Summer reading so far...

I 've started my yearly summer reading with some really good choices. Starting with the "youngest" read from my recent trip to the library, I found a great series to supplement an elementary social studies teacher's instruction. Jon Scieszak, author of a great retelling of the three little pigs from the big bad wolf's point of view, has penned several books in what is called "The Time Warp Trio." I picked up It's All Greek to Me  and deeply enjoyed Sciezak's mix of time travel, Greek mythology, and clever characters. The main characters in the series, Joe, Fred, and Sam are transported back in time as they are about to begin their school play about Greek Mythology. How they make it back is entertaining to say the least. This series, which also includes time warps back to King Arthur's court, ancient Egypt, and the Stone Age would be a great addition to any beginning chapter book collection.

My next to choices of books seem related to me, but I didn't really know it at the time. I had previous read Sold by Patricia McCormick and deeply enjoyed Purple Heart. This tale brought my husband's 7 deployments to light in a new way. Previously, he had complained about military politics, but the extent to which the head turning to avoid seeing what is happening in this text feels alarming to me. I would never give this text to a military child. The dangers the character faces, the feeling of being lost, as he searches for what really happened in an accident seems to real. I applaud McCormick for her honesty; it scared me a little bit. This book, as well as Everybody Sees the Ants, belong in high school libraries because they both have something important to say. Lucky Linderman faces bullying every day of his life, and the fact that his mother is a squid (won't stand up for herself and swims laps at the local pool for hours a day) and his father is a turtle (a chef who won't face family problems and the only activity he enjoys with his son is watching the Food Network in silence). No wonder he sees tiny ants as his cheerleaders and dreams of freeing his grandfather from a POW camp in Vietnam. This text gives students an opportunity to explore topics like bullying, family loss, and confronting fears that I am surprised it doesn't have a Printz Sticker on the front like A.S. King's other book
Please Ignore Vera Dietz.


My next read this summer was Boston Jane by Jennifer Holm. I am always a sucker for good historical fiction and something that is a quick read for me. I feel that girls in 4th though 7th grade would enjoy watching Jane Peck of Philadelphia become Boston Jane. We can all learn something from her, as she quickly learns that pioneers and Chinook Indians don't understand the importance of being a lady. Adjusting to her surroundings makes Jane a very admirable heroine. I am always surprised how much I enjoy a Jennifer Holm book, particularly Turtle in Paradise. I intend to pick up the next Boston Jane  book or Our Only Amelia during my nest trip to the library.

This is Not My Hat

The 2013 Caldecott Winner is This is Not My Hat by Jon Klassen. I found this book to be deceptively simple and wildly entertaining. The illustrations were created digitally and in Chinese ink; this makes me wonder if is should have won the Caldecott award. 

However, I always deeply enjoy children's picture books that tell the story mainly through the pictures that are present. They make read alouds and sharing a book with a child who can not read yet easier. The way this book is constructed lends itself to teaching lessons with predictions to young students who have not completely mastered reading yet. There is also a obvious moral lesson here: taking someone else's stuff is wrong.

What Do You Do When Something Wants To Eat You?

I've found a great book, that is deeply educational and entertaining in What Do You Do When Something Wants To Eat You? by Steve Jenkins. This piece of non-fiction, published in 1997, showcases animal adaptations in very clever ways. The pictures are not deeply graphic, but entertaining collages. On one page we see "If a puffer fish is in danger..." and a picture of a shark chasing a fish. When we turn the page, we see "it takes on water and swells up like a prickly balloon, making itself almost impossible to swallow."

This book layout, adds suspense and would make read-alouds more entertaining and engaging. I would recommend this book for purchase for an elementary library, even though it is non-fiction and does not follow all of the conventions of non-fiction. There is no index, or glossary, but students can still find value and learning in the text.

Monsters Eat Whiny Children

I've just found a lovely book that seems very appropriate for many teachers and teaching situations this time of year. Published in 2010, Monsters Eat Whiny Children by Bruce Eric Kaplan is a cautionary tale to children prone to being whiny. Henry and Eve get stolen away early in their tale, and they really deserve it because they are really, really, really whiny.

