CHILDREN'S LITERATURE ASSEMBLY
  • Home
  • Join/Donate
  • Members Only
  • Journal
  • Notables
  • Grants & Awards
  • Resources
  • CLA @ NCTE
  • About
  • CLA Blog

The CLA Blog

From the 2020 Notable Children’s Books in the Language Arts: Moving From Small to Large Through Play and Imagination

12/8/2020

 

By Kathryn Will, Meghan Goodwin, and Sophie Hendrix

​​The Notable Children’s Books in Language Arts Committee (NCBLA), reads, reviews, and discusses over 400 books of various genres written for K-8 children each year. These works of poetry and prose are analyzed using the charge of the committee that asks in making the selection of the top thirty texts the seven committee members consider:
        1. Appealing format,
        2. Enduring quality,
        3. Exemplary quality for their genre, and
        4. Meeting one or more of the following:
                a. Use of language: play on words, word origins, history of language
                b. Uniqueness in use of language or style
                c. Invitation of child response or engagement
This post focuses on two of the texts from the 2020 Notables List that might be seen through the lens of a progression from small to large. Although The Magic of Letters (2019) and Small World (2019) are very different books, they can be used to invite readers to imagine, play, and wonder.

The Magic of Letters
Written by Tony Johnston
Illustrated by Wendell Minor
Penguin Random House, unpaged, ISBN
 978-0823441594
Imagine an invitation to play with language through the revelation of letters as building blocks to words, and words to meaning. Through rich images of simple, but colorful line drawings, and collage, readers are encouraged to consider the magical nature of literacy as the pathway to building new ideas. The interplay of the text and illustrations immerse the reader in the playful progress as the rabbit leads the journey from letters, to words, to sentences. Interesting and rigorous vocabulary such as flibbertigibbet, clunk, limber, and enchantment invite readers to strive for complex use of language.
The Magic of Letters cover

Small World
Written by Ishta Mercurio

Illustrated by Jen Corace
Abrams Books for Young Readers, unpaged, ISBN 
978-1419734076
Small World cover

From the beginning of her time on the Earth as a baby in her mother’s arms to her travels to the moon as an astronaut, we journey with Nanda in her ever-expanding world. As Nanda grows, her participatory experiences with her expanding world grow more scientifically complex. Beautiful vocabulary such as fractals, symphony, and spooled, complement the rich illustrations vividly layered with color and images. Lyrical language invites the reader to travel along the journey with comfort. Woven throughout the story as the perspectives change, a thread of circularity brings comfort within the expansive boundaries or growing up--first in her mother’s arms and finally in the sphere of the Earth as she looks at her home from afar. The illustrations of gouache, ink, and pencil provide the depth of realism with warm inviting scenes that allow the reader to imagine the existence of this journey.​
Ishta Mercurio offers craft ideas related to things Nanda does in Small World.

​​Teaching Tips

Both of these books invite readers to engage in exploration and discussion through multiple reads due to their rich vocabulary and use of language. Teachers can easily deepen and extend the texts through a variety of activities.

Using the illustrative style of The Magic of Letters, children could repurpose magazines and catalogues to cut out letters and words as sources for creating new words and sentences. As they pore over the texts, they could look for familiar and known letters and words, providing opportunities for practice in letter and word recognition before assembling them in a collage. Children could use crayon resist to create magic letters of their very own, or even play roll and write to create sentences from familiar and new words. These activities reflect the rich and playful nature of the text.

Small World is a text that envelopes the reader in the world of STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math). The rich vocabulary begs teachers to consider connections to geometry, snow science, and roller coasters. With consideration of Nanda’s career as an astronaut, students might watch this video about women astronauts, or think about materials they might need for a trip to the moon. This book also holds opportunities for rich discussion with questions such as:
  • In what ways is the world large? In what ways is it small?
  • What do the pictures in this book tell you? (without reading the book first to focus on inferencing)
  • How has your perception of the world changed as you have grown up?
  • In what ways did Nanda’s world change as she grew up? How does she see the world differently towards the end of the book as compared to the beginning?
  • Why do you think Nanda’s perception of the world changed throughout the book? Can you relate to this?
Children might write or draw with consideration of the ways in which their world has expanded outward from their welcome into the world, to their current context, and even the possibilities of where they might like to be in the future.


Kathryn Will is an Assistant Professor of Literacy at the University of Maine Farmington (@KWsLitCrew). She is passionate about sharing the power of children's literature with her students, including the two listed below who assisted in the creation of the teaching tips shared. She is a member of the 2019 Notables Committee, and will be chairing the committee in the upcoming year.
Meghan Goodwin, Preservice teacher, University of Maine Farmington (@Ms_G_Teaches)
Sophie Hendrix, Preservice teacher, University of Maine Farmington

Three Tips for Biography Read-Alouds

11/24/2020

 

By Courtney Shimek, on behalf of The Biography Clearinghouse

2020 has changed our world in indelible ways. From navigating a global pandemic to fighting social injustices embedded into our everyday lives, we find ourselves overwhelmed, exhausted, and uncertain of the future. In response to these crises and the emotions they produce, we have found solace in picturebook biographies that deliver some much-needed perspective. Reading biographies have become a part of our self-care; they provide archives of the past, context for the present, and hope for the future. At The Biography Clearinghouse, we recognize the potential of biographies to shape readers’ understanding of the world, inform their connection to history, and engender empathy. Through our teaching ideas, we suggest ideas and resources for incorporating biographies into curricula. We also recognize that sometimes picturebook biographies come to life most vividly when read-aloud with young readers.

As we maintain our "new normal" of vacillating between online, hybrid, and in-class instruction, reading aloud continues to be a constant beacon of inspiration and connection in our teaching. Our youth are navigating the same chaotic and ever-changing world; given that biographies model the complexities of this world, sharing these perspectives with youth is vital. As such, I share here 3 tips for reading biographies aloud and a few illustrative examples of high-quality biographies.

