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.

Tony DiTerlizzi, bestselling author of The Spiderwick  Chronicles, will be at Barnes & Noble Wolfchase (2774 N Germantown Parkway) on Sunday, August 24 at 2:00 pm to sign his new book Kenny and the Dragon.  This is in conjunction with a Bookfair for
Make a Wish Foundation

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.

After reading about BigUniverse.com in one of my posts, Jennifer Nelson commented in about a similar site she'd found called LookyBook <http://www.lookybook.com/>.  She says, this interactive site allows children and parents to read entire picture books.  The books can be reviewed, rated, shared, put on a bookshelf and purchased.  The best part about LookyBook is the fact that it is free!

I just discovered BigUniverse.com today, and I had to share.  This is a great site — a great companion to ICDL.  BigUniverse is dedicated to children's picture books, and the quality is very high. 

BigUniverse let's you do a number of cool things.  First off, you can create your picture book.  Next, you can read popular press picture books from well know authors.  (In their media press releases, BigUniverse reports that this feature has increased book sales.)  You can, of course, purchase books right from the site.  Next, you can connect with children's book authors and experts who blog through the site.  Finally, you can create your own bookshelf of books from BigUniverse.  This would be a great way to keep up with the books you really like or want to use in your classroom.

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:    The Joys of Love
Author:   Madeleine L'Engle

Title:    Brett McCarthy: Work in Progress
Author:   Maria Padian's

Title:    Waggit's Tale
Author:   Peter Howe's

Title:    The Willoughbys
Author:   Lois Lowry

Title:    The Penderwicks on Gardam Street
Author:   Jeanne Birdsall

Title:    Magic in the Mirrorstone (anthology)
Author:   Steve Berman (editor)

Title:    The Missing: Found
Author:   Margaret Peterson Haddix

Title:    The Battle of the Labyrinth
Author:   Rick Riordan