Watermark Books & Cafe

Teacher Feature

August 25, 2003

In this issue:

It's good to be back

Lane Smith: presentation and new book

A little gossip

A couple of sci-fi/fantasies for teens

Sci-fi/fantasy recommendations

"Olive's Ocean" by Kevin Henkes

New Bill Martin, Jr/Eric Carle title

Margie Palatini has two new ones

A lowly tale

An invaluable resource

Greetings,

Welcome back! I hope you all got some much-deserved rest over the summer and all off to a good start. I have returned from my trip through the great

American West and am back at the store full time. Here are two things I

learned on my trip: 1) Gas is 35 cents cheaper in Wyoming than in Wichita.

Can anyone explain that to me? 2) There is a stretch of I-80 in Nebraska

that was built with 47,000 recycled tires. Except for the slight stench of

hot rubber, it's great. We need more of these.

__

I have some fantastic news. Watermark is hosting an appearance by

children's illustrator Lane Smith, best known for "The Stinky Cheese Man,"

"The True Story of the Three Little Pigs," "Math Curse," just to name a few.

He is on tour to promote his new book "The Happy Hocky Family Moves to the

Country!" His presentation will be aimed primarily at second and third

graders, but the event will be open to the public. Date for the event is

Tuesday, September 23 from 10:00 to 11:30 a.m.. The location details are

being finalized, so I will keep you posted. I wanted to let you know this

much as least so you can start planning that field trip. If you would like

to be kept abreast of information about Lane Smith's presentation, please

respond to me by e-mail. Also let me know if you are interested in

reserving your favorite Lane Smith book or a copy of his new one to be

signed. This promises to be a delightful event.

__

And on that note, let me tell you about Lane Smith's new book "The Happy

Hocky Family Moves to the Country!" You may remember the first Happy Hocky

Family book written ten years ago. We are reacquainted with the Hockys in

this sequel written as well as illustrated by Smith. You're going to love

this book. It's one of those books written on two levels, one for kids and

one for adults (in my case maybe that's just one level). It has a retro

Golden Book/Dick and Jane quality with very tongue-in-cheek humor. I passed

it to two co-workers who gave it a laugh-out-loud rating.

For additional info about Lane Smith, check out the following sites:

http://www.kidsreads.com/series/series-warp-author.asp#lane

http://www.kidsreads.com/features/2002-smith.asp

http://www.baloneyhenryp.com/

http://www.bookpage.com/0209bp/meet_lane_smith.html

__

There was an article in USA Today last week that might interest some of you.

First of all, did you know that Dav Pilkey of Captain Underpants fame has

had an ongoing relationship with Cynthia Rylant for 15 years? I find that

fascinating. Actually that's not the point of the article. Pilkey talks at

great length about his experiences in school having been diagnosed as a

child with learning and reading problems, behavior problems and

hyperactivity. He gives some compelling arguments against labeling children

with learning problems. Check it out at:

http://www.usatoday.com/life/books/reviews/2003-08-20-captain-underpants_x.htm

__

I came back to so many new books that I can't possibly cover them all today.

I'll just hit the highlights, beginning with books for older readers.

__

Edith Pattou, a highly-acclaimed author of teen fantasy novels, has written

a fresh, original retelling of the classic tale "East of the Sun and West of

the Moon" entitled "East." Described as "a magical epic of love, betrayal,

and loss" this book has been nominated as a 2004 Best Books for Young Adults

by the American Library Association's Young Adult Library Services

Association (YALSA). To read an excerpt click on:

http://www.harcourtbooks.com/bookcatalogs/bookpages/0152045635.asp

(age 12 and up)

__

Mature readers who like sci-fi/fantasy might like Australian author Sara

Douglass's "Beyond the Hanging Wall" just published in the United States.

Although not a part of her wildly popular Wayfarer Redemption series,

"Beyond..." is set in the same world and was inspired by a battle that took

place in a mine outside Paris during the Hundred Years' War as well as the

author's own experiences in the mines where she lives in Australia. (high

school readers)

__

Speaking of science fiction/fantasy, Book Sense has a fall 2003 list of

sci-fi/fantasy books recommended by independent booksellers across the

country. If you would like to receive a copy of the list, send me your

address and I'll mail a copy to you.

