Coffee with Jeni Reeves

During the summer months activity seems to slow down for many educators but for writers and illustrators the work goes on non-stop.  A few days ago Jeni Reeves took time out from her writing/illustrating tasks to sit down and have a cup of coffee with me.

Jeni Reeves @ Java Creek

Much to catch up on.  Jeni has made research trips to New York City, Chicago, Virginia -- all in the quest of accurate details to guide her current writing/illustrating project (left for her to disclose when she is ready).  She's visited with Arthur Geisert during his celebration of the release of his most recent book and the whole town of Bernard's celebration.  She's successfully completed murals for the popular African American Museum's current exhibit -- Western Africa: Before the Boats.  The exhibit opened on January 12,  2013 and will be available until March 30, 2014.  Busy woman.  But on this day we had coffee and much conversation and was looking together towards the coming academic year.  A very nice day.



McBookwords arranges appearances by authors/illustrators in libraries, school, other literature forums.  We are now booking Jeni's appearances for 2013-2014, and in addition McBookwords has a dozen or more authors that speak with young readers.  If you would like to investigate having an Jeni or any other author visit your school or library -- for an author appearance please contact us at McBookwords.  Each of these authors often speak  in schools with young readers, and at all types of groups that are interested in literacy and  books. 

Authors/illlustrators can provide so much in terms of background and inspiration for reading and writing.

 smc 

Meeting with Solon Readers

Photo courtesy of Kathy Kaldenberg

Pa Lia's First Day

It's always fun for author / illustrators to meet and talk to the readers of their books.  On April 22, 2013, Michelle Edwards was able to meet some enthusiastic readers at Lakeview Elementary School in Solon Iowa.  Michelle was able to focus in on information about how she wrote and illustrated Pa Lia's First Day.  The story deals with a second grader who is anxious about starting a new school.  Her first efforts accidentally gets the only kids who have been nice to her in trouble.  During her presentation Michelle was able to speak about the widest range of topics including: writing--taking an idea and making a story, illustrating-the how and why from sketches to finishes, art, as well as Lois Lenski and issues of culture and diversity. Students were especially interested in the art component the influences on her illustration style and media.
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Knitter's Home Companion

Chicken Man

Room for the Baby

Michelle Edwards most recent title is Room for the Baby.  She is also author of the popular Chicken Man, as well as, a book for adult readers (although several of the stories would resonate with intermediate and middle grade readers as mentor texts for their own writing).  The title Knitter's Home Companion is a collections of memoir type stories, interlaced with knitting patterns, a many references to classic stories -- both adult and children's tales.  Both Michelle and the students seem to enjoy (and learn) from the day.  

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Thanks to Kathy Kaldenberg for the photographs from this author appearance.

Photo courtesy of Kathy Kaldenberg

McBookwords has a dozen or more authors that speak with young readers.  If you would like to investigate having an author visit your school or library -- for an author appearance please contact us at McBookwords.  Each of these authors often speak  in schools with young readers, and at all types of groups that are interested in literacy and  books. 

Authors/illlustrators can provide so much in terms of background and inspiration for reading and writing.

 smc

Thirty Years Later there is "Room for the Baby"

 Michelle Edwards - Author of Room for the Baby
On Saturday, September 29, 2012, an audience of 50-75 attentive listeners, from young readers to older adults, were present on the second floor of Prairie Lights bookstore in Iowa City, Iowa to hear the first public reading of Room for the Baby by Michelle Edwards.  The delightful story centers on a young family: Mom, Dad, and young son, who find that a new baby is to join their family.  But where will the baby sleep?  The sewing room is filled with scraps of cloth, thread, and other unwanted items that neighbors and friends have given the mom.  They knew she would make good use of the unwanted items.  But now the sewing room was needed for the baby.  As the family waits from Passover to Hanukkah, the room slowly empties.  Jana Christy's pastel drawings amplify the book's themes of recycle, reuse, reduce; a timeline of Jewish holidays; and love and friendship within a family and within the neighborhood.

