What a Wonderful School Project!

One of our local high school's creative writing class paired up with some kindergarten students from a near by elementary school for a book project. 

The high school students met with the kindergarten students they were paired up with. They interviewed them-asking questions about their interests, things they liked and disliked, etc. The teens took the information and wrote and illustrated a children's book for each student. They personalized each book by having the child be the main character in the adventure. 

On the day the books were presented, each author read his or her story to their young partner. Some stories were chosen to be read aloud by the authors to the entire class. Some of the books had titles such as, "Carter Versus the Evil Broccoli Man," "Ashley's Day at the Zoo," and "Savanna's Crazy Dream." Later the teacher decided to read all of the books aloud to the class. 

This project was very positive for both sides involved. The recipients were delighted to receive a book with illustrations starring themselves. The authors, although the work was hard, said that they loved it and would do it again. One senior wrote a book titled, "Sarah Saves Happiness," and figured that he spent about eight to 10 hours working on it. About the project he said, "The best part was seeing how happy all the kids were."

Little Skink's Tail by Janet Halfmann

To escape from a hungry crow, Little Skink snaps off her bright blue lizard tail. Now, although she is gratefully alive, she misses her tail. Seeing all the animals that live around her, Little Skink wonders what it would be like to have each of their tails. She visualizes her tail's new look on each page of the book. 

"A porcupine's tail: "Too stickly-prickly," she said. An owl's tail: "A lizard with feathers?" she exclaimed. "I don't think so!"

Of course, none of the tails were right for her. While realizing this, she is on a sunny rock and sees her shadow. Guess what? Her shadow had a tail. The book ends with her seeing a bright blue tail that grew back on her.

This is a colorful picture book that not only will be exciting for children to see and read, but it will inform them about different animals. This book would go very well with a science curriculum on this subject. 

After the story ends, there are a few pages of informative activities. "For Creative Minds" is an educational section that may be photocopied or downloaded. There is a footprint map activity with questions, a map grid, as well as a trail matching activity. As a parent and a teacher I appreciate the scientific accuracy as well as the enjoyment factor these offer. My daughter loved doing the "For Creative Minds" section after I read her the book. 

There are additional resources available on their website www.SylvanDellPublishing.com. I was able to quickly go there, choose the book, look up related websites, click on one about deer tails, and see pictures of real deer with information. They also offer English and Spanish audio readings online for free, as well as many other free services. 

I definitely recommend this award winning book!

Save Money--Visit the Library

Katie Couric did a report for one of her "Notebook" segments on CBS News about how, 

"Americans are saving money, and keeping the looming recession at bay, by going to their local libraries to rent books, CD's, and DVD's"

It was reported that borrowing is up 35% in Chicago and 16% in New York from last year. However, bookstore sales are down. Barnes & Noble lost 18 million dollars in the third quarter.

ALA President Jim Rettig said, "During tough economic times, people turn to libraries for their incredible array of free resources, from computers to books, DVD's and CDs, for help with job hunt or health information. The average annual cost to the taxpayer for access to this wide range of resources is about $31, the cost of one hardcover book. In good times or bad, libraries are a great value!"

Yes, libraries are a great value, but there are still so many people out there that just don't take advantage of them.  ALA reports that only two-thirds of us have library cards. Do you have yours?

A former librarian, and current first lady (though not for long), Laura Bush, stated that libraries are "community treasure chests loaded with a wealth of information."

I know that I get a lot of use out of my public library, which in turn saves me a lot of money. 

Movies Based on Children's Books for 2009

Here's a list of some of the movies that are based on children's books which are coming out this year. 

Jan. 23 Hotel For Dogs

Jan. 23 Inkheart

March 13  Race to Witch Mountain

July 17 Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

October 16 Where the Wild Things Are

November 6 The Fantastic Mr. Fox

The 39 Clues series has been picked up by Dream Works with a release date of possibly 2011. It's said that Steven Spielberg will be the director.

For me, the movies never come close to how great the books are. But some do a fine job to entertain and stick to most of the story. One particular movie that is based on a children's book that I enjoyed just as much as the book is Matilda.

Is There Anything Wrong With Reading all the Time?

Kids can never read too much, right? 

Don't we want them to become readers? To become a reader you're going to have to read.

Aren't we always trying to get them to get in their daily dose of reading? 

