Monday August 15th, 2016

Posted on August 15, 2016 by carriegelson

It’s Monday! What are you reading?

Each week I share a reading photo of the week. During the summer, these photos will be about getting my classroom library up and running for a room full of readers in September. This past week has been all about sorting and stacking. Where is the best spot for each book? And then how am I going to make a system so students can access titles? New grade, new class means new thinking. There is a blog post brewing . . .

And look at all of those piles! I am not even close to done.

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:

This week was all about #pb10for10! My list? Big questions: picture books that inspire philosophical discussion

Books I enjoyed:

If a T. Rex Crashes your Birthday Party written by Jill Esbaum with illustrations by Dasha Tolstikova

What could go wrong? This book provides a list. Stinky breath. Loud tantrums. Ineptitude with party games (those little arms). Pure disaster? It seems so. Or does it? A great title for dino lovers and birthday party enthusiasts. I giggled through it. Perfect story time title.

This Book Just Ate My Dog! by Richard Byrne

Really, really funny. And interactive and delightful. If I was teaching Grade 1 this year, this would be a first week read aloud.

Barnacle is Bored by Jonathan Fenske

This book is so well done. Talking about the story is giving away the story. So I’ll just say this: clever, really funny, perfect read aloud to inspire much conversation about how to look at life.

The Mutts Diaries by Patrick McDonnell

Strips collected. I love reading these first thing in the morning and just smiling to myself.

Lily and Dunkin by Donna Gephart

I had a really hard time leaving this book to do all of the things life requires: eat, sleep, empty the dishwasher, wake up my kids. I was completely taken with these characters from page one. Gephart can write. And her words are full of human, of beauty, of deep feelings. It’s hard to describe the reading experience. You will get battered. You will worry. You will learn. And you will connect deeply to these characters. I now want everyone I know to read this book so we can talk about it. There is so much here. And I haven’t even talked plot. Go. Find the book. Meet Lily. Meet Dunkin. You will be better because of it.

Reading Progress updates:

2016 Chapter Book Challenge: 32/75 complete

Goodreads Challenge: 219/400 books read

#MustReadin2016: 20/30 complete

Nonfiction Picture Book Challenge: 31/100 titles

Diverse Books in 2016: 28/50 books read

Up Next? I am reading a number of titles including Nine, Ten: A September 11th Story

Monday April 18th, 2016

Posted on April 17, 2016 by carriegelson

It’s Monday! What are you reading?

Each week I share a reading photo of the week. This week it is all about reading a Jon Klassen favourite to your little brother during buddy reading!

For our #classroombookaday, we loved lots of books about community and home.

On the blog:

Teeny Tiny Toady: Questions and Answers with author and illustrator

Diverse Children’s Books: Water in our World

Books I enjoyed:

Ida, Always written by Caron Levis and illustrated by Charles Santoso

This is a tender book about friendship and loss. Allows for conversations about preparing for a death and carrying on. A very special (fictional) story based on a real connection between two bears in New York’s Central Park Zoo.

Teeny Tiny Toady written by Jill Esbaum and illustrated by Keika Yamaguchi

I featured this title this week with an interview with author and illustrator answering questions from my students. A sweet little rhyming book all about clever solutions, tiny sister power and love for family that conquers all! And peeking under the book jacket is a must!

Anna Carries Water written by Olive Senior and illustrated by Laura James

Set in the Caribbean, this is the story of young Anna who strives to master the task of carrying water on her head. This story is beautifully illustrated and is, more than anything, a story of childhood: wanting to be grown up, wanting to be able to do what older siblings can do, wanting to face a fear.

Beyond the Pond by Joseph Kuefler

I love the fantasy and imaginative elements of this story. One day Ernest D decides to explore the world beyond the pond . . .

Mr Squirrel and the Moon by Sebastian Meschenmoser

It seems that the moon has landed on Mr. Squirrel’s tree. Or has it? It definitely seems to be the case and he has quite the time trying to be rid of it.

One Day, The End Short, Very Short, Shorter-Than-Ever Stories by Rebecca Kai Dotlich and illustrated by Fred Koehler

Simply short stories full of images of all that happens in between. Perfect for Writer’s Workshop to talk about the importance of details, the power of illustrations, visual literacy, the large possibilities in small moments.

The Princess in Black (#2) and the Perfect Princess Party by Shannon Hale and Dean Hale

I love nothing better than reading these titles aloud to my class. They love them! This one was lots and lots of fun!

Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys

I can’t stop thinking about this book. One of the best books I have read. Ever. Sepetys just keeps getting better. This is some kind of historical fiction. Full of adventure, war time atrocities, human kindness and connection. It also tells the story of a real historical event that many of us know nothing about – the sinking of the Wilhelm Gustloff, the biggest and most tragic disaster in maritime history. Heartbreaking, compelling, an incredible read.

Reading Progress updates:

2016 Chapter Book Challenge: 15/75 complete

Goodreads Challenge: 115/400 books read

#MustReadin2016: 13/30 complete

Nonfiction Picture Book Challenge: 16/100 titles

Diverse Books in 2016: 14/50 books read

Up next? I am in the middle of All Rise for the Honorable Perry T Cook by Leslie Connor

Teeny Tiny Toady: Questions and Answers with Jill Esbaum and Keika Yamaguchi

Posted on April 16, 2016 by carriegelson

Teeny Tiny Toady written by Jill Esbaum and illustrated by Keika Yamaguchi (Sterling Books 2016) features a teeny toad who was a big hero with my little readers!

Teeny is a tiny toad with seven older toad brothers and a Mom who has been snatched away from her and plunked into a bucket by human hands. How will Teeny save her Mom when she is so very . . . teeny? It turns out that small really is powerful in this sweet little rhyming book all about clever solutions, tiny sister power and love for family that conquers all!

My students loved listening to this book and adored revisiting its pages. Here they share some favourite scenes.

We love to celebrate end pages and this title has some gorgeous ones! There is also a wonderful surprise under the book jacket! Take a peek.

Here are my students questions for author Jill Esbaum. Her answers are in green.

Where did you find all of those interesting words? Is it hard to rhyme text?

I’ve always liked finding words that are interesting or really expressive or fun to say. I also like words that sound like their meaning – like plop and flop and slop. And, writing in rhyme? That’s VERY hard – but it’s a fun kind of hard.

Do you brainstorm your ideas before?

I do brainstorm first. After I come up with a character who has a problem, I sit down with a pen and a big yellow pad and brainstorm things that might go wrong for my character. I want to find ways to make things WORSE for her before they get better. For me, the toughest part of writing a story is finding an ending that makes sense and is also a bit of a surprise for readers.

Did you want to write a book where a girl character was really brave and awesome?

I did! When I was a kid, boys were always coming to the rescue in stories. I wanted GIRLS to do the rescuing. (I also grew up with a big brother. Does that tell you anything?)

Why toads?

Sometimes, in the springtime, I find a teeny little toad in one of my flower beds. They’re soooo cute. But they’re also tiny and defenceless! I started wondering what it would be like to be the tiniest toad in a family of big, strong brothers. The story took off from there.

Do you like frogs or toads more?

Hmm. I just wrote a story with a frog character, so I don’t think I can pick. I like both!

We love to say the title Teeny Tiny Toady!

Thanks for the compliment that the title is fun to say! I think so, too! 🙂

Illustrator Keika Yamaguchi also answered some questions from my students! Her answers are in pink.

Why did you decide to paint Teeny a little bit pink? (We liked it)

I needed Teeny to stand out in the book. Since I knew the book will have a lot of green color from the grass, I took the opposite color of green, which is red tweaked it by adding white to the color (that makes the color pink). I also knew that the brothers will be mostly brown so I made sure she has some hint of brown color. I combined those two colors, and that’s how I came up with her color!

How do you figure out how to show all of the feelings on a toad’s face?

I have to imagine myself in the place of each character when I draw them. So while I am imagining, I look at myself in the mirror and make faces or I look online to see how someone looks like when they feel a certain way. I need to make sure what I’m trying to say through the character’s expression, all readers can understand.

Did you study a lot about toads to make this book?

I mainly did research on the appearance and the size of the toads when I was coming up with the designs of the characters.

Do you like frogs or toads more?

I love them both 🙂

*Thanks to Josh at Sterling Books for a review copy!

Monday September 28th, 2015

Posted on September 27, 2015 by carriegelson

It’s Monday! What are you reading?

I have been sharing a reading photo of the week each week. This week I had to share a very special reading moment. This is one of many reading duos that happens during afternoon reading where a more confident reader spontaneously reads aloud to a growing reader who joins in when he or she can. It it a pretty delightful thing to watch.

I missed last week’s post due to a computer glitch so this is 2 weeks worth of updates. I narrowed it down to my favourite picture books to keep the list reasonable.

