The Hattie Big Sky Book Club Archive

Colby Sharp and I are grateful for everyone who read Kirby Larson's Hattie Big Sky and participated in last night's book club discussion. Thank you for your thoughtful comments and dedication to children's literature. Below are some randomly selected tweets from the discussion.

If you would like to read the entire book club discussion, please click here.

Colby Sharp and I shared these resources during the book club meeting.

Mr. Schu: Random House Kids created a discussion guide.

Mr. Sharp: Please visit Kirby Larson’s website to learn more about all of her wonderful books:

Mr. Schu: A podcast interview with Kirby Larson.

Colby Sharp: Hattie Big Sky has its own website (includes praise, research, excerpts).

Mr. Schu: Kirby Larson reads from The Higher Power of Lucky (won the Newbery Medal the year #HattieBigSky won an Honor) .

Colby Sharp: "Every word has to earn its way into the story." -Kirby Larson

Colby Sharp: Jen Vincent and I discussed Hattie Big Sky.

Mr. Schu: Kirby talks about Fences Between Us.

Colby Sharp: Donalyn Miller reviewed Hattie Big Sky for the Nerdy Book Club.

Please borrow Hattie Big Sky from your school or public library. Whenever possible, please support independent bookshops.

Ivy + Bean Blog-a-Bration (Week 4)

Welcome to week four of the Ivy and Bean Blog-A-Bration. I hope you’re having as much fun as I am following this exciting and informative blog tour.

Fourth-grade teacher Colby Sharp (aka Mr. Colby Sharp) and I decided to join forces to celebrate Ivy and Bean: Take Care of the Babysitter (Book 4). It’s always better when we put our brains together. Mr. Creativity Sharp came up with the brilliant idea of creating a reading list for Ivy and Bean. Colby took Ivy, and I took Bean. I hope they like our suggestions.

Ivy and Bean do not really care for each other in the beginning of book one, but they develop an unlikely friendship. I would share Jennifer Holland's Unlikely Friendships for Kids series with Ivy.

Did you know R.J. Palacio designed these books?

43 Old Cemetery Road and Mary Downing Hahn come to mind when kids ask me for ghost stories. I think 43 Old Cemetery Road is perfect for Ivy. I would play the following video for her:

I think Ivy and Bean would eat up Seymour Simon's Extreme Earth Records. I would share the following facts with Ivy:

*"The hottest temperature of 134 degrees Fahrenheit was recorded in North America on July 10, 1913, at Furnace Creek, Death Valley, California."

*"Mount Thor on Baffin Island in the Canadian Arctic is thought to be the highest purely vertical fall at 4,100 feet."

*"Fresh lava ranges from 1,300 to 2,200 degrees Fahrenheit and glows red to white hot as it flows."

I have fond memories of my first-grade teacher, Miss Pollard. Almost every afternoon we would gather in the reading area to drink milk, read picture books, and listen to her play the piano. I bet she read Shel Silverstein's "The Sitter" to us at least fifty times. I would tell Ivy about Miss Pollard and then recite:

Mrs. McTwitter the baby-sitter,

I think she's a little bit crazy.

She thinks the baby-sitter's supposed

To sit upon the baby.

I would encourage her to check out A Light in the Attic.

Visit Colby's blog to see what he came up with for Bean.

Happy book birthday to Ivy and Bean: Make the Rules!!

Chronicle has generously agreed to give away a paperback copy of Ivy and Bean: Take Care of the Babysitter and three sets of Ivy + Bean Mini Notes.

Rules for the Giveaway

1. The giveaway will run from September 5 to 11:59 PM on September 7.

2. You must be at least 13.

3. Please pay it forward.

Coquette Maman
In the Pages
Kid Lit Frenzy
Media Darlings
One Page to the Next
Roundtable Reviews for Kids
Ruth Ayres Writes
Sharpread
The Children’s Book Review
The Family That Reads Together
The O.W.L.
There’s A Book
Van Meter Library Voice

A complete set of Ivy and Bean hardcover books signed by Annie Barrows
1 Ivy and Bean Paper Doll Play Set
1 Ivy and Bean Button Factory
1 Ivy and Bean READ Poster signed by Annie Barrows
Set of Ivy and Bean Silly Bandz (not pictured, but they are so cute!!)
Set of Ivy and Bean stickers

Happy Book Birthday to...

Is there anything better than going to Anderson’s Bookshop on a Tuesday afternoon to look at the books that were just unpacked and displayed on inviting shelves? After all, it was not an easy journey for many of the books staring back at you—an author may have spent years getting every word just right, and then their manuscript was marked up and critiqued by a gazillion people before it was assigned an ISBN, marketed, printed, reviewed, and sent it out into a big, scary world.

It's not a well-kept secret that I enjoy celebrating a book's birthday. I think books deserve extravagant and mighty birthday parties. Today, I send virtual hugs and best wishes to the following books...

(Click here to view it on YouTube.)

Please visit my book release calendar to learn more about the books featured in the video.