Author: Andrea

Every week I participate in this meme hosted by the lovely ladies over at Teach Mentor Texts.  Jen and Kellee had the brilliant idea to adapt this meme to talk about the great young adult and children’s literature that we are reading.  Head over to their blog for more great reads and a plethora of recommendations of great kidlit.

Books I Finished This Week:

The Perks of Being A Wallflower by Steven Chbosky is the favorite book of one of my students, so I had to bring it up to the top of the pile.  I liked the book, but I am not really a fan of this type of realistic fiction which really just examines the inner workings of a teenager’s mind.  I am utterly perplexed about how they made this into a movie.  The impression I got was that the protagonist had some sort of autism or a developmental disorder.  The way other characters talked to him and the way that he spoke about some issues really had me thinking that he did not have the same way of viewing the world as many other people would have.  I understand why some people really like the book, but it really didn’t do much for me.

I LOVED this one.  I have a bit of a crush on Perry and I loved how Aria learned how to be a strong woman by the end.  This is one of my favorite Dystopian books this season.  I will be anxiously awaiting the next one which is set to come out in January.  Meanwhile, I will enjoy reading the novella that the author released which tells Roar and Liv’s story.  I highly recommend this one to everyone.

I had the good luck of being able to use some Scholastic Dollars at our book fair to add to my class library.  I spent a lot of that money on some great new graphic novels.

This is a great story.  I enjoyed reading it and I know my students will love it also.  I love the full color graphics and the way the character is developed in this story.

I love all of Rick Riordan’s books.  The Red Pyramid is an excellent and fun book.  I enjoyed reading this story for a second time through this format.  There was a lot of text in this graphic novel and it might be too much for some students, but it would be a great way to get them thinking about the books.

I was so excited to read this one.  My students LOVE Ghostopolis and Bad Island so I was sure this one would be excellent too.  I love the creative story…how creepy that the cardboard took over.  It was reminiscent of Gremlins…I wonder if that was done on purpose. Doug TenNapel does not disappoint with this one.  I can’t wait to share it with my students!

Books I am Currently Reading:

Blood Red Road by Moira Young is the audiobook I am currently listening to.  I have found myself much more motivated to get my workouts in now that I have a great book to listen to.  I love the narrator on this audiobook!

The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer By Michelle Hodkin is so intriguing so far.  I get why I have heard so many great things about this one.  I can’t wait to meet this author in a couple of weeks in Milwaukee and to purchase the sequel which comes out this week.

Books up Next:

I will probably pick up If I Stay by Gayle Forman.  I also have The Mark of Athena and The Eye of the Storm to read from the book fair.  I also want to get to The Diviners soon.  I guess I will see how I feel this week!

Every week I participate in this meme hosted by the lovely ladies over at Teach Mentor Texts.  Jen and Kellee had the brilliant idea to adapt this meme to talk about the great young adult and children’s literature that we are reading.  Head over to their blog for more great reads and a plethora of recommendations of great kidlit.

This week I had a better reading week.  I think I might be actually figuring out the balance to my reading and schoolwork.  Now, I just have to find writing time and time to workout!

Books I finished this week:

On a recent splurge at Barnes and Noble, I ended up with this gem.  I had heard a lot of good things about The False Prince by Jennifer A Nielson and I was not disappointed!  I love the way this book twists and turns.  Sage is an orphan who has just been purchased away from the orphanage.  He finds out that Connor, the man who has him, is planning a great deception and will be relying on one of the three orphan boys he has to pull it off.  It is an adventure story about survival and doing the right thing.  I will look forward to the other books in the trilogy.  I would recommend this book for middle grades and up.

On the same trip to Barnes and Noble, I purchased The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater.  I was especially curious about this one, because The Scorpio Races turned out to be one of my favorite books ever.  I did not feel the same about the Shiver trilogy, and was curious to see how this series would be.  There has been quite a bit of good buzz about The Raven Boys and I have to say I agree that this is a great book.  The book was different from what I thought it would be, but I really enjoyed the characters and the interesting plot twists.  The existence of psychic energy is a fascinating subject, whether or not you believe it is real.  What I loved about the book was the depth of the characters, and the mystery that surrounds them.  What I hate about reading a first book in a series when it first comes out is that now I have to wait soooo long to find out what happens next!  I know that my 8th graders will love this book, and I can’t wait to share it with them.

