From My Stacks - Kathleen V. Kudlinski

There's something special about these two books.  Perhaps it's the lyrical text by Kathleen V. Kudlinski or the beautiful illustrations by Lindy Burnett.  Perhaps it's the combination of both.  

When I read The Sunset Switch, I'm reminded of that wonderful time of day, when daytime ends and night begins.  Kudlinski's love of biology and science is so clearly evident in the lyrical way she puts daytime animals asleep and nudges nighttime animals to life.  It's a stunning text, written in second person.  The words are paired perfectly with Ms. Burnett's amazing illustrations.

When I read Seaside Switch, I'm reminded of that subtle time between high-tide and low-tide.  It's a beautifully crafted description of how the tide rolls in and out and a little boy's curiosity.  It's written with such scientific detail, but with such innocence.  It brings your senses alive. 

I think Ms. Kudlinski is a perfect mentor for young writers.  I've used this text to help learners write narrative nonfiction.  Writers should learn to write from different perspectives.  Writers should learn to write narrative nonfiction.  Writers should learn to write from their own experiences.  Writers should write in order to strengthen their understanding.  Writers should write with beauty.  Writers should write from their observations of the world.  If young writers read these two books, they can see how Ms. Kudlinski does exactly that... write what you know and do it with gracefulness and purpose.

Searching my stacks for great mentors makes me happy.  There's so much that these two texts have to offer... you should check them out if you haven't.  I hope there'll be another addition to this wonderful duet of beautiful texts.  They evoke clear sensory images. They are something special. 

where i live - Eileen Spinelli

As I was preparing to transfer books from home to my classroom today, I ran across where i live by Eileen Spinelli.  I'd forgotten how much I adore this book.  It's a great book of poetry.

      In it, we learn about Diana and her life... with all its twists and turns.  It's classic Eileen Spinelli.  Her words tug at your heart and your mind as you explore the life of Diana... who uses her writing to explain her life and the changes she's going through.

     Simple.  Complex.  Sweet.  Sad.  Happy.  Real.  Eileen Spinelli weaves a wonderful tale of Diana, her best friend Rose, her mom, her dad, and Grandpa Joe.  When Diana learns she has to leave the things she loves, it tugs at your heartstrings. 

      Eileen's words, accompanied by Matt Phelan's wonderful drawings, it's a perfect book to share with young readers who might be experiencing a move... or even a family struggle.  Encouraging children to write for authentic purposes might be an added bonus in sharing this book. 

     My two favorite poems are "Music" and "New Resident."  Sweet and simple.  It's a delightful read.

      There's nothing like finding a hidden gem in your stacks that you can't wait to share with your students...

New Resident

A wren has made

her nest

in the willow wreath 

on our front door. 

Now the yellow house

is her home 

too.

Line Lifts - A Great Strategy Still

Hey, Mr. Allen, listen to this… 

I love this line, listen…

Close your eyes for a minute.  Ready?  Listen to these words… 

Wow, Mr. Allen, listen…

     My students and I have been paying close attention to some of the fantastic lines we are noticing as readers.  We’re knee-deep in a study of how wise readers ask questions to better understand, remember, extend meaning, and make readers experiences memorable (Conferring: The Keystone of Reader’s Workshop, p. 28).  As writers, we’re honing in on exquisite lines to nudge our writing work—a parallel notebook study of  “What does a wise writer do to nudge his/her writing?"  (One of the strategies we're playing around with is "lifting a line" to coax our own writing.  A strategy I first learned from Linda Reif and have loved since.)

 Questions abound!

     In Write from the Start, Donald Graves reminds us, "Whenever there's a connection made between old knowledge and new knowledge, that's where the new growth is.  Those are the green shoots out of the old stock, the shoots that will bear fruit.  But it takes a fair amount of pruning to get new growth.  The dead wood comes when children pay attention to what they think the teacher wants instead of what, in fact, they see."

     So as writers were working toward the "shoots that will bear fruit."  Helping see that we have a lot to learn from mentors.  A lot of young writers these days seem "prompt-bound" or "Is this good? bound" or "I don't know what to write-bound."  They've been stifled by outside forces of programs and perfection... of skill and drill types of writing.

