Styling Librarian It’s Monday What Are You Reading #IMWAYR Jan 7 2013 #titletalk

Thanks to: TeachMentorTexts for the inspiration! Thanks to Jen and Kellee for the meme! I love Winter Break for the fact that my true reading priorities really come to light and I complete many book treasures… Plus this last week I didn’t have internet access for three days, what a productive reader I can be with no distractions! Something to think about the next time I flip open my computer… 

I’ve read… Two favorites:

What came from the stars by Gary D. Schmidt – Science Fiction – Fifth grade and up. A world about to be annihilated because of fear, contempt, and power hungry characters, but a little hope sent out into the universe for another to interpret. What a heartwrenching, amazing book this was. I feel like this book was quite fascinating and for some students who are persistent, they may really enjoy it, but I worry that it might be one I have a difficult time selling. I personally thought the story was fascinating and confusing simultaneously. The duality and yet separate story lines and characters on different planets was quite the concept, the additional language/words was confusing- and frustrating to realize had definitions at the end, forgot to check, how is it that I often have that problem? I really enjoyed the story overall and found the conclusion to have just that perfect, not rushed finish. Even had a little humor mixed in. Recommended! Goodreads Summary: “The Valorim are about to fall to a dark lord when they send a necklace containing their planet across the cosmos, hurtling past a trillion starsall the way into the lunchbox of Tommy Pepper, sixth grader, of Plymouth, Mass. Mourning his late mother, Tommy doesn’t notice much about the chain he found, but soon he is drawing the twin suns and humming the music of a hanorah. As Tommy absorbs the art and language of the Valorim, their enemies target him. When a creature begins ransacking Plymouth in search of the chain, Tommy learns he must protect his family from villains far worse than he’s ever imagined.”

Son by Lois Lowry - Science Fiction – Fifth grade and up.  wow. Most powerful of books I’ve read in a long time. Read within a day since I actually had time to focus on it. Wow. So, the characters were continued from The Giver, a little bit, with extra characters added in that I never would have dreamed possible. I loved how the storyline developed and the new characters rounded out the old ones. I really want to make time to retread The Giver again, at least, along with Gathering Blue and The Messenger. I did enjoy all three of the past books but it has been a really long time since I read them. I loved the powers that characters had in the book. I appreciated the dual story lines, I was quite invested in the outcome and couldn’t believe how powerful of a book this was. I admit at first, I couldn’t allow myself to really buy into the story. The idea of someone taking away someone’s child, the idea of drugs controlling hundreds of people’s lives, the idea of not being able to choose your own passion, identity, voice hopes/fears, or even have them in the first place was quite unfathomable to me… But then I got back into Lois Lowry’s world and was lost, hook, line, and sinker. What a fantastic, amazing, powerful author Lois Lowry is.  I am so happy I had time to get lost in this book treasure, wow. Goodreads Summary: “They called her Water Claire. When she washed up on their shore, no one knew that she came from a society where emotions and colors didn’t exist. That she had become a Vessel at age thirteen. That she had carried a Product at age fourteen. That it had been stolen from her body. Claire had a son. But what became of him she never knew. What was his name? Was he even alive?　 She was supposed to forget him, but that was impossible. Now Claire will stop at nothing to find her child, even if it means making an unimaginable sacrifice. Son thrusts readers once again into the chilling world of the Newbery Medal winning book, The Giver, as well as Gathering Blue and Messengerwhere a new hero emerges. In this thrilling series finale, the startling and long-awaited conclusion to Lois Lowry’s epic tale culminates in a final clash between good and evil.”

Many many other great books as well:
Phoenix – The Five Ancestors Out of the Ashes Book 1 by Jeff Stone – Have you read The Five Ancestors Series? I highly recommend it, a little violent but overall fascinating and well planned. Fascinating to see how Jeff Stone jumps forward in time to set up a whole new captivating adventure and incorporating the former ancestors into the story as well. Really enjoyed. Reminded me of how the author Susan Fletcher created Ancient Strange and Lovely – the gorgeous follow up to her Dragon Chronicles series jumping forward into present time but pulling along the strings of the past stories we loved.

Copy Me, Copycub by Richard Edwards, illustrated by Susan Winter - quite a cute picture book following the life of a cub learning life by copying his mom. A winter book my son grabbed off the library shelf, quite glad he selected it! Goodreads Summary: “Up into trees, through swamps and woods, over hills and dales, through spring, summer, and fall, Copycub follows his mom’s lead. Finally, when the leaves have fallen and winter arrives, the two bears must make their way through the cold and snow to their warm winter resting place. Little does the cub know that while he copies his mother, he is learning precious life lessons.  Richard Edwards’s warm story of a little cub who learns by example will hit home with children everywhere. All the rich details of nature are made inviting in Susan Winter’s gentle illustrations.”

Stuck by Oliver Jeffers – what a hoot! Fantastic picture book perfect for predictions and also retelling in a different way… Fantastic new picture book! Goodreads Summary: “When Floyd’s kite gets stuck in a tree, he’s determined to get it out. But how? Well, by knocking it down with his shoe, of course. But strangely enough, it too gets stuck. And the only logical course of action . . . is to throw his other shoe. Only now it’s stuck! Surely there must be something he can use to get his kite unstuck. An orangutan? A boat? His front door? Yes, yes, and yes. And that’s only the beginning. Stuck is Oliver Jeffers’ most absurdly funny story since The Incredible Book-Eating Boy. Childlike in concept and vibrantly illustrated as only Oliver Jeffers could, here is a picture book worth rescuing from any tree.”

