Roald Dahl's Childhood Autobiography

Maybe it is because I am a grown-up, or maybe it is because I was never a 9 year old boy, but I was not particularly fond of this story. I read it as part of a graduate course book club. Although I think it is really cool that Roald Dahl actually wrote an autobiography about his childhood, many of the stories were mildly disgusting/gruesome.

I'm not sure which bothered me more, the story about the time he almost had his nose cut off in a car accident, or the story about how he watched as a doctor cut a large boil off of a little boy. Perhaps I am bias because I was trying to eat my lunch while I read about the latter of these incidents, and it completely ruined my appetite.

These things aside, this book does have a very distinct voice, and has a very comfortable rhythm to the words. It also taught me about what all boy British prep schools were like during the early-twentieth century. They were not fun places! Full of words like "fagging", "bog", and "nib", this book is sure to teach readers about a type of life that they cannot rightly imagine without Dahl's colorful descriptions.

Go Straight to the Source

In this book, Rosa Parks briefly tells about her life and accomplishments. Most elementary schools are required to teach about Rosa Parks at some point, and it makes sense for teachers to use this autobiography, because it tells the story in her own words. For example, when she is talking about the day that she refused to give up her seat to a white person, she says, "Some people think I kept my seat because I'd had a hard day, but that is not true. I was just tired of giving in."

Students need to have access to primary sources when they are learning about history. This book is the perfect example of one such source because it was written by the person in question, and it was specifically written for children. Sometimes it is hard to incorporate primary sources into elementary classrooms because the writing style is too foreign for students to understand. In this book, Rosa Parks tells her story in a simple but truthful way. This book is appropriate for 2nd grade and up.

Although it has more text than your traditional picture book, it does contain a number of illustrations done by Wil Clay. These illustrations help students visualize what Rosa Parks is describing.

How Do You Build a Racecar?

Do you have students in your class that love to take things apart and find out how they work? Do you have students that are addicted to graphic novels? The book series "Why Things Don't Work" capitalizes on both of these interests.

The basic idea behind each of the books is that something (train, airplane, race car, tank, motorcycle, or helicopter) isn't working, and the main character has to make it work again. In the process, the character explains all kinds of things about how the object works. There are helpful diagrams that go along with each concept.

The books are all written in graphic novel format. They are great books to have in your classroom library for individual reading time. They are probably meant for students in 3rd, 4th, or 5th grade. It might be good to introduce one of them as a guided reading book, to get students used to the format before they try to read the books themselves. The books are wonderful because they take very complex engineering and break it down into language that elementary school students can understand.

So What is a Noun?

" Hill is a noun. Mill is a noun. Even Uncle Phil is a noun."
-A Mink, a Fink, a Skating Rink: What is a Noun?

Non-fiction books come in all shapes and sizes. The book, "A Mink, a Fink, a Skating Rink" is one of a series that introduces grammar concepts to kids in interesting and fun ways. This book introduces the concept of "a noun" to children using the traditional definition of "a person, place, or thing" but it elaborates on that definition in a sing-songy fashion. Other books in this series address proper nouns, adjectives, adverbs, and pronouns. The series is written by Brian P. Cleary and illustrated by Jenya Prosmitsky.

The students of my second grade class have just started learning about nouns. The teacher introduced the concept by telling them the definition, and then having them make a list of people, places, things, and animals that they know. However, many of the students got stuck, and really had problems coming up with ideas. This book would be the perfect supplement to an introductory lesson because it provides students with all kinds of concrete examples of different kinds of nouns. The book ends with the question, "So what is a noun?" and this is the perfect lead-in a student-initiated discussion about nouns.

And the Rainforest Grew All Around and Around, and the Rainforest Grew All Around

This was a book that was recommended to me by one of my classmates. It is a great way to introduce children to the rainforest, or to wrap up a unit on the plant life cycle. Many young children have heard the song The Green Grass Grows All Around, and this book plays off of that by creating a song/book about the rainforest to the tune of "The Green Grass Grows All Around." On each page a new animal/plant is introduced, and there is a fact box on one side of the page that goes into details about the animal/plant. At the end of the book there is a "For Creative Minds" section that gives teachers and parents extension ideas for the book. There is also recipe for "Rainforest Cookies" that inclues 8 different ingredients that come from the rainforest: cinnamon, banana, sugar, vanilla, sugar, coconut, chocolate, and cashews.