The monster debates with family members over a whiny-child salad, a whiny-child burger, a whiny-child cake or a whiny-child vindaloo. Not to be a spoil sport, but, buy the time the settle on whiny-child cucumber sandwich, Henry and Ever are gone, "never" to whine again.

The drawings are simple and entertaining, and the monsters are not scary looking. I think children would be entertained by this tale and adults would find humor in the fact that the monsters are pretty whiny themselves.

One Cool Friend

One of this year's Caldecott Honors books is One Cool Friend by Toni Buzzeo and illustrated by David Small. This picture book starts out with the statement "Elliot was a very proper young man." Elliot wears a tuxedo and in some way, acquires a pet penguin from family day at the museum. I deeply enjoyed this book not only because of the moral of the story, but because the clever use of the pops of color. Elliot's backpack is red, his father wears green. The pictures give us hints about what father's pet might be. Astute picture book readers will figure it out, because dad eats turtles and dresses a bit like a turtle too. I think that this is a great book and the drawings add to the narrative, like the pictures in a Caldecott Honor book should

Second Helpings

I might be addicted to Jessica Darling and her wit. I find her deeply engaging and entertaining and that might be why I have finished reading this second book, Second Helpings, by Megan McCafferty so quickly. Jessica Darling is perhaps one of the most likable characters in all of young adult chick-lit; yes she is flawed and makes some very poor decisions in Second Helpings. We all have lessons to learn from her mistakes.

I think I enjoy reading things from Jessica's point of view so much because I once was just like her and I identify with her problems. I was a senior in high school just like Jessica on September 11th. I struggled with finding a healthy way to react to the event. I wanted to fit in and be part of something, but not by running Cross Country, a sport which my father thought I enjoyed, just like Jessica's father. I was filled with angst over my college acceptance and hated my mailman just like Jessica. However, the fact that Jessica can still be true to herself as a best-selling book and movie based on that book become big money makers, her very pregnant sister moves back in the house, her grandmother struggles after a second stroke and Marcus Flutie is still messing with her, proves that this book provides young readers with a good role model- even though she makes some pretty big mistakes.

I believe that I mentioned that first book addressed common teen issues like sex, drinking, drugs, and the peer pressure to participate in the the activities related to sex, drinking, and drugs. Thus, this book is for mature high school students.

Frank Lloyd Wright and His New American Architecture

I've recently started training to become a docent at the Darwin D. Martin House on Jewett in Buffalo. The home, designed by Wright, is in the process of being restored. In an effort to become more well-rounded in the background of the beautiful home I will be presenting to tourists, I selected a biography of Wright, Frank Lloyd Wright and His New American Architecture. This text was written by Bob Kann and is part of the Badger Biography Series created by the Wisconsin Historical Society. Other subjects in this series include Harley and the Davidsons, Richard Bong- the WWII flying Ace, the Ringling Brothers, and several other famous Wisconsin-ites. I feel like most middle school libraries in Wisconsin probably already own this series of biographies, but it would be a productive series for other middle and elementary school librarians to look into. We often assign biography projects where we ask students to study a famous person and they come back with only contemporary famous people. The members of this series might help us enlargen the world of our students.

In Frank Lloyd Wright and His New American Architecture, I learned a great deal about the life of Wright, his inspirations, and his struggles. I felt like some of the more dirty aspects of Wright's life were hinted at, but readers were focused more on accomplishments, like building a 600 room hotel that could survive one of the greatest earthquakes in Japanese history. The Martin House is not mentioned in the discussion of Prarie architecture, but there is extensive discussion of the Robie House, which is similarly designed, but in Illinois. The book also follows all of the conventions of non-fiction by including a table of contents, glossary, timeline, further reading and even reading group activities.

Both the Badger Biography Series and Frank Lloyd Wright and His New Merican Architecture are thoughtfully crafted to inform students in a constructive way.