Unleashing Readers

Call for Middle and High School Teachers of YAL

April 22, 2023March 5, 2019 by Ricki

Do you teach a young adult literature course, or do you integrate YAL in your classroom?

I am currently working on a book project that explores the different ways in which middle and high school teachers structure their YAL courses (elective or required). I am also looking at how teachers infuse YAL into their regular education courses. I’ve seen great classroom designs and course projects, and I am looking for others. I’d love to capture them and acknowledge the great work happening in classrooms. If you might be interested in being included in the book, please send me an email at ricki[DOT]ginsberg[AT]colostate.edu or message me on Facebook! Participation would involve the sharing of a course project, classroom activity/activities, and/or course syllabus.

If you know someone who might be interested, please share this post with them. Thank you!

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? #IMWAYR 3/4/19

March 4, 2019March 4, 2019 by Kellee

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

It’s Monday! What are you Reading? is a meme started by Sheila at Book Journeys and now hosted by Kathryn at The Book Date. 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!

Kellee and Jen, of Teach Mentor Texts, 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.

CONGRATULATIONS
Denise M.
for winning our What If…? Then We… Giveaway!

Tuesday: Jennifer Nielsen’s Visit to Kellee’s School

Thursday: The Story of Rock, The Story of Rap, and Frida Catlo

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

Kellee

I can definitely see why so many of my students rave about Red Queen, and I cannot wait to see what happens in book two. So much betrayal and unexpected events in the first book! However, I will admit that it did remind me of many different books’ premises.
Monday’s Not Coming was such a surprise for me! It was anything but the typical missing person book you normally encounter, and I really didn’t figure out the truth until it was revealed.
Marie Lu is a sci-fi genius in my mind. The Warcross/Wildcard duology was epic! Though my favorite thing about it was the focus on friendship, teamwork, and truthfulness.
The Last Panther should be talked about more! It is a middle grade dystopian novel mixed with a Carl Hiaasen novel, and it is as good and interesting as the combination sounds.

We have finished Dog Man #3: A Tale of Two Kitties, and it is still definitely holding Trent’s attention.
A librarian from our county library visited Trent’s school and read Mousetronaut and my typical “I don’t remember what I did at school kid” instead talked a mile a minute about a mouse saving the say on a space ship and becoming an astronaut, so we asked for the book (and received!) Mousetronaut for Trent’s birthday.
After Ricki’s rave review of Fox the Tiger and its ALA award, I had to read it with Trent, and I see why it is receiving the love. It is a fun read with a good plot, but it is also very readable for early readers.

Kellee

On to number 4! I think Trent would read this for hours every night with us!
Todd Mitchell is our virtual visit on March 11th, so I am onto my second of his books–VERY different!
A Grimm Warning audiobook was finally available and it was perfect timing since I finished listening/rereading The Poet X.

Tuesday: Do you teach a YAL course or do you integrate YAL in your classroom? If so, Ricki needs your help!

Thursday: Where the Heart Is by Jo Knowles

Friday: The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo

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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Three Great New Board Books: The Story of Rock, The Story of Rap, and Frida Catlo

February 28, 2019 by Ricki

The Story of Rock
Published: May 7, 2019 by Silver Dolphin Books

Summary: 1…2…3…4! Let’s rock and roll, babies!

From Elvis Presley to Beatlemania, from Janis Joplin to David Bowie—rock has transformed through generations while ringing true with passionate sound. Rock along with the greats in this delightful baby book that introduces little ones to the rockers that started it all!
Parental Advisory: May cause toddlers to play the air guitar with adorable frequency.

My Review: Last night, my husband was reading to my son, and he asked me to bring this book from downstairs. It’s a great, enjoyable book to read and entertained both my 2-year-old and my 5-year-old. I liked how I could cater my reading differently to each of them. For my 5-year-old, I was able to show him pictures of the bands online and talk about the evolution of rock. For my 2-year-old, I was able to talk about music and instruments. We played sample music of many of the bands and had a lot of fun. I could see this working well in the classroom setting. Students might create their own Story of _________ books for children. It teaches excellent skills of summary, synthesis, and brevity.

