Mock Caldecott...and Teacher Lunch!

There is nothing like the buzz of "Caldecott" throughout the library...and our library is a-buzz!

We are in the middle of our Mock Caldecott unit.  A unit of study where we use the same criteria to judge our picture book selections as the actual Caldecott committee members.

After our own personal reading, talking with colleagues and reading blogs and reviews, Carrie Davies (@readwithdavies) and I selected eighteen books that we felt were good examples of "Caldecott-worthy".

Each grade (in age appropriate lessons) will be reading, discussing and analyzing each title and evaluating it with a "kid friendly" version of the Caldecott criteria.

Here are our Mock Caldecott selections:

Today, I had a Mock Caldecott luncheon for my teachers.  How awesome that 21 teachers gave up their lunch to come to the library! My principal graciously agreed to pay for pizza and salad.

We reviewed the criteria...

Handed out the rubrics...

and then spent the remainder of the lunch reading and evaluating...

I am very fortunate to work with a staff that is dedicated to students and to their literacy development. They are awesome!!!

Stay tuned for a future post where I will share our "winner" and some insight and feedback from our students!

Our Caldecott Challenge

It's that time of year!  The kidlit world is a-buzz with "best lists", "top lists", a multitude of award predictions...and my library is no different.

As we prepare to begin our Mock Caldecott unit in January, we've closely examined some previous winners of the Caldecott Medal.

I was fortunate to receive a grant to start a special Caldecott section in our library.  While many of these titles are already in circulation in the library, this allows us to have a set (not complete yet) of Caldecott winners that don't circulate and are always available.

I shared with my students about how several people have attempted (and completed successfully) Newbery and Caldecott challenges....reading ALL of them.  I posed a somewhat modified version of the Caldecott Challenge to my third and fourth graders...to read TWENTY between now and the announcement of the next winner on February 2, 2015.

2000-2014  (choose five)

1990-1999 (choose three)

1980-1989 (choose three)

1970-1979 (choose three)

1960-1969 (choose three)

1938-1959 (choose three)

This activity is completely voluntary and will be done outside of regular library class.  I have 112 third and fourth graders participating!  

Students may choose to work by themselves or with partners.

One day last week we had 63 kids come to the library instead of going outside for recess!

Even though we are still in process with this challenge, I asked some of my third grade students to share a favorite that they have read so far.

Abby S. :  Owl Moon

Maris:  The Man Who Walked Between the Towers

Stephen:  Kitten's First Full Moon

Michael:  Tuesday

Abby B:   This is Not My Hat 

I asked a few Nerdy Book Club friends to share a Caldecott winning book that they love and one or two sentences about why they love it...(and keeping a description about a book you love to one or two sentences is not easy!)

Cathy Potter (@cppotter):  I love Tuesday by David Wiesner.  I enjoy watching children's faces light up with each turn of the page as giant frogs float through town at night in this wordless picture book. 

Donna Kouri (@akgal68)   I love The Snowy Day because it captures the pure wonder and joy of a snowfall through the eyes of a child. I think those of us that grew up around snow remember the magic that accompanied a snowfall. The Snowy Day captures this.

Travis Jonker (@100scopenotes): I loved Flotsam by David Wiesner. There is no finer example of unbridled imagination than Wiesner’s 2006 wordless story about a boy who finds amazing things inside an old camera washed up on a beach.

Katherine Sokolowski (@katsok): My favorite Caldecott winner is from 1970, Sylvester and the Magic Pebble by William Steig. I grew up reading this book and whenever I'd ask my mom what was for dinner, she'd quote, "pickled oats, sassafras salad, and timothy compote." This book represents my childhood.

Margie Myers-Culver (@loveofxena): One of many Caldecott books I love is Tuesday by David Wiesner, the 1992 winner. Even thinking about those frogs makes me smile. The first time I read it after it arrived in a book order I could not stop laughing. I grabbed a colleague from the hall. We laughed ourselves silly. Laughter that lasts is the very best thing. The pig packed a punch too.

Feel free to share a Caldecott winning book that you love (and one or two sentences telling why you love it) in the comments below.

Our Day with the fabulous Laurie Keller!

The day was finally here!  We had been waiting for November 21, 2014 since the beginning of the school year. (I had been waiting for November 21, 2014 since last May!)....LAURIE KELLER DAY!

Preparations began weeks (months) ago.  We read and discussed books.  We watched book trailers. We watched video clips of Arnie the Doughnut (the musical).  All to make sure that we were ready for our day with the FABULOUS Laurie Keller....author/illustrator of The Scrambled States of America, Open Wide, Do Unto Otters, Arnie the Doughnut, Bowling Alley Bandit, Invasion of the UFOnuts (and many more).

Displays were constructed in the hallways and the library.

Books were purchased and ready to be signed.

Laurie arrived and was greeted by our special "Arnie" greeter.

Laurie spent the day telling us about what it's like to be an author/illustrator and her personal inspirations and process.

She captivated us with her stories.

She gave us a sneak peek of the next book in the Adventures of Arnie the Doughnut series:  The Spinny Icky Showdown...(available November 2015) YAY!

She taught us how to draw...otters, doughnuts and facial expressions.

She graciously took the time to talk with us and sign our books.

Our day wouldn't have been complete without...you guessed it...DOUGHNUTS! (chocolate covered with sprinkles....of course!)  This was one of FOUR boxes of doughnuts.  Laurie called it "An army of Arnies!"

As the day ended, we learned that not only is Laurie Keller an amazingly talented author/illustrator, but she is also a kind, gracious and AWESOME person.

Thanks for spending the day with us, Laurie!  We won't forget it for a long time!