Frogs for middle grade readers! The Common Core IRL

An essential role for school libraries is providing developing readers with increasingly complex books that build on their previous knowledge. We want to help young readers discover that books can feed their natural curiosity, providing them with more and more information as they become experts on their chosen interests. Common Core IRL will highlight books that ladder up in text complexity on a high interest topic.

For our first feature the Common Core IRL: In Real Libraries, we're focusing on frogs. Frogs are fascinating animals, from their amazing metamorphosis as they turn from tadpole to frog, to the sheer variety in their colors, habitats and sizes.  Head over to these blogs today to read about:

• Kid Lit Frenzy: frogs for our youngest children
• 100 Scope Notes: frogs for new readers
• Great Kid Books: frogs for middle grade readers
• The Nonfiction Detectives: frogs for upper elementary readers

For 3rd and 4th grade readers who are fascinated by frogs, I would suggest a combination of interesting just-right books to read by themselves and some engaging read-aloud books that provide even more information. Today, I'll share two books to read on their own. Tomorrow, I'll share two wonderful books to read aloud.

Frogs
by Gail Gibbons
Holiday House, 1993
3rd grade, 600 Lexile
your local library
Amazon

Gail Gibbons is one of my go-to authors for clear nonfiction for newly independent readers. She clearly explains how frog spawn changes to embryos, then to tadpoles, young frogs, and finally, mature amphibians. Short sentences are easy to read, and yet she provides plenty of details to fascinate young readers:

"These eggs do not have shells. They are inside jellylike coverings. As they float, the jelly lets the sun's warmth come through to the eggs inside."

The text is clearly easy to read, but detailed enough to make it appropriate for a 3rd grader. The book is designed with relatively large font and plenty of white space. Readers will be engaged by the details Gibbons provides. For example, the section on frogs enemies explains different ways frogs ward off predators:

"A sudden leap is a quick escape from danger. For protection, some frogs have skin glands that make them taste bad or make them poisonous. Sometimes their skin color hides them from enemies. This is called camouflage."  

Gibbon's distinctive watercolor and ink illustrations are appealing and clearly labeled. The illustrations are closely connected with the text, providing clear explanations for the main ideas and important terms. A double-page spread at the end presents a labeled illustration comparing frogs and toads. Kids will find it interesting to draw the comparisons themselves.

Tell me the difference between a
Frog and a Toad
by Leigh Rockwood
PowerKids Press / Rosen, 2013
4th grade
your local library
Amazon

Have you ever wondered what makes the difference between a frog and a toad? Is it just that a toad's skin is dry and bumpy and a frog's is smooth and moist? Did you know that a frog has teeth in its upper jaw, but a toad has no teeth? I particularly like the way that Rockwood frames this book around a central, interesting question.

Rockwood addresses a slightly older audience, beginning right away with an explanation of the scientific classification of frogs and toads. You'll notice that the sentences are longer than in Gibbon's book, and the vocabulary is more complex.

 "Frogs and toads are amphibians that belong to a scientific order, or grouping, called Anura. This is the most widespread order of amphibians. There are around 4,000 species of amphibians in this order."

I was particularly fascinated by the way that frogs' and toads' legs are similar and different. While both have hind legs that are built for jumping and are longer than their front legs, frogs jump much farther. In fact, some frogs can jump 20 times their body length! Toads, on the other hand, have shorter legs designed for walking, with occasional short hops.

Kids will be drawn in by the colorful, sharply focused photographs of many frogs and toads. The photographs are accompanied by detailed captions, but are not labeled in the same way as Gibbon's book. A table of contents, glossary and index provide children with experience using these important text features to access information. PowerKids provides a website with links for further reading.

Take a look at this preview through Google Books:


Common Core Standards:

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.3.7 Use information gained from illustrations (e.g., maps, photographs) and the words in a text to demonstrate understanding of the text (e.g., where, when, why, and how key events occur).

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.3.8 Describe the logical connection between particular sentences and paragraphs in a text (e.g., comparison, cause/effect, first/second/third in a sequence).

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.4.2 Determine the main idea of a text and explain how it is supported by key details; summarize the text.

Please check out the other Common Core IRL: In Real Libraries posts to see how you would ladder up to these books, and what you might follow them with. Tomorrow, I will share two wonderful books to read aloud to students who are fascinated by frogs.

The review copies come from my school library. Many thanks to Travis Jonker, Cathy Potter, Alyson Beecher, and Louise Capizzo for taking this journey to talk about what the Common Core means for us in real life! We look forward to this recurring series.

