Book talk: Say Hello to Zorro! by Carter Goodrich (Virginia Readers' Choice)

[Hold up cover, but cover up with your hand the part of the illustration which shows Zorro, the smaller dog].

This is Mister Bud [the larger dog on the cover]. Mister Bud has a great life for a dog. Dogs love a set schedule, and Mister Bud is no exception. He’s got his own house, his own bed, his own toys, his own dish, and a time for everything.

 Do you know how important his schedule is to Mister Bud? It is everything. He has his biscuit before his walk. When his owner comes home, it’s “greet and make a fuss time,” followed by quick backyard time, dinnertime, walk time, and then movie time. Yes, Mister Bud loves his movies. What dog doesn’t? What a perfect, happy, orderly life.

[Show cover, and take your hand off so that Zorro is now showing.] Oh my gosh, who is this? A new dog? A new dog in Mister Bud’s house? Oh dear. What is the expression on this little dog’s face? [Get a few responses.] Right, he looks angry. This is Zorro, and he’s little and fierce. Does Mister Bud look happy about this? [Absolutely not!]

To add insult to injury, this book is titled, “Say Hello to Zorro!” And that’s what Bud’s owners said to him when they brought Zorro home. Is trouble brewing?

Say Hello to Zorro! by Carter Goodrich. Unpaged. Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2011. Booktalk to preschool through 1^st. Virginia Readers’ Choice, 2012-2013.

Say Hello to Zorro

Book talk: City Dog, Country Frog by Mo Willems (Virginia Readers' Choice)

[For this booktalk, put a sticky tab on the following pages: pages {4-5}: “City Dog spotted something…”, pages {22-23, rainy day}, pages {28-29, frog sits on dog’s nose}, and pages {30-31:dusk}.

[Show cover.] Do frogs and dogs hang out together? [Invite brief discussion.] Okay, so maybe they don’t usually hang out and befriend one another.

But City Dog is unique. [Show pages 4-5] He was out in the countryside, probably on vacation, when he spotted a frog, quietly sitting on a rock. He talked to frog, and it turned out that frog was waiting for a friend. Frogs are like that. [Turn the page.] Frog knows all sorts of country games that city dog does not know, and he’s happy to teach city dog. [Turn the page.] What could be more fun than playing in a creek? [Turn page.] I think this picture is one of my favorite picture book pictures ever: city dog is giving country frog a ride on his head in the creek.

But not everything they do is funny like that. Friendship is made of quiet activities too: enduring rainy days [show pages 22-23], talking [show pages 28-29], and just hanging out [show pages 30-31]. All friendships are special, but there is something unique about the friendship of city dog and country frog.

City Dog, Country Frog by Mo Willems, pictures by Jon J. Muth. Hyperion, 2010. Unpaged. Booktalk to preschool – 2^nd grade. Virginia Readers’ Choice, 2012-2013.

City Dog, Country Frog

Book talk: Mirror Mirror: A Book of Reversible Verse (Virginia Readers' Choice, 2012-2013)

Did you look in the mirror this morning? Mirrors are funny. They show us a reversed image of ourselves. This book, Mirror Mirror, is all about reversals in fairy tales, a really fun topic, because reversals are everywhere in fairy tales: the poor, abused girl becomes the rich, beloved princess; the ugly duckling becomes the beautiful swan; the old crone becomes the young girl. There are reversals of appearance, of reality, and of good/evil.

"In the Hood," a reverso poem

But what if you made a poem, called a reverso, about this? Reversos are deceptively simple. I’m going to read you my favorite one. [Read your favorite reverso to the kids while showing them the accompanying picture: I like “In the Hood”]

[While explaining the reverso format, turn the pages so they can see others…] A reverso poem is like a puzzle: you read it, going down, as you would normally read. If you then took them bottom lines and put them at the top, reversing the order, you’re using exactly the same words but somehow, mysteriously, the meaning changes. Look carefully or you’ll miss it.

Mirror Mirror: A Book of Reversible Verse by Marilyn Singer, illustrated by Josee Masse. Dutton Children’s Books: 2010. Booktalk to elementary (I would use it for 1^st through 5^th). Virginia Readers’ Choice, 2012-2013.

Book talk: The Trouble with Chickens (Virginia Readers' Choice, 2012-2013)

J. J. Tully, 'retired' rescue dog

Search and rescue dogs are really cool and really smart. They use their keen sense of smell, orders from humans, and animal intuition to find missing people. It’s a noble job. J. J. Tully is a rescue dog. He has found many missing people by sniffing them out of rubble, snow, darkness, and danger. But now he’s got a mother chicken harassing him. Wait…a mother chicken? Why would a mother chicken harass a rescue dog? Oh, right…missing chicks. So, how hard can it be to find a bunch of missing chicks? Hold on, let me ask J. J. Tully. [Pause.] Okay, much harder than finding humans. Humans stink. You can smell them miles away. 

