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 Books on Our Spring TBR Lists
Look out, spring! We have a lot of books on our lists. Here are a few!
Ricki
1. Like Water on Stone by Dana Walrath
Everyone is raving about this book, and I can’t wait to read it. I suspect it will be our next book club book.
2. See You At Harry’s by Jo Knowles
This book has been on my list for FAR too long. I know it is going to be good (because I love Jo Knowles). I will definitely be reading it soon.
3. X by Ilyasah Shabazz and Kekla Magoon
This book has been on my dining room table for a month, and I simply can’t wait to read it. I will absolutely be reading it this spring. It is one of the books I most looked forward to getting this year!
4. Glory O’Brien’s History of the Future by A.S. King
Let me count the ways I love A.S. King. I’ve read almost every book by her, and I can’t wait to read this one. It is on my nightstand!
5. Gracefully Grayson by Ami Polonsky
I received this book from NetGalley, and I am ashamed that I haven’t read it yet. I’ve heard it is wonderful. Time just keeps getting in the way. I will be reading it this spring.
Kellee
I actually have Counting by 7s, the audiobook, ready to start listening to this week, and the others are all on hold at the library (Better Nate, the audiobook, and the rest e-books). I cannot wait to tackle them all!
1. Counting by 7s by Holly Goldberg Sloan
I know, I know. I keep saying I am going to read it, but really, I am going to this time!
2. The Alex Crow by Andrew Smith
This is on my #mustreadin2015 list, but also with everything going on, I feel like Andrew Smith needs some love.
3. Revolution by Deborah Wiles
I very much enjoyed Countdown, and I have heard Revolution is even better!
4. Noggin by John Corey Whaley
This book has gotten so much love, and the concept is just so unique and fascinating.
5. Better Nate Than Ever by Tim Federle
I cannot wait to listen to the award winning audiobook!
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.
Kellee:This week I read When I Was the Greatest by Jason Reynolds. Now that I’ve read the book, I love the cover so much! I know it has gotten a lot of publicity over its portrayal of a gun on the cover, but if you read the book, it is a perfect cover for a special book.
I also finished listening to The Family Romanov which deserves any award that is has received. Candance Fleming’s research is flawless and the fascinating story is told brilliantly with a mix of narrative about the Romanovs, information about the state of Russia, and primary sources.
Additionally, I finished reading Endangered with my students. The loved the book, hopefully as much as I did. It took us a bit to read it, but it was because they wanted to talk so much about it. They had so many questions and were so invested! I cannot wait until after spring break when we get to Skype with Eliot Schrefer. (I would like to add that the end of that book ALWAYS gets me. I cannot read it without crying. It is so perfect.) We are starting Hurt Go Happy on April 1st, and I cannot wait to share another of my favorite books with my amazing kids.
Ricki: This week, I read a professional development text—James Paul Gee’s An Introduction to Discourse Analysis: Theory and Method. I know that sounds boring, but it was actually quite interesting! It made me think about how our language reveals power relationships and our figured worlds (the ways we understand the world). I listened to two more CDs of East of Eden by John Steinbeck. I think I am on disc 11 out of 23, but I am probably wrong. I love it. It makes my rides very enjoyable!
This Week’s Expeditions
Kellee:I started Words and Their Meaning by Kate Bassett on Friday, and so far I am enjoying the voice. I also plan on beginning the audiobook of Counting by 7s on Monday. I am so excited to FINALLY be reading it!
Ricki:I am almost finished with Melissa Keil’s Life in Outer Space. I will probably be done with it tomorrow. It is delightful (Paper Towns meets Stargirl). Then, I plan to read Ann M. Martin’s Rain Reign. I am a bit behind on pleasure reading, but I plan to go crazy this summer. 🙂 I can’t wait to hear what everyone else is reading this week!
Upcoming Week’s Posts
Tuesday: Top Ten Books On Our Spring TBRs
Sunday: Author’s Guest Post!: “A Love for Reading Begets Passionate Writing” by Jake Marcionette, Author of Just Jake
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!
The Crossover Author: Kwame Alexander
Published March 18th, 2014 by Harcourt Brace and Company
Goodreads Summary: “With a bolt of lightning on my kicks . . .The court is SIZZLING. My sweat is DRIZZLING. Stop all that quivering. Cuz tonight I’m delivering,” announces dread-locked, 12-year old Josh Bell. He and his twin brother Jordan are awesome on the court. But Josh has more than basketball in his blood, he’s got mad beats, too, that tell his family’s story in verse, in this fast and furious middle grade novel of family and brotherhood.
