As I watch the news and see the forecast for snow, it makes me thankful.
I.HATE.SNOW! So, what am I thankful for?
1. Heat - It's nice to come home and see the smoke coming out of the chimney as I pull into the driveway. I get inside and kick my shoes off. Ah! Enveloped by the wonderful heat!
2. Garage - An enclosed garage makes the winter that much more bearable. I don't have to scrape off the car or wait until the car "heats" up. Nice.
3. Hot chocolate - Mmmm, add some marshmallows and whipped cream, need I say more?
4. Slippers - I have those fake Ugg kind with the fur inside. So warm and cozy!
5. Down Comforter - I just wrap up in it and float away to happy land!
Although I don't enjoy cold weather, I do enjoy some of the gifts I use more often then!
Yes, I know it's Monday. I had a lazy weekend. Went to dinner with friends, slept in, went to brunch with the Amazing Dancer, took long naps...yeah, it's been great.
But, enough about me, no wait, more about me. Here's what I'm hooked on:
1. E-Readers - we have this grant to buy ereaders and part of the request was that teachers could use them over summer to see how they could be used in their classrooms. This is taking way more time than I wanted.
2. Myself - as you can see in these pics, in a moment of pure insanity, I chopped my hair off. I wasn't sure how I thought it would help but I did it and now I'm desperate to grow it out. Not sure how though... Plus, I'm getting older and really need to take better care of myself, dress better, do grown-up stuff...but, again, not sure how...
3. Flip Flops - between my daughter and I, we have at least 20 pairs of flip flops. We love them and buy them in all colors. Problem? I might be getting a little old to be wearing flip flops. But, dang, they are comfy!
4. The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson - I LOVED Warbreaker last year and when I heard about this one coming out, I squealed. Really. The awesome Ben Rubinstein at Macmillan Library sent me an ARC. I just devised a reading plan because this thing is HUGE, over 1000 pages!
5. Avatar: The Last Airbender - I just finished watching Season 3 on Neflix and then I just started over again! Love the shows comedy drama mix. The characters are so sassy. And, of course, you learn something about using your gifts, working together, harmony, friendship, perseverance. Great show! Looking forward to the movie.
Happy Friday! So I thought I was going to be able to post everyday in September but that is not going to happen. So I will stop making promises and just post as often as I can!
Anyway, it's Friday! I went to a literacy workshop with some of our teachers this past week and it was so affirming. We talked about practices that keep students engaged in reading, writing, listening, and speaking in all classrooms not just language arts and not as something additional but as a part of teaching. I also enjoyed meeting teachers from our other two middle schools. Some of the books that were talked about this week will make up my Five.
All summaries are from Amazon unless otherwise noted.
1. The Book Whisperer by Donalyn Miller - the Gifted and Talented Coordinator told me I needed to read this. I ordered it for my personal library and will tackle it this month. Here's a starred review - Miller, a sixth-grade language arts and social studies teacher and blogger, has enabled students of many different backgrounds to enjoy reading and to be good at it; her students regularly score high on the Texas standardized tests. Her approach is simple yet provocative: affirm the reader in every student, allow students to choose their own books, carve out extra reading time, model authentic reading behaviors, discard timeworn reading assignments such as book reports and comprehension worksheets, and develop a classroom library filled with high-interest books. Her students regularly read more than 40 books in a school year and leave her classroom with an appreciation and love of books and reading. Miller provides many tips for teachers and parents and includes a useful list of ultimate reading suggestions picked by her students. This outstanding contribution to the literature is highly recommended for teachers, parents, and others serving young students.
2. In The Middle by Nancie Atwell - our 8th grade ELA teacher mentioned this as one of the books that changed him. From Heineman - When first published in 1987, this seminal work was widely hailed for its honest examination of how teachers teach, how students learn, and the gap that lies in between. In depicting her own classroom struggles, Nancie Atwell shook our orthodox assumptions about skill-and-drill-based curriculums and became a pioneer of responsive teaching. Now, in the long awaited second edition, Atwell reflects on the next ten years of her experience, rethinks and clarifies old methods, and demonstrates new, more effective approaches.
