Kellee – Page 246 – Unleashing Readers

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? 9/8/14

July 27, 2015September 8, 2014 by Kellee

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? From Picture Books to YA!

It’s Monday! What are you Reading? is a meme hosted by Sheila at Book Journeys. It is a great way to recap what you read and/or reviewed the previous week and to plan out your reading and reviews for the upcoming week. It’s also a great chance to see what others are reading right now…you just might discover the next “must-read” book!

Jen Vincent, of Teach Mentor Texts, and Kellee decided to give It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? a kidlit focus. If you read and review books in children’s literature – picture books, chapter books, middle grade novels, young adult novels, anything in the world of kidlit – join us! We love this meme and think you will, too.

We encourage everyone who participates to support the blogging community by visiting at least three of the other book bloggers that link up and leave comments for them.

Last Week’s Posts

Tuesday: Top Ten Book Characters That Would Be Sitting At My Lunch Table

Friday: Laurie Calkhoven Guest Post

**Click on any picture/link to view the post**

Last Week’s Journeys

Kellee: This last week seemed to be filled to the brim for us! I know I have the same time in the evenings as I did a few weeks ago, but they seem to go by so quickly, and I feel like I am busy every second. Hopefully it will slow down soon! Luckily, I was able to finish Be a Changemaker by Laurie Ann Thompson which we will share with you this week. So inspiring.

Trent and I read some fun picture books this week as well. Our favorites were:

We watched Pete the Cat on YouTube, and I’ve had the song in my head ever since.
I read Trent Green Eggs and Ham for the first time. I’ve been waiting to read it to him until he could fit into his Green Eggs and Ham shirt. I loved reading it! What fun rhyming and rhythm.
At school, I found a book, You are my Work of Art, at school that I bought years ago for my future child, so I brought it home and read it to him. What a great way to introduce young children to art, and it is so sweet as well.
Based off of recommendations, we got Ninja! by Arree Chung. What a fun imagination book!

Ricki: I turned thirty this week. Ahh! Luckily, Henry kept me distracted, so I didn’t have to worry about my age. I am embarrassed that I didn’t read much YA this week. I read about 30 scholarly articles and chapters for my classes. Henry and I read Lon Po Po: A Red-Riding Hood Story from China by Ed Young and enjoyed it. And there are four board books on my living room floor that I must have read with Henry close to sixty times this week. Our favorite board book (which we have read hundreds of times now) is Mem Fox’s Ten Little Fingers and Ten Little Toes. Those of you who follow the blog might remember this is one of my favorites to read with him.

This Week’s Expeditions

Kellee: This week I am going to start Rory’s Promise by Michaela MacColl in preparation for a future blog post, and I will continue to read Allie Gator and the Seven Stones on my phone (though admittedly, I didn’t get to read any last week!). Hopefully this upcoming week is a bit slower, so I can find more reading time in my days.

Ricki: Like Kellee, I am hoping to start Rory’s Promise and also Allie Condie’s Atlantia. I don’t suspect I will have much time to read others. As it is, I read from 7pm-2am each night to keep up with my coursework. I am not complaining! It is all very interesting. 🙂

Upcoming Week’s Posts

top ten tuesday

Tuesday: Top Ten Underrated Books

So, what are you reading?

Link up below and go check out what everyone else is reading. Please support other bloggers by viewing and commenting on at least 3 other blogs. If you tweet about your Monday post, tag the tweet with #IMWAYR!

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Author Guest Post!: Turning Young Readers on to Historical Fiction by Laurie Calkhoven, author of the Boys of Wartime series

July 27, 2015September 5, 2014 by Kellee

“Turning Young Readers on to Historical Fiction” by Laurie Calkhoven

It’s hard to believe that something as small as a broken egg could change the course of American history, but one did. It was March of 1775 and the fifth anniversary of the Boston Massacre. The Sons of Liberty planned a church service at Old South Meeting House to honor the men who had died. All of the leaders of the Sons of Liberty, indeed all Patriots in Boston, would be in attendance.

