Thank you thank you to you authors who take time to interact with your readers.
Now… VIDEOS!!!
I asked you to send me videos that were interesting and thought-provoking. A nice last day of class before vacation. These are some great ones you sent.So… here we go! (PS—Boys, where are you??)
{Celebrating the books we’ve read in the past week
& the titles we are currently reading.}
This meme is originated by Jen and Kellee at TeachMentorTexts. Thanks!
FIRST—
I shared our viewing of BookFlix Friday’s A Fish in a Tree with the author:
I hope you’ve been following the:
It was a big weekend as the field of books went from the Elite 8 to the Final 4. The one big upset was #7 Bigger than a Breadbox defeating #4 Because of Winn Dixie. WOW.
I invited a couple of the authors to see the bracket. We’ll see if they leave any comments….
Next Saturday will be the Final 4, and then it will all be decided on Monday the 6th. MAY THE BEST BOOK WIN!
WIth Chasing Secrets, we encounter a lesser-known epidemic: a possible outbreak of the bubonic plague in San Franisco in 1900. Fascinating and scary. I appreciate how Choldenko gives us a great view of life in the early part of the 20th century and also challenges the position of women at the time, and also how the wealthy viewed their servants and help. I’m looking forward to Chasing Secrets getting some attention when it is released.
Newbery Honor–winning author Gennifer Choldenko deftly combines humor, tragedy, fascinating historical detail, and a medical mystery in this exuberant new novel.
San Francisco, 1900. The Gilded Age. A fantastic time to be alive for lots of people . . . but not thirteen-year-old Lizzie Kennedy, stuck at Miss Barstow’s snobby school for girls. Lizzie’s secret passion is science, an unsuitable subject for finishing-school girls. Lizzie lives to go on house calls with her physician father. On those visits to his patients, she discovers a hidden dark side of the city—a side that’s full of secrets, rats, and rumors of the plague.
The newspapers, her powerful uncle, and her beloved papa all deny that the plague has reached San Francisco. So why is the heart of the city under quarantine? Why are angry mobs trying to burn Chinatown to the ground? Why is Noah, the Chinese cook’s son, suddenly making Lizzie question everything she has known to be true? Ignoring the rules of race and class, Lizzie and Noah must put the pieces together in a heart-stopping race to save the people they love.
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Since this is a short week, we’re not doing to do BOOKselfies.
But make sure to READ over break. Catch up on some good books.
Period 1&2
9 Books
Period 5&6
11 Books
Period 9&10
9 books
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For every parent who leaves a comment on TODAY’S POST with what you’re reading OR leaves a BOOKselfie on this week’s Padlet (links above), I’ll give your child a BUSTED ticket…
The students voted, and we put each book with a team. They more votes a book or series received, the higher the seed of the team with which it is paired.
When the team wins, the books win.
So tonight we begin… The schedule is as follows for the next two days:
a chance to post something I’ve seen that I’m diggin’: a cool quote or poster, a video, or simply a picture.
Enjoy!… and consider posting your own Whatever.
Never ones to let March Madness go by without plugging some reading, Mr Peterson and I are putting together the BOOKsketball Sweet 16.
We did this last year and it was a great success. (There are three posts, starting with that one.)
Students placed their votes yesterday, and today we will be seeding the books and placing them with their teams. If the team wins, the book wins. But beware the upset!
Here is the blank bracket. I’ll post the filled-in bracket tomorrow:
{Celebrating the books we’ve read in the past week
& the titles we are currently reading.}
This meme is originated by Jen and Kellee at TeachMentorTexts. Thanks!
FIRST—
Last Friday during the book conversations, I had a group discussing both Bigger Than a Breadbox and One for the Murphys. I sent out this tweet, and… well, see for yourself:
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My 7th grader finished Walk Two Moons last week and we tweeted the author, Sharon Creech:
… round 1 of Theme essays…and now I’ll be grading the finals.
But I found time for a book Mr. B brought in for me to see—one of the Caldecott honor books for this year:
Good fun!
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Going back to BOOKselfies this week—due Wednesday when class starts. I’m looking forward to seeing what book you are now reading. Please invite your parents or realitives to post a BOOKselfie as well.
Parents are invited to participate in our journey as well. Parents, how about posting your own BOOKselfie? Or (and?) you can leave a comment on this post.
For every parent who leaves a comment on TODAY’S POST with what you’re reading OR leaves a BOOKselfie on this week’s Padlet (links above), I’ll give your child a BUSTED ticket…
{Celebrating the books we’ve read in the past week
& the titles we are currently reading.}
This meme is originated by Jen and Kellee at TeachMentorTexts. Thanks!
…Lots of tests… and now I’ll be reading round 1 of Theme essays…
•
Going back to BOOKselfies this week—due Wednesday when class starts. I’m looking forward to seeing what book you are now reading. Please invite your parents or realitives to post a BOOKselfie as well.
Parents are invited to participate in our journey as well. Parents, how about posting your own BOOKselfie? Or (and?) you can leave a comment on this post.
For every parent who leaves a comment on TODAY’S POST with what you’re reading OR leaves a BOOKselfie on this week’s Padlet (links above), I’ll give your child a BUSTED ticket…
Few things can draw a reader to a new book like a book trailer can. Each Friday I will endeavor to bring a couple to you—some new or recent, some teasers of upcoming books, and a few “classics”. Get the popcorn ready.
