Last Minute Gift Suggestion!

 Our White House: 

Looking In, Looking Out

The Perfect Gift Book for Young and Old!

all proceeds benefit the advocacy 
and education work of 

The National Children's Book and Literacy Alliance!

Check out the NCBLA's Our White House companion educational website at:


www.ourwhitehouse.org 

Our White House: Looking In, Looking Out Awards

• 2009-2010 National Endowment for the Humanities We the People “Picturing America” Bookshelf Award
• 2009 American Library Association Notable Children’s Book for All Ages
• 2009 National Council for Social Studies and the Children’s Book Council Notable Social Studies Trade Book for Young People
• 2009 International Reading Association Teachers’ Choices Booklist Selection
• Amazon.com Best Books of 2008 Top 10 Editors’ Pick for Middle Readers
• Parents’ Choice Foundation Recommended Book Award, Fall 2008
• School Library Journal Best Books of the Year 2008
• The Horn Book Fanfare, Best Books of 2008
• Publisher’s Weekly 2008 Best Books of the Year, Children’s Nonfiction
• Publishers Weekly 2008 Cuffie Award, Best Nonfiction Treatment of a Subject, Honorable Mention
• Scripps-Howard News Service Favorite Children's Book of 2008
• WWW.ourwhitehouse.org named a 2009 American Library Association “Great Websites for Kids”

 

Read All About It!

Exquisite Corpse Adventure
Online Resource Center
Features Specialized Reading Lists
...and MORE!

Have you been reading The Exquisite Corpse Adventure with the young people in your life? Each episode of this progressive online story game--being written and illustrated by a dream team of eighteen award-winning authors and illustrators--is published on Read.Gov every two weeks. Episode Seven, written by Shannon Hale and illustrated by Calef Brown, is available NOW!

Maximizing the educational impact of this zany story is the NCBLA's coordinating Educational Resource Center--available free and online. Parents, teachers, librarians, and homeschoolers--we have designed this site for you!

The Educational Resource Center includes a series of materials and activities designed specifically to help you make the most of each episode. One key component of the episodic resources is the annotated reading list being created by Butler Children’s Literature Center at Dominican University.

Our lists of suggested read aloud books and books to read independently are created based on a key thematic element of each episode. The reading list for Episode Seven finds its inspiration in the forest setting and recommends Lois Ehlert's Red Leaf, Yellow Leaf as a read aloud book and Gennifer Choldenko's If a Tree Falls at Lunch Period for independent readers. Mistaken identities provides the theme for the Episode Five reading list and includes Hyun Young Lee's Something For School as a recommendation for younger readers and Debbie Dadey's Cherokee Sister as a recommendation for independent readers.

We find these lively, annotated reading lists to be not only informative but also great fun! The NCBLA hopes these reading lists inspire you and your young readers to read even more! If you are looking for last-minute holiday gifts, you may just find the perfect book in our reading lists.

In addition to the annotated reading lists, the Educational Resource Center includes a series of classroom activities, art appreciation activities, and discussion questions. Be sure to check out these innovative classroom activities, also developed by the talented folks at Butler:

"Little Words from Big Words" for Episode Seven
"Would You Rather?" for Episode Six
"Riddles and Knock-Knocks" for Episode Five.

Click here to read all seven episodes of The Exquisite Corpse Adventure.

Click here to check out the NCBLA's Exquisite Corpse Adventure Educational Resource Center.

Sneak Preview!! The Exquisite Corpse Adventure Episode Seven!!!

Forest Born, Princess Academy educated YA Author Shannon Hale
Writes Episode Seven of
The Exquisite Corpse Adventure!!
with a very creepy illustration by Calef Brown!

Loyal readers, hold onto your hats, mittens, gloves, purses, your cat Widgeon, and all you hold dear! We now give you a taste of the Episode Seven: THE BEAST PIT!

“Joe held the baby tighter. Nancy raised her hands in karate pose and turned slowly, daring the villains to attack.

‘Now don’t be foolish,’ said the unfamiliar and unfriendly voice behind them.

Into the circle of shadowy figures strode a man so large, so horrifying, so disquieting that I tremble to describe him. Let me simply say that his rear was where his face should be and his rear . . . spoke.”

excerpt from The Exquisite Corpse Adventure: Episode Seven by Shannon Hale

And who are these guys???



Tune in TOMORROW at
The Exquisite Corpse Adventure to find out!

To read all The Exquisite Corpse Adventure Episodes, go to: http://www.read.gov/exquisite-corpse/Book/#page/2/mode/2uphttp://www.read.gov/exquisite-corpse/

To find out what The Exquisite Corpse Adventure is all about, and to find educational support materials to help you expand your children’s and teens’ literacy and literary experience, go to: http://www.thencbla.org/Exquisite_Corpse/exquisite_home.html

Not Too Late to Catch the Latest Exquisite Corpse Adventure!!

NCBLA Board Members and Award-Winning Authors Patricia and Fredrick McKissack Write the Latest Exquisite Corpse Adventure with a Marvelous Illustration by James Ransome!

"As Genius Kelly built up speed, heading for Max, Nancy stuck out her foot and tripped the pig who slipped, slid, and fell flat on his nose. That gave Joe, who had recovered from his spill, just enough time to snatch up the baby and run into the woods. Genius Kelly followed, snorting and sniffing and hurling insults and threats like lightning bolts."

Read The Exquisite Corpse Adventure with the young people in your life, free on line at: http://www.read.gov/exquisite-corpse/Book/#page/2/mode/2up

A new adventure will be posted every two weeks!

