Wednesday, July 23, 2014
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
Something new to try
This will allow people to post sticky notes about anything you would like. I plan on using this in my wiki with my 5th grade students. It will be neat to see what they think about it. If it works well, I will be using it with my other classes as well.
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
TLA Conference
I have packed up my suitcase and my laptop and headed to San Antonio, Texas for my first librarian conference. This is a yearly conference sponsored by the Texas Library Association. I am hoping to see and learn all sorts of new things. I am attending the Bluebonnet Luncheon, and UHCL alumni dinner along with two full days of workshops! I also have to make sure I have time to visit the vendors. There will be lots of giveaways and drawings. Each day I will be blogging about my experiences. I'm excited to see old friends and meet new ones!
Sunday, April 4, 2010
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
Children's Literature
The following posts are part of an assignment for one of my college classes. The direction was to read books from specific lists and then to write a summary about each book. I hope that these will entice you to read one or more of the following books. I would highly recommend any of them.
Caldecott Medal Winners
Henkes, K. (2004). Kitten’s first full moon. New York: Greenwillow Books.
This is a story about a little kitten who is experiencing a full moon for the first time. She thinks the moon is a big bowl of milk, so she tries everything she can think of to try and get to the milk. She experiences everything from fireflies, to tall trees and ponds. She goes home wet and deflated when she finds a nice bowl of milk on the porch.
The illustrations for this story are different shades of grey. It portrays how the night would look when the moon is full. Illustrations are simple, yet tell the story of the little kitten.
Genre: Picture Book
Interest level: K-3
Reading Level: 2.7
Awards: Caldecott Medal Winner
Wiesner, D. (2006). Flotsam. New York. Clarion Books.
Flotsam is a story about a curious young boy who is enjoying a day at the beach with his family. As he investigates near the water’s edge, an underwater camera washes ashore. When he takes the film into be developed, he discovers a whole different world living under the sea. He also notices that when he looks at the photos with his microscope he sees pictures within the picture. This wordless picture book gives a different perspective to the story as more of the details are noticed.
Genre: Picture Book
Interest level: K-3
Awards: Caldecott Medal Winner
Willems, M. (2004). Knuffle Bunny: a cautionary tale. New York. Hyperion Books for Children.
Knufflebunny is about a little girl, Trixie, who goes to the Laundromat with her daddy. She inadvertently lost her stuffed bunny into the dirty clothes and daddy put it into the washing machine. As Trixie and her daddy started walking home Trixie realized that her bunny was missing. Since she is unable to tell her daddy what happened, she throws a temper-tantrum until finally her mommy realizes what happened. They rush back to the Laundromat to find that her bunny was in the wash. Trixie’s first words were KNUFFLEBUNNY!
This story uses both photos as the backdrops and colored drawings to depict the movement of people. This method helps readers form a better understanding of where the story is taking place.
Genre: Picture Book
Interest level: K-3
Reading level: 2.1
Awards: Caldecott Honor Book
This is a story about a little kitten who is experiencing a full moon for the first time. She thinks the moon is a big bowl of milk, so she tries everything she can think of to try and get to the milk. She experiences everything from fireflies, to tall trees and ponds. She goes home wet and deflated when she finds a nice bowl of milk on the porch.
The illustrations for this story are different shades of grey. It portrays how the night would look when the moon is full. Illustrations are simple, yet tell the story of the little kitten.
Genre: Picture Book
Interest level: K-3
Reading Level: 2.7
Awards: Caldecott Medal Winner
Wiesner, D. (2006). Flotsam. New York. Clarion Books.
Flotsam is a story about a curious young boy who is enjoying a day at the beach with his family. As he investigates near the water’s edge, an underwater camera washes ashore. When he takes the film into be developed, he discovers a whole different world living under the sea. He also notices that when he looks at the photos with his microscope he sees pictures within the picture. This wordless picture book gives a different perspective to the story as more of the details are noticed.
Genre: Picture Book
Interest level: K-3
Awards: Caldecott Medal Winner
Willems, M. (2004). Knuffle Bunny: a cautionary tale. New York. Hyperion Books for Children.
Knufflebunny is about a little girl, Trixie, who goes to the Laundromat with her daddy. She inadvertently lost her stuffed bunny into the dirty clothes and daddy put it into the washing machine. As Trixie and her daddy started walking home Trixie realized that her bunny was missing. Since she is unable to tell her daddy what happened, she throws a temper-tantrum until finally her mommy realizes what happened. They rush back to the Laundromat to find that her bunny was in the wash. Trixie’s first words were KNUFFLEBUNNY!
This story uses both photos as the backdrops and colored drawings to depict the movement of people. This method helps readers form a better understanding of where the story is taking place.
Genre: Picture Book
Interest level: K-3
Reading level: 2.1
Awards: Caldecott Honor Book
Newbery Award Books
Gantos, J. (2000). Joey Pigza loses control. New York. Scholastic.
