12.31 Ring-the-Bell Monday & 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.}

STUDENTS RETURN TO CLASS ON WEDNESDAY. THAT’S WHEN I WILL BE SHARING THIS WITH THEM AND HAVING THEM SHARE THEIR READING.

I worked through the first two books of Condie’s Matched trilogy.

I read this digital ARC from NetGalley–This author won the Newbery two years ago. This book is a strong contender, I’d say. It comes out Next week.

I even squeezed in a recommended YA graphic novel…

…and two easier ones. OMG–I thought these were a HOOT:

And after reading a blog post about great Christmas picture books, I went online and requested these from the library:

This vacation was also a great time to catch up on the picture books that I’ve been reading so much about but haven’t been able to read. I struck it rich on a trip to the library:

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

Since last Monday, my A Class has read:

31 books

My B Class has read:

39 books

My C Class has read:

18 books

I picked up this ARC from Monkey See, Monkey Do… bookstore. It is coming out in March. I started it yesterday and it already has me in its clutches.

 

I’d also like to start the end…

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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.

Mrs. Rose Facebooked that she’s reading “An Echo in the Bone” by Diana Gabaldon ( book 7 in her Highlander series)

(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

Thanks,

David Etkin

 

 

GUEST POST on Maestra Amanda’s Bookshelf

I am honored to be the Christmas blogger on Amanda Furman’s blog, Maestra Amanda’s Bookshelf.

Guest bloggers have been posting about their favorite Christmas/holiday books–one a day–since December 1st. Today is my turn. Please visit Amanda’s blog and have a gander. (It will probably post around 8:00 AM.)

Merry Christmas!

12.21 {BookFlix Friday} Unremembered

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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[Note: I don’t know enough about this upcoming book to know if it is appropriate for sixth graders, but it sure looks interesting!]

UNREMEMBERED is on sale March 5, 2013!When Freedom Airlines flight 121 went down over the Pacific Ocean, no one ever expected to find survivors. Which is why the sixteen-year-old girl discovered floating among the wreckage—alive—is making headlines across the globe.

Even more strange is that her body is miraculously unharmed and she has no memories of boarding the plane. She has no memories of her life before the crash. She has no memories period. No one knows how she survived. No one knows why she wasn’t on the passenger manifest. And no one can explain why her DNA and fingerprints can’t be found in a single database in the world.

Crippled by a world she doesn’t know, plagued by abilities she doesn’t understand, and haunted by a looming threat she can’t remember, Seraphina struggles to piece together her forgotten past and discover who she really is. But with every clue only comes more questions. And she’s running out of time to answer them.

Her only hope is a strangely alluring boy who claims to know her from before the crash. Who claims they were in love. But can she really trust him? And will he be able to protect her from the people who have been making her forget?

From popular young adult author Jessica Brody comes a compelling and suspenseful new sci-fi series, set in a world where science knows no boundaries, memories are manipulated, and true love can never be forgotten.

UNREMEMBERED
by Jessica Brody
Published by Farrar, Straus and Giroux Books for Young Readers
An Imprint of Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group
http://www.macteenbooks.com
http://www.facebook.com/unrememberedtrilogy
http://www.jessicabrody.com

{THIRSTday} Matched

Today is Thursday THIRSTday: A beverage and a book.

HO! HO! HO!

And tagging along on the thirst day meme–NIKI BARNES:

In Niki’s words:

@NikiOhsBarnes: @davidaetkin #thirstday I need chocolate to make it through the week! 😉 #signedcopy http://t.co/uIz6qdKv

12.19 {Whatever Wednesday}: Be Someone’s Umbrella

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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Maybe a little sappy–but when, at the end of Wonder, Mr. Tushman talks about showing more kindness than is necessary and being the “face of God” to those around us, this is what comes to mind.

Be someone’s umbrella today.

12.17 Ring-the-Bell Monday & 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.}

[Wow. And wow. Keep your eyes open for this one coming next year. It starts out in Krakow as the Nazis take over, then moves the reader through the Jewish ghetto and many more concentration camps. Some infamous characters and locations are on display here. This is a frightening true history based on the life of Jack Gruener (though the author admits he has “taken some liberties with the time and events to paint a fuller and more representative picture of the Holocaust as a whole.”)

 

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

Since last Monday, my A Class has read:

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17 books

My B Class has read:

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19 books

My C Class has read:

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12 books

[I started Divide and Conquer right after the last one, but then I brought home….

and I couldn’t stand it looking at me on my bedside table. So I started reading it Saturday and I’m hooked. I’m looking forward to talking about it with some of my students. I’ve started a Pinterest board with the poems and artwork referenced in the book: 

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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.

 

Thanks to Mrs. Andrews and Mrs. Denman for already leaving comments!

