Tandem Insights

Book of the Week: Oggie Cooder

In the past, comments from teachers on Oggie Cooder’s report cards have included words such as “unique,” “quirky,” “one-of-a-kind,” and “marching to his own drummer.”  His peers have been satisfied calling him “weirdo,” “dork,” “doofus,” “dweeb,” and “loozer.”  One description for Oggie readers of Sarah Weeks delightful middle-grade novel won’t be able to deny is leader.  But it isn’t until partway through Oggie’s fourth-grade year that anyone would dare follow this natural-born leader.  What turns things around?  He doesn’t begin to care about the clothes he wears or the games he dreams up.  He’s not suddenly interested in being friends with only the most popular kids in school or what all the people in Hollywood are doing.  It is Oggie’s unusual talent for charving cheese that unknowingly puts him on the path to fame and fortune.  Suddenly he’s the star of Truman Elementary School, his home town of Wauwatosa, and beyond--just being himself.

Oggie’s zany lust for life, along with an interesting story with true boy appeal, will strike a goofy chord with readers in grades 3-6 who have encountered changes and new experiences, as well as worries about friends and friendship.  After spending some time with Oggie, we all can look to the beat of our own drummer for inspiration.

Tattoo Tomes

Tattoos…  They seem to be everywhere these days, especially on the arms of athletes. They’ve also made their way into books.  Here are a couple of our favorite tattooed tomes.

My favorite work of tattoo fiction is The Black Tattoo by Sam Enthoven. It tells the story of Jack and his super-cool friend Charlie, who wakes up one day with a super-cool, moving black tattoo. The tattoo gives Charlie super powers. Or so they think. The tattoo is actually the mark of the Scourge, an ancient demon out to destroy the world. And it’s up to Jack to stop it.

The Monster Blood Tattoo series by D.M. Cornish begins with Foundling. It follows the life of orphan Rossamund Bookchild, an orphaned boy stuck with a girl’s name, through a fabulously imagined fantasy world filled with incredible characters. Humans here fight a constant battle against the monsters, with the tattoos being the mark of a monster killer. Look for Lamplighter, the second book in this exciting series in April!

Another set of tattoo books is Suzanne Weyn’s Bar Code Tattoo and its sequel Bar Code Rebellion. In the world of these books, it’s 2025 and the government, controlled by a shadowy corporation, starts requiring bar code tattoos on everyone. Seventeen-year-old Kayla resists, especially after the tattoo drives her father to commit suicide, and becomes part of a rebellion.

One of the ALA Quick Picks in 2007 also featured tattoos: Body Type: Intimate Images Etched in Flesh by Ina Saltz. This one looks at typography, as it is used in tattoos, which might sound dull, but results in fabulous photos of tattooed messages that range from the hilarious to the deeply touching.

Featured Lists: Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine’s Day everyone from Tandem Library Group!  In the spirit of the holiday we've put together three title lists to inspire you and your students to celebrate Valentine’s Day all year long.

Celebrate Valentine's Day K-5

Celebrate Valentine's Day 6-8

Celebrate Valentine's Day 9-12

Words and Wordplay for Kids

I’ve been told I have the sense of humor of a five-year-old.  All the better to do my job, I reply.  And I must admit that I really do laugh at the silly stuff in all the picture books I see.  I still love the word play in Douglas Florian’s books of poetry.  My particular favorite line is from a poem about penguins in Zoo’s Who, which talks about “penguinter vacation.”  It never fails to get a chuckle from me.

Fans of silly poetry like Douglas Florian will not want to miss Behold the Bold Umbrellaphant by Jack Prelutsky in which animals are put with regular objects with unusual outcomes, much like in Scranimals.  I love the collage art by Carin Berger in this fun book poems.

Get to know words backwards and forwards in Mom and Dad are Palindromes by Mark Shulman.  This zany story has Bob freaking out after he learns about palindromes because it seems that palindromes are everywhere.  He can’t get away from them.  It’s fun to look for the hidden palindromes in the illustrations—there are over 100 to find in the book!

Whether you’re talking about homonyms and parts of speech or reading silly poems, these books will be sure to convince your students that language is fun.

Book of the Week: House Takes a Vacation

Ever wonder what’s going on at home while you’re sunning yourself at the beach?  Would you believe that your house is having an adventure of its own?  Hey, who says you get to have all the fun? 

When the Peterson family leaves for their vacation, their house decides that this might be a good time for it to get away from it all.  There is a bit of discussion about this.  Trying to get all the parts of a house to agree on a vacation destination is like getting all the members of a family to agree on where to go.  But eventually, they come to a consensus and take off.  All except the basement, who refuses to rise to the occasion.

