True Story

When  I taught US History one of the most uncomfortable things to teach was slavery.  To the modern mind it seems inconceivable that such evil could have been so prevalent during the founding and well into the development of this nation.  We tend to skim over it or even worse compress it into technical facts and ignore the great human cost.  Judith and Dennis Fradin's Stolen Into Slavery makes the horrors of slavery real-and that is important.

Stolen Into Slavery tells the story of, what some argue to be, one of the greatest evils of slavery.  Free black men and women were kidnapped from norther free states and sold into slavery.  This book tells the true story of one such slave, Solomon Northup.  Solomon travels south playing his violin with some companions, when they drug him and sell him to a salve pen.

The Fradin's main source was Northup's own autobiography Twelve Years a Slave (that probably sounds familiar because it was recently made a movie).  This gives them access to Solomon's thoughts and feelings and brings the book to life.

I am a huge fan of cross-curricular work and I think this book should be required reading for all students of US History (or if you are an older student Northup's autobiography).

Learning the truth...that's kids stuff.  

Motivate!!

Isn't that the truth!

Rap or Poems?

Nikki Grimes Bronx Masquerade is another one of the Reading Olympics books, and good thing it Bronx Masquerade  is a mix of reflective writing and poetry.  Yup, poetry-aka not my favorite thing.
was because otherwise I never would have picked it up.

But Bronx Masquerade had the best kind of poetry, the kind that creates questions and reflects real emotion.  Grimes takes on the persona of 18 different students in Mr. Ward's English class.  Set in the Bronx each student has a real struggle, real hurt, and real questions.  First you learn about them in a journal-like reflection then you get to see these feelings expressed through a poem.  The poems are raw, gritty, and good.

Some of the students have been writing raps or lyrics and they instantly grasp the connection between poetry and rap.  Poetry becomes something meaningful and through the process of writing and sharing poems they begin to grow as a classroom community.  They challenge stereotypes and realize that what they always believed about their peers may or may not be true.

My favorite part about this book is that what the students are dealing with goes far beyond the Bronx.  It addresses universals that even my suburban students can relate to.

Giving poetry a chance...that's kids stuff. 

Thrwoback

Today's throwback features one of my all time favorite books (I talked about it briefly here).  This isn't just a treasured book from my childhood, it is a book I keep coming back to year after year.  Well...if I'm being honest the book is an occasional re-read but the movie I re-watch every year (see I can like movies).  Yup, this is the rare exception, the one time where I like the movie just as much as the book.  I think it's because the movie stays so true to the book and captures the heart of the story.  And that's really what I love, not the book or the movie, but the story.

This is the illustrated version-I got one
as a gift and it holds an honored spot
on my bookshelf.  

What is this book you ask?  It is Louisa May Alcott's beloved classic Little Women.  Set in New England, Little Women tells the story of 4 sisters as they come of age in the late 1800s.  The four sisters are Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy.  Each share the desire to improve themselves and make their family proud but each is different. Whenever I re-read the book I connect differently with each of the sisters.

When I was in graduate school dreaming of being published I felt like Jo.  When I strove to improve my art (music) in college I felt like Amy, learning the hard lesson that talent isn't genius.  When I was first married and poor as poor could be I resonated with Meg and her newlywed monetary struggles.  Always I look at good, sweet, Beth and strive to have her kindness and love.

This book will always have a special place in my heart (cheesy alert-I know) and I frequently recommend it to my students.  It doesn't matter that it's over a century old, the story is as relevant now as ever.

One of my favorite scenes from the movie

Finding yourself...that's kids stuff.  

Calamitous Misadventure

I typically don't put much stock into the reviews printed on the back cover of a book.  Years of reading has taught me exactly which kind of books I will like and it doesn't much matter what the reviewer had to say about it.  In fact, we (myself, my co-teacher, and the librarian) did a lesson on how to choose a book with my class at the beginning of the year and not a single 8th grader mentioned that they read the reviews.  That being said I loved that Adam Rex described today's book as "A lyrical and calamitous misadventure, and who doesn't like that sort of thing?"

The book is Amy Timberlake's One Came Home.  With the very intriguing subtitle of "A sister lost. A body found. The truth buried."  To be honest I was having a very hard time figuring out how to describe this book-good thing Adam Rex summed it up perfectly.

One Came Home is the story of straight talkin' and sharp shootin' Georgie as she searches for her missing, and presumed dead, sister. But it's really about so much more than that.  It is in the truest sense a "lyrical and calamitous misadventure."  I will admit it was hard to get into but once it got started I couldn't put it down.  I just had to know how everything turned out.

This was one of those books that takes you to a different world.  When you read it you forget about reality and are totally immersed in Georgie's world.

Fighting for family...that's kids stuff.  

Get Hyped

I love this graphic not only because it references one of my favorite TV shows, Dr. Who, but it also reminds me of how important my job is.  I'm not just teaching reading because it's a fun thing to do.  I'm teaching reading because that skill is necessary for survival.

Innocent Until Proven Guilty

That's one of the fundamental principles of our justice system, that you are innocent until proven guilty.  But I wonder about those high profile cases, the ones that are all over the news, the ones where everyone seems to have made up their mind before a trial date is even set.  Katie Leigh is able to attend one of those trials.

Jen Bryant's The Trial is told from the perspective of Katie Leigh, a restless adventurer stuck in a middle of nowhere town where nothing exciting ever happens.  Katie satisfies her need for adventure through magazine clippings and newspaper articles, even working in the newspaper office, just waiting to be old enough to have a real adventure of her own.

