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READING STYLE GUIDE

The Truth Is...

2/25/2017

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Prince Ribbit by Jonathan Emmett ill by Poly Bernatene

"Just because it's in a book doesn't mean it's true."
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Emmett spins his own riff on the Frog Prince meme with Prince Ribbit. A frog resides in a pond near the castle of three princesses. These royal sisters have very different reactions when this frog hops out the water and approaches them. Fairy tale experts Lucinda and Arabella know exactly how the story of a princess befriending a frog is supposed to end. If taken to the castle, he will become an "astonishingly handsome" prince. On the other hand, well-read Martha knows her zoology and clearly can identify an amphibian. The actual change for these animals occurs during the life cycle, changing from egg to tadpole to adult frog.
Each girl is convinced that she is correct. Because of course, each girl's concept of frogs is derived from information located "in a book."
Poly Bernatene's delightful illustrations bring life to this twist on a traditional tale. This picture book can serve as an introduction for young readers learning to evaluate sources of information.

Companion Resources

Amid the hue and cry in today's world, it is often difficult to distinguish where the truth lies. Labels of "spin" "fake" "misinformation" and "alternative" have been attached to the glut of ideas and viewpoints available to consumers of media. The resources listed below are useful tools for helping students to objectively consider and evaluate information.
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Allsides: Curating diverse perspectives
School librarian Joyce Valenza's blog: NeverEnding Search.
Truth: A New York Times advertisement.
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She Persisted: Two Incredible Women

2/22/2017

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Two beautiful blue covers. Two picture books. Two fascinating women. Two true stories.

Caroline's Comets: A True Story
by Emily Arnold McCully

"It was an endless piece of work and served me for many an hour's exercise."
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Emily Arnold McCully illuminates the accomplishments of Caroline Herschel, the first woman to discover a comet and the first woman to be paid for her scientific research. Born in 1750 in German-speaking Hanover to a family of musicians, scarred by childhood illness, and trained to perform domestic tasks seems an unlikely beginning for a scientist. The picture book uses historical documents, including Herschel's diary to introduce young readers to this remarkable collaborator, astronomer, and professional scientist.
​Her life was far from glamorous and included such tasks as sifting horse manure needed for creating the telescope's mirror, endless hours supporting her brother as he polished the mirror with pitch, impaling her leg on the iron hook used to anchor the twenty-foot telescope and then removing the hook herself ! McCully does not shy away from depicting Caroline's stunted stature and her pock-marked complexion. Notwithstanding obstacles, she persevered in her work to "sweep for comets."
Back matter includes an author's note, including mention of Caroline's "prickly personality", bibliography, glossary and timeline. Caroline's Comets: A True Story offers a fascinating glimpse into the development of astronomy and the life of a remarkable woman. ​

Proof that reading nonfiction can be an emotionally-charged experience.

Trudy's Big Swim: How Gertrude Ederle Swam the English Channel and Took the World by Storm
by Sue Macy Ill by Matt Collins

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Sue Macy's Trudy's Big Swim: How Gertrude Ederle Swam the English Channel and Took the World by Storm puts to rest the notion that nonfiction is dull. Although the title of the book makes it clear that the outcome of Gertrude Ederle's swim is known, Macy's skillful handling of the event makes gripping reading. The story is expertly framed, opening with Trudy beginning her swim through the choppy waters of the English Channel. Well-chosen verbs move the storyline forward at a pace mimicking traversing through rough seas. She seamlessly flashes back to Ederle's history as an athlete before returning to the contest in treacherous waters.  The narrative pacing is excellent, providing fascinating details but never losing focus on the race in the water. The use of actual dialog accentuates the narrative's growing tension.
Finally someone shouted, "Come on, girl, come out!"
But Trudy, who was as determined as ever to finish, yelled back, "What for?"
The action is so intense, that readers will breathe a sigh of relief when Ederle eventually reaches land with her record-breaking time for any individual to swim the Channel: 14 hours and 39 minutes. Book design, with full page spreads featuring illustration by Matt Collins heightens the drama. Excellent back matter, including Afterword, Sources and Resources, Source Notes and an Author's Note explaining the confusion surrounding the year of Ederle's birth enrich this excellent biography.
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YA Authors IRL

2/20/2017

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Teen Bookfest by the Bay

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Busloads of teens from south Texas filled the American Bank Center in Corpus Christi on Saturday February 18 for a memorable day celebrating literature for young adults. Against a stunning waterfront background the third annual Teen Bookfest by the Bay welcomed twenty nine authors who came to share their books, offer insights into the writing process and create memorable moments for young readers. A wide assortment of author panel discussions were offered that included these sessions: The Scarier the Better, Love in Peril, Mind Matters, Survivors, The Real Thing, Worlds Away, Love is Funny (or is it?), Worlds Away, and Gift or Curse. In addition to the panel presentations, teens also had the option to attend more intensive workshops which focused on illustration, manga, and writing. 
Numerous events throughout the day provided teens with opportunities for photos and interactions with guest authors. The day concluded with a book signing session.
Spectacular day!  Kudos to the Teen Bookfest by the Bay committee, event sponsors, and authors!  