Josh and Jordan must come to grips with growing up on and off the court to realize breaking the rules comes at a terrible price, as their story’s heart-stopping climax proves a game-changer for the entire family.
My Review: Wow. What a powerful piece of narrative and poetry. Any poem from Josh’s story could easily be taken out of context and used as a piece of exemplar poetry writing. In addition to the amazing writing, Josh is a kid that is so easy to connect with. He is so real. You love him (even if he is a little cocky). By the end of the book, you feel like you are part of Josh’s family, and you don’t want to leave.
And to top it all off: one of my reluctant readers grabbed this book and zoomed right through it. It quickly became one of his favorite books! I love when the Newbery Medal winner is accessible to students. Now to just get more students to read it and experience the awesomeness.
(Also, Kwame was one of my favorite presenters at ALAN, and he was such a pleasure to meet!)
Teachers’ Tools for Navigation: I cannot wait to have my students make vocabulary poems like Josh does. Such a fun way to play with words. Additionally, like I stated above, any poem in this novel could be used in a poetry unit. I’d also love to have students come up with rules like Josh’s dad did for basketball and have them write them in verse.
Discussion Questions: Why is Josh so impacted by Jordan getting a girlfriend?; Who do you think influences Josh more: his dad or his mom? Explain.; Within his poems, Josh uses formatting, bolding, and different fonts to put emphasis on certain words. Why does he do this?; Josh uses figurative language throughout his poems. Find an example and share why you think Josh used it.; How are Josh and Jordan similar? Different?
We Flagged:
Read This If You Loved: Jumped In by Patrick Flores-Scott (YA), The Sports Pages edited by Jon Sciezska, The Moves Make the Man by Bruce Brooks, Summer Ball by Mike Lupica
Presidential Misadventures: Poems that Poke Fun at the Man in Charge Author: Bob Raczka; Illustrator: Dan E. Burr
Published: January 27, 2015 by Roaring Brook Press
Summary: A spoonful of poetry helps the mockery go down! This collection of presidential poems is historical and hysterical.
The clerihew is a simple poetic form specifically invented to make fun of famous people—and who is more famous than the misbehaving presidents of the United States? Here are forty-three poems teasing the commander-in-chief that are fun to read aloud and even more fun to write yourself. From the author of the incredibly inventive Lemonade: And Other Poems Squeezed from a Single Word comes a new collection filled with zingers, humdingers, and Presidential Misadventures.
Review: As a student, history was always my least favorite class. But yet, I would go home and cuddle on my couch with historical fiction. Admittedly, presidents have never interested me much (and I am not proud to say this). This book is FUN. The poems made me giggle, and I found myself googling the facts in the poems to learn more about the background of the stories. After reading this book, I was inspired to reserve Lemonade: And Other Poems Squeezed from a Single Word because the author is quite clever. I read this book aloud to my son and husband while we were eating dinner, and I kept holding out the book and saying, “Oh my goodness. Look at this drawing!” Those who are knowledgeable about presidents (like my husband) will likely know many of these stories, but kids will enjoy learning about history and be inspired to learn more about the presidents.
Teacher’s Tools for Navigation: Each of the poems in this book is discussed in depth in the back matter. I would have my students each take two poems and perform them in front of the class. Then, they could briefly describe the history behind the story. This would help students practice speaking skills, and the poems would stick in the other students’ minds. Of course, having students research their own facts about presidents to create poems would also be fun!
Discussion Question: Which presidential story was your favorite? Look up one more fact about that president and write a short poem to reflect the information. Be prepared to share this fact with the class.
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!
**This book is technically historical fiction, but I felt it was pretty darn close to nonfiction**
Never Fall Down Author: Patricia McCormick
Published May 8th, 2012 by Balzer + Bray
Goodreads Summary: This National Book Award nominee from two-time finalist Patricia McCormick is the unforgettable story of Arn Chorn-Pond, who defied the odds to survive the Cambodian genocide of 1975-1979 and the labor camps of the Khmer Rouge.
Based on the true story of Cambodian advocate Arn Chorn-Pond, and authentically told from his point of view as a young boy, this is an achingly raw and powerful historical novel about a child of war who becomes a man of peace. It includes an author’s note and acknowledgments from Arn Chorn-Pond himself.
