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Tuesday Tales – Books for Dad on Father’s Day

Posted on May 28, 2013 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

Red alert, Father’s Day is less than three weeks away! The boys and I typically have a challenging time looking for just the right item to get TechyDad. TechyDad is a geek at heart. He loves science, math, computers, and technology related items. He likes to read, but he is very particular about books.

When Sterling Publishing contacted me about some books that they are featuring for Father’s Day, I knew two of them would be right up TechyDad’s alley. The third, all about golf, is not something my husband would ever read.

Disclosure: I received the following two books from Sterling Publishing to review as possible gifts for Father’s Day. No other compensation was received and all opinions are my own.

The Space Book – ISBN 9781402780714 – Written by Jim Bell – Sterling Milestones – May 2013 – 528 page hardcover book $29.95

The Space Book is a stunning book that catches your eye the moment you pick it up. Dr. Jim Bell is the President of the Planetary Society and has created a beautiful collection of 250 milestones from the history of space and astronomy. As soon as TechyDad saw the book, he sat on the couch and our nine year old son immediately wanted to browse at the photographs with him. NHL and TechyDad looked briefly at the book together. NHL was able to identify some of the items and noted he’s interested in reading the book together. I have a feeling once school is out this may be a father and son project on nights that they want to take a break from the continued reading of Harry Potter.

As a science teacher, I am in love with the photographs of the spatial items. While I have seen books that talk about space and object found in the universe, they have never been in chronological order with photographs and information about the history of the discovery and more that has been found over time. I definitely believe this book is a stunning coffee table book that would make a nice present for a father or other person that has a deep interest in space.

The New York Times Book of Mathematics – ISBN 9781402793226 – Edited by Gina Kolata with a foreword by Paul Hoffman – Sterling Publishing – June 2013 – 496 page hardcover book $24.95

As I noted before, TechyDad is a geek. He loves to talk about math, numbers, and theories. While I consider myself good with numbers, he can just calculate things in his head without breaking into a sweat or cheating with a calculator. I often hear NHL and TechyDad just chatting about something with math. The two of them love MathDuko puzzles and similar items for a fun activity. Thanks to this, I figured The New York Times Book of Mathematics would be a book TechyDad will enjoy.

As I type this, TechyDad has not had the chance to really sit down and read this book yet. Life has been too hectic, but he did tell me that he is intrigued with the contents of the book. This book is a collection of more than 110 articles that were included in the New York Times between 1892 and 2010. It includes items from a variety of topics including statistics, coincidences, chaos theory, computers, and many more. While browsing through the book, I could almost picture my husband and oldest son having a long winded conversation about some of the topics and debating them with each other. Once he reads the book, an updated review will appear.

Have you ever bought your father a book for Father’s Day? As always, Tuesday Tales is about spreading love for books. Please share what you have read recently. Be sure to link up to your book posts in the comments below. Include something you read on your own, with a child, or someone else.

Categories:
books Educational Tuesday Tales

One Voice United Rally on June 8

Posted on May 23, 2013 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

I am a teacher. That is what I tell people when they ask me what I do. While I may not be in a classroom at this moment, the educator in me is constantly working. Lesson plan ideas, classroom management concepts, and fun facts are always running through my mind.

The reality is I miss many items outside of my own classroom. I miss…

being in a classroom and watching children learn
seeing the smiles on a child’s face when he/she learns a new concept and they are so proud
creating inventive ways to help different children to reach their academic potentials
being part of an educational community as a teacher
working side by side with other amazing educational professionals

Unfortunately, the world of education has changed a lot over the last 5-10 years. The Race to the Top funding and the push for Common Core Curriculum has caused a dramatic shift in what classroom time looks like. Children in New York State and around the country are constantly getting ready for one test or another, taking one of what seems like a million tests, or being stressed about what their test results may mean for their schools/teachers. The reality is that your children and mine are paying the price. Creative and authentic learning environments are a thing of the past. We are teaching to the tests. Kids are becoming little robots that are taught how to highlight key phrases, pull apart a topic, and answer questions that may not even have a correct choice.

I have a lot more to say on this topic, but right now I am biting my tongue a bit. Rather than rant and rave here, I am working with parents and teachers to get the word out. I want our voices to be heard. Thanks to this, my family will be joining others on June 8 at the Empire State Plaza for the One Voice United Rally Together. Why rally? Here is a video from Peter DeWitt on the NYSUT website that answers the question.

