Soaring Through The Streets

A long standing tradition in my home, as I am sure is in many homes throughout the United States, if not in some corners of the world, is the viewing of the annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.  Through extensive planning no matter what is on the menu I will find a way to watch even if I am craning my neck from the kitchen into the living room.  In fact, given my birth date, there has not been a year in my life that I have not been able to watch the parade (with the exception of those years before we had a television).  Fascination with the gigantic balloons floating along the streets of New York City has been the big draw for me.

The list of notables is long but a few awards garnered by the November 1, 2011 release of Melissa Sweet's Balloons Over Broadway:  The True Story of the Puppeteer of Macy's Parade are:

National Council of Teachers English Orbis Pictus Award-promoting and recognizing excellence in the writing of nonfiction for children
and
Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Medal Winner 2012-awarded annually to the author(s) and illustrator(s) of the most distinguished informational book published in the United States in English during the preceding year.

From the time he was a little boy, Tony Sarg loved to figure out how to make things move.  He once said he became a marionette man when he was only six years old.

By recounting Tony Sarg's route from child tinkerer, to marionette maker of life-like puppets in London, England, to having his own marionette show on Broadway in New York City, and his eventual invitation to design the first form of movable puppets for Macy's store windows during the holidays, readers begin to see the evolution of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade from the inside out.  One of the more interesting pieces of information in this title is the reason for the original Macy's parade; many of the employees were immigrants missing their own holiday customs of celebrating in the streets.  As an immigrant himself, the son of a German father and English mother, Tony was more than happy to design this first parade taking place in 1924.

Several years later when animals borrowed from the Central Park Zoo for the annual parades began to frighten the child viewers along the parade route, it was requested that Tony devise some sort of puppet to replace them.  From large rubber air-filled objects supported on the ground by wooden sticks Tony's designs expanded and grew to be rubberized silk shapes filled with air and helium controlled by ropes allowing them to rise so all could see their wonder.  Their animation amazed crowds; handlers were even able to get them under the overhead train line, the El.

Beginning with an expansive, cheerfully-hued watercolor portrayal of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade with Tony Sarg in the forefront across the cover and jacket, Melissa Sweet sets the stage for a remarkable peek into the past.  Differing front and back endpapers done in a scrapbook collage of creative remnants (fabric, thread, wooden pieces), sketches, original pages from The Tony Sarg Marionette Book and newspaper clippings announcing the Macy's parade in 1933, cause readers to feel as if they are stepping through a time warp into Tony Sarg's studio and workplace.  Throughout Sweet uses a combination of her watercolor illustrations with varying media, altering text types and styles, using toys from childhoods' past (which she made herself for this book) and page layouts reminiscent of a designer's journal.  At every reading I guarantee new details will be discovered; details reflective of the research conducted by Sweet and her significant talents as an author/illustrator.

At the close of the book Melissa Sweet provides additional information about Sarg in her Author's Note including remarks about the art she created for her pictures.  A bibliography and sources encourage readers to delve more deeply into the man behind the magic of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade balloons.

Balloons Over Broadway:  The True Story of the Puppeteer of Macy's Parade is an accomplishment that raises the bar on nonfiction titles able to be enjoyed and appreciated by children of any age and for those of us that are still and always will be kids at heart.  This is truly an information sensation.

Two interviews of Melissa Sweet which are well worth reading are:  Seven Questions Over Breakfast with Melissa Sweet conducted by Julie Danielson at Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast on January 21, 2010 and a more recent one by Christine M. Heppermann at The Horn Book, Five Questions for Melissa Sweet on November 3, 2011.
Update: I discovered the publisher has an activity kit.

Follow the link to Melissa Sweet's website attached to her name above for a colorful tour of her world and loads of extras.

Just Dropping Off In The Clouds

Several years ago a service allowing users to save photographs, documents and videos in a cloud-based platform was launched, Dropbox.  According to the website,
Any file you save to your Dropbox will also automatically save to all your computers, phones, and even the Dropbox website.  This means that you can start working on your computer at school or the office, and finish on your home computer. 

Users must be over 13 years of age to register for this application.  Up to 2GB of space is free.  For $9.99 a month 50BGB are available and 100GB for $19.99 per month.

