The Book Search

School started last week and I just love this time of year... so full of possibilities and potential... the kids are so excited to see their friends and to consider all the promise a new year holds.  Books are like that too.  When you pick one up, you wonder "Am I going to completely fall in love with these characters and their situations?"  "Is this author going to take me places I didn't even know I wanted to go?"  These new picture books do just that. The first one is called "Lazy Cat Hero- The Rise of the Nap".  It's a folk tale about the laziest cat ever and it is hilarious.  If you've ever owned a cat, you know that they can certainly out-lazy any other animal on the planet.  My own cat, for example was too lazy to respond to her own name (although, in fairness, maybe we called her the wrong name).  The cat in THIS book is called Bubastis who calls himself Bub or sometimes just B, because really, Bubastis is SUCH a long name.  Bub sta...

I got to go to Books and Books in Coral Gables (squee!!!)  a couple of weeks ago and I read several awesome pictures books while I was there but I also picked up the Indie Next newsletter and have been begging my local library to loan me the books on the list.  I got three this weekend and they were terrific. My favorite one (so far) is called Magonia by Maria Dahvana Headly.  I'd never read anything by her, but I am SO glad I found this one.  I hesitate to write about the plot of this one because part of what I liked so much was the completely amazing plot twists.  It starts off about a 16 year old girl named Aza Ray.  She has been sick most of her life and has (what felt like to me) the usual suspects-the quirky best friend (Jason), the supportive family, and a really fresh attitude about being sick and being treated like she was sick.  There have been many predictions about her demise, each one scarier than the last and although I could sort of se...

Here's a little piece of awesomeness from Peter and Paul Reynolds, just to remind you about how awesome it is to work with kids. And in case anybody has been telling you that teaching isn't the most awesome profession around, let Taylor Mali remind you what teachers make. Kids also have a lot to say, so here's Kid President to tell you about somethings we should all say more often.  

Did I ever find some terrific biographies!  Check these out! The first one is called "Trombone Shorty" by Troy Andrews, which actually makes this one an autobiography.  Trombone Shorty is, unsurprisingly, a trombone player.  What is surprising is how young he started (when he was 4!) and how he got started, which is detailed in the book. The art work is awesome and really helps you feel the energy and affection for music and New Orleans.  I think the kids will like the story of his start and they will love to hear about his foundation that is helping to mentor high school students in the New Orleans area in the music business.  Here's a tiny desk concert from NPR with Trombone Shorty and his band. The second one is a biography of Jane Goodall called "Untamed- The Wild Life of Jane Goodall" by Anita Silvey.  This biography is stuffed full of photographs of Goodall during her entire life.  The story is told with lots of interesting details that a...

Here are some terrific books about science.  They are picture books but one of them is big enough for really big kids! The easiest one (possibly the most beautiful) is called "Water is Water-A Book about the Water Cycle" by Miranda Paul and illustrated by Jason Chin.  I mention Chin because these pictures are like poetry.  I know when I read this one, the kids are going to gasp as I turn the pages and say "Whooooaaa"  I love it when they do that!  The text is really great too.  It's quite simple but poetic (you won't mind reading this one several times) and the vocabulary is terrific.  But it's about the water cycle so there's science too (science AND poetry?  Can it BE?) and it has this very fun leading structure.  You really need to look for this one, there's a lot to like about it. The second one is sort biographical but it's also about the scientific method.  It's called "Mesmerized - How Ben Franklin Solved a Mystery th...

My husband went to a professional conference yesterday and was gone all day.  It was kind of an overcast day and here in South Florida, what that means is it's hot and it might rain.  When you walk outside you have the immediate impression that you might have trouble breathing because the air so thick.  In other words, I didn't need a lot of encouragement to stay inside!  So I read.  A LOT.  Here are some reviews of what I read. The first one and probably my favorite of these three, is called "Listen to the Moon" by Michael Morpurgo.  If you live in America, you might know Michael Mopurgo from his book called "War Horse" which was turned into a movie and then a play.  I was surprised yesterday when I was looking for some back story on this book that Michael Muprugo is a VERY prolific writer (although apparently, a lot of it hasn't made it across the pond), so I'm looking forward to read some of his other work.  Anyway, this one is terrific....