Nelson Mandela, by Kadir Nelson

Published December 6, 2013 by Dagmar

Yesterday, Nelson Mandela passed away. He fought for freedom and won it for his people. He was a tremendous man. He lived 95 years and is a symbol of the power of protest for so many around the world. President Obama said, “Let us pause and give thanks for the fact that Nelson Mandela lived–a man who took history in his hands and bent the arc of the moral universe toward justice.”

How lucky for us that we have Kadir Nelson’s beautiful picture book about Nelson Mandela to help children understand the life and work of Nelson Mandela. The book, written in verse, leads the reader through Nelson Mandela’s life from the time he was a child through the end of apartheid and his election as South Africa’s first black president. The illustrations are full-page and incredible in the way that they capture the emotion of each scene.

On the back cover of the book, the author says, “My work is all about healing and giving people a sense of hope and nobility. I want to show the strength and integrity of the human being and the human spirit.” He certainly succeeded in this book.

Highly recommended. Best for third grade and up, but could work for younger students as well. Thank you to Junior Library Guild for introducing me to this book.

Chu’s Day, by Neil Gaiman

Published November 21, 2013 by Dagmar

Here’s a fun one for the pre-k-kindergarten set. Neil Gaiman, Newbery award-winning author of The Graveyard Book, is back with a very cute picture book about a little panda that has to sneeze. What really makes this book, though, are the incredibly colorful and rich illustrations by Adam Rex, reminiscent to me of Pete & Pickles, a real favorite of mine and with older students in my library.

When Chu sneezes, bad things happen. Chu visits the library with his mom and looks like he needs to sneeze. When he visits the diner with his dad, he looks like he needs to sneeze. My students appreciated my theatrical “almost sneezes” and then laughed when adorable Chu said “No,” he didn’t have to sneeze. Then, Chu and his parents visit the circus – you know – then one with the really big tent? Chu tries and tries to tell his folks, who are enthralled by the circus, that he needs to sneeze. No one listens. Oops. That sneeze not only knocks down the circus tent, but also everything in the library and diner too, much to the delight of my students.

If you’re looking for a hit with your younger students, you’ll enjoy Chu’s Day.

Lesson idea: Whales, Oceans and The Snail and the Whale

Published November 3, 2013 by Dagmar

This is a lesson I’d wish I’d done earlier in the year, because the book I chose to feature in this lesson is about a snail who is itching to travel and see the world. That’s just the sentiment that I want to inspire in my own students.

This week in our library journey, my first graders and I became whales and traveled the world’s oceans. We finished our trip by reading the fabulous book, The Snail and the Whale by one of my favorite author’s, Julia Donaldson, author of Room on the Broom.

It was very fun to become whales. Using the Oceans Alive of the Blastoff! Readers series, published by Bellwether Media, we learned about whales. Oceans Alive We held up our arms with our hands together like whale tails and swam by moving our big whale tails. We learned that our hands were called flukes and loved breaching and blowing air out of our blow holes. We put out our arms and learned that whales steer and stop with their fins.

If time permits, this is also a perfect time to learn about oceans. Using another set from the Blastoff! Reader series, Learning about the Earth, we learned that oceans cover most of the earth, that ocean water is salty, that there are different kinds of coasts and talked about the concepts of shallow and deep and different animals that live in the ocean.

In the Snail and the Whale, a snail with an “itchy foot” wants to travel through the world’s oceans and decides to hitch a ride on a whale. Together, they travel until one day, the whale gets confused by motor boats in a bay and is beached on a shore. The quick thinking snail goes to a school and leaves a message on a classroom chalkboard, “Save the Whale!”. Quickly, students, teachers and the whole town come to save the whale. The whale is saved. Together the Snail and the Whale return to the rock where they found each other only to take off again with all the snails on the whale’s tail, ready to see the world.

Update: This year, I used books but added a second week of whale books with a great, suspenseful book called Humphrey the Lost Whale, the True Story of Humphrey, a humpback whale who swam under the Golden Gate Bridge into San Francisco Bay and up the Sacramento River in the 1980s. My students absolutely loved this book by Wendy Tokuda. Another companion book is Baby Beluga, the “song” book by Raffi. We read and sing Baby Beluga every year in kindergarten. so it’s nice to bring it back while we’re learning about whales.

The Snail and the Whale, by Julia Donaldson

Published November 3, 2013 by Dagmar

I was so happy to find this book at my local bookstore. I knew it would be a hit the minute I saw it. I love Julia Donaldson’s book, Room on the Broom, also illustrated by Alex Scheffler. Like the rhymes in Room on the Broom, the rhymes in this book are great, not forced or tiresome, and Alex Scheffler’s illustrations, wonderful. It’s a story of curiosity, adventure and friendship that you won’t want to miss. Be sure to check out my lesson idea using this book.

The Snail and the Whale is about a snail who sits on a rock with lots of other snails but dreams of traveling the world. The other snails mock him, but this snail is determined to go on an adventure. He writes “Ride Wanted Around the World” on the rock. Soon, a whale arrives, offering to take the snail around the world. Together they travel the oceans, seeing icebergs, “fiery mountains” and “golden sands”. Until one day, confused by speed boats in a bay, the whale is beached. The snail, though small, thinks of a plan. He makes his way to a school where he writes “Save the Whale” on a chalkboard. All the school children mobilize the town’s firefighters to help the whale swim back to sea. Once saved by the children, the Snail and the Whale return to ocean and the rock where their journey started. Once there, they tell the story of their adventures to the other snails. The book closes with the whale once again leaving the rock, but this time, with all the snails on his tail.