The Redcoats had a plan to bring the colonial rebellion to an end. They ordered a soldier to go to the meeting and throw an egg at the speaker. An insult like that would start a riot, and they intended to arrest the leaders of the Sons of Liberty—Samuel Adams, John Adams, John Hancock, and the others—and ship them to England to stand trial for starting a riot. The British thought that with the leaders out of the way, those hotheads in Boston would settle down and stop their foolish rebellion.

The reason why you haven’t read about those arrests in your history texts is that the soldier fell on his way to the service. Not only did he break the egg. He hurt his leg so badly that he didn’t make it to the meeting at all. There were no arrests. The rebellion lived on. The next time the Redcoats went after those leaders, war erupted in Lexington and Concord.

That egg incident, one I came across in long out-of-print history of the time period, frames the beginning of my novel Daniel at the Siege of Boston, 1776. Daniel helps foil the British plan and goes on to do much more, but if not for that broken egg, there wouldn’t be a story to tell.

Historical fiction can be a hard sell for young readers. Many of them expect it to be boring. When I visit schools and talk to young readers, I always begin by telling them stories—true stories. Soon they’re hooked. They want to know what happens next.

Kids love wacky facts, and so in my Civil War novel (Will at the Battle of Gettysburg, 1863), I included the fact that on the first night of the battle six-year-old Mary McLean stuck her head out of her window and sang a song to the Confederate soldiers who had taken her town—a song about their President, Jefferson Davis:

Hang Jeff Davis from a sour apple tree.

Mary’s father thought the whole family would be shot, but the Rebel soldiers only laughed and sang their own song about President Lincoln.

My latest Boys of Wartime novel, Michael at the Invasion of France, 1943, is about a boy who helps shot-down and trapped American airmen evade the Nazis in a World War II version of the Underground Railroad. Kids love to hear about all the everyday American habits that gave the men away. Things like walking with their hands in their pockets, or whistling—two things French men never did.

My Boys of Wartime novels are about ordinary boys who get caught up in extraordinary moments in history—they become spies for General Washington, help save the Union, and resist the Nazis. One ordinary person—just like them—and small ordinary moments can change the course of history. I research extensively to fill my novels with real-life action and adventure stories to keep my readers turning the pages.

All kinds weird, wacky, and wonderful stories never make it into our history textbooks. Historical fiction is full of those stories. Once your young readers figure that out, they’ll be back for more.

About the author: Laurie Calkhoven is the author of nearly fifty books for young readers including the Boys of Wartime series and I Grew Up to be President. Find CCSS activities and learn about her school visit program at lauriecalkhoven.com.

Thank you Laurie for your post!

The Man with the Violin by Kathy Stinson (Kellee’s Review)

September 3, 2014 by Kellee

Nonfiction Picture Book Wednesday

Nonfiction Picture Book Wednesday is hosted by Kid Lit Frenzy and was started to help promote the reading of nonfiction texts. Most Wednesdays, we will be participating and will review a nonfiction text (though it may not always be a picture book).
Be sure to visit Kid Lit Frenzy and see what other nonfiction books are shared this week!

The Man with the Violin
Author: Kathy Stinson
Illustrated: Dušan Petričić
Published August 8, 2013 by Annick Press

Goodreads Summary: “Who is playing that beautiful music in the subway? And why is nobody listening?”

This gorgeous picture book is based on the true story of Joshua Bell, the renowned American violinist who famously took his instrument down into the Washington D.C. subway for a free concert. More than a thousand commuters rushed by him, but only seven stopped to listen for more than a minute. In “The Man With the Violin,” bestselling author Kathy Stinson has woven a heart-warming story that reminds us all to stop and appreciate the beauty that surrounds us.

Dylan is someone who notices things. His mom is someone who doesn’t. So try as he might, Dylan can’t get his mom to listen to the man playing the violin in the subway station. But Dylan is swept away by the soaring and swooping notes that fill the air as crowds of oblivious people rush by. With the beautiful music in his head all day long, Dylan can’t forget the violinist, and finally succeeds in making his mother stop and listen, too.

