MotherReader

I've mentioned this book before as being a perfect present for a child or a teacher gift for the classroom. In booktalking, I showcased the title as being a way to read a book in the smaller bits of poetry. I opened it up to show several of the stunning photographs, and read a few poems.

National Geographic Book of Animal Poetry: 200 Poems with Photographs That Squeak, Soar, and Roar!
Complied by J. Patrick Lewis
National Geographic, 2012
If you are looking to dip into a book this summer, try a poetry collection. And if you are trying a poetry collection, don't miss this one. It combines the amazing photographs that National Geographic is famous for with poems about animals from known poets. There are serious poems and silly ones. Long and short... as little as the three lined haiku of the sandpiper: "Frantic sandpiper/ high tides erasing/ her footnotes." Here's one I particularly like:

About the Teeth of Sharks

The thing about shark teeth is - teeth,
One row above, one row beneath.
Now take a close look. Do you find
It has another row behind?
Still closer - here, I'll hold your hat:
Has it a thrid row behind that?
Now look in and.... Look out! Oh my,
I'll never know now! Well, goodbye.
- Jon Ciardi

Poetry Friday is hosted today at The Poem Farm.

I'm already over the idea of posting these booktalks, as evidenced by my weeklong absence. So let's knock out a few that had some oddball tricks to the hook. In the first, I howled. That shuts up a room, I'll tell you that. In the second, I used a fake mustache on a stick. Again, attention grabber. In the third, I used the ask-a-question technique, but with the twist that the third part of the question is clever. There were always a few who raised their hands, and I told the classes to hang out with those kids.

The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place: The Mysterious Howling
by Maryrose Woods, illustrated by Jon Klassen
Balzar & Bray, 2010
Awhooooooooo! That was the noise that Penelope heard as she was being interviewed to be governess to three children in a very grand house called Ashton Place. Oddly the mistress of the house was very eager to hire Penelope, even though she had yet to meet the children. Awhooooooo! Penelope heard as she followed the sound to the barn, expecting to find dogs in some distress. Awhoooooo! She heard just before she opened the door, and as her eyes adjusted to the darkness within she saw three children, dirty with tangled hair and wide eyes. Three children who had been raised by wolves, and who were now in her care. Other young ladies might have run away, but Penelope had the training of the Swanburne Academy for Poor Bright Females, a determined state of mind, and a very, very fortunate love of animals. Can Penelope help The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place?

Fake Mustache
by Tom Angleberger
Amulet Books, 2012
I couldn’t fool you with this mustache into believing that I am someone else, but that’s exactly what happens when Lenny’s friend Casper buys a fake mustache, specifically the Heidelberg Handlebar Number Seven. Along with a specially fitted suit for a man-about-town, he is fooling everyone into believing he is someone else, someone important. Lenny is the only one who can see the seventh grader behind the mustache and the only one who can keep Casper from taking over – not only the little town of Hairsprinkle – but the entire country. Yes, it's that wacky. Tom Angleberger, the author of the Origami Yoda books, has given us a funny, wild story in Fake Mustache: or How Jodie O’Rodeo and her Wonder Horse (and some nerdy kid) Saved the U.S. Presidential Election from a Mad Genius Criminal Mastermind.

Earthling!
by Mark Fearing, illustrated by Tim Rummel
Chronicle Books, 2012
Raise your hand if you’ve been the new kid at school? Moved in from another state? From another country? How about from another planet? Well, Bud has moved to New Mexico with his dad and he's waiting for the bus on the first day of school. It's early in the morning, and he thinks he sees it leave, but no, it pulls up and he steps on and the bus takes off. I mean, really takes off into space. Instead of Abraham Lincoln Elementary School, Bud finds himself on the way to Cosmos Academy on the other side of the galaxy. This it not the plan. Saving the life of a kid on the bus wins him a friend, and he needs one after finding out that his planet – our planet – is the most feared and despised in the universe! He has to fit in at this odd school of aliens or be discovered as an Earthling! His new friend Gort warns that he could get suspended or expelled – um, meaning “suspension for eternity in molecular binding gel or being expelled into deep place to die” – but Bud needs to get back to Earth. But how? Pick up this colorful graphic novel that’s funny and out of this world.

