First Annual Storytime Swap

HAPPY FLANNEL FRIDAY!

Wow!

Looks like I missed almost the whole month of November! 

We've been busy at our Library with lots and lots of changes ~ which included a new director and then no director again after less than 6 weeks! Looks like many more changes to come for us! Wish us luck.

Also, I was on a two week vacation which was extremely nice and wonderfully relaxing. <3 It was hard to make myself return to work and a "normal" existence this past Monday but ~ here I am! ;-)

I am happy to be back to blogging and to the Round Up ~ I truly missed contributing to the Round Up each Friday. I look forward to getting back in the swing again.

As happy as I am to be back, I am even happier to share a fun and exciting idea with all of you.

How many of you have ever participated in a Cookie Swap during the Holidays?

They are one of my family's favorite events during the month of December.

So...

I thought I would tweak the idea behind Cookie Swapping and offer an opportunity for anyone who might be interested in something new and different. 

Would that be you? I hope so!

How about a chance to participate in our very own...    

Drumroll, please!

I hope lots of you will be as excited as I am about this!

The rules for our First Annual Storytime Swap are very simple.

For our swap, we will be exchanging something other than cookies. BUT! If you would like to include some cookies, I am sure your exchange partner would not mind. I know I wouldn't! :-) 

I thought about this idea for quite awhile and I very much wanted this swap to reflect all the creativity and excitement that I read each week in everyone's blog posts in our Flannel Friday Round Ups.

That's why I decided that it would be awesome if we exchanged:

 Storytime Props!

Your exchange item can be:

  a Flannel Board set,

a Magnetic Board set, 

 

a Felt Puppet set,  

 

a Storytime Prop 

or really anything at all that YOU love to use in your storytimes to help your storytime friends feel connected to books and have fun learning.

This is all about sharing YOUR excitement for one of your favorite storytime books, fingerplays, songs, creative movement activities, etc.

The exchange will be set-up like this:

1)  Each person will contact me before December 20th by email at storytimeabcs@gmail.com

(Please be sure to email me a second time or tweet me one Twitter using @StorytimeFun or message me on Facebook if you do not receive a confirmation email within 48 hrs. I don't want to miss anyone but we all know that sometimes the cyberspace monsters eat emails or they end up in a SPAM folder somewhere.)

2)  Please include your first and last name, full address ~ including zipcode ~ and the type of item you would like to share with someone else. ALSO ~ please include the answer to this question: Are you willing to be paired with an INTERNATIONAL partner? Our Flannel Friday group is very lucky to be Internationally popular but I know that the cost may be higher to send items out of the country. Please indicate if you are willing to spend that little extra to partner with one of our very creative Internatinal members by answering the above question in your email to me

3) On December 21st, I will place all names in a hat and draw two out at a time. Those two people will be exchange partners. They will send each other the item(s) that they want to share. I chose this way of exchanging so that each pair of partners will be spending about the same amount of money to mail their items to each other.

4) If you would like to participate more than once, please let me know. The number of times you exchange is only limited by your commitment to spend the money necessary to mail out your items. I personally will probably exchange with several people because I really love getting surprises in the mail that are just for me ~ okay, okay, I guess they wouldn't be only for me because my storytime friends will benefit from each exchange I make! How exciting is that?!??!! I know my storytime friends will love it!

5) Once partners' names are drawn, I will contact each person with the name and address of their exchange partner. Contact information will include: name, snail mail address, and email address. Then you are free to visit and learn more about each other so that when you share the storytime item at your storytimes, you can also share a little about the sender.

6) When signing up for the exchange, please be sure that you will be able to mail your item before December 30th. That way, everyone should be receiving their new storytime item before the middle of January.

I hope you are as excited as I am about the chance to have

new storytime props for next year!

This is going to be soooooooo fun!

I hope to hear from many of you very soon!

Sight In The Night

Do you have a bat story?  I have a bat story.  In fact most people either have a personal bat story or know one by way of a family member or friend.

As if it were yesterday instead of thirty years ago, I can still smell the chocolate chip cookies baking early on a Sunday morning.  Puttering in the kitchen I was startled out of my musings by a small brown form swooping down from the loft through the air over my head.  I must have yelped or babbled out loud because the next thing I can remember seeing is my husband running about with a fishing net.  Lucky for all of us but particularly for the bat, he found his way through our front door.

