Right Before the Sugar High & a FREEBIE

Oh. My. Word! What a day. I just finished giving out candy to the last few trick-or-treaters in our neighborhood, and the bed is calling my name! I love...love...love Halloween, but I tell you...this holiday ranks right up there with Valentine's Day! Pure craziness! So, what did we do right before the sugar high??? 

We began the day with our riddle math! This has definitely become a favorite in the classroom and is PER-FECT right before a holiday. Today, the students had to figure out the following riddle: What do you call a witch that lives at the beach? They had to solve 9 different problems to find the answer. Each time they got a problem correct, they collected a letter tile. Once they had all nine tiles, they could solve the riddle. 

If you would like to pick up a copy of this activity, click {HERE}. The cards are blank so that you can create your own math problems to match your current skill! 

As if they needed more sweets today, once they solved the riddle, they were able to eat Halloween Popcorn...my sorta healthy...sorta sweet Halloween treat for my kiddos! Yes...I made them earn it! 

Then...who plans a wax museum & South Carolina Explorers Talk Show to present to parents on Halloween?!? Guilty! It kept them busy, focused, and learning! 

We held a traditional wax museum, complete with a photographer to take pictures of our guests with our famous explorers and settlers! The kids were most excited about holding their pose, and they were super serious about it. Seriously, the funniest thing ever. Loved every single second! 

As a matter of fact, I am about 90% certain that the adults had more fun than the students! I think I will claim a wax museum more often in the classroom. These kids didn't move an inch! 

After performing our SC Explorers Talk Show and a little region rap for our parents, we got straight back to work! Continuing on with our Wizard of Oz Unit, we made these cute little witch crafts to display with our homophone stories. After I reviewed homophones, the students had to create a Halloween story with the eight homophones that they were given. This really allowed me to see who truly knew how to use these words in the context of a sentence. 

So...how did I get them to complete so much work today? I held our little EconoMONEY shopping day over their heads! Call me crazy...but it worked like a charm! At the end of the day, the students were able to go spend {or save} all of their hard earned cash! 

The CEO of EconoMONEY Enterprises even threw a little Halloween Sale!

Then, we ended the day with these sweet little treats...Perfect since we read about that Wicked Witch today! 

These cupcakes were made by one of my precious room moms and grandmas! Love them! 

It was such a great day! And...I am just throwing this out there...BUT...I think that it is a total crime to make us come to school tomorrow! Pray for me...and I will pray for you! 

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Keeping Track of Time

Heather Moorefield, Education Librarian at Virginia Tech and former chair of the American Association of School Librarians Best Websites for Teaching and Learning frequently tweets about websites and apps she feels might be of interest to the educational community.  Recently she mentioned a web 2.0 application capable of creating simple timelines.  As far as I can tell this service has been up and running since 2009.

TimeToast is free to use with no age limitations that I could find in the Terms of Service or Privacy Policy but I always tend to be cautious, keeping parents and my administration advised about applications students are using.  I'm noting this because there is a Browse feature on the site allowing for the viewing of other created timelines.  It is necessary to have an email address to register.

The Browse button is located in the upper-right hand corner of the home page.  Included are these main categories:

• music
• politics
• film
• biography
• science and technology
• art and culture
• business
• personal
• history

At the bottom of the home page is another way to search under the heading of Explore.  Users can search by popular timelines, updated timelines or latest timelines.

To register click the bright red Sign Up! button on the home page.  Registration requires a username, email address and password plus agreeing to follow the terms and conditions.  An email will be sent to activate your account.  You can also sign up using your Facebook account.

When you have signed in a new window appears asking if you want to create a new timeline, view your previously created timelines, browse the latest timelines, browse categories or view your profile.  Your profile is accessed along with editing or closing your account by clicking on the account button in the upper-right hand corner of the page.  Your profile can include a link to your website or blog.

When you click on create a new timeline a screen pops up asking you to give your timeline a title, select a category and insert an image. Click Go. You can now add an event, a timespan or edit the title and picture.  When you click Add event, new options are shown.

You must include a title and a date.  You can choose to add a description, a link and an image.  When using this with students, the  adding of images is always a good time to talk about copyright and appropriate sources to use.

At any time by clicking on an individual event you can edit or delete it.  After completing your work, beneath the timeline on the left side is a button to click, View this timeline.  This takes you to more options.

