Blog Tour - Crenshaw by Katherine Applegate

There is a book that lives in my heart, that makes me tear up when I hear it mentioned. You might know it too, and if you don't, remedy immediately. That book is Katherine Applegate's wonderful The One and Only Ivan. I think I became a different person, a better person, when I read that book. With that knowledge, I was a bit apprehensive about reading Applegate's newest book, Crenshaw. Would I compare it to Ivan the entire time I was reading it? Would I still love it? I shouldn't have worried. 

Crenshaw is a completely different book than Ivan, yet it had a similar impact. Here is the story of Jackson. A child who feels more at home with facts and non-fiction than surrounded by story. Much to Jackson's dismay, he had an imaginary friend when he was in first grade, a skateboard riding cat named Crenshaw. This frustrated Jackson because he likes things that can be explained, and Crenshaw cannot. Jackson has not seen Crenshaw for several years, but now he is back and larger than ever. Jackson would love nothing more than for Crenshaw to disappear, for his parents to stop fighting, and for his family to have enough money so that he and his little sister can stop being hungry. This isn't the time for silly things like cats that no one else can see, or is it? 

I fell hard for Jackson and Crenshaw. I have had too many students who would identify with the hard times Jackson and his family are going through. I know that there would be some comfort in just reading that there are others out there, like them. 

What I loved most of all was the heart that was at the center of this book.This book inspires you to want to do more, to help more. Applegate, her publisher, and many bookstores have felt that and have organized food drives to go along with the release of Crenshaw. If you want to learn more, read about that effort HERE.

Here is the book trailer for Crenshaw

And MacMillan is being kind enough to give away one copy of Crenshaw to one of my readers. Please enter below for your chance to win this amazing book. 

Little Elliot Wall Decal Giveaway

It’s no secret; I’m a big fan of the book Little Elliot, Big City. I reviewed it HERE and also revealed some cover art from the upcoming book, Little Elliot, Big Family HERE. I love this little elephant and his kind nature. I was beyond excited to find that Merry Maker’s released Little Elliot stuffed animals. (HERE) I will absolutely be purchasing one for my classroom and one for my niece. They are adorable.

All of this is to say, I got really excited when the folks at Live In A Story (website HERE) contacted me. They have wall decals that are taken right off the pages of our favorite picture books. What??? They wondered if I’d like to preview what they have for Little Elliot. Sign me up.

Just a few days later, Elliot arrived. I opened the package with anticipation, unrolled it, and there he was. I immediately knew where I wanted to put him in my classroom.

We start school in just over a week, so I’ve been in the classroom quite a bit. There is a spot in our classroom meeting area that I used to use for lunch count, but now was bare. It is on a white board, just to the right of our Interactive whiteboard. I put Elliot there thinking we could put speech bubbles or thought bubbles near him throughout the year.

There were also fun decals with cupcakes on them that I haven’t gotten the chance to put up yet, I think I’ll place them randomly on the board around Elliot.

The folks at Live in A Story wanted me to offer up one free Little Elliot wall decal along with a copy of Little Elliot, Big City to a reader of the blog. Would you like Elliot in your classroom or even your home? Fill in the Google Form below. The giveaway will be open from 8/7 through midnight on 8/10.

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? (And a Giveaway!)

I'm thrilled to link up with Teach Mentor Texts and Unleashing Readers each Monday and share our reading lives. Check out their sites for more information. 

I wasn't sure how much reading I would get in this week. My week had a quick trip to Cincinnati for a Scholastic Summit and I felt like I lacked the time to sit down and devour a book. Fortunately, picture books are perfect for this kind of week. 

I am in love with this "I Am..." series, otherwise known as the Ordinary People Change the World series. Franki Sibberson introduced me to them at the Summit. I had seen the covers, but thought they were written for far younger students than my fifth graders. The inside is almost like a graphic novel and I am in love with the character lesson each book ends with. So much fun! 

Masterminds by Korman is a book I already own, but my students had taken it from me as soon as I brought it to school and I have no idea where it is now, I believe a student brought it home for the summer. So I did what any Korman fan would do, I purchased another one. It is excellent. 

