It's Monday! What are you reading?

I have failed in my mission to read all twenty of our Bluebonnet Award Nominees by the time the students return to school.  I only have two left, but one is Echo by Pam Munoz Ryan, and with another 300 pages to go and back-to-school prep work still to do, I will have to allow myself more time to finish.

On a brighter note, I finished Circus Mirandus by Cassie Beasley, the book I glowingly reviewed in my last post.  The ending was just as satisfying as the story; I love it when I can close a book, hold it in my hands for a moment and just enjoy the happiness that comes with a heartwarming conclusion.  I won't say any more, except that you need to get your hands on a copy soon.

I also read Ratscalibur: Chronicles of the Low Realm by Josh Lieb.

If you look closely at the cover, you will see a rat holding up a spork.  Ratscalibur... Excalibur... readers of Arthurian legend get the connection.  Joey is an unhappy boy, dragged from his familiar home to the city due to his mother's job.  A common theme, except that Joey gets bitten by a rat--and becomes a rat himself.  What follows is a tale of knights with tails, cats and crows with claws, and a kingdom in need of a hero.  Short chapters make this an easy read-aloud for a classroom teacher, or a good bedtime story to last over a week or two.

Our students return on Tuesday! I'm looking forward to hearing about their summer break and all the books they've read.  What books will you be sharing with your friends, colleagues, and students this week?

It's Monday! What are you reading?

I went back to work last Monday...and back to my school-year reading pace, which is that of a turtle.  Something about spending a lot of time reading on the computer--emails, financial statements, documents--eats into my reading stamina.  I will be working on that over the next few weeks, figuring out how to keep up my summertime reading pace for the rest of the year.

I didn't finish a book last week, but I did make headway on another Bluebonnet nominee--Circus Mirandus, by Cassie Beasley.

I love the byline on the back cover:  "You have to believe it to see it."  There are themes of wonder and faith in this story, the premise that to live fully, there must be some willingness to let go of what you believe to be true in order to experience magic.  It's the difference you experience when you go to the movies; you can spend your time trying to figure out how they did every special effect, looking for mistakes in the filmmaking, or just sit back and suspend your disbelief to enjoy the show.  For two hours, you are in another galaxy far, far away...Or in this case, you have stumbled onto a magical circus that appears out of nowhere, and can only be seen by those who believe in its existence.  

I had the pleasure of meeting Cassie Beasley at the "Speed Dating the Bluebonnets" session of our Texas Library Association conference this spring.  She was so excited about the success of Circus Mirandus, her debut novel.  She talked about her penchant for fantasy, and how Chintzy, the parrot in her book, is based on her own parrot, who will say inappropriate things (like "liver!") during Skype visits.  Ms. Beasley lives with her sister, also a writer but who prefers realistic fiction; her recent book is Gertie's Leap to Greatness.

It's Monday, and I'm planning on finishing Circus Mirandus by Wednesday!  What's your reading plan this week?

It's Monday! What are you reading?

Slow reader that I am (and scanner--working on four books at once), I completed only one book this week:

The Fog Diver, by Joel Ross, is an adventure set in a steampunk future of our planet.  Earth has been overtaken by a fog made of nanites--microscopic robots--run amok after they were programmed to rid the Earth of pollution.  No one can survive exposure to the Fog without getting sick--except for Chess, who was born in the Fog and bears its mark in his eye.  He was rescued by Mrs. E., who takes in other children in dire situations and teaches them skills to survive in the slums.

Ross has created a futuristic world where people are ranked by where they live.  The richest reside on the Rooftop mountain high above the Fog, while the slums are mere platforms, floating just above the mist, held aloft by balloons and ruled by slumlords.  There is a place of hope, though; Port Oro, another mountain community founded by those who are against the power-hungry Rooftop Lord Kodoc.  

Mrs. E. has become Fogsick, and her crew is desperate to save her.  Port Oro may hold the cure--but how are a bunch of raggedy slum kids going to get her there?

No spoilers...but I'm already adding the sequel to my fall shopping list for the library.

It's Monday, and I'm back to work today!  Hoping to finish the last four Bluebonnet Nominee books before the students return in a few weeks.  What's in your reading pile?

It's Monday! What are you reading?

Oh, these harried last days of summer break!  I am feeling the time crunch as I look at my summer to-read pile.  In an act of desperation, I've been reading four books at once, hopping from one to another as I feel the need to take a break from what is currently in my hands.

