the Table of Contents)
  
• Counting Caterpillars and Other Math Poems (Grades K-2) by Besty Franco
• Poems to Count On: 32 Terrific Poems and Activities to Help Teach Math Concepts by Sandra Liatsos
• 101 Thematic Poems for Emergent Readers by Mary Sullivan (See the Table of Contents for number poems)
• The Big Book of Classroom Poems by Kathleen Hollenbeck (See the Table of Contents for math poems)
  

Finally, check out Scholastic's Max's Math Adventures for a whole series of activities in math that are based on math poems. (I know, it's not a book, but many of the poems appear in the Liatsos book.)

So, crack open a few of these books and let yourself learn to like math, even just a little. Trust me, math can be fun!

China, Here I Come!

I learned this week that I will be spending nearly 3 and a half weeks this spring in China, Tibet and Taiwan. I wrote about applying for this trip in my entry entitled Dreaming of China. Part of my goal on this trip is to develop a series of resources for elementary teachers who teach about China as part of the social studies curriculum. In Virginia, these are the essential questions that students consider:

• What contributions did the people of ancient China make to the development of written language?
• What inventions came from ancient China?
• What examples of architecture from ancient China are still present today?

In answering these questions, students must define the terms ancient and architecture while recognizing Chinese contributions that include:

• characters and symbols of written language
• inventions that include kites, silk cloth, the compass, bronze, and fireworks
• the Great Wall

For a while now I have been reviewing a variety of children's books in an effort to find worthwhile pieces to include in a unit study of China. I have been committed for some time to integrating reading and writing into all areas of the curriculum, so in addition to the traditional informational books for this topic, you will many selections have been chosen expressly for the purpose of helping students develop skills in reading and comprehending fiction and poetry. So, without further ado, here is my list of books for the study of China in the elementary grades (grade 2 in Virginia).

Chinese Culture and History

• D is for Doufu: An Alphabet Book of Chinese Culture by Maywan Shen Krach - This is a beautiful book that uses paintings, calligraphy and graphics to introduce readers to some of the many artifacts and traditions of the Chinese culture.

• C is for China by Sungwan So - This is an informative alphabet book that depicts the Chinese people and their customs, history, religion, and beliefs.

• D is for Dancing Dragon by Carol Crane - This is another alphabet book that explores China's history and culture by describing its unique customs, art works, music, foods, geography and wildlife.

• Colors of China by Shannon Zemlicka - What color is China? It's tan like the Great Wall, red like the Chinese flag, and green like fields of rice plants. This book makes a lovely introduction to China.

• The Great Wall of China by Leonard Everett Fisher - This terrific informational book uses black and gray illustrations to tell the story of the construction of the Great Wall of China.
  

• Count Your Way Through China by James Haskins - While counting from 1 to 10 in Chinese, this book uses each number to introduce concepts about China and Chinese culture.
  

• Look What Came From China by Miles Harvey - An interesting guide that describes many things that originally came from China, including inventions, food, toys, games, musical instruments and much more.

• Mrs. Frizzle's Adventures: Imperial China by Joanna Cole - Ms. Frizzle and friends depart for 11th century aboard a paper dragon. In typical Magic School Bus style, this book is filled with information about Chinese contributions to society.

Ideas and Inventions

• The Firework-Maker's Daughter by Phillip Pullman - Lila, the Firework-Maker's daughter, wants to follow in her father's footsteps, but she soon finds out that she must face down the Fire-Fiend of Mount Merapi.

• Made in China: Ideas and Inventions from Ancient China by Suzanne Williams - This beautifully illustrated book focuses on specific topics related to ancient Chinese culture, history, tradition, and invention.
  

• Liu and the Bird: A Journey in Chinese Calligraphy by Catherine Louis - A Chinese girl journeys to visit her grandfather, who asks her to draw what she has seen along the way. On each double-page spread readers will find a few lines of text, a large picture of the child on her journey, and a series of images that take a word from the story and show the Chinese character representing it.
  

• Silk by Claire Llewellyn - This is a simply written and easy to read informational book on silk.
  

• The Story of Kites by Ying Chang Compestine - The Kang brothers fly a variety of items in the sky in an effort to keep birds out of the rice fields. When the villagers become taken with the objects, the brothers open China's first kite factory. The book ends with directions for making and flying a kite safely, and describes what is known about the development of kites in China.

• Catch the Wind: All About Kites by Gail Gibbons - Two children enter a kite shop to buy two kites and learn about the parts of kites and how different models work. After they make their purchase, the children take their kites to a nearby kite festival.