You can edit the timeline, change it from draft (draft timelines can't be viewed) to public, add tags and view it in text format.  Once you have made the timeline public it can be embedded or shared via Facebook or Twitter.  TimeToast creates a direct link, provides an HTML code or users can create their own code and color for the background.

A timeline status can be changed from public back to draft.  A box is provided for viewer comments.  

For generating a simple, interactive historical perspective with descriptions, images and links TimeToast is a great choice.  Students can work individually or together researching a series of events with different dates on a specific topic or a single date across the years. This could be used to plan a project with specific goals to be met in a given time period.  I can see using this with nonfiction titles as well as fiction titles or a combination of the two to design a visual representation.

I decided to do a little research about events that have happened on October 31 over the years.

A Garden on the Move

Twenty-four titles are stacked next to me, all by the same author.  Prior to 1981 when the first book, Fritz and the Beautiful Horses, was both written and illustrated by her, the only other work to be found were her pictures in the title, St. Patrick's Day in the Morning published a year earlier.  With a few more titles to her credit, a characteristic style of borders, reflecting additional details of setting, flora and fauna, or foreshadowing, had become a part of her books that readers relished, looked forward to with anticipation.

Nearly forty volumes later, Jan Brett, has an artistic technique that is hers and hers alone.  Immersing readers in a title's setting with her exquisite paintings done in watercolor and gouache, she takes us to places we might never go.  Her newest title, Mossy (G. P. Putnam's Sons) is the result of observations made when she and her husband were enjoying a summer morning on their dock on Goose Lake.  Lucky for we readers, Jan Brett is able to see stories wherever she may be.


On a misty, moisty morning, a young turtle stood at the edge of Lilypad Pond.  Her name was Mossy.

This turtle, an eastern box turtle, is rather fond of her home.  So fond, in fact, that moss, ferns and eventually wild flowers begin to grow and bloom upon her shell.  Little does she know, when she looks at her image in the pond, her appearance is being noticed by others.

As she peers into the water one day, a face other than her own is looking back.  It's Scoot, another eastern box turtle.  Although he thinks her garden is lovely, it's Mossy that's captured his heart.  It's turtle love!

As the two, eyes locked, make their way toward one another, Mossy is lifted up, up and away.  Oh, no...Dr. Carolina, curator of a local natural history museum, believes Mossy will be her star exhibit.  Nothing could top the appeal of a colorful garden growing on a turtle's back.

She and her niece, Tory, design what they believe is the perfect home for Mossy.  But how can not being at Lilypad Pond be called home?  Mossy misses Scoot.  And Scoot waits for Mossy.  Summer moves into fall and fall into winter.  Mossy's popularity grows.

A visit by Tory's class, a question and spring's arrival cause the museum to be closed.  What's going on?  What's happened to Mossy?  The labor of two strangers answers all questions bringing this story to an unexpected but wonderfully natural conclusion.  Jan Brett wouldn't have it any other way.


When reading the narrative scripted by Jan Brett, it's not hard to imagine walking in the woods, coming upon a pond with an eastern box turtle sunning herself upon a rock.  Jan Brett would point to her, drawing attention to the beauty growing on her carapace.  Then she would begin a story stepping back to the Victorian times about this turtle and her mate, a naturalist and her niece blending the two tales into one of respect, admiration and faithfulness fulfilled.


If you open the jacket (cover) Scoot, on the back, is moving right along toward Mossy on the front as she glances back at him.  The opening and closing endpapers, identical, are an intricate montage of a myriad of mosses.  A small oval portrait of Mossy is centered on the title page surrounded by a collection of feathers.

Like a naturalist's sketchbook each two page spread features a collection; moths, mosses, fungi, wildflowers, rocks and minerals, sea shells, butterflies beetles, fossils, seeds, orchids, feathers, and butterflies.  Framing the illustrations these collections are themselves each framed with delicate lines  depicting new and numerous types of borders.  A realistic array of colors are captured in each picture making the reader feel as though they might step right into this spectacular world.

Having been a fan of Jan Brett's illustrations and stories for years, it would be hard for me to not like one of her books.  Without a doubt I am placing Mossy in my top ten.  I have already read this title again and again.  The one thing I have not been able to find yet is Hedgie, usually hidden in all her titles, but what I did find (oh, Jan Brett, most clever) is something  sure to please a very special person.

Not only will this book be enjoyed again and again by readers but the possibilities for extending the text are huge given all the natural collections displayed on every turn of page.  The link for Jan Brett's home page is embedded in her name above.

