You Are the First Kid on Mars

Before I start the blog entry for this book, I must apologize to my readers. I have not posted since early April. However, school is out and I am ready to roll. I have a couple of books that I want to enter this next week, and after that I hope to get more NCBLA books to review.

Today's entry is about a new book by Patrick O'Brien, You Are the First Kid on Mars. This book is an information book that mixes a narrative storyline with non fiction information about Mars. The storyline takes a young boy from Earth to Mars where he lives with his family for a while and then back to Earth. Integrated into the story are bulleted facts to provide the reader with specific information about space travel, Mars, and more. The end of the book supplies the reader with "More Information About Mars". I also feel that O'Brien's painting truly support the text.

Since this is a NCBLA (Notable Children's Books in the Language Arts) book, I will not rate it, but I will say that I highly recommend it for 3rd and 4th graders.

Happy Reading,
Dr. Quinn

Here is a photo of my youngest reading this book on our hammock.

Tales from Outer Suburia

If you haven't experienced a book by Shaun Tan, be sure to do so. Last year I was introduced to his work via The Arrival, a graphic novel. The illustrations were fantastic. I was amazed at the storyline and creativity.

Today I introduced myself to his newest text, Tales from Outer Suburbia. Once again Tan's illustrations are fantastic. However, this book is composed of a collection of short stories...all from outer suburbia. Let's just say these stories are definitely out there, wow! If I were to use one word to describe the collection of tales, it would be...Random. These tales are just simply bizarre, creative, but bizarre. My two favorite tales are "Grandpa's Story" and "Alert, but Not Alarmed."

Again the illustrations are superb. From the front cover, to the table of contents, to the endpages, Tan fills the pages with creative illustrations and formatting.

Happy Reading,

Dr. Quinn

DR Read Alouds

While in the Dominican Republic I had the opportunity see two recent Taylor graduates. Both are teaching in Jarabacoa Christian School. Brooke teaches 5th grade, and Natalie teaches 4th grade. Both requested that I read my two new dinosaur books (Dinosaur Versus Bedtime & I'm Bad). I wasn't real sure how this would go with upper elementary students, but let's just say some of the students laughed so hard they fell over. After I read these books, the classes asked me to read one of the pigeon books by Mo Williems. Of course I had to say yes. For those of you that have heard me read before, you can imagine that my voice was nearly gone at the completion of our time together. Below are a variety of photos from the two read alouds.


Happy Reading,
Dr. Quinn

Dominican Republic

Tomorrow I will be leaving for an eight day mission trip to the Dominican Republic. I will be accompanied by 18 Taylor students, 2 teenage girls (one is my daughter) , and my co-leader. During our trip we hope to serve and help out any way we can. All of us will stay at Students International's base in Jarabacoa. Each day we will separate to various sites (education, sports, medical, social works, special education, art, dental, & social work). I will be housed at the sport's site where I will play baseball, lead a running clinic, and share my faith to 110 8-20 year olds. The last day I will put on a 2k race and distribute shirts the 110 Dominican boys. As a team we will also do two evenings of outreach (singing, drama, & testimony) in local villages.

One day I hope to take 10 of our elementary education majors to two of the Christian schools in Jarabacoa. We will take tours and see two recent TU grads (Natalie & Brooke). I am hoping for an opportunity to read out loud to both of their classes. TU also has two recent grads teaching in Santiago (Christie & Dave). Sorry you two, we will not have time to tour your school, but feel free to see us at the base.

When I return I hope to get to work on the NBLA list, and keep my blog updated better.

Happy Reading,
Dr. Quinn

Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Last Straw

I have just finished Jeff Kinney's last installment of the Wimpy Kid series. It was entertaining and like his previous diarys, I laughed out loud at times. However, I felt like I had been there and done that. The novelty of the format and the storyline seemed to wear off a little. Although, I do think Kinney writes about topics in which many readers will connect or at least be entertained.

Rating:

Happy Reading,

Dr. Quinn

Two Fun Read Alouds

Today I had the privilege to read to a first grade class and two third grade classes. Those of you that have had me as a professor know how much I love to read stories out loud. So you can imagine how happy I was to be in multiple elementary classrooms today.

Since I had been in these classrooms before, I asked them what they wanted me to read. Interestingly, both grade levels chose Dinosaur Versus Bedtime and I'm Bad. Personally, I love both books as read alouds because I can add a lot of energy to them, but I was a little surprised that the third graders wanted these as repeats. I would have thought they would want something a little more mature. After a quick informal survey with a few students, they said, "It's all about the voices." I tried to persuade them to let me read some new books to them, but they wanted the comfort of those books they enjoy. This was true in the first grade as well, because they chose the two dinosuar mentioned books above and two Pigeon books by Mo Willems.

