Toronto Teacher Mom: Book Review

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Tuesday, August 31, 2021
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My Heart Fills With Happiness - TD Grade One Book Giveaway

This post is in partnership with TD Bank and the TD Grade One Book Giveaway program.

If you've been following my blog for a while, you'll know how much I love languages. Having studied languages during my undergrad, I am now able to speak French, Italian and Spanish in addition to Portuguese, which I learned from my parents. There is something about learning new words and being able to communicate with people from all over the world that fills my heart with happiness. It's one of the reasons that I count myself among those lucky few who absolutely love their job. Teaching French to students as early as grade one brings me great joy out of the sheer fact that not only can many of my grade one students have basic conservations with me and their peers in the target language, but they can also read many high frequency words as well. While I am only required to assess them on listening and speaking at that age, reading plays a huge role in their learning and thus, in the way I teach.

Even though I've been teaching for over 17 years, it wasn't until a few years ago, when I adopted a different teaching method based on storytelling and plays, that I truly began to appreciate the importance of reading and re-reading stories to children. I liken it to when my own children were infants and were first learning to speak. They would often repeat what they would hear us say, the songs we sang or the stories we read. These stories would become so familiar to them that the day they picked up those storybooks, they were able to read most of the story on their own or, at the very least, had the confidence to retell the story based on the pictures. It was that connection to the story that helped them to persevere along their journey to becoming fluent readers.

Knowing how beneficial it is to expose children to books as early as possible and as much as possible, I am overjoyed that the TD Grade One Book Giveaway provides more than 550,000 English and French grade one students with a free children’s book written by a Canadian author. And if taking home their very own book to share and read with their families wasn't awesome enough, I couldn't be more thrilled to learn that both the French and English versions of the book include a translation in Plains Cree text in honour of 2019 being named the International Year of Indigenous Languages. The story is called My Heart Fills with Happiness / sâkaskinêw nitêh miywêyihtamowin ohci and is written by award-winning author Monique Gray Smith, with beautiful illustrations by Julie Flett.

My Heart Fills with Happiness focusses on finding the simple things in life that make us happy and was actually written to support the wellness of Indigenous children and families. I love that the story and the illustrations embrace the joys we typically associate with childhood but so often overlook in adulthood, such as walking barefoot on the grass, feeling the warmth of the sun on your cheeks, holding the hand of someone you love or dancing like nobody's watching. It's easy enough for early readers to enjoy and I know my grade one students will love reading the French version as well. The book will be an excellent conversation-starter as we reflect upon and discuss that which fills our hearts with happiness. Je suis content(e) quand je danse, joue avec mes amis, lit mon livre favori...

About the TD Grade One Book Giveaway

Working with the Canadian Children’s Book Centre, the TD Grade One Book Giveaway has been designed to encourage literacy in young children and to promote a love of reading and passion for books. And thanks to this program, which first began in 2000, more than 9.5 million Canadian children’s books have been distributed to children nation-wide. It is part of The Ready Commitment, a multi-year program launched by TD last year that supports a variety of programs to promote children's literacy, such as the TD Canadian Children’s Literature Award, TD Summer Reading Club and more. TD is committed to giving youth access to reading programs at a young age, as early learning leads to the ability to succeed with confidence later in life.

Wednesday, December 11, 2019
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TD Grade One Book Giveaway – Supporting Children’s Literacy Programs

Book Giveaway

This post is in partnership with TD Bank and the TD Grade One Book Giveaway program.

When I was a little girl, I loved storybooks. Our class visit to the school library was a highlight of the week for me because it meant I could sit back and listen to the librarian read to us. Sometimes she would even play the audio version of the book (on cassette tape!), with the author bringing the story to life with silly voices and sound effects. After story time was over, I would often rush to sign out the newest book before anyone else so that I could be the first to read it. I would also admire the pristine cover and that "new book" smell.

