Back To School Readaloud Suggestions

I'm starting a new job this fall at a preK-8 independent school. I'll still be the librarian but I have some new duties. The K-4 students will come to the library weekly and I get to do readalouds! I asked twitter for help!

Back to School ReadAloud suggestions for K-4 (via Twitter @MrSchuReads @MyTweendom @CPPotter @Utalaniz @MTechman @ClassicSixBooks @MeganGraff @Librarian_Tiff @StrohReads)  :

• Incredible Book Eating Boy by 
• Story of Fish and Snail
• Little Elliot, Big City
• My Teacher is a Monster (No, I am Not)
• Louise Loves Art
• Pete the Cat and his School Shoes
• Library Lion
• I'm Going on a Book Hunt
• Gingerbread Man Loose in the School
• Bailey (Bliss) 
• Library Dragon
• Librarian From the Black Lagoon
• Froggy Goes to School
• Library Lil
• Tomas and the Library Lady
• Biblioburro
• Miss Brooks Loves Books But I Don't
• Shelf Elf
• Shelf Elf Helps
• Number One Sam
• What Happened to Marian's Book? 
• Curious George Visits The Library

The suggestions were coming fast and I tried to favorite them all! Thank you, twitter friends, for your generous help!

I'm going to review the curriculum guide to pick some longer readalouds for Grades 3 and 4.  I'm hoping I can do something with genres for either 3rd or 4th and get into a Mock Newbery Club with 4th - 8th. What are your suggestions? How can the library support the classroom with readalouds and other lessons?

It's Monday, What Are You Reading? August 11, 2014

Books I Bought

The Naked Roommate: And 107 Other Issues You Might Run Into in College
Landline by Rainbow Rowell
Congratulations, By the Way: Some Thoughts on Kindness by George Saunders
The Naked Roommate for Parents by Harlen Cohen
The Power of Reading: Insights from the Research by Stephen Krashen

Books I've Read

Chasing The Milky Way by Erin E Moulton

Matchmaker by Elin Hilderbran

Alanna by Tamora Pierce

The Boyfriend List by E. Lockhart

The Hear and Now by Ann Brashares

Sinner by Maggie Stiefvater

She Loved Baseball by Audrey Vernick

The Adventures of Beekle by  Dan Santat

The Day the Crayons Quit by Drew Daywalt

Tap, Tap, Boom, Boom by Elizabeth Bluemle

The Glass Sentence by SE Grove

The Kiss of Deception by Mary Pearson

In Bed With a Highlander by Maya Banks

Congratulations, By the Way by George Saunders

Nothing Can Possibly Go Wrong by Prudence Shen and Faith Erin Hicks

Landline by Rainbow Rowell

Comic Squad: Recess! by various awesome graphic novelists

Peanut Butter and Jellyfish by Jarrett J Krosoczka

Mark of the Dragonfly by Jaleigh Johnson

I'm Bored by Michael Ian Black

Magician's Land by Lev Grossman

Return of Zita the Spacegirl by Ben Hatke

Camp Rex by Molly Idle

Absolutely Almost by Lisa Graff

How To Train a Train by Jason Eaton

Naked! by Michael Ian Black

The Runaway King (Ascendance Trilogy, 2) by Jennifer Nielsen

The Qwikpick Papers by Tom Angleberger

Cleopatra in Space by Mike Maihack

Chu's First Day by Neil Gaiman

Daisy Gets Lost by Chris Raschka

Going Places by Peter Reynolds

I'm Here by Peter Reynolds

Sisters by Raina Telgemeier

The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak

Curious George visits the Library by HA Rey

H.I.V.E. by Mark Walden

Secret Hum of a Daisy by Tracy Holczer

The Shadow Throne (Ascendance Trilogy, 3) by Jennifer Nielsen

The Vanishing Coin (The Magic Shop, 1) by Kate Egan

Ashfall by Mike Mullins

Mission Unstoppable (Genius Files, 1) by Dan Gutman
Unmade (Lynburn Legacy, 3) by Sarah Rees Brennan

Haven't blogged in awhile. Lots of stuff happening.  These are the books I've read in the past month and half! A fair amount but nothing like the good old days.

Some don't miss books were Secret Hum of a Daisy, Sisters, Absolutely Almost, and Naked! I was happy to finish the Ascendance Trilogy and can't wait to talk it up at the new place.

I need to re-read Chasing the Milky Way by Erin Moulton so I can do a proper review.

Will be moving to a new job so will talk about that in upcoming issues. Happy Reading!

Beyond The Highland Mist by Karen Marie Moning - #bookaday 12

Beyond the Highland Mist (Highlanders, 1)
Karen Marie Moning
Genre: Historical Fantasy

I was looking for a book similar to Outlander by Diana Gabaldon, but shorter. The description of this one sounded like it would work - girl goes back in time and meets a ruggedly handsome Highlander.  This was included the Fae so I thought, yeah, this could work.

