Unleashing Readers Blog Hop

Welcome to the Unleashing Readers Blog Hop!!  When Kellee sent me the introduction, explaining everything this blog will offer, I was thrilled to be participating in this blog hop.  Here is what Kellee and Ricki have to say about their new blog:  

"The goal of Unleashing Readers is to be a go-to resource for all levels of teachers to find resources for utilizing the best pieces of literature and nonfiction in their classroom. We hope to do this by making our website specifically tailored to give teachers exactly what they need.

For each book we review, we will include a summary, our thoughts, potential discussion questions, quotes/pages we flagged, and books that are similar. To make the review even more useful for teachers, we will include how we would use the book in our classroom, including if we recommend the book for a read aloud, literature circle/book club, close reading/analysis, and/or classroom library buy."

Here are some of my favorite choices: 

My Favorite Read Aloud

This would be a great choice to read aloud to all students in the class. We often suggest this category when the book has strong, widespread appeal to many types of students.

 

Title: Hound Dog True

Author:  Linda Urban
**This would be a great beginning of the school year read aloud.  Linda Urban addresses the uncertainty of moving to a new school, as well as the importance of using a writer's notebook, in a way that moves readers.

My Favorite Lit Circle/Book Club Book

This text would work very well for discussion within small groups. We often suggest this category when the book offers great points of discussion, but it might not appeal to every student in the class.

Title:  Hold Fast
Author:  Blue Balliett

My Favorite Close Reading/Analysis Book

There are many passages within the book that would be great for close analysis. We often suggest this category when a book has complex passages or great sections to teach literary elements to students.


Title: The Arrival
Author:  Shaun Tan

My Recommended Classroom Library Buy

This would be a great addition to your classroom library. Often, these books fit well with a specific type of student, but we definitely think it is worth purchasing for your classroom.



Title:  Navigating Early
Author:  Clare Vanderpool  

My Personal Favorite Book

 

Title: Paperboy

Author:  Vince Vawter
Review:   I have read many great books this year, but this is the first book where I wished I could give it more than five stars. Vince Vawter says this book is "more memoir than fiction". I still have chills thinking about the challenges the main character was faced to overcome, all because of a stutter. The choice of words Vince Vawter used, within this story, gives me hope for the world around us.

Book Review - Invisibility by Andrea Cremer and David Levithan

 

This year I’ve been working on closing my book gap, in the area of fantasy.  I have no real reason for avoiding the genre of fantasy.  I loved Harry Potter, Percy Jackson and The Alchemyst. However, I find myself inadvertently pushing fantasy books to the bottom of my “must read” list.  During 2013, I’ve been more purposeful about reading new releases.  Throughout this process I refuse to read the blurb on the back of the book (I know I have some students gasping at this notion).  However, I prefer to be enticed by the storyline, without knowing magic and curse might be involved.  I’m so thankful that this is the approach I have been taking to close this book gap.  Without this approach I would have never started reading Invisibility by Andrea Cremer and David Levithan.  Last summer, I read Everyday by David Levithan and loved it!  Therefore, I suspected this book might have a touch of fantasy, but I wasn’t ready to know that until I fell in love with the characters and their story.

Stephen was born invisible, so he was used to the invisibility that cursed his life on a daily basis.  No one bothered him, because no one could see him, and he was just fine with that.  Until one day, Elizabeth, the new girl who has just moved into the apartments, can see Stephen.  Their lives instantly begin to change, not just because of the developing young love, but also due to the magical world of curses and spells that surrounds them.  Elizabeth, her mother, and brother, Laurie, have just moved to New York City.  Elizabeth is excited, yet apprehensive, about leaving a past involving bullying and tragedy.  Stephen becomes just the person she needs to help her rebuild and find a new, happier life.  However, in the end it is Elizabeth who must help Stephen overcome his past, which involves an incomprehensible family grudge.  Ultimately, this could mean life or death for everyone involved. 

