Reading Conference Wonders

There is nothing like the excitement of hearing what others are doing to get kids reading.  Two and a half days of inspiring, fascinating, creative people have me revved up and ready to get back to school and try out some of the ideas I heard during the Virginia State Reading Association conference this week in Richmond.  I was lucky enough to meet Jeff Kinney!!! 
         Yes, this really is Jeff Kinney's hand signing a book for Highland Park Elementary!

Wow!  I met Jarrett Krosoczka!!

I got to hear how the lunch lady was created WHILE eating breakfast with Donalyn Miller!

And I finally heard how Batman REALLY came to be from author Marc Tyler Nobleman.

The entire conference reinforced my passion for reading and getting kids to open a book.
Reading is Life.

It's Monday!  What am I reading?

In the kid world...

1.  Smek for President by Adam Rex

J Lo is one of my absolute favorite characters.  I am listening to this one and adore the voices the narrator uses for this version.  I have been a huge Adam Rex fan, and at the National Book Festival a few years ago in DC he mentioned the movie version of Smek Day would be coming.  So excited to see it's almost here!

2.  Just starting Edison's Alley by Neil Shusterman and Eric Elfman.  Can't wait to dig in to this tonight.  I very much enjoyed Tesla's Attic so excited to read the sequel.

3.  My lunch time read this week is The Girl From Felony Bay by J. E. Thompson.  I am loving the wonderfully strong Abby Force!  The book is fast paced and difficult to put down when lunch time is over.

4.  And as I am wrapping up a six day snow day run by finally getting back to work tomorrow (still a 2 hour delay!) I also got some adult reading in this week.  LOVE this book!  Jojo Moyes is amazing!

Well that's my line up for the week!   Can't wait to stop tomorrow and get Mark of the Thief!  I have waited rather impatiently for this one.  The False Prince trilogy blew me away!  

What I have been reading this week..

Well on this cold and snowy week it is about time that I renew my vow (and New Year's resolution!) to write in my blog.  I happened upon the What are You Reading? question on Teach Mentor Texts and thought this is an easy way to get back at it.  It has been a snow week for us in my school district so I have had an unexpected week off... and I have put it to good use!

Here is what I have read so far:




1.  Ruby Goldberg's Bright Idea by Anna Humphrey (loved it!)

2.  Nest by Esther Ehrlich (deep!)

  3.  All the Answers by Kate Messner (woohoo!!) 

4. Unstoppable Octobia May by Sharon Flake (interesting... )

5.  Jack:  The True Story of Jack and the Beanstalk by Liesel Shurtliff (Yeah!)
 

6.  The Compass of Dreams (Enchanted Emporium book #2) by Pierdomenico Baccalario (love a good magical adventure!)

7.  Masterminds by Gordon Korman (not finished yet... but LOVING it!  Great adventure!)

For professional development (and a class I am taking) I am reading The Digital Writing Workshop by Troy Hicks.
 And for adult reading I am reading Four Years in Paradise by Osa Johnson.
 (A bit old fashioned in her thinking... but enjoying the overall story).

Gotta love a good snow day for getting some reading done!
Thanks to M Shelton for the snowman picture....

I LOVE this time of year!

Fall is my favorite time of the year.  The spicy smell of the leaves, the crisp nights just asking for a soft blanket and a good book!  Apple cider, pumpkin spice lattes!  All my favorites!  And one new favorite of fall is the National Book Festival.  This was the second year I attended and it was amazing!  I got to see several of my favorite authors... Jon Klassen, Richard Peck, Jon Scieszka, Oliver Jeffers, Grace Lin, Jennifer and Matthew Holm, Matthew Kirby!  It was amazing.  My daughter and I also toured through a bit of the Smithsonian while we were in DC.  Fun times!

