tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-43704473626434438392024-03-05T10:28:05.094-08:00Guessing Geisel: A Mock Geisel BlogAmy Seto Forresterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11917299912693299321noreply@blogger.comBlogger287125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4370447362643443839.post-18153388264600093822023-01-25T09:10:00.000-08:002023-01-25T09:10:16.262-08:00Thanks and appreciation<p> LibLearnX is this weekend, and with it comes the final award selections for a number of book award committees. Thank you to everyone who has volunteered countless hours to recognize some of the most distinguished books of the year for young readers, and to the ALA staff who make their work possible. We look forward to hearing you selections this coming Monday. Special thanks from Guessing Geisel, of course, to the Geisel Award Committee. May your deliberations be meaningful, your committee experience be fulfilling, and your time in New Orleans be memorable. Whatever your choice, we know you'll have put many hours of work into reading, nominating, and choosing your selections and we can't wait to see them. </p><p>Thanks as well to everyone who has been a contributor to Guessing Geisel over the past 6 years. This blog could not have existed without you. We've been honored to host conversation about Geisel Award criteria and the many excellent contenders out there. Writing a book for our very youngest readers is no easy task and it has been a privilege to highlight some of those book creators doing phenomenal work for this audience.</p><p>Guessing Geisel has ended as a review blog, but the archives will remain available for your reference. If you are looking to check out some possible Geisel contenders before choices are announced on Monday, we recommend <a href="https://100scopenotes.com/2022/12/07/2023-geisel-award-predictions/">Travis Jonker's predictions </a> for 2023 and <a href="https://afuse8production.slj.com/2022/12/18/31-days-31-lists-2022-easy-books-and-early-chapter-books/">Betsy Bird's 31 Lists in 31 Days Easy Books and Early Chapter Books List</a>. </p><p>Thanks to everyone who has read, commented, contributed, or participated in our online Mock Geisel over the years. It's been a delight to share this space with you.</p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4370447362643443839.post-21738184486797040182022-04-14T09:30:00.004-07:002022-04-14T09:30:52.101-07:00Congratulations! Fox at Night 2022 Geisel Award Winner<p><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"> A fantastic array of books were recognized at the January 2022 Youth Media Awards. Your 2022 Geisel Award Winner is:</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZQFfGBd3n4Ls__aveprLa4quQChkZxyvAF45MCKK1IS3ouiYVXyOQ1VrE8XMP_5WnrNQMhO3TkAOIpla-vB5GQcwUX-altg8zgiDVxtYL74fYRt9ZUTJZv66SUIK2r16_48UvB0ccqKZyAvcGQOUkNVZauwI9hdk6yl8jSxkAQRDzY2JF8aUKxSys/s200/Fox%20at%20night.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="200" data-original-width="133" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZQFfGBd3n4Ls__aveprLa4quQChkZxyvAF45MCKK1IS3ouiYVXyOQ1VrE8XMP_5WnrNQMhO3TkAOIpla-vB5GQcwUX-altg8zgiDVxtYL74fYRt9ZUTJZv66SUIK2r16_48UvB0ccqKZyAvcGQOUkNVZauwI9hdk6yl8jSxkAQRDzY2JF8aUKxSys/s1600/Fox%20at%20night.png" width="133" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Fox at Night by Corey R. Tabor</span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Congratulations Corey R. Tabor, creator of Fox the Tiger, on your second Geisel Award! </span></p><p><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Three Honor Books were also recognized:</span></p><p><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Beak and Ally #1: Unlikely Friends is written and illustrated by Norm Feuti - Congratulations Norm and welcome to the Geisel Honorees!</span></p><p><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">I Hop is written and illustrated by Joe Cepeda - Congratulations Joe! Joe adds this to a number of other awards, including a Pura Belpre honor. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Nothing Fits a Dinosaur is written and illustrated by Jonathan Fenske - Congratulations Jonathan! Jonathan has written a number of humorous kids books and previously was honored with a Geisel for A Pig, A Fox, and a Box. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">There's so much to celebrate in this collection of titles, which appeal to an excellent mix of reading abilities with humor and respect for the experiences of children. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Fantastic work, Eboni Njoku and the entire committee! You made wonderful selections after a challenging year. It is a fantastic mix of familiar names and new titles to meet, and I hope that you all - committee members, recipients, and publishing teams - get to celebrate this summer<span style="color: #494949;"><span style="background-color: #fefefe;">!</span></span></span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4370447362643443839.post-53346306233689618152022-01-20T13:52:00.005-08:002022-01-20T13:52:56.799-08:00It's almost time! 2022 Youth Media Awards are Monday January 24th <p><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><span style="background-color: white;">It's almost time. Whether you're rooting for any titles in particular, or looking forward to surprises to add to your "to read" pile this coming Monday is when the diligent work of the many committees will be complete and the announcements made of the 2022 Youth Media Awards. </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">Again this year I can't help but reflect on how the experience of being on a committee has changed since my Geisel committee year. My sincerest appreciation to this year's committee for their work and dedication. I'll be thinking of you this weekend as you go through the process of selecting your winner and honors, and I'll be wishing you a fulfilling committee experience. We can't wait to see what you'll choose!</span></p><p>Thank you as well to all the folks who do the work every year of making the awards announcements (and those delightful calls possible). It's a major production and takes the talents and efforts of many people to run smoothly even without the complication of it being a livestream. There are plenty of people who work very hard to make these awards shine who will never be the face on camera or the name in the slideshow, and yet it simply couldn't happen without them. </p><p><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">Without any further ado, here it is, the inside scoop on how you too can get up in your PJs and watch the announcements on a livestream:</span></span></p><p><strong style="background-color: white; color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">The 2022 Youth Media Award announcements will take place virtually on<strong> Monday, Jan. 24, 2022, at 8 a.m. CT </strong> during <a href="https://alaliblearnx.org/" style="color: #5a99c4;">LibLearnX: The Library Learning Experience</a>, a completely new conference experience based on years of research, exploration, and feedback from industry partners, event planning experts, and most importantly, ALA members. A live video stream will be available at <a href="https://ala.unikron.com/" style="color: #5a99c4;">https://ala.unikron.com/</a>. </span></strong></p><p>To all the authors, editors, and publishing teams - best of luck! And know too that even if you don't get that call your work is appreciated by children, families, educators, librarians, and so many more. </p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4370447362643443839.post-78073159193871958932022-01-11T06:00:00.004-08:002022-01-11T06:00:00.162-08:00See Bip Grow! by David Milgrim<p><span face="Roboto, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #202124; font-size: 14px; letter-spacing: 0.2px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>Alec Chunn is a Children's Librarian at Tualatin Public Library. He was a member of the 2021 Caldecott committee and co-founded the mock Stonewall Book Award blog, Medal on My Mind. </i></span></p><p><span face="Roboto, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #202124; font-size: 14px; letter-spacing: 0.2px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Milgrim is no stranger to the Geisel award, having earned two honors for Go, Otto, Go! in 2017 and See Pip Flap in 2019. Both of these books are from Milgrim’s The Adventures of Otto series. But there is another series—The Adventures of Zip—that has yet to attract so much attention. No more, I say! As far as I’m concerned, See Bip Grow! is Milgrim’s magnum opus. (Yes, all of his books more or less have the same title. I promise this one is special.)</span></p><span face="Roboto, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #202124; font-size: 14px; letter-spacing: 0.2px; white-space: pre-wrap;">The basic plot concerns two green aliens, Zip and Bip. Zip magically zaps Bip so that Bip—who appears to be a baby—will be tall enough to play ball. But Bip just keeps growing and growing and growing. Bip grows to big they end up in space. But, at just the right time, Bip’s magical powers activate and Bip shrinks back to usual size and lands safely back on their planet.
I love that the sentence structures and repetition harken back to Dick and Jane books, but the plot is absolutely out of this world. It’s pretty standard Milgrim fare, but it’s so successful—and fun! When I look at the Geisel criteria, this is exactly the kind of book that comes to mind: repeated words (fewer than 60!), simple and straightforward sentences, illustrations that demonstrate the story, and a “page-turning” dynamic. All the boxes are checked. But it’s the tone and illustrations that send this book into superstar territory.
This book seems to have as much fun being read as readers would have while reading it. I don’t mean that it is too self-aware or too clever for its own good. Rather, both the characters and the layout offer a sense of playfulness with every page turn. Bip definitely gives me Jack-Jack from The Incredibles energy (just look at that infectious smile). The layout creates a sense of familiarity—a sentence or two above an image of characters on every page—then quickly breaks it.
Let’s dive more deeply into the illustrations. As soon as Bip grows too big for the page, the text moves to accommodate the change in scale. But Zip doesn’t move! At least not at first. So, it feels more and more disorienting until the static frame is broken completely. Each page turn starts to change the scale (and detail) of the whole setting as Bip grows even bigger. Then, when Bip shrinks, it flips and goes back to the familiar format and scale. It’s almost visually symmetrical.
But the text is not symmetrical. The text takes readers on a journey that breaks the repetitive mold because the reader has gained confidence—and had a laugh or two—while reading. That’s a win in my book!</span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4370447362643443839.post-19674959945974397172022-01-04T03:00:00.019-08:002022-01-04T03:00:00.146-08:00Good Fun with Barkus & Friends <p><span face="Roboto, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px; letter-spacing: 0.2px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #0b5394;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span face="Roboto, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px; letter-spacing: 0.2px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #0b5394;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1475" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcSFw3bgBmX2NLueOsKGrbQZz-Y_sY4I-INbIx768xwui0NnvyWOkFAC6uliPQT0nfuQQbC4xLmgLDp3EEFwMDqhZJA0RmUHvBPF_P9CQ96NFXGhE1KQmQNkUEdIvCa4fVBCAWVeN4ro4/w144-h200/20210825_170703+-+Taylor+Worley.jpg" width="144" /> <span style="color: #0b5394; letter-spacing: 0.2px; text-align: left;">Taylor Worley (she/her) is a Youth Services Librarian for Springfield Public Library in Oregon. When not reading, she’s typically gaming, creating something, or collecting bits of nature. You can find her in various online communities at @magpiebricolage, @magpiemakesstuff, or @magpiereadsstuff. </span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSx4Z7Lec8Y-jxkswHsrEPM_RNfaZTrbxikkqNGCy8UuPN6sievAx4Bs3YceEmJ60MBqGh0dt5btSZWuHz73jo7VcvYXUiBVIrTxE6XElEpdvE9vau_q3tRT6wzKsIFojUNyZY_B-vKUk/s1741/20211031_200226+-+Taylor+Worley.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1741" data-original-width="1574" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSx4Z7Lec8Y-jxkswHsrEPM_RNfaZTrbxikkqNGCy8UuPN6sievAx4Bs3YceEmJ60MBqGh0dt5btSZWuHz73jo7VcvYXUiBVIrTxE6XElEpdvE9vau_q3tRT6wzKsIFojUNyZY_B-vKUk/s320/20211031_200226+-+Taylor+Worley.jpg" width="289" /></a></div><p></p><p><span face="Roboto, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #202124; font-size: 14px; letter-spacing: 0.2px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br />Patricia MacLaclan (author) and Marc Boutavant (Illustrator) return to their endearing early-reader series with this third installment, “Barkus: The Most Fun.” In fifty-five nostalgically illustrated pages, readers follow Barkus, Baby, and their humans through four chapters, each of which can be read as a stand-alone narrative.
Chapter one, set in (suggested) summer, is a camping adventure in which Baby (the cat) sneaks along with Barkus and the humans. Chapter two is a Spring story on the farm, in which Barkus gets to flex his herding skills. Chapter three is a celebration of pets with an autumnal parade. Finally, chapter four is a vacation to a cozy cabin for a closing, winter tale.</span></p><p><span face="Roboto, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #202124; font-size: 14px; letter-spacing: 0.2px; white-space: pre-wrap;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhysvHAsKK7oqTtFsl-CLTnx-ibW_NyxKF-c3hazbUlI8PjwZHkringcLxq6rK0Nkuw4nkI8x3LsKb1XcNu5Arx_U6GC3dQPk53m3wxFoRgOY1kBK9XL7kWqXBn4dtyVH4PHnV5GAIfjpY/s1888/20211031_200037+-+Taylor+Worley.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="letter-spacing: 0.2px; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1888" data-original-width="1617" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhysvHAsKK7oqTtFsl-CLTnx-ibW_NyxKF-c3hazbUlI8PjwZHkringcLxq6rK0Nkuw4nkI8x3LsKb1XcNu5Arx_U6GC3dQPk53m3wxFoRgOY1kBK9XL7kWqXBn4dtyVH4PHnV5GAIfjpY/s320/20211031_200037+-+Taylor+Worley.jpg" width="274" /></a>
Because the word count on Barkus’ books is fairly high, dividing these stories into the approachable chapters is very helpful for emerging readers. Notably, each of the four seasons is explicitly stated - either in chapter titles or during the story - except for Summer, which isn’t specifically labeled. Summer is also out of seasonal order, which might cause confusion for more particular readers. That being said, this title is still solidly in the “emerging reader” or “learn to read” category, simply on the upper edge of the spectrum.
“The Most Fun” qualifies for Geisel Award consideration, however I’m not confident it quite has what it takes to be a viable contender, this year. This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t have all three volumes of Barkus’ adventures on your library shelves - you should! - but rather there are a few minor flaws that are likely to knock it out of the running.
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmbljwy3Uyf0WpQUr6aV2STsT-5aaDnEpDhAXy8rvFWRFqNdy7Hws9bxj8iGJ3URjok_z2QOLOeION46srkoukiobuFAJy1hJ0TO8q_1qs6M3tw0osO27GQFzLoFlH6pLK4fJ-10JTZfY/s2048/20211031_200120+-+Taylor+Worley.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; font-size: medium; letter-spacing: 0.2px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center; white-space: normal;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1159" data-original-width="2048" height="181" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmbljwy3Uyf0WpQUr6aV2STsT-5aaDnEpDhAXy8rvFWRFqNdy7Hws9bxj8iGJ3URjok_z2QOLOeION46srkoukiobuFAJy1hJ0TO8q_1qs6M3tw0osO27GQFzLoFlH6pLK4fJ-10JTZfY/s320/20211031_200120+-+Taylor+Worley.jpg" width="320" /></a>
The heart of Geisel Award criteria is the need to generate the necessary “page turning” experience to “stimulate a successful reading experience” for emerging readers. “The Most Fun” lulls in Autumn, lacking a clear plot to move the story forward. Because this chapter occurs between 50% and 75% of the way through the book, there’s a risk of losing the interest of those emerging readers. This, combined with the curious ordering of seasonal stories, is enough to knock it out of the top contenders for the 2021 publishing year.
