About carriegelson

Elementary teacher passionate about all things literacy.

Monday January 25th, 2016

Posted on January 24, 2016 by carriegelson

It’s Monday! What are you reading?

Each week I share a reading photo of the week. I haven’t blogged for a while so I will share a few . . .

Here we are pointing to titles we would like to read after participating in a book sharing circle.

IMWAYR There's a Book for That

Buddy reading moments are amazing to capture.

IMWAYR There's a Book for That

This story is a special one. These two are taking turns reading aloud to each other. At the beginning of the year, one student read and one listened. Now they both have the skills to share in the oral reading together. A beautiful supportive reading experience that I was thrilled to capture.

IMWAYR There's a Book for That

Join Jen from Teach Mentor Texts and Kellee and Ricki from Unleashing Readers and share all of the reading you have done over the week from picture books to young adult novels. Follow the links to read about all of the amazing books the #IMWAYR community has read. It’s the best way to discover what to read next.

On the blog:

I have been absent from this blog for just over a week (illness, busy, stuff . . . ) so just one post to share:

Nonfiction Picture Book Wednesday: Whose Hands are these?

Books I enjoyed:

Rufus the Writer written by Elizabeth Bram and illustrated by Chuck Groenink

What a very special title. It’s all about stories and creativity so it’s an automatic wow. But, what I love most is that the stories are so accessible. They whisper to children, “You could do this too . . . come on, try!”

Rufus the Writer IMWAYR There's a Book for That

If I had a Million Onions by Sheree Fitch, with illustrations by Yayo

Fun, wonderful poetry! Fitch is a master of word play!

If I had a Million Onions

Dear Hot Dog by Mordicai Gerstein

I love both the illustrations and the poetry here. Poems that are ode to everyday things. Toothbrushes, drinking cups, the rain and of course hot dogs.

Dear Hot Dog

Sing a Season Song written by Jane Yolen with illustrations by Lisel Jane Ashlock

A gorgeous lyrical title about the seasons. The illustrations have a timeless feel – like they could have been lifted from a book of fine art.

Sing a Season Song

Fat Angie by E.E. Charlton-Trujillo

This book is “issue-y” What doesn’t it address? It hits almost everything. Self harm, dysfunctional relationships, bullying, grief, young romance, self-worth . . . I was a little bit irked by “teenage speak” because really, do people talk like that? Maybe . . . Thank god I’m old. But there were many powerful, heart wrenching pages which make it a title well worth reading.

Fat Angie by E.E. Charlton-Trujillo

2016 Chapter Book Challenge: 3/75 complete

Goodreads Challenge: 26/400 books read

#MustReadin2016: 3/30 complete

Nonfiction Picture Book Challenge: 8/100 titles

Diverse Books in 2015: 3/50 books read

Next up? I continue reading More Happy than Not by Adam Silvera and have almost finished reading A Night Divided by Jennifer Nielsen aloud to my family. We are all addicted! Just a few more chapters!

Nonfiction Picture Book Wednesday: Whose Hands Are These?

Posted on January 13, 2016 by carriegelson

There are a few things I know to be true about working with primary classes. Especially primary classes with more fidget than focus. When wiggles and squirms abound, students need us to deliver energy, excitement and a little bit of drama. Sometimes that’s easy to do. Good sleeps and strong coffee help. Some days it’s harder. By afternoon, it’s harder. With some lessons, it sure helps if the material itself can leap in and lend a hand (come on, how could I resist?)

When it is afternoon after a lunchtime of “not so good” out on the play ground and gathering everyone together feels extra hard, I need to lean on my read aloud to help out.

This book jumped right in! It delivered what I like to call the “squish closer, oh! oh! oh!” noisy read aloud experience. When everyone is leaning in, sitting close, oohing to be called on, joining in with the text, rising up off their bottoms and generally trying to basically climb into the book, well, teachers, we have a winner!

What a pleasure it is to share this book today.