The adventure ensues from there, full of puns and silly scenes with a house among oblivious vacationers.  Kids will love the silliness, especially if they are old enough to get the plays on words.  House Takes a Vacation by Jacqueline Davies is sure to be a hit at storytimes.

Book Round-Up: Recent Releases

Here at Tandem, we are lucky enough to see publishers’ preview copies. We evaluate yet-to-be-released titles and make educated guesses about which ones will garner good reviews and popularity among librarians and teachers. Today we’re highlighting some of the books we liked early on that got reviewed in the first two issues of School Library Journal in 2008.

David Elliott and Holly Meade teamed up to create a terrific book about farm animals that will make a great read-aloud for group storytimes. On the Farm pairs lively, humorous

poetry with energetic woodblock and watercolor prints. 

It’s always nice to find high-quality titles with math themes. Math concepts can be taught not only with expository text but also through fun narratives. A Very Improbable Story is an example of a great math-themed picture book.

                            

                        

Graphic novels continue to earn respect as publishers created more and more titles for the school and library market. For young readers, Fang Fairy and Detective Files are high-interest, “safe” graphic novels. Satchel Paige: Striking Out Jim Crow is a biography of the legendary baseball pitcher that will be enjoyed by middle grade and young adult readers.

Something Rotten is a fantastic contemporary version of Hamlet. Pair this with your Shakespeare unit to get students talking about how Shakespearean themes translate to modern times.

These are just a few of the recent releases that are getting attention. Each month you can find all the SLJ reviewed titles at our website. The January 2008 lists are here; February 2008 lists are here.

Featured Lists: Elections

         

Politics as usual? We think not. If you followed the Super Tuesday coverage on TV or the Internet last night, you know that today’s voters have rapid access to more information than ever before. This phenomenon is changing the way campaigns are run and how candidates are perceived.

Super Tuesday may be behind us, but the party nominees are far from decided. As we move closer to electing our 44th president, here are some books to help your students understand and get involved in the political process.

And for those fiction lovers, check out these picture books and novels with political themes.

Book of the Week: Pippi Longstocking

November 13, 2007 marked the 100th anniversary of the birth of Sweden’s best-loved children’s author, Astrid Lindgren. Lindgren is best known for creating Pippi Longstocking, the spunky heroine whose adventures are chronicled in three bestselling books. The original English translations have remained in print since the 1950s, but for a new generation Penguin is now offering a brand-new translation. Fans of Pippi will be pleased to know that the new translation is not drastically different from the versions they remember. Scandinavian scholar Tiina Nunnally stays true to the original text and retains Pippi’s hilarious phrasing. Lauren Child’s witty illustrations also convey the essential “Pippi-ness” from the original versions: giant shoes, patchwork dress, and all. Extra attention should be paid to Child’s depiction of my personal favorite character, the monkey called Mr. Nilsson. His big eyes and jaunty cap express his mischievous nature. A large trim size makes this version great for reading aloud to groups or one-on-one.

View this book in the Tandem Library Books online bookstore.

Featured List: Groundhog Day

What’s the deal with the groundhog and its shadow again?  February 2nd, a.k.a Groundhog Day, is the day we dread or adore, depending on our love of snow and cold.  If the groundhog emerges from its burrow and sees its shadow, watch out! – more winter is on the way. But if it doesn’t see its shadow, spring is coming soon.  These delightful books feature our furry friend, the groundhog, and its special day.

                             

Books About Books (and Libraries)

We all have at least one thing in common on the Tandem Library Books Collection Development Team:  we love books. We couldn’t help but be charmed by some of these books about books (and libraries!).

Library Lion is an office favorite. The soft illustrations make the lion look like a gentle cat. And strange as the sight of a lion in a library might be, as long as he doesn’t break the rules, he can stay and enjoy the books and the storytimes to his heart’s content. Only he finds that sometimes breaking the rules is necessary. But will our Library Lion be banned from the library? 

We all love the zany librarian who went to the zoo in Judy Sierra’s Wild About Books, but do you know Library Lil, who becomes a hero when the power goes out in Chesterville? Or Ms. Chinca, the really nice librarian who helps out Carlo in Carlo and the Really Nice Librarian? Or the three librarians who help Melvin explore his world in The Boy Who Was Raised by Librarians? Now those are some librarians worth knowing!

Being the book lovers that we are, we know that books are for reading. Not for eating. Henry learns that lesson in The Incredible Book-Eating Boy by Oliver Jeffers. Another book eater finds that books are better when “eaten” with your eyes in Winston the Book Wolf by Marni McGee.

I think we’ll keep eating the books with our eyes as it makes it so much easier to write reviews of them later….