A Girl Named Dan

This picture book, A Girl Named Dan, by Dandi Daley Mackall, and illustrated by Renee Graef, was actually a reread for me. I'm not sure why I didn't blog about it the first time, but in a historic year when one woman campaigned to be President, and now, another woman could possibly be a heartbeat from the Presidency, this book reminded me of how far women have come, and how much all of this can show young girls nowadays about reaching for what you want. The sky is the limit whether you are male or female, and regardless of the color of your skin.

Based on the author's note at the beginning of A Girl Named Dan, and the About the Author info on the back jacketflap, one would assume this story is nonfiction and based upon the author's life.

Dandi was a young girl who loved the Kansas City A's baseball team and loved to play ball herself. At recess, she was the only girl who wanted to have outside recess. She would play baseball with the boys, and was very good at it:

"I may not have been a fence-buster, but I could 'hit 'em where they ain't' every time. And I had good leather in the field, with speed for showestring catches."

But there came a time when the boys told Dandi she couldn't play anymore; it would be "boys only" from now on. That meant she had to do things other girls did: talk about movie stars and swing on the swings -- all things she hated.

But then, an opportunity of a lifetime presented itself. There was going to be an essay contest to get batboys for the Kansas City A's. Dandi was so excited, until a boy pointed out to her that in the rules, it said "For Boys Only". That didn't stop her. She entered an essay (beautifully written) under the name of Dan Daley, and she won!!

Unfortunately, when the men representing the team came to her door and found out she was a girl, they took her winning away.

The rest of the story deals with how Dandi handles her disappointment in a way that all students will be able to relate to.

So, I like this book because it shows a strong female character, it dabbles with injustice, it has some beautiful language throughout, and I especially love that the winning essay was the start of a lifetime of writing for this author. As you can see, there are many reasons to share this book with children. A Girl Named Dan can point out the possibilities for all of us!

First Week of School

Wow! I have an amazing class this year! The first day of school, we already launched our reading workshop -- complete with mini-lesson, independent reading for the students while I chatted with each of them about their book choice (note: we will need to have many conversations about what being in a "just right" book means!), and a sharing at the end. I was amazed at how engrossed all 24 of them were when I asked them to read independently!! How great is that?!!

After much debating with myself, I started the year with No Talking by Andrew Cements as our first read aloud. All the other choices I was thinking about will make their way into read aloud eventually, but, for now, these students are totally buying into the "no talking" contest in the book. They were cracking up when I read the part where one of the main characters, Lynsey, is in a verbal marathon about a sweater she wanted to buy -- it was so fun!! The fact that the book is about fifth graders is just one more hook for them.

So, first week means wonderful things in the classroom, but doesn't leave much time for blogging. Luckily, Bill has had a few things to blog lately. How great is his newly created reading space??!!

I hope your students, your own children, or children you may know all have as wonderful of a first week as I did!! I feel very blessed!

Trading Spaces Library Style

WHEW! The start of school craziness has really cut into my blogging and reading time! Between getting my library ready, my kids ready, and attending all of the beginning of the year events, curriculum nights, soccer games, meet the teacher, time is limited. However, I'm finding time now to share the pix of my new space as part of Franki and Mary Lee's Trading Spaces event.

Last year when I moved into the library, I inherited a lab of approximately 25 old blue Mac computers. I gave them a year of crowding my space to see how they were used. What I found was that I was the only one that used them much, and they were slow and frustrating. So, I got permission to remove them and was able to open a great little reading nook for the kids. Everything you see in the pictures was already in the library somewhere and it gave my space a cluttered look. By opening up the reading nook, I also created more open space in the whole room, making traffic flow much smoother and workable. I can't wait for the kids to start using the space next week, as they visit me this week, they are excited about spending some time back there too. Here are the pix with some brief captions.


First, let me share the mural we had painted about 3 years ago. As I have mentioned our former principal retired to do mission work in Africa, and our PTO paid to carry that theme into the library. I had to cut the mural into to halves to show you, and believe me these photos don't really do it justice.
Next is the space created by removing the computers and moving all of the pieces of furniture in. It's still a little sparse, but it's a beginning.And now some close ups of the new reading nook. In the first I have displayed part of my Presidential Election Collection. I'm still waiting for the current candidates to produce their signs with running mates to add to the top. I've built this collection over the years with the help of students and parents.The huge bean bag chair in this picture is awesome! I find myself wanting to take a nap on it from time to time, and the kids love it. The really cool thing is that it never loses its shape or flattens out, it also weighs about a ton! The George Washington portrait came from my parents who think every classroom needs a portrait of George Washington. One of my second graders couldn't believe that I could afford such a beautiful portrait.
I found that it's really hard to take pictures that show off this space, but hopefully you get the idea. I've heard many very positive comments on how comfortable the area looks and how inviting it feels from parents, colleagues and kids. It's a work in progress, but I'm pleased with the results so far.

