Literacy Now

Later this month we will be celebrating Earth Day on Sunday, April 22, 2012. This week’s column from the International Reading Association Children's Literature and Reading Special Interest Group (CL/R SIG) promotes environmental stewardship through children’s literature. Helping children and young adolescents connect, experience and learn how they can make a difference in the environment is intertwined in all of these titles. 

GRADES K-3

Beard, Alex. (2012). Crocodile’s tears. New York: Abrams.

Concerned because Crocodile is lying in the sun by the Mburu River with tears in his eyes, Black Rhino and Tickbird wonder what’s bothering him. Since they are leery about approaching him, they decide to ask the other animals. After much searching, they find Golden Eagle who offers his thoughts before sending them looking for Elephant who, in turn, sends them looking for Tree Frog. Their journey continues as each animal provides hypotheses but no real answers as to why Crocodile might be crying. They all agree that perhaps he misses the trumpeting of elephants, the tree frogs’ singing or possibly the patterns of butterflies’ wings. Eventually, Black Rhino bravely approaches Crocodile and receives a surprising but practical answer. The story has a traditional tale flavor to it, complemented perfectly by the pen, ink, and watercolor illustrations. Young readers will enjoy the repetitive nature of the story as Black Rhino and Tickbird seek answers to their questions, but they will also appreciate the book's implied message about endangered species and habitat. Back matter includes an Author’s Note describing Kenya’s Shompole Camp, an animal preserve that will benefit from the book’s sales, and a Glossary of Animals with photographs and thumbnail sketches describing the status of the threatened animals. 

- Barbara A. Ward, Washington State University Pullman

Brouwer, Sigmund. (2011). Justine McKeen: Queen of green. Illus. by Dave Whamond. Victoria, Canada: Orca.

This novel is perfect for beginning readers because it includes illustrations and eleven brief chapters. The book begins with the school bully, Jimmy Blatzo, depositing a juice can in the garbage. Justine digs through the trash to find the can and puts it in a recycling bin. This infuriates Jimmy, “You made me look bad. I’m not letting you get away with this” (p. 9). Justine responds to him in kindness and gives him brownies. Later she even asks for his help and explains to her friends, “When you criticize people they get defensive, it’s better to ask them for their help” (p. 42). Sprinkled throughout this book are environmental facts such as how much water is wasted when there is a leaky faucet and how farmers in Argentina are measuring the methane cows produce. Along with some friends, Justine builds a plastic-bottle greenhouse to grow vegetables for fundraising. Included in the back are notes for students and teachers about each chapter. 

- Deanna Day, Washington State University Vancouver  

Buchanan, Jane. (2012). Seed magic. Illus. by Charlotte Riley-Webb. Atlanta, GA: Peachtree.

Neighborhood children and Rose are looking for something beautiful in the city like the pictures of gardens they see in library books. The wheelchair bound, crazy Birdman in the park feeds seeds to the pigeons and the children wonder how he finds beauty and pleasure in that. He convinces Rose to take a handful of seeds home and place them on her windowsill and watch what happens. Through the ridicule of her brothers Natty and Toby, Rose is patient but skeptical. Then one day, birds discover the seeds and birds of all colors flock to the windowsill pecking for their dinner as they eat the seeds. The flash of wings is a beautiful and colorful sight as the illustrations use bright vivid acrylic paint and broad brushstrokes to portray the color and motion. 

- Karen Hildebrand, Ohio Library & Reading Consultant

Drummond, Allan. (2011). Energy Island: How one community harnessed the wind and changed their world. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux. 

So many times, it seems as though the world’s problems are insoluble, but this delightful picture book describes how one community on a small island in Denmark solved its reliance on nonrenewable energy. Now often called Energy Island because of the changes, Samso astoundingly--and energy-efficiently--reduced its carbon emissions by 140 percent in 10 years. No longer dependent on the nonrenewable fuel that had to be shipped to the island, its citizens now harness the wind and the sun and rely on biomass furnaces for their energy needs. The repetition of the apt phrase "Hold on to your hats!" and the appealing cartoon illustrations with smiling, if wind-blown citizens, offer an appealing, eco-friendly message offering alternatives to reliance on nonrenewable energy sources. Green sidebars on several pages provide additional information, and the author's note explains his own interest in telling this particular story. The fact that a teacher spearheaded the government's energy independence project adds to its appeal, making the book’s message even clearer: It could happen here, too, after all. 

