S'mores and BOOK LINKS

S IS FOR S’MORES A CAMPING ALPHABET is mentioned in the July issue of BOOK LINKS! It’s in an article entitled “S’mores and More: Books about Camping Out.” The title, I heard, was inspired by my book. You’ll find the article on pages 34-36, and it’s by Angela Leeper, an educational consultant, writer and longtime camper from Wake Forest, North Carolina. I’m pleased to have BOOK LINKS mention S'MORES.

You can find a link to BOOK LINKS at the American Library Association’s website. Here’s the address:

www.ala.org/ala/productsandpublications/periodicals

At the website, you’ll be able to explore past articles in the newest issue as well as past issues. Right now you can download the entire November issue which features Lita Judge’s work on the cover. Lita is the illustrator of S IS FOR S’MORES A CAMPING ALPHABET.

America At War

AMERICA AT WAR is an anthology of poems selected by Lee Bennett Hopkins and illustrated by Stephen Alcorn. This collection includes more than fifty poems and is divided into eight chronological sections from the American Revolution to the Iraq War.

Here are the details:

Reading level: For all (including adults!)
Hardcover: 96 pages
Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry, 2008
ISBN-10: 1416918329
ISBN-13: 978-1416918325

The back cover features a concrete poem, “Wish For Peace,” by California’s own favorite poet, Joan Bransfield Graham. (www.joangraham.com)

This anthology belongs in every school and public library shelf and every teacher who teaches history and/or peace and conflict issues will find this a valuable resource.

And, my wish for you today is “peace.” Have a lovely, calm day.

Camping Days

I’m the author of a camping book so I’m always on the lookout for other interesting camper books. AMELIA’S ITCHY-TWITCHY, LOVEY-DOVEY SUMMER AT CAMP MOSQUITO by Marissa Moss (and the camper in Cabin 5, Amelia!) makes my list.

Marissa is a California author and illustrator. Her website, www.marissamoss.com, has great teacher advice for writing notebooks. I especially liked this tip, “The first rule is: No one’s the boss of your notebook except you. You can do whatever you want. The second rule is: Since you can do whatever you want, have fun!” (Hmmm . . . sounds like good blog advice, too.)

Here are the details:

Reading level: Ages 9-12
Hardcover: 80 pages
Publisher: Simon & Schuster, 2008
ISBN-10: 1416947221
ISBN-13: 978-1416947226

Here’s a quote from the front cover:

“The best part of summer—in camp or out—is STILL not doing nothing!"

I’m all about that!

Literacy Resources

I just learned of THE 2008 KIDS AND FAMILY READING REPORT™ conducted by Yankelovich and Scholastic. You can get a downloadable copy of the report at:

http://www.scholastic.com/aboutscholastic/news/readingreport.htm.


Here’s some introductory information Scholastic has on their website:

“A new study . . . finds that 75% of kids age 5-17 agree with the statement, “No matter what I can do online, I’ll always want to read books printed on paper,” and 62% of kids surveyed say they prefer to read books printed on paper rather than on a computer or a handheld device. THE KIDS & FAMILY READING REPORT ™, a national survey of children age 5-17 and their parents, also found that kids who go online to extend the reading experience—by going to book or author websites or connecting with other readers—are more likely to read books for fun every day.

The 2008 KIDS & FAMILY READING REPORT, a follow up to a similar 2006 study, both of which were conducted by Scholastic, the global children’s publishing, education and media company, and TSC, a division of Yankelovich, a leader in consumer trends research, again found that the time kids spend reading books for fun declines after age eight and continues to drop off through the teen years. ”


Here's another resource: PUBLISHERS WEEKLY invites you to sign up for their free newsletters by going to www.publishersweekly.com/subscribe.asp?screen=pi10.

Paddle to the Amazon

I usually like to focus on children’s books, but today I decided I needed to mention a nonfiction book for adults I just finished—PADDLE TO THE AMAZON: THE ULTIMATE 12,000 MILE CANOE ADVENTURE by Don Starkell. I stumbled upon the book on a take-a-book-leave-a-book shelf. I hadn’t heard about it, but I love reading travel adventure stories, so I thought I’d give it a try.

I was fascinated. In 1980, Don Starkell and his two sons set for a grand canoe adventure. They started their trip in Winnipeg and paddled their way to Brazil. One son was discouraged and left the voyage in Mexico, but Don and his son, Dana, traveled over 12,000 miles in their 21-foot canoe. They were confronted with every imaginable obstacle from lack of food to crazy folks with guns, but they also encountered kind and generous people who helped them survive.

Don kept a comprehensive diary throughout the two year trip and this book was developed from those notes. It’s an amazing and fascinating journey. I love to travel and I love reading books about travel, but I typically like to read books about buying old villas and living a charmed life on a sweeping hillside. This wasn’t that, but what a compelling read.

Robin Cruise's Excellent New Adventure

Having lunch with friends is one of my favorite activities, and when they are writer friends . . . well, that’s just a real treat. Yesterday I met with five writer friends including the talented (and kind) Robin Cruise. ONLY YOU is one of her picture books and I had the joy of taking Robin to Lilac School when the book was fresh off the press.

Here’s a little about ONLY YOU:

* A Children’s Book-of-the-Month Club Main Selection

* Society of Illustrators Annual Exhibition, October 2007; New York, New York

* Highly Commended, Charlotte Zolotow Award

* A Chicago Public Library Best of the Best Book

Review
* ”This parent-child love poem reaches out and cuddles its dual audience close. The simple verse celebrates the small, everyday ways small children endear themselves to their parents . . . As a statement of childhood’s most unalienable right, it doesn’t come any clearer." —Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

You can learn more about Robin and her work at www.robincruise.com.

Robin is moving to Washington. We’ll miss her, but look forward to hearing about her new work in the future!

Kathleen Krull and Hillary Rodham Clinton

I’m so excited! I just got to see/read the proofs for Kathleen Krull’s upcoming biography, HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON: DREAMS TAKING FLIGHT, illustrated by Amy June Bates. It’s a smart picture book biography that features 16 spotlights of Hillary’s life using flight as a metaphor. Inspirational words float across the words complementing each vignette. The reader roots for Hillary’s success while applauding her persistent and caring spirit.

I especially liked how the Author’s Note is organized. (I do like my Author’s Notes!) It is segmented and referenced by page number so readers can learn more about Hillary’s life or do research. By placing this information in the backmatter, the story itself will make an excellent classroom read aloud that will prompt discussion of character traits.

Here are the details:

Reading level: Ages 4-8
Hardcover: 40 pages
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing
Pub Date: September 2, 2008
ISBN-10: 1416971297
ISBN-13: 978-1416971290

I’m a long-time fan of Kathleen’s biographies, but this one just knocked my socks off. Enough said for now. but I reserve the right to gush more about this biography in the future.

National Parenting Publications Awards

I’m happy to report that I will be judging the Book Category of the National Parenting Publications Awards again this year. You can view our past award winners at www.parenthood.com/nappa. There’s a wealth of information at the site including top DVDs, toys, storytelling, and music.

If you are interested in submitting a book for review, please contact Dana at NAPPA@Parenthood.com or call 617-522-1515 x23.

LIBRARY MOUSE was a winner last year. I’m looking forward to a lot of reading and can’t wait to see which books will receive top honors this year!

Switzerland

Greetings! We just got home from Switzerland last night. We went through Untours (www.untours.com). It’s a great company—We used them for our Provence trip also. We had a lovely apartment in Gunten (by Interlaken) with a balcony overlooking Lake Thun. Our apartment was on the top floor of this Swiss chalet. It was the same place we stayed at seven years ago and we loved every minute of our time.

Switzerland reminds me of the book, HEIDI, and it’s been way too long since I read it. Time to settle in to writing and catching up on my reading. I’m sure tomorrow’s mail will bring plenty to read.

The Elephant Quilt

I’m currently working on a book about California, so I’m on the lookout for all things Californian. Imagine my delight when I found THE ELEPHANT QUILT: STITCH BY STITCH TO CALIFORNIA! by Susan Lowell (Melanie Kroupa Books, Farrar Straus Giroux, 2008). Susan is the author of some of my other favorite books including THE THREE LITTLE JAVELINAS.

Lily Rose and her grandma stitch a quilt as they travel from Missouri to California by covered wagon in 1859. An Author’s Note supplies readers with the background for the idea of the book. (I’m a nut about Author’s Notes. Love them.) Every fourth grade teacher in California will want this book and everyone who studies westward movement will find this a helpful addition to their school or classroom library.

Those who love quilt books will want to add the book to their favorite quilt stories including SWEET CLARA AND THE FREEDOM QUILT by Deborah Hopkinson, THE QUILT STORY by Tony Johnston, The JOSEFINA STORY QUILT by Eleanor Coerr, THE PATCHWORK QUILT by Valerie Flournoy, THE KINDNESS QUILT by Nancy Elizabeth Wallace, SAM JOHNSON AND THE BLUE RIBBON QUILT by Lisa Campbell Ernst, LUKA’S QUILT by Georgia Guba, THE KEEPING QUILT by Patricia Polacco . . . okay . . . you get the idea! (By the way, Patricia Polacco’s website (www.patriciapolacco.com) is a favorite.)

I hope people find their way to this book . . . Whoop-De-Doo!

As for me, I enjoyed the morning at the swap meet and then took my mom to World Famous for brunch. (One of my favorite ocean-side restaurants.)

A Visit With San Pasqual’s Second Graders

Hooray for the second graders at San Pasqual School!

The picture is of the school library. It has a fire place and a “reading silo.” How cool is that?

I had a great day talking about writing (and telling camping knock-knock jokes) with the second grade students at San Pasqual School. Many thanks to the school’s librarian, Teri MacDonald, and the second grade teachers.

By the way, if you know a camping knock-knock joke, I’d love to hear from you. I need to add some more jokes to my repertoire!

California, Here I Come

I’m excited to report that I’m working on a book about California for Sleeping Bear Press. The details are being worked out right now, but it’s for their “The Reader Series.” This series is patterned after the popular nineteenth century McGuffey Readers which were traditionally used to teach life lessons and reading skills to young children.

I started collecting early readers or primers when I started teaching first grade. I’ve found McGuffey Readers in California antique malls and at old Vermont barn estate sales. I really love it when I find an old Dick and Jane reader, but that’s a whole other topic.

THE PENNSYLVANIA READER by Trinka Hakes Noble is one of the books in the series. You can learn more about this book and the series at www.sleepingbearpress.com.

I’ll take this opportunity to tell you that you can find outstanding teachers’ guides for Sleeping Bear Press books at their website. They are available free-of-charge and downloadable from their website. This a fabulous resource for teachers and librarians.

As for me, I’m taking a little break from my writing for a few days. Yesterday I enjoyed lunch with six friends and today I’m visiting San Pasqual School’s second graders.

Celebrate the Day

Sometimes I find a book and think,”Wow! I love that idea . . . why didn’t I think of that?” MRS. MUDDLE’S HOLIDAYS by Laura F. Nielsen (Farrar Straus Giroux, 2008) is a perfect example. People who know me know that I love wacky days to celebrate. My favorites?

August 10 National S’mores Day

August 30 Toasted Marshmallow Day

August 31 National Trail Mix Day

I’ll be busy in August celebrating. Can you guess why these might be some of my favorite wacky celebrations? A great website for finding holiday info is www.holidayinsights.com.

Mrs. Muddle loves to celebrate holidays in style including “First Shower of April,” “First Robin Day,” and “Earthworm Appreciation Day.” Katie comes up with a special celebration for one of her own favorites . . . one that Mrs. Muddle hasn’t even thought of.

Release your inner holiday celebration and find something to celebrate today! As for me, yesterday I had lunch with two writing friends, Jean Ferris and Deborah Halverson. I think meeting with friends is always a celebration.

California Young Reader Medal

One of my happiest committee experiences was serving on the California Young Reader Medal committee. They were a great group of people and it’s a super program. The winners for 2007-2008 have been announced this month so visit www.californiayoungreadermedal.org and see the list of winners and the list of nominees for the 2008-2009 school year.

Congratulations to California author Neal Shusterman in the middle school category CYRM for THE SCHWA WAS HERE (Dutton Children’s Books, 2004).

ALA Is Coming to Anaheim!

Hooray! The American Library Association is headed to Anaheim in June and I’ll be there.

One of the highlights of the conference is the celebration of the children’s book award winners for 2007. Carmen Agra Deedy received the Pura Belpré Medal for her newest book: MARTINA THE BEAUTIFUL COCKROACH: A CUBAN FOLKTALE (Peachtree Publishers, 2007). Who would have thought I’d like a book that has a cockroach as its main character? But, I do. Martina’s grandmother gives her some shocking advice when she’s trying to find a husband . . . one with patience and understanding. (The book is also available in Spanish.) Visit www.beautifulmartina.com to learn more about Carmen and this Cuban folktale.

The Belpré Medal honors a Latino/Latina writer and illustrator whose works best portray, affirm, and celebrate the Latino cultural experience in an outstanding work of literature for children and youth. Find out more about the ALA children’s book awards at www.ala.org/alsc (click on awards).

See you in Anaheim!