Uncategorized – Page 40 – Peaceful Reader

Favorite Children's Chapter Books

Read any of these before you leave 6th grade:

Firegirl by Tony Abbott
How Tia Lola came to visit (stay) by Julie Alvarez
The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle by Avi
Peter and the starcatchers(series) by Dave Barry
The heart of a chief by Joseph Bruchac
Dear Mr. Henshaw by Beverly Cleary
Sahara Special by Esme Raji Codell
Everything written by Christopher Paul Curtis
No talking by Andrew Clements
The Ransom of Mercy Carter by Caroline Clooney (HF) (wonderful)
The missing manatee by Cynthia Defelice
The Tale of Desperaux by Kate DiCamillo
Because of Winn-Dixie by Kate DiCamillo
The Adventures of Edward Tulane by Kate DiCamillo
The City of Ember series by Jeanne DuPrau (Loved) Fantasy
The breadwinner by Deborah Ellis (Afghanistan)
Umbrella Summer by Lisa Graff
Nory Ryan’s Song by Patricia Reilly Giff (HF)
Baseball card/time travel adventures by Dan Gutman
The Homework machine by Dan Gutman
Among the Hidden series by Margaret Peterson Haddix
Found and Sent by Margaret Peterson Haddix
Escape from memory by Margaret Peterson Haddix
Ida B. by Katherine Harrigan
Alex Rider series by Anthony Horowitz
Bird by Angela Johnson
Rules by Cynthia Lord
Anything by E.L. Konigsburg
Schooled by Gordon Korman
Drita; my homegirl by Jenny Lombard
The Giver, Messenger and Gathering Blue by Lois Lowry
Number the Stars by Lois Lowry (HF)
11 Birthdays trilogy by Wendy Mass
A dog’s life by Ann M. Martin
The Snows by Sharelle Byers Moranville
Charlie Bone series by Jenny Nimmo
Habibi by Naomi Shihab Nye
Mrs. Frisby and the rats of Nimh by Robert O’Brien
Island of the blue dolphins by Scott O’Dell
Project Mulberry by Linda Sue Park
Hatchet series by Gary Paulsen
The Golden Compass series by Phillip Pullman
Everything by Rick Riordan
Singing hands by Delia Ray (great story)
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by J.K. Rowling
Yellow Star by Jennifer Roy (HF)
Esperanza Rising by Pamela Munoz Ryan (HF)
Becoming Naomi Leon by Pamela Munoz Ryan
Holes by Louis Sachar
The invention of Hugo Cabret and Wonderstruck by Brian Selznick
A Series of Unfortunate Events (series) by Lemony Snicket
Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli
Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli
That girl Lucy Moon by Amy Timberlake ( loved this one)
Sammy Keyes mysteries by Wendelin Van Draanen
Elvis and Olive by Stephanie Watson
So B. It; a novel by Sarah Weeks
Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White
What I call life by Jill Wolfson
The Devil’s Arithmetic by Jane Yolen (HF)

God I love green things…

Green is in right now. Green eating, green energy, green juicing, green washing (not good), and lime green is literally everywhere.

Last night I was creating goodness in my kitchen and it was all green. I sautéed Brussels sprouts with coconut oil and I had a tubular pasta tossed with homemade pesto from last year’s garden. I love it when dinner prep comes together and kids are happy with the meal. They oohed and aaah’ed. It was great.

Now those limes you see on my cutting board….those were for my Dark and Stormy, which I had while I was throwing together dinner. My own March Madness!

March is a perfect month for getting into the green! Shamrock shakes are green but think of real + good for you foods that you can bring to the table this month.

Happy Spring!

Celebrating Eleanor Roosevelt on International Women's Day

It’s wonderful to have a day to celebrate women and won’t it be great when we can celebrate accomplishments like equal pay. It seems crazy to me that this is still an issue. Why don’t women get paid more when we DO more? It’s not enough that we hold down full-time jobs and do them amazingly and then go home and throw together a healthy dinner that appeals to all members of the the family. My family. It’s not easy. We have to worry about sick kids, paying bills, staying safe, and making people happy.

It’s a lot to accomplish.

Eleanor Roosevelt, one of my female heroes, is someone who accomplished a lot and was always a beacon for women’s issues. She was born in NYC, the niece of Theodore Roosevelt, who lost both of her parent’s at a young age. She was sent to England for schooling and it seemed to cure her shyness. She married her distant cousin Franklin and they had six children. She was a busy housewife but she made time during WWI to work for the Red Cross.

Franklin contracted polio in 1921 and Eleanor stepped up and assisted him with his political career. She changed the role of First Lady as she fully involved herself in press conferences, spoke out for human rights, women’s issues, and children’s causes. She had her own newspaper column and worked with The League of Women Voter’s. All through Franklin’s presidency she worked for change. Upon her husband’s death she said she was done but went on to work for the United Nations. She helped to craft the UN’s Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which she considered to be her greatest achievement. She died of cancer in 1962-the year I was born.

