Sorry for the lack of posts.

I made a sudden and rather random decision to move to upstate NY and then life just got in the way of getting posts up on this blog. I will get back on some sort of schedule soon. I might not get 2 a week right away, but at least once a week, and to make things a little easier, I'll move away from the Caldecott and Newberry Medal books for a little while too.

Later this week, look for my post about some book that I haven't chosen yet.

Do you have any suggestions?

Song of the Swallows (1950 Caldecott Medal Winner by Leo Politi)

Song of the Swallows (1950 Caldecott Medal Winner by Leo Politi)

I've mentioned that many of the older Caldecott winners have difficulty deciding how long they should be. That is a problem for Song of the Swallows. This book is too long to fit in with modern ideas about book length for younger readers. The story isn't too bad, but it does drag if you are trying to read it to a class.

The story is rather simple even though it is long. The story follows the non adventures of a young boy that is waiting for the swallows to return and signal the start of spring. This all starts when the bell ringer at Mission San Juan Capistrano tells Juan the story of how the swallows manage to find their way from South America to California every spring.

Juan goes home and creates his own small garden in hopes of attracting a family of swallows to nest near his house. This is successful, and Juan sings the song of the swallows. (You can find the tune and words in the back of the book.)

While the story isn't terrible, it dragged for me as a reader. Maybe I'm just too conditioned for modern stories, but there it is. You might enjoy the story, and make use of the Spanish dialogue in your classroom. It will also be a great story if you are talking about migration.

Kitten's First Full Moon by Kevin Henkes (2005 Caldecott Medal Winner)

Kitten's First Full Moon by Kevin Henkes (2005 Caldecott Medal)

When I think about writers that should have won a Newberry or Caldecott Medal more than once, I will definitely have Kevin Henkes as a part of that list from now on. Henkes is a prolific writer with a hefty portfolio of tales that are all worthy of that medal in my opinion.

Maybe you don't recognize the name, so let me give you a few examples of the stories that Mr. Henkes writes:

• Jessica-a young girl has an imaginary friend named, Jessica. What will happen to Jessica when she starts Kindergarten and makes new friends?
• Chrysanthemum- A young mouse named Chrysanthemum deals with the other students who tease her because of her name.
• Owen-A young mouse doesn't want to give up his blanket.

These are just a few of the amazing stories that have come from Mr. Henkes, and any one of them could have won a Caldecott Medal. So let's talk about Kitten's First Full Moon. (I did learn that Owen won a Caldecott Honor Medal.)

This is the story of a young kitten that mistakes the full moon for a bowl of milk and tries to get the milk with some less than filling results.

• Sticks her neck out and lick a lightning bug.
• Jumps off the porch and lands on her head.
• Runs after the moon and climbs a high tree without getting any closer.
• Mistakes the moons reflection in a pool of water for an even larger bowl of milk with soggy results.

After all of that the kitten crawls home saddened until she gets back to her front porch and finds a bowl of milk waiting for her.

It's a fun little tale with picture that tell the story just as much as the words. I have used the story without the words on occasion. When I do this, I have a student tell me the story one-on-one. Have the student look through the book and try to recall the story.

Other fun ideas:

• Talk about perspective. Why does the kitten think the moon (which is very far away) is a bowl of milk?
• Goal setting. The kitten has a goal. How does she reach that goal?
• List other objects you might mistake the moon for (in the different phases)
• Track what the moon looks like on different nights. (The kids can draw the moon every night and bring it in with them.)

There are plenty of other ideas, so if you have something cool to share, leave a comment below.

Feather Mountain by Elizabeth Olds (1952 Caldecott Honor book)

Feather Mountain by Elizabeth Olds (Caldecott Honor Book)

So we took time to look at the 1952 Newberry Medal winner and one of the Honor books for that year to compare them. (Ginger Pye and Charlotte's Web) So now I am going to do the same thing for the Caldecott winner for that year, and one of the honor books.

I already made a post about Finders Keepers so let's consider another book from that year, Feather Mountain. isn't an easy book to find, but it is worth taking the time to find it. You can't go to a store to find it unless it is a used book store, because it is out of print.

So what is the story about? Well, imagine a world where birds don't have feathers, but they still manage to be able to fly. That is the situation in this story. I had trouble finding out information about this book because it is from 1952 and it is out of print, but a search of the web gave me two helpful bits of information:

• Feather Mountain is an important part of Chinese mythology.
• The use of the Great Spirit indicates that the story might indicate a Native American origin.

