It's Monday, What Are You Reading? (6.30.14)

Every Monday bloggers all over the web participate in an effort to share books we have read and what we are excited about digging into. Thanks to Jen at Teach Mentor Texts and Kellee & Ricki at Unleashing Readers for hosting us all!

What I Read this Week:

Brown Girl Dreaming, by Jacqueline Woodson
(Nancy Paulsen Books, August 28, 2014 - ARC)
     In Brown Girl Dreaming, Jackie Woodson invites us into the memories of her childhood as she, in verse, recalls the formative experiences of living in the south and the north during the era of Jim Crow laws. She offers her child-perspective of this period of great change as civil rights leaders fought for equality. And between the stories of travel and play are glimpses into the evolution of Jackie Woodson, the now accomplished author, with chapters that alight readers with Woodson's early memories of reading and writing.
     Brown Girl Dreaming is one of the most talked about titles in book conversations this summer, and for good reason. I had a persistent feeling while reading that I was reading something important, being let into some intimate moments the author was sharing. The novel-in-verse format presents historical perspective in a lyrical format, which would pose a gentle contrast to informational titles about the civil rights era. The whole text is a work of (he)art, but most chapters could be used with students as stand-alone excerpts for study of writing craft. There are many ways for this book to be incorporated into the classroom, but it is undeniable that any classroom library will be richer when this book is included.

Book 1: Friendship Over (The Top-Secret Diary of Celie Valentine), by Julie Sternberg (author) and Johanna Wright (illustrator)

(Boyds Mill Press, October 1, 2014 - ARC courtesy of NetGalley)
     I was familiar with Julie Sternberg's work with Eleanor, the star of Like Pickle Juice on a Cookie, Like Bug Juice on a Burger, and Like Carrot Juice on a Cupcake--my students have devoured the first two and will be ecstatic to see the third--so when I discovered she had a new book coming, I didn't hesitate to see what it was about. Alas, I discovered Celie Valentine, a new 10-year old character who is every bit as real and relate-able as Eleanor.
      The book is intended to be a journal, given to Celie by her father to help her handle her feelings and frustrations, especially related to her older sister. Celie's journal takes readers alongside her thoughts and feelings about more than just her big sister, Josephine, as everything around her seems to be in a state of change. She logs accounts about friendship struggles with her (former) best friend and the confusion she is trying to puzzle through as her parents suddenly get very serious about her grandmother's health. Celie is about to become a new friend for our students to align with when they seek comfort and company in a book! The book is printed in a casual font suggestive of journal writing, and many artifacts are made to look like they are taped in, such as spy notes and Celie's drawings. The book itself will be very appealing to middle elementary readers, especially those who are just beginning to venture into books of length but are not ready to commit to novels with hundreds of pages of straight print.

Circa Now, by Amber McRee Turner
(Disney-Hyperion, May 27, 2014)

     Circa Monroe has rested comfortably in the creative lair of her parents, both photographers, until a sudden stroke of misfortune befalls her family in a weather event. Faced with the sudden, premature loss of her father, Circa and her mother, who battles anxiety and depression, must their way as a team of two. When a teenage-stranger appears in their yard out of nowhere one day, he provides a distraction for both the remaining Monroes, finding his way into their hearts. Driven by a desire to develop her photography skills to be able to continue her father's work, Circa continues to tinker with images on the computer. The hobby allows her to feel close to her departed father, but also challenges her thinking and makes her wonder about her influence on the world and brings her closer to the people around her the more she shares her talent. 
     Many times during the reading of this book I found myself reaching for note paper or my phone to write down lines that I knew would linger with me later. The writing is lovely, and the story itself is tight with all of its pieces carefully interlocked. Nothing is left loose or wiggly, making the Monroe's story one readers can be wrapped up in. While the theme of dealing with loss is predominant, Turner writes such beauty into the characters' relationships that the story's emphasis seems to be on healing rather than on darkness.