Thirty years earlier Michelle Edwards had sketched out a story "Yetta, the Scrap Saver.
Yetta lived on Mermaid Avenue because that is the avenue her own Grandmother Yetta lived on.  The black and white sketches show a busy streetscape and a grandmother who saved scraps given her by her Brooklyn neighbors as they knew she would put them to good use.
When Edwards returned to the story, the location had moved to 18th Avenue, the scrap saver had become much younger and more modern, and so Room for the Baby emerged.
In the story the family moves through the year marked by Jewish holidays all the while mother takes the bits of fabric, bolts of flannel, and other stashes of cloth and makes diapers, and sleepers, and little shirts for the baby and for children of her neighbors.  She unraveled mismatched mittens and used the yarn to create new warm ones with stripes.  And when the neighbors came by for "free stuff" they transformed their found treasures into gifts for the baby. There was a soft animal made from the socks, a mobile created from the wooden spools, many knitted items, and a name collage created from the magazines.
At the end of the reading, Michelle answered questions, signed books (both new and old), and those who were in attendance enjoyed cake sent by Michelle Edwards' writing pals - The Tallgrass Writers.
A lovely day in celebration of a book that is sure to delight many readers - young and old.

 

Anyone planning a major children's literature conference or just wanting to have an inspiring author visit your school/community for a day with readers might wish to investigate inviting an author or illustrator to share their experience with writing. With the common core standards being implemented the background of a book and research becomes an important element in the way readers read. Thanks to Flory Gessner for the photos from the reading. smc

 

McBookwords has a dozen or more authors that speak with young readers.  If you would like to investigate having an author visit your school or library -- for an author appearance please contact us at McBookwords.  Each of these authors often speak  in schools with young readers, and at all types of groups that are interested in literacy and  books.

 smc

Meet the Author - a summer visit with Jim Aylesworth

This summer (2012) Jim Aylesworth came to the Iowa City/Cedar Rapids area.  He first appeared at the Iowa City Summer Book Festival (see a few pictures here) and then traveled to Cedar Rapids where he appeared at the Barnes and Noble store in the Lindale Mall area in Cedar Rapids.  Four of his best fans were there to meet him for the first time.  Although for the most part E.J. has moved  beyond picture books as core reading material he has memories of receiving autographed books written by Aylesworth.  Kylie, Kaydence, and Marissa still enjoy picture books, Marissa more consistently than the older two who are transitioning into early chapter books and full fledged novels.  (Kylie read Man of War this summer and went to the movie with her father.)  But today all four were in attendance and listened intently as Jim Aylesworth shared information about his writing career and read parts of several of his books.

Meeting Jim Aylesworth

Jim Aylesworth - A former first grade teacher started his career by reading books to his first graders who encouraged him to write some more -- and to do his best. Kylie listens. E. J. is thoughtfully listening -most of the books Aylesworth is talking about are very familiar to this voracious reader. The important message today is "never give up" and "always do your best" and read and read and read. Marissa has chosen Naughty Little Monkeys. Kylie gets asked, "Who is your favorite author?"  And she, of course had THE answer: "You."  From LtoR: Marissa, Kylie, E.J. (with a smile this time - thanks to Kylie for making him laugh), Kaydence - and Jim Aylesworth in front.

He wrote more books and his students often provided him with ideas and inspiration for more books.  One of the audiences' favorites this day was The Completed Hickory Dickory Dock. What the author has to say seems to be serious business as he discusses the importance of reading and engaging readers. Marissa (middle) and Kaydence (top of picture) are learning about some of the books for the first time.  Others their older brother and sister (and mom and dad) have read to them. Kaydence gets her book autographed.  Her choice is Aylesworth's newest title Cock-a-doodle-Doo, Pop, Pop, Moo! And of course, she wanted her book autographed too. From LtoR: Marissa, Kylie, E.J. (without a smile), Kaydence - and Jim Aylesworth in front. When Kaydence was asked who her favorite author was, she had THE answer too.  But then quickly added, "and my grandmother."  She knew who was going to pay for the books they had chosen.