This is the sequel to Joey Pigza swallowed a key. Joey and his doctors have a found a patch that slowly releases the meds he needs to stay in control. He always wondered about his father, and since there is nothing for Joey to do at home by himself besides get into trouble, his mom agrees for him to go and live with his father and grandmother for the summer. Once he gets there, Joey realizes that his dad really is like him before medicine. His father is trying to turn over a new leaf with Joey and encourages him to join the baseball team. Joey’s father thinks that things are going great and that Joey doesn’t really need his medicine, so he gets rid of it. Joey has to use the skills taught in school to get through the week. Slowly day by day as the medicine leaves his system, Joey feels himself losing control and has to figure out how to get out of his situation.
Genre: Realistic Fiction
Interest Level: 5-8
Reading Level: 5.9
Awards: Newbery Honor Book (2001), ALA Notable Book (2001)
Park, L. (2001). A single shard. New York. Dell Yearling Books.
As an orphan who lives under a bridge, Tree-ear goes in search of work so that he and his friend Crane-man may eat. He comes upon the talented potter Min. At first Min would only let him do jobs like fetching wood for the kiln in town and then cutting clay out of the river’s edge. Tree-ear’s dream is to become a potter. One day the royal emissary comes to commission a potter. Min is such a perfectionist that he doesn’t have a lot to show the emissary. Since they have heard of his work from others, they invite him to come to Solang to show his work. Min is too old to make the journey, so Tree-ear offers to take the pottery for him. Along the way Tree-ear runs into trouble and learns about himself and finding the courage to do the right thing.
Genre: Historical Fiction
Interest Level: 5-8
Reading Level: 6.7
Awards: Newbery Medal Winner (2002), Notable Book Award (2002)
Peck, R. (2000). A year down yonder. New York. Scholastic.
Mary Alice has been sent to live with her with her grandmother until her father could find a new job and get the family back on their feet. She was going to have to go to school in the “hick-town” where everyone thought she was rich, coming from Chicago and all. Mary Alice soon realizes that her grandmother is a feisty lady who goes out during the middle of the night to collect fox fur and doesn’t really care what the down says about her or her tactics. Throughout the school year, Mary Alice realizes that she is going to miss her grandmother and considers her a role model.
Genre: Historical Fiction
Interest Level: 5-8
Reading Level: 5.2
Awards: Newbery Medal Winner (1999), ALA Notable Book (2001)
This is the sequel to Joey Pigza swallowed a key. Joey and his doctors have a found a patch that slowly releases the meds he needs to stay in control. He always wondered about his father, and since there is nothing for Joey to do at home by himself besides get into trouble, his mom agrees for him to go and live with his father and grandmother for the summer. Once he gets there, Joey realizes that his dad really is like him before medicine. His father is trying to turn over a new leaf with Joey and encourages him to join the baseball team. Joey’s father thinks that things are going great and that Joey doesn’t really need his medicine, so he gets rid of it. Joey has to use the skills taught in school to get through the week. Slowly day by day as the medicine leaves his system, Joey feels himself losing control and has to figure out how to get out of his situation.
Genre: Realistic Fiction
Interest Level: 5-8
Reading Level: 5.9
Awards: Newbery Honor Book (2001), ALA Notable Book (2001)
Park, L. (2001). A single shard. New York. Dell Yearling Books.
As an orphan who lives under a bridge, Tree-ear goes in search of work so that he and his friend Crane-man may eat. He comes upon the talented potter Min. At first Min would only let him do jobs like fetching wood for the kiln in town and then cutting clay out of the river’s edge. Tree-ear’s dream is to become a potter. One day the royal emissary comes to commission a potter. Min is such a perfectionist that he doesn’t have a lot to show the emissary. Since they have heard of his work from others, they invite him to come to Solang to show his work. Min is too old to make the journey, so Tree-ear offers to take the pottery for him. Along the way Tree-ear runs into trouble and learns about himself and finding the courage to do the right thing.
Genre: Historical Fiction
Interest Level: 5-8
Reading Level: 6.7
Awards: Newbery Medal Winner (2002), Notable Book Award (2002)
Peck, R. (2000). A year down yonder. New York. Scholastic.
Mary Alice has been sent to live with her with her grandmother until her father could find a new job and get the family back on their feet. She was going to have to go to school in the “hick-town” where everyone thought she was rich, coming from Chicago and all. Mary Alice soon realizes that her grandmother is a feisty lady who goes out during the middle of the night to collect fox fur and doesn’t really care what the down says about her or her tactics. Throughout the school year, Mary Alice realizes that she is going to miss her grandmother and considers her a role model.
Genre: Historical Fiction
Interest Level: 5-8
Reading Level: 5.2
Awards: Newbery Medal Winner (1999), ALA Notable Book (2001)
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