Mossy bookmarks can be found at this link.  A 2013 calendar using Mossy as a theme is here.  To make postcards with the Mossy illustrations click this link.  For news about this title, Jan Brett's ideas and extras about Mossy click here.

To see how Jan Brett draws Mossy watch this video.

Halloween{ish} Activities & a FREEBIE!

Is it just me...or am I getting back into my groove?!? A blog post on a Monday night?!? I call that progress, people! ;) Okay, so just in case you haven't heard...Halloween is Wednesday! Call in reinforcements! A candy high is in our future! Not to brag or anything, but our fall break is just around the corner! Like...Friday! Can I get a PTL?!?

Alright...back to school! I love Halloween! It *may* even be one of my favorite holidays! Since I have had my kiddos for three years now, I had to get really creative this year for our Halloween week! We have had oh so much fun with pumpkins...and black cats....and ghosts....and everything else Halloween over the past two years! So, what is going on this week in our room?!? 

That's right...The Wizard of Oz! 

I have been DYING to read this book with them and just couldn't think of a more perfect time! Plus...witches = the perfect Halloween{ish} addition to the classroom! {Sorry the pictures are horrible...iphone style ;) } 

This morning when they walked in, our classroom was decorated with witch everything... paired with a nice, bright...Yellow Brick Road! At the end of the road waiting patiently, was their new guided reading book for the next two weeks! I couldn't decide if I wanted to read the story whole group, or in guided reading groups. Then, I found the perfect version at Kohls! It is challenging for my low group, perfect for my middle, and a little easy for my high group. So, I am simply modifying the reading skills to make it perfect for all! AND...they couldn't be more excited about our new book study! Not your typical "Halloween" activities, but just wait until you see our witch craftivities this week! More pictures and activities to follow!

Moving on.... 

As if my kids need any more candy this week!!!! Today, we dove a little deeper into probability! Well, what better way to practice than candy?!? 

We began with a few (notice...a FEW) pieces of candy corn and some sour pumpkins. The kiddos used the candy to demonstrate six different situations in probability! 

Easy...check! Fun...check! Halloween{ish}...check! 

If you would like to snag a copy of this freebie, you can pick it up in my shop right now! 

What activities do you have up your sleeve this week??? 

The Finished League of St Andrews

Here is the finished League of St Andrews Militiaman is his full Scot/German glory. I have gone for the blond hair semi german look but with a scottish twist, which I hope that I have pulled off. He has his butchers apron and cleaver with tweed plus fours and argyle socks. He has a suitcase on his back to carried his equipment and personal stuff and is armed with a Mauser. I rather like this eccentric look and I think it is very Very British Civil Civil War. So here is the chappy in his full glory.

The League of St Andrews Militiaman, 1938

I have also noticed that this is my 500th post, which I have to say has shocked me as I never thought that I would get around to 500 of them and the blog would of died a long time ago. So thanks very much for reading and encouraging me to keep doing this. Cheers there for supporting this blog.

A World Changed

The best kind of biography is not a dry compendium of a person's existence but an awakening; it's making them alive for today's readers and paying tribute to what made them who they were.  It is the result of years of research on the part of both the author and the illustrator.  Each of them know the person so well they live, however briefly, in the person's skin.

One of the most consistently popular historical figures is Helen Keller.  Justifiably, admiration for her accomplishments has never lessened with readers, no matter their age. Helen's Big World (Disney-Hyperion Books) is the third collaboration between author, Doreen Rappaport and illustrator, Matt Tavares.

Helen gurgled and giggled in her crib.  At six months, she crawled and said, "How-d' ye," and "wah-wah," for water.

Until she was nineteen months old Helen Keller was much like any other child, dearly loving the company of her parents.  Then a puzzling illness took away her ability to see, hear and speak.  Making sense of this change was beyond her young capabilities.

Five years passed before her teacher and companion, Annie Sullivan, entered her life.  With patience, persistence and firmness, Annie would spell words on Helen's palm, teach her social skills, and to use her fingers as eyes and ears, feeling what she could neither see nor hear.  Under Annie's tutelage, Helen learned to write, gaining her notoriety at the age of eight.

Learning to read on her own with Braille, outdoor adventures on land and sea in all seasons, lip reading by touch and graduating from college with honors were all milestones met by Helen. With Annie, all things were possible for this young woman.  Most people might have stopped growing at this point but not Helen.