Balloons Over Broadway: The True Story of the Puppeteer of Macy's Parade, by Melissa Sweet

(HMH Books for Young Readers, 2011)
     I am ashamed at how long this book sat on my to-be-read (-purchased) list. The book won the Sibert Medal and the Orbis Pictus award, need I say more? Melissa Sweet has a stunning pairing of informational biography and collage artwork in Balloons Over Broadway.
     Tony Sarg was the puppeteer responsible for the original balloon creations that float through the streets of New York City to Herald Square in the annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade. Sweet writes a narrative-style picture book biography of how his inverted-puppets came to be. The writing style and the layout of information will make the book very appealing to my 4th grade readers who are curious and love to learn, but are easily overwhelmed with lots of print. They will, like me, spend as much--if not more--time feasting with their eyes in the illustrations created with various mediums. The end notes include Sweet's resources and some insights into her process.

What I am Currently Reading:

Bugged: How Insects Changed History, by Sarah Albee

(April 15, 2014)

What I am Reading Next:
How to Outrun a Crocodile When Your Shoes Are Untied, by Jess Keating
Spirit's Key, by Edith Cohn
Hidden Gems, by Katherine Bomer

It's Monday, What Are You Reading? (6.23.14)

Every Monday bloggers all over the web participate in an effort to share books we have read and what we are excited about digging into. Thanks to Jen at Teach Mentor Texts and Kellee & Ricki at Unleashing Readers for hosting us all!

What I Read this Week:

(Ok, confession: I didn't read this one THIS week, but I still needed to mention it!)
Manhunt, by Kate Messner

(Scholastic Books, June 24, 2014 - ARC courtesy of NetGalley)
     Manhunt is the awaited finale in the Capture the Flag triology. For fans who read the mystery-driven adventures of Henry, Anna, and Jose, this next adventure does not disappoint. I enjoyed all three titles, but this one may be my favorite.
      The three children are reunited when their Silver Jaguar Society connections are called to assist with an art heist. Though the initial setting of the book is Boston, MA, the society members are soon off to Paris, France, and when the adults begin their top secret work, the kids are free to venture, attempting to beat their adult relatives to the solution. Their regular dynamics are changed with the introduction of a new French character, Hem, who the group has mixed feelings about. Throughout the book, Messner succeeds in enlisting the reader as another "member" of the Silver Jaguar Society clan-it is inevitable that the reader begins to puzzle through the mystery themselves. In anything I have read by Kate Messner, her research always impresses me, but her thorough research allows this book's accurate description of the sights and sounds, reminding me of my fondness for the city of Paris.

Absolutely, Almost, by Lisa Graff
(Philomel, June 12, 2014)
     Albie is almost. Almost...anything. Albie is a student in any of our classrooms with his self-perception of inadequacy and comparison to others. When Albie's mom announces a new babysitter, Callista, Albie wants to argue and deny that there is any need. However, Callista turns out to be a significant influence for Albie as she is that older person who treats him respectfully, honors his individuality, and reflects back to him what it is he IS, pure and true.
     Lisa Graff is an author I've enjoyed reading, and even if I still love The Thing About Georgie as my favorite Graff novel, Absolutely, Almost comes awfully close. Albie is that student in your classroom who you empathize for because he so badly wants a chance to be "the one" with a chance to shine. Albie is the kid with a kind heart who wonders why his best isn't enough to get him noticed or help him feel important. Kids in our classrooms need Albie, Lisa Graff gifted him to us, and now we have to forge the connections. Albie will be perfect companion for so many.

Read Write Teach, by Linda Rief
(Heinemann, April 21, 2014)

     In her most recent professional text, Linda Rief invites us into her classroom, providing a walk through of the learning environment she crafts for students through deliberate orchestration of activities that promote choice and challenge for her middle school students. Using narrative description, anecdotes, and ample student work samples, Rief offers more than a glimpse into the ways she seamlessly promotes reading and writing, manages the activity of her classroom, and evaluates student progress. This will be a good read for teachers who are exploring ideas for instilling the importance of reading like a writer and, in turn, writing like a reader. Rief writes in with a style that is compassionate, understanding, and gentle-just like she presents in person. 