I've always enjoyed the company of bats as I sit outside on a summer's evening or as I'm taking a last stroll through the woods at dusk with Xena.  These valued creatures of the night navigate with extraordinary skill, dipping, diving and dining.  The creation of Nightsong (Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers) by author Ari Berk with illustrations by Loren Long follows a young bat on his first solo night flight.


The sun had set, and the shadows clinging
to the walls of the cave began to wake and
whisper.

A mother speaks to her child, Chiro, of this night being like no other.  On this night he will fly from the cave alone as she waits behind for his return.  Naturally he's not too sure about going out in the dark by himself.  How will he see?

Her advice to him is to use his good sense prompting another question from young Chiro.  He has no idea what sense is.  Her reply to him is to give voice to the dark, waiting for the night to answer in return, as he flies to the pond where they usually find the best food.

Released from her embrace, the young bat tries to fly through the blackness but what he does see is frightening.  Remembering his mother's whispered words, he sings.  Soon melodies of all shapes and sizes are coming from the dark, back to him.

Through the tree-filled woods, soaring past a flock of geese, and beyond electrical power lines he makes his way toward the familiar destination.  Full, he ponders his next choice; home or beyond.  Is his song sure enough to explore?  The power of self assurance and the joy of discovery prevail.


From the very first sentence I knew this book was going to be exceptional.  I knew this author would be looking at the world with new eyes, shaping what he sees with word descriptions akin to poetry.  Ari Berk's technique in this story has a silence about it; a soft hush in the conversations between the bat mother and her child, the rustle of wings through night air, in the song no human ear can hear.  His words guide readers through the story as good sense guides Chiro through his adventure. Here are a couple of sentences.

In the sky behind him flowed a river of whispers, fading away.

What lay beyond his mother's words?


When I first saw Loren Long's new version of The Little Engine That Could (Philomel, 2005) I'm sure my mouth formed a big "O".  His books, Otis (Philomel, 2009) and the companion volume, Otis and the Tornado (Philomel, 2011)(reviewed here), are personal favorites.  For this title his artwork rendered in acrylic and graphite is stunning.

Depicting the night with penciled lines gives it a texture, as it might appear to eyes not made for seeing in the dark.  Using a glowing, misty moon as the "o" in Nightsong and as the shape for the publication data is the type of attention to detail which sets a book apart.  Having the shades of the white text change on the pages as if a moon is shining on certain sections is brilliant.

Spanning across two pages to the edges all the illustrations provide the perfect backdrop for the soft browns of Chiro and his mother.  As he sings into the night his song is portrayed as a beam of light shining before him.  Careful readers will see other creatures etched into the darkness while those sending a song back to the bat will be in color.  Whether they are panoramic views or close-ups of Chiro, these illustrations, as in Long's other books, are worthy of framing; true pieces of art.


Ari Berk's words illuminated by the illustrations of Loren Long in Nightsong bring to readers a bat's eye view of the night; how they are able to move with such ease using their unique gift of sense.  This title is one of those books where a single reading will not suffice plus I keep reaching out to touch the pages.  Nighttime has never looked so good.

An Unlikely Pair

In the animal kingdom there is no lack of unusual friendships.  After a tsunami struck in December of 2004, a rescued baby hippo was placed in Haller Park, Kenya where he quickly sought out the company of an 130-year-old tortoise. Owen and Mzee were inseparable for more than three years.   At the Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee a stray dog wandered onto the 2,000 acre property.  For more than a decade until her untimely death, Bella and Tara, an elephant, were fast friends.

Even more unexpected is the bonding of animals who are part of each others food chain.  Acclaimed author James Howe has penned a tender tale, Otter and Odder: A Love Story (Candlewick), of a curious attachment formed by an otter and a fish.  Caldecott Medalist, Chris Raschka provides luminous illustrations for the title.


The river sparkled 
the day Otter found love.

As with many living beings love happens when it is least expected; certainly not when one is looking for their next meal.  But to Otter's utter surprise staring into those starry eyes, he knew something out of the ordinary had happened.  He asked her (he hoped it was a girl) name.