To find out more information about author Patricia and Fredrick McKissack's great books go to:
http://www.hbook.com/magazine/reviews/group/mckissack.asp

To view a video of Patricia McKissack at the National Book Festival go to:
http://www.loc.gov/today/cyberlc/feature_wdesc.php?rec=3439

And look for Pat and Fred McKissack's latest books at your neighborhood library and bookstore! Here are some of their recent titles:


Porch Lies: Tales of Slicksters, Tricksters, and Other Wily Characters by Patricia McKisssack

Abby Takes a Stand by Patricia McKisssack

And a Christmas Classic for Holiday Gift Giving--

Christmas in the Big House, Christmas in the Quarters

by Patricia and Fredrick McKissack

And here are just a few of James' Ransome's (http://www.jamesransome.com)delightful books to share with the Young People in your life! All make great gifts!

Young Pele: Soccer's First Star
by Lesa Cline-Ransome, illustrated by James Ransome

Helen Keller: The World in Her Heart

by Lisa Cline-Ransome, illustrated by James Ransome

Sky Boys
by Deborah Hopkinson, illustrated by James Ransome

What Lincoln Said
by Sarah L. Thomson, illustrated James Ransome

To read all The Exquisite Corpse Adventure Episodes, go to: http://www.read.gov/exquisite-corpse/Book/#page/2/mode/2up

http://www.read.gov/exquisite-corpse/

To find out what The Exquisite Corpse Adventure is all about, and to find educational support materials to help you expand your child’s literacy and literary experience, go to: http://www.thencbla.org/Exquisite_Corpse/exquisite_home.html

Books Make Wonderful Holiday Gifts

Tips for Finding the Perfect Gift Book

Finding the perfect book or two for the young people in your life can be a daunting experience. Bookstore shelves are overflowing with tall books and tiny books, books that tell tales of faraway princesses and books about animals both cute and exotic, even books that sing, talk, and sparkle! How does one choose?

In the article “A Holiday Gift Book Buying Guide for Your Family,” librarian Natacha Luzzi offers these tips:

• Find out what the child or teen has read already. Ask them what authors they like to read.


• Discover the subjects and topics that interest them.


• Find out if they prefer fiction or nonfiction, fantasy or reality.


• Don't be afraid to ask your neighborhood children's librarian or children's books seller for suggestions and advice.


• Read your local newspaper's book section. Many newspapers and magazines feature book suggestions this time of year.


• Be consumer savvy. The books with biggest marketing budgets are not necessarily the best books for you child or teen. And conversely, a book you've never heard of may contain the story that changes your child’s or teen's life. Natacha says, "Just because a book jacket may look promising does not mean the story is going to live up to it. We all fall victim at one time or another to 'judging a book by its cover.'"


• Take into consideration the content and age recommendation. I think great care needs to be taken, especially if a young reader is at a higher reading level. Even though the child can read the material the content is not always appropriate.


• No one is ever too old for a picture book!!


• Consider all possibilities: great literature and fun, entertaining books. Says Natacha, "Think of books in terms of chocolate mousse and a Hershey kiss. There are moments for both!"

Read the complete article on the NCBLA website here.

Reading Rockets Buying Guide Makes Wonderful Recommendations

If you prefer to walk into the bookstore with a list in hand, be sure to check out Reading Rockets’ fabulous annual Books as Gifts Buying Guide! This year’s buying guide includes a carefully selected collection of poetry, bedtime stories, biographies, tales about dinosaurs and owls and dust bunnies, and much more — 80 terrific titles, for kids up to 9 years old. Created by children's literature expert Maria Salvadore, whose only criteria is the quality of the story, the list also recommends books for kids to read on their own and books for kids to read with a caring adult.

One Additional Recommendation
Consider Our White House: Looking In, Looking Out, which was was featured on the “Martha Stewart Show” last December as one of The New York Times “Eight Great Books for the Holidays!”
This award-winning stunning anthology includes original poetry, historical fiction, nonfiction, and primary source materials about American history using the White House as a unifying theme. It's a perfect book for kids of all ages, families, teachers, classrooms--anyone who loves art and history and literature!

Pulitzer Prize-winning historian David McCullough introduces this creative tour de force, in which 108 renowned authors and illustrators have donated their poetry, prose, and art to help advance the cause of young people’s literacy and historical literacy. The illustrations, essays, short stories, presidential letters, personal reflections, and historical accounts in Our White House inform and entertain, offering a window on more than 200 years of American history.

In Case You Missed It!

"The Endless First Chapter" in The New York Times-
Have You Lost Your Reading Attention Span?
Get it Back!

But I do believe this: I need books.

"Without books, I am starting to feel mentally flabby,” I complained to Dr. Maryanne Wolf, the author of “Proust and the Squid: The Story and Science of the Reading Brain,' after I phoned her to ask for help.

“There’s a good reason for that,” she said.

Deep reading — the kind that you engage in when you get lost in the syntax and imagery and the long, convoluted sentences of a really meaty book — is a special sort of exercise that creates a new part of the brain that did not exist at birth."
Michelle Slatalla

Ms. Slatalla's essay addresses how quick-fix reading and the increasingly audio/visual interpreted world can effect your attention span. Have your reading habits changed over the years with electronic venues reaching into every crevice of our lives? Have your children's reading habits changed?

“It’s semi-miraculous, really,” said Dr. Wolf, the director of the Center for Reading and Language Research at Tufts University. “We don’t have genes for reading. It’s an activity we invented, and by doing it, we show that our brain has the capacity to go beyond itself, to take all these circuits that were created for oral language or vision, and do something entirely different with them — deduction, critical analysis, imagination, contemplation.”

Read more at:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/10/fashion/10SPY.html?ref=style