Storyline Online has a new book!

In the past I have written about Storyline Online, a program created by the Screen Actors Guild Foundation. Storyline Online is a online streaming video program featuring Screen Actors Guild members reading wonderful children's books aloud. The tiles that have done so far include Stellaluna, Guji Guji, the Polar Express, and Somebody Love you Mr. Hatch. Each story includes activities for children to do, and lesson ideas for teachers. Yesterday I got an email from them that I would like to share with you.

Dear Storyline Online Friends and Family,

We are thrilled to announce the launch of our newest story, the classic Harry the Dirty Dog, read by the treasured Betty White. We will be premiering the story on Friday, May 7^th at 10am (Pacific) with a special introduction from another wonderful actress, Betty’s dear friend Valerie Harper.

We hope all educators, parents and grandparents will be able to join us for this special launch and watch our newest story with their students, children and grandchildren the moment it goes live. Immediately following the premier, the story will begin streaming at www.storylineonline.net and, along with several activities, will be available 24 hours, 7 days a week for all to view.

Harry the Dirty Dog was written by Gene Zion and illustrated by two-time Caldecott Honor winner Margaret Bloy Graham over 50 years ago. We are delighted that HarperCollins has given us the opportunity to share this story with you. There have been many requests to feature classics for young children and we are pleased to add yet another quality story to our library of books.

Please know that funding remains a concern for this important effort in the SAG Foundation’s Children’s Literacy Initiative and that we are truly grateful for your encouraging comments and financial assistance. As we continue approaching companies and organizations to underwrite Storyline Online, we will try to fulfill the many requests and suggestions we receive from teachers, parents and children around the world.

From all of us at the SAG Foundation, thank you!

Remember to visit us at www.storylineonline.net on
May 7^th, 10am (Pacific).

Read On!

I hope you take a look on Friday, and don't forget to look at the other books that they have in their library.

The new issue of Through the Looking Glass is now online

The May and June 2010 issue of Through the Looking Glass Children’s Book Reviews is now online. I hope that you enjoy this issue and find lots of books that interest you.  

For this May and June issue I have chosen to focus on books about farms and farm life for the special feature.  Young children in particular love to learn about farm animals, to explore life on a farm, and to read stories about what it is like to live on a farm. The In the garden feature also ties in with the farm feature, exploring books that look at gardens and gardening.

May and June are the months when summer finally makes itself felt. Winter coats and sweaters are put into boxes or are tucked away on high shelves, and bathing suits are tried on to see if they still fit. The sun is warm, and children are happy to spend their play time out of doors. There is a delightful collection of books about summer on the Summer Days page, with books for readers of all ages. Of course, if you live in the southern hemisphere you might prefer to look at our Winter Days feature!

For this month’s Editor’s Choice title I selected The Story of Cirrus Flux written by Matthew Skelton. Matthew wrote Endymion Spring a few years ago, and he is definitely an author to watch in the years to come.

-:Bookish Events for May and June:-

May 12th to 18th is Reading is Fun Week (USA)

May is "Get Caught Reading" Month (USA)

Children's Book Week is May 10th to 16th (USA)

I hope you find a way to celebrate some, if not all, of these bookish events. If I have missed an important bookish event, please drop me a line to tell me about it.

Don’t forget to look at the Bookish Calendar page for reviews about Walt Whitman, hurricanes, fairies, Anne Frank and much more. This calendar is a great tool to use at home and in the classroom to help children incorporate books more fully into their lives.

At the beginning of this year, I launched the new website, and all the new content for every issue is on this new website. However, a large part of the old content is still on the old site. You can still get to this content, but it is not integrated into the new site. Moving the 4,000 reviews over is going to take some time, and I appreciate your patience while I work on this. 

I hope you enjoy this new issue, and I look forward to hearing from you.

Poetry Friday - A review of Poetrees

It's Poetry Friday again, and it is also the last day of National Poetry Month. Enjoy!

Poetrees

Douglas Florian

Poetry

For ages

Simon and Schuster, 2010, 978-1-4169-8672-0

Many of us walk past trees without even noticing them. If we do stop to notice these wonderful plants, we often find ourselves asking a lot of questions about the trees that we see. For example, how did they get here, what are their names, and what do roots do?