Gurgling a reply (after all they were under water) Otter heard Myrtle, a fitting name for such a lovely fish.  Her only thought was of gaining freedom from his firm hold on her scaly body.  But looking deeply into his eyes, Myrtle was overcome with an emotion new to her, love.  How could this be?

Oh, the joy of finding such a companion.  Swimming, playing, storytelling, feeling the sun shining on them and star watching filled their days and nights.  Together they felt whole.

As is the way of the world such a relationship raised a ruckus with the river folk.  The talk began and escalated until the seed of self-doubt was planted and well tended.  Otter and Myrtle knew the way of the otter would only end badly for her and her kind.

The tone of the chit-chat changed as everyone but Otter felt good about his abandonment of such a ridiculous affection. Just as he had not been looking for love, Otter did not know he was looking for wisdom.  But it found him.  Would wisdom find Myrtle too?


There is a simple, poignant beauty to the use of language by James Howe in this story moving us along like the current on the river where his characters reside.  He captures us as love captured Otter, swift and sure, and we are glad, no eager, to see and experience every high and low this flow presents to us.  His words are like a breeze through the reeds, water tumbling over rocks, or a sudden splash.  Here is a single passage.

But then in his eyes
she saw the sparkling river reflected
and a tender and lonely heart revealed.


How is it that the seemingly childlike illustrations by Chris Raschka glow with the sophistication of a master?  Every line, every subtle shade of color, every brush stroke is full of purpose and...magic.  Watercolor and pencil in his hands fashion a soft, inviting warmth.

The jacket, cover, opening and closing endpapers, title, publication and dedication pages introduce readers to the watery wonderland and its occupants.  Two-page spreads bleeding to the edges, single pages framed in white and a final two-page spread framed in white enhance the pace of the narrative.  Eyes and mouths convey every shift in emotion.  Design and layout beckon to the reader at each turn of page.


Otter and Odder: A Love Story written by James Howe with illustrations by Chris Raschka is a story to be read and read again.  The melding of words and art is full of heart with the feel of a classic.  I love this book as much as Otter and Myrtle love each other; more than anything else or despite what anyone says.

This is a link to the publisher's website with a picture of the first page. (Click on view an inside spread.)  By following this link you can read James Howe's Author's Note.  It's well worth your time to read it.
 

Baby Face or Beard??? {Unit Preview}

Have you ever thought about what Santa would look like with a beard...or a mustache? Let your students decide which look will best fit such a jolly dude! This unit will have your kiddos graphing and writing their way into the holiday season. Of course, their must be a cute craft to boot! 

Here is a look at what is included in this unit!

You can head on over to TPT and pick this up whenever you'd like! 

Have a great night, y'all! 

Bringing History to Life

Everyone has a story to tell.  Our students need to tell their stories.  Every time I teach a storytelling class, particularly when I play The Apple Tree Game (students tell a short story, others try to guess if it's real or not; As I climbed the apple tree, all the apples fell on me, apple pudding, apple pie, is this story a truth or a lie?--courtesy of storyteller Doug Lipman), I am astounded by the range of experiences these young people have encountered.

Keeping this in mind I tend to be drawn to websites offering some form of digital storytelling.  Ever since I read Kelly Tenkley's post on iLearn Technology October 23, 2012 describing myHistro, I have wanted to try the site.  Creating visual histories using maps and timelines offers countless possibilities in the classroom as well as for personal documentation.

Use of this application is free.  Users can sign in with their Facebook, Geni, Foursquare or Linkedin accounts or register with a first and last name, email address and password.  You must be thirteen years old or above to use this site.

Other features of the site are:

• can include photographs, videos and narrative
• unlimited space, unlimited photographs and as many histories as you like
• easy to create, add and edit
• drag and drop tool for placing a single event in more than one story
• three viewing options
• simple organizational tools
• import information from other sites
• six languages represented
• can embed in website or blog
• collaboration tools
• stories can be public or private

Upon logging in the first time you have several options.  You can toggle between the pages labeled Home, Me, Friends and Explore. On the home page you can access your Dashboard (first page), Profile, Events, Stories, Collections, Gallery, Smart-add for creating events from photos and quick add of event.  The me page is a simple list of your events and stories.  Friends is self-explanatory; they may be added from Facebook.  You can search for people or stories, popular tags and popular stories on the explore page.

