“Thirty Minutes Over Oregon” on 2019 ILA Teachers’ Choices Reading List

The embargo has lifted! 

In March, I learned that Thirty Minutes Over Oregon has been selected for the International Literacy Association 2019 Teachers’ Choices Reading List.

But honorees were asked to keep it under wraps till the announcement was posted on the ILA site.

The distinction is bestowed annually upon new books that teachers, reading specialists, and librarians feel will be of particular interest to readers ages 5-14 and can be used across the curriculum. 

Thank you, ILA, congrats to the other honorees!

Iowa Reading Association Conference 2014

On 6/24/14, I had the honor of delivering two keynotes at the Iowa Reading Association Conference in Ames, IA. It was was my first time to the state, though all I got to see was the stretch between airport and conference site.

I got to tell some of my favorite stories...in an appropriately named county:

I got to take home this gift, a piece of tag-cloud art customized to my work:

And I got to be humbled by many nice tweets afterward, such as these:

Thank you again to Deb Mortensen for inviting me, and to the educators who took the time to listen to me.

International Reading Association 2013: nonfiction lives!

That “lives” could be a verb or a noun; we discussed both.

Me, two other cowboys, and two fine cowgirls (AKA Brian Floca, Chris Barton, Meghan McCarthy, and Shana Corey) moseyed on down old San Antonio way for IRA, where we did a panel called “‘But Kids Haven’t Heard of That!’: Why Teaching Unconventional Nonfiction Is Important.”

Moderated by the tireless Susannah Richards, Associate Professor of Education at Eastern Connecticut State University, each of the five authors did a fifteen-minute presentation, then collectively took questions from Susannah and the audience. (Duration of session: 2 hours, 45 minutes. You read that right.)

I was as much an avid audience member as a participant. Adding to my excitement was the fact that I’d proposed the panel—twice actually (it was rejected for 2012)—stocking it with four of my favorite nonfiction picture book writers, not to mention friends.

 Brian Floca, Meghan McCarthy, me, Shana Corey, Chris Barton

Here is feedback on the proposal from IRA decision-makers:

• The panel of authors should draw a big audience.
• Appropriate subject matter for this symposia. The panelists are authors and have significant information to share with the audience.
• This proposal presents a clear evidence base and also is convincing and motivating. The content was detailed and gives a clear idea of what will transpire in the session. The objectives align with the content. This is an excellent proposal.

Here is feedback on the panel from an attendee:

I attended a panel meeting of nonfiction authors. One author in particular, Marc Tyler Nobleman, stuck out to me. … Mr. Nobleman’s book [Bill the Boy Wonder: The Secret Co-Creator of Batman] is a must read. [He] is an excellent storyteller; it’s just, he’s not telling you a story—he’s telling you facts. I have never seen nonfiction this cool and interesting before now.

Panel’s-eye views:

After, as we unwound at the River Walk, another author ally, Erica Perl, joined us. I, however, was the only one who wanted homemade ice cream.

For diehards and readhards, here is the meat of the proposal:

Educational Significance

For some students, nonfiction has a stigma: boring. This is perplexing: why would a true story inherently be less intriguing than something made up? In years past, nonfiction was often written in a dry manner. In addition, there was less risk in subject matter and style.

Today, however, the authors writing nonfiction for young people recognize the dual responsibility they have. First, they must continue to present accurate (and, when possible, new) information. And now, they must do so in an engaging fashion. The marked shift from “textbook” to narrative nonfiction is a considerable benefit for young readers.

In exercising creative freedom with respect to tone, chronology, perspective, and subject matter, contemporary nonfiction writers are boosting the excitement of teachers and kids alike. Such fresh material lures reluctant readers and further stimulates active readers.

We’ve seen an increase in nonfiction picture books described as a “first of its kind.” We’ve seen an increase in picture books subjects that have never been the focus of even a book for adults (The Day-Glo Brothers, Strong Man, Surfer of the Century, Boys of Steel). We’ve seen a rise in the level of sophistication of—and the amount of pages devoted to – back matter. The reason: there is an audience and an educational missive to support it.

Yet with library budgets in crisis, it can be difficult to get unconventional nonfiction into schools—and with test preparation time increasing, educators may struggle to make time to introduce it. In our increasingly blended world, however, it is critical to re-emphasize a diversity of subject matter. (No slight to Benjamin Franklin, Muhammad Ali, Babe Ruth, or the Obamas’ dog, each of whom has starred in multiple picture books.)

This panel may include but is not solely about multicultural subjects. Rather it focuses more broadly on subjects generally not taught in curriculum.

2012 IRA attendee feedback:

• Very appropriate subject matter! Nonfiction needs to be addressed, especially with Common Core being the focus!
• Informational text deserves greater attention, especially unconventional informational text. The panel format will be appealing to the audience. The panelists have valuable information to share. The topic is grounded in literature that is relevant and substantial. I believe this session will be of interest to a broad cross-section of IRA members.

Evidence Base

Forty-five states have adopted the Common Core Standards.