While I sat in line waiting to meet all of these amazing authors I was reading.  This year I read Counting by 7's by Holly Goldberg Sloan.
It was hard to stay focused on keeping up with the line to see each author I was so in to the story.  Right away I became attached to Willow Chance.  It was hard to see her pain in the pages of the book.  But I have always loved a story where the main character becomes something better because of something they have gone through.  The people who became champions of Willow Chance also became better people from knowing her.  The book might have been a bit predictable, but that didn't stop me from totally enjoying this book!  I laughed, I cried, I had a good time.  If you love a good realistic fiction read... pick up Counting by 7s!

Another Amazing Title!

I am a huge fan of Wendy Mass and this time she has taken space, matter and the creation of the universe, totally deep subjects and molded a warm, sincere, fantastic tale of friendship and pie.  I loved Joss and Annika and the friendship they develop. 

The Realms sound like an awesome place to visit.  I hope that we have someone like Kal's parents watching out for Earth.  And even though the story seems hard to fathom, it becomes real with the friendship that develops between Joss and Annika.  If you like science fiction, adventure, and stories of true friendship this is the book for you!  Thanks for the e-galley!  Look forward to Pi in the Sky in a book store near you this summer!

Getting Back to Reading

It's been a crazy school year and I haven't read or blogged nearly as much as I would like.  I did read one amazing book last month!

The problem with series books is that when they hook you in, you have MONTHS or a YEAR to impatiently wait for the next book.  This is one of those series.  I LOVED the False Prince!  Then, I read The Runaway King on netgalley before it was published, and LOVED it!  Now I will spend months waiting to see what will happen in this amazing series!  If you love adventure, characters who think on their feet, friendship with a hint of romance this is the series for you!  Pick it up and READ!

Summer Reading Update

Hopefully all of you are well underway with some amazing books for summer reading!  I am going to share a book I read in the spring, because I LOVED it and let you know what is currently on my TBR pile or To Be Read pile.

First... one of my favorite books I have read so far this year is The False Prince.  This is the tale of Sage, an orphan who has been bought by Connor, a ruthless nobleman of the court determined to find a boy to become the false prince.  Connor attempts to train Sage and two other orphans in the ways of the court so that he can rule through this boy.  There is action, suspense, twists and turns in this amazing book!  Check it out at your local library!  Or better yet... add it to your own personal library!

Other books on my TBR include:  Mousenet, A Hero for Wondla, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang Flies Again, Wonder, Storybound, A Hero's Guide to Saving Your Kingdom, the Castle of Shadows and MORE!  I LOVE Summer Reading!

Kicking Off Summer Reading AND a Great Book!

It's hard to believe the school year is winding down!  The idea of how to motivate 400 students to read over the summer is always daunting.  Here is what I have done so far:  1.  Talked highly of the reading, giving the various ways students can win prizes for reading over the summer  2.  Kicked off our Second Annual Book Exchange to take place the last Friday of the year  3.  Tried to entice them with amazing stories to end the year.  What are some things you all are doing? 

Here is one book I will highly recommend!  I LOVED the Adventures of Beanboy!  Most of my students love graphic novels and this story shows how one boy created his own sidekick for a contest.  It's so cool to see the creative process being worked out in someone else, even in a book.  The story is also well written, funny and engaging.  Tucker MacBean must find a superhero's heart to complete his work, and I love how he finds his.  It's great to see that although life becomes better for his arch nemesis, Sam Zawicki, it isn't suddenly perfect.    Three Cheers for The Adventures of Beanboy!   I'm looking up Lisa Harkrader's first book now.... always in quest of another GREAT book!

Reading with Our Children

Last night my daughter and I finished reading Lisa Yee's Warp Speed.  This
was a fantastic story to read together.  The story is wonderful for learning to be
who you want to be.  The Star Wars and Star Trek references were awesome
as I have to admit to being something of a Trekkie myself growing up.  (My
brother made sure of that!)  So my daughter and I began to watch some of
those early Star Trek episodes and the Star Wars I grew up on to give her
some reference of what Marley was talking about.  We watched Casablanca
 so my daughter understand the reference to Victor Lazlo. We loved reading this book
and could not wait for the next evening to find out what the Captain's Log would
offer.  GREAT book!  And I can't say enough about reading together.  These are moments
we both will remember and cherish!

