Literacy Now

One of the most fiercely guarded—and most fiercely debated—freedoms that citizens of our nation have is the right to read. As long as books are published, there will be titles that offend someone. From talking animals in some fairy tales and folktales to books in which characters explore their sexual identity to titles in which questions about religious beliefs are raised or certain expletives are used, no book can ever be considered safe from offending someone. In honor of the thirtieth anniversary of Banned Books Week—celebrated September 30 to October 6—this week members of the International Reading Association Children’s Literature and Reading Special Interest Group look back at books that have raised the ire of some readers, particularly during the last year. Teachers may be interested in using some of the excellent lessons for different grade levels on examining challenged books at ReadWriteThink.org. The American Library Association also has several useful resources for teachers and librarians and a list entitled Books Challenged or Banned in 2010-2011 compiled by Robert P. Doyle. The ALA websites offer suggestions for how to become involved during Banned Book Week, including writing letters to the editor on behalf of books and reading or rereading a book that has been banned or challenged. Additionally, ALA’s Office for Intellectual Freedom has provided a list of 326 challenges to books during the past year. Among the top ten most challenged books are the ones that appear below.

GRADES K-3

Butler, Dori Hillestad. (2005). My mom’s having a baby: A month-to-month guide to pregnancy. Illus. by Carol Thompson. Morton Grove, IL: Albert Whitman.

Five-year-old Elizabeth is excited about the arrival of her unborn sibling and is full of questions. Using a nonfiction format, the author has created a month-by-month look at the development of a baby within the mother’s uterus as told by its narrator, Elizabeth, from her childlike perspective. Since older siblings are always curious about a new baby, the book provides accurate and straightforward explanations as to how a baby is conceived and how it grows as a fetus until the baby is ready to be born. The illustrations complement the text in their variety and form from cartoon-like panels to speech balloons or full page spreads. Mother explains how her body is changing to allow for the baby to grow. The love and excitement as well as the anticipation of a new baby brother or sister permeate the book while factual details are woven throughout the months. This book was named a Top Ten Sci-Tech Books for Youth 2005. Teachers can find guides for parents and siblings from the author at her website. Interested readers can listen to the author discuss her book with an adult and a Fox news commentator.

One of the top ten most challenged books reported to the American Library Association’s Office for Intellectual Freedom, the book’s frank and open discussion of how a baby is created disturbed some critics. Many adult readers liked the month-by-month description on the development of the baby and how it grows, but felt uncomfortable with the detailed explanation about conception to a five year old. Arguments swirled around the right age for children or teenagers to learn about the basic facts of “where babies come from.” Many librarians maintained that the book belongs in the nonfiction section of libraries and parents/adults/caregivers have the responsibility of making the choice as to when and if the books will be useful within their family units. On the blog, She Scribes, a lively pro and con discussion of this book reflects the nation-wide controversy can be found. Projects such as The Uprise Book Project state that their goal is to end the cycle of poverty with banned books and proclaim: “We think that parents have a right and an obligation to monitor their own child’s access to literature they feel might be inappropriate, but they can’t control another child’s access. By banning and challenging books in schools and libraries, though, they’re doing exactly that."

- Karen Hildebrand, Ohio Library and Reading Consultant

GRADES 5-8

Harris, Robie H. (2009, 3rd Edition). It’s perfectly normal: A book about changing bodies, growing up, sex and sexual health. Illus. by Michael Emberley. Somerville, MA: Candlewick Press.

