You can't force a good grade with Art

(heard after church last Sunday, at the dedication of the refurbished children's playground at the back of the church property)

A high schooler decided, after finishing a test, that he probably didn't do very well on it. So, at the bottom of the page, he drew a duck.
Then a gun pointed at the duck.
With the words, "If you don't give me a good grade, the duck gets it."

The teacher graded the test, and as expected, the grade was a low one.
When the boy got his paper back, he noticed an addition to his drawing:

The teacher had written, "I don't negotiate with terrorists!"
and had drawn a bullet coming from the gun and through the duck's head.

Elephant and Piggie love to party

Why do I have this picture of Elephant and Piggie here?
No reason -- I just LOVE it. Don't you?
(created by Mo Willems, found on Betsy Bird's Fyse #8 blog)

For those of you who don't have a young reader in the house, may I introduce you to the series of easy readers created by Mo Willems about two friends -- Elephant and Piggie. Winner of the ALA Geisel Award plus several honor book awards.
(You've gotta read -- There is a Bird on your Head.
This picture comes from -- I am Invited to a Party)
-wendieO

Into the Mail it goes

I'm putting a submission together.
Do I have all the pieces?

Cover letter? Check
List of publications and awards? Check
Synopsis? Check
manuscript? Check
Chapter Notes and sources? Check
A sample of the man's writing? Check
Timeline? check
Bibliography of sources used? Check
Suggested reading? Check

Deep Breath....
Address Envelope.
ooops, Enclose #10 envelope for S.A.S.E. (Love those Forever Stamps)

Go to bed and mail this thing in the morning.
-wendieO

Nonfiction Monday -- Tornadoes

Tornadoes by Mari Schuh. a part of the Earth in Action series from Capstone Press, 2010. Available now. (copy donated by the publisher)

As is the usual with Pebble books from Capstone, large page or page and a third photographs on the right are paired with two or three short sentences on the left. A glossary at the back of the book defines some of the more difficult words. The concise wording gives the early reader an overview of what causes tornadoes and how to remain safe, while the final photographs show the devastation a tornado can do, ending with people helping people straighten up the mess.

Capstone hopes the readers will come away with a better understanding of what causes these weather events and how to stay safe should a dangerous situation arise.

Other books in the Earth in Action series are --
Avalanches, Earthquakes, Hurricanes, Tsunamis, and Volcanoes. Enough violence to satisfy a bloodthirsty preshooler or to tantalize a first grader into wanting to know more.

Be sure to click on over to Anastasia Suen's Picture Book of the Day blog and follow the links to more Nonfiction Monday blogs.
-wendieO

The Wimpy Kid comes to the library

The fifth book, Diary of a Wimpy Kid, The Ugly Truth (a purple book) by Jeff Kinney comes out in November -- November 9th to be exact. Reserve your copy at a local bookstore or at the library, today.

To celebrate this, a lot of libraries are having Wimpy Kid parties. (just Google Wimpy Kid party and you'll see them)
In our library system, four or five branches are holding them.
My branch held theirs this Saturday.

Although both boys and girls love to read these books, mostly boys showed up for this program. One Girl. (I was able to convince a parent not to bring her Kindergartener by pointing out that one of the requirements for the programs was that you had to have READ the books -- we were going to have a discussion of them.)

And that is what we did.
Everyone filled out an application for the New York City Macy's Parade sweepstakes, then we settled down to talk about each book -- including the Wimpy Kid Movie book.
For some reason, nobody noticed the cheese on the floor in front of the TV set.
hmmmm.
We did some fun quizzes, including a Personality Test. (Each child read a quote and everyone else had to figure out who in the book said it. They were good and got most of them.)

Using the sweepstakes forms, I drew for prizes. The publisher had sent me Wimpy Kid buttons, bookmarks, and window clings. Yes, everyone got prizes.

Finally, I began showing the DVD of Jon Scieszka interviewing Jeff Kinney.
Mayhem erupted! They discovered the cheese. Suddenly everyone was running around, trying to pass the cheese touch to someone else. "Quick! Cross your fingers. It's the only defense."

They settled down when I gave everyone a piece of cheese. (from a posta-note pack made to look like swiss cheese.)
Although they could eat snacks, create a Wimpy Kid Haunted House on paper, or learn how to draw Greg while the DVD was running, most everyone focused on the 20 minute interview. By this time their parents had also wandered into the room and were enjoying the snacks and the DVD.

A good Wimpy time was had by all.
-wendieO

Wear a Kilt to Class?

There I was, eating lunch in a college cafeteria, when I noticed that most of the guys there were wearing Kilts.

Why was I there? I was attending a one-day conference and, although the Student Center was about a quarter mile away, I decided the walk and a powerhouse sandwich would be better for me than eating at the nearby Mickey-D's.

Why were the guys wearing kilts?
Some were actual pre-sewn kilts.
Some were folded and gathered and belted old-fashioned kilts. Probably from material in mom's sewing closet.
And some had different plaids for the kilt and the shoulder scarf. (whatever that part is called)

One girl asked why they were doing it.
A boy replied, "It's National Wear a Kilt to Class Day." (I might not have heard it correctly.)

Really?
National Wear a Kilt to Class Day?
I Googled it and found nothing about it.
Hmmmm. Just a college joke?
I wonder.

What do you think?
-wendieO

Nonfiction Monday Links

Busy, Busy this week. But still there are lots of Nonfiction blogs out there.
For my own Nonfiction enjoyment, I often visit Marc Aronson's blog Nonfiction Matters or the group blog, I.N.K.: Interesting Nonfiction for Kids.

Where's your favorite blog?

The Nonfiction Roundup for this Monday had been gathered at: Madigan Reads. Click on over and enjoy.
-wendieO