The Vincent Van Gogh Atlas

 

The Vincent Van Gogh Atlas by Nienke Denekamp and René van Blerk is for people who like history, geography or biographies. Although the word atlas is in the title, this book is a biography of the painter Vincent Van Gogh. It is organized by the places Van Gogh lived during his brief, turbulent life. The ample illustrations and graphics in the book make it a short read despite the 150 pages it contains. With an intended audience for older children, the book includes explanations of things that were common in that time period like travel and mail delivery to put things into perspective. Both students and adults interested in Van Gogh’s life would find it engaging. Art teachers could use it as a resource when students are learning about the painter’s life.

summer highlights

Teachers started school last Monday where I work, and the students begin tomorrow. A few things that I will remember about this summer...

• Scrabble. I played over thirty games with my dad, and I win more than I used to.  Dad is a strategic player so watching what he did helped me improve my own game.
• Family. This year was the 19^th Camp Clair. There are less campers than there used to be because people keep getting older. I helped celebrate a high school graduation and my great niece’s baptism. August included a trip to the Richmond, Virginia area to see my nephew and his wife. My niece was there part of the time, too.
• Gardening. Sometimes it was my garden, other times I did things at the farm garden.
• Travel. I ended up going to some state parks that I do not get to very often. I also went to Bogotá, Colombia with the youth from church on a mission trip.

Two weeks ago, I visited Richmond for the weekend.  Five things I recommend are the state capitol,

the Maggie Walker House, 

the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, the Maymont, and the fast-food chain Cookout.

• Reading. This summer I read three novels, seven non-fiction books, the Psalms and countless picture books.  The novel I liked best was The Last Mapmaker by Christina Soontornvat. Not sure how to choose a favorite from the non-fiction books. Six of them are worth reading a second time.

garden

The zinnias in my garden have been blooming for a while already. So have the sunflowers and nasturtiums. I noticed the cosmos finally joined them. In the morning and afternoon I often spot butterflies and bees enjoying them.

 

It is also zucchini season. I have been eating it in a variety of ways. Today I made a spice cake and zucchini bread. One plant is enough and I usually check it every day, but I still had a few monster ones that ended up in the compost pile.

A couple of weeks ago, I made two one-gallon jars of refrigerated dill pickles. 

And most days there is a bowl of fresh tomatoes to eat and share. I want to make and can some salsa-I think with as many tomato plants that are in my garden, it should be possible.

I have also been using basil, kale, onions, and peppers, too. One row of green beans has been pulled out already, the string beans should be ready soon.  I am grateful that I do not have to grow and preserve all my own food, but it sure is nice to have fresh garden produce.

red, white and blue quilt

My latest big project. This quilt was my nephew's high school graduation gift. 

new places

This spring a friend told me about a part of Lindbergh State Park that was not adjacent to the rest.  A few weeks ago I went there and plan to keep it in mind for times I want to walk somewhere different. This summer I am on the lookout for more new places to see that don't require a long drive or plane trip.

learning

Grad school is done! Now I have a Master’s degree in Multilingual, Multicultural Education. The content was good, but I learned so much more. Here is what I want to remember.

1. Words of encouragement are life giving. The more specific the words, the more meaningful they were. Sometimes those words came from professors. Others were from coworkers, friends or siblings.

2. Sleep is not as important as I thought. The last week of semesters I spent a lot of late nights…occasionally staying up past midnight trying to get an assignment just perfect before submitting it. The weeks before the end of this past term I spent consecutive nights past eleven working on homework and slept a lot less on weekends too.

3. Reading through state standards is something to do regularly. Content standards get updated, and reading the current standards for a project I did was enlightening.

4. My inner critic for the work assigned was higher than others’ expectations. I turned in assignments that I was unsatisfied with at times because of deadlines, but it was enough.

5. I enjoy being a student. I enjoyed the research, the learning, and the writing. Often something that I was reading about sparked interest for future learning.

6. Full time work with grad school on the side sure was a lot. I am adjusting to a days and weekends with margin. There is time to do things that I want to do (or need to do) without feeling that every moment needs to be productive. I did not realize how consuming my classes were until I finished.

 

This learning was unlike studying Spanish in Guatemala, but another effective way to ensure I do not become a stagnant teacher.

Mighty

                                               

Mighty: The Story of an Oak Tree Ecosystem by Henry Cole shows how different parts of the natural world are connected. Besides great word choice (germinates, nourishing, sapling, and decade are a few examples), the compelling story of an oak tree’s life and impact is engaging. Some might consider this a book for young elementary students, but it is also appropriate for any class that talks about ecosystems and the impact trees, animals, and humans have on one another. Cole’s detailed black and white illustrations provide readers with strong visual support. With appearances by Native Americans and John Muir, the book holds appeal for adult audiences as well.

The Teacher of Nomad Land

The Teacher of Nomad Land: A World War II Story by Daniel Nayeri is a novel I would highly recommend. Set in Iran during World War II, it is about Babak and his little sister who want to stay together after the death of their parents. I enjoyed this story because of the author's skill in telling a story, but also because it is a perspective of World War II that I never read about. Though it is considered a juvenile novel, most adults would appreciate the story as well.

Yukie's Island: My Family's World War II Story

 

Yukie’s Island: My Family’s World War II Story by Yukie Kimura, Kōdo Kimura, and Steve Sheinkin and illustrated by Kōdo Kimura is a Japanese child’s perspective on World II. Yukie was a schoolgirl when her family lived on a small island where her father worked as a lighthouse keeper. Her life in many ways was easy and carefree until the war came closer. This is a story which would be great for showing history students the real life experiences of individuals during World War II. Based on a true story, there are three pages of notes at the end from the authors, which was just as interesting as the main text.

