Best Reading Practices for Parents

Quick Literacy Tip: Give a Book an Award

5/11/2016

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As always, these quick literacy tips are for little kids all the way up to big kids. I have tips for all age groups, so keep reading! And, tips for teachers doing this in the classroom.

Not all books are created equally. Some books are fantastic at creating the story, immersing you in the story and just telling the story. And some books have great illustrations to help you enjoy the story more.

These are the Caldecott Award winning books.

In the last few weeks, Liliana and I have been going through Caldecott Award winning books. Because, as she starts her reading journey, why not include some of the best?

Caldecott books range in reading levels, so we had to stick to the lower end of the reading level spectrum, so I wasn't completely over her head, but I did include some more complicated stories. And remember, books that are awarded the Caldecott Medal are geared toward children 14 and younger.

Award Winning Beverly Cleary

3/30/2016

I remember devouring the entire Mouse series in a weekend. That's how good they were. The only other books to come close were Nancy Drew and Harry Potter. That might say something about my reading taste, but as a kid, Beverly Cleary was it.

In about 2 weeks, she will turn 100. So, let's celebrate her birthday by consuming her books and the movies that go with them.

If you wanted to get a jumpstart on her birthday, you could get one of her books and read it by April 12. You could do what I did as a kid and start with Ralph S. Mouse.

She's won the Newbery Award outright and has honorable mentions in the category for a couple of her Ramona books.

But, one of the movie adaptations also won an award - the Carnegie Medal of Excellence. And you guessed it, it was a mouse movie. Ralph S. Mouse.

Having a movie night - what a great way to celebrate a birthday.

This is the cover of the original award-winning movie adaptation by Churchill Films.

It can be hard to come by, but it's a great movie. It's 120 minutes in length.

You can buy it as a DVD on Amazon.

This is the newer, easier to come by adaptation of the Mouse collection. The best part here is, you get all of the mouse stories in one package.

Run time is 195 minutes for all 3 Mouse stories, plus 4 bonus stories.

Here's the book! A fun story about a little mouse who can no longer stay at the Inn.

Guided Reading Level: 0
176 Pages

Enjoy!

A Note on Award Winning Books

3/29/2016

You can buy this poster too from the ALA!
Click the image to get to the link.

Most of us have seen the stickers on newly-minted, award-winning books. There is usually a gold or silver sticker on the front used to show us how great the book is. But, what is that award?

Let's break it down.

Newbery Award
Award for the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children. It has been awarded since 1922 and includes books like Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH and most recently, Last Stop on Market Street.

Caldecott Award
Award for the artist of the most distinguished American picture book for children. The text could still be complex, even though it is a picture book. It has been awarded since 1938 and includes A Sick Day for Amos McGee, The Invention of Hugo Cabret and most recently, Finding Winnie.

Odyssey Award - New Award
Award goes to the producer of the best audiobook produced for juveniles in English, in the United States. It has been awarded since 2008 and includes The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian and most recently, H.O.R.S.E. A Game of Basketball and Imagination.

Schneider Family Book Award
This award honors authors who impact children with disabilities. The award has been given since 2004. Titles include The Deaf Musicians, Five Flavors of Dumb, Becoming Naomi Leon and most recently, Fish in a Tree.

Pura Belpre Award
This award is given to a Latino/Latina writer and illustrator whose work affirms the Latino cultural experience. There are two separate awards - one for a written work and one for the illustrations. They have always been two different books, each year. This award has been given since 1996 and works include Magic Windows, Esperanza Rising and most recently, I Lived on Butterfly Hill.

Coretta Scott King Award
This is awarded to authors and illustrators who make an impactful difference in African American books. It is awarded in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. and his wife, Coretta Scott King. It has been awarded since 1970. Past winners include Escape to Freedom, Bud Not Buddy, and most recently Gone Crazy in Alabama.

Stonewall Book Award
This is awarded to authors who greatly impact the LGBT community. It has been awarded since 1971 and titles include And the Band Played On, The Laramie Project and most recently The Gods of Tango.

Laura Ingalls Wilder Award
This award is given to authors and illustrators who have made a substantial impact in children's literature over a period of time. This award is not awarded every year. The first award was in 1954 to Laura Ingalls Wilder. Past winners include E.B. White, Maurice Sendak, Donald Crews and most recently Jerry Pinkney.

Batchelder Award
This is awarded to the best children's book published in another language and country and then translated into English for distribution in the United States. It has been awarded since 1968 and includes The Island on Bird Street and The Wonderful Fluffy Little Squishy.

Theodor Seuss Geisel Award
This is given to the authors of beginning readers in the United States, published in English. It has been awarded since 2006 and includes Henry and Mudge and the Great Grandpas, The Watermelon Seed and most recently, Don't Throw It to Mo!

Sibert Informational Book Medal
This is awarded to authors and illustrators for informational books published in the United States. It has been awarded since 2001 and includes The Voice that Challenged a Nation, We Are the Ship, Almost Astronauts and most recently, Funny Bones: Posada and His Day of the Dead Calaveras.

Carnegie Medal
This award is given to the most awesome (just checking if you're reading) video production for children. It has been awarded since 1991 and winners include Ralph S. Mouse, The Man Who Walked Between the Towers, and most recently, This is NOT a Good Idea!

The more you know...Enjoy!

Complex Storybooks for Little Readers

3/28/2016

Once we get past the board-book and very simple storybook phase with kids, we really want to dig in with thoughtful stories. Trouble is, not all storybooks are useful for teaching critical thinking skills. Many of our old favorites like The Very Hungry Caterpillar are too simple to teach critical thinking. There isn't much of a plot, there isn't much to discuss and there aren't many characters.

