Check It Out

Tomorrow, October 1, 2009 is a very big day in the Kidlitosphere.  Tomorrow is opening day to nominate your favorite titles in many categories for the 2009 CYBILS.

Last year, I was on the Nonfiction Picture Book committee. Oh my, what a grand experience.  This summer I was honored when contacted to be the organizer for this category.  The panelists and the judges will be announced soon and we are all looking forward to our work.

A title can only be nominated once in a category so be prepared with perhaps your top five  favorites.  You may only nominate one title per category. Be sure to nominate by October 15, 2009.  That’s when nominations close.

Look here for updates.  On February 14, 2010, the winners will be announced.

Happy Reading.

MsMac

This week sitting in meetings has been the order of the day. Next week the students arrive.

I discovered this wonderful poem in Naomi Shihab Nye’s collection, This Same Sky, a Collection of Poems from Around the World:

The Pen
Take a pen in your uncertain fingers.
Trust, and be assured
That the whole world is a sky blue butterfly
And words are the nets to capture it.

–Muhammad al-Ghuzzi
Tunisia

Translated by May Jayusi and John Heath-Snubbs

We should all be fortunate to have students arrive thinking that words are the nets to capture the sky-blue butterflies.

ANNOUNCEMENT:  Do you blog about YA and Children’s books?  The CYBILS Awards are in their fourth year and are looking for judges and panelists for the myriad of categories.  If interested, you can find out more here. 

This yer I am the organizer of the Nonfiction Picture Book (NFPB).  Am excited to serve in this capacity.

Poetry Friday is over at Book Aunt. Thanks, Kate.

Happy Reading.

MsMac

The snow is all gone. The rain and wind are here!  I just read an email about the dismal state of affairs for education in Washington and am trying to stay focused and positive.

If this were Monday, I would be talking about the CYBILS Nonfiction Picture Books shortlist.  The first day back was rather wild so Nonfiction Monday did not get written.  I do want to share about the CYBILS and the process.

First:  My team: Tricia, Debbie, Beckie, Dave and led by Fiona were fabulous.  We seemed to work well together.  Our biggest challenged appeared to be getting copies of all the nominees. This brings me to my second point

Second: In fact, I received two books after our finalist list was sent in and I know another team member received books too late as well.  It is a shame that some nominees could not be fully considered.  I looked and looked within the public library systems and my own district for some of the new titles to no avail.  I hope the publishers will really consider sending nominees to the panel members next year in a timely manner.  The CYBILS does such a great job of promoting books.

For the past two years, I have served as a poetry judge which I loved doing. What I noticed about being on the panel to decide the shortlist for the NFP Books was less stress. I wonder if that is the way others feel.  It felt good to be able to nominate five -seven titles and not just say definitively, “This is THE one. This is the best!”  I mean they are all great books. 

I found for me drawn to books with engaging information for readers of all levels.  Kid appeal and saturated with information were two important criteria for me.  Almost all the books were filled with lots of information but some more than others really smacked of kid appeal, the kind of book that is likely to be on student hold lists.   The judges will have their work cut out for them as they decide CYBILS Award for the Nonfiction Picture book from the following list:

Astronaut Handbook, written and illustrated by Meghan McCarthy
         If any one book will spark the curiousity about becoming an astronaut, it it this book!  The illustrations are bold and engaging.  The text is written at a level that explains some pretty difficult concepts.  I thought immediately of a few students who are interest in the space field.

Duel!: Burr and Hamilton’s Deadly War of Words, written by Dennis
Brindell Fradin and illustrated by Larry Day
           I doubt that this title will stay on the shelves.  If a teacher doesn’t have it check out, it will be in the hands of students eager for information about some pretty famous characters of early America.

Fabulous Fishes, written and illustrated by Susan Stockdale
       Playful and yet nonfiction, the line-up begins now with Fabulous Fishes for those marine biology scientists.  The illustrations are spectacularly colorful.

Nic Bishop Frogs, written and photographed by Nic Bishop
        Anyone who has read Nic Bishop’s Spiders knows that he is brilliant behind the camera.  This new addition does not disappoint.  I am left wondering where to sign-up for photography classes by this author.

A River of Words: The Story of William Carlos Williams, written by Jen
Bryant and illustrated by Melissa Sweet
    The story behind one of my favorite poets.  Bryant has made more of his poetry accessible to the younger students and Sweet’s illustrations are a major compliment to the text. I cannot wait until April to pair this with last year’s CYBILS for poetry: This is Just to Say: Poems of Apology and Forgiveness by Joyce Sidman.
Wanda GÃg: The Girl Who Lived to Draw, written and illustrated by Deborah
Kogan Ray
    This book charmed me with a quiet story of Wanda Gag who wrote Millions of Cats(always a favorite). The author pulled from Gag’s own journal entries to tell the story of a remarkable person.