To begin using Dropbox download and install the application on your computer(s) and/or phone.  The size of the file is about 14MB and you can be up and running in a matter of minutes.  When you register you are asked for your email address, first and last name, password and to accept the Terms of Service. 

A series of prompts guide you through the setup of your account (setup type, options upon logging in, explanation of Dropbox icon on your desktop toolbar, ability to share any folders with any type of operating system) until you come to the seven step Get Started page.  If you finish five of the seven steps you receive another 250MB of storage space.

It was easy to add Dropbox to my Samsung Galaxy smartphone.  Dropbox provides a QR code which I scanned, completed the install and signed in.  Everything that I put into Dropbox using my laptop appears in that application on my smartphone.

When moving right to the Files tab I can upload files into a chosen folder, create new folders, share a folder for collaboration with another Dropbox user, view or hide deleted files, or by checking files or folders, invite sharing of, download, move, rename, copy to or delete them.

The Events page keeps the date and time that actions are completed in your Dropbox account.
. 
The Photos folder in your Dropbox account is for sharing with anyone, even those without a Dropbox account.  Add a folder within the main Photos folder naming it.  This is your gallery.  Per the instructions at Dropbox any pictures placed in that folder can be viewed at a link to the main Dropbox site, Photos.  Just for practice I put some pics under Xena's Mom although when I went to the Dropbox site slash photos I still had to log in or create an account.  So I logged in and my folder was there.  I then copied a link to see if that was how someone without an account could view pics; that worked perfectly.

Files can also be shared with others not having an account with Dropbox.  After adding a file to the Public folder, right click on that file choosing Dropbox, copy public link.  With this link anyone can access that file which you can copy and paste into a variety of formats.  By right clicking on any file you can see previous versions, download, move, rename, copy to or delete that file.

As mentioned before the icon for Dropbox on your desktop toolbar allows you to open the Dropbox folder on your computer (or phone), launch the Dropbox website, view recently changed files, get more space, pause syncing, adjust preferences or get help.

From the account tab in the upper right hand corner of the site users can see how much space they are using, check or change user information, password reset, set or change account preferences, see what computers are linked to your account and for every friend that joins Dropbox each of you will receive an additional 250MB of space.

In January of last year Larry Ferlazzo of Larry Ferlazzo's Website of the Day... posted a great article with helpful links, The Best Resources For Maximizing The Use of Dropbox.  One of those links is specifically for educators.

This is definitely the answer to trying to remember to send something back and forth between computers via email or remembering to download works in progress on a flash drive to move them from one computer to another.

There Is Something Extraordinary Going On

yarn 
1 a:  a continuous often plied strand composed of either natural or man-made fibers or filaments and used in weaving and knitting to form cloth

2 a:  a narrative of adventures; especially:  a tall tale
                                                                             Merriam-Webster

I can't really remember when I started to knit but by the time I finished high school through college, I could knit two, purl two with the best of them.  That is not to say though, in the beginning, a sweater might have fit Fat Albert better than a child relative for which it was intended.  Eventually my artistic feats knew no limits; fancy ski hats, cabled scarves, patterned sweaters, comfy slippers and even numbered wood covers for golf clubs.

As any artisan knows with each completed project the inevitable leftovers of varying lengths, colors and textures begins to grow.  In Extra Yarn (Balzar + Bray) by Mac Barnett (Oh No!:  Or How My Science Project Destroyed The World) illustrated by Dan Santat, Oh No!: Not Again!:  (Or How I Built a Time Machine to Save History)(Or at Least My History Grade) illustrated by Dan Santat, Mustache! illustrated by Kevin Cornell, and Chloe and the Lion illustrated by Adam Rex) illustrated by Jon Klassen (The Watch That Ends The Night:  Voice from the Titanic by Allan Wolf, The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place by Maryrose Wood and I Want My Hat Back), a cache is discovered, or perhaps left to be discovered by a very special girl.  Her accomplishments, what she chooses to do, are legendary; the stuff of the best kind of folktale.

On a cold afternoon, in a cold little town, where everywhere you looked was either white of snow or the black of soot from chimneys, Annabelle found a box filled with yarn of every color.