Another in the series of booktalks, here are three where I set the scene by describing the beginning of the book. I added bits to these on the spot, but this covers the basics.

Where the Mountain Meets the Moon
written and illustrated by Grace Lin
Little, Brown 2009
In long-ago China, Minli’s family is very poor, barely getting by living in the shadow of the Fruitless Mountain. All they have is a bowl and two copper coins Minli was given at birth. When an unexpected traveler comes by selling goldfish with the promise that the fish will bring gold to the home, Minli spends one of her two precious coins on a goldfish. Though her father supports Minli, her mother scoffs at the notion, angry that they even have as small as an extra fish to feed. Feeling bad for causing any trouble, Minli releases the goldfish into the river, asking out loud how to change their fortune. Imagine her surprise when the fish answers. That magical moment begins her a journey to the Never Ending Mountain for the wisdom the Old Man of the Moon.

Wildwood
by Colin Meloy, illustrated by Carson Ellis
Balzar & Bray, 2011
When Prue's baby brother is picked up and carried off by crows, she has no choice but to go after him. She is responsible for him after all, and who would believe that he was stolen by birds. She can't believe it herself! She ventures into the Impassible Wilderness along with a classmate to find her little brother,and they discover a world of talking animals, warring factions, and terrible consequences for her brother if she can’t find him. An adventure story that continues with the new book, Under Wildwood. A great summer reading choice if you're missing the days of seven hundred page Harry Potter books (though this one is only 560 pages.)

The Last Dragon
by Jane Yolen, illustrated by Rebecca Guay
Dark Horse, 2011
Centuries ago, the islands of Dragonfield were rid of the dragons… except for an egg nestled in the roots of a tree, suddenly awakened. The egg hatches, and the dragon grew quickly Sticking close to the water, the dragon managed to go unnoticed by the nearby villagers occupied by the harvests. Until the town healer goes missing, and his daughter Tansy investigates his disappearance and the oddly scorched bag left behind. As the town discovers the dragon, they look for a hero and find one – sort of – in young man how brags of his battle scars (in hopes for money). But it will be more basic skills needed to save a village. Beautiful artwork compliment a classic fantasy story in this graphic novel.

This book is really funny, but I never did really capture that in the booktalk. But hey, I introduced the series to bunches of kids, so there's that.

The Warrior Sheep Go West
by Christine and Christopher Russell
Sourcebooks Jabberwocky, 2011
From the ancient Songs of the Fleece, the verses of prophecy: “A terrible monster will come from the West; And a brave flock of warriors will be put to the test. /For this monster has woken from centuries of sleep, /And its stomach will hunger for sheep. Then more sheep. /Hundreds of thousands will die every hour /All the sheep in the world it will seek to devour. /Like a gigantic dog from the West it will come /and the name of this monster, be warned, is: Red Tongue.” These words, along with an unfortunately timed pop-up ad, start a crazy adventure as The Warrior Sheep Go West. This group of highly intelligent sheep and their owners travel to the American west under the false promises of a sleazy scientist. But as the evildoers have search for the sheep that they have lost, the little herd is trying to save fleecekind from the terrifying Red Tongue in this silly, mixed-up story.

Honestly, this is more like an approximation of a booktalk because after the first two sentences, I held up the book, the room buzzed with appreciative recognition, and I kind of winged it. It was an easy sell, especially when I hold up the latest book in the series.