Charles Lindbergh is an American hero but that didn't protect him from tragedy.  His baby was kidnapped then later found dead.  Years later they have a suspect and the trial takes place in Katie Leigh's middle of nowhere, nothing exciting ever happens town.

Historical fiction is a favorite genre of mine and Katie Leigh has exactly the kind of spunk I love from a lead.  However, this book is written as a series of free verse poems.  Long time readers of the blog will know that this is pretty much a deal breaker for me.  The story was well told but it just feels so fragmented I can' t sink into the story.

Finding adventure...that's kids stuff.  

Moto Monday

I'm feeling a little  under the weather today so I plan on drinking many monster cups of tea.  Hopefully I will find some time to read a book too.

Also C.S. Lewis wrote The Chronicles of Narnia.  Read about it here.




Having a hot drink with your book...that's kids stuff.  

Throwback Thursday

One of my favorite trends on things like Facebook and Instagram is the "throwback Thursday."  I love seeing old pictures of everyone and remembering past events.  I thought it would be fun to do a throwback Thursday here on the blog, where I would post about books I read, and loved, while growing up.  

So here we go!  I'm throwin' it back to one of my favorite series.    I read these books during late elementary school and even into jr. high.  I loved this series because the kids were so independent.   It features a set of four orphaned siblings, Henry, Jess, Violet and Benny who find shelter in an old abandoned boxcar.  They work odd jobs and try to make ends meet with all kinds of adventure along the way.  

If you haven't guessed already the series is Gertrude C Warner's The Boxcar Children. I would love to tell you  more about it but just because it's a throwback for me doesn't mean it isn't new to you so the same rules apply-no spoilers!  

Apparently the series now contains over 100 titles but I am pretty sure I read at least 60 while in school.  This was my go-to series.  Now excuse me while I go re-read the original...

Finding your way...that's kids stuff.  

Motivation Monday

One of my professional goals for this year was to be a more active blogger.  The problem with writing a book blog is that you need time to read the books before you can write the blog.  Since I can't always guarantee myself time to read a book I am going to experiment with a few new features on the blog.  I would LOVE feedback as to what you think.

As you probably guessed from the title, one new feature is Motivation Monday.  I have a "books worth  reading" board on Pinterest which is mostly pins from my blog (in an act of shameless self promotion) and quotes about reading.  I decided on motivation Monday's to share these quotes.  Some Mondays I may not write anything at all and just let the quote or graphic speak for itself.  Hope you enjoy!

Pinned from macteenbooks.com found here.

Books helping with real life...that's kids stuff.  

Creatures, Cyborgs and Cinderella

I will be the first to admit I love a good fairy tale.  I love the originals (graphic as some may be), I love the "prettied up" versions we tell children today, I love the Disney versions and the musicals.  So it's no surprise that I love the new trend of remaking fairy tales.

My favorite type of spin off is when sci-fi elements are added to the fairy tales.  Not only does it challenge the stereotype that girls are only interested in pretty dresses and prince charming but it makes for an awesome story.  Marissa Meyer's Cinder is one of these remakes.

Cinder is a cyborg (a human with a computer enhanced brain and mechanical parts-typically this is a human who has suffered catastrophic injuries) and a very talented and sought after mechanic.  Her parents has died and she lives with her stepmother and two stepsisters who treat her as little more than a servant (sound familiar).   Things really get interesting when the prince comes to Cinder and asks her to repair his android (essentially robots-read the book to really understand them).  The information on this android could change everything.

As you can guess there is a ball but that is not where the story ends.  In face, I'm not sure where the story ends because Cinder is the first in a series.  Each new book in the series introduces a new character who will probably remind you of a well known fairy tale.  Scarlet may have something to do with a certain girl in a certain cloak of a certain color who may or may not encounter a wolf.  Cress has more hair than she knows what to do with and may or may not be trapped in a "tower."

I am halfway through Cress and I cannot WAIT to see how the story turns out.

Beating the stereotype...that's kids stuff. 

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That's for me!

One of my favorite things about this year is helping out with the Reading Olympics team.  After we talk about the books on the list, which if you are a loyal reader of this blog you will be familiar with, we spend the last few minutes discussing other books we have read that we thought were good.  One student held up Kiera Class's The Selection and described it as, "a mix between The Hunger Games and The Bachelor."  Immediately I held out my hand to take the book and said, "that's a book for me."  (I am a secret-not so secret now-reality TV fan).  

The Selection  did not disappoint.  From the first page I was hooked.  Plenty of intrigue, a sassy yet likable and relatable female lead, and just the right amount of romance (it doesn't overpower the story yet it doesn't leave you wanting more).  In this society princesses are married to princes of  other countries but the prince always marries someone from his home country to boost morale.  This society is caste based with the ones being the highest most elite class and eights are at the bottom, they are essentially homeless beggars.  When the prince comes of age there is a selection.  One girl form each part  of the country is selected to compete for the princes heart.  The prince chooses his wife and the future queen from this group of girls.  The catch is that the future princess can come from any caste which makes it especially exciting for those of low birth.  

This was the kind of book that you sit down and read the whole thing in one sitting because you just can't put it down and that is exactly what I did.  Except when I got to the end I realized it wasn't the end at all. Here I must apologize for waking up my poor husband as I screamed, "What!!??" when I realized this book is part of the series.  

The next morning I stormed into a fellow reading teachers classroom and demanded she give me the next book.  My dismay quickly turned to delight as I realized there was not one but two sequels and a companion novel is in the process of being written.  I am happy to say the next two books, The Elite, and The One were just as fantastic. 

Writing your own fairy tale...that's kids stuff. 

PS.  I realize this is the longest post I have written in awhile and I may have given a few more spoilers than I usually do, but I can't help it.  I LOVED these books.