Vividly imagined text combined with illustrations that pulse with energy and movement expertly demonstrate the transformative power of music. With an afterword explaining Joshua Bell’s story, and a postscript by Joshua Bell himself.

My Review and Teachers’ Tools for Navigation: I must preface by saying that this book is not technically nonfiction. It is based on nonfiction, but the story is actually made up.

Too often our days go by without us slowing down and taking anything in. It may be that we are busy or stressed or late , but it has become too common to see people always rushing wherever they are going. This book shows how much we may be missing out on. It also shows the innocence of childhood, and how we need to allow children to explore and slow down even if we are moving fast. It is wonderful how the illustrations capture this for the reader. Combined with the story, this one definitely hits close to home.

Ricki also had some great thoughts and ideas in her review.

Discussion Questions: This book is an important discussion starter. What have you seen recently that was beautiful that others didn’t notice?; Sit ____ and listen to the sounds around you. What do you hear that is beautiful?; Why do you think people didn’t stop to hear Joshua Bell play?; Why did the author feel this was an important story to turn into a picture book?

Book Trailer:

Read This If You Loved: The Noisy Paint Box by Barb Rosenstock, Herman and Rosie by Gus Gordon, Marvin Makes Music by Marvin Hamlisch

Recommended For:

**Thank you to Annick Press and Netgalley for providing a copy for review**

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? 9/1/14

July 27, 2015September 1, 2014 by Kellee

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? From Picture Books to YA!

We encourage everyone who participates to support the blogging community by visiting at least three of the other book bloggers that link up and leave comments for them.

Last Week’s Posts

Tuesday: Top Ten Books We’ve Owned for a Long Time but Haven’t Read

Wednesday: How Being a Mom Has Changed My Identity (Kellee)

**Click on any picture/link to view the post**

Last Week’s Journeys

Kellee: School is taking up a bit more of my time than I anticipated (I was just told I was teaching a new class a week ago, so I am working on building a curriculum for the class in addition to my journalism class and being reading coach), so I am not having as much reading time as I’d like. During my week, though, I was able to read a phenomenal graphic novel El Deafo by Cece Bell. I loved it, and my students are going to love it. When reading it it automatically connected to Smile and Hurt Go Happy in my brain. I also read 3 picture books that I really liked: How Big Were Dinosaurs? by Lita Judge, Manfish by Jennifer Berne, and The New Girl…and Me by Jacqui Robbins.

Trent and I read some awesome picture books this week. The most important one we read this week was a photo book that my mom made of Trent’s first visit to Chattanooga. It is in chronological order and chronicles his time there. I love how she put it together, and I love that Trent and I can revisit any time we want!

Our other favorites were:

Pardon Me by Daniel Miayres is a book that reminds me a bit of Hat Back, but not so much that it didn’t seem unique. Cracked me up!
Oliver by Brigitta Sif is a new empathy book for me. It was great and I LOVE Oliver.
The Girl and the Bicycle by Mark Pett is a beautiful wordless picture book that I loved sharing with Trent. The ending was superb.
Big Bug by Henry Cole gives a great introduction to perspective.

We also read Gravity by Jason Chin and Rules of Summer by Shaun Tan, which were both recommended, but I just didn’t love them as much as I wanted to. Jim really liked Summer, but I just didn’t connect with it.

Ricki: First of all, I want to publicly apologize for not visiting more blogs this week. Reading other educators’ blogs is one of the highlights of my week. I don’t always comment, but I am constantly perusing, and I love learning from you all. Last week, I started school, and I was overwhelmed by the massive amount of work on the syllabi I received. I am back on the wagon, and I am sorry!

I will be sneaking YAL into my coursework, but please expect to see a lot of PD texts. I will post reviews highlighting the best PD texts I find. Of course, you can expect to see the usual YAL in reviews, as well. This week, I read Judith A Hayn and Jeffrey S. Kaplan’s Teaching Young Adult Literature Today. I have a review scheduled for next Thursday, September 11th because there was no space in the blog this week. This text highlights the great things that are happening in the field. Some good friends for the ALAN Workshop are featured authors, and I learned much from them. This is a must-read for scholars and educators in the field.