Annabelle goes right home and knits herself a sweater.  With the remnants her dog, Mars, is soon sporting a stylish matching sweater of his own.  There is still more yarn.

A neighborhood boy poking fun at Annabelle and Mars is quickly clothed in a new sweater as is his dog.  Believe it or not, there is more yarn.  And so it goes.

Annabelle's needles are busy making sweaters for her classmates, a cranky pessimistic teacher, her mom and dad, Mr. and Mrs. Pendleton, Dr. Palmer and little Louis.  Within no time at all everyone is wearing a creation by Annabelle except for Mr. Crabtree who never wears a sweater.  She makes him a hat.  Guess what?  The yarn has still not been depleted.

Dog, cats and other animals (like a familiar bear and rabbit) and birds, too, get knitted garments.  With a seemingly endless supply objects not normally clothed in yarn like mailboxes and houses are covered in an array of colors.  Her town is hardly recognizable. 

Annabelle's fame spreads and catches the attention of a clothes horse archduke.  Despite his phenomenal monetary offers, Annabelle will not part with her box.  In the timeless tradition of bullies,  the archduke hires three robbers to steal the box in the dead of night.  Box in hand over the snow to the docks,  the archduke sets sail across the sea for his castle.

Cozily settled in his room what he finds in the box is unexpected to him but makes perfect sense to readers.  Angrily tossing it out the window it lands on an ice floe drifting back to where it belongs.  Magic in the right hands can transform everything for the greater good of all.

Impeccable pacing, spot-on dialogue and a storyline that flows as naturally as sunrise and sunset are skills employed adeptly by Mac Burnett.  Annabelle's indomitable spirit, her perseverance, will have readers silently cheering.  Her goodness played against the lack of goodness by the archduke is flawless.

In an interview at Julie's Danielson's Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast, Seven Questions Over Breakfast with Jon Klassen he remarks that his usual medium for his illustrations is either inks, gouache or acrylics but he assembles and alters them digitally afterward.  The knitting that colorfully covers everything in Annabelle's world looks like the real deal; vibrant natural colors that change texture and hue seamlessly.  There is a lightness, an uplifting quality, to these pictures letting readers know this is no ordinary story by any means.  The detail where some characters' sweaters are joined by a single strand adds to the impression that not only is this yarn without end; there is a connectedness throughout the tale.  Expressions and posture of the animals are...well, I love them.

Author Mac Barnett and illustrator Jon Klassen have created a "yarn" in the grandest tradition, Extra Yarn, a timeless classic, beautifully rendered in words and visuals.

By following this link to HarperCollins readers can view portions of this title; truly a feast for our eyes and minds.

Twitterville Talk #35

So much news and views this week in the world of books, libraries and technology that the wires were hardly ever quiet; someone is always awake and sharing updates. 

I forgot to post this tweet last week,  so I will begin with it now.  This comes from educator, speaker and author of The Book Whisperer,  Donalyn Miller.

"I have been long convinced that the central and most important goal of reading instruction is to foster the love of reading."  Gambrell, 1996.

John Schumacher, librarian and blogger, at Watch. Connect. Read. highlights the work of Take a Tour of Katie Davis's Creative Space.  You could be at her site for hours and still not explore all the wonders.

Thanks for all these other tweets this week.

Bring on the paint!  My house is about to undergo a change.  Take a peek at this staircase pinned on Pinterest.

Author Jarrett J. Krosoczka whose Lunch Lady titles are never on the shelves in our media center has a spot on Reading Rockets. 

More food for thought, Reading a book 'adds to children's education'.

I can not wait for this series to begin.  Look at the authors who are participating; the cream of the crop.


Sophie Blackall, illustrator of the Ivy & Bean books, Spinster Goose and Edwin Speaks Up has created a series of posters to honor the New York Subway system.  They will be available for purchase at sometime in the future.  Yay!

Begin following posts made at School Library Journal with great reads for Black History Month 2012.

An article that was posted on May 2011 was brought to readers attention by School Library Journal in a tweet, I Can't Believe You're Throwing Out Books!  by blogger Julie Goldberg. This has certainly generated much discussion.

