10/23/09

Arnold Lobel wrote and illustrated the famous Frog and Toad stories among many more: Mouse soup, Mouse Talks, Uncle Elephant, Owl at Home, Ming Lo Moves the Mountain...these stories are perfect for beginner readers. A lot of his ideas came from cartoons his children liked to watch. As a child he would entertain his classmates with illustrated stories that he would make up. His favorite thing to do as a child was checking books out of the library...seems fitting he became an award winning author.

www.carolhurst.com/authors/alobel.html

Charlotte Zolotow has written over ninety books for children, picture books to young readers in the past fifty years. She has written books about animals and their relationships with people and was one of the first to write a picture book about death (has a few on death and dying). She has also written books about feelings and moods, friends, animals, neighborhoods and nature, relationships, seasons...and poetry collections. She has received many awards. at the ripe age of 90 she still works with her daughter who is also an author.

http://www.charlottezolotow.com/

Lionni's first book, Little Blue and Little Yellow, was inspired by a story he told his grandchildren on a long dull train ride. A list of 40+ books has followed with some earning awards and recognition. He received the American Institute of Graphic Arts God Medal and was a four time Caldecott Honor winner. His books are filled with bright colors and imagery that capture children's attention.

www.randomhouse.com/kids/lionni/

ch 8

Graeme Base is an Australian leading author and illustrator of picture books and young reader novels. He received classic status with his alphabet book, Animalia. It’s sold near three million copies and inspired an animated TV series. He holds a long list of awards and recognitions for other titles such as Jungle Dreams, Enigma, Uno’s Garden, The Waterhole and Animalia.
http://www.graemebase.com/

Eric Carle is a world renowned illustrator of many best sellers. He also lends his illustration talents to other authors. His most famous picture book is The Very Hungry Caterpillar. He has illustrated more than seventy books, most of which he also wrote and over 88 million copies of his books sold worldwide. His collage styled art technique captures kid’s attention.
http://www.eric-carle.com/

Its so important that we give our students the every opportunity to practice and enhance their language skills. This is a page that contains a list of books that promote the development of phonological and phonemic awareness skills. There are also counting books included that give you an opportunity to integrate language and math skills.
http://www.bridgew.edu/library/CAGS_projects/VCAIN/children

CH8
I simply adore fiction, all genres of it. I remember the first time my daughter was just captivated by a book. I was so excited and right then I knew she would be a reader. She was in second or third grade and was reading A Dog Called Kitty. I was in the kitchen and I heard her crying, flat out sobbing. I went in and asked what was wrong. She was so upset because the dog died in a horrid accident. I felt so bad for her and so excited at the same time because she had made a powerful connection and attachment to the story. It’s such a gift. It’s such a gift. I am particularly fond of the Double entry journal strategy to promote comprehension and plan to use it with y seven year old.
I’m so glad that the chapter included a section on censorship and gave some pointers on how to handle disgruntled parents. I don’t believe in censorship, especially when it comes to the arts. If someone doesn’t agree or like a particular work, then they don’t have to read, watch or listen to it. I just feel it shouldn’t be taken away from everyone.

children's author's

While searching for children's authors I came across these three that I thought are worth looking into:

Tomie DePaola has been recognized with the Caldecott Honor Award, the Newberry Honor Award and the New Hampshire Governor's Arts Award of Living Treasure. He has written and or illustrated over two hundred books. I particularly like Strega Nona, maybe its my Italian decent. :) You can read more about Tomie at http://www.tomie.com/

Katherine Paterson is an author of novels, picture story books, I can read and chapter books, Non-fiction and essays, Christmas short stories and re-tellings. Her earlier work is reflective of her passion for Japan. This can be seen in, Sign of the Chrysanthemum and The Master Puppeteer among others. Her works consist of different, some have christian emphasis and she has a long list of awards and recognitions. www.terabithia.com

Avi is an award winning author despite having dysgraphia. When he visits schools he asks to speak to the learning disabled children and shows them his manuscripts with all the corrections in red. An inspiration. Writing everything from historical to picture books. He's been able to attract even the reluctant reader. www.avi-writer.com

ch7

First off...what a way we've come from the late nineteenth, early twentieth century; to think that at one time it was unheard of or unusual to write or publish books solely for children... Picture books have come a long way from where they originated. I always wondered why picture books were so expensive, now I know. There are so many elements that go into the developing of a picture book. Picture books are one of the more difficult books to write. They have to be meaningful and captivating in a very limited amount of space. Everything we expect in a novel is also expected in a picture book: characters, plot, setting, quality writing... because of this, picture books are not just for young readers. I would have never thought to use picture books in middle school or beyond. Picture books are unique in a way that they combine illustrative art with literary art and can be used for more experienced readers to teach bias, , alliteration, irony, and flashbacks. They are a great way to introduce the latter topics, much easier to identify. I was just simply blown away at how much a simple picture book could be used in the classroom; to support writing, reading comprehension, content area learning... I always thought of them as simply aesthetic. This is surely not the case.

10/02

In reading the chapter on Poetry...getting through all the technicalities of it and the vocabulary...whew!...I liked that the book suggested to bring in fun, light poetry collections that children would certainly enjoy first. Once they are hooked, start adding other poetry, expanding the library; of course, being sure to keep their interests in mind. The common themes insert with poem collections and authors was also a nice tid bit. I also never thought to use poetry to supplement core subject areas.

I loved the idea of including traditional literature in the Social Studies curriculum. Even better, if there happened to be a child in the classroom of a particular culture they could have a relative come, or share themselves, a traditional story from their culture, then lead a discussion afterwards. I think it would be a great way for a child to feel special about themselves, their culture and for others to enjoy something special from their peer. Its a fun and entertaining way to learn about the history of others culture and also life's little lessons.

Now, to be perfectly honest, while I was working on the Author's profile I was doubling to meet some of my own immediate needs. I had a teacher conference with my son's teacher last week and was informed that although he exceeds standards for fluency and vocabulary knowledge he is somewhat lacking in comprehension. My son, Gavin, is in second grade. He is supposed to be reading 40+ wpm...he is reading 89 at the moment. His teacher isn't sure if he is trying to hard to get through it that he isn't taking the time to comprehend...or if he is just being lazy...for lack of a better word. He always seems to know the answer after a while. Who knows. So I figured I would look for ways to improve comprehension. In my search I found this website: http://www.literacy.uconn.edu/compre.htm . The website has links to many other sites that students, teachers, and parents can utilize to improve comprehension strategies.

Jan Thornhill is an author, illustrator and designer. She's a recipient of the Children's Literature Roundtables of Canada Information Book Award, The Norma Fleck Award for Canadian Children's Non-Fiction and many others. She uses wildlife and nature in her books that are enjoyable for children of all ages. They are filled with a joyful charm and colorful illustrations. Some are academic and some of her books deal on a more emotional growth spectrum. http://www.janthornhill.com/

I'm including Sylvester and The Magic Pebble by William Steig today because it is one of my favorite books; I know its an old one. My first grade teacher, Ms. Dana, gave me a copy and to this day, I have it. Both of my children have enjoyed the story also. Sylvester collects unusual stones. One day, he finds a red shiny pebble. Scared by a lion, he wishes himself into a rock. The story is about his personal attempt to change back to himself and his parents search for him.