Song: “Jelly Jelly in My Belly” from Sharon, Lois & Bram’s The Elephant Show

Book: Let’s Eat by Ana Zamorano (Scholastic, 1997)

A family story as much as a food story, with phrases in Spanish sprinkled through the text. Each day of the week a family member is missing (for various reasons — sister is practicing dancing, grandfather is in the middle of telling a story) and each day the mother sighs, “Que pena!” I had the children repeat the mother’s phrase so they were ready on Saturday, when the mother is absent, to fill in for her, just as the boy in the story does.

Action Rhyme: Peanut Butter and Jelly

Peanut, peanut butter and jelly

Peanut, peanut butter, and jelly

First you take the peanuts and you pick em, pick ‘em, pick ’em,

Next you take the peanuts and you smash ‘em, smash ‘em, smash ’em

Then you take the peanuts and you spread ’em, spread ‘em, you spread ‘em out (slowly)

Repeat chorus

Now you take some grapes and you pick em, pick ‘em, pick ’em,

Next you take the grapes and you smash ‘em, smash ‘em, smash ’em

Then you take the grapes and you spread ’em, spread ‘em, you spread ‘em out (slowly)

Repeat chorus

Now you take the sandwich and you bite it, you bite, you bite it, bite it, bite it

Next you take the sandwich and you chew it, you chew it, you chew it, chew it, chew it

Then you take the sandwich and you swallow it, you swallow it, you swallow it all.

Repeat chorus last time – but hum it this time!

 Book: Arroz con Leche/Rice Pudding: A Cooking Poem by Jorge Argueta (Groundwood Books/House of Anansi Press, 2010)

This bilingual poem makes making rice pudding seem like an adventure. There are milk waterfalls, singing rice, dancing salt stars and sugar snow, and “foamy waves and clouds” that “turn the pot into sea and sky.” The language is lovely and the illustrations by Fernando Vilela, in muted tones with interesting perspective and bold outlines did capture the children’s attention.

Song: “Spaghetti Legs” by Jim Gill

Other fun food books are Mouse Mess  by Linnea Riley (Blue Sky Press, 2007) and One is a Feast for A Mouse, by Judy Cox (Holiday House, 2008). What are your favorite food related songs and stories?

There has also been a call from IBBY and IFLA to participate in a picture book survey:

We ask you to take a few minutes to jot down the top five (5) children’s picture book titles that you enjoy sharing with children and that have been created and published in the United States.

After all titles have been submitted, we will rank order the nominations and submit the United States’ top ten list to the IFLA Libraries for Children and Young Adults Committee.  Act soon! The survey closes in about two weeks.

Aim of the Project:  To create a list of picture books from around the world that have been selected and recommended by librarians. These can then be used:

• As a way of celebrating and promoting the language, culture and quality of children’s book publishing from each country
• By countries wishing to purchase books from other countries and are looking for ‘favorite’ titles to help build and develop their collections
• By “Sister Libraries” as a way of exploring the children’s literature of their ”Sister Library” countryhttp://www.ifla.org/en/news/videos-by-sister-libraries
• As an opportunity to encourage interaction and growth within IFLA
• To develop the list into an exhibition with supporting catalogue that can be exhibited at the IBBY and IFLA conferences in 2012

CRITERIA:  THE BOOKS SHOULD

• have been published first in the United States
• have been written originally in English
• be in print (and therefore available for purchase)
• be excellent for reading aloud to and with children
• be suitable for any age between 0 – 11 years
• have or will last the test of time
• represent the best in picture books of the United States
• be of good quality and a high standard of publishing
• have text and illustrations that work well together
• reflect a positive message

 

START THE SURVEY HERE:  http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/RRF23LP

Many thanks!

Linda M. Pavonetti, IBBY Vice President and ALSC Representation to the IFLA Libraries for Children and Young Adults Committee

Barbara Genco, ALA Representation to the IFLA Libraries for Children and Young Adults Committee

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Since I’m currently deep into a research project on international books, this survey is definitely of interest to me. It will more valuable if more people participate, so I hope you will take the time to share your thoughts. I look forward to seeing the results and hopefully learning about new books from other countries.

We sang “Falling Leaves” to the tune of “Frere Jacques”:

Falling leaves, falling leaves,

All around, all around,

Twirling twirling twirling

Twirling twirling twirling

To the ground, to the ground.

