Book Club for Two

I love my small one.

She sparkles. 
She is bursting with ideas.

When she wants something, she tries to make it for herself:
Cell phone. Laptop. Stilts.


This girl is going places.
And she loves to read!

But she's been struggling in math.
Her teachers decided the best way to help
is to pull her out of Book Club for extra math help.

I know she needs it.
I know it's a good thing, but, oh, the sting!

Friends, have you ever been there?  

Here's our silver lining.

Over the winter break, Birdy picked up her sisters' Wells and Wong book by Robin Stevens
and started reading.

She didn't put it down! She kept telling me,

"Mama, I really like this book." 

"Mama, I love this book!"

So I had an idea.
We're making our own Mom-Daughter Mystery Book Club.
Just us.
And siblings, if they want to.

I bought a stack of Wells and Wong books.

I stocked her with a notebook and sticky notes and question prompts.

Now we can infer and predict and monitor for meaning,

or we can just cuddle up in our pajamas
and read.

Here's to making our own silver linings.

Have you ever done a Parent-Kid Book Club? 

I'd love suggestions!

Our first BOOK CLUB list:

{by Robin Stevens, American editions, illustrated by Elizabeth Baddely}

Murder is Bad Manners

Poison is Not Polite

First Class Murder

Jolly Foul Play

Mistletoe and Murder

Teacherly treats

I've been gussying up these tiny friends for Teacher Appreciation Week.

...because we like a good party.

Especially one with pencils.

Especially one with teachers.


And because I'm so grateful to teachers
for sparking me to be the curious person that I am,
I'm sharing a few printables for educators and their fans everywhere.

Feel free to print and share.*

{*Please keep the love vibes going. Please don't sell these for profit.
Please keep my name credited with my work. Thanks!}

Panda
Chameleon
Koala
Zoo

Thank you, Miss. B, Mrs. Walters, Mrs. Kelly, and Ms. Chu for sparking a love of words and books that still fire me up every day.

Thank you, teachers everywhere.

Books!

Chrysanthemum - Kevin Henkes

My Name is Yoon - Helen Recorvits, Gabi Swiatkowska

The Dot - Peter H. Reynolds

Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse - Kevin Henkes

 

 Love That Dog - Sharon Creech
Word After Word After Word - Patricia MacLachlan
A Year Of Miss Agnes - Kirkpatrick Hill
Ramona the Pest - Beverly Cleary
Frindle - Andrew Clements
Murder is Bad Manners - Robin Stevens

Book Party!

The verdict is in!

 

After months of evaluating beautiful books of 2016,

the Jefferson County Library Kids' Caldecott committee has chosen their favorites.

The envelope, please...    

Our Mock Caldecott Award goes to 

The Night Gardener by the Fan brothers. 

The committee found the Fan brothers' illustrations excellent, 

with great hints and subtleties in visual story, 

and a story itself both inspiring and hopeful. 

Our Mock Caldecott honors:

Ada's Violin by Susan Hood, illustrated by Sally Wern Comport

Ada's Violin captivated our committee with its powerful true account and its collage illustrations.

The Storyteller by Evan Turk 

wowed us with layer upon layer of story and meaning, woven in both text and illustrations.

The kids were also quite impressed that Mr. Turk used 

sugared tea, indigo, and fire in the making of the illustrations.

Maybe Something Beautiful by F. Isabel Campos & Theresa Howell, illustrated by Rafael Lopez

Our committee appreciated the vibrant exuberance in Maybe Something Beautiful, 

as well as the true story of how art transformed a neighborhood.

Return by Aaron Becker

This wordless book fascinated our kid voters. 

They discovered intricate details tucked within each page, 

and appreciated the fantastical world Becker created in his book trilogy.

They liked that the story dove deep, like a mystery.

And our children's librarian Martha Ashenfelter came up with the best Caldecott treat yet!

Sparked by the colorful illustrations and murals from Maybe Something Beautiful, 

Martha helped kids created their own edible canvases

with graham crackers, frosting, candy, and apricots.

 

 

A party with Caldecotts and apricots.

Candy and canvases.

 

Glorious in composition, sweetness, and stickiness!

Thank you, Jefferson County Library.

I'm grateful to have been part of another year of Mock Caldecott goodness. 

Hooray for beautiful books

and stories that inspire!

Here are the official American Library Associaton's picks:

Caldecott Award:  

Radiant Child by Javaka Steptoe

Caldecott Honors:

They All Saw A Cat by Brendan Wenzel

Du Iz Tak? by Carson Ellis

Freedom in Congo Square by Carole Boston Weatherford and R. Gregory Christie

Leave Me Alone by Vera Brosgol

Turtles, Caldecotts, and Blackberry Fools

I'd rather have a turtle, and I'd rather wear a mock turtle.

I'd rather cook with crockery than be a mockery. 

I'd rather party with Mock Caldecotts than with mock halibuts. 

And party we did!

- complete with book toothpicks and book inspired snacks:

sunflower seeds (If You Plant a Seed by Kadir Nelson), 

honey and bread (Finding Winnie by Lindsay Mattick and Sophie Blackall)

tiny sandwiches (The Bear Ate Your Sandwich by Julia Sarcone Roach), 

pretzel sticks and grape "stones" (Stick and Stone by Beth Ferry and Tom Lichtenheld), 

dried mangoes (Mango, Abuela, and Me by Meg Medina and Angela Dominguez).

Voters designed medals for the winning books.

Kids announced both the ALA winners, and our Mock Caldecott winners.
Our committee results:

Our Mock Caldecott Gold Medal :  Out of the Woods by Rebecca Bond.

And then, honor awards for all eight of our runners up:

The Bear Ate Your Sandwich - by Julia Sarcone Roach
Mango, Abuela, and Me - by Meg Medina and Angela Dominguez
A Fine Dessert - by Emily Jenkins and Sophie Blackall
Thank You and Good Night - by Patrick McDonnell
If You Plant a Seed - by Kadir Nelson
The Whisper - by Pamela Zagarenski
In a Village by the Sea - Muon Van and April Chu

And then, the entire library voted on the People's Choice Award. 
The winner was Sonya's Chickens by Phoebe Wahl. 



In the book "A Fine Dessert," blackberry fool is made by four families, over four centuries, with different implements.
Our children's librarian Martha Ashenfelter had a brilliant idea.
Why not have our committee make the same dessert
using the same implements?

They loved it! 

Delicious!

They ate it up. Every speck. Every lick.  

What a sweet finish to a wonderful party.
Thank you, Martha.
Thank you, Mock Caldecott committee.
I hope we can talk and mock Caldecotts again soon.