My first graders really loved this book. I think it’s great for read alouds to kindergarten through second grade classes and even younger readers at home.

The Girl Who Spun Gold, by Virginia Hamilton

Published October 18, 2013 by Dagmar

Rumpelstiltskin is a favorite Grimm’s fairytale. The Girl Who Spun Gold, by Virginia Hamilton retells the story in a West Indian setting. This refreshing version captivated my fourth graders not only because of Hamilton’s writing, but particularly because of Leo and Diane Dillon absolutely captivating, colorful illustrations. Hamilton read a version of this tale in West Indian dialect in 1899. While she loved the retelling, she found it hard for modern audiences to understand. So, she re-wrote it in more familiar language. The version is long and took longer than one class time to complete, but was well worth the time. Click here to see a lesson idea comparing two different retellings of the Rumplestiltskin story using this book.

Little Gorilla, Ruth Bornstein

Published October 13, 2013 by Dagmar

It’s always nice to find a real winner for the pre-k set. Little Gorilla is one of those affirming books that makes everyone, listener and reader feel good.

Little Gorilla is loved from the day he is born. His mom and dad love him, his aunts and uncles love him, all the animals in the forest love him and help him. Until one day…Little Gorilla grows. My students all wonder what will happen when Little Gorilla grows. They wait expectantly until I start singing “Happy Birthday”. They all smile in relief and join in. The last page says, “And everyone still loved him.”

I’m Bored, by Michael Ian Black

Published October 2, 2013 by Dagmar

What a great way to start a school year. We opened our library officially two weeks ago. After moving through establishment of rules and learning where books are, we finally pulled out all the new pictures books that I’ve been dying to read to classes. Here’s the first big winner of the year.

I’m Bored doesn’t have a lot to say, but what it says makes kids laugh. Illustrator Debbie Ridpath Ohi’s drawings make the sparse book even funnier. The book begins with a girl saying, “I’m bored.” She is soooooo bored. Then, she finds a potato. Imagine her surprise when the potato tells her, “I’m bored.” The girl invites potato to do something, but he only likes flamingos. Soon, she is trying to convince the potato that kids are actually fun. She tries just about everything under the sun to convince the potato that kids are fun. Each time, the potato (and my whole class) says, “I’m bored.” She finally stomps away. The potato turns, only to find a flamingo. A flamingo? Now the potato is ready for some fun – until the flamingo tells him, “I’m bored.” This last dry line just kicks it. It might feel like a long buildup to this final punch line, but my students didn’t think so. They loved the book and immediately wanted to check it out. Of course, here it sits in front of me as I write. It will be on the shelf tomorrow!

Classes begin next week – or today?

Published September 18, 2013 by Dagmar

I had the best surprise today. As I was finishing up last minute administrative projects and preparing plans for my library classes, our transkinder (TK) class showed up, a week early, for their library class. They were so well-behaved. They sat down on the rug with their hands folded on their laps. Wow. Not bad for September! One of my favorite things to do with pre-k/TK classes is to sing. By a stroke of luck, I picked a “singing book” that I love called Five Little Ducks. It’s a book by Raffi, the famous singer of children’s songs. This happens to have been the book their teacher had been singing with them. So, together, we sang and made the hand motions that go with the book. It was a great start to their “trial run” library class. For those of you who don’t know the tune to Five Little Ducks, the music is in the back of the book. It’s simple and sweet. A great addition to any home library or pre-k/TK classroom.

We moved on to one of my favorite preschool books, Ask Mr. Bear. Ask Mr. Bear is an old book, but kept them absolutely riveted as little Danny looks for a present for his mother’s birthday. The repetition, opportunity to practice animal sounds (much to the delight of my students who loved the goat’s “meh, meh” sound the best) and just the right amount of suspense. What a fun and satisfying read aloud.

I was sorry to see them line up to go, but got such a nice feeling that this will be a great school year of classes.

I haven’t written recently, because I’m waiting to make my recommendations to all my students based on my summer reading. I want to see which of my picks they really like, so stay tuned! I’m also very lucky to have a huge stack of new picture books to share with my students – so more news awaits as I read them to my classes. Hopefully we’ll find some books that I love, and they love too.

I hope the beginning of the school year started as nicely for all of you.

Richard Wright and the Library Card, by William Miller

Published July 23, 2013 by Dagmar

This book is a great read aloud for African-American history month. I plan to use it with my third and fourth graders. The illustrations by Gregory Christie are excellent.

Richard Wright loved to read but had no access to books as a child or as a young man. He would read scraps of newspaper or whatever words he could find. When Richard finds work at an optician’s office, he notices that one of the white men there seems different – as he would understand Richard’s need for books. Richard gathers his courage and asks the man if he can use the man’s library card. When Richard goes to the public library. When the librarian questions him about the books he is checking out, Richard lies to her and tells her that he can’t read. He tells her that he is just picking up books for the card’s owner. White people in the library snicker at him.

This is the fictionalized account of an important episode in Richard Wright’s life, written about in Wright’s famous autobiography, Black Boy, published in 1945. Highly recommended.

Ask Mr. Bear, by Marjorie Flack

Published July 12, 2013 by Dagmar

Here is an old fashioned but very sweet book that is always a hit with my preschoolers. Although the illustrations are dated, there is good preschool-level suspense when Danny goes into the woods to talk to a bear.

Danny wants to buy a gift for his mother for her birthday. He asks a hen, goose, goat, sheep, cow and then finally a bear what to give his mother. The bear gives the best answer, a hug.

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