The Spelling Bee Before Recess

I know not all schools do Spelling Bees. Ours happens to so it is fun to see a book that celebrates spelling! "The Spelling Bee Before Recess" by Deborah Lee Rose is fun romp through words and rhymes.  The "Slugger" is one of the two finalists and has a battle on his hands. Smart Ruby is matching his spelling word for word.

"We spelled  reindeer and rumpus

 and llama and laugh.
Echo and gecko
 and ghost and giraffe.
The sweat from my armpits
 was starting to show,
while Ruby looked cooler
than new-fallen snow."

I am not going to tell you who wins but when the loser is bemoaning the fact they lost the Librarian makes it (almost) better by saying...

"So in spelling (and life)
if you want to succeed,
the best things of all you can do
is to READ."

How could I not love this book!

Eddie Gets Ready For School

David Milgrim has created a very simple and cute story about back to school.

Do you like checklists?

 I find I have to write things down in order to remember them and so does Eddie in "Eddie Gets Ready for School".  Eddie has quite an extensive list of things to do.

The first is  "Wake Up" of course. However, Eddie gets a little carried away and uses a bullhorn to make sure his parents are awake.

The second is " Have a healthy breakfast" and here Eddie has a bowlful or actually table full of honey flakes to start him on his way.

"Watch cartoons" and "Drink root beer" are also on his list as well as "Turn off TV this instant!

It would be fun to compare lists!

My New Teacher and Me!

"My New Teacher and Me" by Al Yankovic and Illustrated by Wes Hargis makes you think!

"I'll bet every great thinker
and leader we've got
Could see all kinds of things
other people could not?"

See?



Billy is a small boy with a big imagination. Is that good or bad?
Mr. Booth is a serious teacher with a strict lesson plan. Is that good or bad?

When Billy arrives at school late with a very far fetched tale his teacher is not amused. Until Billy tells him the above statement and adds...

"So then why get upset if somebody like me
Tries to look at the world just a bit differently?"

And a picture slips from Billy's pocket that exemplifies what Billy is trying to tell Mr. Booth.

Sometimes it takes the voice of a child.

Clark the Shark

Another very cute story that would be good to read to our young students is "Clark the Shark" by Bruce Hale and Illustrated by Guy Francis.

Clark loves school but, alas, like many students new to school, he is a little exuberant. For Clark that means shouting "school is awesome" while everyone else is trying to read quietly and it means bellowing "recess rocks" when the other kids are trying to play carefully.  He is too loud and too wild. The other kids began to stay away from him. 

Clark's teacher gave him some good advice. "Sometimes the rule is stay cool."

That was not an easy thing for Clark to do until he realized that in order to help him remember he could make a rhyme. So the next time Clark wanted to bounce out of his seat he told himself, "When teacher's talking, don't go walking".  And it worked..... most of the time!

Back to School

                        It is hard to believe that another summer has come and gone but there are

back-to-school things everywhere, the days are getting shorter and there really is a fall feeling in the air. Another sign of back to school is, of course, all the new books out that celebrate school. I already have a favourite!

"Rufus Goes to School" by Kim T. Griswell and illustrated by Valeri Gorbachev is adorable! The story begins with Rufus Leroy Williams III turning the pages of his favourite book. He couldn't read so he made up the stories to go along with the pictures.
( Don't you love this already?)

Rufus knew that he could learn to read at school. But he also knew, in order to go to school, he needed a backpack.

So with his brand new backpack off he went except there was one small problem. Rufus was a pig! The principal said, "No pigs in school!" ..... because they track mud in the halls, turn drawings into airplanes, play leapfrog, start food fights... well, you get the picture. Even after getting a lunchbox and a blanket the answer was still no.

But when Rufus held up his favourite book and said, "I want to read it", Principal Lipid smiled and said "That makes a difference".

Rufus loved everything about school but most of all because it gave him room to dream.