The writing just wasn't the same. The take just wasn't the same. I guess I wasn't looking for a similar book, but the same book! I do own Dragonfly in Amber, the second book in Gabaldon's series, so I will just go with that one instead.

Mistwood by Leah Cypess - #bookaday 11

Mistwood
Leah Cypess
Genre: Paranormal

I'd read this one a few year ago. It was long enough ago that I'd forgotten much of it outside of vague notions and ideas.

It's time for Rokan to be king and he's afraid for his life. Many years ago the crown was protected by a Shifter but there was a tragedy involving the last royal family. This creature was said to be born of mist and fog and could shift into any animal including a human being. Rokan travels to Mistwood to find his Shifter and binds her to him using a special bracelet.

The Shifter, Isabel, is finding it hard to shift and doesn't really understand who or what she is though she feels it's her duty to protect Rokan. She just has to figure out who exactly is threatening the crown.  She is finding it more and more difficult to do her Shifter job due to emotions clouding her judgement. Though the Shifter is supposed to be less than human.

I liked this one because it's more of a character study instead of the relentless action you find in many books of this genre.  I would have liked to see more romance but I enjoyed what was there.

Vigilante Poets of Selwyn Academy by Kate Hattemer - #bookaday 10

Vigilante Poets of Selwyn Academy
Kate Hattemer
Genre: Realistic

I've been trying to get back into our Goodreads Mock Printz which I co-moderate. Honestly, Whitney has been running the board alone since last year when I stepped down to be on the Excellence in Nonfiction Committee. She has diligently scoured reviews, posted polls, e-gathered books on the shelf, and started numerous discussions. There would not be a group without her.

The group is currently reading We Were Liars, which I read back in February, and The Vigilante Poets.

The poets, led by Luke, though story is told by Ethan, take offense at the continued presence of the For Art's Sake reality show. They feel the corporate greed actually hampers the art and using the work of Ezra Pound, take a stand to get the show ousted.

Throughout the book, I loved the voice of Ethan, though I times I questioned a teenaged male would spout those words. This was based purely on the brothers I grew up with and the teenagers present in my daughter's life. I enjoyed all the lit talk as the daughter just finished an AP Lit class. There were several instances where I thought about looking things up but was too lazy. Despite the cop-out ending, I thought this was fun. Which also means, I don't see it winning the Printz. Also, not a fan of that cover.

True Love by Jude Deveraux - #bookaday 9

True Love (Nantucket Bride, 1)
Jude Deveraux
Genre: Paranormal Romance

Not my usual fare. It's been a billion years since I read any Jude Deveraux. I'd been looking for a romance and I also wanted to read about Nantucket (never been but makes me think of summer) and someone on Goodreads had just finished this one. Luckily, they had it at the public library - on Overdrive.

Alix is an architect student who gets sent to live in the Kingsley House on Nantucket as part of the will of one of her mom's closest friends.  She can live there for a year and work on her culminating project for architecture school.

Kingsley House happens to belong to Jared Kinglsey Montgomery - a famous architect whom Alix admires and would love to have look at her drawings. (snicker). Jared would rather not, especially since he knows a great deal about Alix that he needs to keep secret.

Another resident of the Kingsley house is Jared's grandfather, Caleb. His five-times great, dead grandfather.  Caleb can only be seen by certain family members and he is hoping that somehow, he can connect with Alix and she can help him move on.

Despite the contrived storyline of past and present overlapping, this was fun.  I will actually read the second book.

It' Monday, What Are You Reading? June 30, 2014

Books Purchased
Mistborn: The Well of Ascension by Brandon Sanderson

Books Read
Obsidian (Lux, 1) by Jennifer Armetrout
The Girl With The Windup Heart (Steampunk Chronicles, 4) by Kady Cross
Ruin and Rising (The Grisha, 3) by Leigh Bardugo
The Angel Experiment (Maximum Ride, 1) by James Patterson
Drift by MK Hutchins
Only Everything by Kieran Scott
True Love (Nantucket Brides, 1) by Jude Deveraux
Mistwood by Leah Cypess
Vigilante Poets of Selwyn Academy by Kate Hattemer
Beyond The Highland Mist(Highlander, 1) by Karen Marie Moning
Loot by Jude Law

There is something about summer that makes me want to just read romance and fantasy books. Hopefully combined into one awesome package. I often pass over books I need to read in search of books that have that magic ingredient that is designed to transport me into the book as a side character. And while I've found some decent romance novels and some good fantasy, these aren't the books I'm looking for.

That aside, I did have some good reads these past two weeks.  Loved the ending to Bardugo's Grisha Trilogy, all the while she had me thinking she was bringing me to one place and we ended up somewhere far better.  I was pleased at having so many questions answered as lately it seems series novels either don't want to end or the author wants you to decide what happens to the characrer. While I'm all for inference and predictions and some ambiguity -  I want a mostly complete story - especially if it's the last book in the series.

We continue our quest for a book to use for our One Book program in February - hence the James Patterson novel.  And #WeNeedDiverseBooks (still) so check out MK Hutchins book Drift and read here as she talks about Obsidian and how it's used in her novel.