     But if I can encourage my students to develop a sense of agency as writers... to open their notebooks and start writing from a great line that they've discovered, they'll have one more authentic tool to help them develop independence during those times when writing ideas aren't coming easy.  Giving them a chance to break chains that are, sadly, already cramping their young writing lives.  To encourage purpose.  To encourage play.  To encourage risk.  To encourage thought.  To encourage putting pencil to paper.

     I've shown them my own notebook with the lines I've borrowed... lines that are waiting for me when I'm stuck or need a jumping off point.  

  Helen Frost - Salt

"Fireflies light up the edge of the dark forest."

"Our fire will keep us warm inside while we tell winter stories."

Kate Banks - Max's Words

"I'm going to collect words."

"When Max put his words together, he had thoughts."

Ruth Ayres - Celebrating Writers:  From Possibilities Through Publication

"Sometimes leaving things unsaid is more difficult than knowing what to say."

"Sometimes rejoicing is quiet.  It's a nod of encouragement."

Barbara O'Connor - How to Steal a Dog

"I closed the notebook and watched the moths flutter around the streetlight outside the window.' 

"I pushed my face against the screen and peered inside.  My stomach did a flip-flop."

Gary Paulsen - Brian's Hunt

"A perfect day among many perfect days and the last thought he had before slipping into sleep was that he was in exactly the right spot at exactly the right time in his life."

Gari Meacham - Watershed Moments

"A true watershed isn't to be hoarded; rather, it is to be shared, to spread it's gift of insight from our life to the lives of those around us."

     So what?  Now I have a notebook nudge.  Parts that can lead to wholes.  If I'm sitting with my notebook, facing a blank page, I have some great lines from some of my favorite writers that might just lead me into a piece of my own.  Not stolen.  Just borrowed.  Lines that spark a memory.  Lines that encourage me to write.  Just a little "tidbit" borrowed from a mentor that invites me to move words across a blank page.  A tool for a specific time for a specific purpose that fits into the "big picture" of being a writer.  Practice.

     It's a simple strategy that can serve as a guide to more complex pieces, more personal pieces.  Teach.  Model.  Empower.  

Hey, Mr. Allen, listen to this… 

I love this line, listen…

Close your eyes for a minute.  Ready?  Listen to these words… 

Wow, Mr. Allen, listen…

Let the pruning begin...

Ice Bear - Nicola Davies

I've been rereading a bit of Nicola Davies lately.  There's something reenergizing to thumb through my stakes.  Among her books, I ran across a favorite of mine... Ice Bear: In the Steps of the Polar Bear.  
     I love her narrative... but what attracts me most to her writing is the way she interweaves bits of nonfiction, lines that float through the text.  I've been sitting down to contemplate a writing project lately and I'm using her as one of my mentors (along with Don Brown and Louise Borden).  
     One of the things we know as teachers of writers is how important it is to surround them with the types of writing we want them to explore... the types of writers who can become their mentors.  Of course, the more I work with young writers, the more I realize that often times they are the ones who have to match themselves to a mentor; they are the ultimate decision maker.  They find their own mentors.  Someone they respect.  Someone whose writing inspires them.  Someone who intrigues them.  Someone whose writing nudges them.
      And I've realized that I have an important job:  to expose them to writers, to help them discover great writers, to encourage them to "have a go" with interesting examples of text, and to demonstrate my own passion for writers and great writing.  Expose.  Discover.  Encourage.  Demonstrate.  That's just good teaching, right?  
     So Nicola Davies is one of my "go to" mentors and by sharing what I learn from her with my students, perhaps they will, in turn, find a "go to" writer that inspires them.  Consider this line...

"Its ears sit close to its head, 

neatly out of cutting winds, 

and its feet are furred for warmth and grip."

     What can a young writer learn?  What can I learn?  In 21 words I notice the power of three, the strength of noun modifiers, the effective use of "and" as a coordinating conjunction, the musicality of rhythmic words.  If I read Nicola Davies to my students (and myself)... once for the heart and once for the head, how can her words not engage them in the wonderful thing we call writing.  

     It's time to pull together a Nicola Davies basket... my students will love her.  IF I don't beat them to the basket first.

Simple Dreams

I haven't blogged since June.  June.  So, tonight I decided it was time to get back to All-en-A-Day's Work.  I hope you'll forgive my absence.  I hope that I will be nudged to get this and several other bits of writing done... sooner than later. 

