Thank you Jen and Kellee for hosting this weekly! To see what others are reading and recommending, or to participate, be sure to check out their blog Teach Mentor Texts. Some of my favorite reading recommendations come from #IMWAYR!
While I was waiting for a teacher to return from walking her students to lunch, I started reading the book that she had been sharing with her class. "You'll love that book," she had said to me when she saw me pick it up. She was right. Small Beauties by Elvira Woodruff is an absolutely beautiful book about an Irish family struggling during the potato famine. The story weaves in history as well as a personal struggle to find and appreciate beauty. The main character, Darcy Heart O'Hara, is a collector and a noticer so this book is a great mentor text for writing details and sensory images. At times, Small Beauties reminded me of Wilfred Gordon McDonald Partridge by Mem Fox because of the emphasis on the things that remind us of times and places in our lives. However, there is a much larger story and conflict that is going on for Darcy's family as they are forced to leave Ireland and come to the America. Because it is out of print, Small Beauties is expensive to purchase, but if you ever run across it in a library or used book store, don't miss it. What a treasure of a book!
On a much different note, I have been reading High Impact Teaching by Jim Knight over the last few weeks as part of an #educoach twitterchat. This book is packed full of immediately useful strategies for teachers, coaches, students, and principals. Throughout the book, Knight includes URL codes and links to watch specific strategies in action and to listen to teachers talk about the instruction he describes. There are checklists, charts, and stories to help make his messages easy to implement and memorable. Between the discussions that Shira Leibowitz, Jessica Johnson, and Kathy Perret have led on twitter (you can tune in on Wednesday nights at ten using the #educoach hashtag) and Jim Knight's clear writing, this book has undoubtedly changed some of the ways I think about curriculum, learning and teaching.Happy reading,
Thanks for sharing. I'm going to have to find both of these books. They both sound really interesting.
ReplyDeleteYou could pair the picture book with readings from Susan Campbell Bartoletti's Black Potatoes, which I found fascinating. Explained what happened really well.
ReplyDeleteI love Elvira Woodruff, but haven't seen Small Beauties. I'll add it to the list! Thanks for sharing, Melanie!
ReplyDeleteCatherine
The book Small Beauties sounds like an amazing book. I will have to add it to the TBR list along with High Impact Instruction. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteOh I am so glad I checked your blog this morning. Small Beauties looks amazing. Wilfred Gordon Macdonald Partridge is one of my very favourite picture books so I look forward to the similar elements. I'm also always on the lookout for well done historical fiction in picture books. Thanks for the recommendation! Now . . . to find the book!
ReplyDeleteHi Melanie, both books are unfamiliar to me, so I'm glad that you shared your thoughts about them. As Carrie noted, I shall try to hunt for these titles as well. Have a great reading week ahead of you!
ReplyDeleteI found Small Beauties in my library Melanie! Thanks for sharing about it; it sounds lovely! And I've at least put the High Impact book on my TBR list-I have too many to read now, but will remember it. It sounds terrific, with all the support too. Wow! Thanks!
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