(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 here for A Class SpinCam

Click here for B Class SpinCam

Click here for C Class SpinCam

Thanks,

David Etkin

 

 

{BookFlix Friday} FALSE PRINCE, SKINNY, SHOWOFF, SUNRISE…FALLUJAH

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.

Wondering if book trailers are important? After last week’s BookFlix post, this Twitter exchange occurred:

That led me to this tweet:

CLICK HERE to get to School Library Journal’s great article on book trailers. (Trailers are at the bottom.)

And now…

Lights…Camera…Action!

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Description

THE FALSE PRINCE is the thrilling first book in a brand-new trilogy filled with danger and deceit and hidden identities that will have readers rushing breathlessly to the end.

In a discontent kingdom, civil war is brewing. To unify the divided people, Conner, a nobleman of the court, devises a cunning plan to find an impersonator of the king’s long-lost son and install him as a puppet prince. Four orphans are recruited to compete for the role, including a defiant boy named Sage. Sage knows that Conner’s motives are more than questionable, yet his life balances on a sword’s point — he must be chosen to play the prince or he will certainly be killed. But Sage’s rivals have their own agendas as well.

As Sage moves from a rundown orphanage to Conner’s sumptuous palace, layer upon layer of treachery and deceit unfold, until finally, a truth is revealed that, in the end, may very well prove more dangerous than all of the lies taken together.

An extraordinary adventure filled with danger and action, lies and deadly truths that will have readers clinging to the edge of their seats.

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NEXT!

 

Description

The fourth SWINDLE book, centering around a dog show that goes horribly awry!

The heroes of SWINDLE, ZOOBREAK, and FRAMED are back – and this time, things have gone to the dogs! When Luthor goes berserk at a mall dog show, he’s accused of ruining the career of the three-time best-in-show beagle. Griffin always knew that Luthor’s viciousness was simmering just below the surface – so why does he feel bad enough to spring him from the pound?

Griffin and his team have a new plan. This one involves New York City, a sinister saboteur, a reclusive dog-trainer who’s quit the business, an international dog show, and a whole lot of red dye. But if they pull it off, no one will even notice their sting operation…right?

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 NEXT!

Description

After undergoing gastric-bypass surgery, a self-loathing and obese teenaged girl loses weight and makes the brave decision to start participating in high school life, including pursuing her dream of becoming a singer and finding love.

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 ONE MORE!

Description

From Walter Dean Myers comes a powerful and timely novel about the heroics and horror of war—a gripping companion to FALLEN ANGELS.

Robin “Birdy” Perry, a new army recruit from Harlem, isn’t quite sure why he joined the army, but he’s sure where he’s headed: Iraq. Birdy and the others in the Civilian Affairs Battalion are supposed to help secure and stabilize the country and successfully interact with the Iraqi people. Officially, the code name for their maneuvers is Operation Iraqi Freedom. But the young men and women in the CA unit have a simpler name for it:

WAR

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AND A COUPLE EXTRA THINGS…

[We MUST remember 12:12:12 on 12/12/12.]

THIS NEXT VID WAS POSTED ON WEDNESDAY BY MY PAL DEBBIE ALVAREZ {AKA, @stylinlibrarian}

12.13 {THIRSTday} INFINITY RING: Divide and Conquer

Today is Thursday THIRSTday: A beverage and a book.

Nothing puts one in the Christmas spirit like drinking coffee as the Vikings prepare to attack Paris.

12.12 {Whatever Wednesday}: It’s 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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My colleague sent this to me:

Hysterical!

And it reminded me of:

I love my technology—but sometimes, a book should just be… a book.

12.10 Ring-the-Bell Monday & 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.}

[Crazy time-traveling adventure. It took me a couple chapters to get into it and learn the characters, but once I did, it was full steam ahead. Wonder what it would be like to travel back to Columbus’s voyage in the 1490s? Here is your ticket.]

[Story for older teens told in photos, illustrations, collages, music, newspapers, and much more. A different kind of graphic novel that brings the idea of story to a new level. I think I’ll lend this one to my colleague Mr. Peterson.]

[What is Christmas about? GIVING. This fits right in with the chooseKIND message. I was able to meet the author Jill Hardie at Monkey See, Monkey Do bookstore where she signed the book that I purchased. I also bought a couple others for gifts. Nothing say Christmas like GIVING…… giving good books.

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

Since last Monday, my A Class has read:

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22 books

My B Class has read:

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21 books

My C Class has read:

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12 books

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[I’ve had this ARC on my Kindle for a while now and have been waiting until the publication date (March 1). I’m looking forward to having more time to read about this young Polish Jew struggling to survive the Nazi invasion. I’m always amazed by books that are based on trues stories.]

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Sooooo… what are you reading? Please leave a comment and let me know.

(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 here for A Class SpinCam

Click here for B Class SpinCam

Click here for C Class SpinCam

Thanks,

David Etkin