And what do I start with?  Simple Dreams:  A Musical Memoir by Linda Ronstadt.  Two weeks ago as I was flying to and from Saskatoon, I read it (it's been on order since I heard she was writing it).

I've always been a Linda Ronstadt fan (or Ronda Lindstadt as my friend Christine O'Hanlon lovingly calls her).  When Susan and I got married I told her there were three people I wanted to see in concert:  Emmylou Harris, Dolly Parton, and Linda Ronstadt.  And, together, we've seen all three.  In fact, we saw Linda in Denver not long before she quit touring as a singer... forever.  For those of you who don't know, she's been diagnosed with Parkinson's disease and her singing career has been silenced.  Now it's through her recordings and her written word that we'll have to enjoy her voice.  

There's a wonderful section at the beginning of the book where she describes the "mud huaraches" they made so that they could run barefoot in the Arizona desert.  She writes, "We often went barefoot, but the ground in summer would become so hot that it could raise a blister.  The remedy for this was to wet our feet, then dip them in the dry, powdery clay dust, then a little wet mud, and then back into the dust again until we built up layers of earth to insulate us from the heat."  I used this section as a "think aloud" with my students as we began a study of how Wise Readers Ask Questions.  

As I've read her words, I've been pleasantly surprised by her writing.  As I've read her words, I've been pleasantly surprised by how much music as been a part of her life since birth.  As I've read her words, I've been pleasantly surprised by her candor and honesty regarding a career that has spanned decades and garnered many awards and nominations.  As I've read her words, I've been pleasantly surprised by her honesty.  She's smart.  She's talented.  She's gifted.

Perhaps my favorite passage in the book is in the epilogue.  She writes, "People ask me why my career consisted of such rampant eclecticism, and why I didn't simply stick to one type of music.  The answer is that when I admire something tremendously, it is difficult not to try to emulate it.  Some of the attempts were successful, others not.  The only rule I imposed on myself; consciously or unconsciously, was to not try singing something that I hadn't heard in the family living room before the age of ten.  If I hadn't heard it by then, I couldn't attempt it with even a shred of authenticity."

And she ends with the line, "At the time, struggling with so many different kinds of music seemed like a complicated fantasy, but from the vantage point of my sixty-seven years.  I see it was only a simple dream."

Like her music (I've heard it all), this last line knocked my socks off!  Simplicity... a shred of authenticity. 

I've been thinking about simple dreams of late.  I had one once... to teach.  It started in 1984 (after getting a degree in Communication Disorders).  I decided to teach.  I was probably listening to "Lush Life" while I did my homework.  It was a good dream at the time.  

But my dream has changed a bit.  Now with all the complexities and mandates and grand reformation and uncommonly good standards my dream is that I keep reminding myself of why I got into this career in the first place.  

Thanks, Ms. Ronstadt for reminding me to relish my career.  With all its ups and downs, gives and takes, mistakes and successes.  And, thank you, for reminding me of how important it is to "play in the desert mud" or "ride a horse with a friend" or "sing a song" or "stand up for your beliefs, your history, your voice."  Of how important it is to pursue learning with rigor and endurance.

I think it's time we all start thinking about all the children we know and have known; hoping that they too will have a chance to follow a "simple dream" in an overly complex world.

To Look at Any Thing...

Change

The summer

still hangs

heavy and sweet

with sunlight

as it did last year.

The autumn

still comes 

showering gold and crimson 

as it did last year.

The winter 

still stings

clean and cold and white

as it did last year.

The spring

still comes 

like a whisper in the dark night.

It is only I 

who have changed.

Charlotte Zolotow

 (c) 1978 To Look at Anything 

Lee Bennett Hopkins

This is my favorite poem from Lee Bennett Hopkins's book To Look at Any Thing.  Have you seen the book?  It's a collection of poetry centered around nature photographs by John Earl taken in Georgia.  Circa 1978.

There's something endearing when you find yourself thumbing through the pages of a book that was published 35 years ago.  The black and white photographs, coupled with poetry from some of our most extraordinary poets was a treat to reread.  To read Charlotte Zolotow's words in "Change," or Patricia Hubbell's words in "Beginning of Thoughts," or Lilian Moore's words in "Encounter," or Langston Hughes's words in "Hope."  This is a special book. 

I think it behooves us to look through our classroom and personal libraries and find "gems" we can share with our students.  

