Making friends

With a new school just starting there are lots of lists that talk about first day jitters and some of the worries children having when starting school.

My list is looking at the jitter that relates to making new friends especially when you’re the new kid on the block. I’ve found books that span the grade range 1 to 12, in various formats (novel-in-verse, graphic novels, picture books), and with diverse representation of kids. 

Please feel free to add your recommendations in the comments section.

Have a great school year, Everyone.

Primary grade – picture books

One of Us by Peggy Moss

Nerdy Birdy by Aaron Reynolds

A Tiger Called Thomas by Charlette Zolotow

Lila and the Crow by Gabrielle Grimard

Stick and Stone by Beth Ferry

My New Friend is So Fun by Mo Willems

Middle School – novels, picture books, nonfiction

From There to Here by Laurel Croza

El Deafo by Cece Bell

Full Cicada Moon by Marilyn Hilton

If I Ever Get Out of Here by Eric L. Gansworth

All's Fair in Middle School by Victoria Jamieson

Secondary Level – novels, graphic novels

Zen and the Art of Faking It by Jodan Sonnenblick

Alice, I Think by Susan Juby

PBA: Pinterest board ALERT!

Just a quick reminder to everyone out there about the Doucette Library’s Pinterest page.

This page includes numerous boards that support the Alberta Education curriculum but can support any kind of teaching depending on the topic.

Here’s the link for all the boards: https://www.pinterest.ca/tflander/boards/

If you’re teaching about plant and growth and in Alberta then you’re teaching grade 4 science and you can consult this board (https://www.pinterest.ca/tflander/science-gr-4e-plant-growth-and-changes/) to see what resources the Doucette Library has to support it.  If you’re not in Alberta, I think there is enough here that would useful for others to consult, as well.

What I’ve worked on so far:

**Social studies grades 1-9;

**Science grades 1-8 (9 is coming soon);

**Math grades 1-6 organized according to board mathematical concept;

 and many topical boards based on requests from the education program’s students such as LGBTQ resources, picture books for older readers, resources for STEM, activists and activism, funny books, fractured fairy tales,  and indigenous education.

I’m sending out the reminder because I’ve just added to new boards for English language arts (ELA).  These two boards compile titles of books with strong leads or good beginnings and literary devices.  These came about because students had asked for recommendations for both of these kinds of books and as a reference librarian it’s a time consuming request. This time I decided to record the work as Pinterest boards. I’ve also asked Paula Hollohan, coworker and guest blogger, to contribute to the boards to have a couple of different points of view.

Literary devices in picture books: https://www.pinterest.ca/tflander/ela-literary-devices-in-picture-books/

Good beginnings/strong leads in juvenile literature: https://www.pinterest.ca/tflander/ela-good-beginningsleads-in-juvenile-literature/

Take a look and let me know if you have some suggestions of books to add. I’m always open to suggestions.

Five Star Fractured Fairy Tale

I’ve been getting lots of requests for recommendations for fractured fairy tales from the student-teachers as they head out on their practicums.  It’s just that time of the year, I guess.

I usually recommend checking out my Pinterest page first to see what grabs them. Many don’t come with any idea as to which fairy tale they want to look at so I find this kind of gets them started.

However, I have a recommendation today that I gave 5 stars to in Goodreads and would recommend for everyone. (I rarely give 5 stars for any books.)  After the Fall: How HumptyDumpty Got Back Up Again by Dan Santat is that wonderful!

This is Humpty’s story: he likes sitting high up on his wall to be close to birds; the Great Fall was just a silly accident; he was patched up but developed a fear of heights; not able to ascend his wall and commune with birds has left him joyless; a chance encounter with a paper airplane inspires him to construct a flying paper bird which helps take away a little of his sadness. His new found solace, however, is short lived as the paper bird flies over the wall by accident. Humpty almost walks away from the bird and wall but decides that he is not going to be defeated by this turn of events. He  tackles the wall, succeeds overcoming his fear and now wants to be known not as the egg who falls off a wall but the egg who gets back up.

