four&twenty

It was a dark and stormy night...

And so begins Madeleine L’Engle’s most memorable classic tale, A Wrinkle In Time. A story about the life-changing journey of three children, their epic battle against darkness and the cosmic power of love.

2012 marks the 50th anniversary of Wrinkle. Interestingly, we might have never heard of Meg Murray or Charles Wallace as L’Engle’s manuscript was initially rejected by 26 publishers before editors at Farrar, Straus & Giroux read it and enthusiastically accepted it. It went on to win the John Newbery Medal as the best children’s book of 1963 and has so far sold eight million copies. It is now in its 69th printing. Now that's a lesson in perseverance!

As the author of over sixty books, Madeleine L’Engle’s rich legacy includes poetry, plays, writings on faith and four additional stories about the Murray’s adventures. “Why does anybody tell a story?” she once asked, even though she knew the answer. “It does indeed have something to do with faith,” she said, “faith that the universe has meaning, that our little human lives are not irrelevant, that what we choose or say or do matters, matters cosmically.”

The thing about fantasy literature is that it has the ability to inspire our imaginations and our souls to believe in that which seems impossible. We all want to know that there is a bigger purpose to our lives. We want to see that those who are “regular” can overcome their ordinariness and achieve greatness, make a difference—even save the universe!

To explore more, visit: www.madeleinelengle.com

In addition to A Wrinkle In Time, the following fantasy guides are available from Blackbird & Company:
Level 1 - The Iron Giant & My Father's Dragon
Level 2 - City of Ember, Half Magic, The Magician's Nephew, The Wonderful Flight to the Mushroom Planet
Level 3 - The White Mountains & The Thief Lord

Mystery Solved

In all my years of teaching literature, I've never met a reader, regardless of reluctancy, who has not been drawn delightedly into the The Westing Game's intrigue. The plot is complex and captivating. Upper elementary and middle school readers enjoy every twist and turn. Beyond the fact that I am thrilled to have a mystery that is age appropriate for this audience, the theme of embracing true identity and resisting the urge to be what others want us to be, is an added bonus. In the story, characters often behave a certain way based on perceived expectations from other characters and situations, in the real world we call this peer pressure! And we all know, when peer pressure is present, appearances are deceiving. The Westing Game is a terrific reminder.

So the plot goes, one of 16 people will win Westing's $200 million fortune if they solve a mystery involving word clues. For the past three weeks, Søren and his literature buddies have been collecting clues as they read. Compounding the tension for this specific group is that all of the participants have older siblings who have read the book. Can you say, “Spoiler alert?”

Last night, just as the house was beginning to settle, I heard the roar of a surprise party, Liam and Søren were at it again! I marched to the scene where my two youngest boys were laughing hysterically. “What happened?” I asked.

The thing is, I can't tell you their response because it would spoil the mystery! What I can say is that I was completely taken aback. My boys had settled down for the evening, were reading quietly until Søren reached the end of the book where the mystery is solved. Both he and Liam delighted together at last.

In the end, like every great mystery, nothing is as it seems but all the pieces are in place!

– Kim

Boys and Books

Q: What do readers like best about Farmer Boy by Laura Ingalls Wilder?
A: The FOOD!

Last week I celebrated the end of an era, read the last pages of Farmer Boy with my youngest son, Søren and his literature circle buddies. This was the second time that I read the book with an all boy group, the second time I was surprised by the level of boy-enthusiasm for the reading. These boys were fascinated by the history, intrigued by the real responsibilities that Almanzo tackled each day, but mostly, they were amazed by how much Almanzo could eat!

The group enjoyed sharing their projects inspired by the book during a culminating feast of Almanzo's favorites—apples and onions, cornbread, ham, and, of course, stacked pancakes!

"Ten pancakes cooked on the smoking griddle, and as fast as they were done Mother added another cake to each stack and buttered it lavishly and covered it with maple sugar. Butter and sugar melted together and soaked the fluffly pancakes and dripped all down their crisp edges. That was stacked pancakes. Almanzo liked them better than any other kind of pancakes."

Yes They Can!