Tip #1: Discuss the Visual Features

Cover of Spotted Tail
Picturebooks are unique artifacts where readers gain information not only from words but also from images. The visual features of biographies provide insights into the emotional experiences of distinctive individuals and offer a deeper understanding of humanity. As you read biographies aloud, begin examining the artistic elements (e.g., design and composition, font styles, use of color, artistic mediums, etc.) and see what you discern about the featured individuals, their emotions, and their experiences. For example, from the beautiful mixed media artwork in Spotted Tail (Weiden et al., 2019), we see how the history of the Lakota people connects to present-day issues through striking photographs, art, textural elements from nature, and quotes. Though Spotted Tail has a text-heavy narrative, the design and combination of photographs and art from Jim Yellowtail and Pat Kinsella provide readers numerous points of discussion and a perspective worth including in your read-aloud rotation. Additionally, in It Began With a Page: How Gyo Fujikawa Drew the Way (Maclear & Morstad, 2019), Morstad’s illustrations show the reader the detail and sense of color Fujikawa used in her work, and real photographs of her family are included throughout the book. In addressing the visual features of books with readers, we learn about people’s beliefs, histories, cultures, and emotions, and learn more information than from the words, alone.

Tip #2: Back Matter Matters

Cover of Planting Stories
Often, when we begin a read-aloud we skip to the beginning of the narrative and stop at the end, but creators of contemporary biographies share exceptional amounts of information in the peritextual elements, or everything in the book which is not the actual narrative. Instead of stopping your read-aloud at the end of the narrative, share some of the information included in the back matter such as authors’ and illustrators’ personal connections to the content, where they sourced research materials, and their creative processes. For example, in Planting Stories: The Life of Librarian and Storyteller Pura Belpré (Denise & Escobar, 2019), Denise provides descriptions of books by Pura Belpré, as well as films, books, and collections about Pura Belpré for further study. Similarly, in A Place to Land: Martin Luther King, Jr. and the Speech that Inspired a Nation, Barry Wittenstein and Jerry Pinkney (2019) provide notes expanding upon their decisions, short biographies about other civil rights leaders, along with sources and a bibliography. Biography creators also include additional content through the book jacket, endpapers, and their dedications. Sometimes, the back matter or other peritextual features might be more text-heavy or smaller in size than the narrative. We suggest projecting these features or displaying them on an interactive whiteboard so that these peritextual features can be explored and discussed collectively. When we only read aloud the primary narrative, we miss out on information that contextualizes the biography, describes the creative process, and inspires readers to search out additional sources.


Tip #3: Revisit Writer’s Language

Cover of Fight of the Century
Biographers don’t just share events with readers, they share the essence of a person’s life. After you read a biography aloud, reread the book like a writer and examine how the authors’ word choices shape your understandings of a person, place, or event. In Fight of the Century: Alice Paul Battles Woodrow Wilson for the Vote (Rosenstock & Green, 2020), for example, Rosenstock structures her biography as a boxing match between Alice Paul and Woodrow Wilson. By portraying major events as rounds and including commentary from fight announcers (e.g., “This fight determines whether the women of the United States can vote, folks!”), readers experience how progress is often a battle of wills and experience what a fighter Alice Paul was. Additionally, Nelson’s use of western idioms (e.g., “plain as the ears on a mule” and “fit like made-to-measure boots”) in Let ‘er Buck!: George Fletcher, the People’s Champion (Nelson & James, 2019), drops the reader into the cowboy language and culture of Pendleton, Oregon. Through similes and energetic descriptions of bull riding, we experience how Fletcher was discriminated against and, yet, became a hometown hero. Biographers’ language choices provide us with new ways of looking at historical events, embed us in particular moments of time, and supply inspiration for our own writing processes.

The six exemplar biographies referenced in this post are just some of the contemporary picturebook biographies that evoke engaging, artistic, and dynamic read-alouds. If you’re interested to know more about biographies and how to include them in your curriculum, join Tanya Lee Stone, Lesa Cline Ransome, Barb Rosenstock, and members of The Biography Clearinghouse and the Children’s Literature Assembly, Xenia Hadjioannou and Mary Ann Cappiello, as they engage in conversations about biographies on December 9th from 6:00-7:00 pm EST on Stimola Live.
Flyer for Real People Real Classrooms Stimola Live Event. Registration URL linked to image
Previous posts from the Biography Clearinghouse
Exploring Representation and Advocacy in Government with "What Do You Do with a Voice Like That?"

Studying Science Processes with Otis and Will Discover the Deep: The Record Setting Dive of the Bathysphere

20 Biographies for 2020

Ideas for Change with Tonya Bolden’s Maritcha: A Nineteenth-Century American Girl

The Biography Clearinghouse: Creating, Crafting and Connecting

How do you read aloud biographies? We would love to hear your tips through our email, thebiographyclearinghouse@gmail.com, or through comments on Facebook and Twitter #theBiographyClearinghouse. No matter what 2021 brings, we know we will navigate the uncertainty equipped with high-quality, multidimensional biographies and share the reassurances and possibilities they provide through read-alouds.

References

Denise, A. A., & Escobar, P. (2019). Planting stories: The life of librarian and storyteller Pura Belpré. HarperCollins.
Maclear, K., & Morstad, J. (2019). It began with a page: How Gyo Fujikawa drew the way. HarperCollins.
Nelson, V. M., & James, G. C. (2019). Let ‘er buck!: George Fletcher, the people’s champion. Carolrhoda Books.
Rosenstock, B., & Green, S. (2020). Fight of the century: Alice Paul battles Woodrow Wilson for the vote. Calkins Creek.
Weiden, D. H. W., Yellowtail, J., & Kinsella, P. (2019). Spotted tail. Reycraft Books.
Wittenstein, B. & Pinkney, J. (2019). A place to land: Martin Luther King Jr. and the speech that inspired a nation. Neal Porter Books
Courtney Shimek is an assistant professor at West Virginia University and has been a member of CLA since 2015.

Living Literately and Mindfully at the Intersection of Mother Nature, the Animal World and Poetry

11/9/2020

 

BY PEGGY S. RICE

Consider...