- Barbara A. Ward, Washington State University Pullman 

Peck, Jan & Davis, David. (2011). The green mother goose: Saving the world one rhyme at a time. Illus. by Carin Berger. New York: Sterling. 

This is Mother Goose for Earth Day! With thirty very eco-friendly reworked Mother Goose rhymes, this collection of familiar poems makes a strong statement for recycling, ecology, water, light bulbs and other environmental concerns.  Authors Davis and Peck have teamed up to rewrite such tales as Little Boy Green, Old King Coal and the squeal of the three little pigs as they re-re-recycle all the way home. Carin Berger’s collage illustrations use many recycled materials, found art and recycled paper to support the text. Use with National Geographic Kids Green Tips for a science and literature connection:
http://kids.nationalgeographic.com/kids/stories/spacescience/green-tips/. 

- Karen Hildebrand, Ohio Library & Reading Consultant

Walsh, Melanie. (2012). 10 things I can do to help my world. Somerville, MA: Candlewick. 

Through eye-popping colorful acrylic illustrations, this simple book shows ten different green-friendly actions that can save energy and reduce the human carbon footprint. For instance, readers are reminded to turn off lights when they are not in the room or turn off the faucet when brushing their teeth. Each right-hand page flips up or down to reveal how that action can be kind to the Earth. Even the book itself is made from 100 per cent recycled materials. After reading this simple title, surely the least environmentally savvy individual will have no excuse for not taking at least one step to make a difference in the world. 

- Barbara A. Ward, Washington State University Pullman   

Yezerski, Thomas F. (2011). Meadowlands: A wetlands survival story. New York: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux. 

The ability of human beings to heal or destroy is particularly evident in the inspiring story of the recovery of New Jersey’s 20, 000 acre Meadowlands. These wetlands were once home to several plant and animal species until industrialization changed all that. Concerned that the once-environmentally healthy area had become an ecological disaster, a dumping ground for trash and toxic industrial waste, several activists, government organizations, and regular folks helped the area recover. The turn-around began in 1969 once the state placed an embargo on dumping. Four decades later, the area consists of industry, housing, and businesses co-existing with 8,200 acres of wetlands, waterways, and open spaces, offering hope for the Earth's future. The text and pen-and-ink watercolors portray the domino effect that occurs as pollution is filtered from the water and soil, encouraging insects, birds, and fish to return to the area. The area’s recovery comes full circle with the encouraging birth of an osprey in a nest in the Meadowlands for the first time in several decades. Beautiful thumbnail illustrations of birds, plants, and buildings are drawn all across the book's border, some of birds, plants, and buildings, all with some significance to the environmental story being told here. 

- Barbara A. Ward, Washington State University Pullman   

GRADES 4-7

Burns, Loree  Griffin. (2012). Citizen scientists: Be a part of scientific discovery from your own backyard. Photographs by Ellen Harasimowicz. New York: Henry Holt.

What is a citizen scientist? The book opens with the definition “the study of our world by the people who live in it…All men, women and children who use their senses and smarts to understand the world around them can be citizen scientists” (p.5). Each chapter is divided by season and suggests projects for kids to become involved in like spring frog counting; summers photographing ladybugs, winter bird counting or fall tagging of monarch butterflies. Excellent photographs, diagrams, sidebars, and checklists make this book alive with information and intrigue. Collecting animal data with this hands-on approach gives the research process a life beyond a textbook or Internet. Take this book a step further and check out The National Wildlife Conservation website for the Citizen Scientist Program: http://www.nwf.org/Wildlife/Wildlife-Conservation/Citizen-Science/Citizen-Science-Programs.aspx or explore the author’s Research Trips at her website: http://www.loreeburns.com/research/trips. 

- Karen Hildebrand, Ohio Library & Reading Consultant 

Christie, Peter. (2012). 50 climate questions: A blizzard of blistering facts. Illus. by Ross Kinnaird. Toronto: Annick Press. 