More importantly, it's important for us to reread great writing for ourselves.  To nudge our own writing.  To conjure up memories of the poets we love.  To think of ways to inspire others.  To remember that "new" is not always better.  To take a look at "any thing" and know that perhaps there's a poem hidden in even the simplest objects. 

Eudora Welty - A Mentor's Mentor

In the late 1980s, my friend and colleague, Laura Benson, recommended One Writer's Beginnings to us at a workshop.  I remember her sharing sections of it and I immediately went to The Bookies for a copy (at that time The Bookies was still in an old bungalow off 6th Avenue... crammed to the brim with books).  

I think it was one of the first hard cover "professional" books I ever purchased and it still has a special place on my bookshelf.  It's the narrative of Eudora's falling in love with language, writing, and story. It's broken into three sections "Listening," "Learning to See," and "Finding a Voice." Based on her lectures, it captures her story of becoming a writer... finding her voice after years of listening and observing those around her.

Imagine for a minute if we used those three section titles as a "curriculum guide"... if we, indeed, took all the complexities we face as teachers and filtered them through what a young girl from Mississippi deemed important as a learner.  As teachers of reading and writing, could we not couch our work in those three areas?  

What if our guiding questions became:

What are the ways my students are learning to listen?

What are the ways my students are learning to see?

What are the ways my students are developing a sense of their own voice?

How?  Why?  So what?

If we simply (or not so simply) helped our students (and ourselves) to "listen," wouldn't we already be one step ahead.  Listen to the rhythm of these words.  Listen to your fellow learners, what did you hear?  Listen as I share this part out loud with you, what do you notice?  Listen to your own understanding, what's floating in your mind right now?  There's something in this piece that I want to try in my own writing, did you hear it?  Listen again. Listen to the pattern of the words, the sentences, the text... what's beating in your heart?  Your mind?    Listening.

Now "See."  See what's around you (write it down).  See what he just did, do you suppose you might have a go with that?  See how that vowel pattern works, are you learning to recognize it?  See how this illustration matches the words the author uses.  Close your eyes for just a moment, what do you see?  When she shared her poem with you, what did you see?  When you share your writing with him, what did he tell you he saw?  Watch me, tell me what you see... now let me watch you and I'll tell you what I see.  Learning to See.

Find a Voice.  Did you hear the way you said that... it sounded just like _____ (insert your favorite author's name)?  You should write about that, it's an important story.  Your thinking is really important, you might recommend this book to someone you think might enjoy it.  You did create a sensory image, how did it help you?  If someone, right now, asked you what you were thinking, what might you tell them?  You know, not many people can capture a moment in time as beautifully as you just did... how will you share it with others?  Finding a voice. 

Listening.

Learning to See.

Finding a Voice.

Listen to Eudora's words as she describes an important discovery she made about books:

It has been startling and disappointing to me to find out 

that story books had been written by people, that books were not

natural wonders, coming up of themselves like grass.  Yet regardless

of where they came from, I cannot remember a time when I was not in 

love with them--with the books themselves, cover and binding and the paper

they were printed on, with their smell and their weight and with their possession

in my arms, captured and carried off to myself.  Still illiterate, I was ready for 

them, committed to all the reading I could give them.  (Welty, pp. 5-6)

That's exactly what I want my students to do, to commit themselves to understanding all that books can give them.  Not based on a number of books they plow through.  Not based on a "level" or a specific genre.  Not based on the number of minutes they read.  Not based on the questions they can answer after a read.  Not based on some mystical "core" description of what a reader is or is not.  Not based on a test.  I want the readers in my care to fall in love with the books themselves.  And perhaps if they listen and learn and see my passion for reading and writing, they will perhaps, in turn, find their own voices as readers and writers.

If you haven't read One Writer's Beginnings, you should.  If you haven't read one of Eudora Welty's works, you should.  If you haven't explored her descriptions of life in Mississippi, you should.  There's something grand about her language, her words, the tempo of her writing.  Her simple southern life gave her writing a complex and varied cadence.  And as you read Welty, you have to keep "Listening, Learning to See, and Finding a Voice" in mind.  Eudora Welty is a mentor's mentor.  

