Dogs Will Be Dogs

When you really stop to think about it, our lovable canine companions have us pretty well in tune to their daily schedule which runs like clockwork.  Who needs to set an alarm anymore?  I do not.  It's the same time each and every day for getting up for breakfast, going for a walk, breaking at lunch for another walk, dinner, another walk, and hello...isn't it time to go out again because aren't we going to bed now?

Author/illustrator Carter Goodrich must know this to be true for how else could he so thoroughly and completely convey this innate trait of dogs in his latest title, Say Hello to Zorro! 

Readers are initially introduced to Mister Bud, a lovable dog with everything just the way he likes it; his own house, bed, toys, dish and schedule.  This schedule is enumerated page by page, sometimes punctuated by a human response; "Okay...okay.", Take it easy....".  Mister Bud concludes this list by looking gruffly, straight at the reader and making no bones about no exceptions, whatsoever. 

But as they say about the best laid plans, er schedule, that is all about to change. One day at Greet and Make a Fuss Time, Mister Bud is astonished to have to say hello to Zorro.  The worst part is that he is moving in!  What!? Is this really happening?  It did not go well for these two...oh no...not one little bit until they discovered that they had something in common.  A lasting, lovable and laughable friendship is formed.  Spare text, at times only a couple words, sets the tone and spins this tale at exactly the right pace.

Carter Goodrich is gifted at using watercolor to depict expression and each little canine nuance with paws-itive panache.  The eight small portraits of our companions that decorate the endpapers foreshadow their daily escapades.  The unique presentation of the title page and publisher's information, beneath the two playing towel tug-of-war, on sides opposite on which they would normally appear, set the tone for change to come.  Before the story begins the page showing the two sitting side by side with their backs to the reader surrounded by circles of bibliographic information informs the reader that an unusual treat awaits.  Use of color and space delineate mood and story flow as does the different font type, size and color of the narrator, human and Mister Bud and Zorro.

The entire book is a delight in word and visuals but my two favorites are Wake-up Time showing a metal footboard, quilt and Mister Bud's long nose and eyes peering at the sleeper and  Nap time was more comfortable picturing a large, soft, yellow rug with a hint of a green strip beneath Mister Bud and Zorro at rest back to back.

The author promises that this is the first in a series.  Readers will hardly be able to wait.

Notable Notebook and Slide Show Partner

The American Association of School Librarians publication, Standards for the 21st-Century Learner, is the basis for their selection of The Top Websites for Teaching and Learning .  This is the third year that this selection has been made at the annual convention.   It is my goal to highlight those sites, that have not been done so yet in this blog, prior to the beginning of the new school year, 2011-2012, that I believe will be useful to my students, staff and parents.

Under the Media Sharing standards, 3.1.4 Use technology and other information tools to organize and display knowledge and understanding in ways that others can view, use and assess.  3.3.4 Create products that apply to authentic, real-world context.,  Nota is a web 2.0 application
that is more than deserving of recognition. 

In a nutshell this is what the creators of this free online tool say about it:  Nota is a unique, cutting-edge collaborative web platform that allows users to create, share and collaborate on presentations and virtually any other form of online material. Using Nota’s proprietary toolset, users can instantly integrate text, video, maps, clip art, photos from web album or on the local computer, or license-free images from Flickr, and material from an ever-expanding array of sources. Users can then instantly embed their work in Facebook or blogs, and can share and collaborate with friends.

Having spent several hours exploring and working on a Nota page(s) of my own this morning, I can say that it is easy to use and will have multiple uses in the classroom.

Registration is as simple as selecting a username, submitting an email address and choosing a password.  If users are under the age of 13, parents are asked to complete this process with them.  Log in and the option of editing a Nota page or creating a new notebook will appear.  After a name for a new notebook is typed in and the selection of making it Public or Private is determined, click the create button.  Please note that by choosing Private it means that only you and invited users can view the Nota pages.  Also be aware that multiple pages can be placed in a notebook.

On the right is a series of icons representing  tools to use on the page:  select, pen, erase, text, shapes, undo and redo.

