Lenore Look Visited the Styling Librarian's School

Debbie Alvarez (AKA the Styling Librarian) is a teacher-librarian in Hong Kong. She's an avid reader, a thoughtful and inspiring blogger, and an important member of my online learning network. 

I invited Debbie on Watch. Connect. Read. to chat with me about the time Lenore Look visited her school library. I wrote the words in red, and she wrote the words in black. Thank you, Debbie! 

We prepared for Lenore Look’s author visit by jumping up and down and cheering that Lenore was actually already coming our way! Then… reading all the books we could by her plus … made promotional movie, created large posters and popped them up in all the stairwells along with around the library, promoted the visit through newsletters and on the library blog page, read aloud numerous Lenore Look books to classes, played book trailers on the library television screens, read Lenore Look’s blog and interview to classes, prepared schedule and lunch and presentation space… Teachers additionally shared books and rotated them around the school and had special author intent discussions as well…

My students think Lenore Look’s books are special, humorous, entertaining, appealing, difficult to get their hands on, have long waiting lists… months later, and books they can personally connect with. Also, they are treasures that students find on the shelf and run up and recount the author visit and read aloud memories.

Photo Credit: Debbie

 Lenore emphasized journaling, finding a hook for the reader when you’re writing, and placing emphasis on finding a character people can immediately connect with vs. worrying about the plot first.

Photo credit: Debbie

The best thing about Lenore’s messages was that she’s impacted numerous students’ writing around the building. I’ve seen students carrying around little writing books and jotting down ideas during the day. Also, I just love how highly Lenore’s books are coveted in the library. Seeing a student do a little dance when the book is available for them is quite a beautiful treat!

Photo credit: Debbie

Eight weeks later, my students are still talking about Lenore Look’s writing in comparison to other authors. Finding similar authors and continuing their writing journals. I’ve heard from a few students who created PDK, personal disaster kits, at home… Also reading her blog to see what she was doing around China was a wonderful treat, can’t wait to see how the next Alvin Ho is inspired by her adventures.

Photo credit: Debbie

I connect my students with authors by showing book trailers, connecting students to authors that match their interests, book talking different authors and genres who might fit various interests. Also, when a student is borrowing more than one book by an author, I tell them about an author’s blog, book trailers, and other author connection resources there are…

Mr. Schu, you should have asked me about  Lenore’s new books! There is a NEW Alvin Ho book coming out this spring in addition to a new picture book which will be released this fall, quite exciting! Lenore’s next Alvin book, ALLERGIC TO BABIES, BURGLARS AND OTHER BUMPS IN THE NIGHT, and a new picture book, THE BRUSH OF THE GODS, which is about the T’ang Dynasty painter Wu Daozi, who was considered the greatest Chinese painter in history.

Also, did you know how Lenore and I celebrated the author visit? We agreed to post our reflections on the visit simultaneously so that our blog readers could see a visit from a teacher librarian point of view and an author’s point of view. 

I am giving away a copy of Alvin Ho: Allergic to Girls, School, and Other Scary Stuff. 

Rules for the Giveaway

1. It will run from 2/1 to 11:59 P.M. on 2/3. 

2. You must be at least 13. 

3. Please pay it forward.

Google Drive is not cooperating. I will try embedding the form in the morning. For now, please click here to enter the Giveaway. 

This Just In… Loathe Your Neighbor by D.A. Cairns

David Lavender is a man with a talent for making bad decisions. In his 40th year on planet Earth, a dangerous restlessness overwhelms him, and, as his marriage crumbles, and a dispute with his neighbor escalates, he responds to theses crises in his life with characteristic folly.

Frozen out by his mysteriously indifferent wife, Lilijana. Baited by his cantankerous stepson, Tomo, and

Birthdays for Lomax, Mailer and O’Hara

I’ve been writing about birthdays with a slow sort of regularity for January Magazine for many years. One of the things that’s struck me about this exercise is the discovery, very early on, that big talent tends to run in clumps.

For instance today, the 31st of January, is the birthday of three writers with very big shoes: Alan Lomax (Cowboy Songs and Frontier Ballads, Songs of the Cattle Trail

#holdshelf: January 2013

My library's hold shelf is a window into my library. Please click play to see some of the books my students will check out later today or tomorrow. 

Did anything surprise you? Are your students checking out similar books? Did you spot a book you're excited to read? 

It's time to hit the road. Please head on over to Travis Jonker's blog to view this month's #HoldShelf gallery. 

Travis and I Want to See Your #HoldShelf Before 4:00

Mr. Travis Jonker (AKA Mr. September) and I want to see your library's #holdshelf. Why? Because it gives us a nice snapshot of the most requested books. 

Sorry for the short notice, but you only have until 4:00 P.M. CST to email Travis a photograph of your hold shelf. Please send the image to scopenotes at gmail dot com. 

