WHEN'S MY BIRTHDAY? by Julie Fogliano

Fogliano, Julie. When's My Birthday? Illus. by Christian Robinson. New York: Roaring Brook, 2017. Print. 

Children love their birthdays! At least once a week, a student will come up to me and tell me that their birthday is near! Do adults do this, too? Probably not -- or if so, not with as much enthusiasm. 

As I read this picture book, I felt as if I could hear the voices of the children in the book speaking to me, reading these lines. The text has no capitalization (only exclamation marks and question marks), and is filled with repetition -- in some ways mirroring the way kids breathlessly speak when they are beyond excited and just can't wait for something amazing! 

At first, the narrator impatiently asks how far away their birthday is and its season. Different voices chime in, each child wanting something different for a gift. One would like a cake, one would like "tiny sandwiches with soup" - my favorite request in the book. The narrators go about inviting everyone to their party, and then going to sleep. The end of the book means the end to the wait, and the children can finally celebrate. 

The text is poetic, rhythmic, playful, and lively. (I am also a fan of Fogliano's When Green Becomes Tomatoes, And Then It's Spring, If You Want to See a Whale). I turned the pages with the same excitement the children expressed in the verses, drawn in to the fun, and also truly excited to see the work of Christian Robinson (Last Stop on Market Street, School's First Day of School). His illustrations are filled with energy, and each child's face exudes either joy, delight, or a sense of expectancy. Using acrylic paint and collage, Robinson includes grand cakes, tall flowers, a giraffe, a sloth, and even a horse with a necklace! The party at the end brings it all together sweetly, and readers will no doubt feel like as if they are celebrating with the children, too! 

When readers first pick up the book, they should note the tall orientation and shape. My theory is that this space is needed for birthday candles, giraffes, and huge presents! Also, be sure to look under the dust jacket! Robinson has give us gift of an embossed foil stamp and spine. Truly delightful! 

This picture book about birthdays is a gift to readers! I can see it as a read-aloud at many birthday parties and celebrations to come. 

Read more about Julie Fogliano here. 

Read more about Christian Robinson here. 

LA PRINCESA AND THE PEA by Susan Middleton Elya

Middleton Elya, Susan. La Princesa and the Pea. Illus. by Juana Martinez-Neal. New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 2017. Print. 

I'm always looking for twists on the traditional fairy tale. The book I'm sharing on my blog today fits the bill -- in a delightful way! And it is a picture book!! 

This one takes place in Peru, and Spanish words help tell the story of a queen out to find a princess for her son, el príncipe. A young girl rides into town, and the prince thinks she might be the one! But his mother la reina wants to put the princess through a test first. Out come the mattresses and the pea, and the stage is set for the twist. 

Because I don't want to spoil the story, I will only tell you that the prince has a way to make sure his choice for queen passes the test. And it shows his cleverness as well as his determination. 

I appreciate how the story is told in rhyme, and the Spanish flows well throughout the narrative. Readers will find a glossary in the beginning that helps with pronunciation and meaning. Every word in red is shown in the glossary. Many of the words reminded me of my grandmother, who used to (lovingly) call me pobrecita (poor thing!). 

And, of course, I SO appreciated the illustrations! Throughout the pages, I encountered lush hues of red I might not have ever seen before! What also struck my fancy were the intricate patterns displayed in the quilts and characters' clothing. Such detail! Stunning, yet soft. The most notable illustration in the book (to me) is the double page spread in which the queen realizes she has been foiled. The cat atop her hat mirrors her disgust in both expression and emotion, and the gutter on the page is skillfully placed at the edge of her poncho. (I also loved discovering the huge safety pins in her hat during one of my readings. Although they are pronounced, I didn't note them at first because I was so entranced with the faces and grand use of scale!) 

Indeed, I could write about these illustrations all day long! (So I will tell a little more.) See the faces! See the fringe on the ponchos! And see the sweet soft critters that roam about throughout the story, adding their own energy to the plot. When you read this book, make sure to go to the back to read the notes from the illustrator, Juana Martinez-Neal. It helped me treasure the artwork even more. 

This book is celebrating its book birthday today!! 

My First Digital Breakout!

This summer I attended EdCamp Library in Frisco, TX. While there, I attended a very interesting session about library orientations. I loved hearing all of the awesome ideas shared, and I came home knowing I would try something new out this year to familiarize students with the library once again.

My "something new" would be a digital breakout. I wanted to try this because I'd been hearing and reading so much about them. Right from the start, I made it a bit easier on myself by not using boxes or locks the boxes this first time -- although I do eventually want to try them.