The Meaning of Maggie, by Megan Jean Sovern
(Chronicle Books, May 6, 2014)
     In some ways, Maggie Mayfield is a typical 5th grade girl who is trying to make sense of the world around her-particularly as it relates to relationships with her family, friends, and boys. As a kid with factual smarts, but little social awareness, Maggie is awkward in a wonderfully charming way. Maggie and her family are living life with the added dimension of caring for a dad with Multiple Sclerosis. Accurate to real family dynamics in dealing with such illness, the family members-including Maggie-come to terms with his debilitating state in their own time. All the while, Maggie continues to grow into her "self."
     I instantly had empathy for Maggie and her shallow understanding of her father's condition. I am curious to see how students respond to Maggie, but more so to the choice Sovern made to leave her father's condition unnamed for so long in the book. I suspect The Meaning of Maggie will be another great read aloud with classrooms full of talk in the company of Rules, Wonder, and Out of My Mind.

Athlete vs. Mathlete, by W. C. Mack

(Bloomsbury USA Childrens, February 2013)
     This was my next title as I continue to try to read most of the Maine Student Book Award list. I jumped into it quickly because it was handed to by one of my students in the last week of school who insisted I needed to read it because he really enjoyed it.
     Athlete vs. Mathlete is the story of twin boys who-though twins-have stereo-typically developed interests in different areas. Owen is the renowned athlete with a passion for basketball, while Russell prefers to excel academically on his school's Masters of the Mind team. When a new basketball coach arrives at the school and plants a seed of recruitment in Russell's mind, status quo is challenged, and Russell finds himself curious about playing. He goes on to make the team, and then the boys have a new dynamic to adjust to, surfacing the kind of rivalry and jealousy that many sports-oriented readers prefer. The book wraps up with a tidy and positive message about the importance of family as tried and true support.

What I am Currently Reading:

Brown Girl Dreaming, by Jacqueline Woodson

(August 28, 2014, ARC)

What I am Reading Next:
Circa Now, by Amber McRee Turner
How to Outrun a Crocodile When Your Shoes Are Untied, by Jess Keating
What Readers Really Do, by Dorothy Barnhouse & Vicki Vinton

The Importance of Yes - #celebratelu

[The Celebrate Link-up is hosted by Ruth Ayres on her blog. Join in each Saturday with your own post about celebrations.]

Yesterday, Linda Urban joined my students’ RIF Pizza Party. It was, easily, one of the highlights of their year. They’ll never forget that she said yes.

You don't have to spend a lot of time with Linda to recognize that she is a special person. If you’ve met Linda, you know what I mean. She radiates energy and positivity. (Every time I talk to her, I find myself hoping a little will rub off on me!) When you talk to Linda, you know she is listening. When you listen to Linda, you hear her genuine nature. She is honest, humorous, and respectful of young people. This is a stand out quality. She appreciates kids. (It’s no wonder she is able to capture their hearts and minds so adeptly in her work.) I’ve been fortunate to connect with Linda and to share my students with her. She has helped me to make their literate lives richer.

My students have come to know Linda through email exchanges over the last five months. She has shared writing experiences and excerpts related to her books and her current work in progress with them. They have sent her notes of encouragement in this long stage of revision, offered their opinions as readers, and posed questions as writers—about everything from suggestions for revision to wonderings about critical friends to curiosities about the publishing process.

However, as the students became more involved in the writing exchange and their enthusiasm built, they began to voice an inevitable wish, and addressing it had been an unspoken concern of my mine. When, they wanted to know, could they meet Linda? Would I invite her to come to our school? (It didn’t help that a recent email had highlighted Linda’s school visits in Michigan and California!) I danced my way through explaining the real world of author visit fees and lack of funding for such visits at our school. And mostly, it seemed, they understood. Until weeks later when we were composing an email to Linda and our class had just been announced the winners of the RIF reading contest. As the winning class, they would be treated to a Pizza Party, and…HEY! Couldn’t they invite Linda to come?!

If you’re chuckling to yourself or even laughing out loud, then maybe you understand my reaction to their request. My adult mind was swarming with imagined ideas about how busy Linda probably was and about how dismissive of her schedule and position as an author it might seem to make such a suggestion. To this point, I had done really well at transcribing their actual words and responses to her in our emails, no matter how tempting it was to “fix it up” and insert adult politeness. To be entirely honest, if not for the other support staff that were present that day, I probably would have made an excuse for why it wasn’t appropriate to ask. But in the end, I honored the students’ wishes, and though my mouse hovered over the “send” button for a long while (Imagine the thickening anticipation of my students!), I did send the email that invited Linda to the students’ Pizza Party. And then I immediately started preparing them for possible disappointment.

