2009 List of Books Nominated for the E. B. White Read Aloud Award

http://theabfc.wordpress.com/the-eb-white-read-aloud-awards/

Teach Reading with TV Closed Captioning & Recorded Books

THE most economical device to teach
reading is already in your home.
Finland’s children have the highest reading
scores in the world and they use
this device more than any other country
—and it’s free!
It’s closed-captioning on the TV.
Turn it on by using the “menu” button
on the remote to reach the “cc” area.
Children unconsciously absorb the sight
of the words and their sounds,
making connections to how print is used.
It’s like having a free magazine subscription in the home.
All print counts.
What about recorded books—do they count?
Read on.
WHILE a recorded voice is not as good as
a live adult who can stop and explain something
in the story, it’s better than nothing.
It’s also a great assist for the parent
who has a reading disability or
for whom English is a second language.
(Incidentally, reading to a child
in a foreign language accomplishes
many of the same things
—feeds vocabulary and builds a
bridge to the love of reading and books.)
Public libraries have huge collections of
audio books—all available for free.
http://www.trelease-on-reading.com/10-reading-facts-brochure.pdf

Jim Trelease Read Aloud Handouts about Reading

"Do you have a free handout about reading
that we can give parents at our school?"

o many teachers and administrators asked Jim Trelease that question, one of his first retirement projects was to create a series of such free handouts. Based on his books, lectures, and films, the tri-fold double-sided brochures are aimed at parents, teachers, librarians—even future teachers and parents.

Written in an uncomplicated, to-the-point style, along with some of the charts and statistics Jim has used in his books and lectures, the brochures are free for downloading and may be easily duplicated by nonprofit institutions dealing with parents and community members.

The subject matter includes:

• Why reading is the most important subject in school;
• How a child becomes competent in reading;
• The importance of a child reading outside school;
• Why it's essential for parents to read aloud to children;
• Listening levels versus reading levels;
• How the mere presence of print in the home influences a child's reading skills;
• The negative impact of over-viewing of TV and video games;
• How TV's "closed-captioning" can help a child's reading;
• The positive effects of recorded books.
• The things to be sure to do when reading to children and the things to avoid;
• Why is it that some people read a lot and some (even very educated people) read very little?

How do we obtain the brochures?

First, email Jim Trelease (Jim Trelease) and seek permission to print the brochures, including in your correspondence the name and address of the requesting organization, its nonprofit status, and how it will be used. Jim's email response to you (usually within 48 hours) will allay any fears your printer may have about reprinting a copyrighted item. Then control/option-click on the name of the brochure below and the brochure's PDF file will be downloaded to your computer. Each is a megabyte in size and may take a minute to download. Burn it to a disc (or email it) for your printing facility. The item should be printed to both sides of a single sheet. It's easier than pie, if you've ever tried to bake a pie—a lot easier!

• Ten Facts Parents Should Know About Reading
• Why Read Aloud to Children?
• Thirty DO's to Remember When Reading Aloud
• A Dozen DON'Ts to Remember When Reading Aloud
• Why Some Read a Lot and Some Read Very Little (perfect for faculty/parent discussion)
• The Connection Between TV & School Scores
  
• Ages 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18
  

When Pigasso met Mootisse Storyline Online AudioBook

When Pigasso met Mootisse

By Nina Laden

PREVIEW
http://www.storylineonline.net

Edition: illustrated

Published by Chronicle Books, 1998

ISBN 0811811212, 9780811811217

40 pages Ages: 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10
Read by ERIC CLOSE.
When Pigasso met Mootisse, what began as a neighborly overture escalated into a mess. Before you can say paint-by-numbers, the two artists become fierce rivals, calling each other names and ultimately building a fence between them. But when the two painters paint opposite sides of the fence that divides them, they unknowingly create a modern art masterpiece, and learn it is their friendship that is the true work of art. Full color throughout.

During their youth in Paris, Picasso and ...

