Book Fair Reads: It's Monday, What are You Reading, October 6, 2014

It's Monday! What are you Reading is a meme began by Sheila at Book Journeys as a way to share what you read and/or reviewed the previous week and what is in store for the upcoming week. It's also a great chance to see what others are reading. I first learned about it from Jen at Teach Mentor Texts and Kellee and Ricki of Unleashing Readers and have become a regular linked up blog. Thanks #PLN

The Scholastic Book Fair has arrived in my library and is off to a record beginning. I am usually such a worry wart about sales every year because the elementary/middle school where I serve as librarian is very small-less than 200 students. I also work with university students so I am able to host a very customized book fair featuring books from babies to young adults. This is so wonderful because I am able to request some very good books and goodies too. 
  
Once again Minecraft books and UV Spy Pens are my top sellers but getting very strong competition from the new iMarker set that looks exactly like an iPhone. All good bookfair organizers know that the fastest way to sell a book is to book talk or read it aloud. Creepy Carrots by Aaron Reynolds flew off the shelves and sold out on day 1 along with Bugs in My Hair by David Shannon. 


Here are a few books that I have been reading aloud this week: 

Bugs in My Hair! by David Shannon
David Shannon introduces the subject of head lice in a humorous way that leaves us laughing and scratching our itchy heads while letting us know that we can get rid of the pesky critters without feeling embarrassed.

Llama Llama Trick or Treat by Anna Dewdney
Short, simple rhyming board book featuring Llama Llama deciding what to be for Halloween. 



I also read some preschool books with a Halloween theme called Hoot, Little Green Monsters, and Trick or Treat. 
 

Creepy Carrots! by Aaron Reynolds
I love this story as a library read aloud because of the predictability factor and its funny. I paired it with Muncha, Muncha, Muncha by Candice Fleming. This is the adoreable type of book that has you pretending creepy carrots are following you around.
 

I received this in my restock shipment. 
(The trick to a successful book fair is the Scholastic Restock team. I always phone in my orders and pick their brains for hot sellers, new releases, and books they like. I keep a long list on my desk of books I wish I could get and the Restock Team often makes my wishes come true!)
I am flying through it. I love reading about Four through a new perspective-his own. 




I am doing so much book talking this week that the books begin to blur together. There are so many books that I would like to stop and read but the customer flow has been non-stop. I suppose I will have to wait until pack up day to read the rest. 

Happy Reading! 

Unleashing Readers Launch Week June 29, 2013

It's Launch Week!

Welcome Unleashing Readers readers (that sounds a bit off) I am very happy to take part in helping to launch Unleashing Readers. Please read on (and on and on...) to see the great books I am book talking today.

I have about one hundred, no make that two hundred, favorite read aloud books and since I am a librarian, that is no exaggeration. Mo Willems is my hero for the PK set, Karma Wilson's bear books are great teaching devices for everything from how to fight germs to learning about friendship. Helen Ketteman  and Eric Kimmel are my "Go To" folks when I need a Texas Twisted fairy tale.





Oh heck, I am going to give you a special link right now because I am such a nice librarian:  Eric Kimmel Books read aloud by Eric Kimmel, awesome author.


BUT THIS IS MY CURRENT FAVORITE:  
Jangles: a BIG fish story by David Shannon

Genre

• Adventure
• Animal Stories
• Comedy and Humor
• Legends and Myths

Interest level: LG (K-3) BUT...I read this to my entire school ages 3 years to twelve years. Everyone loved it for one reason or another. We live in a coastal community so many children had some exposure to fishing to some extent. We see shrimp boats outside our school windows overlooking the bay each morning. This book was a good fit for my school.

Jangles is a humorous story with a good character message. Treat others how you want to be treated and do the right thing. It is also a good mentor text to use for introducing genre: Legends/Tall Tales.

Jangles is a good source for text to self, text to text connections. Kids quickly recognize the bizarre looking characters as representative of David Shannon's work as an illustrator. I do not mean bizarre in a rude way, that's just the way his characters look. If you don't believe me, look at the page where Jangles rescues a baby. The baby creeps out many kids and me too. In every class, a kid would say "That looks like No David" or "That's like that Pirate book about diapers. (Pirates Don't Change Diapers by Melinda Long, Illustrated by David Shannon).

My Jangles website with discussion questions and activities.

