I know hundreds (maybe thousands?) of people would agree
that Mr. Schu and Mr. Sharp are totally awesome! They are teaching rock stars! They are also champions of children's literature and reading. I am so glad I discovered their blogs and
follow them on Twitter. I learn so much
from them on a daily basis. I think this
is the way professional development should be – learning a few things every day
instead of sitting in meetings all day and being overwhelmed by a bombardment
of information being dumped into your brain.
I wanted to write this post in honor of Mr. Schu and Mr. Sharp’s completion
of the Newbery Challenge. They have read
and posted videos about every Newbery Medal winner since 1922. It has been part of my Saturday routine to
sit in a comfy chair, usually still in my pajamas, and watch their videos. Their last post, focusing on The One and Only Ivan, is scheduled for
September 14, 2013. I’m excited to see
what they share, considering they are such huge fans of the book, yet saddened
about saying goodbye to such a wonderful part of my Saturday routine.
I enjoy musicals and classic movies, and on Labor Day I was
watching Dr. Doolittle, a 1967 film
starring Rex Harrison. As a librarian, I
am seldom satisfied with merely watching a movie. I usually research the movie’s production,
the actor/actresses and the books behind the film. While doing this research, I discovered that The Voyage of Dr. Doolittle won the 1923
Newbery and I instantly made the connection to Mr. Schu and Mr. Sharp’s Newbery
Challenge videos. When I started
following their blogs, they were creating videos about books that won the
Newbery during the 1950s. I always meant
to go back and watch the older videos, but had not found time to do so. In the days since, I have started with The Story of Mankind and watched all the
way up to Dead End in Norvelt. I have noticed that these videos have evolved
over time. Some differences:
*Do you remember when they included a picture of themselves
with each book?
* In the beginning, the videos were not posted on Saturday
and they were not posted every week.
* In the early ones, they struggled with much of the
reading, and each video addressed how hard/easy the book was to read.
*Mr. Schu in particular addressed others partaking in the
Newbery challenge; in later videos, he just speaks to Mr. Sharp directly.
*The end phrase Mr. Sharp has always used is “Happy
reading.” Mr. Schu uses that too, but in
his first videos, Mr. Schu simply ended with “Goodbye” although he usually
comments that he hopes Mr. Sharp is having a “wonderful day.”
Parts of the videos that I have loved:
*ONE TAKE RULE – they mention this frequently.
*Mr. Schu comments that people are staring at him while he
is talking to the camera in public.
*Mr. Schu features so many wonderful places in his videos,
from the American Girl store in the
video for Hitty: Her First Hundred Years
to Times Square for Moon Over Manifest.
*Mr. Sharp includes his children in many videos.
*Both include their pets in some videos.
*In addition to his video, Mr. Schu includes links and videos related to the books.
*For some of the books, they were able to meet in person and
film a Newbery Challenge video together.
*Some videos include guest stars like Travis Jonker and
members of the Nerdy Book Club.
*They have inspired others to take part in their challenge, or create their own Newbery Challenge. Find out more by exploring #nerdbery on Twitter.
And the thing I love most:
They are so open about their lives and are willing to share so much of
themselves with their followers. Mr. Sharp showed us his new classroom at Parma Elementary school, which is the same school he attended as a child. Mr. Schu took us to the college he went to for library school. Reading
their blogs and watching these videos feels like correspondence with an old
friend.
Thank you Mr. Schu and Mr. Sharp!
