6 Authors You Should Know

Here’s a list of 6 authors that I think are excellent writers.  You should check out some of their books if you haven’t already!

1. Jerry Spinelli: I wasn’t too familiar with Spinelli before this semester, but after reading Maniac Mcgee and Crash, I became a big fan of his writing.  I think he tells stories with a diverse variety of characters, whom he wonderfully describes and brings to life.  I’m hoping to read some other Spinelli books, particularly Milkweed and Wringer in the near future.

2. C.S. Lewis: Lewis was an expert storyteller.  He really knew how to tell a tale about an exciting adventure or journey.  I think his Chronicles of Narnia series is excellent.  I also found it quite fun to read about the mythical creatures in Lewis’ stories, including centaurs, fauns, marsh-wiggles, and dragons.  It definitely gets your imagination going! 

3. Roald Dahl: Dahl was an extremely creative writer.  He had a very interesting and unique sense of humor that not all will enjoy, but it certainly appeals to me.  Dahl wrote some great books, including The BFG, Matilda, and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.  Quentin Blake illustrated most of Dahl’s stories, and his pictures are very unique.

4. Lois Lowry: I read some of her Giver series this semester, Gathering Blue and Messenger, and enjoyed them quite a bit. I also was impacted by Number the Stars when we read it as a class in elementary school.

Lois Lowry, author of The Giver, at her home in Cambridge, MA

5. Eric Carle: Everybody should read at least one of Carle’s books.  He is an amazingly talented author and illustrator who has some excellent works, including The Very Hungry Caterpillar and The Mixed-Up Chameleon.  Very unique illustrations that kids love.

6.Mark Ludy: I had never heard of Ludy before this semester but ended up reading one of his books, The Farmer.  I thought it was a great story with wonderful illustrations.  I need to check out some of his other books, like Noah and The Flower Man.

 

Top Ten Books I want to Read

I was able to read quite a few good stories this semester, but there’s still a lot more out there!  Ten books that I’m interested in reading (in no particular order):

1. Milkweed by Jerry Spinelli: I became a big fan of Spinelli’s writing this semester.  The book takes place in Poland during World War II.

2. My Father’s Dragon by Ruth Stiles Gannett: The cover really interested me, with the reds and blues.  It’s about a child rescuing a baby dragon on an island.

3. Frog and Toad Together, Frog and Toad All Year, Days with Frog and Toad by Arnold Lobel: I thought the first Frog and Toad book, Frog and Toad Are Friends, was excellent and very funny.

4. The Last Battle by C.S. Lewis: I’ve read quite a few of the Chronicles of Narnia series this semester but haven’t gotten to the 7th and final book yet.

5. Son by Lois Lowry: I read the second (Gathering Blue) and third (Messenger) of Lowry’s The Giver series but still need to check out Son, the grand finale.  Hopefully it’s a good book, the cover below says it’s “thrilling!”

6. The Crossover by Kwame Alexander: I saw this book on one of my fellow student’s Top Ten lists, and it caught my interest.  I haven’t read a basketball book in a while, and it sounds very unique.

7. The Snowy Day by Ezra Jacks Keats: Winner of the 1963 Caldecott Medal looks like a very fun book!

8. Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! by Mo Willems: I noticed this book in a few of my classmate’s blog posts, and Willems seems like a very good writer.

9. Grandpa Green by Lane Smith: Looks like an unique book.  Goodreads calls it “a timeless story of family history, legacy, and love.”

10. Finding Winnie by Lindsay Mattick and illustrated by Sophie Blackall: Seems like a very fun story about the origin of Winnie-the-Pooh.

Top 10 Books Everyone Should Read

After thinking for a while and looking over the stories I’ve read this semester, here’s a list of 10 books that I would strongly recommend reading, in no particular order:

1. The BFG by Roald Dahl: Funny and goofy book about the Big Friendly Giant, who blows dreams into the rooms of sleeping children.  Dahl had such a creative mind.