This book starts and ends with "the fluffiest seed that you ever did see" and that makes it a great way to integrate music into a lesson about plant life cycles. This particular song lets students practice their fluency in a call and reply pattern while at the same time introducing them to new knowledge about the rainforest.

How Do You Raise a Raisin?

"How do you raise a raisin?
Tell me so I'll know.
They're such peculiar little things.
How do they sprout and grow?
Do raisins grow on Earth, or other planets, far away?
Do aliens collect them and space-shuttle them our way?"
-How Do You Raise a Raisin?

I have to admit, I never thought I would read a whole book about raisins, but Pam Ryan and Craig Brown really created a tummy rumbling book with this short non-fiction book about how raisins are made. On the left side of each page there is a stanza from a poem that questions how raisins are made. On the right side, there is a simple and honest explanation that answers the questions. Who knew that it took 26,280 hours to raise good grapevines for raisins, or that it takes four and one-half pounds of fresh grapes to make one pound of raisins.

To be honest with you, I never thought I would care, but the way this book is put together, you find yourself wondering what interesting little tidbit you are going to learn when you turn the page. The pictures are awesome too. Complementing the page that asks "Are they soaked inside a bathtub until their skin is crinkled?" there is a wonderful marker-and-pastel illustration of a happy raisin soaking in a tub with his rubber ducky. This book is a great way to get students wondering about how different things are created. It even includes instructions on how to make the yummy raisiny snacks "Ants on a Log", "Rats on a Raft", and "Super Balls".

I Spy....Steve Jenkins' Style

Most elementary students love I Spy books. There is one student in my second grade class who refuses to get excited about anything, except these books. He would spend hours searching through the scenery to find the hidden objects.

The book, "I See a Kookaburra!" by Steve Jenkins and Robin Page puts this curiosity to good use. It presents six different animal habitats, each with eight hidden animals. The reader has to try to find the animals, and then turn the page to see the illustration with the setting removed. The second page of each habitat tells a little bit about each animal. Not all of these animals are easy to see. In fact, there were at least two of them where I couldn't find more than six animals before I had to peek at the "cheat sheet" on the next page.

The book also contains the following note, "There are thousand of different kinds of ants. They live almost everywhere on earth and can be found in each of the habitats shown in this book. Along with the eight animals in each picture, there is an ant-somewhere. Can you see it?" This gives those expert I-Spy readers an extra challenge.

There is also a neat slide show about how Steve Jenkins makes his books on his website . It shows several of his picture sketches, and a couple pages of his original drafts. This was particularly interesting because it let the reader see how the process starts. Normally all readers get to see is the end product.

Elissa's Quest

This summer I was lucky enough to get out of taking a Research Methods course at the College of William and Mary. This meant that while most of my cohort was taking two classes during June, I was floating along with one measly 3 credit hour course. Suddenly, for the first time in over 8 years, I found myself with time for pleasure reading. I quickly devoured nearly every Young Adult and Junior fantasy series that had been released in the last 8 years. Therefore, I was surprised to run across this series when I visited the library last week. I guess I must have missed it in my ravishing quest for great adventure stories.

Elissa's Quest is the first in a three part series about a young girl who is prophesied to be the Seeker. The book opens with a mysterious prologue, in which this goddess, or at least we can assume it is a goddess, is sitting around a fire falling asleep. She knows she is suppose to do something, but she can't remember what. Suddenly she remembers, and the chapter ends.  When the next chapter starts, the reader finds themselves in a quaint village, where they are introduced to Elissa, a spunky green-eyed red head who lives with an old herbalist. From that point on, the book follows the story of Elissa, and the quest that she finds herself on. It is only later that readers learn of the Prophesy of the Phoenix, which states that every thousand years, the Phoenix must throw herself into the fire and rise again from its ashes, or the world will end. At that time, the Phoenix thrusts a Seeker into the world to help guide her back from the fire.

