Yeah, I pretty much love the city pretty much any time and day of the year.
Born and raised in Queens (yes, Lucky Broken Girl's Ruth Behar and I both are graduates of PS 117 in Briarwood), I have lived outside of 11432 way longer than I lived there. Yet my love for the city constantly flows through my arteries like my past 50 years have all been spent just up from the Parsons Blvd station.
So could that be why I love Manhattan by Jennifer Thermes so much? Maybe. But by the looks of my Twitter feed, my fondness for this book is not unique. And I follow librarians and educators from all over the country. Let's just say this book that has it all wrapped under one case, is appealing to anyone:
Obviously, the cartographer--Thermes is a map illustrator and it is evident in the perfect map on each page of this ever evolving island.
Historians--The book takes you on the historical journey of Manhattan from millions of years ago to today. You could do a scavenger hunt searching for facts on Hamilton, Edgar Allan Poe, geology...it's extensive.
Urban planners--Details about Wall Street, the grid, Central Park and so much more will delight these folks for sure.
Tourists--This is the ultimate guide to Manhattan. How fun would it be to have this book by your side while you are planning your trip. Maybe pack the eBook version as it is oversized. Not a complaint--Manhattan is a long skinny island and deserves this sized book--just not ideal for travel.
And of course, the artists and lovers of kidlit. I fell for Jennifer Thermes with her Grandma Gatewood Hikes the Appalachian Trail and am glad she moved off the mountain to my happy place.
Last minute gift idea-- give a pair of New York books, wrap Manhattan up with Elisha Cooper's RIVERwhich flow up to where I reside now.
********************************************************************************* Speaking of Elisha, he and I met for coffee overlooking the river (sort of) last Friday afternoon. I was heading to the city the next day and he drew his own map for us.
Library? His idea. Walking through SoHo to West Village? Elisha. Murray's Cheese? Uh-huh. (Yes and the Roomano was quite yummy!) Bar Pisellino? Yep. (Best. Hot Chocolate. Ever.) So it was a great day.
The obligatory leap.
Had a couple of 13 year olds who wanted to walk up Fifth. Did that, too.
Got 6 minutes? Check out their video of our day (and maybe consider subscribing to their channel 😉)
Doughnuts and coffee courtesy of Cider Belly Doughnuts, Albany
After I finished The Doughnut King I went out and bought myself this fancy bar of chocolate. I just had to try Tris's recipe for the "One Ingredient Masterpiece." Unfortunately, time has not allowed me the opportunity to make it yet, but when it does it's reassuring to know that I have the one ingredient on hand.
The companion to last year's The Doughnut Fix by doughnut connoisseur (and foodie), Jessie Janowitz, brings us back to upstate New York (with references of Albany that make this Capital Region dweller smile). But not for long. Petersville is, for lack of a better word, disappearing. No one is moving there and business is slow all around. Except for the doughnuts. Seventh grader and baker, Tris, and his business partner and friend, Josh, just can't keep up with the demand. I mean, who can blame the public? I could practically taste the FYO (fill your own) butterscotch doughnuts through the pages. So when Tris's sister submits an application in his name to be a contestant on the popular kid's cooking competition show, "Can You Cut It?", he can't back down. The $100,000 prize would cover the Doughnut Robot, a tool he believes will help with production and save Petersville.
When it's time to begin filming the show, Tris et al pack into an airstream (yes, I love this detail) and park in Manhattan, their old stomping ground and, for this family of foodies, home of their favorite eateries. I'm telling you if I wasn't reading the book on the stationary bike, the pounds would have easily seeped through the pages onto my body: cronuts, croissants, matzoh ball soup, eggs with onions...completely delicious.
"Can You Cut It?" is filled with fierce competition and intensity. I was just as likely to inhale and "OMG" as I was to giggle at the insanity of Chef JJ, the judge. Ever watch Master Chef Jr? Wonder what goes on behind the scenes? When do they take those interviews? What happens in the green room with the contestants? Here's a little imaginative peek.
