| If you'd like to view this email in a Web browser, please click here | | | | | |  | | | Award season is here. That means it is time to celebrate all of the fantastic books that were published in 2012!
In this issue, we include some ideas for building texts sets around award-winning titles that support the Common Core State Standards. We also review some likely award winners (our fingers are crossed!), and list a top 10 of potential Newbery winners for 2013.
The ALA Youth Media Awards will be announced on Monday, January 28. Before the results are in, we want to give you a chance to guess which books will win in our 2013 Mock Award Contest. One lucky winner will receive a Booksource collection of award-winning titles. Click the “Vote Here” button below to get started!
 | | | | | By Emma Williams, Booksource Collection Development Specialist | I recently read a great article in the Washington Post entitled “What English classes should look like in Common Core era.” The article addressed the confusion surrounding the recommended student reading percentages for literary text versus informational text per grade level. The author contends: “The claim that the Common Core State Standards have abolished the teaching of literature makes for a great headline.” Then she goes on to explain that the percentages distinguished in the 2009 NAEP Reading Framework do not reflect the percentages of informational and literary texts in an English classroom. Instead, the student reading percentages reflect what a student should be reading throughout the whole school day, across disciplines.
The author also comments on what I perceive to be the overall goal of the Reading standards: anchor standard 10. This standard says that students should “read and comprehend complex literary and informational texts independently and proficiently.” The author explains that anchor 10 will never be achieved if students are not reading on their own time. She suggests that we, as a society, need to rethink what we are allowing our students to do.
We somehow need to generate a vibrant excitement about reading. The question becomes how. How do we pull our students away from their computer screens and back to book pages? One way is to choose the right books. Each year thousands upon thousands of children’s and young adult books are published. But only some are distinguished with awards and starred reviews. We must take advantage of these accolades and make sure that our students are aware of the “trendy” new reads. In addition, we need to teach robust titles that will not be easily forgotten. These are the titles that change lives, and it is our job, as educators, to find these and build upon them.
Esperanza Rising is a great example of a potential life-changing title. It presents many teaching opportunities making it an ideal title to use when building supportive text sets. The story is set during the Great Depression and centers on Esperanza, a 13-year-old Mexican girl from an upper-class family, who is forced to flee from her cushioned life in Mexico and work in labor camp in California. Esperanza must adapt to her harsh, new life if she wants to survive and ultimately becomes a stronger, more admirable character. The story has a compelling voice and an ample amount of themes and topics well suited for the classroom, including: civil rights, family, pride, prejudice, and kindness.
 When we build supportive texts around a robust central text, we can support anchor standards nine and six. Standard nine says that students should “analyze how two or more texts address similar themes or topics in order to build knowledge or to compare the approaches the authors take.” Standard six says that students should “assess how point of view or purpose shapes the content and style of a text.” In addition to supporting these specific Common Core Standards, we are working across  disciplines and are able to incorporate more informational texts. For example, with Esperanza Rising, we can incorporate a book such as The Dust Bowl Through The Lens to help build background information about the time period. We could also bring in a book like Voices From The Field: Children Of Migrant Farmworkers Tell Their Stories or Harvesting Hope: The Story Of Cesar Chavez to connect to contemporary civil rights issues regarding migrant workers.
Incorporating supportive texts can be as simple as an enthusiastic book talk. However, I envision a more collaborative effort where educators are working across disciplines to find the best of the best—titles that they themselves feel passionate about. In my vision, the goal is to build effective curriculum around literature. I am confident that my dream can come true because the books that will be the foundation of these curriculums already exist!
For a complete list of supporting titles for Esperanza Rising, check our Enrichment Set. We have Enrichment Sets for numerous other award-winning titles such as, Bud, Not Buddy, The Egypt Game, and Number The Stars.
To learn more about the Common Core State Standards, visit http://www.corestandards.org/.
Emma Williams is a Collection Development Specialist at Booksource. She is reading Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn. | | | | | By Melissa Micka, Booksource Collection Development Specialist |  Get ready to delight in the joy of storytelling because Bear has a story to tell. What is his story? He’d love to tell you if only he could find someone to listen. The trouble is that it’s almost winter and he’s getting sleepy.
The anticipation of finding out what Bear’s story is grows with each page as he asks his friends one by one if they want to hear his story and finds that they are all too busy getting ready for winter. Bear is a good sport and helps them before going off to hibernate. After the seasons change, the friends gather again. Everyone is ready to hear Bear’s story, but with the passing time, Bear has forgotten it. Luckily, Bear’s friends are there to help him remember—and to help young readers by subtlety hinting at what makes a story (i.e., the characters and the plot). The book ends just as it began; Bear starts his story with the first sentence of the book.
This sweet tale of friendship has a strong character education message of the importance of patience and helping others. It is particularly useful for writing workshops because it lays a great foundation for talking about the elements of a story. Ask students what they think Bear’s story will be, discuss how characters and plot shape that story, and how the beginning and ending line of the story are the same. Discuss other characters and plots that could have been introduced (for example, a squirrel could have been gathering nuts or maybe a little kid could have been wandering around in the woods). What would have happened then?