Also read A Darling Life:  A Biography of Eudora Welty by Carolyn J. Brown.  Ms. Brown has captured the life... in words and photographs (many of Welty's own)... of Eudora Welty for a new generation of learners.  This time for young readers and writers.  From her childhood in Jackson, Mississippi to political unrest to her declining years, Ms. Brown captures the journey of Miss Welty stunningly.  She lead a simple, albeit extraordinary, life.  Listen to these words from Miss Welty:

Lately, in my old age, it has seemed to me, when friends meet to hold

a public service to pay tribute to one of their number who has died, that 

without words to that effect ever being said, they are drawing a circle 

around that friend.  Speaking in turn one after the other, joining them 

together anew, they keep what they know of him intact.

Eurdora Welty, Introduction, The Norton Bok of Friendship  (Brown, p. 75) 

I'm thinking we all need to draw a circle around these two books for a bit of time... just to listen... to see... and perhaps find a bit of our voice, both as teachers and as readers and writers ourselves.  To keep Eudora Welty's contributions as a writer intact... read!

Summer Readin' - Had Me A Blast!

Last week, I email this to my fourth grade students from last year.  I thought I'd post it on All-en-a-Day's Work as well.  My friend, Dana, and I were chatting on the phone and she asked me what I ordered... here's the list!  Enjoy.

- - - - - - - 

Good Morning, 

I hope your summer is off to a good start... full of fun, family, and reading (and some math and some writing and perhaps some investigating of creatures living in your backyard)!

My summer is off to a grand start. I spent a week in Minnesota working with teachers there (I also got some cheese curds in Wisconsin and visited the town near where Laura Ingalls was born).  I came home with a few books (surprise) and some artwork from local artists in the places we visited.  I spent three days with Lauryn's first grade teacher, Mrs. Franklin, and her husband (my wife and Lauryn went with me) who now live in Minnesota in a quaint little town.  I had dinner with Mr. Muma's old boss and went to his house to visit.  My wife and I joked about perhaps moving to Minnesota when I retire in five or ten years or so!  

This week I've spent time reading and writing and reading and writing some more.  I'm on about page three of a new book, but I've also been doing some other writing as well.  I am babysitting Tonka, my son's dog.  She and Timber are keeping me on my toes (right now they are sleeping on my toes).   

I wanted to update you on my book purchases (for those of you who gave me gift cards especially) over the past week.  It's been so much fun reading other teacher's blogs and making a list of "must haves" for the classroom.  So much fun, in fact, that I decided to send you the titles so you'd know what I purchased (and perhaps nudge you to do a bit of book investigating on your own).  

I thought maybe a trip to the library with a few titles in hand would add to your summer reading.  You know, it's just as important to read 20 (make that 30) minutes a day in the summer as it is during the school year.  Lauryn's favorite summer reading includes the free pamphlets that we find when we go to the zoo, museums, etc.  We're all rereading some of our favorite "picture" books this summer (that's a silly term - they are more than picture books) and talking about them.  We're also trying to spend time without the noise box (television) on... especially now that "The Voice" is over.  I'm also trying to write about my reading every day.  

Most of these titles aren't novels, but rather the kinds of books that we, as writers, use as mentors to nudge our writing.  Just in case you're interested, here's what I ordered:

• Just in Time for Christmas by Louise Borden (a dog story by a friend of mine--she's a fabulous writer; so kind and funny in real life)
• His Name was Raoul Wallenberg by Louise Borden (if you loved Hana's Suitcase, you'll love this one)
• The Matchbox Diary by Paul Fleischman (yes, that Fleischman family)
• The Journey That Saved Curious George: The True Wartime Escape of Margret and H.A. Rey by Louise Borden (also a good cousin text to Hana's Suitcase)
• The Old Ways: A Journey on Foot by Robert Macfarlane (this is an adult book that I thought looked intriguing)
• Forest Has a Song: Poems by Amy Ludwig VanDerwater (this would have been good to have during our ecosystem study, plus her name is fun to say)
• The Truth of Me by Patricia MacLachlan (this is brand new and hasn't been released yet, but I preordered it)
• Gone Fishing: A novel by Tamera Will Wissinger (a short novel in verse, a good read aloud... and great poetry, lots of ideas to nudge writing in our "Write at Home" notebooks.  And again, isn't Will Wissinger just fun to say outloud!)
• My First Day by Steve Jenkins (great nonfiction mixed with narrative, a great repeating line book)
• Lullaby by Jane Chelsea Aragon (simply because I love Salt Hands and Ms. Aragon lived fulfilling, writing life... by the way, Salt Hands is NOT easy to find)
• Winter Harvest by Jane Chelsea Aragon (again... she's a great writer)
• Georgia's Bones by Jen Bryant (she wrote A River of Words and this is about a famous artist named Georgia O'Keefe)
• A Splash of Red: The Life and Art of Horace Pippin by Jen Bryant (a cousin text to A River of Words, perhaps)
• Ice Bear: In the Steps of the Polar Bear by Nicola Davies (my daughter won't let me have her copy and I love this book)
• The Train Jumper by Don Brown (he wrote Bright Path)
• Abe's Fish: A Boyhood Tale of Abraham Lincoln by Jen Bryant (surprise, another book by her)
• Mack Made Moves by Don Brown (another great Don Brown book... I think I have-or will have-most of them now)
• White Owl, Barn Owl by Nicole Davies (I love her mix of nonfiction and narrative... she wrote Bat Loves the Night)
• Rare Treasure: Mary Anning and Her Remarkable Discoveries by Don Brown (he's one of my favorite writers, as you know)