On the blog:

For Top Ten Tuesday: Ten dinner invitations I would accept in the world of MG/YA fiction

Nonfiction Picture Book Wednesday: Some beginning read alouds

An honest check in regarding the literacy in my new classroom: Celebration: From Here

Celebration: Little Sparks (a week later we are beginning to fan those little sparks)

Books I loved:

I am Yoga written by Susan Verde and illustrated by Peter H. Reynolds

Gorgeous. It reads calm and pure just like its message.

Lady Pancake & Sir French Toast written by Josh Funk and illustrated by Brendan Kearney

I was so thrilled to share this title as a read aloud and am even more excited to invite my last year’s students to a recess read aloud later this week (we pre-loved this book back in June). So much silly, so much funny, rhymes that work and a trail of suspense as we move through a refrigerator adventure. We laughed a lot during this book but there was also lots of absolutely “captured” little faces waiting to discover what would happen next! Josh Funk managed to achieve an ideal balance between the silly and the adventure. I actually read this aloud to an adult after school on Thursday who was equally captivated. It’s that good that you immediately want to rush out and find a listener!

Some highlights of our read aloud experience:

Early on when Lady Pancake and Sir French Toast announced that they were going to race for the last drop of syrup, one little boy started to quietly chant, “Share it! Share it!” At the end, he shook his head. “See, they should have shared.”
On page four, one child leaned into another and announced: “I like this book already.”
During the bean avalanche, one little boy started shaking his head, “Oh oh. The beans are waking up and getting cranky.”
When BVW did his thing (avoiding a spoiler alert for those of you who haven’t read it), many children began a conversation that ended with general consensus that BVW should be eaten!
There was pure despair when the butter was going to be shared. “No, don’t let the butter die!”
During playtime, about 30 minutes after we finished the book, one little boy came up to me and said very seriously, “I’m voting for the waffle.”
This was our #classroombookaday book of the week with many many votes and a little note scrawled on the chalkboard that I discovered at the end of the day “+ 500 more”

In a Cloud of Dust by Alma Fullerton and illustrated by Brian Deines

An important book that depicts how access to education is so very complicated. With a bicycle, a long arduous walk transforms into a manageable ride.

Elwood Bigfoot: Wanted: Birdie Friends by Jill Esbaum and illustrated by Nate Wragg

This is one sweet book. So lovely that I will soon be featuring it on the blog with student reactions (also very sweet). I am completely smitten with Elwood.

Water Can Be . . . by Laura Purdie Salas and illustrated by Violeta Dabija

I adore all of these titles by Salas and Dabija but am perhaps most excited to share this one with my class when we begin our theme on water in a few weeks. Such an amazing book to allow students to think more broadly and creatively about something so much a part of their lives.

Hilo: The Boy who Crashed to the Earth by Judd Winick

Oh Hilo! Joy. Adventure. High degree of action. Engaging characters. An absolute winner in the graphic novel department.

The Mountain Story by Lori Lansens

It is totally cliche to talk of being completely lost in a book about being lost in the mountains. But, this book pulled me in and I had a really difficult time putting it down. Lori Lansens is one of my all time favourite writers so I couldn’t miss this title when I heard it was released. An incredible survival story that leads us nowhere safe through memories, dreams and visions. Wolf Truly sets off on his eighteenth birthday to jump to his death from a ridge overlooking Palm Springs. Up on the mountain he meets three women, three generations of one family who become stranded with Wolf. This is a story you won’t soon forget.

Updates on my 2015 Reading Goals:

2015 Chapter Book Challenge: 54/80 complete

Goodreads Challenge: 332/415 books read

#MustReadin2015: 16/24 complete

Nonfiction Picture Book Challenge: 60/100 titles

Diverse Books in 2015: 39/50 books read

Up next? I am reading a number of titles including Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty ( a rare adult read)

Monday June 2nd, 2014

Posted on June 1, 2014 by carriegelson

It’s Monday! What are you reading?

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. You are guaranteed to find something new to add to your list.

My favourite picture books of the week? Most seem to be perfect story time books for little readers 🙂

I Hatched! written by Jill Esbaum and illustrated by Jen Corace

Little baby chick hatches and sets off with gusto to explore the world and his ability to move so wonderfully within it. Full of energy and charm. Text is rhyming and full of action.

Run-run-run-run!

Hurry-scurry!

Bet my little legs are blurry.

Nest by Jorey Hurley

I want some of these pages framed on my wall. All that is simple – nature, seasonal rhythms, family. Just a beautiful book. One word a page and no more are necessary.

The Cat at Night by Dahlov Ipcar

How stunning is this cover? The entire book is a visual treat. Reissued in 2008 (originally published in 1969) What does cat see on these nighttime adventures? Allows children to understand about night vision and why cats are so sleepy during the day!

