Zoe's Jungle

One of my FOL book sale finds, Zoe's Jungle is all about a child's imagination. Author and illustrator Bethanie Deeney Murguia shows us how Zoe and her sister, Addie, imagine themselves chasing through the jungle, periodically interrupted by their mother reminding them they have 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, and then 0 minutes left to play. "Is there no respect for the explorer and her quest?" Zoe laments.

She and Addie race against the clock to finish their chase through the jungle, and the time impositions add an element of excitement and intensity to their game of chase.

The pen, ink, and watercolor illustrations are sweet and simple. I enjoyed the use of the pattern from Addie's dress being used on the coat of the wild Addiebeast. Someone cleverly created Mom's countdown in a very large font, to show how intrusive it feels to the girls, while the rest of the story is told in normal font.

Zoe's Jungle is one of a trio of Zoe books by Murguia, so if it is to your liking, be sure to head for the library and check out Zoe's Room and Zoe Gets Ready.

This link takes you to the the About page on the author's website. She has included a wonderful little picture bio for young readers.

This link takes you to Amazon to purchase Zoe's Jungle.

I'm excited to add this to my classroom library - FOL for the win!

The Big Orange Splot

It's been more than two decades since I first read this story and it still makes me smile whenever I see the neighborhood at the end of the story.

Mr. Plumbean lives in a "neat" neighborhood - not neat as in cool or awesome, but neat as in strictly regulated by a HOA. Every single house in the neighborhood looks EXACTLY the same.

Then one day, a seagull flies over the neighborhood with a can or orange paint in his beak (?!?) and spills some of it right on Mr. Plumbean's roof, leaving a big, orange splot.

The neighbors want him to get that mess cleaned up right away, but Mr. Plumbean takes a while to get it done. One night, he starts painting and when the neighbors wake up, they see:

You can imagine how they react and the word about the neighborhood is that Plumbean has "popped his cork, flipped his wig, blown his stack, and dropped his stopper." But he pays no attention and over the next few nights, he adds a clock tower, foliage (including two palm trees), a hammock (hence the palm trees), and an alligator.

Day after day, Mr. Plumbean lays in his hammock and drinks lemonade. Night after night, each neighbor takes a turn visiting him to plead with him to return his house to normal, so their street can once again be "neat." To each person, Mr. Plumbean calmly replies, "My house is me and I am it. My house is where I like to be and it looks like all my dreams."

Day by day, the neighbors awake to find one more home that looks like the owner's dreams until the entire neighborhood is filled with unique homes and happy owners who have all adopted Mr. Pumbean's mantra.

"Our street is us and we are it. Our street is where we like to be, and it looks like all our dreams."

Not only will children enjoy the humor, but this story is a great springboard for conversations about learning to be okay with your uniqueness, and of course, you've got to let each child draw their own dream house - they come up with amazing designs!

Take time to let them drink in the illustrations, you may need to explain a couple of them, and I would definitely discuss what each neighbor's dreams might look like based on the house they designed. This will result in a much richer product when the students design their own dream house.

Pinkwater illustrated the story himself using markers, which make it bright, child-friendly, and fun.

This link will take you to Amazon to purchase The Big Orange Splot.

Jennifer Veneracion reading aloud The Big Orange Splot

Wrapping Up the Strega Nona Blitz

Strega Nona: Her Story as Told to Tomie dePaola: Though it was published 21 years after the original Strega Nona story, this is a prequel. It tells the story of Strega Nona's birth which explains her close connection to Grandma Concetta whom we meet in Strega Nona Takes a Vacation, gives us a glimpse into how Grandma Concetta taught Nona to be a strega, introduces us to Nona's childhood friend Amelia, whom we meet in Strega Nona Meets Her Match, refers to Grandma Concetta's seashore cottage where she retires after turning the business and home over to Nona, teaches us the origin and secret of the magic pasta pot from the original Strega Nona, and lets us peek at Strega Nona's first meeting with Big Anthony.