... Matisse had a brief falling out after a competitive spat. Here, art imitates life as Laden takes that episode and, through transformation and embellishment, turns it into neat little lessons in art history and ego reduction. Pigasso and Mootisse have separately garnered such fame that they each must flee the hordes to concentrate on their art. When they become neighbors in the countryside, all is bonhomous until their temperaments--and their artistic visions--clash, so much so that they build a great wooden fence between their houses. Gradually their hearts soften. To make amends, and since neither knows how to simply apologize, each simultaneously paints a tribute to the other (and, of course, to himself, as befits such self-importance) on the fence. There are plenty of good (modified) examples of the real artists' works, as well as a couple of surprises, such as a Jackson Pollock--style explosion between the painters. The characters come across as bumptious, strong-willed, and appealing. Laden further lightens the story with goofy wordplay--moosterpiece, pork of art--that adds little when the quality of the artwork and the book's detonation of color are already such pleasures. ... more »

Kirkus Reviews Copyright (c) VNU Business Media, Inc.

A Bad Case of Stripes Storyline Online AudioBook

A Bad Case Of Stripes

By David Shannon

http://www.storylineonline.net/
Illustrated by David Shannon

Published by Demco Media, 2004

ISBN 0606305815, 9780606305815 Ages 6, 7, 8, 9
Read and Acted by Sean Astin

In order to ensure her popularity, Camilla Cream always does what is expected, until the day arrives when she no longer recognizes herself.
RearWriteThink Lesson Plan
After she refuses to eat her lima beans, Camilla finds herself covered with stripes. The stripes change into stars, polka dots, and other patterns. Camilla overcomes her "illness" when she learns to be herself. INDIVIDUALITY, POPULARITY

My Rotten Redheaded Older Brother Storyline Online AudioBook

My Rotten Redheaded Older Brother

By Patricia Polacco

PREVIEW
http://www.storylineonline.net/
Illustrated by Patricia Polacco

Edition: illustrated

Published by Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 1994

ISBN 0671727516, 9780671727512

32 pages Ages 4, 5, 6, 7, 8
Wonderful animated reading aloud by MELISSA GILBERT.
USE THIS FOR READER'S THEATER.
There's nothing worse than a rotten redheaded older brother who can do everything you can do better! Patricia's brother Richard could run the fastest, climb the highest, and spit the farthest and still smile his extra-rotten, greeny-toothed, weasel-eyed grin. But when little Patricia wishes on a shooting star that she could do something -- anything -- to show him up, she finds out just what wishes -- and rotten redheaded older brothers -- can really do. Patricia Polacco's boldly and exuberantly painted pictures tell a lively and warmhearted tale of comic one-upsmanship and brotherly love.

Patricia has an older brother who looks ...

... ""like a weasel with glasses,"" but that's just for starters. The real problem with him -- besides his red wiry hair and his freckles -- is that he's always telling her he can do everything better than she can. He can pick more blackberries, he can eat more rhubarb without puckering; he can run faster, climb higher, burp louder, and spit farther. Worst of all, he's four years older, ""always has been and always will be."" When Patricia's babushka -- her grandmother -- teaches her how to wish on a falling star, Patricia wishes to do something better than he does. She gets her wish and winds up seeing a different side of her brother as well. Polacco's (Babushka Baba Yaga, 1993, etc.; Pink and Say, see below) text is smooth, effortless, and completely natural-sounding. Her drawings are funny and vivacious -- as usual, her characters are drawn with wonderful facial expressions and limbs akimbo. She has the ability to transport you to her settings -- in this case, to a Michigan farm where you can practically feel the sun and smell the pies baking. Polacco has proved time and again that she is masterful both as illustrator and storyteller, and this book is no exception. ... more »

Kirkus Reviews Copyright (c) VNU Business Media, Inc.
Barnes and Noble Info

Thank You, Mr. Falker Storyline Online Audiobook

Thank You, Mr. Falker

By Patricia Polacco
http://www.storylineonline.net/

Illustrated by Patricia Polacco

Edition: illustrated

Published by Book Wholesalers, Incorporated, 2002

ISBN 0758737793, 9780758737793 Ages 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10,11

Little Trisha is miserable because she can't read. One day a new teacher recognizes Trisha's secret and sets out to help her overcome her problem

An autobiographical tribute to Polacco's ...

