Well Said, and High Time Someone Said It!

This principal has implemented wonderful practices to boost student reading and build classroom libraries. He exemplifies what it means to “do the right thing.”

Read the article, then take a moment to ponder what our schools would be like if every principal followed his example.

Article link

Born to Read

Judy Sierra and Marc Brown have collaborated on quite a few children's books, all of them worth reading with your little ones. Today, in the spirit of Back-to-School preparation, here's a story about the wonders of reading.

Judy Sierra's trademark rhyming verse holds true for this book and tells us about Sam, a young reader who truly understands that being able to read is a ticket to success.

From birth, Sam's parents surround him with print and begin reading picture books to him. Unsurprisingly, Sam becomes a voracious reader. He reads in the grocery store, in the car, in the tub, and even while playing basketball. He uses his reading skills to win a bike race and declares that the secret to his win is that "Readers win and winners read."

One day, a giant baby, Grundaloon, lumbers into town and takes away all the toys. When he leaves, everyone else is relieved, but Sam worries that he will return and wreak more havoc. So he ponders and comes up with a clever, fantastical plan to make sure Grundaloon never returns.

This story can open up opportunities to talk with your class or your own children about all the things we are able to do when we can read. Older children could be invited to write a narrative fiction piece about what a day in their life (at school?) might be like if they could not read.

Take note of the books featured in the illustrations: Pat the Bunny, Chicka Chicka Boom Boom, The Very Hungry Caterpillar, Arthur, and The Cat in the Hat all make at least one appearance.

Be sure to add Born to Read to your home library collection.

Library of Congress video of Judy Sierra and Marc Brown presenting "Born to Read" at the 2008 National Book Festival

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!

Dreams Do Come True

I've wanted grandchildren for a while, and last May, my first one arrived and she is even better than I imagined. Seriously - there are no words.

We all want our children and grandchildren to inherit the best of our traits and pray that the worst will skip a generation or, better yet, disappear all together. My sweet grandgirl is happy, loving, smart, and...she LOVES to read! Hurray!

Whenever I am able to visit, we try to make it through her entire collection, which is considerable since she is not only the first grandchild on both sides and has bibliophile genetics, but she has an auntie who is a librarian, a grandfather who is a retired teacher, and me.

Each month, I use my Amazon Prime membership to send her two new board books. I always hit the closest holidays, books about counting and the alphabet, and lots of family love books. I call it Grandma's Book of the Month Club. My plan is that when she is older, we'll read chapter books, and if we are still living far apart, can FaceTime to talk about the books. We'll always have something to talk about :)

My double-fisted reader enjoying her UCLA counting book

(Daddy's alma mater)

Perched on her "thorne" (courtesy of Auntie Kim), enjoying one of her Valentines Day treasures with Darla the unicorn (courtesy of Uncle Michael).

 She loves reading with Daddy.

Reading with Grandma during Spring Break.

She absolutely loves books about animals.

She's getting pretty good at making animal sounds :)

This Grandma's heart is happy that we have another generation of readers in the family.

Smelly Socks

Once a week during our Morning Meeting, the school counselor comes in a presents an Open Circle lesson. Today, the discussion was about honesty. The students had some very interesting things to say about when it is difficult for them to be honest.

Most of them, of course, hesitate to tell the truth when they are afraid of getting in trouble. But a rather large number of them admitted to lying to their parents about whether or not they had a) bathed, or b) brushed their teeth.

This was unsurprising to me because I've raised 4 children and survived those stinky tween years, when, for some inconceivable reason, they don't want to be bothered to clean themselves and don't mind walking around smelling like a wet dog with rotten egg breath.

So...when they returned from specialist this morning, this was the read aloud I shared with them :)

Robert Munsch, a favorite with children and adults, partially because of his slightly gross sense of humor, takes on the topic of stinky tweens and my class thought it was HILARIOUS! Tina goes to great lengths to get her fabulous new socks and she is so happy about them, that she refuses to take them off. People and animals complain about the stench, but still she refuses. Finally, her classmates take matters into their own hands and drag her down to the river and scrub them while they are on her feet. The last two pages might be the best part of the whole story.

Michael Martchenko, who illustrates many of Munsch's books, sticks with his trademark bright, joyful pictures of spunky, sassy children. His pictures double the pleasure of reading Munsch's books.

Interview with Robert Munsch

Interview with Michael Martchenko

Madeline Finn and the Library Dog

One of my struggling readers walked up to me and, looking at me with his big blue eyes, earnestly requested, "Would you read this to us today? I just love this book."

Can't say no to that and now I love it too!

Madeline Finn is struggling to learn to read. She is discouraged, grumpy, and is now pronouncing to anyone who will listen that she doesn't like to read.

Her parents and teacher keep encouraging her, but as much as she wants one of those coveted gold stars from her teacher, things still aren't clicking. Then (insert appropriate superhero sound here) Super Librarian to the rescue! She introduces Madeline to Bonnie, a library dog who visits the library each week to listen to children read.