Review ©2013 Mary Ann Scheuer, Great Kid Books

Common Core IRL: In Real Libraries -- a new series

Throughout the U.S., teachers and librarians are talking about what it means to implement the Common Core State Standards in their school. Five of us -- librarians and literacy experts -- are working together to show what the Common Core means for school libraries in real life. We’re calling the series Common Core IRL: In Real Libraries.

Today, I’m laying out some of the groundwork for our thinking. Come join all five of us on Wednesday, May 22nd, as we launch this new project:

• Alyson Beecher, district literacy specialist: Kid Lit Frenzy
• Louise Capizzo, children’s librarian: The Nonfiction Detectives
• Travis Jonker, school librarian: 100 Scope Notes
• Cathy Potter, school librarian: The Nonfiction Detectives
• Mary Ann Scheuer, school librarian: Great Kid Books

As teachers have worked to make sense of these new standards, many have focused on the overarching shifts in teaching that the Common Core standards are calling for. EngageNY, a collaborative platform for teachers in New York, has developed several presentations on these shifts. Two key shifts are particularly important to me as an elementary school librarian:

• the call for balancing informational and literary texts, and
• the focus on helping students read increasingly complex texts.

As a school librarian and parent, I want to provide many opportunities for our students to read about the world around them. Young children are fascinated by so many different things in the world - animals and their habitats, faraway places, different people’s customs, famous people’s lives. It is important that we provide our children with access to materials that interest them. I am convinced that if children are encouraged to read more nonfiction of their choosing, they will develop skills that will help them read and think about nonfiction as they grow older.

As the Common Core document states for ELA Standard 10,

“Building knowledge systematically in English language arts is like giving children various pieces of a puzzle in each grade that, over time, will form one big picture. ... The knowledge children have learned about particular topics in early grade levels should then be expanded and developed in subsequent grade levels to ensure an increasingly deeper understanding of these topics.”

So what does the Common Core mean in real life? In our series Common Core IRL: In Real Libraries, we are choosing high-interest subjects and looking at how we can support elementary students as they read increasingly complex texts around a subject. We want to provide both stimulating read-alouds, especially for young students, and just-right books of increasing complexity.

As Lucy Calkins writes in her Curricular Plan for the Reading Workshop,

“We want to encourage our students to be researchers of the world and to know that reading can be a source of information to grow knowledge both about subjects they are experts in and ones that are newer to them.”

Lucy Calkins writes about curriculum that spirals from grade to grade, level to level. We are taking this idea to the library, suggesting that we look at our collections for an interesting topic and provide interesting reading materials that spiral up, gradually increasing in the complexity of the text. This allows students to build on knowledge, revisiting favorite books and then stepping into more complex material. It allows them to delve into a topic with more depth, becoming an expert in an area that interests them. But in order to do this, we must be conscious of the reading levels of the materials we select. As Calkins writes,

“It is important to get slightly easier books if the topic is new. While shopping for new books this month, keep in mind that a child can read a just-right book on a topic she may be familiar with—like cats. But if that child decides to read books on a topic about which she has no foreknowledge, like gemstones, it will benefit her to begin with books that are easier than her just-right reading level. As she builds up her vocabulary and background knowledge about gemstones, she’ll move on to reading with success books that are at her just-right level (or slightly above that level).”

In our special segments, Common Core IRL: In Real Life, we will share our favorite books on a common topic, spiraling up through the elementary grades. In the School Library Journal, Marc Aronson and Sue Bartle have suggested that school libraries develop clusters around high-interest topics. We are taking this one step further, providing suggestions for increasingly complex texts, both as read-alouds and independent reading books.

See the Common Core in action at Common Core IRL: In Real Life. Come visit Kid Lit Frenzy, 100 Scope Notes, Great Kid Books and The Nonfiction Detectives on Wednesday, May 22nd, to learn all about frogs as we suggest resources for spiraling up, gradually increasing in the complexity of the texts.

©2013 Mary Ann Scheuer, Great Kid Books

Odd Duck, by Cecil Castellucci and Sara Varon - touching friendship story & charming graphic novel (ages 6 - 10)

What draws friends together? Is it that you both love the same music or flavor of ice cream? Or is it that you make each other laugh? Friends understand one another, love spending time together and make each other happy. Kids -- even young kids -- totally get this. And they're going to love Odd Duck, a new graphic novel that celebrates friendship, with all its quirks and eccentricities.

