Heinemann First Encyclopedia May 25, 2010

Well, I never thought I’d review an encyclopedia, but the Heinemann First Encyclopedia is such an excellent resource that I have to spread the word! Each entry gets a full page which contains images, captions and sometimes labels, fact boxes, “Did you know?” boxes, key dates when appropriate, and basic information written in a straight-forward style. Definitely basic information – World War II is one page.

I used the Heinemann First Encyclopedia to teach nonfiction text features a couple months ago and now the kids are creating riddle pages as part of a Big6 unit. I’m not sure what I would do if I didn’t have this set!

The majority of my library experience is at the high school level and I would think more than twice before I spent a lot of money on a printed encyclopedia for HS students when online encyclopedias are much more up to date and the students are very tech savvy. However, if a 1st grader is researching penguins, a book is an excellent tool – it’s much more efficient than using an online source, plus I don’t have a class set of computers in my library. This encyclopedia is the perfect book because the kids can quickly extract the information they need. The layout is easy to navigate and interesting. The text is written at a primary level and uses an easy-t0-read font. If a 1st grader can’t read all the text, they can definitely get good information from the fact boxes and/or labeled images. The volumes are only 48 pages, which is a great size for kids. It’s a user-friendly encyclopedia that won’t overwhelm kids.

The only drawback to the set is the limited number of entries.  I guess my drawback translates into – I want more of it! I wish there were more entries and more volumes! I wish they would expand the 10 volume set into a 20 volume set! Most of the topics are animals, plants and countries, but they are lacking people. It would be great if they included the most studied people, including world leaders, scientists and pop culture icons.  This review is based on the 1999 edition – Gulp! That’s old! Wait! This just in… The Heinemann website says the new edition published in 2006 has 90 new entries including US Presidents, US states and ancient civilizations and it’s 12 volumes instead of 10! They read my mind! Those are great additions. As a librarian in an international school, I wish they had a more multicultural approach in terms of people. Let’s add some world leaders with the next edition!

If someone asked me what were my top resources for an elementary library, the Heinemann First Encyclopedia would be at the top of the list. It’s a must-have for an elementary school library.

The Very Lazy Ladybug April 18, 2010

The Very Lazy Ladybug by Isolbel Finn & Jack Tickle

This book is perfect for preschool/kinder storytimes. The ladybug in this story is so lazy, she doesn’t even know how to fly. One day decides she wants to sleep somewhere else, but how will she get there? She comes up with a clever idea – hitchhiking on animals that go by. Unfortunately each animal poses a problem. She can’t sleep because the lions roars loudly and the monkey swings all day long, etc. When she lands on an elephant’s trunk, she thinks she’s found the perfect solution until the elephant sneezes which sends her flying and she learns to fly at last. The last page of the book folds out to show the long elephant trunk.

This is one of my new favorite books. The pictures are big and bright and are a great accompaniment to the whimsical storyline. I paired this with Ladybug on the Move by Richard Fowler and a fun activity with a ladybug spot counting song. “Ladybug see what we can do. We can count the spots on you.” I laminated different ladybug images – photos of real ladybugs, felt ladybugs, clip art, a brick ladybug, even a photo of a ladybug computer mouse – and the class counted the spots. Fun!

A Fine, Fine Book! January 24, 2010

A Fine, Fine School by Sharon Creech, Pictures by Harry Bliss (of Diary of a Worm fame).

I love Sharon Creech’s novels. I didn’t realize she also wrote picture books. (I’ve been a HS librarian until recently.) I read this book with grades 2 and 3 last week and every class loved it.

Mr. Keene is the principal of an elementary school. He loves the fine, fine students and fine, fine teachers at his fine, fine school so he decides to have more school! Students attend school on Saturday, but he realizes they could learn even more if they go to the school on Sunday. This continues until he discovers that some learning is done outside of school on our own time. The illustrations are perfect for the text and the kids loved to watch what the dog was up to next!

You can start numerous discussions about too much of a good thing, all things in moderation, balance in life (one of the ESLRs at my school), how we need a break to stay enthusiastic about things, how learning is done all the time, not just at school, etc.