The six chapters in this informative but amusing book answer the burning questions many young readers have about climate changes, providing historical perspective on an issue that is a hot topic now, but actually has been important throughout Earth’s history. The questions and answers are provocative and intriguing, and the cartoons that accompany the text guarantee its kid appeal. Questions and answers, typically a page or two in length, range from the importance of gas, “planetary flatulence” (p. 5) as the author calls it, to the role of whale waste in fighting global warming. Even adults will be able to learn something from this unique approach to an ever-increasing environmental problem. Back matter includes an index, a bibliography, and suggestions for further reading. 

- Barbara A. Ward, Washington State University Pullman   

Kooser, Ted. (2012). The house held up by trees. Illus. by Ted Klassen. Somerville, MA: Candlewick.

Former American Poet Laureate (2004-2006) Ted Kooser turns his writing to the picture book genre. A young father and his two children live in an isolated house surrounded by woods. Father works diligently to keep the forest seedlings from sprouting in his year and spends years keeping his lawn free of the forest debris. As the children grow up and leave home and the yard work becomes too much for the father, he, too, eventually moves on leaving the house abandoned. Over time, the forest encroaches and the seedlings sprout into young trees. Trees sprout and blossom and grow right next to the house eventually lifting the house into its branches and continue to reach toward the sky. At the end of the story with the soft and muted colors of artist Ted Klassen, this quiet and gentle story speaks to the passing of time, the young and the old, and the results of continued growth with time. By the end of the book the reader is looking up through the trees at the house held up by trees. 

- Karen Hildebrand, Ohio Library & Reading Consultant

GRADES 6-8

Hiaasen, Carl. (2012). Chomp. New York: Knopf Books for Young Readers.

Middle grader Wahoo Cray has a rather unusual home life shared with his father Mickey’s monkeys, turtles, raccoons, snakes, and a twelve-foot long alligator named Alice. The family has fallen on difficult financial times, forcing Mickey to agree to allow a reality show to film some of the animals on his property. But the star of the show, Derek Badger, is all about showmanship and his own ego. Given to ordering around anyone near him and known for devouring some of the creatures he encounters on his faked adventures, Derek is determined to wrestle Alice. The battle doesn't turn out the way he expects, and the crew for the show moves on to another Florida location. Derek is beyond ridiculous with his spray-on tan, arrogance, pretentiousness and sweet tooth. Once Derek’s so-called wilderness reality show hires the Crays as consultants for their airboat trip through the Florida waterways, things go from bad to even worse. Wahoo’s classmate, Tuna, who is on the run from her abusive father, comes along with them, prompting her own father to track her down. Once Derek becomes convinced that he has contracted rabies from a bat he tried to eat, he heads for the Florida wilds. The paths of the two fathers inevitably cross, leading readers on a merry chase through the Everglades. The passages describing how the Everglades and portions of Florida have become overrun by exotic species released into the wild by their former owners after becoming too large to handle clearly show how humans’ careless actions have once again wreaked havoc on the environment. 

- Barbara A. Ward, Washington State University Pullman

GRADES 8-12

Davies, Nicola. (2011). Gaia Warriors. Somerville, MA: Candlewick.

First published in England in 2009, this is an updated handbook on the study of climate change and provides a wealth of information. Starting with the distinction between weather and climate and based on the Gaia definition posed by scientist James Lovelock, author Nicola Davies, a zoologist, explains the impact and eventual consequences of climactic change. The book offers a plethora of ideas to make the world a better and “greener” place to live for populations today and in the future. Profiles of people around the world who are making changes in lifestyles offer recommendations for others to help preserve our planet. The design and layout of the book make it very teen reader friendly and the author has given lists of resources to help readers find extended information. http://www.facebook.com/pages/Gaia-Warriors/172922985348. 

- Karen Hildebrand, Ohio Library & Reading Consultant

by Judith Hayn

Whaley, John Corey. Where Things Come Back. New York, NY: Putnam, 2011.

Cullen Witter’s summer before his senior year in high school in small town Lily, Arkansas, opens with his identification of his cousin’s body, lying dead from an overdose in a morgue. From then on, the plot takes a fantastic ride into Cullen’s world, including his vivid imagination. An obsessed outsider shows up seeking the extinct Lazarus woodpecker, and then Cullen’s sensitive younger brother disappears. Woven into this is the story of a disenchanted teen missionary in Africa. How does this relate to Cullen and his fixation with a local town beauty and the temptation of a newly separated young woman, both exiles returning home? His best friend Lucas stands by Cullen throughout, but will this be enough to convince him that perhaps he can leave Lily, or will he, too, come back? Whaley won the Morris Debut Award and the Printz Award for Excellence in Young Adult Literature; this book offers a challenging, emotional ride for the reader. 