I also ordered these books used:

• Together by George Ella Lyon (my paperback copy is kind of falling apart - illustrated by Vera Rosenberry)
• Mail Myself to You by Woody Guthrie (illustrated by Vera Rosenberry)
• Let it Begin Here!: April 19, 1775: The Day the American Revolution Began (Don Brown - about an important time in our history)
• Dolly Madison Saves George Washington (Don Brown - haven't read this one yet and can't wait!)
• The Notorious Izzy Fink (Don Brown - this looks really good)
• Ruth Law Thrills a Nation (Don Brown - an aviation heroine)
• All Stations! Distress!: April 15, 1912: The Day the Titanic Sank (Don Brown - to add to my growing Titanic collection)
• The Good Lion (Don Brown - Beryl Markhams' story)
• Uncommon Traveler: Mary Kingsley in Africa (Don Brown - another adventurous woman)
• Across a Dark and Wild Sea (Don Brown--which I think I may already have... but it's amazing)
• Moonpie and Ivy by Barbara O'Connor (I wonder why?)
• Barefoot Dancer: The Story of Isadora Duncan by Barbara O'Connor (Hmm....)
• Fame and Glory in Freedom, Georgia by Barbara O'Connor (one of her early books)
• Greetings from Nowhere by Barbara O'Connor (a copy for the room)
• Read to Me by Judi Moreillon (my friend Paul, from Indiana recommended this one, and he teaches high school and uses it with his kids - I always trust his recommendations)
• Sing Down the Rain by Judi Moreillon (just a beautifully illustrated story and I've been thinking a lot about rain lately)

Again, enjoy your summer!  I hope that you'll find some quiet time to reflect and reenergize before school starts in August.  I'll think of you fondly as I prepare for a new adventure with a new group of learners. 

All the best, 

Mr. Allen

Children WANT to write! - Donald Graves

I wrote a tribute to Donald Graves when he died.  If you know me, you know that I've been a fan of his since my wife, Susan, first introduced me to his groundbreaking work Writing: Teachers and Children at Work.  It is the first book on teaching that I read that "spoke" to me... humbly and sincerely.  It is the book that changed the course of my career path from Speech and Language Pathologist to classroom teacher.  It is the book that still sits proudly in its rightful place among my professional text.  It has since 1984. 

In 1987, I met Don for the first time in Castle Rock, Colorado because my principal, Laura Harmon, had the foresight to send me to a workshop in the old Cantril Building.  A newbie teacher with a heart for reading and writing got to spend time with a master.  I've never forgotten that first meeting.  Thank you, Laura.

Enter Children Want to Write:  Donald Graves and the Revolution in Children's Writing  edited by Thomas Newkirk and Penny Kittle.  It's a collection of "his writing, research videos, and presentations to teachers."  It's a must have for any teacher.  It's a treasure trove of his work with writers and writing.

