A Moose, A Dragon, and a DJ Walk Into a Library

Here’s a round up of books we’ve read in the library last week:

I read Z is for Moose by Kelly Bingham to preschoolers and Kindergarteners. This is my favorite alphabet book. A bunch of animals, food, and other items want to put on a play about the alphabet. Obviously, they will do this in alphabetical order, but Moose is incredibly excited to be in this show. He keeps interrupting everyone’s turn until the Zebra, who is the director of the play, has Mouse go in place of Moose.

“How would you feel if that were you?” I asked the four and five year olds sitting criss-crossed on the floor.

“MAD!” they shouted.

“I’d be sad!” they told me.

“Of course, you would. I’d be mad and sad, too.”

So is the Moose. He makes a mess of things. He stomps on pie. He crosses out “ring,” and “snake” with a crayon, and writes, “Moose” over those words. Then, he starts to cry, and each time I’ve read this part to any class, it gets quiet. The poor Moose. He just wanted to be in the play. He was just excited about being a small part of something so grand and special, that we use it every day to say things like, “Hello!”, “How are you?”, and, “I love you.” Can you blame him?

Zebra finds a way to include Moose into the play, as only a friend can do. I won’t give away the ending because I think no matter how old you are, you should have a copy of this book. We’ll never get rid of ours. It’s good to remember the joy of being excited for things, and it’s good to remember the friends who pull us out of our anger and sadness and get us back in the production of being a part of the world.

After we read, students drew a picture of something that started with a letter of their choice. “D” is for Donut, or “P” is for Pizza for example. My favorite was two preschoolers who wrote the other’s names and drew each other’s picture on their paper.

 

First Grade Stinks by Mary Rodman was read to first graders. I was a little nervous about reading this story because I remember how much I loved Kindergarten and my Kindergarten teacher, and how hard it was to leave her classroom on that last day. I loved my first grade teacher, too, but first grade was HARD. I began to understand that I wasn’t great at school in first grade. Plus, first grade was all day long. There was no going home from school to watch Sesame Street while eating lunch and then taking a nap in first grade.

I didn’t want the brand new first graders to empathize too much with the title, and I also didn’t want to make the first grade teachers angry, but I decided to read the story because of this part: The main character, Hayley, after going through lousy moment, after lousy moment, stands up in class and yells, “FIRST GRADE STINKS!” Her teacher walks over, smiles, and says, “You’re having a hard day. What’s wrong?” Hayley streams a litany of wrongs about the day including the worst – “stories don’t end right in first grade.” She is upset that her teacher read a chapter book, one that you can’t finish in one story time, unlike the picture books that can be read in one sitting in Kindergarten. And then, the teacher says the best line in the entire book: “That’s not the end of the story.” She’s referring to the the book they’re reading in school, but I read it with all the metaphorical meaning I could muster in the hope students would understand that they’re on page one of first grade, and like any good story, the main character is propelled into a new world, a new situation, a new classroom, and she cannot go back to how it was before. That does kind of stink sometimes, but that’s not all it is, and we’re all at the beginning in September.

I read The Library Dragon by Carmen Agra Deedy to second and third graders. Here’s a story about a librarian who was hired to take care of the books, but she takes it too far and decides that kids simply cannot handle books, and so won’t let them check out any stories. She also won’t read stories to the kids. Also, she is a dragon. That is, until little Molly walks into the library looking for her glasses. She can’t find them, but does find a book, and begins to read it. This changes everything. Kids from all over the school, at recess, getting drinks from water fountains, walk into the library to listen. The dragon listens too, and eventually asks Molly if she can read the rest of the book. Molly sits on the dragon’s lap, tells the dragon, “You’re warm,” and puts a hand on the dragon’s long neck as she finishes the story. As the story continues, the dragon’s scales fall off, revealing the librarian: friendly, helpful, and yes, protector of stories, but knowing that the only way to protect a story is to give it away.

When the fourth graders came to visit, I read When The Beat Was Born: DJ Kool Herc and the Creation of Hip Hop by Laban Carrack Hill. I wanted to read this story to introduce how fun nonfiction can be to read, and it doesn’t get more fun than hip-hop. The story and it’s pictures have a musical vibe to them, and it’s difficult not to tap your toes or snap your fingers while reading. My favorite part is the pictures with the people dancing as Clive Campbell figures out it is during the parts of the songs when there are no lyrics  they like to dance to best. So he learns how to play two records at the same time so that the beat goes on and on and on. After we read, the students made a graffiti wall with  what they’d like their DJ names to be.

Finally, in fifth grade, we began the story Armstrong and Charlie by Stephen Frank. Here’s a story told in the two voices: a white sixth grade boy, and a black sixth grade boy. The two are going to a school called Wonderland during a pilot year to end segregation in schools. Harper suggested I read this story over the summer, and it is one of the best books I’ve read on racism and inequality, and I think it’s because it’s told in the voice of children. Here, we read about crushes (so hilarious), family dynamics, school lunches and recess, and it’s within this very relatable plot, that we see the injustices but also the hope of trying to make the world right and fair. I’m excited to  read this book with the fifth grade crew.

And, speaking of reading stories, I’ll be at Schuler’s in Grand Rapids, MI on October 17 reading from, and talking about The Teacher Diaries. I’ll be a part of a panel, and the line-up looks great. Come on out! I’d love to see you.