... fifth-grade teacher, the first adult to recognize her learning disability and to help her learn to read. Trisha begins kindergarten with high hopes, but as the years go by she becomes convinced ... more » she is dumb. She can draw well, but is desperately frustrated by math and reading. In fifth grade, Mr. Falker silences the children who taunt Trisha, and begins, with a reading teacher, to help her after school. A thank-you to a teacher who made a difference is always welcome, but this one is unbearably sentimental. Although the perspective is supposed to be Trisha's, many sentences give away the adult viewpoint, e.g., ""She didn't notice that Mr. Falker and Miss Plessy had tears in their eyes."" The extent to which Trisha limns her own misery and deifies Mr. Falker (complete with a classroom version of a ""He who is without sin among you"" scene) is mawkish. Mr. Falker's implicit sense of fairness--""Right from the start, it didn't seem to matter to Mr. Falker which kids were the cutest. Or the smartest. Or the best at anything""--is contradicted when Trisha is the object of praise: Mr. Falker, watching her draw, whispers, ""This is brilliant . . . absolutely brilliant. Do you know how talented you are?"" Polacco's disdain for all the other teachers and the students intrudes on Trisha's more profoundly heartbreaking perspective; the book lacks the author's usual flair for making personal stories universal.

Kirkus Reviews Copyright (c) VNU Business Media, Inc.
SEND A POSTCARD

BookList Children & YA NYPL.org

Children's & Young Adult
http://www.nypl.org/publications/children.cfm

---

These title are available ONLY through the Office of Collections and Services (212) 340-0912. See Ordering Information for specific details as well as an Order Form.

Booklists:

Recommended titles on a variety of subjects compiled by the Children's and Young Adult Librarians of The New York Public Library.
The Black Experience in Children's Books 2004
An annotated list of recommended books on the black experience for children ages 2-12, selected by a committee of The New York Public Library's children's librarians. Sections include picture books, stories, folklore, history, celebrations, and reference.
2005, 64 pages, paperback, $8.00, ISBN 0-87104-768-3
Books for the Teen Age 2008
A list of approximately 1,000 books arranged by subject for teenagers and compiled annually by Young Adult librarians in The Branch Libraries. This year's edition also includes interviews by teens with some of today's most exciting authors, as well as book reviews by teens.
2008, 32 pages, paperback, $10.00, ISBN-13: 978-0-87104-779-3
Celebrating the Dream, 2001
A booklist compiled for teenage readers on the black experience; subjects include fiction, the arts, poetry, sports, and politics.
2001, 35 pages, paperback, $10.00, ISBN 0-87104-753-5
Children's Books 2008: 100 Titles for Reading and Sharing
One hundred titles published in 2006, selected as the best picture books, stories, and nonfiction for children from preschoolers to age 12.
2008, 16 pages, paperback, $3.00, ISBN 978-0-87104-777-9
Global Beat 1998
A list of multicultural books for teenagers including Latin America and the Caribbean, Africa, India, the Far East, and Native Americans and the immigrant experience.
1998, 36 pages, paperback, $10.00, ISBN 0-87104-742-X
Stories: A List of Stories to Tell and Read Aloud
A selected list of favorite stories and poems to tell and read aloud, as well as resource materials for the storyteller.
Third edition, 1990, 104 pages, paperback, $6.00, ISBN 0-87104-709-8

Sophie's Masterpiece Storyline Online AudioBook

Sophie's Masterpiece: A Spider's Tale

By Eileen Spinelli, Jane Dyer
http://www.storylineonline.net/

Illustrated by Jane Dyer

Edition: illustrated

Published by Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2001

ISBN 0689801122, 9780689801129

32 pages

Sophie's no ordinary house spider. She's an artist; and every web she spins is more wondrous than the one before. But don't mention that to the guests at Beekman's Boardinghouse, because they don't like spiders. No one there wants anything to do with Sophie or her magnificent creations -- no one except the woman on the third floor. She's a new mother "weaving" something herself; and when she runs out of yarn, Sophie knows the time has finally come to create the masterpiece of a lifetime.

Eileen Spinelli and Jane Dyer, the award-winning duo who created the best-selling When Mama Comes Home Tonight, team up once again to tell the charming and bittersweet tale of an exceptionally gifted spider and the lengths she's willing to go to share her gifts with those around her.

The creators of When Mama Comes Home ...