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPI08NsrpRLrpKQQwGnHB4uK5IL0vThL5kKsADh6Kka5ajbwOubB0fQwtSiZPq5FNyqq3fNxr7EQ8VzRZEVCZPy8jpVyySUOYZlxvXv0XiHGgRcEr3Bioh6h0gRhUnfrVFHoG9A0LbUj0/s1685/20211031_200149+-+Taylor+Worley.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="letter-spacing: 0.2px; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1685" data-original-width="1669" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPI08NsrpRLrpKQQwGnHB4uK5IL0vThL5kKsADh6Kka5ajbwOubB0fQwtSiZPq5FNyqq3fNxr7EQ8VzRZEVCZPy8jpVyySUOYZlxvXv0XiHGgRcEr3Bioh6h0gRhUnfrVFHoG9A0LbUj0/s320/20211031_200149+-+Taylor+Worley.jpg" width="317" /></a>
That being said, the Barkus series is still an exceptionally strong choice for early-reader shelves. Boutavant’s vivid illustrations are sweet and have a distinctly nostalgic feel (at least, for folks old enough to feel nostalgic). The book design is in sync with readers’ needs, utilizing a large and clean serif font, generous white space, and illustrations on almost every page. Barkus is bright, happy, and endearing; exactly what we want to engage new readers.
So is “Barkus: The Most Fun” going to take home a Geisel Award this year? Probably not. Is it a lovely book and part of an excellent early-reader series? Definitely! Don’t hesitate to add these delightful books to your shelves. They are great fun. </span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4370447362643443839.post-31851785301084325452021-12-28T09:00:00.001-08:002021-12-28T09:00:00.155-08:00Wish List: Beginning Reader Reviews in Professional Journals<span style="color: #0000ee; font-family: trebuchet;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.amysetoforrester.com/" style="text-align: left;"></a><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.amysetoforrester.com/" style="text-align: left;"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3lH7_nZyRfb_hRAXi_BFwQP_uTs9ZB6xEdSk8RmlX0HhvluNESwaPO1FbMYni3W5g-yOyhlX5BVWQ0u-cAOjZpovWe35EQsMkJWMZv2c8txdQ3xG1GE-vXL9bs-jE37yZZLnh5KO8HlQ/s2048/Forrester+First+Choice.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="2010" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3lH7_nZyRfb_hRAXi_BFwQP_uTs9ZB6xEdSk8RmlX0HhvluNESwaPO1FbMYni3W5g-yOyhlX5BVWQ0u-cAOjZpovWe35EQsMkJWMZv2c8txdQ3xG1GE-vXL9bs-jE37yZZLnh5KO8HlQ/w196-h200/Forrester+First+Choice.jpg" width="196" /></a></div>Amy Seto Forrester<span style="text-align: left;"> (she/her) is a youth services supervisor at Eugene Public Library (OR). After serving on the 2016 Geisel Award Committee, she helped to co-found and then co-host Guessing Geisel for several years. She writes books for developing readers with her author-illustrator brother, </span><a href="http://andychoumusser.com/" style="text-align: left;">Andy Chou Musser</a><span style="text-align: left;">. Their first book will be published by Chronicle Books. She is represented by Marietta Zacker of Gallt & Zacker Literary Agency. </span></div></span><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">As someone who eagerly awaits the release of any and all beginning reader titles, I’ve always kept my eye on reviews in professional journals such as School Library Journal, Kirkus, Horn Book, Booklist, Publisher’s Weekly, and the Bulletin for the Center of Children’s Books. I’ve recently started a new job that includes selecting beginning reader titles, a change for me as my last library system had centralized collection development. Now that they are vital to my daily work, I’m reminded how few beginning reader reviews there are, especially in comparison to other kidlit formats. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">So here’s my wish list for beginning reader reviews from professional journals. Some changes can be made by reviewers themselves (perhaps that includes you, dear reader!), while others rely on journals reassessing how they organize and present reviews. It’s my hope that 2022 brings us many of these changes! </span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><b>Beginning readers are reviewed as books for independent readers, rather than as books to be read aloud by an adult to a child.</b> This might seem like a subtle difference, but consider the difference font design and size, vocabulary, and layout can make when it comes to creating a successful reading experience for developing readers. I’m looking for a review that tells me about word repetition, white space, page turning dynamic, etc. not a review that tells me if a beginning reader is fun to read aloud at preschool storytime. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><b>Create a beginning reader category in print journals and online databases. </b>Many journals divide their books by age or grade. Often, beginning readers get lumped in with picture books or in a category that encompasses “Elementary” or “Younger Readers.” Selectors are then challenged to determine which titles might be beginning readers. For me this involves using page count and trim size as a starting point and then searching for more information on a title to see if I can get a sneak peek of the interior or find some other clues that tell me about vocabulary, layout, font, etc. This is time consuming and I’m pretty sure there are wonderful titles that fall through the cracks. Kirkus has an “Early Reader” category and I would love to see something similar from other journals. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><b>Create a beginning reader category for best book lists.</b> Did you know that the ALSC Notables Children’s Book List does not include a category for beginning readers? It’s also a missing category in the best book lists from SLJ, Kirkus, and Horn Book (to name a few). Might this lack of category correlate with the low numbers of beginning readers included on these lists? </span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><b>Review more beginning reader titles. </b>Books that get reviewed are more visible to selectors. If it’s not reviewed, I might not even have it on my radar. And even if I do, I have to rely on prior knowledge of the creators, publisher reputation, or the world wide web to determine if it’s a good fit for my library. The percentage of beginning readers reviewed out of the number that are published each year is strikingly low, especially when compared to picture books, middle grade, and even graphic novels. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><b>Take Action! </b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">You might be wondering what you can do right now to change the landscape of beginning reader reviews. I encourage you to take one or more of these actions to advocate for beginning reader reviews and increase their quality too! </span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">If you write for a professional review journal, ask them to assign you beginning readers and let them know how helpful that content would be to you and your colleagues. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">If you subscribe to a professional review journal, email them to ask for a beginning reader category or tag to make beginning readers easier to find. Bonus points if you let them know that beginning reader reviews are most helpful when written with a format-specific lens. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">Kick your beginning reader book reviews up a notch by digging into these helpful resources: </span></div><div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><a href="https://www.ala.org/alsc/awardsgrants/bookmedia/geisel">Geisel Award criteria </a></span></li><li><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><a href="https://www.harpercollins.com/products/from-cover-to-cover-kathleen-t-horning?variant=32206876114978"><i>From Cover to Cover: Evaluating and Reviewing Children’s Books </i></a>by KT Horning</span></li></ul><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><i><b>What else do you yearn for in beginning reader reviews from professional journals? Use the comments below to share your ideas, questions, and thoughts. </b></i></span></div></div>Amy Seto Forresterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11917299912693299321noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4370447362643443839.post-33273022875899951382021-12-21T06:00:00.001-08:002021-12-21T06:00:00.162-08:00Jack Gets Zapped! by Mac Barnett<p><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Roboto, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; letter-spacing: 0.2px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #0b5394;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0b5394;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPnuYpz8K9uKcUAtZ_GCCTW2DfNxdY4RVuY21R9sWEtXxHUra96mka13gO14XA-QKOZcegJ4u5NvJcxEuJ7aBLjXcW6U-RlElFneDR1ss1DTn7z598eHqItQHl23F8fehKOU-nWEMOAdI/s400/53370255+-+Jayce+Senter.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="292" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPnuYpz8K9uKcUAtZ_GCCTW2DfNxdY4RVuY21R9sWEtXxHUra96mka13gO14XA-QKOZcegJ4u5NvJcxEuJ7aBLjXcW6U-RlElFneDR1ss1DTn7z598eHqItQHl23F8fehKOU-nWEMOAdI/s320/53370255+-+Jayce+Senter.jpg" width="234" /></a></span></div><span style="color: #0b5394;"><br />Jayce Senter is the lead librarian at Fort Worth Christian School. She has taught primary aged students for 16 years.</span><p></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #202124; font-family: Roboto, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; letter-spacing: 0.2px; white-space: pre-wrap;">A book by Mac Barnett that looks like a video game? What else could you want? You know from just looking at the cover that Jack Gets Zapped! is going to be fun!
Fans of Mac Barnett’s Jack series will immediately be in for this adventure. But even kids who don’t know Mac or his character Jack will snatch this book up. It is easy to read with sentences like “Jack! Quick! Come in!”
It is reminiscent of Dick and Jane style but closer in content to Mo Willems books. They are high-interest because they are funny and hold the attention of early readers, but they are also easy to read with short sentences and predictive text.
The 1st and 2nd graders I asked to read this book absolutely saw themselves in Jack who wants to do nothing but play video games.
The kids that I had read this book said things like:
“I liked it because it’s about stuff I like to do in real life.”
“I liked it because it talked about him going into a video game.”
“It was very funny!”
“I liked it when the lady stomped the boss’s head. Now she can save Jack!”
When I asked what the kids didn’t like about the book no one could come up with anything.
It is a fun, easy book, perfect for beginning readers and a great contender for the Geisel award. </span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4370447362643443839.post-85819150867388134072021-12-14T06:00:00.002-08:002021-12-15T11:15:54.424-08:00A Giant Mess by Jeffrey Ebbeler<p><span style="background-color: white; letter-spacing: 0.2px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: trebuchet;">Alec Chunn is a Children's Librarian at Tualatin Public Library. He was a member of the 2021 Caldecott committee and co-founded the mock Stonewall Book Award blog, Medal on My Mind. </span></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #202124; letter-spacing: 0.2px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">While early reader comics are far from new, the explosion of titles from publisher after publisher has certainly caught my attention this year. Betsy Bird has already sung the well-deserved praises of Kraken Me Up, but I submit yet another Jeffrey Ebbeler book for consideration: A Giant Mess. I’m more than okay with the idea of both books getting some Geisel love (#TeamEbbeler) but, admittedly, I’m all in on A Giant Mess. It’s playful, funny, and—best of all—an example of brilliant visual storytelling.
The story is simple: a white child named Molly refuses to clean their room. Exasperated Mom tells Molly to pick up the “giant mess.” Outside, a green giant child named Jack runs amok in the city playing with all the “cool toys” (read: people, buildings, animals, etc.). Chaos ensues until, much like Molly’s mom, Jack’s parents call for Jack to clean up. You know who else asks Jack to clean up? Molly! Their perfectly parallel plots converge and tidiness is achieved. Kind of.
In defining “distinguished,” the Geisel award criteria notes how “plot, sensibility, and rhythm” contribute to a “stimulating and successful reading experience.” Cleaning up after playing is part of many children’s routines, but Ebbeler makes that familiar plot exciting through humor and careful pacing.
As early as the cover image, the hand-lettered title cues the word giant’s double meaning. The cover image also sets up Ebbeler’s clever use of scale that drives the page turns once Jack is officially introduced. Molly and Jack change size depending on whose perspective is being taken (a giant eye here; a thumb there). The paneling is unusual and somewhat sophisticated, eschewing typical grid block paneling for varied panels that become part of the setting or pop out over splash pages. Even with the unpredictability, the art is never hard to follow.
Obviously, the Geisel award isn’t about art but, rather, how text and art work together to support beginning readers. With fewer than 70 unique words and plenty of repetition, the text offers a limited vocabulary. All words are one or two syllables. Most pages only have a few speech bubbles and use fewer than five words per sentence, so there’s a sense of balance and consistency. Repeated phrases such as “I will not” and “This is too hard” stylistically connect Molly and Jack’s characters and give readers a chance to build confidence.
Art? Check. Text? Check. My only quip is that some of the dialogue appears outside of speech bubbles, which may be confusing to readers new to the comics medium. But, hey, that’s a small mark on the Geisel scorecard of this otherwise giant contender. </span></span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4370447362643443839.post-34137596841901553572021-12-07T06:00:00.001-08:002021-12-07T06:00:00.163-08:00Inside Cat by Brendan Wenzel<p><span style="color: #0b5394;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Roboto, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; letter-spacing: 0.2px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jayce Senter is the lead librarian at Fort Worth Christian School. She has taught primary aged students for 16 years. </span></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #202124; font-family: Roboto, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; letter-spacing: 0.2px; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3oxr_D4CmqsHTUUyJJUKTe82xBat7lnHz2GStF9B84Uvrmr7OJgjRnIy69TysvdMxctERLwynbEQVRJ0BwkozCJfu4xWmXkyXKinDwcm4r2fJOkGBasvUT1TPi_pYY40U66F31SwnFis/s318/57007882._SX318_+-+Jayce+Senter.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="262" data-original-width="318" height="262" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3oxr_D4CmqsHTUUyJJUKTe82xBat7lnHz2GStF9B84Uvrmr7OJgjRnIy69TysvdMxctERLwynbEQVRJ0BwkozCJfu4xWmXkyXKinDwcm4r2fJOkGBasvUT1TPi_pYY40U66F31SwnFis/s0/57007882._SX318_+-+Jayce+Senter.jpg" width="318" /></a></div><br />Inside Cat sees the world through a very narrow lens. Every window from his home gives him a different view. Brendan Wenzel plays with words and ideas by using one word sentences and alliteration. “Wanders. Wonders.” Inside Cat is sure he knows it all. And then he wanders outside. Of course, nothing is what he had thought from his limited view out the windows.
It’s a wonderful book. It’s entertaining and fun, but also a great springboard for discussions about perspective. We can discuss with little kiddos and big kids alike how what we see from our limited view is not the whole picture. Ever.
I had 1st and 2nd graders read Inside Cat. Some felt that it was too hard. I can understand some of the confusion in very early readers because Wenzel says things like “roaring flies” but pictures a helicopter. The picture does not help the reader figure out the words. This does make this book harder for emergent readers. I asked students what they did not like about the book.
“It was hard to read.”
“All the windows”
But most felt it was fun and if they couldn’t read the words, they loved the pictures. I asked students what they liked most about the book. Some responses were:
“All the windows. The windows showed funny stuff.”
“I like the cat. He’s cute.”
“fluffy rats!” (This is what the cat thought squirrels were.)
“When it was rhyming.”
