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It's been a month since I last posted and I'd love to say that I read more, but unless you count college assignments, a couple hundred page program for a national conference, and my Facebook updates, I've only read one thing. I think I'm on a bit of a downward swing now. Still have some big assignments coming to grade, but I don't have board meetings and national conferences to go to now either!
"Sheep" by Valerie Hobbs is another state children's choice award nominee. It was a quick and easy read and I enjoyed it for some not too heavy, not too light kind of reading. In many ways, it reminds me of The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane (by the way, I met Kate DiCamillo and got her autograph on several items). Our main character, however, starts off as a much nicer creature than Edward. After being separated from his family, our collie travels the open road experiencing some of the joy and pain that is life. The question for the reader is, will he finally find both love and a home in the end? A perfect book to put in the hands of kids who love dogs, and especially reluctant readers who love dogs, I'm willing to bet that "Sheep" will be at the top of the voting results in May.
I've started reading "How to Steal a Dog" and still have a couple other children's choice nominees to plug through before I get to read the fun stuff I brought home from the new arrivals at school. Hopefully, I'll also get Overdrive to cooperate with me and I'll be able to listen to one on my iPod in the car. Say a quick prayer to the technology gods for me. =)
Monday, July 20, 2009
Friday, June 19, 2009
The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart
O.k. This one I'm doing from memory. I read this book in May of 2007. It had been talked about on t.v. and even Al Roker had endorsed it. I listed to a lot of it on CD on a 16 hour bus trip. It was great entertainment then and I've recommended it to several students since then. A good blend of mystery, adventure, kid-power, coincidence and heart, The Mysterious Benedict Society is the type of book that I would have devoured when I was a kid. The story centers around a group of gifted kids who all have issues on their plate. With their intelligence and special talents, they become part of a mysterious society that has a goal of fighting evil. With creative characters and many ups and downs, the story propels the reader to the end. The only complaint (not from me) is that the story is very long. To that end, I'm disappointed that the book is on the State Awards nominee lists simply because many students won't even try to read a book that long. But if students do attempt the read, they will be rewarded with a great story and even little extra mysteries for them to solve.
To read about the second book in the series, see this entry on my blog.
To read about the second book in the series, see this entry on my blog.
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Last Olympian and Beyond the Grave
I finished The Last Olympian. It was an enjoyable, satisfying ending. There's plenty of room for Riordan to bring back the series if he so desires. I can't imagine that those five books are going to satisfy the fans of the series, but we'll see.
I also read the newest 39 Clues: Beyond the Grave. It was much stronger than the last two books and I really enjoyed it. I do have an affinity to the topic of Egypt, so perhaps that is why it struck me as so interesting. But I do think that it was better paced and had a stronger storyline than the last one. There are glimpses of real heart in characters we maybe weren't expecting. I'm very intrigued to see how this series is going to progress. Just how are we going to end up with 39 Clues in 10 books? We have about a year left to find out!
I also picked up The Composer is Dead by Lemony Snicket. For some reason, my book company said the publisher was out of stock indefinitely, but I had been seeing it on the shelves in the stores. So I bought it at a book store. I sort of wish I had read it first. While I think the way the information about each instrument is presented is neat and enjoyable the message in the last several pages just kills the whole book for me. I guess for a children's book I would prefer a message about enjoying playing music even if you are not very good. This seemed to say that butchering music is not o.k. (even though we have to put up with it to get to good music). I'm not quite sure....I was left pretty underwhelmed by it.
I still have several state awards books to read, so look for more updates soon!
I also read the newest 39 Clues: Beyond the Grave. It was much stronger than the last two books and I really enjoyed it. I do have an affinity to the topic of Egypt, so perhaps that is why it struck me as so interesting. But I do think that it was better paced and had a stronger storyline than the last one. There are glimpses of real heart in characters we maybe weren't expecting. I'm very intrigued to see how this series is going to progress. Just how are we going to end up with 39 Clues in 10 books? We have about a year left to find out!
I also picked up The Composer is Dead by Lemony Snicket. For some reason, my book company said the publisher was out of stock indefinitely, but I had been seeing it on the shelves in the stores. So I bought it at a book store. I sort of wish I had read it first. While I think the way the information about each instrument is presented is neat and enjoyable the message in the last several pages just kills the whole book for me. I guess for a children's book I would prefer a message about enjoying playing music even if you are not very good. This seemed to say that butchering music is not o.k. (even though we have to put up with it to get to good music). I'm not quite sure....I was left pretty underwhelmed by it.
I still have several state awards books to read, so look for more updates soon!
Friday, June 5, 2009
13 Cemetery Road & The Homework Machine
I was lucky enough to have Kate Klise come and visit our school this year. She is smart and fun and very down to earth. I really enjoyed our time together. I was lucky enough to receive an autographed copy of her next new book. Klise has a new series called "13 Cemetery Road". It's very cute and follows Klise's typical epistolary style. While I think the story in some of her other series are a little stronger, I think this one is cute and fun and has the potential to really develop. If you enjoy her other stories, this one will certainly be enjoyable as well.
Dan Gutman is a perennial favorite for our state children's choice award. I think this year will be no different. This year, Gutman was nominated for "The Homework Machine". Certainly appealing to intermediate school students, the variety of characters and realistic story line drives the book all the way to the end. When a group of students ends up together and shares a secret about an unbelievable machine, events start to happen that no one sees coming. An enjoyable and quick read, "The Homework Machine" will, I'm sure, receive lots of votes from our students this year.
I'm also reading the last in the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series, "The Last Olympian". It's a good read so far. Of course, I've loved the series since it first came out. Before it started getting a lot of press, I found "The Lightning Thief" on the shelf at Borders. I'm sad that it will be ending, but enjoying the final book so far.
Dan Gutman is a perennial favorite for our state children's choice award. I think this year will be no different. This year, Gutman was nominated for "The Homework Machine". Certainly appealing to intermediate school students, the variety of characters and realistic story line drives the book all the way to the end. When a group of students ends up together and shares a secret about an unbelievable machine, events start to happen that no one sees coming. An enjoyable and quick read, "The Homework Machine" will, I'm sure, receive lots of votes from our students this year.
I'm also reading the last in the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series, "The Last Olympian". It's a good read so far. Of course, I've loved the series since it first came out. Before it started getting a lot of press, I found "The Lightning Thief" on the shelf at Borders. I'm sad that it will be ending, but enjoying the final book so far.
Thursday, May 21, 2009
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!
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!
Monday, March 30, 2009
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!
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!
Monday, February 16, 2009
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.
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.
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