SLJ Susan Patron Interview

SLJ's Extra Helping has posted a new interview with Susan Patron at:
http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/article/CA6440037.html

John Lennon PB Biography

One of my favorite genres is picture book biographies. I really love authors who can take a person's life and really do it justice in a picture book--and I'm not talking about picture books for preschoolers. I'm talking about a picture book that gives the information about the person, but makes it appealing to older readers too. Sometimes picture book biographies can drag on and really they are chapter book biographies put in a picture book format.

But there are some picture book biographies that really stand out. They are visually appealing to many ages, they tell sufficient information about the individual, but make the words lyrical and appealing at the same time.

My new favorite picture book biography is John's Secret Dreams by Doreen Rappaport and illustrated by Bryan Collier. John's Secret Dreams tells the story of John Lennon's life from the time he was a little boy all the way to his death. The thing that I think makes this book stand out above a traditional biography or the traditional picture book biography are the quotes from his songs. Throughout the book as Rappaport tells about Lennon's life, she quotes parts of his songs. The lyrics flow with the text and really show how Lennon's songs were a reflection of his life.

My favorite part of the book, which shows how Rappaport really weaves the lyrics and his life story together is at the very end of the book:

"He dreamed about being sixty and being with Yoko.

Grow old along with me

The best is yet to be

When our time has come

We will be as one

That dream did not come true.

John Lennon was murdered when he was only forty years old."

This is a brilliantly crafted book. Bryan Collier's illustrations help bring the Rappaport's text, Lennon's lyrics, and Lennon's story to life.

The book includes author's and illustrator's notes, a timeline, selected discography (list of albums), and extensive bibliography.

Alice in Wonderland Dinnerware

Check this out: Alice in Wonderland Dinnerware. Fish's Eddy has Alice in Wonderland plates, glasses, trays, mugs, and a platter. And this is not your average Disney plastic kids' table duds. This is nice stuff.

My favorite is the square tray with the Cheshire Cat perched up in the tree and Alice looking up at him.

Thanks to Better Homes and Gardens for the link!

Jamestown Books

The big 400th anniversary weekend of Jamestown this coming weekend May 11-13. In honor of this big celebration here in Virginia, I thought I would highlight a list of Jamestown books I've been compiling. I know this is not a comprehensive list. In fact, I have not included the majority of the nonfiction reference books for kids written about Jamestown. Most of the books on this list are historical fiction, with a few exceptions. Many of the nonfiction selections are narrative nonfiction. I'm always wanting to expand the list, so if I have forgotten your favorite books about Jamestown, please let me know.

Here are my codes:

PB--Picture Book

MG--Middle Grade

YA--Young Adult

Hi-Lo--High Interest, Lower Reading Level (good for struggling readers)

HF--historical fiction

NF--nonfiction

1607: A New Look at Jamestown by Karen Lange (MG, NF)

1609: Winter of the Dead by Elizabeth Massie (YA, HF)

Blood on the River: James Town 1607 by Elisa Lynn Carbone (MG, HF)

Double Life of Pocahontas by Jean Fritz (YA, NF)

Jamestown Journey by Bentley Boyd (MG, graphic novel)

Jamestown: Journey Back in Time by Scott Reighard (YA, HF)

James Towne: Struggle for Survival by Marcia Sewall (Hi-Lo, HF)

John Smith Escapes Again by Rosalyn Schanzer (PB, NF)

Journey to Jamestown by Lois Ruby (MG, HF)

Lion to Guard Us by Clyde Robert Bulla (MG, HF)

Miracle: The True Story of the Wreck of the Sea Venture by Gail Karwoski (MG, NF)

My America: Our Strange New Land, Elizabeth's Jamestown Colony Diary, Book 1 by Patricia Hermes (MG, HF)

My America: Season of Promise, Elizabeth's Jamestown Colony Diary, Book 3 by Patricia Hermes (MG, HF)

My America: The Starving Time, Elizabeth's Jamestown Colony Diary, Book 2 by Patricia Hermes (MG, HF)

The Mystery at Jamestown: First Permanent English Colony in America by Carole Marsh (MG, HF)

On Their Own: A Journey to Jamestown by Marie Stone (MG, HF)

Pocahontas: Princess of the New World by Kathleen Krull (PB, NF)