You can purchase this book at Amazon, or check it out from your local library.

Maggie Gannon reads aloud Strega Nona: Her Story as Told to Tomie dePaola

Strega Nona Meets Her Match: We meet Strega Nona's childhood friend, Amelia, once again. She is a strega in a town over the hill from Strega Nona. She uses all the latest "scientific" equipment to do her work and looks down a bit on Strega Nona's "old" ways. When Amelia comes for a visit and sees how much business Nona has, she moves her business into Calabria and takes all of Nona's customers.

It gets so bad, that Strega Nona can no longer afford to employ Bambolona and Big Anthony. Bambolona goes back to her father's bakery, but Strega Amelia is happy to hire Big Anthony.

Things are going so well, that Strega Amelia leaves Big Anthony in charge and goes back over the hill to get the rest of the belongings. Big mistake. And just like that, Strega Nona is back in business.

Amazon carries this book if you can't find it at your community library.

Katie's Bookshelf read aloud of Strega Nona Meets Her Match

Jim Henson Company - Strega Nona tells Tomie dePaola a story about being scared

Click here for "Beginning the Strega Nona Blitz" post
Click here for "More Strega Nona Love" post
Click here to read "Merry Christmas, Strega Nona" post.

Friends of the Library

The library is my go-to for books. If you look at my classroom library, you can see that I have spent a great deal of money over the years to curate my collection. However, I still head to the library every chance I get.

I hope your hometown library is affiliated with a Friends of the Library organization because they can contribute so much to the growth and development of a library!

One of my favorite things they do to help their local library is book sales. Most libraries have an area where a small collection (depending on the space the library gives them) of books, audio books, magazines, dvds, etc... are on sale all of the time, but most libraries will have a monthly book sale that is quite large and my current library, the Bainbridge Island branch of the Kitsap Regional Library, holds 2 or three per month. Most of them are held during my work day, but yesterday I wasn't working and I wasn't vacationing, so I went and boy, am I glad!

I spent $17 (included $5 gift certificate that I've been waiting to spend, so only $12 came out of my pocket!) and got this load of books:

I picked up a Jodi Picoult hardcover for $1 for me, and a couple of Tin Tin books in French for my son, who can pass for a native of France and has lived there on two separate occasions. The rest are for my classroom.

Hardcovers:

• Igraine the Brave by Cornelia Funke
• Grandfather's Journey by Allen Say
• Zoe's Jungle by Bethanie Deeney Murguia
• Our Children Can Soar by Michelle Cook
• Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J.K. Rowling
• The Dragon in the Sock Drawer by Kate Klimo
• Molly Moon's Hypnotic Time Travel Adventure by Georgia Byng

Paperbacks:

7 Rainbow Magic books, all by Daisy Meadows

• Emily the Emerald Fairy
• Pearl the Cloud Fairy
• Brooke the Photographer Fairy
• Katie the Kitten Fairy
• Hope the Happiness Fairy
• Crystal the Snow Fairy
• Polly the Party Fun Fairy

My general rule for purchasing used books is to stick with hardcovers, but I will buy paperbacks to fill out a series or if a book/series is popular in my class and duplicate copies would be beneficial.

More Strega Nona Love

Strega Nona Does it Again - Our heroine, Strega Nona, is known throughout Calabria for her problem-solving skills. She gets rid of headaches and warts, helps bald men grow hair, and helps people find their true love. But when Strega Nona gets a letter from her cousin, Duke Andrea di Limone, asking is his daughter can come for a visit to forget about a young man, she has no idea what she's getting into.

Angelina arrives with more luggage than poor Strega Nona can fit into her little cottage. She makes an unfavorable impression on the villagers when she decides to grace them with her presence.

She immediately presses Bambolona into service as her maid and then forces Big Anthony into becoming her footman. They fetch and carry and wait on her hand and foot. When Strega Nona notices that none of the chores Big Anthony and Bambolona usually do for her are getting done because they are so busy serving Angelina, she decides she must come up with a plan.