I used this book as part of a lesson on Question-Answer Relationship to enhance reading comprehension. I found the lesson at this amazing website from FCPS Library Instruction Lessons. Check it out – it’s chock full of great lesson ideas! Thanks FCPS librarians! I’m not sure where you’re located, but I really appreciate your wiki site!

Love That Dog! Love That Book! December 9, 2009

Love That Dog by Sharon Creech

Sharon Creech is a terrific writer. No doubt about it. The cover of Love That Dog drew me right in, but when I opened it up and saw that the entire thing was written in free verse, I admit that I was disappointed. I know I should enjoy poetry, but sometimes I just don’t get it, so I shy away from it. But this week I made a major poetry breakthrough! We had Poem in Your Pocket day on Thursday and I loooooved reading fun poetry to classes. Then I read Love That Dog and I did love that dog! So now I’m hip on poetry.

Love That Dog is about a boy named Jack who is writing in a journal for school. He starts out saying that he doesn’t want to write poetry; poetry is for girls. Pretty quickly he writes poems and feels proud when they get put on the bulletin board. Meanwhile he’s reluctant to write about a dog he once had. He eventually writes about his dog and that part gave me actual goosebumps.

What I enjoyed most about the book is that I got an excellent story in such a quick read – I finished it in 20 minutes! Because it is written in prose, every word is valuable. The story never drags. I was pleasantly surprised that I got to know a likeable character and followed him through his school year. It was a fun, thought provoking, emotional read that I think kids will relate to.

Now I want to read Hate The Cat (more about Jack?) and Heartbeat, both my Creech, both written in poetry form.

No Talking November 21, 2009

No Talking by Andrew Clements

I’m embarrassed to say that this is the first book by Andrew Clements I’ve read. I’ve always been intrigued by Frindle, but never got around to it. My excuse is that I’ve been working more with secondary students and spent a lot of time reading books that I could recommend to them. That and there are just so many great books to choose from. Now that I’ve read No Talking, I’m definitely going to put Frindle at the top of my list.

I think finding a read aloud for upper elementary is a difficult task. Teachers make a huge commitment of time and have to hope that it holds the students’ attention. There’s nothing worse than a book that’s dragging on and you’re too far in to stop. I think No Talking would make a perfect read aloud. In fact, I quickly finished it yesterday at my desk so that I could give it to a 3rd grade teacher.

The premise is a simple one – a group of boisterous 5th graders have a 48 hour no-talking contest – boys vs. the girls, of course! They establish rules, such as they can answer an adult, but can only use 3 words at a time. They keep track of infractions and tally up the points. The contest has unpredicted effects on the 5th graders and the entire school. What started out as a dare has turned into a learning experience beyond everyone’s expectations.

I really liked this book for the usual reasons – realistic characters, situations that students can relate to, etc. – and also because it doesn’t deal with any sensitive topics. I’m not saying that addiction, death and other sensitive issues shouldn’t be in children’s books, but sometimes teachers don’t want to deal with those issues in a read aloud. Understandable. This book doesn’t have any sensitive topics, but it’s not fluff. The book starts out light and fun – Who’s going to win? How will they get through Language Arts class while only saying 3 words at a time? Then things go deeper. Dave and Lynsey, the two chatterboxes that started the contest, start to realize things about themselves. Adults have very strong reactions to the children’s silence and make assumptions that aren’t accurate and even take very drastic actions. I think this book would create rich conversations in upper elementary classrooms.

It makes you think.

Monkey Around with Cha-Cha Chimps! November 13, 2009

I read counting and number books with the wee ones this week. Lots of fun choices with that theme! The one that rose to the top was Cha-Cha-Chimps by Julia Durango, illustrations by Eleanor Taylor. Ten little chimps sneak out of bed and hit the Mambo Jamba to dance the night away…or at least until Mama Chimp comes to get them. The rest of the jungle animals strut their moves, too! The kids loved chanting along to “Ee-ee, oo-oo, ah-ah-ah. 10 little chimps do the cha-cha-cha!” The text is so sing-songy  (is that a word?!?) and the illustrations are perfect for the story. The surprise ending will be much appreciated by adults!