__

Last night I read "Olive's Ocean" by Kevin Henkes and I'm still thinking

about it (one of Beth's criterion for a good book). Beautifully written,

this is a quiet tale of change. Martha Boyle has an odd connection to Olive

Barstow who was killed in a bike accident and has left behind a note to

Martha. Martha, who never befriended Olive in school, can't stop thinking

about her as she and her family head off to her grandmother's beach house

for summer vacation. The routine family vacation is very different for

Martha this year as she learns some very important lessons about change. A

word of caution: I highly recommend this book, but if you have to be

careful about content, you should know that there are a couple of "damns"

and an adolescent kiss and a veiled reference to sex between Martha's

parents. I'm not trying to be the moral police, but I don't want to get

anyone in trouble. Read more about this book at

http://www.kevinhenkes.com/

(grades 5-8)

__

Time for picture books! The biggest buzz comes from Bill Martin, Jr. and

Eric Carle with "Panda Bear, Panda Bear, What Do You See?" This time the

duo writes about endangered animals with the rhythmic text and vibrant

images that we all have come to love. The only glitch is that it's very

difficult to say "Macaroni penguin, macaroni penguin, what do you see?"

Doesn't quite role off the tongue. (ages 2-5)

__

Margie Palatini has been busy. "Bad Boys" is my favorite. Palatini and

Henry Cole have collaborated again to bring back Moosetache and Mooseltoe in

this hilarious fractured fairy-tale in which the "bad boys" try to pass

themselves off as sheep. Great read-aloud. (ages 4-7)

Palatini re-works another fairy-tale in "Mary Had a Little Ham," a tale of

Mary's talented piggy, Stanley Snoutowski, who heads off for the bright

lights of Broadway. There's an underlying message about hard work and

determination. Guy Francis illustrated this new version of Mary and her

unusual pet. Another good read-aloud. (ages 5-8)

__

Doreen Cronin and Harry Bliss have collaborated to bring us "Diary of a

Worm." This is a comical journal of the lowly worm who, it turns out, is

not that different from you or me, with a few possible exceptions. For

instance, he has trouble at school because he keeps eating his homework.

Bliss's illustrations are great. You should see the worms dressed as Secret

Service agents. Along with the laughs, the reader also learns much about

the worm's place in nature. This one also must be read aloud...you're going

to be busy. (ages 4-8)

__

And finally, "How to Get Your Child to Love Reading" by Esme Faji Codell

("Educating Esme") is nearly 500 pages of "activities, ideas and inspiration

for exploring everything in the world through books." And it most

definitely is. Although written for parents, it will be an invaluable

source for anyone working with children and young teens. A trip through

this book makes me want to get back into the classroom. Uh, but maybe I'll

just leave that to you. Check out the author's chilren's literature Web

site at http://planetesme.com/ . You're going to love this site.

__

I could just go on and on...but I already have. It's great to be back!

Carolyn

Teacher Feature Archives
Peruse back issues of teacher feature since its inception in April 2003.

