The Only Place On Earth....

Even though the third month in this new year is winding down,  I still have many books published in 2012 which I will not leave unread.  In December 2012 a title appeared on the Nerdy Book Club Award Nominees list which began receiving starred reviews as early as July despite a September publication; four starred reviews in total.  When the National Science Teachers Association released their Outstanding Science Trade Books for Students K-12: 2013 (Books published in 2012), this title was on the list.

This book takes readers to one of the most unusual places on the planet.  Many of those animals calling it home are found no where else.  Fascinating, factual and filled with gorgeous paintings, Island: A Story of the Galapagos (Roaring Brook Press, A Neal Porter Book) written and illustrated by Jason Chin, is more than worthy of every ounce of praise and recognition.

The sun is rising over a lonely group of islands more than six hundred miles away from the nearest continent. The air is still and the sea is calm, but beneath the water something is stirring.

With that opening we follow an island through four stages of life.  Six million years ago through a series of volcanic eruptions it is born and grows layer by layer.  Eventually, through the course of nature, a seed becomes a tree, a bird lands and stays and marine iguanas swim from a older island to the newborn.

Though the length of time is hard to imagine one million years pass; the island is in its childhood phase.    Teeming with life the land and waters surrounding it create a unique ecosystem.  Another million years passes with the island developing different climate zones due to varying elevations.

As the island grows into adulthood other islands have been born; larger islands.  Due to the specific water and land conditions creatures normally found in other parts of the globe migrate and take up residence; birds, sea lions and tortoises.  For the sake of survival their original physical characteristics over a period of years shift to match this island's environment.

Five million years have brought numerous changes to the land and its inhabitants.  Due to its shrinking size and flattening some have left; others still call it home.  One day the waters advance; the island sinks from sight.  Six million years have now passed.

Though this land mass is no longer visible, others in the group still exist to be discovered, explored and have the abundant and singular life documented.  A ship, the HMS Beagle, arrives in 1835 carrying a passenger who will change the world's thinking.  Charles Darwin is that passenger.


In his author's note Chin states:

This story is based on science, but brought to life through my imagination, and I hope that it will excite and inspire readers just as the remarkable islands of the Galapagos have excited and inspired me.  

Naming four authorities in the field who assisted in his research gives Chin a sound basis upon which to build his narrative.  Very few, if any, of the students I know or have known will ever have the opportunity to visit the Galapagos.

But with this accessible, informative text they can, as I have several times, not only make the trip but be inspired by this beautiful place.  The technique of assigning biographical divisions to the life of the island is an open invitation to explore its amazing adaptive changes.  The delivery of the details, the spacing of the various progressions, attracts and maintains interest.


The majesty and mystery of the Galapagos Islands captivates readers immediately with the double page spread across the jacket and cover displaying the varied flora and fauna.  The warm natural hues of greens, blues, browns and golds seen here are replaced with the cooler but still stunning blues, greens, whites, and grays found on the land and sea of the island during its lifespan.  The opening endpapers done in shades of golden brown feature framed portraits of thirty-six species of The Galapagos.  Using the same colors a close-up map of the islands plus an inset showing its position relative to South America is shown on the closing endpapers.

Jason Chin has painted all of the illustrations.  His one and two page visuals bleed to the page edges, drawing in the reader.  White space frames a series of smaller illustrations on alternate pages when he chooses to showcase the passage of time, the arrival  of animal populations and their growth or changes in their physical characteristics.  Layout and design combine to create a pictorially pleasing flow of events.  His final two page spread is breathtaking.


In a word, marvelous best sums up Island: A Story of the Galapagos by Jason Chin.  As to his goal of generating excitement for this beautiful place, I say mission accomplished and then some.  With the same care found in his narrative and paintings he includes a page each about Charles Darwin and the Galapagos, The Galapagos Islands and Endemic Species of the Galapagos.  

This valuable volume peaked my interest to the point where I created a new Lino which includes links to his website, the publisher page with extra illustrations, a video and a nice assortment of web pages with information and lessons.

Virtual Post-It Boards-Lino

Nothing beats the quickness of connecting, of being privy to the instant thoughts of those in your PLN, like Twitter.  We all benefit from the conferences and professional development of our colleagues.  When the following tweet appeared in my feed a month ago, it looked like the type of application which might benefit staff and students given it was coming from a teacher librarian I follow and who follows me.

I need to explore Lino. It looks like it has great possibilities. #ICE13 en.linoit.com
— Donna K. (@akgal68) February 28, 2013

Lino is a free service for those thirteen years or older.  When accessing the home page users note the application can be used on their PC computer, iPhone or iPad and their Android (beta). Some features include:

• taking notes immediately
• reminders of special days or deadlines
• layout of pictures and videos (free of charge)
• create groups for sharing
• files can be attached to the notes and
• use from smartphones.

Popular canvases and recently updated canvases are highlighted.

Begin by selecting the large orange button, Give it a shot!  A new window opens taking you to a board (trial canvas) with a variety of suggestions already posted.  There are no scroll bars for moving within the canvas.  Click and drag to see all the posted items.

In the upper right-hand corner is a square of tools (the palette) to be used in creating stickies for your particular board.  In the far corner are icons for help, login and sign up.  To begin there are four colors for notes.

Beneath those are symbols for adding images from your computer and including videos from YouTube, Vimeo or Ustream.  Files can be uploaded from your computer (attached to a sticky) and transparent notes can be placed over other items.  If you select Highlight New, with each mouse click it takes you to any new items in the order they were added.  If you've marked something private on a sticky it will be shown if you choose Show Private.