It's shocking to me how many teachers don't have the name of Donald Graves rolling off their tongue when they speak about young writers and writing.  If it isn't, is should be... he was not only revolutionary, but a visionary whose passion for the craft of writing and the crafters of that writing (children) is unsurpassed.  It's on Don's shoulders that we, as teachers of writers, should stand!  In the first chapter of the book, Tom writes:

"To revisit Donald Graves' work connects us to an extraordinary moment in literacy education, a quiet revolution that overturned assumptions about what children could (and couldn't) do.  It was a revolution that drew on the creative energy--and sheer boldness--of young teachers and a visionary principal.  They did it together with no road map.  Together they learned to observe, ask good questions, and wait for answers.  John Keats called this quality a 'negative capability'--the capability for "being in uncertainties, mysteries, doubts, without any irritable reaching after fact and reason.
     This uncertainty scares a lot of people, now.  Or it seems an irresponsible luxury in this time of perpetual 'crisis.'  There is no shortage of programs, scripts, or 'alignment' specialists who promise to free us of this responsibility to make decisions.  When I visit schools, I can almost sense teachers ducking and dodging as these programs, tests, and 'data' come their way.  The overcrowded curriculum and the interruptions that Don mocked are even more prominent now.  The testing culture is oppressive.
     So we hope this book is a bracing dose of clarity.  This work still represents a horizon of the possible.  It is still a revolution, one that Don incited with that wonderful, unqualified sentence--'Children want to write.'"

Writing isn't a mystery.  Writing isn't a lock and step sequence of events that magically mixes and matches the 26 letters of the alphabet onto the page.  It isn't a "unit " in which a writer's pencil falls gracefully upon the page and because it's packaged in pretty publisher quality paper, success is guaranteed.  It isn't.  It isn't a rubric-based system of "teach this" and "score this" and watch as the mysterious writing wand suddenly turns children into writers who, because they have a plan, write brilliantly.  It isn't a half hour a day of drill and kill and skill, turning writers words into swill upon the page.  It isn't a five-paragraph essay.  It isn't.  It isn't a clearcut continuum of standards that are scooped out of a pot of "skills and strategies" then thrown upon paper in a neat and tidy sequence by someone who, for the most part, probably doesn't write.  It isn't a program packaged with bells and whistles, "say this" and "model this."  It just isn't. 

Writing is the work that writers do.  Don knew this.  In every word he wrote and from every child (adult) with whom he conferred, Don learned that the work of a writer is... well... WRITING!  He knew that it we have to teach "to the intention of writers, not curriculum guides or standards."  On page 57, Penny writes, "Don defined a writing classroom as a place where we experiment and learn.  The 'we' is critical of course:  Graves believed that the teacher must practice and demonstrate a deep understanding of writing craft, and in fact, called the teacher-writer the chief 'condition' for effective writing."

I don't think Don would have disagreed that we should help writers reach high standards.  In fact, if you ever took a workshop from him, you KNOW that he nudged writers to write.  Over the years, I took several workshops with him and during every one of them I was expected to write, to listen to other writers, to talk to other writers, to experiment, to revise, to "give it a go" with a strategy or skill.  Last week, Susan and I were talking to our friend Jo Franklin about all the times we sat in one of his workshops with clear expectations and notebooks in hand, wanting to write because there was no doubt in his mind that we could!  And, I remember sitting with him on the lawn with my friend, Randi Allison, talking writing and writers, children and learning, people and places.  There was always a natural and sincere curiosity swirling about Don. 

So, it's with excitement and furor that I recommend "his" latest book!  And, I'm so thankful that his dear friends Penny Kittle and Thomas Newkirk went on an archeological dig through his work to put together an amazing tribute.  I needed this book!  When I read "First Grade," I was taken back to 1992 and I heard Don's voice reading this poem to us, here in Denver... I'll be forever grateful for your wisdom in putting this book together.

For those of you who knew Don, you'll reminisce and remember.  You'll hear his voice float through the pages.  The video clips will remind you of a friend who's gone, but not forgotten (I have a sneaking hunch he's still observing in a few classrooms now and then).  The writing will "re-energize" you and perhaps encourage you to write, and more importantly, stand up for writers.  This compilation is classic Donald Graves. 

For those of you who never met Don, you'll get to meet him.  You'll hear the voice that caused thousands of teachers to revision the teaching of writing.  The video clips will give you a glimpse into the heart and mind of the man who taught us well.  The writing will re-energize you and perhaps encourage you to read more of his writing... to see what real writers in real classrooms should be doing.  This compilation is classic Donald Graves. 

Classic Graves.  Thank you Penny and Tom.  Thank you, dear Don!  Children DO want to write...