When Elephant met Giraffe by Paul Gude

Three little stories about being a friend. Perfect for younger listeners. Giraffe is quiet while Elephant tends towards bossy and insensitive. Together they work it all out with lots of learning along the way.

Peek-A-Boo Bunny by Holly Surplice

I absolutely adored the illustrations in this sweet little book. Perfect for a preschool story time or for your own little listeners. I can imagine this one would be a read often book. Adorable hide and seek with bunny and his forest friends.

Duck, Duck, Moose! written by Sudipta Bardham-Quallen and illustrated by Noah Z. Jones

Ducks. A moose. Lots of silly, clumsy and disasters. You can’t help but laugh and find moose, in all of his awkwardness, purely endearing.

A featured read aloud:

I’ve decided to sometimes feature a powerful read aloud in this Monday post with some student reactions. It may be a book I have featured before (this week it is) and often a title I have already read multiple times (again, yes). But usually sharing a book in detail with students is an entire other experience. And sometimes I want to share!

Miss Moore Thought Otherwise: How Anne Carroll Moore created Libraries for Children written by Jan Pinborough and illustrated by Debby Atwell

What a story of how one woman acted as a champion for children’s access to books, libraries and beautiful spaces. A book you must have in your nonfiction picture book biography collection if you love children and children’s books! Learn how Miss Moore opened the children’s room at the New York City Public Library and inspired others all over the world to create library spaces suited for children.

We were certainly inspired by Miss Moore! Some student responses from their written reviews:

“She went to each library and saw kids books locked up in a shelf, telling the kids don’t touch books, silence signs hanged up on the wall and shushing kids.”

“My favourite part was when Ms. Moore made kids lives better and the kids from all over loved her very much. She’s a hero. When she saw some libraries, it was like just a nightmare to the kids.”

“Ms. Moore was an important librarian. She made a kids section and it had pink tiles from England on the floor. She made a nature center and comfortable seats for children. When she retired, she went all over the world to teach other people to make good libraries. Because of Miss Moore, we now have kids sections in libraries.”

“She wanted kids to have fun with books and to learn. In New York, the government let her be the boss of a bunch of libraries. But when she saw the kids’ section she was sad and disappointed because the librarians didn’t even let the kids touch books. She changed everything.”

I didn’t finish reading any novels this week as I am reading two and reading lots to my children – we are almost finished Jinx’s Magic by Sage Blackwood. I have been exhausted with all of the horribleness that is BC Education right now (mentioned it a little here) and just falling into bed at night. It has cut into my reading. Next week I plan to take back my life from all that is ridiculous and finish both A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness and The Killing Woods by Lucy Christopher. I certainly need the escape that books offer!

Reading Goal updates:

2014 Chapter Book Challenge: 40/100 novels complete

Goodeads Challenge: 274/650 books read

#MustReadin2014: 16/30 complete

Nonfiction Picture Book Challenge: 67/65 complete

Tom’s Tweet

Posted on March 31, 2012 by carriegelson

Maria, our BLG reader brought us a very funny story this week. When we spied a cat on the back cover, the shouting started, “It’s Chester!” “No, Splat!” Obviously we have a thing for quirky cat characters. And with Tom’s Tweet, written by Jill Esbaum and illustrated by Dan Santat, we have a new feline to add to our list of endearing, funny cats!

What’s a poor cat to do when a potential treat turns out to be a shivering tweet? He can’t in good conscious eat a little thing that is just “feather and bone” even if it is a bird and he is a cat . . . And how exactly did Tom end up with a tweet between his lips on route to return it to its nest while being pecked at by an angry Mama Bird? Could this cat have a soft spot for the little Tweet? It seems so. And it makes for quite a hilarious story.

One of my students kept whispering to me as Maria read, “It will be about kindness.” “It’s going to be about kindness.” “Really, just wait, this will be a kindness book!” We have been reading many picture books on this theme and he saw through Tom the Cat’s bravado early on in the story. This cat was a goner for the little Tweet. There is even snuggling! Even though Tom insists he is “not that kind of cat.” In the end, even Mama Tweet realizes Tom’s true nature and emplys him to do some “tweety -sitting.” Dan Santat’s illustrations are superbly animated and our read aloud was full of giggles and smiles. A wonderful book for happy sharing!

Our student reviewers report:

Truman: I really like the illustrations and the part where Tom gets pecked! Funny!

Isa: I liked the part when Tom was dreaming about the birds. He couldn’t help it. That was so funny.

Khai: It was funny when Tom had to babysit the tweets!