Tandem Insights

New and Exciting in September

I’ve been writing about graphic novels all week, but I have one more perfect for elementary students that I really want to mention before I move on…

Babymouse, Vol. 7: Skater Girl! This is a super-cute, super-pink graphic novel series following the daily trials of Babymouse, a school-aged girl mouse whose life never quite works out like it does in her dreams. Her whiskers are curly instead of straight. She has an annoying little brother, lots of homework, and a stuck locker. Then there’s her personal nemesis, the very popular Felicia Furrypaws. The books contrast her dreams, set off by a pink background, with her real life, black and white with the occasional splash of pink.

Also published in September is Newbery Honor winner Shannon Hale’s latest title Book of a Thousand Days. A retelling of an obscure Grimms’ fairy tale, this is the story of Dashti, a peasant maid, and her mistress, Lady Saren. They have been bricked into a tower for years because Lady Saren has refused to marry a man she both hates and fears. As she tries to cope with her temperamental mistress and find a way for them to escape, Dashti ends up falling in love with another of Lady Saren’s suitors, and it is this entanglement that will cause all three the great heartbreak, danger, and hope. I fell fully under the spell of this young adult fairy tale, like I hadn’t done for Hale’s books since Goose Girl.

Another book I grabbed as soon as it came in was Helen Keller: Her Life in Pictures by George Sullivan. Filled with large, black and white images, most rarely seen, this book chronicles Helen’s life, from childhood to her last years. It was fascinating to see all these pictures of a woman I’d read so much about and even seen movies on, but had never really seen. This book complements the many biographies out there on Helen Keller, providing images to go with the words, something Helen herself never had. My one quibble is that I occasionally wish the pictures were better labeled, but I enjoyed it nonetheless, and students from mid-elementary age on up, teachers, and librarians will too.

Here's a list of exciting September releases!

Graphic Novels for Elementary School

Graphic novels and comic books…  You want them in your elementary library, but where to start? After all, some of the possible selections out there are definitely more appropriate for older kids. So we’ve compiled a list of graphic novels—and some graphic novel-esque picture books—for your elementary school readers, and maybe you’ll even snag a few of those non-readers too.

Amelia Rules!, Vol. 1: The Whole World's Crazy by Jimmy Gownley features a nine-year-old girl who has just moved from New York City to a small town, and all the troubles that go with being the new kid and trying to make friends. Amelia’s ever evolving relationships with her new friends, (G.A.S.P. or Gathering of Awesome Superpals)--Reggie, a super-hero wannabe; Rhonda, who has a crush on him; and the mysterious Pajamaman—provide the storyline for the next two volumes: Amelia Rules!, Vol. 2: What Makes You Happy and Amelia Rules!, Vol. 3: Superheroes. The comic book Amelia and her friends, with their mixture humor, insecurity, and charming obnoxiousness, seem real.

I mentioned Bone #6: Old Man's Cave as a new release in August.  This is a fabulous series for kids from mid-elementary school on up.

Joann Sfar’s Little Vampire Does Kung Fu! is a picture book with panels and dialogue balloons, but the humor makes it an amusing read for all ages. Bully Jeffrey is picking on Little Vampire’s human friend Michael. This cannot continue, so Little Vampire and Michael go in search of the kung fu master so Michael can fight back, but along the way he learns that fighting isn’t always the answer.  Gross monsters, some with boogers (talk about kid appeal!) and some with kind hearts, pop up to help or hinder them on their quest. 

Check out these fun graphic novels for your elementary school kids

Book of the Week: Owly: The Way Home & The Bittersweet Summer

Owly is the charming star of these nearly wordless graphic novels for all ages. Being an owl, he finds it’s hard to make friends.  All the other birds, animals, and insects in the forest where he lives run away in fear when he approaches. They don’t wait around long enough to find out that all Owly wants to do is find a friend. Owly makes his first and best friend, Wormy, when he rescues the squiggly little worm from a thunderstorm and nurses him back to health. Even Wormy is afraid of Owly at first. This makes Owly’s big round eyes droop with sadness. But slowly, Wormy comes around, and then the two of them try to befriend some hummingbirds, which turns out to be a little trickier…

Andy Runton’s drawings are deceptively simple, just black and white, but they express a multitude of emotions. You can easily “read” Owly’s sadness, Wormy’s fear, and then Owly’s glee when he finally makes a friend.

