Central Ohio Bloggers Together Again!

Our favorite independent children's bookstore, Cover to Cover, just opened a new area for adult reading. That warranted a celebratory breakfast at Northstar Cafe (I think there were 6 out of 9 orders for granola - many of us following that trendsetter, Bill!), followed by a trip to the newly renovated Cover to Cover.



The new area looks great and is full of potential. I found several books that are on my TBR list, but I held off today because I knew I would be buying many children's books. I'm so excited for the owners, Sally and Randy, as they make a foray into a new market for them.


I love my blogger friends, but if you've ever been book shopping with another book lover, you know how incredibly dangerous that can be. Multiply one book-loving friend by 8, and you know I had some serious book-buying issues today. :) You know, those people who put a book in your hand and say you just have to read it, and you realize they are right?!! A huge thanks to Nicole, Mandy, Cathy, Deb, Franki, MaryLee, Tony, and Bill for all the "help" you gave me finding books to add to my enormous pile. I've attached a picture of Bill's pile (right) as well as my pile (left) - we were declared the "winners" of blog-who-spent-the-most-money today.




I also love that, in addition to our book buying frenzy and great talks about our classrooms, we also make time for fun and lots of laughter. Who could resist sticking their faces in the cut-outs, especially the Fancy Nancy one?! Certainly not Mary Lee/ Franki and Bill / me.


I feel so fortunate to follow, and learn from, all these smart ladies and gentlemen on twitter, as well as their blogs. Our ability to gather like we did today is just a double bonus. Central Ohio bloggers rock!!

New Books at My House This Week

This was a great week for bringing books home! On Monday I visited Cover to Cover, and as always, came home with far more than I anticipated. Here's a little synopsis of what I brought home:

• How They Croaked - after my colleague and friend, Tony recommended it as a fun read, one to which he thought boys would be receptive, I decided it was a must buy.
• Theodore Boone, Kid Lawyer series - another recommendation to me. I watched one of my students this past year be engrossed while reading the first book in the series, and he said I needed to read it. After reading both books, I liked the second book much more than the first. These books will be good additions to our classroom library.
  
• I read and reviewed an ARC of the new Titanic series by Gordon Korman a while ago. I know students are always fascinated by this topic. I needed to buy a copy of the first since I only had an ARC, but while at Cover to Cover scored an ARC of the 2nd book in the series. My 20 year old daughter had read the first one and loved it; she immediately read the second and said it was great.
• The other book she grabbed from my pile was Divergent. She finished it in the course of 2 days. She loved it! I can't wait until I get a block of time to read it.
• Another ARC I got was Pie by Sarah Weeks (So B. It). In addition to great characters, there are some very yummy pie recipes. Not a book to read if you're craving sweets!
• Charlie Joe Jackson's Guide to Not Reading - currently reading this and am very amused so far.
  
• Real Revision by Kate Messner. I can't wait to dive into this book!! **and this was the only book I meant to get on this day - oh well!**

On Friday, I had an itch for more books, even though I hadn't read all of the above. So, I headed to the local branch of our public library, and found some books I'm very excited to read:

• Basketball Belles - after serving on the NFPB panel for the Cybils the past two years, I always have an eye out for new nonfiction picture books, so I added this to my bag.
• The Emerald Atlas - a friend recently asked me if I knew anything about this book. I honestly didn't at the time. So , when I saw it on the "new book" shelf at the library, I realized this was the book she must have been talking about. I'll be interested to see if it's a fantasy I enjoy (not a huge fantasy fan).
• The Luck of the Buttons - intrigued by the flap information. Takes place in the 1929s in a small Iowa town. Published this past April.
• The Summer Before Boys by Nora Raleigh Baskin. A book by the author of Anything But Typical -- of course I picked it up! :)
• Angel in My Pocket by Ilene Cooper - an angel and a mystery coin. Had to have it.
  
