Picture Perfect!

(Feel free to skip to the bottom to see the perfect pictures.) 

Dot Connecting and Thread Weaving
There is this amazing convergence happening in my professional life.  I am a natural dot connector and thread weaver and these new connections are fun! 

Case in point, I recently (October 28th and 29th) attended the American Association of School Librarians Conference where I met many incredible people and learned things I am eager to apply in my library, but I also made a wonderful professional connection with a school librarian from the Midwest (you know who you are!).  This connection brought me into a larger group of school librarians and into the international initiative to designate November as Picture Book Month (see previous blog posts). 

So, why the convergence?  I was in the midst of an Allen Say author study with fourth graders.  Allen Say, for those who might not know, is an author and illustrator of many picture books.  His books capture the experience of being torn between two things, such as being torn between two cultures or two ideas or torn between the past and the present.  I had the pleasure of meeting Allen Say back in 2004 when he ran a workshop for public and school librarians and it is a unit I always look forward to!

The fourth graders finished up the author study today.  I decided that I would have them create Wordles (word clouds) reflecting upon:

~~Three things they had learned about Allen Say
~~Three words they would use to describe his books 


But wait, there's more! I also had them brainstorm about Picture Books!  I had them come up with:

~~Three words explaining why people should read picture books
~~Three picture book authors they would recommend
~~Three ways they could find picture books in my library

I think Wordles can be a perfect picture (or snapshot) of student understanding or learning. I'll write more about these Wordles tomorrow! 

The Wordles

We know these things about Allen Say...

 

 

  

About Allen Say's Books

 We like these picture book authors...

We can find and identify picture books by...

People should read picture books because they are...

A perfect confluence of events!

A book fair, a night of reading picture books and Picture Book Month! 

Tonight is my school's "Sleep Under" event.  From 5:30 to 7:30 the Principal and I, along with four parents, are reading stories in four separate rooms.  I've donned my pajamas (plus my Pigeon tee-shirt, which I did indeed wear today - see yesterday's post) and am ready to read!




This week is also our school's book fair week.  What fun to watch the students "oohing" and "ahhing" over the book displays. I have seen many great book choices and am hoping there are some left for me to choose from!

And for the trifecta, this is of course, Picture Book Month!  What better way to celebrate than with a book fair and a night of reading stories.

 

www.picturebookmonth.com

What to read?  This is a perfect opportunity for me to get to read all the books which I love, but which don't fall into my lesson plans.  It is overwhelming.   How can I limit myself to just the few that will fit into two hours, give or take.

So what did I read?  Well, quite a few books, but the one I am choosing for my highlight of the day is one that I teach with and is one of my favorites, Flossie and the Fox by Patricia McKissack.  This book begs to be performed.  It is an incredibly satisfying book to read aloud.

Thank you to the parents for organizing this event and thank you to all the families that showed participated!

Celebrate Picture Book Month with these books!

In celebration of Picture Book Month, these third graders located a favorite picture book in the library.  They then took a photograph of the cover, which I uploaded into VoiceThread where they added their voices. Watch below to find out which picture books these students enjoy reading and why they think you should read them as well.

Wisdom from Willems

This is an easy pick for Picture Book Month!

"Well, what do you know, thought Alligator. Books do beat boredom."  In Hooray for Amanda & Her Alligator!, Mo Willems delivers this great message as well as some other very important ones.  In six and one half "surprising stories," Amanda and her alligator learn quite a bit about friendship; and, in typical Willems fashion, the stories are told with humor and love.  Willems appreciation for and understanding of friendship and childhood are apparent in each of his books.  This one's no exception. 

Not surprisingly, Mo Willems has an informative, interactive and engaging Website.  Visit Mo Willems' Website to learn more about his books, dance with Elephant and Piggie or help Naked Mole Rat get dressed.

