SHEL SIVERstein and Johnny cash ??

A Light in the Attic and Falling UP are two of my favorite books as a kid.. I feel like I say this at the beginning of every blog but I can recall these books being very popular and having to wait to check them out. I think Shel Silverstein is a genius I love his poems and what I love even more are his illustrations. His drawing are different and wierd and make children think outside the box. Sheldon Silverstein was an amazing writer. Some of his most popular books aould be The Giving Tree, Falling Up, A light in the Attic and Where the sidwalk ends.As I was reviewing this author I learned he was also a songwriter for one of my favorite songs from Johnny Cash A boy Name Sue. I thought about this and when I really listen to the lyrics and just read them on their own, I can see the touch of Shel's writing in the song. This man was very creative some poems rhyme, some are short and witty, and some our long and have a good lesson hidden in them.

Comprehension and Ramona

Chapter 3----Hello everyone I would like to say that I enjoyed todays lecture especially the discussion on comprehending words on there own. I completely agree that to learn a definition you need to hear the word in a a paragraph. I know that when I read a book and I dont know a word I sometimes will skip the word and look a the text around it before I look up the definition. I can understand that when you write down text it can be just repetition and when you assign reading it can feel like a chore. I hope to bring so much into a classroom and I cant wait!

Author Profile----(Beverly Clearly) Ms. Ramona Quimby !! How amazing is this character. I currently am taking a course where I have to do a milestone journal of my kid and give examples of different events and my childs social, cognitive and psychological development. I chose the book character Ramona, she is my generations Junie B Jones. Beverly Clearly is an amazing author I have read Ribsy, Dr Mr. Henshaw,Ramona the Pest, Ramona the Brave and The Mouse and the Motorcycle. Beverly Clearly has over 25 books and amazing characters that all linked together in her books. Henry Huggins, Ramona and Beezus Quimby and Ralph the mouse. Beverly Clearly grew up on a small farm in Yamhill. After college she was a librarian. A young boy asked her "Where are the books about kid like me?" Her first book was Henry Huggins. Her books and characters really capture children's' childhood. Beverly Clearly has won many awards and her books are a great classic.

Author Profile: David Shannon

After reading about a mischievous girl I thought I would explore the world of David.
No David No! by David Shannon is an amazing picture book and about a boy who loves to get into trouble. The artwork really brings the character to life. David Shannon also wrote How Georgie Radbourn Saved Baseball, The Amazing Christmas Extravaganza, and A Bad Case of Stripes. David later wrote Alice the Fairy which is based off of his daughter. David Shannon got a degree in Fine Arts and live in LA. His books are great picture books and have a great story to tell about the daily life of a mischievous boy that you can help but love. To learn more about David Shannon check out his bio page at http://www2.scholastic.com/browse/contributor.jsp?id=3623

Chapter 2 Author Profile

Hello All!

I really enjoyed Chapter 2--I love reading about culture and diversity in school environments. Something that caught my attention was a statement last week in class. We were discussing test and how some test don't relate with our culture. For example the question about snow in Texas, I can recall a similar situation when I was young about food and I can't remember the question exactly I just remember it had to do with broccoli which was a foreign food to me as a child. Well needless to say I got the answer wrong and was devastated. I have a pretty good memory and as a child I was a kid who had to have things perfect and if they weren't I would cry about it. Thinking back about my school age years I thought about my favorite book of all time ...Miss Nelson is Missing by Harry G Allard . Although I want to blog about new books this book is a classic and a favorite of mine. I suggest everyone read this one.

Author profile: Harry G Allard

Harry Allard wrote one of my favorite books Miss Nelson is Missing as I was reading his bio I realize he also wrote the books The Stupids have a Ball. I read both of these books as a child. I thought it was funny because I would check out these books because the word Stupid was in it( I was a weird child.)

I feel that when I read these bios I should be inspired and I am Harry Allard what a well educated man he recied his Ph D in French where he reside in Paris for a good portion o fhis life, thne he taught at Yale. Wow thats pretty amazing for a man who wrote a book called The Stupids Step Out :)

Check out his site at http://www.childrensliteraturenetwork.org/birthbios/brthpage/01jan/1-27allard.html

Chapter 1 -- Author Profile

After reading chapter one I enjoyed the section on developing a good attitude on reading. Like Mrs. Pickett mention in our first class, children who are great readers at an early age tend to lose it through out the year.As a school age kid I enjoyed books so much, middle school not so much.I recently got back into reading and now I am hooked again. Today in class we were talking about how a book can take you away. I think it is important to have this good attitude about reading so children can enjoy it and really get a good experience. On page 10 and 11 the book show great examples about socializing and discussing books with peers, giving children the choice in what books to read, and teaching other students to read. I find this very helpful and can recall situations as a student having to do group work like the examples.
As for website I found a search engine called childrenslit.com this site has a list of authors and a blinking light next to the new ones :) If you click on the author it will take you to their website. So far I clicked on random authors and the sites are pretty interesting and intense. I cant wait to explore more and I will keep you guys posted!

Author Profile --Crockett Johnson-- "Harold and the Purple Crayon"

This man is brillant he takes a young boy on wild adventures through his own imagination and it as if he makes up the story as he goes along. I used this book for a reading activity. It is a great picture book. As an activity you can have a a piece of paper and a purple crayon and ask the class/group if they could draw a picture and it could come to life what adventures would they pursue? Crockett illusttration are amazing and as I was reading his biography I leanrned that he was an illustrator for a famous comic strip Barnaby, this makes perfect sense now that I look back at this book. For more information on this book and this author check out http://www.k-state.edu/english/nelp/purple/biography.html

Author Profile : Louis Sachar

Louis Sachar wrote hilarious books! In fourth grade I remember my teacher had all of his books. This was a chapter book and had a lot of crazy characters. A mean subsitute teacher who turn her kids into apples, the janitor, the nice sweet teacher who loved all her students, the mean girl with the pigtail, and many many more. His books were Sideway Stories from Wayside School, the books were very contradictiing I still have some from when I was in fourth grade, and I will open them up and reminisce because they were all so catchy. The books would have songs and poems also. Louis Sachar wrote a series of five books. This is a very intelligent but laid back guy, he found his inspiration in college when he had found a job as a teachers aide, this event was life changing. Louis majored in economics and weent to law school..and he writes childrens books. I think thats pretty amazing! If you would like to check out his books or read more about him go to http://www.louissachar.com/Bio.htm