When soldiers arrive in his hometown, Arn is just a normal little boy. But after the soldiers march the entire population into the countryside, his life is changed forever.
Arn is separated from his family and assigned to a labor camp: working in the rice paddies under a blazing sun, he sees the other children dying before his eyes. One day, the soldiers ask if any of the kids can play an instrument. Arn’s never played a note in his life, but he volunteers.
This decision will save his life, but it will pull him into the very center of what we know today as the Killing Fields. And just as the country is about to be liberated, Arn is handed a gun and forced to become a soldier.
My Review: When I started Never Fall Down, I had no idea what I was getting myself into. I began it because Ricki recommended it to me, but I didn’t read the back or have any prior knowledge about the book. So, when I began, I had no idea how tough this book was going to be.
I also have to preface with my ignorance of the Cambodian Genocide. I blame my lack of world history education because this is a time of history that should be taught. It, along with the Holocaust and Armenian Genocide, was based in racism and the attempt to purify a country. Reading Arn’s story throws you right in the middle of the genocide, and Patricia McCormick doesn’t hold anything back. Every time you think nothing can get worse for Arn and the Cambodians, something does, but you also have such hope for Arn’s survival as you seen him overcome every obstacle he faces. Even though death actually stares him in the face throughout the book, this young boy somehow continues. He continues through starvation, excessive work, lack of sleep, and murder surrounding him. Arn stated in interviews with McCormick that music saved his life, but I think it was more about his willingness to do whatever was needed to survive and especially anything to help those he cared for to survive.
Patricia McCormick tells our story in a broken English dialect that was influenced by “Arn’s own beautiful, improvised English” that McCormick heard in her head after interviewing him and traveling with him to Cambodia over a couple of years. The extent that Ms. McCormick went to ensure that Arn’s story was a true representation of his trials and heroism is honorable.
Teachers’ Tools For Navigation: This would be a perfect cross-curricular text! It could be read in a world history class in full or in parts. Although it is McCormick’s writing, it is definitely Arn’s story, and Arn’s story is one that needs to be shared. This book could also be used in lit circles where each group has a different book about a piece of history or an individual who/that is not usually learned about (maybe with Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys, Sold,Caminar by Skila Brown, The Glass Collector by Anna Perera, Son of a Gun by Anne de Graaf, Inside Out & Back Again by Thanhha Lai, Guantanamo Boy by Anna Perera, A Long Walk to Water by Linda Sue Park, The Queen of Water by Laura Resau, orNow is the Time for Running by Michael Williams).
One of my amazing 8th grade students read this book recently, and she was as enthralled with it as I was. Immediately after finishing, she got online and started learning more about Arn and Cambodia. She came across an amazing video with both Patricia McCormick and Arn in it. It is 27 minutes long, but it is so worth watching:
Discussion Questions: What do you think ultimately helped Arn survive?; How did Sombo save Arn’s life at the orphan camp? When the war with the Vietnamese started? At the killing fields?; Do you think music is what saved Arn?; How were the Khmer Rouge able to make their prisoners do whatever they wanted them to?; Why did the Khmer Rouge kill all the educated Cambodians?; Why was Sombo so unsure about the Coca Cola?
We Flagged: “All the time now we hear girl screaming, girl running, girl crying. At night but also sometime in the daytime. All the tie, the Khmer Rouge they chase the girl, cut the hair. Sometime with scissor, sometime with knife. Chop short, to the chin, like boy. The girl, they cry and sometime they run. They run, it’s no good. The Khmer Rouge may shoot them, maybe take them to the bushes, do whatever they want. A lot of the girl afterward, they pull on their hair, pull like maybe they can stretch it, make it long, make it beautiful again.
My number two big sister, Maly, her hair like silk. Most proud thing about her, her hair. Shiny black, like blue, like a crow has. Every night she brush her hair, every morning. Sometime even she brush her hair not thinking, just dreaming maybe about the boy she love. One morning I wake up before everyone and see her making rice. Her neck, it’s bare now, her skin there is pale, never saw the sun, her long hair gone. Last night while I was asleep, the soldier, they cut her beauty. So now when she give me a bowl of rice soup, her eyes stay on the ground.” (p. 29-30)
Read This If You Loved: Titles listed above in Teachers’ Tools for Navigation
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 Books for Readers who Like Nonfiction
For readers that like nonfiction, here are some of our favorites!