I admit: when Linda’s response came, I peeked. 
And then I grinned.

She had found a just right answer for my 27 hopeful ten-year olds.

The next day when we opened the email together and read her answer, the students whooped with excitement at her suggestion that she make her own pizza and join their party through Skype. They floated with untethered joy, balloons popping up one after the other. “She said YES!” they cheered at me, maybe respectfully saying, I told you so.

Yesterday, Linda Urban joined my students’ RIF Pizza Party. Their Skype was comfortable and easy-going. They smiled a lot (I smiled a lot) and the candidness with which shared their literacy lives with her reflected to me they felt important, valued, special. Linda is an author they appreciate and respect, and she made time to talk—and listen. They’ll never forget that she said yes.

And now I'm thinking... Do I say yes as often as possible? Do I let my "adult" voice inhibit opportunities? In what ways could I grow more hope and inspiration if I said yes more often?

Today I celebrate this:

• I celebrate the growth my students have made as readers and writers through the discovery of favorite authors and books.
• I celebrate the generosity of Linda and other authors who truly appreciate the value of connecting to readers and what students have to offer.
• I celebrate the importance of saying “yes” at the right time, to the hope that “yes” inspires, and the sense of worthiness “yes” provides to our students.

It's Monday, What Are You Reading? (5.20.14)

Every Monday bloggers all over the web participate in an effort to share books we have read and what we are excited about digging into. Thanks to Jen at Teach Mentor Texts and Kellee & Ricki at Unleashing Readers for hosting us all!

What I Read this Week:

The Daring Nellie Bly: America's Star Reporter, by Bonnie Christensen

(Dragonfly Books, Reprint 2009)
     In this picture book biography, readers learn the story of Elizabeth Jane Cochran, known best as Nellie Bly. This is the story of Bly's break into the world of journalism during a time period when being opinionated, motivated, and driven were uncommon characteristics of women.
     I was mostly interested in this book because it is the story of a journalist, a career I am trying to make more tangible for students. Nellie Bly would easily find herself at home in my classroom library alongside other like-picture book biographies about daring women who chased after their dreams.

Extraordinary Jane, by Hannah E. Harrison
(Dial, February, 2014)
     A beautiful picture book about Jane, an ordinary dog in a family of circus dogs with extraordinary talents. Through inferences drawn from the illustrations and what is not said explicitly in the text, readers can find implications of what is appreciated about Jane and why who she is is much more than ordinary. This is a wonderful first book by Harrison, who studied in Maine and interned with Kevin Hawkes.

Dogs of War, by Sheila Keenan, illustrated by Nathan Fox

(GRAPHIX, 2013)

     This graphic novel is actually three short stories of dogs in service, one each from World War I, World War II, and Vietnam. The combined efforts of Keenan and Fox allow readers to synthesize information from the images, speech bubbles, and still more that is left unsaid to gain a deeper respect for war veterans and the dogs who served at their sides. 
      Once I book talk this with my students, it will not return to my shelf until the end of the year, and that is only if it isn't pilfered first. For my students who have shown a preference for historical fiction and informational books featuring dogs and war--think Saving Zasha (Barrow), Duke (Larson), Dogs on Duty (Patent)--this will be one more genre in a set of related reading experiences. I'm anxious to see if my graphic novel fanatics will take to Dogs of War as quickly, because I felt it required more reading work than many other graphic novels I have loved.

Serafina's Promise, by Ann E. Burg
(Scholastic, 2013)
     I found this book as I have continued to read titles from the Maine Student Book Award list. Serafina's Promise provides readers with a look into the life of Serafina, a young Haitian girl, and her family. Her mother and father and grandmother are hardworking, using fruits of the earth to survive and to live. Serafina, having already experienced the immense loss of a baby brother to malnutrition, has become inspired to become a doctor to help her people. Driven by her strong family values and cultural identity, Serafina is determined to do whatever is within her power to succeed.
     The book is a novel in verse, which will appeal to many readers in the classroom. Personally, I also loved the incorporation of lines of both Creole and French, not only because of my familiarity with the languages, but also because they strengthened the development of the characters and their pride. However, student readers may not be as attentive to text that is not easily understood. The end of the book came rather abruptly, and I found I was still turning the last page expecting the resolution to be coming. Don't be surprised if readers come running upon completion, insisting that there wasn't enough information about how the story ended!

