I brought a stack of books home with me from NCTE, and I’ve had fun making my way through those over the past few weeks. Today I’m highlighting two of my favorites.
Although I was overwhelmed by the Exhibition Hall at the Hynes center, this immediately caught my eye at the Clarion booth:
I love teaching with wordless picture books because they are accessible to all students, and David Wiesner is a genius of the form. The level of sophistication in his wordless picture books make them especially appealing to older students. Mr. Wuffles (Clarion, 2013) is one of his best. At first I was surprised by the slightly cartoony quality of the cover. But, after reading the first few pages, my notion that this might be a departure from Wiesner’s usual photographic style was gone.
Mr. Wuffles can’t be bothered with the many toys his human has tried to lure him with. Nestled in amongst the stuffed mice and jingle balls is what at first glance might be a tea infuser or some other forgotten mid-20th century kitchen gadget. Mr. Wuffles ignores this too, until something about this curious little silver ball catches his attention. Then the fun begins. Priceless facial expressions tell much of the story, and Wiesner plays with point of view throughout the book. Rich with details, Mr. Wuffles is a treat for picture book lovers of all ages.
Meet the model for Mr. Wuffles and learn more about Wiesner’s creative process in the book trailer:
Another highlight of my visit to the Exhibition Hall was meeting Gae Polisner and getting a signed ARC of The Summer of Letting Go. (Algonquin, publication date: March 18, 2014) Gae is one of the forces behind Teachers Write! and her kind and generous feedback about my writing was a real boost to me last summer. This may make me biased, but if I hadn’t liked this book, I just wouldn’t have written about it.
And actually I didn’t like it. I loved it. I wish my 14 or 15 year old self could have read this book. It would have been such a relief to know that other girls were insecure about their looks or felt like they couldn’t do anything right. Francesca, aka Frankie, worries about all this and more. She feels responsible for the drowning death of her younger brother four years earlier, and she worries about her parents, who are each coping with this tragedy in their own way. The Summer of Letting Go is the story of Frankie’s journey to forgiveness and acceptance; to understanding that “not even the ocean can drown our souls.”
Be sure to visit Jen at Teach Mentor Texts and Kellee at Unleashing Readers to find out what other people have been reading lately. Thanks, Jen and Kellee, for hosting!
I’ll have to move The SUmmer of Letting Go up on my list to read!
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Mr Wuffles was very popular in my room. The most amusing thing was that a few of my little boys said that they could read the alien language and later in buddy reading “deciphered” it for another child. Hilarious! This novel by Polisner looks great. I have loved her writing in the past so will need to pick this one up.
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I know at least two students who will love The Summer of Letting Go – thanks for sharing this title, Catherine.
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I am excited for The Summer of Letting Go. I know I ordered it for my library. I will have to watch for it to come in. http://wp.me/pzUn5-1Lp
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Pre-ordered The Summer of Letting Go-Gae Polisner is a wonder, I agree. I saw her in the Teacher Write session, but not in the exhibition hall-you lucky thing! Happy to hear it’s another good one! I’ve ordered Mr. Wuffles for my granddaughter who adores their cats! She’ll love it!
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I was thinking of getting it for my 71 year old aunt. I know she’ll appreciate it!
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I loved Mr Wuffles! All those ignored and discarded toys reminded me of my own cats…. I enjoyed Pull of Gravity so I’m glad to hear Summer of Letting Go is a winner. I’ll definitely be buying that one too.
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Hello there Catherine, I did a round-up of wordless titles a few years back. Seeing how much you love this genre, I thought of sharing the link with you as it might be of interest to you. Love David Wiesner. http://gatheringbooks.wordpress.com/2011/12/27/list-of-wordless-picture-books/
Have a great reading week!
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Thanks for sharing your list, Myra! It’s quite a resource, and there are many books I’m not familiar with. I’ll look for them at the library next time I’m there.
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this review made me cry. And then I read the comments. Anyone got any tissue?! ❤
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