Reflections

I so enjoyed pulling books off the shelf yesterday that I continued for part of the night and a little bit this morning. As promised, here is a list of books that I sometimes use to teach the main craft elements. As you can see, many of the same titles appear on list after list. That's because a strong mentor text will offer its reader great word choice, details, organization and voice. It's what makes good literature stand out. Since craft is the way we link words together to create meaning, the best literature exemplifies attention to craft in several areas.

Remember, read all mentor text in its entirety at least once to the class for pure enjoyment. Later, only use a small part of the text as an example of ONE craft element. Read it to the students, discuss it and then experiment with it. This can happen during a mini-lesson, during a conference, or simply during reading workshop to reinforce the reading process, as well. Writers are great readers and readers are great writers.

Not only can literature be used to teach these major craft elements, but it can be a source of mini-lessons and conversations for how to title a piece, noticing the use of repeating refrains, how to craft leads or endings, the blending of narrative features in nonfiction text, etc. And if you want to integrate the teaching of grammar and punctuation into writing workshop, read Jeff Anderson's books - Everyday Editing and Mechanically Inclined - to learn how to lift "mentor sentences" from literature.

That's the thing about good books - they are our best co-teachers during writing workshop. Cheers!

PS If you're not aware, the post before this one lists choices of mentor texts for genre. Enjoy!

Craft

Focus – books with an easy focus to identify
Just One Bite – Lola Schaefer
Friends – Catherine Thimmesh
Little Dog Poems – Kristine O’Connell George
The Quiet Book – Deborah Underwood
What’s Up, What’s Down – Lola Schaefer
Subway Ride – Heather Lynn Miller
Nine O’Clock Lullaby – Marilyn Singer
Scaredy Squirrel – Melanie Watt
One Is a Snail, Ten Is a Crab – April Pulley Sayre
Flight – Robert Burleigh
How to Clean a Hippopotamus – Steve Jenkins
My Name is Georgia – Jeanette Winter
Rosa’s Bus – Jo Kittinger
Now & Ben – Gene Barretta
Wanted the Perfect Pet – Fiona Roberton
Freedom Summer – Deborah Wiles

Word Choice
All the World – Liz Garton
A House Is a House for Me – Mary Ann Hoberman
Fletcher and the Falling Leaves – Julia Rawlinson
Grandad’s Fishing Buddy – Mary Quigley
Over and Under the Snow - Kate Messner
Rosa’s Bus – Jo Kittinger
Canoe Days – Gary Paulsen (coined words in use)
Thesaurus Rex – Laya Steinberg
Max’s Words – Kate Banks
Weaving the Rainbow – George Ella Lyon
The Boy Who Loved Words – Roni Schotter
14 Cows for America – Carmen Agra Deedy
Freedom Summer – Deborah Wiles
Yatandou – Gloria Whelan
My Uncle Martin’s Big Heart – Angela Farris Watkins
When Marian Sang – Pam Munoz Ryan
Ubiquitous – Joyce Sidman
Arrowhawk – Lola Schaefer
Earth: Feeling the Heat – Brenda Z. Guiberson
well written poetry

Detail
When I Was Young in the Mountains – Cynthia Rylant
When the Relatives Came – Cynthia Rylant
Weaving the Rainbow – George Ella Lyon
Never Smile At a Monkey – Steve Jenkins
All the Places to Love – Pat MacLachlan
Over and Under the Snow - Kate Messner
Grandpa’s Fishing Buddy – Mary Quigley
Freedom Summer – Deborah Wiles
Rosa’s Bus – Jo Kittinger
Twilight Comes Twice – Ralph Fletcher
When Marian Sang – Pam Munoz Ryan
I Dream of Trains – Angela Johnson
14 Cows For America – Carmen Agra Deedy
A Good Night for Freedom – Barbara Olenyik Morrow
Two Bobbies – Kirby Larson and Mary Nethery
My Uncle Martin’s Big Heart – Angela Farris Watkins
Thomas Jefferson – James Cross Giblin
The Secret World of Walter Anderson – Hester Bass
A River of Words – Jen Bryant
Ubiquitous – Joyce Sidman
Selected entries from any of the My Name is America journals
selected passages from well-written novels

Organization
A Good Day – Kevin Henkes
Diary of Worm (Spider, Fly) – Doreen Cronin
Tomorrow’s Alphabet – George Shannon
Just One Bite – Lola Schaefer
The Quiet Book – Deborah Underwood
What’s Up, What’s Down – Lola Schaefer
Nine O’Clock Lullaby – Marilyn Singer
Flight – Robert Burleigh
Rosa’s Bus – Jo Kittinger
Shark vs. Train – Chris Barton
Trout Are Made of Trees – April Pulley Sayre
This is the Sunflower – Lola Schaefer
Scaredy Squirrel – Melanie Watt
Now & Ben – Gene Baretta
Freedom Summer – Deborah Wiles
Earth: Feeling the Heat – Brenda Z. Guiberson
I Wanna New Room – Karen Kaufman Orloff
Ubiquitous – Joyce Sidman

Elaboration (books with figurative language, show, don’t tell, and wonderful description)
Lilly’s Purple Plastic Purse - Kevin Henkes
Oliver Finds His Way – Phyllis Root
Over and Under the Snow - Kate Messner
Granddad’s fishing Buddy – Mary Quigley
Rosa’s Bus – Jo Kittinger
Weaving the Rainbow – George Ella Lyon
The Firekeeper’s Son – Linda Sue Park
A Good Night for Freedom – Barbara Olenyik Morrow
Two Bobbies – Kirby Larson and Mary Nethery
When Marian Sang – Pam Munoz Ryan
Freedom Summer – Deborah Wiles
The Secret World of Water Anderson – Hester Bass
The Butterfly – Patricia Polacco
Yatandou – Gloria Whelan

Voice
If You Were Born a Kitten – Marion Dane Bauer
Diary of a Worm (Spider, Fly) – Doreen Cronin
Scaredy Squirrel – Melanie Watt
Waiting for Wings – Lois Ehlert
Bubba and Beau – Kathi Appelt
All the Places to Love – Patricia MacLachlan
Rudi’s Pond – Eve Bunting
Weaving the Rainbow – George Ella Lyon
The Firekeeper’s Son – Linda Sue Park
All the Water in the World – George Ella Lyon
I Dream of Trains – Angela Johnson
My Name is Sangoel – Karen Lynn Williams and Khadra Mohammed
When Marian Sang – Pam Munoz Ryan
Living Sunlight – Molly Bang & Penny Chisholm
Swamp Angel – Anne Isaacs
The Dunderheads – Paul Fleischman
Yatandou – Gloria Whelan
Diary of a Wimpy Kid – Jeff Kinney
Hope Was Here – Joan Bauer
Sahara Special – Esme Raji Codell
The Dreamer – Pam Munoz Ryan

Many authors are entering e-book publishing and I'm one of them. That doesn't mean I know exactly what's happening with all of these digital apps, but I'm more than happy to expand my readership. MITTENS the kitten (HarperCollins I Can Read Books) now has five titles in print and in e-books. This past week I was contacted by blogger Karleen Tauszik. She told me that HAPPY HALLOWEEN, MITTENS has been selling quite well as an e-book and asked me for an interview. I was happy to answer her questions and here is a link to her blog. I hope everyone has a scary Halloween and holidays filled with family and friends. http://www.kidsebookbestsellers.com/2011/10/happy-halloween-from-bestsel...