This story definitely has a message, which might have been too didactic, but the way Dan Santat tells Humpty story, it’s not that in the least.  Humpty is very relatable as a character. He conquerors his fears that have developed from an incident that just happened. The illustrations add a level of humour which is subtle and wry but obvious. I especially loved the pages depicting Humpty grocery shopping for his favorite cereals which he can no longer reach because of his fear of heights.  All the ‘good’ cereals (aka. High sugar ones) are on the top shelf so he now must eat those he can reach which are all the ‘bo-rings’, ‘twigs & berries’ and ‘chicken feed’ brands on the bottom. The ending is uplifting and eye-opening, too. I had never really considered what kind of egg Humpty was and in this story we find out. Brilliant!

I highly recommend this title for elementary grades.

How we see the world

Today’s blog features three new books in the Doucette Library.

First up is This Beautiful Day by Richard Jackson. This story in rhyme clearly demonstrates who one’s mindset impacts how we react to external forces. In this case, it’s a very dark, gloomy, stormy day. This does not prevent a group of children from enjoying themselves bopping along to some tunes on the radio, having a grand time splashing through some rain puddles until the rain starts to abate. They join up with some friends and continue the fun as the sky continues to clear and the sun breaks through. The rhyme is toe-tapping and the illustrations (by Suzy Lee – I LOVE her work) conveys the free spiritedness of the kids as they have fun with zippy, drippy watercolour drawings. Great book for accentuating living in the moment and enjoying circumstances as they unfold.

Today I Feel…: an alphabet of feelings by Madalena Moniz continues with looking at an A to Z range of emotions experienced by children (and all ages really). Here are a few examples:

 A is for Adored is illustrated with a full wall of pictures of the same child at varying ages;C is for Curious is playfully conveyed with a child looking into a large, black hole, one of many on the page;I is for Invisible where the same child wears a sweater that matches and blends into the wallpaper on the wall behind him; and so on. 

It’s a quiet book that opens up reflective thinking about emotions. This could also be used for work about the alphabet and modeling this kind of thinking. Maybe ask the question: What other emotion might represent the letter A?

My last recommendation, Super Jumbo

by Fred Koehler, is a fun look at a child elephant who sees himself as a superhero protecting and aiding those in need. This, unfortunately, isn’t always helpful for those being ‘saved’. The illustrations are perfect for this story clearly conveying the intensity our superhero has for saving others as well as the consternation and frustration of the ‘victims’. His best good deed is helping a friend repair a broken wagon and continuing the day-saving adventures as a daring duo.

I’m recommending all these books for the primary grades. Enjoy!

Setting the Tone - Better Off Together

It’s a new school year and establishing the kind of learning environment you want to have from the get-go is important. Classrooms imbued with qualities like a safe space for taking risks and  trying new things, being respectful, curious, and determined are but a few of the many that will help with classroom management issues, as well as, learning.

And that brings me to today’s words: cooperation and collaboration.

Here are a few picture books that could be used at the elementary level to illustrate and initiate conversations about students working together, the importance of team work, communication, and being responsible.

The Whale by Ethan Murrow 

I love the black and white illustrations in this one. They work well to convey the wordless story about an adventure to confirm the existence of a mythical whale when two children come together (as in literally crash into each other) and work with each other to make the experience that much more rewarding.

The Red Apple by Feridun Oral 

A group of hungry animals figure out how to work together to get the only food to be found in winter, a red apple hanging high in a tree.

That Neighbor Kid by Daniel Miyares 

True collaboration happens between two children when each brings their abilities into play while trying to construct a tree house together. The illustrations have a strong retro feel with a fairly simple colour palette with mostly black and white drawings and touches of colour appearing as they begin working together.

Ewe and Aye by Candace Ryan

I love this one for the word play and that these two animal friends, Ewe (sheep) and Aye (lemur) with very different skill sets (one likes wings and one likes wheels) eventually building the best-ever flying machine. The illustrations are very cartoony and fit the story perfectly.

Up the Creek by Nicholas Oldland 

With a definite Canadiana vibe, a bear, a moose and a beaver must work together to paddle their canoe through fast running white water rapids safely. The humorous elements are a treat.

Give a Goat by Jan Rock Schrock 

A group of fifth graders are inspired to raise funds to support a charity that looks to give livestock to impoverished families in third world countries. This is a good title for raising issues of being a global citizen, community service and fund raising. The book will be best used in upper elementary.