The Julian Chapter, by R. J. Palacio

(Knopf Books for Young Readers, May 2014)
     When I learned that R. J. Palacio would be releasing an additional section to compliment the best-selling Wonder by sharing the perspective of the bully, Julian, I knew I wouldn't be able to delay gratification. Not only did I preorder the e-novella, but I read it the day it was released.
      I admit that I had to do a little bit of work as a reader to get back in sync with Julian as a character, trying to read the text with his voice and his perspective, but it didn't take long, and I actually felt that I appreciated this additional chapter more having distance from Wonder than I might have if I had been able to read his story in sequence with the other characters' parts. There is no question, after Palacio gifts us with insights and evidence of how multiple accounts of incidents build a multi-dimensional story, readers naturally wonder about the "villan's" point of view. This chapter does not disappoint. It will satisfy that curiosity, and will continue to prompt the development of empathy for others. Last year's students who heard Wonder as our first read aloud last fall are asking to come back for lunchtime read alouds--and I just might indulge.

What I am Currently Reading:

Read, Write, Teach, by Linda Rief

(Heinemann, 2014)

What I am Reading Next:
Brown Girl Dreaming, by Jacqueline Woodson
Every Day After, by Laura Golden
The Ghost of Tupelo Landing, by Sheila Turnage

On Mentorship, For Teacher Appreciation Week

[The Celebrate Link-up is hosted by Ruth Ayres on her blog. Join in each Saturday with your own post about celebrations.]


This Teacher Appreciation Week, I'm thinking about my own teachers. I smile as memories come back to mind from primary classrooms, through middle school and high school and college.
Playing Sarah Josepha Hale in my 2nd grade play.
Begging to print banners in PrintShop during 4th grade computer club.
Interviewing a local farmer for my 8th grade speech about potatoes. (Yes, potatoes. Don't ask.)

But then, when I traced my story along its line to the present, I reached a place where conditions of the road changed, and the images of my "teachers" were those of my colleagues, those who mentored me and guided me towards the teacher I am today.

In August 2001, I started my first teaching job. I was so very green. I was lucky to be given a chance to stand on my own with a very real (in every sense) classroom of 5th graders. Sure, I was an attentive undergrad student, and some might say I have teaching in my blood, but I'm not sure any number of credit hours or characteristic in my blood would have prepared me for for all I encountered in my first year of teaching. I was enthusiastic, hopeful, optimistic, and...to be truthful...naive.

I found the company of a more seasoned teacher as my neighbor and teaching partner when I began working with Gail. Though never formally designated as such, Gail quickly and naturally became my mentor. The hours of time she gave to me and will never see again would make for a stark infographic. She embraced me from day one, offering that anything that was hers was also mine. She quite literally equipped me with what I needed to get started: books and materials. She guided me through the important things I wouldn't have known were important when I was still learning how to evaluate and prioritize.

In collaborative work, Gail would pose a question to introduce a topic. And then she would listen to my thinking. And even though I'm sure she always spotted the holes or glitches in what I was saying, she was patient and thoughtful about leading me to find them for myself. She was careful about offering advice or about informing me of how things were to be done. If she didn't agree with the direction I was going or knew better, she didn't let on. Rather, she'd encourage me to try, and then would be there again with another chance to talk it out when I came back wondering aloud about what didn't work and what I could do differently.

When she wasn't listening to me and reflecting back my thinking, Gail mentored me by example. In her likeness, I learned that it's ok to build relationships with students, and you do so by respecting who they are as individuals. I learned kids need more than what is in the curriculum, and typically those needs are more important. I learned that even on my worst days, my kids depend on me and look forward to the consistency I offer. I learned it was ok to disagree with a colleague, and respect them still. I learned to seek first for understanding, then to be understood (particularly in relation to parent contact, but really, isn't this just good practice all around?).