As much as I enjoyed picture books, I struggled with reading as a child. I often wondered if this is related to the fact that, aside from the solitary library book I could sign out each week, I really didn't have access to a lot of books at home. You see, my parents immigrated to Canada in the early 70s without knowing a lick of English. Both sacrificed so much to be able to provide us with basic necessities. My mom worked day and night as a cleaner and my dad worked in construction. Thanks to their incredible drive and work ethic, we never did without. Yet, I really didn't have a lot of story books growing up. It's not that my parents didn't feel it was important, but rather, as an immigrant family, other necessities took priority. They did, however, manage to save up enough money to buy us a set of encyclopedias, of which the medical reference volume proved quite enlightening.

The yearly book fair at school was often hard because I remember wanting so desperately to buy at least one new book that I could call my own. It got to the point where I would periodically sneak into my mom's purse and rummage for loose change in the weeks leading up to the book fair, so that I had enough money to secretly purchase a book. I loved that book so much but, ironically, I couldn't enjoy it at home because then I would have to explain where I got the money to buy it.

My struggles with reading gradually grew to be more challenging in later years. Independent novel studies became tiresome because despite my ability to decode words, I would end up re-reading pages for lack of comprehension. Sometimes, I would give up entirely. One year, I submitted a made-up book review based on what little information I could gather from the few chapters I read at the beginning and at the end of the novel. Needless to say, it didn't take long for my teacher to figure that out.

Now, as a mother and an educator, I see great value in exposing children to reading as early as possible. For this reason, I applaud initiatives, such as the TD Grade One Book Giveaway that put books into the hands of young readers. Not only does it help foster a love of reading, but also provides critical opportunities to develop crucial literacy skills.

Did you know the TD Grade One Book Giveaway provides more than 500,000 English and French grade one students with a free Canadian children’s book each year?

The program, which began in 2000, is the largest of its kind in Canada and was created to help encourage literacy in young children. It is a program that shows how TD is committed to giving youth access to reading programs. Thanks to the support of Canadian Children's Book Centre, more than 9.5 million Canadian children's books have been distributed from coast-to-coast since the program first launched. In addition, the TD Grade One Book Giveaway is part of the TD Ready Commitment, a multi-year program launched last year targeted towards community giving and initiatives that will help open doors for a more inclusive future.

In 2018, students were able to take home a copy of Giraffe and Bird, written and illustrated by Canadian author Rebecca Bender.

When my son and I first read Giraffe and Bird, it didn’t take us long to draw a parallel between the two main characters and our family. Similar to my own two kids, Giraffe and Bird tend to do things that irritate each other, like making funny faces and sticking out their tongues. Some days, they invade each other’s personal space and complain of bad breath, or chew food with their mouth open. Sound familiar? In the end, Giraffe and Bird come to realize that, despite the difficulties of always getting along, they are better off together. It’s a sweet message that pairs so perfectly with the beautiful illustrations. My son and I also enjoyed reading the emphasized words thanks to their onomatopoeic qualities, along with the French version La giraffe et l’oiseau.
“Cui-cui!”
“Miam, miam!”
So cute!

Giveaway!

As part of the TD Grade One Book Giveaway, one lucky follower will receive a literacy-themed giveaway that will include:

• Copy of Giraffe and Bird by Rebecca Bender
• Giraffe lunch bag
• Stuffed giraffe toy
• Cute and colourful notebook and pencils

The giveaway will be open to residents of Canada only, excluding Quebec. For a chance to win, please complete the Rafflecopter form below.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Monday, March 04, 2019
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Must-Read Books for Innovative Educators

Book Review

It's the last day of March Break and I've been curling up with some good books. They're not the mystery or suspense novels that I typically enjoy but they are very much relevant in the world of education. These books have been piling up for a while so I decided to catch up on the ones I had yet to finish reading. They were written by innovative and inspiring educators throughout the past few years, and I have even had the good fortune of meeting some of the authors. Today I share a few of my favourite reads, all of which are available on Amazon.ca. And I've even thrown in a special giveaway, too, so you can check them out for yourself. Without further ado, allow me to present:

Six Must-Read Books for Innovative Educators

The HyperDoc Handbook: Digital Lesson Design Using Google Apps by Lisa Highfill, Kelly Hilton, Sarah Landis

HyperDocs are the solution to personalized instruction using technology in today’s modern classroom. They provide innovative ways to engage students and package digital lessons on a Google Doc. The HyperDoc Handbook is a practical reference guide for all K-12 educators looking to transform their teaching into blended learning environments. This book strikes a perfect balance between pedagogy and how-to tips, while also providing several lesson plans to get you going.