A Warm Winter by Feridun Oral 

Another selection by the same author of The Red Apple. He’s obviously big into having animals come together, helping one another overcome some challenge especially in winter. In this case, it’s a small mouse trying to keep warm and discovering his load of wood is too heavy for him to carry home. His friends come to his assistance to the benefit of all.

Going Places by Peter Reynolds 

A contest to build a go-cart brings together two unlikely classmates who dare to dream big and go beyond the norm. They build the ultimate go-cart that totally blows the competition away with a very innovative flying-cart.

Three Monks and No Water by Ting-Xing Ye  

An oldie but a goodie.  This lesson-bound story again reinforces the benefits of group responsibility and cooperation. A mountain-top temple is at risk when three monks try to shirk their responsibility of bring up pails of water from the base of the mountain. Only by working together do they advert disaster. This title is best suited for upper elementary.

These are only a handful of titles that embody the qualities of working together.

It’s a new school year!

Welcome back, Everyone.

I’ve been pretty quiet over the summer except for participating in the Ten for Ten in August (check this out if you haven’t already) so I’m itching to get back into recommending resources that have come my way over the last couple of months.

But, I’ll do that next week.

This week, as a welcome-wagon kind of gift to the new school year is an invitation to check out a fun exhibit that the Doucette Library has installed commemorating the 20^th anniversary of the publication, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone by J.K. Rowling. (Yup. 20 years!)

So, step right up and see the amazing

 Harry Potter’s CABINET of CURIOSITIES.

These three large, brightly coloured boxes  with various sized openings showcasing artifacts from the Doucette Library’s collection and random objects from home that have been given Harry Potter-esque backstories. 

Some examples:

 The Cursed Belt has been written up as a device of revenge that must be used cautiously as both the cursee as well as the curser could end up with an unwanted muffin top. In fact, this is 5lbs of replica fat that can be strapped around the waist and would likely be used in health or science classrooms.

 

Insta-Cow  is a  plastic, brown and white toy taken from the Doucette’s farm animal kit, becomes a way of conjuring a cow by adding a drop or two of milk for a full cow. Or add chocolate milk for a chocolate cow. Or half and half cream for ½ a cow 

A replica 16^th century, French playing card becomes a portkey for time travel.

Tears of Mandrake : Be Careful! Extremely Rare & Toxic are a few glass beads placed in small bottles.

Trump-Eyes skewing everyday reality are actually prism glasses which would be great in a science classroom.

Anit-Noxious Nose Plugs is written up as an advertisement: “Circa. 1960s – Ad – Does your senior dragon often fart without warning? Are you caught unawares by the “Silent-But-Deadly” ones? Is it deflating your affection for your aging beast? Help is here. One pair of the Anti-Noxious Nose Plugs will rekindle your close relationship with your sulfurous emitting boo-boo dragon. Time to cuddle up!”

These are just a few of the 83 items that populate these giant knick-knack boxes. But not all of the artifacts have write ups. A number of them invite students to create their own Harry Potter-esque descriptions. Postcards are supplied and welcomed.

Besides being a fun display to welcome students, showcase some of the Doucette’s resources and celebrate the Harry Potter 20^th anniversary, this also becomes a way to demonstrate to student-teachers ways of using space within classrooms. This type of display could be replicated in a school classroom, artifacts derived from home or school and children encouraged to use their imaginations to create their own magical devices.

If this does appeal to you, you should visit Pop Goes the Page – Muggle Studies 101  to see the artifacts and backstories curated for this Harry Potter Museum. It was reading an article about this exhibit that inspired me to try for something similar but on a smaller scale. Being on the smaller side makes for a perfect tie-in to how we like to inspire our student-teachers with possibilities for their own classrooms.

This corner of the library has been a “paint corner” where students were invited to paint on the glass window with acrylic paints. This was a total hit!

Also, we set the area up as a relaxing tropical ‘beach’ with comfy beach chairs, fake palm tree and sun, beach towels, sunglasses and the piece-de-resistance, crashing wave sounds (sound machine). This was to encourage students to take a few minutes to kick back at a very busy and stressful time of year.