The year 2009 celebrated the 15th anniversary edition of It’s Perfectly Normal. Intended for intermediate and middle school-aged tweens and teens, the book offers answers to the myriad kinds of questions that young people ponder as their bodies change during puberty. The author offers frank and factual information in a straightforward fashion. The introduction, “Lots of Questions,” sets the open tone for the book. Part One launches this format with “What is Sex?” The cartoon-like yet anatomically accurate illustrations serve to lighten the tone and create pictures that can be observed and invite discussion. Throughout the book, his cartoons of the bird and bee discussing the featured topics add a touch of levity to subjects that are often difficult to discuss openly. Other chapters that continue the discussion are: Our Bodies; Puberty; Families and Babies; Decisions; and Staying Healthy. Some of the topics included within these chapters deal with sexual reproduction, sexual desire, sexual intercourse, heterosexuality, homosexuality, sex organs, changing feelings, puberty, birth control, taking care of babies, the cells, sex abuse, STDs, HIV and AIDS, staying healthy, and responsible choices. The most recent edition includes chapters on the Internet and safe use of the Internet and evaluating websites. The publisher has provided an in-depth information sheet on the website that includes notes from the author, talking points for teachers and caregivers using the books with tweens and teens, and comments from doctors and experts in the field of sex education. The author discusses her books on her website. Companion titles from Robie Harris include It’s So Amazing: A Book about Eggs, Sperm, Birth, Babies and Families (2008); It’s NOT the Stork! A Book about Girls, Boys, Babies, Bodies, Families and Friends (2004), and her newest title Who’s in My Family? All about Our Families (2012). The controversy surrounding the book deals with the opinion of some that the book is pornographic. Some critics consider the illustrations too graphic. Other challenges refer to the discussions on intercourse, masturbation, and homosexuality. A school district in the state of Washington removed the book from the school library stating, “The book is an act of encouragement for children to begin desiring sexual gratification…and is a clear example of child pornography.” Challenges have come from schools and public libraries around the country, making this title the American Library Association’s most challenged book in 2005 even though it was supported by such groups as Planned Parenthood. Another type of question surrounding the use of this book is the concern that it is written for children rather than older teens or adults. The ageless argument among parents and adults is the question dealing with age appropriateness as to when the explanation of sex and sexuality should be introduced. (Reference: The American Library Association.)

- Karen Hildebrand, Ohio Library and Reading Consultant

GRADES 9-12

Alexie, Sherman. (2007). The absolutely true diary of a part-time Indian. Illus. by Ellen Forney. New York: Little, Brown.

Filled with humor and pathos, this title describes the decision made by Arnold Junior (or Arnold, his white name) to leave the Spokane Indian Reservation for a better education in the nearby town of Reardon. The author’s description of the poverty, alcoholism, and depression that fill the lives of those around Junior make it easy to understand why he chooses to attend school in a place where he is the only Native American. In some cases, just getting to school is a challenge by itself, and once Arnold settles in, of course, he must navigate the confusing high school social order while fending off accusations of betrayal by the friends he left behind. The author describes the beauty of the area of Washington State where Junior lives and dreams of a brighter future. The pages resonate with cultural awareness and respect for the past and for family amid the certainty that Junior must leave what is familiar if he hopes for more than the bleak lives he often sees around him. Few who have read the title can remain untouched by its clear depiction of the inequities in this nation. Despite its popularity and National Book Award, the title has been challenged due by parents due to what they consider to be offensive language, racism, its religious viewpoint, and its sexually explicit nature.

- Barbara A. Ward, Washington State University Pullman

Collins, Suzanne. (2008-2010). The Hunger games trilogy. New York: Scholastic.

The three books that recently sparked something of a reading craze rivaling that of the Twilight series among teens have come under fire as being anti-family, anti-ethnic, insensitive, violent, and containing offensive language and dealing with the occult or satanic themes. The trilogy centers around Katniss Everdeen, a sixteen-year-old who volunteers to take her younger sister’s place in the annual Hunger Games. Each district selects a male and a female tribute to represent them in a televised fight to the death with only one survivor. Katniss is sure that she stands little chance of surviving, but as it turns out, she has more survival skills than she realized. Sexual tension is provided by her growing attraction to Peeta, the male tribute from her district. The first book is filled with surprises about the post-apocalyptic world in which the story is set, and all three books feature difficult, almost impossible choices about life, death, and survival faced by the book’s characters. At many points, it’s virtually impossible to know who to trust or who to believe. The author weaves a skillful, riveting page-turner that still has many readers thinking about how the series ends.

- Barbara A. Ward, Washington State University Pullman

Huxley, Aldous. (1946). Brave new world. New York: Harper & Row.

Despite the creation of a perfect society in the world of the future described in this literary classic often read in senior English classes, not everyone is content. One man in particular, Bernard Marx, is bored by the promiscuous, pleasure-seeking aspect of the world in which he lives, and longs to be left alone. Citizens are kept in line through the use of drugs that numb their minds and keep any questions or critical thoughts at bay, and Bernard has grown increasingly uncomfortable with the society he sees around him. For many readers, this early dystopian novel foretold the focus on consumerism that exists today and seems to insist that we buy more, more, more when we really need less, less, less. The book, a perennial title on the list of books that are challenged or banned, earns its place on the list because of insensitivity, nudity, racism, religious viewpoints, and for its sexual explicitness.

- Barbara A. Ward, Washington State University Pullman

Hwa, Kim Dong. (2009). The color of Earth series. New York: First Second.