Lights…Camera…Action!
A perfect murder.
A faceless witness.
A lone courtroom champion knows the whole truth…and he’s only thirteen years old.
Meet Theodore Boone.
In the small city of Strattenburg, there are many lawyers, and though he’s only thirteen years old, Theo Boone thinks he’s one of them. Theo knows every judge, policeman, court clerk—and a lot about the law. He dreams of being a great trial lawyer, of a life in the courtroom.
But Theo finds himself in court much sooner than expected. Because he knows so much—maybe too much—he is suddenly dragged into the middle of a sensational murder trial. A cold-blooded killer is about to go free, and only Theo knows the truth.
The stakes are high, but Theo won’t stop until justice is served.
Brimming with the intrigue and suspense that made John Grisham a #1 international bestseller and the undisputed master of the legal thriller, Theodore Boone: Kid Lawyer will keep readers guessing and pages turning.
{Celebrating the books we’ve read in the past week
& the titles we are currently reading.}
This meme is originated by Jen and Kellee at TeachMentorTexts. Thanks!
A graphic novel being recognized as a Newbery Honor book is a big deal. And this book is quite deserving. It’s been on my radar for quite a while—the Nerdy community has talked it up quite a bit. My colleague Michelle bought it and share it with one of her students, and I was quick to get in line to read it. It didn’t disappoint.
If you liked Smile, Sisters, or Drama, you’ll certainly like El Deafo.
Flashback photo…
Oh, and bonus factoid: Cece is married to… Tom Angleberger, Mr. Origami Yoda himself.
Check out some of these extras:
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I read The Tiger Rising years ago, and when a few students were reading it for some theme work, I peaked back at the first few pages…. and was hooked. I couldn’t wait to read more. I even read during my lunch break and during some planning times. Shhhhh. Don’t tell. Beautiful and tragic and symbolic and deep. Read this if you haven’t.
Parents are invited to participate in our journey as well. Parents, how about posting your own BOOKselfie? Or (and?) you can leave a comment on this post.
For every parent who leaves a comment on TODAY’S POST with what you’re reading OR leaves a BOOKselfie on this week’s Padlet (links above), I’ll give your child a BUSTED ticket…
Newbery Honor–winning author Gennifer Choldenko deftly combines humor, tragedy, fascinating historical detail, and a medical mystery in this exuberant new novel.
San Francisco, 1900. The Gilded Age. A fantastic time to be alive for lots of people . . . but not thirteen-year-old Lizzie Kennedy, stuck at Miss Barstow’s snobby school for girls. Lizzie’s secret passion is science, an unsuitable subject for finishing-school girls. Lizzie lives to go on house calls with her physician father. On those visits to his patients, she discovers a hidden dark side of the city—a side that’s full of secrets, rats, and rumors of the plague.
The newspapers, her powerful uncle, and her beloved papa all deny that the plague has reached San Francisco. So why is the heart of the city under quarantine? Why are angry mobs trying to burn Chinatown to the ground? Why is Noah, the Chinese cook’s son, suddenly making Lizzie question everything she has known to be true? Ignoring the rules of race and class, Lizzie and Noah must put the pieces together in a heart-stopping race to save the people they love.
•
My church is doing a whole-church read of this book and we will meet in groups at people’s homes over the next few weeks to discuss it. I’ll be hosting a group at my house.
This ARC is the companion to Levithan’s Every Day, a fascinating book.
{Celebrating the books we’ve read in the past week
& the titles we are currently reading.}
This meme is originated by Jen and Kellee at TeachMentorTexts. Thanks!
As soon as I heard that Nielsen was working on a new series, I put it in my calendar. After reading her Ascendance Trilogy, I knew I wanted to read Mark of the Thief.
Nielsen doesn’t disappoint. Again, she has created a bold and brash main character reminiscent of Sage from the False Prince. Though a slave in the Roman Empire, Nic knows he is destined for more. He is fast-thinking and headstrong. This boldness finds him knee-deep in a magical adventure to save the Empire—or perhaps, to crush it.
If you want a mashup of False Prince, Cody’s Powerless, Avi’s Crispin and the Cross of Lead, look no further than
If you want more info, check out what author Jennifer Nielsen posted on her blog when the cover was revealed.
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Dear Hank Williams was a sweet book. Set in post-WWII Louisiana, this tale is told all in letters written from the main character, Tate, to her pen pal of choice: the up-and-coming music star Mr. Hank Williams.
Though everything seems peachy at first, Tate slowly reveals that not everything in her life is as it first seems. When life has handed her a tough lot, she massages the truth a bit to make it more palatable. Her get to join her on her journey of self-discovery and acceptance.
Stop back here for an interview and giveaway on Holt’s blog tour on April 8th!
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Check back for students’ BOOKselfies, due on Wednesday.
My church is doing a whole-church read of this book and we will meet in groups at people’s homes over the next few weeks to discuss it. I’ll be hosting a group at my house.
This ARC is the companion to Levithan’s Every Day, a fascinating book.
•
A graphic novel being recognized as a Newbery Honor book is a big deal. And this book is quite deserving. It’s been on my radar for quite a while—the Nerdy community has talked it up quite a bit. My colleague Michelle bought it and share it with one of her students, and I was quick to get in line to read it. It didn’t disappoint.
{Eat the Book} 