Eventually I grew up from that baby-teacher I once was. I gained courage, perspective, experience, and maybe a little respect. Yet, Gail continued to mentor me as the years passed, in and out of the classroom. When I began to take risks in the greater school community--Drama Club, whole-school initiatives, committees and book studies--Gail was always there to back me up. She rallied behind my causes and supported my contributions. In doing so, she gave me confidence. Her actions said, "Go for it, You can do it, and I'm going to do what you need me to do, even if that's just to listen." This was always true. Through the last two years while I labored through my pursuit of National Board Certification, Gail spent a number of afternoons or evenings putting aside her work or piling my work on top of her own to assist, even though she had nothing to gain through my achievement. She would help me sort out my thinking, reflect, process, and gain and new or improved vantage point. She could help me to strip down all the frustrations and emotions around my entries and help me set back to it with hope and confidence. She would gently dig around inside what I was saying and coax those inner assets to the surface after they were sunk.

Gail retired from teaching last summer. In preparation for the inevitable, I had always trusted that I would be ready when the time came for our professional lives to part ways, and I was. It was ok. That's not to say I don't miss Gail (I most certainly do) or that her absence isn't felt (it most certainly is). But it was a gift to have Gail as a mentor for twelve years. I will always be appreciative of the way Gail walked with me to a place where I stand more assuredly; she was significant in my professional journey.

It was time for a new phase. The vacancy of Gail's position necessitated the hiring of a new teacher. Our school has rarely seen the opportunity to hire, with positions often filled through transfers. However, Gail's position was filled by a first-year teacher, fresh out of college and new as could be. And now guess what I get to do?

Mentor.

In August 2013, Katie joined our staff. And throughout the year, I've been given a special opportunity to repay the profession for the mentorship Gail offered me. Though I haven't been able to give the same quantity of time Gail always gave selflessly, I hope I reflect a likeness to the compassion, kindness, and patience Gail always showed. Her influence courses through me in many exchanges I have with my new neighbor. The beauty of this new phase is: by slowing down and listening to Katie, by talking with her and responding to her wonderings, I am deepening and strengthening my own practice. In her early career development, Katie is keeping me thinking and reflecting...and learning.


This Teacher Appreciation Week, I'm thinking about my own teachers. I smile as memories come back to mind. I appreciate the great fortune of a generous and talented mentor. And I celebrate the opportunities to return the favor, and to continue to learn in the process of mentorship.

It's Monday, What Are You Reading? (5.5.14)

Every Monday bloggers all over the web participate in an effort to share books we have read and what we are excited about digging into. Thanks to Jen at Teach Mentor Texts and Kellee & Ricki at Unleashing Readers for hosting us all!

What I Read this Week:

Locomotive, by Brian Floca

(Antheneum/Richard Jackson Books, September 2013)
     Winner of the Caldecott Medal and recipient of a Sibert Honor Medal, this book is a work of art. Floca relays the history of the transcontinental railroad. The illustrations of trains and well-known sites and landmarks are striking. The deliberate choices about font/text style and word choice communicate the feel of riding the rails. The end pages are gorgeous. There is not a bit of unused space in Floca's masterpiece! There is so much to take in on the pages of this text; readers will be captivated.

This is the Rope, by Jacqueline Woodson, illustrated by James Ransome
(Nancy Paulsen Books, 2013)

     This picture book is a beautiful look at the story of families of the Great Migration who wanted a better life. By tracing an old rope and the ways it was used by women of three generations (skipping rope, tying luggage to a car, hanging as a line for drying diapers) Woodson highlights the choices and decisions made, steeped in hope for the future. Be sure not to skip the author's note either. Woodson connects the story to stories from her own family, making the history of the book more tangible for readers.

This Journal Belongs to Ratchet, by Nancy J. Cavanaugh

(Sourcebooks Jabberwocky, 2013)
     I am so glad this title appeared on the new Maine Student Book Award list. It had caught my attention when it was first published, but fell to the wayside as my TBR list grew steadily. The MSBA list brought it back to my consciousness, and now I'm aware of how "on to it" I was in the first place.
     Ratchet/Rachel is a character you root for. Homeschooled and the daughter of an environmentally-oriented mechanic, readers quickly discover Ratchet's self-perception is impacted by her longing for friends and a wish to know more about her mom (who died when she was young). The whole book is Ratchet's journal, or her Language Arts work, where she has a wide variety of writing assignments to accomplish ranging from poetry (cinquain, list, sonnet) to essay (persuasive, narrative) to freewriting. Cavanaugh weaves Ratchet's story and her strong emotions throughout the ever-changing writing form in a way that will draw admiration from other writers. This is a great story of acceptance and finding value in self and unique circumstances.