Two books I have finished, both Bluebonnet Award nominees:  

The Terrible Two, by Mac Barnett and Jory John, illustrated by Kevin Cornell.  I approached this book with some reservations, thinking it might be a repeated plot of another Bluebonnet nominee from years past--but I was wrong.  (I'll get to that later). "The Terrible Two" refers to Miles, the new kid in town and known prankster at his former school, and Niles, the school helper/ known "kiss-up" to the anxiety-driven principal.  I don't want to give too much away, because I loved the twists and turns in this book.  It was a fast-paced, short read.  The wacky antics of the principal and jokes about cows made me laugh out loud.  The subplot of finding a true friend in middle school while forming one's individual identity is a classic theme.

That other book I mentioned?  Pickle:  The (Formerly) Anonymous Prank Club of Fountain Point Middle School by Kim Baker would be a great book pairing to discuss two different takes on the same subject of school pranks.

My second book of the week is Woof:  A Bowser and Birdie Novel, by Spencer Quinn.  To be honest, I've never been a "dog book" lover, having been emotionally scarred by Where the Red Fern Grows and Old Yeller as a child.   The last few "dog books" from our Bluebonnet Committee have changed my views (mainly because the dog is alive and happy at the end of the novels).  

Woof  is a mystery, narrated by Birdie's recently adopted stray, Bowser.  Birdie lives with her grandmother in a small town in Louisiana.  Her father is deceased, and her mother is working on an oil rig off the coast of Africa. Bowser becomes Birdie's confidante and supporter as she tries to solve the mystery of her grandfather's stolen prize marlin. Serious and sometimes dangerous events in the story are punctuated with scattered and optimistic thoughts from Bowser, who is a great judge of character and completely dedicated to his new owner.  Knowing that Bowser was there to save the day made the "scary parts" less so.  I'm looking forward to the next installment in the series; I can anticipate students requesting them right away!

Getting back to my reading pile this afternoon.  What have you read this week?

It's Monday! What are you reading?

We had a lot going on in our house last week, helping our daughter prepare for her first post-college job...which just happens to be in Japan.  There was a lot of last-minute shopping and packing and repacking and memory-making, so I only have three books to report on this week:

Crenshaw, by Katherine Applegate, is a story to tug at your heart with every page turned.  Jackson, the ten-year-old narrator, is facing homelessness once again.  His parents do their best to keep a roof over their heads; mom takes on several part-time jobs, and his dad does what he can in between bouts of MS. Unfortunately, even a yard sale of all but the bare necessities can't keep the eviction notice away.

Crenshaw, Jackson's imaginary friend who arrived the first time they lost their home, shows up yet again--this time bigger, and wiser.  He also happens to be a cat--one that Jackson's real-life dog, Aretha, seems to be able to sense as well.  Crenshaw helps Jackson navigate the wide range of feelings that come with his family's struggles, including anger at his parents for not providing a roof over their heads.  

I envision this story being read as an introduction to a project-based learning event on homelessness in our own community.  For students who only think of the homeless as stoplight panhandlers, it brings the plight of homeless families to light.

********

For my personal reading, I finished The Inventor's Secret by Andrea Cremer; I thoroughly enjoyed it!  (See my last post for more details.)  Recommended for upper middle school and up-- it does have a romantic subplot that might make younger readers uncomfortable.  I found it interesting that the main female characters in this story are on equal footing with the boys/ young men, since the scene is set in post-Revolutionary War times.

I also finished Rob Bell's Velvet Elvis.  This pastor of Mars Hill church has a fresh take on Christianity, stripping away the dogma and doctrines to get down to the main business of the religion--to bring heaven to earth, through service and love and inclusion.  This is the second book I've read of Bell's; the first was Love Wins, recommended by a friend who happens to be a Lutheran pastor herself.  Both books are short--only 200 pages or so--but filled with so much to think about that I could only absorb a few pages at a time.

I'm diving into some more Bluebonnet Award nominees this week, as well as some professional and personal reading.  What are you reading during these last few weeks of summer break?  

It's Monday! What are you reading?

My official start day for the school year is August 8th, but I only have seventeen work-free days until then due to professional development meetings and workshops.  I still have eight Bluebonnet Award Nominees to read; yikes!

This past week, I picked up The Chicken Squad:  The First Misadventure by Doreen Cronin (of Click, Clack, Moo fame).  It was a very fast read, even for this slow reader.  The premise is fun and silly--four chicks who like adventure and mystery, overseen by the family dog who attempts to keep them out of trouble.  In this first book of a series, the chicks--Dirt, Sweetie, Poppy, and Sugar--are approached by a freaked-out squirrel to find out what the green floating saucer is doing in their yard.  Because this book is so short, it would be a great intro to writing from another perspective as well as breaking the fourth wall, since JJ the dog addresses the reader directly.  Lots of illustrations, larger type, and short chapters make this a great bridge book for beginning or reluctant readers.

