Confessions from a First Grade Class: What Kids Want to Read in 2016

This week in first grade, my nephew learned about author/poet Tomás Rivera and how much he loved books. The homework assignment that followed read: write at least three sentences telling what kind of books you like to read and why.

I love my brilliant nephew's clever answers:

1. I like the action in Batman books.
2. I am a ninja that is why I like ninja books (well, duh, of course he's a ninja. That's why he loves NINJA NINJA NEVER STOP by Todd Tuell)
3. I like family books because I spend time with my family. (I love this answer, because YES! That's the power of a great book--it can bring families together. His family currently spends evening time together, listening to Mom read Harry Potter)

Look at the other great answers from students in his class:

I like to read nonfiction books because they teach about real life. They teach us about wild stuff. When I read nonfiction books I get really excited. (Okay, I love this kid, whoever he or she may be! Hooray for nonfiction and excitement. You should definitely pick up a Kate Messner book!) 

"I like to read books about Pokemon because it tells me how they evolve. I like learning."

"I like reading books about princesses. I love the dresses they wear."

"I like to read books by Dr. Deuss because they help me learn how to read. My favorite is Green Eggs and Ham." (yep, good old  Dr. Deuss) 

"I like to read princess books. All the girls are pretty! I like to read about horses. They are my favorite animal. I like to read about dogs. They are fun to play with."

"I like ballet books because they are pretty. I also like adventure books because they have a lot of action in them. I like Hello Kitty books because they are fun." (I want to hang out with this kid--who doesn't like a pretty ballet centered around action and adventure (maybe a ninja or two), and yeah, let's throw in a cat, because they are fun. I want to read that book, too!)

"I like Cat in the Hat books because they are goofy. My favorite is Fox in the Box." 

 

Mister Lemur Combines Cultural Literacy with Seuss/Silverstein Style

Mister Lemur’s book, TRAIN OF THOUGHT features short stories in rhyming verse. Many of the tales have clever educational twists. Clever, I say, because while the reader has fun, he/she never feels manipulated into learning. How? The author avoids talking down to children and freely throws in words like ‘phylum’ or ‘symbiotic’. Science words appear in the heart of adventurous and crazy stories with definitions highlighted at the bottom a respective page. While memorable images are conjured up in the midst of a wild story scene, the words stick like superglue right to the child’s mind. Voila, education transpires.  Mister Lemur stories are cute, whacky and wily with learning as an added bonus.

Although I was a bit bugged by some of the rhyming meter, I easily got over myself. The amusing stories are different from the norm; in fact, I’d categorize them as a hip version of a classical style. It’s easy to see why kids in the twenty-first century love Mr. Lemur.  The tag line on Mister Lemur’s homepage is, “Moving kids forward, taking parents back.” It’s a balance they brilliantly accomplish. Although the stories are modern, they evoke memories from a parent’s childhood.  Old PBS songs come to mind…remember Conjunction Junction, What’s your function? Mister Lemur’s Threeple feels like a shout-out to Norton Juster’s Phantom Tollbooth while 2043 has a lovely Seuss-ish feel. Furthermore the book is structured like a Shel Silverstein work. Some pages feature short poems while others include short stories and sweet black-line illustrations. Although I’ve grown to love my Kindle, the quality of this book felt luxurious in my hands.

Kudos to the creators of Mister Lemur. Their passion for children, education, science, philanthropy, wordplay and the Mister Lemur project shines. Mister Lemur's caretakers offer school visits (a Stanford, Wharton educated pair) and they provide a kid-friendly web page where children can ask Mister Lemur questions. Mister Lemur also offers writing contests, music, games, and a regular Mister Lemur newsletter. A portion of all proceeds is donated to wildlife.  

Some of my favorites from Mister Lemur include: Summer Vacations, Den Head, Threeple, Eyeball, Continental Plates, 2043

Book Buying Link

Nerd, Origin of the Word, And Proof that I am One

I can't help myself...I love knowing interesting facts.  But what if my so-called fun facts are only interesting to me?  Does anyone else smile when they learn things like where the word "nerd" came from, or am I the only wordnerd who cares (well, me and David Cook...remember, he called himself a wordnerd). 
The first documented use of the word Nerd is in 1950 in the Dr. Seuss story, If I Ran the Zoo.  One blogger who goes by the name Bron has used his engineering brain to track the origin of the word "nerd" and he points out its first use was by Dr. Seuss.  "A boy named Gerald McGrew made a large number of delightfully extravagant claims as to what he would do, if he were in charge at the zoo. Among these was that he would bring a creature known as a Nerd from the land of Ka-Troo."  So a nerd (per the illustrator) equaled this grumpy character pictured below (oh the power of illustrators).
After Dr. Seuss, Newsweek used the word in an October 1951 issue to mean a person who is "a drip or a scurve." The St. Joseph, Michigan, Herald-Press used the word again in June 1952, again with a negative connotation.  For deeper study (and argument) into the origin of the word, visit the nerd expert's blog