Although I am not on summer break just yet, summer reading has begun at my house! I've fulfilled reading requirements at work, so I'm free to choose what I'd like to read and I choose to read from the tall stack of books which has been taunting me for years! The first title I grabbed this past Memorial Day weekend was NOT an older title, but one I had been introduced to this past Fall as I noticed the Lifetime mini-series came and went without me having my hands on The Red Tent by Anita Diamant. Oh my. Let me just say that if you are a woman, you need to read this asap. There were moments when I just put the book down and went, "oh my". Aloud. With no one there to ask me about it. It's that good. This book tells the Biblical story of Jacob and his 4 wives, 12 sons and 1 daughter (who is usually forgotten) through the eyes of women. The author has written many Jewish books and I trust that she has done her Biblical and historical homework as she tells this story with vivid detail. Especially the significance the red tent played in this culture. I love the feminine descriptions. I love the feminine point of view. I love this book so much I put it away for safekeeping so that when my daughter leaves, she can take this book with her. Oh my...
The next book I grabbed is The Other Queen by Philippa Gregory. She tells a Tudor story like no other. I'm enjoying learning more about Mary, Queen of Scots and her time spent in England as Queen Elizabeth's "guest". I watch the CW series, Reign, set in France during the time of Queen Mary and Francis's marriage, but I never knew what happened afterward. Now, I'll be prepared for next season when Mary and Francis's year of marriage is about over. If you are the least bit interested in the Tudor Dynasty, pick up any of Gregory's books. You'll be entertained and educated.
Happy Reading!
RC
Although I had to cancel the May Book Breakfast due to other school-wide end-of-the-year activities, I know that by simply having this Gordon Korman title on the list was a benefit to my students because at one time this year, every single copy of this hilarious book was checked out. That's quite the accomplishment considering the classroom set of 30 sat in the book storage room for 8 years and was never touched. I was even able to overhear students recommending it to each other. And with good reason. No More Dead Dogs is the story of a football player who finds himself immersed in the drama club as he serves detention for not writing a positive book review for Old Shep, My Pal...his English teacher's favorite book. Not only does Wallace Wallace (yes, that's his name) spend a lot of time with the drama club practicing the play for Old Shep, My Pal, he finds himself making suggestions and eventually directing the play. This book offers students lots of laughs and as is typical of most Korman books, it's appropriate for both boys and girls. The format includes chapters told from various points of view. Many of my students seem to like that about books lately. I'd recommend this book to students who say they don't like to read. :)
Happy Reading!
RC
I'm 16 books behind in my blog...yes, that's right, 16. Sixteen. 6 + 10. There's no way I can adequately do any of them justice by blogging about them individually now, so I'll just list them and give reasons for reading them. It's so true that the quicker you reflect on a book, the easier it is. That's true with most reflection. I'll try to do so much better. But LIFE! It's so busy! :) I highly recommend ALL of these books btw...
Fairest by Marissa Meyer. Because it's the unexpected, but so gladly received book in The Lunar Chronicles. All of my questions about the villain were answered. I love that the author felt compelled to write and publish this without even her publishers knowing. It speaks volumes about the love and dedication authors have for their characters and their audience. I love this series and will probably try to read Cinder, Scarlet and Cress again before the last installment is released in the fall of this year. Now that I know the background, I'm ready for the conclusion and resolution to the many conflicts created by this amazing author. So in love with this series!
I read Izzy, Willy-nilly by Cynthia Voigt for the March Book Breakfast. I was surprised at how the author was able to manipulate my emotions by simply leaving the character in the hospital for months at a time. You see, Izzy makes a decision to get into a car with a friend who has been drinking and she experiences the consequence I so often warn my own children about...an accident in which she's hurt and physically changed forever. However, the friendship she makes while recuperating warmed my heart and gave me an opportunity to not only talk about the dangers of alcohol but also the definition of a "true friend". May we have them, may we be them.
This Spring, I created a unit entitled "Author Spotlight" and introduced my students to authors who write the books that make them better readers, more informed students and empathetic people. Christopher Paul Curtis, in my humble opinion, is one author who excels in all three areas. I'd love to meet him some day to tell him the story I had to humbly tell my students...I fake read Bud, Not Buddy in college as I was attempting to meet an impossible deadline. I never dreamed I'd need to stand in front of 650 students and answer questions about it. So I did what I knew I should... I admitted my mistake and read it for real. I wish I had read it "for real" many years ago. I missed the opportunity to introduce it to 8 years worth of students. This story is a literary gem! Set in Flint, Michigan (as are most, if not all of his books), we encounter a orphan who desperately wants to locate his father. The man he's only been clues about. So this book details his journey to find his musician father and Curtis leaves no stone unturned. (That's a reference to the story btw.) I enjoyed meeting with a small class who read this book recently and hearing one of my students say, "I don't like the ending...we don't know what happened to Bud!" That speaks volumes to a teacher. That a student who wouldn't have picked up this book on his own would want to know more about the main character... success.