This graphic novel series set in Korea focuses on love, a first love for young Ehwa and a second chance at love for her mother. In the first title, The Color of Earth, Ehwa, the daughter, on the cusp of puberty, is torn between growing affection for a monk-in-training and a wealthy landowner's son while her mother experiences sexual ecstasy with a traveling artist who leaves a brush behind each time he visits. The characters are refreshingly honest about their feelings, and the storyline is engaging and filled with descriptive language that accompanies the softly drawn and painted illustrations whose subtle tints and tones mirror the blush on a young girl’s cheek as she explores the mysteries of her own body. In classic romantic fashion, both females long deeply for love or sexual fulfillment, their feelings a counterpoint against the often vulgar remarks of some of the men in the village and the curiosity of the village children, who are learning about their own bodies in a playful fashion. The relationship between mother and daughter is deep and honest, and no question is too intimate to be asked. The book has been considered too sexually provocative by some and inappropriate for its intended audience.

- Barbara A. Ward, Washington State University Pullman

Lee, Harper. (1960). To kill a mockingbird. New York: J. P. Lippincott.

Another ubiquitous title found in the middle and high school literary canon, this book has been challenged frequently for its offensive language and racism. Set in small-town Maycomb, Alabama, in the 1930s, the story centers around the Finch family: Scout, her brother Jem, and their father, Atticus. The storyline involves a mystery or two, a fight for justice, and the unfair laws that existed at the time. Scout must come to her lawyer father’s defense when he defends a black man accused of raping a white girl. She and Jem find it difficult to understand the attitudes of the adults around them when it comes to race and class. In the end, a society heavily mired in decades of prejudice and a double-tiered system of justice is shaken by the words, deeds, and quiet dignity of the heroic Atticus Finch. For many readers, this book represents their coming of age about the topic of social justice and civil rights and has prompted much reflection on the assumptions we make about those around us.

- Barbara A. Ward, Washington State University Pullman

Myracle, Lauren. (2004-2007). Internet girls series. New York: Abrams/Amulet Books.

This young adult trilogy is written completely in the style of instant messaging with teen vocabulary. The first title, Ttyl, is internet slang for “talk to you later” and introduces readers to the winsome threesome—Madigan, Zoe, and Angela—who help each other through the ups and downs of high school and young romance. Next in the series are Ttfn “Ta-ta for now” and finally L8r, g8r “Later, gator,” two titles which continue the girls’ friendship as they explore alcohol and drugs and begin sexual relationships. These titles have topped the ALA list of challenged books for offensive language, religious viewpoint, sexually explicit, and unsuited to age group. Myracle is available on Twitter and Facebook to talk to fans about the books, their topics, and her characters.

- Deanna Day, Washington State University Vancouver

Naylor, Phyllis Reynolds. (1985-2013). Alice series. New York: Simon & Schuster.

Young girls and women across the world have read one, a couple or all of the books in the Alice series. There are 27 titles that follow the main character, Alice McKinley, from third grade all the way to college. Besides featuring a character to whom readers can easily relate, the books discuss topics such as family, friendship, moving, bullies, prejudice, and body image. When Alice is in high school the books explore themes about identity, first jobs, relationships, dating, and sex. The series has made the ALA most challenged book list for several years for the books’ sexual content. The movie Alice Upside Down is based on the series. In May 2013 the final Alice title, Always Alice, will be published, chronicling Alice’s life from age 18 to 60. Naylor keeps a blog where she answers readers’ questions.

- Deanna Day, Washington State University Vancouver

Sones, Sonya. (2004). One of those hideous books where the mother dies. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers.

Challenged but then retained at the Theisen Middle School in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, in 2010 despite a parent’s concern that the book’s “sexual content was too mature for eleven- to fourteen-year-olds,” this title has won several awards, including being named a 2005 Best Book for Young Adults by the American Library Association. A superficial reading of the book might validate the parent’s concern. Explicit references to sex and the desire to have a sexual experience is a chief preoccupation for 16-year-old Ruby Milliken. But that is only a part of who she is and her life experience. As the book opens, Ruby’s mother has just died in Boston, and she is on a plane to start her life with her father she doesn’t know, the famous movie star Whip Logan. Ruby believes that her father doesn’t love her because of what her mother told her about him. Instead, she finds Whip to be a caring and concerned human being and seemingly delighted to have his daughter with him. While Ruby worries about her boyfriend Ray staying faithful to her, she is also drawn to local boy Wyatt. Relying on freestyle prose-poetry, the author paints a vivid picture of pain, teenagers, feminine awareness, and challenges of life in an honest fashion. As the story progresses, Ruby transitions from ignoring her father to accepting him, and even admitting that she is proud to be his daughter. Discovering that he was in a monogamous relationship with another man does not matter to her. She survives both natural and romantic disasters and ultimately realizes that her supposedly uncaring father has kept tabs on her all along.

