It's THIRSTday! 2/28/13

Thirst Day is a meme started by Dave Etkin over at Eat the Book. He's got all kinds of fun stuff over there!

Today's pairing includes Bomb: The Race to Build -- and Steal -- the World's Most Dangerous Weapon by Steve Sheinkin and a Portillo's Chocolate Shake. A treat indeed!

Happy Reading (and sipping)!

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? 2/25/13

It's Monday! What are you Reading? is a meme hosted by Sheila at Book Journeys. I heard about it from the Teach Mentor Texts blog, which puts a "Picture Books to YA" twist on it. I like to post my MG/YA, adult, and professional reads here!

Last Week I Dived Into...

Written in Bone: Buried Lives of Jamestown and Colonial Maryland by Sally M. Walker. It was fascinating to learn about the process forensic anthropologists use to uncover the lives behind unmarked graves in Colonial Maryland.

This Week I'm Diving Into...

Flesh & Blood So Cheap: The Triangle Fire and Its Legacy by Albert Marrin. I'm working on my nonfiction gaps for the #bookgapchallenge. I am not a big fan of nonfiction (or so I think, until I get into one!) but I am liking the writing style and am learning so much about immigration and working/living conditions in the late 1800s/early 1900s in New York City.

Tana French's Faithful Place, an adult read...I'm about halfway through this 400 page book, and it's SOOO good. I loved her In the Woods several years ago, and this one is perfect for reading on cold winter nights. (Plus, the Irish lingo is killer.)

Finally, Pathways to the Common Core. I am looking forward to getting into Close Reading of Informational Texts by Sunday Cummins. I am lucky to have seen her present and to be working with her on our district's new ELA curriculum. She's fabulous.

What are you getting into this week?

Happy Reading!

It's THIRSTday! 2/21/13

Thirst Day is a meme started by Dave Etkin over at Eat the Book. He's got all kinds of fun stuff over there!

Today I'm getting into Flesh & Blood So Cheap: The Triangle Fire and Its Legacy by Albert Marrin, a nonfiction read about the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire in 1911. It's paired up with an icy cold Shamrock Shake....mmmgood.

 

Happy Reading (and sipping)!

Waiting on Wednesday - Clockwork Princess by Cassandra Clare 2/20/13

Waiting on Wednesday is a meme hosted by Breaking the Spine where you highlight one book that you can't wait to hit the bookshelves!

I can't wait for Clockwork Princess (The Infernal Devices #3) by Cassandra Clare to be released on March 19th. I love Cassandra Clare's Mortal Instruments series and this spin-off series as well.

Happy Reading!

Treat Tuesday 2/20/13



 



Image from Ms. Houghton's blog




Treat Tuesday comes from @nikiohsbarnes. You simply share what you're reading and what you're snacking on!



I blame evening Parent/Teacher conferences last night for not getting to my Treat Tuesday post until Wednesday. Better late than never! Tonight I am enjoying Written in Bone: Buried Lives of Jamestown and Colonial Maryland by Sally M. Walker paired with some delicious cookies from a student for Valentine's Day. Look at that cute polka dot ribbon!

 

Happy Reading (and snacking)!

 

 

It's Monday! What Are You Reading?! 2/18/13

It's Monday! What are you Reading? is a meme hosted by Sheila at Book Journeys. I heard about it from the Teach Mentor Texts blog, which puts a "Picture Books to YA" twist on it. I like to post my MG/YA, adult, and professional reads here!

Last Week I Dived Into...

Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card. This took up my whole week! It was an intense read, but one I was finally able to remove from my TBR list after so many years. It was well worth the wait. I guess there's a whole Ender's saga as well as a spin-off series with some of the minor characters. That's a bit too daunting for me right now to take on, so I will just stick with being happy I finally got to this one.

This Week I'm Diving Into...

A lot of nonfiction: Sally M. Walker's Written in Bone: Buried Lives of Jamestown and Colonial Maryland, Candace Fleming's The Great and Only Barnum: The Tremendous, Stupendous Life of Showman P.T. Barnum, and Sue Macy's Wheels of Change: How Women Rode the Bicycle to Freedom.

Tana French's Faithful Place, an adult read

Finally, Pathways to the Common Core

What are you getting into this week?

Happy Reading!

It's THIRSTday! 2/14/13

Thirst Day is a meme started by Dave Etkin over at Eat the Book. He's got all kinds of fun stuff over there!

I'm on a non-fiction kick this week. Using my new YALSA Teen Book Finder App, I found some great nonfiction titles and snagged them from the library. I want to hit up the local bookstore later today to get my own classroom copies! This one is Written in Bone by Sally M. Walker, a YALSA Excellence in Nonfiction for Young Adults Finalist, about excavations at Jamestown and how forensic anthropologists (sweet job!) uncover the stories of the bones. I love this title, and I can't wait to read her other work!

 

 

 

  

Happy Reading (and sipping)!

Waiting on Wednesday - Being Henry David by Cal Armistead

Waiting on Wednesday is a meme hosted by Breaking the Spine where you highlight one book that you can't wait to hit the bookshelves!