... Tonight (1998) weave another affecting tale, in which a gentle, eight-legged artist spends her last strength on a gift to a newborn baby. Though Sophie's ingeniously patterned webs are the delight ... more » of her Mama and playmates, when she moves into a drab boarding house, its residents react to her presence with fear and disgust. Most of its residents, that is—weary and aging, Sophie finds a home and quiet welcome at last when she crawls into an expectant young mother's yarn basket. Sophie's webs, all finer than the finest lace, ripple with stars, flowers, and geometric patterns in Dyer's delicately detailed watercolors. She herself cuts a stylish bohemian figure, with long, slender legs in multicolored stockings radiating from a black body topped by a flaxen-haired human head. Learning that the young woman is too poor to knit or buy a blanket, Sophie gathers strands of moonlight, wisps of night and pine, old lullabies, snowflakes, and, last of all, her own heart to create a gift that the new mother receives with "love and wonderment." Sophie may physically resemble the proud, angry protagonist of Kate Hovey's Arachne Speaks (2000), but her generosity of spirit gives her a very different character. (Picture book. 7, 8, 9)

Kirkus Reviews Copyright (c) VNU Business Media, Inc.

Sebastian's Roller Skates Storyline Online AudioBook

Sebastian's Roller Skates

By Joan De Deu Prats, Joan De Prats
http://www.storylineonline.net/

Illustrated by Francesc Rovira

Edition: illustrated

Published by Kane/Miller, 2005

ISBN 1929132816, 9781929132812

32 pages
Sebastian doesn't talk much, even though he has a lot to say. But a pair of roller skates may unlock more than Sebastian's coordination?

In this story about the power of self ...

...-confidence, Sebastian is a reserved boy to the point of stifling shyness. He lives within his thoughts, unable to express himself to others, though full of fascinating ideas. When an abandoned pair of roller skates piques his interest, he tries to learn to skate with a quiet determination. Alas, his fear of falling down and failing prevents him from becoming proficient. An impromptu rescue of a runaway dog provides the impetus he needs to use his new skills on skates—instilling him with confidence and unleashing his self-restraint. Rovira skillfully conveys the changing tenor of Sebastian's moods in a distinctive manner: The illustrations are primarily full-bleed watercolor and ink; however, he uses his collages to indicate Sebastian's internal thoughts. At first, the collages consist of monochromatic ripped pieces of paper, full of detail, but in blacks and grays. As Sebastian overcomes his reticence, the collages increase in clarity and vibrancy until tale's end where they become a torrent of joyful, brightly colored images. Sebastian's triumph provides inspiration for timid readers to seek out their own strengths. (Picture book. 5, 6, 7, 8, 9) ... more »

Kirkus Reviews Copyright (c) VNU Business Media, Inc.

Guji Guji Storyline Online AudioBook

Guji Guji

By Chih-Yuan Chen, Zhiyuan Chen, María Fernanda Pulido Duarte

PREVIEW
http://www.storylineonline.net/

Translated by María Fernanda Pulido Duarte

Illustrated by Chih-Yuan Chen

Edition: illustrated

Published by Kane/Miller Book Publishers, Inc., 2007

ISBN 1933605340, 9781933605340 Ages 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9

36 pages Read ROBERT GUILLAUME the voice of Rafiki in The Lion King

Raised from an egg by Mother Duck, Guji Guji is quite content with his life as a duckling, despite the fact that he doesn't look anything like his brothers. Then he meets three nasty creatures who not only convince him that he is, like them, a crocodile, but also try to persuade him to deliver his duck relatives for their dinner. Suggested level: junior, primary.

PreS-Gr 3-One day, an extra-large egg ...

... rolls right into Mother Duck's nest. She is busy reading and doesn't notice the new addition, but this lucky event will change her life. Her hatchlings include a yellow duckling; one with blue spots; another with brown stripes; and a rather unusual, crocodile-shaped youngster, named after his first words. Guji Guji grows bigger and stronger than his siblings (and more crocodilelike), but Mother loves all her offspring the same. When three duck-hungry crocodiles make fun of Guji Guji's ways and try to tempt him into betraying his family, he is put to the test. This beautifully written story has much to say about appreciating families and differences, and it will resonate with children long after the final page is turned. Chen's unique illustrations are compelling, down to the beautiful silhouette endpapers. The rich blues and earth tones and dramatic page layouts create moving scenes, but the quirky details and characters' expressions are hilarious. This charming spin on the ugly duckling theme is a must-have for any collection.-Julie Roach, Malden Public Library, MA ... more »

Reed Business Information (c) 2004

TAIWAN REVIEW

To Be a Drum Storyline Online AudioBook

To Be a Drum

By Evelyn Coleman
PREVIEW
http://www.storylineonline.net/

Illustrated by Aminah Brenda Lynn Robinson

Edition: illustrated

Published by Albert Whitman and Company, 2000

ISBN 0807580074, 9780807580073

32 pages Ages 5, 6, 7, 8, 9

Read by JAMES EARL JONES who discusses his reluctance to speak, his stuttering, and his dyslexia.
Daddy Wes tells his children Mat and Martha that the drum has long been a powerful symbol to their African roots, and shares with them how the drum was the underlying heartbeat of their people through slavery, war, and the civil rights movement. Full-color illustrations.