The Boy on the Porch, by Sharon Creech
(HarperCollins, September 2013)
     When a John and Marta unexpectedly find a young boy on their porch, their world becomes changed in ways they cannot anticipate. The older couple takes in and cares for this mysterious boy who does not speak. John and Marta come to love and appreciate the boy for who he IS--unusual, artistic, and musical--all the while worrying about when/if he might be reclaimed. The capacity to love that John and Marta discover lead them to bring many more children into their home.
     Sharon Creech is masterful at writing books that reach deep into readers' hearts, grab hold, and sit for a good long while. The Boy on the Porch is in keeping with her other works. The writing is accessible, but the characters and story are charged with emotional conflict that will engulf readers, inviting them into the story, until suddenly they are invested without realization.

What I am Currently Reading:

What Readers Really Do, by Dorothy Barnhouse and Vicki Vinton

(Heinemann, 2012)

Serafina's Promise, by Ann E. Burg

(Scholastic Press, 2013)

What I am Reading Next:
Read, Write, Teach, by Linda Rief
The Joy of Planning, by Franki Sibberson
The Ghost of Tupelo Landing, by Sheila Turnage

Everyone Should Get a "Day" - #celebratelu

[The Celebrate Link-up is hosted by Ruth Ayres on her blog. Join in each Saturday with your own post about celebrations.]

Yesterday, schools across the country celebrated School Lunch Hero Day. The event was established in recent years by Jarrett J. Krosoczka, author of the notable Lunch Lady graphic novel series. Inspired by his own relationships with lunchroom personnel, Krosoczka dreamed of a day when schools would pause to show gratitude and recognition for the individuals who serve breakfast and lunch to our students.

Scanning through tweets one day, I caught sight of a reminder that the holiday was fast approaching, and I knew it was worth bringing the information about School Lunch Hero Day with our PTA. We are incredibly lucky to have a PTA president who is an open person and a super go-getter. She took my page-long list of ideas to their meeting, and the small, but mighty group didn't hesitate to jump on board to make a special day happen.

Before students went on vacation two weeks ago, we introduced School Lunch Hero Day and launched a Graphic Novel Contest. Every student and family was provided with information about the day and a template for participating. Students could choose to complete the page started by Krosoczka or use the back side, which had a blank template for creating their own Lunch Lady episode.

Earlier in the week, I painted a large thank you banner, and all of the students signed their

names to it during their art classes this week. A first grade class made adorable thank you notes on paper plates with some of their favorite foods, and the decorating committee hung them on the wall. The Arts & Crafts Club and their teacher advisor blitzed the cafeteria with streamers and other decorations on Thursday night to surprise our unsuspecting lunch ladies.

Yesterday, students, staff, and (most importantly) the lunch ladies arrived to find Krosoczka's School Lunch Hero Day posters greeting them at the entrances. There were balloons expressing thanks waiting at the serving window, and the banner was hanging with a loud and clear sentiment. The PTA presented our ladies with School Lunch Hero t-shirts, and they modeled them for the students at all three lunches yesterday. During yesterday's lunch period, the PTA also showed videos from Krosoczka's YouTube playlist and projected some of the submitted graphic novel pages. The complete ten-book set of Lunch Lady graphic novels is also being donated to our school library in the ladies' honor. 

When all three lunches were finished, the lunch ladies were treated to a special lunch that the teaching staff had pulled together with salad, rolls, homemade macaroni and cheese, and-of course-dessert.

To say the ladies were touched is an understatement. 

The ladies' faces beamed as the students' roar of clapping and cheering filled the room. Often shy, reserved, and preferring to be behind the scenes, they came out of the kitchen more willingly with each lunch. I know the recognition and thanks they received was unexpected, and it gratifying to see the way it made them feel for our students and staff to say "you matter." School Lunch Hero Day prompted us with an opportunity to let our lunch ladies know they are noticed and important to our greater school community.

Everyone should get a "day." Everyone needs to know they matter.


Today I celebrate this:

• I celebrate a PTA of parents and staff who are open to hear suggestions and collaborate on ideas that contribute to a better school experience
• I celebrate the unassuming support staff in our school communities who don't always get the recognition and thanks they deserve
• I celebrate the small, but important things we can do to let others know that they matter.