Ricki – Page 102 – Unleashing Readers

Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten Debut Novels (EVER!)

March 29, 2014January 14, 2014 by Ricki

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish. The feature was created because The Broke and Bookish are particularly fond of lists (as are we!). Each week a new Top Ten list topic is given and bloggers can participate.

Today’s Topic: Top Ten Debut Novels (EVER!)

We strayed from the assigned topic a bit today, but we really wanted to share our favorite debut novels ever.

Ricki

1. Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys

This is one of my favorite young adult novels, and I can’t believe it is Ruta’s first! I will admit that I stole it from Kellee’s list (see below). It is hard to believe that Ruta worked in the music industry before she started writing because this novel seems to be authored by a seasoned writer. Amazing (as I shake my head in disbelief).

2. Looking for Alaska by John Green

Who wins the Printz Award on his/her debut novel? This guy. Looking for Alaska is an incredible book that offers invaluable lessons to teens. Years after reading this book, I still find myself comparing other books and characters to it. I imagine that many of the readers of this blog have read this book, but if you haven’t—read it. I promise you won’t be disappointed.

3. Ball Don’t Lie by Matt de la Peña

I received this book in my first ALAN Workshop box. When I got home from the conference, I picked it up to read it and fell in love. I immediately searched for his other books and was disappointed to find that this was the only one that existed! Since then, I have read every book by this man. He is an incredible author. (I should add that he sent me ten personalized books to my students who were most at-risk of dropping out. Isn’t he wonderful?)

4. Graceling by Kristin Cashore

I have been trying very hard to keep this book off of my TTT lists to show variety. I can’t help myself this time. Even if you don’t love fantasy, you will fall in love with this book. It is accessible to people of all ages (and both genders, I might add). I see that Kellee includes it on her list below. We are both addicted to Kristin Cashore.

5. Divergent by Veronica Roth

I still can’t believe Veronica Roth wrote this book when she was a senior in college. It shows her innate talent at writing. After The Hunger Games came out, I had difficulty getting students to find other books they would enjoy. When this came out, it was a perfect choice. I found it to be intellectually more complex and a great next book on the ladder after The Hunger Games. (By the way, if you don’t know the term “ladder,” you should check out Teri Lesesne’s Reading Ladders—an excellent book for teachers of reading.)

Kellee

This was a tough one to determine as I wasn’t always sure when a book was a debut novel. These 5 are ones I know are debut novels and are just wonderful–you would never know they are debuts!

1. Wonder Show by Hannah Barnaby

Portia is looking for her family, but ends up finding a place in the least likely places- a “freak show” touring around the midwest during Depression-era America. The author seamlessly intertwines Portia’s story with the story of the traveling show even mixing up points of views and narrators during the story. Although it sounds like it should definitely not work, it does. And it does beautifully. This book is mostly about heart, family, and home. Portia’s story is so enthralling and her transformation is amazing to be part of.

2. Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys

This is such a powerful story with characters that you grow to love as they are put through hell. What makes the hell even more grotesque is that it is based off of stories that really happened during a time of history that does not get spoken of too often. Like Holocaust books, this book is one that will rip you apart as you read it. And all of it is based off of Ruta Sepetys’s family history!

3. Under the Mesquite by Guadalupe Garcia McCall

This book is a beautiful book in verse that not only has a touching narrative, but has exquisite verse. The narrative deals with a topic that many readers will have some sort of connection with, cancer, as well has coming of age in a household where the disease has struck. But what makes this book different than other stories about the effects of cancer is that it also tells the story of growing up as a Mexican-American here in America.

4. Graceling by Kristin Cashore

High fantasy can be intimidating because of having to completely immerse yourself in an invented world and sometimes I find it hard to imagine somewhere that doesn’t exist; however, with Graceling, the characters are so strong that the original confusion with the setting didn’t even bother me and then by the time I thought about it, I’d lost all confusion and was in Katsa’s world.

5. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by J.K. Rowling

What can you say about this one?! Harry Potter was J.K. Rowling’s first try at a novel. Wow.

Which are your favorite debut novels?

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The Killing Woods by Lucy Christopher

July 27, 2015January 9, 2014 by Ricki

The Killing Woods
Author: Lucy Christopher
Published: January 7th, 2014 by Chicken House (Scholastic)

GoodReads Summary: Fatal attraction, primal fear, survival in the forest: From the author of the Printz Honor Book Stolen, the highly anticipated thriller about deadly games played in the dark.

Ashlee Parker is dead, and Emily Shepherd’s dad is accused of the crime. A former soldier suffering from PTSD, he emerges from the woods carrying the girl’s broken body. “Gone,” he says, then retreats into silence.

What really happened that wild night? Emily knows in her bones that her father is innocent — isn’t he? Before he’s convicted, she’s got to find out the truth. Does Damon Hilary, Ashlee’s charismatic boyfriend, have the answers? Or is he only playing games with her — the kinds of games that can kill?

Review: I absolutely loved Stolen, so I was thrilled to read another book by Lucy Christopher. This book reads more like a thriller. I was sucked into the mystery and very curious about how the plot would unravel. I think this book is most notable for the intricate descriptive details about the setting. I felt the dark coldness of the killing woods. The setting was spooky, which set the tone for the dark story. There are richly realized themes of friendship, family, and loyalty.

Teacher’s Tools for Navigation: Emily’s father suffers from PTSD. I think Lucy Christopher is delivering a message about PTSD, and it would be important for readers to think more about this. Students might find value in learning more about PTSD before, during, and after reading this book.

Discussion Questions: Why is everyone quick to blame Emily’s father? Do you think he is guilty?; What is The Game? What are the different roles that everyone plays in The Game? What does it teach us about this group of kids? Is it realistic and does it reflect people in general?

We Flagged: “I guess whoever built and buried that IED out there in the desert will never know how far that blast traveled. But all things ripple out, cause shrapnel.”

Read This If You Loved: Stolen by Lucy Christopher, The Body of Christopher Creed by Carol Plum-Ucci, Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk, What Happened to Cass McBride by Gail Giles, The Things a Brother Knows by Dana Reinhardt, The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold

Recommended For:

**Thank you to NetGalley and Scholastic Chicken House for providing the Advanced Reader Copy for review!**

Top Ten Tuesday: Bookish Goals and Resolutions for 2014

January 7, 2014 by Ricki

Today’s Topic: Top Ten Bookish Goals and Resolutions for 2014

Forget the weight-loss. We are going bookish on you!

Ricki

1. 114 Books

Every year, I increase my goal by one book. I always match the year. Because it is 2014, I am aiming for 114. This might be impossible with a new baby, but I will be reading more picture books.

2. Children’s Book All-Star

I want to become a children’s book all-star. I want to get the nostalgia of old books and jump into the fun of new releases.

3. To learn to love more middle grade novels

Some of my favorite books are middle grade books. That said, I don’t tend to love novels directed to this age group. This year, I am going to aim to change that by reading more widely within the field.

4. To keep up with new YA releases

I will devote everything to my new baby, but I don’t want to neglect my love of YA books, so I want to try to keep up with the best new releases.

5. To read to my new baby every night

I haven’t had a baby (obviously), so I am not sure if this is a lofty goal. Are there going to be some nights where I can’t read to him because I am so tired from breastfeeding? I have no clue how my life is going to be this year, but this is my goal!

Kellee

1. 275 books in 2014

In 2012 I read 397 books, which is crazy!, so for 2013 I set my goal for 300 thinking it’d be no problem… well, I have not been reading like I did in the past. I ended up lowering my goal to 225 because I knew that I was not reading like I used to. During 2014, I’d like to push myself more and try to get close to that 300 again—I’m going to aim for 275. This may be crazy with a new baby at home, but I guess we’ll find out!