As an educator, tax payer, and most importantly a parent I will be there with my entire family showing my boys that I will fight for their right to the education that they deserve. My children are more than a number. My 4th grader should not lose eight days to the ELA, Math, and Science tests, plus other hours for benchmark exams, and countless days spent preparing for these high stakes test. I should not have to hear my KINDERGARTENER come home worried about a test that he took on a computer. He should not fear tests and have to worry about this as he starts out his academic journey. His focus should be on reading, writing, learning math concepts, making friends, and enjoying school. Sad to say, his teachers are not to blame.

New York State needs to wake up, see what they are doing to our children and stop the insanity. For more information about the rally on June 8, please head to the information page from NYSUT. I will leave you with this PDF from NYSUT about the rally that you can download and share with others here.

I urge more people from throughout New York to make a trip to Albany in a little over two weeks to teach your children a valuable lesson.

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Educational local event PSA

The Albany Children’s Book Festival – Part 3

Posted on May 6, 2013 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

Going to The Albany Children’s Book Festival was an experience our entire family enjoyed. As I have mentioned in two previous posts (Part 1 and Part 2), meeting some of the talented authors and illustrators was wonderful. In addition to that, the kids were excited to read books that were new to them and add to our summer reading list.

What I really appreciated about this festival was being able to see the local authors. Often times, the kids and I forget that we have some wonderful authors and illustrators within the Capital District area. One example of this is author and illustrator Matthew McElligott. I was introduced to Mr. McElligott by my oldest son after he went to NHL’s school and spoke with the children. I was so curious, I immediately went out and read Benjamin Franklinstein Lives! and adored it. I am hoping to read this and the other books in the series with the boys, plus I know JSL will like the picture books by McElligott as well.

Of course, then there is the moment that you recognize someone and feel so very naïve. That moment was when we wandered over to the table with author and illustrator Daniel J. Mahoney. Mr. Mahoney looked VERY familiar. Of course, it was NHL that realized why. NHL knows his son and I had absolutely no idea about his books none. Ooops! Now that we are on radar, JSL and I are looking forward to Monstergarten which is coming out in July. No doubt we will also look at some of the other books he has written and illustrated.

The kids had a lot of fun talking with author and illustrator Jef Czekaj when they brought their passports over. He even drew a cute little cartoon critter next to his name. I reminded the boys that we had read at least one of his books over the summer. Yes, I recall the kids reading Oink-A-Doodle-Moo multiple times and laughing and enjoying it a lot. I know we will be looking at more of Mr. Czekaj’s books this summer.

After this, the kids spotted a table set up to make some monster drawings. Local teacher, author, and artist Ira Marcks. Mr. Marcks actually had a station set up for kids to create their own Monster drawings. He talked with the boys as they were making their colored pencil creations. He also shared some of his camps and other local events that we will be investigating for the summer. His book Witch Knots is a graphic novel that really highlights his work.

After two monsters were drawn, we took the boys to get their prize for getting a lot of autographs in their booklets. Then it was time to select books so we could purchase them and go home. As I wrote in Part 2, NHL immediately knew what book he wanted to get. JSL, had some troubles selecting a book. We must have gone back to several tables over and over again. Thanks to this, we now have more books to add to the summer reading and several birthday present ideas for the kindergarten kiddo. In the end, my little Matey fell for author and illustrator Victor Ramon Mojica’s book Captain Cross Bones in the Treasure Hunt. I think Mr. Mojica sold the book by interacting with JSL and giving him a cool autographed poster of Captain Cross Bones. I also know we will be checking out Barbara Mojica’s Little Miss History book because they also looked like something the boys would adore.

Check out my little Wizards after we got home and were looking at our books and other items from some local vendors and libraries. You can see they love their new hats and were ready to dive into their new books.

If you hear about a children’s book festival coming to your area, I urge you to make the time to take your kids. This experience was beyond anything I could have imagined. It helped my boys to come out of their shell, gain confidence, and ignite their desire to read even more new and wonderful books.

Categories:
books Educational local event

The Albany Children’s Book Festival – Part 2

Posted on April 30, 2013 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

In part one of my posts about The Albany Children’s Book Festival, I wrote about some of the first authors and illustrators that we were able to meet and talk with. By this time, the boys were running ahead to check things out. While I was still chatting with Jennifer Berne and Diane deGroat, they continued on along the row of tables. When I caught up with them, they were over with author and illustrator Jeff Mack. I immediately recognized his illustrations from Bunnicula and was thrilled to see that the series now has a Ready-To-Read options for younger readers. In addition to this, Mr. Mack is the author/illustrator of the Hippo and Rabbit books for Beginning Readers (getting these for JSL’s birthday), Clueless McGee chapter books, and many other picture books. The kids loved that he signed their books with a cute little illustration.