Regardless of the source of the story, it is still a good one worth talking about, so let's talk about it.

Once upon a time, birds did not have feathers. Instead they were pink and funny looking. This was just the way that the world worked, and the birds didn't really notice or care until they realized that the other animals were laughing at them. This made them feel self conscious and desire a solution to their problem. After an appeal to the Great Spirit, they learn that their feathers are waiting for them at Feather Mountain.

The turkey buzzard offers to fly to Feather Mountain to bring back feathers for all of the birds. He is a strong, wise and good bird that is able to make the flight in the cold without feathers. When he arrives at Feather Mountain, he discovers that the trees are covered with feathers all for his fellow birds. Being a wise and practical bird, he picks a colorless suit of feathers for his return trip that will let him fly gracefully and the long distance home. He packs up all the feathers he can carry and returns home to his fellow birds.

As soon as he arrives, all of the birds attack the feathers trying to claim the prettiest ones, but turkey buzzard makes them stop and see reason about the matter. The birds take turns and consider what feathers would suit them best rather than the ones that they like most. They pick colors that will camouflage them if they are in vulnerable positions and they even get paint for their beaks and legs.

Near the end there is a splash page with pictures of dozens of birds so you can see what they look like with their new feathers. Then the birds fly away and revel in their new garments.

So what do I think of Feather Mountain? It is a nice read with beautiful art. I wish it were still in publication and available to readers, but that isn't the case. I recommend that you find a copy to see what you think. I won't list classroom uses because I can't guarantee that you will find it or be able to take it if you do get your hands on a copy. I was surprised when my library let me have it for a few weeks.

So, since I can't ask for ideas, let's ask another question:

What is your favorite book that references mythology? Answer in the comments below.

Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak (1964 Caldecott Medal Winner)

Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak (1964 Caldecott Medal Winner)

There is something about a book or part of a book not having any words that makes me experience the story more. This is the case with Where the Wild Things Are. The wordless section is made more important in my mind by the text at the beginning and the end of the book.

You ought to know the story of this book. Just in case, though, here you go.

Max is a young boy who does not like to do what he is supposed to do. His mother dubs him "Wild Thing" and sends him to his room without dinner after getting frustrated with his antics. Max doesn't care (much like another Sendak character called Pierre.) He has his wolf suit, and that seems to be enough.

Max's room changes and becomes a giant forest with an ocean and a private boat for young Max which takes him for a journey that lasts almost an entire year to the place where the wild things are.

The wild things act threatening and display their terrible roars, terrible teeth, terrible eyes, and terrible claws, but this does not impress Max. He tells them to "be still" and stares into their eyes until they submit. That is when Max is made the king of all the wild things.

Then comes the wild rumpus. The rumpus consists of 3 full page spreads of the book showing Max and the wild things doing wild things. This is probably one of the best parts of the book because the art says so much, and you don't need words to know the story.

After the rumpus, Max sends the wild things to bed without dinner, and while they are all sleeping, Max realizes that being the king of the wild things isn't all it's cracked up to be. He decides to go back home and ignores the pleas of the wild things begging him to stay.

Max sails the year back home and finds his supper waiting for him.

This story is filled with potential for class room activities. Let me give you a few:

• Create your own wild thing. Create your wild thing in 3D or 2D. Use marker, crayons, clay, or whatever you like.
• Have a conversation about not listening to your parents. Why did it happen? What should you have done?
• Tell the story-make cards with parts of the story, and organize them in the correct order.
• Have a wild rumpus!

There are certainly plenty of other ideas you can come up with if you let your imagination run wild just like Max does.

Finders Keepers by William Lipkind (1952 Caldecott winner)

Finders Keepers by William Lipkind

While this is a much older book, it still holds a valuable lesson about sharing over greediness. Two dogs find a bone, and spend much of their time arguing over who the bone belongs to. They ask for advice from several passers-by and never get an acceptable answer to the question. After all, Nap saw it first, and Winkle touched it first.

A farmer, a goat, an apprentice barber, and another dog are all asked their opinions, but the four that are questioned have their own ideas and plans, so the dogs don't get any answer worth receiving. In fact, the results put the two dogs in a worse position than when they started. (Especially when the other dog ends up with the bone.)

The story is clever and engaging and the art is appealing to young eyes. It does anthropomorphic characters correctly (animals with human characteristics) because the dogs seem like dogs. They are fighting over a bone, and they have simple reasons why that bone belongs to them.

