November 2009
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“In a good bookroom you feel in some mysterious way that you are absorbing the...”
– Mark Twain (via scribble-scribbles)(via miss-elwind)
(via booklover)
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"I think we're in the midst of a literacy...
good stuff from wired magazine about digital literacy.
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Watchclementine is the new ramona.
see the author’s website here.
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ecologists unite.
i love this book. inspired by the highline in nyc, author peter brown wrote this awesome text about a little boy whose naturalistic vision inspires many.
the new york times reviewed the book and said it’s, “an ecological fable, a whimsical tale celebrating perseverance and creativity, and a rousing paean, encouraging every small person and every big person that they too can nurture...
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book talk + movie trailer = book trailer
my newest obsession?
book trailers. part book talk, part movie trailer, these book trailers represent the link between reading rainbow and digital literacy. i first stumbled upon them on youtube and then just through good ol’ googling.
which lead me to this site.
lucky for us, bookwink frequently posts book trailers organized by theme (i.e. parallel universes book trailers).
you can...
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“A novel does not assert anything; a novel searches and poses questions.”
– Milan Kundera (via Five Branch Tree) (via robot-heart) (via readbooks)
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draw on.
the new york times put out its annual list of best illustrated children’s books of 2009. check it out here.
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“You get ideas from daydreaming. You get ideas from being bored. You get ideas...”
– Neil Gaiman (via ilovereadingandwriting)
“For some of us, books are as important as almost anything else on earth. What a...”
– Anne Lamott (via ilovereadingandwriting)
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“If you do not breathe through writing, if you do not cry out in writing, or sing...”
– Anais Nin (via ilovereadingandwriting)
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“Perfect” archives of social media services won’t result in a more perfect...”
– Ryan Shaw » Social Media Won’t Improve History
Please read Ryan’s brilliant critique of this Mashable piece.
I used to believe that all of this work we were doing to document our lives online was going to automagically give us the power to make better decisions and build a better society. One...
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“One must be drenched in words, literally soaked in them, to have the right ones...”
– ~ Hart Crane (via ilovereadingandwriting)
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just when you thought zinc couldn't be any...
i am super excited about these science books by basher and dingle! i found them at my son’s book fair yesterday and was instantly mesmerized. the illustrations on each page appeal to the digital generation and look like they were taken straight from a manga.
in this periodic table version, each element is given a personality and an accompanying personality profile (likes, dislikes, etc.)...
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a dyamonde is forever.
i read this book while at my local bookstore. i was intrigued by the cover, as i like to find children’s books that are typically deemed multicultural. ironically, one thing that bugs me about “multicultural” books is that often times, the main character’s race defines him/her.
not dyamonde daniel.
the wonderful nikki grimes has managed to write a chapter book about...
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new media literacies.
it’s such a fascinating time to be a student! new forms of media have lead to a shift in pedagogy…particularly when it comes to literacy.
newmedialiteracies.org posted an introductory video on their website that discusses the various skills and strategies people will have to master to successfully navigate the digital world.
watch. learn. grow.
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storybird is cool. really cool.
when I first stumbled across storybird, i immediately thought of how it could be used in the classroom and on a rainy fall day with my boys. using a set of pre-drawn illustrations, users create a short story which can then be shared with friends. the illustrations are so delicious and visually inviting that you will become hooked immediately.
take a tour of storybird here.
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Watchhere is a fantastic video on how to teach Guided Reading. although it is an example of a first grade classroom, the same principles apply all the way through the grades. it has frequently asked questions, a sample lesson, and recommended professional books. it helps to see it in action!
*found at www.teachertube.com
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toto, i have a feeling we're not in kansas...
(*image courtesy of newschief.com)
the landscape of children’s and adolescent literature has changed greatly over the years. nowadays, the children’s book publishing market reflects a boom in realistic fiction and fantasy genres, with popular series like the Wimpy Kid diaries and Twilight (team edward!) weaving a common thread through the lives of young people.
read an article...
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write a letter. win a prize.
one way to really celebrate your budding authors is to get them entered into a national writing contest. letters about literature, sponsored by the library of congress and target stores is one of my favorites for grades 4-12.
students are asked to write a letter to any author, living or otherwise, who has touched them in some way. i love this contest because it speaks to the power of words.
...
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are you a...?
nonfiction books about bugs and insects are very popular with young kids, especially boys. one fabulous series that i highly recommend are the backyard books.
often times, kids get bogged down with too much content and have trouble retaining facts in expository text. the backyard books are written in such an inviting way that kids almost automatically absorb the info. you know when we make...
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come escape with me.
deivis, children’s librarian-extraordinare, is always recommending books to us. he is also a painter, so he often shares texts that are visually stunning. the cinder-eyed cats by eric rohmann is no exception.
this is one of those pieces of literature where the illustrations take you to a whole other level. from the cover picture of the cats “with their coal-fire eyes...
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all hail cyndi.
do you think cynthia rylant would mind if i call her cyndi? i mean, i feel like her writing just scoops me up and invites me in. so much so that i could give her a nickname.
alright, so perhaps that is pushing it a bit, but i meant what i said about her writing. it has so much voice that when i read her books, i feel as though she is talking directly to me. it’s a rare gift, which is...
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