I borrowed One for the Murphys from the public library and then proceeded to avoid it. I have this issue with reading stories that I think will be sad…but I had to see what all the buzz was about.  I did need quite a few tissues while reading this one, but it wasn’t exactly from sadness.  This book is so touching and so full of raw emotions.  Every person who works with children should read it to learn about what might be happening in the mind of a child when they test you.  I loved that the Murphys provided Carley with a safe place that gave her hope for the kind of place she would like to have in the future.  I need to go buy a copy of this book for my class library, because I think a lot of kids will really connect to Carley and that will help them learn empathy.  I can see why this book is ending up on many mock Newbery lists.  It is a beautiful book and everyone should read it.

I FINALLY finished this book.  The book is jam-packed with excellent ideas for helping writers to understand what makes good writing and to revise to accomplish their goals.  It took me a while to finish the book because it is so full of ideas I got a little overwhelmed.  I will have to go back to it often to find the ideas that work for the stage we are in with writer’s workshop.  I really want to find Jeff Anderson’s other books now because I know they will be full of excellent ideas of how to teach grammar in a writing class.

Books I am Currently Reading:

I moved The Perks of Being a Wallflower to the top of my pile because one of my students LOVES this book.  She is a voracious reader and has read this one 5 times.  I had to find out what was so wonderful about this book.  So far, I really enjoy the voice of the narrator.

I also started Under the Never Sky on my Kindle.  I love those daily deals (my wallet does not love them)!

I started listening to Wake by Lisa McMann, but I think I will stop and look for the book.  The person reading the book sounds really young to me and the voice is annoying.

Books on the Horizon:

I have Mal and Chad: Food Fight from the library.  I will also read The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer in anticipation of a visit to a local library from Michelle Hodkin on Oct. 30th.  This week is parent conference week so that may be it for me, but if I do have time I will also read If I Stay by Gayle Forman or The Diviners by Libba Bray.

I borrowed the Blood Red Road audiobook from the library so I am excited to start listening to that during my workouts this week.  Maybe it will be the motivation I need to get the workouts in!

The past two weeks have been a whirlwind.  I am still working on balancing home and school and finding time for reading and writing.  During the last two weeks I read quite a few graphic novels.  I have been feeling overwhelmed with too many books to read and to little time in which to read them.

One highlight of the last week was going to see Libba Bray speak at the library.  It was so much fun–the book store provided live jazz musicians and there was a costume contest as well.  Of course, I also bought a few books which added to the to read pile…

Books I Finished in the last two weeks:

The Iron King by Julie Kagawa was a fun book.  I really enjoyed the character Grimalkin.  The adventure through the fairy realm was full of surprises and I am very interested to read the rest of the series.  I love those Amazon Kindle deals!  I would recommend this book to students in middle school and up.

Joe Bright and the Seven Genre Dudes by Jackie Mims Hopkins is a great book for reviewing genres with students.  I love fractured fairy tales!



                                   

Last, but certainly not least, was Going Bovine by Libba Bray.  I thoroughly enjoyed reading this fantastical adventure.  I loved the references to Don Quixote.  This book definitely deserved the Printz award!

Books I am Currently Reading:

The False Prince by Jennifer A Nielsen

Books up Next:

The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer, The Raven Boys, The Diviners

This summer I began following many teachers and fellow book bloggers.  I was so intrigued by all the talk about the book Wonder that I had to go out and find it to read.  Reading this book was an amazing experience: I laughed, I cried, and I spent time thinking about how to best use this amazing resource with my students.

My wedding with all the siblings.

Enjoying a Brewers game together.

When we moved in with him, it was very difficult at first.  My mother, my sister, and I were not used to being stared at everywhere we went.  We had to learn how to be the people that were the center of attention in every public place.  We had to learn to ignore the stares and the whispers.  At first, I was angry all the time, just like Via is in the book Wonder. Then, I learned to ignore the stares and I just enjoyed being around such a great guy.  

The book Wonder treats this issue in a wonderful and real way.  I connected in such a powerful way with the family, and I knew that I needed to share this book with my class.  I loved how Auggie was so matter-of-fact about how his life has been.  It is so important to me to help my students learn empathy for people who are different so that they can go out in the world and advocate for kindness.  Auggie’s voice is so honest that a reader can’t help imagining what it would be like to be in his shoes.  

