African American Read-In

Thursday morning I had the opportunity to read to a class of fourth grade students at one of our schools. The 8th Annual African American History Month Read-In appeared to be a great success. Readers from the community met in the library where the library tech, Mrs. Jackson, had placed some of her best titles by and about African Americans. Sorting them by interest level was helpful to the folks who came to read. A welcome was given by the principal, Ms. Dean, and everyone was invited to have some refreshments before walking to the classrooms.

The organizers (Mrs. Jackson and Ms. Leach) of the annual read-in had arranged for students in grades 4 and 5 to escort us to our assigned classes. What a polite group they were! They walked up to perfect strangers, extended their hands and introduced themselves. The former principal, Ms. Madden, along with their community partner, the US Navy, were among the many adults who would be reading to the students. Mrs. Jackson’s own husband and older sons and one of their friends were among the many men who were readers. I overheard an officer encourage his people to visit the school more often. I hope they will.

When it was time to go to our classes, our escorts led the way. My class was a fourth grade class whose teacher is Ms. Snow. Students quickly gathered at my feet for a story. Today I chose (and choosing is always the hardest thing) to read about the Negro Baseball League. I read Floyd Cooper’s new book, Willie and the All-Stars. I talked to them about Cooper's form of art-subtraction process. He has a very distinct look to his award winning works.

We talked about how times were different. They had so many questions about the time, the players and Wrigley Field. This was obviously a class of good readers and writers. They were thinking as I was reading. Of course, one student told me that maybe the book was too difficult for me when I stumbled on the words. I told him, No. That’s just age and vanity. I ought to have on my classes when I am reading.”

Another book I shared with them is the Sibert winning We are the Ship by Kadir Nelson, one of San Diego’s own. This is a sure fire hit and must-read for all ages. The students actually said “Wow” when I opened the book to the first painting. I have listed the other books I shared at the end of this entry. Be sure to check them out.

Ms. Snow has apparently been working hard, as students knew about hyperboles and third person narratives. The students talked about the author’s purpose. We talked about the details of the story and what they liked. One young lady talked about how she liked how Willie could visualize himself playing ball, even while walking in the street. Students had lots of prior knowledge about Rosa Parks and Ruby Bridges. They wanted to know if the story was in the time of Martin Luther King. So many questions!

I talked about my job- both at the school district and “on the road.” We talked about writing and where writers get ideas. I keep a notebook and pen with me all the time. Age and a full plate do not add up to a good memory. When I have an idea for a story, I jot it down. For example, just this week I got an idea for a story. As I was gardening in my window box, I found more than dead plants- something with reptilian skin. It turned out to be a big lizard, hibernating in the dirt. So, quick as I could breathe again, I jotted it into my notebook. I suggested that they do the same with things that they think about or things that happen to them. Stories come from things we see. Things we hear. Things we think about.

In the end, this visit was one of the brightest spots in my over-full week. The program was organized. It was well supported by the community. So many men came to read to the students. We were welcomed and guided to our classes. Students were interested and full of knowledge. It did my heart a world of good. Now when can I go back??

Here’s what I read and/or shared:
The blacker the berry : poems -- Thomas, Joyce Carol. {IL K-3, 811} -- Joanna Cotler Books, 2008., RL 2.9, 32p
A collection of poems, including "Golden Goodness," "Cranberry Red," and "Biscuit Brown," celebrating individuality and African American identity. Winner of the CSK Illustrator Award 2009

Satchel Paige : don't look back -- Adler, David A. {IL K-3, 796.357} -- Harcourt, 2007., RL 4.5, 32p

Colorful illustrations and simple text tell the story of the life and baseball career of legendary pitcher Satchel Paige from his time with the Negro Leagues to his years with the American League.

Satchel Paige : striking out Jim Crow -- Sturm, James. {IL 5-8, 741.5} -- Hyperion/Jump at the Sun, 2007., RL 5.6, 89p

A graphic novel account of the career of Negro League pitcher Satchel Paige, discussing the show he put on as a popular player, as well as the respect he demanded as an African-American.

Stealing home : Jackie Robinson, against the odds -- Burleigh, Robert. {IL K-3, 796.357} -- Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2007., RL 5.9, 32p

Presents a brief biography of legendary baseball player for the old Brooklyn Dodgers, Jackie Robinson, who, in 1947, became the first African-American to play in major league baseball.