I love this book because it threw some curve balls at me that I wasn't expecting. In case my first paragraph didn't clue you in, I inhale fantasy books. Nothing makes me happier than a great new series to curl up with. So I fancy that I know a  good deal about the fantasy genre, but this book had some interesting components that I wasn't expecting. Now mind you, it does have the traditional "orphaned" main character, talking animal, magical elements, and imagined world, but something about the Middle Eastern setting and the layout of the text really intrigued me. The opening chapter was a masterful touch, and the prophesy itself is unique enough to really hold my interest. However, there was something else that really struck me about this book, and I just couldn't put my finger on it until I read the Author's Note on her website. Apparently, Erica Verrillo based this story on a tale she had told her daughter. The setting is based off of a trip the author took to Morocco, and even the mysterious Blue People from the tale find their basis in the reality of the Tuareg Berbers. I think the way that the author integreated her experiences into this imaginary world adds tremendously to the believability of the story, and makes it that much more enticing of a story. I cannot wait to read the next book in the series, Elissa's Odyessy.

Three Great Children's Books about Cancer

       Cancer is another issue that is close to my heart. When I was a sophomore in high school, my mother found out that she had a very fast spreading form of Lymphoma. She was put on intensive treatments of chemotherapy, and yes, she lost all her hair. When her hair grew back in, it was no longer the shiny red that it had been. Now, it was a dull grey color. But we didn't care, because it was so wonderful that she was getting better and had the strength to do things again. Today, that strand of cancer is in remission, but the doctors have found another type of Lymphoma in her kidney. Because of its location, they are not going to treat her unless she starts showing symptoms of the illness. This may never happen, or it could happen tomorrow. This always keeps the topic of cancer floating in the back of my mind.

       The same day I found, "Still My Grandma", I also ran across the book "Hair for Mama". Ironically, I wasn't looking for books on either topic at the time. In fact, I was actually looking for a children's book on even and odd numbers, but you know, that's just how libraries are. You go in looking for one thing, and come out with 20 great books on topics completely unrelated to your initial search. If you are lucky, you will also have one or two books on the topic you actually went into the library for.

Anyway, on this particular occasion, I saw the book, "Hair for Mama" propped up on top of a shelf, and I just had to pick it up and read it. This book is told by a young African American boy whose mother has cancer. The whole story centers around his family's traditional photo session. Every year, the family would get a group photo taken by a professional photographer, but this year, mama isn't sure if she wants to be in the picture because she has lost all of her beautiful hair. The boy decides that he is going to find hair for his mama. He looks everywhere, and finally decides that there was only one thing to do: get his own hair cut off to give to his mama. This story is a wonderful tale about the power of family, and love, in the face of hardships. It talks about cancer in a way that children can understand, comparing the cancer cells to the weeds in mama's garden. Amy June Bates did an amazing job illustrating the book, and the pictures really make the story a joy to read.

Of course, I couldn't just leave it there. I ran out and searched for other children's books the library had about cancer. After all, how can I be sure that one book is really so great when I haven't read any others on the topic. I was surprised by the narrow selection that the library offered. To be fair, there were many young adult books dealing with the topic, but there were not very many picture books. I was able to find two other amazing stories that I think deal with the topic in a thoughtful and sensitive way.

 The book, "Promises" is actually written in first person from the perspective of a little girl who's mother has cancer. It makes you want to both laugh and cry at the same time. The narrator's perspective really makes this story powerful. It's really easy to relate to, and it gives the story a very personal feel.

The third book I would highly recommend is, "The Lemonade Club" by Patricia Polacco. This story is based on a real event from her daughter's fifth grade class. Her daughter's best friend and the teacher both develop leukemia, and must undergo chemo treatments, but they band together and give each other strength through everything. Illustrated in Patricia Polacco's classic style, this story is a must have for any classroom library.

