Unleashing Readers

Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten Favorite Classics AND Top Ten Classics We Want To Read

July 2, 2014July 1, 2014 by Kellee

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 Favorite Classics AND Top Ten Classics We Want To Read

Ricki

Favorites

1. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

This is my all-time favorite book. I read it as a freshman in high school and thought it was okay. When I reread it as an adult, I fell in love with it. I made my dad read it, and he was just as enamored with the book.

2. Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck

I love all things John Steinbeck. This is my favorite classic to teach. My students and I read it like a play, and they love it.

3. Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë

This book takes me to a different land. It is beautiful. I own an old copy with illustrations. As I write about the book right now, I am compelled to reread it.

4. 1984 by George Orwell

1984 is an incredible book to teach. It took awhile for my students to get into it, but they really enjoyed it once they got over the initial hump. This book is a winner (and there are so many modern-day connections for students to appreciate).

5. One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest by Ken Kesey

I read this book the summer before college. I was blown away by how good it was. This is a classic worth reading.

Want to Read

1. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

I am embarrassed that I haven’t read this book yet! I love all of the movies. I know that doesn’t count!

2. East of Eden by John Steinbeck

This book has been on my to-read list for a very long time. I think I own three copies of it.

3. Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

I’d love to read this text. I opened the first few pages during a break in my teaching schedule, but somehow, I lost the copy.

4. Catch-22 by Joseph Heller

This is a book that I probably won’t enjoy, but I would love to try it out.

5. Beloved by Toni Morrison

I read The Bluest Eye as a freshman in high school (and was very confused), and then when I had the option to see the play, I ordered copies of it. I enjoyed it so much that I ended up teaching it the following year.

Kellee

Favorites

1. Hemingway’s Sun Also Rises, Old Man and the Sea, and A Farewell to Arms

I love how Hemingway writes! And although I haven’t read everything by him yet, everything I have read I thoroughly enjoy.

2. Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse

This is a book that truly makes you look at the world differently.

3. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

Perfection. The courtroom scene will never leave me. And if you haven’t listened to the audio book, it is a must. Sissy Spacek is amazing.

4. Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck

This is such a powerful novel. And the ending! Wow. It is also an amazing audio book read by Gary Sinise.

5. Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury

One of the first dystopians and a frightening and scary world it is.

Want to Read

1. Catch-22 by Joseph Heller

I want to see where the phrase came from. Also, I have heard it is quite enjoyable.

2. 1984 by George Orwell

I have started this book a handful of times, and I. Am. Going. To. Finish. It!

3. Lord of the Flies by William Golding

Too often this is brought up, and I haven’t read it.

4. Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck

Everyone’s favorite, and I am enthralled with the Dust Bowl.

5. One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest by Ken Kesey

The premise just seems like it is going to be fun to read.

What classics are your favorite?
What classics do you still want to read?

and

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? 6/30/14

July 27, 2015June 30, 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

We celebrated our one year anniversary last week!!!

Tuesday: Top Ten Favorite Posts in the First Year of Unleashing Readers

Wednesday: Why Do We Blog?

Thursday: What We’ve Learned This Year

Friday: New Year’s Resolution

Saturday: Wrap Up

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

Congratulations to our SIX book giveaway winners!!

Holly M. (Remember Dippy)
Gigi M. (Golden Boy)
Kelly V. (All Our Yesterdays)
Kristen H. (The Lost Planet)
Linda B. (All the Truth That’s in Me)
Cassie L. (Dead End in Norvelt)

Last Week’s Journeys

Kellee: Not to toot my own horn, but I am so impressed by how much time I am able to find to read these days. I love having reading in my life regularly again. This week I read some more amazing novels.