2. Frog and Toad are Friends by Arnold Lobel: Fun and entertaining short stories about an amphibious friendship.  I really like Lobel’s humor.

3. Owl in the Cedar Tree by Natachee Scott Momaday: Tells the story of Haska, who is a boy from the Navaho tribe, and his family.  A very interesting story that shows some of the culture of the Navaho people.

4. Number the Stars by Lois Lowry: A very powerful story about a family that endured the terrible Holocaust.

5. The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis: Classic story about the 4 kids who enter the magical world of Narnia and go on an exciting journey.  Lewis is an excellent writer.

6. Dreamer by Pam Munoz Ryan and Peter Sis: Good fictional story about the childhood of poet Pablo Neruda, and how he overcame a rough childhood and unkind father.

7. Holes by Louis Sachar: I really enjoyed this story in my younger days.  Great group of characters with awesome nicknames, like Armpit, Caveman, X-ray, and Magnet.  It was very nice how the book all came together at the end.  The movie is also good.

8. Redwall by Brian Jacques: Excellent book that I read a long time ago.  The mouse Matthias, along with his allies, is tasked with defeating the evil rat Cluny.  There’s a nice collection of characters as well.9. The Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg: A classic tale of a boy that goes aboard the Polar Express, traveling to the North Pole.  The boy meets Santa Claus and receives a bell as a gift.  Good illustrations too.

10. The One and Only Ivan: Very unique book that tells the story of Ivan, a captive gorilla.  It’s quite cool that the book is based on a true story and told through the unique perspective of an animal.

Top 10 Reads of the Semester

Of the many good books I’ve read this semester, these ten were my favorite:

1. Maniac Mcgee by Jerry Spinelli: I thought it was an excellent story about a homeless kid, who even slept in the zoo, with a very positive outlook on life.  I really liked the characters too, including Grayson and the Beales.2. Frog and Toad are Friends by Arnold Lobel: Well told and quite funny short stories about the adventures of two friends.3. Extra Yarn by Mac Barnett: A creative and interesting story about a little girl who starts knitting.  I thought the illustrations were wonderfully unique and very cool.4. Crash by Jerry Spinelli: Teaches a good lesson about bullying with the story about how Crash went from picking on Penn to being his best friend.  Spinelli is a great writer.5. The Horse and his Boy by C.S. Lewis: An exciting adventure involving a runaway boy named Sasha and his new horse Bree.6. The Farmer by Mark Ludy: Picture book with great illustrations that tells the story of a kind, hard-working farmer who overcomes the damage to his crops.7. The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis: Most well-known Chronicles of Narnia books about a great battle between good and evil with some most fascinating characters.8. The Sign of the Beaver by Elizabeth George Speare: A 12-year old boy named Matt is left alone in the Maine wilderness.  He becomes friends with a Native American named Attean and is able to survive in his cabin until his family returns.9. The Silver Chair by C.S. Lewis: Tells about the great journey Jill, Eustace, and Puddleglum have while trying to find the lost Prince Rilian.  A good plot with some quite creative and unique characters, especially the marsh-wiggles.10. Anatole by Eve Titus: A fun, short book about a mouse named Anatole who helps out a cheese factory with his skillful cheese-tasting abilities.

It’s Monday! What are you reading?

This week I read another Chronicles of Narnia book, Prince Caspian.  I thought that it was a pretty good story, although some parts weren’t too interesting.

The book begins with the children of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy, who are now a little bit older, waiting at a railway station on their way back to school.  Suddenly, all four are magically brought into the land of Narnia, where they once ruled as Kings and Queens.  They appear on an island, which they explore for a while.  Eventually the four come to the ruins of an old abandoned castle, which they determine used to be the castle where they used to rule Narnia (Time goes much faster in Narnia than on Earth).

