MLK Day Read-alouds

Martin Luther King Jr. Day is a big deal around here.We have a special section in the library devoted to books about him (because goodness knows there are a zillion books published about Dr. King), and teachers have been checking them out all week. Just in the nick of time, one of my book orders came in today with four new books that I couldn't wait to read and share. :)

Coretta Scott / poetry by Ntozake Shange, paintings by Kadir Nelson
published January 2009 by HarperCollins

I absolutely love the paintings in this book! I love how they take up an entire two-page spread and are vibrant and, in some cases, larger than life. You can see this by the cover alone. The poetry puzzled me. There is no punctuation, which frustrated me and had me stumbling over my words as I read it aloud to myself. The words per page are sparse and let the artwork tell the story too, which highlights Coretta's childhood, marriage, and key events in her life. I learned that she went to school to sing, and the last page has her and Martin singing together cheek by cheek, my favorite painting in the book. So pleased with this book and plan to share it with students when we study the Coretta Scott King Award.

My Uncle Martin's Big Heart by Angela Farris Watkins, illustrated by Eric Velasquez
published October 2010 by Abrams

Yes, this book is written by one of Martin Luther King Jr.'s nieces. And that's what I love about it - its conversational tone and portrait of a man who we all know as someone who did Great and Important things for society but who she just knew as a loving uncle. Love the illustrations in this one too - similar style to Coretta, but what I like most is that many of them are ordinary. There's one of Uncle M.L. asleep on the couch (fully dressed and with shoes!), one hanging out in the backyard with all the kids, and another smiling as he sends a telegram. It's nice to see another side of him, one that isn't so solemn and serious (though of course there's some of that too). This would be a good choice to share with the little ones.

Martin Luther King Jr. by Joeming Dunn, illustrated by Chris Allen
published July 2008 by Magic Wagon

This book is part of a graphic novel biography series, but do not be fooled, it's not a graphic novel. Not in the sense of the word as I know it, at least. While the illustrations are drawn as comics, the story is narrated completely rather than being driven by dialogue. And it's not really a story either, as it's written very much like an informational book about Dr. King, with chapters for his education, the Montgomery Bus Boycott, the March on Washington, etc. That being said, I think this will appeal to students who wouldn't normally pick up a biography or any informational text, the students who read comics exclusively (and I have plenty of those), and who will read anything as long as it's shelved in the 741.5s. So now I have a dilemma - where do I shelve it?

Sit-In: How Four Friends Stood Up By Sitting Down by Andrea Davis Pinkney, illustrated by Brian Pinkney
published February 2010 by Little, Brown

Oh, how I love this book! I am just consistently amazed by the Pinkney family - they have talent oozing out of their ears, they really do. I think I may have cried when I first read this book. It's so powerful in such a quiet way. Sprinkling Dr. King's words throughout, we are told the story of the Greensboro Four, the first four black students to sit down at a whites only Woolworth's counter and ask to be served donuts and coffee. It tells the story of King's nonviolent, peaceful approach to affecting change, using the metaphor of baking bread. Brian's watercolor and India ink illustrations are a perfect match for this story, but I couldn't tell you why. Perhaps because of the contrast between the delicate watercolors and the harsh black lines - the rightness of blending the two to create something beautiful though not clearly defined. I also love the added material at the end - a Civil Rights timeline, a note from Andrea about her research, and a bibliography of books and websites (selected by ALSC!) to consult "for further enjoyment." Gush gush gush. I love it. Definitely use it with 4th/5th grade students - and be surprised by the great discussions you will have.

End of the Year Read-Alouds

Can it be that we only have ONE month of school left? That means I'll only see my classes FOUR more times - or less depending on field trips, assemblies, and end-of-the-year festivities. Which doesn't leave me a whole lot of time for read-alouds! I need short novels! Less than 100 pages. Make it 80! Here's what I'm thinking about reading to the little ones...