No spoilers here, but her plan works and her life returns to normal.

Check it out at your community library or buy it from Amazon.

Strega Nona Takes a Vacation - Even those of us who love what we do need to take an occasional vacation.

When Strega Nona begins dreaming about visiting her Grandma Concetta in her house on the seashore, she begins daydreaming at work, and hears her Grandma's voice urging her to take a vacation to the house at the seashore. So she leaves her home and business in the hands of Bambolona and Big Anthony and heads for the seashore.

She has a lovely, rejuvenating time at the seashore, doing all of things she remembers doing with her grandmother many years ago - swimming, fishing, gathering seashells, watching the sun set, falling asleep to the sound of the waves and the smell of the ocean.

She sends gifts to Bambolona and Big Anthony, which takes us back to Calabria. Bambolona wants the gift sent to Big Anthony, so she switches the gifts and that leads to Big Anthony creating a disaster, reminiscent of the pasta pot debacle of the original Strega Nona story.

dePaola's illustrations of Strega Nona's dreams are my favorite part of this story - beautiful colors that take you right to the seashore and I love the bubbles that remind you it is a dream.

Visit Amazon to add this book to your Strega Nona collection.

Katie's Bookshelf - read aloud video Strega Nona Takes a Vacation.

Jim Henson Company - Strega Nona tells Tomie dePaola a story about laughter being the best medicine

Click here to read "Beginning the Strega Nona Blitz" post.
Click here to read "Wrapping Up the Strega Nona Blitz" post.
Click here to read "Merry Christmas, Strega Nona" post.

Beginning the Strega Nona Blitz

I'm on a bit of a Tomie dePaola binge since reading Tomie dePaola: His Art and His Stories. Though I love his autobiographical stories, my introduction to dePaola's work came when I was teaching 1st grade many moons ago and came be way of the delightful tale of Strega Nona.

He has written quite a few books about Strega Nona and her friends:

• Strega Nona: An Original Tale, 1975 (Caldecott Honor Book)
• Big Anthony and the Magic Ring, 1979
• Strega Nona's Magic Lessons, 1982
• Merry Christmas, Strega Nona, 1986
• Strega Nona Meets Her Match, 1993
• Strega Nona, Her Story, 1996
• Big Anthony, His Story, 1998
• Strega Nona Takes a Vacation, 2000
• Brava, Strega Nona: A Heartwarming Pop-Up Book, 2008
• Strega Nona's Harvest, 2009
• Strega Nona's Gift, 2011
• Strega Nona Does It Again, 2013
• The Magical World of Strega Nona: A Treasury, 2015 includes:

• Strega Nona
• Strega Nona Meets Her Match
• Strega Nona, Her Story
• Strega Nona Takes a Vacation
• Strega Nona's Harvest
• Strega Nona's Gift
• New Introductions to Each Story
• Map of Strega Nona's Town
• Family-Friendly Recipes
• An Original Lullaby with Sheet Music
• A CD of the Lullaby, and Tomie Reading Strega Nona, Her Story

• Strega Nona and Her Tomatoes, 2017
• Strega Nona and the Twins, 2017
• Strega Nona: A Classic Board Book, 2017
• Strega Nona's Magic Lessons (new publisher, new design) (December 5, 2017)
• Strega Nona's Magic Ring (formerly Big Anthony and the Magic Ring) (new publisher, new design) (March 27, 2018)

This list would be a great starting place for an author study on dePaola and/or a comprehensive list for a Strega Nona and friends character study. Big Anthony's character can open up conversations about following directions, being honest, and work ethic. Bambolona's traits are the complete opposite, which makes a great compare/contrast lesson.

Today, I'm going to cover Strega Nona, Strega Nona's Magic Lessons, and Strega Nona's Harvest. In future posts, I'll cover several others.