Overall, It is a wonderful read-aloud even if some words may be too difficult for them to read on their own. It is a wonderful spring-board for conversation. However, I do not think it is easy enough or the text predictable enough to be considered for the Geisel. <p></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4370447362643443839.post-76253075399382165572021-11-30T03:00:00.001-08:002021-11-30T03:00:00.147-08:00Friendbots: Blink and Block Make a Wish by Vicky Fang<p><span face="Roboto, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px; letter-spacing: 0.2px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #0b5394;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span face="Roboto, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px; letter-spacing: 0.2px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #0b5394;"><br /></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span face="Roboto, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px; letter-spacing: 0.2px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #0b5394;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.2px; text-align: left;">Robbin Friedman is the head of children's services at the Chappaqua Library. She has written for Horn Book and School Library Journal, chairs ALSC's Budget Committee, and reads a lot of science fiction.</span></span></span></div><p></p><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCriRtqOSPfthg6yHI_J1i5oFKSlvs94yYoPIqO36a-Q8_pxRwKRDYP-w44P6DJKqXu6JZaiZvkT1gRBLmvnj41fhgjojyu3nTaMFuNJk8lSV6qQockeImZKNRwkzFwb6eGoKpAFUMfro/s598/Friendbots+back+matter+-+robbin+friedman.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; font-size: medium; letter-spacing: 0.2px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center; white-space: normal;"><img border="0" data-original-height="598" data-original-width="403" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCriRtqOSPfthg6yHI_J1i5oFKSlvs94yYoPIqO36a-Q8_pxRwKRDYP-w44P6DJKqXu6JZaiZvkT1gRBLmvnj41fhgjojyu3nTaMFuNJk8lSV6qQockeImZKNRwkzFwb6eGoKpAFUMfro/s320/Friendbots+back+matter+-+robbin+friedman.jpg" width="216" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSQAJqBJ4hFyWPxmDSfZPkI_o8bSFfaT_54tD32Xfmr3k1xrqrLqAPCT_1W3MFRuax_1ScFY5N9xyLI9SaVfX7qBr1vObFbxyM5IeZRXaXkm06aG3cnO9eDaOVihvm4QSRcWzn_5FtvaI/s1000/Friendbots+page+10+-+robbin+friedman.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; letter-spacing: 0.2px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="750" data-original-width="1000" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSQAJqBJ4hFyWPxmDSfZPkI_o8bSFfaT_54tD32Xfmr3k1xrqrLqAPCT_1W3MFRuax_1ScFY5N9xyLI9SaVfX7qBr1vObFbxyM5IeZRXaXkm06aG3cnO9eDaOVihvm4QSRcWzn_5FtvaI/s320/Friendbots+page+10+-+robbin+friedman.jpg" width="320" /></a><span face="Roboto, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #202124; font-size: 14px; letter-spacing: 0.2px; white-space: pre-wrap;">It’s a classic story. The perky optimist meets the dour naysayer and the two become friends. Vicky Fang’s version of the well-loved trope features two robots with simple, expressive shapes, a sunny circle and a morose square who cross paths in the schoolyard.
Purple square Block sits alone, watching the other boisterous bots, when blue circle Blink appears, using a sensor to scan the ground for treasure. Block reacts to each of Blink’s finds with predictable gloom (“That’s . . . a gum wrapper/With old gum in it”) but Blink persists. When they unearth a penny, Blink spins the discovery into the opportunity to make a wish. Though Block concludes the wish has been a bust (“I don’t see any gold. Or silver. Or gems!”), Blink knows better: The upbeat bot had really wished for a new friend.
The visuals match the narrative in lively simplicity. A straightforward comics format and generic backgrounds keep the focus squarely on the friends, with one or both robots centered in each symmetrical panel. Word balloons offer a clear, non-serif font with ample white space and occasional bold words. In a potentially confusing decision, the word balloons are white when set against the schoolyard background but have a tinted hue matching their speaker when set against a white bleed panel. This means that the same robot may have different-colored speech balloons within the same spread. New comics readers may find the switch confusing, though the placement and balloon tails help clarify the speaker.
The word choice includes some challenging vocabulary words (wrapper, probably, treasure) with minimal repetition, so this text works best for kids already comfortable with basic sight words. But the book also supports learning around comics literacy and robots. An opening page explains cartooning basics, in small text most likely designed for adults to share with kids. Back matter explains “What is a sensor?” highlighting the mechanical features both robots used to search for treasure.
With a popular format and modern-age protagonists--what else could robots be?--this updated take on a classic trope might just ping those Geisel sensors. </span><br /></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4370447362643443839.post-90689396790709655922021-11-23T06:00:00.011-08:002021-11-23T06:00:00.154-08:00“If you can catch it, you can keep it!”<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: trebuchet;"><span style="background-color: white; letter-spacing: 0.2px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHnnce2Tm9pNJ9_mT6LHeEx75iHBL5vG8Mv2P0MKa3H997kvU6iPvivCe_YA3YhHoEDgVzF8t96fkYzs7Zp26kolJGLFPEpKu0OLoMlaNTshscCmdBcD0kSyZvWbbm-w6ewYZmu3yOI6w/s1020/Starla+Jean+Family+portrait+-+Sylvie+Shaffer.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="781" data-original-width="1020" height="245" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHnnce2Tm9pNJ9_mT6LHeEx75iHBL5vG8Mv2P0MKa3H997kvU6iPvivCe_YA3YhHoEDgVzF8t96fkYzs7Zp26kolJGLFPEpKu0OLoMlaNTshscCmdBcD0kSyZvWbbm-w6ewYZmu3yOI6w/s320/Starla+Jean+Family+portrait+-+Sylvie+Shaffer.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br />Sylvie Shaffer served on the 2018 Geisel Committee. She’s the preK-8 librarian at the Capitol Hill Day School in Washington, DC and is active in several overlapping kidlit-focused communities including ALSC and Capitol Choices, and has also served on the 2019 and 2020 Sydney Taylor Book Awards. You can find her online at www.SylvieJuliet.Shaffer.com</span></span><p></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #202124; letter-spacing: 0.2px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">Starla Jean’s resolve to capture the chicken she happens upon in the park (her dad naively promised “if you can catch it, you can keep it” ) is mirrored by emerging readers’ determination to read this title independently- and like Starla Jean, they gleefully succeed with pride. </span></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #202124; letter-spacing: 0.2px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">At 96 pages, Starla Jean kisses the upper page limit of the Geisel Criteria, and not a page is wasted. The longer format is only one of many reasons this book has been a hit with the first and second grade emerging readers in my school library. Kids feel a terrific sense of accomplishment having read a book just shy of a hundred pages, and the book’s standout design, storytelling, word choice, and illustrations work together to pace a reading experience that provides a perfect balance of stamina-building forward momentum, and welcome pauses.
</span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #202124; letter-spacing: 0.2px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">
The whimsical and appealing illustrations feel both modern and timeless, and provide support for the handful of challenging or un-decodable words that appear throughout the text (for example, “laughing”, “laundry”, “diaper.”) Other tricky words are repeated to help readers conquer them; “treasure” appears early in the story and is later repeated three times within a few sentences as the story winds down, ensuring the next time a reader encounters the word, they’ll likely recognize it. <br /></span></span></p><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAaLb5FriPL19h0r9ij9ihjRfxuSr2vaXMVk7um6O6oQzlBR4mMLy1nz_fbF8Ew8UDC_x-Q2GJ0ICjH0bSEFySPvSJ11sRJE8JBAl-OqQc5HL43mBmaw1c7WcuYfgmNy3OcfsP6DF4Jek/s1020/Starla+Jean+Table+-+Sylvie+Shaffer.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="background-color: white; font-family: trebuchet; letter-spacing: 0.2px; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center; white-space: pre-wrap;"><img border="0" data-original-height="787" data-original-width="1020" height="247" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAaLb5FriPL19h0r9ij9ihjRfxuSr2vaXMVk7um6O6oQzlBR4mMLy1nz_fbF8Ew8UDC_x-Q2GJ0ICjH0bSEFySPvSJ11sRJE8JBAl-OqQc5HL43mBmaw1c7WcuYfgmNy3OcfsP6DF4Jek/s320/Starla+Jean+Table+-+Sylvie+Shaffer.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="background-color: white; color: #202124; letter-spacing: 0.2px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">
The first person narration contains a variety of sentence structures and punctuation, along with plenty of dialogue, providing practice to readers still learning to parse these conventions of text. It also breaks the fourth wall, asking readers “Do you remember how I told you…” doing double duty of keeping readers engaged and offering practice at some reading skills beyond decoding: retelling, prediction, inferring.
Design, both of individual pages, and the book’s overall aesthetic play a strong hand in its success. A family portrait facing the first chapter’s header introduces the family, hinting at members' personalities. The pops of red against an otherwise muted palette is brilliant and connects Starla Jean (in red boots and a striped long sleeve shirt, paired with a blue jumper) to the chicken’s comb, wattle, legs and tail feathers- tipped blue to match Starla Jean’s jumper) while the red, handwritten, onomatopoeic interjections (bawk, scritch, meow) beg to be read aloud. Although the text could easily have worked as a longer picture book, dividing it into four neat chapters makes it easy for an emerging reader to tackle this all at once, or a bit at a time as best suits their needs and desires.
</span></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhl2Bsbv4rK_zu_R-ecu1Ocl_swYlQosNGWt9-9uAyMGnHpNu02SgV_jm3g93dse9SNiShN7ccNZQr3TSu5yvmwLE72IkrCrrMObhUoQVcktpLwwdVSC2SjYM_NNs9ZMAonKW4ShKo9hcA/s1020/Starla+Jean+Bawk+-+Sylvie+Shaffer.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="778" data-original-width="1020" height="244" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhl2Bsbv4rK_zu_R-ecu1Ocl_swYlQosNGWt9-9uAyMGnHpNu02SgV_jm3g93dse9SNiShN7ccNZQr3TSu5yvmwLE72IkrCrrMObhUoQVcktpLwwdVSC2SjYM_NNs9ZMAonKW4ShKo9hcA/s320/Starla+Jean+Bawk+-+Sylvie+Shaffer.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="background-color: white; color: #202124; letter-spacing: 0.2px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">
While not a Geisel Award criteria, there are some terrific messages both overt and subtle that are nested (ha!) here too: grit and determination are often rewarding; when something isn’t working for a member of the household, (chicken poop in the house? yikes!) be proactive in seeking a solution; do one’s best to return lost items; Dads can and should take active parenting roles (folding laundry, biking to the park.)
Starla Jean is worthy of a Geisel, and I’m hopeful The Real Committee thinks so, too! </span></span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4370447362643443839.post-19559970265126383662021-11-16T06:00:00.001-08:002021-11-16T06:00:00.170-08:00"I'm ON It!" Is on-point for Geisel Consideration<div class="separator"><br /></div><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmZ0Q8Q6X2lDb7H2-Xj1QcgdxiTR_hEJqS0Xy6odiPBSfjhCFvz-ncihaT6mYlxdZH9WKO9KsbfMKSh-qVbq3CgVO5cjFL3D35TV3AMbdz84Cl6BGEh5SCSZE4jjLiyhyphenhyphenwpb8mqv6bGNM/s2048/20210825_170703+-+Taylor+Worley.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="background-color: white; clear: right; float: right; font-family: trebuchet; letter-spacing: 0.2px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center; white-space: pre-wrap;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1475" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmZ0Q8Q6X2lDb7H2-Xj1QcgdxiTR_hEJqS0Xy6odiPBSfjhCFvz-ncihaT6mYlxdZH9WKO9KsbfMKSh-qVbq3CgVO5cjFL3D35TV3AMbdz84Cl6BGEh5SCSZE4jjLiyhyphenhyphenwpb8mqv6bGNM/w144-h200/20210825_170703+-+Taylor+Worley.jpg" width="144" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjH5A5UP0At2sK0CRpqAMlyvI6bTuH9zgvHmQWrSTjMiLKHAHS7_Eu1KTXMMYgz33vMw8MtEhk5ZLQbnqzxc32h2PesSIEjqnlukiHyLL_7LSwO4N2j2orgZed5ahsH8MIoBSBlEv9S-vA/s2048/20211007_215752+-+Taylor+Worley.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="background-color: white; clear: left; float: left; font-family: trebuchet; letter-spacing: 0.2px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center; white-space: pre-wrap;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1729" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjH5A5UP0At2sK0CRpqAMlyvI6bTuH9zgvHmQWrSTjMiLKHAHS7_Eu1KTXMMYgz33vMw8MtEhk5ZLQbnqzxc32h2PesSIEjqnlukiHyLL_7LSwO4N2j2orgZed5ahsH8MIoBSBlEv9S-vA/s320/20211007_215752+-+Taylor+Worley.jpg" width="270" /></a><span style="background-color: white; letter-spacing: 0.2px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: trebuchet;">Taylor Worley (she/her) is a Youth Services Librarian for Springfield Public Library in Oregon. When not reading, she’s typically gaming, creating something, or collecting bits of nature. You can find her in various online communities at @magpiebricolage, @magpiemakesstuff, or @magpiereadsstuff.</span></span></p><p></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #202124; letter-spacing: 0.2px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">Andrea Tsurumi is so on it with her contribution to the Elephant & Piggie Like Reading! series, “I’m ON It!” In the familiar and inviting style of the established series, Tsurumi excels in telling a cumulative story with minimal text. </span></span></p><span style="background-color: white; color: #202124; letter-spacing: 0.2px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">When Frog sees Goat up on a tree stump, they are duly impressed. Eager to follow, Frog jumps upon a boulder. Not to be outdone, Goat picks up a tire to be, “...on it AND beside it!” Frog follows again, and on and on the duo goes until they are both, “...on it, along it, above it, inside it, through it, and AROUND it!” When Goat gloats, “I AM SO INTO THIS!” Frog realizes they certainly are not, and lets their tower crash to the pond below. Happily kicking back on a lily pad, Frog croaks, “I am OVER it.” Goat realizes that they, too, are over it, splashing into the pond and alleviating any tensions in the friendship.</span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #202124; letter-spacing: 0.2px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">
</span></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgDsnp0IDTxhf1AloxGXfdsnOnFVk96P3Mt3qRBoz09QHWvF5PrLI7Dyrqa53lq0nDQ_pAouUoMSVWlxmMnshMTk-BksGXvFJOj8UUkVInAcQXYOoNIe3wXonAmQM_hcL99q7AU_0rudw/s1798/20211007_215847+-+Taylor+Worley.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="font-family: trebuchet; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1798" data-original-width="1407" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgDsnp0IDTxhf1AloxGXfdsnOnFVk96P3Mt3qRBoz09QHWvF5PrLI7Dyrqa53lq0nDQ_pAouUoMSVWlxmMnshMTk-BksGXvFJOj8UUkVInAcQXYOoNIe3wXonAmQM_hcL99q7AU_0rudw/s320/20211007_215847+-+Taylor+Worley.jpg" width="250" /></a><span style="background-color: white; color: #202124; letter-spacing: 0.2px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">
There is no question that “I’m ON It!” is an exceptional introduction to reading. The illustrations are funny with crisp, bright colors, and the text is approachable and engaging. When considering the specific criteria of the Geisel Award, does “I’m ON It!” still measure up? Absolutely.
The Geisel Award criteria require that works provide a “page turning”, “stimulating and successful reading experience” for beginning readers. Tsurumi handily accomplishes this by building a scaffold in both the text and illustrations. Each page turn adds one extra element to Goat and Frog’s competition, with an added bonus of spatial reasoning. “I’m on it! … I’m on it and beside it! … I’m on it and beside it and inside it!” This format also exemplifies the criteria that words be gradually added and frequently repeated for the benefit of the reader. Not only does Goat repeat every element of the competition with each addition, but Frog also echoes Goat.
As required by the award criteria, the illustrations clearly “demonstrate the story being told” and effectively “function as keys or clues to the text.” Tsurumi uses clear, medium-weight, black outlines for clean fields of color. The palette is cheerful and clean, with tonal accents to add dimension. Speech bubbles get priority placement, further emphasizing text and directing the reader’s attention. Those that linger on the silly scenes will notice fun details, including a familiar pigeon in flight.
</span></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheld27ZSUZgaa3s04V8uxB0lanDgWPstS_OTkNNoVzz_HdZ_FZ-O8PP8F0zGHj7Kkg1UrUMVnK91lsGwy7COs5oDY22GuFNE6kxZEgY1YJRUBh3LOTZTIMBlo3r-PZz8DYdbqCmLcTK1g/s1942/20211007_215820+-+Taylor+Worley.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="font-family: trebuchet; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1942" data-original-width="1783" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheld27ZSUZgaa3s04V8uxB0lanDgWPstS_OTkNNoVzz_HdZ_FZ-O8PP8F0zGHj7Kkg1UrUMVnK91lsGwy7COs5oDY22GuFNE6kxZEgY1YJRUBh3LOTZTIMBlo3r-PZz8DYdbqCmLcTK1g/s320/20211007_215820+-+Taylor+Worley.jpg" width="294" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyF960_i3RiLyHeER-Juuo78I-5Uy5SoilGcil2kdQtIuauEIwW-BKBO5Lfmj7nsRL_b3BChSUHdDPv3LHvYUNzsPo0WcjvoH8rrrUE7k56ivNNoqCnB8zeGblIL6zRv7-Bb5xmtBOFtM/s1355/20211007_215918+-+Taylor+Worley.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="background-color: white; clear: right; font-family: trebuchet; letter-spacing: 0.2px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center; white-space: pre-wrap;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1226" data-original-width="1355" height="290" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyF960_i3RiLyHeER-Juuo78I-5Uy5SoilGcil2kdQtIuauEIwW-BKBO5Lfmj7nsRL_b3BChSUHdDPv3LHvYUNzsPo0WcjvoH8rrrUE7k56ivNNoqCnB8zeGblIL6zRv7-Bb5xmtBOFtM/s320/20211007_215918+-+Taylor+Worley.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="background-color: white; color: #202124; letter-spacing: 0.2px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">
With all award requirements met (e.g. at least 24 but not more than 96 pages) and a strong showing in the core criteria, Goat and Frog should certainly be at the table for Geisel Award discussions this year. Regardless of final medals, however, they decidedly deserve a place on your early reader shelves. Let’s hope we see more of this duo in the future! </span></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4370447362643443839.post-38218399009460686232021-11-09T06:00:00.001-08:002021-11-09T06:00:00.152-08:00Fox at Night by Corey R. Tabor<p><span style="background-color: #f8f9fa; letter-spacing: 0.2px; white-space: pre-line;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: trebuchet;">This week we're thrilled to have another post from Jackie Partch, assessing a new entry by 2019 Geisel winning creator Corey Tabor. Jackie Partch is a School Corps Librarian at Multnomah County Library, where she does outreach to K-12 students. She was a member of the 2012 Geisel committee.</span></span></p><p><span style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #202124; letter-spacing: 0.2px; white-space: pre-line;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDxIiesjfAaBnwiShfYSmrl8Nee0gA9hdUotVy4-YJse23DYphyertg_2LXX-fAVoDJ_QDGFEG8QY3tBJ9UMmDmq_uQcr5qrpFjZUeMG71OhhZxVnDQZQqzSFS6fu2W9JAl6CgK-HkTjw/s400/Fox+at+Night+book+cover+-+Jacqueline+Partch.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="266" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDxIiesjfAaBnwiShfYSmrl8Nee0gA9hdUotVy4-YJse23DYphyertg_2LXX-fAVoDJ_QDGFEG8QY3tBJ9UMmDmq_uQcr5qrpFjZUeMG71OhhZxVnDQZQqzSFS6fu2W9JAl6CgK-HkTjw/s320/Fox+at+Night+book+cover+-+Jacqueline+Partch.jpeg" width="213" /></a></div><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br />The main character of the 2019 Geisel winner, Fox the Tiger, returns in this title. The story begins with Fox in a tent at nighttime, looking frightened. The simple text accompanying the illustration reads, “It is night, and Fox is scared.” Readers are immediately drawn in--why is Fox afraid? The next page lets us know: “The night is full of monsters,” says Fox. Already, this book has met one of the Geisel criteria: subject matter intriguing enough to motivate a child reader. </span><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPst0uQUQfwW774Gfri4vjChyOQzZO5f-iOpeH8D42xp9SBR-lNKKWAD_IPAXO3Y2BPBB94qHCLpmbBiFlfcK1NL-c2P8KstpSzj0-HDSlOcO-NzTUaweX6zuY8lZpAbi3QYqgxoJHtKI/s1024/FDEDBB6C-9B3A-4526-928C-24405C0C2444_1_105_c+-+Jacqueline+Partch.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1024" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPst0uQUQfwW774Gfri4vjChyOQzZO5f-iOpeH8D42xp9SBR-lNKKWAD_IPAXO3Y2BPBB94qHCLpmbBiFlfcK1NL-c2P8KstpSzj0-HDSlOcO-NzTUaweX6zuY8lZpAbi3QYqgxoJHtKI/s320/FDEDBB6C-9B3A-4526-928C-24405C0C2444_1_105_c+-+Jacqueline+Partch.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"> As Fox peers through his binoculars, he spies stars and planets as well as something suspicious: two big wings and two pointy ears! Is it a monster? The illustrations on this spread serve as keys or clues to the text (another Geisel criteria). Each time a new word is introduced, it appears in a separate illustration to help new readers figure it out.
In addition, words are frequently repeated: Fox regularly comments that “the night is full of monsters,” and the non-monstrous animals he meets respond in a patterned format: “I am not a monster. I am a ___.” Sentences are simple and straightforward with an average of 5-8 words each.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnRNbrktv4WlMd9vEm4OEcSuMH8HTQE97GgAuUO4U5CmuoRKUOTFOn0d08OA80s9NLhuk8L9SJ6Mzciv9ur-jslmRV-EzSX8KdzOyc1le5TilUgHFLOYHncsUIqP_UjlGZWQJXIxFhbV0/s1024/BD4BC2BD-113D-4EEE-B096-50DE7D706321_1_105_c+-+Jacqueline+Partch.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1024" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnRNbrktv4WlMd9vEm4OEcSuMH8HTQE97GgAuUO4U5CmuoRKUOTFOn0d08OA80s9NLhuk8L9SJ6Mzciv9ur-jslmRV-EzSX8KdzOyc1le5TilUgHFLOYHncsUIqP_UjlGZWQJXIxFhbV0/s320/BD4BC2BD-113D-4EEE-B096-50DE7D706321_1_105_c+-+Jacqueline+Partch.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
Another Geisel criteria is that the plot should advance and create a “page-turning dynamic.” Fox’s humorous misidentification of animals definitely keeps readers engaged (they’ll enjoy being able to identify some “monsters” before Fox does). And they may be wondering: Is Fox always wrong? Or are there monsters out at night?
The book design of Fox at Night is also spot-on for a beginning reader. The large type size has plenty of spacing between lines, and the line length is usually quite short. The text always appears on an uncluttered background, even when the illustration covers the whole page.
So, is this book distinguished enough to win the Geisel? Is it a “stimulating and successful reading experience”? I think so! Please share your thoughts in the comments.</span><p></p></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4370447362643443839.post-11228214794587734742021-11-02T06:00:00.001-07:002021-11-02T06:00:00.157-07:00A savory mix of acceptance and calamari - Kraken Me Up by Jeffrey Ebbeler<p><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-family: trebuchet;"><span style="background-color: #f8f9fa; letter-spacing: 0.2px; white-space: pre-line;">We're so lucky this week to have another post by the incredibly talented Betsy Bird! Betsy Bird is the Collection Materials Specialist of Evanston Public Library and the former Youth Materials Specialist of New York Public Library. She reviews for Kirkus, runs the School Library Journal blog A Fuse #8 Production, hosts the podcast Story Seeds, and runs the podcast Fuse 8 n’ Kate. Betsy is the author such books as LONG ROAD TO THE CIRCUS, her debut middle grade novel out this fall, with art by David Small.</span> </span></p><p><span style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #202124; font-family: trebuchet; letter-spacing: 0.2px; white-space: pre-line;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEib6QghSLrDeXMoE36VtE48123pg4l6grhCnF7VcbeOZsAG1t7x0r10o2Au2hBvpipsES7vj626HYnaJqD3xA4ugt_kS234qaxhdKvSiQKRzolR8noU3zYoJFAL7E-mLA4wdpebABXs-Cc/s600/Logo-4+-+Elizabeth+Bird.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="400" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEib6QghSLrDeXMoE36VtE48123pg4l6grhCnF7VcbeOZsAG1t7x0r10o2Au2hBvpipsES7vj626HYnaJqD3xA4ugt_kS234qaxhdKvSiQKRzolR8noU3zYoJFAL7E-mLA4wdpebABXs-Cc/s320/Logo-4+-+Elizabeth+Bird.jpg" width="213" /></a></div><br />I confess that upon reading Jeffrey Ebbeler’s near perfect easy book KRAKEN ME UP I felt distinctly miffed. As far as I’m concerned, if an author/artist has the necessary skills and wherewithal to produce a legitimately good and original easy book, why would they shine their lights under bushels until now? Well, the fact of the matter is that in the case of Mr. Ebbeler, he’s been in the picture book game a very long time. Take a gander at his website and you’ll see a large number of familiar titles on display including (I’d like to note) an entire easy reader series called We Read Phonics from around a decade ago. No stranger to the easy reading format, Ebbeler has clearly taken care to hone his skills over the past few years. The end result is the aforementioned KRAKEN ME UP, a book that manages to both have a story worth remembering (two words: pet Kraken) as well as words that fall perfectly within the purview of a beginning readership.<p></p><span style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #202124; letter-spacing: 0.2px; white-space: pre-line;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"> This tale begins at a setting worthy of CHARLOTTE’S WEB itself. When a little girl brings her pet to the county fair pet show, no one thinks much of it. That is, until they notice that it’s a humungous, hard-to-miss Kraken! As pets go, this one’s a standout, and certainly there are prejudices to overcome. Yet after the Kraken, subjected to fear on the part of the other children, has a good sulk in a pond, a solution is reached, beneficial to one and all. All told, this is an exceedingly sweet and subtle tale of acceptance and calamari.
I’m sure we’re all familiar with easy books that strain at the tensile strength of that ambiguous term “easy”. What sets this book apart is its absolute commitment to words of a particularly basic construction. The actual word “kraken” is an odd one, I would grant, but there are few phrases here more complex than your standard “pretty pig” and “fine hen”.
Additionally, I would also like to award some extra points to Holiday House for publishing this book at the standard 9 X 6 inches. As many a librarian will tell you, attempts to shelve their oversized I Like to Read series on our library shelves over the years proved to be a losing proposition. After all, easy book shelves are significantly smaller than picture book shelves.
Happily, KRAKEN ME UP clocks in at a mere 9.25 inches high and 6.25 inches wide. This book is also just as adorable as its cover implies, and, after finishing it, both kids and their gatekeepers will find themselves hoping for more Kraken books real soon.</span></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4370447362643443839.post-49028403853792213352021-10-26T06:00:00.001-07:002021-10-26T06:00:00.183-07:00The Rock From the Sky by Jon Klassen<p><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><span style="color: #0b5394;">This week we're delighted to have a post by Jackie Partch. </span></span><span style="background-color: #f8f9fa; letter-spacing: 0.2px; white-space: pre-line;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: trebuchet;">Jackie Partch is a School Corps Librarian at Multnomah County Library, where she does outreach to K-12 students. She was a member of the 2012 Geisel committee.</span></span></p><p><span style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #202124; font-family: trebuchet; letter-spacing: 0.2px; white-space: pre-line;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOTiySSugYC-fNCssNBCumHl1OJlFhdaAF5dl1E0DQ-b6ecQXuSMfNLwGKanWiUvDlSc6saYKYptWyGuhTmHvSgahLsunPLHiukRA7eOHJMLtKe_VT-OSFO-GyFFaHVHNV5_pt66ZsD74/s680/Rock+from+the+Sky+cover+-+Jacqueline+Partch.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="680" data-original-width="510" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOTiySSugYC-fNCssNBCumHl1OJlFhdaAF5dl1E0DQ-b6ecQXuSMfNLwGKanWiUvDlSc6saYKYptWyGuhTmHvSgahLsunPLHiukRA7eOHJMLtKe_VT-OSFO-GyFFaHVHNV5_pt66ZsD74/s320/Rock+from+the+Sky+cover+-+Jacqueline+Partch.jpeg" width="240" /></a></div><br />A turtle, armadillo and snake (all wearing hats, of course) narrowly escape death while also navigating friendship troubles in the five chapters in this book. Klassen’s signature dark humor is evident, and these characters have those expressive eyes, found in most of his books, which are so effective in conveying emotion. How does the book stack up to the Geisel criteria, though?<p></p><span style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #202124; letter-spacing: 0.2px; white-space: pre-line;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"> The Geisel award is given to the “most distinguished contribution to the body of American children’s literature that encourages and supports the beginning reader.” One of the definitions of distinguished is “individually distinct,” and this picture book with 96 pages (the upper range for the Geisel award) is certainly unlike most other beginning readers.
Klassen is a master of pacing, and the “page-turning dynamic” is especially strong in chapter one, when the turtle shows off his favorite spot, but on the next page, readers see a rock hurtling towards it. Can the oblivious turtle be convinced to move in time? Similarly, in the last chapter, an alien creature with a gigantic laser eyeball appears to be ready to zap the (still oblivious) turtle. I know I was enticed to keep turning the pages to see what would happen.
Giant rocks and aliens aside, the subject matter will be familiar to children. The turtle has an especially childlike personality, insisting to Armadillo that he doesn’t need help and is not tired. He also feels excluded when his friends hang out under the rock without him. A Geisel winner should create “a successful reading experience, from start to finish,” and the surprise ending to this story (it turns out there is more than one rock from the sky), definitely leaves the reader feeling satisfied as the story comes full circle. <br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGdgEniQZSSD4YOg6G3bkBMWDZh56KtqZVYK0QcXVjU6jZ6atUaAjRPJtkhdu1uX49AKbPQPLIDR3ZIEClNtA9wPiZQ_D1mPnLQWxqnmcQaO-5b5CIpUPk2FOGa1LNEuY5VcNMDKeduos/s1886/Favorite+spot+-+Jacqueline+Partch.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1250" data-original-width="1886" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGdgEniQZSSD4YOg6G3bkBMWDZh56KtqZVYK0QcXVjU6jZ6atUaAjRPJtkhdu1uX49AKbPQPLIDR3ZIEClNtA9wPiZQ_D1mPnLQWxqnmcQaO-5b5CIpUPk2FOGa1LNEuY5VcNMDKeduos/w320-h212/Favorite+spot+-+Jacqueline+Partch.jpg" width="320" /> </a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGdgEniQZSSD4YOg6G3bkBMWDZh56KtqZVYK0QcXVjU6jZ6atUaAjRPJtkhdu1uX49AKbPQPLIDR3ZIEClNtA9wPiZQ_D1mPnLQWxqnmcQaO-5b5CIpUPk2FOGa1LNEuY5VcNMDKeduos/s1886/Favorite+spot+-+Jacqueline+Partch.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a><span style="letter-spacing: 0.2px; text-align: left;"> The Rock from the Sky also has simple, straightforward sentences, text in a large font on an uncluttered background, and the characters frequently repeat newly introduced words in their conversations.
