Intriguing Insects

From fleas to beetles,
from bed bugs to flies,
bugs and their numbers can be quite a surprise. 
Their feats are amazing, and believe it or not,
there are more than 10 quintillion; that's saying a lot.

Whether you are a lover of insects or not, hours will be spent pouring over the pages of graphic designers, Sharon Werner's and Sarah Forss' newest tome, Bugs by the Numbers:  facts and figures for multiple types of bugbeasties.  Werner and Forss are the team behind a thriving business, Werner Design Werks, Inc. located in St. Paul, Minnesota as well as their earlier book which garnered much praise, Alphabeasties and Other Amazing Types.  Their works have found a permanent place in the Library of Congress.

 Ant, butterfly, ladybug, spider, centipede, grasshopper, walking stick, mosquito, praying mantis, termite and even earthworm are just a few of the 23 bugs crawling, flying, jumping, and weaving their way through this book.

Readers are surrounded by numbers at every turn of the page. Squiggling lines attached to numbers decorate the front and back endpapers.  Upon closer inspection the lines are facts about the bug featured with that number.   What this typographical wizard duo has done is to combine research with art.  Rarely has a more captivating technique been employed to make learning so appealing.

Let's take the number 168 which appears on the back endpapers.  A zig-zagging line moves across the two pages reading:  Cockroaches can zigzag 25 times every second, which makes them 1 of the most agile creatures on earth.  Cockroaches have 2 sets of teeth-1 sideways pair in their mouth and another in their digestive system to finish the work.  A cockroach has 5 claws on each leg.  An adult male can squeeze into a space the thickness of a quarter.  Cockroaches have 18 knees.

When readers turn to the page 168 (numbers are in chronological order but many are skipped in between each bug's factual narrative) they are "treated" to this interesting fact:  Cockroaches can move very fast , but sometimes not fast enough and they get squished, oops!  Don't worry, a cockroach can survive for 168 hours without its head.  but sadly, without a mouth it dies of thirst.
Werner and Forss then employ that number repeatedly to design the silhouette of the insect's body surrounded by large white or colorful space.  Each entry has additional numeric tidbits of information along the bottom or side of the pages.

When initially describing this book to potential readers the words astonishing, clever, artistic and informative come to mind.   This visually pleasing array is further enhanced by nine die-cut gatefolds which are a hit no matter the age of the reader.  Multiple viewings are encouraged due to the heavy card stock used for the pages. 

One for the elementary school, one for the middle school and one for me to be read over and over.  Who knew that creepy could be so cool.  What fun!

Remembering...

Memorial Day is more than just getting a long weekend or heralding the unofficial first day of summer.  Tradionally honoring those soliders who died in service of these United States, its origins can be traced back to the Civil War.  Today while remembering those brave men and women of the military many are also thinking of treasured and loved family and friends they have lost.

It seems fitting The Memory Bank by Carolyn Coman and illustrated by Rob Shepperson should be the book highlighted in my post today.  Carolyn Coman is the recipient of the Newbery Honor award for What Jamie Saw and a Michael Printz Honor winner for Many Stones.  Both of these titles were finalists for the National Book Award.  The New York Times, Washington Post and Wall Street Journal have published illustrations by Shepperson.  He has collaborated with Coman on other titles, The Big House, and its sequel, Sneaking Suspicions.

As the reader turns the first several pages black and white pen, ink and pencil graphics show a sleeping child which becomes two young girls awakening and getting dressed.  The older of the two reminds the younger not to forget to wear her whistle; a whistle to be blown if she needs help from her sister.  This daily reminder of Hope to Honey, is representative of the deep and binding love between the siblings.  This closeness is ever so necessary in light of their parents, Mr. and Mrs. Scroggins.  The two could be on a poster advertising cold, unloving, selfish and downright evil. 

For the simple act of laughter, Honey is abandoned along the road waving in a swirl of dust as the car speeds away.  Hope's pleas for her parents to turn around and get her sister fall on deaf ears.  She is told to forget Honey.

All signs of her are removed from their home.  Hope is sent to live and sleep in the garage.  She gives in to despair finding refuge in continuous sleep so she can dream of Honey.

Imagine her surprise when a large, jolly, kind man, Obleratta, interrupts her dreams standing in the garage one morning.  He is a pick-up and delivery specialist working for the WWMB, the World Wide Memory Bank.  It appears that her account is unbalanced with insufficient memory deposits; the result of too much dreaming.

To her wonder Hope is now an invited guest in this amazing world of  memory and dreams.  A host of colorful, imaginative characters greet her every exploration:  Sterling Prion, overseer and man in charge of all memories in the bank, Violette Mumm, guardian of the Dream Vault, Helen, caretaker of first memories, memies and Ute and Franka, Sorters of lobeglobes, marble-like memories traveling down the gigantic Receptor from each and every living soul. 