Live in each season as it passes; breathe the air, drink the drink, taste the fruit, and resign yourself to the influences of each. Be blown on by all the winds.  Open all your pores and bathe in all the tides of nature, in all her streams and oceans, at all seasons. Grow green with spring, yellow and ripe with autumn.  For all Nature is doing her best each moment to make us well.  She exists for no other end. Do not resist her.

Henry David Thoreau, August 23, 1853

Poetry! There is no other genre like it in the world.  A good poem can take you places you never thought possible, wake you up, shake you, make your every emotion quake with excitement and awe.  Writing poetry is taking a subject---be it a pigeon or a Popsicle—breathing new life into it, letting readers know they never experienced a moment such as this before.

Lee Bennett Hopkins, 2009.

Make the Earth Your Companion 
--J. Patrick Lewis

Make the Earth your companion. 
Walk lightly on it, as other creatures do. 
Let the Sky paint her beauty—she is always watching over you. 
Learn from the Sea how to face harsh forces. 
Let the River remind you that everything will pass. 
Let the Lake instruct you in stillness. 
Let the mountain teach you grandeur. 
Make the woodland your house of peace. 
Make the Rainforest your house of hope. 
Meet the Wetland on twilight ground. 
Save some small piece of Grassland for a red kite on a windy day. 
Watch the Icecaps glisten with crystal majesty. 
Hear the Desert whisper hush to eternity. 
Let the Town weave a small basket of togetherness. 
Make the Earth your companion. 
Walk lightly on it, as other creatures do  

North Padre Island, TX THE ROAR of the surf... Soaring seagulls' hungry screams... Serenity here.
Picture
Ruby-throated hummingbird [Public domain USFWA]
Hummingbird jewels
Necks gleaming like red rubies
In the morning light

                   Sarah Rice, 8 years old

Serenity can be found at the intersection of Mother Nature, the animal world and poetry. I have found that the more time I spend at this intersection, the less anxiety I feel. Following are materials and strategies, my students, daughter and I have found successful:

  • Writer’s Notebook: The notebook serves as a means to encourage young writers to value writing.  It creates a space for students/writers to save words in the moment; "seeds" for a longer writing project which might be expanded and developed (Calkins, 1994).
  • Banish Boring Words (Shelton, 2009): Use as a resource for interesting words.  It provides lists of specific, interesting words for several categories of words, such as sight, sound, smell, taste, touch, action verbs, colors and shapes.
  • The Book of Animal Poetry (Lewis, 2012), and the Book of Nature Poetry (Lewis, 2015) Mentor Poems: Before requiring students to write a poem at the intersection of Mother Nature, the animal world and poetry provide students with numerous opportunities to explore mentor poems. NTCE Award Winning Poet and former U.S. Children’s Poet Laureate, J. Patrick Lewis has created the Book of Animal Poetry (Lewis, 2012), and the Book of Nature Poetry (Lewis, 2015) to inspire us to see poetry in the natural world. Each collection includes 200 poems that “squeak, soar and roar” or “float, zoom and bloom.”  Each poem is accompanied by a photograph to experience the wonder of Mother Nature and the Animal World.


Cover of the book of animal poetry
Cover of Book of Nature Poetry

Poetry Performance

I recommend regular poetry breaks that provide students an opportunity to perform a poem of his/her choice.  Repeated reading and poetry performance of a favorite poem can enhance students’ motivation and build/increase fluency skills as well as strengthen reading/writing connections. Renee M. LaTulippe at No River.com provides 5 tips for poetry performance that my students and I have found helpful.

Within the context of repeated readings and poetry performance, discussions about poet’s craft/poetic elements can occur, such as stanzas, use of white space, figurative language (similes, metaphors & imagery), personification, rhyme, rhythm, alliteration, onomatopoeia, assonance, consonance and repetition. Performance of an original poem can provide a moment of pride and peer review of videotaped performances can strengthen literacy skills.

Power of Place

Locate a space surrounded in nature that you can visit regularly.  I am fortunate, because I live on 7 acres with a pond.  When visiting this space, be prepared to engage in mindful listening, see the world with a poet’s eyes and take notes in a writing journal.
  • Sit comfortably.
  • Close your eyes and breath normally for a moment.
  • Now imagine your belly is a balloon filling up with air and when it is full hold it. (Pause). Now slowly breathe out.
  • Listen mindfully: What are the sounds of nature? Consider poetic elements, such as figurative language, personification, alliteration, onomatopoeia, assonance, consonance, repetition
  • Repeat. Deep breath in and hold it. (Pause). Release.
  • Breathe normally.
  • In your writing journal, write down the sounds of Nature. See p. 22 and 23 in Banishing Boring Words for some specific interesting sounds
  • Sit comfortably.
  • Now imagine your belly is a balloon filling up with air and when it is full hold it. (Pause). Now slowly breathe out.
  • Relax your body.
  • Focus your attention on nature for 5 minutes.  What do you see? What do you smell? Hear? What can you touch? When you see a creature, use your imagination.  What would it be like to be this creature?
  • In your writing journal, write down what you have noticed in nature. Consider poetic elements, such as figurative language (simile, metaphor, imagery), personification, alliteration, onomatopoeia, assonance, consonance, repetition and refer to Banishing Boring Words for some specific interesting words.
  • Take photograph(s) to capture the moment.
  • Continue mindful listening and writing as desired.

Poetry Writing

Writing poetry is all about playing with words.  Fletcher (2002) encourages us to play with the sounds of words.  Consider, rhythm, rhyme, repetition, onomatopoeia and alliteration. He also encourages us to think fragments/cut unnecessary words, consider shape, use white space/experiment with line breaks and end with a bang/sharpen the ending. Each of these aspects of language can be a topic of minilessons connected to poetry performances of mentor poems.  Lewis (2012, 2015) has included excellent resources for writing formula poems.

Savor...

