First Day of School Jitters

Today is the first day of school at Pine Road. Each year there are jitters for students, teachers, and parents alike. Last year was my first year teaching classes in the library setting. I had taught for years prior in both first grade and kindergarten. But teaching in the library is a different animal. Many people asked me if I liked teaching in the library more, if it was "easier", or if I missed the classroom. I can say with absolute certainty that being a school library media specialist is definitely not easier. But it is different. There are different responsibilities and learning a new role is never easy. But I am not complaining because I love it. I LOVE teaching in the library, getting to see EVERY kid in the school, and watching their eyes light up when they find a "just right" book. I love helping kids learn to search in a way that is safe and effective, and learn to give credit where credit is due. I love helping students find creative ways to express themselves. I love connecting with and supporting staff in their different curricular areas, class research projects, read-aloud needs, unit development, and technology integration. Our library is not just a library. It is a media center, a living, breathing place. It is growing and changing as technology and the way we as a society embrace new ways of reading evolve. The library media center is alive. Alive with learning! Can you tell I'm passionate about my job? So, do I miss the classroom? Do I like teaching in the library more? All of the above. I miss the classroom, but I feel like teaching in the library is, for me, the best of both worlds. It's not for everyone, but it's "just right" for me!

And, First Day Jitters by Julie Danneberg is a great read aloud for teachers on the first day!




So, this year, as students enter the hallways, classrooms, and library of our school, I have jitters, but mostly the excited ones. I'm excited to share some awesome lessons, books, and technology with students this year. And I'm excited to share what we do with all of you. Thank you for joining me on the journey this year.

Extra Credit

As I mentioned yesterday, I recently finished "Extra Credit" by Andrew Clements. I loved SO many things about this book. Where to begin...

Teachers or school librarians can use this book to introduce a letter writing unit, either around the world or close to home, or a letter writing project to a character or an author. Another great book for author letter writing is Beverly Cleary's "Dear Mr. Henshaw."

Abby, the character who lives in America, loves to rock climb on the climbing wall in the gym at her school. We recently got a climbing wall at our school. It is not 30 feet tall like the wall at Baldridge Elementary School, but the kids here seem to like it just the same. My husband helped our physical education teacher set up the wall as he works at Doylestown Rock Gym and loves to climb himself. So, kids who enjoy or are interested in climbing will like to read why Abby chose to write to a student in Afghanistannimstead of one of the other two countries that were possible choices, how climbing makes her feel, and the technicalities of some of the knots and the names of different pieces of gear needed for climbing.

Anyone with an interest in current events will love this book as well. Details of some of the past conflicts in Sadeed's village are well constructed for middle grade readers. And events are portrayed realistically regarding how people in Afghanistan and in Illinois might feel about these two students writing to each other. Cultural norms are seamlessly woven into the writing to give both perspectives for each country.

Anyone who read Greg Mortenson's Three Cups of Tea, Stones into Schools, or Listen to the Wind will appreciate Clements' ability to tell a tale of education across the globe in Afghanistan and right here in the US. The similarities and differences are striking.

The growth of the characters is profound and the power of a pen pal is well portrayed.

I've enjoyed reading everything Andrew Clements has written that resides in our school library. Now it's on to what we don't have...yet. School Story, Janitor's Boy, and his newest book, Troublemaker, will be coming up on the blog soon.

Extra Books in Extra Credit

I recently finished reading Andrew Clement's "Extra Credit". As I have recently gotten into the habit of noting other books that are mentioned, I'd like to do that for this book as well. The main characters, Abby and Sadeed, both share a love of "Frog and Toad Are Friends.". Beyond that, we learn that Sadeed has read a few other books written in English with Christian characters, opening his mind to the Western world, "books that were not on the approved list from the Ministry of Education."

The books he mentions are:
* Robinson Carusoe
* The Adventures of Robin Hood
* Hatchet
* Kim

Readers may want to read in the footsteps of a character by checking these books out themselves, or a teacher might make an extra credit bulletin board showcasing these books. Either way, hearing a book character talk about how he felt while reading a book can hook others for that book. And realizing that a student in a country like Afghanistan might have such limited access to reading for pleasure can help our students develop a greater appreciation for their library and the access they have to its books and other materials. For teachers interested in reading aloud the excerpt that speaks to the books Sadeed's teacher, Mahmood, provided, check out pages 122-123 in "Extra Credit" by Andrew Clements.

Iza Trapani

When I was a babysitter, in high school, one of my favorite books to read at bedtime was "The Itsy Bitsy Spider" by Iza Trapani. The additional verses coupled with whimsical illustrations make for a great picture book. Many of Trapani's books have a dust jacket overlay that adds to the cover art. The Itsy Bitsy Spider's dust jacket includes a spider web. At the time, that was Trapani's only book with which I was familiar. Fortunately, that is no longer true.

