3.22 {Whatever Wednesday}—chooseKIND wrist bands & a FalsePrince fan poem

Whatever Wednesday — a chance to post something I’ve seen that I’m diggin’. Though often a cool quote or poster, it might simply be a picture.

Enjoy!… and consider posting your own Whatever.

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A couple weeks ago our chooseKIND wristbands from CCA Kids (Children’s Craniofacial Association) came in. (The CCA Kids site has put together a beautiful collection of Wonder-related links and information for students and teachers. Check it out.) Bunches of students ordered them—for themselves and for family members. I’m sure after seeing how cool they look (yes, they match the color of the book cover) you’ll want your own. They’re only $1, they come in youth size and adult size, and the shipping is free. Get in touch with CCA Kids at 800.535.3643 to order yours:

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As I was grading students’ poetry books, I came across Stephanie D’s poem that is based on Jen Nielsen’s The False Prince. We had a great time Skyping with her earlier in the school year, and when I shared the poem with Ms Nielsen, she asked if she could post it on her blog. Sure enough, here is the beginning… But that’s just a tease. You’ll have to click the picture to see the whole thing on her site:

5.20 It’s Monday! What are you reading? #Paradox #ChaosShorts

A new week, a new batch of books–both books finished and being read. Today is…

Ring-the-Bell Monday & It’s Monday! What Are You Reading?

{Sharing what books we’ve read in the past week & the titles we are currently reading.}

{YESSS!!! I finished. It was all I thought about for the last 100ish pages. I was even reading in the hall between classes. QUITE intriguing. People told me they didn’t like the end, but I found it captivating. Rumor is: a sequel is in the works.}

•     §     •

One of my favorite ever trilogies is Patrick Ness’s Chaos Walking Trilogy.

The books were re-released in the UK with new covers…

AND a new short story in each one.

NOW INCLUDES –>

NOW INCLUDES–>

NOW INCLUDES–>

Fortunately you don’t need to buy the new books to read the shorts.

Interested? Of COURSE you are. You can get the links for these short stories HERE. I did. I read them and Mr. Peterson and I messaged about them over the weekend. Too cool.

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[Check back throughout the day for updates of my students' reading.]

Since last Monday, my A Class has read:

26 books

My B Class has read:

29 books

My C Class has read:

7 books

.

Ms Paquette was kind enough to send me an ARC. The book is coming on June 25th.

From Amazon:

 Fans of James Dashner’s Maze Runner series will love this postapocalyptic adventure about a girl who must survive an alien planet in order to save the Earth.Ana only knows her name because of the tag she finds pinned to her jumpsuit. Waking in the featureless compartment of a rocket ship, she opens the hatch to discover that she has landed on a barren alien world. Instructions in her pocket tell her to observe and to survive, no doubt with help from the wicked-looking knives she carries on her belt. But to what purpose?Meeting up with three other teens–one boy seems strangely familiar–Ana treks across the inhospitable landscape, occasionally encountering odd twists of light that carry glimpses of people back on Earth. They’re working on some sort of problem, and the situation is critical. What is the connection between Ana’s mission on this planet and the crisis back on Earth, and how is she supposed to figure out the answer when she can’t remember anything?

More Great ARCs…

Before you see what the students are reading… what are you reading? Please leave a comment and let us know—and show the students that reading isn’t just a “school” thing.

(For every parent who leaves a comment with what you’re reading, I’ll give your child a BUSTED ticket…)

[Check back at the end of the day to see the cool spinning pictures of what my students are reading.]

Click the picture below for A Class SpinCam

Click the picture below for B Class SpinCam

Click the picture below for C Class SpinCam

[If anyone else is using SpinCam to show what your students are reading, I'd love to know about it and link to my Friday post. Thanks.]

Thanks,

David Etkin

5.15 {WhateverWednesday} There is no frigate like a book…

Whatever Wednesday — a chance to post something I’ve seen that I’m diggin’. Though often a cool quote or poster, it might simply be a picture.

Enjoy!… and consider posting your own Whatever.

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The idea of reading as a journey—as an escape—comes up repeatedly. In a student’s poetry book, I just read the poem “A Book” by Emily Dickinson. So here is a fitting graphic accompanied by that poem:

                     A Book

There is no frigate like a book
To take us lands away,
Nor any coursers like a page
Of prancing poetry.
This traverse may the poorest take
Without oppress of toll;
How frugal is the chariot
That bears a human soul! 

 

                                  •Emily Dickinson

5.13 It’s Monday! What are you reading? #GoneGirl

A new week, a new batch of books–both books finished and being read. Today is…

Ring-the-Bell Monday & It’s Monday! What Are You Reading?

{Sharing what books we’ve read in the past week & the titles we are currently reading.}

… A lot of stuff… Including student poetry books which I’m trying to finish up in the next couple days.

But no, no completed books. (see the next section for my current reading).

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[Check back throughout the day for updates of my students' reading.]

Since last Monday, my A Class has read:

9 books

My B Class has read:

16 books

My C Class has read:

6 books

I’m about 45% through this book and it’s heating up. I could hardly put it down after the Mother’s Day festivities ended. It’s fortunate that I’m even getting this blog together right now. The MC, Nick, is suddenly in serious trouble….

.

{Josh and Jake just read this, and now Mrs. Martin is. And I’ve a mind to read it next—if they’ll let me.}

These are the ARCs currently on my NetGalley TBR shelf:

Before you see what the students are reading… what are you reading? Please leave a comment and let us know—and show the students that reading isn’t just a “school” thing.

(For every parent who leaves a comment with what you’re reading, I’ll give your child a BUSTED ticket…)

[Check back at the end of the day to see the cool spinning pictures of what my students are reading.]