While I was chatting with someone I know from Albany Kids Out and About, the boys kept moving ahead. When I arrived, JSL and NHL were mesmerized with a private storytelling for just the two of them at a table. The book was Pig Kahuna and it was written and illustrated by Jennifer Sattler (on the left below). She was not the one that was reading the book to the boys, that was author and co-owner of the The Flying Pig Bookstore Elizabeth Bluemle (on the right below).

My heart melted watching the faces on my kids, so I took a photo to share.

These two women were amazing, they spent quite some time with NHL and JSL. You could tell that they get children and love to interact with them. In addition to Pig Kahuna, Ms. Sattler has also written and illustrated quite a variety of other picture books that are now going onto our summer reading list and the kids can’t wait to see Pig Kahuna Pirates! coming in Spring 2014. Ms. Bluemle has written several books for kids including How Do You Wokka-Wokka? which are also going onto our must reads this summer.

From here, we walked to the end of the row of tables and met author Julie Berry. At first, the boys were getting a little antsy from being in the room for a while. Then something clicked with NHL. As Ms. Berry talked with us about her Splurch Academy for Disruptive Boys series he perked up. He liked that the books also included illustrations, drawn by Ms. Berry’s sister Sally Faye Gardner. When it came time to select a book to purchase, he wanted to go back to get the first from this series.

We started reading this book together and I think we are both hooked. NHL has already asked us to order the next three books. This is huge for a reluctant reader who is not typically into fiction books (my Aspie loves reading about math, science, and history). I love that this even helped us to find new books that he wants to read. The next part of this series will introduce you to some very talented authors and illustrators that are from the Capital Region. I must say we have a lot of amazing people creating children’s books in our area. Oh and I will also share how JSL finally selected the book he wanted to purchase at the event (it was not an easy task). Oh and if you are curious about the books we read, more will be featured on upcoming Tuesday Tales so stay tuned.

Categories:
books Educational local event

The Albany Children’s Book Festival – Part 1

Posted on April 29, 2013 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

Books are a big part of our lives. As a teacher, I started a huge collection and now our boys have added a lot more to the mix. When we saw that we would be in town for The Albany Children’s Book Festival on April 27, 2013, we knew that we would have to go.

When we first walked into the main room, the boys were not entirely sure which way we should go. Each of them had been given a little passport like book to collect autographs of authors and illustrators. If they did this, they could show it to get a special wizard hat later on. Looking back, I wish I had taken more photos and been able to chat with the authors and illustrators more because it was a fascinating experience.

At first, the boys were a little shy and unsure of where to find the people in their different books. Soon after, they were ready to get autographs from anyone and everyone at a table and see what books were on their tables.

One of the first tables we went to was with author Amy Gordon. NHL noticed one of her books called Return to Gill Park and we learned that it is part of a series that she has written. She signed the boys’ book, we took a photo, and I grabbed her card to add these books to our reading list.

Sitting next to Ms. Gordon was author Laurie Calkhoven and many of her history based books. TechyDad was very intrigued with her picture book I Grew Up to Be President. I am excited to see more historical books that NHL may not be reluctant to read. Her Boys of Wartime looks like great historical fiction books that we will add to our summer reading list.

From here, we wandered around some more looking at a lot of tables and trying to take in all of the amazing books around. That is when I spied a book that I had been sent from a publisher in 2010 and was excited to meet the author. Jennifer Berne was beyond sweet and fun to chat with. When I asked her to pose for a picture, she immediately pulled over Calvin Can’t Fly. Now I can’t wait to read some of her other books like Manfish: A Story of Jacques Cousteau and On a Beam of Light: A Story of Albert Einstein that is coming out in May. We are also super excited to hear that Calvin will be back for a sequel.

While I was talking to Ms. Berne, she introduced me to the woman sitting next to her. At first it took me a minute and then I realized I knew her work. Yes, she is the brilliant illustrator behind the pictures in Pioneer Woman’s books about Charlie. Diane deGroat was too funny talking about how Ree is more famous than she is. I explained that my son was in love with Charlie thanks to her drawings and wanted to tell his own story while looking at her illustrations in Charlie the Ranch Dog.

There is a lot more to share, but I am going to break this into a few posts so I can highlight the people that we were able to meet and take photos with.

I would love to know if you have met any authors and illustrators and what your experience was. This was so much fun for the boys, especially after they heard about my tour with author Ridley Pearson a year ago in Epcot.