Battle Bunny by Jon Scieszka and Mac Barnett

I realized the other day that I rarely blog about picture books, and I don’t know why.  I LOVE PICTURE BOOKS!!!  So, I decided that I am going to focus on some wonderful picture books.  When I was a kid Little Golden Books were very popular.  Recently, Jon Scieszka and Mac Barnett released Battle Bunny, a book that takes us back to the good old days of Little Golden Books.   Of course with about everything Mr. Scieszka does there is quite the twist.

Alexander received a lovely birthday book from his Gran Gran.  It is a sweet story about how Bunny celebrates his birthday.  Well, Alexander will have none of this.  Soon Bunny is transformed into Battle Bunny.  The real birthday boy crosses out words and lines and changes this cute bunny into a terrorist determined to destroy the forest.  It gets so bad in the forest that the President sends Air Force One to eliminate Battle Bunny.

I read this book to my third graders.  A funny thing happened on the way to enjoying the book.  First, the boys concern that Mr. Scieszka and Mr. Barnett were going to get into BIG trouble for writing in someone’s book, and passing it off as their own. Second, they thought it was disrespectful that they ruined Matthew Myers’ pleasant illustrations.  I was shocked that it took a while for these kids to get that Birthday Bunny is not the real book.

After the second read through the real laughter started.  Since that day the book has been in someone’s book box.  I have no idea what condition it will be in at the end of the year, but with every great book I end up purchasing another copy.

The Adventures of Arnie the Doughnut Bowling Alley Bandit by Laurie Keller

I adore Arnie the Doughnut, but most importantly my students LOVE Arnie the Doughnut.  For the last couple of years students do a book trailer on a picture book they love.  Every year at least two pick Arnie the Doughnut.  One year one student went the extra mile and brought in a chocolate sprinkle covered doughnut to film.

When I found out the Laurie Keller was going to share more of her humorous writing with us I was thrilled.  As most of us know reading teachers are notoriously non-thorough readers.  I say this because I originally went into The Bookies to buy it only to discover that it hadn’t been released.  I ordered and it came in and then sat on my TBR stack.  I took my niece to a swim meet last Friday, so I took The Adventures of Arnie the Doughnut Bowling Alley Bandit with me to read while I waited.  My parents and nephew arrived as the meet began.  Levi found the copy and that was that. 

Levi opting out of swim meet.

He sat reading it to himself and aloud to my dad.  As a new first grader he will have NO problems with fluency.  He was so excited to learn what a whoopee cushion is.  I’m sure his teacher will be thrilled.

The new Arnie book is an illustrated chapter book.  What is important about Laurie’s books is her use of multi-level texts.  There is the direct text that is easy for the reader to follow. Then, the reader has to notice everything else on the page because the tiny bubble speech might be crucial to the story, or there is a whole page comparing the weight of the doughnut to a bowling ball with Albert Einstein looking on saying “Impossible!”.

As with the Lunch Lady series I foresee begging, “borrowing”, and long lines of students waiting to read this book.  I can’t wait for the next one.

The Adventures of Beanboy by Lisa Harkrader

When it comes to superheroes, there are the loners like Superman, Spiderman, Aquaman, and Thor.  Then there are the ones with sidekicks.  The most famous being Batman and Robin.  In Lisa Harkrader’s wonderful book The Adventures of Beanboy the world is introduced to the next major sidekick.  Tucker MacBean’s life is in turmoil.  Tucker is a seventh-grader trying to make it in life.  His recently divorced parents are not so pleasant to each other.  His younger brother has special needs.  His mom works too much, and is overwhelmed with getting her degree. A girl named Sam bullies him, and to make matters worst his favorite comic book is not being published for months.

As he finishes the final issue of the comic he reads about a contest the publisher has to find the perfect sidekick for the superhero.  The grand prize is a scholarship to university.  Tucker sees this as the solution to all his problems.

The Adventures of Beanboy is quirky.  What made this book so enjoyable were the relationships between the characters.  Tucker grows emotionally during this turbulent year.  He learns that his actions greatly impact those around him, and appearances can be very deceiving.  There are touching parts when Tucker realizes why his archenemy and tormentor acts the way she does.  There are funny parts. Let’s get real the superhero is called Beanboy, so you know what the superpower has to be.

