John Newbery: The Man Behind the Medal

Fourth grade is learning about the life of John Newbery!  Born to a farmer in England in 1713, Newbery would later learn the trade of a printer.  This experience would serve him well when, in 1744, he and his wife and five children moved to London so that he could start his own publishing business.  Newbery noticed the need for more books written for children in a style that would integrate education with play.  As such, his first book, A Pretty Little Pocketbook, was a big hit among parents and children alike.

Over the course of his lifetime, Newbery wrote and published hundreds of books for children and helped address a need for children's literature.  In 1921, Frederic Melcher named the Newbery Medal in honor of this man.  Today, the Newbery Medal, according to the American Library Association, is the "best known and most discussed children's book award in this country."

Visit http://www.ala.org/alsc/awardsgrants/bookmedia/newberymedal/aboutnewbery/aboutnewbery to learn more about the medal and view a list of all Newbery Medal winning books since 1922.

See how many Newbery Medal books you've read and which ones you and your child would like to check out!

This year's winner is Dead End in Norvelt by Jack Gantos.

Raold Dahl Day

There are many times when I am thankful for the fact that I have started using Twitter. When I first started tweeting it was with my personal account. It was just...ok! It wasn't until I started using it for the Falcon's Fables as a way to connect with my fellow teacher librarians that I starting realizing its full potential.

Case in point, I logged into Twitter today and immediately noticed many tweets with the #roalddahlday. After reading them and investigating I realized that today is the anniversary of Roald Dahls birthday. Now really, who isn't a Roald Dahl fan? There is at least one book out there by him that you have read and really enjoyed. I'm not the biggest Charlie and the Chocolate Factory  fan (blasphemy, I know!) but I simply adore Matilda! I had to get in on the Roald Dahl Day action. I did a quick scan of my lesson plans and realized that I had left KA open for a free day, perfect! I quickly went about the room pulling all our Roald Dahl books off the shelf. I took a quick instagram photo to tweet and post on Facebook and then decided how I would introduce The Man to the children.

Roald Dahl

Thankfully, our only biography on Roald Dahl is Roald Dahl: A Life of Imagination  by Jennifer Boothroyd. This series of biographies is written especially for young children. After introducing them to Roald Dahl, I asked if they had ever heard of him. I got a lot of blank stares. Ok, I know young children don't always pay attention to the authors of their favorite books. Next I mentioned Charlie and the Chocolate Factory  which of course brought on shouts of "I love that movie" or "oh yeah I saw that one on tv". Ok good, so they do know The Man even if they don't know it yet.

Next we read The Enormous Crocodile. This story is about an incredibly hungry and not very nice crocodile. His favorite meal is a plump juicy little child. On his journey to gobble up as many children as he can, the crocodile encounters different animals who find him to be greedy, mean and disgusting. Thankfully, those same animals manage to foil the crocodiles secret plans and clever tricks. I've never witnessed a group of kindergarteners so enthralled with a book. Hardly anyone fidgeted and everyone payed close attention. Truly Roald Dahl does have a way with the imagination.

My favorite moment of the morning was when one of the children looked over to my book display carefully investigating every Roald Dahl book. At last his eyes rested on The Roald Dahl Treasury with its cover of various characters reading different book. He carefully raised his hand with excitement and when called upon exclaimed, "I love The BFG! Do you know The BFG because I know him and love him." Then turning to his classmates our little kindergartener said "Do you know the best thing about The BFG? If Ms. Natalie were to stand next to him she would be teeny tiny".

The BFG

Yes I know The Big Friendly Giant as well as many other famous Roald Dahl characters. They are all special to me and many children young and old. Happy birthday Mr. Dahl, you're The Man!

Open House

Open house is always such a fun time. When I was a St. Philip's student I remember it being a very exciting day full of anticipation and fun. I see that same excitement on the children's faces today. This is not the same excitement that occurs on the first day of school. Instead of wondering what their classroom will look like and how they will get along with their teacher, open house provides them with the opportunity to show off their classroom. It is now a space that belongs to them and is no longer unfamiliar territory.

I love seeing prospective parents come through the library. I am quite proud of our little space and the wealth of knowledge provided to the students. Perhaps one of my favorite aspects of open house is listening to the 8th graders give tours. I can hear them approaching the library saying things like, "and this is our new library", this always gives me a chuckle and I wonder when we cease to be "new".  In they walk with prospective parents in tow and I become very proud of our students. They speak about the various aspects of the library with confidence. These little tidbits help me see the library from their perspective. I begin to understand what they value and what they are most proud of.

Open house is also a wonderful opportunity to show off what library classes do. I had one very proud 5th grader bring her family to the library. She walk right over to where we store her folder for the year long research project. She probably spent about 5 minutes explaining the project and showing off what she had learned so far. It felt rewarding to know the children are proud of their work. Earlier in the week the kindergarten classes read If You Give a Mouse a Cookie by Laura Numeroff. We discussed the plot of a story and cause and effect. They then wrote their own version of the story and drew illustrations. I told them to stop by during open house to see their work displayed. It was fun to watch them show off their work, read the story to their parents, and point out their illustration.

If you get a chance stop by to read If You Give a Snake a Popsicle and If You Give A Dog an Egg by the kindergarten classes. 

M.L.

I have a dream that one day...

little black boys and black girls

will be able to join hands with 

little white boys and white girls

as sisters and brothers.

I have a dreams today!

-Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

August 28, 1963

I believe it is safe to say that we all know this powerful speech. We all understand what Dr. Martin Luther King stood for and how he changed the world. What we may not know is how he became such an extraordinary man who, in his own words, wanted to turn the world upside down. The book, My Brother, Martin by Christine King Farris shares childhood memories of the only surviving member of the King family. Nicknamed M.L. by his family, the book includes the antics of a boy who gradually learned that the world was not equal.

