Inch and Miles: The Journey to Success

I first heard about Coach John Wooden's Pyramid of Success from the director at my school. Because I loved the message of each of the blocks, I was interested to see that aside from books targeted for adults, he also had books for children, including Inch and Miles: The Journey to Success.

The book starts out with what Inch and Miles view as an easy question, "What is success?" However, they quickly realize that it is about more than winning medals, being popular, or having the best toys. Success is defined in a way that aligns with the way my parents instilled in me throughout my life - doing my best (and with integrity), rather than being the best was what was important. When Inch and Miles express concern about how they will know that they are doing their best, Mr. Wooden sends them on an adventure to explore the Pyramid of Success. Various animals give them clues throughout the book, each with a poetic description of one of the characteristics off of the pyramid.

I am still thinking through how I would recommend the use in class. In some ways the longer text on each page might not hold some students' attention to read straight through. It seems it would be more effective to read in parts, which would be easy to do by breaking down into different blocks (or groups of blocks) after reading the introduction. It would be a perfect supplement to health and/or character education themed units, as well as at the start of the year when establishing classroom expectations and setting goals.

I also love the possibilities for writing teaching points for older students. For example, sharing the book, as well as his site can be juxtaposed to discuss adjusting for audience and purpose. Students will notice that some of the language is different (such as industriousness vs. hard work); however, the message is the same. They can also consider the presentation for varied audiences.

Judy Moody & Stink: The Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad Treasure Hunt

I have been familiar with Judy Moody for a few years. I had not read any of her books, but I knew that they were similar to other transitional reader series in my classroom, such as Ivy and Bean, Clementine, and Junie B. Jones. My middle school students mainly read Judy Moody books in Spanish, while other books appealed to them in English as there is a much wider range of literature available in English. In addition, they typically felt more confident with higher level books in English as opposed to Spanish translations that often use less familiar dialects. 

Earlier this fall I heard that author Megan McDonald also had books focusing on Judy's brother Stink and at a recent trip to the library, I learned that there are also books about both of them together. Both of my daughters saw and loved Judy Moody and the Not Bummer Summer, so when they saw the books, they picked out a few. Judy Moody & Stink: The Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad Treasure Hunt was the first that we started to read together as a family; however, my oldest lost interest, so it ended up being with just my youngest, except here and there when my oldest would reappear and listen to bits and pieces. 

In the book Judy and Stink (or as they are referred to at times in the book Mad Molly O'Maggot and Scurvy Stink) are set for an adventure. For a family trip they have headed to an island with their parents to participate in a treasure hunt competition against other kids, where the winner get to go for a ride on a pirate ship. Judy and Stink refer to their main competitors as Smart Girl and Tall Boy, as they often notice them nearby and know that they are on the right track. 

The format of the book is enjoyable. Unlike, most transitional readers, the pictures are in color. At first my oldest did not think that it was divided up into chapters, but after I flipped through the book, I pointed out to her that the periodic full page illustrations featuring signs were chapter markers. I later realized that there was also a table of contents that I could have shown her as well. 

My youngest absolutely loved the pictures and the plot. There were a lot of giggles, as well as "Show me that again," or "Read that again". We finished the book up a couple of nights ago, and last night she was flipping through the book again and retelling some of her favorite parts. Nonetheless, shortly after she was loudly saying, "di di di di," to simulate how we talked about one of the chapter markers that was in code and then belted out, "Arrrr" on another page, her sister told her to quiet down because she couldn't concentrate on her homework with all that noise! At that point my youngest turned back to the start of the book to look through again without talking. 

The book is an enjoyable experience for those who enjoy adventure, mystery and pirates. The full color  illustration are an asset, supporting the transition to chapter book format. Just as my daughter did, emergent readers can enjoy the text with adults and revisit pictures to recreate aspects of the story on their own. This would be a fun read aloud book as well to pique students' interest about chapter books. Because the characters appear in multiple series, students who enjoy it can read any of the books about the characters. 

Alaska's Three Pigs

I have always loved re-writes of classics or traditional stories, so I was thrilled when my mom brought the girls Alaska's Three Pigs, written by Arlene Lavernde and illustrated by Mindy Dwyer, as a gift.

I enjoyed reading a "comfortable" tale and seeing how the author would add her own creativity. In the story, three brother pigs have travelled to Alaska. When the seasons shift, they realize that they need to switch from they camping and playing to establishing homes.

As to be expected with the typical tale, each brother dedicates a different amount of time to the task, ranging from the first settling for a pre-existing cabin that he encounters to the third pig taking the time to build a sturdy igloo. Then of course, the pigs encounter danger; however, this time it is with a bear whose hibernating they disturbed and the author has some special twists in store to explain how the pigs escaped their bleak fate.

Each of the pages with text have a border similar to the style on the front cover, although featuring different designs, such as fish and trees. In addition, certain words are in a larger, different, and colorful font in order to attract the readers' attentions. On one of our favorite pages the pigs are each participating in different winter sports, and the words "YEE HAW!", "BARK BARK!", and "WHEEEE!" swirl around tem.

Just as with different versions of Cinderella this book made me think about what the Oregon twist on the three little pigs would be!

What Can You Do With a Rebozo?

During my second exchange to Mexico one of the language teachers did a presentation for our class about the many uses of rebozos, including historical background. Not long after I returned to the US, I heard about a new book, What Can You Do With a Rebozo? It automatically caught my attention because of that personal connection. Almost four years later I finally bought a copy.

The book portrays traditional cultural uses that I heard about in the presentation or that I know from being in Mexico. However, there are also fun, creative ways to use a rebozo mixed in. For example, the first page illustrates the mother wearing a rebozo as a shawl and then to hold her baby on her back. Later in the book the main character (the girl shown on the front cover) uses it as a super hero cape for Halloween.

Initially, I was a little disappointed that it was a mixture, rather than solely showing the many uses that I have seen firsthand or that are well-known historically. However, then at the end of the book there is couple of paragraphs under the heading "About Rebozos". The next page has a heading identical to the title of the book, followed by four questions: "What is the silliest thing you can do with a rebozo? What is the most practical? The most beautiful? The most creative?" Once I read these pages, I realized that the mixture in the book was perfect - featuring "real" traditional uses and some background, while also sparking the imagination of many other personalities, a perfect lead into the questions.

I absolutely love the illustrations, which span the full two-pages spreads. I appreciate the way the family is portrayed and the way the images capture the culture represented in bright colors.

I am excited to see that the book is now available as a bilingual paperback as well.

My daughter snug in her abuelita's rebozo. Even though her head is sticking out this time, other times she was completely covered.

From Tadpole to Frog

As a new mom, I rarely bought informational texts for my oldest daughter. However, as I became a teacher and learned more about the value of balance with reading genres, I started to buy a wider range of texts. As a kindergartener and first grader I noticed that my oldest selected a lot of books about animals from her classroom library. As such, I frequently buy books about animals when Scholastic book orders arrive. From Tadpole to Frog, a level 1 Scholastic Reader was one of them. As a family we continue to enjoy informational texts, especially those related to science and social studies topics. 

The front cover provides glimpses into different stages of the life-cycle of a frog. When reading through the book, the photographs of the process dominate the pages, complemented by short sentences of text. The back cover outlines that level 1 of the Scholastic Reader set as including 50-250 words composed of "sight words, words to sound out & simple sentences." The words are in a larger sized font to further support emergent readers. 

When my daughter was first starting to read, books like this were perfect. She could feel successful reading the text, and then the photos provoked a lot of discussion, weaving in other prior knowledge that she had about whichever topic was featured. It is always ideal to consider a range of books for classroom libraries. This would be a good addition to a text set. While other books could be for teacher read alouds or small group settings, this would be an appropriate book for emergent readers, both those who read the words and those who read the pictures. 

The text also provides an introduction to informational text features, albeit in a limited way. There is one label to accompany a photograph, the word gills and lines to indicate where they are on the frog on page 11. In addition six key words/phrases are in bold in the text and there is an accompanying glossary in the back of the text. However, the words within the text are white, and for young readers who are not familiar with bold fonts, I wonder if they would notice the subtle difference. Nonetheless, that is where others can draw their attention to the text features that support their understanding. The simplicity of the text features complements the overall purpose of the book well.

Plant a Kiss

Recently I saw a post over at A Year of Reading about a new book, Plant a Kiss by Amy Krouse Rosenthal and illustrated by Peter H. Reynolds. I shared the You Tube trailer, included in the post, with my daughters. We were enjoying it so much that I decided to order it. Arriving a day before Valentine's Day, it made a perfect present for my girls.

The You Tube trailer includes the first pages of the book, with the exception that the still photos from the book are animated. As such, we enjoyed pulling the book out of the box and reading it for the first time, wondering what was going to happen after the part that we had already seen on-line. 

We already knew from the title and the video that Little Miss planted a kiss, and although it did not seem too hopeful at the start, it did eventually sprout. Her shouts caught the attention of her friends. Continuing on we were able to see what happened after the video ended, trying to see what Little Miss would decide to do with her sprout. In the book we enjoyed an aspect that the video didn't capture - the use of glitter.

The language in the book was simple, yet powerful. It reminded me of novels in verse that say so much with so few words. The girls loved the way the words flowed and enjoyed taking turns reading the book.

On another note, this book is going to be perfect to share in my college course focusing on linguistics as there are plenty of minimal pairs and one line that has the same words, but different intended meanings, aspects of language that we have been talking about. 

Double Trouble in Walla Walla

I love word play and have read so much about its benefits for supporting a love of language, which is one of the reasons why I wanted to read Andrew Clements' Double Trouble in Walla Walla. (As an added bonus, I always love books set in locations nearby my hometown. In this case it has the added connection of featuring the town where one of my sisters lives.)

Early on in the book, some central characters learn that they have a problem with their speech. Everything is coming out extra silly, and they cannot control it. Toward the end of the book they think they have solved everything, but have they really?

This is definitely a book that can model word play and inspire creativity. The art throughout the book is similar to that on the front cover, and aspects such as hair are often exaggerated. There are frequent thought bubbles throughout that had me laughing. A couple of pages have interesting formatting with the lay-out of the words, such as a page that has a lot of words swirling around the page.

You can read about another book that incorporates word play, Peas on Earth on a post from Ruth at Two Writing Teachers. It was just released this month.

Hooray for Amanda & Her Alligator!

Just as with his Knuffle Bunny books, Mo Willems' creativity shines through in Hooray for Amanda & Her Alligator! The table of contents announces that the book contains, "6 1/2 Surprising Stories About 2 Surprising Friends."

With the first story we meet Amanda's alligator, and I was smiling from the first page because of his personality. I continued to do so throughout the book. For example, on one page the alligator is dismayed to find out that he was only worth seven cents. Before Amanda reveals that he was in the sale bucket, the text states, "(When friends ask you to tell the truth, you tell the truth.)" (p. 41).

At 68 pages, the book is long compared to many picture books; however, there is not a lot of text on each page, so it is a great transitional book to build stamina for readers who are gaining more confidence. They can get familiar with the "chapter book" concept from the comfort of a picture book by a well-loved author.

Diary of a Spider

My daughter has brought home and really enjoyed Doreen Cronin's Diary of a Worm from her classroom library. I wanted to revisit this author by reading Diary of a Spider.

As with Diary of a Worm, in Diary of a Spider, real facts about spiders are mixed in with fictional elements, such as the spider going to school and other behaviors that reflect human life, rather than that of spiders. In addition, Harry Bliss is the illustrator for both books, so the book will feel familiar for those who have previously read the first book.

Throughout the book there is a lot of humor, which is sure to be one of the aspects that draw many kids to the books. Among the humor are subtle lessons. As much of the events in the book relate to humans, kids can learn from the emotions and actions in the book.

Because the book as set up as a diary, there are many random events, rather than one cohesive plot. As such, readers never know for sure what will be waiting for them as they flip the page, a fun element of surprise.

I noticed that Cronin has many other Diary of... books. They will be fun to explore.

Fishing in the Air

When I was student teaching I read my first Sharon Creech novel, and she quickly became one of my favorite authors. However, I am still unfamiliar with her picture books, other than Who's that Baby? When I saw her first picture book Fishing in the Air at the library, I didn't have to think twice before adding it to my stack.

The book recounts the story of a boy going fishing with his father, but it is not just about the actual fishing, it is about the whole experience. Leaving bright and early in the morning and including the conversations along the way. The dad has quite an imagination and inspires his son to see the world in a different way.

The composition of the pages was different, rather than being the same on every page - at times the watercolors swirled all over the pages, only leaving a small rectangle of text, while other pages had a lot of white space with a small image accompanying the text. However, the text always appeared in the same location on the pages, making the book form an overall cohesive feel.

I have to admit, when I read that the book was about a father-son fishing trip, I was not sure that I would like it all that much, since that experience is so far removed from my own. However, I was pleasantly surprised to see that I loved catching glimpses into this father-son relationship, as well as this specific bonding moment. This would be an excellent book to include in a genre study related to narrative writing, sharing the aspect of personal experiences with family.

D is for Drinking Gourd

D is for Drinking Gourd: An African American Alphabet by Nancy I. Sanders and illustrated by E. B. Lewis caught my attention because I had recently read Gathering the Sun, another cultural alphabet book. I also absolutely loved the cover image.

The inside of the book has art consistent with the style that caught my attention on the cover. Aside from the art, another aspect that I loved right away was that each page told part of history and/or contributions that African Americans have made in the US. Letters featured a range of aspects such as: Harlem Renaissance, inventors, jazz, the Little Rock Nine, athletes, organizations, and holidays. Some pages had celebratory tones, while others were more somber, sharing difficult aspects of history.

With the letter A, the left hand side of the two-page spread had four lines of poetry, "'Let our people go!' they cried / in speeches or with a pen in hand. / A is for abolitionists / who were willing to take a stand." The featured letter, A, was in a larger font to catch the reader's attention. The water color image spanned the two page spread, but about 1/3 of the right hand page was set off by a solid background color. It had the featured letter in upper and lower case in large text, followed by more historical information in smaller font than the rest of the page. Many of the pages followed this same set up, while others featured two letters, each with the same components on a single page, rather than the double-page spread. As such the lay-out of the book was crisp, consistent.


When I got to letter E, I realized that at least 2 of the four lines of each of the poetry rhymed. As such, there is another added layer to the text, including both poetry and expository writing, making it a perfect mentor text for multi-genre writing.


I always love books like this when I find them because they can be read and enjoyed in multiple ways for multiple age groups and reading levels. For example, it is perfectly fine for some readers to simply read the left hand statements, while others will read all of the text, and some might elect to read the right hand text for the information that especially piques their interest.

While this book is appropriate for older primary readers, it would also provide a lot of background information for older students. For example, I can picture it being valuable for middle schoolers interested in any of the various aspects of history mentioned in the book. When reading the information correlated with the letter F, discussing African American's role in wars in the US, I thought about how it would complement books such as Laurie Halse Anderson's Chains. Other pages made me think of Christopher Paul Curtis' books. This is a book that I will want to buy a copy of for my 6th-8th grade classroom library!

Eating the Alphabet

Lois Ehlert is one of the authors that I frequently notice when I am reading resources about emergent literacy, so I wanted to look for her books at our public library. One of them was Eating the Alphabet: Fruits & Vegetables from A to Z.

The end papers have small images of various fruits and vegetables in neatly arranged rows, while the title page has a silly face made out of fruits and vegetables, a sure hook for young kids.

After the following introduction on the first page, "Apple to Zucchini, come take a look. Start eating your way through this alphabet book," the rest of the book features fruits and vegetable words letter by letter, along with colorful watercolor illustrations. Each fruit and vegetable name is written twice, once in all capitals and again in all lower case letters.

Though there are many everyday fruits and vegetables, there are others that are less common, such as: gooseberry, kumquat, quince, and radicchio. Of course, what seems everyday or rare for me could be the opposite for others. Some that are common to me now, such as jicama and mango, were an everyday aspect of my husband's childhood and unknown to me until I was an adult. I love that a book like this can open up conversations with the girls about differences in their parents' childhoods. In a school context, kids could talk about which foods they are familiar with. In addition, I love that the end of the book has a glossary of the fruits and vegetables in the book, providing details about those that had me wondering.

This book has a lot to offer. The use of capitals and lower case can help students become aware of letter counterparts, noticing the connections of different ways to write the same letter. In addition, the book would be a perfect fit for a food themed unit. I especially like that the focus was narrowed to fruits and vegetables, so it could also fit in with a health related unit, rather than just food in general. When my oldest was first born I received Ehlert's Growing Vegetable Soup, which would be a great book to pair up with Eating the Alphabet for food-related units.

Chalk

Chalk by Bill Thomson was the only one of the four wordless books that I read with my daughters, and they absolutely loved it. At first I started by talking about the pictures, but slowly it shifted into telling a story. When I was finished my five-year-old asked me to read it again. The second time I read it more like a story and with more expression for individual characters since I had a better understanding of the big picture. Then, my eight-year-old wanted a turn reading it, followed by my five-year-old, who especially loves to play with different voices.

In the book three kids are walking in the rain. They spot a gift bag hanging from a t-rex at the park (as shown on the cover) and discover that the bag contains chalk. It does not take them long to realize that it is not just ordinary chalk as they discover that whatever they draw on the concrete becomes reality. Their wonder quickly turns to horror as one of the drawings leads to a dangerous scenario, making readers want to flip the page to see just what will happen.

As we sat on the couch after school, flipping through the pages and delighting in the illustrations four different times, I thought more about the value of wordless books. My youngest is still emerging as a reader. Though she knows some sight words and is able to "read" familiar books or books with a lot of patterns, at times I can tell that she doesn't quite feel a part of the reading club yet. She absolutely loves books and enjoys "reading the pictures" but at times I can tell that she can't wait to be able to read the words by herself just like her sister. With a wordless book, the three of us were on equal terms. My youngest was not worrying about not being able to read the words yet, as she was able to focus on the value of creating a story based on the pictures.

An additional benefit is the value in oral rehearsing for writing development. By allowing for multiple variations of the story and developing details about different characters and events, wordless books can support creativity with storytelling. For primary students in a writer's workshop setting, having wordless books in the classroom can help them to foster a higher value for telling a story solely through pictures, especially when that is their stage of development. I am also thinking about the possibilities for collaborations between older students and primary students. For example students from older grades who are able to write stories, could study wordless books as a genre study, create their own books with the younger students as their target audience and then share them with kindergarten or first graders.So many possibilities for wordless books...

Flotsam

Prior to reading the jacket of David Wiesner's Flotsam, I was not aware of the meaning of the word. The wordless book highlights different materials that could be floating in the sea, washing up on shore for people to explore.

When I saw the title page with various objects, including shells and a feather, I thought about how my girls would probably love this book. Then the first page zooms in on a crustacean with a large eye closely examining it in the background. Something about the way it is presented, made me want to laugh, instantly hooking my attention and making me want to see more.

The next page zooms out to show more of the background scene, including the boy looking at the creature through a magnifying glass. Shortly after, the curios boy notices a mysterious camera that has washed up on the beach. That is when the book shifts from realistic to imaginative. He rushes to develop the film inside and sees glimpses into life under the sea. Amazed at what he is seeing, he zooms in to examine the little details of photos using his microscope.

Similar to the other two wordless books that I have reviewed in the series this week, there are many details in the pictures that spark the imagination. Kids would be able to talk about where fact and fiction blend, considering which aspects occur in real life. They can also consider the possibilities of what else might wash up on the shores of beaches and make them excited for a trip to the coast.

*Caldecott Medal Book