Whose Hands Are These? A Community Helper Guessing Book written by Miranda Paul and illustrated by Luciana Navarro Powell (Millbrook Press January 2016)

Some of the many reasons why this book works so beautifully in the primary classroom:

First, there is the obvious. It supports our primary curriculum (community helpers, career options, helpers in the community). New engaging material to use in our lessons on these units? Always so very appreciated!
This is a guessing book! Kids love to guess. They love to be right. They don’t want it to be too easy but it has to be accessible so that most of them are getting most of it right most of the time, New learning happens surrounded by confidence. It’s an ideal balance. This book has that.
The clues are revealed through both bright, interesting pictures and the text – our visual learners and our auditory learners are all supported
The rhythm of the language and the rhymes make things predictable and successful for each little listener.
The illustrations embrace diversity and don’t reinforce stereotypes. Hurrah! We have a male teacher, female doctors, male and female mechanics, scientists and farmers of all ages, characters with different skin tones, adults and children depicted in the pictures

Lots of kid appeal in this book. Instant feedback from my class?

“I like guessing! And we mostly got it right!”

“It rhymes! The words are interesting.”

“I Think I could read it by myself. Mostly. Can I Ms. Gelson?”

“The pictures are so colourful.”

“I like all the people.”

“How did they make those hands on the back cover?”

How did I share the book? Beyond letting it do its noisy read aloud, fully engaged magic?

We started with the end pages and looked at all of the tools we saw. I asked, “What do you see that you can name?” And then: “Who would use this in their job? What do you think?” All of this predicting and building shared knowledge was a wonderful warm up for the story.

When we read the book, we talked about all of the details we noticed in both the text and illustrations, we focussed on the word that was our clue – the one that would rhyme with the profession being named.

Quest and test, these hands are turning.

Test again- these hands are learning!

Weigh and count, their work persists

These hands belong to . . .

Repeat persists – stretch out the word, repeat it again, look at the clues in the pictures, watch for nodding, signs of confirmation of the guesses . . .

“Get ready to tell me!”

Flip

“Scientists!”

So much fun.

The final pages contain more information about each job and is provided in child friendly descriptions.

A perfect book to talk about people in our community or to inspire brainstorming and writing about future job possibilities and choices.

Highly recommended for the primary classroom.

Thanks to Alyson from Kid Lit Frenzy for the inspiration to read and share more nonfiction picture books in 2016. Follow the link to Alyson’s blog to read about more nonfiction books you need to read!

nfpb2016logo

Monday January 11th, 2016

Posted on January 10, 2016 by carriegelson

It’s Monday! What are you reading?

Each week I share a reading photo of the week. This week, it was all about #MockCaldecott joy! Here are our winners! 3 honor ttiles and the medal went to The Bear Ate Your Sandwich!

Our #classroombookaday titles were gorgeous this week – all about the forest and animals in the woods Next week we will be reading a number of nonfiction titles about animals in winter. These books helped build our background knowledge and vocabulary.

On the blog:

Ready for a year of reading? I am with my Must Read novels of 2016

Would you like to make a list and join the community? Link up here: #MustReadin2016 So far there are 24 lists!

For my first Nonfiction Picture Book post of 2016, I shared some #MockSibert predictions

My Celebration post was all about our #MockCaldecott 2016 results

Books I enjoyed:

I am reading for the Cybils (nonfiction titles) and readjusting to being back at work (Anyone else finding this exhausting?) but I did manage to read some lovely books I would like to share.

Who’s that Knocking at My Door? by Reinhard Michl and Tilde Michels (1993)

A colleague lent this to me as she said it reminded her of Out of the Woods by Rebecca Bond – another interesting animal encounter with animals that typically aren’t near each other. This is a rhyming book and a work of fiction but if you can get your hands on it, it pairs wonderfully with Out of the Woods.

Beautiful Birds by Jean Roussen and E. Walker

A stunning, poetic ABC book by Flying Eye Books – a publisher I adore more and more. This title is simply stunning. A perfect gift for bird lovers.

Separate is Never Equal: Sylvia Mendez & Her Family’s Fight for Desegregation by Duncan Tonatiuh

I finally got my hands on a copy of this title and shared it with my family over dinner one evening. We talked for a long time about just the cover which I think is so striking. Such an important story about a family’s fight for their children’s equal education.

Tad and Dad by David Ezra Stein

A cheerful little title of parent/child attachment.

Her Mother’s Face by Roddy Doyle with illustrations by Freya Blackwood

Blackwood’s illustrations are the perfect complement to this story of trying to remember details of a mother who has passed away. Honest, real and important. Tells the story of a little girl who experiences sadness and grief as she grows from a child to an adult. While sad, it also offers hope and promise of healing.

