So few of me

Posted on April 7, 2011 by carriegelson

Oh – the never ending to do list! The reader doesn’t need to move past the inside cover and the overwhelming feeling sets in – that big long list that never ever seems to get shorter . . . The one here has some doozies on it – fix leaks, go to dentist, wash the windows, put dishes away, cancel Saturday (??!) Sigh, aren’t you tired already? And then we meet Leo. Leo has that problem that many of us share – no matter how hard he worked, there was always more to do. As his list expanded, he wished there were two of him to better handle things. And poof! There were.

When Leo opened the door and found “another him” we were pretty impressed in Division 5. “Awesome!” “Is that his clone?” “Wha. . . he must be dreaming!” “It’s fiction!” “Yep, it’s a book.”

(Now, this is the one time I don’t need to wish there were more of me. When responding to books – my students have it covered – they have the most brilliant things to say. I just need to do my part and read!)

The strange thing is two Leos doesn’t seem to make it better, there just seems more to do. So what about three? Four? Five? As more Leos come on the scene, the workload seems to increase. Hmm . . . of course! More people means more laundry, more cleaning, more organizing, more strategizing about being better organized. By the time nine Leos arrived on the scene, I had students with their mouths hanging open in amazement.

“This is soo fiction!” someone exclaimed. (Were we believing it up to this point?)

Ten Leos on the scene. Cooking, list making, brewing tea, grocery shopping, sweeping, climbing ladders, it doesn’t stop.

One student got that hold on here look suddenly, “Wait! Wouldn’t a Mom do this stuff?”

I was about to retort, “Hey, are you kidding with ten kids? No way.” But then I realized that this child comes from a family with children in the double digits! And he is asking that question? Oh poor Mom!

“Hey, if there’s more of you, you can’t get smarter!” someone ( quite a smart someone, I might add) shouted.

The last pages show us a lesson that so many of us keep forgetting. Do less. Leave time to dream. You really can’t do it all, so pick and choose and do what you love really well!

A lovely excuse to ignore the laundry pile and go read a book. Thank you Peter H. Reynolds!

Gilbert the Hero

Posted on April 7, 2011 by carriegelson

Deborah, our BLG reader this week, read us Gilbert the Hero – a sweet little story exploring sibling dynamics, written by Jane Clarke and illustrated by Charles Fuge.

Having to look after his little brother Finn is a real nuisance for Gilbert the shark. Finn is too small for everything! Too light to weigh down the sea-saw (an old oar). Too small to leap out of the water without “splash” landing. Too tiny to flick the sea urchin for a game of finball. Just a bother. So Gilbert and his friends decide to put Finn in a seaweed swing and play their own adventurous games. Oh . . . don’t you just know this is going to lead to something bad? A student piped up, “Remember at the beginning – the Mom said don’t leave your little brother!”

When a large orca bursts out of nowhere with a mouth full of fish, Gilbert realizes that Finn is vulnerable. Instantly, he is a protective older brother zooming into action – reminding us that underneath all of that sibling rivalry, the connections are strong!

Our student reviewers report:

Eddy: I liked the part when Gilbert and Finn were playing on the sea saw and Gilbert hit the ground because he was big and heavy.

Kevin: I was scared when orcas came. I was afraid if the orca will eat Finn up.

Annie: It was scary when the orca was about to eat the baby shark who was strapped on a swing but Gilbert saved him. I was relieved.

Bird Child

Posted on April 5, 2011 by carriegelson

Today we read Bird Child by Canadian teacher, parent and writer Nan Forler. I came across this book at the public library and was thrilled to discover that it also touched on the active role of the bystander in the bully/bullied/bystander dynamic. We have been talking about this topic a lot using powerful literature to inspire our discussion.

Eliza is a tiny girl – skin and bones with hair as black as a raven. She was raised in a very special way – she was taught to fly. Wow! There were hands in the air instantly.”Is this true?” “Really?” When I asked the students what they thought, I got some very interesting answers:

Alyson: “It said her hair was black like a raven so maybe she got that skill from birds.”

Kevin: “Maybe she can fly because her bones are hollow.”

