More Authors, Books, Connections
Booktalks
Booktalks
- "A book report presents the content and structure of a book as objectively as possible, without comparison. It provides not only a summary of content but also an analysis of structure. The purpose of the report is to give enough information about a book to help decide whether it will be of use or interest to the reader.
This week we will focus on book talks. This information will help get you started. Booktalks are often scripted -- but they are not meant to be the new term for book reports. Book talks are generally more vibrant and engaging than reading a book report -- and shared orally not as a written paper.
Booktalks are short, informal presentations designed to inspire others to read the same book.
Booktalks are often confused with book reports or a book review -- a good book talk is neither.
- "A book review is a descriptive and critical or evaluative account of a book. Like the book report, it provides a summary of content and an analysis of structure, yet you will also assess the value of a book and recommend (or not recommend) the book to other readers.
- "Reports and reviews are concerned mainly with the one book presented, relying upon only a few standard reference works for brief and relevant comments on the author and on any special circumstances about the writing of the book. Book reports and book reviews are not research papers. The research paper is based on material from as many sources as are needed to back up its topic."
Resources • Resources
- Savvy Book Writer. (2016 Apr 30) What's an Elevator Pitch for your book? You Never Get a Second Chance... for a first good impression! Retrieved from https://savvybookwriters.wordpress.com/2013/04/30/whats-an-elevator-pitch-for-your-book. Choose a favorite book and develop an elevator pitch for that book. Try it out and see how it works. Share your narrative about the script -- and how successful you were in presenting the script.
- An excellent resource which includes tips for booktalks includes;
- Ripp, P. (2018 July 23) Being a Teacher, books, literacy, reading: How to easily do a book talk. Retrieved from https://pernillesripp.com/2018/07/23/how-to-easily-do-a-book-talk/
Concordia library summarizes reviews and reports as:
Source: Concordia University (n.d.) How to write a book review and a book report. Retrieved from http://library.concordia.ca/help/writing/book-report.php.
A book talk is neither of these -- a book talk seeks to provide much of this same information as a review; but within the context of a book advertisement. Provide the title and author orally at both the beginning and end of the book talk and then find a unique manner in which to advertise the book -- part summary, mostly enticement into the book.
A book talk might highlight a specific book, or focus on a collection of a number of books that share a common theme such as mysteries, or books set during WWII, and so forth. In the case of a "collective booktalk" make sure the books are connected to the general theme and deal with the uniqueness of each title. Each book in a collective booktalk will connect to one another but the focus on each book will be much shorter than if the booktalk is to focus on only one title. Do be mindful of the transitions that make a connection to other books.
If I am giving a book talk to a class, it might consist of several "talks" (the collective booktalk) with one sentence references to other books by the same author, books in the same genre, and so forth.
Our emphasis at this time in focusing on booktalks will only be concerned with those that feature one book -- and that book talk may eventually come to be included in a lengthier book talk session intended to entice a number of students to "be a reader."
If you decide to share the booktalk as a video - a YOUTUBE video: Be mindful of copyright - since you will be uploading to YouTube, that is a public forum and available to the public at large -- images must be copyright free or original with you (or those you have written permission to reproduce).
There are clip-art sources that provide images for re-publication if "not for profit." And some staging of photographs would be appropriate. Merely crediting the source of an image does not make it legal to reproduce and republish images.
There are clip-art sources that provide images for re-publication if "not for profit." And some staging of photographs would be appropriate. Merely crediting the source of an image does not make it legal to reproduce and republish images.
When uploading your booktalk to YouTube you must check public or unlisted in order for others to have access to your video. With the unlisted option others who want to see the video will have to have the exact URL. Checking public will allow anyone to see the video and will be able to search for it. If you check private, only you will be able to access the YouTube video.
To share the YouTube video provide the URL for the video. Obtain the shortest and most accurate URL for the video by clicking on the "share" button below your uploaded video. When you click the button the correct URL will show and give you the correct URL to share with colleagues. The correct URL will NOT have watch? in the URL.
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NEW TITLE - for those of you who have compiled a bibliography or are interested in the topic of refugees, or the Holocaust - DO NOT miss putting this book on your list.
Bird, Elizabeth. (2020, July 3) Chance: Escape from the Holocaust -- An excerpt for the latest book by Uri Shulevitz. Retrieved from
http://blogs.slj.com/afuse8production/2020/07/03/chance-escape-from-the-holocaust-an-excerpt-of-the-latest-book-by-uri-shulevitz
Bird, Elizabeth. (2020, July 3) Chance: Escape from the Holocaust -- An excerpt for the latest book by Uri Shulevitz. Retrieved from
http://blogs.slj.com/afuse8production/2020/07/03/chance-escape-from-the-holocaust-an-excerpt-of-the-latest-book-by-uri-shulevitz
Shulevitz, Uri. (2020). Chance: Escape from the Holocaust. Macmillan.
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Connecting a classic (The Incredible Journey) to a more current title (Pax):
Pax by Sara Pennypacker is about a boy and his fox. Pax and Peter have been together since Peter rescued Pax as a kit. But then... Peter must go to his grandfather's home, 300 miles away. Peter must find a way to be reunited with Pax... and Pax, meanwhile, has set out to find his boy. Pennypacker, S. (2015) Pax. Illustrations by Jon Klassen. New York: Balzer + Bray.
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Novel List
Q. What is "Desperate Librarians"?
A. It's an annotated resource list of children's books, written by Judy Freeman for Novelist, with lots of meaty ideas for quick and dirty lessons you can use in your library or classroom.