Dr. Judith A. Hayn is an Associate Professor at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock.

This article is part of a series from the Special Interest Group Network on Adolescent Literature (SIGNAL).

by Greg McVerry 

As curricula and classrooms transform to address the Common Core State Standards, our students will be better served with an increased focused on informational texts. In addition, I have written that when we discuss composing with digital texts and tools, the focus is too often on narrative texts. 

Yet now I find myself, in the wake of a concentrated effort to limit the use of stories in schools, to come to the defense of the narrative. This, of course, includes the use of digital texts and tools.

Bruner defined literature as “an instrument of freedom, lightness, imagination, and yes, reason. It is our only hope against the long gray night.” I agree. There is no better approach to understanding the human condition than through literature. I do not, like some national consultants who authored the Common Core, want to prepare students for the “real world” where “no one cares what you think or feel” (quote adapted to remove expletive).

Instead I use literature to shape my students’ understanding of themselves and their world. I use literature so students can connect with the conflicts that capture the essence of humanity. I use literature in my classroom because it teaches my students what it means to be. We need to stand in defense of narrative texts. It is our only hope, “against the long gray night.”

Introducing Plot Structure with Online Composition Tools

I often use online composition tools to introduce plot structure to my students. I find this can add a fresh look to an issue many readers and writers struggle with.

Google Search Stories

For older students, who may be exploring how characters, events, and setting affect conflict and resolution, I use Google Search Stories. This tool allows you to create a short video by simply inputting text into a story maker. The tool then spins the tale and populates the story with images of search results from a variety of tools. 

 

 

I have my students begin by first choosing a conflict and resolution. We then create a search story together. I then have them complete your standard plot organizer for the story we just created.  Finally they brainstorm their own story, complete a plot organizer, and then adapt the story to the search story maker.

My Story Maker

For younger students, my favorite tool for composing online narrative texts is My Story Maker from the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh. The tool is a great way to introduce digital narratives to emerging readers and writers.

Basically the story is authored with your students. They choose a character and a conflict. Then the authors can manipulate the characters on the page. As they add elements, the sentences are written for the students. It is a great tool to model plot structure. More importantly, the students can get a special access code to an online version of their story and share it with friends and family for up to a month after it’s been created.

Greg McVerry is in the Department of Education at Southern Connecticut State University.

This article is part of a series from the Technology in Literacy Education Special Interest Group (TILE-SIG).

 

 

First the crocus, then the daffodil, and next the tulip bloom to herald the return of spring. Warm weather and the joyful music of songbirds beckon us outside to soak up the sunshine, work in the yard, plant gardens, and to play. Green replaces the drab brown remnants of winter and we welcome the reawakening of nature and a new season.  This week the International Reading Association Children’s Literature and Reading Special Interest Group shares books that celebrate this wonderful time of the year.

Arnosky, Jim. (2012). Creep and Flutter: The Secret World of Insects and Spiders. New York: Sterling. 

This nonfiction masterpiece is ideal for children who enjoy observing the insects and spiders around them. Indeed, this introduction to 200 arthropods would serve as an excellent field guide for some of the tiny (and not so tiny) creatures that share our world. Readers will learn about an array of insects and spiders ranging from a tick and tiny bedbug to a dragonfly, from a tarantula to a comet-tailed moth, from a honeybee to a praying mantis. The larger than life illustrations illuminate such details as brilliantly colored wings, scissor-like jaws, and venomous fangs. Arnosky’s concise writing, thorough research, and magnificent super-sized paintings and drawings make this book a compelling choice for nature lovers. The book includes a table of contents, six foldouts, an author’s note, and a list of additional readings about insects and spiders.
-Terrell A. Young, Brigham Young University


Ford, Jessie. (2012). My Bunny Puzzle Book. New York: Abrams. 