I am excited to see what your kids are reading. 

Pride and Prejudice at 200

Two hundred years after Jane Austen penned Pride and Prejudice, the regency comedy of manners has never had a larger following or longer legs.

If you weren’t sure about this before, you can be now. Yesterday marked the 200th anniversary of the book’s publication date and the international outpouring for Austen’s most famous creation was breathtaking.

If you’re an Austen fan, you can still jump

This Just In… Cracking the Code: Spreading Rumors by Kris Yankee

When Toby Karlson, aka TK, is at the wrong place at the wrong time, he goes from cool kid to total outcast with just one hip check.

Sixth-grade orientation was scary, but TK didn’t realize it would change his life. Now he has to hang out with the smartest and geekiest kid in school, while dodging the school bully and his posse. If TK were on the ice, he’d know exactly what to do. But this is

Globe and Mail Cuts Book Section… Until it Bleeds

Sad to report that the Globe and Mail, once Canada’s most important newspaper, has further cut its books section. According to NOW Toronto, “Editor Martin Levin and assistant editor Jack Kirchhoff will no longer serve in their posts, leaving the national newspaper without a literary editor.”

Levin told NOW that the paper is bowing to the perceived endless need for celebrity gossip. “It’s all

2013 Newbery

Dear 2013 Newbery Committee,

Thank you for spending your Newbery term searching for the most distinguished contribution to children's literature. I bet you can recite this part of the John Newbery Award Selection Committee Manual in your sleep: distinguished is defined as: 

• Marked by eminence and distinction; noted for significant achievement. 

• Marked by excellence in quality. 

• Marked by conspicuous excellence or eminence.

• Individually distinct. 

Thank you for coming to consensus that The One and Only Ivan embodies those qualities. I know the word distinguished pops into my head whenever someone mentions Ivan.

I hope the next week is dedicated to catching up on your favorite television series, spending quality time with friends and family, and feeling proud that you selected a timeless book that will be passed down from one generation to the next. 

Thank you from the bottom of my heart. I'm sending you virtual hugs and a standing ovation. 

-John 

P.S. I was the guy in the convention center with tears streaming down his face. Tears, tears, tears. I kept wishing the real Ivan were still alive to hear the news.

The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate 

Splendors and Glooms by Laura Amy Schlitz 

******

Three Times Lucky by Sheila Turnage 

******

Bomb by Steve Sheinkin 

Head on over to TeachingBooks.net to hear this great introduction to Bomb. 

I am giving away a copy of The One and Only Ivan. 

Rules for the Giveaway 

1. It will run from 1/29 to 11:59 p.m. on 2/1. 

2. You must be at least 13.

3. Please pay it forward. 

The Newbery Challenge: Jacob Have I Loved

Some facts about 1981

Chariots of Fire won Best Picture. 

MTV debuted.  

Dallas was one of the most popular shows. 

Dolly Parton's "9 to 5" was a hit. 

Travis Jonker, Colby Sharp, and I were born. 

Fables won the Caldecott Medal. 

Jacob Have I Loved won the Newbery Medal. 

Please visit Colby's blog to find out what he thought of Jacob Have I Loved. 

I love listening to Katherine Paterson talk about her childhood. 

Katherine Paterson presented at the 2010 National Book Festival. 

Travis Jonker designed the cover on the right. 

Borrow Jacob Have I Loved from your school or public library. Whenever possible, please support independent bookshops. 

Author Kate Coombs

Kate Coombs is a children's book writer, an editor, a teacher, a poet, a collector of shells, a blogger, and an extremely kind person. I invited her on Watch. Connect. Read. to discuss her books, writing, and reading. 

I wrote the words in red, and she wrote the words in black. Thank you, Kate! 

  The Runaway Princess and The Runaway Dragon are my way of having fun with fairy tales. Madcap fun, even. They’re also a good example of “What if” writing: What if a king announced he was giving away half his kingdom and his daughter’s hand in marriage, and the princess wasn’t up for it? What if a sorceress was one of those teen mean girls? What if fairy tales refused to follow the script?

Photo credit: Kate Coombs

Seashells are nature’s way of showing off her artistry on a small scale. Each one is a visual poem. (I’m looking at the shells on my desk as I write this! And—wow. Endlessly wow.)

I always encourage young writers to revise from the typical summary level to a richer level of detail. Yep, “show don’t tell,” or at least “show a lot more than you tell.” I give them models because most of them don’t seem to know what a teacher means when he or she says, “Be specific.” I also encourage young writers to think of outlines as loose and flexible frameworks if they use them at all—most often for nonfiction work. When it comes to creative writing, I point out that writing a story is not as easy as teachers make it sound and suggest that kids use “What if” questions for brainstorming.