</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0.2px; text-align: left;">I did have a few quibbles with this title. Some more challenging words (actually, enough, future) are included without visual support. Multiple times when characters were shouting, it was conveyed in all caps, which can be more challenging to read. In addition, like Klassen’s other books, the text is in different colors to show which character is speaking. This time, the colors are very similar, and when I read the book in different lighting, I noticed sometimes it could be more difficult to tell them apart. I wonder if first-time Klassen readers (are there any kids who haven’t already read a Jon Klassen book?) would be confused.
Have you heard from kids who have read this book on their own? What were their opinions? Please leave a comment to let us know!</span></div></span></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4370447362643443839.post-71175877872300853992021-10-19T06:00:00.001-07:002021-10-19T06:00:00.219-07:00Tag Team (back again)<p><span style="background-color: #f8f9fa; letter-spacing: 0.2px; white-space: pre-line;"><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-family: trebuchet;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-family: trebuchet;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9Oo2q_zvPCWyjbL95jRvbNebfG8t6pO-KtltbO9uBChFEt_WlFcHFup9-RVPRT8hCICAUOJgG-rhNpkrOE8MoLP9-Ohu8Fsvqu84UqJqX8i2nL9PwmqhEPzXOi9sXPxY2QqowtnuI4LY/s600/Logo-6+-+Elizabeth+Bird.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Cover of El Toro & Friends Training Day" border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="433" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9Oo2q_zvPCWyjbL95jRvbNebfG8t6pO-KtltbO9uBChFEt_WlFcHFup9-RVPRT8hCICAUOJgG-rhNpkrOE8MoLP9-Ohu8Fsvqu84UqJqX8i2nL9PwmqhEPzXOi9sXPxY2QqowtnuI4LY/w231-h320/Logo-6+-+Elizabeth+Bird.jpg" width="231" /></a></span></div><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-family: trebuchet;"><br /><br />We're thankful this week to have a post by Betsy Bird. Betsy is the Collection Materials Specialist of Evanston Public Library and the former Youth Materials Specialist of New York Public Library. She reviews for Kirkus, runs the School Library Journal blog A Fuse #8 Production, hosts the podcast Story Seeds, and runs the podcast Fuse 8 n’ Kate. Betsy is the author such books as LONG ROAD TO THE CIRCUS, her debut middle grade novel out NOW, with art by David Small.</span><p></p><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2wc-WKdWw-Gq_WmeZKJlWBRcyom4JuC_NeHyhU7IA4FOVwDDYLb0LkzV9sJ3YSOLglIQzlCmNic00b1Ji2rbsgiPUNgDvVXvs4MqgqTLq9OQNH5-YfJPxTDtezn-5cjYXruh206FiTQU/s600/Logo-5+-+Elizabeth+Bird.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="background-color: #f8f9fa; clear: left; display: inline !important; float: left; font-family: trebuchet; letter-spacing: 0.2px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center; white-space: pre-line;"><img alt="Cover of El Toro & Friends Tag Team" border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="433" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2wc-WKdWw-Gq_WmeZKJlWBRcyom4JuC_NeHyhU7IA4FOVwDDYLb0LkzV9sJ3YSOLglIQzlCmNic00b1Ji2rbsgiPUNgDvVXvs4MqgqTLq9OQNH5-YfJPxTDtezn-5cjYXruh206FiTQU/w231-h320/Logo-5+-+Elizabeth+Bird.jpg" width="231" /></a><span style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #202124; letter-spacing: 0.2px; white-space: pre-line;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">About ten years ago, as I was working at New York Public Library’s Children’s Center at 42nd Street, we hosted a class of local schoolchildren. After our standard presentation they were allowed to come to the reference desk to ask for books on specific topics. All at once ten kids were in front of me, all asking the same thing: “Where are your books on Mexican wrestlers?” A decade or more has passed since I received that query and yet the answer has remained fairly static. There just ain’t that much out there, kids.
Until now.
Who could have predicted that Raul the Third would be so adept at spinning off side characters from his popular Vamos! picture book series into easy books of their own? And, even better, side characters with direct ties to the sport of Mexican wrestling? Tag Team and Training Day both star El Toro, a masked Mexican wrestling hero who is not without flaws. In Training Day El Toro needs to practice but, much to the dismay of his coach (a rooster named Kooky Dooky), he keeps avoiding it. In Training Day El Toro and his partner La Oink Oink discover that they must take matters into their own hands when they find that their beloved wrestling stadium is a complete mess.
Both books inject a much needed shot of adrenaline into the easy book format. Not only are the colors bright, eye-popping, and vibrant, but the content is brimming with excitement. Sure, one of the books focuses primarily on cleaning, but when you’ve got El Toro and La Oink Oink doing the work it’s anything but dull. I’d also like to pay special tribute to the plot of Tag Team. The book takes pains to show that when El Toro discovers that the stadium is in disarray, he doesn’t call up the female La Oink Oink to help him clean up because she’s a girl. Instead, it is the equality of the two that makes them an excellent team. El Toro calls her up because she is his partner, sharing both the victories and the hardships that come with that relationship. This is a book about being a team through both the good and the bad.
As for the language, simple words are the norm. It is also worth noting that incorporating Spanish words and terms into easy books is a splendid method of paying tribute not merely to Mexican and Mexican-American culture, but also to the importance of normalizing other languages in our easiest literature for youth.</span></span><span style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #202124; letter-spacing: 0.2px; white-space: pre-line;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">
With any luck, perhaps these books will mark a new trend in culturally explorative, exciting easy book fare. So long, Dick and Jane! With El Toro and friends, they’re here to save the day from the banal and mundane once and for all.</span></span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4370447362643443839.post-24268796554416189732021-10-15T16:06:00.001-07:002021-10-15T16:07:42.821-07:00Charlie and Mouse Lost and Found by Laurel Snyder<p><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: x-small;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqY57BhnxPRNWuM1Mpbc5EEvMmRKXCncczNLn9AiiC3BwMzQCWb3Oc_nbl0ypOdl3J-eNgOKGTtKW123R8618J1LuWUJ5oznghRnK7pE8i2YjL7DEk3tkuFQyhcgRLY2QxtHS1F_D8Fcw/s200/CandM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="200" data-original-width="175" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqY57BhnxPRNWuM1Mpbc5EEvMmRKXCncczNLn9AiiC3BwMzQCWb3Oc_nbl0ypOdl3J-eNgOKGTtKW123R8618J1LuWUJ5oznghRnK7pE8i2YjL7DEk3tkuFQyhcgRLY2QxtHS1F_D8Fcw/s0/CandM.png" width="175" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: x-small;"><br /> Charlie and Mouse are back in a 5th book in the series, exploring themes of Lost and Found. Laurel Snyder and Emily Hughes received Geisel Gold in 2018 for the initial entry to the Charlie and Mouse series, about which the committee chair that year compliment the "<span style="background-color: #fefefe;">authentic dialogue, thoughtfully repeated phrases, and distinctive illustrations". But does this latest entry have what it takes to catch the committee's eye? It is tough but not impossible for a series to earn repeat recognition - just take a look at</span><span style="background-color: #fefefe; color: #494949;"> <a href="http://guessinggeisel.blogspot.com/2016/09/the-elephant-in-room.html" target="_blank">Mo Willems' Elephant and Piggie series</a>. A</span><span style="background-color: #fefefe;">re the charming Charlie and Mouse among the "most distinguished" again this year?</span></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: x-small;"><span style="background-color: #fefefe;">The opening story jumps right into the rep</span><span style="background-color: #fefefe;">etition that makes this series such a strong choice for beginning readers, as Charlie and Mouse search all manner of "somewheres" for Mouse's missing blanket. The direct sentences give the dialogue a cadence reminiscent of Frog and Toad.</span></span></p><p><span style="background-color: #fefefe;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: x-small;">Emily Hughes' illustrations again add to the story, from a depiction of the many somewheres they're searching to the absolutely perfect representation of "nothing fun" at the opening of "Errands".</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: x-small;"><span style="background-color: #fefefe;">And then we have it - the ringer on every beginning reader team - a dog! While the Geisel criteria obviously don't require the presence of a dog, there's no denying the success of pups ranging from Henry and Mudge to King and Kayla and of course the protagonist of last year's Geisel Medal winning See the Cat. If connecting to a criteria, I'd say that dogs more often than not speak to "</span><span style="background-color: white;">Subject matter must be intriguing enough to motivate the child to read". And with Charlie and Mouse as our examples, we see that the addition of a dog is enough to liven up the dreaded errands.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: x-small;"><span style="background-color: white;">Laurel Snyder and Emily Hughes paint a clear picture of the impact of a new dog on family life (especially for poor Kittenhead), and the story finds its way to a touching conclusion with one last moment of silliness as it ends on another intriguing subject matter for kids of a certain age - dogs peeing. This story, like others in the Charlie and Mouse series makes sure to call back to the earlier stories in its conclusion - a reward for beginning readers who tackle all four stories in one go. </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: x-small;"><span style="background-color: white;">This addition to the series is sure to be adored by fans (who could resist the utterly adorable Boop?) Will it be as impressive to the Geisel Committee? We will have to wait and find out. </span></span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4370447362643443839.post-78116843324227546672021-10-05T13:37:00.001-07:002021-10-05T13:37:13.052-07:00Hello October! Guessing Geisel is back for another season!<p><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"> Hello folks!</span></p><p><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">Guessing Geisel is back for another season. There are some great books out this year for beginning readers and more with publication dates yet to come. We'll have some exciting guest posts, and we'll do our best to cover as many Geisel eligible titles as we can. Has anything in particular caught your eye? What are your picks for the best books for beginning readers for 2021? Let us know in the comments, and we'll be back Tuesday, October 12th with our first review post. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">Welcome back,</span></p><p><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">Amanda</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvHU2ipUeDF3DroRBK6VGJw2JlxB4ml-EyEXs9eQG9ZCXveUQe3f0Zei9dDwepmAB5oxR37eyR0tDuEOmbrF08KpNtc1Cc4gCAxGNEEWdVox1hgylAmTflA5Opb36HfyNJ8sUbzuTBFPY/s1140/GuessingGeisel_BlogHeader_White_002b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="1140" height="84" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvHU2ipUeDF3DroRBK6VGJw2JlxB4ml-EyEXs9eQG9ZCXveUQe3f0Zei9dDwepmAB5oxR37eyR0tDuEOmbrF08KpNtc1Cc4gCAxGNEEWdVox1hgylAmTflA5Opb36HfyNJ8sUbzuTBFPY/s320/GuessingGeisel_BlogHeader_White_002b.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span><p></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4370447362643443839.post-83098593444002144302021-02-02T08:00:00.014-08:002021-02-06T07:40:39.798-08:00Surprised and Delighted!: The Guessing Geisel Co-Hosts React to the 2021 YMA Announcements<span style="font-family: trebuchet;">In this post, the co-hosts of Guessing Geisel (Amanda, Amy, and Misti) share their thoughts and reactions to the 2021 Geisel Award winner and honor titles. </span><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span><h2 style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">Winner </span></b></h2><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><b><i><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEha-Xz307ftOf8eG6bPSprD2ZLDZaIOMM0QUH_NCXk2EFmqGYrunPv1h9np5zkNWRfOUNZ0DVBV8zou6zQrLVy_MvlPbccMjAfdCMJBG1L4IeHtPcrN9Frs5jydNqew16Z40MQED39lO_8/s2048/see+the+cat.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1485" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEha-Xz307ftOf8eG6bPSprD2ZLDZaIOMM0QUH_NCXk2EFmqGYrunPv1h9np5zkNWRfOUNZ0DVBV8zou6zQrLVy_MvlPbccMjAfdCMJBG1L4IeHtPcrN9Frs5jydNqew16Z40MQED39lO_8/s320/see+the+cat.jpg" /></a></div><br />See the Cat: Three Stories About a Dog</i> written by David LaRochelle, illustrated by Mike Wohnoutka</b> </span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"> </span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">Amanda: Delighted to see this choice! Congratulations to David LaRochelle and Mike Wohnoutka. A fantastic combination of meta humor and solid beginning reader fundamentals. I hope this means we’ll see more beginning readers from this pair. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"> </span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">Amy: I love the clever humor and off-stage narrator for this meta charmer. I’ll be honest, I had totally overlooked this one because of the way the text and illustrations often say and show different things. I worried new readers might get confused by the juxtaposition. However, knowing that the real committee makes a point to observe developing readers interacting with contenders, I have a feeling this book did better with real readers than it did with the imaginary ones in my head! I do so love being proved wrong when it means another book for new readers to love! </span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">Misti: In a year of not reading as widely as I usually do, it was exciting to see the award go to something I had actually read! But whether or not I had read it beforehand, I would have been so pleased with this pick, with its clever use of speech bubbles and fonts, its hilarious back-and-forth between the dog and the book, and its charming illustrations. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></div><h2 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">Honors </span></h2><div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLb475yhesq51VEgnWpcDGKR_Klew2Wqg5ZpAb9swE1aosYuIPZwtBqShKEhtl9_ZHrvSNq5PPNe-J30UZcF6Tet8E0fTuCjEniVKQXJiTpJ7bEIQqaMzmr6hrMyYPxiHURIfIbouDd8M/s1129/honor+geisel.PNG"><img border="0" data-original-height="359" data-original-width="1129" height="204" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLb475yhesq51VEgnWpcDGKR_Klew2Wqg5ZpAb9swE1aosYuIPZwtBqShKEhtl9_ZHrvSNq5PPNe-J30UZcF6Tet8E0fTuCjEniVKQXJiTpJ7bEIQqaMzmr6hrMyYPxiHURIfIbouDd8M/w640-h204/honor+geisel.PNG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></div><div><b><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><i>The Bear in My Family</i> written and illustrated by Maya Tatsukawa </span></b></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">Amanda: This one caught us by surprise, but I can see how the design choices and the relatable storyline for anyone with a sibling appealed to the committee. I find the illustrations charming. I’ll bet there was some interesting discussion in the room about the hand-lettered text, and the brevity and repetition that we know really supports an emergent reader. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">Misti: Boy, do I love the illustrations in this book! The font is dark and clear, and the hand-lettered text is generally also clear enough to be easily deciphered by a beginning reader. As Amanda said, it caught us by surprise, but that’s another reminder to us all that the committee is always working hardest to discover and discuss all of the year’s best. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">Amy: I’ll echo the others: surprised, but delighted! There are too few beginning readers by BIPOC creators that feature BIPOC characters, so I was really happy to see two on the honor list this year! Strong word repetition and page-turning dynamic provide support to help readers over the occasional uneven punctuation and line breaks. The illustrations are so playful, and I think the idea of a protection bear is really relatable for early elementary kids. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></div><div><b><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><i>Ty’s Travels: Zip, Zoom!</i> written by Kelly Starling Lyons, illustrated by Nina Mata </span></b></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">Amanda: Both entries into Ty’s Travels were great this year, and such welcome additions to the beginning reader shelves. It is fantastic to see one of them receive the honor. Congratulations to Kelly Starling Lyons and Nina Mata for creating this celebration of imagination, perseverance, friendship and joy. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-555caac1-7fff-f748-3508-2ed5c1515ddb"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Misti: This book has repetition without feeling repetitive -- that’s an impressive display of writing skill! There’s so much kid appeal in both the illustrations and the plot, and hooray for a story featuring BIPOC characters just having a fun day. We need more of that in the beginning reader arena. </span></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">Amy: The illustrations are such a stand out for me. The change in illustration style makes the transition between the real and imaginary worlds crystal clear. I can also see a book featuring scooters as a real winner with kids. I’m still working mostly from home and I kind of miss having to remind kids that scooters, while awesome, are best used outside the library. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></div><div><b><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><i>What About Worms!?</i> written and illustrated by Ryan T. Higgins </span></b></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">Amy: I find the word repetition in this one especially clever. The illustrations add humor and foreshadowing in a way that is not often seen in beginning readers. Here’s hoping for more beginning readers from Ryan T. Higgins! </span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-73316e90-7fff-4a34-83f6-0d6b4cd71ce1"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Misti: I’m always excited to see humor recognized for excellence, and this book definitely has it, both in words and pictures. Well done!</span></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">Amanda: The Elephant and Piggie Like Reading series is definitely building a reputation for quality easy readers, and this funny entry about fears and mistaken impressions will surely leave readers giggling. Thrilled to see so much well done humor for beginning readers being recognized this year, and this one is as delightful to read aloud to others as it is to read alone. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></div><div><b><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><i>Where’s Baby?</i> written and illustrated by Anne Hunter </span></b></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">Misti: I was initially on the fence about splitting up the syllables in the word “ba-by” in most instances in the book, but I think the intention is clear, and it’s repeated often enough that the reader will be confident in encountering it by mid-book. Indeed, repetition is definitely one of this book’s strengths. Clever illustrations, as well. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">Amy: Picture book contenders can easily fall through the cracks because reviews, publisher summaries, and other online book discussions/content seldom evaluate picture books with a beginning reader lens. So I was happy to see the committee had cast such a wide net when looking for contenders. I agree with Misti, repetition is clear and intentional throughout. The illustrations are unusual for a beginning reader text, which makes me love them all the more. I’m always a fan of the unique! </span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></div><h2 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">Other Thoughts </span></h2><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">Amanda: Overall it felt like a great morning. A mix of pleasant surprises and affirming choices both for Geisel and all the other YMAs. I am thrilled for all the committees and winners. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">Misti: This has to have been such a challenging year for the committee, with virtual meetings, delayed deliveries, and all of the stress and uncertainty of everyday life. Thank you all for all of your hard work. And thank you to our blog readers for sticking with us through all of the changes in our lives and yours. Here’s to a better year ahead. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">Amy: The pool of Geisel contenders isn’t as big as that of the Newbery or Caldecott, but it nevertheless poses some challenges. With the many additional obstacles Misti mentioned above, I’m sure the process of identifying beginning reader excellence beyond the beginning reader section took much more time and diligence on the part of the committee members than it would during a non-pandemic year. Thank you to the committee for persevering to select such wonderful titles! Thank you to the winner and honor authors and illustrators for creating such supportive, engaging books for new readers!