We’ve had amazing advocates like Eleanor so what’s the hold-up on women’s issues? My answer is too many men making laws/rules.

Reading Retreat 2015

In about a week’s time I will be enjoying warmer weather in a Southern city with two friends. Our plan is to have a reading retreat-24 hours of reading bliss where we will talk books, have a glass of wine, maybe knit a little as we talk, revel in each other’s company. I can’t wait and I hope this week school flies by! I’m excited to be in the presence of fareaway friends.

Months ago we each picked a book to share:

A Place at the table by Susan Rebecca White (2013):
Alice Stone is famous for the homemade southern cuisine she serves at Café Andres and her groundbreaking cookbook, but her past is a mystery to all who know her. Upon Alice’s retirement, Bobby Banks, a young gay man ostracized by his family in Georgia, sets out to revive the aging café with his new brand of southern cooking while he struggles with heartbreak like he’s never known. Seeking respite from the breakup of her marriage, wealthy divorcée Amelia Brighton finds solace in the company and food at Café Andres, until a family secret comes to light in the pages of Alice’s cookbook and threatens to upend her life. (amazon)

Dramarama by E. Lockhart (2007):
Two theater-mad, self-invented fabulositon Ohio teenagers.

One boy, one girl.

One gay, one straight.

One black, one white.

And SUMMER DRAMA CAMP.

It’s a season of hormones,

gold lame,

hissy fits,

jazz hands. (amazon)

A hundred pieces of me by Lucy Dillon (2014):
Reeling from her recent divorce, Gina Bellamy suddenly finds herself figuring out how to live on her own. Determined to make a fresh start—with her beloved rescue greyhound by her side—Gina knows drastic measures are in order. First up: throwing away all her possessions except for the one hundred things that mean the most to her. But what items are worth saving? Letters from the only man she’s ever loved? A keepsake of the father she never knew? Or a blue glass vase that perfectly captures the light? As she lets go of the past, Gina begins to come to terms with what has happened in her life and discovers that seizing the day is sometimes the only thing to do. And when one decides to do just that…magic happens. (amazon)

All three sound excellent! I finished A place at the table, am 1/2 way through Dramarama, and will read A hundred pieces of me this week. I’ll let ya’ll know how magnificent the retreat is?

Debut author Amanda Maciel writes scary high school portrayal…

School can be a frightening place as students of any age try to fit in with an ever changing norm. Amanda Maciel does an amazing job of making this high school story very real. I don’t teach in a high school and my hope is that it isn’t this bad but I have a feeling I could be wrong…

Emma Putnam, a new student, who somehow gets on the wrong side of Brielle and subsequently her followers, Sara, Noelle and a few male characters. Emma is pegged as a slut as she tries to make her way through every day with mean people surrounding her.

They push her around physically and emotionally using FB and Twitter. They taunt her every single time they see her. They put fake Valentine’s Day cutouts on her lawn. They create a vicious FB page for her. And while Emma feels like she has a few friends they often turn on her if Brielle is near. Noone wants to go against Brielle. The line is so thin…it’s much easier to be a bystander or even worse join right in so Brielle might like you more. Why do girls allow a mean queen bee take control like this?

I would love to see this book told again through Emma’s side. She’s human and makes a few mistakes along the way which is just what gives Sara justification to keep taunting her. It is Sara that we follow through alternating monthly chapters of before and after Emma’s suicide. Eventaully she understands how her (and Brielle’s) behavior adversely effected Emma; enough for Emma to lose any hope.

This was hard to read, it hurt my heart, and I so wanted to step in and alternately “shake” each character. Words are what hurt and until we really help kids get this bullying will remain an issue.

How can we teach children at the elementary level to respect each other and spread peace and joy instead of nasty barbs.

Quote:

Sara’s thoughts:

I try to look away, but it’s like my head is stuck. She and Beth are talking in low voices, and Emma looks like she’s been crying or something. She always looks that way-when she’s not flirting with some guy or whatever. Or even when she is, sometimes. She’s this permanent bruise, always getting her feelings hurt, always injured. Everyone at school knows she sees a therapist, and I wonder why they haven’t just put her on antidepressants already. Or ones that actually work. (113)

That’s just how Brielle was. That’s what no one gets, I think-she would tease you even if she did like you. Especially if she liked you. And then if someone was mean to her, or to one of her friends, she’d turn that teasing on to them. It would be a lot less nice, of course. It was pretty tough sometimes. But-and suddenly I know this, standing here with Carmichael, in the middle of passing period, in the middle of nowhere-that’s her survival instinct. That’s just how she deals. (237)

Excellent, well-crafted characters mixed with a very current and real crisis made for a strong story and from a debut author! I’m interested in whatever she writes next. While we are waiting this interview with Amanda is worth it!