The drum is a mytho-poetic symbol that ...

... links people to their African roots and to the rhythm of the earth, or so Daddy Wes tells his children, Mat and Martha. In broad sweeps of history--covering slavery, war, civil rights--and in the ... more » struggle for intellectual and artistic pursuits, Daddy Wes declares that the underlying heartbeat of a people is the drum. Metaphorically extending the idea, he explains that when the literal drum was taken from the slaves, the rhythm was internalized: ""When we talked to each other, we made our speech drums. When we stitched our quilts, we made our hands drums."" The message hovers, rising from the core of African-American experience, even when the image becomes abstract, even when the moralizing momentarily overtakes the drumbeat. That's the moment, in this joyful and robust chronicle, to turn to the art, where the energetic montages bustle with multi-textured backgrounds and figures, employing cloth, cotton, old buttons, sisal, wool, clay, and more, in theatrical, pulsing settings.

Kirkus Reviews Copyright (c) VNU Business Media, Inc.

Stellaluna Storyline Online AudioBook

Stellaluna

By Janell Cannon
PREVIEW
http://www.storylineonline.net/

Edition: illustrated

Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2007

ISBN 0152062874, 9780152062873

42 pages

Stellaluna has been charming picture-book readers for years with its moving tale of a lost little bat who learns a big lesson about friendship. This bestseller has now been adapted as a board book, the perfect format to introduce younger readers to Janell Cannon's enchanting tale and gorgeous art.

Attacked by an owl, Stellaluna (a fruit ...

... bat) is separated from her mother and taken in by a bird and her nestlings. Dutifully, she tries to accommodate--she eats insects, hangs head up, and sleeps at night, as Mama Bird says she must ... more »--but once Stellaluna learns to fly, it's a huge relief when her own mother finds her and explains that the behavior that comes naturally is appropriate to her species. With a warm, nicely honed narration, Cannon strikes just the right balance between accurate portrayal of the bats and the fantasy that dramatizes their characteristics. Her illustrations, in luminous acrylics and color pencils, are exquisite. The appealingly furry, wide-eyed, fawn-colored bats have both scientific precision and real character; they're displayed against intense skies or the soft browns and greens of the woodland in spare, beautifully constructed (occasionally even humorous) compositions. Delightful and informative but never didactic: a splendid debut. (Picture book. 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)

Kirkus Reviews Copyright (c) VNU Business Media, Inc.

Storyline Online AudioBooks

http://www.storylineonline.net/

Screen Actors Guide Foundation

Online Streaming Video Program

featuring SAG members

reading Children's Books aloud.

See and Hear the Actor and the Book!

Ages 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12

LibriVox Downloadable AudioBooks Public Domain

I'd like to share a Web site called

LibriVox,

which provides free, downloadable audiobooks from the public domain: Users download the audiobooks in MP3 format and listen to them on their computer or copy them onto an MP3 player. According to the site, "LibriVox volunteers record chapters of books in the public domain and release the audio files back onto the Internet. Our goal is to make all public domain books available as free audiobooks." Users can take advantage of the full catalog of audiobooks -- about a thousand at the time of this writing.

Because the books are in the public domain, users may listen to them as many times as they want and share them with others. If your students have access to MP3 players, providing them with audiobooks is a great way to encourage their appreciation for some fantastic literature. In addition, you can sign up to be a volunteer reader: Find a book of your choosing in the public domain, and record yourself reading it. The site, started in 2005 for the sole purpose of sharing the love of reading, works on a volunteer basis.

LibriVox is a teacher's dream -- a fun tool to encourage the reluctant reader or inspire your already-addicted ones to explore even more great literature. You'll find Aesop's Fables and the works of Shakespeare, James Joyce, and Rudyard Kipling -- the list goes on and on. How about some Edgar Allan Poe to listen to on the way home from school each evening?