Today's WoW is easy: Cal Armistead's Being Henry David. It comes out on March 1st. It's a great self-discovery story that will leave you wanting to spend some time with nature. It's published on March 1st, but I was lucky enough to get to read an ARC after our librarian took some students to a pre-pub event to meet the author. A good read!

 

Happy Reading!

Treat Tuesday - 2/12/13



Image from Ms. Houghton's blog




Treat Tuesday comes from @nikiohsbarnes. You simply share what you're reading and what you're snacking on!



I'm finally working on a #bookgapchallenge book, Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card. The treats are white chocolate-covered Valentine's pretzels from Naper Nuts & Sweets in downtown Naperville.

 

 

 

Happy Reading! (And snacking!)



It's Monday! What Are You Reading? 2/11/13

It's Monday! What are you Reading? is a meme hosted by Sheila at Book Journeys. I heard about it from the Teach Mentor Texts blog, which puts a "Picture Books to YA" twist on it. I like to post my MG/YA, adult, and professional reads here!

Last Week I Dived Into...
One for the Murphys by Lynda Mullaly Hunt. SO well written. I couldn't put it down. 

Mercury by Hope Larson...last week I read her adaptation of A Wrinkle in Time into graphic novel format, and I was mesmerized by the way she illustrated emotions and some (seemingly) intangible moments in that story. She had the same touch with Mercury. I was happy to find a graphic novel that's not too baby-ish for my middle schoolers, also.

 Friends with Boys by Faith Erin Hicks...On my search for more graphic novel recommendations, I came across this one at the library. I really loved Hicks's illustrations. Another good addition to the graphic novel section of my classroom library.

 

 Level Up by Gene Luen Yang...I read his other work, American Born Chinese this summer, and that is still my favorite graphic novel of his.

This Week I'm Diving Into...
Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card as part of the #bookgapchallenge. As a YA sci-fi nerd, I am ashamed to admit I have never read this pivotal book. This is being remedied.

I am about 60 pages into Faithful Place by Tana French. I need a snow day so I can just sit and read this one.

Last week's post: Professionally, I WILL FINISH Pathways to the Common Core: Accelerating Achievement by Lucy Calkins (if it's in caps, it has to happen). Then it's on to Peter Johnston's Choice Words.

Update: Typing that into CAPS did not work. But I made PROGRESS. That's the most important thing, right?

 

What are you getting into this week?

Happy Reading!

It's THIRSTday! 2/7/13

I am all about excuses for blogging. I came across Thirst Day on Twitter from @LibraryFanatic. You should follow her! Thirst Day is a meme started by Dave Etkin over at Eat the Book. He's got all kinds of fun stuff over there!

This week I'm all about the graphic novel. Today I got into Friends with Boys by Faith Erin Hicks. Like the story; don't like the title. Four of the boys on the cover are her brothers, and they totally left out the other dude's sister, who has a major role in the story. It should have been called Homeschooled, Ghost-Seeing Girl Starts Public High School. Something catchy, like that. Title issues aside, I'm staying hydrated with water in my whimsical alphabet sipper.

Happy Reading (and sipping)!

Waiting on Wednesday Sever by Lauren DeStefano 2/6/13

Waiting on Wednesday is a meme hosted by Breaking the Spine where you highlight one book that you can't wait to hit the bookshelves!

February 12 brings us the final book in the Chemical Garden Trilogy, Sever. I've enjoyed Wither and Fever and can't wait to see how Rhine's story ends. Check out the Chemical Garden book trailer and author Lauren DeStefano talking about her books.

Happy Reading!

Treat Tuesday 2/5/13

Image from Ms. Houghton's blog

Treat Tuesday is a great idea from @nikiohsbarnes. You simply share what you're reading and what you're snacking on!

You'll have to tilt your head for this one. I lovvvve gummy bears, and I lovvvve One for the Murphys. Such a powerful read. This is a must-read.

Happy Reading! (And snacking!)

 

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? 2/4/13

It's Monday! What are you Reading? is a meme hosted by Sheila at Book Journeys. I heard about it from the Teach Mentor Texts blog, which puts a "Picture Books to YA" twist on it. I like to post my MG/YA, adult, and professional reads here!

Last Week I Dived Into...
See You at Harry's by Jo Knowles. So good. So real. Read it! 

A Wrinkle in Time Graphic Novel adapted by Hope Larson. The illustrations were breathtaking. When I book-talked it with my students, it was my students who had already read the amazing original who were first in line to be on the hold list. It's cool to see Madeleine L'Engle's work getting into the hands of kids so many decades later.

 Pinned by Sharon G. Flake...

 

 

 Monday Mornings by Dr. Sanjay Gupta for a book club. The TV show airs tonight!

This Week I'm Diving Into...
Mercury by Hope Larson. I wanted to see more of Hope Larson's work, and I have some students tearing through my graphic novels, and I'm looking for more ideas.

For a new adult read, I want to get into Faithful Place by Tana French. I read her In the Woods back in the day and grabbed this at an independent book store while up in Milwaukee.

 

Professionally, I WILL FINISH Pathways to the Common Core: Accelerating Achievement by Lucy Calkins (if it's in caps, it has to happen). Then it's on to Peter Johnston's Choice Words.

Happy Reading!