There is always two sides to every story.  Be sure to read:  Wood-pulp Pages:  For a technology user, a love of print endures-February 2012 Letters.

Kicking off the annual Read Across America/March Is Reading Month is a new film based upon a Dr. Seuss classic, Watch and Read:  He Speaks for the Trees--'The Lorax'.

Read Review:  Chanukah Lights written by Michael J. Rosen and illustrated by paper engineer Robert Sabuda at SLJ blog, A Chair, A Fireplace & A Tea Cozy.  There is also a link within the post to the 2012 Blog Tour for the Sydney Taylor Book Award. 

School Library Journal's Battle of the Kids' Books is up and running again.  This is going to be one for the memory books. Here is the link,  SLJ's Battle of the Kids' Books: the Trailer.
Thanks to School Library Journal for all these tweets.

Pinterest has taken off like the proverbial speeding bullet.  View these boards posted by The Children's Book Council.  Thanks to The Children's Book Council for these tweets.

Watch and learn about the process used by Caldecott Honor award-winning illustrator David Ezra Stein for his title, Interrupting Chicken.

Librarian Laura Given tweets about the video given by 2012 Texas Bluebonnet Award Winner, Tom Angleberger for The Strange Case of Origami Yoda.

Jimmy Gownley Wraps Up 'Amelia'; Launches New Projects posted by Publishers Weekly.  Not good news for the fans of Amelia.


It's no surprise to me---Therapy Dogs' Presence Steadily Grows in Libraries. 

Thanks to Library Journal for the tweet.

Julie Danielson at Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast hosts author Toni Buzzeo and illustrator David Small with the post, One Impossibly Cool Friend Before Breakfast.  I reviewed their collaboration on One Cool Friend several days ago.

To celebrate the arrival of the new Elephant & Piggie book, Listen To My Trumpet! there is a new event kit posted on the site.  Thanks to The Pigeon for this news.

Little, Brown Books for Young Readers New Snicket "autobiography' series announced.  Now that is some good news!

Thanks to Children's Bookshelf of Publishers Weekly.

Lots of XXXXX

It may be the middle of winter but the seed and plant catalogs have been arriving pretty much daily for more than a month.  Gardeners don't stop dreaming with the change of seasons; anticipation of spring's arrival, thoughts of "playing" in our personal patch of the ground, feeds our souls. In a first time collaboration author Amy Krouse Rosenthal and illustrator Peter H. Reynolds offer readers possibilities when "what-ifs" and faith blend in their title, Plant A Kiss.

It goes like this.
Little Miss
planted a kiss.

How does one plant a kiss?  You dig a small hole in the dirt with a shovel just your size, kneel down, blow a kiss into the freshly-turned soil, and cover it up, proudly standing tall, shovel and watering can held much like a pint-sized American Gothic portrait.  You give it tender loving care not once but twice waiting even when it gets late. 

Doubts, yes; even pouts but finally there's a sprout.  This is no ordinary wee little plant; it sparkles, it shines in glittery pale yellow, pink dots scattered among its geyser-like growth.  Delightful cries bring a crowd of children surrounding, marveling at this wonder.

But now, what to do?  Bright red bowl in hand Little Miss gathers bits and pieces of the sprout and scatters it about to each and everyone she meets no matter the weather, no matter the reach.  When the bowl is finally empty she returns to her grand experiment.  She and readers alike celebrate the abundant rewards of sharing and the planting of a single kiss.

Every individual word, and there are few, welcome readers with rhyme moving to an almost musical beat.  Amy Krouse Rosenthal, like the best of gardeners knowing what to plant where, similarily sows language.  It is in the simplicity of her narrative that the beliefs of children, especially this one child, are held forth for all to ponder. 

Pastel yellow endpapers like handfuls of sun greet readers.  Peter H. Reynolds's recognizable lettering in black surrounded by abundant white space headlines most of the pages. His characters etched in black, hues of taupe and gray, the same pastel yellow with splashes of pink, are utterly charming.  Creating the glowing swirls of the sprout, first small puffs then expanding across pages in glorious curly waves, exhibits the creativity of Reynolds; the extent that an artist will go to get something just right.  Every reader will want to feel the magic for themselves.  Maybe that's the point.