And, because one volume of Owly will be nowhere near enough of this cute critter, Runton has kindly followed up with three more volumes that are just as enchanting as the first: Owly, Volume 2: Just a Little Blue; Owly, Volume 3: Flying Lessons; and Owly, Volume 4: A Time to Be Brave. These are the graphic novels to hand to someone who claims not to like graphic novels; the not-yet-persuaded will be won over. I may be exaggerating slightly, but it’s worked with everyone I’ve handed them to so far. (So consider this a handing to…and don’t let me down!)

View this book in the Tandem Library Books Online Bookstore

Elephant Appreciation Day Round Up

September 22nd is a big day.  An elephant-sized day, in fact.  As the week lumbers ahead to Saturday, take the opportunity to share these large animals with your students.

Don’t be limited to Dumbo and Babar.  Those are great classics, but don’t miss the newest loveable elephant in fiction from Mo Willems.  Emily posted about the Elephant and Piggie books a few weeks ago, and you won’t want to miss an opportunity to introduce your beginning readers to Elephant Gerald (say it fast… get it?)

Count your way through ten elephants with an increasingly overwhelmed little girl in I’ve Got an Elephant by Anne Ginkel.  Preschoolers through first graders will be hooked by the simple, catchy rhymes and the cartoonish elephants engaged in all sorts of un-elephant-like activities.

Immerse your audience in another era by reading aloud The Elephant’s Ball.  This 19th century poem has been brought to young audiences accompanied by rich and detailed illustrations of Elephant’s glorious ball for all the animals of the land.  As the world’s biggest land mammal, the elephant is not to be outdone! 

Your nonfiction fans will gravitate to the photographs in African Elephant: The World’s Biggest Land Mammal by Kirsten Hall and Travels With Tarra by Carol Buckley.   Take on the subject of responsible animal care with Just for Elephants, also by Carol Buckley.  Even if you can’t take a trip to Buckley’s Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee this Elephant Appreciation Day, you can read all about it and even watch the elephants roam free in this natural refuge online via the “elecam.”   

Biographies for Teens

Sometimes truth is stranger than fiction.  And these biographies prove it.  Don’t let your teens be satisfied with any old bio that has over 100 pages.  Convince your teens that biographies don’t have to be boring. 

Start with a familiar name.  YA author Chris Crutcher has written his childhood into a book, King of the Mild Frontier.  Fans of his fiction will not want to miss this inside scoop and those who are looking for a funny story will also find themselves hooked into this bittersweet biography.

Then move on to a memoir of a regular girl.  Grief Girl by Erin Vincent is written like a novel with the present tense prose making the story feel immediate even though it all took place back in 1983 when Erin’s parents both died within a week of each other when she was fourteen.  Brutally honest and ultimately uplifting, this memoir is not to be missed.

A great biography is also a great story.  Check out these great life stories for your middle and high school students.

Book of the Week: Wildly Romantic

The Romantic poets may have ushered in a new era of poetry, but that wasn’t all they were up to.

They weren’t the old fashioned group of boring old men that they may seem to teens studying their work in English class today.  No, back then poets were rock stars.  Their poetry was notorious for its subversive nature, but the lives they led were even more notorious and subversive.  They were flamboyant about their rebelliousness in ways that might surprise teens who only know their poetry.

Wildly Romantic chronicles the lives of five young writers of the day who became known as the Romantics: Lord Byron, Percy Shelley, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, William Wordsworth, and John Keats.  These rebellious young men lived outside the norm of the time while staging a literary revolution with their words.

I admit to being a bit of a poetry geek.  So much so that I was waiting for my copy of this book as soon as I heard about it. Here was a book for me!  But I was pleasantly surprised to find a highly readable book that I could recommend to anyone, even teens who aren’t necessarily interested in Romantic poetry. Here’s a collective biography with sex, drugs, and literature for your high interest lists.

View this book in the Tandem Library Books Online Bookstore

Science Achievement

No Child Left Behind (NCLB) has been making waves in news headlines at the school, state, national and international level since its introduction in 2001.  The four pillars of NCLB that remain constant are based on stronger accountability for results, more freedom for states and communities, proven education methods, and more choices for parents.

Forthcoming state science assessments required by the 2007-2008 school year under NCLB bring states another wave of headlines, the most recent being the so-called America COMPETES Act, the purpose of which is to strengthen the quality of the U.S. workforce and guard the economy against foreign competition.  Mandating states to have high quality science assessments in place to be administered at least once during the grade spans of grades 3-5, 6-9 and 10-12 is only one among several ways President Bush and Congress have set out to boost science achievement.  Check out The Facts About... Science Achievement for all the facts concerning the challenges and solutions for science NCLB achievement in your state.