Publishers Weekly (7/18/12): “By the 2014-15 academic year, the initiative calls for 50% informational text (including…nonfiction trade books) in elementary school and 70% in high school-on average, across all curricula. … [A]ccording to the Core: dull-looking nonfiction is out. … ‘Visual elements are particularly important in texts for the youngest students and in many informational texts for readers of all ages.’”

New York Times (3/11/12): “Children in New York City who learned to read using an experimental curriculum that emphasized nonfiction texts outperformed those at other schools.”

School Library Journal (4/1/12): “‘The advent of Common Core presents school librarians with both a great opportunity and a great challenge,’ says kids’ book editor and author Marc Aronson. ‘The emphasis on nonfiction from elementary school on puts them front and center, since few current homeroom teachers know nonfiction in their grades as read-alouds, as pleasure reads, or as opportunities to compare different narrative approaches.”

Horn Book (March-April 2011): Author Susan Campbell Bartoletti writes that in her teaching experience, fiction-reading kids would hold up a favorite book and ask for another like it. But nonfiction readers “wanted to read [books] about things they didn’t already know.”

Jim Trelease, author of The Read-Aloud Handbook, stated that an unconventional nonfiction “panel is a super idea and one that will draw a top audience.”

Increasingly, picture book nonfiction includes an author’s note about the author’s research process—a process that every student must learn in English class. And the best of these authors’ notes read like detective novels.

Sites such as teachwithpicturebooks.blogspot.com promote picture books in the classroom—even in middle and high school. Neither “short” nor “illustrated” automatically makes a book only for young people.

Reading nonfiction capitalizes on existing interests and generates motivation. Reading unconventional nonfiction challenges perspectives and brings fuller, often cross-disciplinary understanding to any historical period.

Reading nonfiction helps to build schema and vocabulary knowledge. Reading unconventional nonfiction empowers students to experiment with topics they may not presume to like or understand, and often enlightens them when they can make a connection between that material and curriculum.

- end of proposal excerpt -

Oh, and circling back to the cowboy theme: the last morning, I was almost trampled by a stampede…of teachers and librarians…headed to a booth for a free bag featuring Superman on one side and (for them) the bigger draw, Wonder Woman, on the other.

IRA 2013: Invasion of Nonfiction Picture Book Authors

Chris Barton.

Shana Corey.

Brian Floca.

Megan McCarthy.

Me. (I am still in alphabetical order this way.)

On 4/21/13, from 3 to 5:45 p.m. (yes, almost three hours!), at the International Reading Association Convention in San Antonio, we five authors, moderated by Susannah Richards, Associate Professor of Education at Eastern Connecticut State University, will panel-discuss the importance of unconventional nonfiction...the stories that are not yet widely known, the people who are not textbook names.

Please join us. This group has never assembled before, and may never again. Therefore—and speaking of nonfiction—history will be witnessed. Unconventional nonfiction will be glorified.

And, of course, books will be signed:

I am signing two more times on Monday 4/22/13: 

• Anderson's, booth 1003, 10-11 a.m.
• Overlooked Books booth, booth 2519, 11 a.m.-12 p.m.

Heroes for Literacy

My second time at the Colorado Council International Reading Association has surpassed the first. What some participants have called the best state IRA conference in the country gets such praise due to a strong selection of sessions, fun staff, fun attendees, fun authors, and a fun location. Special props to conference chair Mary Jo Ziegman for pulling this off with efficiency, sincerity, and a sense of humor.

I was born for this year’s theme, Heroes for Literacy. You could walk barely five feet in the hotel lobby without coming across a superhero-themed sign or other decoration.

 

 

I was heartened by the reaction to my two sessions; enthusiasm, appreciation, no nodding off.

Though I feel like I know author Chris Barton well, this was only my second time hanging out with him in person (first time was in 2009). Luckily, next time I will see him will be far sooner than four years—or even four months. We’re on panel together at the International Reading Association Convention in April.

At my first CCIRA, I came away with Alan Katz as a friend, and he was here this time as well. Adding to the mix was Gordon Korman, whom I’d not met before. One night, a lively group of teachers from Colorado asked the three of us for our signatures…on ketchup bottles. I suppose that is a bond for life in all directions.

(2/26/13 addendum: Where the ketchup went from here.)

Bill Finger was born in Denver. This week, he came home:
 

 

"Intriguing...inspiring" - International Reading Association on "Bill the Boy Wonder"

The International Reading Association kindly reviewed Bill the Boy Wonder: The Secret Co-Creator of Batman.

An excerpt:

Tantalizingly, there is a story behind the story of the birth of Batman that is every bit as intriguing as the caped wonder. … Not only is this thoroughly researched story of artistic injustice intriguing and almost worthy of a comic itself, but the description of how hard the author worked to uncover details about what happened decades ago is inspiring. He even managed to locate Finger’s granddaughter by following every possible trail, even the most unlikely ones.

First time presenting at the International Reading Association Convention

Last summer, I submitted two proposals for the 2012 IRA Convention. One was a lively panel of authors of picture book nonfiction called “But Kids Haven’t Heard of That: Why Teaching Unconventional Nonfiction Is Important.” The other was a variation on a popular workshop I give nationwide. It’s normally “The Language of Cartoons”; I renamed this version “Teaching with Humor.”