 Out of My Mind by Sharon Draper

Genre: Realistic Fiction

Interest level: MG (4-8)

Everybody uses words to express themselves.  Except me.  And I bet most people don’t realize the real power of words.  But I do. Thoughts need words.  Words need a voice.

 This title was nominated for the Texas Bluebonnet Award so I incorporated it into my library lessons. Out of My Mind has been capturing student interest since the day I introduced it in my library in 2010. It is one of the most highly recommended books by students to other students. When I hear a student recommending it, the advice is not a simple "it's a good book". Students go into great detail to explain why this book touches them. It is a pretty powerful tool when one student recommends a favorite book to another. 

Out of My Mind offers many opportunities for in depth discussions on social issues and how all people should be treated. It also contains  opportunities for problem solving: Melody, the main character, has to search for a way for her voice to be heard.

 Listen HERE to Sharon Draper describing her book, explaining why she felt it was important to speak for kids who cannot speak, and hear a short excerpt from the book.

See how I used Out of My Mind with my 2011 Bluebonnet Book Club

Simon & Schuster's Reading Group Guide for Out of My Mind

Elijah of Buxton by master storyteller Christopher Paul Curtis has everything you need for looking for close reading. Rich characters, plot lines, sub stories, humor, recalling memories, and historical relevance. This is such a great book that it should be read and then listened to again on audio.

Bone series by Jeff Smith

Hear author Jeff Smith tell about the Bone series
3 lost cousins find themselves in a mysterious valley among dragons, princesses, and monsters.  See? Something for boys and girls.

I think all classroom libraries should start with forms of graphic novels. This is because some many readers of all ages struggle and graphic novels are useful stepping stones to understanding literature. Readers are given the story in small chunks. It is clear who the speakers are because of the word bubbles. The illustrations help to guide the story. These parts all together are very helpful to a student's journey into comprehension. There are many forms of graphic novels: fiction, non-fiction, historical fiction, classics, science topics, war stories, etc. Lots of high quality material is available now days.

Favorite Book
Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O'Dell
Genre: Historical Fiction/-Survival Stories

Left alone on a beautiful but isolated island off the coast of California, a young Indian girl spends eighteen years, not only merely surviving through her enormous courage and self-reliance, but also finding a measure of happiness in her solitary life.


I read this book in the sixth grade and it really got to me. My eleven year old self liked that the girl in the book had a secret name- Karana. So my friends and I made up our own secret names. we thought we were so cool.

I have read this lovely book numerous times and still love it. I have always preferred biographies and historical fiction because they are real things that really happened to real people. Some one experienced these events. That gets to me. When I was young and my family would go camping, I would go off and sit by the river and pretend I was Karana and I would force my dog to be Rontu, the wild dog. She preferred to be scratched behind the ears. Last year, I had an Epiphany of sorts. I love the television reality show Survivor and have watched it since year one. As I was book talking Island of the Blue Dolphins, I froze as it dawned on me why I love that tv show. It was because of this book. Wow-eye opener. This gives so much truth to "books become a part of who we are".

Here is a recent news article that reignited my passion for this wonderful story.

It's your turn! Please let me know what books you think would best fit these categories. 

Texas Bluebonnet Award Nominees-2010-2011

I have been so wrapped up in organizing lesson plans for upcoming Texas Bluebonnet Award nominated books that I have neglected my poor ole Bookegg Blog. Each school year, Texas students in grades 3-6 read from a selection of twenty high quality children's books and vote on their favorite. Students must read a minimum of five of the nominated books to be eligible to participate in the Texas Bluebonnet Award voting process. Books are nominated by a panel of librarians, teachers, students, and parents. View the Texas Bluebonnet Award master list for 2010-2011 and learn more about the TBA program.

This upcoming school year's crop of Bluebonnet books are terrific! I was disappointed at first, classically judging a few of the books by their covers. Boy was I wrong! I have been so amazed by the beauty of 14 Cows for America and really kept hope alive in Home of the Brave. I am predicting both Mudshark and Calvin Coconut Trouble Magnet to be kid favorites. The sweet story of Sparrow Girl is one of my top contenders too. This crop is ripe for learning opportunities. Take a look at a wikispace web site that I designed to help me present Bluebonnet Books to my students. Kids Book Club Click on the 2010-2011 Bluebonnet Book Club link on the left side of the page. Lots of video clips and story connection activities. Share what you have with me and take what you need from me. Collaboration is a great tool. (bluebonnet photo: Julee Murphy/2010)