This past week my students completed reading the first book of the year, The Family Under the Bridge. I was delighted that my youngest son not only knew what to do but dove into the work headfirst! He began by removing all the sandwich bags from their box in the drawer, piling tape, glue, scissors, colored pencils and a plethora of art paper on the kitchen table. I watched him move from idea to finished product as I washed dishes and prepared dinner. In the end he smiled with satisfaction and proclaimed joyfully, “Tomorrow I will write a report to go with my diorama.” My son just turned 10! Not only is he self-motivated, he is delighted to do the work. Why? Routine. 

No matter the subject, establishing a routine is a painstaking process, but once rooted, students thrive. Our literature products are developed with this truth in mind, providing students with the framework to guide them through the discovery process in a consistent manner that will, over time, develop the disciplined routine that leads to self-motivation.

With our approach, each book is read and explored over the course of four weeks. During the fifth week, students develop a creative culminating project with options that provide a variety of ways for them to demonstrate deep understanding of the book. Students not only get a chance to demonstrate their originality, organization, clarity of purpose, and critical thinking skills, more importantly this culminating endeavor will allow them to show off what they have learned in their own, uniquely creative way.

Whether you are using our literature discovery guides in an individual mentoring situation or in a group setting, students really love sharing their culminating thoughts about great stories. Encouraging readers to create final projects with a high level of execution teaches them that their ideas are valuable and builds integrity into their work habits. Connecting your students with other students and the work produced in response to great stories is motivating and raises the bar on the end product. For this reason, we have created a Flickr group where students can share visuals of how great stories spark creativity. We encourage you to join this group, to add your own work samples, and to visit often!

Sweet Tradition

When Hannah was little, one of her favorite books was The Little Mouse, the Red Ripe Strawberry and the Big Hungry Bear. We read this story over and over! The story is clever, rhythmic and provides terrific opportunities for garden and kitchen fun. We grew a pot of strawberries, picked them and popped them into our mouths as we read, we made strawberry shortcake, strawberry tarts, strawberry sundaes. But by far Hannah's favorite was strawberry freezer jam because she got to SMASH the berries in a bowl.

Recently I pulled the book from our collection of read-alouds, and placed it on the counter next to the supplies for freezer jam. Twenty-one-year-old Hannah was delighted. She flipped through the pages, but “read” the story from memory!

The fruit of tradition is sweet as any strawberry!

This recipe is SO easy and super fun to make.... red ripe strawberries, sugar and pectin... voila! Follow the instructions on the package of Ball No Cook Freezer Jam Fruit Pectin.

– Kim

Clothespin Characters

Every journey through a Blackbird & Company literature discovery guide ends with a final project for the student to create and present. It's usually everyone's favorite activity and it gives them an opportunity to extend their time with a story after finishing the reading of it—to make connections and create and think deeper about what a story might be saying or teaching them. A list of possible projects are provided in each guide with options to help build making, research and presentation skills. For The Seven Wonders of Sassafras Springs, Soren was inspired to create clothespin characters. In his words...

"For my project I made 12 different clothespin dolls. I chose to do this because Aunt Pretty had a clothespin doll collection and it sounded exciting trying to make my own. This was a difficult but fun task....The best part of making them is probably getting to use them afterwards!"

You can also see more projects from most of our titles by visiting out Flickr group. Get inspired, and join the group so we can see what you and your kids are up to.

The Book as Mentor

If we dig deep enough into the heart of a story, dig to its very core, I believe we will always spark curiosity. And when we press into that curiosity, we often discover a treasure to inform our own life. A good mentor leads us by the hand on an exploration of discovery that will make us a richer person.

As I am passing out the books and discovery guides, I introduce them to the story, “Allegra Leah Shapiro has been selected as a finalist in a prestigious violin competition and this stirs up all sorts of inner conflict.” 

Why does summer have to be so hectic? 

What does it mean to be half Jewish and half gentile? 

Why is soprano, Diedre, crying?

How can I be a twelve-year-old a violinist and have time to be a friend?

Why is my brother so annoying?

How has Mr. Trouble lost his song?

What is this gift from Bubbe Raisa?

And what of this great-grandmother I’ve been named after?

Will I be able to dig deep enough for Mozart?

Can I undo what has been done?