3. Why Don't Students Like School by Daniel Willingham - This was mentioned a few times and is said to go beyond brain research theory and into how to put it into place in the classroom. Kids are naturally curious, but when it comes to school it seems like their minds are turned off. Why is it that they can remember the smallest details from their favorite television program, yet miss the most obvious questions on their history test? Cognitive scientist Dan Willingham has focused his acclaimed research on the biological and cognitive basis of learning and has a deep understanding of the daily challenges faced by classroom teachers. This book will help teachers improve their practice by explaining how they and their students think and learn?revealing the importance of story, emotion, memory, context, and routine in building knowledge and creating lasting learning experiences.
4. The Number Devil by Hans Enzensberger - mentioned in the Subjects Matter book we were studying and sounded like it would be an interesting read. Young Robert's dreams have taken a decided turn for the weird. Instead of falling down holes and such, he's visiting a bizarre magical land of number tricks with the number devil as his host. Starting at one and adding zero and all the rest of the numbers, Robert and the number devil use giant furry calculators, piles of coconuts, and endlessly scrolling paper to introduce basic concepts of numeracy, from interesting number sequences to exponents to matrices. Author Hans Magnus Enzensberger's dry humor and sense of wonder will keep you and your kids entranced while you learn (shhh!) mathematical principles. Who could resist the little red guy who calls prime numbers "prima donnas," irrational numbers "unreasonable," and roots "rutabagas"? Not that the number devil is without his devilish qualities. He loses his temper when Robert looks for the easy way out of a number puzzle or dismisses math as boring and useless. "What do you expect?" he asks. "I'm the number devil, not Santa Claus."
5. The Read Aloud Handbook by Jim Trelease - each day before lunch they read a short story to us. We loved it. I want to work this back into library time or convince teachers to do this in class. This will be one that I buy for my personal library also. Jim also lists the Read Aloud of the Week. I think I'll start there.
Hello, everyone. Thought I'd take a study break and type this up quickly. You'll notice I posted a couple of reviews since declaring my break. I'm going to do any blog tours or reviews I've already committed to in order to honor my commitments! I'll also try to do the Contest Mondays.
1. Winners - Karen won The Veil by Diane Noble Cecelia won Tomorrow's Treasure by Linda Chaikin Tashi won Eyes Like Stars ARC by Lisa Mantchev with bracelet/postcard
2. Bibliography - We had to do a programming bibliography for class and I was reminded of some great books I have: The Guy-Friendly YA Library by Rollie James Welch Center Stage: Library Programs That Inspire Middle School Patrons by Wilson and Leslie Teen-Centered Book Club: Readers Into Leaders by Kunzel and Hardesty Serving Young Teens and 'Tweens edited by Sheila B. Anderson
I don't do much programming outside of book clubs but I might try some other things this year.
3. Fire by Kristin Cashore- This was much better than Graceling. Cashore was a little preachy about sex and abortion so that changes the audience for this one. Kinda like Meyer with Breaking Dawn.
4. Teen Bookstore - this my ultimate dream and I've been thinking about it lot more lately. I'd always looked at being a librarian as a stepping stone to owning a bookstore - now I can't actually see how I will get there. Why has my vision dimmed?
5. Diversity and Controversy - the twitterverse has been all abuzz with the controversy over the cover of Liar by Justine Larbalestier. Justine wrote a great article on Why My Protagonist's Arent White. Check out some of her other blog posts on this issue.
Even before this, Mitali Perkins had written an article for School Library Journal, Straight Talk on Race: Challenging the Stereotype in kid's books, that discussed what we see and what we read and how it affects us or how we think. She included 5 questions you should ask about any book.
Color Online also challenged us to actively make multicultural reading and reviewing a part of what we do, not a special activity. In her Color Me Brown post she says "I want teens of color to reject invisibility as a norm".
It's not just teens of color who do that. I do that. In my effort not to appear racist, I self-censor. I try NOT to promote books for and/or about people of color so that I don't offend anyone. What? What? I know, right. I narrow my reading which prolly makes me more narrow-minded. And if it makes me narrow-minded, what does it do to my students?
Jennifer Cervantes wrote Why Multicultural Literature Matters and really made me re-think the way I do things. I need to be more deliberate. Does this mean I'm only going to promote books by/about people of color. No. But I will more closely watch what I read.