Plant a Kiss written by Amy Krouse Rosenthal and illustrated by Peter H. Reynolds is a joyous journey of discovery.  There is nothing not to love about the trust of a child in believing in the impossible and then being willing to share "the fruits of her labors."

  

On Your Mark, Get Set, Jog

On the 2010 list of  Top 25 Websites for Teaching and Learning, a branch of the ALA, the  American Association of School Librarians, under the heading of Manage and Organize, meeting Standards for the 21st-Century Learner, 2.1.2 Organize knowledge so that it is useful, 2.1.4 Use technology and other information tools to analyze and organize information, and 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, a web application known as JOG THE WEB was named.  As stated on the Home page: 

JOG THE WEB is a web-based tool that allows anyone to create a synchronous guide to a series of web sites.  Its step by step approach of taking viewers through web sites allowing the author to annotate and ask guiding questions for each page is unique.

Without registration a user can try out a jog by using the form on the Home page.  Web page addresses are already in place but they can be changed.  There are also seven jogs on that home page which can be viewed.  This gives you an idea of what a jog is without registering.

By toggling right to the Explore tab, viewers can look through  jogs in the following categories:
education, news and politics, pets and animals, entertainment, film and animation, comedy, gaming, music, people and blogs, science and technology, sports, autos and vehicles, howto and style and travel and events.  If a narrower search is desired simply go to the Search Jogs box on the far right of the page.

If you locate a jog that you want to view you can click Jog it.  Prior to viewing the jog though, you can view the index, list, of items in order.  The title of each, any comments by the creator and the URL are all included along with the option of going to any of the pages individually.

To become a track-building user (create a jog) registration is necessary but it is free unless you desire the benefits of a premium account.  Enter in your username, first name, last name, email address and password as well as accepting the Terms of Use.  You will quickly receive an email which includes a registration confirmation link.  That link sends you to the My Jogs page.

Jogs can be listed by most recent, oldest, most viewed, most commented and by name.  To begin creating your jog click the green plus sign box labeled Create new Jog.  A screen pops up asking you for the title, a description of the jog and to tag it in one of the Explore categories.

Once that is complete a new screen appears asking you to enter in the first web page title, the URL link and any comments relative to that page. You can continue adding as many pages to your jog as you desire by clicking save after completing the information for each one. Page order can easily be changed.  At any time you can edit individual pages' properties or complete the editing.  When you click on complete the editing you are taken back to the My Jogs page.

Your finished  jog will be listed with the following options:  edit jog, share, duplicate or delete.  You can view it in index format or view it as others will (Jog it).  When selecting the share option a URL link and HTML code are provided which can be copied and pasted.  Duplicating your jog is only allowed under the Premium choice which has a fee. 

When viewing a particular jog navigation is very user friendly.  Small icons at the top allow the viewer to go back where they started, to the Explore section, view the jog in index format, and share it on a variety of social networks.  All finished jogs are public, to have the jog be private a Premium account must be opened.

We are in the middle of a study of the Caldecott Award winning book, Snowflake Bentley written by Jacqueline Briggs Martin illustrated with woodcut printing by Mary Azarian with our third grade students.  I set up a jog for a small online scavenger hunt that we complete. 
Snowflake Bentley

UPDATE:  As of January 18, 2015 I became aware this service is no longer available.

Priceless Perspective

To the best of my knowledge author/illustrator Kadir Nelson has been winning awards for the past eight years for his writing and illustrations evoking truth and realism. Beginning with a Coretta Scott King Illustrator Honor Award for Thunder Rose written by Jerdine Nolen in 2004 and culminating this year with the Coretta Scott King Author Award and the Coretta Scott King Illustrator Honor Award for Heart and Soul:  The Story of America and African Americans; at least eight other awards in between.  The name Kadir Nelson has become synonymous with the highest order of excellence.


I have cherished reading such titles as Ellington Was Not A Street written by Ntozake Shange and illustrated by Kadir Nelson, Henry's Freedom Box written by Ellen Levine and illustrated by Kadir Nelson, Moses:  When Harriet Led Her People to Freedom written by Carole Boston Weatherford and illustrated by Kadir Nelson to name a few but none has touched me as has Heart and Soul:  The Story of America and African Americans.  The narrative completely captivated me, consuming it as one starved for a new view of a history that is America.  Visuals radiantly portrayed what I read but in a very personal perspective filled with an array of emotion.