This May grab your preferred sweet treat (FYO, cronut, ice cream "I think better with ice cream," Tris says early on. Who doesn't really?) and enjoy the ride to Petersville, Manhattan and back. Much will keep your eyes glued to the text at the same time planning out your next visit to your local doughnut shop and secretly wishing the story wasn't fiction.
ps-Fingers crossed Petersville doesn't disappear and Jessie is already at work on Book 3.
Hello Lulu Well hello Lulu In October your story will be sure to rise above the pack Hello Lulu Well hello Lulu I can't wait to put you in upon my stacks
Well, you get it. Lulu the Broadway Mouse by debut author but veteran actor, Jenna Gavigan, hits the shelves this fall. And although I may be a tad bias--yes, my Twitter bio says that I love all things NYC and theatre (spelled "re" by the way) and this book is for lovers of all that--I did love this book and think it will appeal to young people with all kinds of interests, but especially those of Broadway. Do you have a thing for cute, talking mice? Now I do. Do you know the feeling of wanting a dream to come true so badly it hurts? Sure. Was/is there a mean girl in your life? We can all name at least one.
Lulu lives in the basement of the famous Shubert Theatre "home to hits and flops, thousands of debuts and hundreds of return engagements" with her mouse family. Her mother works in the costume department while Lulu hangs out with the actors, young and old. Lulu's dream is to leap, well in her case, jete, from backstage to performer. But a mouse, really? Even Lulu doesn't believe it can come true and her friends try to help her see the reality.
"The way the people in this theatre think? The way they think of you? They don't see you as a mouse. They see you as a little kid, and a talented one at that; you know this show just as well as they do, if not better. But most people? Regular people? They're just too closed-minded and ignorant to understand. They'd be scared. And we can't have audiences being scared because they might never come back." (p.42)
Inside the Shubert
We want our readers to believe in the impossible. And they will. This is a fantasy book that comes to life and feels as real as any singing and dancing teapot and candelabra feel like real life on the stage and film.
It's a feel good kind of story that will make for a fun read aloud in third or fourth grade. Pair it with images of the city, the history of the Shubert Theatre (Hello, Dolly!
is there right now--hence my pathetic introduction and one of my very favorite shows premiered there in the 70s, A Chorus Line) and a conversation about theatre and plays. Great conversations will also ensue about choosing kind, friendship and of course, hopes and dreams. Then when you are finished you could go see a local play or put one on yourselves. Maybe write a Reader's Theatre script from one of the chapters. Or write a prequel or sequel chapter. Do a class mock Playbill. Oooh...I'm getting myself excited and it's only July.
Outside the Shubert in January!
So even though you may not have access to celebrate with a cake from Amy's Bread in or even a candy bar from Duane Reade, don't kiss the year goodbye without reading and sharing Lulu with a wide audience.
More about Jenna Gavigan and Lulu from Playbill here.
Postscript
#squad
Last week Mrs. Warland and I journeyed to the city for a bookish day. So it began at the KidlitTV studios because Kwame invited me to be a guest on his live "Smoked Salmon" episode of #Bookish. If you have Facebook, you can watch it here with this link:
PS-I CAN'T BELIEVE I FORGOT TO SAY THAT JENNI HOLM AND I SHARE A BIRTHDAY!
In the afternoon we met Jenna Gavigan for the first time in the West Village for iced tea so we could make some book birthday plans for Castleton. I was taking my chances since I hadn't read the book yet! Phew! Good thing I love the book!
Then Caldecott Honoree, Elisha Cooper, met us and we had fun talking about parenthood, the Hudson River and the New York Times, Modern Love essays. Elisha just happens to be the author/illustrator of Mrs. Warland's favorite book that she always shares when she is invited to be a guest reader. He surprised her with her own copy (and now signed) of Homer! #WhatADay
Two years ago I had a small fifth grade So B. It (by Sarah Weeks) book group in preparation for Sarah's visit to our school. We were reading the end aloud together and Landon and I started crying. I clearly remember asking the kid sitting next to me to switch seats with Landon so we could have our emotional moment side by side. The movie would be coming out eventually and Landon and I promised each other that we would see it together. I had no idea that moment would be last night in New York City.