I use the ALA Book Awards for some of my selection decisions. Take a look at the Newbery and Printz award winners, the Margaret Edwards award? There are very few multicultural titles and those we see are written by the same handful of authors. I also use SLJ, Booklist, and other review magazines - where are the starred reviews for multicultural literature?
I will say I'm excited about YALSA's 2010 Young Adult Literature Symposium - Beyond Good Intentions: Diversity, Literature and Teens. Although it's in NM so I won't be going. But maybe I could submit a paper. Or maybe you could.
One thing is clear - just because we don't talk about it, doesn't mean it's ok. It's as if people were waiting for someone like Larbalestier to step up so that our voices could finally be heard. I'm not sure of the first blogger who noticed the cover issue, but I'm glad she spoke up. Maybe we can all start working on this and hopefully have at least one positive thing to say at the symposium.
As I'm new to librarianship and reading for selection - this may sound rambling. It is - but it's how I think things through. I'm making a decision to not be silent to be deliberate and seek out good writing by and for people of color. Maybe we need a Multicultural Review magazine? Not just once a year from the other lists - every month, major focus...hmmmm....
I know the first step for me will be to participate in the Diversity Roll Call.
Carlene - The Vanishing Sculptor by Donita K. Paul These will be mailed out on Tuesday!
2. ALA - The Amazing Dancer and I are going to the exhibits at ALA tomorrow! We hope to see the following authors - Walter Dean Myers, Kadir Nelson, Kate Di Camillo, Neil Gaiman, Gitty Daneshavari, Judy Blume, Jacqueline Woodson and Cynthea Liu!
3. Anderson's Bookshop - Saturday night the Amazing Dancer and I hope to still be awake to go to Anderson's and meet Sarah Dessen and Laurie Halse Anderson!
4. Game On - Not a good week. Nuff said.
5. Fresh Mixers - Healthy Choice has these new products called Fresh Mixers that I think will be awesome for work. I can never remember to make a good lunch but these look good and don't require refrigeration. You add water, microwave, drain, then add sauce. Add a side salad and a drink (preferably water) and you've got a fast and tasty meal!
As you can see, I got an early copy of Prophecy of the Sisters by Michelle Zink! If you are looking for a good read - try it - Here's a review from Read Kiddo Read.
Happy Independence Day Weekend! Looking forward to relaxing this weekend. Any big plans? I want to read and catch up on reviews.
1. Contests - I want to apologize to those who haven't received their books yet. I promise. You will. I will also try to have one international contest per month, If I can. Remember: poor school librarian. Here's what I have
Contest Monday Winners Signed ARC of The Awakening by Kelley Armstrong - Linna from Live Through the Pages The Astonishing Adventures of Fanboy and Goth Girl by Barry Lyga with signed bookplate - Sharon from Sharon Loves Books and Cats Signed HC of Once Dead, Twice Shy by Kim Harrison - Lauren from Shooting Stars Mag ghostgirl and ghostgirl: homecoming by Tonya Hurley - open till July 5 - 11:59 PM EST
For July, I plan on having Contest Mondays for Eyes Like Stars by Lisa Mantchev (ARC), Hollywood is Like High School with Money by Zoey Dean (ARC), The Castaways by Elin Hilderbrand (HC) and Fade to Blue by Sean Beaudoin (ARC) and a Blog Tour giveaway where you can win either The Veil by Diane Noble or Tomorrow's Treasure by Linda Lee Chaikin.
2. Game On! - this is our first week doing the Game On! challenge and I must say it's been an adjustment! I've adapted to the 3L of water but the eating five meals a day is very difficult. I'm sleeping better though last night I took a night off cuz I stayed up late reading Warbreaker by Brandon Sanderson.
3. ALA - Next Saturday I get to go to ALA. I've started receiving postcards and emails from the various companies that will be there. They are more your reference material type companies than trade book companies. Although I'm excited, BEA seems as if it was a lot more fun! I will be making a side trip to Anderson's Bookshop to see Laurie Halse Anderson and Sarah Dessen though, yay!
