Mingan: My village Poems by Innu Schoolchildren by Rogé
With participation of Joséphine Bacon, Rita Mestokosho and Laure Morali.
I have the feeling I could write nothing about this title and that just from the cover image, you will seek it out.
Anybody nodding?
And really, you should. Seek. Read. Share it with students. It is beautiful on every level.
After spending a few days with children in Mingan, an Innu village in northeastern Quebec, Rogé painted portraits of the children he photographed. Through writer’s workshops, the children wrote the poetry that is shared in this book. The writing could speak of so many things in these children’s experiences. These poems depict a rich connection to nature, an honouring of the natural world and an awe of the beauty that surrounds us.
Some poems are written by one author. Others are collaborations. I love much of the imagery. Here is a portion of a favourite piece:
It snows on the planets
When we walk on the sky
And these words just stopped me.
When the ravens become white
I will stop loving you
More than forty percent of the students who attend my school are Aboriginal. I have just ordered my own copy of this title so it can be a part of our classroom library. Student voice. Student expression. The magic of poetry. I want all of these things to be inspiration to my students. I want them to find their power to observe, to share and to connect through the words of these children on the other side of our country.
When I ordered this title, I also ordered another title by Rogé that has been getting a lot of recent attention for its gorgeous illustrations:
Haiti My country: Poems by Haitian Schoolchildren
Are these titles nonfiction? Yes and no. I think they can be stretched between genres. That these poems capture so much truth, that they inspire the reader to think about a place and a specific time and seek out maps and more information, this is my reason to nudge these titles, for today, into the nonfiction world.
Thanks toAlyson from Kid Lit Frenzyfor the inspiration to read and share more nonfiction picture books in 2014. Follow the link to Alyson’s blog to read about more nonfiction books you need to read!
My goal is to read 65 nonfiction picture books for 2014. Progress: 121/65 complete!
My favourite reading photo of the week is of these two boys acting out Elephant and Piggietitles during buddy reading. They got completely into the roles!
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.
I found a wonderful bunch of picture books this week. Sharing my favourites here:
Countablock written by Christopher Franceschelli; art by Peskimo
This book is literally a block. A chunk of interesting pages in a sort of board book format but think super size. Count up to 100. Throw in a little cause and effect (Three boxes become. . . (turn the page) three forts) Lots of counting. Bright colours. And a surprise at the end. So much fun that I had to buy it for our classroom buddy reading collection. I know the kindergarten kids will delight in sharing this title with my students.
Waiting is Not Easy! by Mo Willems
Piggie has a surprise and Gerald needs to wait to find out what it is. If you know Gerald, you can imagine that waiting is not a talent he has. His impatience is very amusing. What exactly is the surprise? Well . . . it is worth the wait. And, no, I’m not telling.
Norman, Speak! written by Caroline Adderson and illustrated by Qin Leng
So what happens if the dog you get from the animal shelter doesn’t understand your language? Well, Norman’s new family are willing to do a lot so that they can begin communicating with Norman. My students found this book very interesting!
May the Stars Drip Down written by Jeremy Chatelain and illustrated by Nikki McClure
A beautiful, soothing lullaby. A work of art.
Watch this video of Nikki McClure talking about making the images for this book. Soothing. Calm. Slow. Beautiful.
Big Bad Bubble written by Adam Rubin and illustrated by Daniel Salmieri
Rubin and Salmieri are quite the team. They make quirky books. This one is especially silly and the monsters especially fetching. It will not appeal to everyone. Some might find it too odd. I think as a read aloud it has big potential and will be one of those books that certain kids will obsess over.
Leonardo the Terrible Monster by Mo Willems
More monster love. Leonardo may not be the best monster but he has some pretty great endearing qualities.
Small Medium Large: A Book about Relative Sizes written by Emily Jenkins and illustrated by Tomek Bogacki
Amazing title to support the vocabulary around describing sizes from minuscule to enormous. So very clever.
Flora and the Penguin by Molly Idle
Oh Flora, on ice and with an energetic penguin, you are the perfect blend of graceful and flummoxed as your skating partner appears and reappears mid move. Absolutely charming.
Sam & Dave Dig a Hole written by Mac Barnett and illustrated by Jon Klassen
Reading Sam & Dave Dig a Hole pulls you deep into a “theorizing hole” and digging in, around and out is highly satisfying. Picture book brilliance through and through.
I loved that after reading this title, I could finally read Travis Jonker‘s fantastic post:
I am not going to add any of my theories here. I just love that 1) Right from the cover, the wondering begins.