Pocahontas and the Strangers by Clyde Robert Bulla (MG, HF)

Sam Collier and the Founding of Jamestown by Candice Ransom (Hi-Lo, HF)

Sees Behind Trees by Michael Dorris (MG, HF)

Serpent Never Sleeps: A Novel of Jamestown and Pocahontas by Scott O'Dell (YA, HF)

Shadows in the Glasshouse: A Jamestown Story by Megan McDonald (MG, HF)

Surviving Jamestown: The Adventures of Young Sam Collier by Gail Karwoski (MG, HF)

Two Chimneys by Mary Holmes (MG, HF)

Virginia Bound by Amy Butler (MG, HF)

(Interview with Amy Butler by Cynthia Leitich Smith at Cynsations)

What if You'd Been at Jamestown? by Ellen Keller (Hi-Lo, HF)

When the Great Canoes Came by Mary Louise Clifford (MG, HF)

Who's Saying What at Jamestown, Thomas Savage? by Jean Fritz (MG, NF)

Unsolved Mysteries

I just finished reading The Body of Christopher Creed by Carol Plum-Ucci. It was one of the books that Madeline over at Buried in the Slush Pile recommended in February for writers to read. I could not put it down. I am an avid Patricia Cornwell reader, and I love CSI, but I don't read a lot of kid mysteries, because Encyclopedia Brown is usually all I think of. But Plum-Ucci had me hanging from chapter to chapter.

Christopher Creed is one of those kids that annoys everyone. When Christopher Creed is reported missing, Torey Adams' life is turned upside down. Torey Adams has always had a perfect life--a nice house, his parents have good jobs, he has a beautiful girlfriend, and he plays football. When he and a neighbor start wondering what really happened to Christopher Creed, the tables turn on them.

This is a page-turner, and it didn't turn out at all like I expected. I had never heard of Plum-Ucci until Madeline mentioned her in her blog. As soon as I started the book, I heard another one of Plum-Ucci's books, The Night My Sister Went Missing, was a nominee for an Edgar Award for 2007. The Body of Christopher Creed was a 2001 Printz Honor Book. I've now become a big Plum-Ucci fan and plan to read her other books. If you can recommend other good YA mysteries, I'm taking recommendations.

Poetry Friday: Clerihews

I love poetic forms. I especially like to teach that ones that most teachers don’t teach—like clerihews. Clerihews are a form of poetry named after their inventor, Edmund Clerihew Bentley. Bentley was a British writer who wrote these clerihews during World War II about historical and literary figures.

So, what’s a clerihew anyway?
* It’s about a celebrity of someone famous.
* It pokes gentle fun at the person the poem is about.
* It’s funny.
* It’s a four line poem made up of two couplets (AABB)
* The lines are short and the first line ends with the person’s name.

I just got back from University of Virginia on a field trip. We saw the Poe room where Edgar Allen Poe stayed for a few months during his brief time at UVA. Here is a clerihew about him that I wrote:

Edgar Allan Poe
Wrote about ravens, we know
Mysterious and creepy
He kept readers from being sleepy

For more information about how to write clerihews, check out these kids’ books:
How to Write Poetry by Paul Janeczko
Poetry from A to Z: A Guide for Young Writers by Paul Janeczko
How to Write Haiku and Other Short Poems by Paul Janeczko

Here’s one by Paul Janeczko:

Harry Potter
Was a magical plotter
At Hogwarts he became a master
After many a goof and disaster.

For poems from the original clerihew master:

The Complete Clerihews of E. Clerihew Bentley by E.C. Bentley
The First Clerihews by E. Clerihew Bentley

* Both of these books are really hard to find. You will have to go to a out of print book source.

Here is an original clerihew by Bentley:

Lewis Carroll
Bought sumptuous apparel
And built an enormous palace
Out of the profits of Alice

Virginia Readers' Choice Awards for 2006-07 Announced

The winners are in. Here are the Virginia Readers' Choice Awards. This award is sponsored by Virginia State Reading Association and books are voted on by Virginia school children.

Primary (K-3): Guji Guji by Chih-Yuan Chen (my review of the book here)

Elementary (3-5): The Last Holiday Concert by Andrew Clements

Middle School: The Sea of Trolls by Nancy Farmer

High School: My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult