Kellee – Page 242 – Unleashing Readers

Ivan: The Remarkable True Story of the Shopping Mall Gorilla by Katherine Applegate

November 5, 2014 by Kellee

Nonfiction Picture Book Wednesday

Nonfiction Picture Book Wednesday is hosted by Kid Lit Frenzy and was started to help promote the reading of nonfiction texts. Most Wednesdays, we will be participating and will review a nonfiction text (though it may not always be a picture book).
Be sure to visit Kid Lit Frenzy and see what other nonfiction books are shared this week!

Ivan: The Remarkable True Story of the Shopping Mall Gorilla
Author: Katherine Applegate
Illustrator: G. Brian Karas
Published October 7th, 2014 by Clarion Books

Goodreads Summary: In a spare, powerful text and evocative illustrations, the Newbery medalist Katherine Applegate and the artist G. Brian Karas present the extraordinary real story of a special gorilla.

Captured as a baby, Ivan was brought to a Tacoma, Washington, mall to attract shoppers. Gradually, public pressure built until a better way of life for Ivan was found at Zoo Atlanta. From the Congo to America, and from a local business attraction to a national symbol of animal welfare, Ivan the Shopping Mall Gorilla traveled an astonishing distance in miles and in impact.

This is his true story and includes photographs of Ivan in the back matter

My Review and Teachers’ Tools for Navigation: Anyone who knows me knows that I adore apes (see my Nerdy Book Club Top Ten Ape books and my Hurt Go Happy interview with Ginny Rorby as well as my Hurt Go Happy, Primates, and Endangered reviews). They are such fascinating creatures. I enjoy reading about them and am a true advocate for their care here on Earth. This book is just another supporting document in the beauty, intelligence, and awesomeness of these creatures. Katherine Applegate has written a perfect companion to her Newbery winning One and Only Ivan which takes the reader into Ivan’s life and once again makes our heart break for him. It is written in verse with words that transport you into Ivan’s life. This book made me cry because of the power of the words, but more importantly, the power of Ivan’s story. Please read this. You will thank me (and curse Katherine Applegate for the tears).

Teachers’ Tools for Navigation: The best way for this book to be used in the classroom is in conjunction with The One and Only Ivan or other books about animals in captivity or apes. It will start lots of conversation and is a wonderful introduction into empathy for all living things.

Discussion Questions: Why was it wrong for the poachers to take Ivan?; Do you think wild animals should be allowed to be pets?; How do you think Ivan felt when he went to Atlanta?

We Flagged:

Read This If You Loved: The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate, Hurt Go Happy by Ginny Rorby, Endangered and Threatened by Eliot Shrefer, Faithful Elephants by Yukio Tsuchiya, Me…Jane by Patrick McDonnell, Primates by Jim Ottaviani, Little Beauty by Anthony Browne, Half Brother by Kenneth Oppel

Recommended For:

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? 11/3/14

July 27, 2015November 3, 2014 by Kellee

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? From Picture Books to YA!

It’s Monday! What are you Reading? is a meme hosted by Sheila at Book Journeys. It is a great way to recap what you read and/or reviewed the previous week and to plan out your reading and reviews for the upcoming week. It’s also a great chance to see what others are reading right now…you just might discover the next “must-read” book!

Jen Vincent, of Teach Mentor Texts, and Kellee decided to give It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? a kidlit focus. If you read and review books in children’s literature – picture books, chapter books, middle grade novels, young adult novels, anything in the world of kidlit – join us! We love this meme and think you will, too.

We encourage everyone who participates to support the blogging community by visiting at least three of the other book bloggers that link up and leave comments for them.

Congratulations to
TRACY B.
for winning a set of Maggie and Bramble series

Congratulations to
CRISTEN K.
for winning a copy of The Shadow Lattern

Last Week’s Posts

Tuesday: Top Ten Characters Who We Would Love To Be For Halloween

**Click on any picture/link to view the post**

Last Week’s Journeys

Kellee: This week was a great week! Halloween is so much more fun when you have a child!! Trent was one adorable dinosaur (and bee, pumpkin, and penguin over the last couple of weeks). Trent and I also read a fun Halloween themed book: Five Black Cats by Patricia Hegarty. It has great rhythm which made is so much fun to read.

I also was able to reading Mira’s Diary 2: Home Sweet Rome by Marissa Moss. I am a fan of these books because it teaches history while taking the reader on an amazing adventure. I have now started the 3rd one.

Ricki: I agree with Kellee. My little giraffe had an awesome Halloween, too! We read an awesome, new book by Oliver Jeffers called Once Upon an Alphabet: Short Stories for All the Letters. This book was great fun. I love Oliver Jeffers’ quirky sense of humor. I will post a full review soon! We also laughed with Bob Shea’s Don’t Play with your Food (Thanks for the recommendation, Carrie!). I highly recommend both of these picture books. I finished reading Mingshui Cai’s Multicultural Literature for Children and Young Adults: Reflections on Critical Issues. This was a very interesting text that addressed many of the ongoing debates about multicultural literature. It made me think a lot—and thinking is a good thing!

This Week’s Expeditions

Kellee: Like I said above, I am now reading the 3rd Mira’s Diary book which takes place in London. So far, so good! With Trent we are working our way through a Sesame Street box set of board books. So far we’ve read Zoe’s Gift and Grover’s Opposites and they are pretty cute books that serve a specific purpose. Will be good for teaching lessons later in Trent’s life.

Ricki: This week, I plan to read Goodnight Moon seven more times, based on my son’s demands. We will also read some great picture books. I let him pick, so I can’t predict those titles for you. I am in the middle of Suzanne Myers’ Stone Cove Island and really enjoying it. Lastly, I am reading Lynn Atkinson Smolen and Ruth A Oswald’s Multicultural Literature and Response: Affirming Diverse Voices. This should be my last, long PD text for the semester’s independent study. Then, I am off to start writing my literature review for my dissertation—ahh!

Upcoming Week’s Posts

top ten tuesday

Tuesday: Top Ten Books We Want To Reread

So, what are you reading?

Link up below and go check out what everyone else is reading. Please support other bloggers by viewing and commenting on at least 3 other blogs. If you tweet about your Monday post, tag the tweet with #IMWAYR!

and

Festival of the Bones / El Festival de las Calaveras: The Book for the Day of the Dead by Luis San Vicente

October 31, 2014 by Kellee

Festival of the Bones / El Festival de las Calaveras: The Book for the Day of the Dead
Author: Luis San Vincente
Translator: John William Byrd, Bobby Byrd
Published September 1st, 2002 by Cinco Puntos Press

Goodreads Summary: On Mexico’s Day of the Dead, the skeletons jump for sheer joy. And no wonder: they’ve been cooped up the whole year and now they’re ready to party. Watch the calaveras shake, rattle, and roll as they celebrate the biggest event of the graveyard’s social calendar!

About the Author: The works of Mexico City artist Luis San Vicente have been exhibited in Mexico, Venezuela, Europe, and the United States. He has won UNESCO’s prestigious NOMA Encouragement Concours Prize for Illustration, and UNESCO honored his work (1997, 1998, and 1999) in their prestigious Youth and Children’s Catalog of Illustrations.

My Review and Teachers’ Tools for Navigation: I first learned about the Day of the Dead when I lived in Texas. My father was the director Laguna Gloria, the art museum in Austin, and I saw some artwork from local Mexican-American artists that depicted the traditional skeleton seen in Day of the Dead art. My father then told me about the holiday and since then I have been quite intrigued with it. San Vicente’s story is a great introduction to the (kind of creepy) holiday, its history, and traditions. The text is in verse with a catchy rhythm and the illustrations are so lively AND it is bilingual. I loved seeing the text in Spanish and English. Then, the afterword further informs the readers about the holiday filling in any gaps left by the story.

Discussion Questions: What did you learn about Mexico’s Day of the Dead? How is it celebrated? What is its history? What food is eaten at the celebrations?

We Flagged:

“Giddyup! Giddyup!
Oh, they want to catch me.
To that ugly skeleton…
They want to marry me.

¡Arre! ¡Arre!
Oh, me quieren atrapar.
Para esa fea esqueleto …
Ellos quieren que se case conmigo.”

Recommended For:

Happy Halloween, All Hallows’ Eve, All Saints’ Eve, All Hallows’ Day and Day of the Dead!

**Thank you to Cinco Puntos Press for providing a copy for review**

From Kellee’s (Huge) Library Pile Part One | Knock Knock by Daniel Beaty, What Do You Do With an Idea? by Kobi Yamada, Emily’s Blue Period by Cathleen Daly, This is a Moose by Richard T. Morris, My Teacher is a Monster by Peter Brown, & The Mermaid and the Shoe by K.G. Campbell

July 5, 2016October 29, 2014 by Kellee

Because of It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? posts, I find myself often with huge piles of picture books from the library that were highly recommended by fellow bloggers. I celebrate many of the nonfiction pictures books on Wednesdays, but I want to share some of the fiction picture books I have enjoyed. So, I decided to start series here on UR where I can pass on the love for these books sporadically as I read them. Here is a list of some great pictures books that I’ve read recently from my huge library pile (part 1!).

Knock Knock: My Dad’s Dream for Me
Author: Daniel Beaty
Illustrator: Bryan Collier
Published December 17th, 2013 by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

Daniel Beaty’s def jam session brought to life with his beautiful words and some amazingly detailed and deep artwork. This is an important book as it deals with divorce/death/incarceration of a parent. This is one of those subjects that are not talked about in many picture books, but should be as millions of kids deal with it. Knock Knock is told from the point of view of a boy whose father doesn’t wake him up one morning and how he deals with the loss and continues to grow. Such a powerful book that will generate many conversations.

What Do You Do With An Idea?
Author: Kobi Yamada
Illustrator: Mae Besom
Published February 1st, 2014 by Compendium Inc.

What Do You Do With An Idea? is a book about the power of ideas and how you should nurture ideas and allow them to grow into whatever they are going to become. I love that it promotes creativity, imagination, and thinking as these are all things that are often pushed aside too often in the world of rushing and testing. This book would be a great companion to The Most Magnificent Thing and a read aloud of the two books would be a great basis for a unit.

Emily’s Blue Period
Author: Cathleen Daly
Illustrator: Lisa Brown
Published June 17th, 2014 by Roaring Brook Press

Emily’s Blue Period is actually a early chapter book that is about a much deeper topic than the cover/title makes it seem. Emily’s parents are divorced, and she is dealing with the emotions and frustration with her new separated life. These are feelings that so many children go through each year, and Cathleen Daly truly delves into this subject in a thoughtful and deep way. Additionally, I adore the inclusion of Picasso into the text as I felt it added an extra element to the text.

This Is A Moose
Author: Richard T. Morris
Illustrator: Tom Lichtenheld
Published May 6th, 2014 by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

This book actually made me laugh out loud. The poor duck director just wants to do a documentary on a moose, but the moose is definitely not cooperating. He wants more to life, and he is NOT acting like he should! And neither is the chipmunk. Or the giraffe (why is a giraffe there?!). Or anyone! What is a duck supposed to do?!?!
This book is going to be an amazing read aloud, and I am a huge fan of the end.

My Teacher Is A Monster
Author: Peter Brown
Published July 1st, 2014 by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

This book was very different than I thought it was going to be, and I am not going to give away what it is truly about because I want you to be able to discover it with you. Like always Peter Brown gives us a thoughtful, funny, well-done book that is going to be loved by kids.

The Mermaid and the Shoe
Author: K.G. Campbell
Published April 1st, 2014 by Kids Can Press

I adored K.G. Campbell’s illustrations in Flora and Ulysses, and he did not disappoint with The Mermaid and the Shoe. This book is about discovery and being different. Minnow is not like her sisters (all whom are perfect), and she just hasn’t figured out what she excels at yet; however, through some adventures, she finds out what she truly is good at. Minnow is a great role model for kids. She doesn’t let comments or other people’s judgments from being who she is.

What picture books should I add to my pile next?

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? 10/27/14

July 27, 2015October 27, 2014 by Kellee

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? From Picture Books to YA!

We encourage everyone who participates to support the blogging community by visiting at least three of the other book bloggers that link up and leave comments for them.

Congratulations
ANNE S.
for winning the set of hardcover copies of the Double Vision series!

Last Week’s Posts

Tuesday: Top Series We Want To Start

Wednesday: Nonfiction Graphic Novels List

Thursday: Bramble and Maggie blog tour with a Q&A with author Jessie Haas

Friday: Author guest post from Teresa Flavin, author of The Shadow Lantern

**Click on any picture/link to view the post**

Last Week’s Journeys

Kellee: I had a wonderful reading week. I finished This One Summer by Mariko Tamaki and Jillian Tamaki and An Army of Frogs: Frogs versus Scorpions by Trevor Pryce and Joel Naftali. I really wanted to love This One Summer. I love coming-of-age stories, and I love graphic novels (and I love so many of First Second Books’ books); however, I just felt like this one was missing something. I did like it, but I wanted to love it. The artwork was fabulous though! And the blue really added a special tone to it. Well done, but I just didn’t connect to it the way I wanted to. In the world of anthropomorphic books, Trevor Pryce’s and Joel Naftali’s Army of Frogs is definitely holding its own. This action-packed adventure about Darel, a not-so-ordinary frog, and the war he finds himself in the middle of is going to be a huge hit for fans of Warriors, Seekers, Guardians of Ga’hoole, Wolves of the Beyond, Silverwing, and Redwall. What does make this series stand out even more, though, is the AMAZING illustrations! You should read it for the story, but you HAVE to read it for the illustrations.

Additionally, I did read a ton of picture books that I got from the library after IMWAYR friends praised them. Reading all of these picture books has prompted a start to a new “series” that I’ll have randomly–“From My (Huge) Library Pile.” Since so many of them are so good, I want to be able to share them with you. My first “From My (Huge) Library Pile” post will be this week, and I already have 2 others planned.

Trent and I mostly did rereads this week; however, we did read Books Always Everywhere by Jane Blatt (recommended by Alyson) which is a wonderful book about different types of books in all different places. I specifically liked that there were babies in the illustrations showing books in babies’ lives.

Ricki: I finished Rosenblatt’s Literature as Exploration. I couldn’t stop highlighting! I always type up all of my highlights (because I am a little bit obsessive), and I will be doing a lot of typing. She just gets it. I think any reader of this blog would love the book. Rosenblatt is the reader response guru. She validates what I believe about teaching reading.

Henry’s grandparents and aunt bought him several adorable puppet books, like this one. We were all laughing hysterically this week as Henry kept grabbing the puppets. I also loved The Magic of Maxwell and His Tail by Maureen Stoler Kanefield. It has a fantastic moral and teaches children to make the most of their unique qualities. I rarely review picture books, but I will definitely be reviewing this one in the upcoming weeks. I want to read it a few more times first. 🙂

This Week’s Expeditions

Kellee: I started Mira’s Diary: Home Sweet Rome this weekend, and I am so happy to be back in Mira’s world. I adored the first one, so I am very much looking forward to reading the 2nd and 3rd book of the series. I also have some graphic novel e-galleys from First Second Books that I plan on reading soon. Additionally, I am still rereading my Walden books in preparation for ALAN.

Ricki: For professional development, I am reading Mingshui Cai’s Multicultural Literature for Children and Young Adults: Reflections on Critical Issues. I am also planning to read Suzanne Myers’ Stone Cove Island, a YA book that will be released next month. Of course, Henry and I will find some new picture books to read. It depends on his mood. (Don’t tell anyone, but I am planning his first birthday party, which will be Goodnight Moon-themed! I’ve been working on the decorations all weekend. I figure that my blog readers won’t tell the guests.)

Upcoming Week’s Posts

top ten tuesday

Tuesday: Top Ten Characters Who We Would Love To Be For Halloween

So, what are you reading?

and

Author Guest Post and Giveaway!: The Shadow Lantern, Book 3 of The Blackhope Enigma Trilogy by Teresa Flavin

June 13, 2015October 24, 2014 by Kellee

The Shadow Lantern
Author: Teresa Flavin
Published July 22nd, 2014 by Candlewick Press

Publisher’s Summary: It’s Halloween at the Blackhope Tower and the spirits are rising… When a mysterious oil lantern and a box of painted slides appear at Blackhope Tower, Sunni and Blaise are drawn back to the place where their adventures first began. When they discover that the slides conceal secrets about artist-magician Fausto Corvo, the pair find themselves once again caught up in a deadly pursuit. An old enemy is still tracking Corvo and will stop at nothing to find him. Sunni and Blaise must fight to protect Corvo’s secrets and rid themselves of Soranzo’s evil threat once and for all.

Sunni and Blaise face their most dangerous challenge yet in their third and final adventure.

The Shadow Lantern is the third book in The Blackhope Enigma trilogy.