Ricki
*I opted to divide my books into the marketed audience. I will say that all of the books I listed below cross age levels and would be appreciated by all ages.*
My husband and I loved reading this with our son. Adults (with or without children) will enjoy this book just as much as children will. It is beautifully written.
It is difficult to put words to this book. It is a stunning masterpiece that will appreciated for years to come. If you haven’t read it, I promise it is worth the hype.
Readers get lost in the contemporary Native American Voices of this anthology which features a combination of art, photography, poetry, and prose.
4. For Adults:
The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls
Ahh, let me count the ways I love this book. Many of my high schools loved the writing of this text. It is marketed for adults, but the beauty of story makes it a book that touches many lives. This is one of my all-time favorite books.
5. For Professional Development/Writers:
Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott
This text taught me a lot about writing and made me want to drop everything and crawl into a cave to write. If you aren’t inspired to write after reading this book…then I shall bake you a pie.
Kellee
Nonfiction is one of the genres that many of my students are not interested in (though I try to get them into it!). Here are 5 nonfiction books that I wish my students would read because they are awesome.
All of these books are on my list for the same reason: Because they made me completely fascinated about the time period or topic. They all are told in a mix of informational and narrative to keep the reader entertained, they all are about a topic not widely written/talked about (except Amelia), and they all are just filled with such a ridiculous amount of information.
1. An American Plague: The True and Terrifying Story of the Yellow Fever Epidemic of 1793 by Jim Murphy
2. The Great Fire by Jim Murphy
3. Shipwreck at the Bottom of the World: The Extraordinary True Story of Shackleton and The Endurance by Jennifer Armstrong
4. Amelia Lost: The Life and Disapperance of Amelia Earhart by Candace Fleming
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.
Kellee:This week didn’t seem long, but when I think back a lot happened this week! I was able to finish two novels this week. Both were unique and well done, but VERY different. First I read Breakfast Served Anytime by Sarah Combs which was a good senior year /figuring out who you are book. Then I finished Playing for the Commandant by Suzy Zail which was about a young pianist who was chosen as the commandant’s pianist at Aushwitz-Birkenau. It was interesting to read them one after another because Breakfast was a very emotionally driven book written in almost a journal format while Playing was much more matter-of-fact.
On Mondays and Thursdays, Jim, Trent, and I are now going to the park to go for a walk (run for Jim), and Trent and I have been listening to audiobooks while we walk. Last Monday we had the pleasure of listening to Mercy Watson to the Rescue and Mercy Watson Goes for a Ride by Kate DiCamillo. I am always so blown away by DiCamillo’s ability to tell these perfect stories and use such perfect language. There is no question that she is one of the best around. Within all of our rereading we also read (then reread and reread) a new book he got for his birthday: Duck and GooseColors. I like reading it because Trent now says “quack quack” if you ask what a duck says, so this book is perfect to get him to say it.
Ricki: Happy Monday, friends! I am still working on my YAL grant and also a manuscript about the evolution of a struggling reader’s identity when she is exposed to YAL. It’s all fun stuff. I’ve been up every night until about 3am working on these (ah, the life of a mom!), so the writing has taken precedence to reading. I suspect I will get back in the grove within the next week or two. This week, Henry and I read a new book, Second Banana by Keith Graves. It tells the story of Bubbles, a monkey who is the top banana of the circus show, and his friend Oop, a gorilla who wants to be something more than second banana. Henry and I also read Snuggle Puppy by Sandra Boynton a few times (I’ve been practicing my singing voice) and several pop-up and lift-the-flap books. He is a big fan of those books, and his grandmother keeps buying new ones.
This Week’s Expeditions
Kellee:I am almost done with The Family Romanov. It is such an eye opener! I am learning so much about the time period. I am also going to start When I Was the Greatest by Jason Reynolds.
With Trent, we started listening to Winnie the Pooh by A.A. Milne while walking, so we’ll continue that on Monday.
Ricki:I am still working on Life in Outer Space by Melissa Keil, but I love it. If I wasn’t so focused on writing YAL stuff, I would have devoured it long ago! Of course, East of Eden is still playing in my car. I think I am on disc ten, and I still love it. That Cathy is a memorable character!
Upcoming Week’s Posts
Tuesday: Top Ten Books for Readers Who Like Nonfiction
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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