Hot off the digipress: my #HyperDocs definition #sketchnote. @edtechteam #gafesummit #edtech cc. @sylviaduckworth pic.twitter.com/JFtlNv7fr4
— Diana Mancuso (@TeacherMomOfTwo) June 27, 2016

After I had first heard about HyperDocs on Twitter, I was quite intrigued and signed up for their first HyperDocs Bootcamp online course. Now, it seems so many teachers have implemented HyperDocs into their teaching practice. They're a great tool for fostering creativity, collaboration and communication skills.

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Code Breaker: Increase Creativity, Remix Assessment, and Develop a Class of Coder Ninjas! by Brian Aspinall

Crack the code for your students’ success! Future-ready students need to be creative. They need to know how to communicate their ideas and how to collaborate as problem solvers. And to master these and other twenty-first-century requirements, they will need to be critical thinkers. In Code Breaker, educator Brian Aspinall shares his insights on how to turn curriculum expectations into skills. Students identify problems, develop solutions, and use coding and computational thinking to apply and demonstrate their learning.

Listening to @mraspinall talking about his first #coding club experience. Now the whole #poopmissilealgorithm makes sense! #TCDSB21C pic.twitter.com/w6sDHFWsz1

— Diana Mancuso (@TeacherMomOfTwo) February 8, 2017

I had been following Brian Aspinall for quite some time. Not the creepy kind, but the social media variety. And then I was so fortunate to meet him and listen to one of his talks at a TCDSB 21C Innovators session just over a year ago. (Fan-girl moment!) While his musings on Mitch Resnick's and Seymour Papert's respective theories were quite interesting, he had me at "poop missile."

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The Google Infused Classroom: A Guidebook to Making Thinking Visible and Amplifying Student Voice by Holly Clark, Tanya Avrith

EdTech experts Holly Clark and Tanya Avrith provide a guidebook to help you use technology to engage your learners and amplify the learning experience in your classroom—with Google Apps and other online tools. This book focuses on 20 essential tools that will help teachers to easily make student thinking visible, give every student a voice and allow them to share their work.

This book covers a variety of topics that include formative assessment tools, such as Padlet and Google Forms, differentiation tools, such as Google Classroom and HyperDocs, methods for meaningful demonstrations of learning, such as screencasting and blogging, digital portfolios and more.

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Dive into Inquiry by Trevor MacKenzie

Dive into Inquiry beautifully marries the voice and choice of inquiry with the structure and support required to optimise learning for students and get the results educators desire. With Dive into Inquiry you'll gain an understanding of how to best support your learners as they shift from a traditional learning model into the inquiry classroom where student agency is fostered and celebrated each and every day. This book strikes a perfect balance of meaningful pedagogy, touching narrative, helpful processes, original student examples, and rich how-to lesson plans all to get you going on bringing inquiry into your classroom.

Another amazing #SylSketch by @sylviaduckworth, popping up in @trev_mackenzie's live @RecapThat webinar. Quelle surprise! #edtech #inquiry pic.twitter.com/azOOE9Hx1M
— Diana Mancuso (@TeacherMomOfTwo) September 8, 2017

This book focuses on how to help students create authentic connections to the world while fostering student voice and harnessing student agency. Be also on the lookout for Trevor's newest book Inquiry Mindset, which will become available in the coming week.

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Sketchnotes for Educators by Sylvia Duckworth

Sylvia Duckworth is a Canadian teacher whose sketchnotes have taken social media by storm. Her drawings provide clarity and provoke dialogue on many topics related to education. This book contains 100 of her most popular sketchnotes with links to the original downloads that can be used in class or shared with colleagues. Interspersed throughout the book are Sylvia's reflections on each drawing and what motivated her to create them, in addition to commentary from other educators who inspired the sketchnotes.