Dealing with Alzheimers through Children's Lit.

 

My Grandparents During WWII

         As some of you know, my grandmother passed away of pnemonia a few weeks ago. She had suffered from dementia for about 6 years prior to this happening, and by the time she past away, she had been unable to truely communicate in words for at least two years. Recently, my grandfather has began to have similar memory and communication problems, and he can no longer carry on extending conversations. As is often the case with memory loss, he sometimes does not recognize members of the immediate family.

        I mention all of this because a few weeks ago I ran across an incredible children's book that presented memory loss, and specifically Alzheimer's disease, in a way that children could relate to. The book is called, "Still My Grandma" and it tells the story of a little girl who would always go over to her grandmother's house to bake cookies, look at grandma's "treasure box" and spend quality time with her grandmother.

Then one day her grandmother begins to act kind of funny. She starts forgetting names and places, and she starts doing odd things like put her shoes in the refrigerator. By the end of the story, the little girl's grandmother is in a nursing home, but the little girl still comes to visit. Now, the little girl is the one who tells stories to her grandmother, and her and her mother bake cookies to bring to the nursing home. The illustrations in this book are simply beautiful. They are simple, but each picture is chalked full of emotion. This book would be wonderful for any child in 1st grade or higher who is dealing with this tough issue. After reading this book, I went to the Williamsburg Regional Library and checked out every picture book they had that talked about Alzheimers. After reading them all, this is still my favorite, but I'll list a few other good ones that I found.

My Grandmother,
Christina Hambley
 on her Wedding Day

Other good books about Alzheimers:

The Memory Box By Mary Bahr (2nd grade or higher)

Singing with Momma Lou by Linda Jacobs Altman (2nd grade or higher)

What's Happening to Grandpa?  by Maria Shriver (3rd grade or higher)

Grandfather's Story Cloth by Yawg Daim Paj and Ntaub Dab Neeg (3rd grade or higher) * This book is based on a Hmong family, and talks about remembering in the context of the Hmong story cloth tradition*
A Young Man's Dance by Laurie Lazzaro Knowlton (2nd grade or higher)

Thebes in 1463

I wasn't aware of it until I went to the library to find a historical fiction book, but apparently my subconscious believed that historical fiction books had to be about wars or early American life. Although I have read thousands of books about characters living in ancient Greece, Rome, Persia, Mesopotamia, China, England, and different European courts, I had never thought of them as historical fiction because they weren't boring, and somewhere back in my life, I had decided that historical fiction books were boring books about wars. That was why I was so surprised when I was looking down the library shelves and came across this book "Maia of Thebes" marked as a historical fiction book.

This story is about a young girl who lives with her aunt and uncle in a province of ancient Egypt during Hatshepsut's rule. When Maia discovers that her uncle is stealing grain from the temple, she must decide whether or not to turn him in. Her choice takes her on a wild adventure that eventually brings her to the feet of queen Hatshepsut!

I loved this story because it really incorporated a lot of details about what life might have been like in ancient Egypt. I found myself thinking, "This would be a good place to have students create a mental image of what is being described", or "Wow, I didn't know that most people slept on the roof of their house during this time period". The author, Ann Turner, collaborated with Catharine Roehrig, the Assistant Curator for the Egyptian Collection at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, to ensure that the story contained historically accurate details.

Because we have been focusing on reading strategies in my Elementary Reading and Language Arts Curriculum and Instruction class, I could hear one part of my brain processing where I would want to stop with my students and point out different strategies they could use. The story starts with a flashback, and when you reach the end of chapter one, it is necessary to go back and verify that you are now reading about a part of the story that happened after the flashback, because it is not instantly apparent.

Family Comes First!

The Girl with 500 Middle Names told a simple story about the bonds of family, and the lengths parents and children will go to look after each other. When Janie's mother discovers that Janie's school was not providing her with a top-quality education, she spends an entire year knitting beautiful sweaters to sell to make money to move to a better school district. But when things go downhill with the knitting business after they have moved, it is Janie who comes up with an idea to help her family get by.