• Kites: Magic Wishes That Fly Up to the Sky by Demi - Long ago in China, a woman commissioned an artist to paint a special dragon kite for her son so that he might grow to be strong and wise. When the son appeared "bigger and stronger, richer and nobler" to everyone who saw him, the villagers too went to the artist for their own kites. In addition to this story you will find brief explanations of the different emblematic figures, creatures, and symbols, mention of a Chinese festival devoted to kites, and detailed instructions for making a kite.

• The Emperor and the Kite by Jane Yolen - When an emperor is imprisoned in a high tower, his smallest daughter uses her kite to save him.

• The Legend of the Kite: A Story of China by Jiang Hong Chen - Every spring the Festival of the Kite is celebrated in China. When a boy's kite flies away from him, his grandfather tells him the legend behind the celebration, encouraging the boy to build a new, more beautiful one.
  

• Kite Flying by Grace Lin - A Chinese-American family works together to make a dragon kite to fly on a windy day. Front endpapers contain supplies needed to build a kite while the back pages depict different kite creatures and the attributes they symbolize. An author's note offers a brief history of kite flying.

Fictional Tales (There are many titles that could be included here, enough for a list of their own. To keep this section manageable, I have included some of my very favorite stories to read aloud.)

• Lon Po Po by Ed Young - This Caldecott Medal winner is a Chinese version of Little Red Riding Hood.

• The Paper Dragon by Marguerite Davol - Mi Fei is a Chinese scroll painter. When the villagers in his community hear that a dragon has awakened to threaten the countryside, they nominate him to face the foe. After a long journey, Mi Fei finds the dragon, who offers him a series of riddles/challenges to perform.
  

• Beautiful Warrior by Emily Arnold McCully - This is the story of two legendary women in seventeenth-century China. One is a Buddhist nun named Wu Mei, a beautiful warrior of kung fu. The other is a young girl Wu Mei saves from a forced marriage. In their time together, the warrior nun teaches the girl to save herself with kung fu.

• The Dragon Prince: A Chinese Beauty and the Beast Tale by Lawrence Yep - When a poor farmer falls into the clutches of a dragon, he begs each of his seven daughters to save him from death by marrying the horrifying creature. Yep's version of the story is skillfully retold.

• The Ballad of Mulan by Song Nan Zhang - Told in both Chinese and English, this is the translation of a poem about a girl who dresses as a man and becomes a soldier to save her ailing father from conscription.
  

• The Beggar's Magic: A Chinese Tale by Margaret and Raymond Chang - A beggar-priest comes to a village where the children and villagers care for him. Only one man, Farmer Wu refuses to share with the holy man.

• Yeh-Shen: A Cinderella Story From China by Ai-Ling Louie - This Chinese version of the Cinderella fairytale is believed to be even older than the earliest European story, actually dating back to 9 BC.
  

• The Magic Horse of Han Gan by Chen Jiang Hong - This stunning picture book retells a legend involving the painter Han Gan, who lived in China 1200 years ago.

• The Great Race: The Story of the Chinese Zodiac by Dawn Casey - This book is a beautiful retelling of the ancient legend of the race of the animals across a great river to determine the order of the years on the calendar. Back matter includes information about the Chinese calendar in general, as well as the more specific information about both the Dragon Boat and Moon Festivals.
  

A Few More (I wasn't sure where to put these, but they are books that will nicely round this unit study.)

• Beyond the Great Mountains by Ed Young - Created by the Caldecott Medal winner for Lon Po Po, this visual poem about China contains a series of double-page illustrations in cut- and torn-paper collage. The final end papers offer a chart of ancient and modern Chinese characters. This is a beautiful book to look at.

• Maples in the Mist: Poems for Children From the Tang Dynasty by Minfong Ho - Translated from Chinese, this book contains 16 short poems written 1000 years ago in China. (This book is no longer in print, so check with your librarian for a copy.)
  

• One Year in Beijing by Xiaohong Wong - In the format of a month-by-month journal format, Ling Ling describes Chinese culture and destinations, holidays and festivals, school and family life, and more.

• Moonbeams, Dumplings & Dragon Boats: A Treasury of Chinese Holiday Tales, Activities & Recipes by Nina Simonds - This book contains stories, recipes and activities for Chinese New Year, the Lantern Festival, Qing Ming and the Cold Foods Festival, the Dragon Boat Festival and the Mid-Autumn Moon Festival.
  

If this list still isn't enough, check out this brief bibliography (not annotated, however) for kids of books about China. You may also want to visit the books section of the ChinaSprout web site.

