Happy World Read Aloud Day!

Last year during World Read Aloud Day my 6th graders paired up with their 3rd grade buddies and I read to them Audrey Vernick's newest (at the time) picture book So You Want to Be a Rock Star. Afterwards, the 6th graders read a book to their buddies.

Anyone who knows me knows what a huge fan I am of Audrey's books so this year I took a leap and asked if SHE'D read So You Want to Be a Rock Star to the 3rd and 6th graders via Skype. Because Audrey is a rock star when it comes to talent and graciousness, she obliged. But she did me one better: Instead of reading an already published book, she gave us a sneak peek at her upcoming picture book, Bogart and Vinnie.

After the read aloud, Audrey answered some questions the students came up with beforehand, but the answer that stuck with me the most is one I will be telling students for the rest of my teaching career. My 6th graders are currently working on a research project and one of my challenges as a teacher is to make research feel relevant because so often it feels like an exercise in futility.  "This is so boring!" and "When will we ever have to use this in the real world?" often ring through the classroom walls. Since Audrey has written a few nonfiction picture books, I wanted her to give her take on the research process. Her advice: find the story. Facts are important, but it's what you do with those facts once you've collected them that's of equal importance. Don't get so bogged down with facts that you forget that there's a story to tell. So from here on out, you will forever and always hear me telling my students to find the story.

That advice absolutely shows in Audrey's writing. I think you'll agree if you've read Brothers at Bat that she wrote about more than just an all-brother baseball team and found a way to make it about more than just baseball. As someone who is not a fan of baseball I can tell you that it is also a human-interest story and that great writing can transcend likes and dislikes. I normally hate fantasy novels but I love Harry Potter. I normally hate baseball, but in between the pages of an Audrey Vernick picture book, she makes me see why it's such an important part of American culture and history. Why? Because she found the story.

But let's not forget about Bogart and Vinnie. And while it might not be a nonfiction picture book, Audrey still managed to find the story based on her fascination with the idea of inter-species friendships.  In this book Vinnie, a happy-go-lucky, good-natured, yet clueless dog finds happiness and companionship in a giant, lazy rhinoceros. News of their unusual friendship spreads and they become a world-wide sensation. I'm already seeing the potential with this book to be a wonderful reading ladder to our newest Newbery winner The One and Only Ivan.

Audrey reads from Bogart and Vinnie

More Bogart and Vinnie

Thanks so much for taking time out of your day to Skype with us Audrey! I can't wait to get my hands on a copy of Bogart and Vinnie in June!

Two Days of Skyping with Authors

Many schools in the metro Detroit area were closed on Tuesday and Wednesday due to bitter cold temperatures. Our school, however, remained open, which I would normally be one of the teachers complaining about being in school while everyone else was still snuggled warm under their covers, but since I had scheduled author Skype visits for both Tuesday and Wednesday, I was actually happy to be getting up to go to school. 

On Tuesday we Skyped with the illustrious Jennifer Holm, winner of three, count 'em, THREE Newbery honors, and co-creator of the Babymouse and Squish graphic novel series with her brother Matthew Holm. We finished her Newbery honor book Turtle in Paradise as our read aloud right before Christmas break and so my kids had tons of questions for her about that book as well as everyone's favorite graphic novels, Babymouse and Squish.

Then on Wednesday we Skyped with Christopher Healy, author of the insanely funny The Hero's Guide to Saving Your Kingdom, a book that absolutely needs to be made into an animated movie sooner rather than later.

Both authors were incredibly wonderful and gracious with my students and the kids were excited to ask their questions. And given the number of students who were reading both authors' books in the days leading up to our visits, it is proof positive of what Donalyn Miller says that "Kids read what we bless."

If anyone ever asks me why social networking should be part of a teacher's professional development, experiencing two days in a row of allowing my students to ask actual published (and let's not forget award-winning) authors questions will be one of the first examples I share with them. Developing relationships with authors and bringing them into classrooms on a regular basis is something you just couldn't do before social media tools like Twitter, Facebook, and Skype became so mainstream. When I started teaching almost seven years ago, I don't think I could have ever imagined how quickly the walls of the classroom would morph and change. Now the "social" aspect of social media has crossed over into the professional world and it's amazing to see what a positive impact these tools can have on our classrooms when we use them to extend those walls out into the world. For all you teachers who haven't signed on to Twitter yet, please do yourself a favor and start today! You will  be amazed at what it will do for the good of your classroom and your professional life.

Thanks again to Jennifer Holm and Christopher Healy for extending your talent and knowledge to my students!

Jennifer Holm answers student questions

BABYMOUSE!

Christopher Healy answers student questions

Christopher Healy answers student questions

Skype Visit with Audrey Vernick

Today was another exciting day for the sixth graders at my school. Yesterday we had lots of pie, and today we Skyped with the mega-talented author, Audrey Vernick, who wrote my very favorite picture books: Is Your Buffalo Ready for Kindergarten? and Teach Your Buffalo to Play Drums.

Audrey was so amiable with the kids and has such a beautiful spirit about her. She answered a lot of great questions that the kids came up with - even I was impressed with some of the questions they asked. Given how engaging she was, I can definitely tell she has done school visits before, though I believe this was her first Skype visit. So thanks Audrey, the kids and I are so grateful for you spending time with us today!

Check out my interview with Audrey back in August
Check out Audrey's other books:
Bark and Tim: A True Story of Friendship
She Loved Baseball: The Effa Manley Story
Water Balloon

Coming in Feburary:
So You Want to Be a Rock Star
Coming in April:
Brothers at Bat: The True Story of an Amazing All-Brother Baseball Team

My first classroom Skype visit

Over the summer, my husband and I took a trip to Europe and on my last night there (my husband stayed behind for work) we stayed with Lenore Appelhans and her husband Daniel Jennewein. If you don't follow Lenore's awesome blog, you might not already know that Daniel is a very talented children's book illustrator having illustrated a pair of books written by Audrey Vernick:

A few weeks ago I asked Daniel if he'd be willing to Skype with my 6th graders because, well, even though they're in 6th grade, they love picture books too.

So today was our Skype visit, and other than the first few moments of frustration where my Smartboard speakers wouldn't work, the rest of our visit went swimmingly. Thank you so much Daniel! The kids and I had an awesome time!

 

 

The pictures Daniel drew for my students - taken from their suggestions:

Elephant on a unicycle

A toucan skiing

A frog in a straw hat and Hawaiian shirt eating bacon

If you're a teacher and you've never done a Skype visit before, I highly recommend it. Not only was it educational, but it was a blast for the kids too.  I will definitely be doing more in the future!