April's Book Breakfast was a fun read and one that I was able to pass on to an entire team of students to read along with their reading teacher. Who Put that Hair in my Toothbrush is one of Jerry Spinelli's earliest titles. Based upon his own children's' sibling rivalry, Spinelli a tale of mischief and compassion with teenage issues so well that my middle school students not only enjoyed the read but were able to quickly pick up on the themes of forgiveness, family and friendship, which spans generations. I also liked the fact that my breakfast kiddos wanted to talk about the way one of the female characters was manipulated by one of the boys. That was a life lesson they picked up on rapidly. It made for a good text to self connection for many of the girls.
One of my reading teachers took my suggestion to read more Christopher Paul Curtis and read The Watsons Go to Birmingham, 1963 with her class. Since it had been a few years, I read it again and was able to have better discussion with them. This story of a family from Flint, Michigan who travels to Alabama one summer to deposit their teenage son into the hands of the wise grandmother for an eye-opening experience turns in to more than the parents expected. Birmingham in 1963 was ripe with riots and the historically accurate bombing described gave the teacher many opportunities to discuss our nation's history with her class. I supplemented her teaching experience with many picture books from the 300s... Freedom Walkers, MLK Jr. I Have a Dream, etc...
Jacqueline Woodson was also part of my Author Spotlight this spring. I'd enjoyed her book, Feathers and Brown Girl Dreaming, but had never read Miracle's Boys. I so appreciated her telling an authentic story about three brothers who are left to survive in this world alone after the death of their mother. Told from the point of view of the youngest, the oldest must sacrifice college to support his two brothers. The middle boy is quickly becoming delinquent and offers many challenges to his brothers. Woodson tells the story fluidly and with strong voice. Gave me chills to experience what it must feel like for so many of my students who live without the security of parents.
I wanted to read something unique by Gary Paulsen, another Author in the Spotlight, so I picked up his only book with a female lead character. Molly McGinty Has a Really Good Day is right up my ally. Full of sarcasm. Most of my students see this title in the Bluegrass section and shy from it because they don't understand the juxtaposition between the title and the cover art. But I do. I get sarcasm. And so I embarked on reading this in one sitting, which is easy to do since it's such a terrific read and short. Let's just say that Molly loses her precious binder and that starts her down a spiral of bad events that add up to one interesting day. This is one that made me laugh out loud. Paulsen is such a talented writer. He is efficient with word choice and doesn't hold anything back. I appreciate that so much. I always tell my students that reading Paulsen is a treat... it kinda sorta means you've made it.
I read Afternoon of the Elves by Janet Taylor Lisle simply because I wanted to. I'd seen it for nine years as I cleaned the collection, but couldn't remember ever checking it out to a student. Knowing that it's a Newbery Honor book, I knew it must have merit, so I picked it up and enjoyed the sweet tale of friendship set in a couple of backyards much like mine growing up. I lived with the stable family who had the manicured backyard. My neighbor lived with the family who had the wonderfully untamed backyard. We would most definitely have discovered elves living among her father's bee hives and farm equipment if we'd tried. However, this story is much more complex than most students probably understand. The themes of poverty and child welfare are two that I quickly picked up on mainly because of my job. Young readers may simply glaze over the fact that one of the characters is basically supporting herself and how that reflects what many students have to endure every day. The author was way before her time. Or, things haven't changed much in the years since this story was written.
Laurie Halse Anderson challenges readers in a way that most authors don't... she writes about the tough topics like eating disorders, post-traumatic stress disorder, rape, etc. She also writes some amazing historical fiction on topics that other authors don't cover like slavery during the American Revolution and the yellow fever epidemic in Philadelphia. I learned so much from reading Fever, 1793 about our nation's struggle to be born against not only political barriers but also disease. This is a book to teach American History with.
I joined the public library adult book club, which met for the first time in April. Their mission is to bring adults together so they may share what they're reading and swap authors/titles. Because I so rarely get a chance to read an adult novel, I made a point to visit the public library to check out something new in the adult section. See How Small by Scott Blackwood is a novel based upon a horrific murder of girls in an ice cream shop that took place in Texas some years ago. Not only do we get an intimate look at how such a tragedy can scar a small community, we get a glimpse from beyond the grave as the three teenage girls share what it's like to be missed as well. Intriguing. I had to read several paragraphs numerous times simply because my middle school teacher brain is not used to such challenging prose. It's quite the adventure. When it was over, I was left wanting more. Good? Bad? Not quite sure yet.
