1.29.18 It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? #Renegades

Posted on January 29, 2018 by David E.

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading?

{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!

NOW A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

From #1 New York Times-bestselling author Marissa Meyer, comes a high-stakes world of adventure, passion, danger, and betrayal.

Secret Identities.
Extraordinary Powers.
She wants vengeance. He wants justice.

The Renegades are a syndicate of prodigies–humans with extraordinary abilities–who emerged from the ruins of a crumbled society and established peace and order where chaos reigned. As champions of justice, they remain a symbol of hope and courage to everyone…except the villains they once overthrew.

Nova has a reason to hate the Renegades, and she is on a mission for vengeance. As she gets closer to her target, she meets Adrian, a Renegade boy who believes in justice–and in Nova. But Nova’s allegiance is to the villains who have the power to end them both.

MY THOUGHTS:

It’s hard to believe that this book is written by the same author as The Lunar Chronicles.This book has a totally different feel and tone. Still good, but different.

It is interesting to watch Nova’s opinions about the bad guys—who most people consider the good guys—evolve over the course of the book. That’s just the way life is: I think I know what’s going on and what my opinions are, then I learn more information—a different side of the story—and I have to reconsider. Nova does that.

Nova especially has to reconsider her opinions on Adrian. Sure, she’s a spy for the Anarchist’s who is posing as a Renegade, but that doesn’t mean she can’t find one of the Renegades charming and attractive. It makes it all the more interesting that he is the son of a couple of the most powerful Renegades.

I’m looking forward to seeing what happens in the next book—especially after this crazy ending!

PERIOD 1&2 READ 12 BOOKS THIS PAST WEEK.

Take a look at their book selfies (due by Tuesday’s class).

•

PERIOD5&6 READ 16 BOOKS THIS PAST WEEK.

Take a look at their book selfies (due by Tuesday’s class).

•

PERIOD 8&9 READ 15 BOOKS THIS PAST WEEK.

Take a look at their book selfies (due by Tuesday’s class).

Did you catch my

MrEtkinSHMS Instagram posts

this past week?

AUDIO BOOK

1.26.17 {BOOKflix Friday} THE BREADWINNER, MALALA’S MAGIC PENCIL

Posted on January 26, 2018 by David E.

Today is BOOKflix Friday!

Few things can draw a reader to a new book like a book trailer can.

Get the popcorn ready.

Lights…Camera…Action!

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Tap to play the trailer:

From IndieBound:

The first book in Deborah Ellis’s riveting Breadwinner series is an award-winning novel about loyalty, survival, families, and friendship under extraordinary circumstances during the Taliban’s rule in Afghanistan. Eleven-year-old Parvana lives with her family in one room of a bombed-out apartment building in Kabul, Afghanistan’s capital city. Parvana’s father — a history teacher until his school was bombed and his health destroyed — works from a blanket on the ground in the marketplace, reading letters for people who cannot read or write. One day, he is arrested for the crime of having a foreign education, and the family is left without someone who can earn money or even shop for food. As conditions for the family grow desperate, only one solution emerges. Forbidden to earn money as a girl, Parvana must transform herself into a boy, and become the breadwinner. The 15th anniversary edition includes a special foreword by Deborah Ellis as well as a new map, an updated author’s note, and a glossary to provide young readers with background and context. All royalties from the sale of this book will go to Canadian Women for Women in Afghanistan. Parvana’s Fund supports education projects for Afghan women and children.

From IndieBound

Malala’s first picture book will inspire young readers everywhere to find the magic all around them.
As a child in Pakistan, Malala made a wish for a magic pencil. She would use it to make everyone happy, to erase the smell of garbage from her city, to sleep an extra hour in the morning. But as she grew older, Malala saw that there were more important things to wish for. She saw a world that needed fixing. And even if she never found a magic pencil, Malala realized that she could still work hard every day to make her wishes come true.
This beautifully illustrated volume tells Malala’s story for a younger audience and shows them the worldview that allowed Malala to hold on to hope even in the most difficult of times.

BONUS:

An interview with Malala about her book and the next phase of her life:

1.22.18 IM, WAYR? #ShePersisted

Posted on January 22, 2018 by David E.

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading?

{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!

Has anyone seen the new app from Google that scans your selfie and finds a work of art that looks like you? Some I’ve seen from friends are quite accurate. Others–not so much.

How do you think it did with mine?

I had heard a lot about this one and wanted to read it myself.

ABOUT SHE PERSISTED

Chelsea Clinton introduces tiny feminists, mini activists and little kids who are ready to take on the world to thirteen inspirational women who never took no for an answer, and who always, inevitably and without fail, persisted.

Throughout American history, there have always been women who have spoken out for what’s right, even when they have to fight to be heard. In early 2017, Senator Elizabeth Warren’s refusal to be silenced in the Senate inspired a spontaneous celebration of women who persevered in the face of adversity. In this book, Chelsea Clinton celebrates thirteen American women who helped shape our country through their tenacity, sometimes through speaking out, sometimes by staying seated, sometimes by captivating an audience. They all certainly persisted.

She Persisted is for everyone who has ever wanted to speak up but has been told to quiet down, for everyone who has ever tried to reach for the stars but was told to sit down, and for everyone who has ever been made to feel unworthy or unimportant or small.

With vivid, compelling art by Alexandra Boiger, this book shows readers that no matter what obstacles may be in their paths, they shouldn’t give up on their dreams. Persistence is power.