Your profile page gives you access to your events and stories as well as updating profile information (photograph, as much personal as you want to include) and password change. The events and stories pages are lists of each of those items.  On the collections page are groups of stories with the same tag.  All your created stories are grouped in the gallery page.

Before beginning I scanned through the help section to get a feel for how to use this application.  I decided to create a story revolving around the historical fiction title The Water Seeker by Kimberly Willis Holt.  The story chronicles the life of Amos Kincaid, a dowser's son from 1833 to 1859 complete with a trip on the Oregon Trail.  

To begin I selected the Events page and clicked on the green Create new event button.  A new window pops up as an overlay on the page.  It asks you to name the event, give a specific date (year, month, day)(an end date can also be selected), add a narrative in bold, italics, underline, inserting a link or bulleted list, add a picture and search for a place on the map.  

After the event is created that window is closed taking you back to the original page.  When you mouse over the created events you have the option to edit, view or delete them.  Above your listed events you can search for other events or filter them by various categories.

To create a story go to that page.  When you initially register a story with your name is automatically created.  I changed my title to The Water Seeker adding a short description and image.  At this point you can add collaborators, tags, select a privacy option and comment features.  To add events to your story go to number 2.

You simply drag events from the list on the left to the story space on the right.  At this point generating a new event is also available.  You can search for events, jump to a specific date, or list your events by date or when they were created.  Mousing over individual events allows the user to edit, view or move them to the story.

When the events are added to the story they become darker and clearer on the right while appearing more faded on the left.  Click the green Save story button when you are done.  The next page is the viewing page for your story.

You can zoom in and out, play the story, see a thumbnail map of the entire storyline, view a larger map front and center which highlights single events, edit, delete or add another event to your completed story, post the story on Facebook, export it, view your tags, view a story summary and copy the embed code.  A story summary looks like this image.  When you are playing through the events in your story and wish to make use of hyperlinks, you must click on the read more button to make them active.

Your story can be shared on more than 330 social networks, emailed or printed.  There are two available embed codes; one as shown below and one where the story plays automatically.  Here is the short story I generated at this site.

While this web 2.0 application focuses on history, it could also be used to plan events in the future; similar to Tripline (reviewed here).  To tell you the truth, after I had this post finished, I could hardly get to sleep thinking about all the different stories which could be created using this website (there is an app for your iPhone also).  myHistro will definitely find a place in my virtual toolbox.

Historical events were located from the website HistoryOrb.

A Late Gobble & South Carolina History

It is going to be short and sweet for me tonight! I *may* have stayed up super late last night to finish up a grad school paper {procrastinate much???} and I am feeling it right...about...now! But I had to share these sweet little guys before November becomes a thing of the past! December...already? 

I know that Thanksgiving has already passed us by, but I just had to share our cute turkeys that we made to go along with our fall writings. We finished these up before the break, but since I had to leave early for Indiana, my student teacher had to complete the project with the kiddos! 

How cute are these little fellas??

We will be having our feast on Friday! Well, it is not really a Thanksgiving feast, more like a South Carolina History feast...but it is all the same! I just couldn't miss out on the fun, so I had to postpone! It is still November...right?!? I am super excited about this feast. We have been trucking along in our South Carolina History unit, so for our feast, we will be making settlers and Native American pizzas based on the foods that each group contributed to our state! My kids are counting down the days! 

Before the break, we also finished up a few projects about early SC and have already started moving our way through the Revolutionary War! If you are a SC teacher...can I get a PTL?!? Here are a few of the activities that we completed during our Settlers/Native American Unit.

 We made these ships to help us understand how the first English settlement began. During this lesson, students were also selected as Lord Proprietors and were able to make the decisions in our room for an entire day. We discussed the trip to Barbados and how slavery made it's way to our state. 

On the inside, we added our notes about the French Huguenots, European Jews, Germans, and Scotch-Irish. 

We also spent time learning about the different Native American tribes living in South Carolina long before the settlers. The students worked on maps to identify their location and the types of homes in which they lived. 