This book told a simple story because there was not a great number of sub-plots or ongoing intrigues outside of the main story line. Nevertheless, it explored the concepts of poverty, family, and friendship in ways that upper elementary students can understand, without softening the power behind those ideas.

The artwork  was very well done. Janet Hamlin created pencil drawings that really captured the mood of the accompanying section of the story. I only wish that there were a few more of them. There were 10 total, which can be considered a lot for a chapter book, but they contained so much emotion, that it would have added to the story to have a few more. As it was, this was a good book about a third grade child trying to fit in at her new school, but trying to stay loyal to her family at the same time.

Poetry by Robert Louis Stevenson

 I have never been a big fan of serious poetry. Sure I like funny word-play poems, or silly poems about made-up subjects, but I just have always had a hard time getting interested in poetry that was written to be taken seriously. This book was the one exception to that rule. My grandmother bought it for me when I was very little. I think it was the beautiful illustrations that drew me in at first. Donna Green creating wonderfully realistic paintings of children to complement Robert Louis Stevenson's poems about childhood.

Robert Louis Stevenson first published the poems included in this book in 1885. Since then, they have appeared in many different editions, but I have yet to find another version with more detailed or whimsical illustrations.

His fanciful poems explore the world of childhood make-believe from many angles. There are poems about the ocean, poems about pirates, poems about bedtime, and ships, and fairies, and kingdoms made out of blocks. Perhaps my favorite poem of all time is found on page 54, titled, "Bed in Summer":

"In winter I get up at night
And dress by yellow candlelight.
In summer, quite the other way,
I have to go to bed by day.

I have to go to bed and see
The birds still hopping in the tree,
Or hear the grown-up people's feet
Still going past me in the street.

And does it not seem hard to you,
When all the sky is clear and blue,
And I should like so much to play,
To have to go to bed by day?"

This poem is accompanied by a warm-feeling illustration of a little boy and girl curled up in a canopy bed looking at a book, while outside the snow is furiously falling. This is just one of many examples of the great poems that can be found in this book.

Because the poems play with language, I probably would not introduce more than one poem every few days to my class, but I do think that this book could be used to explore serious poetry that is relevant to my students. Most of the poems are either about the different seasons, or about childhood make-believe.

However, I will leave you with a poem that might appeal more to older readers who have already left their childhood behind. This one is entitled,

"To Any Reader":

As from the house your mother sees
You playing round the garden trees,
So you may see, if you will look
Through the windows of this book,
Another child, far, far away,
And in another garden, play.
But do not think you can at all,
By knocking on the window, call
That child to hear you. He intent
Is all on his play-business bent.

He does not hear; he will not look,
Nor yet be lured out of this book.
For, long ago, the truth to say,
He has grown up and gone away,
And it is but a child of air
That lingers in the garden there.

A Hidden Gem

Stories are meant to be told. Please accept my invitation to tell these stories. That is why they exist! Read them, learn them, change them, and , most important of all, enjoy them!

It is not often that you find a collection of tales that doesn't have one or two "duds". A Pride of African Tales by Donna L. Washington is an unexpected gem because every single one of the stories is read aloud quality. It is a phenomenal collection of 6 folk tales from central Africa. The stories come from Ghana, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Congo, Nigeria, and Cameroon, and they reflect a wide variety of cultures and traditions. There is a great map in the front of the book that you can use to show children where these stories come from. Donna L. Washington is a professional storyteller, and she brings each story to life. James Ransome’s dynamic watercolor illustrations add character to the already ear-catching tales. Because Ransome conducted detailed research about the context of each story, the reader can be sure that the character’s outfits and the stories settings are realistically depicted.  Ransome is both a Coretta Scott King and Coretta Scott King Honor Award winner.