The Story of Rap
Published: May 7, 2019 by Silver Dolphin Books

Summary: Lay down a baby beat and learn all about the history of rap!

From Grandmaster Flash to Kendrick Lamar, rap has shaped generations and brought a voice to the voiceless. Bop along with the greats in this adorable baby book that introduces little ones to the rappers that started it all!
Parental Advisory: May cause toddlers to develop excessive amounts of swagger.

My Review: I will admit that I know a lot less about rap than I know about rock, so reading this book was a different experience. I knew many of the names but had less background information to share with my children. So together, we looked up the musicians to read and learn more about them together. It was fun to learn more about a music genre that I am less familiar with. This is another book that would pair well with a student assignment to create their own Story of _________ books for children. I love nontraditional synthesis assignments.

Wild Bios: Frida Catlo
Published: January 8, 2019 by Silver Dolphin Books

Summary: Frida Catlo was one purr-fect painter!

Meet one of history’s greatest figures in this adorable board book with an animal twist! Famous Meowxican painter Frida Catlo was a pioneer for female artists. She always painted from the heart, even in the face of health problems and personal struggles. With hilarious puns and colorful illustrations, this book brings Frida’s legacy to life for babies and parents alike!

My Review: Ahh, how I love Frida Kahlo. This book made me chuckle a bit. I will admit that I read it to my kids the first time without any of the cat references, but then I went through and read it again with the cat jokes. I wanted them to get a sense of Frida (who they are unfamiliar with) before they considered the cat jokes. This would make for a really fun classroom book. I can envision students enjoying a project that asks them to create their own Wild Bios for a person in history.

Recommended For:

Kellee’s School’s Author Visit with Jennifer A. Nielsen

April 22, 2023February 26, 2019 by Kellee

Jennifer A. Nielsen visited my school on December 4th, 2018, and today her newest book comes out (Deceiver’s Heart, Traitor’s Game #2!!!!), so I thought today would be the best day to share about the amazing experience she brought to my school and the superb person she is!

Jennifer was kind enough to have a very packed day with us! She did an assembly for each grade level where she shared that the secret to being a writer is asking questions:

Do you have stories? Do you have dreams? If you have dreams, your brain is creating a story. Are you curious? You can be a writer.
Writers do these things: Collect stupid facts but don’t collect stupid. Ask Questions. Gain knowledge. They write. They work to get better. They keep trying.
There are two types of people: One who says they are good enough. You’ll be passed by people who won’t quit until it’s great.

She also gave us a sneak peek of the Resistance book trailer that went live the next week!

Every group of students (at over 375 each) were captivated by her stories, her humor, and her truth.

During each grade level’s lunch period, she also was kind enough to eat lunch with students who had read two or more of her books. During this time, they could get their books signed and ask exclusive questions.

This lunchtime experience was so inspiring to these students! They still talk about what she shared and (as you’ll see in the last photo below) they helped write a quite hilarious story with her that was cracking everyone up:

Story in her head is like an itch that she can’t reach. She is happiest when she is writing because she is reaching the itch.
Story is everywhere. Everyone carries story with them. Just ask questions and tell the story.
She starts a story with the character in action. Helps the reader and writer get into the character’s head and puts the character into immediate trouble.
When she was younger, she didn’t know writing was a choice for something you could do.

Then Jennifer even stayed with us for the evening for another quick presentation, book signing, and cross-curricular events that tied her book into all the subjects.

All in all, the visit was life-changing for our HCMS students.