“I hope they don’t bury the dog,” my husband commented when I handed him the book to read.
And 2) as soon as you finish, you have to start again to deal with that “Huh? Hold on” kind of feeling.
Can’t wait to share this with my class.
What Can a Crane Pick Up? written by Rebecca Kai Dotlich and illustrated by Mike Lowery
I bought this book for many reasons. So many that I will actually start a list.
I love the rhyming text. And I don’t usually like rhyming text.
I think this is a perfect book to read and reread to get the rhythm right.
So . . . it is the ideal buddy reading book and will go in our buddy reading bin.
Any excuse to visit the nostalgic place of construction equipment that I no longer get asked to read since my son is 12 and not a toddler anymore. Sigh.
The bright illustrations.
And . . . there is a page of cartons and cartons of library books (held up by cranes using chains and hooks). Yep!
So with number 6, I was pretty much sold. Which is probably obvious.
I need this crane to come with me to the library 🙂
I also finished the brilliant Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson
Verse novels hold so much power to literally wrap us up in evocative images and in this case, personal history. In some senses, it feels like spying to be so close. A beautifully written memoir of a time and a place – oh so personal but yet, with connections and links to many more than young Jacqueline Woodson. A gift to readers.
Next? I am in the middle of Nest by Esther Ehrlich and then plan to read Rain Reign by Ann M. Martin
It’s Picture Book Month and I have picture books on my mind. I am beginning to think in lists. Often. It may be a syndrome. Picturebooklistitis? Something like that.
On Friday, I had some parent meetings in the a.m. It was lovely to talk about students who have demonstrated improvement in goal areas due to persistence, determination and creative approaches to problems. Heading home, after school, I started thinking about picture books on this theme of persistence.
What exactly was I thinking about? All of the synonyms for perseverance: persistence, tenacity, determination . . . But also being able to solve problems with creativity or a different/unique approach. A lot of it has to do with being able to focus but also being able to think outside of the box. Sometimes it is just about, simple but tough, hard work and diligence.
I think all of these picture books highlight a particular aspect of this theme and in their own way, model perseverance.
Twenty favourite titles:
These ten beauties:
And ten more:
Twenty picture book titles that model perseverance:
Sam and Dave Dig a Hole by Mac Barnett and illustrated by Jon Klassen
Rosie Revere, Engineer written by Andrea Beaty and illustrated by David Roberts
The Curious Garden by Peter Brown
Prudence Wants a Pet written by Cathleen Daly and illustrated by Stephen Michael King
Hank Finds an Egg by Rebecca Dudley
Papa’s Mechanical Fish written by Candace Fleming and illustrated by Boris Kulikov
If You Want to See a Whale written by Julie Fogliano and illustrated by Erin E. Stead
Rosyln Rutabaga and the Biggest Hole on Earth by Marie-Louise Gay
Ice by Arthur Geisert
Flight School by Lita Judge
A House in the Woods by Inga Moore
The Mighty Lalouche written by Matthew Olshan and illustrated by Sophie Blackall
The Girl and the Bicycle by Mark Pett
The Dot by Peter H. Reynolds
The Most Magnificent Thing by Ashley Spires
A Home for Bird by Philip C. Stead
Oscar and Hoo written by Theo and illustrated by Michael Dudok De Wit
Queen of the Falls by Chris VanAllsburg
Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus by Mo Willems
Ten Birds by Cybèle Young
In case you’ve missed them, I have been making more lists:
When we do our weekly gratitude circle I have a few girls who often announce, “I’ve got 3 (or 4 or 5) things to share.” And then they happily rattle off all of the things they are thankful for. It is quite delightful. I admire their focus. And their big hearts. So . . . today I celebrate that I have 5 things to share 🙂
I am grateful that one Mom takes numerous photos at my son’s soccer games (great photos always!) and sends them out to all of the parents. As I am taking my daughter to her musical theatre classes, I don’t often get to the soccer games. These photos give me a peek! My son has the hot pink cleats.
I am grateful for strong coffee on Saturday mornings and a good book that I can fall into before most of the house wakes up. Currently, this is the novel I can’t put down. I am grateful for connections with authors. This week we got a letter back from Elise Gravel, author of The Disgusting Critters series. I read it aloud in gratitude circle. Can you say happy listeners? I am grateful for buddy reading with the kindergarten class. My class steps up and makes the entire experience magical. The Ks will see me in the hall and say things like, “Oh, it isn’t Wednesday. We don’t get to come to buddy reading today.” Or – “We’re coming to your class today! Your kids are going to read to us!” This is guaranteed happy time! I am grateful for the wisdom my students share during Reading Workshop. It is my pleasure to record and post them! Reading Workshop this week has been full of focussed reading, great conferences and student chatter about books they are enjoying. Thank you also to Ruth Ayres, for the inspiration and her Celebration Link up that she hosts each week. I love how being a part of this #celebratelu community reminds us weekly to look for the positive and take some time for gratitude.