Once Upon an Alphabet: Short Stories for All the Letters by Oliver Jeffers

Really? Really, how great is this?! An absolutely unique and amazing alphabet story book.

Sunny Side Up by Jennifer L Holm and Matthew Holm

I listened to all of the podcasts about this (The Yarn) over the summer and was eagerly anticipating finally reading this graphic novel. It did not disappoint. This book captures not just a time period that is meaningful to me but many things that I feel are brave in a novel (graphic or otherwise): intergenerational relationships, tough family dynamics, strong emotions, life that isn’t all pretty (in this case substance abuse issues).

2016 Chapter Book Challenge: 2/75 complete

Goodreads Challenge: 12/400 books read

#MustReadin2016: 2/30 complete

Nonfiction Picture Book Challenge: 2/100 titles

Diverse Books in 2015: 3/50 books read

Next up? I continue reading More Happy than Not by Adam Silvera (so captivating) and am reading A Night Divided by Jennifer Nielsen aloud to my family. We are all addicted!

Celebration: #MockCaldecott Results 2016

Posted on January 9, 2016 by carriegelson

Today I am celebrating another successful #MockCaldecott experience with my class! There is much joy in watching children become so excited about books!

This year we had 12 contenders. In the 2 weeks leading up to the holiday break, we read a book each day, sometimes two. We appreciated the story for the story’s sake. These are fantastic stories! But we also paid attention to everything about the illustrations. We talked book jackets, surprises under the covers, end pages, spotlight pages, use of colour, mood, details, style, etc. We talked about preferences. We wondered why illustrators chose the colours that they did. We talked about wow pages that made us gasp. Lots of reading. Lots of talking. Lots of looking closely.

Celebration: #MockCaldecott Results 2016

Voting was a careful process. We picture walked each book again and answered 3 questions on a 5 point scale.

This book is a book kids will really like. 1 2 3 4 5

The illustrations in this book are excellent. 1 2 3 4 5

The illustrations are a great fit for the story. 1 2 3 4 5

After the holidays, we revisited our ratings over a morning of looking carefully through the books again. Some ratings were adjusted. Other students held fast to their initial decisions. At this point students were asked to choose their 2 favourites. Not easy!

These boys revisited the illustrations in Emmanuel’s Dream

Celebration: #MockCaldecott Results 2016

Looking at tiny details in The Whisper

Celebration: #MockCaldecott Results 2016

Rereading Wolfie the Bunny together

Celebration: #MockCaldecott Results 2016

Recreating a favourite illustration from The Skunk

Celebration: #MockCaldecott Results 2016

Choosing favourites and adding detailed comments.

Celebration: #MockCaldecott Results 2016

I tabulated all of the scores and determined final winners. Top pick choices from each student were also a part of the final tabulations.

Our winners were:

Our #MockCaldecott medal went to

The Bear Ate Your Sandwich by Julia Sarcone-Roach

The Bear Ate Your Sandwich Celebration: #MockCaldecott Results 2016

Honor titles:

Last Stop on Market Street by Matt de la Peña and illustrated by Christian Robinson

Last Stop on Market StreetCelebration: #MockCaldecott Results 2016

Wolfie the Bunnie written by Ame Dyckman and illustrated by Zachariah Ohora

Wolfie the Bunny 2015 Celebration: #MockCaldecott Results 2016

Lenny and Lucy written by Philip C. Stead and illustrated by Erin E. Stead

Lenny & Lucy Celebration: #MockCaldecott Results 2016

We were pretty excited to hear the winners announced!

Celebration: #MockCaldecott Results 2016

Although some students were pretty sure other titles should have been honoured.

Celebration: #MockCaldecott Results 2016

Special Delivery was one of the first titles we read and it remained a favourite all the way through for this student!

Celebration: #MockCaldecott Results 2016

It is wonderful when the authors and illustrators respond!

@CarrieGelson That’s super sweet! Please give this cute kiddo my greatest thanks and a hearty CHUGGA CHUGGA CHUGGA! 🙂 🙂

— Matthew Cordell (@cordellmatthew) January 8, 2016

THOSE SMILES, @CarrieGelson! ❤️! THANKS for the WOLFIE #MockCaldecott cheer! SO PROUD of @ZachariahOHora, and love these other books, too! — Ame Dyckman (@AmeDyckman) January 8, 2016

This is wonderful! What a great line up! Thank you! https://t.co/09vHzRmWxa

— Julia Sarcone-Roach (@HousecatManor) January 8, 2016

Some comments from my students:

About The Bear Ate Your Sandwich:

“Kids like finding the bear in all of the different spots on some of the pages.”