Continually astonished by the charitable words and actions of all, but most notably by the conversations she has with Violette Mumm,  Hope begins to believe that she may one day see Honey again.
  "Such a dedicated dreamer!  You're trying to find your way back to her!"  Hope's eyes got bigger.  "I am?"  She straightened up.  "Is there a way?  Back to her?"  Her heart galloping in her chest.  "Oh, my dear, of that there is no doubt," Violette answered.  "And your dreams are leading the way."  "They are?"  Hope said daring to hope.

And what has happened to Honey?  Readers are treated to the soft, inviting wordless visuals of Shepperson which are carefully placed between each written chapter telling a story of their own.  A truckload of happy, laughing, lollipop-sucking children have picked her up.  Honey has become a member of the Clean Slate Gang whose only purpose is to war against the WWMB by exploding broken memories in the Dump and gumming-up the inter-workings of this institution with sticky lollipops.  Why they are doing this is for the reader to discover.  The story ends as it began with no text but with a series of picture-perfect pages.

Carolyn Coman remains a storyteller of extraordinary talent.  Rob Shepperson is the ideal match with illustrations that lend themselves to an inventive parallel word.  While this is a first rate fantasy it also touches on childhood fears and the power of memory and dreams to provide hope and extend the boundaries of love.

This post is in memory of my father, a veteran of World War II serving in the Aleutian Islands for a year and for inspiring me to be open to the endless possibilities afforded by reading as much as possible whenever possible.  Thank you, Dad, for expanding my mind and my world.

Virtual Post-It Boards-Yet One More

This newest offering, Primary Wall , for real-time online collaboration between students and their teacher was conceived by a teacher.  It is designed to be used in education by educators, primarily in grades K-8.  It is hosted by Primary Technology and appears to be in beta form.  At this time the basic app is free and no registration is required.  A wall will be saved for thirty days unless the pro app is purchased.  By registering and paying for the pro app users can change the background, font and security level.

To begin click on Create new wall.  A post-it note appears with spots to add the note's title, the body of the note, the name or nickname of the note's writer and a Click to post me! button so the note can be added to the board.  The message appears right away and it can be arranged on the screen by simply dragging or by clicking the Sort button in the upper right hand corner.  There is a search option for locating notes as well as the ability to generate a link so the wall can be shared.  One of the newer features is that the contents of the wall can be integrated into the web 2.0 app, Wordle.  When the Share button is clicked beneath the link the user sees:  At that time send note contents to wordle.  By clicking the Go button the page changes to the Wordle screen. 

Support is available in the form of a Wiki, Community, a forum for asking questions, Blog and Contact information.

Please note that when I attempted to use this in Internet Explorer the program would not load.  When using Google Chrome it loaded instantly and was very easy to use.

This is the link to the wall that I created: http://bit.ly/lL5jTS

Thanks to Richard Byrne for posting about this newer online sitcky note app on his blog, Free Technology For Teachers , on April 1, 2011.

In The News

Following School Library Journal via Twitter revealed some exciting announcements last week.  At the BEA-BookExpo America in New York, the largest publishing event in North America, one of the most anticipated books coming out October 25, 2011 is The Chronicles of Harris Burdick.

Since its publication in 1984 The Mysteries of Harris Burdick by Chris VanAllsburg has intrigued readers of all ages.  The Chronicles of Harris Burdick is to be a collection of short stories based upon the illustrations in the earlier work.  The all-star cast of authors contributing to this book are Sherman Alexis, M. T. Anderson, Kate DiCamillo, Cory Doctorow, Jules Feiffer, Stephen King, Tabitha King, Lois Lowry, Gregory Maguire, Walter Dean Myers, Linda Sue Park, Louis Sachar, Jon Scieszka, Lemony Snicket, and Chris VanAllsburg. 

For years readers of The Mysteries of Harris Burdick have imagined or written their own versions of what those pictures are conveying to them.  The anticipation of reading the interpretations of these authors is way, way over the top!


Every other year IBBY (International Board on Books for Young People)presents the Hans Christian Andersen Awards to a living author and illustrator whose complete works have made a lasting contribution to children's literature.  For an author and illustrator there is no higher recognition at the international level.

Newly nominated authors and illustrators that are represented in our library media centers are:  United States, Paul Fleischman, author, Chris Raschka, illustrator; Australia, Bob Graham, illustrator; United Kingdom, Philip Pullman, author, John Burningham, illustrator, Ireland, Eoin Colfer, author; Czech Republic, Peter Sis, illustrator, and Canada, Tim Wynne-Jones, author. 

