Watermark Books & Cafe

Teacher Feature

December 2, 2003

In this issue:

Helping Hands from young Kansas authors.

Books signing by three Kansas children's authors.

Wish List.

Amelia Bedelia.

Three snow books.

Barry Sanders.

Sports trivia.

A book that defies description.

Greetings,

Whew! I didn't have to cook that bird after all. We went out to dinner, my

daughter survived and Mom was happy. Hope your holiday was a good one as

well.

__

Come by the store after school this Thursday, December 4, beginning at 4:30,

to hear young authors read from "Helping Hands," a compilation of stories

about helping others written by Kansas children and illustrated by many

talented artists. This book was published by Kansas Action for Children

with support by the Kansas Health Foundation. Some of your aspiring authors

might like to stop by and listen to stories written by kids just like them.

And a bonus: the "Helping Hands" book is free to customers as long as

supplies last.

__

You won't want to miss our December 13th book signing when we host three

Kansas children's authors--Jane Kurtz, Dian Curtis Regan and Deb Seely--from

11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Among these three talented authors you will find

books for all age ranges and interests. This is a great opportunity to add

to your libraries or to check off some of your holiday shopping list. We

hope to see you here.

__

Watermark Books & Cafe would like to extended a holiday offer that you might

want to pass on to your school community. You can come to Watermark, fill

out a "Wish List" of books you would like to have in your classroom or

school library, and leave it on file with us. Then your students and

parents can shop for you from that list and receive the educator discount of

20%. Parents don't have to worry about buying an inappropriate gift, and

you get books instead of coffee mugs. It's a win-win deal. If you have any

questions about this offer, let me know.

__

A new Amelia Bedelia book was published earlier this fall, and if you don't

already have it, you'll want it because it's all about the ruckus that

Amelia causes when she visits the library. In "Amelia Bedelia, Bookworm"

by Herman Parish, illustrated by Lynn Sweat, our favorite literal-minded

housekeeper volunteers a day at the library and wreaks her usual havoc. She

knits coats for the books because she heard the library needed book jackets.

She mistakes a thesaurus for a dinosaur. And she even steals the book

mobile. All great fun as usual. (ages 5 and up) Who out there remembers

book mobiles? Are they still around?

__

I started writing Teacher Feature last April, so you all haven't had to

suffer through a winter with me yet. Just you wait. When that first flake

falls I start a decline that lasts until, oh, March. But I do like the

picture books about winter. A quick check turned up the following new

selections.

"Snow Music" by Lynne Rae Perkins is a quiet, poetic look at the outdoors

after a snowfall. Perkins makes very clever use of onomatopoeia with words

like "peth" and "fep" to describe the sound of snowfall and "poot poot poot"

to describe the sound of tires on the snow. It would make a good selection

prior to a poetry assignment. (Listen to me. I'm planning your curriculum.

Sorry.) Because of it's simplicity, this book can be read with a very young

child; because of it's poetry, it can be used with much older students.

(ages 3 and up) To read more visit

http://www.harperchildrens.com/catalog/book_xml.asp?isbn=0066239567

__

"A Snowflake Fell: Poems About Winter," compiled by Laura Whipple and

illustrated by Hatsuki Hori, is a collection of poems that highlight the

many faces of winter: the changes in the natural world; the personal sensory

experiences of winter; the biting hardships faced by all living creatures;

the sport and play of winter; the cozy warmth of our homes in winter. My

favorite poem in the book is "Deer Mouse" by Marilyn Singer about the little

rodent's constant scurrying necessary to stay alive in his habitat. Hori's

illustrations capture the winter light, whether that of a snowy sunlit day,

a bitter cold night, or the glow from a warm fireplace. There are many

possibilities in this book. (ages 5-9)

__

A good early chapter book that just happens to be a winter survival story is

"Snowed In with Grandmother Silk" by Newbery Honor author Carol Fenner and

illustrated by Amanda Harvey. Eight-year-old Ruddy loves computer games,

playing outside and going to the zoo. Grandmother Silk loves high heels,

covers her nose at the zoo, and calls Ruddy "Rudford." How is Ruddy going

to survive ten days with Grandmother Silk when his parents go on a winter

cruise? When a snowstorm leaves Ruddy and his grandmother stranded without

light, heat, and water, they have no one but each other, and slowly begin to

find that they have a lot more in common than they knew. This story is rich

in warmth and humor, and with full-color artwork, it makes a perfect story

for those transition readers. (ages 6-8)

__

Teachers and librarians who have to find suitable reading material for

reluctant teen guy readers, this is your lucky day. I've found three that

will keep guys interested for awhile.

