Congratulations to Sandra F. Coliny!  You won the copy of BIG TUNE from Alliah Agostini!   You're going to LOVE it!  So fun and full of rhythm and rhyme -- sure to have you ready to "bust a move"!  Enjoy! Thanks, Alliah, for your generosity and thanks, Sandra for tuning in!

Ashley is a delight and we had a a GREAT conversation!  Come on in and join us as we chat! Her book, LISTEN UP LOUELLA is precious!  It's so full of fun, so don't skip it! 

LOUELLA is an elephant -- with a big personality! She gets her feelings hurt when  she gets left out, but in the end she realizes  that much of it is in her control.  She learns the power of being a good listener and a good friend after quite a few MISadventures.  Music shows up in a few places in this super fun summer camp story, and when it does, it adds to the color and fun of the book!  The illustrations and colors are full of camp fun, and this cast of characters will make you wish for summer days again!  LouElla is relatable for kids, and this story has an SEL component that will have kids learning as they're laughing.  

While this song doesn't talk specifically about listening, it does talk about friendship and it has the colorful summer camp vibe of LISTEN UP, LOUELLA.  It's got a great beat if you'd like to use it in music class.  Check out the playlist for more fun music to use in your classroom.  And take a look at the tips for the classroom and music classroom for more fun things to do with this book in your classes.

Ashley's book is full of great topics for teachers and there are many ways to use it in your classroom!  It's full of great layers and a super-strong SEL connection!  If I were using it in the regular classroom, here are some ways I would consider:

• It's a great birthday book if you read aloud books for kids' birthdays or if you do a monthly celebration or do anything with birthdays. . . 
• It would be a perfect book for the beginning of the year, since it talks about being a good listener, playing well with others, waiting your turn, apologizing, working and playing together, and cheering each other on!  A perfect way to introduce some of those classroom rules, procedures, and expectations. 
• It would be great at the end of the year, too, as kids are getting ready for their own summer camp experiences.  If you prefer to use it at the beginning of the year, you could recap any summer camp experiences they'd had.
• If you're doing a friendship unit, this would be a great addition to that as well, as all the SEL components are characteristics that distinguish good friends.

So those are some times/ways I would personally use this book. As a teacher, there are a few topics/themes that scream at me that would be great to highlight in the classroom.

• Character analysis is one that jumps out at me for sure! LouElla is so FULL of personality!  She would be a great one to discuss and analyze.  But you also have Tarantula, who is the opposite of LouElla in so many ways, so it would be fun to compare and contrast the two of them as well.
• SEL connections are another huge presence in this book.  Some of the topics you could work on in your classroom are:
  • Playing well with others
  • Waiting in line/waiting your turn
  • Being a good listener
  • Cheering each other on
  • Apologizing
  • Working/Playing  together
  • How to be a good friend
• If you want to give your students a camp experience, this book would be perfect for that and then perhaps you could do some of the activities that appear in the book, like painting, making music, building forts, playing badminton, tug of war, basketball, etc.
  • From that perspective, too, it's the perfect book for the beginning of school, since it talks about several things that are probably Encore/Specials classes (painting, music, gym) so you could read it before taking a tour (especially like for kindergarten or pre-K and point out the places where those things would happen.)
• You also could do a compare/contrast between camp/school.
• This book could also be a great introduction to a unit on spiders or Tarantulas or a unit on elephants if you want to integrate it with science or to do a paired text activity.  SCURRY: THE TRUTH ABOUT SPIDERS by Annette Whipple  or I'M TRYING TO LOVE SPIDERS by Bethany Barton would be excellent for spiders or SHE LEADS by June Smalls for elephants would be fabulous!

*There are lots of great ideas on the Pinterest board and additional ones in the YouTube playlist for specific songs, lessons, and activities to these ends, so be sure to check out the links section below for lots of resources on these topics.

While the music content is not as prominent in this story as some of the others I've featured on PBJamz, there are lots of ways you could integrate this book into a successful music lesson or even a unit.