In Beauty May I Walk
--Anonymous (Navajo Indian)

In beauty may I walk
All day long may I walk
Through the returning seasons may I walk
Beautifully will I possess again
Beautifully birds
Beautifully joyful birds
On the trail marked with pollen may I walk
With grasshoppers about my feet may I walk
With dew about my feet may I walk
With beauty may I walk
With beauty before me may I walk
With beauty behind me may I walk
With beauty above me may I walk
With beauty all around me may I walk
In old age, wandering on a trail of beauty, lively, may I walk.
In old age, wondering on a trail of beauty, living again, may I walk
It is finished in beauty
It is finished in beauty

References

Calkins, L.M. (1994). The art of teaching writing. (2nd ed.). Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.

Fletcher, R. (2002). Poetry matters: Writing a poem from the inside out. New York: Harper Trophy.

Lewis, J. P. (2015). National geographic book of nature poetry: More than 200 poems with photographs that float, zoom, and bloom! Washington, DC: National Geographic Partners, LLC.

Lewis, J. P. (2012). National geographic book of animal poetry: More than 200 poems with photographs that squeak, soar, and roar! Washington, DC: National Geographic Partners, LLC.

Shelton, L. (2009). Banish boring words. New York: Scholastic

Peggy S. Rice is an Associate Professor of Elementary Education and Faculty Advisor for the Partners in Literacy Council at Ball State University in Muncie Indiana. She is a member of the Children's Literature Assembly Ways and Means Committee.

Ideas for Change with Tonya Bolden’s Maritcha: A Nineteenth-Century American Girl

9/1/2020

 

By Jennifer Graff and Courtney Shimek on behalf of the Biography Clearinghouse

As shared in our initial Biography Clearinghouse post, we are committed to showcasing how biographies can help connect youths with each other and the world. Offering curricular possibilities that are easily adaptable to grade level, time, and other contexts and providing “behind-the-scenes” content from biography creators are central components of our commitment.
Maritcha: A Nineteenth-Century American Girl Cover
In the spirit of returning to school and the desire to amplify the historical achievements of Black people in the U.S., we showcase the story of someone committed to justice and equity her entire life. “A child of New York City’s striving class of Blacks in the mid-1800s" (p.5) whose ideals were to “Aim high! Stand tall! Be strong! -- and do!” (p.5); a girl whose mother was “an ace operator for the Underground Railroad” (p.21); and an educator who wrote, “I never forgot that I had to sue for a privilege which any but a colored girl could have without asking” (p.36). Thus, our first featured biography on the Biography Clearinghouse website is Tonya Bolden’s award-winning Maritcha: A Nineteenth-Century American Girl.

Bolden felt compelled to write about Maritcha after coming across her memoir at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture. Bolden’s rich, descriptive language and use of primary and secondary sources illuminate the life and experiences of Maritcha Rémond Lyons and her family in New York City during the latter half of the 19th century. Readers discover what life for Blacks was like in New York City, witness the terror and violence of the Draft Riots in 1863, and experience the fight for education and equal treatment. Bolden’s discussion of her research and writing process in the front and back matter as well as Maritcha’s perseverance, determination, and legacy inspired us to interview Bolden and imagine how we could incorporate this powerful biography into our classrooms.


Operating within our Investigate, Explore, and Create model, we designed teaching ideas geared toward literacy and content area learning as well as opportunities for socio-emotional learning and strengthening community connections.
Investigate focuses on authors’ and illustrators’ craft and structure. Suggested mini-lessons, writing opportunities, and talking points invite students to take composition-focused “closer looks” and “tryouts,” accentuating the importance of authors’ and illustrators’ craft from multiple perspectives. Bolden’s use of rich, vivid language and a medley of source material in Maritcha inspired our suggestions that connect the power of word choice and text structure as well as differentiate between facts and informed hypotheses. 

Explore offers resources to connect ideas, historical events, and scientific discoveries and inventions within the featured biographies to our world. These resources are selected to help readers deepen and extend their understandings of and connections between historical events and eras, scientific progress and modern conveniences, and to illustrate the interconnectedness of life across geographical places/spaces and disciplinary perspectives. For Maritcha, we found resources about the Draft Riots of 1863 as well as other education desegregation cases from the United States that happened between a decade and a century prior to Brown v. the Board of Education.   

Create invites readers to apply what they learn and know from the biographies to their current communities and contexts. Acutely aware of time and resources, our suggestions are typically  designed to meet educators where they are and offer additional opportunities.

Investigate, Explore, and Create Model

Diagram of interconnected circles involving Investigate research & writing process craft and structure, Explore content and disciplinary thinking  social and emotional learning, Create new texts and artifacts
Create with texts and artifacts

Create with Maritcha

Featured here is one of the Create ideas inspired by Maritcha. We mirror Bolden’s focus on family, community, and equity by having students think about their individual families, situate themselves within their communities, and then engage in positive action and change. While Bolden’s Maritcha is geared toward upper elementary or intermediate grades, the Create ideas speak to primary and intermediate grade levels, work with varying amounts of time, and stimulate new ideas rather than prescribe curricular engagements.

Getting to Know Your Community Leaders

Community networks were central to Maritcha’s story as well as her and her family’s accomplishments. The importance of community networks is still present today. But how often do we have opportunities to delve deeper into the community networks that help us survive, if not thrive?
If you have 1-2 hours . . .
If you have 1-2 days . . .
If you have 1 week or longer  . . .
Discuss the ways in which Maritcha’s community helped her succeed and who the leaders were in her community.
As a class or in small groups, brainstorm who (people and/or organizations) are part of their communities, who they consider to be leaders in their communities, and why (e.g., leadership qualities, character traits, etc.).


Sample discussion starters:
  • Who does a community look up to/learn from most and why? 
  • What qualities do these individuals have that inspire members of the community?

In small groups, students identify someone from their community network. 


Students generate interview questions and then conduct in-person or virtual interviews with their identified community members about the importance of community, leadership, etc. (connect back to key ideas from Maritcha).

By investigating biographers’ research and writing processes and connecting people and historical events to our modern lives, we hope to motivate change in how readers engage with biographies, each other, and the larger world. To see more classroom possibilities and helpful resources connected to Marticha: A Nineteenth Century American Girl, visit the Biography Clearinghouse. Additionally, we’d love to hear how the interview and these ideas inspired you. Email us at thebiographyclearinghouse@gmail.com with your connections, creations, questions, or comment below if you’re reading this on Twitter or Facebook.
Jennifer M. Graff is an associate professor at the University of Georgia, the current past-president of CLA, and a former committee member of NCTE’s Orbis Pictus Award for Outstanding Nonfiction for Children. 