Space Case by Stuart Gibbs had me in my first book coma of the summer!  Each chapter of this science fiction novel left me wanting more.  The story is told from the perspective of Dash, a twelve-year-old boy stationed with his scientist parents, little sister and several other scientist families and workers on the first-ever moon base. Moon living isn't all it's cracked up to be, and gets even more interesting when one of the scientists dies under mysterious circumstances. Dash is convinced it wasn't an accident, but the adults aren't so sure.  An interesting cast of characters keeps readers guessing until the surprising conclusion, opening the door for the next book in the series.

Gibbs intersperses pages from a fictional NASA manual for moon living with corresponding events and details in the story; their juxtaposition makes for a ready lesson on persuasion and propaganda, as the hype doesn't always measure up to the reality.  I got to meet Stuart Gibbs at our state library conference in April, and his friendship with a real-life astronaut has given him access to information that makes living on the moon a believable possibility. 

I am reading a book JUST for me this week:  The Inventor's Secret, a steampunk novel by Andrea Cremer.  I don't think I've read steampunk since the required reading for my master's degree of Leviathan by Scott Westerfield; I'd forgotten how much I enjoy this genre.  Cremer's series is set in an America which lost the Revolutionary War and is still under Britain's rule.  Sixteen-year-old Charlotte and her older brother Ashley are living in the Catacombs, a secret hideout for children of Resistance fighters battling Britain's Imperial Empire.  The children support the Resistance by scavenging for metal parts to be used in weaponry and war machines; the older children, like Charlotte and Ash, take on riskier roles of espionage and rallying support for the cause.  I'm enjoying this just-for-fun novel!

On deck for this week:  Crenshaw by Katherine Applegate, The Terrible Two by Mac Barnett and Jory John, and continuing with Echo by Pam Munoz Ryan.  I'm still making my way through Drapeau's Sparking Student Creativity--a work assignment--and Bell's Velvet Elvis, a personal choice.  

It's Monday!  What are you reading during these steamy days of summer? 

It's Monday! What are you reading?

After taking a week off for the holiday (and taking a break from reading, to be truthful!), I'm back at chipping away my to-read pile.

This week, I finished:

Nightmares!  by Jason Segel and Kirsten Miller is a creepy-yet-sweet story of a tween boy coming to terms with his mother's death, his father's remarriage, moving into the town's creepiest house, and dreams that are becoming scarier and more real each night.  The nightmares begin to fill him with the "darkness", affecting his relationships with his father, little brother, and best friends; he doesn't want a relationship with his "stepmonster".  Is his stepmother really a witch from the Netherworld?  Charlie and his friends face their fears in this supernatural story that has a satisfying ending.

There was a lot of buzz about A Fine Dessert by Emily Jenkins, illustrated by Sophie Blackall.  You can read about the author's statement here, and the Texas Library Association's statement here.  Aside from the controversy, I found it to be a fascinating look at how food gathering, preparation, storage, and service has changed during the past four centuries.  This book would be a great jumpstart for projects on how any common recipe/ item/ process has changed over the years.  I would be sure to read the author's notes, and discuss the points made in the linked articles regarding the incomplete/ inaccurate depiction of slavery with students when doing a book talk.

I was immediately drawn in by the gorgeous illustrations in Hiawatha and the Peacemaker by Robbie Robertson, illustrated by David Shannon (yes, of No, David! fame).  Then the story grabbed me as well.  Robertson's retelling of an Iroquois tale that describes how the Five Nations stopped warring and became one is a powerful testament to peace.  I found several details that mirrored those in other major religions (i.e. Hiawatha forgiving the evil Tadodaho, the Peacemaker driving the snakes out of Tadodaho and climbing a tree that could lead to his death, but reappearing the next morning).  As with the previous book, the author's notes are worth sharing, especially Robertson's memories of visiting a longhouse with his own Native American relatives.


Roller Girl, a graphic novel by Victoria Jamieson, is a coming-of-age story.  Two elementary school friends discover their differences may be driving them apart as middle school approaches.  Astrid, the main character, decides that roller derby is her new passion, while her friend Nicole is pursuing ballet--and boys, an interest Astrid doesn't share.  The lengths Astrid will go to in becoming a roller derby skater are exasperating, commendable and touching, as we watch her lie to her mother, fume at her own incompetence yet persevere, and wilt in the face of a dying friendship.  There is growth in the struggle that tweens will be able to relate to,  and maybe learn from Astrid's mistakes. 

What's next?  Personal reading:  Velvet Elvis by Rob Bell.  Professional reading:  Sparking Student Creativity by Patti Drapeau.  Children's lit:  Space Case by Stuart Gibbs.

What is in your reading pile this week?