Fried Brain

I can't believe how long it has been since I posted! I have read quite a few things, but the beginning of the school year has been so busy, that I haven't had time to post. I did think about it a few times while at school, but ironically, my own blog is blocked at school. (I didn't really think my principal would feel it vitally important to the curriculum to unblock =) )

I read lots of things in the past several weeks though. I read a The Treasures of Weatherby by Zilpha Keatley Snyder. It was an o.k. book. Not much too it. I felt the focus should have been more on the climax and the amazing treasure, but all of that lasted about four pages. It will still keep the attention of some younger readers who don't expect much out of a book. I read the first book in the Gilda Joyce series: Gilda Joyce, Psychic Investigator. That book had surprisingly more bite to it than I expected. It certainly had a depth to it that I wouldn't have pegged from the covers. I might read the others in the series, but I have so many other books to read!!! I started the new Sisters Grimm book and an interesting book called Framed. I think this book has real promise. Quirky characters, mystery, and crime, I'll have to see where it goes. Luckily, I have silent reading "duty" for three pretty good classrooms, so I can actually get a few pages read during the day. That's a bonus! I also read the second Penderwicks book. It was still good. Fans of the first will certainly like the second. But it has a Disney sort of Parent Trap feel to it that I wasn't totally keen on. Lawn Boy was a very easy read that I think reluctant boy readers will really enjoy. Regarding the Bees is another great visual mystery from Kate and Sarah Klise. If you liked the first several by these authors, you'll like this one.

Of course, I looked at a few picture books too. And the Train Goes... has great rhythm and pace to it. I thought my 2 1/2 year old would enjoy it.
Casey Back at Bat was awfully cute and funny.

My boys at school jumped all over the newest Young Bond books and of course, the new Alex Rider book, Snakehead by Anthony Horowitz. Interestingly, The Invention of Hugo Cabret has still been a hot choice and I ended up using Scholastic points to get a second copy.

Speaking of, I got a great little tech tool from the Scholastic Instructional Resource Catalog with my points left over from Book Fair. It's an .mp3 player/recorder that has two sets of headphones and jacks and is super easy to use! It's even supported by Overdrive, which a lot of libraries use for the audiobooks. I wish I had more of them. The potential for using it for fluency and podcasting is so great! I wouldn't recommend buying it from Scholastic though. It's about $100 more from them than it is online other places. The representative tried to tell me that the others online only have one pair of headphones and this one has two, that's part of the difference. But I looked at ones with two sets and they weren't much more than $140. And you can't tell me that a second set of headphone (regular, plain headphones) is $100. That's ridiculous!

I'll try to keep up better on my blogging. I'm sure I'll be back soon with more books I've read!! Happy Labor Day!