Bookfest by the Bay Snaphots

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Author secrets: giraffes, sloth, Kevin the dog, and 1950's furnishings.
Steven Parlato, Jeff Zentner, Beth Fehlbaum, Jennifer Mathieu
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Teens are "my people."
Terri Farley, Kym Brunner, Brendan Kiely, Diana Lopez

​
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Writing fuel: oreos, Diet Coke, tacos, coffee, dark chocolate sea salt almonds.
Guadalupe Garcia McCall, Jacqueline E. Smith, Laura Stampler
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"I got a signed book!"
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"P.J. Hoover came to my school. She is great."
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"I got books signed by two authors!"
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"I can't wait to read this signed book."
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Illustrators try creating illustrations for a well-known fairy tale.
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Evan Turk demonstrates sketching techniques.

Great advice. Memorable lines. 

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"Write about who and what fascinate you." Jeff Zentner
"Let your characters lead you where they want to go" Steven Parlato
​"Where are the books about us?" Latina students asked Diana Lopez
"Listen to the music inside you." Guadalupe Garcia McCall
​"It's a matter of practice & persistence." Jeff Zentner
"I've always processed my life through writing." ​ Beth Fehlbaum
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Focal Point

2/16/2017

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Dorothea Lange:
​The Photographer Who Found the Faces of the Depression

by Carole Boston Weatherford ill by Sarah Green

Photography, American history, and biography of an influential women in one handsome package.
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The Dorothea Lange: The Photographer Who Found the Faces of the Depression chronicles this artist's life with prose that is precise and eloquent. Narration skims over Lange's early years, describing her childhood in New York: "Dorothea donned a cloak of invisibility to pass the vagabonds." The book focuses on Lange's work of preserving soul-crushing images of the Depression. "She saw despair from her second-story studio window and took her camera to the street." Descriptions of those "neglected and ignored" are poignant and poetic. The biography concludes with details surrounding the creation of her most famous photograph, Migrant Mother.
​Sarah Green's signature style and muted color palette echo the dust and despondency of this period in American history. Back matter nicely fleshes out supporting details.  Carol Boston Weatherford has created a stellar companion to her picture book study of Gordon Parks.

Companion Books

Learn more about photographers who were pioneers of their craft with these picture books.
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Antsy Ansel: Ansel Adams, a Life in Nature by Cindy Jenson-Elliott & Christy Hale
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Gordon Parks: How the Photographer Captured Black and White America by Carole Boston Weatherford
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Dorothea's Eyes: Dorothea Lange Photographs the Truth by Barb Rosenstock
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Imogen: The Mother of Modernism and Three Boys by Amy Novesky & Lisa Congdon
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Collages

2/13/2017

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Piecing Me Together by Renée Watson

"Piece by piece we stitch ourselves back together."
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​

The cover art for Piecing Me Together features an eye-arresting collage. I love the interplay of images, shapes, and colors. They are an excellent metaphor for the life of Jade Davis. This budding young artist is constantly in search of interesting scraps, remnants of her world. She skillfully repurposes, repositions, and reframes these bits into something fresh and new. Jade is also acutely aware that her own life is composed of pieces, often seemingly at odds with each other. She seeks to put these elements into her life in a meaningful way.
Watson has fashioned a moving story of one girl's attempt to reconcile her present circumstances with her potential future. She finds hope while struggling with reality.
Renée Watson's vivid portrait of a teen transcends the page and sinks deep into the soul. Thank you Ms Watson for introducing readers to the mind and heart of Jade. I fell in love with her.
Pieces of Jade's Life
  • Life outside the neighborhood
"Like the universe was telling me that in order for me to make something of my life, I'd have to leave home, my neighborhood, my friends."
  • Opportunities
"But girls like me, with coal skin and hula-hoop hips, whose mommas barely make enough money to keep food in the house, have to take opportunities every chance we get."
  • Value of literacy
"I've wanted to be a black girl who could read and write many languages, because I know there was a time when that seemed impossible."
  • Constant struggle
"Sometimes it feels like I leave home a whole person, sent off with kisses from Mom, who is hanging her every hope on my future. By the time I get home I feel like my soul has been shattered into a million pieces."
  • Condescension 
"I don't know what to say. Every time I see Maxine, it is two steps forward, two steps back."
  • Understanding difference 
"Those girls are not the opposite of me. We are perpendicular. We may be on different paths, yes. But there's a place where we connect and are just the same."
  • Speaking up
"I doubt my conversation with Mr. Flores will change anything. But at least he knows how I feel. At least I spoke up."
  • Fitting in/ Not fitting it
"At school I turn on a switch, make sure nothing about me is too black."
  • Living with pain
"Every tear I've been holding in goes onto the page.
Tears for Mom's swollen ankles after a long day of work, for her jar of pennies. Tears for every 'almost,' for every 'Things will be different next time.' Tears for what happened with Mrs. Weber, the lady at the mall, the boys at Dairy Queen. 
I didn't realize how much I was holding in. How many cries I've buried."
​