Poetry is a way of creating a world that is as compact, beautiful, and surprising as a seashell. Poems are usually adorned with or constructed of metaphors and include a twist in the last line. They are also a way of putting language through its paces. Can the poet create images and ideas that feel so real they reach off the page to grab readers by the heart? Reading a good poem can be more intense than reading just about anything else.

Picture books are like poems, too. Well, I’m thinking of the spare books written for younger readers. Mine are more like old-fashioned sit-around-the-fire-in-winter storytelling. “Listen. Come closer. I’ll tell you a story. Once upon a time, in a land very far away….” There’s a reason the original Star Wars movie starts off the way it does!

Book Aunt is a place where I can share my love of children’s books and hang out with other people who love those books, especially people who want to get them into the hands of children. Which books are being overlooked, but could thoroughly hook a particular child? It’s almost always about finding the right fit. For example, maybe a boy is being pushed to read J.K. Rowling but would much prefer Watt Key. Only he doesn’t know that, so he says, “I don’t like reading.” Or we get a girl who hasn’t discovered the classic Ballet Shoes or Sachar’s Holes or—for a teen—something like Rachel Hartman’s Seraphina or Sarah Dessen’s books. I know I’ve turned some reluctant reader boys in second grade into readers by giving them the Lunch Lady books (followed by Captain Underpants!) and reluctant reader girls in third or fourth grade into readers with the Babymouse series.

Mr. Schu, you should have asked me why I have become disillusioned with jellyfish. Because they are hauntingly strange and lovely, they have been one of my favorite sea creatures for many years. I wrote three poems about them for Water Sings Blue. Later I discovered Mark Kurlansky’s stunning book World without Fish (ages 10 and up). He explains that if the world’s oceans become fished out—which is happening rapidly—the sea creature that will survive and thrive is the jellyfish. Now I can’t help thinking of jellyfish as dastardly opportunists, or at least as being comparable to cockroaches in their apocalyptic indestructibility!

I am giving away one copy of Water Sings Blue. 

Rules for the Giveaway 

1. It will run from 1/25 to 11:59 p.m. on 1/28. 

2. You must be at least 13. 

3. Please pay it forward. 

Please borrow Kate's books from your school or public library. Whenever possible, please support independent bookshops. 

Book Publicity 101

We see a lot of books for potential review at January Magazine. A lot. Most often, review books arrive with minimum fanfare. A book, a press release in an envelope of a suitable size to accommodate both. Truthfully? We like it that way. We tend to note the aberrations, though. For instance, the single book that arrives in a box big enough for 10 will make us frown. (And it happens far, far more

Children's Books: 33 Minutes by Todd Hasak-Lowy

In this heartwarming a story, we learn that -- as the book says -- friendships don’t always last forever. Morgan and Sam, best friends since first grade, have a date with destiny. Because in 33 minutes, Morgan is going to kick Sam’s butt. Taking TAMADE (The Absolute Most Amazing Day Ever [The day they became the best team ever in Alien Wars history by playing through the entire game in one day])

This Just In… Until My Soul Gets It Right: The Bibliophiles: Book Two by Karen Wojcik Berner

You can’t run away from yourself.

Catherine Elbert has never been good at making decisions, whether it was choosing an ice cream flavor as a small child, or figuring out what she wanted to be when she grew up. The only thing Catherine knew for sure was there had to be more to life than being stuck on her family’s farm in Wisconsin.

While watching a PBS travel show, Catherine becomes entranced

Video of the Day: Remembering to be a Child

National Book Award winner Jeanne Birdsall talks about how her husband encouraged her to become a professional writer, the book that inspired her to write The Penderwicks, and how she remembered what it really felt like to be a child. Thank you, Jeanne Birdsall, for delivering this inspiring TEDx talk.  

Happy watching, everyone!  

This Just In… Road Trippn' by Sean McLaughlin

Intimately narrated by its mystical protagonist, John McParadise, a restless writer from Cleveland, Ohio, Road Trippn’ tells the tale of a prescient young man awakening to the joys, passions and sorrows of life, love, and the gradual reality of visions and uncanny events that will forever alter the psychic landscape around him.

Feeling alienated from a split with his high-school sweetheart, John

2013 Sydney Taylor Book Award Winners

The Sydney Taylor Book Awards were announced on January 21. The awards are presented annually to outstanding books for children and teens that "authentically portray the Jewish experience." 

Congratulations to the winners! 

Hannah's Way by Linda Glasser; illustrated by Adam Gustavson. Kar-Ben, 2012. 

His Name Was Raoul Wallenberg by Louise Borden. Houghton Mifflin, 2012. 

I interviewed Louise a few weeks ago. Here's what she told me about His Name was Raoul Wallenberg. 

