Using Hanni and Beth: Safe & Sound in the classroom

This afternoon I’m giving a presentation to school teachers attending the Sandberg Literacy Institute at University of Toledo. Part of my job is to give them ideas of how to use Hanni and Beth: Safe & Sound in the classroom. I figured heck, as long as I’m gathering resources to share with these teachers this afternoon, why not also share these terrific resources with you, my loyal blog readers?

An entire lesson plan devoted to Hanni and Beth: Safe & Sound is right there for the taking on a web site called Learning to Give. The site suggests “Reading Experiences to Inspire Acts of Kindness,” and features lists and lists of activities for kids who read our book. Example:

During Reading

ASK: How does Hanni keep Beth safe during the day? What senses does Hanni need to use to help Beth?

SHOW: Look at the pictures of Hanni guiding Beth.

CONNECT: How is the way that Hanni takes care of Beth similar to how your parents or friends take care of you, or how you help others? For example, have you ever helped a younger child or elderly person cross a street or perform a task? Imagine what kind of help you would need if you could not see or hear or if you could not move easily.

The site also mentions Braille:

In addition to having special dogs to help them get places, those with a visual impairment also have a special alphabet that helps them read. This alphabet is called Braille. It is made up of dots that are raised off a piece of paper, so a person can feel them. All letters are made up of a combination of six dots. For more information, go to the Monroe County Women’s Disability Network webpage on Braille. Practice writing your name in Braille.

You can order Hanni and Beth: Safe & Sound in a special print-Braille format (no illustrations) from Seedlings Braille Books for Children. Braille words appear directly under the printed words, providing visually-impaired children and their sighted parents and teachers a wonderful way to enjoy learning together. The Seeing Eye also offers oodles of resources for teachers and librarians.

And finally, this fantastic resource: Hanni and Beth: Safe & Sound is one of the books on the Martha Speaks Read-Aloud Book Club list. Each book selected for the Martha Speaks Book Club is coordinated with a Martha Speaks episode on PBS. For Hanni and Beth: Safe & Sound, PBS suggest kids watch an episode where Martha wants to pursue her dream of becoming a real firehouse dog, but then realizes the job is not as easy as it seems.
You can download this episode from the PBS Kids site here.

The Martha Speaks Read-Aloud Book Club resource guide is three pages long so I can’t go into all the details here. It does suggest inviting a special guest to read-aloud sessions, so if any of you teachers or librarians are thinking ahead about special events for the next school year, please know: Hanni and I would love to come.

Move over, Oprah: Martha’s Read-Aloud Book Club

We're in the "Martha Speaks" book club!

Who needs Oprah to tell us what to read?! Just got news that Hanni and Beth: Safe & Sound is one of the six books selected for the Martha Speaks Read-Aloud Book Club! From the PBS Kids web site:

At the core of the Martha Speaks Read- Aloud Book Club are six culturally diverse children’s books representing a range of genres and styles:

Once I Ate a Pie ( Poetry)
By Patricia MacLachlan and
Emily MacLachlan Charest

HarperCollins, 2006
A Kid’s Best Friend ( Nonfiction)
By Maya Ajmera and Alex Fisher
Charlesbridge, 2002

Not Afraid of Dogs ( Picture book)
By Susanna Pitzer
Walker & Company, 2006

Now Hiring: White House Dog (Picture book)
By Gina Bazer and Renanah Lehner
Walker & Company, 2009

Martha and Skits (Picture book)
By Susan Meddaugh
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2000

Hanni and Beth: Safe & Sound (Picture book)
By Beth Finke
Blue Marlin Publications, Ltd., 2007

The site outlines read-aloud sessions for each book, ideal for story hours at schools, libraries, scout meetings and book store events. During each one-hour session, children watch a Martha Speaks episode, listen to a book read aloud, engage in conversation about the book (using new vocabulary), and participate in a hands-on activity. You can download a bunch of very cool stuff to use during the read-aloud sessions at the PBS Kids web site:

• Resource guide (with discussion questions, vocabulary
  words and definitions, a hands-on activity, and activity extension ideas)
• Supporting materials (character cards, sticker template, children’s take-home book list, librarian book list, and M- A- R- T- H- A song lyrics), and
• Promotional materials ( poster, flyer, participant sign- up sheet,
  and customizable stationery)

Each of the six books selected for Martha’s Book Club coordinates with a Martha Speaks episode on PBS. For Hanni and Beth: Safe & Sound, they suggest kids watch an episode where Martha wants to pursue her dream of becoming a real firehouse dog, but then realizes the job is not as easy as it seems. You can download this episode from the PBS Kids site, too. Is this cool or what?