“The Mozart Season,” I tell them, “is a quiet story, one filled with resounding music that just might change your life.” I leave it there, hand them the book and tell them I am looking forward to what will unfold.

Five months later, I gather my group together to congratulate our writing and visual art students who were recognized regionally by Scholastic Alliance for Young Artists & Writers this year, plus two high school students who had work published in an international online literary journal.          

As I am handing out the awards, it dawns on me that four of the award winning projects began with the writers and artists responding to The Mozart Season and blossomed into something imaginatively original.

A great book can be a mentor.

Here you can view a short film inspired by the book as well as a beautiful piece of writing by a 6th grade student.

 

Gurgle gurgle, trickle trickle, swish swish swish, everything is music. The bubbling fountain sings a heart shattering song while the wind hums a chilling melody. Rain jolts in, dancing on its stony stage.  He stares into the shame of another day, where bold shapes of towering buildings blot out the rising sun. Glass windows taunt the morning dew. The dense noise of honking horns and blaring radios submerge as the day grows old, life in the city. It’s all a blur--work, school, play, eat, sleep--never ending cycle. Those who can’t keep up are thrown to the side. There are no second chances in the city. Money is what matters, money money money. Without money you can’t survive, no need for creativity in the city. So he has no purpose, The man, his music, and a violin.

ead the entire story by clickng here: Download The Green Violinist

Want to inspire your students to dig deeper? Consider exploring The Mozart Season (grades 5-8) using our Blackbird & Company Literature Discovery Guide.

Perloo the Bold

When my youngest son, Søren, and his literature circle buddies began reading Perloo the Bold, by AVI his imagination was captured. Perloo, the protagonist, is a peaceful, fairly introverted scholar much like my son. I think they hit it off from the get go.

So in this story, Perloo has been chosen to succeed Jolaine as leader of the furry underground creatures called Montmers. When Jolaine dies and her evil son seizes control of the burrow, Perloo must step up to the plate.

During the second week of thinking deeply about the story, my quiet, unassuming son slipped under the loft where we keep our overflow art supplies and came into the study arms loaded with a box of assorted Fimo clay. He got to work conquering his idea.

When I asked him about the project he told me he was making a claymation film of Perloo the Bold. Søren spent many hours cleverly crafting characters and posing them in one position, then another using his camera to capture the motion.

Midway in his movie making he set the project aside, went back to the art cabinet, this time for paper and colored pencils and began work on a set of original proverbs complete with ornately illuminated letters.

With this task complete, Søren resumed progress on his little film. When the filming was complete, he enlisted his older brother, Taylor to compose original music for his piece. He was so proud when Taylor was done and his movie was complete. When I made one last suggestion, that Søren make a title slide, he knew just what to do, “I will make the title fade in, Perloo… the Bold. Yes, that’s it.” In a matter of seconds the slide was complete. Most fascinating of all, at least to me, was the strategic placement of the slide that was seemingly intuitive. He did not put the slide up front, but a couple frames into the movie to line up with a significant change in the rhythm of the music. Fantastic!

 

Søren’s creative response to this book not only demonstrates his deep understanding, but that his critical creative thinking skills are alive and well.

Sometimes it is the quiet, unassuming creatures that save the kingdom. Pondering this possibility, no doubt, inspired my son.

– Kim

There’s Another Kind of Treasure on the Island

When they asked me, "Would you go to Treasure Island?"

I said, "Why wouldn't I? I mean, who doesn't want to follow Jim to that small abandoned island entrusted to protecting a treasure put there hundreds of years ago by pirates? I have been before, found at least seven pieces of gold. Sure, I would go. I would go again and again and again!"

'Tis true mateys, Robert Lewis Stevenson masterfully framed this work as an adventurous tale of piracy, but the truth is you have to go to the island to discover its true treasure.

– Kim

The image above is of a model made for the final project of our Treasure Island Literature Discovery Guide. Visit the island with your students and see what treasure you can find!