• Noah Barleywater Runs Away - a title I've heard mentioned by several people. Thought I'd take a look myself.
• the pile of adult books - those are just my "don't have to think too hard" books :)

So much reading to do! I can't wait! Any new books at your house?

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The kids come tomorrow and even though I won't be teaching them until Friday, I know they will stop in and I can't wait. I'll have candy bars for those who bring in their book bag that verifies that they finished the summer reading program at the library and a lot of BRAND SPANKIN' NEW BOOKS! Here are few more I'll be picking up on my next trip to Cover to Cover.

Don't Call Me Pruneface by Janet Reed Ahearn; Illustrated by Drazen Kozjan: Paul is a good boy, everyone says so but when Prudence moves in next door he is pushed to the limits. By her and her annoying cat. In the end he can't resist the temptation to call her Pruneface and then a friendship is born. Fun story and the pictures are awesome.

Barry the Fish With Fingers by Sue Hendra: All the fish are bored until Barry shows up with fingers that get rid of boredom because then a fish can do finger puppets, knit a scarf, count to 10, type a letter, tickle other fish and many other unboring activities. Great surprise ending and colorful pix.

Kindergarten Diary by Antoinette Portis: Day to day journal of the first month of kindergarten as seen through the eyes of a kindergartner. The author of Not a Box has really shown what a kindergartner thinks and K teachers everywhere would be wise to use this one to get rid of the first month of school jitters for their students.

I have a whole stack here to add to my list, but right now the lovely Mrs. Prosser wants to go for a bike ride.

New Books from Cover to Cover

Bill and I had a last hurrah yesterday morning. We met for breakfast at our favorite Northstar Cafe, and then headed to our favorite children's bookstore, Cover to Cover. The lovely (and oh so helpful Beth) had some time to pull LOTS of books out and share them with us. Many of them we put into our "keep" piles. Bill has the luxury of his school's library fund to support his purchases, but I had to count pennies a little more. :) That being said, I still walked out with a pile of 7 books that I'm really looking forward to reading.

I'd like to share the titles of these books today, and then I'll blog about each one over the next few weeks. So, with no further ado, here are the books that came home with me:

• This Means War by Ellen Wittlinger (I believe Bill already blogged about this one)

• The Adventures of Ook and Gluk, Kung-Fu Cavemen From the Future by Dav Pilkey

• touch blue by Cynthia Lord

• Mr. Putney's Quacking Dog by Jon Agee

• Someone Used My Toothbrush and Other Bathroom Poems by Carol Diggory Shields

• Name That Dog: Puppy Poems From A to Z by Peggy Archer

• Amazing Faces; poems were selected by Lee Bennett Hopkins

Those last three titles are poetry and are probably my favorite purchases. Now, I can't wait to read the books, blog and share them with you, and then share them with my students in less than 2 weeks!! Stay tuned...

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Well summer's winding down, I was actually working at the school today, and my frequent trips to my favorite children's bookstore Cover to Cover will become less frequent. In addition to helping me remember what I want to buy, I've found another bonus to my lists, last time I was at the store, my friend Beth who works there asked if she should just go ahead and order the books I write about on my Cover to Cover lists. So, Beth, fire up the computers, here's my next list of books.

Back of the Bus by Aaron Reynolds Illustrated by Floyd Cooper: The book gives a fictional eyewitness account of Rosa Parks refusing to give up her seat. I'm always looking for new ways to tell this story to the kids and the short text and detailed pix in this one make it easy to share.

The Gentleman Bug by Julian Hector: A gentleman bug, who enjoys a good book, notices the new lady bug in town and tries to woo her by changing his look. When she spurns his advances and he embarrasses himself in front of the bug elite, he thinks his chances are over. However, he receives an invite to the grand opening of the new building in The Garden and is thrilled to find that it is a new library and his lady bug the new librarian. Short story with beautiful illustrations.