- Rani Iyer, Washington State University Pullman

by Peggy Coyne

Teachers have known for years that students learn differently. The latest research in the neurosciences is confirming this through the ability of neuroscientists to capture images of brain activity as we engage in learning new tasks. The evidence from these pictures is clear that no two brains learn the same way. The way each of us learns is as different as our fingerprints. So it makes sense that a one-size-fits-all curriculum made for “average” learners will not yield the results we want. There are no average learners. Learner variability is the norm. How can we as teachers, who have anywhere from 18-38 students in our classrooms address this challenge? How can we design lessons that address learner variability, that maximize learning for all students, from those who struggle to those who excel? These are some of the questions that teachers from the Bronx, NY addressed during a two-week workshop where they learned how to apply Universal Design for Learning framework to their literacy practices. Universal Design for Learning (UDL), an educational framework based on the neurosciences, holds as a core belief that learner variability is the given. UDL at a Glance is a short video that provides an overview and explains the connections between neuroscience and how the UDL Guidelines are helping teachers address learner variability.

Monee Perkins, a teacher at Bronx Math Prep, attended the UDL workshop. Here are some of her reflections and new ideas she will integrate into her classrooms this year as a result of that work:

“I often hear my administrators say, ‘You have to teach to the whole child,’ and I would say to myself, ‘Oh no, I cannot create 90 individual lessons for my students, I have a life.’ However, UDL helped me realize that is not what my administrators meant. UDL and my administration team are suggesting that I create one lesson, and in the design of that lesson make sure I minimize the barriers so every student can walk away with the big ideas through a variety of lessons and projects. Using the UDL Guidelines, I can allow learning to be fun through Multiple Means of Engagement; support and scaffold the ways students learn through Multiple Means of Action and Expression; and provide Multiple Means of Representation by presenting content in different ways. What I find amusing is the fact that teachers already do many of the things included in the UDL Guidelines, especially in special education. But now I realize that by designing lessons using the UDL Guidelines we can maximize learning for all students, including the ‘average student’ from the beginning. As a result of my work with UDL, I intend on incorporating more media in my lessons, giving students choice, and implementing more resources such as ADOBE Reader, Wall Wisher, BookBuilder, and Voice Thread to help me address the variability of learners in my classroom. I look forward to updating you in a few months to let you know how things went.” 

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

 

 

by Clarissa Hardcastle

The question of how to reform education always comes around to teachers: how to train them, how to assess them, how to pay them, how to keep them—and the list goes on.

The United States isn’t alone in grappling with these issues. Education ministers throughout the world are faced with these same questions. Because of this, education leaders came together to share ideas and best practices at the International Summit on the Teaching Profession.

Delegations comprised of education ministers, leaders of national teachers' organizations, and other teacher leaders from countries and regions with high-performing and rapidly improving education systems gathered in New York City in March 2012.

This year's theme, Preparing Teachers and Developing School Leaders, examined how to improve teacher preparation and school leader development to better address the needs of 21st century learning environments and changing expectations.

Participating countries and regions included Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iceland, Indonesia, Ireland, Japan, the People’s Republic of China, Republic of Korea, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Singapore, Slovenia, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

A webcast of the opening and closing events can be viewed online. Also available are PDF files of the 2011 and 2012 International Summit Reports, an article about the first Summit’s ideals and motivation as seen by the world’s leaders in education, and a two-part summary (Part 1; Part 2) of the Summit’s conclusions as written by Vivien Stewart, Asia Society's Senior Advisor for Education and author of A World-Class Education: Learning from International Models of Excellence and Innovation.

Asia Society was a partner on this event along with the U.S. Department of Education, Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), Education International (EI) the global federation of teacher unions, American Federation of Teachers (AFT), Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO), National Education Association (NEA), and public broadcaster WNET.

Clarissa Hardcastle is a strategic communications intern at the International Reading Association.

International Reading Association Annual Convention

My first job after college was at a public television station in New Orleans. I had no experience, so I wrote a letter to the station manager and said I was willing to do anything. Anything. I got what was generally considered the worst job in the shop: transcribing interviews. This meant when a producer went out in the field to do an interview, he or she would bring the tapes back to me and I would sit with headphones and a typewriter (yes, a typewriter) and transcribe every single word.

