Books, Books, and More Books!

My last post, nearly half a year ago, announced my new career. I can say, I am loving being a Media Specialist! It has a major learning curve, but looking at where I am now compared to where I was back at the start of September, I have come a long way. I am blessed to have terrific mentors, and support staff.

My school is an ENVoY demonstration site. ENVoY is a non-verbal management tool. I have learned, and am continuing to learn the non-verbal strategies for helping me to manage classroom behaviors with influence, rather than power. I had been wanting to learn ENVoY for several years, but did not have the opportunity until my new job. Click here to learn more about ENVoY. I wish I had learned this while I taught Special Education. I can see many ways in which I could have strengthened my teaching, and my relationships with my students.

But, let's not look at the past. It's time to get back to my blog! One of the joys of my job is that now I am surrounded by children's books every weekday. One of the challenges, though, is that now I am surrounded by children's books every weekday. Where do I start? What do I read first?

So, my plan, beginning soon, is to create a set day. Perhaps a Monday Musings where I'll share my perspectives about books that touch me again. I may do other random posts on different days as the muse to write and share strikes me.

For now, here's a preview of some of the books I plan to share more in depth in the future.

These are books that students have requested and I love, books that I have discovered as I continue to acquaint myself with my school's collection, and books that make great read-alouds with Little Sapling (the name I use to refer to my daughter online) and other children.

Both of these books are favorites of mine now. I highly recommend them for 3rd grade and up. In fact, every adult I know who has read these so far has loved them, so there is no upper age limit in my opinion. Visit the author, Kimberly Brubaker Bradley.

I read this book after the movie preview sparked my curiosity last fall. I have not seen the movie yet, so I cannot make a comparison. What I can say is that I love this book! Author Brian Selznick uses his magic again to create a story that incorporates black and white hand-drawn illustrations and text to bring the reader into the worlds of two different people and two different time periods before they merge in an unexpected, yet pleasing way. Visit the author, Brian Selznick.

I'm reading this now, but I cannot recall a novel that has made me smile, laugh, and feel as much I have while reading Humphrey the hamster's perspectives on his world as a classroom pet. Visit the author, Betty G. Birney, and meet Humphrey. 

More on these and other fabulous books to come (including the Roscoe Riley Rules series by Katherine Applegate, the Magic Treehouse series by Mary Pope Osborne, the Rainbow Fairies series by Audrey Meadows, and tons of picture books).

Stay tuned! 

Today and tomorrow,

~Tamara 

P.S. If you have missed reading my voice, I did a post for Hamline's The Storyteller's Inkpot back in October. Happy reading.

Potty Talk is Hilarious! Nature can be gross!

NOTE: Here's what I know for me when I write my blog posts. It's hard to keep myself extra motivated when I don't know if I have much of an audience. Please consider following my blog (down on the right side. It costs you nothing, but earns you my thanks. I also love comments.) Now, read on!

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I sure hope it's a phase, but having a preschooler into potty talk and the hilarity of it being repeated in some of my 7th grade girls makes me think I'll be encountering it in some capacity throughout parenthood. I admit I am getting a little tired of "tooting" here and everywhere, seeing the butt dances, and mooning. At least there is improvement in the burping. Little Sapling (the name I call my daughter online) burst with pride a few months ago when, after processing in her mind during breakfast, she said, "T-o-o-t-y-b-u-t-t. I can spell tootybutt, Mommy."

I am so proud.

And now, it doesn't help when we heard a clip from "Thomas the Train" when the narrator said that Thomas tooted (his horn). I looked at Little Sapling and said, "Thomas tooted." Then we giggled together.

Sometimes, I'm no help.

While bodily functions that emit goop, poop, gas, odors, spit, vomit, etc. are natural and generally serve a purpose in humans (although in humans it's not always clear what the purpose may be), in nature there is a lot more "Gross Stuff That Helps Nature Work" (taken from the cover of the first Nature's Yucky! book).

Nature's Yucky! is a series of three (so far) beautifully color-illustrated non-fiction science books aimed at ages five and up. They are written by Lee Ann Landstrom and Karen I. Shragg; published by Mountain Press Publishing Company. The first book was illustrated by Constance R. Bergum. The other books are illustrated by Rachel Rogge.

Several common elements exist in the books. There is the repetition of the words for each animal,  

"Did you know...[insert animal name and gross behavior here]

Eeewww! That's yucky! 

But hey, it's okay. Just imagine if it weren't that way!" 

The authors follow these up with details of the purpose of the yucky behavior, along with a thought-provoking comment that leads one to reconsider something we have familiarity with in our human lives. In the back of each book, readers will find additional in-depth details about each animal, along with a recipe for a "yucky" food, and other fun information. Both the second and third books also conclude with a list of numerous print and electronic resources, for both children and adults, promoting continued learning.  

Nature's Yucky! Gross Stuff that Helps Nature Work (c) 2003 focuses on a random list of animals such as honeybees, sea stars, grizzly bears, great gray owls and more. Find out why hoary marmots don't poop during the entire winter or why sockeye salmon start to rot before (yes, while they are still alive) they die or how western painted turtles breathe through their butts. As in the subsequent books, readers will also encounter animals who eat their poop, throw up regularly, and use their tongues as toilet paper. Even though some behaviors are similar in each book, it's interesting to learn about the variety of animals who engage in the same yucky behaviors. The recipe in the first book is for Scat Cookies. I mean really, who hasn't wanted to eat cookies that resemble animal poop? (They do have chocolate in them, if that helps.)
 
Nature's Yucky! 2 The Desert Southwest  (c) 2007 
This book begins with the introduction of the regal horned lizard who squirts blood from its eyes. Later, readers will meet a snake who can make itself smell like garbage, an animal that smells like stinky feet, more animals that help their young poop by licking their butts, an animal who uses pee as glue, and more. Celebrate the learning in this book by baking the recipe for "Raven-Gut Upside Down Cake."


Nature's Yucky! 3 The Eastern United States (c) 2013

This book continues the grossness. Did you know that the velvet on the white-tailed deer's antlers has nutritional value for the deer? Want to see a truly ugly baby that grows into something beautiful? Learn about a butterfly who starts off life as a caterpillar that resembles bird poop. Read on to learn why dragonfly larvae shoot water out of their butts. I thought opossums only played dead when afraid. Now I know about their smelly green goo. If you've ever avoided someone because they had an odor that was less than appealing, you will learn that for animals, the stink factor is often a form of self-protection. Conclude your learning with a snack of Bird Poop Caterpillar Pretzels.

I find learning about instinctual behaviors of animals fascinating. It's also a reminder that we, all living creatures, have many inherent abilities. Unfortunately for humans, we don't always realize that the skills we need to move forward and survive may already be a part of us.

The Nature's Yucky! books are great for read-alouds with children. They contain lively kid-friendly details and a tone aimed at children (or really anyone who prefers an easy, laid-back read when it comes to learning about science topics). The vivid illustrations have a beauty that draws the viewer to the animal and makes it easy to not notice the visual grossness. I find the written descriptions of the yucky behaviors more gross than what appears in the illustrations. Finally, if you are anything like me, watching and hearing listeners react to the gross factor as someone reads the books aloud provides entertainment in itself.

Thank you for reading my thoughts.

More words in a coming tomorrow,

~Tamara