Click the picture below for A Class SpinCam

Click the picture below for B Class SpinCam

Click the picture below for C Class SpinCam

[If anyone else is using SpinCam to show what your students are reading, I'd love to know about it and link to my Friday post. Thanks.]

Thanks,

David Etkin

5.10 BookFlix Friday: Revenge of a Not-So-Pretty Girl; I Survived…; Happy Mother’s Day

Today is

There are tons of great book trailers out in cyberland, and each Friday I will endeavor to bring a couple to you. Many will be new and recent books. Some trailers will preview a not-yet-released book. And others will look back a little further.

Lights…Camera…Action!

 

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I read a great review of this book:

Description from IndieBound

Fans of Walter Dean Myers and Rita Williams-Garcia’s One Crazy Summer will cherish this gripping story of an African American girl living in 1980s Brooklyn, who overcomes abuse and neglect in discovering real friendship, self-respect, and that pretty and mean don’t always win.

Girls who are pretty have a way of looking down their perfect noses at anyone they feel isn’t worthy of sharing the air with them. They have a way of making regular girls like me feel inferior for not winning the gene pool lottery. Tormenting them is my way of getting even.
Everyone knows that pretty equals mean, and Evelyn Ryder used to be a beautiful movie star—never mind that it was practically a lifetime ago. There’s no time limit on mean. So if you think I feel guilty about mugging her, think again.
But for something that should have been so simple, it sure went horribly wrong. See, I think I might have killed that old movie star. Accidentally, of course. And I’m starting to believe that my actions have cursed me, because nothing in my life has gone right since then.
That’s why I’m returning to the scene of the crime. To see if there’s any chance that old lady might still be alive. To see if I might be able to turn my luck around. Maybe my life can be different. But if I want things to change, I’m gonna have to walk the straight and narrow. And that means no more revenge.

A JUNIOR LIBRARY GUILD SELECTION

“This exhilarating, generous-hearted tale with a smart, funny, caustically observant protagonist is about so much more than revenge: distinguishing what matters from what doesn’t, taking risks, making mistakes and paying for them. . . . Like Siobhan Vivian in The List, Blythe explores issues of physical appearance in rare depth. Some mistakes aren’t fixable, Faye learns, but she’ll keep trying to fix them anyway. Solidly grounded in the gritty realities of daily life, Faye’s discoveries feel earned. A compelling and believable journey.”—Kirkus Reviews, Starred

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And seeing as though Sunday is Mother’s Day, I thought I’d include this:

Thanks for all you do, Mom. {And thanks for not naming me Phone or Corndog.}

5.9 {THIRSTday} GONE GIRL + let them LOL bottle

Today is Thursday THIRSTday: A beverage and a book.

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The day has flown by… But I’m still thirsty!

5.8 {WhateverWednesday} Reading: the ticket to anywhere

Whatever Wednesday — a chance to post something I’ve seen that I’m diggin’. Though often a cool quote or poster, it might simply be a picture.

Enjoy!… and consider posting your own Whatever.

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Want to travel? Have I got a bargain for you:

Imagine all the “tickets” you can purchase with a free library card…

• Adult application
• Youth application

[image borrowed from http://www.adazing.com/inspirational-reading-quotes-pt-2/]

5.6 It’s Monday! What are you reading?

A new week, a new batch of books–both books finished and being read. Today is…

Ring-the-Bell Monday & It’s Monday! What Are You Reading?

{Sharing what books we’ve read in the past week & the titles we are currently reading.}

FIRST:

The Let them LOL 5k was on Saturday. Jack, Jacob, Noel, and Rosina (and their families) joined me in running to bring water to people in Sierra Leone, Africa. It was an awesome time. I was excited about it all weekend… and I still am.

Thanks, crew, for supporting LOL. I hope you wore your shirts (if you bought one) today and that you brought your water bottle.

{The six-book series is finally over. It was crazy and twisted. And strangely satisfying. So hard to describe what this series is about to those who don’t know. “There’s a bubble over the town and there’s almost a nuclear meltdown and the adults all disappear and kids realize they have mutant magical powers and there are good mutants and bad and then there’s this weird bad “thing” called the gaiphage that controls people’s thoughts and minds and then Little Pete realizes he has powers… ” See? Sheer craziness. And I loved it.}

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[Check back throughout the day for updates of my students' reading.]

Since last Monday, my A Class has read:

9  books

My B Class has read:

23 books

My C Class has read:

13 books

Time for a grownup book. Recommended by my sister and wife:

.

{Josh and Jake just read this, and now Mrs. Martin is. And I’ve a mind to read it next—if they’ll let me.}

Before you see what the students are reading… what are you reading? Please leave a comment and let us know—and show the students that reading isn’t just a “school” thing.

(For every parent who leaves a comment with what you’re reading, I’ll give your child a BUSTED ticket…)

[Check back at the end of the day to see the cool spinning pictures of what my students are reading.]

Click the picture below for A Class SpinCam

(last week’s and this week’s included)

Click the picture below for B Class SpinCam

Click the picture below for C Class SpinCam

[If anyone else is using SpinCam to show what your students are reading, I'd love to know about it and link to my Friday post. Thanks.]

Thanks,

David Etkin

5.2 {THIRSTday} Light

Today is Thursday THIRSTday: A beverage and a book.

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Coffee OUTside. Book OUTside. It is SPRING!

{Now–I need to make more time to READ.}

5.1 {WhateverWednesday} OK Go

Whatever Wednesday — a chance to post something I’ve seen that I’m diggin’. Though often a cool quote or poster, it might simply be a picture.

Enjoy!… and consider posting your own Whatever.

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Though I’m sure you’ve seen some of OK GO’s videos, I thought I’d post a few here. I had a little extra time in a couple of my classes so I showed a couple of these. Mesmerizing.

This last one was new to me. Figure out how long it took to film.