I have really enjoyed learning all of this information right along with my kiddos. Seriously, I have to study...all the time! {I am no history buff...it was never really my thing!}

Well, that is all I have for tonight! I hope you are all having a great week! Should we begin a countdown to Christmas?!? :) 

The Last Covenanter

Here is the last of the Covenanters and this chap is wearing the traditional Scottish Highland infantry uniform. Again he has the Hodden Grey jacket and blue Tam of the Covenanters but he is wear a kilt of the Covenanter tartan pattern. He has Pattern 14 leather webbing and I think this this has worked out way and I rather like the look. Next up are the leaders of the Scottish Republic. So here is the chap.

Scottish Covenanter, 1938

Turning the Pages in Anticipation Quiet

One of the many benefits of having a dog as a member of your family, is you are outside when no one else is.  Late at night or early in the morning amazing things can be seen and heard.  Without any noise, within the silence, you gain a unique sense of seeing and hearing, noticing what you might otherwise have missed.

With the demands of modern day living it's hard to gain this perspective especially when the December holiday season begins in earnest.  The talented collaboration of author Deborah Underwood and illustrator Renata Liwska who brought to readers The Quiet Book (Houghton Mifflin Books for Children, April, 2010) and The Loud Book (Houghton Mifflin Books for Children, April 2011)(reviewed here) have created another title in the series, The Christmas Quiet Book (Houghton Mifflin Books for Children).  When you stop and really listen, you are truly surrounded by quiet.


Christmas is a quiet time:
Mysterious bundles quiet

With a sense of hope running high, who can blame the younger guys and gals from sneaking a peek despite running the risk of being discovered.  No matter the age who has not listened intently, fingers crossed, for those magical words, school is cancelled due to snow.  Have you ever noticed how a child layered in snow clothes makes little or no sound except for the swish, swish of nylon on nylon?

Listen, can you hear? There is quiet playing in the snow, sipping hot drinks, watching holiday performances, decorating, baking, skating, children's Christmas plays, breathing the crisp air, nighttime walks, activities in front of a cozy fire, writing, wishing and yes, even in joy.  Some days more than others, sometimes happy, sometimes sad, the stillness is there.


With the exception of the first page Deborah Underwood uses a minimal amount of words preceding quiet, a single phrase for each page, some linking together.  She truly has a gift for capturing the exact moment of quiet which may come before or after a less than silent event.  It's as if she's gathered all her childhood memories, chosen the most memorable for their hush factor and shared them with her readers.

Forgotten line quiet
Helpful whisper quiet


Drawn in pencil then colored digitally, the illustrations of Renata Liwska are charming.  The front and back jacket when opened show a line of those adorable characters from the two previous books joined together as they unwind a string of colored Christmas lights against a backdrop of dusty blue sky peppered with snowflakes.  The front and back covers done in the same blue have a single figure on each.  The front cover shows a softly-colored, brown bunny wrapping a gift; the back has another similar bunny with a hair bow opening the same present which happens to be a copy of The Loud Book.

It's in the attention given to detail that Liwska draws in her readers.  On the title page a rabbit is hanging an ornament on the second "o" in Book, the owl skating across the ice has special shaped mittens for her wing tips with the string running across her back hooking them together.  There is also a feeling of nostalgia in her drawings; when picturing the radio with two bunnies listening for the snow day news, it is the old box kind with a red line going across the station numbers, a large red dial on the front.

As in the previous two books Liwska has selected a muted color palette replete with earth tones with spots of color for accents, using red on nearly every page for added warmth.  Her creatures of forest and field have never been more endearing.  To great effect she again shifts (as she did in The Loud Book) perspective as all the animals gather around the decorated Christmas tree.  We see them as if we are looking down upon the scene.

One of my favorite pictures is of the two rabbits in front of the fireplace, stockings hung, lighted candles on the mantle.  Both have fallen asleep reading, the one in a chair, the other lying on the floor.  The characters from the open book on the floor are walking off the pages.  Perfectly precious.


The Christmas Quiet Book written by Deborah Underwood with illustrations by Renata Liwska is a gentle gem.  As a read aloud or one on one this is cozy and quiet from cover to cover.  As with the other titles, it is sure to generate a conversation about other kinds of quiet.