Beware of the Frog in the Pit!

Here's a quick PICK FROM THE PIT entry in this season of going back to school hustle and bustle. William Bee's Beware of the Frog is an incredibly simple yet incredibly fun book. I found myself laughing out loud, especially at the surprising end, which will not be revealed here. You'll have to read the book to find out.

Mrs. Collywobbles lives alone in the wood where her house is protected by a frog, yes, a frog. Three humorously scary villains, Greedy Goblin, Smelly Troll, and Giant Hungry Ogre pay her a visit. Of course, none of them are afraid of her small green security system, and all three pay the price as shown by their limbs hanging from the frog's mouth. As I mentioned before, this simple story comes to a very surprising end, I loved it, and I can't wait to share it in THE PIT with the kids, big surprising fun awaits!

The illustrations are colorful and fun to look at and make the story really work, the final illustration which shows the surprise, did I mention there's a surprise ending? will surely get a laugh in THE PIT!

Here's another review at Menasha Kids.

Ridley Pearson's Disney Adventure

In the effort to get my eighth grade son to read this summer I told him I wanted to read a book with him. After two false starts, books that I had read and thought he would enjoy, I happened upon Ridley Pearson's Kingdom Keepers. I found these two titles while looking at an advance copy of Science Fair by Pearson and Dave Barry that I reviewed here.

The Kingdom Keepers takes place in Disney World after dark, after closing. It seems that the main character Finn Whitman has been chosen to be a Disney Host Interactive or DHI, a holographic image of himself that will lead visitors to the park around. Cool science fiction stuff that I don't really understand but it didn't matter! As a fan of Disney, I can almost believe they are currently working on this technology.

Due a glitch in the system created by the villains of Disney, Finn and the other DHI kids are transported to the park every time they fall asleep. Finn is chosen as the leader by a mysterious old man who lives above the fire station on Main Street U.S.A. named Wayne. Wayne explains that the villains of the park are beginning to take over and indeed, Finn finds himself in a laser battle with the Pirates of the Caribbean. The lasers are being fired from the cars from the Buzz Lightyear ride and in the morning, Finn has the burn marks to prove it. Extremely fun stuff for anyone who has visited Disney as Pearson writes with great detail about the park and the various rides and attractions. My son and I both enjoyed the descriptions and had several conversations as to what was real and what was fiction.

The group of DHIs must solve the riddle of the Stonecutter's Quill, a fable shared by Walt himself that gave clues on where the real power of the park lies. In the course of solving it, the kids run into the evil queen from Sleeping Beauty, Maleficent who freezes the air whenever she is around and a mysterious pair of girls Amanda and Jez that add to the suspense and intrigue.

We really liked this book, and I was just happy to find a book we could finish this summer. All fans of Disney will love it because the author does such a great job of taking you to the park. Non fans of Disney will like it for the mystery, adventure, humor and suspense. I purchased this for our library and will be sharing it with good third grade readers and up.

Ridley Pearson shares some cool background info here at his Kingdom Keepers blog.

Other reviews at Big A Little A and Kids Reads.

Trading Spaces - my 5th grade classroom

After just spending several days in my classroom, reconfiguring space, I knew I wanted to be part of the Trading Spaces challenge over at A Year of Reading.

For the past two years, I've shared a classroom with someone, so our room needed to be a combination of what his needs for our students were, as well as what my needs were. Because of budget cuts, this year I have the classroom to myself, so I was starting all over, creating spaces that I hope will be inviting to students.

One of the most important spaces I like to create first is my meeting area with my students. This year, my class meeting area is in the back of my room, and is complete with the chair I sit in for read aloud, a rolling chart stand where all my chart paper is located, and a small table beside my chair that houses my markers for the chart, a small lamp, and our current read aloud (still deciding on what will be my first read aloud). I also am fortunate enough to have a magnetic chalkboard in the back of my room, in this area, as well as the front of the room. This back board is where I hang a lot of the anchor charts the students and I create together.

The rest of the meeting space is a big open space for children. My closet doors serve as the back boundary, and bookshelves serve as the sides (its hard to see the shelves on the left). Wall space is so valuable in our classroom that I also use the closet doors. They house the thinking we do about content (science and social studies) vocabulary we do together. This floor space is where we meet for class meetings, reading workshop mini lessons, writing workshop mini lessons, word study mini lessons, and all sharing. There are also pillows in the middle cupboard for the students to get out during reading workshop.

After creating my meeting area space, the next most important spaces are the areas in the room that are meant for students. This is the reading nook in our class this year. I have these huge windows in my room, and I wanted the natural light from the windows and the scenery outside of the window to draw students over here. It's nothing fancy -- just 2 fold-up soccer chairs with arms and a place for a drink (my students are allowed to have water bottles) set up in the corner by the window. The table you see is just a cheap stool I bought covered with some inexpensive fabric, and anchored with a light. Voila! A reading nook! In addition, there is a round table on the floor (basically, a table without the legs). Students love to gather on the floor around the table to either read or write.