To celebrate Picture Book Month I am continuing to share conversations I have about particular picture books. This isn’t so much a conversation as an ooh and ahh fest I had with my own two children while exploring this nonfiction title.
The Open Ocean by Francesco Pittau and Bernadette Gervais is an oversized title that invites the reader to guess, read more, lift flaps and absorb amazing information. This title kept my two 12 year olds completely interested and engaged as we interacted with this gorgeous book. Our favourite 2 page spread was the section that showed closeups of shells, scales and other textures on various sealife. We didn’t guess any correctly! So much to interact with in this title.
Our favourite facts?
The compass jellyfish changes gender over its lifetime (“That’s just too strange,” remarked my son.)
The blue whale is one of longest living creatures.
The sea urchin is named after a hedgehog.
An octopus is super smart! It can open jars.(“But what are those scientists doing having it be in a lab to do experiments on? Terrible! Unless it is just tests? Do they release them after?” – this from my daughter.)
A sunfish can weigh over 500 pounds!
The swordfish is one of the fastest fish.
No one really knows how long lobsters live. They can live to be over 100 and they always seem to die for other reasons before perishing from old age.
Thanks to Alyson fromKid Lit Frenzy for the inspiration to read and share more nonfiction picture books in 2014. Follow the link to Alyson’s blog to read about more nonfiction books you need to read!
My goal is to read 65 nonfiction picture books for 2014. Progress: 120/65 complete!
To celebrate Picture Book Month I have been sharing a variety of picture books and the conversations I am having about them with my students, my children and others. This post is a kind of conversation with my self. I am reading the novel Okay for Now by Gary D. Schmidt to my own children and it often comes up that Doug, the main character, has to be brave in so many ways.
How do picture books depict bravery? Courage? Conviction? Strength?
In, oh, so many ways . . .
Each of these titles features a character who comes face to face with fear, who takes a risk, who stands up or stands out. Each book is full of inspiration.
Ten of my favourites:
And ten more:
Twenty Picture Books that celebrate courage:
Those Shoes written by Maribeth Boelts and illustrated by Noah Z. Jones
Pete and Pickles by Berkeley Breathed
Ruby’s Wish written by Shirin Yim Bridges and illustrated by Sophie Blackall
Mr. Tiger Goes Wild by Peter Brown
Willow Finds a Way written by Lana Button illustrated by Tania Howells
Bird Child written by Nan Forler and illustrated by François Thisdale
The Story of Fish and Snail by Deborah Freedman
Sheila Rae, the Brave written and illustrated by Kevin Henkes
Spuds written by Karen Hesse and illustrated by Wendy Watson
Soccer Starwritten by Mina Javaherbinand illustrated byRenato Alarcão
Across the Alley written by Richard Michelson and illustrated by E.B. Lewis
Black Dog by Levi Pinfold
The Lion & The Mouse by Jerry Pinkney
Creepy Carrots written by Aaron Reynolds and illustrated by Peter Brown
The Dark written by Lemony Snicket and illustrated by Jon Klassen
Hello, my Name is Ruby by Phillip C Stead
Desmond and the Very Mean Word written by Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Douglas Carlton Abrams and illustrated by A.G. Ford
Suki’s Kimono written by Chieri Uegaki and illustrated by Stéphane Jorisch
Freedom Summer by Deborah Wiles and illustrated by Jerome Lagarrigue
Singing Away the Dark written by Caroline Woodward and illustrated by Julie Morstad
What picture book titles on this theme would you share? I would love to hear your favourites!
My favourite reading photo of the week is of these boys who discovered that I changed the books displayed in one of our picture book shelves and immediately plopped themselves down to begin reading. Book love!
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.
A celebration of sharing Any Questions? by Marie-Louise Gay
A conversation with a little guy about some nonfiction: Talking Spiders
I am late getting this post up as I was away for the weekend so I am only highlighting a few titles from the week:
The Conductor by Laëtitia Devernay
This book is an incredible wordless title to share with a group of creative and observant children. Nothing is as it seems and the pages fill with imagination, movement and music. It was magic in my room. My favourite exchange:
Child 1: “He can conduct birds because birds make music. They make beautiful sounds.”