The winners will be announced at the IBBY Press Conference at the Bologna Children's Book Fair on Monday, 19 March 2012.

Equal Time for a C..A..T.., But Don't Breathe a Word of It to Xena

In the wee little village of
Sweet Apple Green,
in the tiniest cottage you've ever seen,
lives a cat causing trouble
within and without...

a cat named Tumford...

Tumford Stout.                                                       

It comes as no surprise to we lovers of dogs, one and all, that a cat would be the source of trouble as the introduction to Tumford the Terrible begins.  Disruption is this feline's middle name, leaving in his wake table settings strewn about the dining area, flattened garden veggies, and multi-colored paint paw prints across the floor.  To Tummy, so nicknamed by Georgy and Violet Stoutt, the very worst thing of all,  that one thing that he could not do, was say sorry.  Instead of uttering that word he hid, yes he did.

Thinking that a change of scenery might modify Tumford's mind and his manners, the Stoutts plan a trip to the village fair.  But a promise is made.  If this black and white bundle of furry fuss makes a mess he must apologize.

A whiff of smelly fish, a dish of kippers, is his undoing.  He leaps spilling them right on the Village Fair Queen. In hiding, of course that's just what he did, Tumford begins to think that perhaps saying that one little word might make all the Stoutts happy, even him.

 All ends as it should with readers knowing why one among many are called magic words. 

Author/illustrator Nancy Tillman is best known for her New York Times Bestseller, On The Night You Were Born.  In  Tumford the Terrible light verse in rhyme with humor spread throughout tells the tale.  Using mixed media she cleverly captures the antics of our character making use of large areas of white space drawing in the reader's eye.  Illustrations that exemplify Tumford's camouflage skills are certain to draw a chuckle or two.

 Tillman's closing narrative in this tale sums up her life's message toward all children--You are loved.

Hound Dog Heaven

When a woman introduces her blog: My name is Ree--I'm a desperate housewife.  I live in the country.  I channel Lucille Ball, Vivien Leigh, and Ethel Merman. Welcome to my frontier! readers immediately know that they are in for a humorous treat . Ree Drummond began chronicling her life as the wife of a cattle rancher in 2006.  By 2009 The Pioneer Woman  had earned the Weblog of the Year Award given at the Weblog Awards.  The Pioneer Woman Cooks; Recipes from an Accidental Country Girl was published in October 2009.  A series of blog posts became a book in February 2011 titled The Pioneer Woman: Black Heels to Tractor Wheels--A Love Story.  You just never know what you will discover when gathering information about the author of a new book.

Now three weeks on the New York Times Best Sellers list, Charlie the Ranch Dog is Drummond's first book for children.  The droll tongue and cheek narrative found in her blog posts is present in spades as a day in the life of Charlie unfolds.

After Charlie introduces himself and his best doggie friend, Suzie, readers turn pages that compare their traits only to have Charlie tell them:   But all that stuff doesn't really matter anyway.  'Cause tall or short, slow or fast, tiny ears or floppy ears, there's plenty of work around here for both of us. 

As Charlie relates the days events from getting up in the morning, to chasing cows out of the yard, to sniffing the porch steps for critters or helping Mama in the garden, it won't take readers long to figure out that what he says and what he does are two separate things.  In fact midway through-It isn't even lunchtime yet, and I've already worked harder than most dogs out there.  I think I'll just sit down and rest for a minute.  I think I'll just...ZZZZZZZZZZZZ...

It seems that when it comes to napping and food, especially bacon, Charlie is the champion.  When he wakes up from one of those short little snoozes only to find everyone gone, Charlies decides to take---you guessed it--another nap. But lo and behold those big floppy ears hear cows getting in Mama's garden and Charlie lets loose with a big howl.  What would this ranch do without him?!

Unlike Charlie's short legs this story is long on laughter and...love.  For it is obvious that despite his need for shut-eye Charlie has found a warm, cozy spot in this author's heart.

Diane deGroat began illustrating books for others in 1973.  After 20 years she wrote and illustrated her own book, Annie Pitts Artichoke.  Her first picture book was Roses are Pink, Your Feet Really Stink.  Fans  of those Gilbert books rejoice; she is working on her thirteenth book in the series. 

Her artwork in Charlie the Ranch Dog is a true reflection of the playful tone found in the author's text as well as a clever depiction of what is really happening despite what Charlie is telling his readers.  Each one and two page spread reveals another small friend accompanying Charlie throughout his day.  Will readers find this furry companion? 

I encourage you to follow the links for both the author's blog and illustrator's web site.  In every way possible way they are outstanding.

