It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

To learn more about It's Monday! What Are You Reading? visit Mentor Texts

Wow. That's just about all I can say. Wow.

AR level: 4.3
Grade appropriate: 2nd and up

RATING BREAKDOWN:
Overall: 5/5-- Phenomenal! I loved every page.
Creativity: 5/5-- Who would make the protagonist of their story a vacuumed up squirrel? Need I say more?
Characters: 5/5-- Loved Flora! Wanted her to move in with me! I'd take her and Ulysses in a heart beat.
Engrossing: 5/5-- I started it Monday when I heard the Newbery announcement and finished it before the week was up. I know that doesn't sound all that impressive, but hey, I have a 2 year old, a 10 year old and a full time job. My friend Ali finished it the day I gave it to her.
Writing: 5/5-- Lovely.
Appeal to kids: 5/5-- They will EAT IT UP!
Appropriate length to tell the story: 5/5

CONTENT:
Language: none
Sexuality: none
Violence: none
Drugs/Alcohol: none

~~~

 

This is a book that we received as a review copy. I'm reading it so I can review it and send the review to the editors.

I was so excited about this book when I picked it up. (I usually don't start anything I'm not excited about...) And the beginning was good. I liked Holly. She was relateable and realistic. I loved the little village that they move to in England. The setting was charming and I was dying to visit. 

But as soon as they step through the tree into the alternate world I was gone. 

Don't get me wrong, I'm a huge Fantasy fan. I love it! But this world... I didn't love it. 

It had plenty of action so that seems good, but I think the biggest problem was that I had no desire to be in that world. As a result I had no desire to be in the book. I kept putting it down and reading other things (because I actually could escape the miserable world inside the tree even though it took the characters FOREVER to get out.)
AR level: 4.9

Grade appropriate: 4th and up

RATING BREAKDOWN:
Overall: 2/5

Creativity: 2/5-- It reminded me a lot of Narnia. Even down to Everett falling for the tricks of the Elemental (fairy).

Characters: 3/5-- I liked the characters ok, but had no real connection.

Engrossing: 1/5-- I kept putting it down to escape!

Writing: 3/5-- The writing actually was fine. The descriptions were detailed but not too much. The English countryside where the kids move was so charming. I was dying to pick up my family and move right away. The problem wasn't that I couldn't picture the fantasy world, but just that I didn't like it.

Appeal to kids: 1/5-- Not a single child has picked it up even though it's been sitting on my "new books" shelf for a week. I have a hard time selling it too, because I didn't like it.

Appropriate length to tell the story: 2/5-- LONG

CONTENT:
Language: none

Sexuality: none

Violence: mild, fighting between good magical creatures and the king's army.

Drugs/Alcohol: none

~~~

Fun and cute! I read it to 2nd graders. They loved it! Made me think about my grandpa in a new light too.

It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

To learn more about It's Monday! What Are You Reading? visit Mentor Texts

Merry Christmas everybody! Yes it is the holidays, but at my house that doesn't mean much down time... With a little one and a not-so-little one there's lots of claims on Mom's time. 

But my 10-year-old and I have started a habit of sitting together in our game room and reading for 30 minutes every night. The  hubby watches the 2-year-old and we just have some quality time to read together. It has really helped me knock some books off my reading list and it gives me a chance to talk with my big boy about what he's reading. 

And I actually read some NEWBERY winners this week. (Thank goodness I didn't set a time limit on myself. I'd be really stressing out at this point!) As you will see there is no rhyme or reason to the order in which I am reading them... I have no excuse. I read 'em as the mood strikes.

 

 This book is one of our Quest for the Crown books for this year. I am reading ALL of them and writing questions for our big competition. (I will post more about Quest at a later date.)

This book is a great one. I like the characters and fell in love with Zasha. Suspenseful and interesting, it's a winner. 

 ~~~~~

Newbery winner, 1967

"Slowly" is right. I had a hard time finishing this book. When I got into it I really did enjoy it, but the beginning moves so slowly that I had a hard time getting past it. 

One of my favorite books growing up was Anne of Green Gables and this reminded me of it very much. I would have liked this book as a middle grades/high schooler better than as a grown up. I tend toward more action and excitement these days...
~~~~~

Newbery winner, 1979

This book, however, WAS one of my favorites in middle school and is still just as great today. I love the mystery and the puzzle. Clue was one of my favorite board games and I played it ad nauseum as a kid. (My poor parents.)  This reminds me so strongly of that game. I loved it this time through as much as the first time. (A little nostalgia never hurts either!)