First was A.S. King’s Reality Boy, and it does not disappoint. Like all of King’s novels, it deals with some tough subjects with a voice that rings true.
Next was The Milk of Birds by Sylvia Whitman. I am glad I picked this one up. I didn’t know anything about it, and it surprised me (as did a couple other books I read this week). Milk of Birds is about two girls, one in Sudan and one in the US, that are pen pals. Through narrative and letters you learn about both of their lives. So good!
Then I read Golden by Jessi Kirby, which is a contemporary high school story with a mystery twist.
Out of Nowhere by Maria Padian was another that surprised me because I hadn’t heard of it. Actually it blew me away a bit. It is about Tom, a hugely popular high school soccer player and the Somali immigrant soccer player who he befriends, and how Tom’s life changes because of the new look at life he has because of his new friend.
Imperfect Spiral by Debbie Levy is a book about Danielle who is babysitting a young boy when he is hit by a car and killed. The book looks at all of the effects of this young life’s loss.
Dear Life, You Suck by Scott Blagden is about Cricket who is an orphan who lives in a home for boys and the anger he holds because of how rough his life has been.

Doesn’t that sound like an amazing reading week?!

On top of the novels, I read some great picture books as well (I’ll blog about them later): A Home for Mr. Emerson by Barbara Kerley, President Taft is Stuck in the Bath by Mac Barnett, Firefly July by Paul B. Janeczko, The Way to the Zoo by John Burningham, Picnic by John Burningham, Peppa Pig and the Great Vacation by Candlewick Entertainment, One My Way to Bed by Sarah Maizes, and Moo! by David LaRochelle. Trent and I also kept on reading our picture #bookaday:

What Makes Elmo Happy? by Lee Howard (I love Sesame Street. Everything about it. I love that they teach lessons and still make it fun. Sesame Street books are no different.)
Baby Animals at Night by Kingfisher (This is a great nonfiction board book. One I hope to buy. It looks at a handful of animals and what they do at night. I specifically loved that it looked at some less known animals like tarsiers and fennec foxes.)
The Cat Comes Too by Hazel Hutchins (A simple board book about how a cat helps his owner.)
What is That? by Tana Hoban (Tana Hoban’s books are wordless and in black and white to help catch babies’ eyes, and boy do they! The pictures always catch Trent’s attention. And it is fun to make up what to say for each illustration.)
Brave: Magic in the Mist by Disney (I am a huge Pixar fan. I think everything they do is brilliant. This book is a cute adaptation of Brave, and I think it does a great job of holding the integrity of the movie. Also, it is in verse which adds even more to the story.)
Knuffle Bunny by Mo Willems (I love Knuffle Bunny and was so happy to read it to Trent! It is one I need to buy so we can read it over and over and over again. I have the second one to read to him. Maybe this week.)
Little Duckling by Rebecca Harry (A cute board book with sound that has a little duckling trying to find someone to teach him to swim.)

Ricki: Unlike Kellee, I had a rough week. My poor son had a very high fever and woke up every few hours crying. I was reminded of what it was like to have a newborn again. Thank goodness, he took a turn for the better today and is feeling well again. We only read three picture books, two I loved and one I didn’t. I fell in love with The Noisy Paintbox by Barb Rosenstock (and illustrated beautifully by Mary Grandpré). I learned a lot about synesthesia and will be buying a Kandinsky print. I loved learning about his magical childhood. I also enjoyed Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs by Judi Barrett. I have always heard about the book and was glad I found it in the library. I also read The Carrot Seed by Ruth Krauss. This is our district’s K-2 summer reading text. My son is still only 7 months old, but I was curious about it. I thought it taught a good lesson, but it was very basic, and I can think of many other books that do a better job.

This Week’s Expeditions

Kellee: This week I plan on reading Wise Young Fool by Sean Beaudoin, Brother, Brother by Clay Carmichael, and Midwinterblood by Marcus Sedgwick. I hope they continue the streak of great books I’ve been reading.

Trent and I will continue to read our picture books. We finished the board books from the library, but I have a pile of non-board picture books that we may dive into.

