I just heard about In2Books from Dr. Stein Brunvard's site. From ePal's In2Books site, they describe In2Books as a program that "promotes literacy across the curriculum by matching students with adult pen pals who read the same books and correspond online about the important issues in the books. The books are carefully selected to align with literacy, social studies and science standards."
Teachers and schools can apply to be part of the program, and Title I schools can participate for free. Yep, that's right! For free!! Other schools and teachers can participate and use some of the resources for free but they must also provide some resources, too, such as the books and the pen pals.
Now, we're talking about some content area reading with focus on social studies and science but with fiction, too. So, there definitely is a variety across the narrative, fiction and expository texts. Woohoo! Dr. Brunvard says, he can "can imagine senior citizens, retired educators, preservice teachers and even responsible high school students participating as pen pals. What a great way to tap into a population of volunteers that might not be able to come into the classroom to help out but could be very helpful as 'virtual volunteers' ."
If you're using it or going to find out about using it, let me know.
If you like the patterns in If You Give a Pig a Pancake or ...a Mouse a Cookie, then you're about in time for the new If You Give a Cat a Cupcake. Author Laura Numeroff has a new book coming out September 30. You can find out a little more about the story and preorder online at Barnes & Noble.
Author: John Green
Ages: 10th - 12th grades
Review: There's quite a bit of hype and blogging going on right now about Looking for Alaska. The basis for this banter centers on the fact that this novel, Green's first, is targeting at Young Adults yet the adult language and sexual tones are quite explicit. Take a look at this post with a vlog embed from another blogger to see just how passionate both sides of this issue have been. Warning: Some individuals may be offended by the explicit language used in this posts: Bee's Booknerd. For a summary and commentary, check out Nymeth's exceptional review at her things mean a lot blog.
My take? This is an exceptional book, deserving the ALA Award it received. If it were a movie, it would be rated 'R' for explicit language and sexual content. My tension of recommending this book is tethered between the typical language of teens and actions of teens depicted in the novels versus what I would like to have teens absorb versus the intensely emotional journey Green takes us on as readers. It's the kind of book you want every teenager to pick up but you don't want them to read because it looks like you're condoning the language and sex. Do I think this book should be banned? No, I don't. But I also don't think this book could be chosen as a classroom novel -- unfortunately, even for high school seniors. Do I think high schoolers should read it? Yep, I do. The reconciliation of emotions bound in the storyline is a shared experience, indicative of the human condition.
Author: Sharon Creech
Ages: 2nd - 5th grades
Review: Replay to my real disappointment was not one of my favorite books. They all can't be great, though. What I really did like about the novel was how it seemed to strike an authentic chord with the dynamics of the tween's family and the imaginary self-grandiose world we wished we lived in. Sharon Creech also does a superb job of representing the real life of a middle child. Being one myself, I immediately resonated with Leo, the "fog boy" or "Sardine." Susan's I Love Books blog offers a nice, short summary of the plot line.
I kind of felt cheated at the end of the novel, but that might just be me. While Replay's— as the name aptly suggests—undercurrent is about the production of a play and then Leo's re-play of his life, the building to the play was a little anticlimactic for me. I felt sort of like the story just stopped. It also seemed a little too tidy or quick to finish. The other element that I felt cheated about was the authenticity with which the siblings had been presented throughout the book. The ending became—for me—to Pollyanna-ish. I would like to have seen the "real" siblings portrayed and then Leo's replay.
I also don't want to overemphasize the negatives of this book either. I did enjoy the style that Creech used to present the plot in. I did get a little confused at times about whether we were in Leo's real life of the replay. In any case, do I recommend it? Sure. It's a good story. I would like to hear what other folks think, too.
Title: Ruby Lu Brave and True.
Author: Lenore Look
Ages: 2nd - 5th grades
Quick Review: Cute. Loved it. Easy read. Funny. Peer into the world of Asian Americans. Sheryl McFarlane offers a nice short review, too.
Title: Feathers
Author: Jacqueline Woodson
Ages: 6th - 9th grades
Quick Review: Beautiful story. Deserves every award it receives. Liked it so much, I made it into a Sunday School lesson for my 8th graders. Prejudice comes in so many forms. Didn't like the very end so much, but the first 98% is wonderful. Read a contrasting point of view at Jeanette's blog.
Title: Doing Time Online
Author: Jan Siebold
Ages: 4th - 7th grades
Quick Review: Nice, thoughtful story. Do-the-right-thing-kind-of story. Check out Nancy Keane's book talks for possible lesson ideas.