Ruin and Rising by Leigh Bardugo - #bookaday 6

Ruin and Rising (The Grisha, 3)
Leigh Bardugo
Genre: Fantasy

The end of a trilogy is always sad. This one had me tossing aside my chores (kidding, that's all books really) and glued to the pages. Last year, I re-read Shadow and Bone before Siege and Storm came out but I neglected to re-read Siege and Storm this year.  No matter.

Bardugo helped us pick up pretty much where we left off. This installment had more of the Lantsov Prince, thankfully. I love his character. The wit and cunning, oh how I wish he and I were friends. And he was real, of course.

There was a moment when I had to put the book aside when I could NOT believe what happened.  My heart stopped.

This was a (mostly) satisfying end. I would love to read a follow-up but it will not be necessary to the story - just to my heart.

Angel Experiment by James Patterson - #bookaday 5

The Angel Experiment (Maximum Ride, 1)
James Patterson
Genre: Paranormal

The Angel Experiment has been suggested for One Book consideration by students for the past 4 years. I've always said no way.  This year, I decided to put it in front of the committee, in the hopes that they would see it my way.

I started this one on audio.  Usually I go back and forth between the audio and the physical book if I have lots of books to read. Unfortunately my audio version was not only abridged but the narrator was not that great.

Not the best book I've read but I can see students enjoying this one. Lots of action and moves quickly. The writing style isn't my favorite and I can't see myself reading beyond this first one, though.  Also, a little concerned about the random violence even though it doesn't seem to keep anyone down. Maybe that's it - the violence doesn't seem to matter and that's my issue.

Tools of the Trade by MK Hutchins - Guest Post - June 2014

Hutchins, M.K. Drift. Tu Books (Lee and Low), 2014. 392p. $19.95. 978-1-62014-145-8.

Pick up your copy of Drift (affiliate links) Amazon | Indiebound and stop by tomorrow for my review.

Drift follows Tenjat, 17 as he tries to carve out a life for his sister Eflet and himself. They lost their parents five years ago as they were escaping their previous island home, Island Ita.  Tenjat is determined to escape the life of a farmer hub and become a Handler on Island Gunaji to give Eflet the future she deserves. The future he promised his father he would give her.

Read on as M.K. Hutchins talks about flintknapping obsidian and how that helped define her worldbuilding in Drift.

Years ago I sat in a room with a tarp-blanketed floor, holding a chunk of obsidian in my hand. Some of the exterior of the rock remained – gray and pitted like a crumbling piece of city sidewalk. Inside, though, the obsidian gleamed: black as ink, glossy and glittering as polished jewelry. The stuff is practically magic.

Using a piece of antler or a round, smooth stone, I struck at the obsidian, trying to fracture off a long flake in a process known as flintknapping. Any badly-angled strikes could produce a bad flake or – worse – cause imperfections inside the stone that would make further flintknapping difficult. My protective leather gloves were soon spiderwebbed with thin cuts, even though I worked with care. Freshly flintknapped obsidian is far sharper than surgical steel scalpels. When the class was over, we gathered up those tarps and safely disposed of the obsidian in accordance with hazardous waste regulations.

Beyond the beauty and the skill and the danger, I also admired the technology I was trying to learn. It would be wasteful to take one chunk of obsidian and knap it down into a single tool. Ancient peoples figured out how to make cores. They looked somewhat like tapering cylinders with a flat striking platform on top. From that platform, an experienced flintknapper could knock of blade after blade, utilizing almost every bit of the beautiful stone.

And the Classic Maya were virtuosos of flintknapping. They didn’t just make tools and weapons, they made art, called flint eccentrics. By striking off flakes, they crafted delicate, graceful patterns and profiles of human faces. Every time I look at one of these, I think of how one misplaced blow during the manufacturing process could have snapped and ruined the entire thing. The technology to create these is lost – modern flintknappers can’t recreate them.

I never became a great flintknapper, but I’m still a little obsessed with obsidian. Fantasy is a genre defined by setting. It’s part of the reason that I, at least, read fantasy. I want to become immersed in a world, in the smells and sounds and tastes.

Drift was largely inspired by Maya mythology, and I wanted to pay homage to that. Often, fantasy is a realm of swords, blacksmiths, and horses, but I wanted to step away from that. I wanted jungles and plaster, howler monkeys and turkeys. And I wanted obsidian – with all its danger and beauty. In the novel, the use of stone tools is just one aspect about the world, but it made the world more real to me.

Sample Chapters of Drift
MK Hutchins blog
MK Hutchins Twitter

Blog Tour

June 19: John Scalzi’s Whatever Blog - M.K. Hutchins on worldbuilding and cultural ecology here

June 20: Supernatural Snark – M.K. Hutchins on being inspired by Maya mythology here.

June 23: It’s All About Books – M.K. Hutchins’ top 5 most influential books here.

June 25: Read Now Sleep Later - Drift GIVEAWAY here.