Nonfiction favourites from 2017

Posted on December 27, 2017 by carriegelson

I haven’t read as many nonfiction titles as I would have liked to read this year. There are still titles on my To Read list that are likely to become favourites, perhaps even making their way on to this list. I definitely haven’t posted many #nfpb2017 posts.

Bur I have been reading and sharing and appreciating. Books from my nonfiction picture book collection are always well used and well loved. There have been some pretty amazing titles that I have had the pleasure of reading and I am sharing them here.

Here are my top ten of 2017 (published in 2017). Listed alphabetically by author.

Give Bees a Chance by Bethany Barton

Follow along as a reluctant bee enthusiast becomes convinced of the wonder and importance of bees. Entertaining and informative!

Penguin Day: A Family Story by Nic Bishop

This title allows us to follow a penguin family through a typical day. Incredible photographs by Bishop of Rockhopper penguins in the Falkland Islands.

Grand Canyon by Jason Chin

Jason Chin is incredible. I believe that more and more with each book I read. Take a journey back and forth through time as you hike down, up and around the Grand Canyon.

What Makes a Monster?: Discovering the World’s Scariest Creatures written by Jess Keating and illustrated by David DeGrand

The second title in this series by Jess Keating. So. Much. Fun. Keating makes learning an adventure in the wow and wild!

This is How We Do it: One Day in the Lives of Seven Kids from around the World by Matt Lamothe

What do you eat for dinner? What is school like? What is your daily routine? What do you do for fun? How do you help your family? These details define us and unite us. They make us realize how we all have similar routines even though things in our day can be vastly different. Based on the lives of seven real children from around the world.

If You Were the Moon written by Laura Purdie Salas and illustrated by Jaime Kim

What would you do if you were the moon? A poem travels line by line, page by page on one side of each two page spread and on the other, more information about the moon. Incredible illustrations by Jaime Kim accompanies a lyrical poem.

Can an Aardvark Bark? written by Melissa Stewart and illustrated by Steve Jenkins

Created by nonfiction royalty, this book is a winner! Animal sounds. And many other cool things you might have wondered. I recently listened to Melissa Stewart talking about this book with Matthew Winner on an All the Wonders Podcast.

The Hidden Life of a Toad by Doug Wechsler

A photographic journey of the life cycle of the toad. Clear specific language, lots of essential vocabulary and incredible close up images.

If Sharks Disappeared by Lily Williams

A nonfiction title exploring ecosystems and the importance of keeping oceans healthy. Children will develop an understanding of food chains and how living creatures are interconnected in specific environments.

The World is Not a Rectangle: A Portrait of Architect Zana Hadid by Jeanette Winter

Zaha Hadid had incredible vision but having her designs come to life was a struggle. Learn more about the architect’s life in this nonfiction picture book biography. Images by Winter are spectacular.

Thanks to Alyson from Kid Lit Frenzy for the inspiration to read and share more nonfiction picture books in 2017. Follow the link to Alyson’s blog to read about more nonfiction books you need to read!

Monday December 11th, 2017

Posted on December 11, 2017 by carriegelson

It’s Monday! What are you reading?

Sharing reading and learning from the past 2 weeks.

Each week I share at least one reading photo of the week. I love this photo of Ms. B who works in my classroom (and her helpful page turning assistant) reading a book to a group of avid listeners.

Proud Mama and new reader of the chapter book series Heidi Hecklebeck. These moments 🙂

Our #classroombookaday titles last week were all about persistence and working to solve a problem.

This week we highlighted sibling relationships.

I loved reading student writing about these books.

Again, we noticed the importance of persistence!

Classroom Highlights

My Monday posts now also contain some sharing from our week in the classroom.

We did counting collections this week and used lots of spaces and containers to count a myriad of things: seashells, buttons, bread ties, bottle caps, etc.

As we have explored addition and subtraction equations with unknown numbers we have used numerous materials including Cuisenairre rods, unifex cubes and number charts to help us visualize and represent problems.

We did lots of learning in these past two weeks and lots of playful explorations with our classmates. So much creativity is expressed through play.

In case you missed it – I have compiled my list of gift book recommendations for 2017: 25 amazing titles! Read about them here.

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.

Books I enjoyed:

The Boy and the Whale by Mordicai Gerstein

One boy. One whale tangled in a fishing net. Should the boy disobey his father and risk potential danger to save the whale? Such a story.

Sleep Tight Farm: A Farm Prepares for Winter written by Eugenie Doyle and illustrated by Becca Stadtlander

Such interesting details and routines are involved in putting a farm to bed for the winter. A family works together to complete each important chore.

Fox’s Garden by Princesse Camcam

A breathtaking wordless title.

You’re All Kinds of Wonderful by Nancy Tillman

A celebration of finding our gifts and honouring what is unique about each of us.

Give Bees a Chance by Bethany Barton

What a fun way to learn about bees! Follow along as a reluctant bee enthusiast becomes convinced of the wonder and importance of bees. Entertaining and informative! A must have for school and classroom libraries.

Things to Do by Elaine Magliaro and illustrated by Catia Chien

Read to celebrate the wonder of the world. Use as a mentor text for poetry writing. This book will be read again and again. So excited it is now part of our classroom collection.

Chasing Augustus by Kimberly Newton Fusco

I adored Fusco’s earlier middle grade novel Beholding Bee and have now met another memorable character in Rosie. After her Dad has a stroke, Rosie finds herself living with a grandfather ill prepared for a granddaughter. She also finds herself without her loveable dog Augustus. Determined to find him and bring him home, Rosie battles the world.

Up next? I am reading The Last Fifth Grade of Emerson Elementary by Laura Shovan

Nonfiction Picture Book Wednesday: Some beginning read alouds

Posted on September 16, 2015 by carriegelson

I have a brand new class: a busy group of seven and eight year olds. Many of them are not used to the nonfiction read aloud. But, they love to be read to and they are fascinated when I share facts with them about the world. Nonfiction books are stories of their world and I know they will be hooked. I wandered through my collection yesterday and pulled some titles to start reading aloud.

I needed titles that are not too long. They have to have engaging photos or illustrations. Ideally, there will be some humour or an interactive element (guessing and checking). The language needs to fit and if it can be lyrical and lovely, all the better. Or punchy and action packed!

Here are the ten titles I selected as beginning nonfiction read alouds:

Nest by Jorey Hurley

A series of words and beautiful images to explore birds and their nests.

A Bird Is a Bird by Lizzy Rockwell

What makes a bird a bird exactly? A title to explore all the qualities of a bird.

Bone by Bone: Comparing Animal Skeletons written by Sara Levine with illustrations by T.S. Spookytooth

A fun interactive style. What kind of animal would you be if . . . ?

Guess What is Growing Inside this Egg by Mia Posada

Clues and images lead us to the next page where we find the answer. Perfect to read a few pages at a time.

I’m Trying to Love Spiders by Bethany Barton

Humour, spiders and some splatting. Learning as you laugh! Perfect.

Eat Like a Bear written by April Pulley Sayre and illustrated by Steve Jenkins

Follow a bear over seasons – how and what does a bear eat?

Weeds Find a Way written by Cindy Jenson-Elliott and illustrated by Carolyn Fisher

Lyrical and visually stunning. Appreciate weeds for their beauty and persistence.

A Leaf Can Be . . . by Laura Purdie Salas and illustrated by Violeta Dabija

Beautiful nonfiction describing and hinting at all of the roles leaves can play – from “rain stopper” to “shade spiller” and many more.

Best Foot Forward: Exploring Feet, Flippers, and Claws by Ingo Arndt

Marvel at the various interesting animal feet that different animals use to walk, climb, dig, paddle, etc. There is a guessing from a photograph aspect to this book.

Creature Features: 25 Animals Explain Why They Look the Way They Do by Steve Jenkins and Robin Page

The format is engaging – each animal is introduced with a mini letter/question and answer.

Thanks to Alyson from Kid Lit Frenzy for the inspiration to read and share more nonfiction picture books in 2015. Follow the link to Alyson’s blog to read about more nonfiction books you need to read!

Monday July 20th, 2015

Posted on July 19, 2015 by carriegelson

It’s Monday! What are you reading?

I have been sharing a reading photo of the week each week. Now that it is summer, I am not surrounded every day with little readers so . . . I am choosing moments from the year not previously shared. “We love reading together,” these reading buddies announced with an ultimate squishy face hug and a huge book stack. How we love when the Kindergarten buddies come to read with us.

From the classroom 2014/2015 archives:

On the blog this week:

Top Ten Tuesday: The Last Ten Books that Came into my Possession

For Nonfiction Picture Book Wednesday: A Year of Nonfiction Picture Books Revisited

A little bit of picture book dreaming: Picture Book Wishlist: July 2015

Celebration: Blogging Escapades

Sunday Morning Perspective: Reflections on the power of classroom community

Lots of reading happened too. Sharing my favourite titles here:

Picture books:

Mo and Beau by Vanya Nastanlieva

Adorable. Simple repetitive language leaves lots of room for observation. Perfect for little ones.

No More Kisses for Bernard! by Niki Daly

A great title to explore talking about personal boundaries. Bernard has four aunties that are much too kissy. How is his “No more kisses!” request respected? Quite creatively.