Fun Halloween Read Alouds October 29, 2009

I found a unique halloween read aloud that I read to grades 2 – 5. (I’m sure it could be read to younger kids, but I had other titles I read to them.) Everyone loved The Perfect Pumpkin Pie by Denys Cazet, plus I never got tired of reading it! It’s about Mr. Wilkerson who loooooves pie. After he dies he haunts his house looking for the perfect pumpkin pie. “Pumpkins! Pumpkins! Pumpkin Pie! I have to have some before I die!” he chants every time he visits. Jack and his grandma are determined to bake a perfect pie. They finally do, after several attempts, and Ghost Wilkerson is quiet…for awhile. The pictures are funky and the text is repetitive. I think the thing that makes it appealing for the upper elementary is the grandmother. While Jack is afraid of the ghost, his grandmother comes out with some great replies, such as “Yeah, yeah. We’ve heard it all before. Sit down and have some pie.” The kids really cracked up at her!

I re-discovered Big Pumpkin by Erica Silverman, illustrations by S. D. Schindler. It was published in 1995, so nothing new here, but it’s a great read aloud. The kids love the repetition and the characters. They also like my vampire voice! I can’t come up with a good voice for a the other characters, but a vampire accent is so easy!

Another fun Halloween read aloud: The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid of Anything by Linda Williams. Any others? (For those of you who are allowed to read Halloween books…)

Silly Stuff for Older Kids October 6, 2009

I’m a ham. I love to make people laugh. It’s a complete rush to be in a group, crack a one-liner and hear the laughter wash over you. So this post is about funny picture books for upper elementary kids. Actually, the first 2 titles below appeal to younger kids, too, but they are those rare funny picture books that get the 4th and 5th graders howling! If anyone has other suggestions for the upper kids, please let me know. I could always use more  material for that audience!

The first title I recommend is Dog Breath by Dav Pilkey of Captain Underpants fame. Hally has unbelievable bad breath. The Tosis family doesn’t know what to do. (Get it? Hally Tosis! The kids won’t get that part without explanation, but it’s nice to have some adult humor thrown in there!) The kids try everything, including going to a breathless sunset, but nothing works. Then one night something unexpected happens which makes Hally the town hero. Woo-hoo! Go Hally! The story is funny, the pictures are silly, the kids will eat it up!

Diary of a Worm by Doreen Cronin is another silly story. Worm is your typical, garden variety worm – he goes to school, hangs out with his friend Spider, has dreams and desires that include becoming a Secret Service Agent. The illustrations by Harry Bliss (I like to call him Harry Happy!) are perfect. If you read this one, you’ll have to remove the cover so you can show the kids the photos and keepsakes underneath, including Worm’s report card – he got an A in Dirt! This is a kid crowd-pleaser. Cronin also wrote Diary of a Spider. Unfortunately it’s not nearly as funny as a read aloud. Not sure why. It just doesn’t get them giggling like Diary of a Worm. I’ve ordered Diary of a Fly for next year. Hopefully it’s a zinger!

Jon Scieszka is another upper elementary school favorite. The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales doesn’t disappoint! Lane Smith’s crazy illustrations add to the silliness and frenetic feel of this book. Kids crack up at the zany spoofs of classic fairy tales, such as Little Red Riding Shorts, Little Red Hen and, of course, The Stinky Cheese Man. (Who wants to chase something made of smelly cheese?!?) This book is good to use when teaching parts of the book because every part of the book is brought under scrutiny, even the ISBN! Also try The True Story of the Three Little Pigs; Science Verse; and  Math Curse all by the same team.

Magyk is Magic! September 30, 2009

I’ve always been intrigued by the cover of Magyk by Angie Sage, but, I’ll be shamefully honest here, the length of the book has been a turn off. I love to read, but I’m like a kid – thick books intimidate me! A fifth grade girl recommended Magyk to me a couple weeks ago, so I finally read it and boy am I glad I did. The first chapter hooks you right in and the action never stops.

The story is about Septimus Heap – the 7th son of the 7th son in a family of wizards. A midwife declares Septimus dead when he is only hours old and whisks him away. Meanwhile, Silas Heap (the father of Septimus) finds an infant baby girl in the snow and brings her home. They mourn the loss of their son and raise the girl as their own. But what really happened to Septimus and who is the girl they now call Jenna? The story is a magykal journey of good versus evil. When you reach the end, all the way down on page 608, you’ll be happy to find out there are 4 more books in the series: Flyte, Physik, Queste, Syren.

-by Colleen Williams