We also did the “Furry, Furry Squirrel” action rhyme from Early Literacy Storytimes @ your library. I introduced this one by saying it was a rhyme about a squirrel and asking the children if they had seen a squirrel and what it looked like. I had three puppets hidden under a blanket (a raccoon, a skunk, a squirrel). We talked about how squirrels have fluffy tails, so we looked at each tail to find the squirrel.

Furry, furry squirrel

Hurry, hurry hop

Scurry up the tree trunk

To the very top.

When you reach the branches

Hurry, turn around

Furry, furry squirrel

Scurry to the ground.

Additional books for preschool and older children include Leaf Jumpers by Carole Gerber, illustrated by Leslie Evans (Charlesbridge, 2004), Leaf Man by Lois Ehlert (Harcourt, 2005), with the latter inspiring children to make their own leaf creatures.

http://storycorps.org/listen/share/?id=8330

Where have I been? August was great  . . . winding down summer reading, enjoying the summer routine we finally found ourselves in, and finally . . . vacation! Sun, sand, surf, extended family, lovely sunsets, so many natural wonders: sand dollars, brown pelicans, dolphins, osprey, sea turtles, sand pipers, seagulls, crabs, and more.

Now it’s the first of September. Some journeys are getting close to complete. Last graduate class began this week: Technology in the Lives of Children and Young Adults. Looks promising. CAS final project to complete, focusing on international books (Bringing the World to your community). Other journeys are just beginning: new book club for 1st – 3rd graders at the library. New committee appointment: ALSC’s  Metamorphosis Task Force, charged with helping more ALSC committees make the transition to virtual operation, of which I am *thrilled* to be part!

So this blog will continue to be updated . . . but probably pretty irregularly. I hope to get back to things I’ve enjoyed participating in, like Nonfiction Monday and the new BookTalk Tuesday. But I’m also learning life is about focus, about continually defining and redefining interests and priorities. I always have more ideas that time!  And an ever-growing stack of books on my reading list. And sometimes it’s necessarily to focus on finishing projects. You can also find me on Goodreads and Twitter if you’re wondering what’s up! Best of luck to all of you on your respective journeys.

This book is a visual treat that children will enjoy looking at and perhaps be inspired to learn more — about a certain type of animal, environment, or photography. Read more about Robert Haas on the National Geographic web site:

http://photography.nationalgeographic.com/photography/photographers/photographer-robert-haas/

I used the Humpty Dumpty rhyme from Saraj Ghoting and Pamela Martin Diaz’s Early Literacy Storytimes @Your Library: Partnering with Caregivers for Success (ALA, 2006). For this rhyme, children curve each hand into a half circle. They put their hands together to make an egg (a long circle shape), bring them apart when Humpty falls, and at the end, after “all the king’s horses and all the king’s men couldn’t put Humpty together again” shout “But I can!” and bring their hands back together. Repeat. And repeat again.

We counted the sides of the square again and of the triangle. We talked about how the circle had one side that kept going around and around, which they traced with a finger. I asked children hold up the yellow circle before we read part of Roseanne Thong’s Round is a Mooncake: a Book of Shapes  (illustrated by Grace Lin, Chronicle, 2000) and they looked for the round moon  and other round objects in the pictures.

Then I passed out ribbons for a free dance to Greg and Steve’s “Round in a Circle” song, from the CD We All Live Together, Vol. 1. We then all (parents, caregivers, children) joined hands in making a big circle, doing “Circle Songs from Long Ago” which includes Ring around the Rosy and Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush (from Hap Palmer’s Early Childhood Classics: Old Favorites with a new Twist, 1998).

Our last book was Kevin Henkes’ Kitten’s First Full Moon(Greenwillow, 2004).  Children held up the triangle for the kitten’s pointy ears and the circle for the moon or the bowl as I read the story.

At the end I brought out a tunnel for the children to crawl through and a pop up tent in the shape of a triangle so that they could explore being in a circle or being in a triangle. They were also encouraged to stand in and walk around the shapes on the floor. So we explored shapes in many different ways: visually, kinetically, spatially — looking at shapes, tracing shapes, making shapes with fingers (small motor skills) and with body parts (large motor), being inside shapes, and dancing and singing and reading about shapes.

The shapes storytime was much more fun that I had initially thought it might be. It turned out to be one of my favorite, and most successful, storytimes of the year. I also reminded parents that children have to learn shapes before they can learn to recognize letters. It’s a great early literacy skill!