Odd Duck
by Cecil Castellucci
and Sara Varon
First Second, 2013
ages 6 - 10
at your local library
on Amazon
* best new book *

Theodora swims with a teacup balanced on her head, flavoring her meals with mango salsa, and stays put for the winter. She knows exactly what she likes and is happy with everything going as planned.

When Chad moves next door, Theodora is not quite sure about this new duck. His feathers are askew, he has strange sculptures in his yard, and absolutely no manners! "Theodora could not relate to a single thing that he said. But she knew one thing was certain ... she and Chad would not be friends."

Castellucci and Varon develop this delightful story from here, showing how the two bond over their love of stars, but then fall apart over an argument over which one is odd. The illustrations are charming -- quirky, sweet and sunny. Kids will love the way the two friends come back together in the end, realizing that they really do like each other just the way they are.

Here's what my nine-year-old wrote:

"Of course, every duck can't be perfect, but these ducks are more than just not perfect. They're odd. And in this book both of them have never had a true friend, so they are put up to the challenge to make a true friend."

Kids do get it. They understand what it means to be a true friend. Odd Duck will make them laugh, smile and remember how much they value their own friends.

I really enjoyed reading this interview with Cecil Castellucci in the LA Times. It was also really interesting to read about Sara Varon's process creating the artwork, in this guest post at the First Second blog. Cecil originally proposed this as an early chapter book with spot art, but when the two began working together they realized that it might be even more effective told primarily through pictures.

Illustrations copyright © 2013 by Sara Varon, shared with permission of the publisher. The review copy was kindly sent by the publishers, First Second / Macmillan. If you make a purchase using the Amazon links on this site, a small portion goes to Great Kid Books (at no cost to you!). Thank you for your support.

Review ©2013 Mary Ann Scheuer, Great Kid Books

Giants Beware! by Jorge Aguirre & Rafael Rosado - brilliant fun! hilarious adventures! (ages 8 - 12)

Did you love comics as a kid? Do your kids eat them up today like they're candy? Comics capture visual humor, action and adventure -- engaging kids at every step of the way. I particularly love graphic novels for the way they take this visual medium and develop an engaging plot. I see kids reading these novels again and again, soaking up different details each time. If your child loves action and adventure stories, seek out Giants Beware! It is brilliant fun, with a gutsy heroine, a noble quest and plenty of laughs.

Giants Beware!
by Jorge Aguirre
illustrated by Rafael Rosado
First Second, 2012
winner of 2012 Cybils Award
at your local library
on Amazon
ages 8 - 12

Claudette is a feisty warrior-in-training who's determined to follow her father's footsteps and slay a giant. Never mind that she's tiny, hotheaded, prone to irrational outbursts, and a girl. Claudette is absolutely sure that she is the one to find the giant who terrorizes her town.

Claudette does what any would-be-warrior does, she convinces her younger brother and her best friend to join her on a quest to slay the giant. They have to save the town! But, she runs into problems at every step. First of all, her brother only wants to make pastries. And her best friend just wants to be a princess, a real princess. Their doubts won't stop Claudette - just look at her determination:

You see, long ago the marquis defeated a horrible giant who terrorized the town by eating babies' toes. The old marquis chased the giant back to its mountain hiding spot and then built high walls around the town, keeping the people safe (and trapped inside).

Giants Beware! is full of action and visual humor, with the underdog coming out on top. Aguirre and Rosado weave in surprises, tension and plot twists throughout the story. But best of all, I just love the characters of the three friends. As my friend Charlotte wrote, "what made me love this one is the characters, who defy the expectations and normative categorizations most beautifully."

Claudette is a terrific tomboy, one who defies everyone's expectation that she should just be a "good girl". Marie might be obsessed with being a princess, but she is a loyal friend to the end who will risk all to stand by Claudette's side. Claudette's little brother Gaston is terribly afraid, but he's determined to join his sister and ends up saving the day.

You'll have fun watching this trailer for the story:



Intrigued? Do you already love this story? Celebrate and chat with the authors next week on the May Sharp-Schu Twitter Book Club meeting: Tuesday, May 21st at 7pm Central (8pm Eastern; 5pm Pacific). All you need to do is follow the Twitter hashtag #sharpschu. Tweetchat is an excellent way to follow and participate.

