Vol 1 No. 4 • December 2014 • Julia Washburn, Editor

10 Picture Books Worth a Thousand Lectures

Brynn Redmond, this month's Guest Contributor, shares her quandary and breakthrough for helping students learn valuable lessons, including the creation of a Wisdom Wall.

Every elementary school teacher knows the secret to a successful school year is not dependent upon phenomenal lessons, but rather on classroom culture and learning environment. When a classroom is full of students at peace in mind and heart, they are ready to listen, collaborate, take risks, feel confident, and achieve. Once the learning environment is established, then teaching can have its power. Achieving this requires setting expectations at the beginning of the school year; to maintain it takes daily calibration, like a conductor tuning every instrument to play in harmony. Continued...

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Stand Tall, Molly Lou Melon — "Embracing the idea that different is beautiful, this delightful character invites readers on an unforgettable journey to discover what makes them unique..."
book details, summary & review

Mending Broken Windows

As I read Revolution, I had the sense another "arc of history" was unfolding in real time.

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"…our children shouldn't have to be afraid. I shouldn't have to be afraid when they walk out the door."

Last week, my 5 a.m. consciousness struggled to place these newscaster's words. Somehow, Deborah Wiles' Revolution, fresh in my mind, projected like a newsreel right into the morning's story. This news was Ferguson, MO, not Wiles' Greenwood, MS account. Sadly, I had the same feeling several weeks before. Continued…

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Revolution — "Through powerful use of metaphor, mood, setting, and character development, Wiles crafts this documentary novel for impact; readers cannot walk away from this unchanged…"
book details, summary & review

Our picks for this month are all about choices. Whether choosing to pass along hearsay, to don love and loyalty, to opt for courage rather than worry, or to search diligently for just the right word, the choice makes all the difference.

The Rumor by Monique Felix incorporates a dramatic flair for exaggeration to humorously illustrate the consequence of relying upon hearsay, Darling: Mercy Dog of World War I by Alison Hart uses her canine heroine to narrate a story of transformative power love and loyalty on character, and Winter Sky by Patricia Reilly Giff offers yet another memorable character who, when nurtured by unconditional love, can choose courage. And finally, in what may be the year's best picture-book biography, The Right Word: Roget and His Thesaurus exudes an insatiable appetite for words. This is a delightful visual treat sure to send readers searching, no, scurrying, for Roget's original edition.

Spot Light: December 2014

Reading Fiction May Help Us Empathize

Recent research published by the Public Library of Science found the area of the brain stimulated while reading fiction is the same as when someone is experiencing something. While not a new finding, the study supports the argument that reading fiction may enable us to better understand and empathize with others. Thorin Klosowski in How Reading Fiction Can Help You Live a Better Life explores the empathy connection and other benefits of reading fiction.

Foundations & Frameworks Titles Added

If you are a Foundations & Frameworks program user, you may want to check out a few recently-added titles. Log in to Make Way for Books to find their placement in the program.

Courage
Mister Max: The Book of Lost Things
Searching for Sarah Rector :
The Richest Black Girl in America
The Super Sluggers: Wing Ding
True Blue Scouts
Words With Wings

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