31/31 It's Monday, It's the final SOLC, It's Chalkabration - We move on!

(special note: some font sizes seem stuck-cannot reduce it unless it's too small-sorry for the crazy size!)   The Last Day, #31 of the Slice of Life Challenge at Two Writing Teachers! Tweet at #SOL14  for It's Monday, What Are You Reading: Jen at TeachMentorTexts, Ricki and Kellee at Unleashing Readers. Tweet at #IMWAYR
Here are reviews for Non-fiction Picture Book Wed. at Alyson Beecher's Kid Lit Frenzy.

     

                   

Betsy Hubbard of Teaching Young Writers and Two Writing Teachers has been hosting a Chalk-a-bration where we share poems chalked on the last day of the month. Here's mine, for all the slicers who wrote through the month. Congratulations! 

And, congratulations to my three colleagues who also sliced every day: Suparna at Me and My Soliloquy, Max at Teaching From Behind, and Susan at UnderConstruction. Max's class posted all month, too!

Darn sun, peeking through. Could NOT get rid of it!

Chalk-a-bration

Celebration

Folks who slice

Are oh so nice

Now we’re done

Twas lots of fun

Thank you all

It was a ball

April’s next

Poets’ text

words in play

on future days

   Linda Baie © All Rights Reserved

         Reading! 

         Two books brought to me by a friend, wondering what I thought of these, the first and the sequel. Both are by Pam Conrad, illus. by Richard Egielski

The Tub People 

      Cute little toys to play with in the bathtub have more than one adventure, including a disastrous one where the youngest, a boy, slips down the drain. It all turn out okay because of a plumber, thank goodness. I’m not sure what I think of this story. It seems a little scary to read to a young child, but on the other hand, maybe it’s just fun, imaginative play. You’ll have to read it to see what you think. 

The Tub Grandfather

      This one takes the toys to a different level, more action possibilities because they’re now out of the tub, and in a bedroom. Grandfather is found under the radiator during a ball game. He takes some time waking up, finally joining the group because of some music. Through imagination, it reminds me of the stories I used to see my children playing with the old Fisher-Price little people. They, those little round-headed people, seemed quite real in the play. Interesting book.

Open Very Carefully A Book With Bite – Nick Bromley, illus. by Nicola O’Byrne

           This is a wonderful, exciting, can’t-wait-to-turn-the-page book for younger children. Starting out to tell a story of some young ducklings, something unexpected happens, a crocodile enters the story too! That’s not right, he shouldn’t be there! You’ll need to read the book to see how the problem is solved, at least it seems like it’s solved… The illustrations are bright and bold with small details added in occasionally.

      For MustReadin2014 & Gathering Books Challenge - CORL

The Little Bookstore of Big Stone Gap – Wendy Welch

           It took me a few weeks to read this book, and possibly because I had other things to do, but also because I was savoring the way Wendy Welch allows the reader into her husband’s and her lives starting a used bookstore in a little known area of the coal fields of Virginia. That store is the Tales of The Lonesome Pine bookstore in Big Stone Gap, Virginia, a town of about 5,000. We learn why they were searching for a place, coming from jobs gone down paths they didn’t wish to travel. We learn that it was happenstance that they landed in this place. They saw an old house; they ate salsa and chips, and decided to go for it. They had no money, but they had skills and knowledge, and a willingness to work hard. They did, and it became a joy and their real home during the five years Wendy shares in this story. I have my own favorite used bookstore, and many of the attributes of it are those of this Lonesome Pine store: the people are friendly, helpful, know the thousands of books in stock, and are willing to talk about books. If you love books, and small Indies, you will love this book.

Celebrating Writers – From Possibilities Through Publication – Ruth Ayres with Christi Overman

        This is a tough book to review. It is so rich, with new ideas incorporated into the ones we already know about writing with students. Is it enough to say I’m re-reading it so that I can now take notes in order to help those teachers with whom I work? Is it enough to say that it is comprehensive enough that it shares ideas for work in writers workshop as well as how to use social networks in writing instruction and celebrations? And is it enough that it completes the journey by sharing forty, yes, forty “formal celebration journeys?”  Hope so. You need to purchase the book for yourself!

Next: It's spring break, now starting Paperboy by Vince Vawter, and I have a couple of books on CD from the library.