“There is lots to watch about ears.”

About Lenny & Lucy

“I liked that some pages were not busy and others were. Sometimes it was just small colours. The forest was grey and each page grows more colours.”

“I loved when a little boy made a guard. He wasn’t good enough so he made two.”

About Last Stop on Market Street:

“The pictures show the taking care of people who have no homes and I realize that’s caring. I like the page with the sun and the birds. It is so big and beautiful.”

“Kids will love these pictures because you know . . . the tattoo man!”

About Special Delivery:

“The artist paints outside the lines, all squiggly. I liked that.”

About The Night World:

“It has stars on the end pages.”

“The stars look snowy.”

“I like all of that dark!”

Growing readers. Honouring books. Sharing in our community. This is certainly something to celebrate!

Thank you to Ruth Ayres and the #celebratelu community!

Being part of a community that regularly shares gratitude and celebrations truly transforms my weeks.

celebrate-link-up

Mock Sibert 2016

Posted on January 6, 2016 by carriegelson

The Sibert Award is given annually to the most distinguished informational book published during the preceding year. Although the Sibert Award is not just for picture books, that is where I am focussing my predictions.

Honestly, I believe that the Sibert medal may go to a longer text and I don’t believe I have read that book. I am very excited to see what the announcement will be next week!

I read a lot of fantastic nonfiction last year but I focussed on texts suitable for younger readers because of switching grades this year (from a 3/4 with mostly Grade 4s to a 2/3 with mostly Grade 2s). Looking over some of the best of nonfiction lists, I think that there is a lot that I missed.

To be honored/win the Sibert Award, the book must include these important elements and qualities:

Excellent, engaging, and distinctive use of language.
Excellent, engaging, and distinctive visual presentation.
Appropriate organization and documentation.
Clear, accurate, and stimulating presentation of facts, concepts, and ideas.
Appropriate style of presentation for subject and for intended audience.
Supportive features (index, table of contents, maps, timelines, etc).
Respectful and of interest to children.

Based on this criteria, I have chosen 3 titles that I think may be honored when the Sibert titles are announced.

What I am really thinking about when making these selections are supportive features or documentation included somewhere in the text and that the books are really engaging for children. I am also very swayed by illustrations and I felt that each of these had a very unique and interesting style. Definitely the illustrations contributed in large ways to the appeal of the book.

Mesmerized: How Ben Franklin Solved a Mystery that Baffled all of France by Mara Rockliff with illustrations by Iacopo Bruno (March 2015 Candlewick Press)

I love the connection here to the importance of the scientific method. And it is also quite the story! The back pages include much additional information. Big kid appeal: mind control, magic forces, money making, Kings and Queens . . . Doesn’t get much better! Of course the ultimate power turns out to be science!

Mesmerized Mock Sibert 2016

Tricky Vic: The Impossibly True Story of the Man who Sold the Eiffel Tower by Greg Pizzoli (March 2015 Viking Books)

There is something about swindlers and con artists that are immensely interesting! A con associated with something as well known and famous as the Eiffel Tower? Well! There are many stories within stories here and plenty of other historical and place specific information throughout the text. If I had an older grade, I would love to read this aloud!

Tricky Vic- The Impossilby True Story of the Man who Sold the Eiffel Tower by Greg Pizzoli Mock Sibert 2016

How to Swallow a Pig: Step-by-Step Advice from the Animal Kingdom by Steve Jenkins and Robin Page (September 2015 HMH Books for Young Readers)

I love everything that Jenkins and Page do I will admit. That doesn’t make me biased, just constantly impressed. This title is particularly interesting because of the “how to” aspect. Of course it is also a great model for instructional writing – amazingly interesting instructional writing. Additional information is always rich in Jenkins/Page titles. Perfect for further reading.

How to Swallow a Pig Mock Sibert 2016

I looked back at past medal and honor titles and usually winners are longer picture books or middle grade illustrated texts taking a variety of formats. If brief texts with incredible visuals (illustrations or photographs) and strong back matter were to be considered, I think these 2015 titles could also be contenders. Who knows? Maybe they will be!