Sounds boring? It was. But it was helpful, too. For one thing, I learned how to type really fast, which is a useful skill for any aspiring writer.

I also learned how to listen. I was surprised to hear how often people don’t answer the questions they’re asked. This was confirmed later when I began reporting for PEOPLE magazine. People often dance around difficult questions. We—because I include myself here—avoid uncomfortable truths and try to turn conversations in other directions. But in the process, we often step right in it and reveal the very thing we’re trying to hide.

From my hours spent transcribing interviews, I learned that a conversation between two people can be powerful and dramatic, especially when there’s an underlying tension between the people talking.

So here’s a trick to use when starting a piece of fiction writing: Transcribe a conversation between two or more characters. It doesn’t have to be a fight, but the conversation should reflect a conflict, either clearly defined or mysteriously vague. Maybe the characters are talking about one thing, but they’re really talking about something else.

This is how I kicked off my new book, HOMESICK:

MOM (yelling): What in God’s name are you doing?
DAD: Shh. You’ll wake up Benny.
MOM: No, I won’t. He’s sound asleep.
[ME: Wrong. I was wide awake and listening from my room like I always did when my mom and dad fought. It was the soundtrack of my childhood.]
DAD: Let me just unload the truck.
MOM: I told you to clean up your crap, and now you’re bringing home more crap?

There’s more to this conversation, but do you see how the characters are really talking about their relationship? Does the fact that the narrator is listening from the safety of his bedroom tell us something about him? Even the mother’s use of the word “crap”—a word I don’t typically use—reveals something about the family dynamic.

Try using the transcript writing exercise with your students and see if this trick works for you. Getting rid of all those he saids and she saids might help them discover who their characters are and what their conflict is. It’s also a great way to jump right into the heat of a story.

When they revise, your students will probably want to put the dialogue in paragraph form, but maybe not. I ended up liking the transcript format so much, I used it in my book.

I hope that practicing writing transcripts will help your students land their first jobs. They probably don’t want to be transcriptionists, though. But if they can learn to hear what people are saying between the lines, and then weave a story out of those truths and lies and hopes and fears, they just might be the kind of writers whose books we want to read.

Kate Klise is the author of 23 books, including DYING TO MEET YOU, GROUNDED, and HOMESICK. For more information, visit www.kateklise.com.

This week members of the International Reading Association's Children's Literature and Reading Special Interest Group (CL/R SIG) share recent books all around the theme of math. Each title takes a different mathematical perspective from counting, adding, subtraction, graphing to multiplication. Building math skills through literature can create confidence and make learning fun. Literature could be used as a way to introduce new math concepts, review math theories and/or have students independently explore math ideas.

GRADES K-3

Armstrong-Ellis, Carey F. (2012). Ten creepy monsters. New York: Abrams Books for Young Readers.

This fiendishly clever counting book features characters not typically found in books introducing math concepts—monsters. The endpapers are covered in spider webs with spiders dangling from the threads, and the book opens with an oceanside graveyard scene in which monsters are rising from their burial mounds. One of them clutches a bag filled with something. After all, it is Halloween night. Ten different  monsters—a ghost, a witch, a zombie, a werewolf, and a vampire among them—gather together on the first pages of this book written in rhyming text, before setting out on their journey. But before they can wreak any havoc, one by one, bad things happen to them. By the end of the night, only one monster remains, and his identity will surprise some young readers. The acrylic illustrations showing the expressions on the monsters' faces as they lurch toward town add another layer of hilarity to the story. The illustration of a zombie clutching the foot he lost along the way and the artistic depiction of a swamp brew-splashed toad wearing a witch's hat and glasses are hilarious. A perfect Halloween read-aloud but a great way to relieve malaise on any day, this picture book also helps young readers learn to count as the monsters fall by the wayside in gruesome fashion. 

- Barbara A. Ward, Washington State University Pullman

Brown, Margaret Wise. (2012). Count to 10 with a mouse. Illus. by Kirsten Richards. Bath, UK: Parragon.

From the author of Good Night Moon (2005) and Runway Bunny (2005) comes another engaging book that is filled with adventure, rhyme, and fun. Children may even forget that they are learning to count while reading this title.  The book opens with the rhyme, “There was a little mouse no bigger than a mole, who lived in a round place that he called a hole” (unpaged). This particular small grey mouse is very friendly and familiar, inviting readers to turn the page to see what happens. The mouse does everything with style. He finds a book with one hole, and then runs inside the hole in order to see the different creatures on the pages. His adventures become exciting when he discovers fish, monkeys, butterflies and other creatures, but they take a dangerous turn when he meets six pussycats. Thankfully, they are busy untangling themselves, and the mouse escapes. Phew! After the mouse encounters a clock, the author reminds readers of the nursery rhyme, “Hickory, Dickory, Dock,” before nimbly moving the story back to its original focus. Readers will enjoy finding out what happens when the mouse reaches the number ten. Perfect for reading aloud, this title provides a place to begin conversations about numbers. The book would also be useful as a mentor text to teach writing to older students.