Now that Helen had a voice she used it; championing for peace, labor rights, women's rights and civil rights.  Readers follow her and Annie, marveling at two lives well lived.  From birth to death the more Helen learned the larger her world became... as did the worlds of those whose lives she touched.


Reading what Doreen Rappaport has written about Helen Keller is like being Helen's shadow.  She has chosen to share significant moments in a vivid and personal manner.  After each narrative segment, in a bolder and larger font, beneath is a quotation made by Helen which directly correlates.

When her parents pressed her close,
she knew their smell and touch.
But she could not see them or hear them
or say their names.

"In the dreary month of February
came the illness which
closed my eyes and ears.
Gradually, I got used to the silence
and darkness that surrounded me."


Using watercolor, pencil and gouache Matt Tavares recreates stunning images of Helen Keller, allowing readers to visually experience those events in her life that held great importance.  The jacket and cover identical in every aspect except one, the Braille on the jacket is raised, focuses on Helen's pleasure in using those senses she did have.  It's interesting to observe as the story nears its end, Annie Sullivan's death noted, he pictures an older Helen, again holding roses to smell, but she is facing in the other direction.

Both sets of endpapers use a soft spring green as a background.  The opening illustration is a close-up of Annie spelling out the word "water" in Helen's right palm as the other catches and cups a stream of water.  The Manual Language Chart is featured on the closing two pages.  Featuring hands on both sets of endpapers further emphasizes their value in Helen's world.

Across the two pages for the title Tavares pictures Annie and Helen, hands clasped, jumping in the the sea so well you can almost hear the waves rolling and crashing.  All the remaining illustrations cross the gutter bleeding to the pages' edges, sometimes with a large white section holding the text or with the text tucked within the visual.  His color palette enhances the emotions of the text; joy, sadness, frustration, anger, patience, perseverance, discovery and dedication.  My favorite illustration is of Helen seated in the crook of a tree branch, clouds of pink blossoms surrounding her, as she faces toward Annie standing among the branches on the ground.

Helen's Big World:  The Life of Helen Keller adeptly written by Doreen Rappaport with illustrations rendered beautifully by Matt Tavares highlights the life of a woman who made a difference in our world; her passion for life captured by their passion for her.  This title is biography at its very best.  An author's note, an illustrator's note, important dates, and selected research sources are included at the book's end.

For more information on Doreen Rappaport or Matt Tavares please visit their websites linked to their names above.  For more information on Matt Tavares's illustrative process go to this interview at Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast.

The Braille at the top of the jacket and cover spells Helen's Big World.

Fancy a Fag?

Here are the two Socialist chappies enjoy a woodbine with each other. The chap offering the cigarettes is the Red Clydesider with his "Sunday Best" on of a nice heavy duty and warm tweed jacket and trousers, with a red neckscarf and armband to identify him as a left wing socialist member. He has a Breton cap of cord on as he works on the dockside and  has "home made"webbing. The other chao is a Falkirk Anarchist who has fashioned himself on the Spanish Anarchists during the Spanish Civil War. He wears a blue denim overalls with a service field cap of red and black, the Anarchist's colours, and is equipped with a soviet made Mosin-Nagant Model 1938 Carbine. Here is the picture.

Twitterville Talk #72

Lively as ever Twitter delivers the best of the latest.  There are lots of Halloween treats this week. (I couldn't resist.) Enjoy and happy reading one and all.


This is an outstanding interview and worth every minute it takes to read.  There is no doubt about the impact this man has made in the world of literature not to mention his videos. Wouldn't You Like to Know---John Green

An invitation has been extended for all those on Twitter to join Donalyn Miller and Colby Sharp, fourth grade teacher and the King of Reading Promotion in #titletalk on October 28, 2012 at 8:00 PM EST.  The topic will be short texts (poems, articles, short stories and picture books).  It will be more than worth your while.

Thanks go to Donalyn Miller, educator and author of The Book Whisperer, for these tweets.


Mark your calendars and clear the time to participate in the SharpSchu Book Club on November 7, 2012 at 8:00 PM EST.  Check out the four great early reader books which will be discussed.

Thanks to Colby Sharp, educator and blogger at sharpread for this reminder tweet.




Lemony Snicket's new title, Who Could That Be at This Hour?, the first in a series of four, released this week has prompted, Q & A with Lemony Snicket .

Thank you Publishers Weekly for this post and tweet.