This book features: Harriet Tubman, Helen Keller, Clara Lemlich, Nellie Bly, Virginia Apgar, Maria Tallchief, Claudette Colvin, Ruby Bridges, Margaret Chase Smith, Sally Ride, Florence Griffith Joyner, Oprah Winfrey, Sonia Sotomayor—and one special cameo.

Since we just celebrated MLK Day, a couple of these women in particular caught my attention.

This book was so well-received that there is a sequel coming in a couple months:

PERIOD 1&2 READ 17 BOOKS THIS PAST WEEK.

Take a look at their book selfies (due by Tuesday’s class).

•

PERIOD5&6 READ 13 BOOKS THIS PAST WEEK.

Take a look at their book selfies (due by Tuesday’s class).

•

PERIOD 8&9 READ 15 BOOKS THIS PAST WEEK.

Take a look at their book selfies (due by Tuesday’s class).

Did you catch my

MrEtkinSHMS Instagram posts

this past week?

Still working on it…

AUDIO BOOK

1.16.17 It’s Monday! What are you Reading? GHOST by Jason Reynolds

Posted on January 16, 2018 by David E.

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading?

{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!

I actually finished this over Christmas break and forgot to mention it here:

This is the first in a series of books about runners on a track team. The series is called Track Team Series. This is book #1.

From Simon & Schuster:

Ghost wants to be the fastest sprinter on his elite middle school track team, but his past is slowing him down in this first electrifying novel in a new series from Coretta Scott King/John Steptoe Award–winning author Jason Reynolds.

Ghost. Lu. Patina. Sunny. Four kids from wildly different backgrounds with personalities that are explosive when they clash. But they are also four kids chosen for an elite middle school track team—a team that could qualify them for the Junior Olympics if they can get their acts together. They all have a lot to lose, but they also have a lot to prove, not only to each other, but to themselves.

Running. That’s all Ghost (real name Castle Cranshaw) has ever known. But Ghost has been running for the wrong reasons—it all started with running away from his father, who, when Ghost was a very little boy, chased him and his mother through their apartment, then down the street, with a loaded gun, aiming to kill. Since then, Ghost has been the one causing problems—and running away from them—until he meets Coach, an ex-Olympic Medalist who sees something in Ghost: crazy natural talent. If Ghost can stay on track, literally and figuratively, he could be the best sprinter in the city. Can Ghost harness his raw talent for speed, or will his past finally catch up to him?

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The style was fast-pasted and in the language was from a city kid’s mouth. I like when books start rather innocently, but then pack a twist or lesson. This is that book.

Start this video at :49.

Jason Reynolds also has a cool site you might want to discover. Tap this images below:

PERIOD 1&2 READ 8 BOOKS THIS PAST WEEK.

Take a look at their book selfies (due by Tuesday’s class).

•

PERIOD5&6 READ 21 BOOKS THIS PAST WEEK.

Take a look at their book selfies (due by Tuesday’s class).

•

PERIOD 8&9 READ 21 BOOKS THIS PAST WEEK.

Take a look at their book selfies (due by Tuesday’s class).

Did you catch my

MrEtkinSHMS Instagram posts

this past week?

The library stole this digital copy back from me, but I was able to get it again.

AUDIO BOOK

1.12.17 {BOOKflix Friday} WWII Books

Posted on January 11, 2018 by David E.

Today is BOOKflix Friday!

Few things can draw a reader to a new book like a book trailer can.

Get the popcorn ready.

Lights…Camera…Action!

Reading about Granmere’s experience with the Nazis has me thinking about WWII and the holocaust. Here are some books that you might be interested in.

1.8.17 It’s Monday! What Are You Reading?

Posted on January 8, 2018 by David E.

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading?

{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!

SAD NEWS:

….Lots of Bills coverage!

PERIOD 1&2 READ 12 BOOKS THIS PAST WEEK.

Take a look at their book selfies (due by Tuesday’s class).

•

PERIOD5&6 READ 11 BOOKS THIS PAST WEEK.

Take a look at their book selfies (due by Tuesday’s class).

•

PERIOD 8&9 READ 13 BOOKS THIS PAST WEEK.

Take a look at their book selfies (due by Tuesday’s class).

Did you catch my

MrEtkinSHMS Instagram posts

this past week?

AUDIO BOOK

1.3.17 It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? WARCROSS by Marie Lu

Posted on January 3, 2018 by David E.

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading?

{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!

HUGE NEWS!!!

How did it happen?

How did the players react?

This syncs up three different scenes…

Watch this scene at the airport (from Facebook).

From the Buffalo e-library.

Remember we watched the trailer for this one?

From IndieBound

From #1 New York Times bestselling author Marie Lu–when a game called Warcross takes the world by storm, one girl hacks her way into its dangerous depths.

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.

If you are into gaming and virtual reality and digital worlds—all combined—then this is your book. I was entranced by the possibilities of this virtual world that Lu built.

Isn’t that a cool term? WORLD BUILDING. When authors imagine a futuristic fantasy land, they have to build the world for the readers to understand. This book takes place on Earth, but things are so different from what they are now. If LU doesn’t have a firm grasp on how the imagined future world works, then how can she explain it to us?

I like these books with strong female leads. It’s important to see that girls and women can be determined, intelligent, and powerful.