Go have a listen, and let us know what you think.

• Chris O’Neal's blog

HEY! LISTEN TO THIS Stories to Read Aloud

By Jim Trelease

Published by Penguin Books, 1992

ISBN 0140146539, 9780140146530

414 pages Ages 5, 6, 7, 8, 9
Jim Trelease's "New Read-Aloud Handbook" led millions of people to discover the special experience of reading aloud to children. In "Hey! Listen to This, " Trelease brings together forty-eight read-aloud stories that parents and teachers can share with children ages five through nine. His choices range from folktales "( Uncle Remus, the Pied Piper of Hamelin, and the Indian Cinderella )" to classic favorites by such wonderful children's authors as Roald Dahl "( James and the Giant Peach ), " E.B. White "( Charlotte's Web), " Beverly Cleary "( Ramona the Pest ), " C.S. Lewis "( The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe), " and L.Frank Baum "(Ozma of Oz )." In addition, Trelease has written a special introduction to each story and makes suggestions for further reading.

HEY! LISTEN TO THIS

• • CONTENTS • •

TELL ME A STORY

• "The Gunniwolf" retold by Wilhelmina Harper
• "Little Green Riding Hood" by Gianni Rodari
• Wolf Story by William McCleery (novel chapter)

TALES FROM LONG AGO

• "Noah's Friends" by Marc Gellman, from Does God Have a Big Toe?
• "The Tortoise and the Hare" retold from Aesop

SCHOOL DAYS

• "Joe" by Louis Sachar, from Sideways Stories from Wayside School (novel chapter)
• "Ramona's Great Day" by Beverly Cleary, from Ramona the Pest (novel chapter)
• "A Room Without Windows or Doors" by Edith Fisher Hunter, from Child of the Silent Night (novel chapter)
• "Cheating" by Susan Shreve, from Family Secrets

FOOD FOR THOUGHT

• "Bavsi's Feast" by Adele Geras
• "Meet Henry Green" and "A Strange Feeling" by Robert Kimmel Smith, from Chocolate Fever (novel chapter)
• "The Doughnuts" by Robert McCloskey, from Homer Price (novel chapter)

FAMILIES

• "Alexander," by June Epstein
• "Captain Cook," by Richard and Florence Atwater, from Mr. Popper's Penguins (novel chapter)
• "The Pudding Like A Night on the Sea" by Ann Cameron, from The Stories Julian Tells
• "The Fish Angel" by Myron Levoy, from The Witch of Fourth Street and Other Stories
• "Nadia the Willful" by Sue Alexander
• "Greyling" by Jane Yolen

FOLK AND FAIRY TALES

• "Unanana and the Elephant" retold by Kathleen Arnott
• "Brer Rabbit Gets Even" retold by Julius Lester, from The Tales of Uncle Remus
• "The Indian Cinderella" retold by Cyrus Macmillan
• "Ah Mee's Invention" retold by Arthur Bowie Chrisman, from Shen of the Sea
• "The Emperor's New Clothes" retold from Hans Christian Andersen
• "The Search for the Magic Lake" by Genevieve Barlow
• "The Magic Thread" author unknown

ANIMAL TALES

• "The Tale of Peter Rabbit" by Beatrix Potter
• "Before Breakfast" by E. B. White, from Charlotte's Web (novel chapter)
• Bambi by Felix Salten (novel chapter)
• "My Early Home" and "The Hunt" by Anna Sewell, from Black Beauty (novel chapter)
• "Not for Sale" and "I Never Want Another Dog" by Eric Knight, from Lassie Come-Home(novel chapter)
• Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls, (novel chapter)
• Gentle Ben by Walt Morey (novel chapter)

GIGANTIC CREATURES

• "The Story of Giant Kippernose" by John Cunliffe
• "The Reluctant Dragon" by Kenneth Grahame
• "The Moon's Revenge" by Joan Aiken

FANTASY LANDS

• "The Girl in the Chicken Coop" by L. Frank Baum, from Ozma of Oz (novel chapter)
• "Lucy Looks into a Wardrobe" by C. S. Lewis, from The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (novel chapter)
• James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl (novel chapters)

CHILDREN OF COURAGE

• "The Boy Who Stopped the Sea" retold by Louis Untermeyer, from The World's Great Stories
• The Courage of Sarah Noble by Alice Dalgliesh (novel chapter)
• The Sign of the Beaver by Elizabeth George Speare (novel chapter)
• "I'm going to Get Me Some Big Words" and "A Dream Begins to Grow" by Margaret Davidson, from I Have a Dream: The Story of Martin Luther King Jr.