We’ve got a few more ideas to try out in this corner of the library over this next academic school year.

Stay tuned!

Writer’s block at the starting gate

I’m starting today’s post with a, “When I was in school...” story.

When I was in school, I dreaded hearing the teacher tell the class that today was the day we were going to write a story. That we’d use our imaginations to write stories about fabulous places and interesting characters doing who knows what. No sooner were the words spoken and I was panicking because every thought I might have had was gone.

Blank. Zip. Nada.

But maybe if I’d been given an idea to start with, say an open ended scenario, a stimulating

picture, a pertinent or perplexing prompt then maybe, just maybe, I wouldn’t have felt so lost.

Once Upon a Line by Wallace Edwards is one such book to provide story starters for struggling writers. It has a clever premise that every story begins with “Once upon a line”, line referring to the first sentence of the story as well as a physical line used in illustrating this picture book. Wallace presents the reader with the challenge of finding a very particular shaped line that is found in each illustration. (See image below.) I did find this challenging. Kids might like this component more than I did.

But I can see this book being particularly useful as a classroom tool for getting students to come up with some pretty intriguing stories. The format is a one page illustration, captioned with “Once upon a line,” and then an open ended statement that connects to the illustrations and needs to be finished by the reader.

For example, “Once upon a line, there was a knight who was allergic to horses. This was not a problem because…” is paired with an illustration of a trio of medieval knights riding into battle (maybe?) but one of them is sitting on an octopus.

Or

“Once upon a line, Captain Kurd grew eager to sight land. If he didn’t find land soon, he was going to have to…” which shows a small boat with two mice holding musical instruments and the captain who happens to be a chunk of cheese searching for land using his eyeglass.

The illustrations are nicely composed with fanciful and sometimes humorous images that will help struggling writers construct their stories.  Still, lots is left for the imagination to get a work out but the pressure for creating the original idea is eliminated.

Other picture books to check out for story starters are:

Fish on a Walk by Eva Muggenthaler (lots of surreal images and only two word prompts to get a story started)

Breakfast on a Dragon’s Tail by Martin Springett (interesting illustrations with a good chuck of a story provided and a couple of questions to help spark ideas) and finally,

The Mysteries of Harris Burdick by Chris Van Allsburg (my personal favorite, a classic picture book with a single super realistic, surreal illustration and only a single sentence to spark the reader’s curiosity.)

I’d recommend these books for upper elementary and into junior high.

BOO!

[Cue sinister music]. 

Beware creepy carrot breath!!!

With Halloween creeping up on us like the cat spider lurking out by my compost bin, I thought I’d recommend a couple of creepy titles to go along with the holiday.

First up is Canadian author Kenneth Oppel’s The Nest. 

If you liked Coraline by Neil Gaimen, then this 

one’s for you.  It has the same claustrophobic atmosphere with an intensely, evil character that tries to manipulate the protagonist. The premise behind this story is that Steve and his family’s worry over his baby brother who has a life-threatening medical problem. Steve is particularly anxious since he suffers from an anxiety disorder. Imagine his relief when a mysterious presence promises to help fix the broken baby. Yet there is something about this presence that worries Steve and prevents him from jumping at this offer. The presence (What is it? An angel, maybe? It appears to have a connection to the wasp’s nest that is being built in the eaves of the house. Could it be…?) seems comforting at first but becomes more and more demanding and menacing as time goes on. Once Steve realizes her sinister intentions, a terrifying struggles ensues. Terrific buildup of tension with a very satisfying resolution.

Highly recommended for middle grades.

My next recommendation is Through the Woods by Emily Carroll. This is a series of short stories told in graphic novel format.

At first, I thought this was going to be retellings of fairy tales. Well boy, was I wrong!

This does contain some fairy tale motifs (girls in red cloaks, wolves, hauntings) but the stories take some very dark twists and turns. The stories tap into disturbing dark corners of the human psyche and conjure up distressing emotions when parents disappear, jealousy motivates murder, guilt-ridden consciences end in madness, with no reassuring happily-ever-after endings. The illustrations are bold, graphic and bloody.