Let me begin at the beginning.  This is the dedication written by Kadir Nelson.

For my family:  the Reaveses, the Pittmans, the Nelsons, the Hardys, the Wrights, and the Gunters; and for every American family whose invaluable contributions and stories have helped stitch the grand quilt of these United States.

The prologue introduces readers to the voice of an elder African American woman speaking to a child; asking for her attention... to listen, to hear of the good times and the bad times. Their history, the African American history, is America's history. 

You have to know where you come from so you can move forward.

Readers walk with the two through the rotunda of the Capitol gazing at the historic paintings none of which depict any African Americans but the truth is that as long as Europeans have been here so have they.  As the subsequent pages are turned time flows back to the American Revolution moving forward through twelve chapters concluding with an epilogue, the election of the first African American president, Barack Obama.  It is told with a quiet dignity never faltering when disclosing the stark realities of slavery, the thankful rise of abolitionists, the realities of the Civil War and the Lincoln presidency, the dark years of Reconstruction, the settlement of the West to make a new life, the Great Migration north and the injustice of Jim Crow, the uplifting Harlem Renaissance, the struggle for women to vote, the economic woes of the Depression and World War II, African American movers and shakers whose ideas changed our everyday lives, and the Civil Rights movement.

As each successive period is revealed to the reader, many times through a recounting of the life of a member of the elder woman's family, or in the relating of landmark personalities who lead, the perseverance, the pride, the greatness of people such as these is set forth in all its magnificence.  Kadir Nelson as an author has a way with words breathing life into the past bringing it to the present; an intimacy that is astounding.  Make no mistake, everyone who reads this book is that child listening intently.  Here is an example near the end of the chapter, Hard Times and World War II.

When most tank battalions lasted only seventeen days on the battlefield, the 761st, an all-black unit, fought for one hundred eighty-three days straight, longer than any other battalion in the whole war.  They helped win the Battle of the Bulge.  And I'm proud to say that both of my brothers were right there with them, giving it to the Germans.  But would you believe that after all the fighting they did for the country, the black soldiers were mostly ignored?  White units got their medals during the war and were even commended by the president while our soldiers weren't honored until several decades later.

Kadir Nelson's illustrations, forty-eight in total, most single and some double page spreads (not including the front cover), are simply stunning.  The richness in color, the play of light on the people's faces, the captured moments in time combine to create oil paintings with the trick of an eye or the click of a switch could spring to life.  The portrait opposite the prologue page, a younger version of the narrator dressed in Sunday-best, and the cupped, wrinkled hands of her elder self holding a red, white and blue I Voted button opposite the epilogue page speak volumes.

The solemn, Frederick Douglas gazing into the distance as if he can see a future laid before him, Harriet Tubman determined, strong hands grasping a walking stick, against a cloudy sky white birds taking flight in the distance, a young woman her hands upon her father's shoulders teaching him how to read in a small room, piles of cotton on the wooden floor, a school teacher standing on the porch outside her doorway bell in hand, a slight smile playing across her face, workers in a munitions factory American flag hanging in the windows, or courageous children standing strong in Little Rock, Arkansas are eloquent; the very pieces in the grand quilt of which Kadir Nelson spoke. 

Heart and Soul:  The Story of America and African Americans words and paintings by Kadir Nelson is a book for each and every American to read and most importantly to share; a story told by a master in every sense of the word.

An author's note, timeline, bibliography and index conclude this volume.  I encourage you to explore Kadir Nelson's web site referenced above with a link to his name.  In his news he states that the original paintings from his award winning We Are The Ship can be viewed at the Eric Carle Museum beginning February 7, 2012.  What a sight that would be to see.

At the publisher's website you can view an excerpt from the book.

NPR Books, All Things Considered conducted an interview with Kadir Nelson, 'Heart and Soul':  An African-American History on September 26, 2011.  It is well worth reading.

Below is Kadir Nelson speaking about the process involved in bringing Heart and Soul:  The Story of America and African Americans into our lives.