ORPHANS OF THE STORM

• Sara Crewe by Frances Hodgson Burnett (novel chapter)
• "The Story of Holly and Ivy" by Rumer Godden
• "Aunt Harriet Has a Cough" by Dorothy Canfield Fisher, from Understood Betsy (novel chapter)
  

CLASSIC TALES

• "The Golden Touch" retold from Nathaniel Hawthorne's Wonder Book
• "The Pied Piper" retold from Joseph Jacobs and Andrew Lang, with poetry excerpts from Robert Browning
• "Aladdin and the Wonderful Lamp" retold from Andrew Lang's The Red Fairy Book

Read All about It!: Great Read-aloud Stories, Poems, and Newspaper Pieces for Preteens and Teens

Read All about It!: Great Read-aloud Stories, Poems, and Newspaper Pieces for Preteens and Teens

By Jim Trelease

Contributor Jim Trelease

Edition: illustrated

Published by Penguin Books, 1993

ISBN 0140146555, 9780140146554

489 pages

From "Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass" to "Maniac Magee," sci-fi to op-ed, "Casey at the Bat" to a moving true story about the reunion of two Hololcaust survivors, this wonderfully diverse collection of excerpts from newspapers, magazines, and books has been created by Jim Trelease especially to turn young people on to the many pleasures of reading. Here are thought-provoking columns from Mike Royko and Pete Hamill; excerpts from classics like "To Kill a Mockingbird" and "Rikki-tikki-tavi"; autobiographical sketches by Maya Angelou, Moss Hart, and others, highlighting the imoportance of reading in their lives; and much more. With selections representing many different cultures, genres, writing styles, and interests, "Read All About It!" is a wonderful introduction to the riches of literature and to a lifetime of reading.

Everybody Wins!

Our Mission
EVERYBODY WINS! is a national literacy and mentoring nonprofit proven to build the skills and love of reading among low-income elementary students. By bringing volunteer mentors into schools for weekly one-on-one reading experiences, everybody wins! - children, schools, volunteers, their companies and ultimately, society.

The EVERYBODY WINS! equation is simple - one mentor, one child, one book at a time - but has a profound impact.

READING RESOURCES

Each month, EVERYBODY WINS! USA recommends multicultural, age-specific children’s books. Remember, if you purchase books (or anything else!) through our amazon.com link, 5% of your total purchase will be donated to EW! USA. Click the books below to earn rewards for EVERYBODY WINS! Looking for something else? Click the amazon.com button at the bottom to search and purchase!
The Rough-Face Girl by Rafe Martin
International Reading Association Teacher’s Choice. Grades K-3.
John Lewis in the Lead: A Story of the Civil Rights Movement by Jim Haskins & Kathleen Benson Society of Illustrators, Original Art Show. Grades 3-5

.If I Ran the Zoo by Dr. Seuss
1950 Caldecott Honor Medal Winner. Grades PreK-3.
Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson
1978 Newbery Medal Winner. Grades 4-7.
The Hello, Goodbye Window by Norton Juster
2006 Caldecott Medal Winner. Grades PreK-2.
Show Way by Jacqueline Woodson
2006 Newbery Honor Medal Winner. Grades 3-6.

Literacy in TWENTY MINUTES A DAY

How many books in Twenty Minutes a Day?

THE READ-ALOUD BOOK by Jim Trelease

USA Today's (March 19, 1991) Dennis Kelly calculated that reading twenty minutes a day, six days a week, the average reader would accumulate 104 hours in a year and 3000 pages.
The 3000 pages are the equal of Dickens' Bleak House, Little Dorrit, Great Expectations, and Our Mutural Friend; or five novels by Judith Krantz; or twenty-one John D. Macdonald mysteries.
On the other hand, if you convert the 104 hours to television shows, it comes out to about eight seasons of Roseanne.

