One Book Two Book - Books for Kids of All Ages

Did You Attend a JK Rowling Tea Party?

JK Rowling Tea Party

A month ago, I wrote about the tea party with Harry Potter author, JK Rowling, some children in England would be attending.  This event celebrated of the release of Rowling’s new book, Tales of Beedle the Bard.

I was wondering if anyone who reads One Book Two Book (or has a family member who does) attended the tea party.  It would be fun if you’d leave a comment and let us know how you enjoyed it.  Was Mom as excited as you?

Were there any other tea paties going on…in libraries, bookstores, homes, schools…to celebrate the book release?

I imagine those attending were as thrilled as my mom and I were when we had tea with children’s author/illustrator, Tasha Tudor, in her New England farmhouse many years ago.

(Artwork on Tile image)

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2008 Newbery Medal

From Amazon: The Newbery Medal honors the year’s most distinguished contribution to American literature for children. The medal was established in 1922 and is presented annually by the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC), a division of the American Library Association (ALA). The recipient must be a citizen or resident of the United States.

Good Masters! Sweet Ladies! Voices from a Medieval Village
by Laura Amy Schlitz–Winner!
Honor Books

Elijah of Buxton by Christopher Paul Curtis

The Wednesday Wars by Gary D. Schmid

Feathers by Jacqueline Woodson

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Enjoy National Bird Day

Today is National Bird Day!
It’s a time to appreciate your birds (if you have birds for pets) and those in the out-of-doors. 
Do you have a bird feeder you keep well stocked in winter?

Do you read and learn about birds?

Can you recognize various bird songs when you hear them?  Some are very familiar while others are unusual.

Do you draw and paint pictures of birds?

Do you try to take photos of birds?

What do you know about birds in other countries?

One year when my daughter was small (she’s grown now with children of her own), she asked for a bird feeder for a Christmas gift.  Both of her grandmothers gave her one.  So we put a feeder in the front yard and another in our back yard.  It was interesting to see that different birds seemed to come to each.

My mother always enjoyed birds and taught my brothers, sister and me much about them as we watched the various ones around our farm.  When my mother developed Alzheimer’s, she found great enjoyment watching the birds at the feeder on our deck.

Why don’t you start a list and see how many different birds you see this year…at home and wherever you might travel.

(Amazon image)

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2008 Caldecott Medal

The Invention of Hugo Cabret by written and illustrated by Brian Selznick–Winner!
Honor Books
Henry’s Freedom Box: A True Story from the Underground Railroad illustrated by Kadir Nelson, written by Ellen Levine
First the Egg written and illustrated by Laura Vaccaro Seeger
The Wall: Growing Up Behind the Iron Curtain written and illustrated by Peter Sís
Knuffle Bunny Too: A Case of Mistaken Identity written and illustrated by Mo Willems

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Mary Emma’s Writing Tip - Incorporating Art Projects into Your Writing

Writing doesn’t have to consist entirely of putting words on paper.  You can incorporate art projects along with it, like drawing, collage, and fabric art. 

As I browsed through a book my quilter daughter received for Christmas, The Uncommon Quilter by Jeanne Williamson, I thought, “What fun to include some of these into one’s writing.”

You might write about a topic, then find an idea from Jeanne’s book to use as an illustration.

*The one titled Forsythia (p. 92-93), using fabric paint, pencil eraser and small paintbrush among the materials, would be easy for youngsters.  Then write a poem about forsythia or spring flowers, or compose a memory piece about forsythia in childhood.

*Red Leaves (p.102-103) is easy with fabric  paint, too, and can remind you of autumn, raking leaves, jumping into piles of leaves, collecting leaves.

*Cemetery Visit (p. 104-105) involves making gravestone rubbings on fabric.  This could involve researching and writing about one’s family history…an interesting project in itself.  I also wrote about this project idea at Quilting and Patchwork in Gravestone Rubbings for Fabric Art.

You don’t even have to get ideas from this book.  You can make collages of any size on paper or fabric, from postcards to larger pieces, then write about them.  Perhaps you’ll eventually organize them into a collage or fabric book.

I’ll have to let you know how my project is coming along.  What about you?

(Amazon image)

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Book Quote of the Week

A book is the only place in which you can examine a fragile thought without breaking it, or explore an explosive idea without fear it will go off in your face. It is one of the few havens remaining where a man’s mind can get both provocation and privacy. ~Edward P. Morgan

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Book Quote of the Week

Books are good enough in their own way, but they are a poor substitute for life.
Author: Robert Louis Stevenson

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Wish: Wishing Around the World

Today my husband and I are flying south to be reacquainted with our second son after one long year. We were in Guatemala City at this time last year signing our papers to officially adopt him.

Now, after a year of paperwork, DNA tests, and waiting, we are on the airplane to bring him home. Ironically, as I was looking through my emails and media information a few days ago I came across this new book that is said to have gorgeous artwork and a “message that sparkles with hope”.

Wish: Wishing Around the World by Roseanne Thong begins with Guatemalan children flying giant kites to honor the dead and carry wishes up to the gods. Oh, how I would love to see this in person. How I would love to see the festivals and the colors, the people and the joyfulness they possess.

The rest of the book includes wishing traditions from countries like Russia (another country very close to my heart), Japan, China, Thailand, Iran, Israel, India, Australia, South Africa, Italy, Ireland, Brazil, Mexico, and the US. For adoptive families this is a wonderful book, as many adoptive countries are included.

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Is Word Decoding Important?

Decoding is the ability to apply your knowledge of letter-sound relationships, including knowledge of letter patterns, to correctly pronounce written words. Understanding these relationships gives children the ability to recognize familiar words quickly and to figure out words they haven’t seen before. - Reading Rockets

If children can’t decode words then they can’t work their way effectively through increasingly harder texts. What happens then is that their frustration level rises and teachers and parents start seeing them struggle and fall behind. Comments like “I hate this” or “I can’t do this” start to become common place.

Decoding is the ability to read a single word in isolation even if the meaning of the word is not there. A later grade student should have skills to decode a word, no matter the size of the word.

Word decoding goes back to phonics, phonemes, and syllables and those things were taught to kids in early elementary school. So, a child struggling with 7th or 8th grade text and is just now having trouble with decoding is not going to want to start all over again with learning to decode words using “phonics”.

Unfortunately, that is what is needed to help the student be a successful reader. When I was working as a reading specialist, just after I got my Master’s Degree, I worked with many students who had this exact problem. I explicitly taught them how to decode words, taught them sight words that they never learned, and showed them how to teach themselves how to be successful.

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2008 Cybils Finalists Announced

The 2008 Cybils Finalists were announced today.

Ah, what are the Cybils Awards? Simply put:

“We wanted a literary competition that combined the freewheeling democracy of the Internet with the thoughtfulness of a book club. Cybils lets the public nominate books here on our Cybils blog, but then bloggers team up to pick the finalists and winners. The winning books must combine quality and “kid appeal.”

Click on each category to view the finalists.

What I love about these books is that they are not the “Amazon” winners…they are good, true fiction.

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