CCBC-Net Archives

[CCBC-Net] 2007Caldecott Award

From: Kbshepler at aol.com <Kbshepler>
Date: Thu, 1 Feb 2007 00:59:25 EST

  In a message dated 1/31/2007 7:11:22 PM Pacific Standard Time, smithr at ensworth.com writes:

I know there are many, many Wiesner fans of all ages out there and I wonder how the children you work with have enjoyed this book, especially next to other Wiesner titles.

How have you shared this wordless book with children--in a group or one-on-one? How have they reacted?


The children at my K-5 school LOVED Flotsam! I have a small Caldecott unit school-wide for 2 weeks. The week before ALA Midwinter, we sit at library tables in groups of 4 students on which are placed 4 previous year Caldecott winners. Then we do a 'book pass' (1-2 minutes with each book, then pass to your right) until all books are seen. Then each student "votes" on a paper ballot with the jacket art miniatures in b/w as the ballot entries. K-1 just circles their personal favorite; Gr2-3 writes 1-2 response words next to each title, then votes their favorite; Gr4-5 adds several sentences about their response to the work, plus what art medium was used in each book.
  Then, the Tuesday after I get back from Midwinter we do the same with the new Caldecott winners. I book talk each title without telling them which one
"won" the gold and which got an "Honors." Then they vote on the same ballot type
 as last week. The kids adore this unit. They shout and pump their fists in the air or moan and groan as the committee's preferences are announced. So much fun. And I get to share the titles many times during the week and come to a
 deeper appreciation of my own on why the titles were chosen. I especially sigh in satisfaction as I noticed how many of the wordless books are gone from the shelf right after we reviewed Flotsam. (I thought I'd done a decent job of making sure the students knew there is "wordless" section in our school library. Evidently not :-) They all looked at me with blank stares as I asked where we would put Flotsam when it got shelved. Once it really sank in, they have flocked to that area. Thank you, David Wiesner!) It seemed all ages appreciated the imagination in Flotsam even more than Tuesday. I do believe that the artistry magic of The Three Pigs still stands out to the older grades, however. (One lingering reaction: I think we all are left wondering if the small islands off our coastline harbor hidden sea stars underneath the surface!)
  Now we move on to the next unit: reading our state student-voted favorite competition. We talk about how now that we've spent time with the books that
"grown-ups" vote as the best, here is your chance to have your say. For the next
 5 weeks we read in Library each of the California Young Reader Medal candidates in the picture book categories - Primary and Picture Books for Older Readers. Then they vote on the same ballot design as before and we send the votes to our state capitol and await the "winner".
  I can't say enough how very popular this time is for all the grades. And the students savor so much. What fun!
  Kathy
  Kathy Shepler, Librarian Aurora School Oakland, CA _KBSHEPLER at aol.com_ (mailto:KBSHEPLER at aol.com)
 
 
Received on Wed 31 Jan 2007 11:59:25 PM CST