"Barry Sanders, Now You See Him..." is home-town football hero Barry

Sanders's "story in his own words" written by his life-long friend Mark E.

McCormick. This is the engaging story of a man who is much more than a

celebrated football player. Barry's story is one of "athletic achievement,

humility, and respect for his family, teammates, and fans alike." It is a

story of integrity and strength. It is a story that just might inspire some

teens to look for the possibilities within themselves. And...it has

pictures. Many pictures. Interspersed throughout the book are anecdotes

told by many of the people whose lives have connected with Barry's during

his football career and beyond. And...it has a DVD video. Although this

book will appeal to a wide range of readers, it's a natural for young guys.

(all ages)

__

When I was teaching I could never understand how a kid couldn't remember

that Mark Twain wrote "Huck Finn" but could remember what the score was in a

1977 KC Chiefs game and how many yards whozit gained in some obscure bowl

game. Published yearly, The Sports Illustrated for Kids "Year in Sports" is

custom made for that kind of student. Pages and pages of stats and facts

and pictures and anecdotes from the world of sports over the past year. A

book a kid can get lost in. Mark Twain who? (for any sports fan)

__

Now bear with me on this next book blurb because I'm not sure how well I can

describe it. "The Art of Shen Ku: 'The Ultimate Traveler's Guide of This

Planet': The First Intergalactic Artform of the Entire Universe" by Zeek.

Where to go from there? This is a reference book that combines health,

philosophy, humor and imagination. These are just a few of the topics

covered in this one-of-a-kind guide: knots, martial arts, natural healing

remedies, recipes, survival basics, jokes, yoga, diagnosing ailments,

acupressure, and magic tricks. And I left out so much. When asked to

described this book (because I couldn't), Bruce Jacobs said it's "the

ultimate teenage survival book when Mountain Dew, Xbox, and Napster (the new

one) aren't enough." Now for the bad news. While I consider this to be a

perfect book for many teens that I know, it will not pass the litmus test in

many school libraries because there are sections on sex and other topics

considered taboo. So while you may not be able to have this book in your

library, if you are open-minded and know any teens who might like the book,

tell them about it. They'll think you're cool. You can view the front and

back covers at

http://shenku.com/frontcover.htm and http://shenku.com/backcover.htm.

Read reviews and other info at

http://www.book-reviews.info/Art_History_Book_Reviews/0399527257.shtml

http://www.penguin.ca/Book/BookFrame/0,1007,,00.html?id=0399527257

__

Are you confused? I know I am. I need a cookie. Have a good week.