In my opinion this is a fourth grade and above book.

PS I know it has been along time since my last post.

Guy-Write What Every guy Writer Needs to Know by Ralph Fletcher

Last year the New York Times listed 11/23/63 by Stephen King as one of the Ten Best Books of 2011. In high school the book everyone was reading was the Shining.  I tried to read it, but it scared the living daylights out of me.  (Of course that doesn’t take much, but still….)  11/23/63 is about a guy that travels back in time to try to stop the assignation of John F. Kennedy.  It sounded interesting, so I put it on my stack of books to read this summer.  I am still reading it.  (I know this post should be on Monday for What are You Reading?)  Anyhow, Jake Epping, the main character, is a high school English teacher.  He, also, teaches English for people pursuing their GED’s.  At the beginning of the book Jake is describing his job as a teacher.  Jake says his job is hard, and “the red pen became my primary teaching tool…I practically wore it out.”

During a GED class Jake has his students write a paper on “The Day That Changed My Life.”  Most of the themes turned in were, well you can imagine.  However,  “There were no violins or warning bells when I pulled the janitor’s theme off the top of the stack and set it before me, no sense that my little life would change.”  The paper was filled with misspelled words, and awful grammar; but “half way down the first page, my eyes began to sting and I put down my trusty red pen.”  Jake let the story and the words impact him.  He didn’t let the mechanics control his emotions.

About the same time I started 11/23/63 I received a copy of Ralph Fletcher’s new book Guy-Write What Every guy Writer Needs to Know.   As I read this book I kept thinking about what Jake had done with the janitor’s story.  Teachers often get so caught up in the mechanics of the story that we can see the true story.  Before I continue I want to make it clear that I do understand and know that mechanics are important, but imagine what would happen if mechanics became the secondary thought?

Guy-Write What Every guy Writer Needs to Know is not a professional book.  It is a book for guy writers.  With that said teachers must read this book.  It gives wonderful insight into what half our class is thinking.  (Unless you teach at an all boys school where it is 100%.  Or a girls school, and well…)  Ralph uses interviews with boy writers and grown boy writers. 

In the chapter Riding the Vomit Comet Writing About Disgusting Stuff,  Ralph interviews Jon Scieszka about making gross stuff good writing.  Jon talks about using interesting language to describe the scene, and stretching out the description.  I really liked this because a famous author is giving our guy writers permission to write about what they like, but it better be interesting or the reader will be BORED!

When I was a kid we lived for a couple of years in Nogales, Arizona, actually a few miles north of town out in the middle of the desert.  My friends and I had motorcycles.  (Yes, I got my first motorcycle when I was nine!)  Playing War on motorcycles is way more fun then just plain old War.  We could cover more ground, but a surprise attack was challenging.  My point is that I played War all summer long, and my favorite cartoon was Jonny Quest.  I grew up to be even keeled.  I don’t walk around with guns.  Yet there is this believe by many educators that if kids write about violence etc. the young author is going to go on a shooting spree in school.  I know there evil is out there!   I don’t want to make light of anyone’s loss to such violence.  I live in Colorado, so I know that guns kill way too many innocent people.  As teachers we must balance kids innocent writing about blood, guts, guns, etc.  In the opening chapter Ralph writes about how guys are constantly shot down for using violence in their writing.  He uses a poem written by a first grader to demonstrate this:

Weed Hunter

I feel like I am hunting a very victorious plant, a weed.

I circle it.  I study it. I watch its every move.

I always take it by the roots.

My weapon is my shovel.

Weeds come up way ahead of the other plants.

I shall pull up every one I see and

Put it a very dry place without any dirt.

I will defeat these weeds

even if it will take my entire life!

Because of one word this poem was not printed in the classroom anthology.  I’m sure it is easy to figure out which word.

Now reality.  We have to get up out test scores, we have to fit everything into common core standards, we have to………… So with everything how do we balance what our kids want to write with what we want them to write? Libations.  OK, well not at school, but at school we compromise.   I believe Guy-Write What Every guy Writer Needs to Know  will help everyone in class become a better writer.  


Book provided from Ralph Fletcher!