 On the left is a large array of items that can be added:  Upload (from your computer or from a URL), FontArt (typing in text and have the font changed), Photo (a large database), Movie (upload from YouTube), Clipart, iSummit Clipart (more to be explored because I believe that the founders are Japanese), Notalink (link to other Notas), Wikipedia (embed search results), Map (Google) and a series of web albums, Flickr, Picasa and Facebook.  Gadgets such as a message board, access counter and web cam can be included on a Nota.

At the top of the work space the background color can be altered, users can choose whether the page is altered or comments can be left.  The page can be discarded from this point or a new page can be added.  When working on a specific Nota with multiple pages, the user is able to toggle between those pages to change or update.

I am currently working on a Nota, Graphic Novels, which is a work in progress.  It will be a listing of all those graphic novels, as single books or in a series, that we currently have in either the elementary or middle school collections.  Here is the link to Graphic Novels .

Photo Peach is a sister web site that features a web 2.0 application that is one of the most sophisticated in its simplicity.  The same username and password for Nota can be used here.

After log in simply upload photos from your computer, Facebook or Picasa.  The next screen that appears allows you to drag and drop to change their order, pull them to the right to delete them from the show or double-click on an individual photo to enlarge it.  Photos can be swapped from the delete side back to the original side.  When you have uploaded all the images that you desire a title, description and music can be added. 

Even after the slide show is completed the user can edit captions/photos, music/title, add photos, manage comments, delete the show or download it.  By clicking on icons on the side when previewing it can be shared on Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, emailed or embedded in a blog or web site. 

Spring Beauty on PhotoPeach



 
Nota and PhotoPeach are two online tools whose ease of use and polished end results make them valuable to educators, their students and parents alike.

Where Are We? And How Did We Get Here?

Blurry-eyed I closed the cover of the book thinking, "How did I finish this so fast?".  What I really should have said was not a question but a statement, "I inhaled this book!"  No Passengers Beyond This Point, the newest title out by Newbery Honor winner, Gennifer Choldenko, takes readers on a journey to places yet unseen and into their own hearts.

I should have known that this book would captivate my interest and grab hold of my time when a prologue labeled, Black Crows, speaks of endless waiting for good things to happen but within the suddenness of seconds lost, bad leaps out with a shout from nowhere.  A seemingly normal day begins and then ends with dreams, hopes and normalcy shattered.  There are signs but one does not know to look until thinking too late to glance behind.

In less than two days, three siblings, India, Finn and Mouse, will be leaving the only home they have every known.  Their school teacher Mom tried to save it but the banks have foreclosed.  What is most shocking to them, besides the short notice, is that they are going to Colorado to live with Uncle Red whom they barely know.  Staying behind to finish the school year, their Mom will be living with other family in California.  As the words of the song say---"...leavin' on a jet plane, don't know when I'll be back again..."

Landing much too early to be Denver they find the airport strangely deserted.  A sign reading Tompkins clearly indicates that they should accompany an odd, baby-faced looking driver with a shocking pink taxi covered in white feathers.  Hesitant they enter the vehicle which does not take them to Fort Baker, Colorado but to Falling Bird, Not On A Map.

Upon entering Falling Bird crowds lining the streets cheer them as movies of their lives play on every possible surface.  Each is led to a dream home that mirrors their every desire.  Within a day though change is eminent, stringent rules dictate their future, each is being wooed, dropped and shuttled from one strange setting to another, choices needing to be made confuse them, time is running out and when it does, will our trio be together?  Where is home and which of them will be there? 

Choldenko has penned a fantasy that takes readers just off the edge of time and space; a realm where what might be resides.  Her characters', India, a teen longing to belong, have a best friend at all costs and rebelling against her Mom, Finn, the middle son ever the peacemaker, worrying and wanting to play basketball with the best of them and Mouse, the five-year-old sister a genius questioning all in her need to know accompanied by her friend, Bing, who may or may not be invisible, interactions so rich in dialogue and thought are what drive the storyline. 

It is their ties to one another that brings this novel to its blazing conclusion complete with an ending astonishing in its possibilities.  Educators and book club fans will be pleased with the discussion questions at the author's web site.