I started out by connecting with my digital learning coach. She gave me the idea to create my breakout using Google Forms. We talked through a couple of the questions, and she showed me how to use "Response Validation" on each question to have students enter a code. With "response validation", the form replies with a "custom error text" when the answer is incorrect.

I first drew up the questions, each of them leading to a spot in the library that they needed to know:

1.) Book return
2.) Fiction
3.) Graphic novels
4.) Texas Bluebonnet Books
5.) Nonfiction
6.) Diary of a Wimpy Kid books
7.) Research station

I decided that I wouldn't connect the questions to another one, but instead give students the option of completing them out of order if they wanted. It is possible to connect them by placing the link on the Google Form, but because this was my first one, I decided to do it this way.

To connect with our back-to-school theme, I gave each a question a bit of a "camping" flavor, serving up the breakout on a picnic-style table cloth.

Here is a screenshot of my first question:

My custom error text was "No, please try again".

For some of the questions, I did not have to come up with a random code. The answer was clear cut!

On the lower right hand corner of each form, you will find the "Response Validation" option. That is how the form checks the answer. This part is a bit tricky because you have to make sure it is not set to "greater than" or "less than" instead of "Equal to"; if you don't do this, the answer will be wrong.  Also, It took me a few tries to get this right.

I added Question 6 because I do get asked this question often! Do you???

Next, I housed all of the questions (7) on a Google Site. It was relatively easy to embed each of the forms.

I then created a QR Code for the Google Site and printed a few of them for my first class.

The teacher and I divided the class in groups of 4 and equipped with an iPad, they were off!

As I did the activity with a few classes,  I realized that seven questions takes awhile - and didn't give as much time as I wanted for checkout, so I decided to make it a challenge instead, encouraging the students to complete as many as possible within our time frame. Learning is all about being flexible, right?

The students enjoyed it, and I was glad I was able to adjust as needed. For my first try, I think it went fairly well, and I know the next one will be even better!

The Beginning of a New Year: Writing Our Story

(Last Friday, 8/18)
I am sitting in my seat, ready for my district's convocation. There's lively music playing as we enter, and between the beats of the songs, I hear the laughter and enthusiastic greetings of my fellow educators as they take their seats for the event. We are united in our joy and excitement!

And I am excited as well (in particular) about our theme: #CISDOurstory. It couldn't be more perfect for this librarian! I believe in stories! I read them almost nonstop (novels, fiction, biographies, etc.) I celebrate them, buy them, promote them, and study them. Along with my fellow librarians, I share stories daily and bring them to our readers with enthusiasm and hope. Newbery-winning author Kate DiCamillo often speaks of the power of story, and when I hear the word, I always think of her. (Read her 2014 Newbery acceptance speech here. )

But we are not only consumers of story, we are also creators of them. Every teacher writes their story in his/her classroom, narrated in student voice, authentic and rich. Every school writes their story, woven through a collection of days, challenges, and successes.

And the most important story is that of our learners. Each day is a different page! How wonderful that we play a part in helping them write their interesting and amazing chapters!

Today (8/21)

I end this post with the first day of school behind me, I know that my 2017-2018 story already has a lovely beginning. The library is filled once more with learners and educators.

Speaking of stories, here are two picture books I have enjoyed recently:

Summer's End: Sharing a Few Books

Today is my last day of summer vacation. It's been a busy summer for me (as it usually is), and my blog has not received as much attention from me as it deserves. I've used it to chronicle some highlights of my summer, though, and for me those posts were my way of remembering this time in my librarian life. I know I will read those posts next summer fondly. 

But one of the reasons I am blogging today is to share two nonfiction books that were part of my summer reading list:

This is a very visually appealing picture book with a surprise each time you turn the page. Susan Stockdale highlights several real flowers with vibrant illustrations, celebrating them with poetic text that points out their likenesses to objects and animals: trumpets, ice cream, spoons, bats, snakes, etc. Readers are invited to find the resemblance, and when they do, it is a delight! At the end, Stockdale provides backmatter which includes information about pollination and flowers, as well as real-life photographs of the actual flowers featured in the book. With each photograph, Stockdale adds the scientific and common name. One flower that brought back childhood memories for me was the Mexican Hat. I used to play with those when I was a child and place the petals on my fingernails! That page made me smile. Make sure to check out the endpapers! They are lovely! 

In this picture book, Melissa Stewart teaches readers about droughts, explaining what they are, where they occur, and their progression. She also explains the dangers, effects and ways scientist study and monitor drought conditions. Sidebars provide additional information. I especially appreciated the back matter with a brief glossary, and the "How You Can Save Water" page. André Ceolin's bright illustrations are energy-filled and very engaging, pairing nicely with the text. This is another installment in the Let's Read and Find Out Series. I have a personal connection to this book as well, having grown up in an area that is usually hot, near cotton fields that experience droughts. 

