2.7.20 {BOOKflix Friday} TOWERS FALLING

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!


 


Dr. Jewell Parker Rhodes is an accomplished author who has written a few hits for readers your age in the past few years.

 

Today we’ll take a look at three of them.

Twelve-year-old Lanesha lives in a tight-knit community in New Orleans’ Ninth Ward. She doesn’t have a fancy house like her uptown family or lots of friends like other kids on her street. But what she does have is Mama Ya-Ya, her fiercely loving caretaker, wise in the ways of the world and able to predict the future. So when Mama Ya-Ya’s visions show a powerful hurricane–Katrina–fast approaching, it’s up to Lanesha to call upon the hope and strength Mama Ya-Ya has given her to help them both survive the storm.

Ninth Ward is a celebration of resilience, love, family, and friendship, and a deeply emotional story of transformation.

 

•••

9780316262224

 

When her fifth-grade teacher hints that a series of lessons about home and community will culminate with one big answer about two tall towers once visible outside their classroom window, Dèja can’t help but feel confused. She sets off on a journey of discovery, with new friends Ben and Sabeen by her side. But just as she gets closer to answering big questions about who she is, what America means, and how communities can grow (and heal), she uncovers new questions, too. Like, why does Pop get so angry when she brings up anything about the towers?

•••

I shared this book in the past on one of my IMWAYR? blog posts:

Description from IndieBound

 

A heartbreaking and powerful story about a black boy killed by a police officer, drawing connections through history, from award-winning author Jewell Parker Rhodes.

 
Only the living can make the world better. Live and make it better.
 
Twelve-year-old Jerome is shot by a police officer who mistakes his toy gun for a real threat. As a ghost, he observes the devastation that’s been unleashed on his family and community in the wake of what they see as an unjust and brutal killing.
Soon Jerome meets another ghost: Emmett Till, a boy from a very different time but similar circumstances. Emmett helps Jerome process what has happened, on a journey towards recognizing how historical racism may have led to the events that ended his life. Jerome also meets Sarah, the daughter of the police officer, who grapples with her father’s actions.
Once again Jewell Parker Rhodes deftly weaves historical and socio-political layers into a gripping and poignant story about how children and families face the complexities of today’s world, and how one boy grows to understand American blackness in the aftermath of his own death.
My Thoughts…
Wow— what a flood of emotions came rushing through me at various point of this story. This book was, as they say, “Ripped from the headlines”. There have been too many news stories in the past few years of men and boys of color who have been mistreated at the hands of white police officers. And yes—some are shot and killed.
It’s tragic.
On the first page of this book, Jerome is already shot and dead. That’s not giving anything away. The things he sees and the people he meets as a ghost gives him insights and experiences he wouldn’t otherwise have. I liked that he met up with the daughter of the policeman who shot him. Important lessons there.
It was especially fascinating hearing Emmett Till’s story. Yes— that Emmett. Don’t know what he’s all about?
emmett-till-507515-1-402

Who Was Emmett Till?

Emmett Till was born in 1941 in Chicago and grew up in a middle-class black neighborhood. Till was visiting relatives in Money, Mississippi, in 1955 when the fourteen-year-old was accused of whistling at Carolyn Bryant, a white woman who was a cashier at a grocery store. 

Four days later, Bryant’s husband Roy and his half-brother J.W. Milam kidnapped Till, beat him and shot him in the head. The men were tried for murder, but an all-white, male jury acquitted them. 

I recommend this book to all readers. It is fantasy… but it’s also realistic and modern day and historical. Quite a combination.

 

•••

 

1.17.20 {BOOKflix Friday} ORIGAMI YODA SERIES and EL DEAFO

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!


9781419715174

Dwight, a loser, talks to his classmates via an origami finger puppet of Yoda. If that weren’t strange enough, the puppet is uncannily wise and prescient. Origami Yoda predicts the date of a pop quiz, guesses who stole the classroom Shakespeare bust, and saves a classmate from popularity-crushing embarrassment with some well-timed advice. Dwight’s classmate Tommy wonders how Yoda can be so smart when Dwight himself is so clueless. With contributions from his puzzled classmates, Tommy assembles this first case file in the blockbuster bestselling Origami Yoda series, written by Tom Angleberger.

 

The series continues:

ABR_20141027_0106-1024x683

 

 

img_7186

When Mr. A visited Buffalo, we went out for wings. YUM!