I'll be spending a lot of time in the next two months reading and thinking about China. Please let me know if this list is missing any real gems for kids.

And finally, thanks to Elaine at Blue Rose Girls for recommending many of these titles in the comments of my earlier post.

Seeds and Growing Things

I am not much of a gardener (that's my sister's forte), but have a son who is begging to start a garden at our "new" (it's been nearly 7 months!) house. Since I am lost in thoughts of spring these days, I decided that this would be a good time to offer up a list of books on seeds and the magic they bring.

• Miss Rumphius by Barbara Cooney - Was there any doubt that this would be the first book on my list?! Miss Rumphius vows as a child to make the world more beautiful, and after many years, she finally does.

• From Seed to Plant by Gail Gibbons - I am a huge fan of Gail Gibbons. Her books are so well written and easy for kids to understand. This one is no exception. In it you'll find good information accompanied by wonderful illustrations.

• These books in the Let's-Read-and-Find-Out Science series are standouts.


• How a Seed Grows by Helene Jordan
  
• From Seed to Pumpkin by Wendy Pfeffer


• The Tiny Seed by Eric Carle - A fabulously illustrated story about the life cycle of seeds. Find out what happens to many seeds when they are released, and how they must fight to survive.

• The Empty Pot by Demi - A long time ago in China, the Emperor decided to choose an heir by giving a flower seed to each child in the kingdom. "Whoever can show me their best in a year's time," he proclaimed, "shall succeed me to the throne!" When a young boy named Ping admits that he is the only child unable to grow a flower from the seeds, he is rewarded for his honesty.

• The Lotus Seed by Sherry Garland - When forced to leave her country, a young Vietnamese girl takes a lotus seed with her as a reminder of her past.
  

• Planting a Rainbow by Lois Ehlert - I could name any number of books by Lois Ehlert for this list, but this one is my favorite. I simply love the spreads of flowers representing the colors in the rainbow.

• The Carrot Seed by Ruth Krauss - When a young boy plants a carrot seed, those around him tell him it won't grow, but he is rewarded for his patience and tender care.

• The Ugly Vegetables by Grace Lin - When her neighbors all plant flower gardens, a young girl is disappointed that she and her mother plant ugly vegetables instead.

• One Bean by Anne Rockwell - Watch what happens when a bean sprouts on a wet paper towel, grows in a paper cup, and is finally transplanted into a large flower pot.
  

• Seeds by Ken Robbins - This is a terrific photographic nonfiction book that introduces seeds to young children.
  

• Two favorites by Eve Bunting:


• Flower Garden - A young girl and her father plant a window box as a birthday gift for her mother.
  
• Sunflower House - A young boy plants sunflower seeds in a large circle. He cares for them and watches them grow into a "sunflower house." He plays in it all summer and then collects the seeds from the dying plants to sow for next year.


• Jack's Garden by Henry Cole - A lovely story of a boy's backyard flower garden that is based on the old rhyme "This Is the House That Jack Built."

• Glenna's Seeds by Nancy Edwards - When Glenna is given marigold seeds at school, she leaves them in a neighbor's empty flowerpot. When the neighbor brings home a few geranium plants, she sees the packet of seeds and decides to give the geraniums away to other neighbors. What starts as a random act of kindness transforms an empty street into a place full of colorful flowers.

• The Gardener by Sarah Stewart - When her father loses his job during the depression, Lydia Grace is sent to live with her rather sour uncle. Through letters written to her family, she describes how she brightens his dreary bakery and disposition with a little dirt and a suitcase full of seeds.

• Vegetable Garden by Douglas Florian - With beautiful watercolor illustrations, readers follow along with a family as they plant, tend and harvest a vegetable garden.

• Growing Vegetable Soup by Lois Ehlert - Okay, I can't leave this one out either. Watch as vegetable soup is grown from seed to harvest. Pair this one with The Ugly Vegetables.
  

• And last but certainly not least, look for the poem "How Do Seeds Know Which Way is Up?" in Where Fish Go in Winter and Answers to Other Great Mysteries by Amy Goldman Koss.

It was hard not to include gardening here, even though I really set out to focus on the growth of seeds. Oh well, I guess my next list will be on gardening books for kids. Enjoy! And do send me the titles of great books I have overlooked.

P. S. - Don't miss this terrific article from Book Links entitled From Seed to Harvest: Books About Growing Food.

Odds and Ends - Reading Science

It is with baited breath that I await the April release of The Periodic Table: Elements with Style. Written by Adrian Dingle and illustrated by Simon Basher, the book presents each element with a series of portraits, followed by a description of the element in personal-ad style.