The four hear a noise in the water along the island and see two soldiers who are going to drown a dwarf.  Susan, an excellent archer, shoots an arrow that hits one of the soldier’s helmets.  The dwarf, whose name is Trumpkin, gets away safely and thanks the four for their help.  Trumpkin explains that the Telmarines and King Miraz have overtaken Narnia since the four left.  However, Miraz’s nephew, Prince Caspian, is the one who should be on the throne.  Under Miraz’s rule, talking animals and other magical creatures, like dwarfs, fauns, and centaurs, have been oppressed and treated very unfairly.  The ones that are still living are in hiding.  The talking animals and the good creatures of Narnia support Caspian and want to make him King.

Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy were brought back into Narnia to help Caspian overthrow his uncle Miraz and become the new King.  With the aid of the Great Lion Aslan, the four are able to lead an army to conquer Miraz’s people.

Prince Caspian is a good story for the most part.  I liked reading about the new characters, such as Trufflehunter (a kindhearted badger), Pattertwig (a talkative squirrel), and Reepicheep (a funny mouse warrior).  Lewis was a great writer and definitely knew how to tell the story of an exciting adventure.

Mock Newbery and Caldecott

Mock Caldecotts and Mock Newberys seem to be great things for teachers to involve their classroom in.  I think I would like to try a Mock Caldecott.  It sounds like an excellent learning opportunity for the students.  After reading the three Mock Caldecott posts on The Busy Librarian‘s blog, I can see that there would be many advantages and positive outcomes of a Mock Caldecott.

I thought that it was cool that the students learned some of the history of the Caldecott Award.  It’s always good to learn about the past and can be quite interesting too.  I also liked that the students created and designed their own medals for the mock award.  Seems to be a great way for the class to be artistic and creative!  I could definitely see students getting excited to read the next book on the list.  The books should be very good too, as they are potential award-winners.

One potential challenge that I could see for a Mock Caldecott would be difficulty getting the top books of the year for the students to read.  Some schools might not have access to libraries with a good amount of books.  Teachers may have to order some of the books or find other ways to bring the stories to class.

Overall though, I believe that Mock Caldecotts are excellent ideas for classrooms and can help students become more motivated to read.

I looked at Mr. Schu’s list of nominees for the 2016 Caldecott Award.  Three books that got my attention and looked interesting to me on his list were:

1. Finding Winnie: The True Story of the World’s Most Famous Bear by Lindsay Mattick and illustrated by Sophie Blackall
2. By Mouse and Frog by Deborah Freedman
3. Toys Meet Snow by Emily Jenkins and Paul O. Zelinsky

It’s Monday! What are you reading?

This week I read another one of the Chronicles of Narnia books, The Silver Chair by C.S. Lewis.  The book starts off with two kids, one a girl named Jill Pole and the other a boy named Eustace Scrubb.  They both unfortunately go to school at Experiment House, which is full of bullies.  One day Jill and Eustace are together and some bullies come chasing them.  When the two are running away, they find an entrance to a new world and enter it.  They end up in the magical world of Narnia, and their journey begins.

After a short while in Narnia, Jill meets Aslan, the Great Lion.  Aslan explains to Jill that she, along with Eustace, are to find the lost prince of Narnia, Rilian.  Rilian has been missing for ten years.  Aslan tells Jill 4 signs that she and Eustace must look out for.  The King of Narnia, Caspian, desperately wants to find Rilian.  King Caspian is quite old and decides that he must search for his son Rilian, the heir to his throne.  Jill and Eustace see Caspian departing on a ship to look for Rilian when they first arrive at the King’s castle.

Jill and Eustace are not alone on their quest to find Prince Rilian.  They get help from large, talking owls at the beginning of the story, who carry the two to their next destination, the marshes of northern Narnia.  Their they meet a Marsh-wiggle named Puddleglum.  Puddleglum goes along with the other two for the rest of their adventure, providing a lot of help.  I really like Puddleglum and thought he was an excellent character.  He’s very funny but always seems to be most pessimistic.  Anyways, I thought C.S. Lewis did  a great job adding the creative Marsh-wiggle character.