Castleton is a small town just outside of Albany. We have less than 900 students in our entire school district. But a small school does not equate anything when it comes to our fan love for Sarah Weeks. So there we were six dedicated fans--along with Landon and I came Mrs. Kelliher, her son, Colin, Mrs. Warland and granddaughter and former student of mine, Emma-- piled into my van to drive the 150 miles to the premiere on 34th Street. We are SERIOUS fans: audio book playing in the car, copies of the book in our bags AND a So B. It tied around Landon's neck and his brother's Honey (another Sarah novel) tie around Colin's.
I won't go into details how I thought the theatre was on the east side and we had to literally RUN across town to make it on time (we did), even with a couple of minutes to spare to leap with Sarah before the movie. Or how Mrs. Warland, speed walking through Times Square, nearly knocked a woman down and didn't make her too happy 😟 And then how we couldn't find the parking garage and if we had just listened to the kids we wouldn't have had a "Groundhog Day" moment at Grand Central Station. It was all good and added to our memorable evening.
Usually not a fan of movies made from books, but I loved this one. I'm sure part of the reason, and we found out from the panel afterward, was that Sarah collaborated with screenwriter, Garry Williams on the script every step of the way and it was such a wonderful experience for all. I believe it was Garry who said last night that he kept waiting to wake up from his dream and after a few weeks realized he actually was awake.
The Castleton kids with Sarah, her son, Nat, and star, Dash Mihok
The young actress, Talitha Bateman, gave a stunning performance in the film. She was believable as Heidi and got us all weeping at the end. Since Sarah got the most applause when introduced on the panel, my guess is most of the audience had read the book at least once and yet we were all sniffling.
It was wonderful to sit with Landon and whisper "I remember that from the book" or "That wasn't in the book." Whatever was changed or deleted to make Sarah's six hour book become an hour and 40 minute film worked for all of us.
Landon's tie was a huge hit of the evening! Everyone needs one of those, right?
The Castleton crew at the NYC premiere!
I pulled into my garage at 3:00 am. It was worth every minute and I would do it again in a heartbeat. Read the book, find the movie (fingers crossed it's closer to you than it was for us and if it's not, try and get it closer) and then hang tight because Sarah's sequel to the book is coming out next Fall! #SOOF
Our souvenir of the evening (besides our fond memories), a SOOF bracelet
I am a Queens native and still very much have the Queens in me. I look at my pictures of my class from PS 117 and see how diverse and wonderful each student was and also think, "How did our teachers ever teach us with nearly 40 in a class?!" I love how FaceBook has connected me with my early friends now way over 30 years later.
When I was in school in the 70s and 80s, we would take field trips frequently to the cultural mecca of "the city" which was and always will be "Manhattan." We went to The Met, MoMA, The Museum of Natural History,The Hayden Planetarium, NY Transit Museum (which I think was in Manhattan at the time), the Museum of the City of New York, and I'm sure more. With my Mom I went to the theatre often with any excuse in the book ("Oh, you got a 100 on a test, let's go to the theatre!" and with my Dad we celebrated every birthday by visiting a tourist attraction with my friends. But until last Monday, I had never been to The Society of Illustrators and had no idea what a treat I was in for!
The Society of Illustrators is at 128 East 63rd Street
There was a special event for librarians only but I was lucky enough to bring my art teacher, Suzanne, along because she and I have plans to open a "gallery" in my library in the spring in honor of an illustrator visiting us who just happens to be one of the silver medal winners of "The Original Art 2016" Show that we were there for! Hmmm....could Daniel Miyares be visiting Castleton Elementary School in May?