I'm sure you can guess how this heartwarming story ends, but every moment of it is enjoyable.

Lisa Papp looks right into the heart of a frustrated emerging reader and let us follow her as she becomes a confident, I-Can reader. The illustration are beautiful - muted, comforting colors that make you feel right at home.

On her webpage, Papp explains how this book came to be: "This story comes straight from the heart. I discovered the Read-to-Dogs program at my local library and immediately fell in love. Seeing these incredible dogs working with the children, and watching the magic unfold, was a blessing. I knew I wanted to share this story. Many of the dogs featured in the book are former shelter dogs now living a new life helping children. I have come to know and love these dogs, as well as they’re dedicated handlers, and I’m honored to share their story."

Madeline Finn and the Library Dog has won quite a few awards, but the two that tell me it's time to visit the library and get a copy are the Parents' Choice and the Children's Choice awards.

Avoid the Summer Slide!

I cannot say enough about how important it is for your child to keep READING during the summer.  Some families take the attitude that their children should not have to do anything academic during the summer. After all, summer is the time for fun, right?  Right.  However, I can't help but point out that reading is a part of living, not just a part of school.

I don't know about you, but I read constantly - I read street signs, grocery lists, menus, directions, Facebook posts, text messages, recipes, catalogs, Tweets, magazines, poems, advertisements, scriptures, and the list goes on.  I am able to do this because my parents read to me, they read with me, they took me to the library, they let me order from the monthly book order at school, and they read in front of me, modeling how important it is to continually feed the mind with nutritious, delicious morsels - even during the summer.  Literacy knows no season.

Nostalgic Note:  Every week during the summer, my mom took my sisters and I to the public library.  We were allowed to check out as many books as we would like and I took advantage of that, walking out the door each week with 10-15 books.  You would have thought I'd won the lottery, I could hardly contain my excitement and was anxious to get home, crack open those covers and begin devouring the adventures inside.

Sometimes I selected books I'd read before - yes, I am one of THOSE people - I love to reread favorites and revisit the worlds of my fictional friends.  I read the Little House books until the covers fell off (my own copies, of course).  Other oft-repreated favorites included the Ginnie and Geneva series and the Cherry Ames series.  If you have a daughter in the 9-13 age range, see if your public library has these.  Neither of these series are classics by any means, but they struck my fancy and I read them over and over.

Most public libraries have summer reading programs and many have recommended reading lists on their websites.  Get your child involved in your library's summer reading program!  Most libraries have wonderful kick-off events, great prizes for those who participate and a fun end-of-summer party.

Be sure to keep current on what's happening at your local library by checking their website once a week. Most have calendars, pages for special events, book club information, etc., all posted online.  One of my favorite libraries is a great resource for recommended titles - Provo City Library.  Their neighbor, the Orem City Library has staff recommendations alongside printable booklists.  I know these libraries well because those were the libraries I took my own children to every week during the summer.  My current local library, El Dorado County Library, has a list of links to free ebooks, sites about reading, books, upcoming sequels, etc...  Every library with a website will have a different way of sharing information to encourage their patrons to keep reading.  If your library doesn't have an online presence, I encourage you to advocate for it.

I Enjoyed This A Little Too Much

I love it when celebrities lend their name to a good cause and when its a cause I believe in and a celeb I love to watch onscreen - win/win!

http://vimeo.com/56179960

Welcome!

I love to read. It's in my DNA. I have fond memories of my mother curled up on the couch, reading. My father loved reading Dr. Seuss to us, he absolutely loved the nonsense words Dr. Seuss used and when I read my dad's stories, I see that influence.  My mom and grandma exchanged bags full of books and magazines every time we visited one another.  My granddad read every Louis L'moure novel ever published. 

I passed that passion for reading to my children.  I am the mother of 4 grown children and I read to them from the day they were born.  They are all voracious readers and visitors to our home often comment on our love of reading.  My top two favorite visitor moments: my cousin Shad walked into our living room and looked at the 5 of us spread out on our sectional sofa, reading.  He watched us for a moment, glanced at the television, back at us, and blurted out, "What are you doing?!? The tv is RIGHT THERE!"  My other favorite moment was when our friend, Justin, entered our home and witnessed the exact same scene.  He stood there in disbelief, then quipped, "You know, you could die from this much reading."

To earn enough money to pay for my book habit, I teach elementary school, which, of course, necessitates the purchase of even more books.  One of my greatest challenges and joys each school year is having a student enter my class as a reluctant reader and leave 9 months later with an insatiable appetite for books.

I have several young nieces and nephews who benefit from my addiction in the form of Aunt Carrie's Book of the Month Club (gotta love Amazon Prime ;). 

This blog is an outgrowth of my desire to share my love of books.  As a parent and a teacher,  I am often asked for book recommendations - by age, gender, grade level, genre, reading level, reading resistance level - you name it, I've been asked to create a list of books for a child with that characteristic.  Giving recommendations to my family, friends, and students, and receiving their recommendations, is pure pleasure for me.

I hope you'll visit often to see what treasures I've come across.