Summer Goals

School just wrapped up a couple of days ago and I am beginning to transition to my summer schedule.  Since my work schedule is lighter, I try to attempt some things that are difficult to do from September to June.  I won't bore you with my plans and goals for creating a better filing system for paperwork or for getting back into a regular workout routine.  Instead, I am going to share with you my book reading goal for the summer.

Book A Day Challenge

Donalyn Miller is a 6th grade Language Arts Teacher and author of THE BOOK WHISPER.  She challenged her students to set some summer reading goals.  Her own goal is to read a book a day (picture books, and graphic novels count).  You can read about her challenge here.  Some of us on twitter have joined her.  If you are interested please remember to use the hashtag #bookaday when tweeting your books.

Book A Day Week 1:

Picture Books:

Pinkalicious by Victoria Kahn Pinkalicious loves pink.  She loves it so much that she consumes too many pink cupcakes which turn her skin pink.  My 3 year old niece loved this story when I read it to her.  She loves anything pink and anything with a fairy princess costume which this book had in abundance. A definite hit with girls under 5 .

Fancy Nancy and the Late, Late, LATE Night by Jane O'Connor  Fancy Nancy makes everything fancy by dressing up or using big words.  In this installment (there are a lot of Fancy Nancy books), Nancy stays up late looking at  a neighbor's scrapbook and learns about consequences the next day.  An enjoyable read with a good lesson.

Fancy Nancy and the Sensational Babysitter by Jane O'Connor  In this Fancy Nancy book, Nancy learns that a teenage male babysitter may not have been what she expected, but may just be the perfect babysitter.  I think I actually enjoyed this one a tad bit more than the other one.

Middle Grade Fiction:

Chocolate Fever by Robert Kimmel Smith  I couldn't help but laugh while reading this one.  Any chocolate-aholic will surely appreciate Henry's love of chocolate and then the results of eating too much chocolate.  I realize this was written many years before Pinkalicious but both are really different takes on the same theme and geared at different age groups.

The Hoboken Chicken Emergency by Daniel Manus Pinkwater  What happens when a six foot tall 266 lb chicken gets lost looking for her young owner?  New Jersey may never be the same.  A funny story of friendship between a boy and his chicken.  A great read for reluctant readers.

YA Fiction:

Shadow Hills by Anastasia Hopcus Fans of paranormal YA romance will want to pick up this debut novel by Anastasia Hopcus.  You can read my review here.

I Heart You, You Haunt Me by Lisa Schroeder  This was my first novel in verse and I fell in love with it.  It is a beautifully told story of a girl who loses her boyfriend in an accident and how she learns to live again.  Tender, touching, and well written.  A great place to start if you have never read a novel in verse and  a book that I would highly recommend for reluctant readers particularly girls.

I will continue to post my progress towards the Book A Day Challenge and next up, I will be back with my Summer Writing Challenges, an announcement on the name for this blog, and some summer book contests.

So what have you set as your summer goals?

Help Name This Blog Contest

A few months ago, I decided to venture out and start my own blog.  I have been happy guest blogging but wanted someplace that I can combine some of my interests as an educator with my interest in books and writing.   Part of starting a blog means coming up with a name.  I have spent about a month trying to name this blog.  I have pestered friends, googled a bunch of titles, and still nothing really definite, despite some great brainstorming efforts.  So I am reaching out here and hopefully together a name will be found.

Premise of the blog:  A resource for teachers, authors, school librarians centered around books for children and teens and using them in the classroom.

The Challenge: Submit your blog name idea on the form provided at the end of the post.  Please read the remainder of the post for all of the guidelines and information.

Rules:  The Winner must be 13 or older.   The contest is open to those in the U.S. or International participants. Any inappropriate name suggestions will be immediately disqualified.

Contest Ends:  June 8, 2010 (Note: If more time is needed to collect submissions, I might extend the contest for another week.)

Prize:  For the winner whose blog name suggestion is chosen, a book of your choice for $15.00 (or less) US currency from either Amazon (US contestants only) or The Book Depository (US contestants, International contestants only have this option).

To submit your entry, please click on the link to complete the form:

https://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?formkey=dDlDR1RqMVNZZG5NVmpYS3VaOXhfcXc6MQ

Thanks for everyone's help.

Aly

Read Aloud - May 2010

In March 2010, I read AL CAPONE DOES MY SHIRTS by Gennifer Choldenko to my fourth graders. The students were fascinated by the book. Most of them had little knowledge of the 1930's. By reading the story, we had an opportunity to discuss the differences between current day behavior (language, dress, actions) with what would have been the norm in 1935. Additionally, our school has a significant number of students with Autism which also means we have a number of students that are siblings of a child with Autism. Moose's (the main character) struggles with his sister, Natalie, was touching but very real to many of our children. When we finished the book, everyone was eager to find out what happens to Moose, Natalie, Theresa, Piper and the others.

Note: Review to follow when we are finished.

Hello world!

Hi Everyone!  I am working on developing a blog and resource for teachers, authors, school librarians centered around books for children and teens.

If you have suggestions, please place something in the comments section.

Thanks,

-alybee