2. Get more book reviews up on my teacher website

My teacher website is being used more than ever now that we are an iPad school, but I haven’t updated the book reviews on there all year. I hope to get more up there.

3. Get into classes more often to book talk

This year I took a job as a reading coach and found myself all caught up in logistics, observations, and intervention. I want to go back to the basics and get into classes more often to book talk and to do book passes.

4. Get back into the reading groove

Like my #1 says, I really want to try to get back into the reading groove of reading every night. Right now, there are nights where I do not touch a book. I know it has been a combination of my new job and the pregnancy making me super tired, so I hope I can overcome it in 2014 (I know, I know… a new baby will make it very hard, but it doesn’t hurt to try.)

5. Read to my new baby every night

One thing that will definitely help is reading to baby Boy Moye every night. I want him to be a reader and I cannot wait to share with him all of my favorite picture books and I cannot wait to find out what his favorites are.

What are your bookish goals?

RickiSig and

Thrice Told Tales: Three Mice Full of Writing Advice by Catherine Lewis

February 9, 2014January 2, 2014 by Ricki

Thrice Told Tales: Three Mice Full of Writing Advice
Author: Catherine Lewis
Published: August 27th, 2013 by Atheneum Books for Young Readers

GoodReads Summary: Three Blind Mice. Three Blind Mice. See how they run? No. See how they can make all sorts of useful literary elements colorful and easy to understand! Can one nursery rhyme explain the secrets of the universe? Well, not exactly—but it can help you understand the difference between bildungsroman, epigram, and epistolary.

From the absurd to the wish-I’d-thought-of-that clever, writing professor Catherine Lewis blends Mother Goose with Edward Gorey and Queneau, and the result is learning a whole lot more about three not so helplessmice, and how to fine tune your own writing, bildungsroman and all.

If your writing is your air, this is your laughing gas.*

*That’s a metaphor, friends.

Review: This is one of those books that is so clever, I am depressed that I didn’t come up with the idea myself. Reading and writing teachers will adore the way this book is constructed and be excited to use it in their classrooms. A different writing term is creatively interpreted on each page within the context of the Three Blind Mice nursery rhyme. At the bottom of each page, Lewis gives an explanation of the writing term and how it can be employed in writing (see the flagged passage below). I loved the ways Lewis humorously portrayed each term. For example, on the page about style, she takes a line from the nursery rhyme and rewrites it in the style of famous authors like Dickens and Hemingway. As a bonus, I learned about a few literary terms that I didn’t know! It was so fun to read. I shared it with my pre-service teachers, and they also adored it and were excited to use it in their own classrooms.

Teacher’s Tools for Navigation: Teachers can hand-pick terms they want to teach to their students. I wish this book was published when I was teaching because it makes the literary terms very accessible. Teachers can take the terms and ask students to reinterpret them within the context of a different nursery rhyme (or even within the context of a song or movie).

Discussion Questions: How can I rewrite a nursery rhyme to show a literary term?; How can I employ these literary/writing terms to make me a better writer?

We Flagged: “Developing one’s style is like developing a sense of fashion. You may start off by trying on a lot of costume jewelry; big showy ten-dollar words. They’ll get attention all right, but maybe you’ll discover there’s something better out there for you. Perhaps you’ll try a charm bracelet full of dangling modifiers. Or a simple silver bracelet and an onyx ring. Keep experimenting for pleasant combinations, and a truer picture of yourself and your work will begin to emerge” (p. 134).

Read This If You Loved: In the Middle by Nancie Atwell, Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott, Writing Workshop by Ralph Fletcher, Celebrating Writers by Ruth Ayres with Christi Overman

Recommended for:

What is your favorite book for teaching writing? Can you think of creative ways to use this in the classroom?

Top Ten Tuesday: Books I Read in 2013

July 27, 2015December 31, 2013 by Ricki

Today’s Topic: Top Ten Books I Read in 2013

Kellee and I had difficulty splitting our top ten for this one, so she is going to share hers on Friday and Saturday, and I get to hog today all to myself! Wohoo!