Enjoy this video as Gennifer Choldenko talks about No Passenger Beyond This Point, takes us into her home and we follow her out and about in San Francisco, the setting of Al Capone Does My Shirts.

Phew...

All readers have to do is look at the cover of author/illustrator, Paul Schmid's book, A Pet for Petunia, to know exactly what kind of pet this little waif has in mind.  And having had many near encounters walking with Xena through the neighborhood (Is our little neck of the woods in northern Michigan the National Headquarters?), I know, as my younger readers will too, just how unlikely this is to occur.

Within the turn of a few pages, it's crystal clear that Petunia loves everything about skunks; their cuteness, their cuddliness, their black-and-white-striped furriness.  Just imagine, a live one would be twice as nice as the stuffed pal she totes around.
          Petunia wants, wants, wants! a REAL pet skunk.

She triples her use of the magic word, Please, chatting about each and every task and activity she and Skunkie can and will do.  When her parents finally get a word in, they simply say, They stink. 

Her disbelief at that single statement explodes in a ranting dissertation that is filled with sentences so typical, I challenge any reader not to laugh.  Of course, this little bundle of sweetness has no choice but to leave the house for a walk in the woods.

And yes, there she meets a real, live skunk.  Oh, the joy of it.  Oh, the...  Within a whiff of time Petunia's attitude alters as does the direction of the path she is taking.  She makes a beeline for her bedroom at home where she rethinks her wants, finds acceptance in what she already has until she sees another something special that just might make the perfect pet.

Schmid's use of color, black, purple and touches of golden yellow, elevate the spare, lyrical text to an invitation; an invitation into the pure childhood innocence of Petunia's world.  When he chooses to use a purple background to frame the parent's earth-shattering statement and a background of darkened yellow as Petunia shouts out her tirade, in contrast to white throughout the rest of the book,  readers know that emotions have shifted.  Paul Schmid's illustrations take the less is more mindset giving reader more spirit, more laughter and much more fun.

Be sure to treat yourselves by reading this interview with Paul Schmid at Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast.

Z is for...

Another recipient of the recent American Association of School Librarians Website for Teaching and Learning 2011 honor is ZooBurst.  ZooBurst is a digital storytelling tool that lets anyone easily create his or her own 3D pop-up books.  Using ZooBurst, storytellers of any age can create their own rich worlds in which their stories can come to life.

To sign up for this free application users need to be over 13 years of age with a valid email address.  First name, last name, a display or nickname, an email opt-out choice for news and age are all needed to begin.  Once your registration is accepted an email is sent to you for confirmation.   This email message states as a user, in addition to the 3D  book builder, a community web site that allows browsing for other created books, an online book viewer to see your book, send it to others via email, hyperlink or embed it in another site or blog are available.  If your computer has a web cam you can view a book in Augmented Reality and capture a photo postcard to share of you reading that book.  I have to admit that when I tried this feature it was amazing and very simple to do.

Once a user has signed in, by clicking on the books icon on the top right, a page will appear listing books already made beneath a New Book button.  There is a New Snowglobe button for premium/paid users only.
After clicking on the New Book button users are prompted to enter in a name for their book, describe what it is about, who can see it (everyone, everyone with a password or just yourself) and whether comments about their book are allowed.  Then the fun begins by selecting the Build button.

When building a new book a screen will appear that allows for multiple design options.  On the left is a work area where images can be obtained from an extensive clip art selection or uploaded from your computer.  An extra icon allows for viewing those pictures used in the book currently on the screen.  Simply click on a graphic to enter it either on the pages of the book or in the background behind the book. 

For each screen containing a page, color can be chosen for the page, ground, horizon and sky. When a particular item on the page is selected it can be sized, rotated, the pop angle can be altered, cut-out visibility is an option as well as pop delay and time.  Text can be added to each page overall and individual items on that page.  Font can be made bold and hyperlinks can be added. 