Sizzling Scieszka

It came as no surprise to those of us familiar with the work of Jon Scieszka that he would be awarded the first National Ambassador for Young People's Literature medal given by Librarian of Congress James H. Billlington on October 11, 2008.

 Prior to and after serving  this two year term he wrote the Time Wrap Trio series which currently has its own TV show, the newer Trucktown books and a dozen picture books on all things weird and wonderful.   One of many done in collaboration with Lane Smith is the Caldecott Award Honor book , The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales. 

Jon Scieskza has been a true champion for the cause of promoting not just reading but specifically reading for boys and young men.  At Guys Read he has numerous lists of time-tested books for guys, he has started a library of anthologies called Guys Read; the first is Guys Read-Funny Business which had me rolling with laughter.  In the Guys Read blog yesterday he announced that the second book, Guys Read-Thriller is being released tomorrow.  He offers a separate page for encouraging guys to start a reading group offering print-outs and advice.


Nearly a year ago his newest series began with Spaceheadz,  Book #1.  In describing this newest tome two words come to mind--wild and wacky; well maybe three--hilarious.   Michael K. is the new kid at school and his first day experiences in Mrs. Halley's fifth grade class at P.S. 858 are out of this world---literally.

Paired with two new kids who give a whole different meaning to the word strange, Michael slowly becomes convinced that they are truly aliens from an unknown planet and their mission leader is the class hamster, Major Fluffy. This convincing comes in the form of Bob and Jennifer's speech which is strictly in commercial "sloganese" or other well known short phrases from Big Time Wrestling.
The boy nodded back.  "JUST DO IT."  The girl drew on her Star Wars lunch box: SPHDZ . This was getting beyond weird.  "Michael K., I'M LOVING IT!" said the boy.  "We need your help.  You must become a SPHDZ.  Save your world.  I am Bob."  "Jennifer," said the girl in that deep, echoing voice.  Michael K. watched Jennifer crunch the last of his Dixon Ticonderoga No. 2...Jennifer burped up the eraser from Michael K.'s only pencil.  She spit it out.  "SPHDZ---GET RRRREADY TO RRRRRUMBLE," said Jennifer.  Let's face it--who else would talk like that but two aliens?!

Then, too, there are the conversations between the duo and Major Fluffy who speaks, Week eek eeeekwee weee weee eeee ee eeeek eeeek.  Pair this with the inept surveillance of Agent Umber of the Anti-Alien Agency (AAA) complete with a Picklephone (R), a beat-up old white van and a multitude of surefire disguises that continually backfire and you have a day that gets nuttier and nuttier. 

Their mission on planet Earth is to get three point one four million and one Earth persons to become SPHDZ.  If this mission is not accomplished Earth will be turned off.   Using discarded trash as their technology,  Bob, Jennifer and Major Fluffy design a web site to lure Earthlings to become SPHDZ.  Michael K. has a decision to make, save his sanity or save the world.

Right before Christmas, Spaceheadz, Book #2 hit the scene funnier, if that's possible, than the first book.  Michael K., Jennifer, Bob and Major Fluffy have returned with absurd antics that define their determination to make this mission not impossible.  They are joined by techno geek students, TJ and Venus who have been observing the events with a skeptical eye. The characters of School Nurse Dominique and Agent Magenta become more fully fleshed-out.  Dad K. and the Ad Factory NY offices add another piece to the ever-growing puzzle.  Readers discover that Mom K. is an employee of the ZIA.  But with each revelation more questions rise to the surface which just adds to the increasingly fast-paced action.

Toss in a class project that matches this group of six with the kindergarten students practicing for their version of Little Red Riding Hood, a day of bad food in the school cafeteria and an agent lurking in the sewers of Brooklyn and readers are in for one madcap adventure with a mighty suspicious ending. 

Throughout both books black and white illustrations from the mind of Shane Prigmore extend the downright goofy dialogue and events.  It is like seeing the visuals created in your imagination from the text of Scieszka appear right before your eyes on the printed page.  Sprinkled among the chapters of both books are one page explanations of terms that pop-up in the course of the story, TV and radio, waves, interference/amplification, camouflage and mimicry, to name a few.

Additional appeal for this series comes with five web sites, SPHDZ #1 Website, Mrs. Halley's Comets, Anti-Alien Agency, I'm Sure Glad That Didn't Happen and The Ad Factory.  By going to the Simon and Schuster link here those can be accessed.  Number three in the series comes out this fall and I count myself among those readers who can't wait.

To say that my fan factor for Jon Scieszka is high is an understatement.  Oh, and did I mention, he was born and raised right here in Michigan.  Enough said.