It's Monday, What Are You Reading? September 29, 2014

What I Purchased
Year of the Dog by Grace Lin
Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson
The Thirteenth Goldfish by Jennifer L. Holm
Blessing The Boats by Lucille Clifton
The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce
El Deafo by CeCe Bell
Sisters by Raina Telgemeier
The Mark of Athena by Rick Riordan (was so mad I never bought this one - even though I read it!)

What I Read
Ninja! by Arree Chung
Ninja Red Riding Hood by Corey Rosen Schwartz
Ninja Boy Goes to School by ND Wilson
The Dot by Peter Reynolds
Iggie's House by Judy Blume
Like No Other by Una LaMarche
Spy School by Stuart Gibbs
Half a King by Joe Abercrombie
Son of Neptune by Rick Riordan
The Lost Hero by Rick Riordan
This Is Where I Leave You by Jonathan Tropper
The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce
El Deafo by CeCe Bell
This One Summer by Mariko Tamiki
Emperor Pickletine Rides the Bus by Tom Angleberger
Chasing Vermeer by Blue Balliett
The Fourteenth Goldfish by Jennifer Holm
Winger by Andrew Smith
The Screaming Staircase by Jonathan Stroud
Herbie Jones Sails Into Second Grade by Suzy Kline
Third Grade Angels by Jerry Spinelli
Planet Kindergarten by Sue Ganz-Schmitt
The Pigeon Needs a Bath by Mo Willems
Hooray for Hat by Brian Won
The Ghosts of Tupelo Landing by Sheila Turnage
Say What You Will by Cammie McGovern
Isla and the Happily Ever After by Stephanie Perkins
The Marriage Plot by Jeffery Eugenides

These pictures lead to nowhere. Just here to help those of us who like a visual reference.

The Great Re-Read.  5th Graders are reading Chasing Vermeer so I went back to read it and found it more boring than I remember. Way too contrived.  The 4th graders are apparently competitive readers and are trying to all get through the Heroes of Olympus before the final book is released October 7th.  I remember racing through these and decided to listen/read to them so I not only have something to discuss - though they are already on House of Hades and I'm still finishing Mark of Athena - but I can refresh my memory too!

Adult Book Clubs. As part of my almost an empty nester phase, I decided to fully participated in both book clubs I'm attached to. One is a group of school teachers and the other a group of librarians. Win-Win. The librarians read Harold Fry and I we had a lot to discuss! The teachers read the Tropper book in anticipation of the movie. It was fun deciding whether the book and movie characters matched.

In Other News. We LOVED Hooray For Hat and I can't thank my twitter friends enough for pointing it out to me. Don't miss Half a King if you like epic middle grades fantasy, it reminded me of Heroes of the Valley. I listened to The Marriage Plot solely because the narrator does the 39 Clues Series and I love his voice.

Looking Ahead. I'll try to hit as many of the CYBILS spec fic nominated books as I can, albeit in an abbreviated manner! Nominations open October 1, 2014! Here's a description of the Young Adult Speculative Fiction Category.  I am also very interested in The Geisel Awards so look for a few of those to pop up.

Head over to Teach Mentor Texts for more Monday reading fun!

I Volunteer! - CYBILS Round 1 Judge

Hooray! I was named a CYBILS (Children and Young Adult Bloggers' Literary Awards) Young Adult Speculative Fiction Round 1 Judge!

That means that I will be on a team that will be reading and judging HUNDREDS of  nominated Young Adult Science Fiction and Fantasy titles that were published between October 16, 2013 and October 15, 2014.  Nominations open October 1, 2014!

So excited to serve with:

Sheila Ruth
Wands and Worlds@sheilaruth

Karen Jensen
Teen Librarian’s Toolbox@tlt16

Kim Baccellia
Kim Baccellia@ixtumea

Allie Jones
In Bed With Books@wearedevilcow

Maureen Kearney
Confessions of a Bibliovore@mosylu

Kimberly Francisco
Stacked Books@kimberlymarief

Hooray!

What I'm Thinking About - December 1, 2013

1. Book Committees
I have been quietly busy on the YALSA Award for Excellence in Nonfiction committee and have been perusing the CYBILS Middle Grade Fiction nominations (2nd round judge) and worndering:

How do librarians (school and public) or classroom teachers use these lists? 

Or any award/best of list.


2. Christmas Shopping
I just had a $1,000 problem fixed on my car. And that was the bare minimum to keep the car running.  That was money I was going to use for Christmas gifts and a real Christmas tree.  Luckily, I have a fake tree in reserve. But the presents, no clue.

3. #Nerdlution - December 2, 2013  - January 20, 2014
I'm jumping on the Nerdlution bandwagon. I'm committing to 30 minutes of blogging and 30 minutes of exercise for the next 50 days.  See here, here, and here if you want more information.

My 30 minutes are up.

Happy New Year - 2013

Happy New Year! We've been blessed with another year to love each other and ourselves.  

Neil Gaiman

Have you read Neil Gaiman's wish for 2012? If you haven't, please do.  I agree wholeheartedly that kindness and wisdom are needed. In this age of instant response and outlets for every thought, we desperately need to slow down and think things through, and temper with kindness before sending our words on.

Peter Bregman

Trolling on twitter a couple of days ago, something I haven't done in a while, I came across a tweet that I traced back to Peter Bregman's Two Lists You Should Look at Every Morning. He talks about letting go of some of the information highway instead of trying so desperately to keep up. Taking the risk that you might miss something but knowing that you are taking care of yourself and those around you. 