- Rani Iyer, Washington State University, Pullman

Formento, Alison. (2012). These bees count! Illus. by Sarah Snow. New York: Albert Whitman.

This is a counting book and so much more. Mr. Tate takes his class on a field trip to visit Busy Bee Farm. Farmer Ellen is ready to give his class a tour of the farm and gives each student beekeeping gear so they are safely protected to take a close look at the bees and all the activity surrounding the hives. As the children approach the bees and hives the counting begins. The author has included a detailed note at the end providing even more information about the lives of bees and the work they do. Detailed teacher’s guide, book trailer and resources at the publisher’s website.

- Karen Hildebrand, Ohio Library and Reading Consultant

Gershator, Phillis and Mim Green. (2012). Time for a hug. Illus. by David Walker. New York: Sterling Children’s Books.

Any time is time for a hug. Watching the clock throughout the day, two little bunnies go through a typical day for any young child. Starting at 8:00 in the morning the bunnies wash their faces, get dressed, brush their teeth, play with puppets, read books, ride bikes, climb trees until it is time for bed. With clocks on every page indicating the passing hours, each hour has time for a hug. Be ready for National Hug Day on January 21. Also visit the author’s website or use the “Draw a Math Story” lesson from ReadWriteThink.

- Karen Hildebrand, Ohio Library and Reading Consultant

Holub, Joan. (2012). Pumpkin countdown. Illus. by Jan Smith. New York: Albert Whitman.

Farmer Mixenmatch is giving a tour of his farm and especially the pumpkin patch to Ms. Blue’s first grade class. He shows the children his petting zoo, gives them a ride on the tractor, shows them the corn make and also the education center at the farm. Holub has used rhyming verse to travel around the farm and have readers count things on each page that they discover on the farm. Answers are upside down at the bottom of the page. Her countdown actually starts and 20 and works the numbers down as children explore the farm and readers explore for answers. The endpapers of the book have many more facts about pumpkins. This will be a fun book to use before any fall field trips. Teachers will find a math related lesson plan idea entitled “Exploring Sets through Math-Related Book Pairs” at ReadWriteThink.

- Karen Hildebrand, Ohio Library and Reading Consultant

Holub, Joan. (2012). Zero the hero: A book about nothing. Illus. by Tom Lichtenheld. New York: Henry Holt and Company.

Although this is a book literally about nothing, it’s a book dealing with a very important mathematical concept. The book’s focus is Zero, the place holder in our numbering system. But despite the other numbers’ disparaging remarks about his value, Zero is much more than a place holder, and this book tells why. Although Zero is sure he has value, the other numbers taunt him because he is useless when it comes to counting. Knowing that he has heroic characteristics, Zero develops a self-identity crisis since he only acquires value when placed next to another number, say a “1,” to make a “10.” He’s also frequently mistaken for other round objects such as the “6” or even a doughnut or the letter “O” and is useless when it comes to addition, subtraction, and division. Once the other numbers recognize that multiplying themselves by Zero makes them equal to nothing, they flee from him, and in shame, Zero rolls away and hides. After some challenging story problems and a round-off game make them miss their friend, the numbers become distracted and are captured by Roman numerals. Zero saves them with his ability to reduce anything to nothing through multiplication. As in last year’s E-Mergency!, the book brims with delightful word play and ink, pastel, and colored pencil illustrations that provide distinct personalities for each numeral. Math never has been so much fun.

- Barbara A. Ward, Washington State University, Pullman

Long, Ethan. (2012). The wing wing brothers math spectacular! New York: Holiday House.

The Wing Wing Brothers, five hilarious duck brothers, present a circus-like show that has fun with math concepts. In three acts, the brothers try to outdo each other with their laugh-inducing tricks like spinning plates, juggling and throwing pies. Each acts presents a different math concept including greater than and less than, addition and subtraction while creating math problems within the reading circus acts. The final act includes a disappearance the readers will have to ponder and figure out the solution. This book offers such a fun approach to not only these math concepts the story problems to be solved. Teachers will appreciate the page at the end that relates Common Core State Standards to this book.  “Writing and Math with Shopping Lists” can be found at ReadWriteThink. The author’s blog/website is filled with fun for young readers.