Are you watching the Oscars?

We are and we had friends over to share the night with and it’s fun to watch with others as we “judge” dresses, hairstyles, and handsome guys! Neil Patrick Harris is doing a fantastic job of hosting-perfect amount of dry wit and silliness/underwear.

I was up early this morning making dough for homemade pizzas, cut up veggies, cheeses and cooked good Italian sausage + more to enjoy. Our friends brought salad, chocolates, wine, and beer. We filled out Oscar ballots and had fun watching everyone stroll down the red carpet in the rain.

This event is part of my NY’s resolution to have a new person over for dinner once a month and two months out I’m still going strong. This was a little bit more stressful event though as my husband had a play open last night, my stepmother was an overnight guest last night, and my amazing in-laws are arriving this week plus I’ve had a lot of balls in the air at work. We pulled it off though and I’m pretty sure everyone had fun.

My reason for making this a resolution; I worry about the cleanliness of my house. I don’t like to clean house. Why would I want to dust when I can be reading? I do love to cook though so I made a promise to worry more about what I could make for people instead of where dust bunnies are hiding. The pizza was a hit and nobody mentioned any dust. This is now my measure of success.

Also we made this kickass batch of mint fudge. It was delicious and we made a double batch (super smart) so we can share it with our incoming guests.

Our Oscar comments feed:

What’s with so many red dresses?

What up with Lady Gaga gloves?

The Lego movie rocks!

Lots of hair that really looks a lot like “bed hair”

So happy that Patricia Arquette won! And her speech was wonderful.

Reese and Anna Kendell looked fantastic.

Felicity Jones looked great.

Scarlett: amazing dress shade!

Mmmm. John Legend.

We all agreed we would like a Lego Oscar statue….

Thank you. That’s it. Good night.

John Irving, master storyteller

My eyes were blurry and yet I kept reading. I just wanted to finish and find out how Owen Meany died. It’s a critical question in the book as the last half is focused on the fact that Owen knows when he is going to die based on a recurruing dream he has. His best friend John is in the dream as well as a group of Vietnamese children. Owen has trouble with the details but he is certain enough that he carves his own gravestone marker at his parent’s quarry. To be that certain that your dream is accurate, to be so certain of your faith are all part of Owen Meany’s character-that and his crazy voice.

It’s not an easy book to finish. I feel all of February has been dedicated to this book and usually in that amount of time I can get at least 2-3 books finished. Not so with a John Irving novel. My friend Sue picked this for our book club selection this month and I was glad as I’d never read it. My husband and another friend Tim both pick this as one of their favorites. After the first 10 pages I wasn’t so sure-I especially disliked the super long chapters-and I pushed through that only to really fall in love with the story. It has so many great connecting ideas and what it has to say about faith and friendship are great reminders to us all.

Thank you Sue for making this a book club pick and for a great book club discussion.

I heard a little “amen” in Owen’s voice when I shouted “I finished” last night.

I heard there is a movie. Anyone watched it?

Also two very different covers…I prefer the armadillo version myself.

Time flies…

It seems absurd to me that I’ve not written since the beginning of the month. I feel like I’m in the middle of about a hundred projects both at school and home.

And so quickly two weeks sped by…

I’ve been reading A prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving and it is taking me forever. I’m enjoying the story and I’ve read other Irving titles yet I can’t help but feel I’d like to cross out a couple of hundred words for him. Excellent story though and I constantly feel a little anxious worrying about Owen.

I’ve been reading it seriously since the beginning of the month which is making me feel a bit book-backed up. I have a 6th grade group reading Prodigy by Marie Lu and I’ve fallen way behind them. Two students have already finished and I’m on, like, the 3rd chapter. What kind of discussion leader will I be? Hmm.

I also finally got a new copy of The False Prince by Jennifer Nielsen that I’m anxious to get back to and finish. {If you’re wondering why that’s important read here } I have three books I need to read and be ready to discuss with two friends in Arkansas by the time Spring Break rolls around. I have quite a few still checked out from the library and even more recently downloaded from Net Galley. I also need to read Ghosts of Graylock to see if it is too scary for some of our students. See what I mean by book-swamped! I can see the headline: Librarian found buried alive under mountain of her own books!

Reading is not a chore; it’s one of my greatest pleasures. I just need more real time to do it in. I’m grateful for the books that surround me, the stories they share with me, and the true joy it brings me to discuss books with kids and adults alike. The laundry and recycling will just have to wait. I’ll be spending my day with Owen.

I hope you find time for all your favorite pleasures on Valentine’s Day!

I'm crushed; my baby is growing up!