Each story follows a different format. There is a trickster tale, a pourquoi tale, a cautionary tale, a tale of anger and forgiveness, a taboo story, and a fable. The author included an introductory note about each type of story, and also at the end of the book she included information about where she found the stories. I found this extra information very interesting and helpful. For example I learned that a pourquoi tale is a story that is told to explain why the world is the way it is. This makes sense to me because I know that pourquoi is the French word for why. I also learned that one of the stories, “The Wedding Basket” may never have been recorded on paper before, and that another story, “The Roof of Leaves”, is based off an actual event. Each story had a moral or lesson connected to it.

The first story “Anansi’s Fishing Expedition” is one of many stories about the trickster Anansi that are told all over Africa and the Caribbean. I remember hearing a story about Anansi as a spider when I was a child. I thought that because there are so many different stories about this classic African folk character, it might be cool to have a mini-unit on them and have my students read different Anansi stories from different areas. Although many things change, the one thing that seems consistent is that Anansi is a trickster, and that he tends to get caught in funny situations because of his actions. In this story Anansi is a man who wants to get money for fish without actually having to do all the work of catching the fish. He enlists Onini to help him with his enterprise, but Onini is not as dumb as he pretends to be. Read the story to find out how Onini turns lazy Anansi into a honest hard worker.

The next story, “The Boy Who Wanted the Moon” is a pourquoi tale that explains why monkeys are in the world. It is a story about a spoiled prince and his foolish father who tries to steal the moon from the gods. “Shansa Mutongo Shima” is a very popular tale that teaches readers why “What lies inside a person is much more important than what you see on the outside. You must take your time, watch, and listen before you make your final decision about a person.”

“The Roof of Leaves” is a story based on a real incident that happened in the Congo when a man and wife got mad at each other, and the quick thinking that stopped them from making a huge mistake. My favorite tale, “The Wedding Basket,” is about a rich man who lost an incredible woman because he did not respect her. However, he learns from his mistakes and the story ends with him passing on these words of wisdom to his children, “You must respect people’s dreams. You see, my children, anyone who cannot respect others is not worthy of respect himself.”  The last tale, “The Talking Skull” would be amusing to elementary school children because it tells a story about a man who talks too much, and how he makes a fool of himself.

All of these stories are relatively short (4-6 pages) and carry great lessons with them. Upon further research, I discovered that Donna Washington has a website, www.dlwstoryteller.com, off of which you can buy CDs of her stories. She also visits many schools and tells stories in person. I think this would be an incredible opportunity for students to have. It doesn’t look like she is in Virginia too much in the next year, and I couldn’t find out how much it would cost to have her come to your school, but it is definitely a resource worth knowing about.

Camping Chaos!!!

"It didn't exactly look like summer camp. But then, summer didn't exactly look like summer in the Nice Icy Land."

Any child who as been camping will love this story. Tacky, the penguin, is on a mission to show kids it's ok to be different. It's ok to be a little "weird". Whereas Goodly, Lovely, Angel, Neatly, and Perfect like to keep things nice and neat, Tacky always has to do things a little differently.

In this Tacky adventure, the penguins are at summer camp. At the end of the day, they decide to tell each other scary stories, the only problem is that one of the stories comes true! But don't worry, Tacky comes to the rescue just in time.

This book has a couple neat features that make it an especially good interactive book for children. At one place the author, Helen Lester,  uses pictures as an integral part of the text, so that readers must be able to switch back and forth between comprehending written text, and integrating the meaning of the pictures. At another point, she has included the camp song, and has even provided a tune.

Lynn Munsinger, the illustrator, does a great job of incorporating Tacky's differences in a humorous way. In one illustration, she shows all the other penguins at Camp Whoopihaha rock climbing, while Tacky just lets them pull him up by his safety belt.

I look forward to reading about all of Tacky's other adventures, which include: Tacky and the Emperor, Tacky in Trouble, Three Cheers for Tacky, Tacky and the Winter Games, Tackylocks and the Three Bears, and Tacky the Penguin.