This vibrant four-page board book is perfect for spring reading. In simple words young readers learn what bunny likes to do. On the first page, “My bunny likes to sniff flowers” (unpaginated). A small speech bubble adds, “Twitch, twitch!” (unpaginated). In addition, bunny likes to eat carrots, listen to bumblebees and hop away. But that isn’t all. Each page contains a puzzle piece that can be removed. Little hands will love putting together the pieces to create a gray and white bunny. When the puzzle is flipped over little eyes will notice pictures of everything bunny likes to do. This book is sure to be read and played with multiple times. 
-Deanna Day, Washington State University Vancouver


Fogliano, Julie. (2012). And Then It’s Spring. Illustrated by Erin Stead. New York: Roaring Brook Press. 

Sometimes the best part of winter is anticipating the fresh greens of spring, something that this picture book celebrates quietly.  Swathed in a red scarf, red mittens, and a red knitted hat with a pompom on its top, a boy looks over the brown landscape and plants seeds in hopes of warmer weather. His dog, a turtle, a bunny, and various birds observe curiously. Hoping for rain and a bit of sun to nurture those seeds, he waits and watches, pondering all sorts of possibilities. Worried about the tiny seeds, he imagines that maybe the birds ate them or the stomping of lumbering bears kept them in hiding. Eventually, when he peers out the door of his house, everything is green. Each page of this book is filled with some delight that observant readers will note; for instance, the amount of smoke rising from the red house on the hill diminishes over the course of the illustrations as temperatures begin to rise and the boy sheds some of his winter wear. Through a wonderful two-page cutaway view of the earth, readers are able to see the actions of creatures busily preparing for spring when he puts his ear to the ground to hear the "greenish hum that you can only hear if you put your ear to the ground" (unpaginated). Using woodblock printing techniques and pencil, the illustrations feature the particular shades of brown and green found only at the end of one season and the start of another. The subtle secrets found within this book’s pages insure that readers will return to it to savor the joy of spring even when winter winds still howl outside their doors.
-Barbara A. Ward, Washington State University Pullman


Frost, Helen. (2012). Step Gently Out. Photos by Rick Lieder. Somerville, MA: Candlewick Press. 

The text of this book—a poem—invites young readers to look carefully and closely at nature to see what tiny and amazing creatures are lurking just outside their doors. Frost uses rich language to describe the insects as “the creatures/ shine with/ stardust” (unpaginated) and “they’re/ splashed/ with/ morning/ dew” (unpaginated). Then she closes with a reminder, “In song and dance/ and stillness,/ they share the world/ with you” (unpaginated). The imagery of Frost’s words seem to dance with Lieder’s close-up photographs that share the beauty of graceful wings in flight, jewel-like droplets on a spider’s web, the glint of a katydid’s eye, and the soft, fuzzy scales on a moth’s wings. Children will want to learn more about the tiny insects around them after they experience the combination of the gentle message, the calming text, and the breathtaking photography. The author includes detailed endnotes about each of the insects and spiders that appear in the book.
-Terrell A. Young, Brigham Young University


McDonnell, P. (2011). Me…Jane. New York: Little, Brown and Co. 

Me…Jane describes the formative years of Dr. Jane Goodall, a United Nations Messenger of Peace.  This story narrates how the young Jane became interested in nature and animals, and decided to study chimpanzees in Africa.  As a girl who loved to sleep with her stuffed toy chimpanzee, Jubilee, chasing animals and observing plants in her backyard on nice spring days weren’t enough to satisfy her curiosity.  One day, interested in where chicken eggs came from, she hid in her grandmother’s chicken coop and watched the hens in order to solve the mystery.  She avidly read many books in order to learn about different animals.  Although women were not encouraged to pursue adventurous careers at that time, with the encouragement of her mother, Jane kept dreaming of going to Africa.  Her dreams ultimately brought her to Tanzania, where she discovered that chimpanzees could make and use tools just as humans do.  The India ink and watercolor illustrations allow readers a glimpse into the personality of this ground-breaking woman. This book recounts one little girl’s almost impossible dream that became a reality—and it all started in her own backyard.  
-Tadayuki Suzuki, Western Kentucky University


Millard, Glenda. (2012). Isabella’s Garden. Illustrated by Rebecca Cool. Somerville, MA: Candlewick Press.