Anyone planning a major children's literature conference or just wanting to have an inspiring author visit your school/community for a day with young readers might wish to invite Jim.
Jim Aylesworth is a popular speaker in schools and libraries and brings much inspiration for reading and writing.

If you are interested in inviting Jim Aylesworth to your school or library -- for an author appearance please contact us at McBookwords.  Jim often speaks  in schools with young readers, and at all types of groups that are interested in literacy and  books.

 

McBookwords has a dozen or more authors that speak with young readers.  If you would like to investigate having an author visit your school or library -- for an author appearance please contact us at McBookwords.  Each of these authors often speak  in schools with young readers, and at all types of groups that are interested in literacy and  books.

 smc

Starting the Discussion - Anti-Bullying

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This is my promised blog entry that includes anti-bullying curriculum components utilizing Carol Gorman's Games: The Tale of Two Bullies and Dori Hillestad Butler's The Truth About Truman School.  The ideas involve all school reads, author visits, and much discussion.  But first a little background.

Forty-seven states of the fifty states are reported to have passed school anti-bullying legislation requiring a plan to deal with bullying.  Curriculum components aimed at curbing bullying, in some form or another, are mandated in these states.  As of now there are no federal laws dealing directly with school bullying.  However, Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and Education Secretary Arne Duncan have unveiled a revitalized Stop Bullying website– www.stopbullying.gov, — “to encourage children, parents, educators, and communities to take action to stop and prevent bullying.”But it seems clear that this is a problem that can not be ignored.  Sadly sometimes adults do not deal with the situation in the most effective manner.  Here are cases -- you decide.

CASE #1: Several bullies harass an overweight female (high school) student in the classroom.  Instead of dealing directly with the harassment, the teacher moves the female student to the other side of the room to separate her from the bullies.  This does nothing to stop the bullying behavior in the hallways and tends to perpetuate the idea that it is the fault of the person being bullied rather than putting the blame where it should land – on the bullies.

CASE #2: An intermediate student does not deal well with loud unexpected noises.  They frighten and cause her great discomfort and she visibly reacts to loud unexpected noises.  Fellow classmates delight in coming up behind her and make loud noises.  The teacher’s efforts to curb this is to have the girl work with a mentor who will regularly surprise her with noises and thus, eventually “condition” her to the loud noises.  While this might be a compassionate conditioning for other situations; the students maliciously making the loud sounds were not dealt with.  That should be a FIRST step.  Meeting the situation head on should be the norm not the afterthought.

CASE #3:  A sixth grade class had two female students in the class.  One had a congenital eye deformity and the other had a very scarred face and arm caused by a kerosene fire when she was a toddler.  The student with the scarred face never smiled nor was she a pleasant student to have in class.  The girl with the eye deformity smiled a lot (but it seemed to be a "put on a brave face" defensive move) –  neither girl was treated well by their classmates.  They teased, ignored, did not include them in playground games, did not choose them for games, in general they mostly showed that each of them was a big bother and too insignificant to be part of their “circle.”   The teacher in this case arranged to send the girls to the library (with instructions that they not be allowed to return until the all clear signal was sent).  Then she proceed to “read the riot act” to the remaining students. Of course, the one girl was not pleasant to be around – would you be if no one was ever nice to you?  How would you feel if you were ignored and teased and shunned throughout every day?  Once it was clear, that future incidents of the negative behavior was NOT going to be tolerated the class settled down to create a list of actions that they could take to include the girls positively.  When the girls returned the classroom, the teacher explained forthrightly that the class had been discussing their collective bullying behavior and that collectively they wished to apologize and hoped each of them (the girls) would accept the apology and allow each of the members of the class to begin to show their friendship as the days went on.  This forthcoming approach embarrassed the girls for a moment but even that day other members of the class were quick to extend a new welcome to each of them.  Students vied for the girls to be in their group.  By the end of the semester both were smiling daily and by the end of the school year each of the girls had made some lasting friendships.  And new students and students in other classes took their cue from these girls’ immediate classmates.  There was no bullying, no exclusion, no ignoring — each was treated as a valued member of the class and the school community.