Read more about this new release at the Publisher's Weekly article Humor Helps Kids Brave the Elements.

The March edition of Science and Children is out. It contains the 2007 edition of Outstanding Science Trade Books for Students K-12. A product of NSTA's collaboration with the CBC, this list has been published for more than 30 years running. Among this year's many great titles are:

• Onward: A Photobiography of African-American Polar Explorer Matthew Henson by Delores Johnson - I included this beauty in my thematic book list on African American scientists and inventors.

• Team Moon: How 400,000 People Landed Apollo 11 on the Moon by Catherine Thimmesh - This book won the Sibert Medal for most distinguished informational book.

• Quest for the Tree Kangaroo: An Expedition to the Cloud Forest of New Guinea by Sy Montgomery - This book was a Siebert Honor book and the winner of the NCTE Orbis Pictus Award for outstanding nonfiction.

• Butterfly Eyes and Other Secrets of the Meadow by Joyce Sidman - If you are a member of the Kidlitosphere, you already know about this winner of the Cybils for poetry. Don't miss Elaine Magliaro's two part series on the author over at Blue Rose Girls. Once you're done, visit Joyce's web site for lots of terrific stuff.

• Oh Rats! The Story of Rats and People by Albert Marrin - I will gleefully admit this was one of my favorite reads.

If you can't get your hands on the journal, you can find the list online. Do click on over and check it out.

Poetry Friday - Think Spring!

While my mother is pushing through the winter doldrums in upstate New York, thoughts of spring enter her mind and nearly every conversation we have. Since I can recall many Easter mornings filled with snow, winter coats and boots, I fear she may still have far to go. Therefore, this gem from Thomas Nashe is for her.

From Summer's Last Will and Testament,
1600; acted 1592.

SPRING, the sweet Spring, is the year's pleasant king;
Then blooms each thing, then maids dance in a ring,
Cold doth not sting, the pretty birds do sing,
Cuckoo, jug, jug, pu-we, to-witta-woo !

The palm and May make country houses gay,
Lambs frisk and play, the shepherds pipe all day,
And we hear aye birds tune this merry lay,
Cuckoo, jug, jug, pu-we, to-witta-woo !

The fields breathe sweet, the daisies kiss our feet,
Young lovers meet, old wives a sunning sit
In every street, these tunes our ears do greet,
Cuckoo, jug, jug, pu-we, to-witta-woo !
Spring, the sweet spring!

Happy Poetry Friday, all!

Kansas Looks to Ban Obscenity in Novels, Plays and Books Taught in Schools

Given my science background, I am an avid follower of all debates evolutionary. The state of Kansas has long been on my radar as one of the great offenders. It appears now that science teachers aren't the only ones in trouble. English teachers, you're next!

A bill was recommended for approval that would limit a legal protection for elementary and secondary teachers from laws governing obscene materials. Here is an excerpt from the article Bill Could Put Limits on Book Choices.

Supporters of the bill said there is potential harm to minors in being exposed to obscenity or pornography in novels, plays, books and films.

But State Board of Education Chairman Bill Wagnon, D-Topeka, whose district includes Lawrence, opposed the bill, saying local school districts — not the Legislature — should handle any conflict about literature.

“We need to protect the classroom from those kind of intrusions,” Wagnon said.

If this bill passes, I imagine that books like The Scarlet Letter, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, Catcher in the Rye and many other standard and important works will no longer be part of the curriculum. Won't that be a sad day?

World Book Day

A while back, Michele at Scholar's Blog came up with a World Book Day meme. The question was: What ten books can't you live without? You can find my answers here.

Well, today is the the 10th anniversary of World Book Day in the UK and Ireland, and more than 2000 people wrote in to list the ten books they could not live without. Here is their top ten list.

1. Pride and Prejudice – Jane Austen 20%
2. Lord of the Rings – JRR Tolkein 17%
3. Jane Eyre – Charlotte Bronte 14%
4. Harry Potter books – J K Rowling 12%
5. To Kill A Mockingbird – Harper Lee 9.5%
6. The Bible 9%
7. Wuthering Heights – Emily Bronte 8.5%
8. 1984 – George Orwell 6%
8. His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman 6%
10. Great Expectations – Charles Dickens .55%

I'm happy to say I've read all of these with two (minor) exceptions. First, I have read large portions of the Bible, but I've never read it cover to cover. Second, I loved The Golden Compass, but have not read the rest of the trilogy. Also, I must admit to one glaring prejudice, and that is my love for The Hobbit well above the Lord of the Rings trilogy.

Check out the site. There are many great resources.