Giants Beware! is a great book for summer reading. It's one of the many books that will be on our list at Mrs. Dalloway's this week. I hope you can join us for our Hot Reads for a Cool Summer - summer reading event, Thursday May 16th at 6:30 pm.

The review copy came from our school library collection. If you make a purchase using the Amazon links on this site, a small portion goes to Great Kid Books (at no cost to you!). Thank you for your support.

Review ©2013 Mary Ann Scheuer, Great Kid Books

Shadow on the Mountain, by Margi Preus -- gripping historical fiction (ages 10-14)

Historical fiction has always fascinated me, and I love hooking kids on an interesting period in history though an exciting story. Shadow on the Mountain is a gripping story of a young boy's resistance to the Nazi German occupiers in Norway during World War II. Margi Preus has created an exciting story full of action and adventure, but she also infuses it with a full sense of this period of history.

Shadow on the Mountain

by Margi Preus

Amulet / Abrams, 2012

at your local library

Amazon

ages 10 - 14

Espen is just fourteen when German Nazi soldiers occupied Norway in 1940. The occupation has made life hard for all Norwegians, but it has also increased their sense of national identity and pride. At first, Epsen helps the Norwegian Resistance movement in small ways, delivering newspapers, refusing to participate in a Nazi-sponsored school event.

As the story begins, Epsen is riding his bike one evening when he is stopped by a car full of Nazi soldiers. As they search his rucksack, Espen notices that his friend Kjell is sitting in the car with the soldiers, but Kjell refuses to make eye contact with Epsen. The soldiers let him go on his way, believing he is on his way to visit his uncle, but Espen is really carrying coded information for the Norwegian Resistance. As he rides home, he keeps wondering about Kjell.

Preus captures the struggle of Norwegians who resisted the Nazi occupation, showing how ordinary citizens found ways big and small to stand up to the Germans. By centering her plot around a young teen, she draws young readers into the story. She hooks them with action and suspense, as Epsen becomes more and more involved in the Resistance, first as a courier and finally as a covert spy. I particularly agree with Lynn Rutan's review over at Bookends blog:

Epsen "is an ordinary boy who eventually does extraordinary things and this makes Prues’ skillful portrayal of his courage all the more affecting. Espen is frequently terribly afraid – and with very good reason – and yet even while admitting that fear to himself, he does intensely brave things – the very essence of courage." -- Lynn Rutan, Bookends blog

Margi Preus has shared many resources that will interest teens and teachers. Shadow on the Mountain is based on real events and the experiences of real people. The book contains photos, maps, and archival material. I'm especially interested in reading more about Erling Storrusten, the Norwegian man whose experiences in the Resistance movement inspired Preus's novel.

Share this story with young teens and tweens who like adventure stories and war stories, but also share it with kids who are pulled into friendship dilemmas and historical fiction.

Get a sense of it for yourself with this preview from Google Books:


This book will be one of the many I'll be recommending at Mrs. Dalloway's Books for our Fantastic Summer Reading Event next week. Hope you can join us!

The review copy was kindly sent by the publishers, Amulet / Abrams Books. If you make a purchase using the Amazon links on this site, a small portion goes to Great Kid Books (at no cost to you!). Thank you for your support.

Review ©2013 Mary Ann Scheuer, Great Kid Books

Bay Area friends: Fantastic summer reading event next week! Thursday, May 16th

Bay Area friends, I'm thrilled to be part of Mrs. Dalloway's summer reading event for school kids next week: Hot Reads for a Cool Summer. We will be recommending great books for kindergarteners through 6th grade.

click to download flyer

Most exciting of all, our special guest will be the wonderful author Katherine Applegate, author of the 2013 Newbery Winner, The One and Only Ivan, the Roscoe Riley Rules series of chapter books and the Animorphs series.

We will all be sharing some of our favorite books for children and families. We will be recommending books for little kids, new readers and big kids. Come find out about our favorite graphic novels, new chapter books to hook beginning readers, and exciting novels.

Please share this flyer with friends, local schools and teachers. Here are the details for the event:

Hot Reads for a Cool Summer
Mrs. Dalloway's Bookstore
Thursday, May 16, 6:30pm
2904 College Avenue Berkeley, CA 94705
info@mrsdalloways.com Phone 510.704.8222
20% off selected books this night only!
$5.00 admission per adult applicable towards any purchase at Mrs. Dalloway's through 6/16. Kids free!

Hope to see you there! It should be a great night!

©2013 Mary Ann Scheuer, Great Kid Books