In the lower right-hand corner is another transparent box which shows you where your screen is in relation to the overall board plus a calendar; handy for setting dates on notes.  You can click on the square in this box, move it and it takes you to that position on the canvas. Every single sticky has a series of tiny icons in the lower right-hand corner.  They allow the user to edit, choose a due date, peel off the sticky and size the sticky.

In adding items to each canvas I found the uploading of images to be very easy.  When adding a video from YouTube it's necessary to use the URL at the top of the page rather than from the share line beneath the video.  Videos from Vimeo worked perfectly using the link from their share feature. 

It was great to discover that when URLs were added to notes the links were active.  When you pin one of your sticky notes (click in the center at the top), it can be copied but the other options disappear.   You can unpin it to again move, edit, add a date or delete it.

You do need to register to save your canvas by selecting a username and password, entering in your email address and agreeing to the Terms of Use.  When this is completed another transparent box (the dock) appears in the lower left-hand corner giving you a thumbnail of your boards.  New icons will appear in your palette also; from left to right, my page, information, help and log out.

When you click on information, share possibilities appear above in a new window.   On the right you are given a URL for the canvas, HTML code for linking to the canvas and HTML code for embedding the canvas in your blog or web site.  On the left are the basic preferences for this canvas.

You can also name your canvas now by choosing the words Trial Canvas.  Another window (preferences) opens allowing for the name change, selection of backgrounds (you can upload your own), and determining access (private, people can see stickies, people can see and post stickies).  Depending on the access selected you can chose to show this canvas on the dock, create a sticky via email, generate a RSS feed for the canvas, or allow others to copy your stickies.  Be sure to save any changes.

The entire canvas can be deleted at this point.  From here you can go back to your canvas, your page, all your canvases, your groups, favorites, tasks and trash.  I did explore the help section also.  It is very extensive but easy to understand.  Lino does have a bookmarklet which can added to your browser toolbar.

When it comes to virtual post-it boards, I rate Lino with high marks.  It has all the things I enjoy when using this type of  application; ease of use, great help section, active hyperlinks, multiple options in the preference section and collaboration.  Here is a canvas I designed to get ready for a Nursery Rhyme unit during National Poetry Month.

Who's Talking Now?

In the land of fairy tales expect the unexpected.  In the world of poetry anticipate the unanticipated.  When fairy tales and poetry meet anticipate the unexpected; relish the shifts in perspective, giving voice to those previously silent.

In 2010 author Marilyn Singer introduced a new poetic form, the reverso.  In her title Mirror, Mirror: A Book of Reversible Verse (Dutton Children's Books) for the first time we read two poems side by side (the reverso); same words in each but on the left we read from top to bottom, on the right using the same order from bottom to top.  The only alterations were in punctuation and capitalization.  She put a whole refreshing spin on fairy tales we thought we knew.

Last month a companion title, Follow Follow: A Book of Reverso Poems (Dial Books for Young Readers), illustrated again by Josee Masse was released.  Twelve folktales accompanied by an introduction and conclusion are altered with Marilyn Singer's special brand of vision.  She leads and we follow...follow.


...so here goes:
I beg your pardon---
fairies helped.

Fairies helped?
I beg your pardon!
So, here goes   ...

Readers are challenged to see both sides of wishing, the nakedness of an emperor, a princess who may or may not laugh, and the mindset of Aesop's most famous racers.  The test to find a real princess, the choice to loose your voice to gain love, the bravado of a cat and the consequences of a debt unpaid take you down and then up again, always changing the outcome.  Sometimes we read the words of more than one character.  Decisions we never understood before are revealed through a single person's musings.

Have you ever stopped to consider how the mole might feel down in his hole, alone?  Or the third pig in his house of bricks at the demise of the greedy wolf?  What of the emperor who discovers nearly too late the true worth of song?  As a soldier sleeps, princesses wish him slumber but a father wishes him awake.


With each reading of these fourteen reverso poems your admiration can't help but grow at the adept use of language, the placement of words to form two distinct interpretations of a single tale.  It's hard to imagine the time, the care, needed to get every single syllable in its perfect position.  When read silently it gently touches, but read aloud the rhythm of each is prevalent and strong.  Marilyn Singer's creativeness, her gift, shines in this inventive style.


Bright, lush colors beckon to readers from the front cover and jacket.  The artistic, skillful blending of two visuals into a complete illustration, used for each, poem begins here.  Spring green endpapers match the greens used in the title page visual.  Wide two-tone pale blue stripes, the background for the title page, verso and dedication page, are widened to showcase the two poems of each reverso.  

It's easy to move into the realm of make-believe through the pictures rendered in acrylics by Josee Masse.  Shades and hues, striking color palettes, especially blues, greens, golds and reds, add a richness to the verses.  The tiniest of details within the layers extends interest; the snail beside the tortoise, the odorous fish coming out of the cat's bag, and the portraits of the two pigs on pig three's wall.  Royal purple endpapers fittingly close this volume.


Words inviting wisdom, creating wonder, penned with purpose on the pages of Follow Follow: A Book of Reverso Poems by Marilyn Singer are elevated by the rich pictorial portrayals of illustrator, Josee Masse.  Readers will be drawn to the magic of the reverso; its ability to capture and convey every nuance known or unknown about these tales.  Of equal beauty are the two poems opening and closing the collection; author reflections on writing, fairies and children.

Singer includes a short explanation of the reverso as well as each tale on the final page. Links to her site and Josee Masse are embedded in their names.