I’d heard that it’s tough to craft a proposal due to exacting IRA criteria, and I’d heard that the audiences can have high expectations (as they should). For those reasons and more, I was doubly thrilled not only for one of my proposals to be chosen but for the session to be, in my estimation, a whopping success. Incidentally, I guessed wrong on which proposal stood a better chance of getting a yes.

On 5/2/12 in Chicago, I presented “Teaching with Humor.” (Try you again this year, “But Kids Haven’t Heard of It”!).

The room was big—it held at least 200—and I’m happy to report that it was standing room only. People continued to trickle in for a while after I started; eventually some had no choice but to sit on the floor (violation!)—and I even had a few who had no choice but to occupy the seats behind me (at the pushed-back “panel table” that had been alongside my podium). They could still see the screen but when I began drawing examples, they had to relocate and find space in front of the table.

I’m told that it is especially difficult to get a good turnout on the last day, which this was, and I was even more grateful considering my slot was perilously close to lunch.

Here is selected feedback:








Thank you, IRA, for the opportunity, thank you, attendees, for attending, and thank you again, Scholastic, for sponsoring me.

Great ideas for schools #12: Book club and grub

On Guam, I learned of a program that ran for several years. I don't know what they called it, but I'd call it Book Club Plus.

The idea was this: every month, the Guam chapter of the International Reading Association chose a book club book that included a meal of some kind. The meal would not have be a big part of the book, just enough to be noticeable.

The monthly get-together would take place at the Hard Rock Cafe. The kids would not only discuss the book but share a meal—the meal from the book they'd just read, specially prepared by the restaurant.

Linking reading and eating is but one way such a book club could go. The club could vary the Plus part every month. It could be read a book about baseball, then play baseball before discussing. Or read a book about someone who gets sick, then volunteer reading to kids at a hospital before discussing. The possibilities are as vast as book choices themselves.

Going, going, Guam, part 1 of 4

On 10/12/11, I flew the three hours from Maryland to Houston. Then six hours to Honolulu. Then seven hours to Guam. Then 10 minutes from the airport to a hotel, but that was by car. All told, it is the farthest away I’ve ever been.

And naturally, that means that I am experiencing a world unlike any I’ve seen before.

This two-week engagement will include presentations at 26 schools, a library talk, a teen writing workshop, a teacher workshop, two radio interviews, and the filming of a PBS public service announcement to encourage reading. Plus snorkeling and, time permitting, learning how to husk a coconut.

However, my hosts scheduled no presentations for my first full day; instead, they toured me around the island from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. That was a long day and the island is relatively small (30 miles long, 12 miles wide at its widest), but there were still areas I was left wanting to see.

Here are highlights of what I have seen/done so far:

My warm (and well-attended) airport welcome!

The warm welcome (print edition).
I love the Guam slogan “Where America’s Day Begins.”
I also love their confidence in believing I will make a difference.

Two Lovers Point is the legendary site of an ancient young couple
who tied their hair together and jumped from a cliff
rather than be forced apart by the societal rules of the time.

The island is lousy with abandoned Japanese bunkers from WWII.
You can even enter some—no admission fee, no safety barricade,
no accompanying gift shop. Also no light and no guarantee that
you won’t encounter something creepy-crawly.

One of only two (or possibly three) prewar homes still standing
on the island (which was heavily bombed during WWII).

Before the Japanese and Americans (but after the native Chamorros),
the Spanish occupied Guam. Remnants of a lavish palace complex
still stand, though much of it is in disrepair.

This is a “chocolate house.” No, chocolate was not made inside.
People would go there for the equivalent of afternoon tea.
Today, it is home to a homeless person, whose shopping carts
and sleeping bag were strategically not visible to take this photo.

Above the doors of this bunker are three Japanese symbols
(whose meaning I don’t know), plus a fallout shelter sign.

Appropriate timing: I got to see this and other WWII-era
Japanese artifacts within two weeks of going public with my pitch
for my nonfiction picture book involving a WWII Japanese pilot.

I did an hourlong radio interview (though two others were part of it,
so luckily for whoever was listening, I didn’t talk the whole time).

Magellan landed here.

These 17th century Spanish church ruins are the
oldest manmade structure on Guam.

My hosts think these trees inspired Dr. Seuss, who was apparently
on Guam during or shortly after the war.

Carabao, a kind of domesticated water buffalo, graze the island
(under care of humans). This one, his owner, and I became fast friends.

More scenery:


On 10/15/11, I was the speaker at the International Reading Association Guam Council meeting.

The audience of more than 150 was hearty and fun. You can see that I have repurposed the name of my presentation. You can also see that they weren’t kidding when they said I’d be signing a lot of books; this is a partial showing:

And this was only the first presentation day of two weeks.


This time of year, the sun sets around 6 p.m. on Guam, which is far earlier than I was anticipating.

But just as gorgeous as I was anticipating.

Part 2.