   For this unique book, master poet and illustrator, Douglas Florian, have written eighteen poems about trees. Some of the poems are about specific species of trees, including yews, baobabs, giant sequoias, paper birches, and weeping willows. Other poems are about certain parts of a tree. For example, he begins the book by looking at a seed. Using one long sentence that is twisted into a figure eight on the page, Florian reminds us that seeds are just part of an ongoing cycle. Later he tells us about roots, which anchor a tree into the ground “so it won’t slip,” and which provide trees with the means to drink “rain that pours.”  Bark protects trees from “fire, heat, and cold,” and it comes in “an array of hues.”

   At the end of the book the author gives his audience further information about each of the topics that he has covered in the book. In addition, he uses an author’s note to tell us why trees have a special place in his heart and in his life.

You can get to know Florian Douglas better by taking a look at his blog. 

Duck! Rabbit! - a video and a review

Every morning I walk my dog Pinot on the trails around my town. I do a lot of thinking during these walks, and often write book reviews or stories in my head while Pinot eyes squirrels and sniffs things. This morning I was thinking about how things look different, depending on your point of view. So many of our problems exist because we refuse to consider the fact that there is another point of view. Here is a little video of a story that beautifully shows us that what might be a duck for one person is clearly a rabbit for another. The video is from the book Duck! Rabbit! by Amy Krouse Rosenthal and Tom Lichtenheld. I loved this book and am delighted that Chronicle books made this video for those of us who don't have a copy of the book. My review of the book is below the video. Enjoy!

Duck! Rabbit!

Amy Krouse Rosenthal

Illustrations by Tom Litchtenheld

Picture Book

Ages 4 to 8

Chronicle Books, 2009, 978-08118-6865-5

Have you ever been looking up the clouds when you saw a cloud that looked like a cat? And did your best friend tell you that the cloud looked like a car and not a cat? If this scenario sounds familiar to you, then this is a title for you. On the pages of this book you are going to meet – in a manner of speaking – two people who look at the same object and who see two very different things. When one person looks at the illustration on the page, they see a duck, and when the other person looks at the same illustration, they see a rabbit. Hmmm. What an interesting situation.

   With splendid humor and creativity May Krouse Rosenthal, who brought us Little Pea and Little Hoot, explores the idea that there are times when there is no right answer. Sometimes we just have to accept that someone else sees things in a different way, and that is perfectly all right.

   With wonderful artwork and a memorable text, this is a picture book that readers of all ages will enjoy.

The Professor Garfield Foundation

I recently ran across a website that I would like to share it with you. It is a learning portal created by the Professor Garfield Foundation. Here is a little information about the foundation:

The Professor Garfield Foundation learning portal is a fun interactive online environment where children can safely explore, learn and creatively express themselves. The Foundation (PGF) was formed in 2003 as a 501 (c) 3 nonprofit organization to provide children, parents, and teachers an opportunity to enhance and support classroom learning in new and innovative ways.

Who Runs It?

The PGF Learning Portal is a partnership between Paws, Inc., the world headquarters of Garfield the Cat, and Ball State University, one of the preeminent educators of classroom teachers in the world. 

Why a Learning Portal?

For over 25 years, Garfield creator, Jim Davis, has been encouraged by countless letters from parents telling him how Garfield has helped their child learn how to read. Numerous educators have also used Garfield and his comic strip friends as a powerful tool to teach and motivate children in the classroom. As a result, Jim has long held that the comics be not only a way to a child’s heart and funny bone, but also a student’s brain.

Jim’s vision was to create a learning portal where children would want to visit because they would have fun, express themselves, and learn simultaneously.

Content ranges from traditional subjects, such as reading, writing and arithmetic, to career goal exploration, art and activities created expressly for kids with LDs.

Our partners include some of the finest corporate, technological, and educational organizations in the world including Ball State University, the Charles and Helen Schwab Learning Foundation, Pearson, Scholarship America and The National Institutes of Health.

Who is Professor Garfield For?

PGF offers fun, engaging and transforming educational content for school children between kindergarten and 8th grade. The educational content is upgraded continuously and presented in a popular culture entertainment format. All of the content has been reviewed by educational experts and tested in classroom settings.

There are all kinds of wonderful things on the site. If you have a small child or children in your house you might like to take a look at the free toon e-books that they have online. Your children can have the books read to them, and they can choose from five languages.