This meme is originated by Jen and Kellee at TeachMentorTexts. Thanks!
DID you get your pumpkin carving in for the contest???
Still working on it… See what I’m reading below!
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AUDIO BOOK
Few things can draw a reader to a new book like a book trailer can.
Get the popcorn ready.
My daughters love Halloween. Do you?
The imagery, tastes, and sounds of this time of year are awesome:
And don’t forget our First Annual AlphaTeam AlphaTheme Pumpkin Carving Contest!
There is no better day to share…
It Takes a Graveyard to Raise a Child.
Nobody Owens, known as Bod, is a normal boy. He would be completely normal if he didn’t live in a graveyard, being raised by ghosts, with a guardian who belongs to neither the world of the living nor the dead.
There are adventures in the graveyard for a boy—an ancient Indigo Man, a gateway to the abandoned city of ghouls, the strange and terrible Sleer. Bod has learned the antiquated customs of his guardians’ time as well as their ghostly teachings—such as the ability to Fade so mere mortals cannot see him. But if Bod leaves the graveyard, he will be in danger from the man Jack–who has already killed Bod’s family.
Can a boy raised by ghosts face the wonders and terrors of the worlds of both the living and the dead?
You might be familiar with one of this author’s other books and the movie made from it:
I found another cool book cover:
One of the coolest things is that Neil Gaiman made available the videos of him reading the book aloud. Here is the playlist:
This meme is originated by Jen and Kellee at TeachMentorTexts. Thanks!
Joe and Ravi might be from very different places, but they’re both stuck in the same place: SCHOOL.
Joe’s lived in the same town all his life, and was doing just fine until his best friends moved away and left him on his own.
Ravi’s family just moved to America from India, and he’s finding it pretty hard to figure out where he fits in.
Joe and Ravi don’t think they have anything in common — but soon enough they have a common enemy (the biggest bully in their class) and a common mission: to take control of their lives over the course of a single crazy week.
I like this idea of taking control. It reminds me of being proactive—one of the habits we will be working on this year.
It’s always interesting to see how books that begin with two different points of view come together by the end. It was fascinating to see what it might be like to come to school in America from a different culture. What a shock to be in such a different setting. I think you’d enjoy this book and the realistic glimpse into a week in school. On top of that—there are recipes in the back of the book for some of the dishes that are mentioned inside. Very cool.
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Kwame Alexander is the author of a couple of our favorite novels in verse. Perhaps you’ve seen these two…
I’ve had his new book Solo on my Books on Deck list here to read all year.
I was messaging with my high school friend Adam who lives in D.C. It turns out he’s an acquaintance of Kwame’s… and he was able to get me THIS!
How cool is THAT?! Thanks Adam!
AUDIO BOOK
Few things can draw a reader to a new book like a book trailer can.
Get the popcorn ready.
For the millions who log in every day, Warcross isn’t just a game–it’s a way of life. The obsession started ten years ago and its fan base now spans the globe, some eager to escape from reality and others hoping to make a profit. Struggling to make ends meet, teenage hacker Emika Chen works as a bounty hunter, tracking down Warcross players who bet on the game illegally. But the bounty-hunting world is a competitive one, and survival has not been easy. To make some quick cash, Emika takes a risk and hacks into the opening game of the international Warcross Championships–only to accidentally glitch herself into the action and become an overnight sensation.
Convinced she’s going to be arrested, Emika is shocked when instead she gets a call from the game’s creator, the elusive young billionaire Hideo Tanaka, with an irresistible offer. He needs a spy on the inside of this year’s tournament in order to uncover a security problem . . . and he wants Emika for the job. With no time to lose, Emika’s whisked off to Tokyo and thrust into a world of fame and fortune that she’s only dreamed of. But soon her investigation uncovers a sinister plot, with major consequences for the entire Warcross empire.In this sci-fi thriller, #1 New York Times bestselling author Marie Lu conjures an immersive, exhilarating world where choosing who to trust may be the biggest gamble of all.
This meme is originated by Jen and Kellee at TeachMentorTexts. Thanks!
Maybe I was able to finish this because it’s a bye week for the Bills and there wasn’t anything interesting being discusse on the radio.
This was a freaky and weird and interesting. Is this where our future is heading?