1. Rose Under Fire by Elizabeth Wein

This ranks in my all-time favorite YA books. The story is powerful, and I can’t stop thinking about the characters.

2. Into that Forest by Louis Nowra

I loved this beautiful story because it made me contemplate what it truly means to be human. This is one of my favorite survival stories that I have read.

3. Black Ants and Buddhists by Mary Cowhey

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Even though this book is directed to teachers of grades K-6, I find I am using its lessons and ideas in all of my doctoral classes. This book does an incredible job teaching readers about how to enact social justice in the classroom.

4. When Kids Can’t Read by Kylene Beers

When a student used to come to me and say he/she “didn’t get” the reading, I often wanted to just tell him/her to read it again. But when that doesn’t work, what do we do? This book does a great job detailing how to diagnose and work with struggling readers (and all readers!).

5. Just One Day by Gayle Forman

This beautiful story took me back to Europe. Often, love stories can feel generic and typical, but this tells a story that is much different. I loved it!

6. Endangered by Eliot Schrefer

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I can’t say enough good things about this book. I was sucked into the story, and I don’t feel as if I’ve fully left. Kellee and I are in love with this book, so if you’ve seen our blog, you know our feelings toward it. 🙂

7. Wonder by R.J. Palacio

I used to only read high school YA books. When I read this one at the very beginning of this world, it opened my world to the wonders (get it? wonders?) of middle grade YA books. I haven’t been able to stop reading them since. Thus far, this is my favorite middle grade YA book of all time. I think readers of all ages and levels with love it (my high schoolers did!).

8. Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell

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I loved this book because it took me back to college. I was thrown into the whirlwind of emotions I felt as a beginning college student. Rowell is an incredible author. I fell in love with this story.

9. Readicide: How Schools Are Killing Reading and What You Can Do About It by Kelly Gallagher

This book was certainly worth the hype. Kelly Gallagher is eloquent, direct, and articulate. I found myself quietly whispering, “YES!” as I read this one.

10. If You Find Me by Emily Murdoch

This is a beautiful identity and survival story that would pair well with many classics. Readers will contemplate humanity and practices in our modern world as these girls come to learn about it. I liked this book because it really made me think!

What were your favorite books in 2013?

Celebrating Writers: From Possibilities Through Publication by Ruth Ayres

April 22, 2023December 26, 2013 by Ricki

Celebrating Writers: From Possibilities Through Publication
Authors: Ruth Ayres with Christi Overman
Published: November 28th, 2013 by Stenhouse Publishers

GoodReads Summary: Writing begins before students even pick up a pencil, but there are many reasons to stop and rejoice between the idea and the finished project. By helping students celebrate each stage of the writing process and applauding success, we help our students persevere through what can be an extended and challenging process.

In their innovative new book, Celebrating Writers, Ruth Ayres and Christi Overman discuss dozens of ways to respond, reflect, and rejoice along the journey to a finished project. This type of celebration nurtures students, makes them better writers, and helps them recognize that writing is a process filled with notable moments, not simply a result where publication is the only marker of success. From traveling notebooks to lunch-table writing, from author interviews with a writing partner to silent reflection, from swapping stories around a “campfire” to tweeting favorite lines, Ruth and Christi share dozens of fun and effective ways for you and your students to commemorate their progress as writers. As the authors write, “It’s time to expand the idea of celebration to include the process of writers and the products they create. Let’s build an approach that weaves celebration into the heart of all writers. Be ready to learn to refuel the writers in your classroom, even on the tough days.”

Review and Teacher’s Tools for Navigation: I know a professional development text is a good one when I feel compelled to get out of my bed to nab my highlighter. There are many flag-worthy passages in this book. My focus is Secondary English Education, and even though this book seems to be primarily focused on Elementary Education, I plan to share some of the ideas from this text with my students tomorrow. The true audience of this book is all teachers of writing. Ayres and Overman provide a plethora of ideas to help students celebrate their writing. They state, “When we celebrate throughout the process, we help students become people who know their words can influence, encourage, and incite change” (p. 7).