The Martha Speaks Read-Aloud Book Club resource guide is three pages long so I can’t go into all the details here. It does suggest inviting a special guest to read-aloud sessions, so if any of you teachers or librarians are interested: Hanni and I would love to come.

Martha Speaks…Again!

Remember my post last April about the kids TV show Martha Speaks? WGBH in Boston had contacted my children’s book publisher back then to order copies of our book for a new program they were testing out in Boston and New York City. Hundreds of paperback copies of Hanni and Beth: Safe & Sound were given to students in city schools, and our book was added to Martha’s list of recommended picture books about dogs.

Well, that pilot program in New York and Boston must have been a hit — WGBH just ordered 180 more copies of Hanni and Beth: Safe & Sound For their sister station, WGBY. WGBY is public television for western New England, located in Springfield, Massachusetts. And this time, they ordered hardcover books!

If you’ve never seen Martha Speaks on TV, you can link here to watch videos to see what Martha’s show is like. I also found a good description of the show in the Club Kids Quarterly newsletter from the PBS station in Springfield, Illinois:

What happens when a dog accidentally eats alphabet soup? She learns to talk! Martha in Martha Speaks is outspoken, confident, smart and has an amazing vocabulary. She loves learning — and using — new words.

The goal of the series is to increase children’s oral vocabulary — the words they use when talking. It is also designed to encourage children to practice using new words on a daily basis.

Produced by the creators of Curious George and Arthur, Martha Speaks is based on the children’s book series by Susan Meddaugh. The series targets children ages 4 to 7.

People tell me Martha looks a little like Hanni –I can’t vouch for that, of course. You’ll have to check out the show on PBS to see for yourself!

Martha Speaks, Hanni Listens

That's Hanni and me at Daniel Street School in Lindenhurst, NY.

Is it March 31 already!? Seems like an April Fool’s joke! This sure has been a busy – and rewarding — month for Hanni and Beth: Safe & Sound. In one month, Hanni and I visited five elementary schools, two libraries, one health education center, one teacher education center, and appeared at one author-illustrator night. We traveled by planes, trains and automobiles to New York, Michigan and various Illinois locations. Somehow, we always managed to make it home, you guessed it: safe & sound! While Hanni and I were traveling around talking to folks aboutSafe & Sound, experts behind the scenes were giving our book some attention, too. This month Hanni and Beth: Safe & sound was included on a new American Library Association list of about 25 or so “outstanding books that portray emotional, mental, or physical disability experiences.” It’s a thrill to have our book listed with all those other sensational titles. But the thrill doesn’t end there: in this same month of March, my publisher at Blue Marlin Publications got a message from the kids TV show Martha Speaks at WGBH in Boston. If you’ve never seen Martha Speaks on TV, you can link here to watch videos to see what Martha’s show is like. From the Martha Speaks web site:

Martha Speaks is an animated series on PBS KIDS. Aimed at viewers between the ages of four and seven, Martha’s educational goal is to teach kids new words. Based on the children’s book series by Susan Meddaugh and published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, the series stars Martha, a beloved family dog. She is accidentally fed alphabet soup — this gives her the power of speech and the chance to speak her mind to anyone that will listen.

The educational outreach program folks from Martha Speaks contacted my publisher to order copies of our book for a new program they’re testing out in Boston and New York City. Our book will be given to students in city schools, and if the pilot program works, a national rollout will feature Safe & Sound online activity guides and other online materials in conjunction with a Martha Speaks recommended book list. So if all goes well, more libraries and other organizations across the country will hear about Hanni and Beth: Safe & Sound — as they say in TVland…stay tuned!