Hajhare: “Maybe she can turn back and forth between a bird and an animal like Eagle Boy.” (We have been reading a lot of Aboriginal literature lately with this theme)

I suggested that maybe the author was implying that she could fly in her mind. “Oh like visualizing,” said Kevin. “Yeah, she means it like an expression,” Ricky agreed. As we read further, we hear the words that Eliza’s mother always tells her, “Look down and see what is. Now, look up and see what can be.” Thoughtful words to always encourage Eliza to focus on possibility and with a positive perspective, to take an active role in changing situations to make them better.

A new girl, Lainey, starts school and rides the bus each day with Eliza. Lainey quickly becomes the target of teasing and exclusion. My students explored reasons that she might be bullied: Were others jealous of her beautiful drawings? Her hair?Are they making fun of her because she is new? Because of what she wears? Why are they so mean?

Soon the teasing escalates to stealing Lainey’s hat and burying it in the snow. A boy smushes snow into her face “wiping away what was left of the smile she’d had on her first day of school.” Silence in my classroom. Silence in the story. “Eliza said nothing. She stood like a statue her boots sinking deeper and deeper into the snow, her voice dry as a mouthful of wool. and watched it happen.” Such a heavy emotional scene. Illustrator Francois Thisdale makes the mood even more sad and somber with the smirking children laughing at Lainey, frozen Eliza in the background and Lainey with her eyes squished shut all alone in the wintery schoolyard with the barren trees and a pink skyline behind. There was a little bit more silence in my class and then the “Oh! Oh! Oh!’s and the waving hands started. We had things to say about this.

Jena: “Eliza is like a bystander and kind of like bullying her too. If she doesn’t tell, the bullying won’t stop. It’s like the Juice Box Bully.”

Alyson: “Eliza should stand up for Lainey.”

Lisa: “Eliza might be worried – that people would think she was a tattler.”

Miami: “This is like something that happened to me. My Grandma fell and people just walked by her. Nobody helped. Two men were sitting on a bench and they just kept sitting. I felt so bad.”

Children see everything we do and everything we don’t do. Sometimes it is not so much our actions but when we fail to act that haunts us. Eliza felt shame. She told her Mom everything and her Mom listened. “It sounds like Lainey needs someone to help her fly.” Eliza knew what she had to do. Alyson commented thoughtfully, “Maybe flying means helping her get through it.”

The next time Lainey is bullied, Eliza acts. She “reached down inside herself and found her wings” When she shouts at a boy to return Lainey’s hat, other children join in “Yeah give it back.” The bullies’ power bubble is popped and they walk away.

Scott: “She’s taking care of Lainey now.”

Miami: “You know what I think? I think she couldn’t stand watching her be bullied anymore so she just yelled.”

Jena: “Maybe Eliza did that thing – you know, putting herself in her shoes?”

Lisa: “It’s like the Juice Box Bully – maybe they will have a rule, that everyone needs to help others.”

Alyson: “Oh I know! It’s like a chain reaction – helping it to stop, standing up.”

Kevin: “It’s like that dance we saw on the movie at Pink Day (referring to the flash mob anti bullying video)

In the end, Eliza and Lainey play together building a snow castle to the sky. I ask: Why do you think this book was witten?

Ricky: “It’s a lesson to stand up for each other!”

Alyson: “Don’t be a bystander! Just stand up!”

Emilio: “Probably they made this book so people won’t copy other bullies and be mean.”

Bird Child: so much beautiful writing and visually, it is absolutely gorgeous. This book should have a special place on the shelf in every school library and should be read and discussed with students again and again. There are not enough picture books that so thoughtfully explore the active role of the bystander in changing the way a bully might act and the way a peer is treated.

Off along the road to learn

Posted on April 4, 2011 by carriegelson

It’s been a two week break and we will all return to school tomorrow ready again – to learn. A perfect evening to read John Burningham’s John Patrick Norman McHennessy – the boy who was always late. This book has been a favourite of mine for many years and every time I read it again, it establishes itself as one of the best books ever (according to my list!)

The premise of this book is a simple one: John Patrick Norman McHennessy is often very late for school and his teacher never ever believes the reasons (dramatic as they are) that explain his tardiness. The teacher gets quite distraught – shouting, becoming red in the face, leaping about as he doles out ridiculous punishments. Standing in the corner. Writing out lines. Repeating “I must not tell lies about. . . ” On and on. Finally, when John Patrick manages to arrive on time, his teacher is being held up on the roof by a big hairy gorilla. Hmm . . .