Child 2: “Not crows. Crows just yell.”
Once Tashi Met a Dragon written by Anna Fienberg and Barbara Fienberg with illustrations by Kim Gamble
This isn’t a book that I would have picked up to read but I loved watching my students respond when a guest reader brought it to my room. They were intrigued by the folklore elements of dragons bringing rain, the detailed illustrations and the humour of the dragon family interactions. A lovely, longer read aloud.
Cloudwalker by Rob Henry Vickers and Robert Budd
What a beautiful book! This is the ancient story of Gitxsan hunter who is dropped into the clouds by a group of swans. Stumbling on his walk through the sky, he spills water from his cedar box (a guloonich) and new lakes and rivers are created on the land below providing life producing waters for his people. This book highlights how nature interacts and our responsibility to respect it.
The Fourteenth Goldfish by Jennifer L. Holm
I loved everything about this title. There are so many layers to this book and so many reasons to rave about it. The characters! Wow. The themes of science, family, friendship and the struggles of age and aging. Perfect middle grade literature. A must read.
Up next? I am in the middle of Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson and will likely finish it today. I then plan to read Nest by Esther Ehrlich
Reading Goal Updates:
2014 Chapter Book Challenge: 71/100 novels complete
To celebrate Picture Book Month I am continuing to share conversations I have with students about picture books. Sometimes, I learn a lot.
Today I had a visit at recess from a Grade 1 student all dressed up for photo day.
He checked out some Lego and told me about his outfit.
Then he wandered over to where I was putting away some nonfiction titles. And we started to talk about the books
Me: “What do you notice about all of these books?”
Mr. Dressed Up: “They’re all insects and stuff. They’re good because they help you breathe and make stuff. Like honey.”
Me: “Which of these books looks the most interesting?”
Mr. Dressed Up: “Hmmm. Spiders. I like them. They have 8 legs and well, they’re creepy. I like creepy stuff.”
Me: “What do you think you might find out in this book?”
Mr. Dressed Up: “Well you’ll be knowing about spiders. How they spin. Can they help you out in a haunted house?”
Me: “Interesting. What are you noticing when you look through the book?”
Mr. Dressed Up: “Well they have one eye in this picture. And 8 legs (counts to confirm) No, 11. Hold on (counts again) Maybe 10. Some of these might not be legs?”
Me: “Do you notice anything else?”
Mr. Dressed Up: “Well this orange part here is a big round circle. Kind of like a bum that we have. But we have two big circles.”
Indeed! 🙂
Me: “So do you think you might like to read these books when you are in my classroom?”
Mr. Dressed Up: “Yep.”
Judging from the popularity of the Creepy Creatures series with my current Grade 3/4 students, I think he will!
Spiders by Valerie Bodden (published 2011) has information about a spider’s life, how webs are made and the parts of a spider’s body. Close up photographs are intriguing. There is a glossary in the back and new vocabulary is bolded throughout the book. My primary/early intermediate students can easily manage this series with independence.
Thanks to Alyson from Kid Lit Frenzy for the inspiration to read and share more nonfiction picture books in 2014. Follow the link to Alyson’s blog to read about more nonfiction books you need to read!
My goal is to read 65 nonfiction picture books for 2014. Progress: 119/65 complete!
Yesterday, we ran out of time to do our afternoon picture book read aloud. But . . . I had already showed the trailer for Any Questions? by Marie-Louise Gay and students were eager to read it.
“Aww!” they exclaimed when I announced we didn’t have time. “Tomorrow?”
Tomorrow was today and we had an all day field trip to Science World, but I thought we might be back in time and put Read Aloud in our day plan pocket chart.
“That book? Will we read it today, Ms. Gelson?” I was asked many times.
We returned to school with 23 minutes before the bell. Coats away. Carpet. Mindful breathing. Time for a read aloud. But just! Within minutes, the room was quiet. Students were captured. We entered Marie-Louise Gay‘s imagination, learned about her story conjuring process and heard a wonderful story . . .
I read the last word at 2:59 p.m. and students rushed to tell me favourite parts:
“I like the giant because he is so huge. And the purple beast!”
“I saw Stella and Sam I think.”
“It was funny that the monster’s name was Fluffy!”
“I like all of the details and speech bubbles. I know she wrote it but it kinda seemed like kids wrote it.”
“I spotted a little Stella! I did.”
Rushing kids out the door heading out to do afternoon supervision, I still had the book in my hand. Near the playground, talk about the book continued:
“My favourite part was the end pages – it looks like she dipped markers in water.”