Jeff and my stepdad at Christmas

This school year I am reading Wonder aloud to my 8th grade class.  We started at the beginning of the school year and have just begun Part II.  I was reminded today of how much I connect with Via’s character as we started the section that is written from her point of view.  My students have shown incredible depth in their responses so far and I heard an audible, collective gasp when I read about Halloween.  (If you haven’t read the book, you need to read it and then you will know what I mean)

I will have my students take the pledge to choose kind during the month of October for National Bullying Prevention Month.  This is such an important issue and I love that I have a good piece of literature to help bring up some important but difficult topics.  I am using ideas from the teacher resource guide provided as response ideas. I am asking my students to connect to the book in their own personal ways and I will share my connections to the characters and my experiences of being in a family that got stared at everywhere we went.

If you are interested in taking the pledge to Choose Kind or to find out more about this WONDERful book, visit the tumblr page by clicking on the logo.  

Enjoying some live music.  Jeff loves when we sing and when my husband plays guitar.

This is a weekly meme that gives bloggers an opportunity to share the books they have been reading.  This one is hosted by Jen and Kellee over at TeachMentorTexts.  Head on over to get more ideas of great books to read.

Books I read this week:

Mike Lupica’s Hero was a really fun read.  I could really understand how confused Zach was about the role he was learning about and about who to trust.  It would be very disconcerting to find out that your dad had been a superhero and that you were destined to continue the fight against the “bads.”  I think all kids grade 4 and up could relate to this kid and his extraordinary situation. 

I have been waiting for Tiger’s Destiny by Colleen Houck for what seems like eons.  The third book in the saga had a ginormous cliffhanger at the end and then readers had to wait to find out what would happen.  I have really enjoyed reading this series.  I love the premise of the Tiger’s curse and the girl who can help the tigers get free from it.  Kelsey is maddeningly unsure of herself and there were a few times throughout the saga that I was ready to throw the book across the room because I was so frustrated with her stubbornness.  I couldn’t have imagined a more perfect way to end the story than what was in this book.  I don’t usually like epilogues that tie up loose ends, but in this case I was happy to have the happy ending.  I highly recommend the series!!!  (I even went to buy this one in hardcover because I just couldn’t wait for it at my library…that does not happen very often)

I enjoyed reading Amulet and will be looking for the rest to add to my class library.  I can see why so many kids enjoy the story.

Books I am Currently Reading:

The Iron King by Julie Kagawa surprised me by having a protagonist that is a normal teenager to begin with.  I thought the story would start out in the fairy realm, but I am liking having the perspective of a protagonist who does not have a clue about what is going on.  It makes the book more suspenseful.  I can’t wait to see if Meghan is able to save her brother from the winter court.

Books up Next:

I will probably read Between Shades of Gray this week and then it is a toss up about what book I choose from my pile. 

This is a weekly meme to celebrate what we are reading.  Head over to Jen and Kellee’s blog www.teachmentortexts.com to get more great ideas of what to read.

I am still working on getting back my reading rhythm.  During the first few weeks of school planning for class takes more because we are working on setting up routines and procedures for the whole school year.

Books I finished this week:

I picked up Trance by Linda Gerber because I was intrigued by the cover.  Then, when I started to read it, I looked closer and realized this is the same author as the Death by Denim mystery series.  I really enjoyed those books and I really enjoyed this one.  In this book, Ashlyn and her sister have always had trances that seem to tell them when something bad is going to happen.  Ashlyn did not listen to her sister the last time she had a trance and she got in a car accident in which their mother died.  Ashlyn is coping with the guilt of having been the driver in that accident and has just gone back to school and work when her trances start again.  This time they come more frequently and she is sure she needs to solve the mystery to prevent another tragedy.  I really enjoyed this book and would recommend it to students in middle school and older.

Waiting for Normal by Linda Connor is a book that I have been meaning to read for awhile.  When it came up in a student’s letter to me as being her favorite book, it moved up in the to read list.  Then I was lucky enough to spot it in a new collection of books purchased for our school.  I loved this book.  It paints a picture about how the laws of guardianship and adoption sometimes work out poorly for children.  Addie is living with her mother who does not take care of things and seems to be addicted to the internet.  Addie does not want her mother to get in trouble, but she is often left alone to fend for herself and does not like that life.  She hopes one day to get a normal life.  I was rooting for Addie throughout this book and I loved the other adults in her life who worked hard to make things right for her.  This is an amazing book and I would recommend it to anyone grade 5 and up.

