Next week, Little Chicken's Big Day by Jerry Davis and illustrated by Katie Davis will be released out into the world. I can't wait to pick up copies to share with friends. Until then, enjoy watching the video:
To read more about book trailers from Katie Davis, check out her lastest post here.
Go Indie and pre-order Little Chicken's Big Dayhere.
This is a feature that I do weekly called Hot Off The Press! based on my weekly visits to Vroman's Bookstore and checking out their wall of new picture books. This week there were so many recent releases that I was unable to get through them all in one visit. Here are the 5 new releases that stood out from the pile this week:
Queen Of The Falls Author/Illustrator: Chris Van Allsburg Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Books for Children (April 4, 2011 - available now) Audience: Grades 2nd to 5th
I never really thought about who was the first person to go over Niagara Falls in a barrel. However, this book gave me a lot to think about. VanAllsburg retells the real life story of Annie Edison Taylor in a way that will fascinate young readers. VanAllsburg's illustrations are beautiful. This takes top honor this week and will be one that I recommend.
Click here to watch a video of Chris Van Allsburg talking about the book.
The Loud Book! Author: Deborah Underwood Illustrator: Renata Liwska Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Books for Children (April 4, 2011 - available now) Audience: Ages 2 to 6 years old
I really loved The Quiet Book and have given it out as gifts. I wasn't expecting to love The Loud Book even more, but I think I do. I laughed and smiled at all of the examples of being loud. Liwska's illustrations are charming and compliment the text wonderfully. Underwood has a successful companion book on her hands with this one. I think I will be giving the pair of books as gifts now.
The Cazuela That The Farm Maiden Stirred Author: Samanatha R. Vamos Illustrator: Rafael Lopez Publisher: Charlesbridge Publishing (February 1, 2011) Audience: Ages 4 to 8
Books that introduce words in another language can be tricky. Is it just randomly inserting these words into the text or is there a specific purpose. Vamos's play on The House That Jack Built does so in a wonderful manner. After each word is introduced in English, the next time it is used it is then given in Spanish. First, the Farm Maiden stirs a pot and then a cazuela, and it continues in this manner. Lopez' illustrations are colorful and festive.
Birdsong Author/Illustrator: Ellie Sandall Publisher: Egmont, USA (March 22, 2011) Audience: Ages 4 to 8
Sandall takes a simple, familiar concept, adds in bright fun illustrations, and then executes it well. A bird sits on a branch and sings. He is then is joined by another and another...all with different songs. They are having fun and finally they are joined by one very loud bird who knocks them all off, but it is something very small that makes the biggest change of all. This one gets the smile award for the week.
The Loopy Coop Hens Author/Illustrator: Janet Morgan Stoeke Publisher: Dutton Juvenile (March 17, 2011) Audience: Ages 4 to 7
I don't usually say this, but I want a book trailer for this book. I searched but couldn't find one. Someone make one fast...*waits* Okay, so it isn't happening. This wins the "make me laugh a lot" award for the week. The hens in this book are certainly loopy. They wonder why rooster Sam can fly. They try. They see other creatures that fly and wonder why they can't. Finally, they discover a little secret but realize maybe it doesn't matter after all. I anticipate that children will get a chuckle out of this one.
This is a feature that I do weekly called Hot Off The Press! based on my visits to Vroman's Bookstore and checking out their wall of new picture books. This week there were so many recent releases that I was unable to get through them all in one visit. Here are the 5 new releases that stood out from the pile this week:
Me...Jane Author/Illustrator: Patrick McDonnell Publisher: Little Brown Books for Young Readers (April, 2011 - available now) Audience: Ages 4 to 8 years
Creating a picture book biography for young children is not an easy task. Some contain such little information that they are not helpful and others too may for younger children. However, Patrick McDonnell finds just the right balance with simple but informative text and soft pastel illustrations that tell the story of Jane Goodall's life. This book would be wonderful for both National Women's History Month as well as Spring/Animals/Biographies. This is my top pick for the week.
The Honeybee Man Author: Lela Nargi Illustrator: Kristen Brooker Publisher: Schwartz & Wade (March 8, 2011) Audience: Ages 6 to 9
This was another book that really caught my eye today. The end notes provide the reader with great facts about bees and honey making. I liked how the facts about bees and honey making are woven into the story (which you discover at the end is based on a true story) of a man living in New York with several bee hives and makes honey for friends. Illustrations support the text.