Newbery Book Club

So... one of our awesome fourth grade teachers got all the kids excited last year about which book was going to win the Newbery award. The kids were reading like crazy, Wonder, The One and Only Ivan, Three Times Lucky, and Splendors and Glooms. When the day of the announcement came we all watch with baited breath, chewing our nails. While many were disappointed, everyone thought The One and Only Ivan was a pretty good choice!

I thought "Man! We've got to get on this earlier next year!" So I have done it! We are having a Newbery book club. Each child will read a different book. (These are all books being discussed as possible winners.) And every Wednesday afternoon we are going to meet up and discuss our current reads.

I'm so excited! The kids are buzzing and I've got 3 other teachers that are joining me to "lead" it. (Basically we all want to read the books!)

I've told the kids, if you are not in the club you can't check out the books. It sounds harsh, but I need to reserve the books for the kids who have committed to come every week and read the books.  The kids need permission to stay after school. Below is my permission slip/description of what we're doing. 

 

And here is the list of books we are using.  I do issue a disclaimer: These books are being talked about as ones that MIGHT win the Newbery. Any book published in 2013 is in the running. The winner could be one not even considered for this list. 

Today is our first meeting and I'll let you know how it goes. 

Newbery Challenge- 2011 Moon Over Manifest

It took me a while to write the review of this book. It was absolutely fantastic, but the end was so moving and I was so sad it was over I felt the need to recover. 

It was the kind of book that you can't just immediately start chatting casually about. The characters and the town wove their way so fully into my heart that I needed to take a little time before I could review it here. 

The book is historical fiction. Which, I'll be honest, is not my favorite genre. But this book was such a surprising gem that it immediately became one of my favorite books! 

The story takes place during the Great Depression and centers around a girl who has lived all her life with her dad on the road. They hitch rides on trains and move from place to place, but at the beginning of the book her father has decided that the road is not the proper place for a girl to grow up. He sends her back to a town that he spent some time in as a boy and she has to carve a place in this town for herself and in the process learns about the history of the town and a lot about herself. 

I know I can't do it justice here so just read it! 

LOVED, LOVED, LOVED IT! 

Newbery Challenge- 2012 Dead End in Norvelt

Video review this time.

Newbery Challenge- 2010 When You Reach Me

Ok, so I'm already breaking my rule. My one rule in this challenge! I am not reading the books in order...

I want to review quickly the ones I've read this year before I forget them. (Not that I won't EVER read them again, but there are so many and I want to get to them all.)

I read When You Reach Me by the lovely Rebecca Stead at the beginning of the school year.

I had the privilege of hearing Rebecca speak along with Clare Vanderpool and Jack Gantos at the 100th annual Texas Library Association Conference last month. I had already read When You Reach Me but I hadn't read Clare or Jack's books.

All three authors were amazing! I felt like I was a little girl at Disneyland meeting my favorite celebrities. I totally got pictures with them (because I'm a big dork!) I'm telling you STAR STRUCK!

Rebecca was beautiful and charming. She is so self-deprecating and shy that it absolutely endears herself to her audience immediately. Ok, enough gushing!

When You Reach Me was fabulous! It was interesting and funny. There was suspense and adventure. I loved the names of the chapters. They were named like categories on a game show. And when I got to the twist in the story it took me by surprise so fully! I feel like I need to read it again to fully grasp what was going on. I loved it so much that I immediately read Liar and Spy, Rebecca's newest book.

Newbery Challenge- 2013 The One and Only Ivan

I'm starting the Newbery Challenge with the 2013 winner The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate.

I know this is blaspheme because I haven't talked to anyone else who feels this way, but I liked this book. I think there was a lot of hype about it and it was talked up too much. I went in expecting... fireworks.

It was good.

It was warm.

But it wasn't electric.

I still talk it up to my kids. I will always encourage them to read it and I have had so many come back and say "I LOVED THIS BOOK!!!!"

In the future I will try not to let the hype in!

Newbery Challenge- In the Beginning

I am joining Mr. Schu and Mr. Sharp in their Newbery Challenge.
Below is a video that Mr. Schu at Watch. Connect. Read. made to explain the challenge.

I am taking the "Stress-free" to heart and I'm not going to give myself a time limit. I'm just going to read them as I can.

I want to start with the most recent and move backwards. (I think they'll be more interesting and I've read some of the most recent ones.) Hopefully by the time that I make it to some of the older (translate "harder") ones I'll be committed and addicted and have the fortitude to get through them.

Here we go!!!