Raindrops Roll by April Pulley Sayre (January 2015 Beach Lane Books)

Raindrops Roll Mock Sibert 2016

Water Is Water: A Book About the Water Cycle written by Miranda Paul and illustrated by Jason Chin (May 2015 Roaring Book Press)

A Rock Can Be . . . by Laura Purdie Salas with illustrations by Violeta Dabija (March 2015 Millbrook Press)

What are your #MockSibert choices?

I am excited to once again join the Nonfiction Picture Book Challenge. My goal is to read 100 nonfiction titles this year. Most will be picture books but I will also read some longer texts. Many, but not all will be published recently (2014-2016). There are some older titles I have missed that I want to catch up on.

nfpb2016logo

#MustReadin2016

Posted on January 4, 2016 by carriegelson

For anyone out there with a To Be Read list that seems like it will never end, this challenge is for you! This is all about making your own personal list of books 5? 10? 20? 30? more? that you want to commit to reading in 2016.

Books can be published in any year, be from any genre, and from any category -adult, YA, MG, Graphics, NF, etc titles. All that matters is that they are books you want to be sure not to forget as that TBR list continues to grow! These aren’t the only titles you will read over the year, but a list to help guide your reading.

If you would like to create and share a list, contact me on twitter (@CarrieGelson) or leave a link in the comments and I will add your list to the #MustReadin2016 lists below. Everyone is welcome!

If you want to use the image above in your sidebar, here is the image URL code: https://thereisabookforthat.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/mustreadin2016challenge.jpg

I thought this year, we would try for 3 updates. I am proposing : April 8th, September 1st and December 31st. Update posts are purely optional! They can take whatever format you wish: highlighting your favourites, reasons for not reading, simply a list of what you have read, etc.

Ready for some inspiration?

Check out the lists.

Mine (Carrie Gelson) is here: Must Read Novels for 2016

Aaron Cleaveley shares an amazing and ambitious list here Welcome to the book blogging world Aaron!

Phyllis Sutton from Wonderings and Wanderings shares her list here

Michelle Simpson shares here: Must Read in 2016

Linda Baie from Teacher Dance carries some titles forward and adds some more: Must Read -2016

Cheriee Weichel has a significant 36 titles on her list this year: Novels I Must Read in 2016

Michele Knot has a book for each month: #mustreadin2016

With Kellee and Ricki from Unleashing Readers, we get two lists in one: Ricki and Kellee’s #mustreadin2016 lists

Crystal Brunelle‘s list is a great resource as it contains many of the books she wants to read for her Diversity on the Shelf challenge: #MustReadin2016

Maria Selke shares her list here: Must Read in 2016- The List

HannahLily Angus from Dismal Whimsy shares an even 50 titles: Must Read in 2016 challenge

Stacey from The Library Gals shares Must Reads of 2016

Sarah Krajewski shares a number of titles interwoven into her reading resolutions: My 2016 Reading Resolutions

Krista Dendinger shares her list here: Must Read in 2016

Tricia Pfell from Diary of a Happy Librarian shares 48 titles: #MustReadin2016

Earl Dizon of The Chronicles of a Children’s Book Writer shares his very varied list here: #MustReadin2016

Julie from The Fun Librarian joins us again with 15 titles: Must Read in 2016 – Here We Go Again!

Kara DiBartolo shares her Must Read in 2016 list in a post absolutely full of literacy!

Jill Swanson shares her list of not quite 20 books here

Elisabeth Ellington from The Dirigible Plum shares her 12 must read titles here

Lisa Schwartz shares her list here

Jamie Wright shares her list here: Must Read in 2016

Kathleen Sokolowski “reboots her reading life” with this Must Read list

Leigh Anne Eck joins us with her Must read in 2016 (minus 12 days 🙂 )

Virginia Pratt shares her list here: My #MustReadin2016 list

Susan Verdi makes a list and reflects on the importance of sharing her reading life in her post here

Claire Noland shares her list for 2016 here

Holly Mueller celebrates an extensive #MustReadin2016 list

Must read novels for 2016

Posted on January 4, 2016 by carriegelson

For those readers and list makers, nothing is more exciting than January! The time to make an amazing list of books to read for the year!

A new year and new book possibilities. Where will our reading lives take us? What adventures and emotions will we experience through the books we read. Always, there are endless possibilities.

How amazing is that?

There are so many books and limited time.

New books distract us from other books.