I especially love the conclusion of the book as it set us up with a bedroom reminiscent of the that found in the children’s classic bedtime story of Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown. Little Red Riding Hood is just snuggling into bed relieved to have made it through the woods without having met the Big Bad Wolf. But as it turns out, the BBW is looming just outside her bedroom window, ominously hissing at her that though she made it this time

 “you must travel through those woods again & again…and you must be lucky to avoid the wolf every time…But the WOLF…the WOLF only needs enough luck to find you ONCE.”

Oooo, how spine-chillling is that? Sleep well, Little Red Riding Hood – NOT!

I’m recommending this for grades 9 and up.

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My last suggestion, a favorite of mine, is Creepy Carrots by Aaron Reynolds.  This one is for the primary grades and constitutes the perfect revenge story. Jasper Rabbit loves carrots especially those he purloins from Crankenhopper Field. They are the best and they are free. Jasper Rabbit doesn’t know that there’s no such thing as a free-lunch in this life and a price Must. Be. Paid. His all-consuming passion for these carrots results in dire consequences.

 [Cue sinister, foreboding music.] 

The carrots strike back! They begin to stalk Jasper, the only one who can see these unnatural, vexatious vegetables. They lurk in the shed, and in the closet and what’s that shadow on his bedroom wall? They are everywhere and Jasper must do something! Well, let’s just say that Jasper comes up with a solution that the carrots and he can live with and it’s party time in Crankehopper Field for the terrifying, Trumpian-hued, taproots.  Fabulous, over-the-top, humorous horror. The black, grey and orange coloured-illustrations by Peter Brown are perfect, depicting a self-absorbed Jasper being stalked by three, well, creepy carrots

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Happy Creeping Reading, Everyone.

So, what’s with crayons?

Once upon a time there was a crayon.

It all started with Harold’sPurple Crayon.  It was fun being with Harold as he drew his way through his travels over mountains and oceans still to be cozily tucked into bed at the end of the day. 

(I’m almost certain that Harold’s purple crayon is related to the purple crayon in Aaron Becker’s  Journey  &  Quest  books.  It, too, has a marvelous sense of adventure in exotic, imaginary places but likes to chum with a red crayon.)

Then there was the Bad Day at Riverbend.  It really should be known as the ‘Worst Day Ever at Riverbend' because really, what could be worse that being scribbled and scrawled all over with smacks of waxy colour? But the befuddled Sheriff and his posse don’t have to worry for too long as the book is closed on this mysterious event by the day’s end.

But then we had deal with The Day the Crayons Quit. My, that was quite a day.  Goodness! So many demands to be met (Red was overworked, White was underappreciated and poor Beige got all the boring jobs) but we managed and all was well.  

Until of course, The Day the Crayons Came Home.  Who knew that these guys could get to so many places and have so many misadventures along the way? Directionally challenged Neon Red makes it back in one piece, though Tan (or is it Burnt Sienna) is a little worse for wear having been eaten and regurgitated by the dog. And I’m happy to report that Yellow and Orange have worked out their differences amicably which is a good thing because they’ve been melted by the sun into one blob.

But Snap! , we’re back with another artist whose imagination is unleashed when he’s crayons break and then begin to be used up. His artistic resourcefulness only leads to more lavish and unrestrained creations.  Who knows where he’ll land for his next foray into the world of art?

And lastly, we can’t forget about Red.  Poor Red he does have a time of it figuring out who he really is and why, even trying his very hardest to succeed, he always ends up blue. But with help from his friend Berry he finally finds his place among all the colors by being true to himself.

There’s obviously something about crayons. 

Besides being the number one choice of colouring implement at the colouring station in the Doucette Library the above books featuring crayons are typically quirky characters having wild adventures.  Just like the colouring station, any of these books will prove to be great stress busters.

Colour me happy.

The Books

 (in order of appearance:)

Harold and his purple crayon by Crockett Johnson

Journey by Aaron Becker

Quest by Aaron Becker

Bad day at Riverbend by Chris Van Allsburg

The day the crayons quit by Drew Daywalt

The day the crayons came home by Drew Daywalt

Snap! by Hazel Hutchins

Red: a crayon's story by Michael Hall