Emmy in the Key of Code

Emmy in the Key of Code

This book hit me hard. It felt incredibly personal for a number of reasons and I don’t want to give too much away as there’s a big plot point that resonates with me.  But I’ll give away the easy connection. This year, in addition to my role as a school librarian, I am also a STEM teacher and I’ve been loving straddling the line on both of these roles in my school community. As a result I’ve been diving deeper into a world I’d dabbled in in the past. The world of code.  I’m beginning at the beginning as they say. In kindergarten, we introduce coding using a program called Kodable, so right along with my students, I started on level one. I plan to work through the code.org courses following my successful completion of our kindergarten level of Kodable. All that to say, I GET this book, the poetry of coding, the music of coding, the beauty of it all and the endless possibility of it all. I’m not sure Emmy in the Key of Code will speak to all readers, but boy did it speak to me.

Title: Emmy in the Key of Code

Author: Aimee Lucido

ISBN: 978-0-358-04082-8

Published 2019 by Versify

https://aimeelucido.com/

@aimeelucido

This book was received from the publisher for purposes of review.

The Proper Way to Meet a Hedgehog and Other How To Poems

The Proper Way to Meet a Hedgehog and Other How To Poems

I was intrigued by the idea of a collection of “How To” poems, specifically because in the past two years, teachers had been asking me for more example of how to within books as how to writing is pretty explicitly taught within our curriculum. So, I was very excited as I read examples that I could share with our teachers.  One takeaway, the poems “On the Fourth of July” and “Fireworks” seemed slightly jarring to me as I read the anthology in order. I’m not sure if I felt they didn’t fit as “How To” poems or if their placement within the book felt off following two spreads about snow angels and snowflakes. The two poems that followed: “Tired Hair” and “Barbershop” also seemed out of place to me. Overall, I really enjoyed “The Proper Way to Meet a Hedgehog and Other How To Poems.”

I found How to Tell a Camel to be very clever! The difference between Bactrian and Dromdary – if you turn the first letters B and D on their sides, you will see two humps (Bactrian) and one hump (Dromedary). Brilliant!

My favorite poem was “Basketball Rule #2” by Kwame Alexander. The last four lines of the poem were particularly insightful:

Work smart

Live smarter

Play hard

Practice harder

Title: The Proper Way to Meet a Hedgehog and Other How To Poems

Selected by: Paul B. Janeczko

Illustrator: Richard Jones

ISBN: 978-0-7636-8168-5

Published 2019 by Candlewick Press

@apaintedmouse 

This book was borrowed from the public library for purposes of review.

Voices: The Final Hours of Joan of Arc

Voices: The Final Hours of Joan of Arc

For the past many years, I have been a panelist for the Elementary and Middle Grade Nonfiction category.  This year, I wanted to try something new, so I applied to be a panelist for poetry. I was thrilled to be accepted, but I have also loved diving deep in nonfiction. Voices was my first book to read for this category and I was thrilled to realize that poetry spans fiction and nonfiction, picture books, and chapter books. Poetry represents the best of both worlds!  In reading Voices, I once again had the opportunity to learn more about a topic about which I thought I had a decent grasp. In reading, I realized I only had a surface understanding of Joan of Arc’s story.  For example, I had no idea she was fighting against the English to push them out of French lands in defense of her king, Charles.  I love that quotes from her trial were interspersed between poems. My favorite poems were the shape poems included throughout to represent many icons of Joan’s story.  A candle, a tunic, a sword, all represented by their shapes in poetry.  Throughout, a poem titled “Fire” both grows and diminishes as a fire does, burning letters and words while growing taller, a symbol of the fire by which Joan was burned at the stake.  As I’ve found with other nonfiction titles through the years, reading Voices makes me want to read more about this remarkable historic figure who defied the odds and broke down barriers.

Title: Voices: The Final Hours of Joan of Arc

Author: David Elliott

ISBN: 978-1-328-98759-4

Published 2019 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

@DavidElliott10

This book was borrowed from the public library for purposes of review.

Snowman – Cold = Puddle: Spring Equations

Snowman – Cold = Puddle: Spring Equations

The other day while doing car duty, one of my colleagues commented that seasons must seem confusing to our youngest learners with the climate change we are experiencing.  While I understood the sentiment, I find that book like Snowman – Cold = Puddle really break it down to the different phenomena we see in our natural world that signal the changing of the seasons, even when there are outlier days along the way.  Purdie Salas includes a section following the author’s and illustrator’s notes titled “When Spring Begins” and gives those definitions according to meteorologists, astronomers, gardeners, and kids.  And each definition is different.  So, is It confusing? Maybe. But understanding that definitions can differ can be very empowering too. I enjoyed many of the poems presented in this collection and I could see teachers connecting the dots between science, math, and poetry to challenge students to create their own equation poems following a read.  My favorite: 1 dandelion x 1 breath = 100 parachutes. Can’t you just imagine all those wishes born on the wind?

Title: Snowman – Cold = Puddle: Spring Equations

Author: Laura Purdie Salas

ISBN: 978-1-58089-798-3

Published 2019 by Charlesbridge

@laurapsalas

This book was borrowed from the public library for purposes of review.

Thinker: My Puppy Poet and Me

Thinker: My Puppy Poet and Me

Eloise Greenfield includes a poem titled “Thinker’s Rap” and in her author’s note elaborates on rap as poetry.  She writes that “some people don’t think that it [rap} is real poetry,” but that “it is poetry, absolutely.” I couldn’t agree more and I’m glad that Eloise Greenfield thinks so too.  Her story of a poetic puppy is both fun and insightful.  Ehsan Abdollahi’s illustrations are creative and vibrant and I look forward to seeing more of Abdollahi’s work in the future.

Title: Thinker: My Puppy Poet and Me

Author: Eloise Greenfield

Illustrator: Ehsan Abdollahi 

ISBN: 978-1-4926-7724-6

Published 2018 by Sourcebooks Jabberwocky

@elgreenfield

@ehsanabdollah13

This book was borrowed from the public library for purposes of review.

The Day the Universe Exploded My Head: Poems to Take You Into Space and Back Again

The Day the Universe Exploded My Head: Poems to Take You Into Space and Back Again

You don't need to wait for National Poetry Month for "The Day The Universe Exploded My Head" as this book can be read year round, in fact there is a poem about how we are going round and round…the sun.  Following the poems, there is a section with notes on the poems to give some more factual background information on each featured topic and there is a section with internet resources for the amateur astronomers and astronauts looking to dive deeper into space.

Title: The Day the Universe Exploded My Head: Poems to Take You Into Space and Back Again

Author: Allan Wolf

ISBN: 978-0-7636-8025-1

Published 2019 by Candlewick Press

@allanwolf100

This book was received from the publisher for purposes of review.

CYBILS - Poetry First Round Panel

I am way (and I mean WAY) behind this year on posting for CYBILS. This year, instead of nonfiction, I'm on the poetry panel and I've been LOVING all of the selections this year. I'll work on getting some posts uploaded here so you too can see some of the great poetry that you should run out to pick up right away!!