What Have I Been Reading Lately?

Ever go through a period in your life where there are so many important things happening at the same time? That's what the past three weeks have been like for me, and things are finally starting to let up a bit. Of course, the pace continues in the library with the end of the year approaching, but I think I am ready for that!
Consequently, some of my reading time was reduced, but I am back at it and making up for lost time.

I am thankful to have received some wonderful books recently! Thank you to Macmillan Children's, Peachtree Publishers, Workman's Publishing, Nancy Paulsen Books, and Penguin Young Readers for sending me these books! I want to share the titles with you here --with a word or two about them. I will pick a few of these for more formal reviews, but my brain is eager to get back to the stacks, so those will come once I've satisfied my reading appetite more!

Turn This Book Into a Beehive! by Lynn Brunelle is due out May 15th from Workman's Publishing. Besides offering fascinating information about bees, the book does indeed turn into a beehive! It's paperback nonfiction. I will be featuring it on my blog on its release date.

Continuing with the bee theme, the picture book below is the latest from literacy expert, author (and fantastic speaker!) Lester Laminack of Saturdays and Teacakes. His latest The King of Bees is a beautifully illustrated story set in the Lowcountry. When we are children, we always long to do what grownups do! This one is published by Peachtree Publishers. 

Josh Funk -author of Dear Dragon and more--has written a picture book that introduces the concept of coding in a fun beach story. I predict I will be reading How to Code a Sandcastle aloud in December (Hour of Code week) if not before. This one's set for publication on May 15th from Penguin. 

Novels next:

First, Amal Unbound by Aisha Saeed: Set in Pakistan, this story is  about Amal, a young girl in Pakistan who is forced to leave her family and become a servant for the landlord of her village. It's beautifully written!

Bob is a story of magic and friendship. A mysterious creature and a young girl form a bond when she visits her grandmother in Australia, then reunite five years later. This one is also from Macmillan Children's, and notice the awesome authors who paired up to write this one! 

There are more books in my stacks that I will share with you once I devour them! Stay tuned and head to your local library or bookstore to get the books I have shared today! 

Shoes: 

Of course, I have to share my latest shoe purchase! (See blog name.)

It is time for sandals here in Texas, and I needed some flat sandals with brown straps. These fit the bill and are SO comfortable! They survived a busy day in the library! 

The shoes are b.o.c.  and mine are brown. 

I GOT IT! by David Weisner

When I was a kid, we had softball during PE. On warm sunny days, we'd play out at our school baseball field -- hot, expansive, and flat. I remember not having much fun playing this game because I wasn't very good at it at all. (If I'd tried and practiced, I might have liked it!) I was always the last one picked for a team and somehow I always got chosen to play outfield - which for me was a scary, scary position to play --especially when you cannot catch a ball (or hit one for that matter). I did not want to be the one to ruin the game for anyone. I felt a lot of pressure!

So with these memories in my heart, I could immediately connect with the concept of David Wiesner's latest book, I Got It! (Clarion Books, 2018). (Available now!)

This wordless picture book begins with a boy looking in, standing outside a fence as a game is about to start. He has a mitt in his hand, and he is ready. He takes a chance and goes on the field, asking if he can play. Of course, (like me), he doesn't catch the ball the first time, even though he has boldly proclaimed "I got it!"

In the rest of the story, we see the boy try and try again, this time with birds flying alongside him. As  he takes on the challenge of catching this ball, we see all types of fantastical things, such as gnarled trees sprouting up out of the ground to block his path, his teammates growing into giants, and the boy trying to leap over them. Wiesner uses scale in a double page spread of a towering, massive baseball spanning across the gutter -- all to emphasize how big and uncatchable that ball seems. (See previous page for the shadow that predicts its arrival.)

Wiesner draws out the boy's run towards his second catch -- appropriately. When you are running to catch that ball and trying to get in good position to get it, time stands still! ( I can attest to that!)

He tries again, but it is a few pages before we see if he is successful. Wiesner narrates the trek to the ball with pictures -- all showing the joy and teamwork that will lead our main character to his quest at the end.