Here is the bottom line: I love to read out loud; students love read alouds with dynamic voices; & if you haven't read either of the dinosaur books, you need to do so.

Happy Reading,
Dr. Quinn

The Little Word Catcher

Have you ever had a conversation with someone and the word you are about to say seems to have completely left your mind? Imagine that this begins to happen more and more frequently. How might it impact those around you? In The Little Word Catcher by Danielle Simard (Author) Genevieve Cote(Illustrator) young Elisa is worried because her grandmother is forgetting words more and more often.

This recently translated book is written and illustrated wonderfully. I love the connection between the grandmother and the granddaughter, and I especially appreciate the manner in which the two "share" words.

A gentle look at some early stages of Alzheimer’s

Happy Reading,
Dr. Quinn

Don't Give Up on Those Non-Readers

Imagine the following elementary or middle school student... a nice, polite, and respectful child filled with energy and creativity. He likes school, but he is just not real strong at it. He has average grades but weak literacy skills. However the student has a love for books. The youngster enjoys getting books at the library and of course ordering them through mail order book clubs (Scholastic). He has great intentions to read these books, but after reading for the smallest amount of time his mind is elsewhere. The book is put down with only sporadic and feeble attempts to complete the task at later times.

This was me, and it wasn't until I was a junior in high school that I actually completed my first chapter book. I was a late bloomer academically. Sometimes I think about the alternative route that I could have taken if I would have let my lack of academic skill guide my life. Fortunately there were various stakeholders in my life that keep challenging me to reach my potential. These stakeholders range from my grandfather (the original Dr. Quinn) to my parents and my teachers (many of them) to my college professors (especially Dr. Pat Scharer from The Ohio State University). However, I must give a shout out to the one that knew my path and helped place these stakeholders in my life, and that is my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Right now I see my youngest son following step for step in my path. This great kid is so creative and has such a fun demeanor about him. However, his literacy skills are identical to mine at that age. I hear him read out loud or practice his spelling words and I just laugh, because I get it. I know exactly what he is thinking and how he is processing it. Each night I see him pick up a book to read just before bed, and then I peek in and see the book on the floor and a Lego magazine in his hand or an action figure rescuing some stuffed animal in his bed.

As an educator, I have many goals, but one is that I can help prepare pre-service teachers motivate and support all their students. For anyone who actually reads my blog, I challenge you to support and be patient with those individuals that struggle in school. God has a plan for them, and you may play a large role in that plan.

By the way you should see how many spelling errors I have when I first type a blog entry. I am able to catch a lot, but I also know there are some that I just cannot see... so thanks for your patience with me as well!

The photo above is part of a promotional for Taylor University put together by the admissions team. Click on it to find out a little more about me.

Happy Reading,
Dr. Quinn

Sorry & Rating System

It has been nearly a month since my last entry, and I am sorry for that. My excuse is that I am teaching an overload this semester with one brand new class (so most of my reading has been for that class), I am co-leading a trip to the Dominican Republic in late March, and I have just started a new running club on campus. I know that everybody is busy, but I just had to use that as an excuse. Bottom line...I have been lazy with my reading.

However...I just picked up Jeff Kinney's newest book, Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The last Straw. I hope to read this in the next day or two, so I will post after I complete it.

Some texts for Notable Books in the Language Arts have started to arrive at my office. So as I read what I consider worthwhile texts, I''ll post them on the blog. To be fair I may not use my current rating system. However, if I come across a fantastic new book, I'll still give it some type of shout out. Otherwise, most books I post for a while will able be considered good reads.

Happy Reading,
Dr. Quinn

A Great Honor

I have just agreed to a three year term to be on the review board for the Notable Children's Books in the Language Arts. This a yearly list compiled by a seven-member committee selected by the Children’s Literature Assembly, an affiliate of the National Council of Teachers of English. The list identifies 30 exemplary works of fiction, non-fiction, and poetry written for children, grades K-8. I will be examining between 800-1,000 books per year.

I'm not sure how it will impact this blog, but I have to think my readers/students will be introduced to a lot of new books for the next three years.

Happy Reading,
Dr. Quinn

New Valentine Book

It is always a happy day when a new book arrives at my office...especially when it is a gift directly from an author or illustrator. Today I was greeted with Jerry Pallotta's new book, Who Will Be My Valentine This Year? Pallotta and David Biedrzycki team up again to create this fun book. The two have done several similar books together prior to this one: Who Will Guide My Sleigh Tonight?, Who Will Help Santa this Year?, & Who Will Haunt My House on Halloween?