Case #3 exemplifies the type of progress we can make if we just discuss and talk about the effect bullying has on those that are being bullied and if the group as a whole shows that bullying will NOT be tolerated within their learning community.
As a teacher you may not be able to pinpoint the subject as clearly as in Case #3 – the bullying was so concentrated on these two girls that the discussion focus was pretty clear.  However, there are other successful methods of starting a conversation about bullying.

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A common experience can bring a discussion into focus.  Award winning authors have written books that deals with incidents of bullying.  These incidents, the personality of the bully, the vulnerability of those being bullied, the background of all of the incidents, and so forth can all play into the discussions that come about because of the focus on bullying.  

Several lists of books exist which contain ideas for starting discussions about bullying -- The Pirate Tree.  The blog is maintained by a collective of children's and young adult writers interested in children's literature and social justice issues.  Two posts by Ann Angel concentrate on bullying:

Annangel.  (5 April 2012) "We Can Learn About Ways to Stop Bullying from Teens in the Civil Rights Movement." The Pirate Tree. (WEB) http://www.thepiratetree.com/2012/04/05/we-can-learn-about-ways-to-stop-bullying-from-teens-in-the-civil-rights-movement/

Annangel.  (4 May 2012) "More Thoughts on Books, Bullying and Standing Up." The Pirate Tree.  (WEB).
http://www.thepiratetree.com/2012/05/04/more-thoughts-on-books-bullying-and-standing-up/ 

To find the other posts about bullying, use the search function on The Pirate Tree's blog.

Penguin Young Readers Group has published a booklet authored by Jerry Michel, titled Think Twice Play Nice.  The booklet is available from the Penguin Group teacher/librarians website at http://penguin.com/teachersandlibrarians or from this archival depository.
 
To start that process one successful method is to hold an “all school” read.  Each child would read, or have read to them--the same book as each of the other students in the school.  After the book has been read or throughout the reading discussions for the events in the book can be shared and solutions/ideas sought.  

One of the most effective culminations to an all school read is arrange for students to have the perspective of the author who wrote each book.  One author, Dori Hillestad Butler often uses a previsit bullying survey to elicit what is going on in their schools in regard to bullying.  These comments/facts are then incorporated into her presentation/discussions with those who have read her book.  Carol Gorman elicits discussion about the “games” that were being played in her book about two bullies.  Games played by all bullies as well as those who merely stand by and provide passive approval/encouragement to the bully are also discussed. 
An author appearance by either Carol Gorman or Dori Hillestad Butler is a powerful element in focusing on anti-bullying efforts.

Carol Gorman — Games: The Tale of Two Bullies
The story of Mick Sullivan and Boot Quinn is written from two perspectives in alternating chapters — From the publisher: "Mick Sullivan likes reading thrillers, daydreaming about Tabitha Slater, and teasing his archenemy, Boot Quinn.  Boot Quinn likes playing his guitar, daydreaming about Tabitha Slater, and punching his adversary, Mick Sullivan.  The two eighth graders are rivals in every way, and with two fights in the first week of school, they've set the stage for a yearlong showdown. That is, until a new principal arrives on the scene and forces Mick and Boot to spend an hour and a half each day playing games together. Two enemies, one small room, and no adult supervision--battle lines are bound to be crossed. As the wins and losses are tallied, the boys find themselves fighting for their classmates' attention, a cute girl's affection, and their own fathers' respect.  But how far are they willing to go to win? And who are they really fighting? There's only one way to find out.
Game on."

Carol Gorman is an exciting and accomplished author presenters who engages students in active and involved conversations.  Invite Carol to your school to be part of the anti-bullying discussions as part of your all-school reads and your anti-bullying curriculum.  Plan an all-school read, schedule a date for the author's appearance, and begin now to promote a no-bullying tolerance in your school community.