I finally finished the audiobook for Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor.  I like the story and whoa what a twist.  I will definitely have to look for the second one when it comes out.  I know that my students will enjoy this book so I will have to look for a copy to add to my library.

Books I am Currently Reading:

Books on the Horizon:

This is a weekly meme hosted by Jen and Kellee at www.teachmentortexts.com.  Head over to their blog for more links to great blogs with a lot of great titles.

Okay, it’s the first week of school and my reading rhythm has almost stalled completely.  I will catch up soon, but having a good start to the year takes precedence right now.  I also am going to need to carve out time for writing every day as I am making that commitment to my students as well.

The best part of my reading week this week was pairing each and every student in my class with a book that they are excited to read.  Can’t wait to do more booktalks to get them thinking about others they would like to read.  I also started reading aloud Wonder by RJ Palacio.  I can’t wait to have the discussions with my students that I know will come from this excellent book.

I am also excited to share Goodreads with my class.  They all signed up for an account and had fun exploring and rating books.  This week I will show them how to add books to their lists and track progress on the book they are currently reading.  I have created a private group for us so I will be exploring to see what I can do with that as well.

Books I Finished:

Books To Read This Week:

Jen and Kellee over at Teach Mentor Texts host this weekly meme focused on literature for young people.  It is a chance to talk about what we are reading each week.  Go over to their blog to find links to many other posts and get some great ideas of what to read.

I was able to get into my school building this week to set up my classroom and started inservice days on Wednesday.  My reading has drastically slowed down and will be that way for a while as I work to get the year off to a good start.  This week much of the reading I did was rereading parts of professional books that had ideas that I want to use this year.  I always start with some ideas from Nancy Atwell so spend some time rereading parts of In the Middle.  I also went back to The Cafe Book and So What do They Really Know? for ideas about assessment in reading.

Books I Finished:

Beauty Queens by Libba Bray–I loved this book and laughed out loud multiple times throughout the book.  I really appreciated the satire.  This would be a great book to use with teenagers to introduce them to that form.  I don’t think I will get a copy of this book for my class library because it would be better appreciated by older students.  I would highly recommend it for a high school classroom.

The Hangman’s Daughter by Oliver Potzch–I got this book on Amazon as a Kindle daily deal.  I had heard of it before and then couldn’t resist the good deal.  I am so glad I did.  I really enjoyed this book.  It is historical fiction and is set in a small village in Germany.  The hangman at that time was the executioner but also the person who carried out torture to make people confess.  The book starts out with a mysterious death of a small boy who has a weird sign painted on his shoulder.  The whole town goes after the midwife, calling her a witch.  The hangman is an intelligent man and does not like the witch hunt.  He is convinced that this woman did not do anything and is in fact not a witch. What follows in the book is a murder mystery with a very interesting historical context.  I highly recommend this one for adults.

Books I am Currently Reading:

Books to read this week:

I don’t imagine I will get through many books this week.  The first day for students is tomorrow and Open House is Thursday.  I have quite a lot of work to do to be ready for both.  I will continue to read Shadow and then probably Pretty Little Liars.

Jen and Kellee host this meme over on their blog Teach Mentor Texts to talk about the books we are reading each week, especially focused on kidlit and YA titles.  Go on over to their blog to read about more awesome books.

Books I Finished This Week:

Books I am Currently Reading:

 I am LOVING this book.

Still listening to this one.  I have been sick so not working out as much which cuts down on my listening time.  Still really liking the story too.

This one is taking me forever because there are so many great ideas.  I have to slow down and flag the ideas for future use.  I will really buckle down this week and get through this one.

I start school on Wednesday so I have been dedicating time to going into my classroom and getting things set up.  Students don’t start until next Tuesday so I will still have a little time to read this week, but I will be planning and mostly reading professional titles I think.  Where did the summer go?

My sister and I at camp a few years back

     The creaky cabin door slams behind us and the smell of the pine woods follows us.  The cabin screens are protected with a tarp hanging outside which makes the inside of the cabin dark even in the bright sunlight.  There are four camp cots that have been improved over the years with slabs of wood under the cot mattress as opposed to the old springs.  The cabin smells like dirt and sand which is collecting on the floor and humidity that stays trapped inside.  It is rustic and perfect and more my home than any of my houses have ever been.

