Being out for two weeks for vacation always turns into at least four weeks before I am back up to speed in the library. These breaks are hard on students, trying to get back into the flow of school, but it is difficult for adults, too.
We are reading the Washington Children's Choice Picture Book nominees in every K-3 library class, which means reading the same 20 titles to all 11 classes. I enjoy most of them, but even the best book loses its luster after 5 or 6 readings in a couple of days. So I tend to mix it up, reading two at a time to each class, but choosing new ones part way through the week. This usually ends up with me getting confused and trying to read books more than once, or I forget to read some to a class and we have to read four the last day before we vote for our favorites. I think the confusion adds to the fun, myself.
Favorite WCCPBA books so far:
Prudence Wants a Pet by Cathleen Daly, illustrated by Stephen Michael King - a story about a girl who wants a pet so badly that she will take anything she can get, including a stick, a twig, a shoe, or an old car tire. Prudence doesn't care what the neighbors think, she just desperately wants a pet. I enjoy the dry humor in this book (which escapes the kindergarteners completely, but as long as I crack myself up, that makes it fun!) and the main character's persistence.
The Sunflower Sword by Mark Sperring, illustrated by Miriam Latimer - I thought this was going to be a simple boy-wants-to-be-a-knight story, purely from the cover illustration of a boy with a colander on his head as a helmet. But the language is wonderful, with lots of alliteration, and the sentiment that you can turn a friend into an enemy through a simple gesture is a nice illustration of what we call the "Ridgecrest Way" - being responsible, respectful, kind and safe. It is a touching story that resonates with students, if they don't get distracted by the heart-shaped dragon tail on one page!
Chicken Big written and illustrated by Keith Graves - I am not one for doing voices while reading, but the five chickens in this story just beg to have silly voices attached to them, so I'm doing my best. A humongous chick is born one day and immediately confuses his coop-mates. They have no idea that he is a chicken like them, mainly because of his size. Yet they just have to classify him, so using the little evidence their little bird brains can gather, they come up with crazier and crazier explanations of what this chick really is - an elephant? a squirrel? The chick gets more and more confused, but continues to help his friends out despite their obtuseness. This is a really fun book to read out loud, and, to the confusion of some students, it has led to me randomly saying, "Indoor elephants are dangerous!" with much glee.
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