- Karen Hildebrand, Ohio Library and Reading Consultant

Marzollo, Jean. (2012). Help me learn subtraction. Photographs by Chad Phillips. New York: Holiday House.

Marzollo’s popular “I Spy” books are favorites among children. She has turned that same style of book making to the math arena and this is the third book in the Help Me Learn Math series. Chad Phillips’ photographs add the actively visual appeal of this book and each math problem as a wide variety of real objects displayed to create the math problem written in rhymed text. For each subtraction problem the author has created the vertical and horizontal setup of the math problem and in some cases a basic little word problem presented as dramatic play. Explore some “Math Center Activities” at ReadWriteThink. The author discusses why she wrote this book on her website.

- Karen Hildebrand, Ohio Library and Reading Consultant

Menotti, Andrea. (2012). How many jelly beans? A giant book of giant numbers. Illus. by Yancey Labat. San Francisco, CA: Chronicle Books.

Learning about big numbers should be portrayed in a big book and the oversize format of How Many Jelly Beans does just that. Aidan and Emma are offered some jellybean and so Emma says she will take 10. Aidan quickly comes back with his response that he wants 20 … and the jellybean battle begins. Each child asks for more and more jumping their requests by hundreds and thousands until they are realizing really big numbers! Emma challenges Aiden with the questions, “You can’t eat five hundred jelly beans.” This prompts the concept of dividing into so many per day and how many over a year’s span. The exaggerated fun spins off ending the book with a huge fold out page depicting a million jellybeans. This will be a great companion book to use with “Lucky Beans” by Becky Birtha to give this introduction to counting jellybeans a context. Teacher resources for this book are available at the publisher’s website. ReadWriteThink offers the lesson plan, “Giant Story Problems: Reading Comprehension through Math Problems.”

- Karen Hildebrand, Ohio Library and Reading Consultant

Weill, Cynthia. (2012). Count me in: A parade of Mexican folk art numbers in English and Spanish. Figures by Guillermina, Josefina, Concepción and Irene Aguilar. El Paso, TX: Cinco Puntos Press.

Told in English and Spanish, this beautiful counting book celebrates the Mexican July festival, Guelaguetza. The Aguilar sisters have used their craft to illustrated this book in the traditional folk arts of Oaxaca, Mexico. Balloons, firecrackers, musicians, and giants are all part of the festivities depicted in the figurines crafted to bring this festival of sharing to the printed page for both English and Spanish readers. Learn more about the world famous women artists, The Aguilar sisters. For a little deeper look into Mexican folk art, visit the Deep Space Sparkle website or another lesson idea comes from the Brooklyn Children’s Museum.

- Karen Hildebrand, Ohio Library and Reading Consultant

Zullo, Germano. (2012). Sky high. Illus. by Albertine. San Francisco, CA: Chronicle Books.

Keeping up with the Joneses is taken to extreme heights in this clever book about greed and proportion. With very little text, this title tells the story of two competitive neighbors who embellish their already attractive abodes in an attempt to outdo each other. The respective two-story houses of Agenor-Agobar Poirier des Chapelles and Willigis Kittycly Junior are impressive enough on the book’s opening pages. But what they have is not enough, and page by page, they add embellishments to their dwelling places. One adds a solid gold door, and the other counters with a Carrara marble column inlaid with diamonds. After that, the competition is on, and each one hires highly-priced architects who create mosaics fashioned from emeralds, rubies, and sapphires, design billiard rooms and rooms that can accommodate 8,000 guests, even attaching an antiques gallery, a wave pool, and a tennis court. Glimpses of what’s being brought into the inside of the houses—a stuffed Bengal tiger and a library of rare books, for instance—reveals even more of their excess to readers. Eventually, enough is enough, and once both buildings tower into the air at 4,025 feet—a line on the side of the right-hand page indicates this height—one structure topples since it can’t support all the rooms at its top. Although the other building still towers into the sky, its owner isn’t necessarily the victor since even the simple act of having a pizza delivered ends up being impossibly complicated. Readers will shake their heads at the two men’s greed and consider this an adult game of Jenga, the tumbling block game. The very black and white illustrations are exquisitely detailed and fascinating to examine.

- Barbara A. Ward, Washington State University Pullman

GRADES 3-6

Adler, David A. (2012). Perimeter, area, and volume: A monster book of dimensions. Illus. by Edward Miller. New York: Holiday House.