4. Word Ninjas! - I'm excited to belong to this group! We are a group of book bloggers and debut authors who are trying united ways to get books read and publicized! It is so awesome. For each book release there are virtual and street parties, contests, swag giveaways, etc! Each author decides what they want to see happening. The bloggers get to Opt-In if they want to participate, so no pressure! Then you get to decide which activities makes sense for you to do depending on contacts and what time you have available. As of right now, there are nine books involved, five which have upcoming releases:
Find them on Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, and other social networking sites. Friend them, please! These authors also have a charity initiative and are helping out libraries which is doubly important now with all the library budget cuts in Ohio!
5. @SummerofSeven - another group of great authors! They are giving away 7 books with either a UK or US cover! Check out Escape With The Seven. Full Disclosure - Only read The Forest Of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan (4 copies), The Demon's Lexicon by Sarah Rees Brennan (4 copies and more!), and in the middle of Wings by Aprilynne Pike. I truly loved The Demon's Lexicon, it had my favorite things - good-looking guy and quick-witted humor! Review coming soon!
That's it for me this week. Tune in next week for more winners and some other fun stuff! Have a great holiday!
1. Viola in Reel Life - check out this summary from PW:
"...Adriana Trigiani’s Viola in Reel Life. The first YA book from bestselling author Trigiani, the novel is the first in a series featuring Brooklyn teenager Viola Chesterton. Chesterton, a funny teen whose parents are globe-trotting documentary filmmakers, is forced to attend her mother’s alma mater, a stuffy boarding school in South Bend, Ind., called the Prefect Academy. Convinced she’ll hate Prefect and South Bend, Viola, who largely views the world from behind her camera, learns unexpected things about herself—and starts a romance—as a result of the move..."
People, I live in South Bend, Indiana!! IRL! OMW! This is a total must read for me. And..it just moved Very Valentine closer to the top of the reading pile! This is so rad!
2. Twitter Party - yes, you read that right! I'm going to a twitter party tonight! Come join @sarahockler for a night of fun and good times with to kickoff your summer of reading. We'll be discussing Twenty Boy Summer! What? You haven't read it? Get off the computer and read it!! NOW! This will be here when you get back! See you at the Twitter Party at 7pm EST! 3. 48 hr Book Challenge - I'll be starting this later today. Watch for my beginning post. I will be donating books from their wishlist to Color Online's Summer Book Drive. If you'd like to help out they have a wish list at Powell's. If you can't find their wishlist - use their email address - cora_litgroup@yahoo.com.
For each book I finish, I will buy them a book from the list.
4. Jane Carter Solution - seriously thinking of locing my hair. Right now it's twisted and I always undo it before it locs. Twisting takes about 2 hrs and my hair is short! Still, it's an easy do. I think I'm going to take the plunge sometime this summer...thoughts? Also, if you go to JCS - turn down the sound, it talks automatically!
5. 20 Must Reads - Last year I posted 20 YA books I wanted to read over summer. I've read 17, not too bad. Here are 18 more plus 2 from my previous list:
Secret Keeper by Mitali Perkins
Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson
My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult
Far From You by Lisa Schroeder
Peace, Locomotion by Jacqueline Woodson
The Rock and The River by Kekla Magoon
Reality Check by Peter Abrahams
Climbing the Stairs by Padma Venkatraman
Flygirl by Sherri L. Smith
Return to Sender by Julie Alvarez
Ash by Malina Lo
Coretta Scott by Ntozake Shange
Hate List by Jennifer Brown
Happy Face by Stephen Emond
Prophecy of the Sisters by Michelle Zink
Diego by Carmen T. Bernier-Grande
The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, 1 by MT Anderson
Never Slow Dance With a Zombie by E. Van Lowe
My Life as a Rhombus by Varian Johnson
Claudette Colvin: Twice Towards Justice by Phillip Hoose
You will note that a couple of these haven't come out yet - giving me a little leeway! What's on your must read list?
Well, that's the Friday Five today. I'll be posting an awful lot over the next few months so I hope you stick with me! Look for my first Contest Monday on...Monday!! Have a great weekend!
PS - Apologies to E. Van Lowe - I have 2 ARCs of your book right here!! I was just typing too fast. Please forgive!