Squish: Super Amoeba
by Jennifer L. Holm, illustrated by Matt Holm
Random House, 2011
I don’t know if you’ve ever heard somebody called “pond scum,” but it’s not a nice thing to be called. Unless that slimey, oozy stuff is your hometown, like it is for Squish. Squish is your everyday amoeba who loves comic books and idolizes his favorite hero, Super Amoeba! He has a couple of good friends, an odd amoeba named Pod, and Peggy a paramecium who is happy happy happy all the time. Squish has problems too, especially in a bully, Lynwood, who wants to copy Squish’s science homework and well... absorb Peggy. Can Squish live the message of his idol and “have the courage to do what is right?” Find out in the first book of the Squish series, by Jennifer Holm and Matthew Holm, the same team that brought you Babymouse.

When booktalking to kindergarten and first grade, I make sure to show them the inside of at least one beginning reader book and let them know that we have lots of these books to continue their reading over the summer. This year the Katie Woo series is one on our summer reading list, so I shared this talk in a pretty conversational way with a fair amount of acting (head shaking, tooth brushing, etc.)

Katie Woo: The Tricky Tooth
by Fran Manushkan, illustrated by Tammie Lyon
Picture Window Books, 2011
I’ll bet some of you have lost a tooth or two. Raise your hand if you’ve lost a tooth. One? Two? More? Well, as this book begins Katie Woo has her very first loose tooth, but it doesn’t want to come out. Katie and her friend eat some popcorn, and her friend's tooth falls out. But what happens to Katie's tooth? Nothing! She thinks if she heads the ball in soccer that it will shake her head enough that the tooth will pop out. But what happens to Katie's tooth? Nothing! She brushes and brushes her teeth super good, ready for that tooth to come loose. But what happens? Nothing! She goes to school and the teacher has a chart that everyone can mark on with how many teeth they have lost, but you know what Katie can put on the chart? Nothing!!! But if you've lost a tooth, you know that eventually it has to come out at some point. Find out what finally gets it out in Katie Woo: The Tricky Tooth.

I don't ever have enough time to talk about all the books I'd like to share, but here are three that I've been doing in a quick booktalk minute to show the variety of early chapter books for young readers.


Zapato Power: Freddie Ramos Takes Off!
by Jacqueline Jules, illustrated by Miquel Benitez
Albert Whitman, 2010
Freddie gets a package delivered to his apartment, but he doesn't know who has sent it. What he finds inside is a cool pair of sneakers that let him run faster than a train! He looks for ways to use his new superpowers in his elementary school and tracks down the mystery of who gave him the shoes and thus, ZAPATO POWER!


The Great Cake Mystery
by Alexander McCall Smith, illustrated by Iain McIntosh
Anchor, 2012
When a piece of cake goes missing and a fellow classmate is blamed for the crime, Precious becomes a detective to find out who really stole the sweet. Set in Africa, the book features great illustrations and a nice introduction to another culture.


Duck for a Day
by Meg McKinlay, illustrated by Leila Rudge
Candlewick Press, 2012
Abby works hard to be able to take the class duck home for a day, but all of her plans can't match up to the unexpected. And could it be that her "weird" neighbor Noah will be the one to help get things back on track?

This booktalk has been a real winner every time. I do put a lot of feeling into setting up the story, and I think the kids like my walking back and forth chant-singing the little song. I also make sure at the end to flip through the book to show them that it is an early chapter book with lots of pictures inside, and I let them know about the new title, Lulu Walks the Dogs

Lulu and the Brontosaurus
by Judith Viorst, illustrated by Lane Smith
Atheneum Books, 2010
Lulu wanted a pet. But not just any pet. Not a cat or dog or rabbit or goldfish or turtle or hamster. No, Lulu wanted a brontosaurus. Now you know that is ridiculous and so did Lulu’s parents who said something she did NOT like. No. NO? Lulu didn’t like to hear no, and threw a terrible fit, stamping her feet and screeching. But when her parents didn’t give in and get her a dinosaur – because really, what were they going to do? – she decided to go out on her own and find one. She sang as she went into the forest, “I’m gonna, I’m gonna, I’m gonna gonna get. A bronto-bronto-bronto brontosaurus for a pet. I’m gonna, I’m gonna, I’m gonna gonna get. A bronto-bronto-bronto brontosaurus for a pet.” But as she goes into the forest she runs into some dangerous creatures who are bothered by her loud song. And some have fangs, and some have claws, and one might - just might - be a brontosaurus. Find out the rest of the story in Lulu and the Brontosaurus, by Judith Viorst.

When we go out to elementary schools to talk about the summer reading program, I share three or four books per class. Now that's assuming I am working with a partner who is booktalking the same amount of titles, and leaving time in our presentation to talk about the program in general and take questions. ("And remember first graders, a question is something that needs an answer.") I mix up the type of booktalking I do, but I always have a few picture books for the younger grades that I just read. No props. No fancy intro. In keeping with my booktalking series, these are the three books I just read aloud.

Pirate vs. Pirate
by Mary Quattlebaum, illustrated by Alexandra Bioger
Hyperion Books, 2011
Why do anything else but add a pirate accent and read: "Bad Bart was the biggest, burliest pirate this side of the Atlantic. But he wanted to be the biggest, burliest pirate in the world. And the richest. So one day he roared, 'Hoist anchor, me hearties. Raise high the flag. We sail till I be the best.'" Believe me, you get one attentive group of children with a start like that.

Extra Yarn
by Mac Barnett, illustrated by Jon Klassen
Balzar & Bray, 2012
This is not my regular kind of read aloud book, which tends to have bright colors, funny bits and a chance to do voice acting. But I like having a quieter choice for pacing - especially bringing back a boisterous crowd to listen again. This title starts gentle with, "On a cold afternoon, in a cold little town, where everywhere you looked was either the white of the snow or the black of soot from chimneys, Anabelle found a box filled with yarn of every color." Sometimes when waiting for all the classes to arrive I'll read an 'extra' book. Now doesn't Extra Yarn seem perfect?

Pest in Show: The Buzz of Broadway!
by Victoria Jamieson
Dial Books for Young Readers, 2013
One of very few books I'm using not from our "official" Summer Reading Program list - the one I helped create, btw - I couldn't resist bringing a Broadway themed book along. There is even singing, and boy do I love books that let me sing. It's hard to beat a start like this: "Ladybug was born to be a star. Her kid brother, Fly, was born to be a pest!"

Every year my library system puts together a list of book suggestions for summer reading, buys extra copies of those titles for the libraries, and then promotes the program (books included) in elementary schools all through my Fair County. I was thrilled to be among those selecting titles for the list, especially now as I am going into booktalking season with some really great books.

In all my years of booktalking, I've rarely written down any more than the first sentence "hook," and often not even that. I would never read booktalks at the school, but even seeing them written down makes the words feel stale to me. But this year I was very helpfully given specific time at work to spend on booktalking preparation and thought I would give this writing down thing a try. The next logical step was to share them here so you'll know some of the titles I placed on the list and how I plan to introduce them. So starting with the younger grades and working our way up to sixth, let's do this.

The Three Ninja Pigs
by Corey Rosen Schwartz, illustrated by Dan Santat
Putnam Juvenile, 2012
I’m sure you know the story of the three little pigs – Wolf. Sticks. Straw. Bricks. Huff & puff and blow your house down. But here is a version with a kick – a karate kick. Threatened by a dangerous wolf, the three little pigs decide to learn the martial arts to fight back. While two of the pigs don’t put in the work, the third pig studies karate with determination. Are their ninja skills enough against the big bad wolf? Read The Three Ninja Pigs. (Note: I'll read a few pages of the book.)

Okay, you guys weren’t as helpful as I had hoped in giving me starting points, but I’m giving you another chance with this batch for the lower elementary grades. These are also books I recommended to the summer reading list, thank you very much, so I know and love them. I’m just not sure how to start off the booktalk for all of them.

