Tag Archives: Meilo So

Monday May 30th, 2016

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It’s Monday! What are you reading?

Each week I share a reading photo of the week or two (or three . . . )

Book sharing circles were a big hit this week.

Monday May 30th, 2016 IMWAYR There's a Book for That

We perused numerous picture books from our collection.

Monday May 30th, 2016 IMWAYR There's a Book for That

And as always, buddy reading with the kindergarten class was a joy!

Monday May 30th, 2016 IMWAYR There's a Book for That

Monday May 30th, 2016 IMWAYR There's a Book for That

For our #classroombookaday, I pulled out some older favourites and the beloved Boy + Bot which got a lot of love!

Monday May 30th, 2016 IMWAYR There's a Book for That

It inspired some robot drawings.

Monday May 30th, 2016 IMWAYR There's a Book for That

We went on to paint our robots and cut them out. This week we will be designing robot landscapes.Monday May 30th, 2016 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.

IMWAYR 2015

On the blog:

It was a pleasure to share the progress my readers have made: Celebration: Readers Happened Here

For Nonfiction Picture book Wednesday: Tooth by Tooth

Slice of Life: What I Shouldn’t Say

Books I enjoyed:

Swatch: The Girl who Loved Color by Julia Denos 

This book is all kinds of bright and beautiful. It begs to inspire – numerous rereads, art projects, poems. I want to walk outside and give every colour its own special name – like bravest green (which shoots up in March). Wouldn’t you like to be a colour collector?

Swatch Monday May 30th, 2016 IMWAYR There's a Book for That

Finding Wild written by Megan Wagner Lloyd and illustrated by Abigail Halpin

Again, a book to inspire. Where can you find wild? What is wild to you? Why do we need wild? How is wild beautiful and dangerous all at the same time. Just so full of wow.

Finding Wild Monday May 30th, 2016 IMWAYR There's a Book for That

Whose Story is this, Anyway? written by Mike Flaherty and illustrated by Oriol Vidal

Its hard to tell your own story when other characters keep happening by . . .

Whose Story is this, anyway? Monday May 30th, 2016 IMWAYR There's a Book for That

One student is convinced this book is made just for him and, well, could the author make some more like this soon please? You know with pirates and dinosaurs and aliens and all? Major kid appeal here!

Monday May 30th, 2016 IMWAYR There's a Book for That

Solomon and Mortimer by Catherine Rayner

Oh these cheeky, sneaky crocodiles. I read this book and was convinced that these characters are actually my students masquerading as crocodiles. This book is funny and charming and will be the first book I read aloud this week.

Solomon-Mortimer Monday May 30th, 2016 IMWAYR There's a Book for That

Flora and the Peacocks by Molly Idle

Oh Flora, you sure can move. And this time with not one, but two, dancing partners. Stunning all around!

Flora and the Peacocks Monday May 30th, 2016 IMWAYR There's a Book for That

Charlotte and the Quiet Place written by Deborah Sosin and illustrated by Sara Woolley

A book about needing and finding a quiet place and then recreating it despite the noise. Perfect for our mindfulness practice.

Charlotte and the Quiet Place Monday May 30th, 2016 IMWAYR There's a Book for That

Happy Birthday Madame Chapeau written by Andrea Beaty and illustrated by David Roberts

Rhyming text and pages and pages of creative, incredible hats!

Happy Birthday Madame Chapeau Monday May 30th, 2016 IMWAYR There's a Book for That

Otters Love to Play written by Jonathan London and illustrated by Meilo So

I adored this title and learned a lot about otters. Baby river otters spend the year doing all things otters do, especially the thing they do best – play! Loved the pages about otters in the snow.

Otters Love to Play Monday May 30th, 2016 IMWAYR There's a Book for That

Hour of the Bees by Lindsay Eagar

This book transports the reader to a time and a place and a family and a story that you want to walk around in and sense every tiny sensation – the smells of the Mexican cooking, the sound of a lone bee buzzing in your ear, the vastness of a desert ranch, the tingling feeling of a story that is wrapped up in history and magic. I don’t always love magical realism but in this story, it worked. I wanted to believe all of it. And maybe I should . . .

hour of the Bees Monday May 30th, 2016 IMWAYR There's a Book for That

Reading Progress updates:

2016 Chapter Book Challenge: 20/75 complete

Goodreads Challenge: 158/400 books read

#MustReadin2016: 17/30 complete

Nonfiction Picture Book Challenge: 23/100 titles

Diverse Books in 2016: 19/50 books read

Up next? I am reading House Arrest by K.A. Holt

I wanted to see a whale

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One of my very favourite picture books of all time is If You Want to See a Whale written by Julie Fogliano and illustrated by Erin E. Stead When I first read this book, I had just spent a week at a summer house waiting to see a whale. I never did. But this book reminded me of how very much I longed for one to pass through the ocean as I gazed out ever so patiently at the water.If you want to see a whale I wanted to see a whale There's a Book for ThatHow I adore this book. I love it because it’s beautiful. It is gentle and calm. It reads like I imagined a whale might move – softly, smoothly and ever so gracefully. But I mostly love it because I really do want to see a whale. It tempts me with the possibility. It lures me with the one day . . . The maybe . . .

Now, I love this book for another most perfect reason. Finally, I have seen my whale. We just spent over a week in Roberts Creek on the Sunshine Coast of B.C and we saw a gray whale just off the beach close to where we were staying. Honestly, I got teary. It was one of the most beautiful experiences in nature I have ever had.

I wanted to see a whale There's a Book for That

Of course we were not the only ones enamoured with this whale. While we watched from shore, a few small boats watched from closer by.

I wanted to see a whale There's a Book for That

Two kayakers stopped as well.

I wanted to see a whale There's a Book for That

Here are my children watching the water for sightings of “our” whale. Every few minutes it would surface to exhale.

I wanted to see a whale There's a Book for That

I was lucky enough to see this whale on three different occasions and each time I watched it for at least thirty minutes. Once, we saw it in the evening. It was so quiet and the sound of the whale exhaling is something I won’t ever forget.

If you are like me and have had dreams of seeing a whale, here are some more picture books – both fiction and nonfiction that will make you long for the experience even more. I have always been “swoony” about whale illustrations. I suspect this sighting will make me more so.

The Blue Whale by Jenni Desmond

The Blue Whale I wanted to see a whale There's a Book for That

Trapped! A Whale’s Rescue written by Robert Burleigh and illustrated by Wendell Minor
Trapped! A Whale's Rescue I wanted to see a whale There's a Book for That

The Eye of the Whale: A Rescue Story by Jennifer O’Connell

The Eye of the Whale I wanted to see a whale There's a Book for ThatBig Blue Whale written by Nicola Davies and illustrated by Nick Maland
big blue whale I wanted to see a whale There's a Book for ThatHere Come the Humpbacks written by April Pulley Sayre and illustrated by Jamie Hogan
here come the humpbacks I wanted to see a whale There's a Book for That Three Bears in a Boat by David Soman Three Bears in a Boat I wanted to see a whale There's a Book for That Flotsam by David WiesnerFlotsam I wanted to see a whale There's a Book for ThatJumping Penguins illustrated by Marije Tolman with text by Jesse Goossens
Jumping Penguins I wanted to see a whale There's a Book for ThatFollowing Papa’s Song by Gianna Marino 
Following Papa's Song I wanted to see a whale There's a Book for ThatThe Storm Whale by Benji Davies

The Storm Whale I wanted to see a whale There's a Book for ThatWater Sings Blue: Ocean Poems by Kate Coombs illustrated by Meilo So
Water Sings Blue I wanted to see a whale There's a Book for ThatThe Mermaid and the Shoe by K. G. Campbell
mermaid and the shoe I wanted to see a whale There's a Book for ThatBilly Twitters and his Blue Whale Problem written by Mac Barnett and illustrated by Adam Rex
Billy Twitters I wanted to see a whale There's a Book for ThatWild Ideas: Let Nature Inspire Your Thinking written by Elin Kelsey and illustrated by Soyeon Kim
Wild Ideas I wanted to see a whale There's a Book for That

To the Sea by Cale Atkinson

To the Sea I wanted to see a whale There's a Book for That

Have you seen a whale in the wild?  I would love to hear about it!

Nonfiction Picture Book Wednesday: Water connects us all

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I have been exploring the new B.C. curriculum drafts for Social Studies and thinking about what directions we might take in my Grade 2/3 class next year.

A few of the big ideas:

  • Local actions have global consequences, and global actions have local consequences.
  • Communities are interconnected with their natural environment

Some content items:

  • diverse features of the environment in other parts of Canada and the world
  • responsibilities of global citizenship
  • relationships between people and environment in different communities

All of these things (above) started me thinking about . . . water.

Access to water. Shortages of water. Water scarcity. Water as a human right.

Nonfiction Picture Book Wednesday: Water connects us all There's a Book for That

I think there is so much to learn here. So many questions. Such a relevant and necessary topic. And of course, I immediately started making a book list. Here are titles I may share in my room this year. Other suggestions? Please share them in the comment section.

Through these books, I hope we can both learn about and celebrate all that is water.

Water is Water: A Book About the Water Cycle written by Miranda Paul and illustrated by Jason Chin

Water Is Water- A Book About the Water Cycle Nonfiction Picture Book Wednesday: Water connects us all There's a Book for That

All the Water in the World by George Ella Lyon and illustrated by Katherine Tillotson 

All-the-Water-in-the-World Nonfiction Picture Book Wednesday: Water connects us all There's a Book for That

Every Last Drop: Bringing Clean Water Home by Michelle Mulder

Every Last Drop Nonfiction Picture Book Wednesday: Water connects us all There's a Book for That

A Cool Drink of Water by Barbara Kerley

A Cool Drink of Water Nonfiction Picture Book Wednesday: Water connects us all There's a Book for That

One Well: The Story of Water on Earth written by Rochelle Strauss and illustrated by Rosemary Woods

One Well Nonfiction Picture Book Wednesday: Water connects us all There's a Book for That

Poetry (with a water theme):

Water Can Be by Laura Purdie Salas with illustrations by Violeta Dabija

Water Can Be Nonfiction Picture Book Wednesday: Water connects us all There's a Book for That

Songs of the Water Boatman written by Joyce Sidman and illustrated by Beckie Prange (pond life)

Songs of the Waterboatman Nonfiction Picture Book Wednesday: Water connects us all There's a Book for That

Water Sings Blue: Ocean Poems by Kate Coombs illustrated by Meilo So 

Water Sings Blue Nonfiction Picture Book Wednesday: Water connects us all There's a Book for That

Relevant biographies:

Life in the Ocean: The Story of Oceanographer Sylvia Earle by Claire A Nivola

Life in the Ocean Nonfiction Picture Book Wednesday: Water connects us all There's a Book for That

Manfish: A Story of Jacques Cousteau written by Jennifer Berne and illustrated by Éric Puybaret 

manfish Nonfiction Picture Book Wednesday: Water connects us all There's a Book for That

The Fantastic Undersea Life of Jaques Cousteau by Dan Yaccarino 

Cousteau Nonfiction Picture Book Wednesday: Water connects us all There's a Book for That

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!

#nfpb2015