A wonderful discussion took place in the Middle School Library last Friday between these four fifth graders and our second grade teacher, Ms. O'Connor. Read on to get a glimpse of their talk and to find out some of Ms. O'Connor's literature favorites.
Who is your favorite character?
You are, Leo [smile and wink]. For adult books I really like nonfiction, so let me think about children’s books. Well, I like the funny characters.
Do you like the pigeon?
Yes, I love the pigeon! Oh, and Skippyjon Jones because I love to do the accent: Arriba! Arriba! [said with authentic Skippyjon accent]. I also love how he thinks he’s a chihuahua when he’s really a Siamese cat. I just like that character a lot.
How about Elephant & Piggie?
I do like the other Mo Willems characters too. I also like the worm from Diary of a Worm. That’s by Doreen Cronin and illustrated by Harry Bliss. They make great books together. Of course then my all-time favorite book is The Great Fuzz Frenzy (by Janet Stevens) which I read at the Barnes and Noble Bookfair every year. It’s the book with the prairie dogs and the tennis ball. Remember Bad Bart in there, with the bottle cap on his head? I mean who could’ve come up with this stuff? There are just so many great characters in children’s books.
Do you like to see movies based on books? If yes, which ones have you liked?
I do, but sometimes they’re disappointing so I’m always a little hesitant when I go see a movie that’s based on a book. I just saw Risen which is from the Bible and that was good. I do like Biblical kinds of epics. I have also liked the John Grisham movies based on his books. I wonder why they make the changes they do sometimes? If the book is so wonderful why would they change it? In general, I do love going to movies. It’s one of my forms of relaxation. I just sit there with my popcorn and water bottle and veg out and go into another world. Still there is that little bit of trepidation when I approach a movie that’s based on a book.
Do you have a favorite series?
I don’t have a particular series or author that I read. I like to read about things in education like new trends, new learning tools, and then it’s good to read about old stuff too that still works really well as a teaching practice. Professional journals are interesting too. If I go into Barnes & Noble I’ll come out with 6 different books and maybe 6 books for kids in addition. I was just looking at children’s books on Amazon when you stopped by my room earlier. I was looking at books about writing a biography for my second graders. As for series though, I tend to look at a series the same as movies in that sometimes the quality isn’t the same from book to book.
Which genres do you like?
I like biographies because I really like to read about real people. For this book though, (holding up Salt to the Sea by Ruta Septys), the events are true but the characters are fictitious. I enjoy books like that. It’s a really good book set during World War II. Historical stuff, sometimes fiction but often non-fiction, is what I like to read. This book here (The Worst Hard Time by Tim Egan) I loved. It is set during the Dust Bowl and the Great Depression time period and it is just amazing what these people lived through. My 95 year-old mother lived through all of that. Another one I couldn’t put down was The Kite Runner. That’s the problem with good books: I love getting into a good book, but then I hate it because I can’t put it down and you have to sometimes.
Here’s a nonfiction one that I’ve read that was really interesting. It’s called The Myth of Ability. It’s by this man, John Mighton, who developed a whole math system based on the idea that everybody can be good at math. It’s called JUMP Math and it started with him tutoring one fifth grade girl. Now it’s a whole and classroom and tutoring movement that has helped a lot of kids. I like reading books like this about kids.
Note: Both interviewee and interviewers engaged in much more discussion than I could transcribe. This crew had a lot to say! In between the questions and answers that you see here, there was much additional talk of favorite series and genres and movies and even a mini-lesson on the causes and reality of the Dust Bowl.
Who is your favorite character?
You are, Leo [smile and wink]. For adult books I really like nonfiction, so let me think about children’s books. Well, I like the funny characters.
Do you like the pigeon?
Yes, I love the pigeon! Oh, and Skippyjon Jones because I love to do the accent: Arriba! Arriba! [said with authentic Skippyjon accent]. I also love how he thinks he’s a chihuahua when he’s really a Siamese cat. I just like that character a lot.
How about Elephant & Piggie?
I do like the other Mo Willems characters too. I also like the worm from Diary of a Worm. That’s by Doreen Cronin and illustrated by Harry Bliss. They make great books together. Of course then my all-time favorite book is The Great Fuzz Frenzy (by Janet Stevens) which I read at the Barnes and Noble Bookfair every year. It’s the book with the prairie dogs and the tennis ball. Remember Bad Bart in there, with the bottle cap on his head? I mean who could’ve come up with this stuff? There are just so many great characters in children’s books.
Do you like to see movies based on books? If yes, which ones have you liked?
I do, but sometimes they’re disappointing so I’m always a little hesitant when I go see a movie that’s based on a book. I just saw Risen which is from the Bible and that was good. I do like Biblical kinds of epics. I have also liked the John Grisham movies based on his books. I wonder why they make the changes they do sometimes? If the book is so wonderful why would they change it? In general, I do love going to movies. It’s one of my forms of relaxation. I just sit there with my popcorn and water bottle and veg out and go into another world. Still there is that little bit of trepidation when I approach a movie that’s based on a book.
Do you have a favorite series?
I don’t have a particular series or author that I read. I like to read about things in education like new trends, new learning tools, and then it’s good to read about old stuff too that still works really well as a teaching practice. Professional journals are interesting too. If I go into Barnes & Noble I’ll come out with 6 different books and maybe 6 books for kids in addition. I was just looking at children’s books on Amazon when you stopped by my room earlier. I was looking at books about writing a biography for my second graders. As for series though, I tend to look at a series the same as movies in that sometimes the quality isn’t the same from book to book.
Which genres do you like?
I like biographies because I really like to read about real people. For this book though, (holding up Salt to the Sea by Ruta Septys), the events are true but the characters are fictitious. I enjoy books like that. It’s a really good book set during World War II. Historical stuff, sometimes fiction but often non-fiction, is what I like to read. This book here (The Worst Hard Time by Tim Egan) I loved. It is set during the Dust Bowl and the Great Depression time period and it is just amazing what these people lived through. My 95 year-old mother lived through all of that. Another one I couldn’t put down was The Kite Runner. That’s the problem with good books: I love getting into a good book, but then I hate it because I can’t put it down and you have to sometimes.
Here’s a nonfiction one that I’ve read that was really interesting. It’s called The Myth of Ability. It’s by this man, John Mighton, who developed a whole math system based on the idea that everybody can be good at math. It’s called JUMP Math and it started with him tutoring one fifth grade girl. Now it’s a whole and classroom and tutoring movement that has helped a lot of kids. I like reading books like this about kids.
Note: Both interviewee and interviewers engaged in much more discussion than I could transcribe. This crew had a lot to say! In between the questions and answers that you see here, there was much additional talk of favorite series and genres and movies and even a mini-lesson on the causes and reality of the Dust Bowl.
Thank you Ms. O'Connor!