Courtney Shimek is an assistant professor at West Virginia University and has been a member of CLA since 2015.

From the 2020 Notable Children’s Books in the Language Arts

8/25/2020

 

BY JEANNE GILLIAM FAIN

Reflecting on the 2020 NCBLA List, our seven-member committee believes in the influence of each individual book and the power of the books grouped together to offer another layer of meaning. After reviewing over 400 titles with 2019 copyright dates appropriate for readers in K-8th grade, the members of the 2020 Notable Children’s Books in the Language Arts Committee met online to decide upon our final list of 30 titles. We read books multiple times and learned from each other as we carefully considered the craft of each book.
In this post, I am going to highlight two picture book biographies from the 2020 NCBLA List: Soldier for Equality: Jose´de la Luz Sáenz and the Great War (2019) and Feed your mind: A story of August Wilson (2019).

Tonatiuh, D. (2019). Soldier for Equality: Jose´de la Luz Sáenz and the Great War. New York, NY: Abrams Books for Young Readers, unpaged.

Soldier for Equality Cover
Jose´de La Luz Sáenz starts his young life by fighting bullies as they call him names for being Mexican despite being born in the United States and his “abuela” arrived in the United States more than “twenty-five years ago.” His war experiences emitted mixed responses in terms of equity from his fellow soldiers as his experiences included challenging injustices with particular officers that were his “countrymen.” This book is impeccably researched and many quotes were used from specific pages of Luz’ diary. Duncan’s original style inspired by Pre-Columbian art conveyed his digital and collage-type illustrations vividly add to the powerful voice in this story.

Bryant, J. (2019). Feed your mind: A story of August Wilson. (C. Chapman, Illus.). New York, NY: Abrams Book for Young Readers, unpaged.

Feed your Mind Cover
Jen Bryant's Website
August Wilson, born Frederick August Kittel Jr., learned to understand the power of language and reading. He grew up with the mantra, “If you can read, you can do anything-you can be anything.” This mantra moved him to overcome racial prejudice and intense bullying. This book is written in two acts and in verse. There is an extensive author’s note about research process and places where the spoken lines were based on what the author thought August might say.

Golden Line Strategy & Flip Grid

Both picturebooks feature high-quality language and there are many golden lines, lines that really resonate with the reader, within these texts. The golden line strategy involves the reader choosing a specific line from the picture book biography that causes the reader to pause, ponder, reflect, and/or question the text.

The line should purposely connect with the reader. Readers can choose the golden line from the text and post responses on Flipgrid.

Using flipgrid, the reader can record the reading of the golden line. The teacher can post invitational questions on the flipgrid. Readers can create their own response or answer one of the invitational questions and post on flipgrid. Readers can listen to their peers' golden line responses and post a response back.


Invitational Questions:
  • Why did you choose this golden line?
  • What did this golden line make you think about?
  • Did you make a personal connection with the line of text?
  • What did you learn from this golden line?
  • What you notice something in particular about the line in terms of the genre of the text?
  • What specific words stood out to you and why did these words stand out?
  • What inspired you in this golden line?
Read picture book, aske students to reflect on sections, readers choose a golden line. readers post on Flipgrid, peers offer responses
Golden Lines & Flip Grid Strategy

References

Bryant, J. (2019). Feed your mind: A story of August Wilson. (C. Chapman, Illus.). New York, NY: Abrams Book for Young Readers, unpaged.

Tonatiuh, D. (2019). Soldier for Equality: Jose´de la Luz Sáenz and the Great War. New York, NY: Abrams Books for Young Readers, unpaged.


Notable Children’s Books in the Language Arts

You can check out the complete 2020 Notables List (2019 copyright) on our Notables page.

There you can also access the NCBLA lists from previous years.

Meet the Notables Committee

Jeanne Gilliam Fain is a professor in the College of Education at Lipscomb University in Nashville, Tennessee. She is the current Chair of  the 2020 NCBLA. Her research examines critical visual analysis in global children’s literature, critical literacy and linguistically and culturally diverse children’s and adolescents’ literature. Jeanne can be reached at jgfain@lipscomb.edu
 
Vera Ahiyya is a kindergarten teacher in Brooklyn, New York.  She has been teaching for 14 years and in three different states. Vera has a passion for sharing books that feature diverse characters and voices. She shares her passion for children's literature on social media and through presenting to educators nationwide. Vera can be reached at thetututeacher@gmail.com.

Elizabeth M. Bemiss is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Teacher Education and Educational Leadership at the University of West Florida in Pensacola, FL.  Her research examines teacher identity construction, effective literacy teaching practices, and critical literacy practices with young children. She can be reached at ebemiss@uwf.edu.

S. Rebecca Leigh is professor in the Department of Reading and Language Arts at Oakland University in Rochester, MI. Her research interests include multiple ways of knowing, writing, and teacher education. Her current research examines how access to art serves as a pathway to literacy learning and development and its impact on students as writers. Leigh can be reached at leigh23@oakland.edu
Janine M. Schall is an Associate Professor and Chair of the Department of Bilingual and Literacy Studies at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley. She teaches literacy courses and conducts research in the areas of multicultural literature and children’s literature with LGBT characters. Janine can be reached at janineschall@utrgv.edu.
 
Jennifer Summerlin is an Assistant Professor of Reading at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Her research examines construction of knowledge among preservice teacher candidates, supporting literacy best practices within the P-12 classroom, and reading intervention. She can be reached at jsummerl@uab.edu.

Kathryn Will
is an Assistant Professor of Literacy at the University of Maine Farmington.  Her research interests include clinically based teacher education, new teacher mentoring, and rural education.   Her current research looks at the literacy practices of future teachers and how their engagement with children's and young adult literature impacts their attitudes about reading.  Kathryn may be reached at
kathryn.will@maine.edu.
Jeanne Gilliam Fain is s a professor at Lipscomb University in Nashville, Tennessee and Chair of the 2020 Notables Committee.