Robert Anderson and other researchers conducted the mosst comprehensive study ever done on how children spend their time outside school and compared reading scores from when they were in second grade with their scores in fifth grade. They reported:

1. Students who read the most also had the most success in reading between second and fifth grades.
2. Students who spent more time eating with their families had higher reading achievement.
3. Students who read the most came from classrooms where the teachers most frequently:

• read aloud to the class
• made a wide assortment of books available to the class
• used incentives to motivate students
• scheduled sustained silent reading during the school day

National Reading Incentive Programs:
Pizza Hut's Book It! http://www.bookitprogram.com/
Reading is Fundamental http://www.rif.org/
RIF's READ ALONG STORIES FOR KIDS
Animated Stories read & Story Songs sung aloud with highlights word by word.
Mice-tro Mozart: the Opera House Mouse
Calico Pie - Story Song
Reading Rainbow http://pbskids.org/readingrainbow/
Sylvan Learning http://www.bookadventure.org/
Get Caught Reading http://www.getcaughtreading.org/
Send an eCard or join the National Geographic Kids Blog

Boys Write Boys Read by Angela Bunyi Gr 3-5

Link to Blog

Boy Writers: Reclaiming Their Voices, Ralph Fletcher

As I type this I am looking at my son play outside. He is playing with the soil in a large barrel by the door. He is pretty much a mess and will require some hosing down before he returns in this house. Personally, I can't relate with how much fun this mess must be, but I think this is a microscopic cataclysm of what happens in the classroom in regards to working with boys. We can't relate (assuming you are a female reader). And some of us don't know where we went wrong.

Which probably explains why I purchased Ralph Fletcher's book (2006) the day it came out. I noticed early on in my teaching career that "teaching" girls to enjoy reading and writing was a walk in the park. Boys, on the other hand, took some convincing. Some, I noticed, didn't want to drink my reading and writing Kool-Aid at all. What was a women to do? According to Fletcher, he cries, "Let the boys be boys!" Let them write about farting, burping, and wars. Let them write outdoors and/or where they feel comfortable. Be generous with their humorous writing style and encourage them to find other authors who write in the same manner. And I couldn't agree more. Here are some of the things Fletcher recommends in working with boys under the literacy framework:

• Boys need an audience. In our classroom, this means daily reading and writing share time. I honestly don't know when the boys swap out their writing to each other but every time a boy says I am going to read-insert silly title here- I hear a murmur of, "Oh, that's a good one." Audience is everything for the boys.

• Boys need to feel at home. This usually means reading/writing in a corner, on the floor, or outdoors. The level of focus is really high when my boys write outdoors. We have a large collection of milk crates from the cafeteria that we store right under the portable. It becomes an outdoor classroom of boys each sunny day.

• Allow your boys to have a "Private" section to their writer's notebooks. This writing, not meant for public consumption, allows students to write freely. This is how you can value that love for war stories that involve some gore.

• Don't automatically outlaw stories with weapons. Especially if you live in the south like I do. One of my students wrote the most fascinating hunting story that involved being caught up in a storm with his father while hunting. If a ban was in place, this story would have never been told.

• Look for the humor underneath the violence you may find in your boys' writings. For my boys, one in particular, violence seems to be mixed with flatulence and/or weddings. It's really quite funny, if I am being honest. And if I am being even more honest, I have laughed so hard that tears come out of my eyes a few times. Each time, those stories have come from the brains of a boy.

• Connect "humorous" writing with published authors. My favorite is Jon Scieska. It might sound like this, "You know, Zach, this writing sounds just like Scieska's work. Have you read The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Stories?" That's all it takes. Trust me.

• Instead of "humor" think "voice" and instead of "silly" think "satire."

• Give more wait time for boys to talk about their reading and writing with you.

• Create some boundaries on language and use of names. For example, in our room you may not include the name of another student without explicit permission (the student needs to know their role in the story).

• Embrace a more visual definition of writing that includes sketches and drawings. Fletcher also calls this, "Sketch to compose."

• Consider creating a mini-lesson that models specific drawing techniques when writing (e.g. Max's Logbook by Marissa Moss).

• Portray writer's notebooks as a space to collect weird facts, feathers, leaves, and interesting snippets of information. This may resonate more with boys that perceive writing as journals and fiction stories.

• Explore many genres. Boys tend to read more nonfiction and really seem to enjoy writing nonfiction as well. As a result, I try to focus on reading and writing nonfiction quite closely throughout the year. Keep your library stocked.

• Finally, just let them read and write. Boys are all about doing...give them time to just do it!