In the afterword of the book, Christine King Farris says she "wanted to reflect another side of Martin's life story. The days that I spent with him, watching him, as we grew older, were valuable and meaningful exercises for me. They set him on his ultimate course". From watching his dad refuse to accept prejudice to loosing a childhood friend due to the color of his skin, these events lead Martin on his ultimate path to becoming a leader for equality. According to Christine, it was the promise he made to his mother, just as a little boy, that set him down that road.

My favorite excerpt from the book is this...

"Why do white people treat colored people so mean?

 She answered simply, Because they just don't understand that everyone is the same, but someday, it will be better. And my brother M. L. looked up into our mother's face and said the words I remember to this day. He said, Mother Dear, one day I'm going to turn this world upside down"

Cloud Dance

I am a sucker for books with soft dreamy illustrations. Perhaps it is the soothing effect of the artwork or the magical nature of the colors. Either way, when I see such a book I immediately open it up, eager for the happy feelings that accompany such a read.  Cloud Dance by Thomas Locker is such a book. There are no long paragraphs, complicated words or characters to muck up the illustrations. For this type of book, simple is best. Come check it out!

The Little Prince

This past weekend the Drama Club had their fall production of The Little Prince. This is a book for all ages. Perhaps the youngest of us may not understand the philosophical reasoning behind the story or maybe, just maybe they are the ones that will understand it the most. After all the main theme of Antoine de Saint-Exupery's story is narrow mindedness and it is characterized by the adults. That doesn't mean the Little Prince is immune. He mistakes mountain echo's for the voices of men and declares them to have no imagination, repeating whatever you say.

Sadly, our library does not have this book in it's collection, something I plan to remedy immediately. This is not a book to be looked over. It asks you to think. I have heard many wonderful things about Drama Clubs performance but the comments I like the most are the ones where people question the meaning behind the story. Adults and children alike want to know what is means and are talking about it. How exciting!

If you would like to see some pictures from Saturday nights performance they are posted on the drama club blog.

Drama Club: Are you ready for a photo bomb?!: Thank you Mr. Bury for these wonderful pictures. Here are some highlights from Saturday night. Becoming Fox Becoming Snake This...

Mole's Hill

I am starting to introduce the Kindergarten classes to the difference between Author and Illustrator. I make it a habit of reading the Title, Author and Illustrator before I start reading a book. Most times the children love repeating back the names to me. It seem that people who write books don't have common names. This week I am focusing on the job of an illustrator. I try to get the kindergarten classes to look at a picture and decide why the illustrator decided to use that type of art. It isn't uncommon for the children to think that all pictures are painted or drawn. They don't tend to realize that the illustrator of a book can use many different types of artistic expression to get their point across. I love to introduce them to books where the art work isn't typical. One of my favorite examples is Mole's Hill by Lois Ehlert.

Lois Ehlert is known for her beautiful collage artwork. Her text is always simple, highlighted by vivid colors and texture. Mole's Hill is perhaps lesser known then her more famous works, Chicka Chicka Boom Boom and Color Zoo yet, I believe it to be the better of the three.

ribbon applique

The story is based on a Seneca tale called "When Friends Fall Out". The story is set in the woodlands of Wisconsin and the illustrations are inspired by the Woodland Indian's artwork. Typical art forms used by the Woodland Indians are ribbon applique and sewn bead work. Clearly, the geometric patterns and shapes of Ehlerts book are meant to mimic the same patterns and shapes used by the Native American's who inspired the story.  Ehlert also took special care to represent the plants and animals found in the Wisconsin woods in her book. They are beautifully illustrated with bright color cut outs and textured paint.

It always take the kindergartner's a few minutes after reading the book to figure out how the pictures are made. Usually, I hear photos, paint, drawing. I ask them to look closer and pass the book around. Eventually one child, in great excitement yells out, "it is paper!"

Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss!

What would childhood be without Dr. Seuss? As an adult, when I come across Dr. Seuss books I find myself clutching them to my chest and instantly feeling nostalgic for the days when Green Eggs and Ham and The Sneetches and Other Stories were the most well worn books on my shelf at home.

 As a teacher I am forever grateful to Dr. Seuss for the genius of books, such as The Lorax, which finds a way to send a profound message about environmentalism to the reader in a light, whimsical style.

In honor of Dr. Seuss, who was born Theodor Seuss Geisel on March 2, 1904, and would have turned 107 this year, the National Education Association has designated March 2 "Read Across America," a day devoted to encouraging everyone to pick up a book.

To celebrate, the second graders this week are listening to a read aloud of a book that I just discovered on the SPA library shelves last week: Hooray for Diffendoofer Day by Seuss, Jack Prelutsky, and Lane Smith.
This book was new to me when I found it, but it has already become one of my favorites for its incredible back story.  You see, before Theodor Geisel passed away he had spent several years sketching and writing a story about a teacher named Miss Bonkers but it was never completed before his death in 1991.

After Seuss died, his editor took the sketches and verses Seuss had been working on  to Jack Prelutsky, the famous children's poet,  to see if he might be interested in finishing what Seuss had started. Prelutsky joined forces with Lane Smith, the illustrator of  The Stinky Cheese Man and The True Story of the Three Little Pigs, and what came to be is an amazing compilation by three incredible talents.
With Hooray for Diiffendoofer Day! Jack Prelutsky and Lane Smith do indeed pay homage to Dr. Seuss, but in their own distinctive way.  The result is the union of three one-of-a-kind voices. While reading it with the second graders today they were delighted to identify cameos of Seuss's beloved characters within the pages. Can you spot some of Seuss's characters in this illustration?

Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss!