The Third Carnival of Children's Literature

When I started Book Moot about two years ago, I could not find many blogs about children's literature. Now just look at the length of the blogroll! It seems like every day I find a new one. My newer additions are GottaBook, Students for Literacy Ottawa, Magic of Books, Wands and Worlds and Farm School.

Today also sees The Third Carnival of Children's Literature hosted by Sherry at Semicolon. The focus this month is Poetry. Sherry has done a great job of organizing the submissions!

Poetry and the very young

As I pondered a submission to the Third Carnival of Children's Literature, I realized that I do not talk much about poetry. That is so odd because there is nothing more pleasant or pleasing to read with kids than poems or rhymes. My keenest memories of my own mother reading to me are when she read poems. Poetry just flows off the tongue and I always enjoyed reading it aloud to my own kids.



We recently gifted a new mother-to-be with My Very First Mother Goose by Iona Opie, illustrated by Rosemary Wells. When we asked her if there was a bookcase in the baby’s room, she said there was one in the closet. We told that met the minimal standard but she needed to acquire one to be placed in plain sight, ASAP.

I wonder how many folks think of a bookcase as required "baby room" furnishings along with a changing table and crib? Were Treebeard and I just odd?

A while back, to go with a family member's nursery “theme” of Winnie-the-Pooh, I found some letters, decorated with the Shepard Pooh characters (not Disney) that sit on a dresser to spell out the child’s name. Only, I did not buy my niece’s name.
I bought four letters, R – E – A – D.
It is such a pain having a librarian as an aunt.

I loved reading Mother Goose to children. It stood me in good stead when I started as a school librarian because I could recite them from memory, all of them, even the obscure ones. I always felt like the kindergarteners who could say them along with me were going to be AOK with reading. The children I worried about were the ones who had the “Jack and Jill, who? / Humpty Dumpty did WHAT? ” look on their faces.



Goodnight Moon flows like poetry. That is a book that always invited a, “read it again, please?” and I never minded. I can recite that one from memory too.

Music and children's literature

Read Roger: Singing Our Song
Roger Sutton is pondering popular songs with allusions, lines, imagery etc. from children's books. The comments are full of suggestions. I love blogs and the community of ideas they attract.

Reading aloud is fun!

I've spent the past three days subbing at a local elementary. I had fun with great kids and some great read alouds.



The Wolf who Cried Boy by by Bob Hartman, illustrated by Tim Raglin, 2002

This twist on the fable, The Boy who Cried Wolf, is great fun to share with kids. The young wolf does not appreciate his mom's cooking. He is tired of sloppy does, three-pig-salad and lamburgers. He really wants some "boy" for dinner but his dad tells him they are hard to find in the woods these days. Over the next two days, little wolf cries "Boy!" in an attempt to get his parents to comb the forest for the non-existent meal and therefore delay dinner. Later, when an entire boy scout troop comes marching through the forest, the little wolf cannot get his parents to look, even as one creeps into their cave and sits on their sofa.

I Wanna Iguana by by Karen Kaufman Orloff, illustrated by David Catrow, 2004

Teachers can look to this story as a great example of persuasive writing. Young Alex is trying to pursuade his mother to let him adopt an iguana. In a series of hilarious notes between Alex and his mother, a negotiation of the terms and conditions of pet ownership is hammered out. There is a "money" page (the point where the whole class bursts out in raucous laughter.) David Catrow illustrations are wonderfully comic. One young listener observed, "That kid is really weird looking." The last page evoked a class wide, arm pumping "Yesssss..." along with Alex. Great fun!

Gator Gumbo by Candace Fleming, illustrated by Sally Anne Lambert, 2004

This Cajun-style version of the little red hen has a real twist at the end of the story. There are wonderful rhythms and repeats that invite listeners to chant along with the story. Kids who are used to "happy, clappy" endings were open-mouth when has some of the characters come to a very bad end! I love cautionary tales!

Heat

Heat by Mike Lupica, 2006

Mike Lupica is a sports columnist and television sports commentator as well as an author of sixteen fiction and nonfiction books. It appears this is his second book for younger readers.

This book is going to the top of my "gotta have it" list. (School librarians, open your Titlewave or BTSB or Mackin account and put Heat on your "To be Purchased" list right now.)

I love this book. When I had to put it down, I worried about the characters and longed to get back to it.

Twelve-year-old Michael Arroyo has an amazing pitching arm. Refugees from Cuba, he and his older brother Carlos and their Papi have settled in the Bronx. Michael plays Little League baseball and dodges questions about his father's where-abouts. The family dream has been to live free and to get to the Little League World Series in Williamsport, PA. Michael's team is on track to make that World Series dream come true when a rival team attempts to short-circuit their run by demanding Michael prove his age with an official birth certificate (knowing the difficulties obtaining one from Cuba.) Michael and Carlos are eking out a fragile existence without their dad and the authorities are getting curious. In the meantime, a mystery girl named Ellie is hanging out at the ball field and Michael is obsessed with finding out who she is.

Every character in this book rang true for me. Manny, Michael's friend and catcher, is hilarious. Carlos is working as hard as he can to earn money so Michael can keep playing summer ball. Michael emulates the legendary pitcher, El Grande, who plays for the Yankees. Yankee Stadium looms nearby like a shrine they long to enter.

The villains on the rival baseball team are truly despicable. The grownups in this story are kind and helpful. The reader gets to sit in the stands and watch terrific baseball. I held my breath on every pitch. Heat is a heart-felt story and a beautiful ode to Little League baseball. I am off to find Travel Team.

Author: Kate DiCamillo

Hannah Storm interviews Kate DiCamillo on the CBS Early Show. The video is online. The video shows children lining up to have their books signed and one little girl just leans across the table to hug DiCamillo's arm. Pretty sweet!

DiCamillo's terrific sense of humor does not come through partly because of Storm's questions and the editing but it is fun to see her. I was fortunate to hear DiCamillo accept her Texas Bluebonnet Award for Because of Winn Dixie in 2002 and her speech remains one of the best "author" talks I have ever heard.

Gotta have it...

One of the joys of subbing at a school library is finding great books I didn't know about. I also enjoy recommending books I've read and then walking over to the shelf to find them. One of the frustrations is recommending a book for only to find the library does not own it.

I am going to start keeping a list of "gotta have it" books for my "virtual" school library. I would purchase these books for an elementary AND jr. high library unless specifically noted, (E) - elementary only, (JH) - jr. high only.


Story Picture Books
Little Sap and Monsieur Rodin by Michelle Lord, 2006
My Shining Star: Raising a Child who is Ready to Learn by Rosemary Well, 2006
The True Story of Stellina by by Matteo Pericoli, 2006
Duck & Goose, written and illustrated by Tad Hills (E)
Diary of a Spider by Doreen Cronin
Our Tree Named Steve by Alan Zweibel, David Catrow, illustrator

Nonfiction
ER Vets: Life in an Animal Emergency Room by Donna M. Jackson (E)
Sky Boys: How they built the Empire State Building, by Deborah Hopkinson & James E. Ransome (E)

Fiction
London Calling by Edward Bloor, 2006 (JH)
Travel Team by Mike Lupica, 2004
Ptolemy's Gate by Jonathan Stroud, 2006
Ark Angel by Anthony Horowitz, 2006
Enthusiasm by Polly Shulman, 2006 (JH+)
Heat by Mike Lupica, 2006
Free Baseball by Sue Corbett, 2006
B For Buster by Iain Lawrence
The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan and the sequel The Sea of Monsters
Peter and the Starcatchers by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson
Babymouse series by Jennifer L. Holm & Matthew Holm
A House of Tailors by Patricia Riley Giff,
Skybreaker by Kenneth Oppel (seqel to Airborn)
Shakespeare's Secret by Elise Broach
Last Shot by John Feinstein
Jimmy Coates: Assassin? by Joe Craig
The Sea of Trolls by Nancy Farmer
Happy Kid by Gail Gauthier (JH)
The Bridesmaid by Hailey Abbott (JH)
Code Orange by Caroline B. Cooney (JH)
Chicks with Sticks: It's a Purl Thing by Elizabeth Lenhard (JH)
Blood Red Horse by K. M. Grant (JH)

Update: Judson School District

Update from the San Antionio Express-News:

The critically acclaimed novel "The Handmaid's Tale" was reinstated to Judson Independent School District's Advanced Placement curriculum after board members voted 5-2 Thursday in favor of the move.

This has been a very educational experience for the students at Judson High School. Senior Craig Gagne eloquently asked:

"If we do ban 'The Handmaid's Tale' because of sexual content, then why not ban 'Huckleberry Finn' for racism? Why not ban 'The Crucible' for witchcraft? Why not ban 'The Things They Carried' for violence and why not ban the Bible and argue separation of church and state?" Gagne asked board members. "All the books I just mentioned are part of the 11th-grade Judson High School English curriculum. I read and appreciated all of these books and would like future classes to have the same privilege."

Apple Computer

Not book related (except I listen to children's books on my IPod) but I have to tip my hat to Apple Computer.

College Entling came home for spring break with a dead IPod. She called Apple who had the shipping box here the next day. We sent the IPod back the next day. The 3rd day, College Entling had a minute by minute reporting from Apple on their exam and diagnosis and then a message that the IPod was being shipped back. Today, day 4, the IPod, Ara Linde, has arrived home.

Now THAT is customer service! I'm impressed.

(FYI, Ara Linde is Elvish for "Noble Singer.")

Author: Blue Balliett

Chasing Vermeer is a book that I enjoyed reading but has not held up very well in my memory as time goes by. I think a great deal of the book's success comes from Brett Helquist's brilliant illustrations and puzzles and its billing as a kids' DaVinci Code.

I will be very interested to read the sequel, The Wright 3, about Frank Lloyd Wright’s Robie House, which is due out in April. Helquist is doing the illustrations again. Balliett's fine arts subjects are dear to my heart and her characters, Petra, Calder and Tommy are very likeable. Publisher's Weekly has a very informative and interesting article about the books.

... “something interesting happened when I finished Chasing Vermeer,” said Balliett. “Calder and Petra were still very alive in my imagination; they were talking in there. Either I wasn’t through with them, or they weren’t through with me.” She took this creative nudge as an opportunity to give the characters “a completely different kind of art challenge. The Robie House is right in this neighborhood [Hyde Park, where Balliett lives], right in their neighborhood,” she explained. “I began looking at it as a huge, 3-D piece of art that allows kids the chance to walk around inside it and see it in different weather and different light; it encourages them to think about art in a new way.”