He also drew me some fun pictures after we ate:

img_3895

img_3896

img_3897

img_3898

 

We got to talk about all kinds of things, including his wife’s Newbery Honor book,

9781419712173

 

From BN:

Going to school and making new friends can be tough. But going to school and making new friends while wearing a bulky hearing aid strapped to your chest? That requires superpowers! In this funny, poignant graphic novel memoir, author/illustrator Cece Bell chronicles her hearing loss at a young age and her subsequent experiences with the Phonic Ear, a very powerful—and very awkward—hearing aid.
The Phonic Ear gives Cece the ability to hear—sometimes things she shouldn’t—but also isolates her from her classmates. She really just wants to fit in and find a true friend, someone who appreciates her as she is. After some trouble, she is finally able to harness the power of the Phonic Ear and become “El Deafo, Listener for All.” And more importantly, declare a place for herself in the world and find the friend she’s longed for.

 


2.8.19 {BOOKflix Friday} ORIGAMI YODA and TOWERS FALLING

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!


9781419715174

Dwight, a loser, talks to his classmates via an origami finger puppet of Yoda. If that weren’t strange enough, the puppet is uncannily wise and prescient. Origami Yoda predicts the date of a pop quiz, guesses who stole the classroom Shakespeare bust, and saves a classmate from popularity-crushing embarrassment with some well-timed advice. Dwight’s classmate Tommy wonders how Yoda can be so smart when Dwight himself is so clueless. With contributions from his puzzled classmates, Tommy assembles this first case file in the blockbuster bestselling Origami Yoda series, written by Tom Angleberger.

 

The series continues:

ABR_20141027_0106-1024x683

 

 

 

img_7186

When Mr. A visited Buffalo, we went out for wings. YUM!

We got to talk about all kinds of things, including his wife’s Newbery Honor book,

9781419712173

He also drew me some fun pictures:

img_3895

img_3896

img_3897

img_3898

 


Before Jewell Parker Rhodes wrote

9780316262286

she wrote

 

9780316262224

 

When her fifth-grade teacher hints that a series of lessons about home and community will culminate with one big answer about two tall towers once visible outside their classroom window, Dèja can’t help but feel confused. She sets off on a journey of discovery, with new friends Ben and Sabeen by her side. But just as she gets closer to answering big questions about who she is, what America means, and how communities can grow (and heal), she uncovers new questions, too. Like, why does Pop get so angry when she brings up anything about the towers?

6.7.18 The FINAL BOOKflix Friday of 2017-18

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!


#1

THE SELECTION

For thirty-five girls, the Selection is the chance of a lifetime. The opportunity to escape the life laid out for them since birth. To be swept up in a world of glittering gowns and priceless jewels. To live in the palace and compete for the heart of the gorgeous Prince Maxon.

But for America Singer, being Selected is a nightmare. It means turning her back on her secret love with Aspen, who is a caste below her. Then America meets Prince Maxon. Gradually, she starts to question all the plans she’s made for herself—and realizes that the life she’s always dreamed of may not compare to a future she never imagined.

#3

 


 


 


10.18.18 {BOOKflix Friday} Eve&Adam, Matched

Today is

Get your popcorn ready…


 

20120901-053733.jpg

Husband and wife superstars have teamed up again, this time to bring us a tale of adolescent bio-engineering. Hmmmm… what could go wrong?

20120901-053155.jpg

Michael Grant and Katherine Applegate are husband and wife authors. You are most familiar with Applegate from her Newbery-winning The One and Only Ivan. I best know Michael Grant from his Gone series, but he has written tons of others, including the recent BZRK and Magnificent 12. Together they are responsible for the Animorphs series.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


 

 

 


20120920-174715.jpg

 

[Click the book to read a Kindle preview.]

Description
Cassia has always trusted the Society to make the right choices for her: what to read, what to watch, what to believe. So when Xander’s face appears on-screen at her Matching ceremony, Cassia knows he is her ideal mate . . . until she sees Ky Markham’s face flash for an instant before the screen fades to black. The Society tells her it’s a glitch, a rare malfunction, and that she should focus on the happy life she’s destined to lead with Xander. But Cassia can’t stop thinking about Ky, and as they slowly fall in love, Cassia begins to doubt the Society’s infallibility and is faced with an impossible choice: between Xander and Ky, between the only life she’s known and a path that no one else has dared to follow.

 

YEP! This is a trilogy. Don’t forget the next two books:

 

5.11.18 {BOOKflix Friday} April Henry books….

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!


 Meet author April Henry:

screen-shot-2017-02-17-at-6-43-32-am

If you like thrillers and suspense, this is for you.

But only if you can handle it.

About the book
Sixteen-year-old Cheyenne Wilder is asleep in the back of her mom’s car when it’s stolen from the pharmacy parking lot. Cheyenne is not only sick with pneumonia—she’s also blind. Griffin, the teenager who was stealing packages out of parked cars, hadn’t meant to kidnap her; he just impulsively stole the car with her in it. But once Griffin’s dad finds out that Cheyenne’s father is the president of Nike, everything changes—now there’s a reason to keep her. Will Cheyenne be able to survive this harrowing ordeal and escape? And if so, at what price?

