Blissful Summertime....

Well...tomorrow is my first official day of summer vacation. I have been unbelievably swamped lately and done very little reading of books for my library. (What I have been reading has been library reports, college lesson plans, and subject matter related blogs and articles...terribly exciting stuff.) I finished "Elijah of Buxton" and it was a very powerful read for a children's book. I highly recommend it, like just about anyone else who has read the book.

I did also read another state award nominee for next year. "Eleven" by Patricia Reilly Giff is not the most stellar nominee for this year. A book that tries to be too cryptic and mysterious for it's own good, "Eleven" jumps right into the story, skipping over any exposition that might help the reader place things in context. On about page twenty, I was still trying to remind myself what the main character's name was. That's a bad sign. "Eleven" isn't a bad story, it's just trying too hard to be something it's not. After reading the back of the book to my students and summing up in one sentence what I had learned half-way through the book, they all wanted to compare it to "Found" by Margaret Peterson Haddix. Unfortunately, there's not much of a mystery and certainly not any adventure in "Eleven". It's a solid story of a boy trying to find exactly where his roots are and how he ended up where he is, but Giff tries too hard to make the number eleven be some mysterious clue and insists that we wonder if the main character is even related to the man he lives with. All of this is an attempt to build up to an ending that is less than climactic. There's no real drama to what actually happened to our protaganist, so why try to build up the whole book that way? Just approach it more like a realistic fiction book and cut out the cryptic poetry at the beginning of each chapter, the story would be better served by it.

Next up on the list is the rest of the state awards and a few personal choices of reading material. Once I make it through those, I have to decide if I truly feel ready to take on the Twilight series. (I know, I know...I can hear the shouts of "Do it!" right now...)

I'm sure that my next post will not be too far away...TGFSummer!

Holy Mackerel

It's been a very long time since I've posted. And sadly, I haven't read too much in the interim. At least, not literature-wise. I've been reading a lot of professional items: blogs, web pages, lesson plans, industry-related magazines. And I've been very busy. I have started on a few items though. I started Elijah of Buxton, which I am enjoying. I can easily see why this has won so many awards. I'm anxious to get further in it, but I've kept it at school for the 15 minutes a day I have silent reading duty.

I did pick up the third book in the 39 Clues, The Sword Thief. It was o.k. I felt that the book didn't really have much of a good storyline this time. It felt like one of those episodes of your favorite shows that occurs simply to set up the good action for the next episode. We'll see what happens when book four comes out in June. I can't imagine all 10 books holding as much interest, but then again...look at A Series of Unfortunate Events.

I also read The Demigod Files, an "in between" book for the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series. It was a quick few stories to tide over readers until the next book comes out. And there is an excellent teaser for the next book at the end. I'll be anxious to read that. A teacher at school has some students who have become very interested in mythology...one of my favorite topics...and I wonder if it's at all related to this series. I'm going to have fun digging out some of my old materials from when I taught mythology and bringing it to school.

I am going to pick up the rest of our State Awards soon, so hopefully, I'll get a jump on those for next year. I've read three already, so I'm a little ahead! Expect more postings soon!

Savvy by Ingrid Law and On the Wings of Heroes by Richard Peck

I have a couple of books that I started reviews on, but for some reason, didn't publish. So here are two back entries...

Savvy by Ingrid Law - I can see why this book is winning awards. I really enjoyed the original voice that this novel exudes. It many ways, it reminds me of Each Little Bird that Sings, so if you didn't care for that book, you probably won't care too much for this book. Mibs is a young girl facing many changes in her life, not the least of which is getting her "savvy", a talent that all Beaumonts get at age 13. When her savvy isn't what she expected, she and her siblings, along with two of the local preacher's kids, need to learn to manage in order to save Mibs's father. I am probably one of only a handful of people who watched the show "Wonderfalls" from start to finish. (You can watch the unaired episodes on DVD!). Right off the bat, Mibs's savvy reminds me quite a bit of that show. It has good heart and is a well-told tale. I will recommend this one to my students.