Use the theme of the changing seasons as another discussion point. Are there special things that the students’ families do to prepare for winter, spring, summer or fall? Or have students ever had to wait to do something they really wanted to do? What that was like? Encourage students to be like Bear and tell their story.
Melissa Micka is a Collection Development Specialist at Booksource. She is currently reading Out Of The Easy by Ruta Sepetys. | | | Reviewed by Emma Williams, Booksource Collection Development Specialist
 Ivan, a silverback gorilla, is the main attraction at Exit 8 Big Top Mall And Video Arcade. He's been there for 9,855 days—a very long time to be alone in a cage. Ivan acknowledges that parts of his life are rather dreary, but he is content with his life in captivity. After all, he has two best friends (Stella, the elephant; and Bob, the dog), plenty of food … and, oh yes, his art!
Ivan loves to draw. One of the humans he knows, a young girl named Julia who is the daughter of the mall janitor, creates art alongside Ivan every night as her dad does his cleaning. Julia inspires Ivan to grow as an artist and draw not only things he can see, but also things in he imagines. He can’t quite grasp the concept of imagination. When Ivan creates art, he thinks only about art. This is good. It is one way he copes with his limited existence and painful memories.
One day, a baby elephant named Ruby arrives to join the show. Ruby is fresh out of the wild, and the others do their best to help her adjust. Stella immediately falls in love with the baby, and takes on a motherly role. Ruby brings a certain joy to the place that only a youngster can bring. She also causes the older animals to reflect on their lives at the Big Top as well as before they arrived there. Ruby is so young, with her whole life ahead of her, and the others want better for her. After a sad turn of events, Ivan makes a promise to protect and save her. Now, he just needs to figure out how...
With sparse prose and elegant word choice, Katherine Applegate tells a story for the ages. This story, told from Ivan's point of view, immediately captured my heart. From the beginning I was taken by Ivan's melancholy yet accepting voice. I rarely consider life through an animal’s eyes, but this story made me do just that. This caring creature inspires me to be a more caring human being. This book offers a broad range discussion topics and classroom applications: animal rights, life science, character education, free-verse poetry, friendship, and voice, to name just a few. I highly recommend it for a read-aloud or class novel this year. And I must say that The One And Only Ivan is thus far my "one and only" pick for this year’s Newbery. Amazing.
The One And Only Ivan was inspired by the real life of a gorilla named Ivan who passed away in August. Check out this piece about the real Ivan from NPR.
Emma Williams is a Collection Development Specialist at Booksource. She is reading Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn. | | | | |  With fairy tale twists and amazing illustrations, Extra Yarn by Mac Barnett is one of my favorite picture books that came out in 2012. Bennett’s twist on a classic plot brings a drab town to life through generosity, creativity, and a never ending supply of colorful yarn. Simplistic and quirky illustrations by the imaginative Jon Klassen (illustrator of I Want My Hat Back) compliment the story perfectly.
Following a traditional fairy tale plot, Extra Yarn begins with Annabelle, a young girl stuck in a drab town surrounded by nothing but white snow and dark houses. This all changes when Annabelle discovers a magical box of colorful yarn. After making a sweater for herself and her dog, she is surprised to find she still has more yarn. No matter how many colorful sweaters she makes for the interesting people, creatures, and objects in her village, the magical box always contains more yarn. Soon the drab gray, black and white town turns into a colorful landmark. People begin coming from all around the world to see and meet Annabelle, the girl who made it this way. No fairy tale is complete without a villain, and in Extra Yarn he is an archduke who wants to take the box of yarn from Annabelle. After offers of money do not work, the archduke steals the box of yarn from Annabelle and sails back to his home country. But in true fairy tale style, magical powers only work for the purest of heart and his evil plans do not make it far. Not only is Extra Yarn a great read aloud, it also has many other uses in the elementary classroom. Recommended for preschool and up, Extra Yarn presents many opportunities to discuss good decision making and character building. Annabelle is kind and generous, and students can discuss if the fate of the villain is a fair one. It would also be fun for students to do an art project involving yarn, including a discussion of how yarn is made. I highly recommend Extra Yarn to anyone who loves a great plot and imaginative illustrations.
Courtney Pepmueller is a Human Resources Specialist at Booksource. She is currently reading Game Of Thrones by George R. R. Martin. | | | December Survey Winners!
Thank you to everyone who filled out our survey last month. Congratulations to the winners of our 50 Book Classroom Libraries! - Ruth Hook from Vicksburg, MI
- Meredith Taylor from Elgin, IL
- Lisa Morgan from Parma, MI
- Shari Alexios from Palm Beach Garden, FL
- Stephanie Frawley from Darien, CT
| | | Booksource's Top 10 Potential Newbery Winners for 2013 | | | Please feel free to forward this newsletter to friends and colleagues.
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