</span></div></div>Amy Seto Forresterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11917299912693299321noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4370447362643443839.post-641927112404633002021-01-25T09:42:00.000-08:002021-01-25T09:42:02.005-08:00Congratulations, to the 2021 Geisel Award Winner and Honors!<span style="font-family: trebuchet;">This morning the 2021 Geisel Award Winner and Honor Titles were announced at the Youth Media Awards (YMAs) Announcement. You can <a href="https://ala.unikron.com/" target="_blank">view a complete list and a video of the announcements here</a>.
</span><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">Congratulations to the 2021 Geisel Award winner... </span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRKBi-Yj-SsvvTDfy3e4w0FawKJlO7yP8C0lw7v4hqnllL6bIbCFCF1blxkYibsM8Vy4lwACgmSdA9sdtxrIzKYIZbpC7WcB47c-NTfjmGVgm0Kmz6nD4pFN8L9sURqBS2RqsQkCmESkk/s2048/see+the+cat.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1485" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRKBi-Yj-SsvvTDfy3e4w0FawKJlO7yP8C0lw7v4hqnllL6bIbCFCF1blxkYibsM8Vy4lwACgmSdA9sdtxrIzKYIZbpC7WcB47c-NTfjmGVgm0Kmz6nD4pFN8L9sURqBS2RqsQkCmESkk/s320/see+the+cat.jpg" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><b><i>See the Cat: Three Stories About a Dog</i></b>, written by David LaRochelle, illustrated by Mike Wohnoutka and published by Candlewick Press. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"> </span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">This year four honor books were named: </span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjp6qcI2Ts7LtTMotbd7IwqPd1-0PhgkZRHCZTHfBSs5VezoqzIsBrTzPy_kxqwu7CorCjsEvX9jppbWLriZ6bYUFTuxKuvTfaawK6UJ70y2fZzEKlpDtYwhewCqPJY4tmRo-Ow7RrY7PA/s1129/honor+geisel.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="359" data-original-width="1129" height="204" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjp6qcI2Ts7LtTMotbd7IwqPd1-0PhgkZRHCZTHfBSs5VezoqzIsBrTzPy_kxqwu7CorCjsEvX9jppbWLriZ6bYUFTuxKuvTfaawK6UJ70y2fZzEKlpDtYwhewCqPJY4tmRo-Ow7RrY7PA/w640-h204/honor+geisel.PNG" width="640" /></a></div></div><div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><b><i>The Bear in My Family</i></b>, written and illustrated by Maya Tatsukawa and published by Dial Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Penguin Young Readers, a division of Penguin Random House </span></li><li><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><b><i>Ty’s Travels: Zip, Zoom! </i></b>written by Kelly Starling Lyons, illustrated by Nina Mata and published by HarperCollins Children’s Books, a division of HarperCollins Publishers </span></li><li><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><b><i>What About Worms!?</i></b> written and illustrated by Ryan T. Higgins and published by Hyperion Books for Children, an imprint of Disney Book Group </span></li><li><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><b><i>Where’s Baby?</i></b> written and illustrated by Anne Hunter and published by Tundra Books of Northern New York, an imprint of Penguin Random House Canada Young Readers, a Penguin Random House Company. </span></li></ul></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">Congratulations to all of the book creators! Here at Guessing Geisel we’re still gathering our thoughts and hope to be back later with a longer reaction. For now, congratulations to committee chair Lori Coffey Hancock, and to the members of the committee - Jessica Gillis, Jamie Fujiko Kurumaji, Michelle Ng, Katie E. Patterson, Charles Pieri, Elizabeth Wright Redford - on your selections. Thank you all for your dedication to recognizing the very best books for beginning readers!
</span></div>Amy Seto Forresterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11917299912693299321noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4370447362643443839.post-11764233331011966332021-01-21T08:00:00.001-08:002021-01-21T08:00:05.340-08:002020 Contenders (and Ineligible Titles, too!)<p><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">As the <a href="http://www.ala.org/news/mediapresscenter/presskits/youthmediaawards/alayouthmediaawards" target="_blank">Youth Media Awards</a> (YMAs) announcement draws near we've been thinking about all the wonderful books for developing readers published in 2020. We didn't have time to blog about as many as we'd hoped, but that doesn't mean we can celebrate them! So we're using this last post before the YMAs to present you with a list of eligible contenders. And to wrap it up we'll include some of our favorite ineligible titles at the end.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">While we've done our best to include as many eligible contenders as we could find, this list is in no way comprehensive. There's also no way to know what the real committee read or discussed. Perhaps this year's winner and honor titles are on this list. Perhaps none of these titles will be announced on Monday! We'll just have to wait and see. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">Did we miss your favorite? Let us know in the comments. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></p><h2 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">Eligible Contenders</span></h2><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">Note: Titles with an asterisk (*) are written and/or illustrated by a previous Geisel winner/honor author and/or illustrator.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></div><h3 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">Beginning Readers</span></h3><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><i style="font-weight: bold;"><a href="https://guessinggeisel.blogspot.com/2020/12/scholastic-acorn-2020-titles.html" target="_blank">Bumble and Bee</a> </i>(series) by Ross Burach</span><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><i style="font-weight: bold;">Bunny Will Not Jump </i>by Jason Tharp<br /></span><p><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><i><b>Charlie & Mouse Outdoors </b></i>by Laurel Snyder, illustrated by Emily Hughes*</span></p><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><i style="font-weight: bold;">Dog Meets Dog </i>by Bernice Myers<br /></span><p><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><i><b>Duck and Cat's Rainy Day</b></i> by Carin Bramsen</span></p><p><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><b style="font-style: italic;">Come In, Zip!</b> and<i> </i><i><b>For Otto</b> </i>by David Milgrim*</span></p><p><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><i style="font-weight: bold;"><a href="https://guessinggeisel.blogspot.com/2020/12/scholastic-acorn-2020-titles.html" target="_blank">Fox Tails</a> </i>(series) by Tina Kügler</span></p><p><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><i style="font-weight: bold;">Fox Versus Winter </i>by Corey R. Tabor*</span></p><p><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><i style="font-weight: bold;"><a href="https://guessinggeisel.blogspot.com/2020/12/scholastic-acorn-2020-titles.html" target="_blank">Frog & Dog</a> </i>(series) by Janee Trasler</span></p><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><i style="font-weight: bold;">Horse & Buggy Plant a Seed! </i>by Ethan Long*<br /></span><p><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><i style="font-weight: bold;">Go, Go, Go </i>by Bob Barner</span></p><p><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><i><b>Jack Books</b> </i>(series) by Mac Barnett, illustrated by Greg Pizzoli*</span></p><p><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><i><b><a href="https://guessinggeisel.blogspot.com/2020/11/weneeddiversebooks-black-lives-matter.html" target="_blank">King & Kayla and the Case of the Unhappy Neighbor</a></b> </i>by Dori Hillestad Butler, illustrated by Nancy Meyers*</span></p><p><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><i><b>Layla and the Bots </b>(series) </i>by Vicky Fang, illustrated by Christine Nishiyama</span></p><p><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><i style="font-weight: bold;">Lunch Box Bully </i>by Hans Wilhelm</span></p><p><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><i style="font-weight: bold;"><a href="https://guessinggeisel.blogspot.com/2020/11/comics-part-2.html" target="_blank">A Pig, a Fox and a Fox</a> </i>by Jonathan Fenske*</span></p><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><a href="https://guessinggeisel.blogspot.com/2020/12/scholastic-acorn-2020-titles.html" target="_blank"><b><i>Princess Truly: I Can Build It!</i></b> </a>by Kelly Greenawalt, illustrated by Amariah Rasucher<br /></span><p><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><i style="font-weight: bold;">The Really Rotten Princess and the Awful, Icky Election </i>by Lady Cecily Snodgrass, illustrated by Mike Lester</span></p><p><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><i><b><a href="https://guessinggeisel.blogspot.com/2020/11/weneeddiversebooks-black-lives-matter.html" target="_blank">Run, Mo, Run!</a></b> </i>and<i> </i><i><b><a href="https://guessinggeisel.blogspot.com/2020/11/weneeddiversebooks-black-lives-matter.html" target="_blank">Swim, Mo, Swim!</a></b> </i>by David A. Adler, illustrated by Sam Ricks*</span></p><p><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><i style="font-weight: bold;">Score One More </i>by Marilyn Janovitz</span></p><p><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><b><i><a href="https://guessinggeisel.blogspot.com/2020/12/see-cat-three-stories-about-dog.html" target="_blank">See the Cat: Three Stories About a Dog</a></i> </b>by David LaRochelle, illustrated by Mike Wohnoutka</span></p><p><i style="font-family: trebuchet;"><b>Shark Report</b> </i><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">(series) by Derek Anderson</span></p><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><i style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">Snow is Fun</i><span> </span>by Steve Henry<br /></span><p><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><i style="font-weight: bold;">Testing the Waters </i>by Jane Yolen, illustrated by Mike Moran</span></p><p><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><i style="font-weight: bold;"><a href="https://guessinggeisel.blogspot.com/2020/11/weneeddiversebooks-black-lives-matter.html" target="_blank">Ty's Travels: Zip Zoom!</a> </i>and<i style="font-weight: bold;"> <a href="https://guessinggeisel.blogspot.com/2020/11/weneeddiversebooks-black-lives-matter.html" target="_blank">Ty's Travel's: All Board!</a> </i>by Kelly Starling Lyons, illustrated by Nina Mata</span></p><p><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><i><b>Unlimited Squirrels: I Want to Sleep Under the Stars!</b> </i>by Mo Willems*</span></p><p><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><i><b>What About Worms!?</b> </i>by Ryan T. Higgins </span></p><p><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><i style="font-weight: bold;">Who Ate My Book? </i>by Tina </span><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">Kügler</span></p><i style="font-family: trebuchet; font-weight: bold;"><a href="https://guessinggeisel.blogspot.com/2020/12/scholastic-acorn-2020-titles.html" target="_blank">Who Needs a Checkup? </a></i><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">by Norm Feuti</span><br /><h4 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></h4><h3 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">Picture Books</span></h3><p><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><i><b>Black is a Color Rainbow </b></i>by Angela Joy, illustrated by Ekua Holmes</span></p><p><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><i style="font-weight: bold;">Blue Table </i>by Chris Raschka</span></p><p><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><i style="font-weight: bold;">The Camping Trip </i>by Jennifer K. Mann</span></p><p><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><i style="font-weight: bold;">Round </i>by Jennifer Ward, illustrated by Lisa Congdon</span></p><p><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><i><b>Sun Flower Lion </b></i>by Kevin Henkes*</span></p><p><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><i style="font-weight: bold;">Turtle Walk </i>by Matt Phelan</span></p><p><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><i><b>Up on Bob </b></i>by Mary Sullivan*</span></p><p><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></p><h3 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">Graphic Novels</span></h3><p><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><i style="font-weight: bold;"><a href="https://guessinggeisel.blogspot.com/2020/10/comics-part-one.html" target="_blank">Baloney and Friends</a> </i>by Greg Pizzoli*</span></p><p><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><i style="font-weight: bold;"><a href="https://guessinggeisel.blogspot.com/2020/10/comics-part-one.html" target="_blank">Chick and Brain: Egg or Eyeball?</a> </i>by Cece Bell*</span></p><p><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><i style="font-weight: bold;"><a href="https://guessinggeisel.blogspot.com/2020/10/comics-part-one.html" target="_blank">Cookie and Broccoli: Ready for School!</a> </i>by Bob McMahon</span></p><p><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><i style="font-weight: bold;"><a href="https://guessinggeisel.blogspot.com/2020/11/comics-part-2.html" target="_blank">Noodleheads Lucky Day</a> </i>by Tedd Arnold, Martha Hamilton & Mitch Weiss, illustrated by Tedd Arnold*</span></p><p><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><i style="font-weight: bold;"><a href="https://guessinggeisel.blogspot.com/2020/11/comics-part-2.html" target="_blank">Pizza and Taco: Who's the Best?</a> </i>by Stephen Shaskan</span></p><p><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><i style="font-weight: bold;">Puppy Problems </i>by Paige Braddock</span></p><p><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></p><h3 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">Nonfiction</span></h3><p><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><i><b>Being Frog</b> </i>by April Pulley Sayre</span></p><p><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></p><h3 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">Early Chapter Books</span></h3><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><b style="font-style: italic;">Astrid & Apollo and the Happy New Year </b>by V.T. Bidania, illustrated by Dara Lashia Lee</span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><i><b><br /></b></i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><i><b>Kondo & Kezumi Visit Giant Island</b></i> by David Goodner, illustrated by Andrea Tsurmi</span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><i style="font-weight: bold;">The Princess in Black and the Giant Problem </i>by Shannon & Dean Hale, illustrated by LeUyen Pham</span></div><p><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></p><h2 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">Ineligible Titles</span></h2><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">If we're wrong about the eligibility of any of these titles, please let us know! </span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><i><b>All the Dear Little Animals </b></i>by Ulf Nilsson, illustrated by Eva Eriksson - Swedish author and illustrator</span></li><li><i><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><i><b><a href="https://guessinggeisel.blogspot.com/2020/11/weneeddiversebooks-black-lives-matter.html" target="_blank">Ana & Andrew</a></b> </i><span style="font-style: normal;">(series) by Chrstine Platt, illustrated by Anuki Lopez - Illustrator born and currently living in Spain</span></span></i></li><li><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><i><b>Beach Day!</b> </i>by Candice Ransom, illustrated by Erika Meza - Illustrator born in Mexico and currently living in the UK</span></li><li><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><i><b>Big Shark, Little Shark, Baby Shark</b> </i>by Anna Membrino, illustrated by Tim Budgen - Illustrator born and currently living in the UK</span></li><li><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><b><i>Bug Dipping, Bug Sipping</i> </b>by Marilyn Singer, illustrated by Lucy Semple - Illustrator born and currently living in the UK</span></li><li><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><b><i>Cat has a Plan</i> </b>by Laura Gehl, illustrated by Fred Blunt - Illustrator born and currently living in the UK</span></li><li><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><i><b>Donut Feed the Squirrels </b></i>by Mika Song - Exceeds the 96 page limit</span></li><li><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><i><b>Fairylight Friends</b> </i>(series) by Jessica Young, illustrated by Marie Vanderbemden - Illustrator born and currently living in Belgium</span></li><li><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><i style="font-weight: bold;">Fox & Rabbit</i> by Beth Ferry, illustrated by Gergely Dudás - Illustrator born and currently lives in Hungary</span></li><li><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><i style="font-weight: bold;">Hound Won't Go </i>by Lisa Rogers, illustrated by Meg Ishihara - Illustrator born and currently living in Japan</span></li><li><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><i><b>Houndsley and Catina at the Library </b></i>by James Howe, illustrated by Marie-Louise Gay - Illustrator born and currently living in Canada</span></li><li><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><i><b>If You Love Books, You Could Be...