So what can you do with this book in your classroom? Well, I would suggest:

• Predictions about which dog will get the bone, and which one deserves it.
• Talk about the deals that the dogs are making. Are those good choices?
• Have you seen dogs fight over something? What was the result?

As always, there are plenty of other ideas that you can use, so go crazy with it.

Next week is 1952 review. I'll be looking at a couple of honor books for 1952, and consider if the committee made a good choice. 1952 Caldecott Honor book-Feather Mountain by Elizabeth Olds, and Charlotte's Web by E. B. White.

Hello, Goodbye Window by Norton Juster (2006 Caldecott Winner)

This is a story where a little girl explains why the window of her Nanna and Poppy's kitchen is more than just a window. It is a place where magic happens. Through this window you can play games, see the stars, and say your hellos and goodbyes.

The story explores all of the ways that the girl and her Nanna and Poppy use the window for their own entertainment. I don't want to give these entertainments away, so I'll wrap things up with uses of the book.

Here are some ideas on activity sets you can use with this book:

• What is the difference between a window and a mirror?
• What can you see through different windows?
• How can you communicate without words?
• What does it mean to say hello and goodbye?

Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats (Caldecott 1963)

Ezra Jack Keats was a prolific writer of children's books, and he drew from the flavor of his own childhood, and the neighborhood where he grew up to find his stories. Snowy Day is the adventures of a young boy who is enjoying the snow fall. His adventures aren't extraordinary, but very relatable to children.

• Peter makes 2 trails as he drags his feet in the snow. Then there are suddenly 3 trails. What could have caused this?
• What happens when Peter strikes the snow-covered tree with a stick?
• What happens when you put a now ball in your coat pocket when you go inside?

Peter is just an oridnary boy experiencing a snowy day in the only way an ordinary boy can experience it.

One of the best features of this book, and all the books illustrated by Ezra Jack Keats is the art work. As an artist, Keats tends to use cut paper to make the shapes he desires, and the effect of the images are startling. So what can you do with this book in the classroom?

• Talk about what kinds of activities your students like to do when it snows.
• Make your own "Snowy Day Adventure" book
• Create cut-paper pictures.
• Using pre-formed panels, students can draw pictures of the story.

Those are just a few ideas. Feel free to make up your own ideas, and feel free to share them in the comments section below.

So You Want to be President? by Judith St. George (2001 Caldecott)

Even though this collection of facts and details is old enough to be missing a few Presidents, this book is still a great way to get your kids thinking about who the President is, and how you might get to hold that office. It doesn't spend a lot of time talking about what the job entails, instead it looks at similarities and differences between the men who have held the office over the years.

You get all sorts of trivia including the most popular names for Presidents and how many people could fit in President Taft's bathtub. It's a bit denser than you would expect from a Caldecott book in the 21st Century, but It's still a very interesting book, and well worth your time.

Sylvester and the Magic Pebble by William Steig (1970 Caldecott Book)

Sylvester and the Magic Pebble (1970)

William Steig has a very interesting story telling style that I enjoy, especially in this book.

Sylvester is a young donkey who loves pebbles. He collects them and is always searching for special stones to add to his collection. One day he discovers an unusual specimen. It is a small red pebble. "It was flaming red, shiny, and perfectly round, like a marble."

It's a rainy day, and Sylvester makes a casual wish that it would stop raining. Much to his surprise, the rain stops immediately. He decides this is because it is a magical pebble and wishes that it would start raining again. When the rain starts, Sylvester knows his guess is correct.

While heading home to share his magical pebble with anyone that needs assistance, Sylvester sees a lion approaching. In a panic, he wishes that he was a stone so the lion won't be able to find him. Sylvester instantly finds himself as a stone, but because he isn't touching the pebble he isn't able to turn back.

I won't tell you what happens next except to say that Sylvester's parents are extremely worried about their son. Check out the book to see what else happens.

So how can you use this in a classroom? There are lots of opportunities to use prediction strategies in this book. One example is starting the sentence "Then Sylvester turned into a..." and give the kids a chance to guess and see if they are right.

You can also talk about making good choices. Sylvester wants to use his pebble to help other people, which is a good choice, but then he makes a bad choice in wishing to be a stone. You can also review the steps of the story and see how much the children have retained.

Another fun activity is to let the children explore what they might do with a magic pebble.