Clementine is easy, because I’ll read the first page. It sets up the story, shows Clementine’s personality, and displays the humor of the book. I’ll probably go from that right into Phineas MacGuire Erupts! as another book with humor and personality, but this time a boy. I’m not sure how I’ll start The Year of the Dog; I’m only sure that I’ll use it. Ditto for Akimbo and The Snakes, though it’s possible a rubber snake will be involved.

For Babymouse: Beach Babe, I’ll start by asking the second/third graders who’s going to the beach this summer. If I let a few of them tell me where, I could easily kill a couple of minutes. If I can find Are You Quite Polite in time, I’ll sing one of the songs — probably the one from the library. If I locate Once I Ate a Pie, I’ll read a poem or two.

For first grade and maybe some kindergarten, I’ll start with fake sneezing/coughing to introduce Sniffles, Sneezes, Coughs and Hiccups. (This one I didn’t suggest, but I couldn’t resist the idea of opening with a sneezing fit.) I can ask the kids who has lost their first baby tooth to introduce I Lost My Tooth in Africa. (By the way, if you ask a question of kids younger then ten, remind them to put their hands down after they raise them. Kids will leave their hands up until all the blood rushes to their toes in the hopes that you will ask each and every one of them their particular story. I always go with this phrasing: “Hands up if you’ve lost your first baby tooth. Okay, hands down.”)

I’ll read from Snip, Snap: What’s That? and from Bats at the Beach. I’m thinking of giving them a new chipmunk song/action rhyme I learned and then telling them about the nonfiction book Chattering Chipmunks and other books about animals for beginning readers. If I get some good openers today for either these books or yesterday’s titles, I promise to put up audio of me and my kids doing the Chipmunk Song. It’s the catchiest thing ever.

I have to mention a story about the Chattering Chipmunks book, which I brought it home for my eight-year-old to read for fun and practice. In retrospect it may not have been the best choice of books for my family. We get to the line, “Have you seen chipmunks in your backyard?” She turns to me and says, “No, but the cats bring us dead ones.” True, very true.

Focus! Focus!

Sorry, that was my internal dialogue taking over. The truth of the matter is that I have only two days before I need to talk about books to five hundred kids, and I am woefully unprepared. I have read the books, but I am having trouble coming with my hooks for each title. Without that starting point, I find it hard to move on.

Let me back up. In my county that shall remain unnamed — like Voldemort — the public librarians go to the elementary schools in the area and promote our summer reading program. We also have a list of books, mostly from the previous year, that we use to get the kids excited and coming in the library doors. Voldemort County orders extra copies of these books — like forty extra copies — and we talk them up in the schools — like a hundred and forty schools — so the students swarming into the libraries have shiny new copies to borrow. I’ve helped make the list before, but this year I merely suggested books to consider. It is only a mark of the committee’s intelligence that they ordered most of my suggestions.

So now I need to tell the kids about these books. I’ve read them, some twice, and I love them, hence the suggesting for the list. But I need the first sentence or the gimmick or the hook to grab the kids’ attention. You are welcome to submit suggestions in the comments, particularly if you are Jenny Han or Gail Gauthier, given that the books I’m talking up to the sixth graders are Shug and Happy Kid!

I’ll talk about Yellow Star to the fifth and/or sixth graders, but I already know that I will open with the first paragraph, where it lists the numbers of Jews in the Ghetto before and after the war. For Transformed: How Everyday Things Are Made, I’ll start with some interesting facts and then recite the complete list of items covered. Bridging the fifth and fourth grades, I’ll also read from Frankenstein Makes a Sandwich, since it was such a hit with my daughter’s fifth grade class. I’ll probably throw in a new, non-list book called Blind Mountain, because it’s a fun (short) adventure book. For that I’ll start with asking them to close their eyes and imagine getting around different places, and ending with getting down a mountain with a cougar stalking you. I know, sounds good, doesn’t it?

I wanted to add Water Street to the fourth grade, maybe fifth grade, mix but I don’t know how to grab them with such a quiet book. Any ideas?

Tomorrow, look for my selections for third grade on down to the tiny kindergartners.