Henry and I read two phenomenal picture books. I bet some of you have read them, too! We fell into Freedom Summer by Deborah Wiles. My husband and I loved this book and plan to purchase it. This is the best picture book I have read that addresses racism and discrimination. It is also a tale of friendship. We also loved the duality that existed in The Letter Home by Timothy Decker. If you haven’t read either of these books, I can’t recommend them highly enough.

This Week’s Expeditions

Kellee: I am currently reading Be a Changemaker by Lauria Ann Thompson, and I am finding it very inspiring and well done. I will finish it this week. I also am reading Allie Gator and the Seven Stones by Sean Eckenrod on my phone, so it may take a while to finish it because it isn’t an every day book. Trent and I are going to continue working through the picture books I got from the library after reading IMWAYR posts.

Ricki: I was fortunate to receive a copy of Atlantia by Ally Condie. I am excited to read this one. I will also be reading qualitative research methods texts. I was thinking about trying Rosenblatt’s Literature as Exploration this week, too. It is very widely cited, and I want to learn more from this great text. Reader Response is awesome, no? 🙂

Upcoming Week’s Posts

top ten tuesday

Tuesday: Top Ten Book Characters That Would Be Sitting At My Lunch Table

Friday: Laurie Calkhoven Guest Post

So, what are you reading?

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Coyote Summer by J.S. Kapchinske

August 29, 2014 by Kellee

Coyote Summer
Author: J.S. Kapchinske
Published March 17, 2013 by Moon Halo Books

Goodreads Summary: Heath always looked forward to summer visits at Grandpa’s—long days in the wild Rocky Mountains, fishing with Dad on the Piedra River, and nights sleeping on the screened-in porch. Plus this summer, Dad promised to finally tell him the secret about old Mrs. Baylis—a mysterious Native American woman living down the dusty dirt road… But now, after Dad’s accident, it can never happen that way. Heath and his mother go to Grandpa’s, but only to spread Dad’s ashes in the river.

In the beginning, Heath feels like he’s been swallowed by the raging Piedra, held upside down in some dark and unforgiving eddy. But one day, wandering along the riverbank, he meets Annie, a wild-eyed tomboy who shows him a hidden cave with a litter of orphaned coyote pups. Together they discover the cave holds another secret—one that might help them figure out the mystery of old Mrs. Baylis. During that summer in the mountains, Heath comes to realize there is both beauty and ugliness in the world, sometimes all tangled together. By opening himself up to Annie and the coyotes, he rediscovers hope and joy in this big, beautiful, mixed-up world.

My Review: You have never heard of this book have you? That makes me so sad. How do such wonderful books fly under so many people’s radars? This is a special book that should be in the hands of middle schoolers everywhere! Heath is a character that so many kids will connect with, and his journey would definitely touch them like it did me.

Heath recently lost his father senselessly when he was hit by a drunk driver. The sudden loss of a man that Heath looked up to affects him tremendously, and he is struggling to find himself. Everything he does at his Grandpa’s house reminds him of his dad, and his mom and Grandpa are dealing with the death in a way that makes Heath feel alone. But during this summer, his coyote summer, he finds his own identity, makes an everlasting friend, and begins to figure out how to deal without his dad. And there are other subplots that run throughout he book that just add to the depth of the narrative such as Annie’s story and the story of Mrs. Baylis.

Teachers’ Tools for Navigation: This book just needs to be shared. It could definitely be read as a read aloud, but it will probably find its home the best in the right students’ hands either through the classroom library or lit circles. Students who love nature, have suffered a loss, or enjoy identity books will find this one is perfect for them.

Discussion Questions: How does finding Annie and the coyotes change Heath’s summer?; Why is Grandpa acting the way he is?; Why was it important for Heath to spend the summer with the coyotes? How did it affect him?

We Flagged: “As we sat there, a heron swooped down on the far bank and began stalking the shallows for fish. He moved slowly and hardly made a ripple when he walked. Then he stretched his long neck over the water, cocked his head, and froze.