So here we have a story filled with educational opportunities. Check it out and use it in your classroom.

Lon Po Po by Ed Young (1990 Caldecott Medal Winner)

Lon Po Po by Ed Young (1990)

Ed Young loves to draw from his childhood home of China when it comes to creating stories for young children. As an author and an illustrator, Ed Young is a well know name in Children's literature.

Lon Po Po is a telling of a tale that will seem familiar since it is very similar to Red Riding Hood, but with a bit of a twist, but even though it seems familiar, it isn't a re imagining of Red Riding Hood. Instead, it is a fairy tale from China.

As I mentioned, the story will seem familiar, but there are some similarities and differences.

Similarities

• A wolf that talks and pretends to be a grandmother.
• Child(ren) alone against the wolf.
• The wolf trying to cover up his physical differences.

Differences

• The mother goes to see grandma, and leaves the house.
• There are three children.
• Rather than a hunter saving the day, the children save themselves.

I won't say anything beyond that because I don't want to ruin the story. Check out this tale for yourself. If you are using it in the classroom, be sure to pair this book with another version of Red Riding Hood in order to let the children analyze the differences.

Joseph had a Little Overcoat by Simms Taback (2000 Caldecott Medal Winner)

Joseph had a Little Overcoat

Joseph had a Little Overcoat by Simms Taback (2000 Caldecott Medal Winner)

I discovered this book when I was visiting my best friend in Alaska. One day I went with his wife and two sons to the library, and we got this book, among many others. The boys loved the song that was on the CD that came with the book.

It's a fairly simple formula story. We meet Joseph who has an overcoat that gets old, and rather than throw it out, he decides to recycle it into something else. He continues to recycle until he has nothing left except for a story, which he turns into the book. It's a great lesson for kids. It teaches them to wonder what else their broken things could become.

The song is also a great treat as it comes from a traditional Jewish song. You can use the song to talk about various forms of music, and some of the cultural traditions behind this story.

Take a look at this book, and I'm sure you will find plenty of applications for your classroom.

A Sick Day for Amos McGee

A Sick Day for Amos McGee by Philip C. Stead (2011 Caldecott Medal)

Let's take a journey through a typical day of zoo keeper, Amos McGee. He has a very specific pattern to his day. He makes tea, he gets dressed, he rides the bus to the zoo, then he spends time with each of the animals-play chess, reading stories, and many other things.

One day Amos gets sick and cannot go to work. His friends at the zoo miss him, so they take the bus to Amos' house to visit him. Amos gets to enjoy all of the activities that are usually only enjoyed at work, and it helps him feel much better.

Stead is both writer and illustrator, and the illustrations are breathtaking and yet simple. Stead does a great job of telling the story through the art and making the visuals compelling. Not everyone can act as author and illustrator, but Stead does a fantastic job with this story.

We used this with preschooler when we were talking about being thankful and talked about being thankful for being healthy, but you can also hit on friendship and the things that friends might do. It would also be great to combine with a trip to the zoo. You can talk about the animals you might see at the zoo, or what animals you had seen at the zoo after you had already been there.

*A quick correction-The Caldecott list shows Erin E Stead as the illustrator, and I just noticed that so does the picture of the cover I have listed. Sorry for the confusion.

A Ball for Daisy (2012)

A Ball for Daisy by Christopher Raschka (2012 Caldecott Medal Winner)

Generally a Caldecott winner is picked because of the combination of image and text. In this case, though, there are no words. I was surprised by this narrative choice, but it works out extremely well. Although there are no words, it isn't very hard to figure out the story.

I took this to the day care where I work, and "read" it with one of the classes, and worked with them to tell the story. It worked out great. Even at 3-4 years of age, they had little trouble working out the story.

So what is the story? Daisy is a dog with a red ball. Daisy really loves her ball, and doesn't really want to be without it. One day, Daisy's owner takes her to the park. They play catch, and have a great time until another dog gets Daisy's ball. While this other dog is playing with the ball it bursts. Daisy is heartbroken and is miserable until the next day when they go to the park and the girl that owns the other dog offers Daisy and new blue ball.

All of this story is done without a single word. There isn't even a sound effect for the ball popping. It is just a great example of visual story telling that can be a great lesson for kids. This is something that has been popping up in shorts before animated movies this past summer, where there are shorts with little to no words, maybe just some sound effects. This allows children to practice creating a story.

Check out this book for yourself, and any kids in your life.