“I like all of the little stories inside of the book.”
“Do we get to read it again tomorrow? I want to look at all of the answers in the back.”
I used the book to cheer up someone who had fallen.
“Do you want to see a purple beast?”
Look at this smile!
Then I started getting requests.
“Can I see that book too? What was the page you just showed?”
I, of course, was happy to share. But when I asked for the book back, others were not happy to return it 🙂
However, after the book love could be shared with some others . . . I got my book back. Isn’t that how it should be? Stories are meant to be shared and shared and shared.
Got it? Because if you have any questions, here’s the book for that:
Any Questions? by Marie Louise Gay is a perfect book to celebrate for Picture Book Month
Same of Different? featuring The Hueys in The New Jumper by Oliver Jeffers.
Picture Books to Help you Giggle 20 titles to read aloud (and laugh along with) to little listeners (Kindergarten/early primary and beyond)
But back to sharing my reading from the week: 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.
The picture booksthat stood out:
The Girl who Heard Colors written by Marie Harris and illustrated by Vanessa Brantley-Newton
I have been quite curious about synesthesia after reading A Mango Shaped Space by Wendy Mass. I had no idea there was a picture book about it that could introduce synesthesia to children in a way that makes sense. I think this book does a brilliant job. Highly recommend this as a read aloud in primary/early intermediate classrooms.
Some Bugs written by Angela Diterlizzi and illustrated by Brendan Wenzel
The text is delightful and the illustrations, divine! I see why this title is getting Caldecott buzz. I want to shrink down to insect size and crawl about this insect world.
Fall Walk by Virginia Brimhall Snow
Wow. What a simply gorgeous title. Lyrical and full of wonder. A beautiful book to highlight the magic and vast variety of falling leaves. I found myself searching the ground for diverse leaves on my walks all last week after reading this book.
The Cat, the Dog, Little Red, the Exploding Eggs, the Wolf, and Grandma written by Diane Fox and illustrated by Christyan Fox
Hilarious. This one is going to haunt me until I am able to read it aloud – such a craving! Funny, funny, funny – kind of like having a backseat driver “helping” tell a story. Annoying for the narrator. Amusing for the readers.
I saw this trailer on KidLit Frenzy this week and immediately sought out the book.
The Very Inappropriate Word written by Jim Tobin and illustrated by Dave Coverly
So very clever. I love the word collecting. The power of the “inappropriate” word and how a word lover is intrigued by the sounds, the images and the impact!
The trailer is quite amusing:
Miss Brooks Loves Books (and I don’t) written by Barbara Bottner and illustrated by Michael Emberley
After reading Ms. Brooks’ Story Nook(where tales are told and ogres are welcome!) last week, I realized I hadn’t read this title yet. How was that possible? LOVE this book. Love Miss Brooks. I covet her book piles. Her inspired outfits. Her lounge about and read moments. And of course this book is worth reading just for the stick on warts page.
The Monsterator by Keith Graves
Mixed reviews on the story in my classroom but the mix up a monster flaps at the end got lots of attention.
When a Monster is Born written by Sean Taylor and illustrated by Nick Sharratt
I book talked this title early in the week and heard it be read over and over during buddy reading. Lots of fun to read aloud. Has the “if – then quality” of If You Give a Mouse a Cookie
I also read:
The Misadventures of Salem Hyde: Spelling Trouble by Frank Cammuso
I have a thing for witch characters with lots of spunk. Maybe because they aren’t the stereotypical pink girly girl? Not sure. But Salem will be popular in my room. I am sure about that.
The Mark of the Dragonfly by Jaleigh Johnson
Like others, I am hoping there will be other books to follow this title because these characters and this world are just too intriguing to say goodbye to. As I was reading, I kept thinking how great this title would be as a read aloud – mystery, adventure, suspense, fantastical characters. I could also put it in the hands of so many previous students and know that it would be loved. But it also has wide appeal – I know both my 12 year old daughter and son would fall into this book. It hooks you quickly and keeps you intrigued throughout. Perfect middle grade fiction.
Up next?
This is a challenge! I have so many great titles that just came in at the library. But I think The Fourteenth Goldfish by Jennifer L. Holm is the one calling loudest to me!
Reading Goal Updates:
2014 Chapter Book Challenge: 70/100 novels complete
Goodreads Challenge: 508/650 books read (continue to remain 36 books behind, now under 40 titles! Take that you 55 from a month ago!)
#MustReadin2014: 21/30 complete
Nonfiction Picture Book Challenge: 118/65 complete
There's a Book for That 