Oh No! (Or How My Science Project Destroyed the World) by Mac Barnett Illustrated by Dan Santat: This picture book has a sort of graphic novel look to it with just one short sentence on each page telling the story of a little girl who builds a robot for her science fair. Unfortunately the robot goes rogue and destroys the town. The girl must find a solution to defeat the evil robot which gives the book its surprise ending. I was a little confused by the book at first, but the incredibly detailed pix made me take another look and then I loved it. Pretty sure the kids will too.


Buy My Hats! by Dave Horowitz: When I saw this one I thought of our fifth graders because it's a really simple look at supply and demand and price setting. All Frank and Carl, a bear and a fish, want to do is sell hats. Everyone around them is able to sell their goods, but Frank and Carl just have no luck. They try lowering their prices but only sell one. They try advertising and still don't sell any. In the end a change in the weather increases their sales and Frank and Carl have no idea why! It's a fun look at small business with very funny pix.

My Next Trip to Cover to Cover 5

It's been a while since I posted a list of my future purchases, and here's what I've discovered about my bookstore posts, they are very helpful to me! Hopefully our Literate Lives readers are finding them helpful too, but the last time I went to Cover to Cover, I consulted my posts so I wouldn't forget something. Anyway, here are my next purchases at Cover to Cover.

Wonder Horse: The True Story of the World's Smartest Horse by Emily Arnold McCully: Born to slavery, Bill Key exhibited a talent for communicating and caring for animals at a very young age. Once he was a free man, Bill studied to become a vet and began taking care of animals. When his favorite horse dies giving birth to a crippled colt he is almost inconsolable over the loss. The colt comes to him and Bill is renewed. He realizes the intelligence of the horse and trains it to answer math and spelling questions. From that point on Bill and his wonder horse Jim travel the country entertaining crowds. This non fiction picture book will be a hit with all of the horse lovers at Bailey.

Stand Straight Ella Kate: The True Story of a Real Giant by Kate and M. Sarah Klise: Ella Kate Ewing was born at a normal size but soon after began growing at an abnormal rate. When she was done she was eight feet tall! Today we know that Ella suffered with gigantism but in her day, she was made fun of by kids and adults when she went in public. Her only way to deal with her height was to join traveling shows and circuses where people paid to see her. As cruel as this may sound, it actually worked out well for Ella, she became wealthy and built her own house to accommodate her size. When she would return from the road, she would host many of the townspeople to share her travels and the exotic locations she was able to visit. Kids will be fascinated with the actual size drawings inside the back and front cover and the story will be excellent for teaching about making the best of a difficult situation and not feeling sorry for yourself.

The Pirate of Kindergarten by George Ella Lyon Illustrated by Lynne Avril: When Ginny starts kindergarten, she realizes she love reading circle, but reading itself is difficult. Not because Ginny doesn't know her letters and sounds, but because she sees two of everything. Ginny figures out if she closes one eye things clear up but her teacher tells her to stop squinting, she realizes that if she gets really close the print things clear up but her teacher says "we read with our eyes, not our noses." And so it goes until a school vision screening discovers that Ginny suffers from double vision. When she visits the eye doctor he fixes her up with a patch until her special glasses are ready and Ginny is thrilled that it allows her to see like the rest of the kids. Great story to teach kids that we all can learn, we just do it differently. It's also a great eye opener for us teachers to our students' differences in the classroom.

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I really need to make a trip to the bookstore, I haven't been there in a couple of weeks and I may be having withdrawal symptoms, shaking, speaking incoherently, reading old newspapers, etc. I really need to get some Cover to Cover therapy!

Charlie's Superhero Underpants by Lee Wildish and Paul Bright: OK, so any book with underpants in the title gets my attention and almost always a laugh in THE PIT! This book will definitely get laughs as Charlie's favorite underpants, red with POW! across the front and KERZAP! OOF! and SPLAT! across the back, go missing from the clothesline. Charlie takes off on a round the world search for his favorite underoos and ends up trading various animals for other people's clothes around the world. When he meets the Yeti in Nepal, he finds his underwear in an absolutely HILARIOUS picture of the beast wearing the missing undies. VERY FUN!