If you haven’t seen Perfect Square yet, check out this trailer:

Much more recently, in 2010, Diary of a Baby Wombat (Clarion, 2010) arrived. I was delighted when I saw a sequel and moments later, dubious. Could they really create something as charming and sweet and laugh out loud funny as the first? Happily, the answer is yes. In this story the baby wombat meets the newcomer to the human household . . . another baby. They play together quite well. Bruce Whatley’s pictures are once again practically perfect. I love the expressiveness of the wombats. Just the one open eye of the mother in a picture where they are supposed to be sleeping, but the baby is wakeful is so effective. The plain white background accentuates the poses and movement of the main characters of the baby wombat, mother wombat, and human baby. A delight.

Before you get too sentimental about wombats, or wonder how French knows so much about them, read the non-fiction companion to these books, How to Scratch a Wombat: Where to Find it . . . What to Feed it . . . Why it Sleeps All Day (Clarion, 2009), also illustrated by Whatley. French relates much of her knowledge about wombats, gained from years of living with them and serving as a rehabilitator for injured or orphaned wombats. You’ll get a clear sense of the delights, oddities, and nuisances of living with wombats.  When adding on to their house, a wombat decided to use a neglected burrow slated to be under the front steps. French had to choose whether to change the plans of the house or to move the wombat. Knowing wombats, she decided to change the building plans!  French’s philosophy is that “it is a privilege to live alongside wild animals.” (p. 85) The writing is factual, funny, engaging and personal all at the same time. And there is still much we don’t know about wombats. I enjoyed learning more about wombats, would love to get to see one (or even scratch one) in person, and I’m grateful there are people like French willing to share their environment with them, despite the challenges they sometimes poses. You can find out more about wombats, get updates from French’s garden, and see photos of the wombats at French’s website: www.jackiefrench.com

Some of Jane’s sketches and notes from her childhood – games she made up for the Alligator Club are included. The paper is thick and heavy, and even a little yellowed at the edges. McDonnell’s watercolor illustrations are delightful, with a winsome, determined young girl and charming animals. The illustrator also incorporated ornamental engravings (leaves, maps, astronomy diagrams and more) from the 19th and 20th centuries on the pages with text, which add depth and visual interest. There’s plenty to pour over here. Another sketch of Goodall’s at the very end shows Jane sleeping in a tree, with a chimp sleeping in her tent!

The Watcher: Jane Goodall’s Life with the Chimps by Jeannette Winter(Schwartz & Wade, 2011) goes into a little more depth about Goodall’s life. This introductory biography is great for elementary age readers.  The story details how young Jane carefully watched all the animals in her world, big and small. I love the example of the robin, who slowly grows comfortable enough to build a nest on Jane’s bookshelf! The small book is beautifully designed. After Goodall travels to Africa, Winter’s illustrations break the confines of a small central box to flow across the pages. I loved how the reader could spot the chimps hiding, before they were willing to show themselves to Goodall. The paper is thick and heavy. The text is deceptively simple; it is clear Winter has chosen her words carefully. The prose is nicely spaced with short length, spacing between the words, and could probably be read by a beginning reader (would love to see this book considered for the Geisel Award!)

Both books describe Goodall’s childhood love of the outdoors, her constant companion, Jubilee, and her dreams of Africa. Winter’s biography takes us further, adding details of her remarkable scientific observations at Gombe. We get to meet David Greybeard. Winter descibes Goodall’s first night at Gombe: “Jane lay awake listening to new sounds – the croak of a frog, the hum of crickets, the laugh of a hyena, the hoot of an owl – and looking up at the stars. She knew she was Home.”

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You can find out more about Jane Goodall at her website: http://www.janegoodall.com and from her own writings about her work, including My Life with the Chimpanzees.

In this CNN interview from April 2011, Goodall talks about Jubilee, her childhood stuffed animal, that she still has.

And tonight, July 19, on Point of View on PBS premieres Biblioburro. Hurrah! You can see Luis, the burros, the library, and the children he helps in this documentary. I love when a book comes alive like this, seeing the person, hearing his voice (in Spanish) and seeing the actual setting, the terrain that requires burros to navigate, and the excited faces and voices of the children. And I’ve only seen the trailer so far:

Central Ohio viewers note: This is not on WOSU’s schedule; it will air on WOUB-Athens at 10 p.m.