Pond Walk Author/Illustrator: Nancy Elizabeth Wallace Publisher: Marshall Cavendish Children's Books (February, 2011) Audience: Ages 4 to 8 years
This mixed media picture book was very fun to read. The story is a common tale of a mama bear and her little one spending time together. In this case, they are spending the day out on a walk and around a pond. I enjoyed how the text and the illustrations supported each other and this was a stand-out for this format. A perfect read for Earth Day or Spring.
Bug And Me Author: Ann Bonwill Illustrator: Layn Marlow Publisher: Marshall Cavendish Children's Books (April, 2011 - available now) Audience: Ages 4 to 8 years
Some books have very similar formats or themes. A friendship theme is very common in books for preschoolers. However, I couldn't tell with this one if I loved the text or illustrations more. This story is about a grumpy little bear and a persistent bee. Bee wants to play with bear and continues to try and get bear to engage in games. Bear just wants to be left alone. When he finally gets to take a nap, he can't. Bear then thinks about how he treated his friend Bee. A sweet story of friendship, and how to repair a friendship when it is broken.
Ferret Fun Author: Karen Rostoker-Gruber Illustrator: Raul Rátz De Tagyos Publisher: Marshall Cavendish Children's Books (March 2011) Audience: Ages 4 to 8 years
Some books are just fun and this is one of those books. In Ferret Fun, two ferrets have a new arrival to deal with - a cat who thinks that they might be more of a tasty meal than friends. Finally the ferrets discover a way to handle this new arrival. Quirky illustrations and a fun story was a winning combination for me.
If you follow this blog with any regularity, you will know that I happen to be a BIG FAN of Bill Thomson's wordless picture book CHALK. It was released a year ago and though I would have selected CHALK for a Caldecott, the committee members obviously didn't agree with me. Since I am unable to decorate this book with any gold medals, I will have to be content with what I can do. Which has looked something like this...
Emailed the illustrator -
Yes, I have completely been a fangirl when it comes to this book. When I first discovered it, I immediately hunted down an email address so that I could gush about my love for CHALK with the creator/illustrator. This YouTube interview/video shares a little about how complex it was to create the book. (And how did this not get an award?!)
Bought lots & lots of copies for giveaway:
I was just so in love with this book that I gave it to several children for Christmas and to all of my teaching staff as their holiday present.
If I didn't giveaway a copy, I told everyone to buy it:
I am pretty certain that I have told every bookseller, librarian, and teacher I know about CHALK and that they should buy it. We also featured it at our school book fair in December.
Plan a school-wide Literacy Event around CHALK:
In chatting with Angie (parent volunteer, Literacy Café developer), we decided that it would be wonderful to do something school-wide with the book. (I suggest that you plan this out several months in advance especially if you are doing something on a large scale.)
Mid-Winter ALA, stop by the publisher's booth:
While wandering around the exhibit hall, I passed by the Marshall Cavendish booth. I had that funny feeling like "I know this name". I looked at the display of books...and then it hit me, CHALK is published by Marshall Cavendish. Of course, I blurted out to the staffer my shock that he wasn't displaying CHALK but he appeared to forgive my "foot-in-mouth" moment, when I proceeded to gush about the book and tell him about our plans for a school-wide event centered around it. (Note: I am not advocating that you tell publishers what books to display, but I do know they really love hearing about the books that you really like.)
Plan out the event:
This included picking a date, creating an invite (thank you Karen), sending out invites, putting out a press release, notifying local law enforcement (we held the event right in front of the school), working with volunteers on all the details (thank you to all my volunteers), and working with teachers on ways that the book can be used in class.
It also included ordering 1,000 pieces of chalk (thank you to the PTA for funding this).
And decorating little bags for the chalk so it would look like the book. (Noeleen, Jon, Irene, and any others I owe you big time.)
Sorting out posters, so that every child would have one. (Thank you Marshall Cavendish for supporting the event by sending posters for the children.)
Notifying the police for possible crowd control. Always interesting when you have 350 kids in the front and side of the school. But everyone did wonderful and the police enjoyed watching the children draw.
We also invited local chalk artists to come to the event and we worked with our local Indie bookstore, Vromans, to provide a way for families to order copies of the book. The Children's Manager even came over to help out. (Yay to Indie Bookstores and supporting local businesses.)