While I always thought I celebrated my students’ writing, this book taught me so many MORE ways to help them rejoice in order to truly nourish them as writers. Some of the ideas the authors include are methods for students to respond to their peers’ writing, ways for students to formally assess and reflect upon their own writing, ideas for students to examine their own strengths and weaknesses as writers, and numerous modes for students to share their writing with online communities. There are a variety of handouts that are all downloadable from the companion website (a HUGE plus for busy teachers). The fifth chapter of this book is my favorite—it details forty formal celebration ideas. These are ideas that are much more clever than asking students to bring in cupcakes.

Discussion Questions: How do I teach my students to rejoice in their writing? Why is this important?; How do I help my students share their writing with online communities?; How do I help my students learn to rejoice in the writing of their peers?

We Flagged: “Response, reflection, and rejoicing position us to celebrate the writer in addition to the writing. These frames also allow us to celebrate throughout the writing process instead of solely at the end. They move us to a focus on learning as writers. Our celebrations nourish writers, nudging them to continue writing with expertise and energy” (p. 15).

Read This If You Loved: Black Ants and Buddhists by Mary Cowhey, In the Middle by Nancie Atwell, Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott, Writing Workshop by Ralph Fletcher

What is your favorite book for teaching writing? Have you read this one? What did you think? Please share your thoughts!

**Thank you, Stenhouse Publishers, for sending me this book for review!**

Top Ten Tuesday: Books We Wouldn’t Mind Santa Bringing Us

July 27, 2015December 24, 2013 by Ricki

Today’s Topic: Top Ten Books We Wouldn’t Mind Santa Bringing Us

You hearing us, husbands?

Ricki

I’ve decided to go with books for my new baby because he is more important than I am! These are books that Henry wants Santa to bring him so he can read them with his mommy.

1. The Dark by Lemony Snicket and Illustrated by Jon Klassen

I was always afraid of the dark growing up, and I think Henry would love to hear this story so he won’t be afraid!

2. On a Beam of Light by Jennifer Berne and Illustrated by Vladimir Radunsky

I really want Henry to be a huge dork like his parents, so this story of Albert Einstein’s childhood looks awesome.

3. Boy and Bot by Ame Dyckman and Illustrated by Dan Yaccarino

Henry’s daddy (my husband) is an engineer. I thought this would be a great story for them to read together!

4. Press Here by Herve Tullet and Illustrated by Christopher Franceschelli

I hear that this book is fantastic. It is interactive and very fun, so I thought Henry might enjoy it!

5. Little Red Writing by Joan Holub and Illustrated by Melissa Sweet

I thought this humorous take on Little Red Riding Hood would be fun for us to read together!

Kellee

I am going to do a mix. The first book is one I really want while the other four are picture books I really want Baby Boy Moye to own (any of the ones Ricki listed would be great as well!) though much like his Mommy, Baby Boy Moye’s bookshelf is overflowing! We may have to rethink our organization of his books…

1. The Living by Matt De La Pena

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Matt has tried something new with The Living and I cannot wait to read it!

2. Tacky the Penguin by Helen Lester

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I actually own Tacky the Penguin, but it is my school copy and I really want Baby Boy Moye to have his own. Tacky is such a great role model and his books are just so funny!

3. The Foot Book by Dr. Seuss

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I want to put Baby Boy Moye’s footprints in The Foot Book, but I need to own a copy first.

4. Elephant and Piggie books by Mo Willems

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I love these two best friends and I only own one of the series right now.

5. Me…Jane by Patrick McDonnell

I want Baby Boy Moye to know that possibilities are endless and Me…Jane is a great picture book for that.

Which books would you like most this holiday season?

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