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March 16, 2004
In this issue:
"Best Books for Children" by Valerie V. Lewis and Walter M. Mayes.
"Taming the Tuition Tiger" by Kathy Kristof.
Sharon Creech does it again.
Lois Lowry's message.
"Pie in the Sky" by Lois Ehlert.
Don Freeman is still delivering.
"Where is the Green Sheep" by Mem Fox and Judy Horacek.
Greetings,
I know you're probably busy thinking about your green wardrobe for tomorrow,
so I'll get right to it. There are so many good new books to talk about today.
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Six years after releasing their first book, Valerie V. Lewis and Walter M.
Mayes have revised their "highly opinionated" Best Books for Children: A
Lively, Opinionated Guide. This guide covers more than 2,000 children's
books for listeners and readers from birth to twelve. Books are divided
according to listening or interest level, then by reading level. A synopsis
and themes are given for each title. Scattered throughout the book in
sidebars are reviews, ratings, tips, lists, hints, advice and even "The
Out-of-Print Hall of Shame." In addition to the wealth of information found
within, this book is fun because the authors are so lively and enthusiastic.
Lewis and Mayes have a combined fifty years in the book industry and have
worked together for over twenty years. Another great resource for parents,
teachers and librarians. (adult)
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If you work with high school students or have children that age, you might
be interested in Taming the Tuition Tiger: Getting the Money to Graduate
by Kathy Kristof, who writes a personal finance column for the "Los Angeles
Times." This is a guide to 529 plans, scholarships, financial aid and other
forms of college funding. I like the writing. Listen to this: "You don't have
parents who can actually give $55,000 to each of your kids? Welcome to
my world," and, "Parents have only one problem when it comes to figuring out
how much to save for their children's college expenses: Their children." Amen.
The book includes work sheets and sample forms as well as a resource section for
helping you calculate your needs. Full of good info. (high school to adult)
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Sharon Creech has done it again with her new book Heartbeat. Written in
free verse, this is the story of 12-year-old Annie who is facing some changes in
her relationships with her best friend Max, her aging grandfather, and her
mother who is pregnant. While everything in Annie's world is changing, she
focuses on two constants in her life--her love for running and a troublesome
school assignment to draw an apple one hundred times. Through both, Annie begins
to understand the rhythms of life and her place in them. I loved this book, and
it's message is so subtle that the tears didn't come until the last 17 words.
Read this aloud to your students, but have tissues (at least for yourself).
(ages 8-12)
http://www.sharoncreech.com/novels/13.asp
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Lois Lowry's new book, Messenger, is about a utopian society that has run
amok. And as was the case with The Giver and Gathering Blue, we
can see our own ills reflected in these communities. This is imaginative and
thought-provoking and is sure to be popular with your students. A good choice
for raising discussion about heroism, bravery, and sacrifice. You can find a
plot summary in Booklist's starred review at:
http://www.ala.org/ala/booklist/reviewsofmonth/youth/Lowry.htm (ages
10-14)
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Run - don't walk - to see Lois Ehlert's new book Pie in the Sky. She has
worked her usual magic on art and nature in this book about observation. The
child narrator has moved to a new home during the winter. Dad says the tree in
the yard is a pie tree, but the child can't see any pie. What she does see,
however, is page after page of wildlife in the tree, changes in the tree,
changes in the sky. Finally spring comes and something begins to grow on the
tree. Have you guessed it yet? It's a cherry tree. Now the child observes the
changes in the cherries and watches the antics of the wildlife that come for a
taste. Finally, Dad and child pick the cherries and of course make cherry pie.
We even get the recipe integrated into the art. I'm always amazed at the amount
of information that Ehlert packs into her seemingly simple books. Her
outstanding collage art keeps me lingering on each page. (ages 3-7)
http://www.harcourtbooks.com/bookcatalogs/bookpages/0152165843.asp
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At the time of Don Freeman's death in 1978, he had finished illustrations and
the manuscript for a story about a praying mantis who loved music but couldn't
make any himself. In Manuelo the Playing Mantis, Manuelo listens to
outdoor concerts and tries to replicate the sounds by using things found in his
world -- a cattail, a trumpet flower, twigs. Nothing will make those beautiful
sounds that he loves to hear. Finally, Manuelo meets a spider who shows him how
to make a very special instrument. Manuelo begins to play and is soon
surrounded by an audience of admirers. Manuelo has at last found his
music. This is a gentle little story that children will love. (ages 3-7)
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There is so much packed into the new little book from Mem Fox and Judy Horacek. Where
is the Green Sheep? has the simple repetition and anticipation that little
children love, but Fox sneaks in some valuable concepts--color, opposites,
vocabulary, adjectives. Horacek's line drawings are too cute. (ages infant - 5)
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Do you smell that aroma wafting from Watermark's kitchen? It's peach pie.
It's so hard to work here. Have a good week.
Carolyn
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