Ricki: I am halfway through Hidden Like Anne Frank: 14 True Stories of Survival by Marcel Prins and Peter Henk Steenhuis. Whew. This book has been an emotional ride for me. I am learning about the ways in which people hid during the Holocaust, but reading about the narrators’ immense sadness and grief is weighing on me. I’ll absolutely be writing a full review on this one when I finish it, but I recommend it to anyone is looking for a powerful work of nonfiction.

Upcoming Week’s Posts

Tuesday: Top Ten Favorite Classics AND Top Ten Classics We Want To Read

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!

and

One Year Anniversary Celebration Week: Recap

June 29, 2014June 28, 2014 by Kellee

This has been a wonderful week filled with celebrations, reflections, and goals!

Tuesday: Top Ten Favorite Posts in the First Year of Unleashing Readers

We look back at the past year and share our ten (+1) favorite posts.

Wednesday: Why Do We Blog?

Joined with our blogging friends, we tell why we love blogging.

Thursday: What We’ve Learned This Year

Reflecting on our first year, we share what we have learned about ourselves and blogging.

Friday: New Year’s Resolutions

What’s next?! We detail our plans for the upcoming year.

Please visit our anniversary posts and celebrate with us!

and

One Year Anniversary Celebration Week: New Year’s Resolutions

June 29, 2014June 27, 2014 by Kellee

As we begin our second year, we have spent time reflecting and setting goals. We are extremely proud of our accomplishments in this first year, but we hope to grow even more over this next year. Here are some of our plans:

1. Review more professional books and middle grade novels

We did a survey a couple of months ago asking what our readers would like to see more of, and both professional texts and middle grade were at the top of the list. We take your feedback seriously, and we will work on this over the next year.

2. More teaching posts

We also learned from the survey that our teacher reflection posts are appreciated by our viewers. We plan to post more of these in the future.

3. Update About Us

Our lives have changed tremendously over the last year, so we definitely need to get into our “About Us” page and update the information.

4. Update and add to our “Navigating Literary Elements” page

We have recommendations for setting, characterization, and language under our literary elements page, but have plans to add conflict, voice, and imagery. Based on the books we read this year, we will adjust a few of our recommendations to keep the titles new and fresh!

5. Best For…. List

We are often asked about the BEST books for each grade level, so want to compile grade-specific lists to help teachers build and adjust their curricula.

Cheers to a new year!

and

One Year Anniversary Celebration Week: What We’ve Learned this Year

July 27, 2015June 26, 2014 by Ricki

As we wrap up our first year as blog partners, we can’t help but reflect on all of the lessons we’ve learned—both as a team and as bloggers. Sharing a blog requires a strong friendship, and while we were friends before the blog, our bond has grown much stronger from working closely together. We’ve learned:

Google Drive is a lifesaver.

We have a complex shared calendar. If an outsider opened the file, it would be like entering the Twilight Zone. There are sticky notes all over the place and a lot of jargon, but it makes sense to us. Having a shared file that updates automatically has saved us a lot of time and energy, so thank you, Google Drive.

Emails are not always the best form of communication.

Kellee and I exchange a few hundred emails a day. We have realized that, often, just picking up the phone and calling each other is much more effective when we have important questions.

We share the same taste in books but not in art.

You would think this wouldn’t be a big deal, but when it comes to designing the blog and posts like, “Top Ten Covers We’d Frame as Pieces of Art,” not sharing the same taste in art becomes very apparent. Luckily, we manage to compromise, and we think the end products (e.g. the new blog design) are a perfect blend of our styles.

Regrettably, we can’t take every book that is offered to us.

This lesson has been very difficult for us to accept (and we still struggle with it!). We are often contacted by authors and marketing companies with book review requests. We love to help spread the word about these great books, but we receive more requests than there are days in the year.

Babies do not make good blog partners.

As we both entered motherhood this year, we realized that our blogging habits would never be the same. Now, we both jump on the blog in those brief napping hours or after the babies go to bed. It is too tricky to blog with a baby in a sling.

Friends do make good blog partners.

Even with the stress that comes with co-blogging, having a friend there to do it with you makes it 100% easier and more fun.

