Wonderful, Silly Books and a Request!

Last night I had the pleasure of sharing a couple of Jan Thomas titles with my sweet, little boy.  The Doghouse was already one of our favorites in the regular rotation, so it was wonderful to share a different title by this author, Is Everyone Ready for Fun?.  As soon as we finished with Is Everyone Ready for Fun?, there was a request to hear it again.  The repetition that is included in Thomas’s books is ideal for beginning readers.  The animals and silly pictures make these stories enjoyable for both parents and children!

Often my students ask me for “funny books” and these titles will be a perfect fit for some of them.  I’d like to make a collective list of humorous books for kids, possibly with the help of Twitter.  It would be great if everyone would add their favorite, wonderful, silly books for kids to the Twitter hashtag #hbfk (humorous books for kids) or post a comment here.  After a few days or so, I’ll put together a list of recommended titles.  Happy reading!

 

Tumford is NOT terrible…

As part of my ramble through the “T section” of our school library for the #ShelfChallenge, I came upon two books by Nancy Tillman.  Last year one of my teacher friends recommended her books and I’m so glad that I’m finally getting around to enjoying them (Thanks, Mrs. Rozar!)!  On the Night You Were Born is a sentimental book that has gorgeous, whimsical illustrations.  Tumford the Terrible is my favorite of the two Tillman titles because it helps children learn that there is a positive side in offering an apology to someone you have wronged.  This title is written in rhyme and is appropriate for children ages 2 and up.

Tang is Terrific

A Shelf Challenge Title

The artwork and the illustrations created by Taia Morley make Greg Tang’s books stand out!  As part of my journey through the T section of The Merry Media Center, I encountered Math Fables, Too by Greg Tang.  I expected to see numbers and a few mathematical equations sprinkled throughout the book.  There were many numbers included in the “fables” and scientific facts written in rhyme throughout the book.  The mathematical equations were lacking because the audience is expected to imagine them.  The book would be beneficial to teachers who are introducing fact families to their students, are reviewing addition facts to ten, or are sharing scientific characteristics of a variety of animals.  Our media center owns two companions to this title:  The Grapes of Math and Math for All Seasons.  The teaching value of Tang’s mathematical collection is strong overall.  To improve our library’s mathematics section, I will be looking to add the remainder of Tang’s titles.  It was exciting to find such a gem during the course of The Shelf Challenge!

A Slow Start with Sagwa

My four year old son was really excited about reading Sagwa, the Chinese Siamese Cat by Amy Tan.  The artistry on the cover of the book was extremely detailed and enticing.  The first page or two of the story was a little bit slow in advancing toward a plot, so I was disappointed at first.  We continued reading and we both became more involved in the story.  Sagwa, the main character cat, is a little mischievous, which added some humor.  My little one gave a few strong belly chuckles as the little kitten tumbled into the ink pot.  The story included some higher level vocabulary words (persistent, scroll, and magistrate).  Even though it did not start strong, Sagwa the Chinese Siamese Cat was enjoyable and had a very happy ending.

A Shelf Challenge title

Let’s Have a Fiesta!

A Shelf Challenge title.

Fiesta Babies is a wonderful short read aloud title, which incorporates a few Spanish words and phrases into the text.  Tafolla, the author, makes it easy to figure out the meanings of the words through the colorful artwork.  This picture book is eye catching and fun!  Fiesta Babies would make a great read aloud for PreK through first graders.  The babies in the story are really cute and this book lends itself toward a younger crowd.

Nancy Tafuri Books

The beautiful titles that I enjoyed today as a part of The Shelf Challenge were by the author Nancy Tafuri.  Snowy, Flowy, Blowy is a title that I had read previously and loved the simple rhyme scheme and beautiful illustrations.  A first grade class listened to this wonderful story, as well as Mama’s Little Bears and Goodnight, My Duckling.  It was unanimous that the students enjoyed Goodnight, My Duckling the most.  The students shared that they liked how the turtle showed kindness to the duckling and helped him find his way back home to his family.  Kindness really does count!

Back to Blogging

After a long hiatus I’d like to say that I’m back to blogging.  This has been a good year for The Merry Media Center with many book talks shared, a few Skype visits to read stories for Read Across America Day and World Read Aloud, and quite a few Tiger TV news show episodes recorded.  

We’ve added an online art museum on Flickr in collaboration with our wonderful art teacher, Ms. D.  Add on top of all of that 2 successful book fairs and one Follett Challenge entry.  This has been a busy school year.

My goal is to blog at least once a week (maybe a little more often during Spring Break) during the month of April.  Once again, I am taking the Shelf Challenge, in which I will choose a section of the media center to read through completely.  Last year I read the E section of the Easy picture books and I found many titles that I had not previously discovered.  It is very exciting to share this challenge with many other media specialists and library professionals!

 

5 Reasons Why I Read

My sweet sister and I like to tease that we are as different as night and day, particularly in the area of reading.  I love to read, but my sister wouldn’t be caught with a book unless she had to read it for a class.  She often teases that reading is bad for your eyes.

Here are a few of the reasons why I read:

1.  Reading gives me something to talk about when there is a lull in the conversation.

2.  Books give information that could come in handy if I’m ever on Jeopardy or some other game show someday.

3.  Reading can be done in any place, inside or outside, on a roof or in a basement.

4.  While waiting at a doctor’s office, reading helps the time pass quickly.

5.  The setting of a book, if described vividly by the author, can transport you in an instant!

The stack in the picture above is what I have enjoyed reading during Spring Break.  Most of the titles were read as part of the #ShelfChallenge.

Happy Reading!

Little Red Riding Hood Lurks in an Unexpected Place

Often in the Merry Media center, we receive requests for books that can be compared and contrasted.  During last night’s reading for the #ShelfChallenge, I happened across a true jewel, Ruby by Michael Emberley.  The red hooded mouse on the cover should have given me a clue that Red Riding Hood was lurking within the pages, but I was pleasantly surprised to find her when the story commenced.  This title was well-written and had colorful, detailed illustrations.  Ruby (Emberley) ended with a twist that students would enjoy!   This will definitely be my recommendation the next time someone asks for two titles he or she can compare and contrast.

The Gingerbread Girl wins our heart!

 

Some of the latest books that I have read with my sweet 3 year old boy have been by Lisa Campbell Ernst:  When Bluebell Sang, Zinnia and Dot, and The Gingerbread Girl.  Our favorite of the three books was definitely The Gingerbread Girl!  Within the last week, we have read The Gingerbread Boy, so it was nice to be able to compare and contrast the two stories.  Rhyming words were incorporated nicely into The Gingerbread Girl, which helped to hold the interest of my boy.  The other two stories were well-written, but didn’t resonate with us as much as The Gingerbread Girl.  She won our heart!

Another title that we have shared was The Princess and the Pig by Emmett.  This is a title that might appeal more to my first and second grade students.  The illustrations by Poly Bernatene are exquisite!  If you have students asking for princess books, this might be the right one for them!