My Best Friend is as Sharp as a Pencil

I love finding amazing books... and I love "My Best Friend is as Sharp as a Pencil" by Hanoch Piven. How could you not love a book where our creative kid asks....

"What is the most fun part about school?

Going to the library!

Listening to Mrs. Sheila, the librarian is as exciting as rubbing a magic lamp.

She is as interesting as a book full of stories.

When she reads them, her eyes shine like marbles.

She can be as funny as a clown

or as scary as a monster."



The very creative kid describes all sorts of things at school with such wonderful comparisons... this is a book that all teachers should have at their disposal all the time! Listening teachers?

Some Helpful Tips for a Better World

This is simply wonderful!

"Some Helpful Tips for a Better World" by Rebecca Doughty is about making the most of your life. Sounds easy and it is. We just have to take the time to remember them and of course create a few of our own. Here is a sampling...

Begin each day by making funny faces in the mirror.

Why?

I think because it reminds us not to take things too seriously. It makes us laugh and laughter always helps us to feel better.


Invent occasions for celebrations.

Why?

Who doesn't like to celebrate? If sure beats complaining!

Be a hero.

You are a hero if you help a chick across a path (or a lost dog find its owner). Easy and doesn't it make you feel better?

Can hardly wait to share this one. And I adore the pictures.... redheaded girl plus grey cat = Alison and Lulu

Say Something

Very powerful.

"Say Something" by Peggy Moss is so true in that by ignoring a problem we see happening to someone else we are contributing to it. This picture book is great for all ages but I think our older students should hear it, feel it and ask themselves - is this them?

Listen...

A girl who rides on my bus always sits alone. Sometimes kids throw things at her and call her names. The girls who sit behind her laugh.
I don't laugh.
I don't say anything.

But when the narrator is the one being teased and after those teasers leave, she notices all the other students around her..... looking at her.... feeling sorry for her....
but saying.....

nothing.

And when her brother hears her say she was mad at those other students around her...

He shrugged and said , "Why? They didn't do anything."

"Right," I said.

Guess who she sits beside on the bus the next day?

"One person speaking up makes more noise than a thousand people who remain silent." Thom Harnett - Civil Right Attorney

Very powerful.

I'm the Best

Lucy Cousins of the Maisy notoriety has this delightful picture book "I'm the Best" where dog lets all his friends know that he is the best at things - for example he is a better swimmer than Donkey so he won and he is the best swimmer. But wait a minute - what about Duck?

His friends help Dog to realize that he has been bragging and hurting their feelings. But they forgive him and tell him he really is the best.. at having fluffy ears and that it is all ok.

Press Here

Do you know this book "Press Here"by Herve Tullet? My primary teachers and all their kids adore it. They have had so much fun with this very simple book that has them pressing and shaking to see what is going to happen next!

A Taste of Thanksgiving

A couple of winners just right for Thanksgiving!

In "Turkey Trouble" by Wendi Silvano a hilarious turkey tries to hide on Thanksgiving by disguising himself as the other animals on the farm. You should see his disguises!


And another new favourite is "One is a Feast for Mouse - A Thanksgiving Tale" by Judy Cox. What a treat to read aloud. My kindergarten students and I loved it!

Happy Thanksgiving.

Back to School

Back to school and I have 2 new books tailor made!

"The Gingerbread Man Loose in the School" by Laura Murray is a delightful rhyming book where the recently baked gingerbread man is off to find his classmates. It turns out they are trying to find him and have posted missing posters all over the school.

"With spectacular speed, I slid to the floor
and bounded right in through a large wooden door.
I leapt for a table but landed inside
a brown paper bag with its top open wide."

Very cute and I think you will like the ending especially.


And another great choice - "How to Teach a Slug to Read" by Susan Pearson.
Really? Absolutely! Great imagination and great advice - like;

1. Attach labels to Little Slug's favourite things. (like carrot and bug)

2. Read out loud to him. (Rhymes from Mother Slug is his choice!)

3. Point out words that repeat (like bug and rug)

4. Sound out words. (sl - uh - uh - g)

5. Make a vocabulary list. (new words like curds and whey)

6. Be patient.

See I told you it had great advice. It is just perfect for beginning readers and their parents!

The Good in Me from A-Z by Dottie

"The Good in Me from A-Z by Dottie" by Lisa Blecker is adorable! Check out the simple rhymes that highlight social responsibility and virtues paired with those terrific pictures all done in clay. Sing along to the ABC song for even more fun.

This is a winner...

the secret box

A perfect square is transformed!


The secret box is found and opened...



A purple little bird finds the grass is not always greener on the other side of the fence....



Three hens and a peacock discover what it is like to walk in each others shoes....

and "if a cub grows and becomes a bear... can a stool grow and become a ........"

What Fun!

I had the pleasure of going to the bookstore yesterday just to browse but quite a few I could not resist. Some are fun, some are serious, most are for those wonderful emerging readers with a couple intended for teachers who love books too!

I think this one is my favourite.... "This Plus That - Life's Little Equations" by Amy Krouse Rosenthal is simply a treasure. Simple, clever and for all ages. Listen...

"1 & 1 = us"

"yes & no = maybe"

and this....
"laughter and keeping secrets and sharing = best friend"

or "good days and bad days = real life"

Do you see the possibilities? I love it!

Fortunately..... I Read this Book

"Fortunately, Unfortunately" by Michael Foreman in another wonderful book to inspire thinking and writing. For every fortunate there is an unfortunate. Let me show you...As Milo is heading off to his grandmother's house

"Fortunately it was a lovely day and Milo liked going to Granny's house because she always had cakes for tea. Unfortunately a dark cloud appeared and it soon began to rain... Fortunately he had Granny's umbrella... Unfortunately he didn't look where he was going....." and so on....

Marianna, you would love this!

The Loud Book!

"The Loud Book!" by Deborah Underwood is perfect for thinking and writing about all the different kinds of loud....

...for example there is the "alarm clock loud " (just five more minutes) but also the "dropping your lunch tray loud", (is everybody staring at you?) the "Home Run loud" (cheers!) and the "snoring sister loud" (shhhh).

Can you think of some louds in your life? I can.... my husband is very loud - he talks loud and laughs even louder and he doesn't even know it.

I simply must get "The Quiet Book".

In the Garden

Do you know "In the Snow" by Peggy Collins? One of my favourite snow books for young readers and listeners.

I was delighted to see "In the Garden" on my last trip to the bookstore. The delightful humour of this story shines through as our young hero plants a truck and a bus.... and some seeds too, waters and waters and waters his seeds, ( can you spell puddle?) and finally enjoys lots of tasty treats that he squishes and squirts.

Very bright and colourful and I think I will put out a garden display soon with this book at the centre!

You Are What You Read

Do you ever get caught up so much in a book that it changes you or opens up the doors of your imagination? That is the power of reading.

In this book "Lola Loves Reading" by Anna McQuinn, Lola is the impressionable young child who goes with her dad to the Library for a week's full of books. After reading the first story about a princess the very next day Lola is a princess with a fancy dress and a sparkly crown. And when she reads about an amazing journey, the very next day she whisks her friends off to Paris and Lagos.

And so on and so on till another trip to the Library and another wonderful story about a wild and wicked monster. Who do you think Lola will be the very next day? Let me give you a hint.... his name is Max.

The Scarcrow's Hat

It takes a very smart chicken to get "The Scarecrow's Hat" by Ken Brown, for her very own nest.

In this story, which reminds me of one of my old favourites, "Hugh Can Do" by Jennifer Armstrong, a chicken compliments Scarecrow on his hat. Yes, but what Scarecrow would really like is a walking stick to lean on. Chicken knows where to find one.... Badger has a walking stick but what he really wants is a ribbon. Chicken knows where to find one.... Do you see the pattern?

There is a whole chain reaction of animals trading what they don't want to get what they do want. And the best part? Chicken is not trading his hat for anything!