Electronic Resources to Complement Contemporary Children’s Picture Books that Feature Mindfulness Elements

5/26/2020

 

BY KATHRYN CAPRINO

Teachers have been thinking about how to incorporate mindfulness into the elementary school classroom for a bit now. During the fall semester, I completed a study about how children’s picture books that featured mindfulness affected preservice teachers’ mindfulness and how they were thinking about incorporating mindfulness into their classrooms.

And the recent global pandemic has only underscored the importance of having children’s picture books that feature mindfulness. We, as parents, teachers, and teacher educators, need them for ourselves. And we need them for our students.

In this post, I share a few contemporary picture books that feature mindfulness elements, and include electronic resources that complement each book - perfect during this time of remote learning. It is my hope that these titles might help us all get through these trying times and propel us into a more mindful approach to what normal looks like on the other side of all this.


Eric Carle's Calm with the Very Hungry Caterpillar

I start with the iconic Eric Carle. Carle’s title Calm with the Very Hungry Caterpillar was recommended to me by one of my students. With its beautiful illustrations of natural images that are quintessential Carle, Calm is a perfect read-aloud text that starts with an invitation that seems appropriate for what many of us are experiencing right now: “When your monkey mind feels too busy …” Young children and those who are reading the book to them will close the book with a renewed sense of calmness.
Quick side note: I had the opportunity of seeing a traveling Carle exhibit in Norfolk, Virginia, last summer. With pieces from The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art , the exhibit provided visitors with an opportunity to learn more about Carle’s artistic process and to see some of the most iconic images from his books. One of my favorites was one of his owls! I encourage all of you to visit the museum once things return to normal. You can ask your students to take a virtual tour of the museum.

ECM Virtual Tour 2011-Large web movie from The Eric Carle Museum on Vimeo.

Tomie dePaola's Quiet

Tomie dePaola’s passing in March was upsetting to so many of us. His Quiet has a poignant message for all (both during the quarantine and after): “Let’s not be so busy.” Taking readers along on a walk with a grandfather and his grandchildren, Quiet begs us to contemplate and admire birds, dragonflies, and other natural elements that we see. This book could inspire many walks with the intention of finding objects or creatures that amaze. If you want to hear Tomie dePaola talk about what he wants readers to gain from Quiet, you can view the video below.


Susan Verde and Peter H. Reynolds' I am Peace: A Book of Mindfulness

This book starts with a young person feeling as though they are on a boat without an anchor. The book then shows how one can breathe and take actions to reach a sense of peace that can then be shared with others. The gorgeous, colorful illustrations complement the calming text, perfect for a read-aloud. If you want to hear Susan Verde read her book or have your students engage with it during this time of remote learning, you can watch the video below.

​​Mariam Gates' Good Morning Yoga

This is the perfect book to start out the day! Clear, kid-friendly directions and colorful illustrations help young children - and adults - progress through a series of yoga poses. If you want to hear Mariam Gates read her book or have your students and their parents engage with it during this time of remote learning, view the video below.


​Kira Willey and Anni Betts' Breathe Like a Bear

Kira Willey and Anni Betts’ Breathe Like a Bear offers thirty exercises for kids, including breathing like a bear, pretending to hold a cup of hot chocolate, and stretching like a kitty cat. Breathe Like a Bear is broken up into five major sections: Be calm, focus, imagine, make some energy, and relax. The way the book is arranged makes it perfect for those moments when you just want a short, poignant mindfulness activity. Kira Wiley’s website offers information for free and fee-based yoga events for children.
​It is my hope that these five titles will be added to your physical or electronic libraries, especially during this time when it seems that all of us could benefit from mindfulness practice.
Want to hear a little about my process for selecting texts? My recommendations are informed by Shapiro, Carlson, Astin, & Freedman’s (2006) three mindfulness axioms: intention, attention, and attitude.
  • Intention relates to having a personal vision.
  • Attention relates to focusing on moments in our lives.
  • And attitude relates to the approach one takes to attention.
At least one of these axioms are featured in each of the books shared above.
Reference

Shapiro, S. L. Carlson, L. E., Astin, J.A., & Freedman, B. (2006). Mechanisms of mindfulness.
Journal of Clinical Psychology, 62(3), 373-388.

Kathryn Caprino is a CLA member and is an Assistant Professor of PK-12 New Literacies at Elizabethtown College. She blogs frequently at Katie Reviews Books

Read Aloud is More the Same Than Different

4/23/2020

 

BY MARY LEE HAHN AND FRANKI SIBBERSON

Read aloud is the cornerstone of our literacy workshop. First and foremost, we use our read alouds to create and build a community of readers, but as we read, our conversations model the mind of the solitary reader. We gasp in surprise together, we stop at a cliffhanger and make predictions, we notice a small detail that we think will be important and jot a note to track what the author does with it, just like we want our students to do in their independent reading. Our read alouds are also models of good writing. We study how the author creates mood, manages the pacing, uses rich language, and structures the entire text (chapter book, picture book, information article, poem) to inform the ways we will write in the writing workshop.

What, then, will read aloud look like in our digital classrooms?
Picture

BOOK CHOICE

Mary Lee: We were about two-thirds of the way through The Last Human by Lee Bacon when we got the news that our schools would be closed. The book is a very middle-grade appropriate dystopian future novel. I chose it to follow We’re Not From Here by Geoff Rodkey, another middle grade dystopian future story, and Indian No More by Charlene Willing Mcmanis and Traci Sorell, which is historical fiction that might be categorized as a story about our “dystopian past.” As you can see, our read aloud journey this year has been filled with important, but difficult conversations about who we are as humans and as Americans.