The Nine Moons of Han Yu and Luli

The Nine Moons of Han Yu and Luli by Karina Yan Glaser is a book that I enjoyed. Han Yu is a young man who lives in China in 731, while Luli Lee lives in Chinatown, New York in 1931. Both have families with big challenges.  Han Yu’s family community is affected by illness and he wants to help his sister.  Luli’s family is suffering financially because of the stock market crash.  Though more than one thousand years separate them, Glaser does a great job showing the parallels of their stories. Chapters alternate between the two characters, so it easy enough to keep the stories straight.  If I had time for a chapter book read aloud with my students or nieces and nephews, I would read this to someone. Glaser also wrote A Duet for Home, which I also highly recommend. 

The World Entire

 

Aristides de Sousa Mendes was a Portuguese diplomat in Europe at the time of World War II. When people were clamoring to leave France, he signed papers so thousands could flee despite going against the Portuguese government's edict.  An amazing story of sacrifice that I think should be read by all adults and teenagers.   

M is for Mason Jar

M is for Mason Jar by Carolyn Bennet Fraiser and illustrated by Sally Garland is my new favorite alphabet book.  Each letter represents something from rural living.  The illustrations are done well, and I appreciate the alliteration the author used for each letter's sentence.  Though it is an picture book, most adults who garden, farm, and/or cook much of their own food would enjoy reading this book. 

land of plenty

Here are the zucchini and cucumbers that I harvested today.  Good thing I only have one zucchini plant.

literary Ireland

Here are some literary things that I came across while in Ireland.

The stairs to one branch of the Dublin Library. Why not advertise books on your stairs? This branch happened to be on the second floor of a shopping center.

This was at a ceramic exhibit at the National Botanic Gardens. Cathy Dineen put a short story on her ceramic tiles.

At the Chester Beatty Museum, there were a lot of old pages from ancient books.  This is some Scripture from the third century.

A poem by Gerard Manley Hopkins hanging in a garden in Carlow. My garden might need a sign like this, too.

This is a machine that prints out a story, poem or comic on demand (see Short Edition website). The comic I got was about neighborhood cats.

There was Red Bookshop in Wexford.  Every room in the store was this packed.

In Dublin, the National Library had an exhibition about poet Seamus Heaney. These are some of his notebooks with his poetry.

Ireland

Here are a few pictures of my trip to Ireland.  I only visited the southeastern part to minimize time on the bus or train.

 

A view on the cliff walk by Howth (north of Dublin). The water you see is the Irish Sea. This walk was one of the best things I did on my trip.

the River Barrow outside of Carlow

castle remains in Carlow

A Polish grocery in Wexford. Ireland has sizable immigrant populations from other European countries in some of the cities I visited. 

A Ferguson tractor at the Irish Agricultural Museum on the Johnstown Castle grounds. Harry Ferguson, inventor of the Ferguson tractors, was born in Ireland. This museum was one of the most interesting ones that I visited on my trip.

 

One of the clocks at the Irish Museum of Time in Waterford. There are over 600 clocks, and soon they are adding hundreds of cuckoo clocks to their collection.

It was fun to learn about the country of Ireland firsthand.

summer reading suggestions

Here are a few of the books I recommend anyone over the age of 10 to read. Most likely you would find them among juvenile novels in a library or bookstore, but the stories also have a strong appeal to adults.

Olivetti by Allie Millington is one I read this winter/spring. The story is told partly by Olivetti, who happens to be a typewriter. It is about friendship and family.

A Duet for Home by Karina Yan Glaser is about June and Tyrell, who live at a homeless shelter. Tyrell has been there for a few years, but June is new. A book that gives a person reason to think and also understand better the life of children in such situations.

Twenty and Ten by Claire Bishop is a story of some children in France who help hide Jewish children from the Nazis during World War II. My sixth-grade teacher Miss Milner read this to our class.

The Winter King by Christine Cohen is a book I wrote about here. I plan to reread it this summer.

Do you have any recommended books for summer reading?

The Bletchley Riddle

 

The Bletchley Riddle by Ruta Sepetys and Steve Sheinkin is a juvenile novel that adults would also enjoy.  Lizzie and her brother Jakob live in England at the start of World War II.  Lizzie is supposed to be go to America to be with her grandmother.  She figures out how to remain near her brother Jakob so she can also try to find out what happened to their mother.  This book has adventure and mystery rolled together to give readers another perspective on World War II that I haven't seen in many novels.  It would make a decent read aloud to older elementary or middle school students.

pictures

Here are a few pictures from my trip to Denmark.

the changing of the guard at the king's palace in Copenhagen

view of Kolding from the roof of Koldinghus

the sea and the bridge that connects Funen (Fyn) and Zealand islands

view outside my hotel window in Nyborg

Nyborg Castle-I only saw the outside of the castle because they are doing renovations.

part of the Botanic Gardens in Copenhagen

The Art of Talking with Children

 

If you work with children or have children or grandchildren, The Art of Talking with Children is worth reading.  Rebecca Rolland has done a great job at giving suggestions on how you can have conversations with children that will make them think and grow.  She addresses children from preschool all the way through adolescence.  

spring in Texas

I was in Texas last weekend and took the opportunity to go the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center.  It was beautiful and relaxing.  If you get to Austin in the spring, I recommend it.

 

                 a beautiful tree blossom

The only armadillo I saw.     

Golden Groundsel