Book 1’s Publisher’s Summary: For centuries, Blackhope Tower has been shrouded in intrigue, centering on a labyrinth and painting in the Mariner’s Chamber. When fourteen-year-old Sunni Forrest visits the tower and sees her stepbrother, Dean, disappear, seemingly into the painting itself, she must find him and risk being drawn into the heart of the Blackhope enigma. This action-packed debut follows Dean, Sunni, and her friend Blaise on a journey to the heart of an age-old mystery.

An ancient painting, a magical labyrinth, and skeletons found in a locked room.

Book Trailer:

Scribd Chapter Sampler: http://www.scribd.com/doc/201971141/The-Shadow-Lantern-Chapter-Sampler

About the Author: Teresa Flavin was born in New York and studied art in Boston and at Syracuse University. After moving to Glasgow, Scotland, she was awarded the Scottish Arts Council New Writers Bursary. She has illustrated a number of picture books. Her first novel, The Blackhope Enigma, was nominated for a Cybil Award. Teresa Flavin lives in Scotland.

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Google+ | Tumblr

Today we are lucky enough to have Teresa here at Unleashing Readers to talk to us about her process:

I’m a planner, pure and simple. Once an idea for a story has taken hold in my head, I make notes, create mind maps and get the bones of it down on paper. At the same time, I don’t want to have every scene mapped out so tightly the story can’t breathe and evolve in an unexpected and interesting way – which it inevitably does!

I look forward to previously unplanned characters showing up on the page wanting a piece of the action. And because I find so much inspiration in history, and do a fair amount of research, I often stumble on a nugget of information that can move my story in exciting and serendipitous ways. For example, when I learned that the development of some artists’ paint pigments was tied up with alchemy, I saw what a great element it could bring to the second story in the trilogy, The Crimson Shard.

Before I get too far with a new story I share a short synopsis with my agent because she’s great at asking tough questions that test the bones of my idea. I revise that synopsis until we both consider it viable, knowing that the story will change a lot. When I look back over old versions of my synopses I am astonished at how much the stories evolved before I even started writing them.

Once I know roughly where a story is going, I write it from start to finish. I am not good at skipping around and writing scenes out of order. That would feel like fast-forwarding the film and missing important links in the middle. I admire authors who can work in a non-linear way but I prefer my own method. I like how a story unfolds, how one scene influences the next.

If I’m on a deadline, I write to a daily word count, breaking the story down into manageable chunks. Some days are definitely more productive than others! I revise my finished manuscript at least two or three times on the recommendations of my editors. I am infinitely grateful to all of them because they read with clarity when I am too close to the story. Though I am the writer, I see my books as team efforts, with my editors inspiring me to make the best story I can.

People often ask me whether I read other children’s books while I’m writing my own and what books influenced my trilogy. I tend to avoid reading children’s fiction while I am creating my own, but I do read adult non-fiction such as history books. If I read any fiction, it’s for grown-ups and generally quite different from the kind of fantasy books I write.

Before I started writing for young people, I read very little children’s or young adult fiction. I think that my writing is probably influenced most by the books I enjoyed as a kid, from The Chronicles of Narnia to Sherlock Holmes to Ray Bradbury stories like The Illustrated Man. If it was a colorful, atmospheric adventure, I was hooked. If my own trilogy can intrigue young readers as fully as any of the books I loved, my mission is accomplished.

Many thanks to Unleashing Readers for hosting me!

And thank you Teresa! We loved hearing about your process!

GIVEAWAY

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Thank you so much to Teresa Flavin and Candlewick Press for the guest post and giveaway!

Nonfiction Graphic Novels

October 22, 2014 by Kellee

Nonfiction Picture Book Wednesday

Nonfiction Picture Book Wednesday is hosted by Kid Lit Frenzy and was started to help promote the reading of nonfiction texts. Most Wednesdays, we will be participating and will review a nonfiction text (though it may not always be a picture book).
Be sure to visit Kid Lit Frenzy and see what other nonfiction books are shared this week!

Although many elementary students enjoy and love nonfiction, this love tapers off when students get to middle school. Very few of my students read nonfiction at all. However, there is a wonderful thing happening that is helping increase the amount of nonfiction read in my school: memoir and informational nonfiction graphic novels. Here are some that I have read that my students and/or I have truly enjoyed.
(Clicking on any cover will take you to the Goodreads page or my review.)

Children’s/Middle Grade

primates

Middle Grade/YA

Hope you and your students enjoy some nonfiction graphic novels!