Invisibility is a fantasy, which makes me excited to read more fantasy.  Despite the invisible boy (okay, so that’s a major part of the story), this is a story line that I could actually believe.  Cremer and Levithan gave readers a way to justify why bad things happen to good people.  Sometimes the smallest actions can set off a string of unpreventable life curses, and it takes a special person to help us regain our abilities and good fortune.  Invisibility kept my interest and emotions from the first page to the last, which is why I willing rated it 5 out of 5 stars.  I highly recommend this book for readers who may be hesitant to dive into the world of fantasy.  

Also, check out this quick YouTube video about how Andrea Cremer and David Levithan shared the writing responsibilities of this story:

It's Monday...What Are You Reading?!? 06/24/13

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

These memes were started by Teach Mentor Texts and Book Journeys, to inspire readers to share books they have read and will be reading. I have found many of my current reads by following bloggers participating in It’s Monday! What are you reading? Be sure to check out their sites for more information on what they are reading, and learn how to participate. 

                  



Last Week’s Favorites:

Title:  The Fault in Our Stars
Author:  John Green 
Review:  LOVE!  That pretty much sums up everything I have to say about this story.  Everything about this story screams love (and tears...lots of them). In usual John Green fashion, the characters are thoughtful, intelligent and painfully inspiring.  Okay?  Okay.

Title:  The Raven Boys 
Author:  Maggie Stiefvater
Review: This is the first book I have ever listen to as an audiobook, and overall I was pleased.  However, as I am sitting here trying to think of an appropriate review, I am struggling.  I think this is more in the fact that I I found myself occupied with other thoughts, as I was listening, so I missed a lot of the heartfelt moments I used when writing a review.  I am excited to read Dream Thieves, despite not having a lot to say about The Raven Boys, but will make sure I read the book and not listen to it as an audio book.

 

Title:  Paperboy

Author:  Vince Vawter

Review:  I have read many great books this year, but this is the first book where I wished I could give it more than five stars. Vince Vawter says this book is "more memoir than fiction". I still have chills thinking about the challenges the main character was faced to overcome, all because of a stutter. The choice of words Vince Vawter used, within this story, gives me hope for the world around us. 

 

Title:  Mustache Baby
Author:  Bridget Heos
Illustrator:  Joy Ang

Review:  The Shouldis children give this book 5 out of 5 stars, overwhelmingly.  A baby is born with a mustache...it could be used for good, but it could be used for evil.  The illustrations make this book enjoyable for children and adults.  I highly recommend reading this to students grades K-12. 

 

Title:  Crankee Doodle
Author:  Tom Angleberger
Illustrator: CeCe Bell 

Review:    Yankee Doodle is very crankee!  He doesn't want to ride to town, he doesn't want to stick a feather in his cap, and for the life of him he can't figure out why he would he want to call it macaroni.  The conversation that takes place between the pony and crankee doodle had my children in tears.  I must say, this is a very fun read aloud!

 

  
Title:  A Big Guy Took My Ball!
Author:  Mo Willems

Review: Elephant and Piggie did not disappoint! Dare I say it, but this may be my favorite Elephant and Piggie book.  Someone took Piggie's ball, and Elephant tries to help retrieve the lost object.  However, a REALLY big guy, really did take Piggie's ball, and Elephant is not sure if he can help Piggie.  This would be a great story to read with This is Not My Hat. 

 

Title:  Fake Mustache
Author:  Tom Angleberger
Review:  Hilarious!  Who knew a fake mustache could be the cause of so much laughter?! I really enjoyed Tom Angleberger's word choice, and almost dry sense of humor throughout this book.  Add this to your beginning of the year, read aloud list!

Title:  Hound Dog True (audio book version)
Author:  Linda Urban 
Review:  I must have found my focus for audio books, because unlike Raven Boys, I LOVED this story!  This story came at a perfect time in my life, as I am starting Teachers Write this week.  Mattie's notebook meant the world to her, and helped her through a tough transition.  It was where she recorded what she thought was important to her, even though others might not have found it important.  This would make a great read aloud for introducing writer's notebooks!

