A Wrinkle in Time...again

Reading A Wrinkle in Time for the second time is just as enjoyable an experience as it was for me the first time around.  No, it's more enjoyable.  I'll admit it.  I'm not rushing through to complete an annotated bibliography card for LME 490.  :)  I'm finding it FUN to read Mrs. Which's voice aloud.  With dramatic flair.  Ha!  And yes, I'm at home.  Reading alone.  That's why I can.  Couldn't do that confidently the first time around in the WKU Library.  

With that being said, I have reconsidered some of my teaching methods from the past.  Wondering how we lose readers in late elementary/early middle school?  My husband admitted to enjoying reading in elementary until he was "forced" to go to the library and "forced" to read books he didn't like.  Hmmmm.....we know the middle school student is comparable to a butterfly in the cocoon (deep thoughts, yes), spending intense time alone contemplating WHAT they like/dislike, considering who they want to be, WHO they like/dislike, discovering their strengths/weaknesses.  It's all about THEM.  For a moment, I reconsidered how I introduce books to them.  Showing them what's "good for them".  And wondering if I should back off the "meat and potatoes" campaign and just let them read what they like.  

Then I snapped out of it.  NO.  That's playing to their preferences.  I can guarantee that NONE of my students would pick up a copy of A Wrinkle in Time if given the choice.  I mean, seriously look at the cover.  It's mostly pink and lilac, so that's the first turnoff for boys.  Secondly, Mrs. Whatsit is the second warning that this might not be a fun book for those who don't like reading about "creatures".  If given the CHOICE, my students would walk right by the best science fiction book ever written.  I say that with authority.  I say that from experience.  I have read a lot of science fiction.  Haven't found anything that stands up to L'Engle's Newbery Award Winning novel.  Nothing.  It's one of those books that you never forget reading.  Now, I admittedly forget details.  That's my weakness.  I even forget character names most of the time.  But I never forget the story arc.  The themes.  The way the book made me feel when I finished the last page.  Tears I might have shed.  Laughs I might have had.  

I want my students to have these experiences.  That's why I strongly encouraged one of my reading buddies at work to read this book with some of her students.  They're reading Michael Vey:  Prisoner of Cell 25 by Richard Paul Evans and they will love that book.  It will be fun for them.  Something they think is cool.  But I wanted them to be able to compare it with quality.  They'll be pleasantly surprised.  I can't wait to hear their comments.  

And that's why I'm reading it again.  So that I can talk with them about the characters.  The plot.  The themes.  The adventure that Meg, Charles Wallace and Calvin embark on.  So that we can enjoy the book together.  I can't wait!

Happy Reading!
RC

Mockingbird...and some rambling

I ask students to trust me and their reading teachers to make spot-on book recommendations.  We are NEVER wrong!  We KNOW great books. We have an OUTSTANDING record.  So when a student recommends a book to me, I try to seriously consider it.  Especially when it's a book that several students recommend.  I've said it before, but it's worth saying again... a huge part of my job is advertisement.  Selling a book to kids.  Trying to attract the reluctant reader. Getting them attracted to a book and then hooking them.  Fishing, perhaps?  I've always been good at fishing.  Never thought about it like that.  Hmmm...let me take a second to contemplate that metaphor........... bait, catch, patience, "teach a man to fish", etc...

Okay.  Done.  I don't often get to read the most popular books in our library.  I read the books with rotten covers.  The books that haven't received a multi-million dollar pr campaign.  Then I booktalk them to kids.  I ALWAYS have a few students who are interested in reading them at that point.  I try to get at least one of them hooked on it so they can "sell" it to their friends.  Oh, wait.  That makes me sound like a drug dealer.  Um... let's talk about fishing again.  

Starting over!  Hopefully, by now, you get the picture.  I booktalk books that kids don't read.  I'm attempting to meet core content standards, but honestly I'm trying to broaden their reading experience.  Get them to try new genres.  Most kids have trouble finding the "just right" book and genre.  And then once they do, they stay with it.  It's comfortable.  And we let them do that for a while, but it's not healthy to only read one type of book all the time.  I use the candy bar analogy.  It's a yummy experience, but eating candy bars for breakfast, lunch and supper will make us sick.  Won't help us like a good balanced diet.  So we have "meat and potatoes" books and we have "candy bar" books and we're attempting to introduce them all to the students.  And by "we", I mean the reading teachers and I.   I read the "meat and potatoes" books.  Then I booktalk them.  Then I usually have to create a reserve list for them.  That's when I know I've been successful. 

Back to the point... again.  I read Mockingbird this week because once again a student emphatically suggested it.  Out of sheer curiosity, I read it.  I admit it was worthy of the National Book Award.  I admit it was enlightening.  Different.  I understand why my girls like it.  The main character lives with Asperger's Syndrome, is struggling to accept the death of her mother and most recently, her brother who was tragically killed in a school shooting.  She and her father navigate this world alone.  The community is very compassionate, but she doesn't see the world like those around her and is confused by the attention.  As a teacher, I was intrigued at how literal students with Asperger's see the world.  As I look back, I can understand how I might have sounded very confusing to the students I have taught.  As a parent, I can't imagine the difficulty her father endures as he tries to grieve his son's death while simultaneously dealing with his daughter's inability to grieve.  Empathy is her biggest barrier in this book.  With the help of a school counselor, she learns to make friends and to empathize.  It's a beautifully simple story.  Very timely.  Inspired by the Virginia Tech Shooting.  I understand it's place in the literary world.  And most recently, I read an article about how "readers" have the ability to empathize easier with others because they are taught that through the adventures/misadventures of the characters they read about.  They are able to apply that skill to real life.  Cool, huh?!  I thought so!