In a future world where internet connections feed directly into the consumer’s brain, thought is supplemented by advertising banners, and language has gone into a steep decline, a little love story unfolds. Titus, an average kid on a weekend trip to the moon, meets Violet, a brainy girl who has decided to try to fight the feed. Assaulted by a hacker who interrupts their connection, they struggle to understand what has happened to them – and to everyone around them.
In his National Book Award Finalist Feed, M. T. Anderson has created a not-so-brave new world – and a smart, savage satire that has captivated readers with its view of an imagined future that veers unnervingly close to the here and now.
National Book Award Finalist
Los Angeles Times Book Prize Winner
New York Times Book Review Notable Books of the Year
Boston Globe-Horn Book Awards – Honor Book
Publishers Weekly Best Books of the Year
Chicago Public Library Best Books for Children and Teens
ALA (American Library Association) Best Books for Young Adults
Junior Library Guild Selection
Volunteer State Book Award Master List (Tennessee)
Riverbank Review Children’s Books of Distinction
Book Sense 76 Top 10 Picks
Horn Book Fanfare
Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books – Bulletin Blue Ribbons
Booklist Editors’ Choice
Yes, it was really weird. But it was also thought-provoking. No, we don’t have a “FEED” in our brains, but we do have these computers we carry around in our pockets. Lift your head up sometime and look around whenever there are people sitting or standing around. Have you noticed that whenever people aren’t actively doing something, many of them take out their phones and check/scroll/tap? In lines. In restaurants. In cars. Perhaps this is the current version of the feed. Do you know about geofencing? Google Glasses? Perhaps this future is closer than we think…. Would you have your device implanted if you could?
This is more of a high school read—there is some mature content. Perhaps in a couple years you’ll want to give it a read or a listen and see how close we are to this future.
This is a good chance to mention my thoughts on audio books. Some are surprised that I allow them to count as books or pages towards the total. I certainly do!
But it’s like any other kind of book: it’s important to not read only one kind of book. I make sure that I’m physically reading as well. Just like I wouldn’t read solely graphic novels or illustrated novels, I won’t read solely audio books.
It is a great escape though—one that requires important and different skills.
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Fun read from TWO POVs—both first person. I look forward to sharing this soon.
AUDIO BOOK
Few things can draw a reader to a new book like a book trailer can.
Get the popcorn ready.
Patterson has a whole site that features his books. I bet there are a few here you haven’t heard of.
You may have seen this movie… but did you know it was a book first?
How closely does the movie follow the book? You tell me:
This meme is originated by Jen and Kellee at TeachMentorTexts. Thanks!
Love Actually meets Adventures in Babysitting in this hilarious novel written by seven authors about seven classmates who are preparing for a crazy night at their middle school dance.Lynnfield Middle School is prepped and ready for a dance to remember, including an awesome performance from Heart Grenade, the all-girl band who recently won a Battle of the Bands contest. Seven classmates–Carmen, Genevieve, Tess, Ryan, Ellie, Ashlyn, and Jade–intend to make the most of the night…or at least the five of them who are able to attend do. The other two would sacrifice almost anything to be there.One thing’s for sure–this entire crew
is in for one epic night Gail Nall, Dee Romito, Rachele Alpine, Ronni Arno, Alison Cherry, Stephanie Faris, and Jen Malone have created a charming, hilarious, and relatable novel that’s perfect for anyone who can’t wait to dance the night away.
It was cool to finally read the book that matched the trailer I made.
Now that I know the book, I may have done some different things to capture characters’ personality better. At the same time, the pictures I used were the ones the authors themselves chose for me to use. So….
I think it’s amazing how this group of authors worked together over great distances to write a book from seven points of view. How did they get them all to match up while writing separately? Pretty cool.
I was totally into this story from the beginning. The characters were so unique and captivating. And of course, the situations they found themselves in—or put themselves in—were crazy. And yet, so believable. I happened to be finishing this over the weekend my daughters went to homecoming and complained how lame it was. The dance in THIS book was anything but lame.
But I can’t tell you why. Just… TRUST me.
Word of advice: Keep the bookmark handy while you’re reading so you can keep track of the characters.
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and….????
AUDIO BOOK
Get the popcorn ready.
Now meet the teenage equivalent: ALEX RIDER
This meme is originated by Jen and Kellee at TeachMentorTexts. Thanks!
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I’m excited about Uganda James from the Ugandan Water Project visiting with us tomorrow. It will make our reading of A Long Walk to Water even more real.
Okay—ON WITH THE READING!
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AUDIO BOOK
{Eat the Book} 