Thank You Maurice Sendak

Maurice Sendak (1928-2012)

Thank you for your Wild Things.

Passing the Music Down

A picture book that we recently added to our school library collection is Passing the Music Down by Sarah Sullivan, illustrated by Barry Root (Candlewick Press, 2010). I read the story and admired the watercolor and gouache illustrations. It is a gentle tale of a young boy who travels with his parents to Appalachia to hear old-time fiddle players. The boy forms a friendship with an older fiddler, and he eventually moves to live near him and be mentored by him. The book became even more intriguing when I read the Author’s Note in the back of the book. She based her story on a true friendship, that of Melvin Wine (the old-time fiddler) and Jake Krack (the young boy).

On the endflap, Sarah Sullivan described Melvin Wine.

 “There was something timeless about him, like the ancient sage who passes on essential knowledge to a chosen apprentice, not for pay but out of an abundant reverence for his art and an abiding love for the world.”

After reading this, I had to go on YouTube to find clips of both Melvin Wine and Jake Krack fiddling. What a pleasure to enjoy this charming book and then listen to the musicians!

Melvin Wine

Jake Krack

Take Me Out to the Ballgame

A man has to have goals – for a day, for a lifetime – and that was mine, to have people say, “There goes Ted Williams, the greatest hitter who ever lived.”
-    Ted Williams

It can be tough being a baseball fan when one’s favorite team struggles. Boston Red Sox fans understand that feeling better than most baseball fans. Until 2004 and again in 2007, Red Sox teams hadn’t celebrated a World Series win since 1918. Throughout those disappointing years though, there were outstanding players to celebrate, and the best was Ted Williams.

Author/illustrator Matt Tavares idolized Ted Williams as he was growing up, and he listened to his father’s stories about this Red Sox slugger. He created a picture book biography entitled There Goes Ted Williams: The Greatest Hitter Who Ever Lived (Candlewick Press, 2012). The story of Ted Williams’ success is legendery. He set innumerable records, even though his career was interrupted by World War II and the Korean War. Baseball fans of all ages will enjoy reading about Ted Willams’ dedication and desire to reach his goals. Tavares included further insight in Ted Williams’ personality in his Author’s Note.

Another book that focuses on Williams’ batting average record is No Easy Way: The Story of Ted Williams and the Last .400 Season by Fred Bowen, illustrated by Charles S. Pyle (Dutton Children’s Books, 2010).

The Red Sox and New York Yankees are inexplicably bound together throughout baseball history. Phil Bildner’s title, The Unforgettable Season: The Story of Joe DiMaggio, Ted Williams and the Record-Setting Summer of ’41, illustrated by S. D. Schindler (Putnam, 2011) demonstrates that connection. An older title that shouldn’t be missed is The Curse of the Bambino by Dan Shaughnessy (Simon & Schuster, 2005).

The winners are…

The winner and honor books for the 2012 Massachusetts Children’s Book Awards were announced this month. When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead (Wendy Lamb Books, 2009) is the winner of the award this year.

The honor books are Scat by Carl Hiaasen (Knopf, 2009), Cracker! The Best Dog in Vietnam by Cynthia Kadohata (Atheneum, 2007), The Gollywhopper Games by Jody Feldman (Perfection Learning, 2009), and Dying to Meet You (43 Old Cemetery Road) by Kate Klise (Harcourt, 2009).

It was so interesting to learn of the statewide winner and honor books and compare them to the results of the voting by our students at DCD. We had a tie for first place between Scat and Dying to Meet You. Our honor books are When You Reach Me, Cracker!, and The Prince of Fenway Park by Julianna Baggott (Harper Collins, 2009).

Poetry

In 1996, the Academy of American Poets first recognized April as National Poetry Month. While we celebrate poetry in school throughout the year, there is special emphasis on it this month. I would like to share some of our newer or favorite poetry books this month. Let the poetry begin….

There are two books that were published within the past year that just begged to be paired with each other, I Am the Book and BookSpeak!.

I Am the Book has poems selected by Lee Bennett Hopkins and is illustrated by Yayo (Holiday House, 2011). Here is one selection from the volume.

When I Read
Beverly McLoughland
When I read, I like to dive
In the sea of words and swim,
Feet kicking fast across the page
Splashing words against my skin.

When I read, I like to float
Like the gull that trusts the sea,
The ebb and flow of tidal words
Easy under me.

Check out this trailer about BookSpeak! Poems About Books by Laura Purdie Salas, illustrated by Josee Bisaillon (Clarion Books, 2011).

For more information about poets and poetry, do visit the website of The Academy of American Poets.

Claude Monet

There have been notable children’s books published about the painter, Claude Monet. P.I. Maltbie’s text is paired with Jos. A. Smith’s illustrations in Claude Monet: The Painter Who Stopped the Trains (Abrams Books for Young Readers, 2010). This title is focused on a specific period of Monet’s work, from 1876 to 1877 when he produced his series of pictures of the Gare Saint-Lazare train station. Monet’s idea of featuring city scenes in and around Paris was innovative and controversial at the time. From January to March of 1877, the trains were sometimes delayed so that Claude Monet could capture the light and scene.