Kindergarten
We'll end the year with a Mo Willems author study. Mo makes me happy, even if the students make me a little crazy. We'll read some Pigeon books, Edwina, the Knuffle Bunny stories, and hopefully some Elephant and Piggie. They're all so much fun. :)

First Grade
I have SO many books I want to read to first grade. Do I have to just choose one? I think I will end up reading Miss Daisy is Crazy by Dan Gutman, the first in the My Weird School series. But I also really want to read Dinosaurs Before Dark by Mary Pope Osbourne, the first Magic Tree House book. Decisions, decisions.

Second Grade
I am definitely reading The Dream Stealer by Sid Fleischman. When I read it during the Dewey Read-a-thon, I knew instantly that it would lend itself very well to a read-aloud. It's such a magical story!

Third Grade
I'm leaning towards Frindle by Andrew Clements, but I'm worried that they'll know it. Will they, won't they? My back-up is The Chocolate Touch by Patrick Skene Catling, which I don't think I've ever read. Yeah, I need to read or re-read all these books this weekend!

Fourth Grade
This grade has me stumped. Are there not any short, uplifting novels for this age group? My options at the moment are Bird by Angela Johnson (which looks to be a bit too long) or The Whipping Boy by Sid Fleischman. But I'd rather have a short, funny book. Any ideas?

Fifth Grade
They also have me wondering... So far, all I have is Locomotion by Jacqueline Woodson. Hmm, maybe I should look into getting the audiobook - I don't know that I have the voice for this one.




So, those are my ideas. But I'm still open to suggestions! Please, suggest away! I've consulted quite a few sources already, but it's really hard to find books less than 100 pages for the upper grades.

Picture books

The Squeaky Door retold by Margaret Read MacDonald, pictures by Mary Newell DePalma
published January 2006 by HarperCollins

Based on a Puerto Rican folk song, this is the story of a little boy who has trouble sleeping in his big bed all by himself. His grandma tucks him in and asks if he'll be okay, and he insists that he'll be fine - only to start wailing when she closes the door. To help him sleep, one by one, the animals in the house (and on the farm!) join him in bed, but as soon as the door squeaks closed, the boy and the animals are crying and making noise. In the end, the boy sleeps with his grandparents for a night, grandma fixes the squeaky door, and just the cat sleeps with the boy at night.

This one would be great for a unit on "What are you afraid of?" or paired with a similar book like The Napping House. Or even with more Latin American folktales. There are many directions to go with this one! It is very repetitious and students will definitely want to read along (and make the animal sounds) by the middle of the story. I would use it with K-2 students, depending on the theme.

Rhyming Dust Bunnies by Jan Thomas

published January 2009 by Simon & Schuster

Silliness abounds in this book, in a slightly sophisticated way. Four dust bunnies are hanging out (Ed, Ned, Ted, and Bob), finding rhyming words because that's what they like to do, but one of them (you can guess who) is never able to come up with a rhyming word. Well, it turns out that he's trying to warn the rest of the group about a monster with a broom ::shudder:: and later a vacuum! The text is sparse, with only cartoon bubbles from the dust bunnies and the illustrations are large, filled in with solid colors. It's a clever little story that could serve as a fun introduction to rhyming words and/or poetry.

Splat the Cat by Rob Scotton
published July 2008  by HarperCollins

It's Splat the Cat's first day of school. He's scared senseless and tried everything he can to stay home. Alas, he gets to school, and he finds that it's not so bad. The class greets him with a warm welcome, and he learns that cats are actually pretty amazing creatures. But the one thing Splat learns that he's not so sure of is that cats chase mice. See, Splat likes mice and befriends one in the class, who just so happens to be able to open the milk closet and who changes the minds of all the cats to like mice too. I really loved this book, but the mouse sub-plot was too reminiscent of Despereaux to me. Nonetheless, the illustrations are absolutely fantastic - the furry, fuzzy cats look like they pop off the page. This is a great "first day of school" book that I would share with K-2.

Read-alouds in the Library

Because I am now gainfully employed (at least for the next two months), I have a lot less time on my hands, and most of what I've been reading lately is to share with my students. And now I'll share them with you...