In college, I had the opportunity to go to the NAEYC conference in New York and presenting and signing was Iza Trapani. There I was able to get several more, including Row, Row, Row Your Boat, and Baa, Baa, Black Sheep. Iza Trapani was an excellent presenter, explaining her methods and connecting to her audience.

More recently, I picked up a few more of Iza Trapani's books at the library. I can see these fitting in well to our kindergarten library curriculum. Last year, we did a unit on nursery rhymes, and many of Iza Trapani's books are extensions of familiar nursery rhymes with inventive verse added on to the original. The ones we have been reading at bedtime these days are "Where, Oh Where Has My Little Dog Gone," and "Mary Had a Little Lamb."

Cecelia has enjoyed both, and I'm certain that this year's kindergarteners will too!

Back to the Business of Books

Though you may be reading this on Wednesday, I am writing it on Monday evening. Tomorrow (to me, right now, Tuesday) I officially go back to school for in-service. While I fully intend to continue faithfully blogging about books, library lesson plans, great websites, awesome authors, and more, I also know myself. And I know that my ability to write with great frequency drops off a great deal when I'm also expected to teach six classes a day, prepare for them, keep books circulating, and get the morning show going. So, no promises. I hope to carve out time each day to write and reflect, or bank a bunch of posts with advance scheduling, but...no promises. Happy end of summer!

Penny Dreadful Book References

Throughout Penny Dreadful, there are many references to different books and Penny sees similarities (and differences) between herself in the character.  She often muses how things would happen IF this were a book.

Anne of Green Gables
"She had just finished Reading the very last Anne of Green Gables book, and she was depressed at the thought of what to do next."

A Little Princess
"One day, inspired by a book called The Little Princess, Penelope asked her mother to invite Jane (or Olivia, if Jane was busy; it didn't much matter) over to spend the night.

The Penderwicks
"After standing in her room examining her bookcase for inspiration and pondering the problem at hand, Penelope struck upon a book - The Penderwicks - and a solution.  The Greyson needed a vacation!

Little Women
"She sat in her covers and inhaled deeply the dusty perfume of dried flowers, lavender maybe.  It was nice, like something out of Little Women."

Ramona
"Penny was taken aback.  She didn't know about dibs, though she was almost sure she'd read about it in a book.  Maybe it had been a Ramona book?"

Bridge to Terabithia
"But looks could be deceiving.  Maybe Duncan was like an upsetting book with an ordinary, happy cover.  Maybe he was Bridge to Terabithia."

Mrs. Piggle Wiggle
"It made Penny feel very, very good, though it seemed a funny thing to be happy about - not at all like something that would happen in a book.  Unless maybe the book was Mrs. Piggle Wiggle."

Ballet Shoes
"Delia had said that they each had a job to do, but besides running a lemonade stand, or becoming a dancer in a pantomime like the three sisters from Ballet Shoes, Penny couldn't think of any way for a kid her age to make money."

The Whippoorwillows reminded me of Pippie Longstocking, which did not get a mention.

And finally, from Penny Dreadful: "A door will only open for one who turns the knob."

Dreadfully AWESOME

When I read the title, Penny Dreadful, I thought perhaps something dreadful would happen, or perhaps, that the character Penny was, in fact, dreadful. I was pleasantly surprised that nothing dreadful (at least in my opinion) happened, though there were plot twists and turns that weren't altogether happy either. And the character, Penelope Grey, or Penny, is awesome, with a great deal of growth as a character throughout the story. She finds her "inner resourcefulness" and Sheri ds a friend, or two, or three, or four. And she finds out how to be happy. Her parents, too, are well drawn characters who flip expectations on their head. I noticed in Laurel Snyder's other books that she makes reference to elements of a good story and this book isno different. Often, characters make reference to something sounding like it belonged in a book. Penny makes reference to many of the books she has read. I'm hoping to compile a post with all those books, but as I didn't have post it's with me and read ever so quickly, it was hard to mark those occurrences, so I will just have to go back through to find them again. Darn. But, for example, and this is quite early in the book, so I don't think I'm giving too much away here: "This sorry state of affairs was only made more awful by the fact that Penelope had read enough books (they were just about the only thing that Penelope did not find boring) to know that bored little girls who live in mansions are usually spoiled.". So, that's where Penny starts: bored, spoiled, lonely, and sad. But where she ends up, both mentally and physically, is very different.

In addition to the excellent writing, I enjoyed the accompanying cover art and interior illustrations created by Abigail Halpin. They reflected the life and transformation of the story and the extension of a family to include friends and neighbors.

Check out Penny Dreadful today, if not sooner, as well as Laurel Snyder's other novels and picture books. Once I receive Bigger Than a Breadbox in the mail, you can expect to hear about it shortly thereafter.

Oh, wait...I never explained the title Penny Dreadful. I love when I learn something new or something I've never heard before and this is an instance of that. "Tney're, like, the very first comic books. Cheap old action stories. Chock-full of excitement and mystery. Thrills on every page, though not exactly what you'd call great literature."