Speaking of the summer's end, I am closing out mine today with just the right book (by a Texas author Jennifer Ziegler). I so enjoyed the first two installments in the Brewster Triplets series:

This one reminds of Girl Scout Day Camp!! 

If your summer is still happening, enjoy it! If it is not, I hope it left you with sweet memories! 

Scholastic Reading Summit: Houston Highlights!

My summer is coming to a close, and as I look back on it, I can see it was not a traditional summer in the way that others picture: no swimming, no camping, and I didn't get my toes in the sand once! Instead, I had a great time learning about libraries, books, and connecting with members of my PLN, just as I did last week at the Scholastic Reading Summit.

I have attended four Reading Summits now, attending two and then presenting last year in San Antonio and this year in Houston. I was there to present a session on picture books (a topic for an upcoming blog post!), and had a great time doing so. (Many thanks to Anne Lee and the entire Scholastic team for all of their kindness and for making my Summit experience so wonderful!)

I enjoyed chatting with our amazing Scholastic hosts for the summit, friends John Schu and Donalyn Miller - - (it is ALWAYS great to see them!) and it was also great connecting with Todd Nesloney and Becky Calzada,  (fellow presenters, friends, and valued members of my PLN.

Kylene Beers and Bob Probst were keynote speakers. Of course, their work in literacy is legendary, and I always learn something valuable about reading when I hear them present.

I brought back a copy of their latest book Disrupting Thinking (Scholastic, 2017), and I am reading this now. I think it's a great read for school librarians. I have highlighted and underlined many sections!

Here is one of the slides from their presentation. It was one of my biggest takeaways of the day:

Our closing speaker was Jarrett K. Krosoczka, author of the ever popular Lunch Lady series. He was energetic, enthusiastic, and entirely inspirational! His childhood journey story of how he came to illustrate and write graphic novels was fascinating! His speech reminded me of the time I heard Kadir Nelson speak at NCTE, where he also spoke about pursuing his passion for art as a child and how that led him to the work he does today. 

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Krosoczka also writes/illustrates #4 and #5 installments of the Jedi Academy series. 

Here are a few of the many slides that scrolled through during the day. I appreciated these two in particular:

Of course, another wonderful part of the Scholastic Reading Summit is being able to shop the Book Fair that is set up! I spotted some of my very favorite picture books. I didn't get a picture of all of them, but here are a few:

As I blog about this memory now, I realize what an utterly ovely day it was! I gained so much, both in the way of learning and connections made. How energizing it was to be around other educators who love reading and understand its power as much as I do! 

Perhaps next year I will have the kind of summers others have -- nostalgic s'mores by the campfire, peaceful walks down the beach, days by the lake, etc. But even if I don't, I know that this summer I was right where I was supposed to be! 

The Newbery-Caldecott Wilder Banquet: 2017 Highlight

The Newbery Caldecott Wilder Banquet was several weeks ago, and I should have blogged about it earlier! But it has been a busy summer and I am trying to get a lot of reading done. I am aslo attempting to redecorate my school office AGAIN. But even though this event has passed, it's already shaping up to be one of my very best library - and lifetime -- memories.

My program for the night 

The Newbery Caldecott Wilder Banquet feels like a celebration of the entire year in books -- and it is!  The Newbery, Caldecott, and Wilder Medals are awarded here (announced in January at MidWinter), and everyone is in a celebratory and jovial mood. As it is usually my last night at ALA, it is the culmination of the conference for me and a last chance to see friends before the next conference.

My view

Caldecott Medal Winner Javaka Steptoe 

What I enjoy about the Banquet:

1.) Seeing friends 
The conference is busy for everyone as well all have our own sessions and meetings, so it is not always possible to see everyone during conference days. But just about everyone goes to the Banquet, and I love gathering with them and chatting with them -- if only briefly. I also have a great tradition of meeting up with two friends in particular both before and after the Banquet. And we are all dressed up!

2.) Hearing the award speeches:
They either make me cry or laugh or both. And they are SO well-written! After all, the winners are book creators! They share from the heart, and they share their process. I am always grateful to hear their words.

3.) Remembering the books
With each winner, I have a memory -- the first time I saw the book, the time I received a copy, the first time I shared it with someone. I can remember when I first read them or heard about them. And to think of the full cycle they have come through is astounding! For example, I can still remember getting ARC of THE GIRL WHO DRANK THE MOON by Kelly Barnhill in the summer of 2016! And now, it is the winner of the 2017 Newbery Medal.

It makes my librarian heart happy to see authors and illustrators get celebrated because they deserve to be!  They write books for young readers that help them become lifetime readers, and they bring beautiful stories to all of us!