Seven things I learned from @sylviaduckworth's #sketchnote live webinar. #edtechteam #cdnedchat pic.twitter.com/qp4xA4jR4j
— Diana Mancuso (@TeacherMomOfTwo) May 16, 2017

I have been a big fan of Sylvia Duckworth for many years and I have her to blame for my ~~obsession with~~ passion for all things edtech. Most notably, I've been a big fan of her sketchnotes so I just had to have this book. It has a lot of thoughtful reflections alongside her sketchnotes and the book would make for a great teacher gift.

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The Innovator's Mindset: Empower Learning, Unleash Talent, and Lead a Culture of Creativity by George Couros

In The Innovator's Mindset, George Couros encourages teachers and administrators to empower their learners to wonder, to explore--and to become forward-thinking leaders. If we want innovative students, we need innovative educators. In other words, innovation begins with you. Ultimately, innovation is not about a skill set: it's about a mindset.

Okay @gcouros, game on! My copy of #InnovatorsMindset arrived today! #IMMOOC pic.twitter.com/Ry8hfw370P
— Diana Mancuso (@TeacherMomOfTwo) February 23, 2017

If you like this book, head on over to immooc.org where you can sign up for a free Innovator’s Mindset Massive Open Online Course to join in the conversation surrounding this and other similar books.

Win a $100 Amazon.ca Gift Card!

Toronto Teacher Mom is offering up a $100 Amazon.ca gift card so that one lucky reader can top off his or her library. And maybe even do some spring shopping, too! For a chance to win, please complete the Rafflecopter form below. Open to residents of Canada, excluding Quebec, who have reached the age of majority in their province. Ends on April 10, 2018.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links.

Saturday, March 17, 2018
107 Comments

M is for Money - A Kid's Guide to Financial Literacy

Book Review

Did you know that April 20 is the next Talk with Our Kids About Money Day? It's the perfect time to have those important conversations about money with your little ones - Canadian currency, budgeting, visiting a bank, and saving. And now, parents and educators can turn to a children's book series dedicated to financial literacy, a first of its kind here in Canada. Introducing M is for Money, a collection of books designed to help teach the rudimentary facts about money to young children. Not only is this series made in Canada, I am proud to say that it was created by Teresa Cascioli, a Commerce graduate of my alma mater, McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario.

An award-winning entrepreneur featured on Profit and Chatelaine Magazine's lists of Canada's most successful women, Teresa has also been named one of the Women's Executive Network Top 100 Canada's Most Powerful Women and has been awarded the Queen's Diamond Jubilee Medal among other accolades. Her books feature the financial adventures of twins Tess and Benji as they learn about money, from working hard to earn it and the importance of opening up a bank account to save it, plus much more.

The complete series, which is available at misformoney.ca or at Indigo/Chapters across Canada, includes nine different books and is geared to children ages 5-9. My son received copies of the first three books and has enjoyed reading them with me, as well as completing some of the fun games and activities that can be found at the end of each book. My personal favourite are the "Look & Find" games that require the reader to find a certain number of a variety of objects throughout the book. The messaging within the stories is clear and concise, and the illustrations complement the stories well.

The M is for Money book series would make a great addition to a primary classroom or a personal library. There is also a variety of motivational rewards and other M is for Money themed fun stuff that can be ordered through the site, including bookmarks, magnets, birthday cards, stickers and more.

Disclosure: I received product samples and other perks to help facilitate this post. Any opinions expressed in this post are my own.

Thursday, April 07, 2016
10 Comments

Imagine a World by Rob Gonsalves

Book Review

A picture is worth a thousand words.

A picture that makes you stop and change your perspective is priceless.

Combine magical realism with optical illusions and you get a work of art that goes beyond perspective and delves into a boundless realm of imagination. Such is the case with Rob Gonsalves' newest picture book Imagine a World. Filled with mesmerizing illustrations, the book is the fourth instalment in the Imagine a... series. A master in his field, the Canadian illustrator seeks to stretch the limits of the imagination while luring you into a world of limitless possibilities.

Artwork by Rob Gonsalves

Imagine a world where the sky becomes the earth, the forest becomes outer space and bridges fade into thin air. And now imagine how captivating these images must be for a child eager to explore and willing to question what at first glance sends divergent messages to the brain.