Links to the author and illustrator websites are embedded in their names.  Here is a link to a wonderful page created by the publisher full of information about both the author and illustrator, additional artwork, plenty of extras and ....


Christmas Quiet Kit

Holiday Extravaganza...Coming Soon!

I know that most of you are out shopping, but I am super excited about the holidays...SUPER excited! We are finishing up our Native American studies this week in our social studies unit, and next week...it becomes all things Christmas! My heart sings at the thought! Ha!

I have had to dig deep...extra, extra deep to create new activities to bring the holidays into our classroom this year. For my newbies here at Shenanigans, this is my third year with my little lovelies! That means that this is year three of holiday celebrations, and I am pretty sure that we did 1,000 projects in first grade and at least 500 in second...so of course, this year has to be brand new! I will be sharing three new units {almost complete} with you by this weekend! Hopefully these will spread a little joy into your classroom this year! 

Here is a sneak peek at a few of my holiday plans! 

This year, we will be writing to Santa...as always! {Yes...even the non-believers!} However, this letter will be a little different. Some may feel that Santa needs a little makeover. 

During our science unit about animal adaptations, we will be creating these little cuties as we study animals adapting and surviving in the North Pole! This unit will also have lots of Polar Express goodies! 

And finally, we will get into all things gingerbread! I am super excited about this new unit to add to my holiday goodies! 

Be on the lookout for these new holiday units this weekend! I know that you will love them as much as I do! 

Now...go and shop 'til you drop! You can check out some of my other holiday units {HERE} or check out my TPT shop by clicking on the image below! 

Hope your first Monday back wasn't too painful! :) 

The Mov is Back

For the past 25 days or so or more correctly for the month of Movember I have, along with tens of thousands of other chaps across the world for been growing a Mov in an effort to bring awareness to men's health issues. In fact this year about dozen or more fellas in the office have all bring growing these arranging from the neat upper lip affairs to the styles that have been based on 70s porn film styles, from gingos to streampunk. Well it has been fun and there is even an competition, well it is chaps and what do you except, so lots of personally grooming is the order of the day. Well here is my effort and I am hoping for a prize as the most Victorian looking, lol. So to all you chaps out there who are growing a Mov well done and to the chaps who have gone to the doctors recently a bigger well done.

Scary isnt it?

 

Move Over Apple, Here Comes Musk Ox

The use of language, the formation of words, in storytelling and how we use them, written or spoken, almost has a magical quality to it.  When you think how they can make you feel, where you can go or how attached you become to characters, real or fictional, it's astounding. This is one of the reasons I have been captivated by and motivated to collect alphabet books over the years.

Textual presentations, storylines, coupled with the pictorial interpretations are as unique as the authors and illustrators themselves.  My fifty plus collection has recently grown by another title, A Is For Musk Ox ( A Neal Porter Book, Roaring Brook Press) by debut author, Erin Cabatingan with illustrations by Matthew Myers.  It would seem that Musk Ox wants to give this volume his own special twist.

Hey!

Hey you,

Musk Ox!

Did you do this?

Did you eat

that apple?

Pieces of apple, a discarded core, lying about his feet, apple juice dripping from his mouth, Musk Ox is confronted by a perturbed Zebra.  Finally admitting his guilt, he tells the disgruntled Zebra that on the contrary, the book is not ruined but saved.  In fact he has the perfect solution, "a" should be for musk ox.  

Of course, Zebra believes this suggestion to be ridiculous.  Musk ox does not start with "a".  In fact, there is no "a" anywhere in those two words.  Ever persistent, ever persuasive Musk Ox has the perfect answer, a musk ox is awesome, lives in the Arctic where some of the state of Alaska is located.

Zebra relents moving on to the letter "b".  Musk Ox wants that too, claiming musk oxen fur is brown and black.  Completely disgusted at this point, Zebra says he can have "b" and "c" as well.  For Musk Ox, that is like waving a red flag at a bull; it's full steam ahead.

When there is not an actual fact to fit a letter, Musk Ox continues to enumerate his many and wonderful attributes, at least in his opinion.  Lest you think, it's smooth sailing all the way to "z" for this hooved, horned herbivore, think again.  Letters "k", "l" and "m" result in some rather testy back and forth discussions between the two characters.

