Another Great Read Coming Soon! Heart-Shaped Cookies: Stories

Heart-Shaped Cookies and Other Stories by David Rice
Bilingual Review Press; ISBN: 9781931010795; $15.00
Due out in August 2011!
This collection of stories is long overdue. If Rice had borrowed this one from me and I was the library, he'd owe me a ton of cash in late fees. Teachers, myself included, have asked Rice to put together another collection that would include stories from his first book, Give the Pig a Chance and Other Stories, a book that didn't make it into the classroom because of certain stories. Check out the table of contents of it and you'll see what's the first clear marker that Pig would not be so much used in schools. But he selected a few pieces out of it, among them my all-time favorite of his stories, "Tina la Tinaca," a tragic piece like no other. He also includes stories previously published in separate anthologies but never in a singular collection. And a ton of new stuff, like seven or eight micro-stories. Closing the book is the play version of his story "She Flies," that appeared in another of his collections, Crazy Loco.

Soon to be published: Maximilian and the Mystery of the Guardian Angel: A Bilingual Cuento

Maximilian and the Mystery of the Guardian Angel: A Bilingual Cuento by Xavier Garza Cinco Puntos Press; ISBN: 9781933693989; $12.95
Due out late July.
Not only is this book a fun read, if you're literate in English and Spanish, you get twice the enjoyment seeing how it's a bilingual edition. Garza is a huge fan of Mexican wrestling, and this book's got it; he likes tales of the supernatural, and this one's got some of that (or does it?). Get it, you'll enjoy this next of Cinco Puntos' top notch products.

Lukas Reading Aloud to My Wonderful Students!

The following pics show my oldest son, Lukas, who'll be in 2nd grade this coming year, reading aloud to my summer 1 students: he's reading out of Serge Bloch's Butterflies in My Stomach:

This is Lukas at home the weekend leading up to his read aloud. He took his task very seriously, practicing several times to get it just right. He's so focused that he's twirling his hair.

My kid's a natural. And he's a good-looking kid, too.

By this point, Lukas had already basically turned his back on half his audience, but my students were so cool that they didn't even notice, or if they did, they said that it was simply awesome (my words, their sentiment, I'm sure) that a boy his age would even have the guts to do something like this.

We had a great read aloud in TTU's COE's Sitton Burkhart Children's Library. Here are a couple of the students in my summer 1 class listening to Lukas read. They were too cool, laughing at all the right places, which made Lukas' day. He was all smiles. Mikah, my middle son, didn't read, but he loved listening to my students reading aloud. He's a big fan of you all.

Punk Farm Book Talk and Author Presentation

Punk Farm written and illustrated by Jarrett Krosoczka
Knopf Books for Young Readers; ISBN: 9780375824296; $15.95
Booktalk and Author Study produced by Audrey Akin, Amanda Fairchild, Lauren McMordie, and Maggie Williams

To watch the video, click on the following Youtube link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=raG4xok8eHQ

Read Alouds!

Hey, folks: besides Lauren, have the rest of you chosen a title for a read aloud? Remember, just let me know you want to practice it, and the floor is yours. The one I'd like to do better on is The Perfect Nest I read yesterday. I think I can do so much more with it than I have in the last few semesters of reading it aloud. By the by, I told Lukas and Mikah that they're invited to the read aloud sessions later in the summer and they're excited about showing up.

POETRY!

What are your feelings about reading poetry? How about having to teach it?

Has anyone of you given any thought yet to your introduction to the Poetry Folder that you might want to share here?

Any responses to today's reading, Chapter 8, on poetry?

Sylvia Vardell: Poetry for Children

In preparation for our poetry folders, I'd like you to visit Dr.Vardell's blog, linked to the left. She is, bar none, the foremost expert on poetry for children. Her work is priceless. We'll discuss your visit to her blog on Monday next.

Reading from Children's Literature, Briefly

By next Tuesday, have read for class Chapter 8, the chapter titled "Poetry." Once you've finished reading, come by and leave a comment or, in the case that you can't find your way to posting your comment, email it to me and I'll post it for you.