Reading Plans for this Week: 

I realize that most of these books are left over from last week. I had really high expectations for myself, despite knowing I would be attending All Write 2013. I'm hoping to finish them this week, but we will be moving, so these books may be staying down here for a couple of weeks.

   

Title: The Runaway King
Author:  Jennifer A. Nielsen
 


Title:  What Came From the Stars
Author:  Gary D. Schmidt

 


Title:  Beholding Bee
Author:  Kimberly Newton Fusco

 

Title: Once (Audio Book)
Author:  Morris Gleitzman
Special Note:  The audio version of this book is free through SYNC until June 26.



Title:  Lessons From A Dead Girl
Author:  Jo Knowles



Title: Contaminated
Author:  Em Garner

 

Title:  The Favorite Daughter
Author:  Allen Say 




Title:  The Story of Fish and Snail
Author: Deborah Freedman 





Title:  Courage of the Blue Boy
Author:  Robert Neubecker
 





Title:  A Little Book of Sloth 
Author: Lucy Cooke
 


Title:  Ian's Walk:  A Story About Autism
Author: Laurie Lears
Illustrator:  Karen Ritz
 
Title:  Notice and Note:  Strategies for Close Reading

Authors:  Kylene Beers and Robert Probst

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? June 17, 2013

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

These memes were started by Teach Mentor Texts and Book Journeys, to inspire readers to share books they have read and will be reading. I have found many of my current reads by following bloggers participating in It’s Monday! What are you reading? Be sure to check out their sites for more information on what they are reading, and learn how to participate. 

                  



Last Week’s Favorites:

Title:  Ashes
Author:  Amy Keen 
Review:  You can read a more in depth review from me here. 

 
Title:  Boy Wonders
Author:  Calef Brown 
Review:  My children loved the illustrations in this book, but they did not get into the questioning of the story.  However, I did enjoy this book because I could see using it to inspire students to ask questions and continually wonder. 

 
 
Title: Detective Blue
Author:  Steve Metzger
Illustrator:  Tedd Arnold
Review:  This story brought back some great childhood memories of nursery rhymes!  Detective Blue, formerly Little Boy Blue, is searching form Little Miss Muffet.  I love the play on words, throughout the interrogation process.  I realized how little exposure my children have to nursery rhymes, and they still loved this story! 


 

  Title:  A Tangle of Knots
Author:  Lisa Graff 
Review:  Anyone who knows me, knows that I love connections that make the world a smaller place.  A Tangle of Knots is a story, which gracefully intertwines characters lives into a fluid story line, in turn making the world a smaller place.  This would be a great read aloud when teaching predictions, as I found myself predicting more so in this story, than any other story.
 
 

Title:  Butter
Author:  Erin Jade Lange
Review:  I can't wait to share this book with students, especially when talking about cyber bullying.  Butter, the main character, is over 400 pounds, and decides to create a website where peers can watch him eat his last meal.  Butter never expected anyone to notice, but the exact opposite happens.  Words can be cruel, especially when said from behind a computer screen.  This is an eye opening story about what can happen when joking turns deadly. 


 


Title:  Skinny
Author:  Donna Cooper
Title:  This book also deals with an overweight high school student, Ever Davies, who is being bullied.  However, the bully in this story is all within Ever Davies' mind. Self esteem is one of the quickest ways to damage one's self.  When I started this story, I thought it would focus more on being overweight dealing with bullying.  However, I really appreciated the approach taken by Donna Cooper, to focus on self-esteem and self-concept, and how that can damage a person more than anything else. 

Title:  The False Prince
Author:  Jennifer A. Nielsen
Review:  I have heard nothing but positive reviews for this story, but I am not a huge fantasy fan, so I kept pushing this book to the bottom of my pile.  I seriously regret waiting so long to read this story!  I was on the edge of my seat throughout this action packed book.  Three orphan are training to pretend to be the long lost prince.  This is a plan not all of them agree with, but they must pretend to protect their lives. I will say, the best part about waiting so long to read this story...The Runaway King (book #2) has already been released!

