Mem Fox came to Hawaii~plus a little Amazon giveaway!

Before I begin, I must announce the winner of my game boards! Congrats Colleen! Check your email for the goodie:)

The other day I had a great opportunity to attend a Read On conference in Honolulu featuring Mem Fox! 

If you have never seen her in person or listened to one of her presentations, you're missing out! Not only is she funny, she is an amazing story teller!

She talked a lot about the importance of reading aloud to kids! She mentioned so many times how she hates when principals think reading aloud is not important! 

She also mentioned if she ever caught anyone using her books for "teaching" she would hurt them! LOL! She believes that reading aloud should be for pleasure~I couldn't agree more. I read aloud to my kids each day after lunch. No questions, no prompts, pure enjoyment. One year when I was teaching my principal required teachers to read aloud 30 minutes a day and have a lesson plan to go with it...full of questions and response sheets for kids. Um...SO glad I don't work there any more!

Mem explained to us what makes a story teller! I would like to share some of her ideas with you.

read with ZEST
never read anything you don't like yourself
entice, like a real salesperson, with the first line
paint pictures with your voice by visualizing each scene
fall in love with the pause
don't over-express
don't speak immediately after you have finished the book. allow for a few seconds of total silence for the "feather to fall to the floor"

What is your favorite book to read aloud?

I want to give a way a $10 amazon gift card so you can buy some new read aloud books!

Enter below!

Have a great week!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

31 comments:

  1. KarynJune 8, 2014 at 5:23 PM

    My favorite read aloud is The Sweet Touch by Lorna Balion. I've loved this book since I was a child and I just love to share the sweet illustrations and whimsical story. Lucky to have met Mem Fox!

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  2. MelissaJune 8, 2014 at 5:26 PM

    My favorite read aloud is Elmer.

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  3. UnknownJune 8, 2014 at 6:15 PM

    I have so many, but anything by Mo Willems is fun to read aloud! I love Knuffle Bunny, the Pigeon Books, and Elephant and Piggie.

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  4. UnknownJune 8, 2014 at 6:39 PM

    I love Superfudge by Judy Blume. I love the anticipation I see in their faces when I start a new chapter.

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  5. LizJune 8, 2014 at 7:01 PM

    I agree with Jackie - Mo Willems books are my favorite! I especially love Elephant and Piggie books since I can do voices and match my tone/volume to the words. It's great!
    Liz
    teachinginthevalley@gmail.com

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  6. Andrea L.June 8, 2014 at 7:44 PM

    My kids have always loved pretty much anything Roald Dahl. They love reading the Wayside School series. I love to read them Half Magic right around the time we introduced fractions. And of course I have tons of picture books we go through. Can you tell I can't pick just one book? :)

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  7. BrandiJune 8, 2014 at 7:52 PM

    My kiddos love when I read the Weird School Series by Dan Gutman.

    Brandi
    Swinging for Success
    Follow me on Facebook!

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  8. CherieJune 8, 2014 at 11:37 PM

    Love anything by Eric Carle and Laura Numeroff!

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  9. Mrs. BrownJune 9, 2014 at 12:10 AM

    I love Junie B. Jones chapter books to read to my Kindergarten students....I do change some of the wording though when reading them. Thanks for the chance~

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  10. CelesteJune 9, 2014 at 2:58 AM

    Well, my students (kindergarten) can not get enough of Mo Willems' "pigeon books" & Pete the Cat books!

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  11. Suzy QJune 9, 2014 at 3:42 AM

    I read the Mercy Watson books to my students this year...I was a bit worried that they might find them too babyish (end of year second graders) but they LOVED them! It didn't hurt that our class mascot this year was a pig, either!

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  12. UnknownJune 9, 2014 at 4:40 AM

    I love to read to my kids. Junie B. Jones books and Eric Carle are some of my favs.

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  13. TaniaJune 9, 2014 at 5:13 AM

    Reading aloud for pure enjoyment is the best! I love any of the Skippy Jon Jones books. My kids adore him and I may be addicted to his awesome accent :)
    Tania
    mysecondsense

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  14. UnknownJune 9, 2014 at 5:14 AM

    I use chapter books as my daily read aloud with Third Graders, and my favorites to use are the Wayside School books! While some of the words may not be the best, they are easy to change while reading. You know they are winners when you see the kids going and checking the book out themselves from the library!!

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  15. UnknownJune 9, 2014 at 5:20 AM

    Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day! We read it several times every year - my students love it just as much as I do.

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  16. UnknownJune 9, 2014 at 5:43 AM

    The Magic Hat!

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  17. Susan K.June 9, 2014 at 6:02 AM

    Borreguita and the Coyote.
    I LOVE to do the voices of the sheep and the coyote!

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  18. AngieJune 9, 2014 at 7:54 AM

    I have so many it would be impossible to pick just one. I read to my class everyday too. It is everyone's favorite part of the day! They really enjoyed hearing Amber Brown this year.

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  19. stephaniebJune 9, 2014 at 10:45 AM

    My favorite read aloud is Because of Winn Dixie!

    Stephanie B
    stephb_2001@hotmail.com

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  20. KimJune 9, 2014 at 12:11 PM

    My favorite read aloud of all time ( and what my third graders LOVE) is Sideways Stories from Wayside School by Louis Sachar.

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  21. AimeeJune 9, 2014 at 12:55 PM

    I completely agree that read alouds should be for pleasure, that's how we hook our little ones into reading! My two favorite read alouds are the Mercy Watson series and the Skippyjon Jones series. They are always a huge hit with my second graders!

    Aimee
    Primarily Speaking

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  22. Classroom PonderingsJune 9, 2014 at 1:49 PM

    How lucky you are to meet Mem Fox!!! As a fellow Aussie I would give my right arm to meet her, I love reading her books to my class, especially Wombat Divine when it is getting close to Christmas. I read aloud every day to my kids, it is a great way to build vocabulary and to help them relax after a busy playtime.

    Tania
    Mrs Poultney's Ponderings

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  23. UnknownJune 9, 2014 at 3:07 PM

    I love reading Sideways Stories from Wayside School and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

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  24. dbednarsJune 9, 2014 at 4:31 PM

    I love reading Mo Willem's book aloud.

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  25. UnknownJune 9, 2014 at 10:20 PM

    I love reading Patricia Polacco books, especially "Thank You, Mr. Falker".

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  26. CarolynJune 10, 2014 at 1:00 PM

    I love reading anything Mo Willems.

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  27. KatieJune 10, 2014 at 3:46 PM

    How cool! I love Mem Fox! My favorite read aloud are the Sideway Stories from Wayside School books!:)

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  28. Amber O.June 10, 2014 at 9:57 PM

    This was a last minute entry…phew! My very favorite read-aloud would have to be "Caps for Sale" at the pre-k level & any Skippyjon or Pigeon Books at the K-1 level…preferably "The Pigeon Finds a Hot Dog!" I love Mo Willems stuff:) Oh! I also love Junie B. books…but my principal's not such a fan:( That is beyond cool that you got to meet Mem Fox…#alittlejealous…
    SweetSchoolMoments

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  29. Laura H.June 11, 2014 at 1:17 AM

    Sounds like a wonderful experience for you!

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  30. Growing Smart ReadersJune 20, 2014 at 1:25 PM

    Wonderful post! I believe reading aloud is greatly underestimated as to how much it really improves children's vocabulary and comprehension....and it's soooo soothing to be read to!! Thanks for sharing, Tonya~

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