Kids are Funny

Saw this book in another school and had to add it to this post!

A boy and a girl were in the library while I was setting up this AM.

Me: Do you speak any languages other than English?

Girl: English, Japanese, and a little bit of Spanish.

Boy: English...and I make cat noises.

Me: So...like 'Cat Language'?

Boy (with total sincerity): Yes.

The Dot

Yesterday I was at Saegert Elementary in Killeen ISD. I was doing a school assembly program teaching the scientific process / scientific method and the kids were loving the puppets and magic so much they had no idea they were learning all sorts of new vocabulary and important curriculum-based concepts.

Of course, because all my shows are reading motivation programs encouraging children to read, I usually perform in the library. And Jennifer Brown, the librarian at Saegert does a great job of creating an environment rich in reading possibility. Her displays of books were simple, but quite effective. Between shows I wound up reading several short books, as frequently happens when I am in the library.

On this particular morning I picked up The Dot by Peter H. Reynolds.

What an amazing book! During my lunch break I skipped lunch to run to Barnes and Noble to buy my own copy of the book. When I got back to my hotel room that evening I got on-line and ordered another copy to give to my daughter's art teacher. It is such a profound book and really quite moving.

People look at children's literature and see that there are not many words and think "Oh, I could write a book like that!" But the truth is that it is MUCH harder to convey important messages with few words than it is with many words.

Peter Reynolds did a MASTERFUL job and this book is a great addition to any library. It is a perfect gift for any teacher, but if you have an art teacher you love, you are obligated to get this book for him or her. I can't believe it's been around since 2003 and won awards and I hadn't heard of it until yesterday.

Thank you Ms. Brown for having me educate, entertain and inspire your students yesterday. But I thank you even more for educating, entertaining, and inspiring me by introducing me to this book. I owe you.

I'm the biggest geek

It was Martin Luther King, Jr. Day today. I guess it still is for another 90 minutes or so.

But unlike most people who celebrate the fact that they get the day off from work, I celebrated by reading a book. Now, granted, I'm the sort of geek that really enjoys reading and so it's probably about the equivilent of a normal person cooking barbecue and blending frozen drinks, though I like to do those things too.

Anyway, today I wanted to read something appropriate but not so blantantly obvious as a biography of MLK or a transcript of one of his speeches. Great stuff, but I wanted to step out a little.

I wound up grabbing a children's book (I'm a kid show performer and a father of a 6 year old so cut me some slack!). The book I got was an anthology of American Folklore called "From Sea to Shining Sea" compiled by Amy L. Cohn. I read a few things to my daughter and one of the stories reminded me of a video I had seen that I cannot watch without tearing up. It is really powerful.



Then I spent the rest of the day cherishing my beautiful daughter and the great weather we had here in Houston today. It was in the very high 60s and bright sunshine so we inflated an air mattress and played and napped in the back yard wearing just swim suits. I'm a little pink on my back and the top of my head.

America is great.

I can't wait to celebrate the other major holidays like Texas Public School Week, National Library Week, and Children's Book Week. Yeah, I'm a geek alright.

A Rat Writes a Book!!

For almost two years Roosevelt Rat has been working on his book and has finally finished the arduous process. The story is very loosely tied to the show he does called "Top Secret" which is a fun reading program about World Geography.

The book is actually like two books in one.

The first half is the story of Roosevelt's missing friend and how they use the library media center to unlock the clues they find. Invisible ink, secret ciphers, and mysterious maps all lead to a fun and rewarding conclusion.

The second half of the book is a collection of magic tricks that young readers can learn and perform to amaze their friends and family.

Roosevelt did a great job on the illustrations as well. The artwork is beautiful.

But that crazy little rat sometimes believes the audiences' praise of him. His ego might have caused him to order a few too many copies of the book from the publisher. We now have a garage FULL of books that I would really like to share with all my friends out there.

So, if you order a copy before the end of the year, I'll pay all the shipping costs and I even back the taxes out and pay them from my pocket. You just pay the $10 for the book. (Be sure to select "No Shipping" when the secure shopping cart asks for your shipping zone).

Don't feel guilty, it's a small price to pay to be able to park the truck in the garage again.