Two titles that were previously published still captivate children when they are studying this important artist. What Makes a Monet a Monet? published by the Metropolitan Museum of Art (1993) discusses the color, shape, composition, brushwork, and subject matter that characterizes Monet’s work.

My favorite children’s book about any artist is still Linnea in Monet’s Garden by Christina Bjork with illustrations by Lena Anderson (R&S Books, 1985). The young reader discovers the genius of Claude Monet right along with Linnea.

Simon Rodia and his Watts Towers

It’s exciting when a book introduces children and adults to a person or event that is totally new to them. Author Dianna Hutts Aston wrote Dream Something Big: The Story of the Watts Towers (Dial, 2011). She chronicles Simon Rodia’s 34 year project of building his glorious creation without architectural plans, nails, bolts, or even a ladder. Susan L. Roth’s collage illustrations demonstrate using found materials in art, just as Rodia did.

Simon Rodia worked on his project seven days a week on a tiny lot in Watts, a neighborhood of Los Angeles. He was an Italian immigrant who spoke heavily accented English, when he explained that he wanted “To make a pretty scenery, I think. And make that place famous.” He constructed the towers of steel pipes and cement, then added shells, bottles, crockery, plumbing supplies, and any object that he could find on the street. This man of little education built an amazing monument that is now preserved as a National Landmark.

“May the Force be with you…”

Obi-Wan Kenobi used this phrase when he wished Luke Skywalker luck when they were saying good-bye to each other. We’ve been channeling the Force as I’ve been sharing  Tom Angleberger’s book, The Strange Case of Origami Yoda (Amulet, 2010), with our Fifth Graders. This title is written in notebook or journal form with short chapters that are narrated by different characters. It seems that Dwight, probably the nerdiest student in McQuarrie Middle School, has begun carrying around his origami creation of Yoda. When he puts Origami Yoda on his finger and answers his classmates questions, Yoda is much wiser than Dwight could ever be. Tommy and his friends struggle to decipher whether Origami Yoda truly does have power. He must because that’s the only way to explain how someone as clueless as Dwight could offer such sensible advice.

Tom Angleberger’s sequel to this comic tale of everyday occurrences of middle-schoolers is Darth Paper Strikes Back (Amulet, 2011). Harvey channels the Force in a negative way when he constructs an Origami Darth Vader.

Of course, we had to make our own Origami Yoda’s by following Tom Angleberger’s video. Stay tuned for Darth Paper, and remember to use the Force wisely!

Children’s Book Awards

A chilly Monday in January is always made warmer and brighter with the announcements made by the American Library Association (ALA) for the best in children’s and young adult’s books published during the previous year.

This year’s Randolph Caldecott Medal for the most distinguished American picture book for children went to A Ball for Daisy illustrated and written by Chris Raschka (Schwartz and Wade).

There were three books chosen as Caldecott Honor Books this year:
Blackout illustrated and written by John Rocco (Hyperion)
Grandpa Green illustrated and written by Lane Smith (Roaring Brook Press)
Me … Jane illustrated and written by Patrick McDonnell (Little, Brown and Company)

The John Newbery Medal for the most outstanding contribution to children’s literature was awarded to Jack Gantos for his novel, Dead End in Norvelt (Farrar Straus Giroux).
This year, there are two Newbery Honor Books:
Inside Out & Back Again by Thanhha Lai (HarperCollins Children’s Books)
Breaking Stalin’s Nose written and illustrated by Eugene Yelchin,(Henry Holt and Company)

ALA presents a number of other important awards for children’s books. To view the entire list, go to The American Library Association Award list.

For a look at some of the awards’ titles, check out this Animoto video that my colleague, Lisa Francine, the Library Director at Fenn School, produced.

Celebrating Jane Goodall

I was pleasantly enchanted when two picture books about Jane Goodall, the acclaimed zoologist, were published in 2011. While their styles are different, each title is a charming representation of this amazing woman. It was delightful to pair these books and introduce them to our Fourth Grade students as part of my “People Who Make a Difference” unit.

Me Jane (Little Brown) by Patrick McDonnell is the simpler book of the two, as it describes Jane’s childhood in single sentences that are accompanied by ink and watercolor illustrations. Be sure to study McDonnell’s illustrations closely because he has integrated realistic, inked renderings from nature with the watercolors depicting Jane’s early years. The author included valuable biographical information and photographs of Jane Goodall in his book. Will our young readers recognize the reference to Tarzan movies in his title?

An equally engaging book is The Watcher (Schwartz & Wade) by Jeanette Winter. Her illustrations, in acrylics and pen, compliment the text that covers Goodall’s entire life. Winter includes more details about events in Jane’s childhood, and she chronicles her journey to Africa and study of the chimps. Here, too, there are references to Jane Goodall’s own books, My Life with the Chimpanzees and The Chimpanzees I Love.

When I shared these two books with the Fourth Graders, I also showed them the website for The Jane Goodall Institute. Their favorite video on her site is about Mambou, a baby chimp who was rescued by the scientists at her Institute.

Mambou from the Jane Goodall Institute on Vimeo.