</b></i>by Elizabeth Dennis, illustrated by Natalie Kwee - Illustrator born and currently living in Singapore</span></li><li><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><b style="font-style: italic;">Interrupting Cow </b>by Jane Yolen, illustrated by Joelle Dreidemy - Illustrator born and currently living in France</span></li><li><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><i style="font-weight: bold;">It Is a Tree</i> by Susan Batori - Author born and currently living in Hungary</span></li><li><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><i style="font-weight: bold;">King of the Birds </i>by Elise Gravel - Author born and currently living in Canada</span></li><li><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><i><b>Sea Sheep </b></i>by Eric Selzter, illustrated by Tom Disbury - Illustrator born and currently living in the UK</span></li><li><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><i style="font-weight: bold;">Shadow in the Woods and Other Scary Stories</i> by Max Brallier, illustrated by Letizia Rubegni</span></li><li><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><i><b>Tip and Tucker Paw Painters</b> </i>by Ann Ingalls & Sue Lowell Gallion, illustrated by Andre Ceolin - Illustrator born and currently lives in Brazil</span></li><li><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><i><b>You Can Do It, Yasmin!</b> </i>by Saadia Faruqi, illustrated by Hatem Aly - Egyptian born illustrator currently living in Canada</span></li></ul></div></div></div>Amy Seto Forresterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11917299912693299321noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4370447362643443839.post-24005897087068192962021-01-19T08:00:00.001-08:002021-01-19T08:00:02.892-08:00Science and Learning to Read: I am NOT an Expert<span style="font-family: trebuchet;">Before I jump into the meat of this post, I want to make it very clear that I am not an expert in the science of learning to read. I’m a children’s librarian with a profound passion and interest in supporting kids learning to read and the grown ups in their lives. </span><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">I want to share a bit of a personal struggle I’ve been having with a segment of the Geisel criteria over the last few years. The library system I work for has prioritized supporting developing readers since 2017. As a part of the team working on various projects and services for K-3rd graders, I’ve had the opportunity to really dig into the science around learning to read. And more than just reading the research, I’ve had thought-provoking conversations with colleagues about how science should inform the way reading is taught, and more importantly for this post, about how books can support, rather than hinder, reading skills. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">To be clear, I'm discussing research about the science around learning to read as distinct from the teaching approach called The Science of Reading, which has been gaining momentum lately. This approach has become part of the decades-long reading wars in which educators have been debating the most effective way to teach reading. </span><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">If you're interested in learning more check out this article by Jill Barshay from the Hechinger Report, </span><a href="https://hechingerreport.org/four-things-you-need-to-know-about-the-new-reading-wars/" style="font-family: trebuchet;" target="_blank">Four Things You Need to Know About the New Reading Wars</a><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">Thinking about the scientific research I've read over the past 3 years (and there's a lot of research out there; there's so much more for me to explore), many parts of the <a href="http://www.ala.org/alsc/awardsgrants/bookmedia/geiselaward/criteria-submissions-com-info" target="_blank">Geisel criteria</a> hold up:</span></div><div><ul style="text-align: left;"><blockquote><li><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">“New words should be added slowly enough to make learning them a positive experience” </span></li><li><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">“Words should be repeated to ensure knowledge retention” </span></li><li><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">“Sentences must be simple and straightforward” </span></li><li><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">“The illustrations must demonstrate the story being told” </span></li></blockquote></ul></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">The part of the <a href="http://www.ala.org/alsc/awardsgrants/bookmedia/geiselaward/criteria-submissions-com-info" target="_blank">Geisel criteria</a> that I’ve been struggling to reconcile with science is: </span></div><blockquote><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">“The book must also contain illustrations, which function as keys or clues to the text.” </span></div></blockquote><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">Without science, this criteria seems to make sense. Upon first encountering a new word, readers can use pictures to help them figure out that word. But scientific research shows that readers who are taught to decode (in simple terms, sound out), rather than guess words based on visual context clues, are more likely to be stronger readers in the long term. Emily Hanford looks at this specific area of learning to read in her article/podcast for APM Reports in 2019, <a href="https://www.apmreports.org/episode/2019/08/22/whats-wrong-how-schools-teach-reading" target="_blank">At a Loss for Words: How a Flawed Idea is Teaching Millions of Kids to be Poor Readers</a>. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">So what do we do with this information? I don’t have the ability to magically change the Geisel criteria, although I hope ALSC might be interested in exploring and potentially updating the criteria in the near future. So let’s think beyond the award itself. Let’s think about the many ways libraries continue to perpetuate myths about the learning to read process. And let’s start thinking, and more importantly, taking action to use our library powers to debunk those myths so that we can help the children in our communities become strong, motivated readers. This includes lifting up truly supportive beginning reader titles during reader’s advisory interactions, and addressing the way we shelve, label and organize our books for new readers. We can also use our voices and collections budgets to encourage publishers, editors, authors, and illustrators to delve into the research themselves so that books being created and published for new readers are supportive AND fun, captivating, and page-turning. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">I am not an expert in the science of learning to read. But as a library professional, I can find research, educate myself, share my knowledge, have conversations, question how things are done, and make changes at my library that can and do impact the developing readers in my community. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">Interested in learning more about the science of learning to read? Here are a few resources to get you started. Add your recommendations in the comments section. </span></div><div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><i><a href="https://nataliewexler.com/the-knowledge-gap/" target="_blank">The Knowledge Gap: The Hidden Cause of America’s Broken Education System—And How to Fix It</a></i> by Natalie Wexler. 2019. </span></li><li><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><i><a href="https://seidenbergreading.net/" target="_blank">Language at the Speed of Sight: How We Read, Why So Many Can't and What Can Be Done About It </a></i>by Mark Seidenberg. 2017. </span></li><li><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><i><a href="https://www.slj.com/?detailStory=Where-did-Leveling-Go-Wrong-leveled-reading-lexiles-AR-libraries-books-fountas-pinnell&utm_source=Marketing&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=top5" target="_blank">Reading Levels Unfairly Label Learners, Say Critics. And Then There's the Research</a></i> by Wayne D’Orio. School Library Journal, 2020. </span></li><li><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><a href="https://amplify.com/science-of-reading-the-podcast/" target="_blank">Science of Reading: The Podcast</a>, Amplify Education.</span></li></ul></div>Amy Seto Forresterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11917299912693299321noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4370447362643443839.post-19003179411591502272021-01-12T08:00:00.001-08:002021-01-12T08:00:04.500-08:00A Bit Different This Year<p><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">It's January and you might have noticed we haven't posted anything about a Mock Geisel. In fact, you might have noticed we haven't posted nearly as much this entire mock season. This has been a challenging year and as we four co-hosts struggled to maintain personal and professional balance we determined that the best thing we could do was and is to give ourselves some grace. We love running this blog, but it takes a lot of work to coordinate, communicate, write, and edit, in addition to our full-time jobs and lives. Additionally, much of our content is usually created by guest bloggers. We felt that it was important to do what we could to give time and space to our colleagues who might be dealing with their own personal and professional challenges. So we decided not to reach out to our usual roster of guest bloggers this year. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">So what can you expect from Guessing Geisel as we count down to the <a href="http://www.ala.org/news/mediapresscenter/presskits/youthmediaawards/alayouthmediaawards" target="_blank">Youth Media Awards</a> (YMAs) announcement on January, 25h at 8 a.m. CT? We'll post a bit more about contenders and Geisel-related topic, however we won't post a shortlist or host a mock via an online survey. We know this is disappointing, so we want to share some other opportunities to participate in mocks and celebrate the YMAs. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">Participate in a mock held by one of our sibling mock blogs across the interwebs. </span></p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><a href="https://www.hbook.com/?subpage=Features%20%26%20Opinion,Blogs,Calling%20Caldecott" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">Calling Caldecott</span></a></li><li><a href="https://earsontheodyssey.com/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">Ears on Odyssey</span></a></li><li><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><a href="https://blogs.slj.com/heavymedal/" target="_blank">Heavy Medal</a> (Newbery)</span></li><li><a href="https://www.slj.com/?global_search=Pondering%20Printz" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">Pondering Printz</span></a></li><li><a href="https://www.sydneytaylorshmooze.com/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">Sydney Taylor Shmooze </span></a></li></ul><p></p><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">Get excited about mocks by listening to this <a href="https://jewishbooks.blogspot.com/2021/01/the-sydney-taylor-shmooze.html" target="_blank">episode</a> from <a href="https://jewishbooks.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">The Book of Life podcast</a> featuring the hosts of the Sydney Taylor Schmooze, our newest mock blog sibling, and mock blog hosts Steven Engelfried from Heavy Medal, Julie Danielson from Calling Caldecott, and me, Amy Seto Forrester, from Guessing Geisel. There's also a bonus episode with even more mock blog content. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">View the results of other mocks on the ALSC (Association for Library Services to Children) Blog's <a href="https://www.alsc.ala.org/blog/2021-mock-yma-election-results/" target="_blank">2021 Mock Election Results page</a>. We encourage you to submit the results of any mocks you host as well. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">Share you predictions with us in the comments below. Even though we aren't holding a mock, that doesn't mean we aren't interested in what will win or be honored! </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><a href="https://ala.unikron.com/" target="_blank">Livestream the YMAs</a>. We know 8 a.m. CT is early in some time zones, but the thrill is worth early morning bleary eyes (IMHO). </span></div><p><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">What will this coming mock season look like for Guessing Geisel? Our current plan is to return to more robust content this summer/fall and to host a mock in January, 2022. We hope that you'll be there with us when we do! </span></p>Amy Seto Forresterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11917299912693299321noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4370447362643443839.post-14123426201401769832020-12-29T08:00:00.002-08:002021-01-03T15:38:01.741-08:00Lists Galore! - 2020 Beginning Reader Lists <p><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-size: 11pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKyfL88qsQpPSy9csAXnJ849ZXfk0FxTIWe2quWVIvh853SsrODqwLGMcEMs7fGO3T2OkwaCnqrXia0sYTrOumD_hahNs8JciMaEiOoUFUZ-5P6jz2Nybn4WLmWHX2dXasIqmfLyClAM8/s1920/books-list-5290461_1920.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1920" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKyfL88qsQpPSy9csAXnJ849ZXfk0FxTIWe2quWVIvh853SsrODqwLGMcEMs7fGO3T2OkwaCnqrXia0sYTrOumD_hahNs8JciMaEiOoUFUZ-5P6jz2Nybn4WLmWHX2dXasIqmfLyClAM8/s320/books-list-5290461_1920.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">The end of the year is a great time if you’re a list lover, especially in a year when it was more difficult to get ahold of new titles. There's a lot of joy to be found browsing through best of lists, award nomination lists, mock title lists, etc. There are always titles we’ve missed along the way and it’s thrilling to discover more great books for new readers! </span><p></p><span id="docs-internal-guid-ae7468a0-7fff-07f1-f8b8-a6df7ab71e14"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">Here are some of the lists we've been browsing this year. Note: We’ve included some lists that combine beginning readers and early chapter books, however we’ve avoided lists that lump all children’s books together.</span></span></p><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span id="docs-internal-guid-ae7468a0-7fff-07f1-f8b8-a6df7ab71e14"><a href="https://100scopenotes.com/2020/03/16/2020-books-by-geisel-winners/" style="text-decoration-line: none; white-space: pre;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">100 Scope Notes: 2020 Books by Geisel Winners</span></span></a></span></li><li><span id="docs-internal-guid-ae7468a0-7fff-07f1-f8b8-a6df7ab71e14"><a href="https://chipublib.bibliocommons.com/list/share/200049033_chipublib_kids/1772749279_best_fiction_for_younger_readers_of_2020" style="text-decoration-line: none; white-space: pre;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">Chicago Public Library: Best Fiction for Younger Readers of 2020</span></span></a></span></li><li><span id="docs-internal-guid-ae7468a0-7fff-07f1-f8b8-a6df7ab71e14"><a href="http://www.cybils.com/2020-nominations-easy-readers-early-chapter-books" style="text-decoration-line: none; white-space: pre;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">Cybils Awards: 2020 Nominations: Easy Readers/Early Chapter Books</span></span></a></span></li><li><span id="docs-internal-guid-ae7468a0-7fff-07f1-f8b8-a6df7ab71e14"><a href="https://kids.denverlibrary.org/booklist/k-3/best-brightest-beginning-readers-2020" style="text-decoration-line: none; white-space: pre;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">Denver Public Library: Best & Brightest Beginning Readers of 2020</span></span></a></span></li><li><span id="docs-internal-guid-ae7468a0-7fff-07f1-f8b8-a6df7ab71e14"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><a href="https://www.epl.org/evanston-public-librarys-101-great-books-for-kids-2020-easy-books-and-early-chapter-books/" style="text-decoration-line: none; white-space: pre;">Evanston Public Library’s 101 Great Books for Kids 2020: Easy Books and Early Chapter Books</a></span></span></span></li><li><a href="https://www.epl.org/evanston-public-librarys-101-great-books-for-kids-2020-easy-books-and-early-chapter-books/" style="white-space: pre-wrap;">A Fuse #8 Production: 31 Days, 31 Lists: 2020 Easy Books and Early Chapter Books</a></li><li><span id="docs-internal-guid-ae7468a0-7fff-07f1-f8b8-a6df7ab71e14"><u style="background-color: white; color: #1155cc; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="https://nerdybookclub.wordpress.com/2020/12/28/the-2020-nerdies-early-readers-and-chapter-books-announced-by-alyson-beecher/">Nerdy Book Club: The 2020 Nerdies: Early Readers and Chapter Books</a></u></span></li></ul></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">Have we missed any great lists? Let us know in the comments! </span></span></p><div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div></span>Amy Seto Forresterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11917299912693299321noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4370447362643443839.post-57844265164731906892020-12-18T08:00:00.002-08:002020-12-21T17:08:58.263-08:00Scholastic Acorn 2020 Titles<span style="font-family: trebuchet;">Scholastic Acorn has a number of new series, as well as additional titles to existing series, out this year. Their tagline, “Illustrated early readers that plant a love of reading” lets readers and their grown-ups know that these books are meant to support developing reading skills. All Acorn books use the same 6” x 7.25” trim size. Unfortunately, the stiffness of library bound copies can make it difficult to keep the book open and it’s easy to lose text and illustrations in the gutter. On the flip side, they fit so nicely into readers’ hands. Let’s take a look at the titles eligible for the Geisel this year. </span><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">*Scholastic Acorn titles that are ineligible for the Geisel due to international illustrators are <i>Shadow in the Woods and Other Scary Stories </i>by Max Brallier, illustrated by Letizia Rubegni and <i>The Fairylight Friends</i> series by Jessica Young, illustrated by Marie Vanderbemden. I think both are wonderful, and hope that we’ll be able to highlight them in a post about ineligible titles later this blogging season.
