The Hunger Games, Catching Fire, and Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins

Hunger Games Hunger Games Hunger Games Hunger Games... Welcome to the mantra running through my head during the brief hours that I'm in the middle of, but not actually reading, one of the Hunger Games books. If you haven't read them yet, you must. If you teach students from grades 6 and up and your students haven't read them yet, they must! I'd love to tell you all about them (or even a ballpark explanation of the plot), but I had the pleasure of opening the first one before I knew ANYTHING about the plot, and it was a zillion times more fun that way. Instead, here are just a few pieces of advice:

1. Buck up for the basic premise; it's rough if you think about it too much. Remember that fantasy is fantasy!

2. Don't get yourself past page 50 of either the first two books when you don't have substantial time to just read. You will Not. Want. To. Put. Them. Down.

3. Don't read the teaser for books ahead of the one you are reading! Major spoiler alerts!

I'm actually still reading book 3 now, which I know probably breaks the most important rule I should keep for writing this blog (i.e. Don't blog about a book until you're done reading it!) but I couldn't hold off on the first two and I'm don't want to blast out details of each book and risk spoiling another reader's fun. As I'm reading, I have been trying to examine exactly why these books are such page-turners. Sure, Collins writes about adrenaline-pumping adventures with classic end-of-chapter hooks and twists, but they're more than just adventurous beach reads. Instead, she weaves a fast paced, action-packed plot into a truly thought-provoking premise. End result: I feel a need to take a closer look at my own society while at the same time pressure to learn to hunt rabbits and create snares so I can survive in the woods if need be.

My Weird School by Dan Gutman

A tribute post to the My Weird School (My Weird School Daze, etc) books by Dan Gutman: My students cannot get enough of these books! Most are written around guided reading level L, with a few at M or N (mid-second through early-third grade) - which makes them just about perfect for many of my students in the beginning half of the year. The books are short and simple enough for many of my lower readers to decode, but with jokes and plays on words that keep them thinking. I love having a series with so many titles in it so that the students who need to quickly work through a fairly intense amount of reading have lots of material to practice with. I can take a student, point him/her in the direction of the My Weird School bin, and they're set for a long while!
I can't seem to keep enough copies on the shelf, and even have students from the classroom next door coming to borrow the titles that I have when their library runs low. Mr. Gutman, my students and I wanted you to know how popular your books are in our fourth grade classroom. Thank you and keep up the great work!

Elijah of Buxton by Christopher Paul Curtis

I know I blogged about this book before, but last spring I read it aloud to my 5th graders and I feel compelled to give the book another plug. It was absolutely the best read-aloud experience I've had with any students, ever. Captivated by Elijah's character, my students laughed along with his lighthearted silliness and passionately rooted for him during the serious sections. Curtis beautifully crafted the characters and the plot line, which is so moving and complex that we couldn't help but engage in rich discussions as we read. No history book, no activity, no experience could better teach children their first real look at slavery in the United States than Elijah of Buxton. I am so grateful to Christopher Paul Curtis for writing it, and I encourage reading and history teachers everywhere to check it out.

I'm Back!

One could easily say that I should perhaps give up on the idea that I can actually maintain this blog. Two attempts, in different years and on different websites, have petered out without much notice. But it's winter vacation (Yay! So fun!), almost the new year, and it's about time for me to recommit and believe, once again, that I have the time to do this.
So here's to resolutions! And, of course, reading! :)

The 39 Clues: One False Note by Gordon Korman

The second in the 39 Clues series, I found One False Note even more intriguing than the first. The Cahill kids continue to trek across Europe, narrowly escaping their family members in pursuit of the clues (and fortune, fame, etc.). In an effort to not repeat myself in each of these 39 Clues posts, I'll cut right to the chase: my questions/comments.
1. The series seems committed to involving readers in the hunt for the clues. The front cover of each book comes with 6 game cards packed neatly inside, and if you visit the website you can use the codes on the cards to play along and earn clues. In each book I've noticed a deviation from the normal page numbering at some point, and for 20 or so pages the corners will be marked with a series of numbers/letters. Although I myself haven't been motivated enough to play along, I can only assume readers can find additional clues that way. I'm hoping when I start a book club with the first book, I'll have kids willing to do the legwork on this investigating for me.
2. I can distinctly remember the opening to every Baby-sitters Club book, where Ann M. Martin reiterated the situation of each character so you could follow along even if the first one you read was, say, BSC #74 (because, you know, those were complicated scenarios. Claudia had diabetes. You had to know that to understand the tension when someone brought ding-dongs to the meetings.) It annoyed me then. It annoys me now.
3. The kids are travelling around the world, and all the clues are rooted in history. A+ for accidental knowledge gained by readers in the areas of history/the arts/languages/etc.
4. The Cahills are averaging one clue found per book. I think I read that the series is only going to have 7 or 10 books - I know I'm not a math teacher, but... I'm curious to see how it plays out. I actually have a vague theory, but I won't ruin it for those of you who haven't read the books yet.
5. Why does the cat say "Mrrp?" Seriously. Why?
On my book log in my classroom (the one on giant chart paper so the kids can keep tabs on my reading), I rated #1 an 8 and #2 a 9. I'm definitely hooked enough to keep reading, and I'm confident my kids will really enjoy them as well.

Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days by Jeff Kinney

The fourth book is here, and 9- to 12- year olds across the country couldn't be happier. After advertising and organizing the pre-orders at school through our Scholastic Book Fair, I found myself at Target on the 12th and grabbed one off the shelf myself to read immediately. Yes, the next day I was ordering a delivery to be rushed to my school. Yes, two days later a box of 46 copies was to arrive at my door. But I could not resist getting in on the fun of the much anticipated release date.
As for the book itself? Still entertaining. This one details Greg's summer vacation of: trying to laze around the house, lamenting family bonding time, and the beginning of the end (at least it seems) of his friendship with Rowley. Oh, and trying to be macho in front of the cute girl at the pool, of course. After reading 4 DWK books, I'm still bothered that Greg is so oblivious to the things he does that are mean or obnoxious to others. I still look for that brief glimpse of "oh I shouldn't have done that" or "why don't I do something at least a little bit nice to make up for it," but I know that's not the reality of his character. In the meantime, I'm still loving how wildly entertaining they are to kids and could not be happier as a teacher that I have students who LOVE. TO. READ. Kinney's books.

The 39 Clues: The Maze of Bones by Rick Riordan

The new series The 39 Clues stars brother and sister orphan duo Amy and Dan Cahill as they trek around the world, finding clues to solve an ancient family mystery. With an au pair to assist them, the kids travel from country to country in an attempt to find clues that will ultimately lead them to an unknown, yet infinitely powerful, prize. The Cahill kids aren't the only ones trying to solve the mystery, of course. Their extended family members have formed teams in search of clues as well, and despite family ties they seem to stop at nothing to get ahead in the chase.
The 39 Clues Book One: The Maze of Bones (guided reading level R) is written by Rick Riordan, but each book in the series is penned by a different author. With the clues connected to major historical figures, a young reader will get a nice history lesson along the way. Think: The Da Vinci Code for kids, only without the religious aspects.
I am hoping to use the series as a book club with some of my students a bit later in the year. Each book comes with a set of playing cards, and there's a website where readers can enter their card codes and play along with the mystery online.

Phyllis Reynolds Naylor!

I had the distinct pleasure of attending an author's dinner with Phyllis Reynolds Naylor at the fancy downtown restaurant Chef Geoff's last week (thanks to Scholastic for hosting the event!). As I told my students the next day, it was just like my own Dear Mr. Henshaw moment and I was pleased as punch to sit right next to Ms. Naylor during dinner. She was, of course, entirely sweet and adorable as she asked me about what my students are interested in reading these days (I gave a shout out to Jeff Kinney's DWK series, as I should have given the rate they fly off the shelves in my classroom) and shared stories of her writing life with us. Later in the evening she shared her remarks on her newest book, Faith, Hope, and Ivy June, after which Scholastic gave us each a copy of and she signed them all.
Favorite story of the night: Over dessert, Phyllis asked my table if we would like to hear the story of when she won the Newberry for Shiloh. After a resounding "YES!" she proceeded to explain that she was eating her cereal one morning while her husband was out for a jog when the Newberry committee called her. "You've won the Newberry!" they exclaimed. "But my book only got one star!" Phyllis exclaimed back. After assuring her that they all loved her work, the committee shooed her off the phone so she could answer the forthcoming phone call from The Today Show. After hanging up with the committe, Phyllis admitted that she wasn't sure whether it had all really happened or not. She figured she would just stand and stare at the phone - and if it rang, and if the voice on the other end was from The Today Show, she would know it was true. Sure enough, the phone rang and within minutes she was recieving instructions to pack her bags and get to New York by that evening so she could be on national tv the next morning. After explaining what a shock it was to be expected to be in New York that very same night, Phyllis then said, "My husband says that when he got home from his jog, I was standing on the front porch and I said, 'Rex - I have 24 hours to lose 30 pounds!'"
Many thanks to Phyllis Reynolds Naylor for such a wonderful evening.

Ivy and Bean Take Care of the Babysitter

I love Ivy and Bean books (guided reading level M-N) because they're finally something different than Junie B. Jones - and they're good for a similar low-level reader. The plot formula seems to be the same in each book: Bean gets into a lot of things she shouldn't; somewhere along the way she drags Ivy into the mix; in the end she makes her big sister mad and then maybe will get in a bit of trouble with her mother.
I used to worry about books with characters that set less than stellar examples of behavior for kids (okay, so I still worry about it sometimes) - but what I once read was that it's good for kids to read books where the characters are kids doing bad things, because then the readers get to live out the trouble-making vicariously and not actually do the bad things themselves. So here's crossing my fingers that none of my students start climbing into locked crawl spaces or ruining their neighbors' yards with massive amounts of mud anytime soon...

Heartbeat by Sharon Creech

I'm not sure why I never took much notice of Heartbeat when it was in my library last year - maybe because most of my students had overlooked it; or because I hadn't read Love That Dog or Walk Two Moons; or because even though I noticed the cover, I wasn't immediately drawn into the book by the yellow apple. A rushed grab-anything-off-the-shelf-you-haven't-read-yet on the last day of summer school, however, led me to finally read Heartbeat on the flight to my vacation. And how glad I am that I did! The story of a young girl who loves to run, her friend Max who shares a love of the sport, and her small family - pregnant mom, dad, and elderly grandpa - is sweetly simple yet intellectually interesting at the same time. I loved the narrator's strong voice and sense of self as she attempts to make sense of those around her. I will definitely book talk it this fall - since it's written in poetry it may be a hard sell for some kids at first - but ultimately would be a pretty simple read for many junior high students (guided reading level W: great for 6th/7th; a good push for 5th).