And the Mr. Tiger giveaway winners are...

Wait. This is the first time I have ever announced winners, of anything.  I have to tell you that it is a strange feeling.  My excitement is tinged with a little sadness for the people that did not win.  I wish I could send Mr. Tiger Goes Wild! to each person that entered my giveaway because I think this book is both a visual and emotional treat and I want EVERYONE to read it.  I also really hate disappointing people. Enough about me!  Winners and winners not there must be, so without further ado, the three winners of the Mr. Tiger Goes Wild! giveaway are:

Donna Macdonald

Allison Jackson

Sherry Gick

I would like to thank...

*Peter Brown for creating a book that is beautifully crafted in both writing and illustration.  Mr. Tiger Goes Wild! is deeply appealing and engaging and just makes my heart happy! I cannot wait to share the book with my students.

*Jen at Teach Mentor Texts who came up with this great idea.

*My blog scavenger hunt friends, Aly at Kid Lit Frenzy, Franki at A Year of Reading, Katherine at Read, Write, Reflect, Laura at LibLaura5, and Colby at SharpRead. I loved reading their stories and seeing the different ways we each connected with Mr. Tiger Goes Wild!

*Little, Brown Books for providing the books for the giveaway.

*You, the reader of this blog, and everyone else who played along. You made my week special. Thanks for playing!

...and now back to our regularly scheduled programming.

Taking lessons from Frederick

In the book Everything I Need to Know I Learned from a Children's Book edited by Anita Silvey, 100 leaders from the arts, humanities, science and business each share how a specific children's book influenced them. You can hear Anita Silvey talking about the book at the Library of Congress.

I shared some of the stories with students last year. I think the Peter Lynch essay is fabulous!  This coming year I would love to inspire the students to write their own essay. Stay tuned on that front.  Right now, I want to share one of mine.

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I spend the summer on a mountain.  Actually I spend it on the side of a mountain.  Really I spend it on the side of a mountain that was a former volcano.  There is always something interesting to do - hike, bike and walk; plant, grow and harvest; or, swim, dive, and paddle.  I engage in these activities, but I spend a good deal of each day just being - looking and listening.  I came to a realization this year.  I am like Frederick. If you are not familiar with the book, watch this.

Like Frederick, I gather sun rays, colors and words.

I hold onto these images and sounds to remember them during the  dark, cold days of winter.

Like Frederick, I gathered the sights and sounds of summer to share.

But unlike Frederick, I am impatient so will share some of them with you now. Don't worry, I still gathered plenty more sounds and sights to share later.

Going Wild with Mr. Tiger

I am so excited to be writing about 

Mr. Tiger Goes Wild by Peter Brown! 

I love this book and want everyone to read it.

I think it deserves a shiny sticker (hint, hint).

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Mr. Tiger Goes Wild is a book you should not miss.  Not only is it well-written and beautifully-illustrated, it is a book that reminds each of us to find our own path and also carries the message that going a little wild (in the right time and place) is not such a bad thing (more on this later). I am not here to review the book today (here's my review). I am here to tell you a story, a story that Mr. Tiger would appreciate. 

I have been in his shoes and I have a motto he would love: Don't Worry. Dress Happy. Here's how I came about creating my motto, it all started back in... 

~~~~~

Kindergarten in 1968. It was 

Professions' Day! Dress like the thing you want to be when you grow up! This was exciting stuff. I wanted to be a nurse. I needed something white (this was 1968) so I wore my slip to school, granted it was a thick white cotton slip with a cool eyelet pattern along the top and an extra bit of fabric along them hem, but it was a slip. Demure for today's standards, my slip was a bit against the grain even then. Some of my classmates did not appreciate my outfit. I might have even seen disdain, had I been able to identify that emotion then.  The day was a bit awkward, but I maintained my composure and my belief that I had done the right thing.

