Picture Book Month - Week 1

Highlights from the library:

It's a unique challenge trying to convince 70 fourth graders you just met 7 weeks ago at a new school that picture books are cool.  And totally aimed at them (sometimes), or at the very least worth their attention.  After the incredulous inquiries ("Wait...Diary of a Wimpy Kid and Captain Underpants don't count?"), I may be cracking the surface... When sharing favorite picture books, one boy started...."I don't remember the name of it, but it's about a boy who finds a camera in the ocean..." Before he could go any further a collective gasp and sigh and murmurs of agreement erupted throughout the class.  "Flotsam!" another boy called out.  And...we're getting there.

Next, when sharing I Will Not Read This Book with a first grade class, there were some great comments as I read the title outloud ("No, Ms. Broderick, please read it!") and then as I continued along with the story and came to the part where a "dragon blows smoke in my eyeballs", a boy in the front row covers his face and says "OH! I can FEEL it!". Sometimes it's the little things that can make your day.

The students at Zervas who are more well versed with my love of picture books (and endpapers!) totally ate up this opportunity to check out huge amounts of picture books (15+ for some of them) - I'm hoping they have wheelie backpacks...

Now I'll get back to devising a better scheme for tracking my own reading between two schools and home.  I told the kids my personal goal is 100 books - 72 to go!

Candlewick Spring Preview

Two weeks ago, I got to attend my second Candlewick preview.  It's definitely a perk of the job to be able to take a sneak peak and hear about these exciting new books right from the source.  Here's what's coming in the Spring...

Chris Van Dusen is following up last year's King Hugo's Huge Ego with another rhyming text aimed at young readers.  In Randy Riley's Really Big Hit, he combines baseball and science (specifically robots) to hook us in with this story set in a Jetsons-esque world.  I'm looking forward to sharing this one with many of my boys!

Continuing with the robot theme, Annette Simon has written the first in what will become a series: Robot Zombie Frankenstein!  In this super cute tale of friendship and pie, two friends partake in funny game of one-upmanship.  High-energy, colorful and unpredictable, this will be a great read aloud.  Favorite part? The endpapers. Awesome. There is also an activity website in the works.  I can't wait to see where else she goes with this!




Next up were two sequels that I am just dying to read.  The Dunderheads Behind Bars and Bink and Gollie, Two for One.
Paul Fleischman has now written a sequel for the FIRST TIME EVER!  And boy, am I glad for that.  In this new edition, The Dunderheads are trying to be extras in a movie being shot in their town.  They run into Miss Breakbone on the set, and her strikingly similar brother, Inspector Breakbone.  Spider ends up in the wrong place at the wrong time and it is up to the rest of the Dunderheads to break him out of jail and find the real criminal.  The underdogs team up to solve the mystery, and keep the readers laughing along the way. 
"I'm going to whack a duck!" In the newest Bink and Gollie adventures, we again get 3 short chapters, all set at the state fair.  In this volume, Bink sets out to win the world's largest donut by playing Whack-A-Duck, Gollie tries her hand in a talent show, and both try to see the future in a crystal ball.  Friendship in the best light, these stories are just heart-warmingly hilarious.

I love Stink and I love haiku. Zombies aren't my favorite, but I'll put that aside for this new book in the Stink series by Megan McDonald, Stink and the Midnight Zombie Walk.  Stink is trying to raise money to buy the newest book in his favorite zombie series by hosting a smelling stand...he and his friends get their costumes ready and race to read 1 million minutes in order to win a zombie themed party, and there is even zombie poetry - Zaiku!  Throughout this book we get the message: reading is undead. 

Frank Cottrell Boyce is releasing the first in a series of three books based on Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, which was originally published 48 years ago.  The 3rd in the series will release on the 50th anniversary.  Looks like this sequel series will be a hit!  I'm loving the key chain from the goody bag! Chitty Chitty Bang Bang Flies Again will be available in March, 2012. 









To be continued....!

Picture books of the day...

I got to share some picture books today with Ms. Toran's class:

I Will Not Read This Book by Cece Meng (I LOVE THIS BOOK! I'm going to have them re-enact it as reader's theater next week)

Little Chicken's Big Day by Katie Davis

And with some new books that came in, my reading total is up to 7 picture books in two days.  I better step up my game!

It's Picture Book Month!

Picture books are important.  Picture books are powerful.  Picture books are FUN! Join me in reading, sharing and celebrating picture books throughout the month of November.  I will be keeping stats of the number of picture books checked out of the library, and each classroom has a tally chart to document any picture books read in class.  Students who want to keep track of the picture books they read, either at school or at home, can fill out their own calendar tally chart! Families reading books together totally counts!  The classroom with the MOST number of picture books read will win a prize!

I started out Picture Book Month with 3 great read-alouds in the library.  In first grade, we were wrapping up our author study of Brian Lies, so we listened to Bats at the Library and Bats at the Ballgame while creating bats for our final display.

With the Kindergarteners, it was Judy Sierra's Wild About Books that kicked off our picture book challenge!

Let's see how many picture books the Zervas Community can read in 30 days! 

Interested in participating?
Print out the themed calendar here: http://picturebookmonth.com/calendar/
See Ms. Broderick for a tally sheet.

Pick up a picture book and read with me! 

Read, Share, Celebrate!

More information here: http://picturebookmonth.com/