Saturday morning I went to a book signing for Jaleigh Johnson's paperback release for Mark of the Dragonfly. My students and I LOVE this book. I've read it aloud for the past two years and it has been a favorite each year. 

I'm currently reading an ARC of the companion book to Dragonfly called The Secrets of Solace. It is beautiful. I don't have an extra ARC, so to celebrate the release of the paperback, I have a signed copy of Mark of the Dragonfly to giveaway. If you'd like to enter, fill out the form below. 

Lenny & Lucy by Philip and Erin Stead and a Giveaway!

I first encountered the work of Philip and Erin Stead in A Sick Day for Amos McGee. Not sure how I missed them before that, but I quickly became a huge fan. Reading some of their brilliant books – whether as a collaboration or solo – I was amazed at their work. Some of my favorites of their books written and illustrated with others include And Then It’s Spring written by Julie Fogliano, illustrated by Erin Stead and Special Delivery written by Philip Stead, illustrated by Matthew Cordell. When they work together, such as in Amos or A Bear Has a Story to Tell, it is magical. That is why I was super excited to see their new book, Lenny & Lucy, that is due out this fall.

Lenny & Lucy tells the tale of a little boy named Peter who has moved. His new house is over the bridge from a scary forest and he simply cannot get any sleep, even with his loyal dog, Harold, by his side. He gets the idea to create a guard for the bridge named Lenny. Lenny is a huge guard, created out of pillows and blankets that Peter stitches together. When Peter fears that Lenny is lonely, he creates another guard, named Lucy. It is with his creations and his beloved dog that Peter is able to begin to feel safe at his new home.

In Lenny & Lucy the Steads show their talent for storytelling and illustrations. There are several that I would love to remove from the book and place on my wall. The words and pictures are simply beautiful. This is a picture book you cannot miss.

My students are even bigger fans of the Steads as of this week. Kohl’s began a campaign for children’s health and education nationwide. It is called Kohl’s Cares. For only $5 you can get a copy of one of the Steads’ books and another $5 will get you a stuffed animal that goes with it. (More info on Erin’s blog HERE.) We now have the elephant from Amos McGee along with the turtle from And Then It’s Spring in our classroom. You would be surprised by the amount of fifth graders that want to cuddle with a stuffed animal during independent reading.

And today is your lucky day. MacMillian is allowing me to give away a plush from the Kohl’s Cares line along with the corresponding book to a lucky reader of Read Write Reflect. Please enter below by Sunday evening at 10pm central and I will draw one winner. They will then contact you about shipping you your prize! Good luck!

Schneider Family Book Award 10th Anniversary Blog Tour & Giveaway

Recently Alyson Beecher asked if I’d like to participate in a blog tour. She was creating a tour to honor the tenth anniversary of the Schneider Family Book Award. I have to say, it wasn’t until four or five years ago that I was even aware of the Schneider award. If you are as in the dark as I was, Alyson did a great summary of what this award stands for:

This award honors an author or illustrator for a book that embodies an artistic expression of the disability experience for child and adolescent audiences.

With that in mind, Alyson mentioned that I could pick a favorite book from the winners and talk about it on my blog. Hmm, I scanned over the list of books that have been honored at ALA. 

How to pick? This year my students went crazy over Splash of Red, I should go with that one. Wait, but last year had the amazing book A Dog Called Homeless. I can talk about that. Yet, Wonderstruck and the unusual format would be a good discussion. It always helps my students understand dual plot lines. But, Anything But Typical….no, Waiting for Normal…no, Rules… so many good books.

I finally had to settle, I do need to pick one. The first year a special book won the award – Things Not Seen by Andrew Clements. I was in my third year of teaching in Monticello when this book came out. I book talked it then as I do now…

Imagine, you wake up in the morning, stumble into the bathroom and jump into the shower. You’re tired, why does school start so darn early? You quickly rinse off and step out, towel drying yourself as you walk over to the mirror. Glancing up, you do a double take. You’re looking into the mirror, but you aren’t there. Where you’re reflection should be is nothing. Nothing. And you have no idea what has happened.