As children get older and school-aged, we want to captivate their attention and dazzle them with what the world could be. Through books. We want reading to be magical.

If we want our children to turn into imaginative, critical-thinking grown-ups, we must expose them to complex storybooks - books that require the reader to infer character thoughts and motivation. And then, the reader needs to connect those thoughts to why a character acts.

The books listed below are some of the best complex storybooks for little readers. The reading levels exceed our youngest readers, but when read aloud or read together, these books are appropriate for young children. In no small part, because the illustrations in all of these books are compelling and aid in comprehension. They are all Caldecott Award winning books.

Without further ado, here are some of the best complex storybooks for little readers:

1. Owl Moon

This is a perennial favorite for a reason. It is beautifully illustrated but also has an elegant story to go with it.

It's a heartwarming tale of going owling. The child's father takes his child owling at night, where he must be quiet and brave.

But it's worth it in the end, when they see an owl fly overhead, land on a tree branch and look directly at them.

It's a nice way to talk about things that are calming, nature and things we love. Also, there is running thought commentary on the part of the child in the book.

Guided Reading Level O

2. Finding Winnie

This is the true story of how Winnie-the-Pooh came to be. It's heartwarming and includes complex text.

There are photos at the end of the book of the real life Winnie and her first owner (the author's great-grandfather). It's a fun way to introduce Winnie-the-Pooh or expand on an old favorite.

Guided Reading Level: M

Bonus! A good companion text to this is...

Now We Are Six

While this hasn't been put on a Guided Reading level scale, the writing puts the text at partway through 3rd grade level difficulty.

3. Locomotive

This book also won the Robert F. Sibert award for informational texts for children.

This would make a great read-aloud with your child who is younger. It's also a long enough book, that this could take you more than one reading to finish, maybe even 3 readings all put together.

It's a higher reading level, but appropriate for younger readers, type of book. It is a beautiful non-fiction book for young kids, which can be hard to come by. It will be especially good for train lovers.

Guided Reading Level: O

You may also want to check out his other titles Moonshot about Apollo 11 (Level N) and Lightship (Level O) about anchored boat lighthouses.

4. Snowflake Bentley

Snowflakes are miracles to little Wilson Bentley. He loved them so much, he wanted to capture them - in pictures. If he could do so, he would be the first one.

His endeavor to capture snowflakes via photography led us to two discoveries - all snowflakes are unique and each one is naturally beautiful.

The woodblock cut prints in this book especially add to the story in this book. That this story combines reading with a scientific endeavor makes it all the more worthwhile. It is a non-fiction book appropriate for little readers, with a more complex reading level.

Guided Reading Level: N

Wilson Bentley's website

The Man Who Walked Between the Towers

Mirette on the High Wire

This is an awesome, true story of a tightrope walker who put a cable between the World Trade Center towers in 1974. He tightrope walked across the two towers and then some.

The story would come across as almost fantastical to young children, but it really did happen - which makes it all the more awesome.

Guided Reading Level: Q

Mirette meets a famous tightrope walker who has been sidelined because of fear. Of course, once she knows what he used to do, she wants to learn to tightrope walk too. And she does.

Once she learns, she encourages The Great Bellini to abandon fear and try again too. Youthful spirit shines through in this book.

While The Man Who Walked Between the Towers is non-fiction, this book is fiction and would make a nice comparative study.

Guided Reading Level: P

Complex Multi-Cultural Books for Little Readers

Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People's Ears

This is a fun story and an interesting way to explain why mosquitoes buzz in people's ears. There are animals who talk, explanations given, and different-than-the-rest kinds of illustrations.

It is a beautiful and entertaining folktale.

Guided Reading Level: N

Lon Po Po: A Red-Riding Hood Story from China

This is a straight-forward rendering of The Little Red Riding Hood, except the wolf comes to the children.

Once the children realize it is a wolf who has come to visit, instead of grandma, they trick the wolf into leaving them alone.

It has a bit of an abrupt ending, so be prepared for that.

Guided Reading Level: S
This would make a great read-aloud, especially in a fairytale unit and with children who know the western version.

Bonus! This is another spin on a classic fairytale that will satisfy more sophisticated readers.

The True Story of the Three Little Pigs

Guided Reading Level: Q

A Story, A Story

This is the folktale about how it all began - how we got all of our stories.

Ananse must complete 3 arduous tasks in order to receive the box full of stories from Nyame, the Sky God.

Ananse completes the tasks and releases the stories to the world.

Guided Reading Level: O

Always Room for One More

This is a Scottish folk song that is put down in book format, so there are some unfamiliar words. There is a glossary at the back to help the reader (as well as the tune to the song, if you'd like).

The story is a good behavior lesson - do unto others as you would have them do unto you. It's about a Scotsman who invites every passerby into his house - until, it explodes!

They gather all the pieces and build a larger house to fit the family, new guests and friends.

This would make a good read aloud book with your child, so you can help with some foreign pronunciations.

Guided Reading Level: P

Enjoy!

Quick Literacy Tip: Give a Book an Award

Award Winning Beverly Cleary

A Note on Award Winning Books

Complex Storybooks for Little Readers

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Quick Literacy Tip: Give a Book an Award

Award Winning Beverly Cleary

A Note on Award Winning Books

Complex Storybooks for Little Readers

Sign up for the Reading Newsletter

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