Many of us think of gardening in spring, and Isabella is no different. Millard tells the story of the amazing things that happen in the beloved garden, told in a similar style as the traditional nursery rhyme “This is the House that Jack Built.” Amazing things happen to the tiny seeds as Isabella and her friends observe the incredible events unfolding before their very eyes. “These are the shoots that seek the sun/ that kissed the clouds that cried the rain/ that soaked the seeds that slept in the soil,/ all dark and deep, in Isabella’s garden” (unpaginated). Rebecca Cool’s brightly colored, mixed-media illustrations capture the wonderful growth and change that takes place in astonishing garden.
-Terrell A. Young, Brigham Young University


Pfister, Marcus. (2012)  Ava’s Poppy. New York: NorthSouth Books. 

Red-haired Ava discovers a bright red poppy growing in the middle of a field near her house. Over the summer she befriends the flower and takes care of it by watering the poppy, sheltering it from heavy rain, protecting it from harsh winds. When the summer ends and the growing season is over, the flower withers and eventually dies. Ava feels the loss of a true friend. She marks the spot where her flower passed by creating a ring of stones around the area to memorialize their friendship. Winter comes and goes but Ava has not forgotten her poppy friend. In spring when Ava returns to the circle of stones and as the cycle of life promises, a new friend has started to grow within the circle. Pfister has created colorful opening and closing spreads that show the flower from seed to stem and finally the dying plant.  Teachers who are using picture books to support science concepts of life cycles will find this book useful as well as nurturing friendships whether personal or botanical.
-Karen Hildebrand , Ohio Library and Reading Consultant


Salas, Laura Purdie. (2012). A Leaf Can Be… Illustrated by Violeta Dabija. Minneapolis: Lerner. 

This lovely story in rhyme begins with, “A leaf is a leaf. It bursts out each spring when sunny days linger and orioles sing” (unpaginated). From there, Laura Purdie Salas takes young readers and listeners on a colorful tour that illustrates the leaf’s many functions, such as: “Tree topper/ Rain Stopper” and “Wind rider/ Lake glider” (unpaginated). Violeta Dabija’s stunning, evocative mixed media illustrations are the perfect compliment to Purdie’s playful text. The back matter includes a glossary, a list of books for further reading, and “More About Leaves” section that further explains each of the leaves’ many functions. Between the lyrical text and the luminous, magical illustrations, children will beg to return to this book again and again.
-Terrell A. Young, Brigham Young University


Seeger, Laura Vaccaro. (2012). Green. New York: Roaring Brook Press.

This stunning, imaginative offering from the creator of First the Egg (2007) highlights all the incredible shades of spring’s favorite color, green. A quick glance at the illustrations and simple text reveals that there are many different shades of green, ranging from the greens of a tree’s foliage to the greens of a sea turtle sliding through the ocean depths. Thus, her die-cut illustrations feature the particular green lushness of an unlogged forest on a spring day, the green of a juicy, just-cut lime, the darkish greens in a bowl of newly-shelled peas, and the slow-moving green of a caterpillar creeping across a flower petal, among others. Each double-page spread has a cut-out that belongs to the next page. Once readers reach the end of the book, they encounter opposites with a stop sign that is "never green" (unpaginated) as well as a snow-filled landscape when there is "no green" (unpaginated) to be seen. Finally, the mature trees of summer seem to be "forever green" (unpaginated). With spring’s recent arrival in some parts of the world, this is a timely title to share in the classroom. The fact that the cut-outs are designed in different shapes and sizes as well as being placed at different spots on the book's pages adds to the appeal. Readers may enjoy viewing the book trailer for this must-have classroom library title at http://us.macmillan.com/green-1/LauraSeeger. 
-Barbara A. Ward, Washington State University Pullman


Singer, Marilyn. (2012). A Stick Is an Excellent Thing: Poems Celebrating Outdoor Play. Illustrated by LeUyen Pham. Boston: Clarion Books. 