Usually the book talk enough creates a waiting list for the book. When I explain that Bobby – the boy that is suddenly invisible – runs to the library naked so no one will notice him, they giggle. When I share how he befriends a blind girl, questions begin immediately.

I love this story. Bobby immediately drew me in. He has such a string of bad luck in the beginning of the book that I just wanted to be able to take care of him. My students adore this book as do I. What an amazing and unforgettable tale.

For more information about the Schneider Family Book Award: webpage | list of winners  

Check out all of the links of the Schneider Family Book Award 10th Anniversary Blog Tour & Giveaway:

July 6, 2014    Nerdy Book Club

July 6, 2014    Kid Lit Frenzy 

July 7, 2014    Nonfiction Detectives

July 9, 2014    Teach Mentor Texts

July 10, 2014    There’s a Book For That

July 11, 2014    Kathie Comments

July 12, 2014   Disability in Kidlit 

July 14, 2014    Librarian in Cute Shoes

July 15, 2014    The Late Bloomer’s Book Blog

July 15, 2014    CLCD

July 16, 2014    Read, Write, and Reflect

July 17, 2014    Read Now Sleep Later

July 18, 2014    Unleashing Readers

July 19, 2014    Great Kid Books

July 20, 2014    Maria’s Mélange

To celebrate the 10th Anniversary of the Schneider Family Book Award, we are providing readers with an opportunity to win a set of all three 2014 Schneider Family Book Award Winners. Participants must be 13 years or older and have a US or Canadian mailing address. 

Click HERE to be taken to the giveaway! 

Sunday Morning Thoughts

A few housekeeping notes:

Today is the National Day on Writing! Some ideas to celebrate:

·      Write. J

·      Join Penny Kittle and myself tonight at 8pm EST on Twitter to participate in a Twitter chat using the hashtag #NCTEChat. It will be a fast paced hour with great discussion centered around writing.

·      Tweet out on tomorrow using the hashtag #write2connect sharing the ways you use writing to foster connections.

·      Write a blog post about how you use your own writing to connect – whether it is connecting your own life to your classroom, yourself to your students, or another way entirely. Please stop back here to Read, Write, Reflect tomorrow and leave your link in the comments and we can all share our ideas.

Last item of housekeeping – congrats to Sara Kajder. Sara’s name was drawn as the winner in The Real Boy giveaway. I’ll mail it out to you this week.

Hope to see you all back here tomorrow!

Welcome Home

In just a few weeks my second anniversary of this thing we call blogging will arrive. To say I've enjoyed it more than I thought I would is an understatement. Blogging allows me to test out ideas, share my thinking, reaffirm my beliefs, and grow as a writer. Through this blog I have reawakened the love of writing that lie dormant for so many years. I am so glad I was brave enough to try.

This summer I was considering this space and decided it could use a facelift. I like to think I'm tech savvy, but really I simply know enough to be dangerous. I contacted Lori at Imagination Designs to see if she would redesign my space. She did, and this is the result. 

I love the design Lori used. She asked me some questions about my preferences and let me modify along the way. I am a big Feedly fan - I can't follow the amount of blogs I do without it. Knowing that, I knew some folks would never see this beautiful design - it will be the white background of Feedly - or their preferred platform. That idea only made me pause for a second. One, Lori's fee is extremely reasonable for the work she puts in. Two, really, this was a gift for me. The design makes me smile every time I open the page. That alone makes it worth it.

So, to celebrate my new home I am giving away one book that I book talked today. A book that I dearly love and my current read aloud with my own children at home - Anne Ursu's The Real Boy. If you'd like to be entered to win, please fill in the form below. 

Rules:

You must be 13 or over to enter.

You must live in the continental United States.

If you can, pay it forward.

Giveaway is over on October 19th at 11:59 pm.

Have a fabulous day and thanks for stopping by my new digs! 

Mr. Tiger Goes Wild Winners!

Congrats to Kathleen A, Ben C, and Claire K for winning the copies of Mr. Tiger Goes Wild! I’ve sent your info on and the publisher will be mailing out your books. Enjoy!