The Original Art show is amazing and a must see for any librarian, classroom teacher, art teacher, parent, really anyone interested in original illustration art. This year it is original artwork from 132 of the best books chosen by a panel of illustrators, authors, and art directors. Imagine this. You love a book so much. You have read it to yourself a dozen times and share it with students a dozen more. You have visited the illustrator's website. You have talked about the book with others. And now, you can see a piece of artwork from that special book up close and personal. Not only that, if you are able to attend a gallery talk like we did last week, you can even hear more about the details of the artwork. Pinch me. I felt like I was in librarian heaven.
AND on top of all that, at last week's event we got to listen to and meet three illustrators from the show: Sergio Ruzzier,Mike Curato and Nancy Carpenter. What a treat. They each talked about their process.
Sergio went first. Originally from Milan, he has been here since 1995. He shares a studio with some remarkable artists in Brooklyn (remember John Bemelmans Marciano and Sophie Blackall?). Interesting fact about Sergio: we found out that he never owned a sketch book. This is Not a Picture Book is on my Mock Geisel for this year. Stay tuned.
Next up was Nancy.
She showed us a picture of her studio and desk and pointed out a piece of her own artwork hanging up. "I put up my own artwork to remind myself that I can do this." I love that. She also shared that "the mistakes I make are where the magic is." I found the video that Nancy shared with us showing her process. Truly amazing:
We learned from Mike Curato's presentation that "mint is the answer to everything!" Be sure and check out where the mint pops out in Little Elliot, Big Fun.
Q and A with the artists
I cannot believe I am holding my book backwards!
I took a bunch of notes during our gallery talk (I was in Martha Rago's group and the quotes are hers). It was all so enlightening and inspiring. These are just some of the highlights of things I loved that were brought to my attention and I hope I bring to yours the next time you pick up one of these books:
Freedom in Congo Square by R. Gregory Christie
"...like an Alvin Ailey performance..."
Fearless Flyer: Ruth Law and Her Flying Machine by Heather Long and illustrated by Raul Colon
I particularly took note of this book because the character creates a "symphony of color" and wondered how I might be able to collaborate with my music teacher...
We love this book for our Mock Geisel project and it was lovely to see the artwork up close. Martha put it so well when she said it is,
"very accessible and understandable and that simplicity works."
Some Writer! The Story of E. B. White by Melissa Sweet
Omg. This was amazing. Melissa created dioramas for her artwork and then photographed them. You can't even describe it in words so you'll just have to go to the exhibit to see it in person. As Martha put it,
This book is on my Newbery list and will be on my Sibert list. We love Shana (and she also just happens to be Chris Grabenstein's editor--small world) and the illustrations are incredible. They are hand built 3-D sets that are created first and then photographed. Remarkable.
I have fallen hard for this book and shared it with many classes along with Emily Arrow's song.
Then to see the original artwork of the full page cat. Wow. Here's what Martha said,
"The story is about perception...he changes technique for each point of view."
I want you to know that ALL the artwork in the exhibit was incredible and it was so wonderful to see work by people I have met and some who even took a leap with me in the past (Brian Biggs*, Ashley Bryant, Sophie Blackall*, Lauren Castillo*, Matthew Cordell*, Jon Klassen, Steve Light, Zachariah OHora*, Greg Pizzoli, Sean Qualls,* Christian Robinson, Dan Santat*)
*They took the LEAP!
And speaking of Sophie Blackall (we were, right?) Suzanne and I walked by the MoMA Design Store so we could see Sophie's window. I was in awe. I'd love to know the process behind that. Then we went into the store and Sophie's work is inside as well. It's worth the trip to 53rd Street.
Then Sophie surprised us all and came to gallery! So exciting!
Sophie and Suzanne
Suzanne and I got home close to midnight but it was worth every tired minute the rest of the week. That's why it took me this long to post about the event. So the next time you are on the Upper East Side or anywhere near there or need an excuse to go to the city (do you really?), put the Society of Illustrators on your list. You will not regret it.