There were also lots of special visitors who stopped by. A rep from our local Assemblymember's office and heads for various departments in the District including our Chief Academic Officer, our Director of Elementary Education, Director of Special Education, Coordinators of Visual and Performing Arts, and Language Development. And toward the end a couple of our Board Members popped by for a visit. Though we didn't see the local paper, our District's TV department also came out and interviewed staff, children and parents.
Of course, this student kind of says it all:
For more information about Bill Thomson and his incredible book CHALK, check out his website here: http://www.billthomson.com/
I also need to extend a huge thank you to Bill Thomson for his continued enthusiasm for what we were planning and his support of this event by contributing items for the school to use in a Silent Auction to raise funds for Literacy.
Though I don't have a picture of this, my favorite moment of the day was hours later when nearly everyone was gone. The Children's Book Manager and I were chatting in her car and we watched one young student bring her father all the way over to the side of the school in order to show him her drawing. You could tell by the gestures and actions that she was sharing all about the event with him. Dad was beaming and clicked a few pictures with the camera on his phone. It was definitely one of those "awww" moments, but one where you realize how significant the event actually was to the children.
Thank you Bill for inspiring all of the children and staff at San Rafael School. Come visit any time you are in Southern California. I can promise you that you will be treated like a Rock Star.
This is a feature that I do weekly called Hot Off The Press! based on my visits to Vroman's Bookstore and checking out their wall of new picture books. This week's post is a couple of days late but there were so many good ones that I didn't want to wait. Here are the 5 new releases that stood out from the pile last week:
All The Way To America: The Story Of A Big Italian Family And A Little Shovel Author/Illustrator: Dan Yaccarino Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers (March 8, 2011) Audience: Ages 4 to 8 years
This was my favorite of the pile. Yaccarino conveys a sense of connection between generation after generation with the use of a little shovel that is passed from one generation to the next. The story begins with Yaccarino's great grandfather as he leaves Italy and travels to the United States. Each generation shares more in common than just a small shovel. Children and parents sharing this story can also tell their own family histories as they share in the Yaccarino family history.
Check out the Book Trailer:
A Mango In The Hand: A Story Told Through Proverbs Author: Antonio Sacre Illustrator: Sebastia Serra Publisher: Abrahms Books for Young Readers (March 8, 2011) Audience: Ages 4 to 8 years
Another top pick for the week included Sacre's A Mango In The Hand. I enjoyed the multi-cultural/multi-lingual book as well as the lesson learned by Francisco as he prepares for his special day. Serra's beautiful illustrations bring the text to life. I was pleased that rather than one or two Spanish words interjected into the text there were whole sentences which were then explained/translated in the context of the paragraph. I am looking forward to sharing this one with my students.
Pirates Don't Take Baths Author/Illustrator: John Segal Publisher: Penguin (March 3, 2011) Audience: Ages 4 to 8 years
Some books just make you smile or laugh and Pirates Don't Take Baths is one of them for me. A little pig sets out to avoid taking a bath by telling his mom that he is a pirate or an astronaut or a knight. However, each time he discovers something new which eventually leads to a fun ending. I see this as being an enjoyable evening read aloud as part of the night-time routine.
Nurse, Solider, Spy: The Story of Sarah Edmonds, A Civil War HeroAuthor: Marissa Moss
Illustrator: John Hendrix Publisher: Abrahms Books for Young Readers (March 8, 2011) Audience: Ages 7 to 10 years
With this being National Women's History Month, I couldn't leave this story of Sarah Edmonds off the list. This non-fiction picture book tells how Sarah Edmonds at 19 decides to dress as a man and joins a Michigan Army Regiment to fight the Confederacy during the Civil War. Not only was she a solider, but also served as a nurse and when her unit needed someone to go undercover, she didn't shy away from the task. An inspirational story and a nice addition to any picture book collection of prominent or influential women.
Wink: The Ninja Who Wanted To Take A Nap Author/Illustrator: J.C. Phillips Publisher: Viking Juvenile (March 3, 2011) Audience: Ages 4 to 8 years
A companion novel to Wink: The Ninja Who Wanted To Be Noticed. In this installment, the story picks up with our Ninja hero who at first doesn't want to take a nap but then changes his mind after being tired out from attempts to hide from all of his admirers. With a little help from some a wise elder, our little ninja develops the perfect plan to shake his followers and sneak in a nap.