As a special gift to Star Wars fans, Del Rey will be offering Book One in the series, Star Wars: Legacy of the Force: Betrayal, as a free downloadable PDF, audio book, and eBook. This promotional offer will run for two weeks, from 9:00 a.m. Tuesday, April 29, until midnight on Tuesday, May 13. The free download, which can be shared, e-mailed or printed, will be available on Random House's site at <http://www.randomhouse.com/
delrey/starwars/sw_legacy.html>.
Harry Potter isn't just for children and their parents. It has officially made it into the hall of academia as well. CNN correspondent Patrick Lee describes how the Potter-verse is being integrated into college classrooms across the country. It seems there's no spell that J.K. Rowling can't conjure. Read the complete story see CNN's site at:
<http://www.cnn.com/2008/SHOWBIZ/books/03/25/cnnu.potter/index.html>.
AUTHOR: Martha Brooks
AGES: High school
REVIEW: This is another novel that got me in a big way. It ended up where I didn't even know it was going. The story is primarily told from teenager Odella's point of view. However, other characters' points of views are sprinkled in throughout the novel. The British Columbia Teacher Librarians Association (in Canada) awarded Mistik Lake the 2008 young adult book award, describing the story as:
In Martha Brooks’ Mistik Lake, family secrets are explored in an intergenerational narrative. When Odella’s mother leaves for another man, Odella must confront her mother’s past and cope with the impact it has on the way she sees the world. In this haunting and introspective story, Brooks creates a thoughtful character that will emotionally resonate with her readers.
In another post, Lauren W. described a novel called Speak. I found Speak's themes and mature content to be similar to Mistik Lake. Mistik Lake is full of very mature themes, including promiscuity and homosexuality. I recommend using this novel with care in a classroom.
AUTHOR: Watt Key
AGES: 5th-9th grades
REVIEW: With Alabama Moon, I think children from today's times would have a difficult time relating to the character. I think boys would find the adventure of Moon living off the land by himself and with his friends to be exciting. But I think children would have a trouble relating to how Moon's father reacted to the Vietnam War. I think even with the current War in Iraq, children would find the plot plausible but the reasoning that created the plot to be too far removed from their lives. Adult readers of this book will easily connect with how Moon's father came back from the Vietnam War with anger toward his country and government. To read this book with a class would require some time discussing the air that pervaded the Vietnam era, linking it to the current sentiments with the War in Iraq may help children relate.
In Abby the Librarian's blog, she describes Alabama Moon as "the Dukes of Hazard meet Hatchet," which is probably a very apt description. The deep South and backwoods setting certainly conjure images of Bo and Luke Duke complete with a corrupt sheriff, like Roscoe P. Coltrain. The survival aspect also align with Gary Paulson's Hatchet books with a young boy alone in the wilderness. Abby offers a great synopsis of the book and a great review. I encourage you to visit her blog post for more.
Overall, I really enjoyed Alabama Moon. Abby the librarian suggest the ending came together a little too neatly, and I can see that except that I was almost half expecting for two or more of the boys to be put together at the end. There is quite a it of profanity, so a teacher would really need to gauge this with her children. You may need to go with older children because of this. While the text and vocabulary could be handled by fifth through eighth graders, you may want to use this novel with older students because of the profanity.
AUTHOR: Charles Dickens
AGES: 9th - 12th grades
REVIEW: I was first introduced to this book when my daughter had to read it for high school about 10 years ago. Great Expectations is about love, family and the pursuit of happiness. The main character is a young man, Pip, whose life is traced as an orphanage from early childhood to adulthood. The book is divided into three expectations of Pip’s life. The first being how he grows up in a difficult situation being adopted by a blacksmith’s family. The second will be how he meets an escaped convict and found happiness and the meaning of friendship that turned his life around to accomplish great expectations. The third and the last stage would be my favorite, because it is about how Pip was introduced to moral, physical and financial challenges. These are challenges that we all go through at some point in life.
The book is a lengthy, but very good life book, and I think every high school should have this book on the summer reading list. The book is available for review at Barnes and Noble’s web site. You can locate another review of the book from The Literature Network and from The Atlantic Online.
Guest Blogger: Angelia E. is an admissions supervisor at a higher learning institution who is presently working on a second career. She holds both a bachelors and a master’s degree in business which gives her the great passion to teach high school business courses. She feels that she has some tips to offer high school aged kids before going to college or directly into the real world. Young people should look ahead and make good decisions in life about attending college, career, credit, and accepting responsibility. Everyone should evaluate their life choices and rethink them before making a big change or first move. Charles Dickens’ Great Expectations is her favorite high school age book; because she feels there are great expectations for everyone and the sooner one discovers it, the better it will be. Angelia is a student in Dr. Grant's IDT 7061 class for the Spring 2008 term.
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