Reading Plans for this Week:

Title: The Runaway King
Author:  Jennifer A. Nielsen

 


Title:  The Fault in Our Stars
Author:  John Green 
 

 




Title:  What Came From the Stars
Author:  Gary D. Schmidt





Title:  The Raven Boys 
Author:  Maggie Stiefvater
**I'm listening to this on audio book.  This is the first time I've ever listened to one, so I'll let you know how it goes. I downloaded free from http://www.audiobooksync.com/.  Check this site out, if you haven't already!




Title:  Mustache Baby
Author:  Bridget Heos
Illustrator:  Joy Ang

   

Title:  Crankee Doodle
Author:  Tom Angleberger
Illustrator: CeCe Bell



Title:  The Monstore
Author:  Tara Lazar
Illustrator: James Burke 











Title:  A Big Guy Took My Ball!
Author:  Mo Willems



Title:  Cheetah Can't Lose
Author:  Bob Shea



Title:  The Favorite Daughter
Author:  Allen Say

Title:  Notice and Note:  Strategies for Close Reading

Authors:  Kylene Beers and Robert Probst

**Special Note: Join a three part Twitter chat, discussing Notice and Note, on June 20 at 9pm #NNNchat.  I also linked the picture of the book to the Facebook group, related to the chat. I started this last week, and am still working through it.  So much great information, but that just means it takes me longer to read and process!

Ashes by Amy Keen

Thank you for reading along throughout the, Ashes by Amy Keen, book tour!   Ashes is the second book in the Foresight series by Amy Keen.  First let me say, when I review books, which are part of a series, I try to read the book without reading the books that were written previously, to determine if they can be stand alone novels or if the series makes them a complete work. However, I read about fifty pages into Ashes, and decided to read Embers (Foresight #1) before reading anymore into Ashes.  These books complement each other, and I highly recommend reading Embers first, to better understand the entire storyline.

Here is a summary of Ashes from Goodreads:  

"Scarlett barely escaped with her life the last time she ran in to The Venari; but she refuses to spend her days looking over her shoulder. Determined to be normal, she heads to Europe, only to learn that her wish to blend in is simply not meant to be. With Jake delayed in Salem, Scarlett is vulnerable and forced to rely on new found friends, The Collective; a band of people with gifts like her own. When her desire to bring an end to her torment leads her to the dark underbelly of Paris, she discovers what The Venari plan for her is not death, but in fact much worse. Scarlett realises to help herself and everyone else, she must surrender to the persecutors of thousands of witches before her; those desperate to lay claim to the powers she possesses."

Overall, I enjoyed this storyline and the characters, but this is not a story for someone who enjoys the blood and guts, which sometimes happens in a story involving the supernatural. Personally, I avoid books about witches, zombies and vampires because I do not enjoy the violent nature of them.  Amy Keen provided just the right amount of suspense and violence, without making the book unappealing, for me.   

Also, when reading new books, I always read with my students in mind.  Which student can I recommend this book to, or is this a book that is inappropriate for my readers? I have students (grades 4+) who are begging to read books about the supernatural, but I yet to find a book that would be appropriate in terms of violence and sexual content, for someone their age.  I can safely say, I would be able to recommend this book to some of my mature readers.  Even though there is a love story, Amy Keen does not provide the juicy details and language, which may turn away some readers (and parents). The love story between Jake and Scarlett is a strength of young, true love, and I found myself cheering them on throughout the entire story.  

As a reader, where books about witches are part of my book gap, this was just the book to help me close that gap.  I found myself invested in the storyline, and predicting (or hoping) for the best possible outcome.  I have added Foresight #3 to my "must read" list, and will be anxiously awaiting its release, to find out what happens with Scarlett, Jake and the Venari.