Mr. Schu: What would you like anyone booktalking His Name Was Raoul Wallenberg to mention? 

Louise Borden: I believe that one person can make a difference in the world. Kids are often told this in various ways - by their parents or teachers. I wanted to contribute to that conversation by writing about Raoul, who is unknown to many Americans. His actions and his moral compass can shine a light on the unknown roads ahead of all of us. There are very few books written about RW for children. I felt that my style of line breaks and white space would help readers navigate the terrain of unfamiliar geography and historical events. 

What if RW had never gone to Budapest in July, 1944? 

How would the story of Budapest's Jewish families have played out?

Did his years as a student in America help to shape Raoul's outlook on life?

Did his travels have an impact on his world view?

I tried to include interesting details to draw kids in. . .Raoul's childhood, his schooling, his travels, etc.

When I was writing the book, I was never really thinking about the booktalking that would occur after RW was published. But your question, John, has led me to new thinking. Many terrific questions can arise in discussing the book with students.

And of course, writing about the mystery of Raoul's disappearance was very difficult. I was so immersed for years in the research and then the writing.  It took me almost two years to complete the text (after the research).  When I was almost finished with the text, I returned to Stockholm, and shared the manuscript with Nina and Gunnar.  "I'm almost there. . .but I still need to write the two ending chapters," I said, and Gunnar looked at me and smiled and  replied, "You have the hardest part of the book still ahead of you. . . "  Wise words from this wonderful friend. The ending was indeed the hardest to write. 

I hated to let go of 2012 in a way because it was the Centennial Year of RW's birth.

Intentions by Deborah Heilgman. Knopf Books for Young Readers, 2012. 

Zayde Comes to Live by Sheri Sinykin; illustrated by Kristina Swarner. Peachtree, 2012. 

The Elijah Door: A Passover Tale by Linda Leopold Strauss; illustrated by Alexi Natchev. Holiday House, 2012. 

The Wooden Sword: A Jewish Folktale from Afghanistan by Ann Redisch Stampler; illustrated by Carol Liddiment. Albert Whitman and Company, 2012.

Beyond Courage: The Untold Story of Jewish Resistance During the Holocaust by Doreen Rappaport. Candlewick Press, 2012. 

Sadie and the Big Mountain by Jamie Korngold; illustrated by Julie Fortenberry. Kar-Ben, 2012. 

The Schmutzy Family by Madelyn Rosenberg; illustrated by Paul Meisel. Holiday House, 2012. 

A Song for My Sister by Lesley Simpson; illustrated by Tatjana Mai-Wyss. Random House, 2012. 

Speak Up, Tommy! by Jacqueline Dembar Green; illustrated by Deborah Melmon. Kar-Ben, 2012. 

A Sweet Passover by Leslea Newman; illustrated by David Slonim. Abrams Books for Young Readers, 2012. 

Hereville: How Mirka Met a Meteroite by Barry Deutsch. Amulet Books, 2012. 

Looking for Me by Betsy R. Rosenthal. Houghton Mifflin, 2012. 

Sami’s Sleepaway Summer by Jenny Meyerhoff 
(Scholastic Paperbacks) 

Small Medium at Large by Joanne Levy. Bloomsbury, 2012.  

Joanne participated in a Sharp-Schu trifecta. 

Mr. Schu: What does it feel like to send your first book out into the world?

Joanne Levy: I’m not sure I can quite describe the mixture of emotions, but I guess I’m a writer, so I’d better try. It has been a LONG and very bumpy road for me, with over a dozen books written before this one, several of which did get shopped before finally making a sale with SMALL MEDIUM AT LARGE. So it feels like a long time coming and that 9 years has made today, my official release day, that much sweeter. Not to say I would have minded a quick and early sale, but the pride I feel over sticking it out this long goes further than just feeling great about writing and selling a book. I’m not just a published author, I’m also a thick-skinned, persistent, determined, refuses-to-let-her-dreams-die gal who worked hard to make it happen. So yeah, between the pride over the book and the pride in myself, I feel pretty darn good. That said, it’s kind of terrifying at the same time, as I worry if the book will do well and will people, and especially kids, like it. And I feel like this whole experience has pulled me out of my comfort zone in so many (good) ways, but I feel so much better for it. I am so grateful for the wonderful people who have stood by me along the journey AND for all the new friends I’m making because of it—so many people have been so encouraging and gracious that I’m daily overwhelmed with gratitude. So to sum up: it feels pretty amazing.

Whole Story of Half a Girl by Veera Hiranandani. Random House, 2012.  

The Last Song by Eva Wiseman. Tundra Books, 2012. 

Now by Morris Gleitzman. Henry Holt, 2012. 

Rachel's Secret by Shelly Sanders. Second Story Press, 2012.