Category Archives: Print Awareness

Go, Go, Go for Kende! Kende! Kende!

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Kende! Kende! Kende! written by Kirsten Cappy and Yaya Gentille, illustrations by Rahana Dariah

Kende! Kende! Kende! written by Kirsten Cappy and Yaya Gentille, illustrations by Rahana Dariah

So many kids will relate to Lolie, who from the time she was little always wanted to go! go! go! But a scary day comes when her family quickly has to go from their home because it is no longer safe. Lolie goes by wheelbarrow, by foot, by truck, and finally by airplane to a new home that is safe for her and her family. And when their car get stuck in the snow, her new neighbors help to push so her family can quickly go! go! go! to the hospital so Lolie’s new baby can be born in safety.

This beautiful book, written by one of my dearest friends, Kirsten Cappy, and Yaya Gentille who came to a new country in search of safety, is one I wish I could put into the hands of every child. Kende! Kende! Kende! is illustrated by Rahana Dariah and published by Child’s Play USA. It’s written in both French and English so that many readers can read it, and it has QR codes in the front of the book that you can scan to hear the book read aloud in French, English, Lingala, Swahili, Portuguese, Kinyarwanda, and Arabic!

With your young readers, compare the words in French, English, and Lingala. “Lolie adorait aller, aller, aller. Lolie loved to go, go, go.” In the illustrations, we see Lolie running after chickens and the words Kende! Kende! Kende! Even if you don’t speak French or Lingala, talk about how you might use what you know and use the pictures to figure out the words you don’t know. Talk about where your family is from and what languages people in your family speak or once spoke. Scan the codes and enjoy the story in a language that may be new to you!

Battle Bunny!

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Battle Bunny by Jon Scieszka, Mac Barnett, and Matthew Myers Happy February! This time last year, I was celebrating the sale of my first picture book, GROUNDHOG’S DILEMMA, to Charlesbridge. This February 2nd, I came home from a week of presenting seminars to a cool surprise: my husband (author/illustrator Matt Faulkner) just received the official layout of the book so he can begin making the art! Woohoo!

Of course, I won’t see any of the art until it’s passed my editor’s approval. In the publishing world, authors don’t get to communicate with the illustrators. I just happen to live with my illustrator. And because I’d like to continue living with him, I can’t watch over his shoulder as he draws my characters, because I’d be tempted to give helpful comments like, “Maybe his cheeks should be a little chubbier, and maybe you should….” So Matt will make his magic in his studio and I will try not to peek until my editor says I can!

Those of you came to my seminars last week have already seen my new favorite book: Battle Bunny written by Jon Scieszka and Mac Barnett (and Alex) with pictures by Matthew Myers (and Alex). Kids who love the humor of Captain Underpants will go nuts for this book, and you can use it to teach the Core Standard of Craft & Structure.

When you show students the cover, they might think this book has been defaced. Well, yes and no. Battle Bunny is supposed to look drawn on and scribbled over – that’s the brilliant premise of this book. A kid named Alex is supposedly given a sappy-sweet book called “Birthday Bunny” from his Gran-Gran. Alex transforms the book by crossing out words, writing his own words, and adding crazy details to the pictures. For instance, the line “Birthday Bunny started on his path, hopping through the trees” is rewritten as “Battle Bunny started on his Evil Plan, chopping through the trees” and we see the cute birdie in the tree now has a speech balloon saying “You will fail!”

Revising! Editing! Transformative writing! After you’ve talked with your students about the authors’ and illustrator’s craft of word choice, art design, etc. that add layers to the book, go to mybirthdaybunny.com. There’s a free lesson plan for teachers, and I love that you can print off the “original” sweet version of the story for kids to change. If you are super-brave, buy some beat-up books from the library’s used book sale or from a thrift store and let your students revise them. Just make it clear which books can be written in and which of your books are off-limits!

Wumbers

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wumbers“What do you get when you combine a word with a number? A wumber!” Wumbers  is wri10 by Amy Krouse Rosenthal and illustr8ed by Tom Lichtenheld, the dynamic duo who made Duck! Rabbit! and other books I love passion8ly. With Wumbers, kids have 2 pay at10tion to the sound of the number word to figure out how to read the wumber. 1ce your students get the gist of it, they’ll want 2 make up wumbers of their own!

Because Wumbers focuses kids’ attention on the small sounds in words, it’s an ideal book to hit the CCSS of Phonological Awareness. Distinguishing the numbers from the letters in the words is part of Print Concepts. 1 book for 2 standards = gr8ful teacher and 4tunate students!