I don't have a teacher's desk, per se, but rather, a little round table (my husband got it from Salvation Army eons ago when he was in law school) that houses my teacher computer, a lamp, lots of Post-its, and some other office supply needs. Right above this table is a small bulletin board that contains pictures of my family. I need the computer at this place in my room because it's right under the tv, and I will be able to demonstrate things to the class from my computer this way. But, I keep it small to make a statement about how much this classroom bleongs to all of us; it doesn't just belong to me.

The last spaces that are equally important to me are the places where the books live in our classroom. The display bookcase below will host great mentor nonfiction texts for the first month of school (different genres will be highlighted after that). The four bookshelves behind the display case will contain even more nonfiction, and possibly some picture books. This area is between the meeting area and the reading nook.

Then, there is another nook behind my chart stand where more fiction resides. It also contains, on the top shelves, the kids' language arts boxes. Each child has one, and these are the boxes that hold Book Lovers' Binders, writers' notebooks, and word study notebooks. If you notice all the books on these shelves are currently spine out. That will last for the first week or two of school until the students, as an entire class, figure out how to organize all the books. Then, we will probably have books sorted by genre, author, or series. The kids will sort the books into different tubs, and make the tags that tell what type of book resides in each tub.

The final picture shows the bookcases below my bulletin boards that also house reading and writing anchor charts and thinking. In addition, on the top are a couple of things worth mentioning. Since I started following blogs, and then purchasing books I really enjoyed in the last two years, I have highlighted those fabulous books in the teal, hot pink, and black fabric containers. The teal one contains many new series books I hope will "hook" kids -- Clementine, Moxy Maxwell, Stink, Diary of a Wimpy Kid, etc. The hot pink and black contain many of the new middle grade books I've purchased within the last 2 years that I really want kids to get their hands on!! The wooden bookshelf is where I'll put all new books I get this school year -- picture books, poetry books, nonfiction books, or chapter books. It is designed to have the feel of the New Book section of a bookstore or a library. Last year, highlighting books like this really encouraged students to read them!

So, there you have it -- my Trading Spaces. I can't wait to see everyone else's spaces as well!

New Series: The Sherlock Files

I'm always excited to find a new series to add to our shelves. I've found that kids really like a good series and the way that the characters continue to grow. On a recent trip to my local library, I picked up the first in Tracy Barrett's new series, The Sherlock Files. The first installment is call The 100 Year-Old Secret.

The story is based on two main characters, Xena and Xander Holmes, a sister and brother who are distant grandchildren of the famous detective. Tracy Barrett does a great job of developing the two characters, Xena, the older sister likes to make lists and is a little less likely to take a chance than her little brother. She is very good at working puzzles and deductive thinking like her famous relative. Fortunately for the Holmes siblings Xena is an excellent climber. Xander has a photographic memory and is always recalling facts and definitions, which sometimes annoys his older sister. Xander is an athlete and constantly tries to move the duo forward on the mystery, even when they may not quite be ready.

The two find themselves in England for a year while their father is a guest music teacher in London. During the first week the two are playing their favorite game in which they try to identify what passers by are all about based only on appearances. The game has been passed down the generations beginning with their many greats grandfather. In the midst of the game they are handed a note which leads them to a meeting of Holmes and Watson relatives. The children are presented with a book that is a collection of Sherlock Holmes' unsolved cases.

Xena and Xander decide to work on the case of a missing painting that should be part of an exhibition close to their London apartment. This is where the fun begins! Kids like mysteries they can solve like a puzzle, Cam Jansen, Encyclopedia Brown come to mind. Barrett does an excellent job of creating one of those that younger readers, second or third grade, can get into and solve. The clues are there, not completely obvious, but enough that if a reader is paying attention they can solve this mystery.

The tricky part of writing like this is to keep the reader going after they think they have it solved it. Tracey Barrett does that by adding characters the interact with the Holmes kids and keep the other plot interesting. In this book it's a distant relative of Sherlock's sidekick Dr. Watson, Andrew. Andrew is about the age of the Xena and Xander, and very obnoxious! He seems to have a bit of a chip on his shoulder because his famous relative has been overshadowed by Sherlock Holmes. Andrew keeps coming back in the story and creates tension every time so that the reader wants to keep with the story to find out what his deal is!

I'm very excited about this series and plan on adding it to the library this year. It will be good to have another option for that group of mystery readers that have finished all of the Encyclopedia Browns and aren't ready for the Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew.

Some other reviews at Becky's Book Reviews, and SLJ.

Books 2 is slated for May 2009 and book 3, 2010.