After the visit, I had my students write letters sharing how the event affected them:

Thank you so much! You have made a great impact on my life. I have never liked writing but your story about when you were in 6th grade made me realize that I can do what I put my mind to do. -Olivia M, 6th grade
I love reading your books because when I read your books it is so good that I read for hours without stopping. When I found out you were coming I got excited because I wanted to find out more about the author who wrote my favorite books. You taught me never to give up and to keep going for my dream no matter how long it takes. Your books have inspired me to create my own book and to be a writer in the future. -Jacob K, 6th grade
The things you said during your visit made me realize I’ll never get better if I don’t try. -Georgia B, 6th grade
I loved your assembly. Your stories were hilarious and you inspired me to write down my ideas. -Emily B, 7th grade
Thank you so much for visiting us. It was amazing and super fun. Your presentations were incredible and I loved the stories you told. They were sad but so interesting. Your tips for writing were so helpful and I plan on taking them to heart whenever I write. Your encouragement was inspiring. “All you need is 20 seconds of insane courage and I promise you something great will come of it. (Benjamin Mee)” -Duda V, 7th grade
Your books are amazing, the plot twists were breath-taking, and your books are meaningful and are powerful. -Molly N, 7th grade
I’m a huge fan of your books and it was a dream come true to meet you! I enjoyed making a story with you during my lunch time, and I will always remember your visit. -Mariana S, 8th grade
If you were here to inspire, you hit it on the dot. -Julia R, 8th grade
Thank you for not quitting and showing us that just because you fail once, or twice, or even hundreds of times, we should keep on trying. -Lorenza M, 8th grade
Everything that you said just inspired me to do something that would forever make the world better. -Jordan K, 7th grade
Thank you for all the words of wisdom and encouragement to write, and for that I’ll always be grateful. -Monika A, 7th grade
You are such a beautiful soul, and I am in denial that I had the chance to meet someone like you. -Amy C, 7th grade
You were right – stories are everywhere!.. You are funny and kind, and I love how you add little bits of yourself into your books. -Maelynn A, 7th grade

And I’ll end with this beautiful work. My friend, who teaches 8th grade ELA, had her students do a 6 word reflection with a visual to summarize either how they felt or what they learned:

“Good writing takes time and passion.” -Alexa F.

“Don’t let your ideas go away.” -Charlie B.

“Don’t think of ideas, execute them.” -Grace G.

“Failure is the pillar of success.” -Ramia A.

“All failures lead to a success.” -Paola A.

“Catch an ideas, don’t let go.” -Lauren T.

“To write, you mustn’t fear ideas.” -Ishika J.

“The first draft isn’t always perfect.” -Holly C.

Thank you so much, Jennifer, for coming to HCMS and inspiring my students in ways that are life-changing!

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? #IMWAYR 2/25/19

February 25, 2019February 25, 2019 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.

Tuesday: Teacher Action Research

Wednesday: Trent’s Favorite Reads as of his Fifth Birthday!

Thursday: Blog Tour with Reviews, Book Trailer, and Giveaway!: It’s Not Hansel and Gretel by Josh Funk

Giveaway open until Thursday!

Friday: Blog Tour with Review and Giveaway!: What If…? Then We…: Short, Very Short, Shorter-Than-Ever Possibilities by Recebba Kai Dotlich

Giveaway open until Friday!

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

Kellee

Finishing up Trent’s birthday celebration; I’ll be back next week 🙂

Ricki

I finished one of my #mustreadin2019 books, They Both Die at the End by Adam Silvera. It was just as good as everyone said it was. The book beautifully captures humanity. Adam Silvera is easily one of my favorite authors, and this one hit me just as hard as his other books.

I received three adorable board books for review. I’ll be providing a combined review of the three books on Thursday, but I enjoyed the consolidated nonfiction of The Story of Rap, The Story of Rock, and the cat-inspired memoir of Frida Catlo.

The Good Egg by Jory John and Pete Oswald is just as adorable as the first book, The Bad Seed. It teaches kids about behavior and about doing what is right. I also like that it is realistic and tells kids that “good eggs” aren’t always good. This reminds kids that they might make mistakes—and this is okay.