Strega Nona - Strega Nona (grandma witch) is Calabria's resident healer. She is so busy that she hires Big Anthony to help her with the chores around her little house. Little does she know, Big Anthony rarely does anything right. Strega Nona prepares pasta for supper with her magic pasta pot, and Big Anthony becomes obsessed with the pot, but he is not allowed to use it. When she leaves town, Big Anthony, of course, just HAS to try the pasta pot, with disastrous results.

Storyline Online - Mary Steenburgen reads Strega Nona. She makes the pasta song come alive by singing it and accompanying herself on the accordian.

Tomie dePaola tells how this Strega Nona story came to be.

Strega Nona's Magic Lessons - Bambolona, the baker's daughter has been working for Strega Nona for quite a while and now she wants to learn magic. Strega Nona happily agrees to teach her, and Big Anthony wants in on the lessons. When Strega Nona rebuffs him, he storms off and asks the baker to let him learn HIS secrets. Being Big Anthony, he makes a mess of the bakery and gets sent away. As he mopes through the town square, telling everyone how upset he is that Strega Nona won't give him magic lessons, someone mentions that men can't be stregas. So Big Anthony disguises himself as a woman, returns to Strega Nona's home, and is able to join the magic lessons. It does NOT go well.

Strega Nona's Harvest - Strega Nona teaches Bambolona and Big Anthony how to plant a garden, but naturally Big Anthony doesn't like having to make straight furrows and plant like seeds together. He wants to do things his own way - the lazy way ;) and though he follows directions for Strega Nona's garden he decides he will plant his own garden to show her that being fussy isn't necessary. Unexpectedly, Big Anthony's garden does fairly well, but not surprisingly, it creates complications for Strega Nona. With her usual aplomb, Strega Nona solves the problem.

Check your local library for these titles. Library tip: check to see if your library is connected to any other library systems. Our community has a fairly small library, but titles can be requested from the other branches in our regional library network. 

AND...anyone with a library card from our Kitsap Regional Library system can take it to a Seattle library and get a library card to borrow materials from the Seattle network as well. Your community may have the same type of agreement with surrounding areas, so be sure to ask!

Build your Strega Nona library at home via Amazon:

• Strega Nona
• Strega Nona's Magic Lessons
• Strega Nona's Harvest

Next time: Strega Nona Does it Again and Strega Nona takes a Vacation

Jim Henson Company - Strega Nona tells Tomie dePaola a story about her birthday

• Click here to read "More Strega Nona Love" post
• Click here to read "Wrapping Up the Strega Nona Blitz" post.
• Click here to read "Merry Christmas, Strega Nona" post.

Nana Upstairs, Nana Downstairs

When you hear the name Tomie dePaola, chances are you think of Strega Nona, or one of his many holidays stories, but dePaola has written and/or illustrated 269 books (as of 4/3/2018), including a number of autobiographical stories about his life in a large, loving Irish-Italian family.

Nana Upstairs, Nana Downstairs is the sweet story of 4-year old Tomie and his relationships with his grandmother who lives downstairs, and his 94-year old great-grandmother, who lives upstairs.

dePaola shows us the tender care given to great-grandma by grandma and the entire family - brushing and braiding her hair each day, helping her to sit in her chair to visit with Tommy each day, feeding her, visiting with her, taking family photos, showing her the love and respect that aging parents need and deserve.

When Nana Upstairs passes away, Tommy struggles to understand what that means. dePaola takes readers through this delicate territory in a gentle, simple manner. It's no wonder that children are drawn to him and his stories.

Tomie dePaola's illustrations are distinctive and appear to be simple. In Tomie dePaola: His Art and Stories, Trina Schart Hyman tells about her attempt to duplicate a "Tomie drawing", thinking it would take 10-20 minutes tops. Six hours and 38 ruined pieces of paper later, she realized, "That seemingly formulaic style, with its simple line, its folksy composition, and its childlike color, was a lot more complex and sophisticated than I bargained for - and almost impossible to duplicate in spirit." 

Nana Upstairs, Nana Downstairs is available through Amazon.