Wiesner fills the pages with the players themselves -- I think -- to show that this type of moment is so enveloping to a child that it seems like the whole world to them at the time. The boy becomes smaller and smaller (because when you feel like something is impossible you do feel small), and his fellow players join in (showing that every one of those kids could sympathize with the boy -- they had all been in that place before, trying to catch the ball and save the game.  Desperately wanting to catch it.

At the end, they are all together against the same fence, this time on the opposite side. With this, the boy has come full circle.

I thought of growth mindset when I read this book.
I thought of overcoming challenges.
I thought of how it feels to be on the outside looking in.
I thought of courage and what it takes to try something you know is very hard to do.

I will be coming back to this book, again and again, like we do with all of David Wiesner's picture books. How many times have YOU reread Flotsam, Art & Max, or The Three Pigs? Countless times I'm sure. How many times have you walked over to the David Wiesner section of your library? The path to mine is well-worn.

I listened to David Wiesner tell us about this book at dinner at TLA 2017.  To see it and read it now is culmination of a book memory! With more to be made as it is shared!

#txla18: Being There

As I worked through a busy last day of TLA (that ended with a fabulous author visit back at school), some thoughts came popping through. (I didn't wake up thinking: today I will reflect upon TLA. I was too tired for that.) But I found myself reaching some conclusions that matter to me. And I wanted to blog about them here so that I'd remember them.

Here is what I've come up with, post #txla18:

Attending this conference isn't just about the sessions-- although I went to some pretty amazing ones on Makerspaces, Future Ready Libraries, picture books, leadership, etc.

TLA is about the people with whom you connect: new people you meet, and friends you see again.

It's about the problem-solving skills you practice as you get from there to there or plan your day. (Example: how can I go to two sessions occurring at once that are on opposite sides of the convention center but both are SO amazing I MUST go to them!)

It's about the spontaneous conversations you have as you wait for your phone to charge, or sit in the shuttle, headed back to your hotel.

It's about the enriching book discussions you have at dinner with authors or librarians.

Yes, it's about being there.

I do follow the tweets of a conference when I can't attend, and yes, I learn, but there is something special about being there. There is something about being around other librarians that makes me better. As I listen and learn from them, I remember: I am them. And they are me.

I took lots of notes. I tweeted and took pictures. And my learning is definitely reflected in these artifacts. But my most profound learning comes from my presence in the room and all that I absorbed.

Also, about the walking:

Sometimes the sessions are far apart. But if it's something you want to learn, you've got to go! You don't know where it will lead. You don't know if that one thing you hear at that one session will lead to a program or conversation that could make one person's life better.  I've learned that trekking down long cavernous halls of a convention center can be worth every step. I went to an amazing session on Friday  (my last one) that gave me great insight into working with students! I am so glad I went!

Now that I've sifted through some of my thoughts, how will I show my learning? I think it will show in the new steps I am willing to take, and the work I am willing to do.

I am willing.

And I am grateful I had the opportunity to attend TLA 2018. 

Kalinka and Grakkle by Julie Paschkis

Paschkis, Julie. Kalinka and Grakkle. Atlanta, GA: Peachtree, 2018. Print. 

Have you ever tried to help a friend, but only made things worse? Or, have you ever tried to change a friend's ways?

Before I read a picture book aloud, I like to find a connecting question (or two) that will help readers connect with the story. I want readers to find meaning in the book in some way for their own lives. Of course, sometimes (and I love when this happens) they find the meaning themselves, and it has NOTHING to do with the question I asked. Even better! 

The book I am featuring on my blog today is about a friend who tries to do just that! 

