Storytime Standouts Weblog - Raising Children Who Love to Read!

Last Wednesday evening I had the privilege to attend the Seventh Chocolate Lily Choice Award Gala at Kidsbooks in Vancouver. It was a lovely evening and a very special celebration of British Columbia authors and illustrators.

Author Joan Betty Stuchner and illustrator Cynthia Nugent were awarded the Chocolate Lily Book Award for their novel, Honey Cake, published by Tradewind Books.

Chris Tougas, author and illustrator of Mechanimals, by Orca Book Publishers, won the Chocolate Lily Book Award picture book category.

The nominees who spoke at the event charmed the audience with anecdotes about writing and how their nominated books came to be. It was truly inspiring to hear their stories.

Chocolate Lily Book Awards is a choice award that showcases and celebrates the best of BC children’s fiction by encouraging BC grade school students to read the shortlisted titles and vote for their favourite at the end of each school year.

I Hate Books! written by Kate Walker

Hamish is blessed with a Grandpa who reads aloud “with lots of expression”. When Hamish was little, he loved books but the love affair ends when he begins grade three and his teacher asks him to read aloud. Before long, Hamish is referred to a reading specialist and it is confirmed that he has been making up stories rather than reading the words on the page.

After struggling with flash cards and remedial reading, Hamish decides that life will be fine - whether he learns to read or not. It takes a disasterous family road trip, an embarrassing birthday party and a persuasive older brother to change Hamish’s mind. Happily, Hamish overcomes his difficulties and eventially earns a prize for “most improved reader.”

Shortlisted for the Australian Children’s Book of the Year and the Young Australian’s Best Book Awards, I Hate Books! features relatively short chapters and very appealing illustrations. Recommended for children aged seven to nine.

I Hate Books at Amazon.ca

chapters.indigo.ca

Over the past couple of weeks, I’ve put aside the picture books and early chapter books (with a few exceptions) and read two interesting books that feature time travel. Both are intended for children in grades six through nine. I have some reservations about the age range but enjoyed each of the books thoroughly.

In London Calling, the central character is a seventh grade student at a private school in New Jersey. Hating school and disconnected from his family, Martin is sleeping his life away. When his grandmother dies, he is bequeathed a beautiful Philco Deluxe Art Deco radio. After he “started sleeping with the radio on … A boy - small,thin, dressed in mud-brown clothes - leaned out from behind the radio and whispered, “Johnny, will you help me?”.

At first fearful of the recurrent dream, through research, Martin confirms that his nighttime visitor is taking him to 1940 London. Soon his directionless days become purposeful as he works to research dates, places and identities. Repeated visits to the wartorn city help him to understand how he can “help.”

I thoroughly enjoyed the book and particularly the portions set in the London Blitz. Having said that, I was disappointed by the following exchange,

“I keep it hidden under my bed.” she smiled devilishly. “Perhaps you should check under there.”
The General stared at her dumbly. Then he smiled back, slowly, acknowledging the joke. “Uh-huh. Sounds like I’d better.”

As much as I enjoyed the book, I’m just not sure some of the nuances will have meaning for kids aged 12, 13, 14. Is an allusion like this appropriate or necessary for a book intended for children in grades six through nine?

I’ll comment on I Coriander later this week.

chapters.indigo.ca

What could be better than expertly buttered toast? Not much, especially if you are Mercy Watson. She loves hot buttered toast almost as much as she enjoys adventure.

Author, Kate DiCamillo and illustrator, Chris Van Dusen have teamed up to create a delightful series of blue ribbon pig tales. Perfect for boys and girls, aged 6 to 8, each book is generously illustrated with bold and humorous depictions of Mercy’s hilarious escapades.

Whether attempting to drive a car or capturing a thief, Mercy is one very special pig. Read aloud or independently, this series is definitely one you’ll ‘toast.’

Ms. DiCamillo has written several notable chapter books for older readers Because of Winn-Dixie (a Newbery Honor book), The Tiger Rising (a National Book Award finalist), and The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane. She won The Newbery Award for The Tale of Despereaux. I can’t pick a favourite, I’ll just look forward to the next.

Mr. Van Dusen wrote and illustrated two picture books I frequently recommend; A Camping Spree With Mr. Magee and Down to the Sea with Mr. Magee.

Mercy Watson at Amazon.ca

chapters.indigo.ca

When our children are very young, we are often very involved in choosing picture books to share at bedtime. No doubt your child will have some favourites that she wants to hear over and over again. Hopefully you’ll find time to visit the public library and return home well-stocked with a mix of books, some chosen by your children and some that you’ve picked.