Reading Rockets interview with Tomie dePaola
Tomie dePaola on why reading is important
Jim Henson Company video  - Strega Nona tells Tomie dePaola a story
Meet Tomie dePaola

Happy Birthday: Laura Numeroff!

Laura Numeroff has been writing children's books for over 30 years. She is best known for If You Give a Mouse a Cookie, the original in  series of 10 If You books.

Numeroff is a philanthropist with a soft spots for kids and dogs. She not only works with service dogs and children with disabilities, but she donates a portion of her royalties to an organization called Book First, a non-profit that gives new books to children who would not otherwise have access to them. She also donated all the royalties from The Hope Tree - Kids Talk About Cancer, to the Susan B. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation. 

• Laura Numeroff interview - though she has a hard time getting a word in edgewise, there's some great information in this interview.

• If You Give a Mouse a Cookie read aloud and animated version (done by a college student for a course).

Head to your local library and check out a pile of Numeroff's books - there are tons to choose from and you'll love every one!

100th Post - Happy Birthday, Patricia Polacco!

This incredible woman is a gifted storyteller. She has not only written and illustrated more than 115 children's books, but she is an advocate for children's rights and the plight of classroom teachers, has been a university guest lecturer, created art and literary courses for young people, hosts storytelling festivals, writers' seminars, teachers' retreats, and established an art camp in Russia.

Patricia writes what she knows. Many of her stories are based on her family and childhood. Her years of living on a Michigan farm with her Babushka are reflected in her work - folktales from her Russian and Ukranian Jewish roots, along with personal and family experiences.

Polacco has a distinctive writing style, which can best be describe as heart-warming. In fact, I have a tough time reading many of her books aloud to my classes without tearing up and, occasionally having to choke back a sob (Pink and Say, An Orange for Frankie).

If you haven't read her work, start with My Rotten Redheaded Older Brother or Thunder Cake, and be sure to make the recipe together.

Fun Fact: Polacco didn't start illustrating until she was 41 years old.

• Thunder Cake read aloud by Patricia Polacco
• An interview with Patricia Polacco
• Melissa Gilbert reading My Rotten Redheaded Older Brother -
• Hector Elizondo reading aloud Somebody Loves You, Mr. Hatch

Thank you, Patricia Polacco, and Happy Birthday!

And now for my giveaway! It's taken me a while, but I finally hit 100 blog posts and I want to celebrate by giving away some of the things teachers love and based on my Instagram feed, teachers want ALL THE PENS! For the lucky winner:

To enter, comment on this blog post with your favorite Patricia Polacco book.

For additional entries:
1. Comment on any of my other blog posts - share your kid lit favorites, ways  you use kid lit in your classroom/home, favorite authors, etc...

* One entry per blog comment, one comment per post.

2. Visit my Instagram account - follow me on Instagram, like my post about this giveaway, and comment with the teacher tool you can't live without.

3. Follow By Email. You'll find this opportunity on the right side of the blog.

Deadline to enter the giveaway is Friday, July 13, noon PST.

Thank you for joining me on my journey to discover and share great children's literature! So many more books to share!

My Little Gingersnap Loves to Read

The quality is poor, but I LOVE to see her enjoying her books. The rocking, the horsey noises, the way she's learned to hold a book right side up and turn the pages, her sweet little self - every part of this makes my grandma-teacher heart incredibly happy.

Wolf!

Wolf!, written by Becky Bloom and illustrated by Pascal Biet, is a hoot for adults and children alike. 

A traveling wolf decides to head to a farm in search of a meal. When he arrives, it is immediately apparent that this is no ordinary farm - a pig, a cow, and a duck are sitting in the sun, reading.

He manages to scare the chickens and rabbits with his big and dangerous wolf routine, but the pig, the cow, and the duck are unfazed and send him away with the words, "This is a farm for educated animals," ringing in his ears.

And so the wolf embarks on a journey to learn to read. He attends school and learns the basics. But the farm animals tell him he has a long way to go.