Kalinka, a perky yellow bird, lives next door to Grakkle, a green furry "beast" with a slight reputation for being unkempt and undisciplined. (He loves to eat his Auntie's ginger cookies, sit in his chair, and leaves his socks on the floor.) Kalinka visits him one day, flying through his window and declaring she is no longer going to tolerate Grakkle's untidy ways. Despite Grakkle's objections, she flies about the home attempting to to clean up, but failing at it, putting socks in the stove, leaving crumbs on the table, putting pencils in a box of spaghetti, etc. Next she tries to fix his hair - but really only tying a very unflattering red bow on heiis head. When Kalinka tires out, she rests herself on Grakkle's chair, and this is the point at which he can take no more. He rants about, and in his overreaction, topples Kalinka into a pickle bucket. Without giving away the ending--this is the point at which Grakkle stops and understands, and perhaps where Kalinka realizes something, too. 

The story ends sweetly (and with a laugh), a friendship cemented, and renewed with an unspoken-- understanding between the two neighbors. After I read it, I thought about how it could possibly be a folktale or fairy tale -- not just because of the talking animals, or life lesson, but because of its light, happy tone.

I read this book aloud to a class in the library this week. The story flows well with voices and pacing, and vibrant artwork held their eyes to the pages. The art reminds me so much of spring, with wispy lines, a vibrant, cheery palette packaged in swirls and gradient hues. Paschkis moves from white space to color as Kalinka enters Grakkle's home, and patterns, stripes, and design abound in curtains, tablecloths, rugs, furniture and even socks. This book has the feel of a soft, knit throw - ready to cover you and entertain when you decide to sit on the couch. 

Although I didn't have time to follow through with activities then, I thought that when I read this story again, I might have readers draw a tidied up Grakkle house, or list things Grakkle and Kalinka can do together. They might even draw a before and after of Grakkle's house, or share ways that Kalinka could have connected with Grakkle, rather than just fly in his house and take over! 

Julie Paschkis is the author and illustrator of this book, and her previous two books are also must-reads: 

School Library Month 2018

April is very special month for school librarians! It is officially School Library Month, AASL's initiative to celebrate school libraries and librarians. This year, I was fortunate enough to serve on the SLM committee along with some amazing fellow librarians! What an enriching experience it has been! I have learned so much from them.

If you're a school librarian and you're not sure how to celebrate, check the website here. You'll find a calendar of suggested activities, social media graphics, templates, and more. Look for the PSA by our School Library Month spokesperson, award-winning author Jason Reynolds. Watch it and be inspired! It definitely makes me tear up every time I watch it!

And do not worry! Participating in School Library Month doesn't mean you have to do anything extra or anything complicated! Just share out the amazing things you are already doing! Share what you have to offer with your school and stakeholders. Connect your library with your community! If you tweet, don't forget to use the official hashtags of #AASLslm and #slm18. By doing so, you give other librarians (including me) the benefit of your experience and you share your ideas with us! We will learn from each other!

Speaking of connecting, that is the theme for this year's celebration: MAKING CONNECTIONS. Each week there will be a different sub-theme for connecting: connecting learners, connecting educators, connecting with your community, and connecting globally. There are so many ways we can connect our libraries!

How will I celebrate? Because the theme of this week is Connecting Learners, I am offering Makerspace Monday as a way of kicking off School Library Month. With classes visiting the library, and walk-ins popping in all day, the library will definitely be buzzing (I hope!) Normally, we have Makerspace during Genius Hour on Fridays, but I am testing this out to see how it goes.

I then continue the week by attending the Texas Library Association's Annual Conference! I'm also  presenting at Tech Camp with my fellow district librarians. As I connect with my fellow Texas librarians, I become a better one myself.

In writing this post, I remembered something. When I first became a school librarian and learned about School Library Month, I tried to always participate in some way! I made sure to tweet and check the calendar, putting up book displays, etc.  (One year I put up a special banner in the hallway where learners could post cut-out hearts sharing why they loved the library.) I never could have imagined that I would one day serve on the School Library Month Committee, but this year I am doing just that, and I am so grateful for the opportunity. It goes to show that when you love what you do, you never know where you will go!

I highly encourage school librarians to join AASL and to volunteer to serve on a committee!

And I wish all of my fellow school librarians a wonderful School Library Month!

Gratefully,
Cynthia