March 2, 2004
In this issue:
Happy Birthday, Dr. Seuss!
Chris Crutcher reminder.
St. Patrick's Day reads.
Duck is back!
Teen fathers.
New from Ann Rinaldi.
"Say What?" by Margaret Peterson Haddix.
Words about words.
"My Light" by Molly Bang.
"Boy, You're Amazing!" by Virginia Kroll.
"Hilda Must be Dancing" by Karma Wilson.
Greetings,
What happens if March comes in like a lamb? I'm worried.
Happy birthday to Dr. Seuss! I was just handed a commemorative poem which
was read on NPR this morning. Take a look. Even if you aren't a Dr. Seuss
fan, you'll appreciate the cleverness of this poem.
http://www.npr.org/programs/morning/features/2004/mar/seuss/seuss100.html
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Only a month until Chris Crutcher visits us. A recap: April 1 - Literary
Feast at 6:00, $8.95, reservations required, dine with the author - free
reading at 7:00 with signing to follow. We are taking pre-orders on his
books; if you would like a list of those for yourself or your students, let
me know and I'll e-mail them to you. If you plan to meet Chris Crutcher at
Tri-Conference and would like to purchase your books ahead of time, this is
an easy way to do that.
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March means St. Pat's Day, and I found a couple of picture books appropriate
for the occasion.
"A Fine St. Patrick's Day" by Susan Wojciechowski takes us to the rival
Irish towns of Tralee and Tralah which compete each year in the annual St.
Patrick's Day decorating contest. Every year, Tralah defeats Tralee, but
this year little Fiona Riley has a plan that is sure to help Tralee finally
win. However, Fiona and the town don't anticipate the arrival of a funny
little man with pointed ears and dressed in a green suit who has a thing or
two to teach them about community and caring. Tom Curry's rich folk-style
illustrations are perfectly paired with this delightful folk tale. (age
4-8)
"The Leprechaun's Gold" by Pamela Duncan Edwards is also about a contest,
this one to name the finest harpist in all of Ireland. When Young Tom
realizes that his friend, Old Pat, is the better harpist, he begins to
scheme to take the victory. But guess who intervenes? You got it--a
leprechaun with all his magic and a lesson about good deeds. Henry Cole's
fanciful illustrations add to the magic. And there are 16 four-leaf clovers
hidden in the book for kids to find. (ages 3-7)
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Duck is back! Doreen Cronin and Betsy Lewin have written another book about
Duck of "Click, Clack, Moo" and "Giggle, Giggle, Quack" fame. This one is
"Duck for President"--perfect for this year. Duck is sick and tired of
doing chores on the farm, so he organizes an election to boot out Farmer
Brown. Duck wins by a landslide but soon discovers that being in charge of
a farm is hard work. So he runs for Governor only to discover that being
Governor is equally hard work. Of course you know what he does next. He
runs for President. This book is just as much fun as the two previous. I
hope kids like these as much as adults seem to. I noticed that the
publisher has listed the age appropriateness as "all ages." I agree.
http://www.simonsays.com/content/content.cfm?sid=183&pid=424363&agid=13
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Now on to a more serious subject. Teen pregnancy is a fact of life and
although we finally have books that speak to the issue, they are usually
focused on the teen mother. We have two new books that look at the male
side of teen pregnancy. They're gritty, but then there's no point in sugar
coating teen parenthood.
The first is the winner of the American Library Association's Michael L.
Printz Award. Written by two-time Coretta Scott King award winner Angela
Johnson, "The First Part Last" is the story of sixteen-year-old Bobby whose
girlfriend, Nia, is pregnant. Bobby is a typical urban teen who suddenly
realizes that maybe parties and hanging with friends are not as important as
he has always thought. In the face of visits to the OB/GYN and stern advice
from a social worker about putting the baby up for adoption, Bobby struggles
with what is "the right thing" to do. This is a short little book, but have
tissues ready. It packs a punch. (mature teens)
Another book dealing with teen fatherhood is "Mahalia" by Joanne Horniman.
