Monday July 23rd, 2012

Posted on July 23, 2012 by carriegelson

It’s Monday What are you reading?

Here is my second post participating in Kelly and Jen‘s meme that celebrates all of the great literature being read by avid book lovers and bloggers (from picture books to YA fiction)

Picture Books I read this week:

My Dad is Big and Strong but . . . (A Bedtime Story) written by Coralie Saudo and illustrated by Kris Di Giacomo Loved the muted colours in the illustrations and the interesting twist on the going to bed battle.

Unfortunately written by Alan Durant and illustrated by Simon Rickerty. I purchased this book and The Plot Chickens this spring to add to my mentor texts to inspire writing. Can see this book inspiring mini stories illustrated in graphic style panels. Finally got a chance to read these titles I uncovered a basket of books in my new book area that I had thought I misplaced!

The Plot Chickens written by Mary Jane Auch and illustrated by Herm Auch. Such a fun book to emphasize important story elements.

East Dragon West Dragon written by Robyn Eversole and illustrated by Scott Campbell. I found this book at the library but would put it in my “diversity” bin at school if I end up purchasing it.

Swirl by Swirl (Spirals in Nature) written by Joyce Sidman and illustrated by Beth Krommes I finally read this book after seeing it on multiple lists all year. It is really as gorgeous and amazing as all of the hype!

I read and really enjoyed three middle grade titles:

Kepler’s Dream by Juliet Bell. I loved this book for many reasons: that it celebrates the love of books, that is has a well developed inter-generational relationship (grandmother and granddaughter) and that it explores themes of friendship, serious family illness, divorce and growing independence so well. Will recommend this title to previous students who love realistic fiction with strong characters.

Olivia Bean Trivia Queen by Donna Gephart. My almost Grade 5 daughter and I both read this book this week and both of us really liked it. Such a fabulous book that looks at the friendship and family dynamics of a middle grade student. Olivia is a great character and I adored the little brother!

Because of Mr Terupt by Rob Buyea. Really well done novel told from seven different perspectives. Lots to think about as a teacher re the classroom community we build.

I am currently reading The Lions of Little Rock by Kristin Levine.

Other Reading:

I read the third Binky book – Binky Under Pressure. These titles are so popular in my classroom and I am excited to add this one to the collection.

I also read Kylie Jean Spelling Queen This is part of a series about a little Texan girl who aspires to be a beauty queen (role models??) and has a dog named Ugly Brother (funny). Very accessible for those children just beginning chapter series.

Looking forward to another week of reading! Hurray for summer!

Willie and Uncle Bill

Posted on June 30, 2012 by carriegelson

Our last BLG book of the year was read by Deborah. Willie and Uncle Bill by Amy Schwartz is a hilarious collection of three adventures all ideal to read out loud!

There are babysitters and then there are babysitters. Babysitters of the “Let’s embrace a little wild, a little mischief, a little of what your mother doesn’t know won’t hurt her” kind. Uncle Bill is that guy. He is the kind of uncle/babysitter that introduces Willie to adventures of the everyday kind (“Let’s make icky stew!”), the rockstar kind (guitars, squeals and stomps) and the because we must kind (thank goodness for barbers who can make self styled cuts “all better”). And . . . . the house still looks good when Mom returns (being a Mom, I noticed this important detail).

A lovely read aloud celebrating family, fun and adventure.

Stuck

Posted on May 4, 2012 by carriegelson

Picture Book Love #5: Celebrating picture books that are just too good not to gush over.

“Ms. Gelson have you blogged about that book yet?” I am asked this question about six times a day. I have been asked this question since last week. I am asked this question everyday at least a half a dozen times because it is basically the class consensus that I am holding the book Stuck by Oliver Jeffers hostage. I have the book at home to blog about it and share how much we absolutely adored it. Therefore, I am preventing it from being on our “New Books” stand in the classroom where it could be fought over daily so that children could relive their joy independently or in small groups (I’m pretty sure this book is one of those books that has a child magnet in it – no child can be within 2 meters of it without being lured closer and closer). All of my excuses do not suffice. I have extreme guilt. I have been busy but I know that doesn’t count because this book needs to return to our classroom NOW so we can give it the love it deserves! So here we go:

WE LOVE THIS BOOK. LOVE OF THE “READ IT AGAIN” CHANT KIND. LOVE AS IN WE LAUGHED, WE CRIED, WE ALMOST DIED. LOVE. LOVE LOVE.

Why? It’s not because we are already Oliver Jeffers fans. (Even though we are) It’s not because this book is about some fantastically amazing creature or place. No monsters. No wild beasts. No magic. It is beautifully simple really. Just a boy. A kite. And a tree. But Jeffers weaves little boy logic with the right dose of the absurd and creates a picture book that sends children into laughing mania. Beautiful shout out laughter that makes you laugh even more when shared. This book read aloud in a classroom of book lovers is a force to be reckoned with.

The plot? Floyd gets his kite stuck in a tree. He can’t pull it down so he throws his shoe at it. It also gets stuck. So he throws his other shoe. Stuck. Up went Mitch the cat. (He was tossed. He didn’t amble up of his own accord in case you might be wondering) Again, stuck. When Floyd fetches a ladder and ends up tossing it into the tree in the attempt to dislodge everything, a few students fell over. Really! “Why would he throw it? Oh man!” This tossing of items up the tree continues. When the kitchen sink goes up, we really were losing it. “He’s crazy!” “My God!” “At least it’s just a kitchen sink!” More things end up in the tree. Much larger and seemingly impossible things. The absurdity did us in. We were bowled over by giggles. I heard a few, “Please. Make it stop,” requests. Almost as if I was tickling each child without mercy. But no, I was just reading the book!

When Floyd finds the saw . . . Well let’s just say that his decision completely put us over the edge. The laughter engulfed us. Nobody could get a word out. When the book ended and the breathing slowly returned to normal, the unsolicited reviews began:

“That’s the best book ever! A 10 out of 5!”

“That book was awesome. The most awesome. The best book in the world!”

“I loved it infinity and beyond!”

So mission accomplished. Book is blogged. It is going in my bag to return to the classroom tomorrow. My prediction? I will be begged to read it immediately again and then it will travel from desk to desk spreading picture book joy.

Just . . . How big is the world . . . anyway?

Posted on February 3, 2011 by carriegelson

Britta Teckentrup’s How Big is the World? certainly inspired us to ask that question and many more as we followed little mole on his journey to discover just how big the world is by asking all of the creatures he meets on his important journey to find his answer. From spiders to whales, all of the creatures give him an answer but each one is different.

Some questions we began to wonder as we read this book:

Does everyone have their own thoughts about the world and how big it is? (Jena)

Will the little mole ever find out? (Truman)

Will the mole have another big question after this question? (Lisa)

Does the world ever end? (Sergio)

I wonder if you want the world to end, if you have to go off the world? (Jenny)

Well then how big is space? (Jeremiah)

Litle Mole does have an answer for his Papa when he returns.

“How big is the world?” whispered Papa. “As big as you want it to be,” said Little Mole quietly and he went to sleep.

This made lots of sense to some of us. “That’s because each animal had a different answer!” “It depends on who you ask!” “The animals could only talk about what they knew.” But Catriona wasn’t satisfied. “That isn’t true,” she said shaking her head. “It is a specific size.”

Britta Teckentrup is also the author/illustrator of Grumpy Cat and Big Smelly Bear which are very popular books in our picture book bins.