 

McBookwords has a dozen or more authors that speak with young readers.  If you would like to investigate having an author visit your school or library -- for an author appearance please contact us at McBookwords.  Each of these authors often speak  in schools with young readers, and at all types of groups that are interested in literacy and  books.

 smc

Monarch 2012 Book List features Butler and Aylesworth

Many states have state award lists -- children choose their top favorites from among a predetermined list.  (Access a list of state awards by state.) Illinois has the Monarch award list.  On the Illinois School Library Media Association's Monarch site are lists (current and past) and many resources for the books on the reading list.  In 2012, the list included Jim Aylesworth's The Mitten and  Dori Hillestad Butler's Edgar winning mystery book for older primary - intermediate readers, The Case of the Lost Boy.   The Case of the Lost Boy is a favorite of two young readers from Indian Prairie Library in Darien, Illinois.  This booktalk is precious -- and right on target:

A great model for sharing with students and inviting them to create their own videos of booktalks for a favorite book of theirs.
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The Authors:
Jim Aylesworth is a popular speaker in schools and libraries and brings much inspiration for reading and writing.

If you are interested in inviting  Jim Aylesworth  to your school or library -- for an author appearance please contact us at McBookwords. Aylesworth often speaks  in schools with young readers, and at all types of groups that are interested in literacy and  books.

 

McBookwords has a dozen or more authors that speak with young readers.  If you would like to investigate having an author visit your school or library -- for an author appearance please contact us at McBookwords.  Each of these authors often speak  in schools with young readers, and at all types of groups that are interested in literacy and  books.

 smc

Color Your Winter - Bring on the Yarn

Michelle Edwards is a writer - she knits and she loves books.  Earlier this year she was featured on the McBookwords blog which featured her newest title (for adults) but you'd be surprised how much there is for those of us who love children's books.  Take a look at that blog entry .

Recently Michelle made a book recommendation of her own.  She writes articles for the Lion Brand Yarn newsletter and a recent essay features a children's book, Extra Yarn by Mac Barnett, about a magic box that refills itself with yarn, colorful yarn that Annabelle uses to knit her way into the hearts of her classmates. 

Read a sample of Extra Yarn.

Connections after connection swirl through my head.  I have a very good friend, a third grade teacher, who utilized those frequent "inside recess" days here in Iowa to teach her students to knit and crochet during noon time recess.  Boys and girls alike loved learning the new skill.  She created a whole generation of knitting/crocheting boys and girls — some of which are now adults who knit and crochet.  Then there is the basket of balls of yarn that my aunt always kept by her rocking chair.  The balls of "extra yarn" was left over from other projects.  Those colorful balls of yarn were used to make hot pads, mittens for small hands, and rainbow scarves.  I'm thinking that basket of yarn is much like Annabelle's box of "extra yarn." 

While Michelle - the knitter, is making connections to all sorts of things knitterly, I am making connections with this book's theme - the never ending supply of yarn.  What a great book to connect to all of those books about a magic soup pot, Strega Nona and her pot of spaghetti, and more.  The majority of other "magic pot" stories are porridge or soup pots - so this story of a box that magically produces "extra yarn" will be a unique title for theme comparison.

Magic Pot/Box Stories

Ziefert, Harriet.  The Magic Porridge Pot.  (Easy-to-Read).  Puffin, 1997.

Stimson, Joan and Rosie Dickins.  The Magic Porridge Pot.  (Usborne First Reading: Level 3) Usborne, 2008.

De Paola, Tomie.  Strega Nona, Little Simon, 1997.

Galone, Paul.  The Magic Porridge Pot.  Clarion, 1979.

Mbanze, Dinah M. , reteller. The Magic Pot: Three African Tales. Illustrations by Niki Daly.  Kwela Books, 2002.