1. Cool Nailcolors - my two favorite nail color companies are Piggy Polish and OPI. They have the most fun colors and color names. Summer colors - blue-ty call, pinkerbelle, personal shopper, queen of everything (this one is so about me). Sometimes I don't even care what the color is - I will buy it for the cool name!
2. Gilmore Girls - it reminds me so much of Jess and I. Single momhood can go many different ways, lucky for us we mostly enjoy each other's company. Yesterday we spent the afternoon browsing at Hammes Notre Dame bookstore and Barnes and Noble. I had giftcards that were totally burning a hole in my pocket! Then we came home and started our marathon Gilmore Girls watching and we laughed and laughed. It was a fun afternoon! I just wished I knew where they bought Lorelai's wardrobe.
3. Culver's Turtle Sundaes - mmmm. Need I say more? No, I don't have them often but when I do...mmmmm.
4. Deluxe Scrabble - I won!
5. Wrap Up - We are still wrapping up the school year. I have a few more days to clean things up and write my annual report. Little harder to do this year because I have the internship so I can't just barrel right through. But my summer is right around the corner - and I anticipate an easier time coming up because I ordered a wireless scanner! Right now we have one computer that we load on a cart and haul around the library. We have extension cords everywhere and we have to find a hub to get internet access. When the library was built, it was definitely just a book depository and there are very few places to access the internet. That's actually how it is around the building - very few access points and NO WIRELESS. We are totally behind the times. Hopefully my grant-writing class this summer will lead me to some sort of cool technology grant...ah, wouldn't that be great!
Anywho, time to do my nails!! Going for the OPI - Queen of Everything!
Hello and welcome to another Friday. This has to be the best Friday so far this year because it's our last Friday of the school year!! Yeah!! I love working for a school.
1. Blog updates - I have been spending so much time to get my blog in shape, I haven't been reading as much as I usually do. What a catch 22 since the blog is about my reading! I have some navigational things to put in but I'm going to slow that down so that I can read more!
2. Inventory - we are doing inventory at the library. I'm hoping this year that books on shelves = books on computer! I will put in a little time each week this summer, weeding things out and trying to find "lost" items. I want to come back to a lean, mean, book spewing machine!
3. SRP - today was the kickoff for the summer reading program at St. Joe County Library where I'm interning. This is the first summer they offered online registration and tracking. It was crazy busy! On the one hand, many people DO NOT trust computers and was like, no way. On the other hand, people were like, that is so cool! It's one more way I can be a hermit!
4. Carmex - love this stuff, especially the original. I usually keep one in the car, one at work, one in purse, one in bedroom. I'm also notorious for losing things, so having all of these means that I will usually know where at least one pot is! And of course, that's usually somewhere I'm not!
5. Peep Toes - I can't wear open-toed shoes at the library. That is a tragedy! It's summer for goodness sakes! I have to leave my Wedge-Heeled Black Patent Leather Peep Toes at home. Now matter how cute I look in them. And I do look cute people!!! Darn cute! For shame library, for shame!
Ah, It's Friday again! I need to come up with a Friday song. If you want to check out another Friday Five, hop over to Sarah Dessen's blog! She's gearing up for the release of Along for the Ride in June.
1. Audiobooks - it's been a busy week and if it wasn't for audiobooks I wouldn't have much reading done. I've been listening to Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince in anticipation of the movie. Hulu has the new HD trailer and it looks great! The audio also makes me want to go back and read the books again. Having the book on my Ipod and on Itunes means I can listen to it anywhere!! I love it.
2. Not Mowing - I hired a mowing company!! Thompson Landscape will be mowing and edging my lawn all summer. With 2 classes and an internship, I wasn't sure how I was going to do all the inside and outside work a house requires! I also have to drive to Indy (6hrs round trip) each week. Add that to singlemomhood and I was starting to freak out! But not anymore! And they will be adding mulch and trimming the bushes! Yeah!
3. @Powells - I sold about 70 books to Powells.com and they gave me some virtual credit. You can choose to get cash if you want, but I knew I would just buy more books so I took the credit. They give you a price quote and if you accept it, they give you a label to send your box or books. Powell's sells used and new books. If you spend $50 - you get free shipping. In my first order I got four books - Anybody Out There?, Fool, Three Girls and Their Brother, and The Summoning. This week I got:
Scribbler of Dreams by Mary E. Pearson - I loved The Adoration of Jenna Fox and wanted to see what else Pearson had written.