I will recommend this book to my students who enjoy reading Rules, Anything But Typical, Al Capone Does My Shirts, etc...  Any book that includes a character who struggles with Autism or Asperger's.  But the older I get, the less I understand why middle school students gravitate to the difficult characters.  The issues.  The stories that make my heart burn.  Perhaps they're struggling with the concept of empathy?  As a middle schooler, I remember being intrigued by Agatha Christie and V.C. Andrews.  Have times changed that much?  I guess they have.  

I will continue to fish for readers.  To bait them with the difficult stories.  To read the "boring" books, or at least those that don't look "good".  :)  And I will continue to make readers for life. And I will continue to take recommendations from students.  That's what I'm teaching them to do.  To share the stories.  That's my job.

Happy Reading!  
RC

Light

Fall Break reading has never been so fun!  I enjoyed the last book in Michael Grant's Gone Series, Light, so much!  What a wacky way to start the week!  Mutant whip hands, lizard girls, talking coyotes...

Unfortunately,  I will have to keep this one in the restricted collection.  You see, it's the final book in the 6 book series and these teenagers have been stuck inside a barrier for nearly a year...some of them were bound to think like adults eventually.  I don't blame the author for including some mature content; in fact, I think it's appropriate for the plot.  I just wish he hadn't been so graphic in the telling. 

If you've never heard of this series, you should invest some time and at least Google it.  It's pure science fiction for young adults.  Creative.  Ahead of it's time.  Very Stephen King-like.  In fact, King's reviews of this series are fabulous.  I'm wondering if he was inspired to write The Dome after reading the first book?  Who knows?  Who cares?  Middle school kiddos love this series and I'm happy to say I've read them all.  Got a kid who wants to read Stephen King?  Give him this series.

But if you're worried about the mature content, just imagine what teenagers would do if there were no adults.  No rules.  No boundaries.  No help.  Wouldn't they begin to act like adults?  With that much responsibility, they'd begin to take on some of the privileges as well...whether they were physically old enough to or not.  Makes me wonder about the actions and attitudes of some of my students who I KNOW have to make adult decisions at home.  Where will the food come from?  How will I get to school?  No wonder they take on adult attitudes when we correct them.  I probably would too.  How to avoid it?  Well, there's probably no way to...unless you want a meteorite hitting a nuclear power plant and mixing with human DNA to eventually mutate humans in the vicinity and for an autistic 4 year-old to create an impenetrable barrier around your town.  Um...no.  Let's just let adults act like adults and let kids be kids and pray.  :)


Happy Fall Break Reading!
RC

The Last Dog on Earth

I have listened for years as my students encourage me to read The Last Dog on Earth by Daniel Ehrenhaft.  I simply haven't had time and honestly, it's not a book I needed to read because they were already crazy about it!  My job is to find the next favorite read!  To read the books they don't find attractive.

But this school year has brought with it many more opportunities to have small book breakfasts with students during school and they are wildly successful.  I decided to hold one book breakfast each month, with the exception of October and February, which are Book Frenzy months.  Since I knew several students had already read this book, I decided that this title would be our November read.  

And no surprise... I loved it.  It's the perfect read for boys.  Especially boys who don't fit in.  Who bully.  Who feel like they're destined for nothing.  ALC.  Juvie.  Jail?  Yes.  The main character is tragically flawed.  Tortured.  He's not happy, to say the least.  Does poorly in school.  Has a stepfather he'd rather smack than talk to.  Doesn't respect his mother.  Has no clue why his father abandoned him.  He has no hope, really.  Sad.  I've taught kids like him.  Teaching some right now.  I'd love to introduce them to him.  To show them that although this is a science fiction tale about a virus that spreads throughout the Pacific Northwest dog population and threatens human existence, it's more about a young man who finds himself.  His father.  His purpose in life.  He learns what it means to care about others and about himself.  

And it's a short read.  Finished it in two days.

If you have a young man you'd like to be able to reach without saying much to him...because they often ignore us (they've heard it all before)...then introduce them to this book.  Believe me, they'll get it.  If they'll just read it.  

Kudos to this author for writing the difficult story.  The real story.  It's what our middle schoolers embrace.  Love.
 
Looking forward to this book breakfast!
Happy Reading!
RC

Gameboard of the Gods

Earlier this past summer, I was so excited to read the review for Gameboard of the Gods by Richelle Mead in Entertainment Weekly magazine.  Although I'd never read anything by her before, it sounded like a book my 7th and 8th grade girls would absolutely love. I knew several of them were fans of her Vampire Academy series, so I felt confident in this purchase.  I was wrong.  Sadly, there's too much mature content for even our restricted collection.  I do have, however, a few adult readers at school that may enjoy this story and so have passed it on to one of them instead.  I am disappointed that I couldn't introduced my readers to a new series.  Wow.  What makes an author feel the need to incorporate such mature content into a young adult read?  After having worked with middle school students for over 17 years, I can tell you that the shock of mature language is nothing but a distraction for them.  We've taught them to read over them and to replace those naughty words with appropriate words.  And as for the sexual content?  Well, let's just say that not all middle school students are sexually active nor sexually curious, so you're wasting your time.  We've taught them to skip those parts as well.  And we've also taught them that an author who relies upon language or sex to sell their books isn't an author to value.  I'm not directly attacking Mead, but I am speaking from experience.  I would gladly tell young adult authors to save their time and talents trying to shock this generation.  They've seen it all and heard it all.  And for those students who haven't?  We steer them away from your books.  

Normally, I would never bash a book.  As an adult reader, I can see the value in this story.  I just wish she'd taken the high road, like Stephenie Meyer, and understood that her fans will read anything she publishes.  And as you can tell from the cover, fans of Vampire Academy were the targeted audience.

Such a shame.
Keep Reading folks!  And don't be surprised when an author disappoints.
RC