We are the ship : the story of Negro League baseball -- Nelson, Kadir. {IL 3-6, 796.357} -- Jump at the Sun/Hyperion, 2008., RL 6, 88p

Explores the history of Negro League baseball teams, discussing owners, players, hardships, wins, and losses. Winner of the Sibert Award, CSK Author and Illustrator Honor 2009

Willie and the All-Stars -- Cooper, Floyd. {IL K-3, -E-} -- Philomel Books, 2008., RL 3.3, 32p

Willie, a boy growing up on the north side of Chicago in 1942, is disheartened when a neighbor tells him his skin color prohibits him from ever realizing his dream of playing professional baseball, but his hopes are revived when he sees an exhibition game at Wrigley Field between an all-star Negro League team and players from the Major Leagues.

Connecting Parents, Kids and Books

In our school district, one of our most successful projects has been our Parent Child book clubs. Even in the dead of winter we have had 40 parents and students in a middle school attend so that they can talk about books they don’t even have to read. There’s no grade. There’s no test… When I talk about the clubs on the road, usually the room goes still. It’s that moment during the day when you know you have everyone’s attention. So before I head out again (I leave for Pittsburgh on Sunday.), I thought I would write about how our book clubs work.

How do your book clubs work?
Once a month on a Thursday at 6:30 one of our middle school book clubs meets for “an hour.” It is never only an hour. Usually folks drift off by 8:00. We read one or two books each month. The Teacher Librarian at the school sends an email reminder a day or so before the meeting. Group participants are now bringing a snack to share and we provide a drink. (It’s a good way to try new recipes and gives ownership to our members.)

What do you do on Book Night?
When they arrive, they sign in using Survey Monkey, which gives us records that we can read, emails and the like. They get a snack and wander over to our activity area. Each month, we choose an activity that correlates with the books. Then we spend the rest of the hour talking about the books we read. There is no set list of questions. It's very informal. At the end of the hour (or so) we booktalk the next titles and talk about what we will do then. Participants pick up the new titles and return the current ones.

Last month we read only one book, Schooled by Gordon Korman. We played sixties music as they entered and left the library. We asked them to bring a healthy snack to share and wear hippy clothes if they would like. I taught them how to make a beaded bracelet- using hemp rope, of course. Then we talked about the book. I thought with only one book, we would be out pretty quickly. But nope, we were there until 8:00, talking about one book.

What if they don't want to talk?
We have observed that some people want to comment, but are shy about speaking in front of a group. We have addressed that in a couple of ways. One is that we provide pencils and paper for comments and “pass the jar.” We randomly read comments or questions before we leave. Sometimes we do door prizes. The teacher librarian also set up a blog so that parents and students can write what they think throughout the month.

What do you read?
At this particular school, we start with the ALA award winners for middle school. You might also look at the Notable Lists. Then we move onto the nominees for our state book award program- CYRA. After that we read student suggested books and other books that are just fun to read. On our last meeting of the year, we take time to make a list of what we might like to read next year.

Where do you get the funding?
The PTA truly supports this program. Parents can see the impact this program makes because they are there. We use proceeds from the book fair. We have an Instructional Media Center in our district which orders class sets of books for everyone to check out. That’s another potential place for getting multiple copies. Another middle school recently worked with the public library to round up enough copies for her program. We usually choose books that are in paperback. We don't always barcode and check them out. Sometimes we contribute to the "literacy of the neighborhood."

You can also try Scholastic Literacy Partnerships. After registering you can receive up to 75% off the cost of their books. Visit their website to learn about the benefits. You might also try a grant from Donors Choose. They are very easy to complete when you keep in mind that what you are asking for benefits the students.

Do you have to read the same book?
No, you don’t. Some book clubs just meet to talk about what they are reading. They swap books with each other. The most important thing is choice and that they are talking about books. You might even try a virtual book club by using a blog. Go to a site like Blogger.com to sign up for a free site. You can also meet before school, at lunch or after school.

Final tips
1. The most important thing is choice. Choice to read. Choice to attend. Not every club member will read for every meeting. Attendance can’t be mandatory. It's not a class.
2. Invite ownership by allowing them to suggest titles, bring food, lead in activities.
Send reminders a day or so before.
3. Monitor success. Perhaps it isn’t well attended because of the time of day. What else would work?
4. Advertise. The more who know the more you will grow.
5. Feed them and they will come. Who wouldn't want to eat in the library??
6. Allow them to write, draw or create while you talk. Not everyone can listen and “be still.” It’s a club, not a class.
7. Have prepared questions in case there is a big lull, but don’t rush the silence. Usually someone else will fill it in.
8. Have a related activity.
9. Booktalk books that are similar. If you like this one…

Print resources

Read The Kids’ Book Club Book: Reading Ideas, Recipes, Activities, and Smart Tips for Organizing Terrific Kids’ Book Clubs by Judy Gelman and Vicki Levy Krupp.