Library Love

The public library is a magical place for me and my three year-old—a wonderland of books. The stacks towering with every subject (trucks and trains are a current favorite), every size, every thickness, every color. And free for the taking (not counting late fees). We make the journey about once a month and I love my boy's enthusiasm for our new aquisitions. There's just something so fun about walking out with an armfull of new stories to explore, it's almost like Christmas. He carries them himself (he's such a "big boy") and thumbs through each one on the drive home because he just can't wait. I love that he loves the library and that he loves books—we're off to a good educational start I think!

– Tracey

Happy Birthday Robert McCloskey!

"ku-plink, ku-plank, ku-plunk"...

Onomatopoeia! When you read these words, don't you instantly see the little tin bucket in the hands of Sal and hear it filling up with blueberries? Or when you're at the park and see a momma duck with her ducklings, don't you think about Jack, Kack, Lack, Mack, Nack, Ouack, Pack, and Quack and their adventures in the Boston Public Garden? Thanks to Robert McCloskey and his captiviating, classic stories, Blueberries for Sal and Make Way for Ducklings, I do!

McCloskey was born on September 15, 1914 in Hamilton, Ohio. At eighteen he moved to Boston on a scholarship from the Vesper George Art School, then later moved to NYC to study at the National Academy of Design. I find it interesting that he considered himself an artist and visual storyteller before a writer and in his own words, he reveals, “It is just sort of an accident that I write books. I really think up stories in pictures and just fill in between the pictures with a sentence or a paragraph or a few pages of words.” Here's to happy "accidents!"

McCloskey wrote and illustrated seven other must-read books including Lentil, Homer Price, One Morning In Maine, Centerburg Tales, Time of Wonder, and Burt Dow, Deep Water Man. Burt Dow is a personal favorite for it's Jonah-esque inspired story, brilliant use of 60s pop color, and Jackson Pollock style paint drippings!

From Blackbird & Company:

Great stories have the ability to instruct, inpsire and enlighten and Blackbird & Company's Discovery Guides provide a rich framework for incorporating literature into your core curriculum.

Explore and celebrate Robert McCloskey with your young children by using our Earlybird Author Unit. It is a six week guide, designed for 1st and 2nd graders that takes them through five of his classic stories while working through entry-level literature discovery exercises, complete with vocabulary, comprehension, character analysis, journaling and creative activities.

For your 3-5th grade children, our Homer Price Literature Discovery Guide provides a comic, nostalgic romp through McCloskey's small town America with the one-and-only Homer Price. In six short, imaginative tales, we follow Homer on his hilarious escapades, where challenges most certainly arise...but where things seem to always turn out ok!

For more on McCloskey listen to a short interview with him from the The Horn Book Radio Review.

Coming Together Over Books

Plain and simple, book clubs are fun!

Nothing seems to fosters the higher-level thinking that allows children to form ideas and opinions about real life, more than hashing through a story in a discussion circle. There's something about listening and talking things through with friends that stimulates the mind to process and absorb without the added pressure of a graded, written response.

Using Blackbird & Company literature discovery guides in our co-op school provides the perfect framework for a weekly book club because there are discussion questions built into every section. There are questions designed to spark student’s memories, trigger their interpretations, and get them thinking beyond the page about how a story can relate to their actual lives.

Consider the following when putting a group together:

COMFORT & SIZE A real book club should be comfy and fun! Gathering in a comfortable area, whether in chairs or sitting on the floor, helps set discussion time aside as special and relaxed. Groups of 6-8 work best for allowing everyone to participate. Treats are always a welcome addition too!

READING ABILITY Inviting students with similar reading skills allows the group to coalesce. As students begin to feel comfortable with their group even reluctant speakers will share what’s on their mind.

CONSISTENCY Having a regular scheduled time each week helps students pace through their reading and builds anticipation.

DIRECTION Be inspired by student responses and guide the discussion where it wants to go naturally. Don’t worry if things get a little off track as long as students are thinking creatively. Often one question will lead to another resulting in lively and interesting connections.

FLEXIBILTY Feel free to use the questions creatively. For example, assign each question to a different student for presentation to the group; allow two groups to take sides and debate the pros and cons of a particular question; or allow students to role play their response to a question.

As you're planning for the coming school year, think about making a place for your children and their friends to come together over great books! It can help create passionate, thinking readers and it's sure to breath fresh life into your language arts studies!