Ricki

I am balancing a few ARCs this week. I’ve been going back and forth between books I missed (They Both Die at the End by Silvera) and new books (Where the Heart Is by Jo Knowles). These both were wonderful, and I am hoping to finish the amazing On the Come Up by Angie Thomas this week.

I am also doing a lot of professional reading. I’ve been thinking a lot about power positioning in classes, and I am working on an article about this, and I am reading Reconceptualizing the Literacies in Adolescents’ Lives (Alvermann and Hinchman).

Tuesday: Jennifer Nielsen’s Visit to Kellee’s School

Thursday: The Story of Rock, The Story of Rap, and Frida Catlo

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Add New

Blog Tour with Review and Giveaway!: What If…? Then We…: Short, Very Short, Shorter-Than-Ever Possibilities by Rebecca Kai Dotlich (Author) and Fred Koehler (Illustrator) #WhatIfThenWe

February 22, 2019February 22, 2019 by Kellee

What If…? Then We…: Short, Very Short, Shorter-Than-Ever Possibilities
Author: Rebecca Kai Dotlich
Illustrator: Fred Koehler
Published February 19th, 2019 by Boyds Mills Press

Summary: Two polar bear friends have a thrilling adventure as they imagine solutions to a variety of possible situations; their story will show readers how to create their own tales in response to the question “What if…?” in this ingenious picture book.

“What if . . . we got lost far, far, far away, and couldn’t find our way home? Then we would become the bravest explorers in the world.” So begin the adventures of two intrepid polar bears. Traveling on a ship imagined from an iceberg, the bears encounter magnificent sights and scary situations. When a city made of crayons melts, the bears use pencils to create a beautiful gray world. When all the words in the universe disappear, the bears invent their own language. When something really big and really scary happens, they whistle and hold hands until it’s not as big or scary anymore. And when they find their way back home, they’re ready to imagine a thousand more possibilities.

This companion title to the Boston Globe-Horn Book Honor Book One Day, The End. is ultimately a book about imagination, friendship, and finding possibilities in the smallest moments.

Follow Rebecca @Rebeccakai and Fred @Superfredd

Review: Rebecca Kai Dotlich and Fred Koehler are a super team! I love so many of their books without each other and their books together are only that much more special. Their imagination will take readers on adventures through places they’ve only dreamt of and will help them realize that their imagination can take them anywhere they can dream of. This newest book by the duo not only promotes imagination but also grit, courage, resilience, and friendship. These two polar bear cubs go on a fantastical adventure which will leave the readers wanting to know what is going to happen next. This book is full of possibilities in story that will be adored by so many readers!

Teachers’ Tools for Navigation: WRITING MENTOR TEXT ALERT! Two ideas: 1) Have students write and illustrate their own “What If…? Then We…” stories. 2) Have students illustrate the words in the original text showing what else the words could mean.

Discussion Questions:

What if? Then We!
What other adventures could this story have been telling?

Flagged Passages:

Read This If You Love: One Day, The End by Rebecca Kai Dotlich; The Knowing Book by Rebecca Kai Dotlich; Super Jumbo by Fred Koehler; Penguin books by Salina Yoon

Recommended For:

Don’t miss the other Blog Tour stops:

Monday, 2/11                       Simply 7 Interview
Tuesday, 2/12                      Storymamas
Wednesday, 2/13                Librarian in Cute Shoes
Thursday, 2/14                    Mrs. Knott’s Book Nook
Friday, 2/15                          Miss Marple’s Musings
Monday, 2/18                      Bridget and the Books
Tuesday, 2/19                      Radio, Rhythm and Rhyme
Thursday, 2/21                    KidLit Frenzy
Friday, 2/22                         Unleashing Readers
                                                Book Seed Studio

Giveaway!