Cybils

THE CYBILS SHORT LISTS WERE ANNOUNCED TODAY!! Make sure you stop by all of them, but these are my special favorites:

Fantasy/Science Fiction MG - I've only read 2

Fantasy/Science Fiction YA - I've only read 1

MG Fiction - I've read 5

YA Fiction - I've read 3

I look forward to checking out the finalists in February!

I've very excitedly set my 2013 Goodreads Reading Challenge Goal to read 150 books.  This coupled with taking better care of the people in my life and, possibly, even keeping my house cleaner, should make for a busy but happy new year!

Cybils - NonFiction Middle Grades/YA Finals

Here are the finalists in the Cybils NonFiction MG/YA category:

King George: What Was His Problem? Everything Your Schoolbooks Didn't Tell You About the American Revolution by Steve Sheinkin
Historian and textbook author Steve Sheinkin provides a factual, fun chronicle that traces the American Revolution from start to finish.Humorous chapter titles and illustrations, entertaining facts, and labeled maps make learning history lots of fun.
-Jill Tullo (The Well-Read Child)


We Are the Ship: The Story of Negro League Baseball by Kadir Nelson
Kadir Nelson connects with readers in his history of Negro League baseball told from the first person point of view of an "everyman"player. The engaging narrative combined with stunning oil paintings capture the joy and passion of the players who were surrounded by hatred and inequality.
-Jill Tullo (The Well-Read Child)

Ain't Nothing but a Man: My Quest to Find the Real John Henry by Scott Reynolds Nelson with Marc Aronson
A field trip into the mind of a historian. Historian Scott ReynoldsNelson invites readers to follow him as he uses artifacts,photographs, and other documents to put together the pieces of a real-life historical mystery.
-Carol Wilcox (Carol's Corner)

Swords: An Artist's Devotion by Ben Boos
Ben Boos' well written and visually stimulating book was a pleasure to read. The illustrations were detailed and the history fascinating. Children of all ages will pore over this book as they trace the sword designs through the ages. Ben relayed the use of the sword throughout the ages including the Middle Ages and the age of the Samurai. Ben's drawings illuminated not only the variety of swords used but his love for this "formidable tool".
-Kathy Burnette (The Brainlair)

Body Drama: Real Girls, Real Bodies, Real Issues, Real Answers by Nancy Amanda Redd
Leave your embarrassment at the door, because this book combines refreshing candor with no-holds barred topics, untouched photos, andinformation backed by a leading physician to help empower teen girls. The photos are somewhat shocking, but important for girls to see sothey know their body is normal. Don't let your teens get the wrong information from their friends...let them get empowered with realinformation and love the body they're in.
-Vivian Mahoney (HipWriterMama)

Lincoln Through the Lens by Martin Sandler
John F. Kennedy may have been the first television president, but Lincoln Through the Lens makes a strong case for recognizing AbrahamLincoln as the first photographic president. From the earliest known photo of Lincoln to the only one taken after his death, Martin Sandlershows how the sixteenth president was captured on film, and how he used the images to his advantage.
-Sarah Rettger (Archimedes Forgets)

11 Planets: A New View of the Solar System by David Aguilar
My Very Exciting Magic Carpet Just Sailed Under Nine Palace Elephants (10-year-old Maryn Smith's winning entry for the National GeographicChildren's Book Planetary Mnemonic Contest). So begins this engaging introduction to the newly classified solar system. Stunning artwork,cool facts on how the planets are named after different gods and goddesses, simple explanations and an informative glossary make this abook young astronomers will enjoy reading.
-Vivian Mahoney (HipWriterMama)

The Year We Disappeared: A Father-Daughter Memoir by Cylin Busby and John Busby
In summer, 1979, Cylin Busby was nine years old, living with her parents and two older brothers on Cape Cod, Massachusetts when herlife changed in a matter of minutes. Cylin's father, John Busby, a policeman, was on his way to work when a car pulled up next to him andshot off the bottom half of his jaw. THE YEAR WE DISAPPEARED is a memoir, told by Cylin Busby and her father John, in alternatingchapters, of the terrible year following Busby's shooting. A terrific real life crime read!
-Carol Wilcox (Carol's Corner)

Cybils NFMGYA Nominations

Here's a link to the nominations for NonFiction Middle Grade/YA books on the CYBILS

http://dadtalk.typepad.com/cybils/NonFicMGYA.html/

I've received some of these books from the publisher. I'm really enjoying this new experience. I only wish I didn't also have to do my homework!

The Cybils Begin Today!!

It's time people - time for the CYBILS! The Cybils are Children and Young Adult Bloggers Literary Awards and nominations start today. The Cybils try to uncover books that have great literary merit and children will enjoy reading. There are nine book genres including Young Adult fiction and non-fiction, Graphic Novels, and Fantasy/Science fiction. Books must have been published between January 1 and October 15, 2008. So if you have a great book you want to nominate, head on over to the Cybils and make your voice heard!

I'm a Winner! Again!

I just won a Chronicle's of Narnia pop-up book from Anne at Book Buds Kidlit Reviews as part of her Cybils awareness campaign.


I am writing all of the YA short list books in my journal, so that I can read them before the year is over. If I haven't already. I will then be able to use some of them for next year's YA book club! How sweet is that?