It could not be presented in a simpler format for the younger crowd, Digital Citizenship Poster for Elementary Classrooms.

For the door in your classroom (or I'm thinking it would be cause for a smile or two in my home), check out this pin.

I've blogged about some of these resources but some are new to me---The Five Levels of Digital Storytelling.

Geography Awareness Week is on the horizon.  Check out these possibilities.

Thanks for these tweets goes to Debbie Alvarez, teacher librarian currently in Hong Kong and blogger at The Styling Librarian.


In case you might need more Halloween decorations look no further than these at the website of author, Tony DiTerlizzi.

Thanks to Tony DiTerlizzi for this tweet and the treats at his site.




Guess what lucky readers of the book, I'm Bored by Michael Ian Black with illustrations by Debbie Ridpath Ohi?  Ohi has posted some bonus goodies at her website to go with the book.  Hurray!

Thanks to Debbie Ridpath Ohi for these extras and for the tweet.




In a quandary as to a possible Halloween costume?  Look what Reading Rockets has pinned, Literary Costumes.

Thanks to The Horn Book for this tweet.


Here are a couple of educational games offered by ABCya!, The Typing Ghosts and Pumpkin Matching, that are lots of fun.

Thanks to John Schumacher, teacher librarian, Library Journal Movers and Shakers 2011 and blogger at Watch. Connect. Read. for these tweets.



This looks like a fun activity for parents and their children or teachers and their students---Red Tricycle 2012 Totally Awesome Awards Most Awesome Beloved Bedtime Stories.  Or perhaps you could design one of your own to promote a discussion about what makes a book the best bedtime story.

Thanks to Teresa Rolfe Kravtin, SE Indie Rep and blogger at A Rep Reading.


Here's another interview of Lemony Snicket sure to generate some laughs.  I hope my copy of his new book arrives soon, until then---Daniel Handler's new Snicket series dives into noir.

Thanks go out to Little, Brown Books for Young Readers for this tweet.

Tech guru, Richard Byrne of Free Technology for Teachers has a timely post, Halloween and SMART boards.  This promises to be a great resource.

Thanks for this post and tweet.





I don't know how I've missed this but this looks to be a goldmine for educators and writing in the classroom---The Exquisite Prompt:  Classroom Writing Resources

Thanks for the post and tweet go to Reading Rockets.


You might want to tuck this away for next year---50+ Wicked Halloween Ideas, Resources, & Apps

Thanks to Steve found at Bongo LLP.




Did you miss this?  I can hardly stand to wait---Visiting the 23rd Floor:  Kelly Bingham
How lucky can we readers get?

Thanks to author, Kelly Bingham for this tweet.





PSSST---Did you know that TOON Books has A Halloween Giveaway.  Don't be afraid to see their great treats.

Thanks to TOON Books for this offer and tweet.




Renowned author, Frank Cottrell Boyce wins Guardian children's fiction prize.

Thanks for this tweet goes to educator and blogger, Monica Edinger.






I think this is great for those that missed the webcast. It has been archived.  Taylor Swift Read Every Day--A Live Classroom Webcast

Thanks to Scholastic Teachers for this tweet.





This continues to be a first stop for recommended resources.  Now there are even more---ALSC's Great Websites for Kids expands.

Thanks goes to the American Librarian Association for this tweet.








These are a few of my favorite quotes and thoughts from Twitter this week.

The most wasted of all days is one without laughter. - e.e. cummings
— Steve Cushing (@Montberte) October 20, 2012

I'm very happy when I finish a book. Another experience. Another friend. Another treasure. #nerdybookclub
— Cynthia Alaniz (@utalaniz) October 20, 2012

“@muz4now: There is the Music of Heaven in all things and we have forgotten how to hear it until we sing. ~ Hildegard of Bingen #quote”
— Teresa Rolfe Kravtin (@trkravtin) October 23, 2012

There are so many books I want to read and so little time. Wish I could stow away in the library tonight...just go and never leave...
— Jen Vincent (@mentortexts) October 24, 2012

Overheard from a passing child 'Muum! Look! That place is FULL of stories! It's a STORY SHOP!!!
— Wivenhoe Bookshop (@wivenhoebooks) October 25, 2012

Quotation of the day: "Librarians can do everything." -Kindergartner
— John Schu (@MrSchuReads) October 25, 2012

I wish "too many books to read" was a valid excuse for missing work.
— Kathy (@thebrainlair) October 26, 2012

Spooktacular Savings!!!!