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**Thank you to Boyds Mills for providing books for review and giveaway!**

Reviews, Book Trailer, and Giveaway!: It’s Not Hansel and Gretel by Josh Funk (Author) and Edwardian Taylor (Illustrator)

February 22, 2019February 21, 2019 by Ricki

It’s Not Hansel and Gretel
Author: Josh Funk
Illustrator: Edwardian Taylor
Anticipated Publication: March 1, 2019 by Two Lions

Goodreads Summary: In the fairytale mashup, Hansel and Gretel talk back to the narrator, refusing to play their roles.

About the Creators:

Like Hansel and Gretel, Josh Funk doesn’t like being told how stories should go—so he writes his own. He is the author of a bunch of picture books, including the popular Lady Pancake & Sir French Toast series, illustrated by Brendan Kearney, and recently; How to Code a Sandcastle, illustrated by Sara Palacios; and Lost in the Library: A Story of Patience & Fortitude, illustrated by Stevie Lewis. He lives in New England with his wife and children. Learn more about him at www.joshfunkbooks.com and follow him on Twitter @joshfunkbooks.

Edwardian Taylor has worked as a visual development artist and character designer in the game and animation industry. He illustrated the picture book Race!, written by Sue Fliess and the chapter book Toy Academy: Some Assembly Required, written by Brian Lynch. He lives in Texas with his partner and their four dogs. Learn more about him at www.edwardiantaylor.com and follow him on Tumblr, Instagram, and Twitter @edwardiantaylor.

Ricki’s Review: When I brought this home, my sons squealed. My two-year-old ran into his room to grab It’s Not Jack in the Beanstalk to prove that he saw comparisons between the two books. We’ve had this book for a couple of weeks, and I’ve read it numerous times. It’s very fun to read aloud, and the story offers so much for teachers and classrooms (see below). The book makes me laugh, and I love the addition of adult humor to keep me as entertained as my children. When I teach my college course of Teaching Reading, we talk about picture books that are transferable to secondary classrooms, as well. This picture book would serve as a great mentor text within middle and high school classrooms. It is wonderfully conceived and cleverly written.

Kellee’s Review: As a huge fan of fairy tale retellings, I love when authors come up with a new and unique concept around the tales that we all know and love, and Josh Funk has done just that again taking the hilarity of It’s Not Jack and the Beanstalk to a whole new level! The addition of a second character to interact with the narrator made the humor double the fun. And don’t think that this is just a normal Hansel and Gretel story with a twist, it is a Gretel and Hansel story with a twist! I love that Josh Funk could take something we know and love and still surprise us–that shows talent and a book that is going to be loved for a long time!

Side note: I was lucky enough to receive two copies of this book, so I shared one with Trent’s classroom, and I have been told it is the book he picks up each day! Here is a picture of him reading it to a classmate by using visual cues.

Teachers’ Tools for Navigation: This book offers so many opportunities for students. To support writing, students might use this book to retell a fairy tale of their own or as a mentor text to add humor to their work. To support reading and speaking, this book would be wonderful to use for readers’ theater! And just for fun, teachers might turn this book into a scavenger hunt! Every page has a plethora of well-known characters, and they are fun to find!

Book Trailer!:

Discussion Questions: What story does the narrator want to tell? How does it get interrupted?; There are two parallel sides to this story. Which did you believe? Do you think that the parents really lost Hansel and Gretel? Why or why not?; How do the author and illustrator add humor to the story?

Flagged Spreads:

Giveaway:

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Read This If You Loved: It’s Not Jack and the Beanstalk by Josh Funk; Dear Dragon by Josh Funk; Lady Pancake & Sir French Toast by Josh Funk; Whose Story is This, Anyway? by Mike Flaherty; Battle Bunny by Jon Scieszka and Mac Barnett; A Tale Dark and Grimm by Adam Gidwitz

Recommended For:

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**Thank you go Blue Slip Media and Two Lions for providing copies for review and giveaway!**