See other ideas in Esme Codell’s book, How to Get you Child to Love Reading.

Through the Fence

Recently I saw a preview showing of The Boy in the Striped Pajamas- based on the book by John Doyne (2006). It took me days to shake the movie off. I remember people sat in the theater without moving or talking for several minutes after the credits rolled. Usually I am the last to leave. Not so, this time. When people finally pulled themselves together enough to leave, they began to talk. They talked of Bruno. They talked of the boy he met through the fence.

There is a new book out this year- a picture book for older readers, also about two kids and a fence. A fence that surrounds a work camp near a small village in Germany. Based on a true story, Angel Girl by Laurie Friedman (2008) tells the story of a boy who was sent to a work camp where a young farm girl met him at the fence and brought him apples. It may not have the ending you expect, but you will be all the better for it.

Suggestion? Read it after The Boy in the Striped Pajamas. It won’t take away the horrors of that story, but it will remind you that sometimes a good deed is rewarded.

By the way, I was able to see an advance screening through Grace Hill Media. Sign up with them and you can get invitations (first come first served seating) at many movies you might share with kids. I also get invitations from Walden Media. Sign up for their newsletter too. Both sites have links to discussion guides and many other resources that you might use. Publishers Weekly has a Children's Bookshelf Newsletter that will keep you in the know about what books are being made into movies. See the movie, but read the book. It's usually better!

Don't Shoot from the Hip...it might backfire

Don’t shoot from the hip…it might backfire- or at least not be appreciated for the genius bit of writing that it is.

Reading aloud can be a powerful tool towards increasing the literacy of our students. Publishers try to help us by providing a reading interest level to guide us in our choices. However, one needs to be conscious of the fact that a book that is promoted interest level K-3, may not, in fact, be a good idea to read to kindergarten. They really work better with older students. If you have ever read Amelia Bedelia books to young students, you know exactly what I mean. I call these books: Don’t-shoot-from-the-hip-because-it-might-backfire books.

For example, one of my favorites is Tadpole’s Promise by Jeanne Willis and Tony Ross. It’s a love story about a caterpillar and tadpole who fall in love and promise to never change. That’s what these creatures do. They are all about change. The tadpole changes faster than the caterpillar. He is her “shiny black pearl” and she is “his beautiful rainbow.” When he breaks his promise the third time, she goes away angry and cries herself to sleep. Time passes and she has transformed into a beautiful butterfly. She has also lost her anger and decides to forgive him. She flies down to where the lily pad meets the water where a little green frog sits. “Have you seen my shiny black… But before she can finish her sentence, the frog leaps up and eats her- in one great gulp. And there he sits thinking fondly of his beautiful rainbow and wondering where she went. The end.”

Sometimes when I read this with adults, even they are taken aback. If you share this with your high school students, they will see the power of writing. They appreciate the surprise ending. It breaks the ice in a new class because people want to talk about it. If you read these to kindergarten, you may have to get out the box of tissues and spend the rest of the morning consoling little souls. So use the following books as a starter list of books that may be recommended by the publisher for K-3, but they will be better appreciated by grades 3-12.

Tadpole’s Promise by Jeanne Willis
Where Willy Went by Nicholas Allan
Whatever by William Bee
Beware the Frog by William Bee
Princess Justina by Ellen Dee Davidson
The Library Dragon by Carmen Deedy
Martina the Beautiful Cockroach by Carmen Deedy

Booktalking- Count the Ways

“So there I was tied to an altar of outdated encyclopedias about to be sacrificed by a group of evil librarians.” (Alcatraz versus the Evil Librarians by Brandon Sanderson)

“If your teacher has to die, August is a good time of year for it.” (The Teacher’s Funeral by Richard Peck)

Booktalking is a great way to get kids (or adults) to read books they may otherwise miss. There are lots of ways to do it. One way is by reading the first few sentences. Sometimes, as in the books above, it may only take one sentence to raise interest. You can also read the last paragraph in a chapter.