He heads for the public library and reads piles of "dusty old books," but though they acknowledge his improvement, they still aren't impressed.

Finally, he takes the last of his money and purchases his very own book. He practices, and practices, and practices and finally reaches his goal.

I loved watching the wolf become "civilized." He gets himself some hipster glasses and a vest, starts ringing the doorbell instead of barging in with a growl, and best of all, the animals beg him to just read one more.

Bloom tells this story of the hard work and persistence required to learn how to read in an engaging and wry style. Biet's watercolor illustrations beautifully    and I love how he has worked humans into the background of the story as observers who seem to be more afraid of the wolf than his natural prey are.

Fun Fact: Both Bloom and Biet live in France.

Wolf! is available through Amazon if you can't find it at the library.

• Explicit Instruction posted this video of Anita Archer reading Wolf! to a group of second graders, teaching vocabulary and comprehension skills along the way.

• KTE Reading has posted this read aloud of Wolf! on YouTube.

• Scholastic's Readers Theatre of Wolf!

King Bidgood's in the Bathtub

Audrey & Don Wood are one of children's literature's best pairs and this is one of my favorites from their considerable catalog. This book is a Caldecott Honor recipient, along with Stephen Gammell's The Relatives Came, the same year (1986) the The Polar Express won.

King Bidgood refuses to get out of the bathtub and his court spends the day trying to get him to come out and do his job.

Children love ridiculous scenarios, especially scenarios in which an adult acts like a petulant toddler. The repetition and rhyme are delightful and reassuring for young readers, but the best thing about this book is the illustrations!

Don Wood's intricate detail in each illustration is fascinating. Readers will want to spend hours pouring over the pictures, with or without the text. Whether the king is feasting or fishing, the tub is overflowing with tools for the task.

One of my favorite things about the tub scenes is the delight that king shows in convincing the courtiers to join him, fully clothed in the tub, and the subsequent expressions on their sopping wet faces.

Fun fact: the Wood's son was Don's model for the page.

If you don't have this book in your collection, head to your library and get it now or purchase it through Amazon! While you're there, be sure to check out The Napping House, Piggies, and Silly Sally for the board book crowd, and for beginning readers, Sweet Dream Pie and Jubal's Wish.

Reading Rockets' interview with Don & Audrey Wood

The Kissing Hand

When my children were young (10, 9, 7, 5 ish), they started having to deal with a visitation schedule. The every-other-weekend was something we got used to fairly quickly, but the long stretches during the summer were hard on all of us.

When I found this book, it was a blessing and The Kissing Hand quickly became a favorite story in our family.

Chester, a young raccoon, is anxious about leaving mom and home to go to school.  His mom tries to convince him that school will be great - new books, new toys, new friends, but Chester remains unconvinced. Mother finally teaches him the secret of the kissing hand.

She opens his fingers and kisses the pad of his paw. Chester feels his mother's kiss "rush from his hand, up his arm, and into his heart." She tells him that when he needs to feel her love, he can press his hand to his cheek and feel her love. She closes his hand to keep the kiss safe and sends him on his way.

Audrey Penn has written 9 other books about Chester, and nine other stories for children. Illustrator Ruth E. Harper did a beautiful job creating warm, realistic, and welcoming illustrations that children will enjoy.

Do you know a child who is struggling with separation anxiety? Try this book. It may be a bit sugary for some, but I think most children will respond to the message.

Every once in a while, I still do the kissing hand with my adult children.

Get this story for your home library through Amazon, and while you're there, look for the other books in the series: Chester Raccoon and the Almost Perfect Sleepover, A Pocket Full of Kisses, A Kiss Good-Bye, Chester the Brave, Chester Raccoon and the Acorn Full of Memories, Chester Raccoon and the Big Bad Bully, A Bedtime Kiss for Chester Raccoon, A Kissing Hand for Chester Raccoon, and A Color Game for Chester Raccoon.

• Storyline Online read aloud of The Kissing Hand.
• YouTube read aloud