      If you talk to anyone who has never experienced camp, they cannot understand what the draw is.  We don’t even actually camp as you would in a campground in tents.  There isn’t much fishing happening, we don’t always go for long hikes, but we always love our surroundings.  What we do have are an abundance of happy memories and a reminiscence that pops out around every corner.  This place fills us with a spiritual happiness and protects us from the rest of the world for a few days.  We have a vocabulary of words that only those of us that have experienced camp know: hopper, biffy, superbiffy, the real dining hall, and all the unit names that don’t exist anymore but are forever burned into our minds and hearts.  We learned to wake up to the toll of the bell and show up throughout the day for meals summoned by that same bell.  We learned to walk through the woods with the help of a flashlight on nights with a new moon and without a flashlight on full moon nights.  We learned to build a campfire and enjoy staring into it well into the night.

My mother at the camp bell.

     I literally owe my entire existence to this special place.  My parents were of the first generation to form ties to Camp Webb.  My father actually came up with his youth group and built many of the things that exist on the ground today.  Every time I take the steps down to the lakefront, I feel my dad with me.  He worked hard with the groundskeeper to maintain the camp property.  My mother came up to work at camp not through a church connection, but because my grandmother was friends with someone who was working there.  My parents met at camp and had a beautiful wedding in the outdoor chapel there (at least it looks beautiful from the pictures I’ve seen).  They continued to be friends with many of their camp friends and especially were close with the maintenance man and his wife.  It was through this connection that I came to know the camp as my home away from home even before I was old enough to be a camper.

The camp logo.

     My time as a camper holds many memories:

• The meals in the dining hall while Ruthie was still the cook were amazing.  My mouth waters just remembering the Ruthie rolls we used to eat.  
• The talent show each week in which the staff would put on these goofy skits for us.  
• The singing, I love the singing.  Camp songs for church and campfires alike and hilarious graces that made praying fun.  
• Lessons in the lake in swimming and sailing and canoeing.  
• Crafts in the arts and craft cabin.  
• And every Friday, for the end of the camp week, we had a dance.  

Every summer I went to camp for the week of my birthday.  I loved the goofy fun of being the center of attention at a camp meal for the few moments it took to sing happy birthday.  Each summer at camp, the place inched its way into my heart and soul a little more.

Little Hills Lake

     My parents continued to be involved in the camp as well.  We went up to camp for family camping whenever we had the opportunity.  It became a yearly tradition to be up there in the same week in August almost every year.  We got to be there with the families of some of my parents’ friends from camp and we all enjoyed this connection.  My father also served on the board of directors for a few years.  I was so proud of the fact that he was helping make some of the decisions that needed to be made for the future of camp.  The biggest way that we continued to be involved with camp is our frequent visits to the caretaker and his family.  We would drive the camper and later the motorhome up to camp and park it next to the house at the end of the driveway.  We spent countless weekends visiting our family friends and roaming camp land at will.  I got to know every inch of that beautiful space better than I would have if I just went there as a camper.

The steps my dad helped build.

   
     When my father died too young, his camp friends dedicated a cabin to his memory.  He had been such a big part of building the camp and I was able to feel his presence while on that land more than in any other space in the world.  The time I spent on the pier at night gazing up at the vast universe of stars, really helped me to grieve and to know that I would see my dad again in heaven.
     The summer I worked at camp, I felt my father’s presence in everything that I did.  I enjoyed the goofy fun of camp as a staff person.  I led the music at camp and rejoiced in the way that I got to enjoy every shred of singing possible.  I basked in the sunshine and jumped in the puddles and lived a great life that summer at camp.  I made a whole new set of memories in this space that already held so many.
    And then, a few years ago, our diocese decided to sell camp.  We were frantic thinking about how this sacred space would become condos and lake houses instead of the campground we had learned to love.  We all went to camp to visit “one last time” and began to think about what life would be like without this special place to go to.  Luckily, the current owners came forward to buy the camp.  Although the space is now Camp Lakotah instead of Camp Webb, this is still our special place to go.
   Nowadays, I don’t get up to camp very often, but when I do it is an awesome experience.  I recently returned from a women’s retreat there at camp.  Being on that land is a peaceful and emotional experience for me.  The first breath of crisp pine air in that forest reminds me of a life connected to something bigger in this space.  Rejuvenated by my experience in the presence of memories, I return to my house thankful that this space that is “home” will be there for at least a while longer.

    Do you have a home away from home?  Did you experience camp as a kid?  Leave a comment below.

Andrea