Which leads me to another idea- have your students collect first and last sentences in a graffiti-kind of way. Place a long sheet of bulletin board paper somewhere in the school. The cafeteria is a great place because it advertises the library outside the library. Title it: Best First Lines or Best Last Lines. Invite students to write lines from their favorite books, being sure to write the author and title.

I also use a document camera to booktalk. Sometimes I read just a few pages, leading up to the exciting point and then stop, telling them that if they want to know what happens, they can check out the book. Sometimes I use the document camera to do something that advertises the book. For example, I do a magic card trick that I learned from Sid Fleischman's webpage to sell his book, Houdini.

I am a huge fan of slide shows with book covers. In fact, that’s the backbone of my book presentations. Everyone can see the covers while I read from the book. It also makes a more lasting impression on those who need to see as well as hear. Right now publishers are fine with us using this method, as it sells books. As long as you are not doing it to save money or raise money, you are probably fine to copy a jpg and paste it into a slide show. You might even make one that loops as your screen saver in the library. If you have an announcement board or a television station, loop your slide show throughout the day to provide more exposure.

There are also places to go to learn more about booktalks. Nancy Keane has a website that features booktalking skills and examples. Many publishers have booktalks on their websites now. I noticed last night that Scholastic has video booktalks. Watch some of these and then let your students make their own video booktalks. Sometimes the kids can sell the books to themselves faster than you can.

Let me make a couple of final points about booktalking.
1. Read the book. You can’t sell a product you don’t know.
2. Read the blurb aloud. It’s a good refresher.
3. Show an interest in the books you are trying to sell.
4. Talk outside your own interests. (Even genres you don’t love.)
5. Talk about fiction and nonfiction. You will reach more readers.

Booktalking is the teacher/librarians’ product. If you love it, it will sell. If you keep trying, you can find the right match from product to client. Don’t give up. Books are like shoes. Not every shoe works for every foot. There is a book to match every Cinderella- or Prince Charming. Try 'em on and see.

Trust Me

I had an interesting visit at a school library site yesterday. It turns out that this particular library was converted our computer circulation system in 2003, but the school never used it. Half of the books are not barcoded, as they were still using pocket cards to sign. There are no generic barcodes. The circulation computer wasn’t even put together, much less updated. (Remember now, this is a huge district, and only one of me... Sometimes you have to be grateful that the library is just not dark.)

Though neat and cheerful, the library books were not in Dewey order. There were mini-collections everywhere. It had been set up in standard shelving order when it was converted. Now, it is doing its own thing.

To top it off, the new library assistant there was, of course, bumped to this position. In this district if your position is eliminated or reduced, you can take someone's job that is comparable. It causes a big chain reaction with the last man standing doing something else. She is a long way from home at a school not of her choosing. She has inherited a great deal of work.

Here is the best part. There was a smile on her face. There was action in her steps. She has a plan to get things rolling. No complaints. No whining. No being ugly to her kids, teachers, parents, administration or even to me. She is determined to make the best of it because she is there for the kids and teachers- no matter whose they are.

She wouldn’t want me to tell you who she is. But let her be an example to all of you who are not where you want to be. Our job is to serve the children and the community where we are placed. Our job is to be helpful and make those who come into our door feel welcome and glad to be there. Rejoice in an opportunity to learn new things, meet new people and grow as a library staff person.

If you love your job, loving your place may come. Trust me.

Go, Go America

Wouldn’t you know it? As soon as I turn in my handbook to BER for printing, I find another wonderful book for boys! I just finished Go, Go America by Dan Yaccarino. It has been on my “to do” list for awhile, but as I was trying to round out my recommended list for SDUSD, I discovered a need for books for grades 3-6. There it was with a red dot, waiting to be savored.

Go, Go is full of interesting tidbits about all 50 states. Following the Fabulous Farley Family, readers travel across the US discovering all kinds of wacky facts. Some are laws that are still on the books. For example on Market Street in San Francisco, elephants must be kept on a leash. In Atlanta, it is illegal to tie a giraffe to a telephone pole or a streetlight. That means that someone actually did it!

Fairbanks, Alaska hosts the Ice Art Championships of the world. I know, because I saw it last March with my own two eyes! (That's me on the left, hiding in Mary/Barbara's wonderful coat.) It’s also against the law to wake a sleeping bear in order to photograph it- at least in Alaska.

Items like these gems are just the tip of the iceberg. Rounding out the book, Yaccarino includes an alphabetical listing of the standard facts about states. Go, Go America is a book that upper elementary students- and probably a few adults- will turn to again and again.