To be perfectly clear not every letter representation is replaced with musk ox.  He does have some alternatives which he justifies using his own personal brand of logic.  When Musk Ox finally arrives at "z", he and Zebra finally agree but to the delight of the former and the total humiliation of the latter.  Why is Zebra chasing Musk Ox?


Told entirely in conversations between Zebra and Musk Ox, with Musk Ox taking center stage for many of the letters, Erin Cabatingan gives her characters personality with a punch.  These two don't mince words (or thoughts) having discussions loaded with attitude.  It's a game of one-upmanship in the world of alphabet.  Here is a sample passage.

U is for musk ox
Because musk oxen 
have underwool!

You said that already.

Well, what do you want
me to say? Underwear?
Some parents might
not like that.


When looking at the front cover, the first thing you notice is the cutout, the bite out of the apple, framing Musk Ox with Zebra standing, hands on hips, looking at that strip of words glued over apple.  On the back cover is Zebra's own alliterative views glued over A Is For Musk Ox because...are annoying, and always about as aggravating....  Matthew Myers colorful visuals rendered in oils on illustration board are full of expressive spunk and your-stomach-will-hurt-from-laughing-so-much humor.

A variety of pale backgrounds showcase his characters and their faces as does the changes in perspective and zooming in for close-ups.  Depending on the letter and conversation his backgrounds might mirror the narrative; bookcases in a library, snowy Arctic abode of Musk Ox complete with a recliner and television set with rabbit ears.  The excluded word is shown somewhere in the overall illustration; clown shivering outside the window of Musk Ox's home, a shattered lamp, a tiny green turtle in the snow.  Myers chooses to use a single page, half page or even a double-page spread to focus on a letter adding to the flow, creating a sense of movement.


If you're looking for an upbeat, snappy alphabet book packed with hilarity, A Is For Musk Ox written by Erin Cabatingan with paintings by Matthew Myers is a sure bet.  Reading it aloud with a voice brimming with expression, will have listeners laughing like crazy.  I can also see this working well as a reader's theater title.

Here is a link to the publisher's website for more illustrations.  If you follow the link embedded in Matthew Myers' name you can see other visuals as well as informative pages revealing his illustrative process.  Here is a link to the ARKive for Muskox.

Prinz Rupprecht Volunteers

This is the next in the series and he is one of the Covenanter's German Volunteers that has come over with Prinz Rupprecht. Their will be more on the German Prince in another post but this chap came over will him as one of his loyal supporters and joined with the forces of the Covenant. Operating mainly in the highlands and islands of the north of Scotland, this chap wears the uniform of the German Army from the Great War. These volunteers are not supports of the current leadership in German and have come to the UK to fight the BUF and the Edwardites here so they dont get a foothold here.So here is the chap.

Covenant's German Volunteers, 1938

Reader's Workshop & a BLOWOUT Sale!

I just have to take a second and say...PTL!!!!! I *finally* finished my Reader's Workshop Unit! This is something that I have been working on all month and am very excited to have all of my resources in one place. Reader's Workshop is definitely my favorite part of the day! I would never, ever teach reading any other way! I have found it to be so successful with each and every student in my classroom and now, there is no looking back! 

This 230 page unit includes everything you need to completely implement Reader's Workshop and independent reading in the classroom. 

It includes 10 minilessons that establish expectations for authentic reading practices during independent reading time, as well as resources to create Reader's Workshop Notebooks.

And of course, what is Reader's Workshop without a classroom library? This unit includes everything you need to establish a classroom library that provides choice...within reason {and reading levels}. 

Anytime is the perfect time to implement Reader's Workshop! I promise, you will never look back! So, go grab this unit at TPT!

Now...for the sale part! 

Did you know that TPT is throwing a gigantic Cyber Monday {and Tuesday} sale?! Check out some of my items below and snatch them while they're hot! Click on the picture below to check out my shop! 

Thanks to Ashley Hughes for the super cute button!

Here are a few other units that you may want to check out for the holiday season: 

A reindeer unit that includes all things academic...reading, writing, & math! Plus a little reindeer buffet incentive to boost! 

Ho! Ho! Ho! Holiday Math Centers: 

For the Winter Months...

Click {HERE} to check out the other resources in my shop! Happy Shopping!