What have you learned by blogging? Teaching? Living?

and

One Year Anniversary Celebration Week: Why Do We Blog?

July 27, 2015June 25, 2014 by Ricki

Blogging is about building connections, and for that reason, we knew we couldn’t do this post alone. For the past two Monday posts, we’ve posted a request to our blogging friends, asking them why they blog.

Our Blog: Unleashing Readers

Our Blog’s Focus: We work to provide a blog that offers teaching materials and resources for K-12 educators. Our book review format is designed to help teachers navigate great books with their students. We try to write reflections that offer teaching tools for the instruction of these texts.

Why We Blog: Simply put, we love teaching. Sharing our love of literature with our students is incredibly rewarding for us, and we want other teachers to share this joy with us. It is our belief that many of our viewers share this mindset. We are dissatisfied with the current model of traditional classrooms (where boring, inaccessible books are the staple), and we aim to show that there are high quality, high interest books outside of the literary canon. We are not asking school systems to lock classic texts in the closet, but instead, we offer alternatives, such as bridging these classics with other texts and offering other alternatives for the one-text-for-all approach. We love sharing ideas and book titles with our blogging friends and have made some great connections with them and hope you will see what their blogs have to offer.

Alyson at Kid Lit Frenzy

Blog Focus: To share recommendations of children’s and young adult literature to teachers, librarians and parents, and to highlight educational literacy activities.

Why I Blog: I began blogging to simply share my thoughts on books that I was reading. However, it has evolved into much more than sharing thoughts. It has developed into a community in which I contribute to but also learn from.

Audrey, Crystal, Jessica, K. Imani & Jon at Rich in Color

Blog Focus: Rich in Color is dedicated to reading, reviewing, talking about, and otherwise promoting young adult fiction starring people of color or written by people of color.

Why We Blog: We believe that teens (and adults!) should be able to find themselves in the kinds of books they love to read. The discrepancy between books that feature people of color or are written by people of color and the actual composition of the U.S. population is a concern for us. We think it’s important to support these books/authors, and one way we can do that is to talk about them.

Beth at A Foodie Bibliophile in Wanderlust

Blog Focus: The theme of my blog is food, books, and travel but I write mostly about books.

Why I Blog: I started blogging because I realized that when I finished a book, I needed to talk to someone about it, and I didn’t really have anyone to do that with. I continued blogging because I found a wonderful, supportive community of teachers and book lovers on Twitter, the Nerdy Book Club, and with the “It’s Monday! What are You Reading?” participants. All of these elements of online community have made me a better reader and teacher.

Carrie at There’s a Book for That

Blog Focus: My blog highlights my addiction to and love of all things in the land of children’s literature. It includes regular updates of what I am reading and often has stories and examples of how I am using books with my primary students.

Why I Blog: I blog to tell stories of my learning and thoughts about children’s literature and teaching in general. Blogging has allowed me to be part of a learning and reading community that shares. The more I write, the more I learn. I also love the opportunity to share little windows into my classroom and the thinking that happens there.

Crystal at Reading Through Life

Blog Focus: I share kidlit and yalit and also share about teaching in my elementary library. I have an emphasis on diversity in literature.

Why I Blog: I wanted to be able to communicate with more than just the teachers and librarians in my area. My blog is also a great place to store things that I can access from my own classroom.

Debbie at The Styling Librarian

Blog Focus: I believe books are your best accessory. I blog about new and old books, celebrate authors and illustrators with interview posts, share technology that I find useful, and share about my life as an expat living in Hong Kong.

Why I Blog: I love connecting with others out in the blogosphere, have developed relationships and gained so much inspiration from them, especially for my professional life. It is fun to express myself and also keep up with family and friends with my posts. Celebrating books, authors and illustrators, and techology is something that keeps me going, appreciating, and following through week to week.

Earl at The Chronicles of a Children’s Book Writer

Blog Focus: My blog focuses on the books I’ve read. I occasionally post about my writing as well.