“He’s pretty,” the girl said under her breath, as if talking to herself.

Somehow, her saying that made me feel better. “Herons were my dad’s favorite. He told me we should all learn to be patient like one of them.”

“Your dad sounds nice.”

I looked down at my hands and felt that horrible lump in my throat.” (Location 196, Kindle book)

Read This If You Loved: Hoot, Flush, Chomp, or Scat by Carl Hiassen, Lost in the River of Grass by Ginny Rorby, My Side of the Mountain by Jean Craighead George, Hatchet by Gary Paulsen

Recommended For:

**Thank you to the author for providing a copy for review**

How Being a Mom Has Changed My Identity

October 12, 2015August 27, 2014 by Kellee

This post originally started with me wanting to write about reading time, but it has become so much more. By looking at how reading has changed in my life, it made me look at my life in general and how my identity is changing.

As a mom, I suddenly find my life turned upside down. Everyone warned me that when my little baby arrived, everything would change, but I thought, naively, that I was going to be that mom that could continue doing everything I did before AND be a fabulous mom. I pish-poshed everyone’s comments about how things would be different when I had the baby. But BOY were they right. Well… mostly.

Before Trent, I put almost all of my energy (outside of time spent with Jim) into education and reading (or blogging). I worked on PD, planning, or grading for probably 20+ hours a week at home. Any other free time I would read. My husband would go to bed, and I would read for hours. I was on Twitter all of the time talking to educators and authors. But it was all for me. I loved every minute of it because I love education and books so much. I prided myself in being knowledgeable–someone that other teachers could go to for help and guidance, and someone that could recommend books to ANYONE. I always had the newest books and knew about what was popular with teens/middle schoolers at all times. Because I love my profession so much, I made sure to put as much energy into being the best teacher I could be.

Things started to shift a bit when I was pregnant. I had a very hard time reading and thinking during the whole pregnancy. I was also very tired! I physically and mentally couldn’t put the energy into anything that I had before pregnancy. But I kept saying it would all come back when I had Trent.

And then my amazing son arrived. I cannot really explain the way that my mind has switched. I still love education. I would never imagine not being a teacher, but my heart and soul were stolen by this sweet, little boy. All of a sudden, I don’t want to do anything but be with him. All of the time. But there is a part of me that needs what I used to have. I need that identity next to being a mom. This is where the pull within me is happening. I am now a mom. But a mom that is an educator, professional, and reader. How do I balance all of this? Can I truly be all of them and put enough into each so that I am succeeding at all of them? As I get used to being back at work, I am seeing that the answer is YES, but it will be different than before.

It is going to be hard
I have to realize that it is going to take some time to figure this out and that it is going to be hard. Very hard. I may feel like I am not caught up with anything, but that it is okay. It will all work out. Eventually. I have to work really hard at not feeling guilty about these changes, and instead embrace the change.

Work is staying more at work
In the past, I could be reached at any time via email, but I have now taken my work email off of my phone. I also will not be able to stay at work until 5 or 6pm every day. That doesn’t mean I don’t care! It just means that I am needed at home, and when I am at home, I have to give time to my family. Now, if I do bring work home, it is going to have to happen after bedtime or on the weekends though this takes away from reading and blogging time.

Reading may have to be scheduled and may not happen
I have found myself going days without reading. On these days, I really missing reading. But I was finding days were just getting away from me. Because of this, I have talked to my husband about trying to make a schedule so that at least 4 days a week I will get time just to read. Although this isn’t daily like I had before motherhood, it is a positive start. This may mean that I don’t get to read as much as I used to, but at least it allows me to keep reading a priority in my life. But I have to realize that sometimes reading will have to be pushed to the side for family time or because of a sick kid or to do work. This is a hard realization, but it is the truth. As long as I consciously keep reading in my life, it will always be there.

Reading may look different
But I have to remember that I AM still reading every day, but my books of choice are now often picture books that I am reading to Trent. Before I used to look at books through the eyes of my students, but now I also look at books through the eyes of my son. I now not only want to keep up with books for YA and MG but for younger kids as well so that I know my son reads the best books. (Book shopping has just gotten a lot more expensive! Though, I have found a new love of the public library because of the price of picture books.)

It’s okay!!!
I just have to keep telling myself that I can still be a great mom and teacher and blogger and sister and daughter and…, but that it just might be different. I need to stop apologizing for how my life has changed. It is an amazing life, and I will continue to be able to do everything I love. And that, like Tim Gunn says, I’ll “make it work!”

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? 8/25/14

July 27, 2015August 25, 2014 by Kellee

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? From Picture Books to YA!

We encourage everyone who participates to support the blogging community by visiting at least three of the other book bloggers that link up and leave comments for them.

Last Week’s Posts

Tuesday: Top Ten Books People Have Been Telling Us We Must Read

Friday: Trent & Kellee’s Favorite Picture Books, 3-6 Months

**Click on any picture/link to view the post**

Last Week’s Journeys

Kellee: As all teachers know, reading gets much harder once the school year starts, so my updates may be a bit less than they were during the summer. It is the way it is 🙂 This week I was able to finish two very good graphic novels from Netgalley: In Real Life by Cory Doctrow and I Remember Beirut by Zeina Abira. They are very, very different but both worth reading if you have the chance. IRL is a look at poverty, economics, and gaming while I Remember is a memoir of a young girl’s memories during the conflicts in Beirut. I absolutely adored the style of both illustrators as well as the stories. I also read Sam’s Pet Temper by Sangeeta Bhadra which is a great book to look at temper with kids as well as personification.

Trent and I read some really good books this week! I originally got The Troublemaker by Lauren Castillo for the Sharp/Schu book club. I’m going to have to go back and check out the archive now because it is a super cute mystery book. I can’t wait to read this with Trent where he can guess what is happening. The Hueys in the New Sweater by Oliver Jeffers is another very good Huey book. I like the messages in each one, and Oliver Jeffers is always a bit quirky. We saw this quirkiness and brilliance again in The Moose Belongs to Me by Oliver Jeffers which is fighting Lost and Found to be my favorite Oliver Jeffers book. We also read a beautiful and creative ABC book called Antics! by Cathi Hepworth which had some intense words like jubilant, pantiloons, and xanthophile (all words with “ant” in it). Finally we read Wumbers by Amy Krouse Rosenthal which is so clever! A bunch of short stories (perfect jumping off points for creative writing!) with words that have numbers in them. What a 1derful idea! Though, I will admit, it was quite hard to read out loud.

Ricki: As I am gearing up for school, I made this week a nonfiction week. I finished Young Adult Literature in the 21st Century by Pam Cole. This text had a great overview of the origins of YAL and the genres within the field. I also read Be a Changemaker: How to Start Something that Matters by Laurie Ann Thompson. This is a wonderfully informative book that will help teens start businesses/organizations, run meetings, conduct speeches, and organize financial plans. It was extremely accessible and very well organized. Kellee and I are doing a full review of the book on September 10, and the author will be writing a guest post for us! Henry and I read I Face the Wind by Vicki Cobb. This nonfiction picture book helps kids explore science with interactive activities. We also enjoyed Jacqueline Woodson’s Coming on Home Soon. This would be a great book to read to children whose parent(s) are away.

This Week’s Expeditions

Kellee: Trent and I are still working through our pile of recommend picture books that we got from the library. As for me, I am not sure what I am going to read. I know I’ll read El Deafo by Cece Bell, as that is at the top of my TBR, but then I am not sure. We’ll see how this week goes! 🙂

Ricki: I picked up the audio book Me Before You by Jojo Moyes. I wasn’t expecting the heavy British accents, so I am hoping I am able to understand more as it plays. It is a struggle so far (but the story is great!). Kellee sent me a list of her favorite books. I am going to start those, too. She has great taste, after all!

Upcoming Week’s Posts

top ten tuesday

Tuesday: Top Ten Books We’ve Owned for a Long Time but Haven’t Read

Wednesday: How Being a Mom Has Changed My Identity (Kellee)

So, what are you reading?

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