I must not . . . .

Lines, lines and more lines. This must be the answer for deceptive little boys with overactive imaginations! What I love about this book is that it is not actually simple at all. What a delightful boy to come to school each day with stories of trouser tearing lions, sweep you off your feet tidal waves and crocodiles who play tug of war with your school satchel. And yet, he is punished day after day after day.

But, each morning he gets up and sets off on the road to learn. What exactly is he learning, one might ask?

On the road to learn. . .

I look forward to third term in the classroom. Celebrating imaginations. Inspiring ideas. Thinking outside of the box! Off along the road to learn!

Storm Boy

Posted on April 3, 2011 by carriegelson

Ms. Hong (now at Strathcona Library) recommended this title when our reading group started reading Aboriginal Literature. Storm Boy by Paul Owen Lewis is a definite favourite that sparked lots of discussion, questions and great writing.

We loved how this book was so mysterious. We had as many questions at the end as we did throughout the pages, yet we seemed to know something more. Such a visually powerful book that has won many awards including Best Book of the Year from the Pacific Northwest Book Award. Storm Boy introduces us to the Killer Whale people who seem to inhabit an undersea world. This book follows the tradition of the people of the Pacific Northwest Coast (Haida, Tlingit and others). Stories from this area tell of individuals in parallel worlds where animals seem to live in human form.

I provided some sentence starts to assist students in organizing their written responses. We had such a dramatic story to respond to!

I was impressed when . . .
I was shocked by . . .
I am still wondering . . .
It was incredible when . . .

Some excerpts from out written responses that needs to be shared:

Ricky: I was shocked when I saw the boy get carried by a storm. Then he was in a nation’s island. There were four killer whales. The chief one was big. They ate fish that weren’t cooked or cut. The killer whales could talk. Then the boy missed his original home. I was surprised because the killer whales knew that he missed his home.

Gary: I was impressed when he went on the whale to get back home and when he got back, his Mom said: “You’ve been gone a year!” Then they celebrated because of his return.

Catriona: I am still wondering if time goes slower in the Killer Whale people’s village.

Truman: I am wondering if the chief’s son can turn into an orca whale because he went to the orca people’s place

Jenny was inspired to draw this gorgeous picture.

She writes: “There was a boy that went fishing and then a storm came and hitted the boy and he got pushed away from his village. He landed in another village and he saw big people. They invited the boy and they danced around the fire and did their welcome song. Then the boy missed his mom and dad and the big people made the boy appear back in his village.”

Albert

Posted on April 1, 2011 by carriegelson

Last night I read a really wonderful picture book to my children: Albert, written by Donna Jo Napoli (her first picture book after many award winning novels including one of my favourites The Prince of the Pond and illustrated by Jim La Marche.

Albert is an interesting man. Everyday, he eats his breakfast, reads the comics, gets dressed and thinks about going outside. Everyday, something convinces him it is not the day to venture out. It might be the damp weather. It might be the noises – the not good noises like arguing or rumbling garbage trucks. If we really want to call it, I think Albert experiences some quite serious anxiety about the outside world. Not an easy place to be.

The lovely thing about this book is that Napoli arranges the outside world to come to Albert. In the form of a twig, that becomes a nest, that hosts little eggs and a perching cardinal all on his outstretched hand. For Albert, who finds the outside world too overwhelming, he is gently (but insistently) forced to get one foot firmly planted on the ground – in the form of a hand carefully suspended in the air. Albert keeps his hand with a bird’s nest on it stretched outside his window because . . . how can he not? For days and days. Really! Of course my adult brain wonders how does he go to the bathroom? How does he not drop the nest when sleeping? How does he survive without food or drink? (This is addressed actually when father bird starts dropping berries in his mouth) My children though just got caught up in the magic of it. “He’s so kind!” my son exclaims. My daughter is a little worried. “Mama, Albert doesn’t have a job. How can he get money?”

In the end, the birds fly away and Albert who has been interacting (through the birds) with the outside world realizes that the world is a wonderful place – full of all kinds of noises and experiences. He puts on his hat and goes for a walk.

I asked: “What do you think the birds taught him?”

My daughter had lots to say: “Helping others helps you. You should go outside and fly your heart away!”

Yes, indeed.

