Mary Lee Hahn & Franki Sibberson are just amazing. Every year, these two teachers try to have read the upcoming Newbery winners. They write about it on their well known blog, A year of reading. They also write book reviews and thoughts on children's literature. Both are judges for the Cybils, a childrens and YA bloggers literary award and
they are also authors in their own right. I am delighted that these gals found the time to be interviewed.
How many children’s books do you read a year?
Franki: I read between 25-35 children’s novels a year. I don’t keep track of picture books and poetry.
Mary Lee: My goal is 52 children’s novels per year. I’ve had that goal since 1987, and there have only been a couple of years when I didn’t meet it. I have a small shelf full of the Book Logs where I’ve kept track of all the books I’ve read in the last twenty (gasp!) years.
What do you look for in a book?
Franki: I look for different things. I want some reads to be powerful—I love great characters so I want characters that stay with me long after the book is finished. I also look for books that may not be powerful to me, but will fill a need for a reader in my classroom. I also love something unique—to find something surprising in a book.
Mary Lee: I love when a book makes me think, lets me vicariously live a life I’ll never have, or surprises me. The best books are the ones that make it impossible to pick up any other reading for a day or two because I am still living in the world of that book, or savoring that author’s style or language.
What is your favorite Newbery winner and why?
Franki; Walk Two Moons by Sharon Creech is my absolute favorite. I read it as an adult and I loved the story, the characters, everything.
Mary Lee: A Wrinkle in Time by Madeline L’Engle. This is a landmark book in my life as a reader.
Name a few books that you think are in the running for this year’s Newbery?
Franki: Picking the Newbery is actually how we started our blog. We had been reading and trying to predict the Newbery for years. Neither of us has ever been right. So we changed our goal to a goal of having READ the Newbery before it is announced. Mary Lee suggested we blog about it through the year. Come to find out, we aren’t so successful at predicting OR having read the Newbery! But we have fun with it! One year, Franki had the Newbery in her shopping cart at Amazon when it was announced, so she came closer to meeting our goal than ever before.
Mary Lee: Moxy Maxwell Does Not Love Stuart Little
Aurora County All Stars
The Invention of Hugo Cabret
Emma Jean Lazarus Fell Out of a Tree
What is your favorite dessert and why?
Franki: Brownies. Because they are chocolate and oh-so good!
Mary Lee: Crème Brulee. No matter how much fun it would be to play with the little torch, I refuse to make Crème Brulee. This is a dessert I only eat at restaurants so that it will remain a special event!
Mary Lee’s short bio:
Mary Lee has been teaching fourth or fifth graders for more than twenty years. The best of all of those years were the times when she was able to spend two years with the same class in a loop of fourth and fifth grades.
"I love looping," she says. "I finally get to reap the rewards of my hard work with a class. In the second year, I get to see my students begin where we left off and continue the growth that I nurtured in the first year. We truly become a family in looping. We don't have to 'divorce' at the end of fourth grade and build new connections in fifth grade. We all know each other and what to expect. Looping forces me to keep growing as a professional."
Mary Lee has a bachelor's degree from the University of Denver in English and Elementary Education, and a master's degree from Ohio State University in children's literature. She is on the board of the Central Ohio Fly Fishers and is very involved in Casting for Recovery, a program for breast cancer survivors. Mary Lee is on the editorial board of Language Arts, NCTE's journal for elementary educators.
Mary Lee is the author of Reconsidering Read-Aloud, with Stenhouse.
Franki’s short bio:
Franki Sibberson is currently an intermediate multiage teacher. She has 20 years experience in education that include classroom teaching in grades K, 1, 3, 4, 5, intermediate multiage and looping. She also worked as a Reading Intervention Specialist and a Teacher of Special Assignment in Literacy at the district’s central office. 13 of the 20 years have been in the intermediate classrooms. Franki also works with teachers across the country in workshops dealing with reading in grades 3-6.
Franki is a member of the Elementary Steering Committee for the National Council of Teachers of English. She is a regular contributor to Choice Literacy, a website for literacy leaders.
Franki and her husband have two daughters, ages 7 and 16.
Franki is coauthor (with Karen Szymusiak) of Beyond Leveled Books and Still Learning to Read, both with Stenhouse. Day-to-Day Assessment in the Reading Workshop is forthcoming from Scholastic. Franki also has classroom videos, Bringing Reading to Life and Making the Most of News Magazines with Stenhouse. Her newest video, Writers in Transition, is published by Choice Literacy. She also has an upcoming video with Choice Literacy about content literacy.
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