Usually I do book giveaways on my book blog, but I would like to tailor this one specifically to teachers and school librarians, so I thought I'd host this one over here on my teaching blog.
I was lucky enough to receive an ARC of Katherine Applegate's newest middle grade novel, Crenshaw, at #nErDcampMI. Crenshaw is both heartbreaking and hopeful. It is a book that pairs beautifully with the realities of Eve
Bunting's Yard Sale along with the emotion and imagination of The Adventures of Beekle by Dan Santat.
Because I teach 8th grade and I have minimal space for a classroom library since my classroom is also a computer lab, I would like Crenshaw to float on to another worthy teacher. So in order to enter this giveaway, you will need to provide a school email account.
Terms and conditions:
You must be a teacher or school librarian and have a U.S. mailing address
One winner will be selected
Use the Rafflecopter widget to enter a Rafflecopter giveaway
Bless my husband for putting up with my book obsession and being okay with the fact that I always seem to have said books in haphazard piles all over the house. This is the current state of our kitchen table. I should probably move these somewhere more permanent before I sit down to work on grad school homework, but sometimes I think I have them lying around because they keep me company. I guess I'll keep them here for a while before I attempt to find a space for them on our already overflowing bookshelves and in my equally overflowing classroom library.
Since Sam and Dave Dig a Hole by Mac Barnett and Jon Klassen is a book that totally perplexed me, and given that it just won a
Caldecott honor, I decided to read it to my 8th graders this week. This
is a book that spurred much discussion and perplexity
in my classroom. I was delighted
at the thinking and questioning it sparked.
In addition to reading the story as a class, my students read about some of Travis Jonker's theories
(they particularly liked the Jesus theory) and came up with some of
their own, my favorite being that the book starts at Dave's house and
ends at Sam's house. When I told Travis about this theory on Facebook,
it led to quite a spirited discussion by teachers, librarians authors, and the like, particularly the idea of whether or not Sam and Dave were
brothers or cousins (there's a line in the story that mentions their
grandfather, meaning they shared a grandparent). If they were cousins,
then beginning at one house and ending at another would be plausible,
but not so much if they were brothers.
My students
asked if I would tweet Jon and Mac to ask them what they think happens
at the end of the story. I doubt very much that they would reveal that
information, and even if they would, I don't know if I want the answer.
The whole reason people love this book is because it spurs so much
discussion. So as tempting as it is to tweet Jon and Mac and ask, "So what
is your take on what happened at the end of your crazy book?" I think I will pass. Then again, they do give a little clue as to what they think happens at the end in this interview:
Still, I think I'm
just going to embrace the uncertainty and let this story spontaneously
insert itself into class discussions for the rest of the year. For instance, "Well, what about Sam and
Dave Dig a Hole? That book doesn't have a denouement." (Denouement is
their new favorite word to use in class discussions).
For those people who don't think picture books should be read to students past 3rd grade, I have just added another book to the pile that cements my argument as to why they are for ALL AGES, not just primary grades. This book is full of complexity and makes a case for the importance of visual literacy (Explain the reasoning behind wanting to show a full spread of the house, the pets, and the tree without Sam and Dave at the end of the book. What is this trying to tell us here?). I have to admit, I missed a lot of the visual cues I was supposed to notice my first (and second!) read-throughs. It was only until students began to point them out that I started to make those connections. So again, please, I beg of you, do not assume that because a book is only 32 pages and has pictures that it is overly simplistic. I can assure you, there are many picture books that can teach literary elements just as well, if not better, than novels.
I recently found a collection of Little Golden Books at my library's used bookstore and I immediately had an idea: I'm going to let my students create their own versions of the infamous Battle Bunny by Jon Scieszka and Mac Barnett.
So today I introduced this extra credit project to my 8th grade classes, and this was one of my favorite conversations of the day:
Me: Today I'm going to talk about your extra credit project for 1st quarter if you choose to accept it, but first I have to show you a book trailer. Student (rather begrudgingly): Does this mean we're gonna have to read this book? Me: Well yes but it's a picture book. Student: Oh, I guess that's OK. Me: *Shows Battle Bunny Book Trailer* Student (with entire class in concert): I HAVE TO READ THAT BOOK!
My next favorite conversation went something like this: Student: Mrs. Shaum are Jon Scieszka and Mac Barnett going to make any other books like Battle Bunny? Me: Well, I don't know. They're on Twitter. Maybe we could ask them. Student: Well get tweeting.
And still another favorite conversation (that happened repeatedly throughout the day): Student(s): So wait. You mean you want us to write all over a book? Me: Yes. Just don't use Sharpies because they'll bleed through the page. Student(s)' thoughts and wheels turning are almost palpable:I can't believe a teacher wants us to destroy a book.
So Mac Barnett and Jon Scieszka, if you're reading this, I hope you do create more books like Battle Bunny. Based on my students' attitudes about reading, which have been tepid so far this year, this is the first book that they were CLAMORING to read.
Needless to say, I had a swarm of 8th graders coming to get Little Golden Books after school today so they could create their own Battle Bunny stories for extra credit. I can't wait to see what they come up with.
One of the best parts of my day as a middle school language arts teacher is getting to sit down with my class and reading a book aloud to them. At the moment, we are reading Rebecca Stead's Newbery-winning novel When You Reach Me.
Yesterday we came to the climax of the story where a great deal of the mystery was revealed but there was still enough unresolved where students didn't quite know all the answers. I stopped at the end of this chapter and asked students to create a t-chart in their literature journals of "what I know" and "what I'm still confused about". That writing assignment lasted all of about 30 seconds before students just started shouting across the room at each other, trying to explain what they knew and what they were still confused about. Normally a din in the classroom causes my hackles to be raised and I quickly put a stop to the noise, but in this case, I just sat back and enjoyed the friendly debates. At that moment, there wasn't a single student in the classroom who was talking about anything other than what just happened in the book, what they knew, and what they were inferring. It was a beautiful sight and sound to behold and will probably be one of my all-time favorite classroom memories.