Nonfiction picture books:

Sweep up the Sun by Helen Frost and Rick Lieder

Beautiful pairing of incredible close up photos and perfectly matched poetry.

Whale Trails, Before and Now written by Lesa Cline-Ransome and illustrated by G. Brian Karas

Documents the history of the whaling industry and contrasts it to current whale watching practices.

I’m Trying to Love Spiders by Bethany Barton

Lots of humour. Spider facts. Some arachnid squashing. All in a genuine quest for spider love.

Transitional chapter books:

The Adventures of Sophie Mouse: A New Friend written by Poppy Green and illustrated by Jennifer A. Bell

Sweet early chapter title. Themes of friendship and community.

The Princess in Black is written by Shannon and Dean Hale and illustrated by LeUyen Pham

Princess Magnolia leads a double life! She ditches her frilly pink dresses to don her Princess in Black disguise and act as a kind of super hero in the kingdom. What fun!

Novels:

The Great Good Summer by Liz Garton Scanlon

Many things I appreciated about this middle grade novel. It is so wonderfully character driven but still many things happen. Strong friendships. Family loyalty. Persistence. Courage. Forgiveness. Just plain lovely.

Updates on my 2015 Reading Goals:

2015 Chapter Book Challenge: 38/80 complete

Goodreads Challenge: 255/415 books read

#MustReadin2015: 15/24 complete

Nonfiction Picture Book Challenge: 52/100 titles

Diverse Books in 2015: 26/50 books read

Up next? I am reading the very clever Phoebe and her Unicorn by Dana Simpson and Black Dove, White Raven by Elizabeth Wein

Happy Reading everyone!

Top Ten Tuesday: The Last Ten Books That Came into my Possession

Posted on July 13, 2015 by carriegelson

It’s time for Top Ten Tuesday, a meme created by The Broke and Bookish.

This week’s topic? The Last Ten Books That Came into my Possession

A hard one to answer – I just visited the book store and did a huge hold pick up at the library. A LOT of books just came into my possession! So, I thought I would think back over the last few months and make a list that shows some variety – both in the kinds of books and the kinds of reasons I now own them.

Shared in no particular order:

The Alex Crow by Andrew Smith

I managed to purchase this book days before it was released. Andrew Smith was here in Vancouver to speak at a literacy conference so the book was brought in a little early. And I got it signed. And I got to chat books and teaching with Andrew Smith. What could be better?

Jinx’s Fire by Sage Blackwood

My copy of this is an ARC that I got at nErD Camp Bellingham this spring. I own and have read the first two titles in this trilogy so can’t wait to read this one! It might be a read aloud to my children. I read them the second title and we finished it quite delightfully in the forest.

A Handful of Stars by Cynthia Lord

I am so excited to meet Cynthia Lord next spring at the Western Washington University’s Children’s Literature Conference! I purchased this book at the end of the year from Scholastic so I could be caught up!

Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson

I read and loved this title when it was first released. Then I heard that Jacqueline was coming to Vancouver. I purchased the first two tickets sold to see her! My husband and I had an evening out – hearing Jacqueline Woodson and all of her brilliance and then we went for dinner. I bought a copy to have signed and I smile every time I see it on my shelf.

Mark of a Thief by Jennifer A. Nielsen

I am a huge fan of Jennifer Nielsen. My children and I went to see her when Vancouver Kidsbooks hosted an author evening last year. As a family we listened to The False Prince and then I read the next two titles in the series aloud to my children. I was eagerly anticipating this novel and lucky me, received it as a gift from one of my classroom volunteers. So excited to read it!

Pool by JiHyeon Lee

I am completely helpless to the power of wordless titles. When I discover one that is beautiful, I can’t resist purchasing it. This one had me at the cover.

Wish by Matthew Cordell

I have a huge variety of emotional and beautiful reasons why I had to own this book. It was meant for me as I know it is meant for many who finally have their most important of all wishes granted.

Ballet Cat: The Totally Secret Secret by Bob Shea

Oh Bob Shea. You have full out giggle power over my students. I read this. Bought it. Read it aloud. Had it snatched from me. Daily, it would be momentarily returned. “Read it to all of us again.” I would. Then, snatched again. There are currently no students in my classroom. HA! I can go and read it anytime I want. Come September, I know I will never see it again. As it should be.

Egg: Nature’s Perfect Package by Steve Jenkins and Robin Page

Anything Steve Jenkins does, I have to own. I am always reading some parts of a Jenkins title to my students. We learn so much, so beautifully, from this man!

I’m Trying to Love Spiders by Bethany Barton

I have a brand new group of students this fall. I want to hook them quickly on nonfiction – what better way to do it than through humour and spiders. Learning as you laugh! Perfect.

What have you purchased/acquired lately and why?