Jill, Eustace, and Puddleglum travel across Narnia searching for the signs that Aslan had told them to look for.  Their journey takes them many places, including a castle home to immense giants and deep underground in the Underworld.  They eventually do find Prince Rilian, who is enslaved by an evil witch.  Rilian has been enchanted by the witch, becoming brainwashed.  The only time that Rilian is able to think right and be sane is for a short period during the night.  The witch has him bound to a silver chair, tied up so he can’t move every night so that he doesn’t try to escape when his enchantment isn’t working.

I don’t want to tell if Jill, Eustace, and Puddleglum are able to free the prince.  I thought it was a pretty good story about an exciting adventure.  I also liked the creativity and uniqueness of the characters.  Lewis is a very good writer, and I would recommend his books for sure!

Eustace, Jill, Prince Rilian, and Puddleglum below:

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading!

This week I read Messenger, the 3rd book in Lois Lowry’s The Giver series.  The main character in the book is a boy named Matty, who lives in “Village” with an older blind man named Seer.  Matty discovers he has a special Gift one day when he is out in Forest.  Leader, who is, well the leader of Village, instructs Matty to save his gift; he explains that he’ll know when the time is right.  Village is a peaceful place where everyone is welcomed and treated with respect.  Many people who had difficult and painful lives in their old communities escaped to Village to live a better life.  This includes Seer, who was beaten and hurt so badly that he became blind, who was helped and nursed to health by members of Village.

Lately, however, Matty has noticed a bad change in Village.  One citizen, Mentor, who used to be a very kindhearted and warm person, seems to becoming corrupt and evil.  Other Village members are also changing for the worse.  Once unthinkable, Village citizens vote to close the borders of the community and not let any new travelers in.  After the vote, Village will close to outsiders in a few weeks.  Seer realizes that it’s the last chance for his daughter, Kira, to make the journey across Forest and come to live with him.

Matty is the messenger for Village and is responsible for posting notices in Forest to tell travelers that Village’s borders are closing.  Seer also asks Matty to bring Kira, who lives in the same community that both Seer and Matty used to call home, back with him.  He packs his supplies up and gets ready for the adventure.  Matty is a very experienced traveler in Forest and knows every trail and path.  He puts the messages up around Forest and successfully makes it to Kira’s house.  Kira, Matty, and Matty’s puppy Frolic enter Forest on their way to Village.  However, Forest is also changing.  The trees and vegetation are closing in around them, making it difficult to breath.  Swamps cover some of the trails that were once easy to walk on.  Vines grow rapidly and literally attack the three travelers, violently wrapping around them.  Acidic sap from the vines burns Matty’s arms, but they continue on.  They become very weak, and all hope seems to be lost.  Will Matty and Kira make it through Forest alive?

I thought that the story was pretty good, and that I enjoyed the adventure through Forest, but I have to say that the ending was quite sad.

Author Visits

I have never used Skype before, but after reading Messner’s “The Skyping Renaissance,” I can see that there would be many advantages to using Skype in the classroom.  I think kids would definitely get more excited to read a book if they knew that they would be Skyping the author later.  Kids love to use technology, and I believe most would enjoy Skype very much.  Being able to talk to the author face-to-face and being able to ask him/her questions is a great learning opportunity for both students and teachers.  There would be many interesting bits of information and useful tips that the author could provide.

I liked how the article talked about how some students would feel more comfortable “interacting with an author onscreen,” and how Skyping could increase participation.  It was very cool to read about the “selectively mute” girl who asked a question during a Skype with author Lisa Schroeder.  It seems that Schroeder was also positively impacted by the interaction, as she called it a “wonderful surprise.”

There are quite a few authors that I think would be cool to invite to talk with the students on Skype.  Unfortunately, four of the authors who have written books that I really enjoy, Theodor Geisel, Arnold Lobel, C.S. Lewis, and Roald Dahl, aren’t alive anymore.  Other authors that I think could teach the students some great things are Jerry Spinelli, Lois Lowry, and Eric Carle.

As a teacher, I would like to set up at least one Skype author visit during the school-year.  I feel like the advantages of using Skype for an author visit outweigh the potential disadvantages.