Got Picture Books? Winners

The Got Books? Event has come to an end and what a great event it was!  Thanks so much to everyone who stopped by, left comments, and signed up for my picture book give away.  Not only did I gain over 30 new followers but I found some great kid's lit bloggers as well.  

Congratulations to the following readers who each won a hardcover picture book:

Mary Elizabeth at A Novel Idea won a copy of Library Lion by Michelle Knudsen (Kevin Hawkes, illustrator). Her favorite picture book was Friday Night is Papa Night by Ruth A. Sonneborn.

Jennifer at Extreme Reader Book Reviews won a copy of Bob and Otto by Robert O. Bruel and Nick Bruel. Like me, Jennifer couldn't choose just one favorite.  Some of her favorites include Where the Wild Things Are, Moon Bear, and Little Rabbit's Loose Tooth.

Emily, who is a third/fourth grade looping teacher, won a copy of  The Eraserheads by Kate Banks.  Emily's favorite picture book as a child was Goldilocks and the Three Bears.  She remembers her parents reading it to her every night and reveals that she secretly believed she was Goldilocks!

Some of the other favorites readers mentioned included Harold and the Purple Crayon , Corduroy, The Giving Tree, Danny and the Dinosaur, The Little Mouse, the Red Ripe Strawberry and the Big Hungry Bear ,

The Monster at the End of This Book, Alexander and the Horrible, Terrible, No Good, Very Bad Day, and The Little Engine That Could.

Again congratulations to all three winners!  I plan to do another book give-away right before the start of school, for me the first week of September.  And thank you to everyone...both those who have already been following and everyone who found me through the Got Books? Event for reading The Book Maven's Haven! 

Got Picture Books?

Welcome to the first annual Got Books? Event!  Here at The Book Maven's Haven I am highlighting the importance of picture books by giving away three hardcover picture books.  Traditionally, picture books have been used primarily in elementary school classrooms.  As I moved from the kindergarten classroom to my current position as a fourth/fifth grade teacher, I knew that I didn't want to leave  picture books behind.   There would be opportunities to use picture books in powerful ways across my teaching day.   Vacca & Vacca state in Content Area Reading:Literacy and Learning Across the Curriculum that a picture book "has the potential to act as a magnifying glass that enlarges and enhances the reader's personal interactions with a subject" ( 2005, p. 161).  So true!  They are a quick and convenient way to help older students activate their prior knowledge.  There is a new focus on picture books that deliver difficult content in simple language.  Contemporary picture books explore issues such as homelessness, war, drugs, death, violence, racism, and divorce. Using picture books as mentor texts for student writing is another way I have found to use them, as they contain vivid language and a variety of text structures.  The beauty of using picture books in the upper grades (and I believe in  middle and high school too) is that they can be read aloud in a few minutes and provide students with information connected to the concept or skill being introduced.  They can be used for increasing fluency and expanding students' vocabularies.  Picture books can be used to help differentiate instruction and make learning more fun and interactive for students of all ages.  Really the possibilities are endless! Picture books are an integral instructional tool whether you are teaching kindergarten or high school English!  Don't leave them on your shelf collecting dust!

So you may be thinking...wow..I really need to add some more picture books to my collection, whether it be a home library or classroom library.  Well here is your chance!  To enter my book give away, simply register here for an opportunity to win one of these three hardcover picture books.  

                                                                                    
You can earn up to three additional entries by:

1.  Leave a comment on one of my blog posts. 
2.  Follow The Book Maven's Haven on Google Friend Connect.

3.  'Like' The Book Maven's Haven on Facebook OR 'Follow' me (@literacydocent) on Twitter.

The Got Books? Event runs from 12:00 a.m. July 23rd through 11:59 p.m. July 24th (EST).  Don't forget to check out all of the other amazing blogs participating in this weekend's event here!

Versatile Blogger Award

Thank you to Margo at The Fourth Musketeer for nominating my blog for the Versatile Blogger Award.  WOW! 


Here's how this award works:
1. Thank and link back to the person who gave you this award.
2. Share 7 things about yourself.
3. Pass the award along to 15 bloggers who you have recently discovered and who you think are fantastic for whatever reason! (In no particular order...)
4. Contact the bloggers you've picked and let them know about the award.


Here are 7 things about me...whether they are interesting or not will be up to you I guess!

1.  I knew I was going to be a teacher on my very first day of nursery school...and I NEVER changed my mind! 

2.  My teaching methods were cutting edge...even at the ripe young age of 7.  I would lock my brothers in my classroom...I mean bedroom...and teach them 'sight' words in Frog and Toad by telling them the word and having them repeat it several times with me.  I would then 'erase' the word (until there was a hole in the page) and ask "Now, what was that word?"...using the 'cloze' method before I knew it was the 'cloze' method!  

3.  My teaching roots run deep!  My grandmother taught in a little one room school house in the mountains of West Virginia.  I actually have the hand bell she used to call the children in from recess and her textbooks (with her hand written notes) from Normal School.

4.  I can sing...on key...in my sleep!  Oh, by the way...I can sing on key when I am awake too! ;-)

5.  I have no need for a TomTom or Garmin.  I have an internal GPS thanks my mom who taught us all how to use maps, road signs, and landmarks, instilling a GREAT sense of direction! Thanks Mom!

6.  I went to grade school with Olympic Gold Medalist Mary Lou Retton.

7.  In my next career I want to be a school librarian because my favorite part of 'teaching' literacy is connecting kids, teachers, and parents with books!

15 Blogs that I enjoy visiting:

Playing by the Book

Write for a Reader 

Teach Mentor Texts

Literate Lives

From the Mixed Up Files

Look at My Happy Rainbow 

Creative Literacy 

Reflect and Refine:Building a Learning Community

Read...Write...Talk 

Kit Lit Frenzy

A Patchwork of Books

A Year of Reading

TWRCtank.com

Sexy Naptime

Book Muse

Happy Reading!

Book Blogger Appreciation Week

Today, July 7, 2010, is the final day to register for Book Blogger Appreciation Week (of BBAW).  You can register to be considered for an award in a specific category or you can register to just have voting privileges.

When I first become aware of the event via Twitter, I considered registering but then thought I was really too new at the whole blogging thing to really put myself "out there" so speak.  After all, I only started my blog in late February.  I didn't want to appear like I was being boastful or self-promoting by registering.  So... I kept reading posts of those who had already registered.   But the funny thing was, I didn't think that about a single one of them!  Aren't we the hardest on ourselves?  Well...at least I know I am my own worst critic!   I have, however, received a lot of great feedback from other Kit Lit book bloggers, friends, and colleagues about the usefulness of my posts and links.  Then I read this post at the BBAW blog site that I found via YA Book Shelf  and realized this event is really a way to connect with more bloggers and readers,  so today I finally decided to go ahead and nominate myself for two different categories: Best New Book Blog and Best Kit Lit Blog.

After a lot of thought and suggestions from a few close advisors (you know who you are) I am submitting the following posts to represent the content, purpose and target audience of my blog:

Igniting the Fire

Librarian Love

A Nest for Celeste

The Power of Word~less Books

A Fabulous Fair Alphabet

Best of luck to all the BBAW participants!  I am looking forward to all the connections this event will bring!