A cast of monsters set out of their 3-D movie to invite the little monsters in the audience on an explanation of the movie set and several math concepts along the way. The monster characters measure each other demonstrating their height and weight. They measure the movie screen and talk about perimeter. They even measure the volume in the popcorn box. A detailed teaching guide/lesson plan is available at the publisher’s website. Read more about this prolific author on his website.

- Karen Hildebrand, Ohio Library and Reading Consultant

Beaumont, Holly. (2012). Multiplication made fun. New York: DK Publishing.

When children need to learn their times tables this beginner’s guide with a wise owl calculator will help make multiplication fun. The book begins with a basic review of what numbers are and discusses the importance of counting. Then it moves into the difference between addition and multiplication, showing how we can count larger amounts by multiplying. Next, the book explains each number two through twelve on individual pages sharing the different multiplication problems. If children get stuck with a multiplication problem they can spin the wheels till the numbers appear in the owl’s eyes and the answer shows in the beak. Throughout the book are tips for grown-ups with suggestions about helping children. This would make a great addition for teachers and families.

- Deanna Day, Washington State University Vancouver

Kelly, Jamie/ Jim Benton. (2012). School, hasn’t this gone on long enough? New York: Scholastic.  

Jamie hates math and writes all about this hatred in her diary. Her best friend, Isabella, is good at math and is willing to help her and in exchange Jamie can help Isabella with language arts. Summer school is threatening on the horizon if Jamie does not bring up those math grades and Isabella’s house is getting a pool! Check out the author’s website for more on The Dumb Diary series including the book trailer for this new Year 2 series. 

- Karen Hildebrand, Ohio Library and Reading Consultant

Mahaney, Ian F. (2012). The math of baseball. New York: Powerkids Press/Rosen Publishing.

This is part of the series Sports Math from Powerkids Press. Read aloud or individually various aspects of the sport of baseball are explained through the use of mathematics. From the dimensions of a baseball field, to batting averages, hitting distances, strikeouts, scores and statistics the entire sport is covered with figures that deal with addition, subtraction, measurement, percentages and more. Photographs, charts and diagrams add to the appeal of the book and bring a real-life use of math to young readers. Find more math and baseball ideas at The Teachers’ Corner.

- Karen Hildebrand, Ohio Library and Reading Consultant

Morrisette, Sharon. (2012). Toads and tessellations: A math adventure. Illus. by Philomena O’Neill. San Franscisco, CA: Charlesbridge Publishing.

Set in Renaissance Italy, young Enzo is a hoping to become a magician like his father. The cruel castle housekeeper approaches Tessel, the local shoemaker that she needs 12 pairs of dancing shoes for the princesses in the castle and demands the shoes must be made from a single piece of leather. Tessel turns to Enzo for help. His father is away so Enzo must step up to help his friend but his magic goes awry when he turns Tessel into a toad. With Tessel’s daughter Aida for help, they discover a mathematical way to geometrically cut the 12 pair of shoes from one piece of leather. Notes at the end of the book provide some history of mathematics and tessalations. Over twenty tessellations are sprinkled throughout the book for young readers to discover. 

- Karen Hildebrand, Ohio Library and Reading Consultant

Slade, Suzanne. (2011). Multiply on the fly. Illus. by Erin E. Hunter. Mt. Pleasant, SC: Sylvan Dell Publishing.

Even in nature numbers are an important part of our world. This picture book combines insects and multiplication together to make learning much more exciting. Each double page spread shares a rhyming multiplication story with a new insect. For example, “Five lonely grasshoppers / sound their mating song. / Each strums two shiny wings. / How many play along?” Then the mathematical equation is shared with a question mark inviting students to figure out the answer. Other insects highlighted include fireflies, luna moths, dragonflies, soldier ants, honey bees, ladybugs, pirate bugs, walking sticks, monarch butterflies and spittlebugs. The back matter includes information about insect body parts, the life cycle of insects, information about comparing and contrasting insects, and a multiplication table.

- Deanna Day, Washington State University Vancouver

GRADES 9-12

McKellar, Danica. (2012). Girls get curves: Geometry takes shape. New York: Hudson Street Press/Penguin.

Danica McKellar, actress and mathematician, has written her fourth book for girls. Her earlier books, Math doesn’t suck, Kiss my math, and Hot X: Algebra exposed worked at removing the math “nerd” stereotype for smart girls. Her latest book deals with geometry. NPR interviews author Danica McKellar in addition to the website devoted to this book.

- Karen Hildebrand, Ohio Library and Reading Consultant