Five Fantastic Fictional (mostly) Frogs

Posted on March 26, 2011 by carriegelson

Lately I’ve had quite the thing for fictional frogs – not the frogs who turn into princes or have just been princes, although those guys are pretty great too. But no, a thing for the hoppy, happy, stretchy, leapy unpredictable green frogs that make the books they jump into particularly delightful.

My top 5: Books about frogs

1. Stick by Steve Breen

I just found this book at my local library. Stick is Steve Breen’s first picture book (but his talent for words and visual images has not been missed – he won the Pulitzer Prize for his editorial cartoons twice!) How far can one little frog travel? And how? Find out what happens when little Stick happens to get his long tongue stuck to a dragonfly. Up, up and away . . . Silly, delightfully preposterous and gorgeous bird’s (in this case frog!) eye view of town, city and swamp.

2. City Dog, Country Frog written by Mo Willems and illustrated by Jon J Muth

I kept eyeing this book at the library, noticing names Mo Willems and John J Muth and thinking to myself, “I have got to read this book.” Something about the cover picture spoke dog to me and I kept missing the frog, even when I eyed the title I saw dog instead of frog. Finally, I looked a little closer and spotted the frog so perfectly plopped on the dog’s head and I pulled the book off the shelf. How could I have missed this? I was missing so much! Inside illustrations are mellow, gentle and ahh, what greens. Together with Willems’ simple text, pictures and words tell the tender story of friendship, the passage of time, young curiousity and calm wisdom. To make up for the months I haven’t been reading this book, I need to read it over and over and over again.

3. Growing Frogs written by Vivian French and illustrated by Alison Bartlett

Such an amazing book to teach about how frogs grow from tadpoles and how exciting this change can be to watch. I call a book like this an “information storybook” – a definite fictional story yet so much factual information it bridges into the non-fiction category. A little girl and her Mom collect frog spawn from the pond and carefully tend to the tadpoles, then frogs who grow. This book took me right back to my eight year old self and my ice cream bucket full of pond water and tadpoles. How I loved it and how sad I was to return my little frogs to their pond again. I love that French points out how carefully you must care for your growing frogs – always using pond water, changing it regularly etc. Allowing children to have important nature experiences respectfully.

4. A Frog Thing written by Eric Drachman and illustrated by James Muscarello

I have a real soft spot for Frankie the frog in this story. Told by his parents that he can do anything, he sets his mind to flying. Ahem, darling, “that’s a bird thing” explain his parents. He does try very hard to soar through the air but to no avail. One day he sees a baby bird fall helplessly into the pond and swims to its rescue. The grateful mother demands – “How can I repay you?” Well . . . We soon see Freddy flying through the air clutching a twig held by two birds. Finally flying! Exciting, yes. But Freddy realizes that doing the frog thing will suffice for him after all. Beautifully illustrated. A wonderful read aloud to share.

5. Fine As We Are by Algy Craig Hall

Wow, is it great to be a little frog. Having Mama frog all to yourself. Sigh. . . happiness. So what are all of these black spotted blogs in the water? Why do they have tails? Now legs? Oh my! Little frogs. All belonging to Mama. Life with many new siblings is quite the adjustment for our little frog. Annoying at first – how much leaping and tumbling about can these little frogs do? But then, oddly “just right.” The perfect book to explore how life changes when a new sibling (or siblings) arrives.

Jealousy is just a stage, right?

Hop through some frog books this Spring!

Why do you think you should never smile at a monkey?

Posted on March 23, 2011 by carriegelson

Wow, did we enjoy interacting with Never Smile at a Monkey (*and 17 other Important Things to Remember) by Steve Jenkins.

We used this book to practice questioning, predicting and inferring – when you encounter some of these creatures, what should you not do? And why exactly?

Jenkins explains that certain large creatures are “well known threats” – of course we aren’t going to get too close to tigers or crocodiles. Sharp teeth. No thanks! We also know to avoid “rattle snakes, black widow spiders, and piranhas” Their danger is well known. But what about the creatures we don’t know so much about. Creatures with “teeth, claws, spines and venom that can be deadly” That’s what this book is all about. A very clever idea brought to us with a combination of Jenkins’ gorgeous torn paper collage animals and just enough text to teach us new information related to this theme.

