Reading Chronicles

 Picture books can be read to children of all ages from babies to teenagers. Picture books use illustrations, with our without text, to convey stories that can engage children. In picture books with text, the author and illustrator jointly share the responsibility of making the picture book 'work.' The best picture books provide a mix of engaging stories, strong characters, rich language, and visual wonder.  A recent picture book I read is Greedy Cat by Joy Cowley. I had never read this story before and was intrigued by the title. This book has a great interplay between visual and verbal features which enrich meaning and interpretation. This picture book did a great job in combining verbal and visual features as an integrated whole. Another recent picture book I read is Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats. Keats received the Caldecott Medal for his collage artwork. Words were chosen to capture a mood and were further enhanced by colorful settings.  The book Sam and Dave Dig a Ho...

 Last Stop on Market Street embraces diversity in children's literature, a  diversity that not only helps us see ourselves and one another, but that also asks that we make our world anew. It is a wonderful book of art and storytelling for children that won a Newbery Award, Caldecott Honor, and Coretta Scott King Illustrator Honor.  Last Stop on Market Street is a story about appreciating differences, happiness, and inequity. Every Sunday after church, CJ and his Nana take the bus to its' last stop on Market Street. This Sunday, CJ begins to wonder why they have to wait in the rain, why they don't have a car, why they always make this trip. His Nana responds by giving him different ways of appreciating what they have, what their routine is, and the different people they meet. Nana shows CJ the value in differences and the joy of helping those that need it.  I really enjoy how this book can raise questions about the diversity of people and their circumstances and ...

  Flotsam by David Wiesner was a 2007 Caldecott Award recipient. I use this book as a wordless book option with my students when they first begin the Neuhaus program with me. Flotsam contains illustrations of underwater life with no text to accompany them. Flotsam has illustrations that depict realism. Realism is defined as the "faithful reproduction of nature, people, and objects as they usually appear."  Wiesner uses a lot of diagonal lines in his illustrations to suggest movement. For example, there is a squid that appears to be swimming by the position of the lines used. Another example is a hot air balloon that appears to be floating above the water. The use of shapes in his illustrations is easily recognizable. The curves of the fish generally suggest things found in nature. The vibrant colors found throughout the book create a joyful atmosphere. The author also uses color colors to depict the ocean. Another awesome appearance that the author creates is the texture on t...

 I have often wondered why I have such a huge desire for children to learn to read, but beyond that, for them to ENJOY reading. I have wondered this because nothing memorable sticks out to me about books from when I was a child in elementary school. I cannot recall a specific teacher that made books come alive or expressed love for books in the way that I believe the classroom should. From my perspective, I was just given a book and told to read it. Then I realized that this is why! This is why I have such a passion for classrooms to be filled with a love for books. The excitement for what a book can mean to a child should be a contagious attitude that permeates throughout the school. My desire to see children be good readers and love to read comes from a lack of exposure that I had at a young age to rich literature, not just in school but also at home. I want kids to experience what books can give you-adventure, growth in imagination, vocabulary expansion, world knowledge and so m...