Monday, May 23, 2016
Books Turned to Movies
Some of you know that I run the summer reading blog as well. I update it in the spring and summer with recommendations. One of my favorite blog posts to write is the list of books that have been turned into movies or will be turned into movies. Check it out!!
Sunday, March 27, 2016
Salt to the Sea
I'm in the midst of reading about 3 different books right now. But I do want to get a book review in March and this is the only one I've finished so far during break, so here we go:
Ruta Sepetys is making her way into the role of the dominant writer in YA Historical Fiction. She has a way of finding forgotten stories and making you question why no one knows about them. I was first introduced to her writing through the book Between Shades of Gray (an 8th grade summer reading choice). It was an excellent book and I was surprised to learn that I hadn't heard more about that book. Afterwards, I also read her story Out of the Easy, which focused more on a time period than a specific event. Now, her third story Salt to the Sea was released about a month ago
Salt to the Sea takes place during World War II and focuses on the journey four young people take to find their way to freedom from persecution, evacuation, etc. However, they find their way into the the greatest maritime disaster in history -- but an event most people, myself included, probably didn't know about. Sepetys has a poetic way of writing and a way to evoke so many emotions while reading. In my opinion, this book doesn't have the same emotional punch of Between Shades of Gray, but fans of that book will probably enjoy this one as well. One striking difference between the two is that Salt to the Sea is told through alternating points of view of the four characters. While this first bothered me because it made it different to learn about the characters, it does become cohesive and let you see different angles and sides to the stories. However, one of the characters I found grating, and while I understanding why she included this person, I still believe the story would work better without that fourth side.
It does deal with some mature topics and the development of the historical background, and for that, I would side with the Amazon recommendation of Grades 8 and up for the book.
Tuesday, March 22, 2016
Book Club: Food Edition
This month's Pageturners meeting was "Food Inspired by Books". Wow! We had some fun items brought in. Check out what we got to enjoy:
We had a blast talking about books, discussing books vs. their movies and eating our treats. The Pageturners is definitely a club meeting I look forward to every month :)
The Fault in Our Stars Cake
Green Eggs and Ham + Chocolate Brownies
"Hop on Pop"corn
Maze Runner Maze
Hunger Games "Nightlock" and Goldfish from The Glass Castle
Dr. Seuss's One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish and a miniature tea party set from Alice in Wonderland.
Divergent's favorite Dauntless Cake
And of course.... some book worms
We had a blast talking about books, discussing books vs. their movies and eating our treats. The Pageturners is definitely a club meeting I look forward to every month :)
Friday, March 4, 2016
Saturday, February 13, 2016
The Lunar Chronicles
I was hoping to keep this blog a bit more updated with junior high recommendations, but I've been doing some more personal reading instead. However, this past month, a great series released a collection of prequel stories and an epilogue, so I thought I'd talk a bit about this series.
I first heard about this series two years ago from a student. She loved it and did a book report on it. I thought, "No, it's not my type of book." Then last year, another student read this series and couldn't stop raving about it. I still thought it wasn't my type but I warmed up to it. The final push to read this series happened when I went to a workshop devoted to the Best Books for Grades 6-12 published that year. The presenter said this was a great series and her favorite part about it was that it includes strong female characters. Finally, I said, "Okay, I'll give it a shot."
I'll admit, it took me a little bit to get into it. The premise is that these are science fiction takes on classic fairy tale stories. The first is a cyborg Cinderella (now you can see why I felt it wasn't my "type of book"). I tried to get into it, and finally, I did. I finished the first and ran out to the library to get the next two. And then I preordered the final book because I had to get it the day it came out. Again, the premise is science fiction versions of Cinderella, Little Red Riding Hood, Rapunzel, and Snow White. The thing I love about this series is the characters -- they are not perfect. They are flawed characters who show development over the course of the series. The females are not damsels in distress. They are strong women who can save the man too. They each have a unique voice and authentic conversations. They are ethnic -- the series features characters of multiple races and skin colors.
If you choose to read this series: it is a time commitment. Each book gets longer. The last book is 800 pages. (Surprsingly, I did not feel a single page there was unnecessary). It's not a series for everyone, but if you think it might be for you, come check it out of my classroom library! Also, I just learned recently, there will be a follow up to the series in graphic novel form!