A shock came to our community on July 4 when we suddenly lost, Bob Horan, the most dedicated and passionate superintendent you may ever meet. We are a small school district (less than 1000 students) and on any given day at our elementary school, you could find Bob reading to first graders, observing an author Skype, playing with bots or just walking through the hallways. He was a big fan of STEAM so I will do my best to devote some time to STEAM in the coming years in his memory.
Here's Bob with Chris Grabenstein at our school in January.
National Tragedy
While we were mourning Bob, the events that unraveled in Baton Rouge, Minnesota and Dallas hit me hard. I feel hopeless and wish there was something I can do to make things better. I'm worried for my children, my family and my students. The best I can do is advocate, read and share books and poetry that can make a difference. I appreciate this post with a #BlackLivesMatter booklist for teens:
I also want to share Kwame Alexander's interview on NPR on Sunday. He always gives me hope:
While running late last week, I listened to an old podcast on This American Life. It was so relevant to today, I feel like I want you all to listen to it, too. W. Kamau Bell's part is Act II and about 18 minutes into the podcast.
The link is here:
Then I actually went to W. Kamau Bell's website to view his blog and the post mentioned in his story was right there. Here it is:
You may or may not know, that I am a big fan of Sean Qualls and Selina Alko and the book referenced in the stories. I just hate that it all has to come down to this. Way over a year has passed since this story was aired, I hope things have changed, although with the events of the past week, I am just not so sure...
Looking Ahead
Only days after Bob's passing, we were scheduled to share our Towers Falling project ideas with our Board of Education. Needless to say, it has been put on hold for a little bit. However, we still moved forward in our planning and are hopeful that we will be able to commit to an end date soon.
So on Monday, with support from our principal and Director of Curriculum, we continued to plan this project that takes a tragedy and turns it into an amazing inquiry, project based cross curricular year long study on heroes, patriotism, history, memories and resilience based on Jewell Parker Rhodes, Towers Falling. Two months to the day before the 15th anniversary of September 11, my fifth grade collaborating teacher, Mr. Reischer, and my fabulous volunteer couple, Mr. and Mrs. Warland and I drove down to NYC to visit the 9/11 Memorial and get some face time with Little Brown. We didn't know what to expect and it turned out to be a way more incredible trip than we ever imagined.
The steps that lead many folks to freedom.
We learned that our students may be captivated by just seeing a firetruck. We were in awe by how it was destroyed.
The saved column.
The beautiful education room.
Mrs. Warland, Mr. Reischer and Jennifer, the amazing educator who we are thankful spent so much time with us.
On a side note, we even met up with my friend and inspiring librarian, MaryAnn Scheuer, who was visiting New York from California. She was able to sit in and participate while we met with Jennifer and we hope to collaborate with her students, too, as part of some cross-country component. Everything just keeps getting better and better...
Since it was the day before the release of Towers Falling, we only had the arc.
The book's cover now matches the color of the sky.
If all goes as planned, students will be able to experience this state of the art conference room at Little Brown...
...with views of Radio City!
I posted this collage on Instagram.
It was just so wonderful to meet and spend time with the team from Little Brown.
This project fills me with excitement and hope. We will push ahead with the enthusiasm and passion of our late superintendent and the nearly 3000 people who were killed on September 11, 2001. We will move forward in this life changing and unforgettable project. Thank you Jewell Parker Rhodes and the folks at Little Brown and the educators from the 9/11 Memorial for challenging and pushing us forward to help bring this project to fruition for the students and families of Schodack. We are excited to share all the details soon with administrators and the Board.
xoxo
Want to read or listen to more? Here are a few more links:
Jewell was on NPR last week discussing Towers Falling. Here's the link for the interview:
Here's another article about Towers Falling--even Mr. Reischer is interviewed. Although, it says we will be visiting in September which is not the case.
Speaking of Elisha, he and I met for coffee overlooking the river (sort of) last Friday afternoon. I was heading to the city the next day and he drew his own map for us.