Like the others, Pallotta's humor is clearly present throughout the book. My favorite line is when the protagonist, a pink hippo, asks three pigs to be her valentine.

"Pigs, please, let's be valentines!"

"Burp!, Bad idea. We eat like pigs. You have manners."

Biedrzycki's illustrations are colorful and creative. Make sure you take time to look at all the extras he has added.

The book is just off the Scholastic press. It will be a fun read for many Valentine Days to come.

Thanks Jerry!

Happy Reading,

Dr. Quinn

Newbery & Caldecott

Today the real winners of the Newbery and Caldecott Award were announced:

Newbery Award

The Graveyard Book
By Neil Gaiman

Honor Books: The Underneath, The Surrender Tree, Savvy, & After Tupac & D Foster

Caldecott Award

House in the Night
By Susan Marie Swanson & Ill. by Beth Krommes

Honor Books: A Couple of Boys Have the Best Week Ever, How I Learned Geography, & A River of Words

Congratulations to the winners and the honor books

ALA Press Release with all award winners

Happy Reading,
Dr. Quinn

Mock Caldecott Winners (Senior Capstone)

Here is the medal winner and honor books for our Mock Caldecott
(Senior Capstone Class)

Medal Winner

Boycott Blues: How Rosa Parks Inspired a Nation
By Andrea Davis Pinkney & Ill by Brian Pinkney

A sample of posted statements from some of my students prior to the event:

"This was my favorite book not only for the illustrations but also for the plot and the way it was written in verse. I know we are supposed to focus on illustrations but I have to say that the book is amazing and I definitely want to incorporate it into the classroom. It tells the story of Rosa Parks in a powerful way. Most of the power lies within the illustrations. I liked how the endpages were wispy and overlapped the color. I also enjoyed the way the illustrations were abstract and really focused on the use of color to convey meaning. Like Lindsey said, my favorite part of the colors was the dark, deep black that loomed over the capital building or the rest of the picture to display the suppression of the Jim Crow laws. During times of hope when the people were gathered together the scene lightened up and become hues of yellow and orange. Most of the book is shades of blue. I just LOVED the symbolism in the colors. This book was so powerful."

"I loved the way that the story was actually written to the child. I could almost hear a grandparent telling this story to their grandchild. The use of color in this book was incredible. I love how Jim Crow was sumbolized as the black scribbles... you could almost see his wings and talons sticking out. I also really enjoyed the accent colors in the book. The bright colors accented the background and really drew your attention to the object which was usually a beacon of hope in some way. I really liked the scene of all the empty dark buses and all the colorful people walking on the sidewalks."

Honor Books

Friday My Radio Flyer Flew
by Zachary Pullen

We Are the Ship: The Story of Negro League Baseball
by Kadir Nelson

Silent Music: The Story of Bagdad
By James Rumford

Abe"s Honest Words: The Life of Abraham Lincoln
By Doreen Rapaport, & Ill. by Kadir Nelson

Happy Reading,
Dr. Quinn

Endgame

Last year I was introduced to Endgame by Nancy Garden. Several students and I decided to use it as a part of our small book club. I was impressed immediately!

This year I decided to assign it to my seniors as a part of their capstone class, the culminating education class at Taylor. After reading the book we did had two hours of discussion (only one hour was planned). It was absolutely amazing to see the emotions that this book evoked in myself and my students. By the time class was over there were tears, heartache, prayer, and a genuine determination to seek out those students that are bullied, different, loners, etc.

If you do not know the book. It is a YA book about a 14 year old boy that is bullied at school and treated unfairly by his father at home. Ultimately he takes the situation in his own hands by taking a loaded gun to school. I'll just leave it at that for now.

I know there are plenty of fantastic books that touch this subject, but I must admit I found this one to be very powerful. I am embarrassed to admit that eyes were opened!

Rating:

Happy Reading,
Dr. Quinn

New Friends

While at NCTE's Annual Convention in San Antonio I had the opportunity to meet several children's authors. This is a photo of Roland Smith, Jerry Pallotta, Deb Marciano-Professor at Washington College, Pam Munoz Ryan, & myself outside a wonderful restaurant, Azuca Nuevo Latino Restaurant, where we had some fun and fellowship

Each author was generous enough to give me a signed book. Jerry went out of his way to connect me with Michael Shoulders and a publishing house. Thanks for a great time everyone.

http://jerrypallotta.com/
http://www.pammunozryan.com/
http://www.rolandsmith.com/index.php?page=home
http://www.michaelshoulders.com/
http://books4children.blogspot.com/ Marciano's blog

Happy Reading,

Dr. Quinn