Carolyn

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

	December 2, 2003 In this issue: Helping Hands from young Kansas authors. Books signing by three Kansas children's authors. Wish List. Amelia Bedelia. Three snow books. Barry Sanders. Sports trivia. A book that defies description. Greetings, Whew! I didn't have to cook that bird after all. We went out to dinner, my daughter survived and Mom was happy. Hope your holiday was a good one as well. __ Come by the store after school this Thursday, December 4, beginning at 4:30, to hear young authors read from "Helping Hands," a compilation of stories about helping others written by Kansas children and illustrated by many talented artists. This book was published by Kansas Action for Children with support by the Kansas Health Foundation. Some of your aspiring authors might like to stop by and listen to stories written by kids just like them. And a bonus: the "Helping Hands" book is free to customers as long as supplies last. __ You won't want to miss our December 13th book signing when we host three Kansas children's authors--Jane Kurtz, Dian Curtis Regan and Deb Seely--from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Among these three talented authors you will find books for all age ranges and interests. This is a great opportunity to add to your libraries or to check off some of your holiday shopping list. We hope to see you here. __ Watermark Books & Cafe would like to extended a holiday offer that you might want to pass on to your school community. You can come to Watermark, fill out a "Wish List" of books you would like to have in your classroom or school library, and leave it on file with us. Then your students and parents can shop for you from that list and receive the educator discount of 20%. Parents don't have to worry about buying an inappropriate gift, and you get books instead of coffee mugs. It's a win-win deal. If you have any questions about this offer, let me know. __ A new Amelia Bedelia book was published earlier this fall, and if you don't already have it, you'll want it because it's all about the ruckus that Amelia causes when she visits the library. In "Amelia Bedelia, Bookworm" by Herman Parish, illustrated by Lynn Sweat, our favorite literal-minded housekeeper volunteers a day at the library and wreaks her usual havoc. She knits coats for the books because she heard the library needed book jackets. She mistakes a thesaurus for a dinosaur. And she even steals the book mobile. All great fun as usual. (ages 5 and up) Who out there remembers book mobiles? Are they still around? __ I started writing Teacher Feature last April, so you all haven't had to suffer through a winter with me yet. Just you wait. When that first flake falls I start a decline that lasts until, oh, March. But I do like the picture books about winter. A quick check turned up the following new selections. "Snow Music" by Lynne Rae Perkins is a quiet, poetic look at the outdoors after a snowfall. Perkins makes very clever use of onomatopoeia with words like "peth" and "fep" to describe the sound of snowfall and "poot poot poot" to describe the sound of tires on the snow. It would make a good selection prior to a poetry assignment. (Listen to me. I'm planning your curriculum. Sorry.) Because of it's simplicity, this book can be read with a very young child; because of it's poetry, it can be used with much older students. (ages 3 and up) To read more visit http://www.harperchildrens.com/catalog/book_xml.asp?isbn=0066239567 __ "A Snowflake Fell: Poems About Winter," compiled by Laura Whipple and illustrated by Hatsuki Hori, is a collection of poems that highlight the many faces of winter: the changes in the natural world; the personal sensory experiences of winter; the biting hardships faced by all living creatures; the sport and play of winter; the cozy warmth of our homes in winter. My favorite poem in the book is "Deer Mouse" by Marilyn Singer about the little rodent's constant scurrying necessary to stay alive in his habitat. Hori's illustrations capture the winter light, whether that of a snowy sunlit day, a bitter cold night, or the glow from a warm fireplace. There are many possibilities in this book. (ages 5-9) __ A good early chapter book that just happens to be a winter survival story is "Snowed In with Grandmother Silk" by Newbery Honor author Carol Fenner and illustrated by Amanda Harvey. Eight-year-old Ruddy loves computer games, playing outside and going to the zoo. Grandmother Silk loves high heels, covers her nose at the zoo, and calls Ruddy "Rudford." How is Ruddy going to survive ten days with Grandmother Silk when his parents go on a winter cruise? When a snowstorm leaves Ruddy and his grandmother stranded without light, heat, and water, they have no one but each other, and slowly begin to find that they have a lot more in common than they knew. This story is rich in warmth and humor, and with full-color artwork, it makes a perfect story for those transition readers. (ages 6-8) __ Teachers and librarians who have to find suitable reading material for reluctant teen guy readers, this is your lucky day. I've found three that will keep guys interested for awhile. "Barry Sanders, Now You See Him..." is home-town football hero Barry Sanders's "story in his own words" written by his life-long friend Mark E. McCormick. This is the engaging story of a man who is much more than a celebrated football player. Barry's story is one of "athletic achievement, humility, and respect for his family, teammates, and fans alike." It is a story of integrity and strength. It is a story that just might inspire some teens to look for the possibilities within themselves. And...it has pictures. Many pictures. Interspersed throughout the book are anecdotes told by many of the people whose lives have connected with Barry's during his football career and beyond. And...it has a DVD video. Although this book will appeal to a wide range of readers, it's a natural for young guys. (all ages) __ When I was teaching I could never understand how a kid couldn't remember that Mark Twain wrote "Huck Finn" but could remember what the score was in a 1977 KC Chiefs game and how many yards whozit gained in some obscure bowl game. Published yearly, The Sports Illustrated for Kids "Year in Sports" is custom made for that kind of student. Pages and pages of stats and facts and pictures and anecdotes from the world of sports over the past year. A book a kid can get lost in. Mark Twain who? (for any sports fan) __ Now bear with me on this next book blurb because I'm not sure how well I can describe it. "The Art of Shen Ku: 'The Ultimate Traveler's Guide of This Planet': The First Intergalactic Artform of the Entire Universe" by Zeek. Where to go from there? This is a reference book that combines health, philosophy, humor and imagination. These are just a few of the topics covered in this one-of-a-kind guide: knots, martial arts, natural healing remedies, recipes, survival basics, jokes, yoga, diagnosing ailments, acupressure, and magic tricks. And I left out so much. When asked to described this book (because I couldn't), Bruce Jacobs said it's "the ultimate teenage survival book when Mountain Dew, Xbox, and Napster (the new one) aren't enough." Now for the bad news. While I consider this to be a perfect book for many teens that I know, it will not pass the litmus test in many school libraries because there are sections on sex and other topics considered taboo. So while you may not be able to have this book in your library, if you are open-minded and know any teens who might like the book, tell them about it. They'll think you're cool. You can view the front and back covers at http://shenku.com/frontcover.htm and http://shenku.com/backcover.htm. Read reviews and other info at http://www.book-reviews.info/Art_History_Book_Reviews/0399527257.shtml http://www.penguin.ca/Book/BookFrame/0,1007,,00.html?id=0399527257 __ Are you confused? I know I am. I need a cookie. Have a good week. Carolyn
	Teacher Feature Archives Peruse back issues of teacher feature since its inception in April 2003.