Valentine Wishes

I love reading Valentine Stories to the children, and although I have many in my repetoire, my favorite is still Frank Modell's "One Zillion Valentines," about two young boys who make a zillion valentines to sell to the people on the block, and end up with enough money to share a box of valentine chocolates.  It reminds me of my favorite valentine poem "Mother's Chocolate Valentine" by Jack Prelutsky.  If you don't know it, you should look it up.  Other valentine stories to share with the children you love:  Eve Bunting's "The Valentine Bears;"  Lillian Hoban's "Arthur's Great Big Valentine;" and Laura Elliot's "A String of Hearts."  If you want to share poetry with your youngsters, try Jack Prelutsky's "It's Valentine's Day."  I asked my son to memorize a poem from it for Valentine's day and share it with us.  It is called 'I Only Got One Valentine.'                 
                                                 "I only got one valentine
                                                 And that was signed Love Frankenstein."

It still is quoted by the whole family, and that request was 21 years ago.  Happy Valentine's Day!

                                                          Love to READ!

BOO-OO-OO-Oks for October

"O hushed October morning mild,
Begin the hours of this day slow,
Make the day seem to us less brief.
Hearts not averse to being beguiled,
Beguile us in the way you know; "
These words by Robert Frost are my favorite way to begin October.  My next favorite is to start reading Halloween tales to the children at Hoover.  If I don't start with Nikola-Lisa's Shake dem Halloween Bones, there is much disappointment and questions about why among the first and second graders, who love the rhythm and beat of this story of a fairy tale attended Hip Hop Halloween Ball.  Silverman's Big Pumpkin is right behind and has become a standard for kindergartners and first graders in the IMC.  Tunnell's Halloween Pie and Cazet's The Perfect Pumpkin Pie are favorites for the slightly older children of second and third grade. By fourth grade many of the children wish for something slightly spookier, and I recommend Mary Downing Hahn's ghost stories, especially Wait til Helen Comes and The Old Wllis Place. Wisconsin's own Betty Ren Wright has authored some spooky tales including The Dollhouse Murders  and The Ghosts of Mercy Manor.    This October, Scare Up some Good Reading!

April Poetry

"If of worldly goods thou art bereft..." so starts one of my fvorite poems, written in the thirteenth century by the Persian poet Muslihuddin Sadi. He finishes the poem, "buy hyacinths to feed thy soul." As the flowers (including hyacinths) bloom, our thoughts turn to the poetry of life, and April is National Poetry month. Poetry is a wonderful way for young readers to gain fluency and confidence in themselves and their memories as they reread and begin to memorise the poetry they are reading. Start a family tradition of poetry reading around the kitchen table. If Shel Silverstein or Emily Dickenson seem too funny or flowery, try Casey at the Bat or the Cremation of Sam McGee. If Robert Louis Stevenson's A Child's Garden of Verses is not your speed, try Requiem or or Kipling's Gunga Din. There is a poem for every mood and every age. Try Poetry in April......I bet you'll still be reading it in September!

Spring Stories

In Wisconsin, even after the mildest winter, we look forward to "Spring At Last." As our thought turn to Spring, I look forward to introducing and reading some of my favorite Springtime stories both aloud and silently. Of course, 'Miss Rumphius' by Barbara Cooney tops my list. This story of a young girl who is challenged as a child to make the world a better place is one of my favorites, perhaps because the first thing the child does is become a librarian.
I always read "Make way for Ducklings' by Robert McClosky because this gentle Caldecott winner from 1941 puts me back on my mother's lap as we read about Jack, Kack, Lack , Mack, Nack, Ouack, Pack and Quack and laughing about what our family of eight children would be like if our names were all the same except for the first letter. The Thompson's Little Quack stories and the Duck and Goose series by Hills are favorites of mine and the youngest children enjoy these. And as St Patrick's day approaches, we add a little magic to our reading in the form of "Shannon and the World's tallest leprechaun" by Sean Callahan.
As April comes closer, we will be reading Easter stories and talking Poetry--April is National Poetry month--but that is another blog down the road.

Award Winners

AND THE WINNERS ARE....don't we all get excited at those words? We have some wonderful and pleasurable reading ahead of us this year. The John Newbery Medal for the most outstanding contribution to children's literature was awarded to Jack Gantos for his book "Dead end in Norvelt." Jack Gantos is a past Newbery honor winner for "Joey Pigza loses control."
The Newbery Honor books this year are "Inside out and back again" by Thanhha Lai, and "Breaking Stalin's nose" by Eugene Yelchin. The Randolph Caldecott Medal for the most distinguished American picture book for children was given to Chris Rashka for "A Ball for Daisy." Three honorees were named this year. "Blackout" by John Rocco, "Grandpa Green" by Lane Smith, and "Me... Jane" by Patrick McDonnell. All of the Caldecott books can be found at Hoover IMC and the Newbery winners will soon join them. Happy Reading!

Waiting for Winter

January is such a big month for resolutions--all the things that will make life better for ourselves and others--and waiting to see what the new year will bring. Here in Southeast Wisconsin we have been waiting for Winter in Wisconsin to finally arrive. Friday the 13th came and we have 6 inches of fresh (and our first) snow on the ground. At the library we are also waiting for the American Library Association's Mid-Winter Conference to announce the Award winners for 2011 -- the Newbery, Caldecott, Coretta Scott King and others.
Meanwhile, we are reading Winter books. Kellogg's "the Missing Mitten Mystery," Plourde's "Mountains of Mittens," and George's "Who's been here in the Snow?," are among our favorites. We've read some Robert Munsch and remembered how much fun "50 Degrees Below" can be. My Resolution-- Turn off the TV and spend more time Reading! Watch for the Award winners--I will post them as soon as they are announced!

Summer Days

Summer Days-- Days for relaxing, sleeping late, gardening, riding bikes, playing and watching baseball, seeing the moon rise, and the stars and fireflies shine. Who appreciates Summer more than Wisconsinites? Who could? Days that include time to read are the most precious gift of all. Since a reward for things you would do anyway is always appreciated, here are summer reading programs for the children. At Hoover School, the children each receive a bag of books and a reading log at the end of the school year. Every child that reads ten books, records them in the reading log, and returns the log in September will receive a free book and an entry into the raffle drawing. Younger children will be able to participate by having Mom or Dad read to them over the summer.

Other reading programs abound over the summer and we hope the children will take advantage their time off to read the summer away. Both West Allis and New Berlin Public Libraries have a program called One World, Many Stories. The children can earn passes to many Milwaukee attractions including the State Fair and the Zoo by reading.
The West Allis Public Library link: www.ci.west-allis.wi.us/library/summer_reading.aspx
The New Berlin Public Library link: http://www.newberlin.lib.wi.us/

Half-Price Books and Barnes and Noble also have programs in which children can earn new books by keeping track of their reading. Details are available on their websites.
Half-Price Books: www.hpb.com/community/fyb
Barnes and Noble: www.barnesandnoble.com/summerreading/index.asp

Challenge your child to read this summer--more than you do. Keep a posted list of each other's reading on the 'fridge. Record minutes read rather than number of books to keep things equal. Set goals at points during the summer, times when a mini celebration can take place; Fourth of July, Bastille Day, and the beginning of State Fair, when a special treat--something as simple as an ice cream cone at Copps or Oscars--rewards you both. Plan a bigger reward for the end of summer. Can you both read a thousand minutes over the summer? What a wonderful bond you will build with your children reading and talking books.