Seventeen-year-old Matt is left to raise his baby daughter Mahalia when his
love for the baby's mother doesn't prove to be strong enough to sustain a
family. Now Matt is determined to keep Mahalia safe and happy even though
he still has some growing up to do himself. This story is set in New South
Wales--teenage fathers are everywhere. (mature teens)
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Ann Rinaldi writes the best historical fiction, and although this isn't the
most popular genre right now, there are still some kids (including me) who
love it. Rinaldi's new book "Sarah's Ground" is based on the true story of
Sarah Tracy who, at the age of eighteen, became the overseer of a
dilapidating Mount Vernon at the beginning of the Civil War. This is the
coming-of-age story of an independent-minded young women during a desperate
time in America's history. (age 12 and up)
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Readers transitioning into chapter books will get a chuckle out of Margaret
Peterson Haddix's new book, "Say What?" Six-year-old Sukie enlists the aid
of her older brothers to investigate why her parents are acting like aliens.
Nothing they say makes any sense; Sukie can't name it, but her parents are
talking in non sequiturs. When Sukie and her brothers discover that their
parents are trying to follow the advice of some wacky parenting magazine,
the kids decide to retaliate. Soon no one in the household is making any
sense. James Bernardin's illustrations add to the antics. (ages 6-10)
http://www.simonsays.com/content/content.cfm?isbn=0689862555&sid=183&agid=2
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"Wonderful Words" is a compilation of poems about reading, writing,
speaking, and listening. Selected by children's award-winning poet Lee
Bennett Hopkins, these poems--from the likes of Emily Dickinson, Eve Merriam
and Nikki Grimes--celebrate words and bring out the poet in everyone. Karen
Barbour's illustration bring even more magic to the celebration. This is
the third in Hopkins's poetry series which includes "Marvelous Math: A Book
of Poems" and "Spectacular Science: a Book of Poems." Poetry across the
curriculum. What a concept! (ages 6-11)
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I'm one of those people who just flips on the light switch and couldn't care
less about how the electricity arrives. Molly Bang has written a book for
me and the other 3 to 7 year olds out there. "My Light" is told from the
sun's perspective. It tells of the many ways electricity is generated and
sent to my light bulb. The language is poetic, the illustrations are
wonderful, and at the end of the book there is a more detailed explanation
of each concept presented. (pre-K through 2nd grade--and some un-scientific
adults)
See the end notes at:
http://www.mollybang.com/mylight.html
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Do you remember Virginia Kroll's "Girl, You're Amazing!" I loved that book,
but at the time of it's release I felt like the guys had been left out. But
of course, Kroll was probably already hard at work on this latest, "Boy,
You're Amazing!" Kroll, along with illustrator Sachiko Yoshikawa,
celebrates boys in all their packages, from artist to biker to saxophone
player. I even found my son in here--the one in front of the computer.
Here's another guy book to add to our list. (ages 4-7)
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Karma Wilson, who brought us "Bear Snores On" and "Bear Wants More," has a
new book, "Hilda Must Be Dancing," which tested positive in our Storytime
last week. Hilda is a hippo who loves to dance, but, oh, she makes so much
noise when she dances on the jungle floor. All the other animals beg her to
take up a quieter hobby. Knitting, perhaps? But Hilda has to dance, and
she soon finds just the place to do it and keep the other animals happy.
This book is full of rhythm and sound words; it has to be read aloud.
Colorful illustrations by Suzanne Watts are just the sort that little ones
like. (ages 3-7)
http://www.bearsnoreson.com/mybooks.html
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There are five more books on my stack, but I won't do that to you. I'll
save them for next time. But then there will be more new books.
AAAARRGGHH! Right now I'm eyeing some peanut butter eggs on Lisa's desk.
She'll never miss them. Have a good week.
Carolyn