Why I Blog: I blog because it is such a great way to connect with so many other like-minded people all over the world. I love the give and take of it.

Karen at Ms. Yingling Reads

Blog Focus: I concentrate on books for middle school students, especially humorous, realistic fiction and books with culturally diverse characters.

Why I Blog: I am a school librarian who tries to read all of the books I buy before I purchase them. My blog serves as my auxiliary memory, helps me connect with my students, and is hopefully a good resource for other teachers and librarians who don’t get a chance to read all of the books that I do.

Linda at TeacherDance

Blog Focus: I love to share about literacy in all aspects for helping children learn, integrating across the curriculum. The focus most of the time is reading and writing in the classroom, including book reviews.

Why I Blog: I blog to write, to share aspects of education I believe are important to learning for all children. And I blog to connect to the broader education world in order to meet people everywhere who inspire me when they write of their own personal and educational experiences and practices. An added aspect of my blogging connections has been to read and learn from good writers.

Michele at Mrs. Knott’s Book Nook

Blog Focus: I want my blog to focus on giving practical resources to teachers and parents to support themselves in the areas of reading and writing. My hope is to inspire and get people excited about the wonderful books that are available to us!

Why I Blog: I blog because I love talking about books and having conversations about them with anyone who wants to discuss. I have gotten so many wonderful ideas from other blogs, I wanted to share too. One of my goals is to work on my writing, so for me, this is a chance to do this several times each week!

Thank you friends in sharing why blogging is important to you! We love having you as part of our community!
Why do you like blogging? Or visiting blogs?

and

One Year Anniversary Celebration Week: Top Ten Favorite Posts in the First Year of Unleashing Readers

June 29, 2014June 24, 2014 by Ricki

Today’s Topic: Top Ten Favorite Posts in the First Year of Unleashing Readers

For our one year anniversary, we want to share with you our favorite posts during our first year.

1. Launch Week: Our Favorites and the Blog Hop of Other Bloggers’ Favorites

In these posts, we shared our favorite books to use for: Read-Alouds, Literature Circles/Book Clubs, and Close Readings. We also included our favorite classroom library texts and all-time favorite titles.

2. Top Books for Struggling/Reluctant Middle School Readers

When Kellee switched to teaching all struggling readers, she saw a definite trend in what they read and found success sharing these books with her students. She wanted to share them with other teachers to hope they find success as well.

3. Walden Award Finalists and Walden Award Winner

As members of the Amelia Elizabeth Walden Award Committee, we were proud to share reviews of the 2013 Finalists and Winners.

4. What Being Married to a Non-Reader has Taught Me

Too often “non-readers” are put to shame and frowned upon, but many of these people read more than we do, just differently. We can learn from these “non-readers” rather than judging them.

5. Helping Our Students Achieve the Reading and Writing Flow

After reading Murray’s Write to Learn, Ricki was compelled to reflect about how this might look in the classroom.

6. Genre/Format Introductions

One of the ways Kellee makes sure her students can find the books they need is by introducing them to the array of genres and format they can find within the world of books. This is the lesson she uses to teach these.

7. Balance, Where Are You?

As teachers, balance often feels elusive. Ricki reflects on this struggle.

8. Academic Games

When teaching any child, if you make it fun, they are more likely to retain the information. Here are some academic games Kellee has found to be successful in her classroom.

9. 20 Moments I Will Miss With My Readers

When she decided to pursue a doctoral degree, Ricki began to reflect on the moments she would miss most.

10. Novels with Science Content and Novels with Math Content

As a person with a huge classroom library and extensive reading knowledge, Kellee is often the go-to person at her school for book advice. When a science and math teacher asked her for cross-curricular books, she decided to make it a blog post to share the list.

11. As we blow out the candles of this blog anniversary, we can’t help but add one more post beyond the top ten. After all, we need one candle for good luck and to grow on!

Our Babies’ Favorite Picture Books: Kellee and Trent (first three months) and Ricki and Henry (first six months)

and