A must read list ensures not all are forgotten!

To read more about the challenge and add your list, read here:

Here are the 30 titles I am going to try and read over this year. I often read 70-100 novels a year, so these titles represent only a portion of my reading. And . . . I won’t necessarily get to all of them. My goal is to try and get to most of these. Including them here guarantees they remain on my radar because as I made this list, I had very good reason for placing them on it. If the reasons remain, the book will be read. That’s usually how it works.

Making a list like this – a To Read list – also allows us to reflect on the reading that we want to do. I ask myself questions like: Am I reading widely over various genres? Do I have a mix of GN, MG and YA reads? Do the novels I read include diverse characters that reflect the students I teach? The world I don’t know? The experiences I need to know more about?

Books are in no particular order (I have also included the year each was published)

Books that have lots (or at least some) of hype in my book world:

~~Paper Hearts by Meg Wivott~~ (2015) Read March 24th, 2016 5/5 stars

~~Fat Angie by E.E. Charlton-Trujillo~~ (2013) Read January 21st, 2016 4/5 stars

~~Roller Girl by Victoria Jamieson~~ (2015) Read February 5th, 2016 5/5 stars

~~Hour of the Bees by Lindsay Eagar~~ (2016) Read May 29th, 2016 5/5 stars

~~The Wild Robot by Peter Brown~~ (2016) Read October 17th, 2016 4/5 stars

Outrun the Moon by Stacey Lee (2016)

~~The Thing about Jellyfish by Ali Benjamin~~ (2015) Read March 13th, 2016 5/5 stars

House Arrest by K.A. Holt (2015) Read June 5th, 2016 5/5 stars

~~More Happy than Not by Adam Silvera~~ (2015) Read February 3rd, 2016 4/5 stars

Unusual Chickens for the Exceptional Poultry Farmer by Kelly Jones (2015)

~~Full Cicada Moon by Marilyn Hilton~~ (2015) Read January 2nd, 2016 5/5 stars

Uprooted by Naomi Novik (2015)

New titles from authors I love:

~~Raymie Nightingale by Kate DiCamillo~~ (2016) Read July 5th, 2016 5/5 stars

~~Booked by Kwame Alexander~~ (2016) Read May 21st, 2016 4/5 stars

~~The Seventh Wish by Kate Messner~~ (2016) Read October 2nd, 2016 5/5 stars

The Alex Crow by Andrew Smith (2015)

~~Some Kind of Courage by Dan Gemeinhart~~ (2016) Read March 14th, 2016 5/5 stars

~~Pax by Sara Pennypacker~~ (2016) Read July 23rd, 2016 5/5 stars

~~Sunny Side Up by Jennifer Holm and Matthew Holm~~ (2015) Read January 8th, 2016 4/5 stars

~~Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys~~ (2016) Read April 14th, 2016 5/5 stars

~~Goodbye Stranger by Rebecca Stead~~ (2015) Read March 23rd, 2016 5/5 stars

~~Burn Baby Burn by Meg Medina~~ (2016) Read May 19th, 2016 5/5 stars

~~All Rise for the Honorable Perry T Cook by Leslie Connor~~ (2016) Read April 30th, 2016 5/5 stars

~~All American Boys by Jason Reynolds and Brendan Kiely~~ (2015) Read March 21st, 2016 5/5 stars

~~This is the Story of You by Beth Kephart~~ (2016) Read March 27th, 2016 5/5 stars

Sequels I don’t want to miss:

Red: The true story of Red Riding Hood by Liesl Shurtliff (2016) Read December 19th, 2016 5/5 stars

~~Stand Off by Andrew Smith~~ (2015) Read March 19th, 2016 5/5 stars

The Odds of Getting Even by Sheila Turnage (2015) Read December 24th, 2016 5/5 stars

Winter By Marissa Meyers (2015)

~~The Raven King by Maggie Stiefvater~~ (2016) Read December 31st, 2016 5/5 stars

What novels are at the top of your TBR list? Please share!

Monday January 4th, 2016

Posted on January 3, 2016 by carriegelson

It’s Monday! What are you reading?

Each week I share a reading photo of the week. I haven’t been teaching for 2 weeks, so sharing from my house. This week I am sharing a photo of our Christmas book stack 🙂 Lots of reading in our house!