The premise of The Last Human is that the robots have killed off the human race because it was wrecking the planet. Spoiler alert in the title and the image on the cover of the book -- they didn’t get us all. In our very last read aloud together, one of my students wondered aloud if robots caused the coronavirus and were trying to kill us all off. I assured them that the coronavirus comes from nature, and humans will use all of the science and technology possible to understand the virus and stop its spread. It was at that moment that I knew I must finish The Last Human. We couldn’t leave the story before we got to the part where the robots and humans collaborate to create a sustainable future for the human race and for the planet. We had to get to the hope, to the positives. For our next read aloud, I gave my students the choice of four books I’ve loved. Not ones to shy away from heavy topics, they chose The Honest Truth by Dan Gemeinhart.

Franki:  We were in the middle of a great book, New Kid by Jerry Craft.  We were using the incredible audio along with the Kindle version so kids could see the images as they heard the story.  With all those parts, it seems better to start a new book instead of trying to make this work online as our first online read aloud.

When I think about the kind of book I’d like to read aloud during this time, I know I want a plot-based book - a book that kids will want to hear each day. I want a book they can get lost in and one that has enough to talk about without being too heavy. I’ve decided on The Unicorn Quest by Kamilla Benko and I am excited to begin sharing it with students.


KEEPING THE CONVERSATIONS GOING

Franki:  Read aloud has always been an important part of our day and it will hopefully continue to be that. The combination of a great story and our collective thinking is important and I’ve been wondering how to make that work without being together in our classroom meeting area.  I’ve decided to use Google Meet so that any students who are available can meet “live”. (For others, I’ll record the session.)  This will allow us to read and talk and get back to our typical read aloud routine. I’ve also set up a Flipgrid and a Padlet so that we can build on the conversation across each day.
Mary Lee: I finished The Last Human by recording (on a private YouTube channel) a few chapters a day, and reading aloud live once a week in a Google Meet. Reading aloud with students “in front of me” was what began to heal my teacher soul. So with our new book, I’m reading aloud live every day on Google Meet. Students bring their reader’s notebooks and track their thinking as they listen. Before they unmute and we begin our discussion, we share our thinking in the comments. They love the comment tool, and this has given them an authentic way to use it.

While our read alouds look and sound a bit different than they did in our physical classrooms, like so much of what we are doing with online learning, we have found that the closer we hold on to our core values as teachers, the more authentic our digital learning space feels.

Mary Lee Hahn is a CLA Communications Committee Member and a CLA Member. Franki Sibberson is NCTE Past President and a CLA Member. Both Mary Lee and Franki teach fifth grade in the Dublin (OH) City Schools, and they blog together at A Year of Reading.

Link to Blog: A year of reading
Image by geralt. Pixabay License.

Audiobooks, Assistive Software, and Adaptations: Inclusive and Accessible Online Literacy Resources

4/14/2020

 

 BY ALEXANDRA LAMPP BERGLUND 

Transitioning to online education isn’t an easy task for educators, parents, and students by any means, and adapting and modifying online instruction for students with (dis)abilities presents unique challenges. Providing accessible literature in both print and audio versions is essential to many learners that have (dis)abilities. However, this can be quite challenging in distance learning contexts as students may not have access to a variety of resources and assistive devices available at school. Several apps exist to support this need, particularly in the realm of literacy learning. As discussed in previous posts, Epic! is an excellent resource that offers a wide array of children’s literature in a visual format alongside audio tracks with a “read-to-me” tool for many of its texts. Another app that I’ve found particularly helpful in my own preschool classroom is Tales2Go.
Person with headphones
Tales2Go is an online audiobook service for readers of all ages, which provides instant and unlimited access to over 10,000 book titles. These audiobooks can be accessed on a desktop computer, laptop, and mobile device. While facilitating online learning, educators can use these audiobooks to engage in lessons that work to build comprehension, fluency, and phonemic awareness, explore new vocabulary and more, depending on grade level. For instance, in an early childhood setting, after selecting a text, students can listen to the audiobook at their own pace. When finished, students can be asked to recount the story, in their own words, through whatever means of communication your digital classroom uses (Google Classroom, email, FlipGrid, Seesaw, etc.). After subsequent listens and additional prompts, students can also create story maps, complete graphic organizers, or devise their own version of the story that follows the same narrative structure.
While creating lessons like these using Tales2Go can be fun and impactful for your digital classroom, using only one app or service isn’t feasible. Print texts will need to be implemented in numerous and similarly beneficial ways. When doing so, it is crucial to use or share other modifications for this type of media. Text to speech software can convert many text files and webpages directly into audio and is readily available on different devices, under Settings or within the Control Panel. This includes Apple products (MacBooks, iPads, and iPhones), technology that uses Windows software, Android devices, and Chromebooks. Additionally, dictation or speech recognition software, found within word processing programs and on mobile devices, can assist students in expressing themselves through speech, without writing by hand or with a keyboard or worrying about spelling or grammar.

Providing audio material by using apps like Tales2Go and other resources such as text to speech software or sharing how to create audio materials with students are just a few small steps in making online literacy learning accessible to students with (dis)abilities, but they are important ones. Accessibility is essential, as we continue to navigate this digital landscape together, as educators, students, and family and community members. Together, we can all make small adaptations that make big differences in our online classrooms which we continually strive to make inclusive for all learners.

​Alexandra Lampp Berglund is the Chair of the CLA student committee. She is a doctoral student in Language and Literacy Education at The University of Georgia.
Photo by StockSnap

Digital Read Alouds

3/30/2020

 

BY JEANNE GILLIAM FAIN

These are hard times. Many of us are scrambling to figure out a schedule that keeps us all from losing our minds. One important part of your schedule should definitely include the power of the read aloud. This is a wonderful time to facilitate reading aloud digitally. There has never been an easier time to get to know some of the fantastic authors that are online. It would be easy to send your students a link and have them check out a favorite author (provided that they have online access). Many authors are spending valuable time reading online via YouTube, their websites, Instagram, and there are even author posts via twitter. These digital resources were created by the author and read by the author. As a reminder, it’s completely fine to read books aloud in a classroom or library setting but the rules change when it comes to a digital platform. So be wary of reading books online to your students*. Here are a few of my favorite authors and some of their websites.

Kwame Alexander

Kwame Alexander is a poet and educator. He is the author of 32 books. He is known for his energetic approach to making poetry come alive in his writing. His website includes various read alouds and tips for teaching in the home.