Duck on a Bike by David Shannon
published  April 2002 by Scholastic

So, I'm doing a David Shannon author study with first grade students. Last week, we read Too Many Toys and The Rain Came Down. Eventually, I'll get to the David books (though I'm not really a fan), but today was definitely a Duck on a Bike day. Sometimes I just want to jump for joy at how a great book can captivate and inspire a group of students.

If you don't know the story, Duck rides a bike around the farm, and on each page he encounters an animal who reacts to Duck's unusual activity (Dog is excited, Mouse is jealous, Sheep is wary, etc.) with an animal sound and an exclamation. In the end, a group of children conveniently leave their bikes outside the house, and all of the animals on the farm get to ride a bike for a short time.

There are many factors which contribute to a great read-aloud - many of which have nothing to do with the reader or the book. Time of day, weather, lunch, recess happenings, etc. Those seemed to all be in my favor today because my students came in quietly, sat down in their neat, little rows, and listened to the story. I asked them to raise their hands every time a new animal was introduced, and they did! With enthusiasm! They asked good questions, gave thoughtful answers, and were just wonderful. We got a little silly at the end of class; I read the book again, but this time I asked them to contribute the animal sounds. Yeah, they love that.

Hansel and Gretel retold and illustrated by Rachel Isadora

published April 2009 by Penguin

Grimm's tales with fifth grade = a lot more fun in theory. I was so excited to share these gruesome, scary versions of everyone's favorite fairy tales - except that kids today don't know the fairy tales at all. Last week, I read Cinderella, but before I did, I asked students to retell it for me, just basic plot points. Yeah, that wasn't happening. I got the Hillary Duff A Cinderella Story version, with a cell phone left behind at a high school dance. Really? Really?! Do I have to suck it up and admit that fairy tales are on their way to being obsolete? Am I supposed to thank Disney for keeping them alive as long as they did? I digress.

This week, I read this AMAZING retelling of Hansel and Gretel. Rachel Isadora stayed true to Grimm's story, but she set it in Africa with bright, bold colors in a collage style - and a green, nasty-looking witch. I immediately fell in love with this book. There's nothing in the text that specifies setting, so I'm thrilled that Isadora just made it up and stuck with it. I hear that she's quite good at this. I hoped that my excitement would be contagious and that students would really get into the story and especially appreciate the illustrations. Not so much. What can I say? Grimm's tales are repetitive (in keeping with the oral tradition) with some interesting morals, and well, a little boring. It takes a lot to entertain these students, and they just weren't having it with this story.

But the point of the lesson was to compare two retellings of the same story to see how time and perspective can introduce many variables to essentially the same text. But I need more than 30 minutes for this. And I need students who care. I don't know how to make them care. They just see it as something they need to get done - another worksheet to fill out (or not, as the case was for many of them). Is it just that it's spring and they're tired of school and perhaps a little jaded and ready to leave elementary school behind? I sure hope so.

What Happened to Marion's Book? by Brook Berg, illustrated by Nathan Alberg
published September 2003 by Highsmith

Kindergarten is absolutely my weakness. With over 20 five year-olds and just one me, I have trouble reading a story and checking out books in just 30 minutes. This book is lengthy but a good review of how to care for a book, especially at this time of year when books are coming back sopping wet ("I left it in the rain") or chewed up ("It was my dog").

Marion the hedgehog loves to read and has lots of books of her own. When she starts school, she gets to borrow two books from her school library, and she decides that she wants to be a librarian when she grows up (yes, it's a little cheesy). One day, while Marion is reading her library book at the breakfast table, a big glob of jam falls on a page. Oops! Marion knows that her librarian will be disappointed if she brings back a dirty book, so she decides to clean it. Her dog licks it, she puts toothpaste on it, takes it in the bath, and puts it in the washer - until the book is completely ruined. Moral of the story - 'Fess up right away and all is forgiven (well, you know, except that fine you'll have to pay).

Students were truly shocked at the choices Marion makes during the course of the book (thank goodness!), and I think they'll remember to keep their books clean and dry. Now if I can get them to bring back their books at all...


That's all for read-alouds this week. Third grade is working on using the online catalog, and fourth grade is using magazines for information. More next week!