A New Year a New Start!

This past year has been filled with amazing stories!  Among my favorites:  The Emerald Atlas, Dead End in Norvelt, Bigger Than a Breadbox, Inside Out and Back Again.  I am anxiously looking forward to the results of the Newbery Awards.  And to more incredible books.  I hope to use this blog more seriously in the coming year to chat about books I have loved and to share my joy in reading!  Here's to a fantastic 2012!

Just Finished The 6th Annual 48 hour Reading Challenge!

Well it's 48 hours later, and I haven't gotten any time to check in with any other reading challengers, I haven't had access to the internet all weekend!  But it was good for my reading time.  For a first timer, I am satisfied.  I know I could have stayed up later, and read just a bit more, but considering it was dance recital weekend, a softball game and 5 hours of work.... I did ok.
Here are my statistics:
I began the challenge at 7 PM Friday night.  I had one hour of audio listening (while driving kids here and there and then home) Friday night.  I was already into the book Sabotaged by Margaret Peterson Haddix, so that is the audio book I used for the challenge.  I also had 3 hours of actual reading.  I started the book Juniper Berry by MP Kozlowsky. 
Saturday I woke up and started reading at 7:30, the best I could do after a crazy week.  I read a while, drove a while, read a while, drove a while (softball game, dance recital) for a total of 1 hrs 15 minutes of audio "reading" and 7 hours and 45 minutes of "reading" reading.
Sunday I had to work from 8 to 1 so I started with audio on the way to and from work, then read the rest of the afternoon at the pool!  Audio:  1 hr 15 min  "Reading"  4 hrs 30 min.
Grand totals:  3 1/2 hours audio 15 hours 15 minutes "reading" for a total of 18 hours and 45 minutes!
Here is what I read:
1.  Juniper Berry by MP Kozlowsky... interesting concept, loved the writing and the delicious vocabulary, more on the book next blog
2.  Small Acts of Amazing Courage by Gloria Whelan:  LOVED the book, see more next blog...
3.  IQ Book Two:  The White House by Roland Smith  Loaned to me by one of my favorite students, needing to get it read this week and glad I chose it.  Excellent adventure!  Loved the quick pace and usage of various fonts to show different characters.  Good read!
3.  Sabotaged!  (audio book) by Margaret Peterson Haddix.  Good adventure story, love the cliffhanger in the end of the book making me want to read more... (and hopefully any students I recommend the book to.)
Finished the book as I came up my driveway tonight!  Timed that well.
And started The Emerald Atlas by John Stephens.  LOVING the first part of the book!  It hooks you from the start!  Even after all of this reading, I have to say, I'm signing off to pick back up The Emerald Atlas!
Thanks for the Challenge Mother Reader!  Looking forward to doing it all over again next time!

Let the Reading Begin!

Can't wait to crack open a book and get this weekend started!  So many on my list.... where to start... This is going to be a blast!  I'll be writing again soon with what I've chosen!  Keep reading!

48 Hour Reading Challenge

I am so excited to be accepting Mother Reader's 48 Hour Reading Challenge!  There are so MANY books on my stack... and so many more I want to add to the stack it will be hard to choose.  But I will focus!  I just finished The Clockwork Three which I LOVED!  And Horton Halfpott, which I also LOVED!  What a catchy title!  The book was great!  I am looking forward to many summer days of good reading.  But I will truly miss several of our fifth graders as they move on to middle school.  It has been such a great year reading with them.  They have given me good suggestions (The Clockwork Three) and I have given them some (The House of Scorpion!) This is why I love my job so much!  Here is to getting the stack ready for June 3 and the 48 Hour Reading Challenge!