It happened. About a week or so ago Groovy Girl and I started another night time book and there were a few nights she opted out of reading. In the past she is generally excited to read and it is encentive to get ready for bed and wind down. She has trouble getting into the mode and storytime has been our bridge, the cuddling that goes with it and the story all lead to an easy bedtime routine. It doesn’t hurt that she’s my baby and I loved this special time.

Just a few chapters in to the new book she announced to me as she was preparing for bed that she just wasn’t that interested in reading together anymore. This is what it sounded like to me “I don’t love you and your little stories ANYMORE!” Ackkkk.

After my initial reaction, we had a nice talk about this new stage of her life journey, and she said things like “Mom I am 12 you know!” As if I’d forgotton. Then I made a comment that she would now have to read a lot more on her own as us reading together counted to me as reading time for her. Reading is an issue for Groovy Girl. It’s not her first choice of a leisure activity. She likes YouTube, Minecraft, Sims, and crafting. She loves watching movies on Netflix. She is creative, outgoing, and fiesty. She is a dancer and pirouettes her way through the house several times in a day but sitting down with with a good book is the very last thing on her list. The very last thing. I often hand her a book only to find her back on her iPod. I’ve taken the iPod away to make my point but that doesn’t feel right to me as then I’ve just made reading an even bigger chore.

While we were talking I said that her older brother and sister were heavily into reading Harry Potter and beyond when we stopped reading together. She was a baby at the time so she doesn’t recall but they were often found (and still to this day) curled up with a good book. I know I have to let this go but I’m worried she won’t have that same joy. Curling up with a good YouTube video is not the same. Ackkkk.

We did compromise. We didn’t quit cold turkey. She said we could finish this current book, Circa Now by Amber McKee Turner, and it’s good but I’m a bit sad that we’re not finishing with something classically amazing. Maybe she’ll change her mind. Especially when I lay down the new Groovy Girl reading expectations.

Any advice for this tough time?

Grasshopper Jungle

If you want to discover stacks and stacks of good books at your local library you need my friend Tina to go with you. Any time I meet her there she loads me up as we walk down the shelves. On our last trip she handed me Grasshopper Jungle by Andrew Smith and said “here read this, because I can’t, and let me know how it is.” She’s not a fan of dystopia but she was interested in the Iowa setting.

So I read it and for the first 40 pages I kept thinking I should quit. And then I’d read a little more and a little more and then it started to grow on me. At about the half way point I couldn’t stop reading which made me laugh because that’s just what I tell my students-keep going~the really good stuff doesn’t always happen in the beginning. I didn’t almost give up on it though because stuff wasn’t happening-it was the main character, Austin, that drove me nuts. He’s telling us the story as a sort of historical document and we really get to know Austin-it’s his coming-of-age tale after all-right in the middle of the end of the world.

My thoughts were poor Austin all he can think about is being horny and every single page is about his desire to have sex, shit, masturbate, sex, shit, masturbate, with a lot of smoking mixed in. And then just when I thought I couldn’t take his relentless need to talk about it all so much I let it slide~after all he’s 15~and began to appreciate what Austin had to say about his relationship with Robby, his best friend. I loved that he was so confused about his relationship with both Robby and his girlfriend, Shann because it’s tough to be in love with two people at the same time. His friendship with Robby was a breath of fresh air because he cared so deeply. I grew to like him.

I also thought it was a realistic look at small town Iowa with it’s boarded up shops, crazy family drama, and lots of corn. And the book definetely makes a case for not messing with genetics. Say no to GMOs of any kind. And Austin does a great job of reminding us that everything is connected and life is a massive game of 6 degrees of seperation.

Now the huge 6-foot-grasshopper creepy things I can’t even talk about them…

Someone on goodreads mentioned that you either get Andrew Smith or you don’t~and I completely agree. This book is not for everyone but it is good.

Now you don’t have to read it Tina. I thank you for handing it to me though even if my hand now feels a little grubby.

A sample:

It took me a very long time to work up the nerve to kiss Shann Collins, who was the first and only girl I had ever kissed.
There was a possibility that I’d never have kissed her, too, because she was the one who actually initiated the kiss.
It happened nearly one full year after the Curtis Crane Lutheran Academy End-of-the-year Mixed-Gender Mixer.
Like Robby explained to her: I was shy.
I was on the conveyor belt toward the paper shredder of history with countless scores of other sexually confused boys.
After the Curtis Crane Lutheran Academy End-of-the-year Mixed-Gender Mixer, I tried to get Shann to pay more serious attention to me.
I tried any reasonable method I could think of. I joined the archery club when I found out she was a member, and I offered multiple times to do homework with her. Sadly, nothing seemed to result in serious progress.

She finally comes around when he gets in trouble at school for reading The Chocolate Wars by Robert Cormier. If you can handle it you should read it. Welcome to Eden if you do.