Enjoy your reading and your knitting --

 

McBookwords has a dozen or more authors that speak with young readers.  If you would like to investigate having an author visit your school or library -- for an author appearance please contact us at McBookwords.  Each of these authors often speak  in schools with young readers, and at all types of groups that are interested in literacy and  books.

 smc

Jim Aylesworth - A Day in the Life of an Author -- Exploring Grant Wood Country

Jim Aylesworth spent a couple of days visiting with boys and girls in the Des Moines (Iowa) area.  Those visits included appearances at the South East Polk High School (Pleasant Hill, Iowa) where he was hosted by Carol Van Hook, a super librarian who knows how to energize readers.  During one session at the high school, the secondary students buddied up with first graders who heard Jim's presentation together and then went to lunch together before returning back to their classes/school.  The next day, Jim appeared at Capitol View Elementary where Margaret (Maggie) Kigin had made all the arrangements for a spectacular day with young readers.
Since Jim had to travel back to Chicago via I-80, he was able to stop in route back home, to spend a day in Cedar Rapids exploring one of his favorite artists, Grant Wood.  The Cedar Rapids Museum of Art    possesses the world's largest collection of works by Grant Wood. Despite the fact that Wood's most famous painting, American Gothic, is owned by the Chicago Art Museum there is much to see in Cedar Rapids.  The Grant Wood Gallery is filled with his well-known works as well as earlier works that show a much more impressionistic style.  We didn't take any pictures in the gallery (although non-flash photography is permitted) but did spend some time after the gallery tour, in the gift shop.

The gift shop featured a book illustrated by Cedar Rapids resident Jeni Reeves - a notable children's book illustrator.	In addition to the Grant Wood Gallery we were able to view Seeing and Remembering: Portraits and Their Stories.  We were also able to view the work that was part of the traveling exhibit -- An American Masterpiece: Charles Willson Peale's George Washington
	Jim and Donna Aylesworth explored the gift shop before we left for the Grant Wood Art Studio.
And then we did move on to the Grant Wood Studio location.	Grant Wood designed and decorated the nearby Turner Funeral Home in return for life time use of an apartment above the funeral home's carriage house.

The studio was a very interesting space. Grant Wood lived there from 1924 to 1935, a few years before his death. For most of those years his mother and his sister lived there with him. His mother had a room that was partially closed off with a tin panel (punched with a tulip pattern that was repeated in several places throughout the studio). At night another panel swung up to close off the top portion of the doorway to give her some privacy. The doorway could also be closed off when Grant Wood had other activities in the studio and his mother might have wanted to be away from the "public" activities. He and his sister each had trundle like beds that pushed under some upper cabinets that served as storage and the sides of a make-shift stage when his actor colleagues put on theater productions (the forerunner of Theater Cedar Rapids). There was a very small kitchen and Wood put in a brick fireplace -- topped with a bushel basket. He utilized every space and corner of the snug apartment making use of space under the eaves to store his art work in pull out drawers/bins. The bins slide back under the eaves to conceal the work and appeared only as a door in the room when visitors were present. His sister Nan lived there during much of the time that her husband was hospitalized for TB in Oakdale (approx. 20 miles south).

Before leaving town a drive-by of the Veteran's Memorial Building to see (at least from the outside) the superb stained glass window designed by Wood in the pre-WWII days - -a window honoring the veterans that served our county.  Grant Wood was commissioned to design and supervise the construction of the 25 foot tall window.  The piece was commissioned in 1927 by the Veterans Memorial Commission of Cedar Rapids— Woods home town.  The window, currently worth $3 million,  was damaged in the 2008 flood, and has been totally restored by Glass Heritage - skilled crafts people in Davenport, Iowa.
Glass Heritage cleaned and releaded the thousands panes of glass and reinstalled the window in 2011.

The day concluded with a traditional German dinner at the Ronneburg Restaurant in Amana (Iowa)

and then Jim and his wife Donna went on to stay at the newly renovated Zuber's Homestead Hotel.

A day in Iowa with Jim and Donna Aylesworth.

If you are interested in inviting Jim Aylesworth for an author appearance  please contact us at McBookwords.  He often speaks in schools with young readers, and at all types of groups that are interested in books and good reading.

Enjoy your reading and exploring YOUR community --

 

McBookwords has a dozen or more authors that speak with young readers.  If you would like to investigate having an author visit your school or library -- for an author appearance please contact us at McBookwords.  Each of these authors often speak  in schools with young readers, and at all types of groups that are interested in literacy and  books.

 smc