Jenkins organizes this book with a picture of a creature on each page or 2 page spread, Accompanying this is a Never . . . . warning in larger text and then an explanation of why. At the back of the book, more information is provided about each creature as well as a list of books for further reading. In the example here, we are warned to never collect a cone shell. Why not? Yikes. Well, a cone shell has poisoned barbs that it uses when hunting. They can be launched like harpoons. Potentially deadly if they stab you. Makes one think twice about collecting shells!

How did we use this book in the classroom?

Students brought notepads and pencils to the carpet to listen to the story. I would show them a picture and read the Never . . . warning without showing them the rest of the text. Students then wrote their prediction/inference about why we should never . . . We shared a few out loud and then I read the explanation provided in the book.

Some very funny conversation happened. Amazing predictions. Lots of arguing! “Not everything has venom you know!” “How could it bite you, it doesn’t even have teeth?” “What are you talking about? Be more specific!” My favourite line: “Ms Gelson I’m using my schema!”

So . . . want to learn something new?

Why should you never smile at a monkey?

Our predictions:

it might scratch you when it gets excited
it will get really mad
it will yell at you and bite you with its sharp teeth
it will get loud, jump up and bite you

And the real reason. . .

“If you smile at a rhesus monkey it may interpret your show of teeth as an aggressive gesture and respond violently.”

Why should you never jostle a jellyfish?

Our predictions:

it can release venom that can kill you
it might shock you
it might pop
it will start to vibrate and kill you

And the real reason. . .

“A box jelly fish is in a class by itself . . . even the smallest contact with its stinging tentacles causes intense pain . . . you can die very quickly.”

Later, students chose one creature, wrote their prediction and the real explanation and included a picture. Sometimes our thinking was very close – other times, not a bit. Which was great – real learning happened! We also liked celebrating when we did have background knowledge about a particular creature and could make an inference that made a lot of sense. At one point, as I was reading a little voice piped up. “This is so fun!“

Love, love, love Steve Jenkins’ books! His website includes an interesting explanation of how he makes his books.

What a beautiful world!

Posted on March 21, 2011 by carriegelson

Spring! Finally! In Vancouver, spring sunshine is often chased away by rain showers so all the more reason to delve into books which help transport us into nature and wonder with just a flip of a page, a beautiful illustration or a perfect written image. We found three perfect books which do just this on our library visit Saturday.

I adore this book. All the World is a Caldecott Honour Book illustrated by Marla Frazee and written by Liz Garton Scanton. Simple rhyming text pays tribute to the small simple things our world has to offer like a tomato blossom or a fire to take away a chill. But it also celebrates through Frazee’s absolutely gorgeous illustrations, the majestic purply sky at the edge of the ocean or a thunderous downpour that comes out of nowhere. The images are comforting, saturated with details and evoke our own memories attached to the experiences suggested by each picture. These pictures are so easy to connect to, I felt like I had taken a journey through some of my own most happiest of memories. Climbing a tree in childhood. Visiting a farmer’s market and eating plump berries with my children. Racing through a rainstorm on a summer’s day in search of shelter.

Janeen Brian and Stephen Michael King, the author and illustrator of Where does Thursday go? have created a lovely little tale of wonder and whimsy. An important question is posed, if Friday is coming, where does Thursday go? What happens to it during the night?

Bruno doesn’t want his wonderful birthday day to end. He wants to say goodbye to it. He finds his friend Bert and they traipse through a blue star filled night looking for Thursday to say goodbye. When the moon rises up big, round and bright like Bruno’s birthday balloons, the two friends feel like they have found Thursday. They creep back into bed until the sun brings Friday. Sweet, illustrations on blue filled pages. Lovely. I especially like the image of the two friends on the beach at the edge of the sea where ocean and sky meet in swirly blues and whites.

This book appeals to the urgency I feel when spring flowers begin poking through the earth. Tend. Nurture. Clip back. Transplant. Compost. Appreciate. Wow, can I connect to the main character in this story who nurtures a struggling garden into a majestic green world. Liam, the little boy in Peter Brown‘s The Curious Garden resides in a dreary city where everyone stays inside. Not Liam. On one of his rainy day walks he finds a few wildflowers and tiny plants on some abandoned railroad tracks. He cares for this garden over several seasons – appreciating its natural tendencies to spread and travel and helping it along a bit too (hooray for guerilla gardening). Years later he can appreciate an entire green city, tended by a multitude of gardeners.