Miracle Girls by Anne Drayton and May Vanderbilt - I'm always looking for good YA Christian chick-lit and saw that the second book was coming out and thought I should read this one first!
My Life As A Rhombus by Varian Johnson - I think Black-Eyed Susan suggested this for the Diversity Challenge.
Poison Study by Maria V. Snyder - a mom at school suggested it because her very unalike daughters both loved this series.
All of these books are on my Books I Wanna Read list! I also got the first EIGHT books in the Left Behind series and 2 classic novels! And I still have credit left!
4. Itunes Genius - It makes a mix on any song you pick! Right now I'm listening to 25 songs based on the Timbaland remix of OneRepublic's Apologize! Playing right now? Flo Rida's Low (feat. T-Pain).
5. Hulu.com - If I get home too late I watch Chuck on Hulu. I watch back episodes of The Office and 30 Rock. They've got old movies like Three O'Clock High and old episodes of Saturday Night Live and I can watch it anywhere my laptop has a connection!
Ok, that's all I have for tonight! Let me know what you are thinking about today!
Almost went to bed without doing my Friday Five. Here are five things on my mind right now:
1. @Readathon - It starts tomorrow people!!! I can hardly wait! I have my books all ready. I was going to start at 9am but my Book Blather buds talked me into starting at 8am (7am for them!) So, I added some additional books to my pile just in case this list isn't enough. I will be taking a break to go see Zac Efron in 17 again!!
2. Zac Efron - the one thing Ellen and I have in common - our "love" of Zac! He is good to look at and I think I would enjoy watching him mow my yard and clean out my pool - and I don't have a pool. Check him out! Rawr!
3. Book Talks - Love doing book talks to students who don't really read a lot and they sit up and take notice of the books. Some of them wanted to make sure that I had enough copies because they heard about "at least 3 books they wanted to read". I heart my job!
4. Book Groups - Every time I decide that it's just too much work to do book groups - some kid will tell me they heard about them and they want to sign up and my softie wittle heart makes me offer them again! The 3 this year meet every two weeks! Sure, we talk about the books, but mostly we just talk about...books! They love it, I love it, my principal loves it...it's pretty flippin sweet!
5. Cinda Williams Chima - I love authors and consider what they do to be nothing short of miraculous. They take stories i know and flip them around and they introduce me to new stories and mesmerize me. I stand in awe of them. Cinda has agreed to Skype with me and my 6th graders who read Wizard Heir. The students cannot believe that she would do that - they said - "it's like we are Oprah!" - no joke, that's what they said. We are going to finish Dragon Heir before our May 8th meeting and I will blog about it here.
Honestly, life is good right now. Nothing is too exciting. Nothing is too boring. It's just flowing and I'm moving along nicely. These are just five of my favorite things. What's one of yours?
1. Fridays! - I love Fridays. For some reason they seem more relaxed than any other day of the week. We're off school today, cheated out of an extra day for Spring Break, so Jess and I are going to go into Chicago and hang out. She has a crazy schedule - "collect ourselves" being a point on it!
2. Books - I received a shipment of books from HarperTeen! I finally feel as if I've arrived. I can't wait to read and review them. I'm especially looking forward to the Kelley Armstrong books because she will be at Anderson's Bookshop in Naperville on June 2nd with Melissa Marr! Can't wait to meet them!
3. Twitter - it is so much fun. I think it's even more fun than Facebook! I've learned a lot and have such a great group of people to follow: bookstores, booksellers, authors, librarians, publishers, and reviewers. Book people love to talk about what they read! I get so many great ideas. And they are helpful. If you want to reach a ton of people quickly you should be on Twitter.
4. The Office - they are funny again! There was a point when it was kinda blah but now they are back on top! Ryan's hair! Hah! You can also follow Kevin, Dwight, and Kelly on Twitter.
5. J. Chen - the best Chinese restaurant around here! Jess and I love it. And the prices are great. Our top choice: Governor's chicken. Complete with british accent - guv'na.