The Legend of Sword Lake or Su Tich Ho Guom by Minh Trang, illustration by Vu Duy Nghia – first of three dual language folktales I purchased in Vietnam. Fascinating to see how a culture passes down a story and also actually having walked on the bridge over the lake made me appreciate this first folktale even more. I read the other two books with my son and we really enjoyed learning more about the culture through the stories, I was surprised at the violence, my son was thrilled… The Tet Pole – The Story of the Tet Festival by Tran Quoc, illustrated by Nguyen Bich and A Hundred-Joint Bamboo Tree – How a Rich Man Selected His Son-In-Law by Thao Huong, illustrated by Ngo Manh Lan.

Horrid Henry and the Secret Club by Francesca Simon – decided to read aloud this book series with my son. It is quite amusing. Honestly, I don’t know how much I’ll tolerate reading it though. Reminds me of Rotten Ralph series by Jack Gantos which I appreciate initially but overall needed to take a long break from it. –Oh my, just like Chi’s Sweet Home, I was surprised to see that Horrid Henry has an accompanying tv series:

Then and Now by Morris Gleitzman – I look forward to reading the fourth book next. I cannot recommend this series more. Approachable, beautiful and feasible for 5th grade and up to read. I know some try to avoid WWII stories with elementary children but I honestly think that they should have access to books if they are interested in the topic. I look forward to promoting this series with children. Then follows up on what happened after two characters jumped off a train headed to the concentration camp and Now jumps into present day with a gorgeous follow up with new characters and a powerful message.
Goodreads Summary for Then: “Felix and Zelda have escaped the train to the death camp, but where do they go now? They’re two runaway kids in Nazi-occupied Poland. Danger lies at every turn of the road. With the help of a woman named Genia and their active imaginations, Felix and Zelda find a new home and begin to heal, forming a new family together. But can it last?  Morris Gleitzman’s winning characters will tug at readers’ hearts as they struggle to survive in the harsh political climate of Poland in 1942. Their lives are difficult, but they always remember what matters: family, love, and hope.”
Goodreads Summary for Now: “Morris Gleitzman’s acclaimed story of friends Felix and Zelda in Nazi-occupied Poland has captured the hearts and minds of readers worldwide. In “Now”, he delivers the final chapter, bringing this most moving of stories into the present day.”

I listened to:

I finished listening to The Life of Pi by Yann Martel - Adult book- First time I’d recommend watching the movie before reading the book. It actually really has helped me enjoy the book more! So glad to complete and have my mind boggled (again) and have another discussion with my husband about it. Won’t ruin anything for those who haven’t read it!!

I also listened to:
The Land of Stories by Chris Colfer – Fantasy, 4th grade and up (but my 7 year old loved it!!) Really loved this book. Simple, fun, compelling, and great to listen to… I found an interesting connection between What Came from the Stars to The Land of Stories: Both with a parent dying impacting family-  from a car accident. Mom in stars and dad in Stories. Also, I found another connection to our travels in Vietnam when listening to The Land of Stories. A folktale about a fish who made a wish to have legs was shared in the book and then when we were touring The Temple of Literature in Hanoi, the folktale was brought up by my guide.  What I thought about that folktale- Sometimes we forget our own advantages when we begin wishing for what we don’t have. Goodreads Summary: “Alex and Conner Bailey’s world is about to change, in this fast-paced adventure that uniquely combines our modern day world with the enchanting realm of classic fairy tales.”The Land of Stories” tells the tale of twins Alex and Conner. Through the mysterious powers of a cherished book of stories, they leave their world behind and find themselves in a foreign land full of wonder and magic where they come face-to-face with the fairy tale characters they grew up reading about.  But after a series of encounters with witches, wolves, goblins, and trolls alike, getting back home is going to be harder than they thought.”

Next I’m reading:

Warriors of the Raven by Alan Gibbons, The Legendeer Book 3 – since this is a trilogy, looking forward to the conclusion. Plus excited to jump into Norse mythology adventure this time!
I’m listening to Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness – had to restart listening to this four times but now quite enjoying. Might have not given myself enough of a break between audiobooks. I need to catch up on some favorite podcasts that I’ve fallen behind on!

Just enjoyed #titletalk and found many webpages to visit as usual, what a treasured time that is every time. The focus this discussion time was on how to set reading goals with children:

http://kaymcgriff.edublogs.org/2013/01/04/reading-resolutions-and-more/

http://www.choiceliteracy.com/app/webroot/uploads/files/375MidYearreadingsurvey.pdf

http://www.choiceliteracy.com/articles-detail-view.php?id=1461

http://readingyear.blogspot.hk/2010/10/100-things-about-me-as-reader.html

http://www.katemessner.com/authors-who-skype-with-classes-book-clubs-for-free/

http://nerdybookclub.wordpress.com/2012/09/09/i-double-dog-dare-you-by-jarrett-j-krosoczka/

http://readwriteandreflect.blogspot.hk/2013/01/sharing-my-reading-life.html

http://nerdybookclub.wordpress.com/2012/12/23/book-gap-challenge-by-donalyn-miller/

http://edudemic.com/2011/12/digital-blogs/

http://101books.net/

http://www.hollymueller.blogspot.hk/2012/12/my-reading-life-in-2012.html

http://thestylinglibrarian.com/2013/01/04/styling-librarian-reading-challenges/

http://gazette.teachers.net/gazette/wordpress/todd-nelson/being-read-to/

http://www.ala.org/news/pr?id=12009

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1QoxdpYkKzcbtO1wAKiXDsIalE5DCILwOaLOJSqGENZM/edit

Want more book ideas and reviews? – Yes, I’m quite brief, but a prolific reader!  Please visit me at Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/1941055-the-styling-librarian Also, please follow this blog through email updates – (do so to the right of this blog post), my Facebook page, comment, or meet up with me on Twitter. I appreciate all of the support, makes my day! Honored by all the wonderful followers.