The Big Snow by Bertha and Elmer Hader (1949)

The Big Snow by Kathrine Milhous (1949 Caldecott Medal Winner)

Just like The Egg Tree, this book is rather lengthy compared to today's picture books, but don't hold that against this tale. The story follows all the different creatures of the forest as they decide what to do for the winter. You get excellent illustrations and a fictional look into the minds of these animals. How will the winter impact their choice of homes. We get to see animals that migrate and nonmigratory animals.

After the choices are made, we get to see how a big snow negatively impacts these animals. How are the food sources diminished because of the falling snow? How will the animals survive?

The answer turns this tale from a fiction to an autobiography of sorts. An older couple cleans up the sidewalk in front of their house and then provides food for all of the animals. I'm guessing that this is something that the Haders did most winters. Although the couple doesn't participate in the celebration, they do imagine the joy the animals feel from the offering.

This book definitely won't work for very young children, but I wouldn't be surprised to see it be very effective at the 3rd or 4th grade level. If it were a bit longer and used some bigger words, this book might possibly be eligible for a Newberry Medal today.

The Egg Tree by Katherine Milhous (1951)

The Egg Tree by Kathrine Milhous (1951 Caldecott Medal Winner)

A lot has changed in Children's Literature since the Caldecott Medal was created. The Egg Tree is a great example of those changes. It is certainly an interesting story, but it is so long compared to most children's books. Let me give you a quick synopsis:

Grandmom has her six grandchildren over the night before Easter. All of the children go searching for eggs, which have been placed in the most unlikely of places, so when Katy can't find any, she decides to go searching in the attic. There she finds and old hat box with six hollowed-out eggs that Grandmom had made when she was little. After giving the winners (the children with the most eggs a very strange prize, (bunny-shaped cookies with eggs baked in the middle) Grandmom makes an Easter Egg tree with the six eggs. The children want to learn how to make their own eggs, so Grandmom teaches them. With all of the eggs they make a bigger tree, and show it off to anyone that wants to come and see it. (There are also directions for making an Egg Tree in the back of the book.)

Exhausting isn't it? Sadly this book is very focused. You can't use it for anything other than an Easter unit, and even then, it really doesn't apply unless you want to make an Egg Tree with your class. I'm sorry, but I have no interest in blowing out 15-25 eggs just for one project that will probably involve lots of broken eggs. sure it won a medal a long time ago, but it wouldn't win that award these days.

Madeline's Rescue by Ludwig Bemelmans (1954)

From what I've seen of Caldecott and Newberry Medal winners, the medal isn't really awarded to a recurring character. It might happen with the first story in a series, but it is unusual to happen further down the road. Madeline is an exception to that rule.

Madeline was the creation of writer Ludwig Bemelmans who served as author and illustrator. The series of books is best known for the opening lines:

"In an old house in Paris, that was covered with vines,
lived twelve little girls in two straight lines...
the smallest one was Madeline."

Madeline was featured in seven stories, and is a favorite among children appearing in books, on television, and in movies.

Madeline's Rescue tells the story of Genevieve, a dog that rescues Madeline after she falls into the Seine river while trying to scare Miss Clavel, the woman that cares for the twelve little girls. All of the girls love Genevieve and there is constant arguments over who gets to spend time with her. At one point the landlord, who does not like dogs, has Genevieve dropped off in the countryside. The girls and Miss Clavel search for their beloved Genevieve with no luck, but she manages to find her way back on her own.Before the arguments can get out of control again, it is discovered that Genevieve has given birth to eleven puppies so all of the girls can have their own dog with no more fighting.

Madeline's adventures happen in France, so there are great opportunities to talk about that culture, and some of the architecture. There is also a great opportunity to talk about sharing, and what fighting about Genevieve did to their little group. You can also use the book for a discussion about pets, and places that might not accept them.

Although the culture is a bit different, and the story is a bit older, the adventures of Madeline have not lost their appeal or applicability. Add this tale to your list because hopefully Madeline will never go out of style.

There are 69 Newberry Medal books and even more Caldecott Medal books.

I've read some in each category, but I've never read them all. However, I've always wanted to try it, so why not make a blog about it to make it a little harder to give up? I recently read Dead End in Norvelt by Jack Gantos, and in a day or two I'll have a review ready, but not quite yet. I also have several Caldecott books handy.

My plan with all of this is to read and review all of these books (133 I think) I will probably add in some other reviews of books that I would recommend.