(I also feel the need to warn: Fairest is a prequel story to the main villian. It is the most mature and dark book in the series. The series in general is clean, but does feature violence. This one has more mature tones. But guess what, it's not necessary to read Fairest to understand the series, as it just provides some insight into the villian. So if you or your parents want to stay away from those mature elements, no need to read Fairest)
The Lunar Chronicles
I first heard about this series two years ago from a student. She loved it and did a book report on it. I thought, "No, it's not my type of book." Then last year, another student read this series and couldn't stop raving about it. I still thought it wasn't my type but I warmed up to it. The final push to read this series happened when I went to a workshop devoted to the Best Books for Grades 6-12 published that year. The presenter said this was a great series and her favorite part about it was that it includes strong female characters. Finally, I said, "Okay, I'll give it a shot."
I'll admit, it took me a little bit to get into it. The premise is that these are science fiction takes on classic fairy tale stories. The first is a cyborg Cinderella (now you can see why I felt it wasn't my "type of book"). I tried to get into it, and finally, I did. I finished the first and ran out to the library to get the next two. And then I preordered the final book because I had to get it the day it came out. Again, the premise is science fiction versions of Cinderella, Little Red Riding Hood, Rapunzel, and Snow White. The thing I love about this series is the characters -- they are not perfect. They are flawed characters who show development over the course of the series. The females are not damsels in distress. They are strong women who can save the man too. They each have a unique voice and authentic conversations. They are ethnic -- the series features characters of multiple races and skin colors.
If you choose to read this series: it is a time commitment. Each book gets longer. The last book is 800 pages. (Surprsingly, I did not feel a single page there was unnecessary). It's not a series for everyone, but if you think it might be for you, come check it out of my classroom library! Also, I just learned recently, there will be a follow up to the series in graphic novel form!
(I also feel the need to warn: Fairest is a prequel story to the main villian. It is the most mature and dark book in the series. The series in general is clean, but does feature violence. This one has more mature tones. But guess what, it's not necessary to read Fairest to understand the series, as it just provides some insight into the villian. So if you or your parents want to stay away from those mature elements, no need to read Fairest)
Wednesday, January 27, 2016
Blogging
My language arts students are hard at work blogging about their thoughts on The Giver. I can't wait to read what everyone has to say about the book!! :)
Thursday, January 14, 2016
The Giver
I just finished reading The Giver out loud to my class. The Giver by Lois Lowry is one of my favorite novels. I read it for the first time when I was in 7th grade and it stood out to me as a very interesting book. I read it again in college and it took on a whole new meaning. I read it again when I was one year out of college and the themes and meaning I got changed again. Now, I reread this book about once a year and it always means something new to me.
One of the big things that sticks out to me the most in this book is the theme of choice. Jonas is deprived of choice. The community makes every decision for him. It reminds the reader that we should be appreciative of the fact that WE get to make our own choices. We get to choose what we grow up to be, what we want to do, who we marry, where to go, or even what to wear. I know at times it can seem overwhelming -- trust me, I read this book right around a time in my life where I had to make so many choices about my future. But, The Giver always reminds me that we should realize that we are lucky that we get to make those choices, no matter how hard it might be. There are still places in this world, real places, where people are deprived of their choices.
Remember, when Jonas first learned about choice, he thought what difference does it make what color shirt he wears. But then he realized:
One of the big things that sticks out to me the most in this book is the theme of choice. Jonas is deprived of choice. The community makes every decision for him. It reminds the reader that we should be appreciative of the fact that WE get to make our own choices. We get to choose what we grow up to be, what we want to do, who we marry, where to go, or even what to wear. I know at times it can seem overwhelming -- trust me, I read this book right around a time in my life where I had to make so many choices about my future. But, The Giver always reminds me that we should realize that we are lucky that we get to make those choices, no matter how hard it might be. There are still places in this world, real places, where people are deprived of their choices.
Remember, when Jonas first learned about choice, he thought what difference does it make what color shirt he wears. But then he realized:
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