On the blog:

For #nfpb2015 I shared my 20 favourite nonfiction titles of 2015

Our #MustReadin2015 community shared year end update posts

Please note: If you want to share a #MustReadin2016 list, we will begin sharing lists (connect here) January 6th, 2016

My Celebration this week was all about Simplicity

On the eve of back to school, I made some wishes. Sunday Reflections: Wolves and Wild Wishes This post is inspired by the novel The Wolf Wilder (discussed more below)

Books I loved:

I read a lot of picture books this week, I am going to share just my favourites of the bunch.

Picture books:

One Word from Sophia by Jim Averbeck and Yasmeen Ismail

A superb lesson in persuasion and just the right words for the argument you are trying to make. Also a “Can I get a pet?” story with so much new and amusing. Loved this title.

Lizard from the Park by Mark Pett

I always find Pett’s illustrations very, very charming and this book is no exception. When you find an egg and vow to look after the hatchling, you just never know. Lots of fun!

Mother Bruce by Ryan T Higgins

Funny. Funny. Funny. I laughed out loud in the book store. My stomach hurt from laughing so hard. This is a serious charmer. The perfect combination of curmudgeonly and adorable characters.

Mother Bruce

The Dog that Nino Didn’t Have written by Edward van de Vendel and illustrated byAnton Van Hertbruggen

Something about this book. First of all, I would like to hang all of it on my walls. Each page. Blown up to huge proportions. And the story. . . It is a little out there. It is about lonely and longing and then having and adjusting. And then wondering. I loved it. In fact, I gifted it to myself. Couldn’t resist.

Dog that nino didn't have

The Princess and the Pony by Kate Beaton

I confess that I just never thought about picking this book up. I saw great reviews but it just didn’t speak to me. Finally, I found it at the library and started reading. It is quite wonderful and yes, I was missing out. I can see that this would have pretty fantastic read aloud appeal.

Frances Dean who Loved to Dance and Dance by Birgitta Sif

The illustrations are completely divine. The story, pretty cute.

Puffling Patrol by Ted and Betsy Lewin (2012)

I learned so much in this nonfiction text. Absolutely fascinating account of a the authors’ visit to a town in Iceland during 2008 to watch how a community helps young pufflings confused by the town’s lights make their way to the sea.

The Scraps Book: Notes from a Colorful Life by Lois Ehlert

Bold, full of colour. Such a fantastic autobiography!

Finding Winnie: The True Story of the World’s Most Famous Bear written by Lindsay Mattick and illustrated by Sophie Blackall

Such an interesting format. Really a lovely little book.

Finding Winnie

Novels:

The Wolf Wilder by Katherine Rundell

This book. This book. This book! I fall more and more in love with Rundell’s writing with each novel I read. Part adventure. Part fairy tale. Many parts brave and wonderful. Russia. Winter. Snow. Wolves. And beautiful, bold children. A must, must read!

Monday January 4th, 2016 The Wolf Wilder

Full Cicada Moon by Marilyn Hilton

A novel in verse. Highly recommended. What is life like when you don’t look like everyone else and your dreams and aspirations are “not what we do here”? This book, set in 1969 Vermont, is an incredible story of one young girl. Courageous, vulnerable, amazing.

Full Cicada Moon Monday January 4th, 2016

Final updates on my 2015 Reading Goals:

2015 Chapter Book Challenge: 71/80 complete

Goodreads Challenge: 471/415 books read COMPLETE!

#MustReadin2015: 18/24 complete

Nonfiction Picture Book Challenge: 95/100 titles

Diverse Books in 2015: 52/50 books read COMPLETE!

A WONDERFUL reading year – even though all of my goals weren’t met, they sure were inspiring!

And 2016 Reading Goals begin:

2016 Chapter Book Challenge: 1/75 complete

Goodreads Challenge: 5/400 books read

#MustReadin2016: 1/30 complete

Nonfiction Picture Book Challenge: 1/100 titles

Diverse Books in 2015: 2/50 books read

Next up? I am reading More Happy than Not by Adam Silvera

Sunday Reflections: Wolves and Wild Wishes

Posted on January 2, 2016 by carriegelson

I just read The Wolf Wilder, the latest middle grade novel written by author Katherine Rundell. There was much I loved in this title: the adventure, the drama, the suspense. Most of all I loved the courage. This book was full of brave children. Heroism in small but mighty packages. I don’t want to give away plot points as this is a must read title, but I will say that children in this book amazed and impressed me. They embraced their fear. They rallied. They acted. They certainly weren’t perfect. There was lots of vulnerability. But the bravery reigned true.