	August 25, 2003 In this issue: It's good to be back Lane Smith: presentation and new book A little gossip A couple of sci-fi/fantasies for teens Sci-fi/fantasy recommendations "Olive's Ocean" by Kevin Henkes New Bill Martin, Jr/Eric Carle title Margie Palatini has two new ones A lowly tale An invaluable resource Greetings, Welcome back! I hope you all got some much-deserved rest over the summer and all off to a good start. I have returned from my trip through the great American West and am back at the store full time. Here are two things I learned on my trip: 1) Gas is 35 cents cheaper in Wyoming than in Wichita. Can anyone explain that to me? 2) There is a stretch of I-80 in Nebraska that was built with 47,000 recycled tires. Except for the slight stench of hot rubber, it's great. We need more of these. __ I have some fantastic news. Watermark is hosting an appearance by children's illustrator Lane Smith, best known for "The Stinky Cheese Man," "The True Story of the Three Little Pigs," "Math Curse," just to name a few. He is on tour to promote his new book "The Happy Hocky Family Moves to the Country!" His presentation will be aimed primarily at second and third graders, but the event will be open to the public. Date for the event is Tuesday, September 23 from 10:00 to 11:30 a.m.. The location details are being finalized, so I will keep you posted. I wanted to let you know this much as least so you can start planning that field trip. If you would like to be kept abreast of information about Lane Smith's presentation, please respond to me by e-mail. Also let me know if you are interested in reserving your favorite Lane Smith book or a copy of his new one to be signed. This promises to be a delightful event. __ And on that note, let me tell you about Lane Smith's new book "The Happy Hocky Family Moves to the Country!" You may remember the first Happy Hocky Family book written ten years ago. We are reacquainted with the Hockys in this sequel written as well as illustrated by Smith. You're going to love this book. It's one of those books written on two levels, one for kids and one for adults (in my case maybe that's just one level). It has a retro Golden Book/Dick and Jane quality with very tongue-in-cheek humor. I passed it to two co-workers who gave it a laugh-out-loud rating. For additional info about Lane Smith, check out the following sites: http://www.kidsreads.com/series/series-warp-author.asp#lane http://www.kidsreads.com/features/2002-smith.asp http://www.baloneyhenryp.com/ http://www.bookpage.com/0209bp/meet_lane_smith.html __ There was an article in USA Today last week that might interest some of you. First of all, did you know that Dav Pilkey of Captain Underpants fame has had an ongoing relationship with Cynthia Rylant for 15 years? I find that fascinating. Actually that's not the point of the article. Pilkey talks at great length about his experiences in school having been diagnosed as a child with learning and reading problems, behavior problems and hyperactivity. He gives some compelling arguments against labeling children with learning problems. Check it out at: http://www.usatoday.com/life/books/reviews/2003-08-20-captain-underpants_x.htm __ I came back to so many new books that I can't possibly cover them all today. I'll just hit the highlights, beginning with books for older readers. __ Edith Pattou, a highly-acclaimed author of teen fantasy novels, has written a fresh, original retelling of the classic tale "East of the Sun and West of the Moon" entitled "East." Described as "a magical epic of love, betrayal, and loss" this book has been nominated as a 2004 Best Books for Young Adults by the American Library Association's Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA). To read an excerpt click on: http://www.harcourtbooks.com/bookcatalogs/bookpages/0152045635.asp (age 12 and up) __ Mature readers who like sci-fi/fantasy might like Australian author Sara Douglass's "Beyond the Hanging Wall" just published in the United States. Although not a part of her wildly popular Wayfarer Redemption series, "Beyond..." is set in the same world and was inspired by a battle that took place in a mine outside Paris during the Hundred Years' War as well as the author's own experiences in the mines where she lives in Australia. (high school readers) __ Speaking of science fiction/fantasy, Book Sense has a fall 2003 list of sci-fi/fantasy books recommended by independent booksellers across the country. If you would like to receive a copy of the list, send me your address and I'll mail a copy to you. __ Last night I read "Olive's Ocean" by Kevin Henkes and I'm still thinking about it (one of Beth's criterion for a good book). Beautifully written, this is a quiet tale of change. Martha Boyle has an odd connection to Olive Barstow who was killed in a bike accident and has left behind a note to Martha. Martha, who never befriended Olive in school, can't stop thinking about her as she and her family head off to her grandmother's beach house for summer vacation. The routine family vacation is very different for Martha this year as she learns some very important lessons about change. A word of caution: I highly recommend this book, but if you have to be careful about content, you should know that there are a couple of "damns" and an adolescent kiss and a veiled reference to sex between Martha's parents. I'm not trying to be the moral police, but I don't want to get anyone in trouble. Read more about this book at http://www.kevinhenkes.com/ (grades 5-8) __ Time for picture books! The biggest buzz comes from Bill Martin, Jr. and Eric Carle with "Panda Bear, Panda Bear, What Do You See?" This time the duo writes about endangered animals with the rhythmic text and vibrant images that we all have come to love. The only glitch is that it's very difficult to say "Macaroni penguin, macaroni penguin, what do you see?" Doesn't quite role off the tongue. (ages 2-5) __ Margie Palatini has been busy. "Bad Boys" is my favorite. Palatini and Henry Cole have collaborated again to bring back Moosetache and Mooseltoe in this hilarious fractured fairy-tale in which the "bad boys" try to pass themselves off as sheep. Great read-aloud. (ages 4-7) Palatini re-works another fairy-tale in "Mary Had a Little Ham," a tale of Mary's talented piggy, Stanley Snoutowski, who heads off for the bright lights of Broadway. There's an underlying message about hard work and determination. Guy Francis illustrated this new version of Mary and her unusual pet. Another good read-aloud. (ages 5-8) __ Doreen Cronin and Harry Bliss have collaborated to bring us "Diary of a Worm." This is a comical journal of the lowly worm who, it turns out, is not that different from you or me, with a few possible exceptions. For instance, he has trouble at school because he keeps eating his homework. Bliss's illustrations are great. You should see the worms dressed as Secret Service agents. Along with the laughs, the reader also learns much about the worm's place in nature. This one also must be read aloud...you're going to be busy. (ages 4-8) __ And finally, "How to Get Your Child to Love Reading" by Esme Faji Codell ("Educating Esme") is nearly 500 pages of "activities, ideas and inspiration for exploring everything in the world through books." And it most definitely is. Although written for parents, it will be an invaluable source for anyone working with children and young teens. A trip through this book makes me want to get back into the classroom. Uh, but maybe I'll just leave that to you. Check out the author's chilren's literature Web site at http://planetesme.com/ . You're going to love this site. __ I could just go on and on...but I already have. It's great to be back! Carolyn
	Teacher Feature Archives Peruse back issues of teacher feature since its inception in April 2003.