Wangari’s Trees of Peace: A True Story from Africa, written and
illustrated by Jeanette Winter
       I loved the illustrations in this story.  And Winter tells anincredible slice of life about 2004 Nobel Peace Prize winner. Wangari Maathai.  In this time of environmental concerns, this story brings to the forefront the power of one person’s actions in the world.

So if you have not had an opportunity to read any of these, head to your own library and check them out.  You can also check out other finalists here.

Happy Reading.

MsMac

I am snowed in today while my district (25 miles to the north) is open for business. Funny thing about the weather around here.

So today is the perfect day to talk about Winter Trees by Carole Gerber. (after a reminder at 7-Imp yesterday about this book).  A boy and his dog discover the magic in winter as they take a walk  in the wintry forest. 

Leslie Evan’s bold yet simple illustrations makes it easy for even the youngest readers know what someone walking in the winter might see.  The illustration are a combination of linoleum block prints, watercolor and collage.  This book could also be used as a primer for how to draw trees in winter.

Gerber’s text brings the reader along on the walk in a playful way. Yet, within the text is lots of information to uncover about trees in winter. For example:

“They stand distinct as skeletons,
We clearly see the form of each:
the egg shape of the maple tree:
the taller oval of the beech…
The V formation of the birch;
the yellow poplar, wide and high;
the spreading structures of the the oak,
its branches reaching toward the sky.”
The illustrations compliment the text presenting a way to recognize trees in winter.

 A guide for identifying trees is available at the end of the book.

The book is as quiet as the snow keeping me home today.  I have a fascination with winter trees and the fractals they create against the sky.  This would be a terrific book for any young nature lover.

Title: Winter Trees
Author: Carole Gerber
Date Published: 2008
Pages: unpaged
Grade: K-5
Publisher: Charlesbridge
ISBN: 978-1-58089-168-4
Source of Book: Publisher sent for CYBILS consideration.

For more great nonfiction books, visit Picture Book of the Day. To see my house in the snow, visit here.

Happy Reading.

MsMac

The third year of the CYBILS (Children’s and Young Adult Bloggers’ Literary Awards) has just begun! Nominations will stay open until Wednesday, October 15, 2008.

This year, awards will be given in nine categories
Easy Readers
Fantasy & Science Fiction
Fiction Picture Books
Graphic Novels
Middle Grade Novels,
Non-Fiction Middle Grade/Young Adult Books
Non-Fiction Picture Books
Poetry
Young Adult Novels

From Jen Robinson’s blog:

“Anyone can nominate books in these categories (one nomination per person per category). Nominated titles must be:

**published between January 1st and October 15th of this year

**the books must be in English (or bilingual, where one of the languages is English).

To nominate titles, visit the Cybils blog between October 1st and 15th. A separate post will be available for each category – simply nominate by commenting on those individual posts. If you are not sure which category to choose for a particular book, a questions thread will also be available.

Between October 16th and January 1st, Cybils panelists (children’s and young adult bloggers) will winnow the nominations down to a 5-7 book short list for each category. A second set of panelists will then select the winning titles for the different categories. The winners will be announced on February 14th, 2009.

I am leaving the poetry category this year and will be on the Non-fiction Picture Book Panel.

 So what great books published in 2008 have you read?  Go! Nominate a book!

Happy Reading.

MsMac

I love Valentine’s Day. As a child whose birthday was so close to Valentine’s Day, my mother often made me a heart shaped cake. Then there were the giving and receiving of Valentines as school and the excitement leading up to it. That has not changed at school, students have been wild with excitement this week. A kindergartener told me “Tomorrow’s Thanksgiving!”she was so filled with anticipation. Her classmates quickly corrected her.

So today here are two other reasons my heart sings:

It is my 16th wedding anniversary. You might have thought my anniversary was two days ago. I arrived home to a wonderful bouquet of roses. I was told that he was worried they would run out of them. I think maybe he caught the some of the kindergartener’s anticipation.

Today the CYBILS Awards were announced. These are the top books in children’s and young adult literature as determined by a dedicated community of kidlitosphere bloggers.  I sat on the poetry committee for the second year. I do not know if this is  true in all categories but in the poetry category, the quality level was incredible this year. But This is Just to Sayby Joyce Sidman was truly an amazing adventure and collection of poems. I hope you will run out and buy it immediately.

So capture that child like spirit and let your heart sing today. Happy Valentine’s Day!

Happy Reading.

MsMac