What about that school reading calendar? Don't you want your child to get that free pizza, token, grade or prize from turning it in all filled out?

Of course, we all want to see our children- every child in fact- reading. I would celebrate to see my son turn off the Wii and relax with a great book. I would support my daughter in ditching out on a trip to the mall with friends for a curl up with a thick novel. Seeing kids read makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. 

However, can reading too much sometimes interfere with other worthy activities? Possibly.

What about when a child goes to bed, but then stays up for another hour or so reading.

What if they are great readers, but let the homework go by the wayside.

An article by Scholastic Parents addresses some ways to help with these possible bad reading habits that need to be broken. Here's what they have to say.

Reading in bed may have a relaxing effect that helps your child fall asleep. But you don't want her staying up too late. Fortunately, there are ways to compromise:

1. Factor in reading time when setting bedtime. Lights-out is 9:00. If she wants to read in bed, she needs to start at 8:30 instead of watching a television program.

2. Give one special late bedtime per week, when she gets to stay up a half-hour later as long as she's reading.

3. Keep reading aloud together. It's beneficial, even for an older child, because you can expose her to more advanced material. And you're there to set time limits.

Reading instead of homework?

If your child plows through books but his math homework suffers, be firm: Reading a non-school book comes after homework is complete. You may even have to take the book away and keep it until he has finished his assignment. 

Enforce a "school comes first" policy or allow study breaks so that your child can read a chapter or two of his current non-school book. Let him know that you think his reading habit is great by offering a reward: If his science grades go up, you'll treat him to a new book of his choice. 

Poor reading habits can be reversed. Yes, we want them to read, just not instead of homework, or until 2:00 am. It's important to teach and show your child that reading is a great hobby. I guess I'm not such a good example when I'm at the stove burning dinner because I'm holding my book. "I'm at a really important part, just leave me alone." 

Now, what can we do about all those bad texting habits?

What I Saw and How I Lied by Judy Blundell

This book was the winner of the 2008 National Book Award for Young People's Literature. 

In my opinion, this young adult novel is for mature young adults. 

Here's the synopsis.

When Evie's father returned home from World War II, the family fell back into its normal life pretty quickly. But Joe Spooner brought more back with him than just good war stories. When movie-star handsome Peter Coleridge, a young ex-GI who served in Joe's company in postwar Austria, shows up, Evie is suddenly caught in a complicated web of lies that she only slowly recognizes. She finds herself falling for Peter, ignoring the secrets that surround him...until a tragedy occurs that shatters her family and breaks her life in two.

As she begins to realize that almost everything she believed to be truth was really a lie, Evie must get to the heart of the deceptions and choose between her loyalty to her parents and her feelings for the man she loves. Someone will have to be betrayed. The question is ... who?

This is a coming-of-age story set in 1947. Remember how popular smoking was back then? Even chocolate cigarettes were in. This has glamor, murder and mystery, with most of the setting in Florida.

Every Soul a Star by Wendy Mass

Thumbs up for a book that makes me more interested in a science topic. I have actually been looking up information on eclipses. It's exciting that the United States will have a total solar eclipse on Monday, August 21, 2017. Cool! (I think if you read this book, that fact will seem cool to you as well.)

We all have a place in the universe. This book is about discovering that and about dealing with change. Thousands have gathered at Moon Shadow campground to see a total eclipse of the sun. It can be life changing. Although there are many characters you get involved with in this book, the chapters are divided between three teenagers-each chapter devoted to each voice- Ally, Bree and Jack.

Ally: Ally likes the simple things in life-labyrinths, stargazing, and comet hunting. Her home, the Moon Shadow campground, is a part of who she is. She refuses to imagine it any other way.

Bree: Popular, gorgeous (everybody says so), and a future homecoming queen for sure. Bree wears her beauty like a suit of armor. But what is she trying to hide?

Jack: Overweight and awkward, Jack is used to spending a lot of time alone. But when opportunity knocks, he finds himself in situations he never would have imagined.

(There, now you basically know how the inside of the jacket cover describes them.)

The author does a great job of separating each narrative well. Even though you might end one of Ally's chapters wanting to know what's going to happen next, but not reading about it until after Bree's chapter and Jack's chapter, you don't feel lost or confused. You do remember what's going on with each character and they intertwine well to keep the story flowing nicely. I found this book an enjoyable read!