Understanding Autism

My Brother Charlie by Holly Robinson Peete
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My Brother Charlie is a wonderful way to help kids start to understand Autism. It tells the story of a little girl, Callie, and her twin brother, Charlie who has Autism. It is easy for children to relate to because it is told from Callie's perspective. Callie talks about what Charlie is good at, and what Charlie struggles with. She talks about being frustrated with Charlie, but she also talks about how important Charlie is to her. All in all, she explains some of the symptoms of Autism in a way that reaffirms the worth of the individuals who have to live with the illness, and she provides a positive example of how families can come together to deal with the difficulties that arise.

The story is primarily based on the life experiences of the co-authors Holly Robinson Peete and Ryan Elizabeth Peete. Ryan's twin brother R.J. was diagnosed with Autism when he was 3 years old. Holly and Ryan wrote this book because they felt like there were not any good children's books that addressed Autism in a way that kids could understand. Ryan had for main lessons that people should understand about Autism:

•  If someone who has autism doesn't respond right away when you speak to him, it doesn't mean he's being rude. Socializing can be challenging for people with autism.
• Many people have trouble making friends, but it's even harder for boys and girls with autism. Include people with autism even more than you would others.
• We are all special in our own way. Focus on what kids do well. Ask others about their strengths, and acknowledge that everyone has strengths and weaknesses.
• People with autism are exceptionally smart, but their brains are wired differently. It can take them longer to process information. Please be patient.

The illustrations were done by Shane W. Evans using mixed mediums. They are simple, colorful, and wonderful. The paint brush strokes are very distinct. I tried to find further information about how they were constructed, but I didn't find anything. However, I did discover that Shane W. Evans keeps a very extensive blog site at http://www.shaneevans.com/blog/.

Five percent of Holly and Ryan Peete's royalty earnings from this book go to the HollyRod4Kids Foundation "to help children with autism gain access to affordable treatments and therapies."  For more informationa bout the HollyRod Foundation, Autism, or the Peete family, go to http://www.hollyrod.org/ .

I encourage every teacher to add this book to their class library!

The Red Thread: An Adoption Fairy Tale

"There is an ancient Chinese belief that an invisible, unbreakable red thread connects all those who are destined to be together."

The Red Thread: An Adoption Fairy Tale is a heartwarming fairy tale about a king and queen who wake up one morning with a strange pain in their hearts. They try every manner of remedy, but still the ache remains. Then one day a traveling peddler shows them his magic glasses. The glasses reveal that the king and queen have an entwined red thread leading from their hearts. 

The peddler tells them that they must follow the thread and find out who or what is pulling it if they want to make the aching stop. They follow the thread uphill and downhill, through good weather and bad, across the wide ocean, until finally they come to a small Chinese village. In that village they discover there is a little baby girl holding on the other end of their threads, and the baby has been tugging at the thread all along. They bring the child home to their kingdom and raise her as their own.

Perhaps one of the cutest things about this book is that it is actually a story inside a story. The opening page has two Caucasian parents sitting in a living room with their little girl who appears to be of Asian descent. She asks them to read her the story about the king and queen, and the king and queen in the story closely resemble the parents. This is a great book for anyone who has adopted children, or who wants to discuss different family structures with children in a classroom. It is so original, and yet so straight forward. It addresses the idea of adoption in a way that reaffirms the natural and loving bonds that form between the parents and their children. It would also be a good addition to any study of fairytales.

The illustrations are extremely colorful and Grace Lin uses a spiral pattern to enhance the background of the sky. The looks of sorrow and emptiness on the faces of the king and queen are heart wrenching. This story is a new kind of fairy tale, because it addresses a topic that can't be found in older stories, but it does it in a way that stays true to the genre. The book is dedicated to "all children adopted, the parents who loved them but could not keep them, and the parents who traveled far to find them." 

Always Room for One More!!!

This book has always held a special place in my heart. My Scottish grandmother gave it to when I was 6 or 7, and for years she and my father would read it too me. I can still hear her reading in her thick Scottish brogue,

"There's room galore. Och, come awa' in! There's room for one more, Always room for one more!"

 These memories have become even more precious to me of late, because for about 5 years now she has suffered from severe diabetes-related memory loss, and can no longer communicate clearly.