I read Crossover by Kwame Alexander because it was the Newbery Award Winner and because it showed up on the Kentucky Bluegrass Nominee List for next year. It's not my genre. But I loved it and read it in one sitting. It's written in verse, in rap, in staccato rhythm. It's the story of twin brothers who are beyond talented in basketball and who have a relationship with their father that in it self is a story worth telling. I give it to my middle school boys and they devour it and pass it on. Always returning it with a request for me to check it out to someone else or a comment about how much they enjoyed it. Success!
When a student says, " You HAAAAVVVEEE to read this!", I do. As soon as possible. One of my library aides recommended Liv, Forever by Amy Talkington and I have to admit it was a fun read! I enjoyed the private school setting, the teenage romance and the supernatural elements. I'll probably read the sequel when it comes out, simply because it's a light-hearted read. But don't get me wrong, the author does pack several important themes into the story. Ones that are worth mentioning here, but that I don't mention when I recommend the book. I prefer to withhold that information until the student returns the book. Bullying is a theme my students are used to hearing about. To them, it's nothing new. So I don't sell this as a "bullying" book. They probably wouldn't read it. So I just say, " You haaaavveeee to read this!" And I give them the look! :)
I picked up The Night Gardener by Jonathan Auxier because it showed up on the KBA nominee list for next year AND more importantly, so I could read along with a 7th grade English class. I have to honestly say that I was IMPRESSED with this author's craft. My students are going to love the fantasy, the goth, the mystery that is the mystical character, also known as the night gardener. Lovers of Grimm fairy tales, Legend of Sleepy Hollow, and books like The Graveyard Book and The Ghost of Graylock will love this book.
Middle school girls are flocking to April Henry books and so I decided to pick up the first in a series she's writing, called The Body in the Woods. I wanted to be able to read it and then discuss with my girls the fact that this kind of book fits in our "fun" category. It's not the highest quality of middle school literature and I don't think the author intends for it to be. It's exactly what my middle school girls are looking for and it just may be what they need to keep them life-long readers. I mean, when we as adults choose a book for pleasure, we don't pick up Shakespeare (or at least I don't). I pick a book that I know will be a page-turner and will keep me interested. This author does just that for my girls. I've not read anything in her adult section, but she has written several. Maybe this summer! This series focuses on three teenagers who volunteer for the search and rescue division of their police department. They do the dirty, grunt work. They get on their hands and knees at crime scenes and look diligently for anything that doesn't belong... human hair, candy wrappers, etc... When they find a body they weren't looking for, the murder mystery begins. If you like serial killer stories or shows like Criminal Minds, then this is for you!
On next year's Bluegrass nominee list is Curses and Smoke: a novel of Pompeii by Vicky Alvear Shecter. Typically, I like stories set in ancient civilizations so I knew I'd like this one. I was pleasantly surprised by the fact that this was a romance as well as historical fiction. When I grow up, I should write romance for middle school because there are so few appropriate titles!!! I have to say that I blushed several times imagining some of my students reading this due to the angst shown by several of the characters. Mentioned also is the homosexuality which was prevalent in ancient Rome and it's surrounding territories. Sexual preference is still a topic that is considered taboo in our county, so I will probably ask each reader to consider the time period in which the story is set. I am afraid, however, that I may have parents who challenge this book. In the meantime, I'll leave it on the shelf and judge by student opinion. I thought the story was well-written and teaches readers so much about a time period and a place they may know little about. It definitely supports 7th grade social studies content.
In the mid 90s, a mini-series came on television and I missed it. Since those were the days before DVR, I couldn't simply record it later. The show was based on The Buccaneers by Edith Wharton, an author who died before finishing her book. It's always intrigued me that another author would honor another by picking up their work and finishing it for them. What a tribute. So I find myself reading this story set in 1875, amidst the wealth of New York and London. It's very Downton Abbey and I love it! I'm taking my time and reading slow so I can savor it. I plan to watch the mini-series on YouTube once I'm finished. I've discovered it's available in 5 minute segments. lol
Whew! I meant to simply mention the reasons why I chose to read each one and I find that I have provided a lot more information that I intended.
Disclaimer: This blog is simply my method of responding to what I read and to create a list of titles so that one day I might be able to look back at everything I've written. Although I share my opinion about titles and authors, I in no way mean to sway readers in one direction or another. Reading is subjective and any author who can get a book published deserves all the respect they can get! It's just my privilege to read their material.
Happy Reading!
RC