Flying Lessons by Gilbert Ford: The book starts as a celebration of pigeons and their migration to the north. Pigeons do everything the same, cooing, rest on the same wires, caught worms together, dip in the same bath, and wait for their eggs to hatch. One day they are joined by an unusual "bird" that can't do all of the things they can do, but when the winter turns suddenly cold, the pigeons are stuck in the north, unable to fly. That's when the unusual "bird" comes to the rescue and gets all of the pigeons to safety. The pictures are wonderful in this fun book and lessons about not being to hasty to judge others can come from its reading.

But I Wanted a Baby Brother by Kate Feiffer and Diane Goode: The first book by these two was hugely popular in THE PIT and still doesn't sit on the shelves much, I have the same expectations for this book. When a baby sister comes home from the hospital, Oliver Keaton is NOT happy! All he wanted was a baby brother so he goes about trying to make a trade with his friends who have baby brothers. As he goes through his list of friends, one baby brother cries too much, one baby brother is into stuff that doesn't belong to him, and all of them are just annoying in a variety of ways. In the end Oliver decides his baby sister is just right for him and they become friends. Fun story of siblings learning to get along with bright colorful pictures, very fun.

A Place Where Hurricanes Happen by Renee Watson Illustrated by Shadra Strickland: The author of this spent time in New Orleans after Katrina working with kids. Using poetry and theater to help the children of New Orleans cope with the aftermath, she was inspired to write this book. Told first person through the eyes of a number of children, the reader follows them through the process of preparing for the hurricane to coming home for the recovery. Very well written, leaving nothing out, including the loss that all of the people of New Orleans felt. The pictures are beautiful, the children's faces filled with emotion and feeling.

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Ok, so even though I haven't made it to Cover to Cover since my first of these posts, maybe today, I've found a bunch more titles I'll be buying, so here goes!

The Shocking Truth About Energy by Loreen Leedy: Some non fiction is always good, it's the part of the library I struggle with the most. Recently, though, I've found quite a few non fiction picture books that the kids like and learn from, this is a new one. The book covers sources of energy, alternative energies and some simple science about energy. It's done at a real basic level making it a great introductory book for the grades that have energy in their standards. Bright, colorful pix make it a pretty fun look at what can be a dry topic.

Nibbles: A Green Tale by Charlotte Middleton: All of the guinea pigs in Dandeville LOVED dandelions and Nibbles loved them more than soccer. The trouble is, dandelions are in a limited supply and eventually run out. The guinea pigs are forced to replace their favorite greens with cabbage, YUCK! When Nibbles discovers one last dandelion plant outside his window he shows remarkable restraint for a guinea pig and doesn't eat it. Instead he does his research and learns how dandelions reproduce and when it turns to seed, Nibbles blows it all over Dandeville and becomes a hero. Fun pix and a story that can be used to introduce concepts of conservation make this a great one.

Jacob O'Reilly Wants a Pet by Lynne Rickards Illustrated by Lee Wildish: Jacob wants a pet, but his parents always say no. His dad suggests starting a pet sitting business and when Jacob does, he is flooded with customers and pets. Not just any pets, he ends up taking care of the usual cats, dogs, rodents, but also a python, sheep, and a zebra. At the end of the two weeks, Jacob realizes he really doesn't want a big, high maintenance pet, but when he finds a snail, that's just right. The rhyming text and fun pix will make this a hit with younger kids.

Birdie's Big Girl Shoes by Sujean Rim: Birdie is fascinated, like most little girls, with watching her mother get dressed up. She is especially enthralled with her mother's high heels and just wants to try them on. Her mother keeps telling her she's too small and her time for high heels will come. Finally, Mom relents and allows Birdie to try a pair. Once they are on her feet, Birdie decides they aren't as glamorous as she thought, in fact they hurt and her bare feet feel the best. Very fun pictures and short text.