Just what do students need to know science-wise as they move through the K-12 educational pipeline?  Check out Dare To Compare from The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES).   Do you have what it takes to make the grade as a science student in today's science classrooms? 

NCES is located within the U.S. Department of Education and the Institute of Education Sciences, is the primary federal entity for collecting and analyzing data related to education.

Favorite Science Picture Book Authors

Today I’d like to feature seven of our favorite authors or author-illustrators whose science titles are beyond comparison: Nic Bishop, Vicki Cobb, Gail Gibbons, Steve Jenkins, Sandra Markle, Sy Montgomery, and Seymour Simon. 

Each of these authors or author-illustrators has earned a broad-level of recognition from teachers, librarians, students and others.  Glancing through the titles on today’s featured list I came up with a few reason’s why each are awarded a place on so many school, library and home bookshelves. Please see if you agree:

• Movitating--Eye-catching, exciting and appealing illustrations enhance a commitment to learning, knowing and using science
• Accessible--Great potential for classroom teaching as well as a simple and effective approach to science themed topic to individual study
• Outstanding--Inspires and informs while being accurate, concise and clear
• Useful--Encourages further scientific exploration and allows for curriculum connections

A few well-reputed awards to recognize outstanding science books written for a K-12 audience include the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) Orbis Pictus Award for Outstanding Nonfiction for Children, National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) Outstanding Science Trade Books for Students K–12, Giverny Book Award, American Institute of Physics (AIP) Science Writing Award for Children, and Washington Post-Children's Book Guild Nonfiction Award.

View some of the award winning titles from these favorite science authors.

Book of the Week: Living Color

Living Color is not only our book of the week, but it is the book of the day as today is its publication date!  Written and illustrated by Jenkins, this picture book delivers what we’ve come to expect from this Caldecott Honor winner: a fun and exciting look at science.  Both eye-catching and inviting Living Color starts the reader out with an introduction about animals and color before entering into the heart of the book- its signature cut-paper collage illustrations, short paragraphs with tag lines, and descriptions of each animal by color- and closes with further information and an animal glossary listing each animal by color with its name, picture, body length, habitat and diet.  A Fall 2007 Book Sense Children’s Pick, Living Color brings to life 66 animals from a red salamander to a pink squat lobster and captures the wonder and art of science beautifully for its target audience of K-3 readers. 

Such an assortment of wildlife, scientific observations and hues in nature will partner well with K-8 science lessons exploring animal color, camouflage, survival, environment and / or behavior.  On his website Jenkins shares his appreciation of science, which Jenkins says “can be defined as a way of thinking about and understanding things”, and calls out the excitement (and sometimes challenges) it brings to a K-12 classroom.  “Ultimately”, he says, “(science) is a very powerful tool”. 

Science is a powerful and important tool for students of any age so please keep eyes open for Jenkins’ next picture book due out this fall:  Vulture Views written by April Pulley Sayre (Henry Holt & Co., October).

View this book on the Tandem Library Books Online Bookstore.

Celebrate Grandparents' Day!

Here are some great titles featuring grandparents and grandkids.

Sitti’s Secrets, by Naomi Shihab Nye (Gr. K-3) Mona, an American girl, travels to the Middle East to visit her Palestinian grandmother, known as Sitti.

Morning on the Lake, by Jan B. Waboose (Gr. K-3)  A contemporary Ojibway grandfather takes his grandson on an early morning canoe trip and introduces him to sacred traditions and beliefs.

Walk Two Moons, by Sharon Creech (Gr. 3-6) – A contemporary classic! While on a car trip, Sal tells her beloved grandparents a story about her best friend, which is ultimately a way for Sal to share her own feelings about her mother’s decision to leave her father and move away from Sal.

Olive’s Ocean, by Kevin Henkes (Gr. 5-8) – Martha spends the summer with her family at the beachfront, where she begins to feel caught between the worlds of childhood and adulthood. Martha’s wise and trustworthy grandmother encourages her to take ownership of her feelings and to be who she is.

A Long Way from Chicago and A Year Down Yonder, by Richard Peck (Gr. 7-12)Grandma Dowdel has my vote as the single most memorable grandmother in the history of literature. Follow the adventures of her teenaged grandkids as they spend summers “down south” at her farm.