A chick trail is much harder, especially when it’s pouring rain, you’ve got a mom chicken and two other chicks right behind you and a cryptic ransom note. This was the weirdest ransom note I have ever read. I have to read it to you. It says, “I have your peeps. It behooves you to rendezvous. Twilight. Your place.” What?!?! Who talks likes this? This is going to be one crazy, weird mystery.

The Trouble with Chickens: A J. J. Tully Mystery by Doreen Cronin, illustrated by Kevin Cornell. 119 pages. Balzer + Bray, 2011. Booktalk to intermediate grades. Virginia Readers’ Choice, 2012-2013.

The Trouble with Chickens: A J.J. Tully Mystery

Book talk: I Need My Monster by Amanda Noll (Virginia Readers' Choice, 2012-2013)

When I was your age, I was afraid to look under my bed at night because that’s where the monsters live. Don’t laugh. I know you feel the same, but you don’t have to admit it. Ethan actually knows the monster under his bed. Yeah: they’re buddies. Isn’t that weird?

Ethan is a lot braver than I am, but he’s got a problem: his monster is going out of town for a week. Don’t ask me why, but Ethan has to have a monster under his bed. He will NOT be without one, so he starts interviewing monsters to see which one is suitable to stay under his bed at night! I know: I don’t get it, either.

How hard can it be to find the right monster? Okay, one was wearing a bow, one had an absurdly long tongue, and one was green but not scary. Agghhhhh!!!! How many monsters does a boy have to interview before he finds one appropriately terrifying to stay under his bed?

 I Need My Monster by Amanda Noll, illustrated by Howard McWilliam. Unpaged. Booktalk to K-2. Virginia Readers’ Choice, 2012-2013.

I Need My Monster

Booktalk: The One and Only Ivan (Newbery Award winner, 2013)

Can you keep your eyes closed for part of this booktalk? Good. Close them now. I want you to pretend that you’re a gorilla. Your name is Ivan, and you don’t live in the wild and you don’t live in a zoo. You live in a cage in a mall that has a video arcade and some other encaged animals. Yes, a small, shabby mall. Picture it in your mind. Your cage has thick glass on three sides. From your cage, you can see part of the mall (pinball machines, cotton candy, parking lot with no trees). Humans can see into your cage. Inside your cage, there isn’t much. There’s a t.v. of all things, plus a little plastic pool with dirty water, plus a tire swing.

Now I want you to picture a little girl, named Julia, who is the janitor’s daughter. It doesn’t matter what she looks like, because she likes you. Just picture a young girl with a kind face. She brings you treats. Now I want you to picture an older elephant – that’s Stella, and she lives near you, and a little clever dog, Bob, who comes and goes as he pleases. These are your friends. You’re Ivan the gorilla, and this is your whole world. Keep your eyes closed! Think for a minute what it must feel like to be Ivan. Is it boring? Is it safe? Is it fun? Is it lonely?

You can open your eyes now. Ivan and his friends have spent some time trying to figure out what makes us humans tick, for reasons you’ll see when you read the book. But very few other creatures – human or not – understand what goes on in Ivan’s mind and heart.

The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate. 2012: HarperCollins. 305 pages. Booktalk to intermediate grades and middle school. Newbery Award winner, 2013.

Book talk: The Mighty Miss Malone by Christopher Paul Curtis (Newbery contender)

[Show cover.] Like all of us, Deza Malone was born with advantages and setbacks. I’m going to get the bad stuff out of the way first, so here it is:

Deza and her family are living during the Great Depression, a time in the United States when many people were poor, many children went hungry, and many men and women could not find jobs.

Deza’s family is especially poor and cannot afford medical care. Although Deza is basically healthy, her teeth are rotting are she is often in pain because of this. She’s only 12, and that shouldn’t be happening to someone that young. Deza overhears her father privately talking about how upset he is over her teeth and how frustrated he is that he can’t do anything about them.

Racism is still alive and well during the Great Depression, and many whites still look down on African-Africans. Deza and her family have experienced racism and prejudice first hand.

Okay, I got some of the bad stuff out of the way. Now for the cool stuff about Deza.

Deza is an awesome friend and sister. She’s funny, loyal, and kind. She and her best friend, Clarice, look out for each other. They have a secret sign that means, “two girls, one heart.”

Deza is super smart and never brags or has an attitude about it. She’s a great reader and a brilliant writer. The only time she got a low grade on an essay was when she had a teacher who didn’t believe in giving good grades to African-Americans. Ever.

Deza is tough (she can hold her own in a fist fight) and surprisingly sneaky (in a good way). I can’t tell you what she did that was sneaky, but it really took me by surprise, and that’s part of the reason her father calls her The Mighty Miss Malone.

The Mighty Miss Malone by Christopher Paul Curtis. 2012: Wendy Lamb Books. 307 pages. Booktalk to intermediate grades and middle school. Newbery 2013 contender.