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I love summer! I catch up on my reading and relaxing and am able to make runs to my favorite book store Cover to Cover. I think this summer I'll try to keep you up to date on what I'm buying for the library. It will server two purposes, hopefully our Literate Lives readers will find things they are interested in, and it will also serve as a list for me to refer to when I make my trips to the book store. So here's what I'll be picking up next time I go...

First, I'll be picking up my copy of Pete's White Shoes (check out the way cool video). My blogger friends shared this with me and I had to have it so I ordered it and it should be in. With this book, watch out Joyce, there will be singing in THE PIT! This book is TOO MUCH FUN to be missed!

I'm the Best by Lucy Cousins: Dog compares himself to all of his friends, mole, goose, donkey, and lady bug. He always manages to come out number one because he doesn't compare himself to their strengths, instead, he is a better digger than goose and swim better than donkey. When his friends turn the tables and show him what they are good at, dog is depressed. His friends cheer him up with compliments on his fluffy ears and he feels better. Great friendship book without being too cheesey. Very fun bright pix to go with the story.

Don't Call Me Sidney by Jane Sutton Illustrated by Renata Gallio: Very fun story about a poet pig named Sidney who doesn't like his name because it can't rhyme with anything except kidney, not a very flattering or poetic word at all! He decides to change his name to Joe because there are so many possibilities with Joe, but his best friend doesn't really like it. When Joe's/Sidney's mom comes to visit, she won't hear of a name change. After a night of personal struggle, our friend the poetic pig decides he will stick with Sidney but use the nickname Sid when writing poetry about himself. The pix are laugh out loud funny.

City Dog, Country Frog by Mo Willems Illustrated by Jon J Muth: Probably my favorite of the summer so far. It's the story of a dog spending time in the country and meeting a frog. They share games and fun and become best of friends. The book passes through the seasons and the animals' activities change to match the seasons. It does have a bit of sadness to it, and is very different from any other Mo Willems I've ever read, but beauty of the pictures and the simplicity of the story will make it a favorite I think. It's my Caldecott measuring stick right now. Franki and I are on the same thought wave length today, read her review at A Year of Reading.



That's it for now, but I have more! I'll continue to do these trips to Cover to Cover throughout the summer.

An Advance of the Next Calvin Coconut

A while back I posted about a new series I had found called Calvin Coconut. The series takes place in Hawaii and I liked it a lot. Saturday I was at my favorite book store, Cover to Cover on High Street in Columbus and I ran into my blogging friends Franki and Katie and of course owner Sally. We had some great conversations about the title in each other's stacks and then WOO HOO! Sally came out with a cart full of ARCs! We felt like we had found gold, I picked up a few and the conversations continued. At some point I mentioned the Calvin Coconut series and Sally went to her office and handed me an ARC of the next book in the series, Calvin Coconut: The Zippy Fix. YESS! SCORE!! JACKPOT!! (I'm doing a little happy dance here!) I couldn't wait to get home to read it. Here's the artwork for the cover and illustrator Jacqueline Rogers website. I'm happy to report that I like the second just as much as the first. Graham Salisbury is on to something here!

In this Calvin Coconut adventure, Calvin gets even with Stella, a high school girl that lives with his family, by putting a cat named Zippy on her pillow. Since Stella is highly allergic to cats her reaction causes her to miss going on a date. Even though Calvin gets in trouble, he is not without a conscience and begins to feel guilty. When he finds out that Stella's birthday is few days away he decides, with his mother's help, to buy her a CD of her favorite musician. The catch is that he doesn't have enough money. Calvin is determined to buy the CD and works odd jobs, collects pop cans for the refund, and selling shave ice from Uncle Scoop's Lucky Lunch truck at the beach. Through it all, Calvin deals with the bully Tito, learns the value of hard work and money, and feels better in the end when Stella absolutely loves his gift. In fact, she loves it so much that she invites Calvin and his little sister Darci into her room to listen to it.