 

Click {here} to check out my shop! Don't forget to check out my Halloween Units located at the top! :)

Thanks to sweet Abby for the graphic!

 

TGIF...just sayin'! 

League of St Andrew

Here is the next illustration for the Armies and Enemies of the Scottish Republic by Solway and this one is of a member from the League of St Andrews. Now these are a small but growing garrison that guards the approaches to Edinburgh from St Andrews. Here the support for the Anglican league has manifested itself in the League of St Andrews and they are allied with the Republic at the moment but who knows what the future will bring. Drawn from largely the academic universities and  german population of Edinburgh this figure shows his German butchers past.

League of St Andrews member, 1938

Look...See...Beneath...Below

When the Mock Caldecott election rolls around every year in school and public libraries, it's fun to to imagine the conversations taking place about the varied techniques employed by the illustrators in the rendering of their pictures.  Each year within my own building the discussions were lively about color, composition, detail, how skillful the particular artist was with their medium of choice and how the visuals contributed to and enhanced the storyline.  Once an explanation was offered about the means used by an illustrator to create their visuals, it was exciting to see the look of wonder on the students' faces.

One of the more popular, unusual illustrative styles is that of 1994 Caldecott Honor award winner, Denise Fleming.  With nineteen books to her credit including the newest title, underGround (Beach Lane Books), her work is easily recognizable and distinctive.  As described in the verso:

The illustrations were created by pulp painting---a papermaking technique using colored cotton fiber poured through hand-cut stencils.  Accents were added with pastel pencil and copy transfer.


Low down.
Way down.
Under ground.


High in the branches of a tree a robin watches rabbits on a garden plot.  He swoops down among the carrot tops spying a worm to tug up.  On the dirt beetles and ants are crawling as grubs nestle beneath the soil.

On top a rabbit munches as a mole meanders below.  A small child examines ants as readers see all the activity he cannot.  Chipmunks carry a feast of nuts to their tunnels as a groundhog snacks on a grassy treat.

As the story proceeds a mixture of animals above and below are highlighted busily going about their day.  The child's dog buries a bone among others deeper down.  A cherry tree is planted, carrots are picked and the two companions scamper away.


Denise Fleming's skill at using the least amount of words for the biggest impact is highly evident in this book.  Her crisp phrases relying on alliteration and rhyme convey constant motion.  It's like she's issued an invitation to everyone, "Come closer...look here, over there. Now, put on these special glasses.  Can you see beneath the above?  It's full of life, too."  When her three closing sentences match the first three, the circle is complete, but continuing.


The array of energetic greens and browns with touches of royal blue, orange and brilliant red shown on the jacket and cover are carried throughout the book.  Identical opening and closing endpapers are textured with marbled layers of dirt, lost treasures strewn about; a thimble, a bit of chain and a wrench.  A turn of page begins the story as the title, author and publishing information is shown underground with the rabbits in the garden greenery above, ants and bees joining them.

Another page turn shows a child and their dog running toward a red wheelbarrow carrying trees for planting, more publication information tucked on the far left side.  Page after page reveals lush portrayals beginning on the left spread across to the right, bleeding out to the edges, for the entire book.  Perspective, detail and the texture of the pictures makes you want to reach out and participate with more than your eyes.

At the story's completion Fleming takes readers on a short informative tour, Creature Identification.  Twenty-one small, captioned pictures set against a rusty, pebbled background feature additional facts about the critters found in this book.  It's the final jewel in a treasure chest filled to the brim.


Denise Fleming's gift is to draw our attention, to focus, on a specific aspect of our world.  In underGround we are able view the activity of above and below at the same time with an uncommon closeness.   This title is another example of why most of her titles have found a place on my personal shelves.

Enjoy the book trailer.



I've used this video with great success, especially the part where she takes viewers into her studio
to demonstrate the pulp painting process.  It is nearly forty minutes in length.

It's How Big?

Your heart races, your breathing speeds up and your eyes get as big as saucers.  Whether real or imagined, those are signs fear is present.  Your body is gearing up for the classic flight or fight.

Fear can also be a matter of perspective, lessening or growing depending on the individual person.  Author/illustrator, Levi Pinfold, in his second picture book, Black Dog (templar books, an imprint of Candlewick Press), in a most charming way, focuses on fear.  It seems the Hope family has a huge problem...or do they?

One day, a black dog came to visit the Hope family.  Mr. Hope was the first to see it.