On the Wings of Heroes by Richard Peck - On the Wings of Heroes seemed like the kind of story my boys would love. It got starred reviews from School Library Journal and rave reviews from other sources. It's about two boys and set during World War II. Maybe I just am not a historical fiction buff, but I didn't love this book. I anticipate that my boys may be let down by the lack of action in the story. Seeming much more like a memoir, Peck shares what goes on in the small town that the boys live in and how the war affects them. However, collecting scrap metal and a need for a new classroom teacher just aren't very lively stories. Things pick up a little when Miss Titus comes into the story, but her portion of the story is too little and almost too late. Students expecting to hear about battles, airplanes, and recounts of the war will not get it in this book. While not a bad read, Heroes left me wanting a little bit more than what I got.

Theodosia and the Serpents of Chaos

I smell another series coming on. This book has been sitting in my house for quite a while. I finally picked it up the day I came home sick and couldn't really stand to do much else. When I was in junior high, there was a series called, "Friday the 13th". It had nothing to do with the horror flick of the same name. It was actually about some characters that ran an antique shop and had to chase down cursed items. I got a little of that feeling from this book. Theodosia has the special ability to sense curses on items, especially those of Egyptian origin. Since her parents run a museum that focuses on Ancient artifacts, Theodosia's knowledge and abilities develop from self-educating herself with what exists in the museum. Mom and Dad are not aware of her abilities or the curses and, of course, danger and adventure ensue after mom sends home some very cursed items. I think this could be a decent series if developed correctly. My students all seem to be into the scary spooky stuff right now, so this might be right up their alley. A little magic and a little spooky stuff make a decent combination. The book didn't specifically indicate a sequel, but the plot certainly left room to create more stories with this adventurous character.

I also reread The Westing Game this weekend. I highly recommended the book to one of our teachers and she came back in a little later and said she had been told there was something controversial about it. I couldn't remember anything too bad, except maybe a little stereotyping. So I reread it. I still love it. Yes, there is some stereotyping, but the character that makes the stereotypes is regarding poorly by the other characters. There are "bombs" and a mention of a suicide. But I wouldn't even venture so far as to call it violence compared to what goes on in most cartoons and upper level books that kids read today. The mystery is well-written and heartfelt and the novel is quite complete in its circle. It's a classic and I will always recommend it. =)

If You're Reading This It's Too Late

This book is the sequel to "The Name of This Book is Secret". Pretty lighthearted reading, I spent my time covering "silent reading duty" reading this book. It has bad guys, magic, adventurous kids saving the world, and a sarcastic author that tries to convince his readers they're better off not reading the book. What all kids books are like nowadays. Nothing special, but not necessarily a bad book either.

Inkdeath by Cornelia Funke

The first half of this book was very slow. I listened to most of this on CD and I bet it wasn't until CD 7 that it really started to get interesting. In the end, the story had a satisfying resolution, even if the character you're indebted to for saving the story is less than likable. A satisfying end to a trilogy that sucked me in right away. Now...I just can't decide if I want to embark on the Twilight saga. I know that I will love it, but it's four big books. And so many for me to read that are actually in my library. I'm a little torn. So for the moment, I've moved on to one that's been sitting around my house for quite a while. It's called Theodosia and the Serpents of Chaos. I'm enjoying it and it's a faster read than I expected. I'll probably update soon on it.

The Aurora County All-Stars

A state award nominee for next year, this book includes many characters that we have met in Deborah Wiles's other books. Ruby Lavender, the Snowbergers, and others join a new character, House Jackson, in the quest to find meaning in a small town. House loves baseball, but the death of the town "old coot" leaves him struggling to keep a secret from his friends and struggling to find meaning in life. Baseball is House's true love, but the town insists on putting on a pageant on the one day of the year when the team plays it's only real ball-game. House has to try and figure out a way to save the day, and that's a lot of pressure for a 13-year-old. The style of writing here is just like Wiles's other books and if you didn't care for Each Little Bird or Love Ruby Lavender, than you won't care for this. The baseball theme and the Walt Whitman poetry are nice additions for me, but they won't overcome the style of writing for those that don't enjoy it.