With the end of winter, youngsters love to venture outside, but sometimes they have no idea what to do once they shut the door. Despite the attraction of indoor games, playing outdoors in the spring and summer can be plenty of fun. A little imagination and a simple object or two are all that is needed, and the time will pass quickly and enjoyably as described in these 18 poems celebrating the joy of playing outdoors. Thus, one lonely boy in “First One Out” plays catch with the family poodle since no one else is around. While a boy blows a bubble “big as a planet,” (unpaginated) his younger sister creates her own small bubbles that go “sailing right behind him” (unpaginated) in the poem “Bubbles.” The children in these poems play catch and jacks, jump rope, fly high or low on a swing or roll down a grassy hill as though they were barrels. They even run through the sprinkler in glee, play Statues in their own unique way, play Hide-and-Seek, and concoct their own unappetizing soup from the most unlikely items.  The title poem "A Stick Is an Excellent Thing" points out all the possible uses for the perfect stick that might be found and used in imaginative play as a king’s scepter, a fairy’s wand or even just something to throw. The pencil and ink illustrations have been colored digitally, and all of them show boys and girls--and even an adult or two--enjoying the great outdoors. 

-Barbara A. Ward, Washington State University Pullman


Smith, Lane. (2011). Grandpa Green. New York: Roaring Brook Press 

Youngsters are often surprised to realize that the elders in their families weren’t always old. They once had youthful dreams, some of which come to fruition, and others of which are supplanted by others. In the case of Grandpa Green, who grew up on a farm while imagining a career as a horticulturist, he recalls many significant events in his life, including his bout with chicken pox, and represents them and his life stories through topiary shapes in his garden. Once an ambitious and talented young man whose college plans were derailed by WWI, Grandpa Green lived an energetic life and loved to entertain his great-grandson by sharing his precious memories.  This Caldecott Honor book follows his life from birth to his first stolen kiss to his marriage to a woman he met while in Europe to his twilight years with many offspring, blessed with many children and grandchildren.  Although age has caused him to become more forgetful and he will physically disappear some day, his wonderful memories have been captured through skillfully formed topiary shapes in his garden.  The watercolor, oil paint, and digital paint foliage illustrations and the brush and waterproof drawing ink representing the characters show that Grandpa Green was not only a simple grandfather but also an artist who cultivated his family.  Although all humans eventually become old, their memories can stay fresh through the next generation.  Grandpa Green teaches us that all families are special and have unique stories to share.  
-Tadayuki Suzuki, Western Kentucky University


Springett, Martin. (2012). Kate and Pippin: An unlikely love story. Photographs by Isobel Springett. New York: Henry Holt.

For three days, Pippin an abandoned fawn, cries out for help before Isobel Springett carries her home and places her next to Kate, a Great Dane. Kate licks and nuzzles the young deer and Pippin thinks she has found a new mother. Springett documents this unlikely bond in striking photographs. Wherever Kate goes, Pippin follows. Outside they play, roll around on the lawn, chase each other and leap everywhere. When they return home they fall asleep next to each other. One day the fawn disappears into the forest and doesn’t return for dinner. Isobel calls and Kate waits. But the next morning Pippin returns for breakfast. From then on, Pippin sleeps in the forest each night but returns to play with Kate. Gradually Pippin becomes an independent deer, returning to the farm to see Kate sometimes. This information book would make a wonderful read aloud and could be part of an animal text set.

-Deanna Day, Washington State University Vancouver


Stone, Phoebe. (2012) The Boy on Cinnamon Street. New York: Arthur . Levine Books.

Seventh-grade Louise has come to live with her pretty cool grandparents after a tragedy strikes her family that Louise cannot remember, or rather, has suppressed. As Louise narrates the story, she describes how she is creating a new life for herself having given up her old friends, her old neighborhood and her love of gymnastics. She has nicknamed herself Thumb, for Thumbelina, because she is so tiny, unlike her fairly large best friend Reni who stands by Thumb during this family life crisis. As spring approaches, Thumb receives a note from a secret admirer that she believes is from the pizza delivery boy, Benny. She and Reni set out to encourage a blossoming relationship with Benny only to find out the note is not from him. Standing in the wings of all this are Louise’s very supportive grandparents and Reni’s brother, Henderson. Readers will discover who is Thumb’s “biggest fan” before she realizes who the secret admirer is. Told with humor and realistic adolescent dialogue, Louise comes to terms with her father’s new family and the circumstances surrounding her mother’s death to move on and have a spring with new relationships and new beginnings.
Visit the author’s website for more books by Phoebe Stone: http://www.phoebestone.com/
-Karen Hildebrand, Ohio Library and Reading Consultant


Vail, Rachel. (2012). Piggy Bunny. Illus. by Jeremy Tankard. New York: Feiwel and Friends/MacMillan. 