</span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioAXrB5_3QmHG3W5GzlfYaCUpqhbiKuyxmpgWF7MnAD_GHJW2McODZ8LMqK5qfyVElpLRu8NuJJgWz7E16HL7HfLypQlVLZEKXfwCSeY3_kBblkubNAMjIPzXMTJoDJs4iEfuMjJGU8jo/s1080/bumble+and+bee.PNG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><img alt="Let's Play Make BEE-lieve shows Froggy frowning reading a book on a lily pad in a pond with Bumble and Bee playing in mud pretending to be a cow and a pig, respectively. Don't Worry, BEE Happy shows a frowning Froggy on a lily pad with Bumble and Bee on either side smiling, Let's BEE Thankful shows Bumble and Bee playing in autumn leaves while Froggy frowns at a carved pumpkin that resembles her." border="0" data-original-height="457" data-original-width="1080" height="269" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioAXrB5_3QmHG3W5GzlfYaCUpqhbiKuyxmpgWF7MnAD_GHJW2McODZ8LMqK5qfyVElpLRu8NuJJgWz7E16HL7HfLypQlVLZEKXfwCSeY3_kBblkubNAMjIPzXMTJoDJs4iEfuMjJGU8jo/w640-h269/bumble+and+bee.PNG" title="Book covers for Bumble and Bee series titles: Let's Play Make BEE-lieve; Don't Worry, BEE Happy; Let's BEE Thankful" width="640" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">Book covers for Bumble and Bee series titles: <i>Let's Play Make BEE-lieve; Don't Worry, BEE Happy; Let's BEE Thankful</i></span></td></tr></tbody></table><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><b><i>Bumble and Bee </i>series by Ross Burach</b> </span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">Bumble, Bee, and their grumpy friend Froggy make their series debut in three titles this year. Each book contains three short stories that feature Froggy expressing disapproval at Bumble and Bee’s ridiculous antics. In <i>Let’s Play Make BEE-lieve</i> the two bees pretend to be farm animals, then pirates, and finally finish up with a game of hide-and-seek that turns into hide-and-sleep. Autumnal activities, including making an apple pie, carving pumpkins, and getting ready for hibernation are the focus of <i>Let’s BEE Thankful</i>. Finally, <i>Don’t Worry, BEE Happy</i> includes stories about best friend picture day, curing Froggy’s epic case of hiccups, and the fun of doing the waggle dance. An easy to read font and color-coded speech bubbles provide strong support for new readers. Unfortunately, sometimes the panel sequencing is confusing and readers may wonder if they’re supposed to read left to right across a full double-page spread, or the left hand page, top to bottom followed by the right hand page, top to bottom. Bolded text is used to convey emphasis, although at times the bolding was distracting more than helpful. Another challenge could be the vocabulary. Some words, such as “pretend” and “treasure” in <i>Let’s Play Make BEE-lieve</i> are introduced and then repeated several times. However, other words, such as “zebra” and “captain” are used just once. This series definitely has a lot of kid appeal, so maybe reading motivation will help readers push through some of the more challenging layouts and vocabulary. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXmf4Pu2s7w7HdYyfLK-ou1aJIfWZ2U4fsFb41JOCXscZ7O-7mQ2e-nDmc9RFBbJrOD6tXhubpVni_CUUwrMSpaPADtlN34Un1FWwzTHYU9CLfcrKkSw_zA4-16fWzIEaelIvSoM1t82w/s400/check+up.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><img alt="Book cover for Who Needs a Check Up? shows a cheerful Hedgehog giving Harry the Hamster a pretend check up" border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="314" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXmf4Pu2s7w7HdYyfLK-ou1aJIfWZ2U4fsFb41JOCXscZ7O-7mQ2e-nDmc9RFBbJrOD6tXhubpVni_CUUwrMSpaPADtlN34Un1FWwzTHYU9CLfcrKkSw_zA4-16fWzIEaelIvSoM1t82w/w251-h320/check+up.jpg" width="251" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">Book cover for<i> Who Needs a Check Up?</i></span></td></tr></tbody></table><div><b><i><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></i></b></div><div><b><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><i>Who Needs a Checkup?</i> by Norm Feuti </span></b></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">Harry is worried about his doctor’s checkup. He doesn’t want to go at all. Luckily, his best friend Hedgehog pretends to be a doctor to show Harry all the parts of a checkup. From testing reflexes (Harry’s favorite) to getting a shot that feels like a pinch (Harry’s least favorite), Hedgehog provides Harry with a way to process and prepare. Like the first two books in the <a href="https://guessinggeisel.blogspot.com/2019/11/do-you-like-my-bike-and-lets-have.html" target="_blank"><i>Hello, Hedgehog</i> series</a>, <i>Who Needs a Checkup? </i>provides a platform for socioemotional learning, as well as supports for new readers. Sequential panels and color-coded speech bubbles make the all-dialogue text easy to follow. The font is especially supportive, with stick-and-ball A’s and straightforward G’s. While there’s a lot to recommend this book when thinking in terms of the Geisel criteria, I wonder will the title and cover really grab kids? Will the predictable plot create enough of a page-turning dynamic? </span></div><div><i><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></i></div><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSWfIqBPMhpFPs1Axg-Ugy0xzJ2BS3mO2FnUv1upM8IYEUGP8ZLWqhHsHASjWmDF6nURinx4Tuezx46_vXJPtzNUCzLE64MEYVLfrE2PGxjWnQ4M6veF3_vj7Kn-bAEyaKDAYKExWmuWk/s1126/fox+tails.PNG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><img alt="The Great Bunk Bed Battle shows Fritz in the upper bunk and Franny in the lower bunk fighting over a blanket. The Biggest Roller Coaster shows the siblings on riding a roller coaster." border="0" data-original-height="708" data-original-width="1126" height="251" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSWfIqBPMhpFPs1Axg-Ugy0xzJ2BS3mO2FnUv1upM8IYEUGP8ZLWqhHsHASjWmDF6nURinx4Tuezx46_vXJPtzNUCzLE64MEYVLfrE2PGxjWnQ4M6veF3_vj7Kn-bAEyaKDAYKExWmuWk/w400-h251/fox+tails.PNG" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">Book covers for <i>The Great Bunk Bed Battle </i>and <i>The Biggest Roller Coaster</i></span></td></tr></tbody></table><i><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></i></div><div><b><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><i>Fox Tails </i>series by Tina Kügler </span></b></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">Kügler’s <i><a href="https://guessinggeisel.blogspot.com/2017/08/snail-worm-again-by-tina-kugler.html" target="_blank">Snail & Worm Again</a></i> was named a Geisel Honor title in 2018. This new series also features dual protagonists, but this time they’re fox siblings Fritz and Franny. In <i>The Great Bunk Bed Battle </i>the two compete to see whether the top or bottom bunk is best. <i>The Biggest Roller Coaster</i> features a trip to an amusement park and quest to find the tallest, fastest, loudest ride. Both books rely on color-coded speech bubbles, an easy to read font, and word repetition in short, simply constructed sentences. The illustrations are bright and enticing, reminiscent of Marc Brown’s Arthur series, with enough visual context clues to help readers along, but not so many that they’ll be “reading” the pictures instead of the text. I have a slight preference for <i>The Biggest Roller Coaster</i> because amusement parks have such kid appeal, but then again, there’s something magical about bunk beds. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3_OQj78bUa28uC1lDYhITTv02JiZLIDEtNe8YexZJYwySUzbPMqU5x8w-ejvZQpM1eQKXrAlK10kjCa41pmocrCwH8cJ3X7A-atVAz8Cr2gVIMUkzzpICsRMCETAmuegtddPWWq39f84/s330/princess+truly.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><img alt="The book cover for Princess Truly: I Can Build It! shows a young girl with brown skin and curly brown hair wearing a tutu using her magical building powers to make a dog biscuit dispensing machine for her dog" border="0" data-original-height="330" data-original-width="260" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3_OQj78bUa28uC1lDYhITTv02JiZLIDEtNe8YexZJYwySUzbPMqU5x8w-ejvZQpM1eQKXrAlK10kjCa41pmocrCwH8cJ3X7A-atVAz8Cr2gVIMUkzzpICsRMCETAmuegtddPWWq39f84/w252-h320/princess+truly.jpg" width="252" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">Book cover for <i>Princess Truly: I Can Build It!</i></span></td></tr></tbody></table><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></div><div><b><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><i>Princess Truly: I Can Build It!</i> by Kelly Greenawalt, illustrated by Amariah Rauscher </span></b></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">The third book in the <i>Princess Truly</i> series features a young protagonist with brown skin who loves to invent and build bringing a STEM perspective to beginning readers. A bouncy rhyme scheme and very short sentences support new readers, along with a clear, large font. The pastel illustrations are soft and inviting, a departure from the cartoon style of the other titles in this post. The tone is a bit didactic, “I am caring and smart. / I can build anything, / with my big helpful heart.” However, the whimsy and “rainbow power” of Princess Truly’s inventions creates a fun page-turning dynamic. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJlNYmnj1HhW4hN0GI8CTiP5lf0cGNOHudFuqO-iQUrl01HGzpE_egmZs0GK0QJ8MTh-xwJR3wPl6wXjgShFYBGpC2Zg38Tj3ySSu1uKLOVtYZfN1XxWHm2LKf93pFNFptiz6lny8CyR4/s1250/frog+and+dog.PNG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><img alt="The book cover for Frog Meets Dog shows 3 frogs jumping and a dog on a pogo stick, Hog on a Log shows a pig kicking 3 frogs and a dog off a log, and Goat in a Boat shows 3 frogs and a goat in a rainboat and an umbrella hat in a boat and a dog in the water while it's raining." border="0" data-original-height="555" data-original-width="1250" height="284" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJlNYmnj1HhW4hN0GI8CTiP5lf0cGNOHudFuqO-iQUrl01HGzpE_egmZs0GK0QJ8MTh-xwJR3wPl6wXjgShFYBGpC2Zg38Tj3ySSu1uKLOVtYZfN1XxWHm2LKf93pFNFptiz6lny8CyR4/w640-h284/frog+and+dog.PNG" width="640" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">Book covers for <i>Frog Meets Dog, Hog on a Log, Goat in a Boat</i></span></td></tr></tbody></table><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></div><div><b><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><i>Frog and Dog</i> series by Janee Trasler </span></b></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">Clearly meant for very new readers, the books in this series emphasize phonetics and decoding by relying heavily on rhyming words. In addition to Dog, there’s not one, but three frogs who encounter all sorts of misadventures together (the series title is a bit confusing, I must say). In <i>Frog Meets Dog</i> the friends meet for the first time and Dog tries to keep up with the leaping, jumping, and hopping of the amphibians with hilarious results. A greedy pig messes up fun games and fly-topped lunches in <i>Hog on a Log</i>. Finally, <i>Goat in a Boat</i> features a perilous sea journey, as well as a goat in a raincoat with a boat. While the sound repetition is strong, sometimes new words only appear once. Sometimes the plots are a bit chaotic, which could be overwhelming to new readers. If I were to pick a stand out, it would be <i>Goat in a Boat</i>. It has the strongest plot and the lost on a perilous stormy sea scenes add urgency that leads to a truly satisfying conclusion. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">Which Scholastic Acorn series or title is your favorite? Use the comments to let us know!
</span></div>Amy Seto Forresterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11917299912693299321noreply@blogger.com0