Picture books are best when shared, but they can't always be shared. Willems' books offer a shared reading experience right within the pages; the interactive nature of the writing and the engaging characters draw the reader in; and, even more importantly, enable the reader to become part of the action.  There's a good reason these books don't stay on the library shelves.  Not only are they fun to read, but also readers are readily able to identify with the characters and the situations.   By the way, it is not just the children who identify with Willems' books...I think I'll wear my Pigeon tee-shirt tomorrow!

So in celebration of Picture Book Month, celebrate wonderful friendship books by checking out a book by Mo Willems! 

But the big thing just said "Snort"

Day seven of Picture Book Month finds me in a quandary, but a good one mind you.  I have committed to highlighting a new picture book for each school day of the month. (No problem here, this seems like a fairly easy task for a school library teacher.)  I am sure you have already guessed where this is going. I am submitting my book quite late in the day, not because I couldn't think of one, but because I couldn't decide on one!  I started my day out with a book I thought would be great, put it in my bag to bring to work, saw another book and proceeded to put that in my bag and so on.  One very heavy work bag later, I find myself back where I began!

The book of the day is: Are You My Mother? by P.D. Eastman


This morning, Dianne de Las Casas, the founder of the Picture Book Month initiative asked people to submit their favorite picture books about birds.  She gave Owl Moon by Jane Yolen as an example.

I immediately thought of Are You My Mother? This story still resonates with me so many years later.  The young bird's journey to find his mother is filled with gentle humor and engaging illustrations.  I always loved the "Snort," but I am not sure I knew why. It wasn't until I became a parent that I came to appreciate the subtle messages in this book, especially the fact that the big unfamiliar machine is the hero of the day.  I hear a "don't judge a book by it's cover" type message here.  In the end though, it is all about what Theodor Seuss Geisel set out to do with his "I Can Read It" collection that is important.  Create a library of books brimming with creativity and imagination that engage young readers.  He succeeded and this contribution by Eastman falls easily into this criteria.

You can read along yourself by following the themes on the Picture Book Month Calendar!

Happy Picture Book Month!

It's a beautiful thing to watch a child read

We are celebrating Picture Book Month in a variety of ways, the most important of which being reading picture books! 

 

On Friday, my fifth grade students spent library class reading picture books by local authors and illustrators.  Along with a collection of books to get them started, I gave them a list of these local authors and illustrators and they headed to the stacks.

The students chose a book, learned what they could about the author and/or illustrator from the jacket and then settled in to read.  After reading the book, I asked them to reflect on the experience with three things they liked or learned, two things they would tell someone else about the book and one question they had for the author and/or illustrator.  During our next class, the students will be taking this information and using VoiceThread or another application to share the information with students at one of our partner libraries in Illinois, Iowa, California, Maine or Hungary. Stay tuned!

Feeling the author/illustrator love

Thank you Kevin Hawkes for an inspiring visit to our school library!  (See slide show below.)  What a great way to celebrate Picture Book Month!

Kevin Hawkes visited with first grade students in my library.  I was, and continue to be, incredibly touched by his rapport with the students.  I watched 75 six-year-old's follow his every move and listen to his stories with rapt attention.  He had them happily engaged for almost an hour.  The students were not just watching though, he had them observing and sharing and laughing.

The students had been reading his books in preparation for his visit (not that they are not read on a regular basis!) and were well-versed in his work.  Kevin spoke with the students about the artists that inspire his work and then showed their influence on his work; how wonderful for students to see the direct connection between the two. Along with these artistic influences, the students heard about his influences and inspirations as an author. 

Not only did I witness his wonderful rapport with the students, I witnessed his craft as an artist as he adeptly wielded a piece of chalk, creating one drawing after another.  He explained the use of line and white space as he drew; the students learned how to make their creations move as well as how perspective can dictate how readers react to an illustration.  Kevin also spoke about the important things to remember when creating a character for a story. The students were mesmerized and inspired.

I had been planning to hold my traditional library classes following Kevin's visit, but this was too hard an act to follow, so I scrapped my lesson and pulled out pencils, markers and paper and watched the students play with their new found knowledge.  Here's a slide show capturing our visit.  Enjoy!