Q. What is NoveList?
A. From the NoveList site: "NoveList® K-8, a fiction database of over 50,000 titles, is aimed at helping younger readers find the books they want to read - whether in a school setting or in public library children's' rooms. Full-text reviews from sources like School Library Journal and Booklist are available for many titles. NoveList K-8 has all of the searching features contained in NoveList and allows users to search by author, title, series, theme or topic. With the "Describe a Plot, Topic, or Unit" search, you can use natural language to search the product's full-text reviews for titles of interest."
This resource can be accessed through many public libraries and some states (such as Wisconsin) have a state-wide subscription and because of that subscription educational institutions (and their patrons) have access to the Novelist site.
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Booktalking
One of the most effective methods to get young adults to read -- is to put the right book into the hands of the right reader. Booktalks are a great way to do that. Brush up on techniques to share a set list of books with a classroom of potential readers (great opportunity to involve your school or public librarian) or develop "elevator pitches" for books you think some of your readers might like. An "elevator talk" gets it's name from the length of time one has if the person is taking an elevator from first floor to the fifth floor. Be concise, purposeful, and highlight the grab the attention elements of the book. Many authors and illustrators use this technique and there are good sites that summarize the technique.And if you want to make a book trailer - this is an excellent example:
Street, T. (2013, Mar 17) Dancing home: A book trailer. (video). Retrieved from https://youtu.be/A3jMQfGjZE8 -- this video is a good example of using original or graphics with permission, copyright free music, and has credit pages with citations for all graphics, components used.
Share how you can contribute to the environment of literacy.
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Check out the NERDY BOOK CLUB blog for lists of Nerdy Award books. The club has pegged several categories that are right on target IMHO-- don't miss their lists.
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Visions of Education (American Indians in Children's Literature with Debbie Reese. Kurtka, Dan and Milton, Michael. (2017) Episode 67: American Indians in Children's Literature with Debbie Reese. Visions of Education (Podcast). Retrieved from https://visionsofed.com/2017/09/13/episode-67-american-indians-in-childrens-literature-with-debbie-reese/ This pod cast on Visions of Education is worth the 35:56 minutes it will be to listen to the entire pod cast and I do think it will be worth it. Check out what Debbie Reese has to say - a great section of this (you do have to wade through some initial banter from the podcasters but at 4:23 in the podcast a discussion of indigenous cultures). And at 6:00 the podcasters introduce Debbie Reese - the guru on the topic of American Indians in Children's Literature -- very interesting information. At 18:00 focuses on the terms and instruction of information about Native Americans. Tribal specificity, and what's right in what has been written, and what needs to be changed. A lot of understanding.
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Graphic Novels
In the past decade graphic novels have come to the mainstream publishing industry. First popularized in Japan, the format (NOT a genre) became very popular. Publishers who wanted to remain relevant to a great segment of readers eventually got on board. Today there are reading lists generated by the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC) that will provide some excellent titles to share with K to 8th grade readers.The Breadwinner: A graphic novel
Based on the original book by Deborah Ellis and adapted from the feature film directed by Nora Twomey, Groundwood Books (ages 10 to 14) Adapted from the Oscar-nominated animated feature, this beautifully illustrated graphic novel tells the powerful story of a girl in Afghanistan who must disguise herself as a boy to support her family after her father is unjustly taken to prison. The official trailer can be found at https://youtu.be/ZKxzlNE9_7Y
Much of the "objection" to graphic novels seems to be partially due to cultural differences. For example, the Japanese culture tends to view females in a much more sexual manner. Thus, the way the Japanese Manga writings portray females seem to be offensive -- and thus, push away this very valuable form. But graphic novels are now much more than Japanese Manga. The format has developed. A few years ago AMERICAN publishers got on board with the format and began to publish books that seem more acceptable to the general population. Scholastic was among the first. More publishers (since 2010) have begun to bring out titles specifically for the less able readers. Robert Burleigh has some great graphic biographies (still called graphic novels -- a format not a genre).
This is a comment from a colleague of mine -- a former naysayer when it came to graphic novels --
"David Small's Stitches (2010) -- Wow! It was a book I read cover to cover and couldn't go to bed until I finished it. (I had started about 10:00 one night -- just browsing through an advanced reading copy (ARC) -- but had to read it all in that one sitting) I have since used
it to show teachers the value and seriousness of literature in the graphic novel format. My K-5 students, of course, are gobbling up tons of graphic novels. The girls especially like Baby Mouse and Fashion Kitty. The boys are still enjoying Bone, Saradine, and the Captain Underpants series!!"
Several websites (including the ALA site) includes lists of more recent Graphic Novels.
Small's story is especially poignant for readers who grew up reading the picture books he illustrated and the books he has created with his wife, Sarah Small. Small was one of the first to put a personal aghast story into a graphic format for YA readers -- but he won't be the last, I am sure.
Not every family has the mother, father idyllic picture at the family dinner table. In fact Krosocka's family was anything but that picture. In this National Book Award finalist, Krosoczka tells of his complicated childhood - not knowing his father - even his name, his complicated relationship with his mother - a drug-addict, and his growing up with two very loud, loving, and opinionated grandparents who took on raising Jarrett long after they thought they were done with children. By the time he became a teenager, he was quite good at making his non-normal life as normal as possible, dealing with his mother's absence (and sometimes presence) and tracking down his father. This book is a must for all ya readers - survive you can.
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End of Week 6 - newsletter
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