• The most prominent appearance of music is of course the talent show, so you could have your own musical talent show -- allowing kids to sing, dance, play an instrument, etc.  This, too, would be a great way to end the year and there are many ways you could do this.  The easiest would be class by class as each class comes to you, the students who wish to participate share their talent in the class setting.  If you wanted to go bigger, you could do grade level talent show and set up a time for each grade level to perform. (If you wanted to keep in during the school day, you would arrange the schedule accordingly.   For instance, when my kids are doing a performance, we do combined Encore classes so I can practice with the whole grade level.  You'd have to work within your schedule's confines.) Or you could do a schoolwide talent show and do an evening; maybe even make it a fundraiser for your school/music dept., etc.
• The book mentions making music as part of the camp experience, so this is a perfect opportunity to teach some camp songs, folk songs, etc. There are some lovely campfire videos on YouTube that I've often used to create camp ambience.  What a fun lesson to do music around the campfire and teach them some old favorites (maybe even have a S'More-related snack)
• The music room is a perfect place to discuss and sing about the SEL connections. Again, it would be perfect for the beginning of the year, as you're introducing rules, procedures and expectations in the music room -- waiting in line, being a good listener, playing well with others, etc. would make great components for BOY lessons.
  
• Also, if you'd like to do a lesson/unit on Being a Good Friend, this book has some great takeaways for that, including being a good listener, working/playing together, and cheering each other -- great skills to teach in the music room, as there are wonderful songs about those topics, and it's such an important life skill that certainly crosses into musical territory.
• Additionally, if you do anything with birthdays, this is a fun read-aloud with a birthday component. (Tarantula's birthday)

Pinterest board with lots of fun links to resources and activities to go along with LISTEN UP LOUELLA
YouTube playlist with camp songs, listening songs/activities, read-aloud and art activity from Ashley and more!
Activity kit to go along with LISTEN UP LOUELLA -- Earn Roar Scout badges, color, draw, go on a scavenger hunt and more!
​

A perfect camp snack or breakfast, these PBJ granola bars are easy to whip up, simple to serve and a perfect summer PBJ recipe!

Ashley Belote is the illustrator of FRANKENSLIME (Feiwel & Friends, 2021) and VALENSLIME (Feiwel & Friends, 2021). She is the author-illustrator of her solo debut early reader THE ME TREE (Penguin Workshop, 2021) and her solo debut picture book LISTEN UP, LOUELLA (Feiwel & Friends, 2022). 

She studied traditional animation under the direction of Don Bluth. Ashley is a West Virginia native, and earned her BA from Alderson Broaddus University. She earned her MA in Arts Administration from the University of Kentucky. Her graduate study included a children’s literature and illustration course, The Whole Book Approach, through Simmons College at the Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art. She also serves as the Illustrator Coordinator for the Carolinas chapter of SCBWI. Ashley is represented by Moe Ferrara of BookEnds Literary Agency.
Check out her links below:
Ashley's website

Twitter

Instagram

FB

YouTube

GoodReads

If you'd like to order signed copies of Ashley's books, order through Main Street Books in Davidson, NC.

Speaking of books, Ashley is giving away a signed copy of  LISTEN UP, LOUELLA.   Simply comment below to be entered into a drawing to win!

CONGRATULATIONS to . . . .Steena Hernandez!!!  You are the lucky winner of Ellen Leventhal's prize!!!  Your choice of:
A Zoom visit (AMA or a classroom visit) OR
A copy of DEBBIE'S SONG

Thanks, Ellen, for your generosity, and thank you, Steena, for your support of PBJamz and our visiting authors!

Grab a Ting and pull up a chair! Alliah and I had a great conversation that ranged from BIG TUNE, her inspiration, her family, her writing process, the role of music in her life and in the book, teaching and education and their role in her life as well as her family's  life, and all the upcoming things.  Come laugh along with us as we talk culture, childhood, and books. 

From end paper to end paper (both covered with cassette tape images), this book is full of music, fun, dancing, and more. It follows shy Shane, who secretly wants to dance, but isn't quite ready to bust a move in public. Family gatherings, Jamerican style, complete with delicious Jamaican food and drink center and ground the book, with "Soul Food Sunday"-esque vibes. When Shane is alone, though, the moves and song burst forth.  He becomes the hero of his own story, but to see if he gets brave enough to share his love of music and dance, you'll have to read the book.  Beautiful paper collage illustrations crown this fun music-centered, food-loving, culture-sharing book.  The bright, bold color scheme is perfect for telling this colorful tale!  Oh, and consider yourself warned:  Check your spice cabinet or have Uber-Eats on speed dial, because you're definitely going to want some Jerk something after reading!  I've had jerk chicken, jerk pork chops, Jamaican peas and rice, Jamaican cabbage, fried plantains, and tropical salsa since reading . . . . oh, it's a vibe you're going to want to give in to . . .   As a matter of fact, here's the link to my Caribbean foods Pinterest board (you know, just. in. case. ;-) 