With Easter right around the corner this hilarious picture book will bring a lot of laughter. Liam is like all of the other piglets, except for one thing. Most piglets want to grow up to be pigs, but Liam dreams of becoming the Easter Bunny. Liam practices hopping, eating salad and delivering eggs. In the accompanying illustration Liam falls on his face, tries tasting greens and leaves a trail of broken eggs. His family thinks he is perfect the way he is with a squiggly tail, little black eyes, snouty nose, and triangular ears, but Liam believes he is the Easter Bunny. Thankfully, his grandparents respect his imagination and order him a Bunny suit on the internet. In the meantime, Liam practices hopping, eating salad and delivering eggs, though salad remains a challenge. When Liam tries on the Bunny suit and looks in the mirror, he is indeed the Easter Bunny. Every child or piglet can become anything they want to be when friends and family believe in them. 
-Deanna Day, Washington State University Vancouver


Warner, Sally. (2012) EllRay Jakes Walks the Plank. Illustrated by Jamie Harper. New York: Viking. 
   
Spring break is ruined! EllRay was supposed to take care of the class pet Zippy the goldfish, over spring break but his little sister Alfie accidently overfeeds him and that is the end of Zippy. This disaster happens just when things were starting to go really well for EllRay and his third grade year in school. When he returns to school after spring break he has forgotten to bring back Treasure Island, the book he borrowed from Mrs. Sanchez that she is reading aloud to the class and his classmates are furious. To make matters worse, his archenemy and the class bully, Cynthia, is unjustly blaming EllRay for a few playground and classroom issues that were not his doing. Readers who are familiar with the EllRay series will recognize how EllRay always seems to mess up. This third installment in the series brings another realistic school adventure to the early chapter book genre. Read about the entire EllRay Jakes series at the author’s website: http://www.sallywarner.com/
-Karen Hildebrand, Ohio Library and Reading Consultant


Zoehfeld, Kathleen. (2012) Secrets of the Garden: Food Chains and the Food Web in Our Backyard. Illustrated by Priscilla Lamont.  New York: Knopf. 

Alice and her family are anxiously awaiting spring so they can begin planting their garden. Working the soil, starting the seeds in pots, and planting the budding sprouts they begin to watch their garden take root. Other critters are watching the garden as well and Alice narrates the comings and goings of nibbling rabbits and munching mice and buzzing insects where even the family cat and a soaring eagle drop into the garden. She discovers how many creatures, including her family, are waiting on the delicious fresh produce coming from the garden. Two chickens on nearly every page provide humor but also contribute science concepts about gardening through the speech bubbles that thread through the book explaining exactly what is happening as the garden changes including the water cycle, photosynthesis, composting and the food chains that bring the insects, rain and sun. Teachers who would like to add nonfiction read-alouds will find this book perfect on many levels. Careful examination of the often-humorous illustrations demonstrates how the garden is created and tended throughout the spring and summer.
-Karen Hildebrand, Ohio Library and Reading Consultant

by Jen Donovan

Calling all literacy advocates and book lovers! World Book Night is quickly approaching. On April 23 the U.S. will celebrate its very first World Book Night by sending thousands of copies of paperback books out communities across the nation. Thirty books have been chosen, featuring modern American classics such as I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou, as well as NY Times best sellers like Alice Sebold’s The Lovely Bones. Also included in this literature line-up are a number of books for young adults. The Hunger Games and Because of Winn-Dixie are some examples of the featured award-winning titles in young adult fiction. 

World Book Night will rely on volunteers to distribute 20 copies of their favorite book on the list to members of their own community. The goal of the event is to encourage the love of reading and allow volunteers and participants to share their passion for a great book. The original World Book Night was first held in the UK; it was such a success that the idea has spread around the world. In the US, the first World Book Night is supported by major publishing houses, libraries, authors, and communities. 

The 2012 US World Book Night currently has tens of thousands of volunteers signed up to distribute, but there is also a waiting list for those who wish to be a part of the event. More information is available on the World Book Night website.

Jen Donovan is the strategic communications department intern at the International Reading Association.