•••

And now…

OVERVIEW

“Take her out back and finish her off.”

She doesn’t know who she is. She doesn’t know where she is, or why. All she knows when she comes to in a ransacked cabin is that there are two men arguing over whether or not to kill her.

And that she must run.

In her riveting style, April Henry crafts a nail-biting thriller involving murder, identity theft, and biological warfare. Follow Cady and Ty (her accidental savior turned companion), as they race against the clock to stay alive, in The Girl Who Was Supposed to Die.

•••

Picture

Book 1 in the Last Seen series.

About the book
Alexis, Nick, and Ruby have very different backgrounds: Alexis has spent her life covering for her mom’s mental illness, Nick’s bravado hides his fear of not being good enough, and Ruby just wants to pursue her eccentric interests in a world that doesn’t understand her. When the three teens join Portland County Sheriff’s Search and Rescue, they are teamed up to search for a autistic man lost in the woods. What they find instead is a dead body. In a friendship that will be forged in danger, fear and courage, the three team up to find the girl’s killer—before he can strike one of their own.  

Awesome pics and writeup on the author’s site. Don’t miss it.

Book 2

 

•••

{7466c587-eead-4cfb-9ee6-6491a0fc94b9}img100

•••

Sometimes authors have to make serious decisions about their books:

 

•••

The movie trailer:

4.30.18 It’s Monday! What are you Reading?

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!


Lots of Bills draft coverage…

 

WHAT ABOUT YOU?

PERIOD5&6 READ 18 BOOKS THIS PAST WEEK.

BOOKselfies are due Wednesday this week.
STUFFED ANIMAL THEME!
Tap on the class periods above to get to the BOOKselfies.

Did you catch my
this past week?

• • •
audio-books

AUDIO BOOK

Screen Shot 2013-01-15 at 9.39.48 PM
Screen Shot 2017-03-06 at 3.13.51 PM

4.27.18 {BOOKflix Friday} RULE OF THREE series; 7th GRADE LIFE…

Get the popcorn ready.

Lights…Camera…Action!



From this morning’s announcements:

One shocking afternoon, computers around the globe shut down in a viral catastrophe. At sixteen-year-old Adam Daley’s high school, the problem first seems to be a typical electrical outage, until students discover that cell phones are down, municipal utilities are failing, and a few computer-free cars like Adam’s are the only vehicles that function. Driving home, Adam encounters a storm tide of anger and fear as the region becomes paralyzed. Soon—as resources dwindle, crises mount, and chaos descends—he will see his suburban neighborhood band together for protection. And Adam will understand that having a police captain for a mother and a retired government spy living next door are not just the facts of his life but the keys to his survival, in The Rule of Three by Eric Walters.

If you like this book, you’ll want to read the next two:

 


All Dillon wants is to be a real dancer. And if he wins a summer scholarship at Dance-Splosion, he’s on his way. The problem? His dad wants him to play football. And Dillon’s freestyle crew, the Dizzee Freekz, says that dance studios are for sellouts. His friends want Dillon to kill it at the audition—so he can turn around and tell the studio just how wrong their rules and creativity-strangling ways are.

WORK IT.

At first, Dillon’s willing to go along with his crew’s plan, even convincing one of the snobbiest girls at school to work with him on his technique. But as Dillon’s dancing improves, he wonders: what if studios aren’t the enemy? And what if he actually has a shot at winning the scholarship?

BRING IT.

Dillon’s life is about to get crazy . . . on and off the dance floor.

 

 

 

 

 

4.20.18 {BOOKflix Friday} Michael Vey series

Today is

Get the popcorn ready.

Lights…Camera…Action!


#1

The Prisoner of Cell 25 (Michael Vey Series #1)

The start of an action-packed teen series from #1 New York Times bestselling author Richard Paul Evans.

To everyone at Meridian High School, fourteen-year-old Michael Vey is nothing special, just the kid who has Tourette’s syndrome. But in truth, Michael is extremely special—he has electric powers. Michael thinks he is unique until he discovers that a cheerleader named Taylor has the same mysterious powers. With the help of Michael’s friend, Ostin, the three of them set out to discover how Michael and Taylor ended up with their abilities, and their investigation soon brings them to the attention of a powerful group who wants to control the electric teens—and through them, the world.

#2

Rise of the Elgen (Michael Vey Series #2)

#3

Battle of the Ampere (Michael Vey Series #3)

#4

#5

#6

 

#7

Are you interested now?