As in the first book Graham Salisbury portrays Hawaiian children in a fun and informative way. The setting of the story is based on his childhood home and school and is completely realistic and authentic. I love that Calvin is not a perfect kid, just a normal kid that gets into some trouble but figures out a way to make things right in the end. I love the characters created, from Tito the bully to Mr. Purdy the ex-Army school teacher to Julio and Willy, Calvin's best friends. I love that Graham Salisbury has given us books set in a culture that is unfamiliar to most of us and I love that both books are well written.

Look for Calvin Coconut: The Zippy Fix next fall. Look for Calvin Coconut: Trouble Magnet NOW!

Katie, this one is headed your way next, I think your son will enjoy it!

New Books for the Library

I just finished a stack of books from the library and I had some stuff waiting for pick up at my favorite book store, Cover to Cover so I made the trip over and thought I'd let you know some of what I brought home.

Boo Hoo Bird by Jeremy Tankard: Everyone loved Grumpy Bird in THE PIT so I was excited to see that there is a sequel. In this one, Bird gets bonked on the head with a ball and all of the animals try to help him. I think it's just as good as the first adventure with the animals and can't wait to share it in THE PIT. I couldn't help thinking about the You Tube of "That really hurt Charlie!" so bird may adopt an English accent for this one!


The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman: I succumbed to the pressure and bought the Newbery winner. Even though I'm not a big fan, I know a lot of kids will like the weirdness of it all. After talking to a number of librarians I realize it's not any darker than some of the Harry Potter series which I love.



Roscoe Riley Rules #5 Don't Tap Dance on Your Teacher by Katherine Appleton: I can't keep books 1 - 4 on the shelves and they all have waiting lists so imagine my surprise when one of my second graders informed me that there was a book 5!? WHO KNEW!? I guess I should have but it's pretty fun when one of the kids beats me to the punch on a new book.



The Sherlock Files #2 The Beast of Blackslope by Tracy Barrett: I loved the first mystery solved by Xena and Xander Holmes (my review) and a group of kids connected with it as well, so I was excited to see book 2 out. Tracy Barrett really developed the mystery in the first book and kids could figure it out if they paid attention to the clues.

A Whiff of Pine , a Hint of Skunk: A Forest of Poems by Deborah Ruddell Illustrated by Joan Rankin: A collection of fun poems about animals and plants in the forest. The illustrations are awesome with lots of expression on the animals' faces. The poetry flows nicely and will be fun for kids to read aloud. My favorite is Beaver Biography.



With only a week of circulation left, many of these books will be waiting for kids to check them out next year, but I'll introduce them and hope they pick them up at the "big" library this summer.

Barnstormers Game 3 Surprise Find

Don't you just love the small independent bookstores? I recently visited my favorite one, Cover to Cover to Cover Bookstore in Columbus, Ohio and found several things I wasn't looking for, and one I didn't expect to see for several more days. I was very excited to find Game 3 of the Barnstormer series by Loren Long and Phil Bildner on the shelf. If you're not familiar with this series, it involves the Payne family, Griffith, Ruby, Graham, and their mother Elizabeth. They are traveling with a barnstorming baseball team around the turn of the century. The players all served in Teddy Roosevelt's Rough Riders along with the Mr. Payne who died under some mysterious circumstances. Each book involves a different game in a different city that played an important role in the beginnings of baseball. Game 1 is in Cincinnati, Game 2, Louisville, and Game 3, Chicago. Each book includes history, not only of baseball, but also the cities in which they are played.

The team is being followed by the mysterious Chancellor for reasons that are not completely clear yet. Magical things happen during each game that also reflect the history of each city and have something to do with a mysterious baseball with a hole in it that the children possess. All in all, great stories, outstanding illustrations and enough suspense to keep you reading.

I found the series while looking for some good chapter books for second or third grade boys, but these books can be enjoyed by all elementary kids. I can't wait for Game 4 coming sometime in the spring of 2009. Hopefully I'll spot it earlier than expected too, on a future visit to my favorite bookstore.