Depending on the size of the collection at your library, you may find it helpful to approach the shelves, armed with a list of authors or titles that you’d like to “check out.” To this end, I strongly suggest using a trusted source to identify some of the not-to-be missed titles.

Award winners are often well worth a look. The Canadian Children’s Book Centre maintains lists of award winners on their website.

Our local library offers Hot Titles in Children’s Fiction and Picture Books

New York Public Library Offers 100 Picture Books Everyone Should Know and Love To Read - Recommended Titles for Third Grade

By the time your child is independently reading chapter books, it is tempting to “bow out” of selecting books and leave the choices to her. Hopefully she has been blessed with a school librarian or classroom teacher who will take an active part in recommending titles.

If your middle grade reader has difficulty finding books that engage her, may I suggest getting actively involved in the search. Look for the following resources:

David Bouchard’s For the Love of Reading - books to Build Lifelong Readers. With the help of Sally Bender, Anne Letain and Lucie Poulin-Mackey, Mr. Bourchard provides great book ideas (500 annotated listings, some Canadian) for children of all ages. Included in the book, more than 100 French children’s books. For the Love of Reading at Amazon.com
and,
James Blasingame’s Books That don’t Bore ‘Em includes books for older children - grade 5 and up. In addition to providing annotated lists, he includes author interviews. Books That Don’t Bore ‘Em at Amazon.com

In our household, it is not at all unusual for us to talk about sex at the dinner table. Don’t get me wrong, my husband and I don’t share intimate details of our relationship, but we do talk about the science of sex with our two sons. We use anatomically correct vocabulary. We answer questions, we share facts and our values. We have always operated this way and can’t understand why more people don’t.

Talking openly about the science of sex is one way to protect children from abuse, disease and unwanted pregnancies. When we talk with our children, we pave the way for our children to talk openly with us.

There has been an uproar over this year’s Newberry Medal winner because of a reference in The Higher Power of Lucky to a dog’s scrotum. (New York Times Column: With One Word, Children’s Book Sets Off Uproar )
I have had the pleasure to read the entire book and would have no hesitation in sharing it with either of my children.

On the first page of the book, Lucky secretly overhears Sammy relate his “rock-bottom” story… “he saw a rattlesnake on the passenger sear biting his dog, Roy, on the scrotum…”

Ten-year-old Lucky has no idea what a scrotum is and, sadly, trusts no one enough to ask. (more…)

Monday morning and just five more school days until Spring Break. Boy, are we ready for a break from routine; swimming lessons, hockey, elder care and school have taken their toll this winter. It is time to sleep more, enjoy extra family time together and go on some fun outings.

Once again this weekend, both my sons had (the dreaded) Reading Response homework. My elder boy worked on a title page for his assignment, due next Friday. He is worried that he hasn’t done enough work and this will hurt his mark in reading. He’s likely right — although an enthusiastic reader of fiction and non fiction, pausing to ‘respond’ is not his strong point. Rather than analysing, he’s much more likely to pick up another book and move on.

My younger boy had already completed (yet another) chapter summary for Owls in the Family, but he had not yet written his ‘response’ to the chapter. His last response explained that we recently visited a bird sanctuary and saw a small owl — pretty cool. Unfortunately, he didn’t reveal his feelings about the experience (gosh, he didn’t reveal them to me either!!!) (more…)

I’d love to take credit for the fact that both my boys love a good book. My almost-twelve-year-old is a voracious reader. He is currently reading one of the Lord of the Rings books. He is especially fond of history and knows far more about World War II than I do.

My younger boy (9 years) is more of a “doer” than a “reader” but he knows a great story when he hears one and we still make time to share a book or a puzzle at bedtime.

I read books aloud to the boys from the time they were six months old. We trekked to storytime at the library and were constantly borrowing books “about trucks.” (more…)

Michelle Paver’s books: Wolf Brother, Spirit Walker and Soul Eater have been sitting unread on my bookshelf for far too long. I am completely captivated by Wolf Brother although I forced myself to put it down mid chapter last night because the tension was just too great. I needed a good night’s sleep!

Set in primitive times, Wolf Brother begins when Torak’s father is killed by a terrible demon - a huge bear that has been possessed by a creature from the Other World.

Now, orphaned, Torak adopts a wolf cub and discovers he can communicate with this ally. Together, they begin a seemingly impossible quest; to reach the Mountain of the World Spirit.

Strongly recommended for middle school (and older!) readers. (more…)

This was my response to a recent email…

A grade two teacher wrote, hoping for some read aloud recommendations. She had already shared James and the Giant Peach, Freckle Juice and Charlotte’s Web with her class. I encouraged her to take a look at (more…)