I ran across this book recently when I was looking for a Caldecott Medal winner at the local library. As a child, I had no idea that it had won any kind of award, and it was a special treat to run into the book again.

The book "Always Room for One More" was written by Sorche Nic Leodhas , and illustrated by Nonny Hogrogian. It tells the story of Lachie MacLachlan, his wife and 10 bairns (children), as they invite every traveling passerby into their home. No matter how many people come, Lachie continues to call out and invite travelers into his home. Finally, one day the little house falls down because so many people are in it, but all the neighbors and visitors help build Lachie another house.

The story is a popular Scottish song, that has been passed down for generations, but this is the first time that it appeared in print. It is a story of hospitality and community, and its sing-song rhythm is part of what makes it appealing for children. As you may have noticed from my opening quote, this book does incorporate some Scottish words and dialect into the text. There is a small glossary in the back of the book, but it is possible to read and understand the main story without the glossary. If you are using this book as a read aloud in class, it could serve as a good introduction to talking about dialects and how people talk differently in different places. It would also make a great addition to any international folktale collection.

The illustrations are done using pen and ink cross-hatching, and sponge painting. They are truly unique. I don't know if I have ever seen another picture book using the same style, but it is very catching. I would suggest anyone who is going to read this book aloud to practice a couple of times, because it takes a little bit to get the rhythm of the story, but once you get it this book can serve as a wonderful read aloud.

Chester Steals the Day!!!

The second graders in my student teaching placement roared with laughter when the school librarian introduced Chester, the naughty cat. Even the boys who had spent the morning playing pencil wars sat silently, perched on the edge of their seats, waiting to see what Chester would do next.

To me, this is what good children's literature is all about. Any book that can capture the imagination of an entire classroom of students deserves to be bragged about, and this is such a book. It wasn't just my second grade class either. Chester has won the Grand Canyon Reader Award (2010), the Nevada Young Reader’s Award (2010), the Pennsylvania Young Reader’s Choice Award and the Washington Children's Choice Picture Book Award (2009). The book is currently one of 10 books being considered for the Virginia Reader's Choice Award (K-2).

So what is all the fuss about? Chester, by Melanie Watt, was suppose to be a story about a country mouse, but one of Melanie's illustrations, Chester the egotistic cat, got a little out of control. He decided that he wanted the story to be all about him. With his red marker, Chester edited the story. Melanie fought back by responding to Chester's changes with changes of her own. For example, when Chester sends the mouse packing, Melanie has the mouse return from vacation with a big dog, but then Chester makes the dog a vegetarian. The back and forth banter between Chester and the author makes this book a perfect read-aloud, but it does require the reader to adopt two distinct voices.

The illustrations are wonderful. The inside front cover says that they are pencil and watercolor pictures that are assembled digitally. I wasn't exactly sure what it meant to assemble a watercolor digitally. I tried to find out information online but wasn't successful, so I would love some more information about that if anyone knows more. Anyway, the pictures are very crisp and colorful, and Chester's appearance as a large calico cat complements his personality perfectly.

Melanie Watt is both the author and illustrator of her books. She received a Bachelors of Arts in Graphic Design from the University of Quebec, and she originally got involved in children's books when her illustration professor asked the students to design a book about color. That project became her first published book Leon the Chameleon. In an interview with Kids Can Press, Melanie said that the thing she liked most about creating children's books was the opportunity to both write and illustrate her ideas because it allowed her to create stories and settings precisely as she saw them in her mind. Chester is a wonderful example of how she seamlessly connects both the illustrations and text of her stories.

I was excited to learn that there are two sequels to Chester. I am looking forward to asking my cooperating teacher if I can read one of them to the class. In the first sequel, Chester's Back, Melanie attempts to write a story about Chester, but Chester just isn't satisfied with the way she is telling it. In the second sequel, Chester's Masterpiece, Chester has stolen Melanie's writing supplies, and is trying to write a book all by himself. This one is particularly good because it explores some of the difficulties of the writing process in a humorous way that kids can understand. I think the entire Chester series is a must have for parents and teachers with primary age children.