Companion Artist: Bisa Butler

"We were the ones who had the scraps and we had to make do with them."

Beautifully crafted quilts by this Brooklyn=based fabric artist are a stunning companion to Watson's YA novel.
Meet Bisa Butler. Learn more about her and her craft with this introductory video.
This slide show offers a sample of her exquisite quilts. They are amazing.
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Pastabilities

2/7/2017

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ABC Pasta: An Entertaining Alphabet by Juana Medina

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Medina has done it again! ABC Pasta: An Entertaining Alphabet follows up on 1 Big Salad: A Delicious Counting Book with artfully designed pages that combine stunning photos with clever illustrations to create another picture book filled with WOW!
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​This alphabet book is a primer for budding pasta enthusiasts.  A shopping trip to the market's pasta aisle will open minds to exciting design, alphabet, and gastronomic possibilities.
As a bonus Medina includes a recipe for Cacio e Pepe

​So long same-old alphabet soup. Goodbye boring blue box Mac & Cheese. This is the way pasta was meant to be enjoyed!

Companion Books

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1 Big Salad: A Delicious Counting Book by Juana Medina
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Strega Nona by Tomie dePaola
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More Spaghetti, I Say by Rita Golden Gelman
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YO-HO! Saucy Beau-tees

2/6/2017

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The Unintentional Adventures of the Bland Sisters:
​The Jolly Regina

by Kara LaReau ill by Jen Hill

"never turn down a moment of serendipity"
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Meet Jaundice and Kale Bland, siblings who spend their days darning socks, eating a daily ration of oatmeal, and entertaining themselves by reading Dr. Nathaniel Snoote's Illustrated Children's Dictionary. They live alone as their parents left home some time ago and have yet to return. Life in their Dullsville home takes an unexpected turn when there is a knock at the door. (No one has ever come to their door. Ever.)  Curiosity gets the better of them and upon opening the door they encounter the pirate Deadeye Delilah. She promptly kidnaps the sisters and whisks them off to her all female pirate ship, where they are impressed into service on the Jolly Regina. The girls experience pirate life on the high seas complete with threatened keelhauling, food poisoning, a drunk ship captain, a swashbuckling sword fight, and a monkey named Scurvy. 
Kara LaReau's The Unintentional Adventures of the Bland Sisters is light-hearted fun that works well for independent reading as well as a read aloud. (The chantey, rants of the pirate queens, and whispers of timid young girls beg to be voiced.)
Bonus: Droll illustrations by Jen Hill add to the fun. Readers will find lyrics to a rollicking sea chantey and directions to Make Your Own Compass. Short chapters begin with a dictionary entry, offering a clue to the ensuing drama. 
​Wordplay abounds. 
"It's too bad this ladder's no good," Kale said, sighing.
"What's wrong with it?" Jaundice asked, pressing against it to test its sturdiness.
"W have no idea where it goes," said Kale.
Jaundice rolled her eyes. "Of course we know where it goes," she said.
"We do? Where?" asked Kale.
"Obviously," said her sister, "it goes up.
"
"Cow-milking must be a trying endeavor," she whispered. "Utterly," said Jaundice. Though "udderly" might have been more apt.  ​
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"Books are filled with adventures and emotions and ideas!"

Companion books

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A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket
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James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl
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The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place by Maryrose Wood
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    Barbara Moon

    I like talking about books and  interesting ideas. I like thinking about how books affect my life. Not particularly interested in giving out stars or in rating books. 

    Audio Publishers Association
    2013, - present  Audies judge 
    American Library Association Book Awards and Lists 
    ​2017 YALSA Award Nominating Committee
    2016 Excellence in Nonfiction 
    2014 Margaret Edwards Award
    2012 Odyssey Awards.  
    2009, 2010, 2011 Great Graphic Novels for Teens.

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