If you want to try your hand at some of the Jamaican dancehall moves, here's a quick run-through of a bunch.  This video was made to go along with another book about Jamaican dance: “Back to Basics: A-Z of Dancehall” by Latoya Wakefield.  It would be an excellent accompaniment book to BIG TUNE! So learn to bust a move -- or 26!  Share them with your children, your students, etc. and get your groove on together.  You can be your own dancehall king, queen, prince, or princess! 
​For more dancehall music, singing, dancing, etc., be sure to check out the links section below for the YouTube playlist!

This book has some very natural  multidisciplinary segues into a classroom.

• Geography/culture
  • New Jersey
    • Maps, etc.
    • Jamaican connections "Jamerican"
  • Jamaica
    • Dancehall/bashments
    • Jamaican food
    • Music
• Math
  • Money
    • Naming/Counting coins (K-2);
      
    • Adding bills/money amounts (grades 2-5)
    • Coin sets -- <>=
    • Story problems involving related to the story (appropriate for the grade level.)
      • ie.  Shane was collecting cans -- he collected 25 cans.  He got 5 cents each for the cans.  How much money did he earn?
      • Shane needed $70 to buy new kicks.  He earned $35.00 for the cans he found.  How much more does he need to be able to buy his new shoes?
      • Shane spent $90 for the new speaker.  The family and friends collected $115. After they paid Shane back, how much money was left.
      • etc.
    • Making change
• ELA
  • Rhyme
    • Scavenger hunt -- Find the rhymes
    • Rhyming couplets
  • Verb endings
  • Jamaican verbage, vocabulary, dialect

​Have no inspiration? Are you sure? You may have all the inspiration you need inside. 

Perhaps you think you're the most uninteresting, most typical person in the world. With the most typical childhood experiences. WRONG. What is typical? Nothing. 
Your story and your experiences are unique to you, but they may be fascinating to somebody else. Besides, you may never know who may find your experiences or interests relatable or comforting. 
Start digging into that memory bank when you need inspiration. There's a reason people say 'write what you know'.

Write in rhyme if you feel it's appropriate. But if you want it acquired, you better make it excellent. 

We always hear 'don't write in rhyme, editors don't like it.' That's not true. While all editors don't acquire rhyme, editors don't like bad rhyme. Reading some of my old rhyming work triggers a serious cringefest. No wonder it's nowhere but my computer right now.

If you find yourself: 
-rhyming for rhyme's sake
-using odd sentence construction for the sake of rhyme
-letting the rhyme lead the story rather than the story leading the rhyme 
-writing in uneven meter...

Then stop. Take a beat. Consider if you need to continue down this path, and if you do, keep working. Good rhyme takes time (that was a total coincidence, by the way). If not- consider another way to tell your story.

-Bottom Line: Write the stories you want to read. 

I don't know how many times I've heard and said 'Be the change you want to see.' I believe it. You feel like there's a story you really want to read? Don't be passive - do it yourself. It's easy to feel like you need to write to fit a trend, but trends change quickly and publishing is slow. By the time you've completed, let alone published that trendy manuscript, that ship may have sailed. 

YouTube playlist with lots of teachable content mentioned in the teaching section above

Pinterest board with teaching ideas about Jamaica, food, money, and dancehall music and more.

​Spotify instrumental school-safe playlist created by Alliah!

I love to connect my PBJamz snack to the episode when I can, so I asked Alliah about Jamaican versions of PBJ.  She said her kids really enjoy peanut butter with Jamaican ("decadent smoky, floral flavor)" honey on Jamaican hard dough (hardo) bread.  She called this a Jamerican recipe.  I'm linking up the recipe for the Hardo bread, and trusting you to put whatever you want on it. :-). It's a slight departure from the PBJ, but it sounds delicious! As for myself, I ordered up some Jamaican honey.  It's supposed to be from a farm in Jamaica.  We'll see.  I might have to bake up some hardo too to finish out my Jamaican feasting.  I may not have traveled to Jamaica over Spring Break, but between reading Alliah's book, listening to the music and eating the food, I've had a Jamaican staycation for sure!  (photo credit and recipe from Winsome Murphy at Jamaicans.com