I loved the community of children here. The following of dreams. The simplicity of lessons from wolves. Be true. Protect the pack. Honour loyalty. Run fast. Sleep deep. Be resourceful.

This book made me think about how children often astound me. I witness daily moments of bravery. Moments that surprise me. Actions and wisdom I respect in the daily interactions I have with the students I teach.

Yes, I often worry. Sometimes a lot. I watch a lot of mistakes. I see habits and attitudes that are troubling and unhealthy. I witness trauma and all that is upsetting in its impact.

Feo, the main character in The Wolf Wilder worked to bring the wild back to domesticated wolves captured at birth and forced to lead ridiculous lives -in the homes of wealthy Russians. Wilding is really re-wilding. Bringing back what should not have been lost.

Sometimes, I feel that way about the children that I teach. Some of them need re-childing. I want to – in a sense – return childhood to children who have not had enough of it, who keep losing it to the impacts of poverty and related stress.

But everyday, I celebrate possibility. Brave children. Opportunities for everything that can be good. The joy and happiness of childhood.

It is the eve of return to school after a long winter break. I know many of our students eagerly anticipate the return to their school community. Some have mixed feelings – upset and anxiety related to a break that might not have been so pleasant. For some, the routine of bed times and early starts is challenging. But school means breakfast, lunch and important connections. I have loved my break but I am excited about a term full of rich learning and relationship building.

And I have some wishes. Some wild ones. Wild because they won’t all happen. The big wish of course, is that these would all be in the realm of realistic. Easily possible. Our world is built for that. Yet, here I am. Wishing.

For each of my students, I wish for security. I hope that they will each find numerous adults at school ready, willing and able to meet them where they are at. I hope that they feel loved, wanted and precious. I want them to experience 24 hours of care and nurturing. 24 hours of every day. I hope that they won’t experience some things we should be able to protect them from. Hunger, for instance. The longing for a warm bed. I wish them freedom from adult worries.

I also wish for some amazing learning. That they will learn something they never believed to be true. That they will learn something they never thought they could learn. That they will learn something not yet imagined. I hope that all of this learning will be inspirational and give them new faith in their own possibilities. And belief in the possibilities the world has for them.

I wish that each child will become more comfortable taking risks. That each child will become better at speaking up and listening closely. I hope that each child will learn something significant from a peer. I wish that each child will deliver a sincere apology and accept one. More than once. These children have much to teach each other.

I wish that each child I teach will feel brave. Know trust. Experience huge joy.

These are my 2016 wishes. Inspired by wildish wolves and brave children.

Here is to the possibility of 2016.

Celebration: Simplicity

Posted on January 1, 2016 by carriegelson

Always at the end of the winter holidays, I realize that I really like calm and quiet and simple. The school year begins again fast and furiously. With a full time job, a family (which includes 2 busy 13 year olds) and a house to manage, life can’t be talked about without mentioning busy. Too busy. Crazy busy. Tired busy.

So today I celebrate being able to experience simplicity and putting the busy on hold. The secret to guaranteed happiness I am sure is finding ways to sprinkle in enough of the simple into the complexities of the day to day.

I figure if we stop and honour the simplicity we love, then maybe we will find ways to keep it around more. Who knows?

Celebration: Simplicity

So in the spirit of simple, I will make a simple list. I celebrate these things that have been part of a slowed down existence this holiday.

Early morning reading in a quiet house.
Early evening reading in front of the fire. The quiet, not as essential.
Walking in the cold and appreciating the beautiful.
Coffee. Always, coffee.
List making. Often in the form of book lists. My mind works this way. So all feels right.
Time in a bookstore. Lots of time.
Bird ornaments in greenery in various places around my house.
Time with my family. Visits. Dinners. Chats. Walks. Pie eating.
A clean house. Not the cleaning but when it is clean. The time to keep it mostly that way is what I appreciate.
Stocking up. When my pantry has coffee, French jam, lemon soap and interesting crackers, all is good.
Time. Time that doesn’t race. Being in it.
Reading aloud to my family. Talking about plot elements. Predicting. Wondering.
Coffee visits. Walk visits. Run into the neighbours visits.
Turkey sandwiches with lots of pepper.