When the 3D book is complete click the save button.  At that time it can be printed.  To share the book the user needs to exist this screen by clicking on the books icon again.  The list of books created will appear with several buttons on the right.  Click on the view button to see the book.  When viewing the book by dragging your mouse over the pages the book can be rotated as if on a disc and up or down.  At this point the sharing options are displayed.



With a premium subscription teachers can add up to 250 student accounts giving them a safe platform in which to create books with visuals and narration of their choice.  The owners of this site will not post anything that is inappropriate.  There is a thorough breakdown of what a teacher can expect with a premium subscription.  It is $9.99 per month or $49.99 per year. 

Pirates, Plunder and Perils

Despite saying in my post on Monday, June 27, 2011, that I was going to only highlight one graphic novel prior to making a page of others that I have read over the past several days, I have to write a review of The Unsinkable Walker Bean by Aaron Renier; it's that good.

According to legend Atlantis disappeared into a trench near an unspecified location around the Mango Islands.  It was destroyed by the evil Tartessa and Remora, merwitch sisters, who were subsequently sentenced to live eternally in the deep, dark depths of this trench.  To sustain themselves the two took the bones of their victims turning them into "pearls" using them to make a wall surrounding their new home.  The combined energy from all the skulls of these dead; their memories see all---past, present and the future. Peering into the eyes of any one of them reveals long lost treasures of land and sea.  Learning these secrets comes at a price---a slow, wasting death. 

Walker Bean, a somewhat chubby, bespectacled lad grew up hearing these tales from his grandfather, an Admiral, who, truth be told, is more of a father to him than his own.  Their need for adventure, inventing ingenious contraptions and exploring the unknown to disclose the truth sets them apart from their contemporaries but binds them together in the strongest of loves.  Now, Walker's grandfather is dying.

To save his grandfather our unlikely hero rides ships embroiled in high-seas, swashbuckling adventure living among pirates, survives cannon blasting battles, evades a suspicious goggle wearing doctor of a dubious nature, and the pursuing merwitches grown to the size of Kraken.

 As if this non-stop action is not enough Renier adds a feisty, sulky, skeptical girl pirate, Genoa, who grows a garden aboard the ship, Shiv, a deckhand with a special musical gift and what Walker lacks in brawn he more than makes up for with brains altering the ship to travel over land, disguising its direction at night with starry black sails and a unique steering gear.  To complete the cast of characters is the ever present pooch on board, Perrogi.  Snappy, hand-lettered dialogue via speech balloons supply the story line seamlessly with vigor and zip.

Many want the stolen skull for the riches it will bring but who is willing to do what must be done?  Who will accomplish that task and will it be in time? 

Magnificent, two-page panoramic color-splashed illustrations explode across the readers view heightening the events to a fever pitch.  Cartoonist Aaron Renier worked with colorist Alec Longstreth, as noted on the last page.  They used a special palette of 75 colors gaining inspiration from old children's books. 

Readers will be asking themselves, "What is there not to like about this book?"  I had best be getting at least one more copy.  I do believe that they will never be seen on the shelves in the library media center but passed from one eager reader to another all year long.

Twenty-Four Hours in Twitterville #3

Lots of news and new ideas popping up via Twitter within the past several days. 

At the ALA annual convention in New Orleans the American Association of School Librarians listed their new top twenty-five web sites for teaching and learning. If you are looking to integrate technology into your classroom, there are excellent recommendations on this list.

At Huffpost Education there is an outstanding article by novelist, naturalist, and Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, William Dietrich about the use of historical fiction to promote interest in and teach history.  It's about making history come alive through story.

By following a link I discovered what appears to be an excellent web site connecting boys and reading.  A group of parents, educators, librarians, mentors, authors, and booksellers have come together with the mission:  to transform boys into lifelong readers.  It includes an extensive reading list that will appeal not only to boys but girls as well.


Here is another outstanding video about the importance of following the rules of copyright.

There is a new blog at The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art, Making Art With Children, from The Art Studio.  I would like to say that it's the next best thing to being there (it's enough for now) but what an experience it would be to go there in person no matter your age. 

Thanks to tweets by Larry Ferlazzo, the Association for Library Service to Children and the School Library Journal blog, Fuse #8.