Breakfast toast dropping to the floor Mr. Hope is shocked by what he sees out the window.  In a flash he's on the phone to the local police, claiming there's a dog the size of a tiger outside his home. Laughing they tell him not to go out.

Mrs. Hope gets up shouting to anyone who will listen, there's a dog as big as an elephant near their home.  Mr. Hope's solution is to hide in darkness by shutting off the lights.  As each of the children rise and begin to perform their morning rituals noticing the dog, his size magnifies as do the remedies for security.

There must be something strange in the air beyond the confines of the Hope abode.  That black dog grows from elephant to Tyrannosaurus rex, and finally to Big Jeffy.  Big Jeffy?  Lights off, check, curtains closed, check, hiding under the covers, check.  The Hope family is hoping.

Small Hope, the youngest and shortest, thinks Mr. Hope, Mrs. Hope, Adeline and Maurice are being utterly ridiculous.  To their horror, she bundles up, resolutely walks out the door and right up to the canine creature, who truth be told, compared to her, is big.  Singing a song she entices the black dog to follow along.

Her melody leads him under a bridge, over a frozen pond, down and around the playground for fun and through the cat door back home.  How is that possible?  Maybe a little hope is exactly what you need to face fear, to see the truth.  And when you see truth it might follow you home.


Levi Pinfold's  narrative is light, lively and guaranteed to have any reader smiling by the end of the first page.  With great success he creates a pattern of each member awakening, dropping an item, calling for help and asking for advice slightly altering responses to fit the family member.  When Small Hope confronts the black dog another rhythm is established.  Each time her different two line rhymes are sung, the same phrase follows.  In fact Pinfold uses it as his final line.  Perfection.

"You can't follow where I go,
unless you shrink, or don't you know?"


A luxurious, metallic, silvery winterscape with the Hope family home and Small Hope outside spreads across the jacket with three tiny sepia-toned insets on the back.  Unlike the jacket the cover is a version of the snowy woods empty of life, but close inspection shows a nearly invisible trail of paw prints.  The front endpapers are a replica of the jacket including the title page and verso.  A mirror image of the cover decorates the closing endpapers.

Using tempera paint on paper, some self-prepared, other premixed, Levi Pinfold's illustrations are magical.  He brings readers into a world of rumpled domestic bliss, slightly old fashioned, a little eccentric. Each of the two page spreads, until Small gazes up at the black dog, showcase a detailed full color visual on the right.  On the left six specifically-shaped, brown-hued exquisite miniature pictures frame the text on the top and bottom, reflecting the action.

Four lush, colorful illustrations span two pages as Small Hope faces the black dog leading him with her song around the village and surrounding woods until the two return home.  Inside again the original pattern repeats until the family gathers.  Readers will want to carefully examine every nook and cranny of each illustration noticing all the special touches; the childlike drawing on a kitchen cupboard labeled Jeffy, a pink elephant toy in Maurice's bedroom becomes a piece of playground equipment or the Royal typewriter sitting out in the open.


Black Dog written and illustrated by Levi Pinfold is absolutely stunning in its narrative and art.  I can't imagine this not becoming a favorite to be read again and again, relished at each reading.  Never has facing one's fears been so enjoyable.

Pumpkin Biographies & A Halloween Sale!

Today was the day that I look forward to all year! Yes, yes....almost as good as Christmas! *Almost*! Today was pumpkin decorating day and let me just say, it didn't disappoint! Last week, the students spent time researching people that were influential in the history of South Carolina {our BIG state standard}. Then, they wrote a biography or informational report...trick or treat style! 

I have to say...I love the way that these turned out. The students were so proud of their hard work and learned a tremendous amount of information from their research and from one another. They were so excited about what they were learning, that many of them shared facts and information along the way. Maybe I won't have to teach SC History after all...I will let them take it from here! ;) 

Now...of course we have to have pumpkins to match these sweet reports! DRUMROLL PLEASE!!!!! Introducing our 2012 Pumpkin Biographies...South Carolina History Style! 

Are those not the cutest things EVER?!? Love every. single. one! However, if I must choose a favorite...

Such a fun day! Such wonderful learning! AND...the kids couldn't be more excited or thrilled about learning even more about our beautiful state! 

If you would like to create pumpkin reports with your class, all four of my Halloween units are on sale until Sunday at midnight! Click on the pictures below to check them out on TPT! 

Hope you are all having a great week!!!!