~~~~

Fast forward two years and I am now in...

~~~~

Grade Two in 1970 and

I was playing around the old fountain on my street. It sat within an upward-sloping concrete circle, a perfect place for a game of tag, which is what I was doing when I touched the home base section of the very-tall, wrought- iron fence. It moved. I ran from the fence only to have it land on me and according to my mother, "split my head open." This was followed by a crazy drive to the hospital (while sitting in my mother's lap), lying on a cold metal table and feeling suffocated by the plastic sheet around my head, oh, and of course, stitches.

So here I am, in second grade, with a large chunk of hair shaved from my head, a HUGE band-aid covering the stitches, and, did I fail to mention I was wearing pajamas to school.  But...They were so cool. So. Very. Cool.  Just so you understand, pajamas were so jazzy then. Case in point:

I am a child of the 60s. Be they in your formal or informal wear -- patterns and lots of them are great, colors and lots of them are great, and styles and lots of them are great. The pajamas I wore that day had polka dots on the bottom and flowers on the top, which also had a cool bib feature - similar to overalls. I wish I had a picture for you.

Here I am at my friend's birthday party.

I am on the right. You see the influence of patterns.

My day was all going swimmingly until a classmate noticed the trap door opening in the back -- for these were one piece pajamas (think very jazzy union suit).

I stayed at school that entire day.  I was embarrassed, but I also knew that I loved those pajamas and they made me happy. I am sure I was teased, but I either ignored it or found strength in my convictions. I am not one one for relying on ceremony or style. I tend to dress the way I feel each day -- funky vintage hand-me-down-from my mom one day and classic Ann Taylor slacks and sweater the next. I wear what makes me happy. My motto?

Don't worry. Dress Happy. 

(With apologies to Bob Marley and the Wailers.)

While Mr. Tiger might have temporarily eschewed clothing, we have a lot in common.  Like Mr. Tiger, I learned that my unique style has a time and a place and, like Mr. Tiger, I learned that it is good to experiment and take risks, to follow your heart and to be true to yourself.  Peter Brown has given readers a character and a message that will stay with them long after they finish reading the book, a book that they will read again and again.

My advice to you? Pick up this book and leave no page unturned. 

Well, I'm off to meet up with Mr. Tiger. 
I think he's going to love this Hawaiian dress! 

BUT WAIT!
That is not all! 

There's the Mr. Tiger Goes Wild! giveaway thanks to Little Brown Books!  To celebrate the release of Mr. Tiger Goes Wild, we have a blog tour scavenger hunt for you! Visit all the blogs listed below to collect 7 letters/characters. Unscramble the letters/characters to unlock the secret phrase. Each blog is giving away three copies of Mr. Tiger Goes Wild courtesy of Little, Brown Books and Jen Vincent at Teach Mentor Texts has a Mr. Tiger Goes Wild prize pack to give away. On your mark. Get set. Go!

My secret letter is..

Here's what you need to do:
1.  Please visit these other blogs:
Jen at Teach Mentor Texts
Aly at Kid Lit Frenzy
Franki at A Year of Reading
Katherine at Read, Write, Reflect
Laura at LibLaura5
Colby at SharpRead

2.  Collect the secret letters from each blog. 
3.  Unscramble the letters to create the secret phrase. 
4.  Enter the phrase on this form, add your contact information and submit!

This survey will be open until September 9th. Winners will be drawn at random and announced on September 10th.  Good luck!

Setting Up My Library

I spent last week unpacking boxes, moving shelves, weeding the collection, making signs, hanging signs, moving tables, setting up computers along with a host of other duties that Teacher Librarians engage in at the beginning of the school year.

I was thinking all summer about setting up my library and then, while typing in the title of this post, I realized my mistake.  I am not setting up MY library, I am setting up the students' library. I am setting up the teachers' library. I talk about this being their space and I try to develop a library program that makes this a reality, but I still call it my library. It's not mine. It's ours.  AND, "What is a library?"  Maybe I should say, "I am setting up the place where learners congregate.  I am setting up the place where questions are asked and answered. I am setting up the place where knowledge is constructed. I am setting up the place where connections are made.  I am setting up the place where ideas are expressed."  In tangible terms, I am setting up a room with books and technology. How can something so simple be so amazing?  

I've still got a ways to go in the next few weeks, but check out how this space with books and technology where learners congregate is looking:

I added a few friends

I hung posters up high

and moved the location signage down low...

It's a start. Now bring on the learners!