StoriesToldInStickFigures

Monday, July 9, 2012

It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

From Teach Mentor Texts:

It's Monday! What are you Reading? is a meme hosted by Sheila at Book Journeys. It is a great way to recap what you read and/or reviewed the previous week and to plan out your reading and reviews for the upcoming week. It's also a great chance to see what others are reading right now…who knows, you might discover that next “must read” book!

After doing the meme for a couple of weeks, we realized this would be a fun meme to start up with a kidlit focus - anyone reading and reviewing books in children's literature - it can be picture books, chapter books, middle grade novels, young adult novels, you name it in the world of kidlit and it's in! We have loved being a part of this meme and we hope you do too! We encourage everyone participating to go and visit the other kidlit book bloggers that link up and to comment on as many posts as you can. We love talking books and believe in sharing and discussing what we're reading. We hope you join us!

Last Week I Dived Into...
The Last little Blue Envelope (Little Blue Envelope #2) by Maureen Johnson. It was a fun continuation of Ginny's envelope adventures.
Legend by Marie Lu was a very cool dystopian read, which the girl who gave me this ARC at the NCTE convention described as being written so that it was like watching a movie in your head for those non-visual readers. I just thought it had cool characters in an interesting dystopian world.

As for adult books, I'm still reading short stories from Charles Baxter's (love!) Gryphon: New and Selected Stories that I got from Boswell Bookstore in Milwaukee a few months ago, and I just started Joyce Maynard's Labor Day. I had never heard of Joyce Maynard until I read a beautiful article she wrote at the back of a food magazine. A great discovery.

This Week I'm Diving Into...

Still on a Maureen Johnson kick, I was excited to see a book of hers on a display at the independent bookstore Left Bank Books downtown St. Louis today. I hope to get into that this week.

The bookstore (blog entry about that visit coming this week) also had a used book section and I picked up a hardcover of Lev Grossman's The Magicians for just $10! Score. I hope to get into that too. I still need to finish White Lilacs by Carolyn Meyer for a text complexity analysis for Common Core documents.

Wednesday, July 4, 2012

Little Blue Envelope Books by Maureen Johnson

Synopsis:

Book 1 starts out with Ginny receiving instructions from her wild aunt that sends her on a tour of Europe. Book 2 sees Ginny returning to Europe for some unfinished business.

My Thoughts:
I think I liked these books so much because I've traveled to so many of the places that Maureen Johnson describes so well. It's a fun book to read anytime, but especially in the summer if you need to experience vacation vicariously.

Also, if you don't follow Maureen Johnson on Twitter, you are missing out. She's a laugh a minute, that one. I can't wait to read more from her.

In the Classroom:
Totally right for middle school. There is no questionable language, but just enough romance to keep giggly tweens interested. A cute read!

Happy Reading!

Tuesday, July 3, 2012

Slice of Life Tuesday 7/3/12 - Short, but sweet

5:30am run before the heat, reading, nap, library run, brats, summer alumni band rehearsal, sparklers, friends, fireworks. So many slices, so little time! Until next week, enjoy your family and friends this 4th of July!

Wonder by RJ Palacio

Synopsis (from Author's website):
August (Auggie) Pullman was born with a facial deformity that prevented him from going to a mainstream school—until now. He's about to start 5th grade at Beecher Prep, and if you've ever been the new kid then you know how hard that can be. The thing is Auggie's just an ordinary kid, with an extraordinary face. But can he convince his new classmates that he's just like them, despite appearances?

My Thoughts:
Wonder was powerful. RJ Palacio wrote a beautiful story about a beautiful human
.
I'm so glad my school librarian shared this book with me, and was even more excited when she told me that RJ Palacio was at Anderson's Bookshop the same week I bought the book. I hadn't even read it before the author visit, but I was moved by the stories that people shared and the emotion behind the questions that were asked. I began reading it immediately after.

This book has struck a chord with so many people that it has spurred an anti-bullying movement on tumblr called "Choose Kind". You can click the badge below and read more about the campaign.

If you have this book, move it to the top of your TBR pile. If you think you don't have time to read another book this summer, do yourself a favor and find a copy of Wonder.

In the Classroom:
Each chapter is written from the viewpoint of a different character in Auggie's life, but it starts with artwork of that character's likeness and is written in such a completely unique voice, that even younger readers will be able to follow the switches.

I hope every teacher picks up a copy of this book and finds some way to use it in their classroom. I plan on using it as a read aloud this year! The cover and chapter art is dynamic enough to be noticed just sitting on your shelf, but you may be surprised which kids will pick it up after you book talk it.

Monday, July 2, 2012

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? 7/2/12

From Teach Mentor Texts:

Last Week I Dived Into...
13 Little Blue Envelopes by Maureen Johnson. This was a pleasant surprise. I hadn't planned on reading it, but got caught without a book. Thank goodness for my Kindle app on my phone! I got a good chunk of this read in the car and finished it after our trip.
Smile by Raina Telgemeier is a graphic novel, one of just a handful I've read for middle readers. It's cute because it grew from the author's real life experiences struggling with teeth drama.

As for adult books, I got into Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn after seeing her at Anderson's Bookshop in Naperville. She rocked. Her book rocks. I also finished How to Practice: The Way to a Meaningful Life by the Dalai Lama, The Walking Dead, Book One by Robert Kirkman, and some little book you've probably never heard of, I forget the title 75 Hues of Blue or something.