Artwork by Rob Gonsalves

Rob Gonsalves first began exhibiting paintings in Toronto roughly 25 years ago. His work is now shown throughout North America and beyond, and can be found in his series of picture books including Imagine a Day, which was the recipient of the Governor General’s Literary award.

Artwork by Rob Gonsalves

His stunning artwork is reason enough to gift his books as a special keepsake that can be shared from one generation to the next. Imagine a Day, Imagine a Place and Imagine a World are available in hardcover for $22.99 and Imagine a Night is listed at $19.99. Some e-book versions are also available for $14.99 but I feel his work would be best viewed in hard copy.

For those of you who would love to get your hands on a copy, I have a fantastic Rob Gonsalves prize pack to give away that includes:

1 copy of Imagine a World
1 poster of Imagine a World
1 copy of Imagine a Night
1 copy of Imagine a Day
1 copy of Imagine a Place

The prize pack is valued at approximately $100 and Canadian residents, excluding Quebec, are eligible to win. Simply complete the Rafflecopter form below.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclosure: I received a copy to help facilitate this review. Any opinions expressed in this post are my own.

Saturday, October 24, 2015
46 Comments

Creature Features and Fall Leaves

Book Review

Sunday, November 30, 2014
14 Comments

Krista-Link-a-La by Tina Petrova

Book Review

Saturday, August 23, 2014
3 Comments

Martha the Mouse by Toronto Author and Illustrator Karen Lang

Book Review

Monday, June 11, 2012
3 Comments

Holiday Gift Guide: Storybooks from Hallmark

Book Review

Monday, December 12, 2011
0 Comments

I Believe in You, by Marianne Richmond

Book Review

Saturday, October 29, 2011
4 Comments

Book Review: The Unwanteds by Lisa McMann

Book Review

Friday, August 12, 2011
0 Comments

The Night Night Book by Marianne Richmond

Book Review

Friday, May 27, 2011
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Book Review: A World Without Heroes by Brandon Mull

Book Review

Book Review:
A World Without Heroes
by Brandon Mull

Thank you to Simon & Schuster for the chance to review the ARC. I received the copy for free and was not paid to review the book. (This review was written by Louise Mitchell, a writer and an avid reader, author of Waiting.)

A great book in the fantasy genre will create characters and worlds that continue to live in the reader’s mind for a long time after the last page is read. Brandon Mull’s latest novel A World Without Heroes, the first in the Beyonders Series, will do just that.

When Jason finds himself torn from our world and thrown into a strange land, his only intention is to find a way back home. But like so many of the greatest heroes, Jason realizes the easy choice isn’t always the right choice. This is one of the subtle moral themes that are artfully worked into the fast paced and exciting plot. When Jason meets fellow beyonder Rachel, they team up on an adventure that becomes more than the search for syllables in a word to destroy the evil emperor. It becomes a mission to succeed where others have failed, to become heroes in a world without heroes.

The novel is filled with cool and creative characters that bring Mull’s fantasy world to life. The main characters of Jason and Rachel are well developed and likeable, making us root for them at every obstacle and dangerous situation they encounter. Jason and Rachel embody the kinds of character traits that make them good role models for their readers. Jason has honour and loyalty, and Rachel won’t be outdone by Jason, proving to be a key player in their quest, making this a good book for both girls and boys.

Having said that, the vocabulary and references the characters used were well above the recommended age level of 8-12. Jason didn’t speak or think like the thirteen year old he was supposed to be, making him less real. While I like books that challenge younger readers, the manner of speaking might intimidate or slow down the story for people of its intended age range. The sophistication of the language in the narration as well as the dialogue was even above that which is typical in most young adult fiction.

Another concern I have about the book and the age of its intended audience is the violent situations it describes. The book opens with a prison/torture scene and while this and other violent scenes, like one where Jason is imprisoned in a small box, aren’t necessarily graphic, they can be upsetting to kids as young as 8.

I would recommend this book to teenagers and adults who enjoy adventure, fantasy and mythology. It’s sure to fascinate, intrigue and capture your imagination…it’ll also leave you longing for book two.