Monica Brown

Check out Monica Brown’s website and YouTube video channel. Monica is a professor of English at NAU. She has authored many award-winning books. Her writing is inspired by her Peruvian-American Heritage. Her read alouds, like the example below, are in her second language, Spanish.

Kate DiCamillo

Kate is an award-winning author that writes books about the messiness of relationships with themes of separation and loss. She has a powerful video on the importance of read alouds:

Yuyi Morales

Yuyi Morales is an author/illustrator that uniquely uses texture and color in her picture books. She powerfully integrates her Latina cultural experiences into her writing. Check out Yuyi's YouTube Channel and her video "Why I Love Picture Books."
* Creating a recording of reading aloud a published work is subject to copyright law. Sharing copyright-protected work via a public platform and/or monetizing your recording is not allowed. Sharing a read-aloud via a Drive link you post only to your own classes is generally allowable under Educational Fair Use. However, posting to something like YouTube (which is by default indexed and potentially searchable) is not. The story Publishers Adapt Policies To Help Educators published in the School Library Journal (SLJ, March, 2020) offers some helpful guidance as to how children’s publishers have temporarily altered some of their policies to support teaching in the context of COVID-19

Children’s Literature Available Free and Online – Epic

3/25/2020

 

BY ADAM CRAWLEY

Before becoming a teacher educator, I taught in elementary public schools for twelve years. The affordances of technology – particularly in connection to literacy and literature – have long been an interest of mine. While I’ve always aimed to stay current with what’s available and to consider increasingly innovative, meaningful, and critical use, I have gleaned much from countless others who are generously sharing resources via social media and other networks…particularly during these past few days and weeks with shifts in instruction due to COVID-19. While an abundance of online children’s literature resources is available – and resources continue to grow from educators, librarians, authors, illustrators, and publishers – Epic! has been particularly helpful in my work teaching a children’s literature course for pre-service teachers at Oklahoma State University.
Epic!

For those unfamiliar with Epic, it provides a vast collection of children’s literature including picturebooks, chapter books, and graphic novels. As stated on the site’s homepage, users can “instantly access 35,000 eBooks, learning videos, quizzes and more for K-5.” Many of the books available are recent publications and award/honor recipients. The site includes books diverse in representation (e.g., race, ethnicity, gender identity and expression, social class, language, etc.) and genre. Just a few of the many books available include El Deafo (Bell, 2014), When Aidan Became a Brother (Lukoff, 2019), and The Princess and the Warrior (Tonatiuh, 2016). One of my particular favorites is the bilingual picturebook Sora and the Cloud (Hoshino, 2011), exquisite with its soft mixed media illustrations and Japanese translation.

In addition to digital versions of printed books, the site includes audiobooks and “read-to-me” books with the option to add text highlighting. I emphasize to the pre-service teachers the importance of such features for emergent readers.

There are numerous ways to explore what’s available in Epic. Users can type a title, author, illustrator, or topic into the search bar; hover over “Explore” in the menu to see options for various subject areas (such as “narrative nonfiction” in English Language Arts or “geometry” in Math); or browse curated collections by other users. Educators can also add their students – whether K-12 or beyond – and assign books to them within the site.

As I want the pre-service teachers to have access to and use this resource beyond our semester together, I encourage them to create their own free account as an educator. Educators can create an Epic! for Educators account.
Adam Crawley is Assistant Professor of Literacy Education at Oklahoma State University. He is also Co-chair of CLA's 2021 Master Class.

    Authors:
    CLA Members

    Supporting PreK-12 and university teachers as they share children’s literature with their students in all classroom contexts.

    Disclaimer

    The opinions and ideas posted in the individual entries are those of the individual authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions or views of CLA or the Blog Editors.

    Blog Editors

    Xenia Hadjioannou
    Lauren Liang

    contribute to the blog

    Instructions to Authors

    Archives

    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020

    Categories

    All
    Activism
    Advocacy
    Agency
    All Grades
    Antiracism
    Authors
    Award Books
    Biography
    Book Discussion Guides
    Children's Literature
    Collaboration
    Comprehension Strategies
    Creativity
    Creativity Sponsors
    Critical Literacy
    Current Events
    Disciplinary Literacy
    Distance Learning
    Diverse Books
    Family Literacy
    Global Children’s And Adolescent Literature
    Global Children’s And Adolescent Literature
    Global Literature
    Graduate
    Graphic Novel
    High School
    Illustrators
    Intercultural Understanding
    Intermediate Grades
    International Children's Literature
    Journal Of Children's Literature
    Language Learners
    Middle Grades
    Middle School
    Mindfulness
    Multiliteracies
    NCTE
    Nonfiction Books
    Nurturing Lifelong Readers
    Picturebooks
    Poetic Picturebooks
    Poetry
    Preschool
    Primary Grades
    Primary Sources
    Professional Resources
    Science
    Social Justice
    Social Media
    STEAM
    Teacher
    Teaching Reading
    Teaching Writing
    Text Sets
    Undergraduate
    Using Technology
    Vocabulary
    Young Adult Literature

    RSS Feed

CLA

About CLA
CLA Board & Committees
Membership
Merchandise
Endowment Fund

Grants & Awards

CLA Research Award
Bonnie Campbell Hill Award
CLA Early Career Award
CLA Student Travel Grant

Journal of Children's Literature

Write for JCL
JCL Editors

The CLA Blog

Notables

Current List
Notables Archive

Resources

CLA-sponsored NCTE Position Statements
Children's Literature Course Syllabi
Children's Literature Blogs

CLA @NCTE

Children's Literature Assembly Breakfast
Master Class
Other CLA-sponsored Sessions

Art Auction

Members-Only Content

CLA Video Library
CLA Newsletter Archive

JCL Past Issues Archive

Current JCL Issue
JCL Podcasts

© COPYRIGHT 2018.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
  • Home
  • Join/Donate
  • Members Only
  • Journal
  • Notables
  • Grants & Awards
  • Resources
  • CLA @ NCTE
  • About
  • CLA Blog