As you read Wumbers to your students, call at10tion first to the way the wumber looks. What number is mixed with letters to make a new word? 1ce students identify the number, say it out loud a few times, then blend the number name with the other letters slowly. Let kids have the thrill of calling out the wumber. It7ly! (Get it – it’s heavenly? Ok, I’m still working on a good one for 7.)

Before you let your students loose on reading and writing wumbers on their own, practice as a group. Choose a number, an easy one like 2 or 4 (because obviously 7 will pose challenges, even for those of us with plenty of wumber po10tial.) Write the number word and any phonological variations: 2 is two, to, too, tu, etc. Now, see if you can come up with words that have that to-tu sound in them.  Tuba becomes 2ba. Toothbrush becomes a 2thbrush. Because she is genius, Amy Krouse Rosenthal has a free activities kit available through her website: whoisamy.com. If you and your students come up with some 1derful wumbers, email me! 2gether we will celebr8 Wumbers!

For more about the illustrator, please visit tomlichtenheld.com.

Words with Wings

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wordswithwings

This novel-in-verse is for the daydreamers and for the teachers who want to guide, not squash, those who have such vivid imaginations.

Words with Wings by Nikki Grimes is one of those gorgeously-written books you can read aloud to your class for wonderful group discussions and then watch them eagerly grab it to read independently. (Novels-in-verse are not only a great way to immerse your students in poetry, but it hits both Range of Reading and Fluency for Core Standards. Woohoo!) Imagine yourself reading aloud this page to your students and knowing that for some kids, it will hit home:

First Day
I duck down in the seat
of my new class.
To these kids,
I’m not Gabby yet.
I’m just Shy Girl
Who Lives
Inside Her Head.
No one even knocks
on the door
for a visit.
They don’t know
it’s beautiful
in here.

Gabby is a daydreamer, which sometimes causes problems in school and at home. But how can she help daydreaming, when words have wings? Some of the poems would make for great writing prompts in your classroom, like this one:

Waterfall
Say “waterfall”
and the dreary winter rain
outside my classroom window
turns to liquid thunder,
pounding into a clear pool
miles below,
and I can’t wait
to dive in.

To my absolute delight, Nikki Grimes named the teacher in this book Mr. Spicer after one of the coolest teachers I’ve ever meet, Ed Spicer. He teaches first grade here in Michigan and he is committed to giving his students time to daydream. Sometimes he plays music, sometimes it’s quiet. Sometimes he asks his students to write about their daydreams, or turn and talk about them, or daydream on a particular topic, like a science concept they are studying. I love the power of daydreaming and I adore Ed Spicer for encouraging his students to take a few moments to let their minds wander. Follow him on Facebook for more about his classroom because he is a wealth of amazing ideas.

So share Words with Wings with your students. For a quick Craft & Structure lesson, talk about the words Nikki Grimes chose that have “wings” for Gabby. Why did she choose these words? What words have wings for you? Give your students a few minutes just to daydream, wonder and imagine. It may become a favorite break in your classroom.

Happy September, everyone!

For more information about the author, please visit: nikkigrimes.com.

This Plus That: Life’s Little Equations

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This Plus ThatNot only is this week’s picture book a fun way to teach some of the Common Core State Standards in Reading, it is also the best inspiration for your “welcome back to school” classroom bulletin board.

This Plus That: Life’s Little Equations written by Amy Krouse Rosenthal and illustrated by Jen Corace is sheer brilliance. It starts with:

1 + 1 = us

I love it! Not only will your students know how to read math symbols after sharing this book, but they’ll look at math much more creatively.

Smile + wave = hello
Smile + ocean wave = beach

Some are compare and contrast (I love what does and does not equal a sincere apology!), some are stand-alone sentences. Most are addition, but other math ideas come into play as well:
cozy + smell of pancakes – alarm clock = weekend

This would be fun to pair with 1 + 1 = 5 by David La Rochelle and Brenda Sexton if you’d like to hit Integrating Knowledge & Ideas, but all on its own This Plus That teaches Print Concepts and works beautifully to build Fluency.

After you share This Plus That, brainstorm and write equations with your students. In the book:

leaves + hot soup = fall

What things add up to fall for your students? And I’d love to make a welcoming bulletin board with:

1 + 1 = us    and       Joe + Gabriel + Julia + Matt…. = our class

This Plus That + your students = a whole new way of writing with math symbols!

For more information about the author, please visit whoisamy.com.

For more information about the illustrator, please visit jencorace.com.