Peter Brown includes an author’s note at the end of the story which explains his inspiration for the book.

Escape into Spring with a poking about walk to the library and discover all the places you can find signs of Spring.

Emily’s Art

Posted on March 20, 2011 by carriegelson

What a powerful book to read to children! I first read Emily’s Art written and illustrated by Peter Catalanotto with my daughter and she burst into tears part way through. We talked for a long time about the story events and how different characters acted and felt. I knew this was an important book to share in the classroom and the resulting discussion confirmed this and then some.

This book begins with a sneak peak into Emily’s classroom. Ms. Fair is explaining to the students about an upcoming art contest where a judge will decide the winner. Catalanotto does a fantastic job of portraying the open, honest and sometimes impulsive comments made by students in a class discussion. Students ask questions about the judge, winning and losing and how exactly things are decided. From Emily: “Does the judge know which is better?”

The story then skips ahead to the days leading up to the contest. Everyday students get painting time. We watch Emily painting and fielding questions about her pictures. Looking at her picture of her family having breakfast (where we see a mother cooking, eating, packing lunches and changing a lightbulb), Stephen asks, “Why do you have four mothers?” Emily explains that there is only one, “She’s just very busy.” Everyday Emily paints a different picture. Her best friend Kelly paints a butterfly day after day.

The night before the contest, Emily cannot settle. She has questions for her mother about which is best and all night she worries about what might be better. Winter or summer? Pink or purple? The sun or the moon? My students were reminded of other stories with characters being unable to sleep because of worries. “That’s like Wemberly Worried!” “Howard B. Wigglebottom!” “Seymour Slug Starts School!” We sure connect to those sleepless worrying nights!

At the contest, the judge is overwhelmed by Emily’s art: “What a gorgeous painting. What a beautiful rabbit!” When Ms. Fair explains that the picture is actually of a dog, everything changes. “A DOG??!!” screeched the Judge.”I was attacked by a dog once! I hate dogs.” She turns and awards the blue ribbon to Kelly’s butterfly.

“I love butterflies,” she announced.

Emily’s heart twisted. My class was irate! And deeply impacted.

Jena: “That judge is judging her painting by what she thinks about dogs.”

Alyson: “Maybe she shouldn’t be a judge! What does she know?”

Emily took her painting down and vowed to never paint again. Miami, now in Grade 3 shared a memory from kindergarten: “At my old school, my teacher was mean to me. She said “What is that?” when she looked at my picture. “You can draw better than that. I know you can.” I always felt sad when I was at home.”

Emily ends up going to the nurse’s room, needing to mend her broken heart. She falls asleep and when she wakes, Kelly is on the cot beside her.

I ask the students why Kelly might be there?

Scott: “She is so sad for Emily.”

Alyson: “She feels sad that Emily didn’t win. She would have won if the teacher hadn’t said it was a dog.”

Hajhare: “Kelly’s heart feels sad because she thinks that Emily must hate her.”

“Wow” Kelly whispered. “You’re a good artist.”

The girls begin talking and Kelly shares that she doesn’t know how to draw anything but butterflies. Because she won, everyone expects more of her. Can Emily show her how to draw a dinosaur? The girls feel better and head back to the classroom where they are having an art party to celebrate all of the wonderful work!

Kevin: “It’s a happy ending. But the middle was the sad part.”

Miami: “I’m connecting. Lots of movies have sad middles but then, happy endings.” The class agreed.

More reactions:

“She should know her own opinion of her drawing so she won’t be sad. Like positive thinking.” (Lisa)
“Don’t always agree with other opinions.” (Annie)
“It is emotional, because if you think of a time like that – like getting rejected, you connect to the sadness of it.” (Alyson)

We talked about how strong words can be.

“What the judge said was mean.” (Kevin)
“People should think before they speak” (Alyson)
“Words can be really strong- something mean said can make you feel like a punch in the stomach.” (Jena)
“Punches can hurt outside, but words hurt inside.” (Kevin)
“That’s clever Kevin.” (Hajhare)

For more ideas of how this book might be used in the classroom, check out these questions from Philosophy for Children. I just discovered this website and will certainly be revisiting it!