I've Moved!

It's been forever since I posted here. I'd forgotten this blog existed until I left a comment on another blogspot blog and this profile came up.

I thought it might be prudent to mention that I've gone self-hosted. You can find me at http://thebooksupplier.com if you're looking.

Happy reading. Don't forget to be awesome.

Review: The Invention of Hugo Cabret

The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



There is something stunning about Brian Selznick's departure from the traditional picture book medium. Normally, when you think picture book you think 32 pages, where the illustrations support the understanding of the text. In Selznick's piece, the images serve to move the story forward, saying things that the text doesn't say. I'll agree (and I'll find this citation) that the pictures have a graphic novel type quality to them, even though they're presented as full page panels. I'm excited to see how the movie turns out this November.



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Review: A Monster Calls

A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness

My rating: 5 of 5 stars



A Monster Calls is another beautifully written story by Patrick Ness. I was in awe of him after the Chaos Walking Trilogy and A Monster Calls didn't disappoint. This is one I couldn't read during class because it made me cry. Book talk to come.



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Review: Sold

Sold by Patricia McCormick

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



This was a hard novel to read, and it took me more than one try to get through. As a reader, I appreciated McCormick's acknowledgements at the end, providing statistics and information about other young women who have been sold into sexual slavery in that area of the world.

Book talk coming soon.



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Review: Sleeping Freshmen Never Lie

Sleeping Freshmen Never Lie by David Lubar

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



It's interesting how we read books a second, third or even fourth time and find something new in them. Or read them a different way. The last time I read Sleeping Freshmen Never Lie, I read it looking for the humor. The people in a class I took on teaching English told me that David Lubar was funny. This time, when I read it, I could definitely see how becoming a Nerdfighter has affected my thinking. As I read, I had "imagine me complexly" stuck in my head. Interesting. DFTBA



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Review: Almost Perfect

Almost Perfect by Brian Katcher

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



I wasn't sure what to expect with this one. It's the second book about a pre-op transgendered teenager that I've read. Overall, I liked it. Felt for the characters. And then, I found myself surprised that one of my students asked about it--she doesn't like the book she's reading, had read the back of mine and decided she wants to read it. So it's going back in my bag for Monday. I'm interested in having conversation with her about it.



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Review: Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



Um, wow. From the beginning I was drawn in by both the story and the hauntingly beautiful photographs. Right now I lack the words to describe this story, which I devoured in one sitting.



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Review: Darth Paper Strikes Back: An Origami Yoda Book

Darth Paper Strikes Back: An Origami Yoda Book by Tom Angleberger

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



This was great! I'm not going to say too much so I don't give it away. Book talk coming soon.



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Review: Little Brother

Little Brother by Cory Doctorow

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



Overall, I liked the story. There is a scary sense of realism when it comes to technology and how people can be tracked using the GPS function in their cell phones. And how Google uses your current location and an aggragate that includes your previous searches and what you clicked on to determine what results are best suited to show up in whatever search you're conducting at the moment. I thought, like one of my friends, that the explanations of all of the technology slowed the story down a bit. I could see how it was necessary in terms of not wanting to alienate audience, though.



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Review: Beauty Queens

Beauty Queens by Libba Bray

My rating: 5 of 5 stars







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Review: The Ask and the Answer

The Ask and the Answer by Patrick Ness

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



For the book talk, see http://thebooksupplier.com/2011/08/30/review-the-ask-and-the-answer/



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Review: Monsters of Men

Monsters of Men by Patrick Ness

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I ordered this one online. When I bought the first, the bookstore didn't have the second, but did have the UK version of the third. Now I'm a little disappointed that I didn't pick up the third book before. Needless to say, the Chaos Walking trilogy is probably my favorite young adult trilogy right now. I'm so excited for the release of  A Monster Calls in September. There's something so vivid about Patrick Ness's writing that makes me want to read even more. 

 

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Review: The Perks of Being a Wallflower

The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



What measure can we use to compare two people's suffering? Is one worse than the other? Does the fact that one person has a harder time of it mean that someone else's suffering is invalid?

I read a number of the reviews here on Goodreads before I finally decided to read The Perks of Being a Wallflower, and it seems like people are split fairly well down the middle on whether or not they like this novel.

The novel was weird to me, if only because it's not the kind of novel that I usually read. When my mother asked me whether or not I liked it, I told her it's fantastic.



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Review: Addie on the Inside

Addie on the Inside by James Howe

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



Every once in a while, a student will show me that they're world aware. It's always so moving to me when kids show that they're familiar with something other than the digital world. Addie reminded me of those students. There was a conversation she had with another girl about why she cared if a celebrity was being beaten by her boyfriend--it didn't effect her directly. The response she gave was the response I should have given to the kid who asked me why he should care about the genocide that happened during the Holocaust, or the genocide going on in Darfur.
James Howe uses beautiful language to depict a girl who is trying to find the balance between being who she is and being who she thinks people want her to be. This novel in verse is definitely worth a read.



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Review: If You Come Softly

If You Come Softly by Jacqueline Woodson

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I read this novel, the story about how people from different ethnicities come together and the view of the outside world, and I think about my brothers. And my boy cousins. And all the students I have who have told me that they want to be Black. It's not something I've ever understood. And maybe, after reading If You Come Softly I hope maybe you'll understand where I'm coming from. 





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Review: Charlie Joe Jackson's Guide to Not Reading

Charlie Joe Jackson's Guide to Not Reading by Tommy Greenwald

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



Both Tommy Greenwald and Rick Riordan started writing books because their children didn't like to read. I think it's interesting how, while the two gentlemen had similar motivation, they outcomes were very different. I think Charlie Joe Jackson's Guide to Not Reading will be a fought-over addition to my classroom library.



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Review: The Monstrumologist

The Monstrumologist by Rick Yancey

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



Something about this, and I don't know if it was the fact that it was told using a journal, or that the crazy monster-hunting guy was called in, reminded me of Bram Stoker's Dracula. I'm going to admit that I thoroughly enjoyed the gore, the monster hunting, and the trying to figure out why Warthrope demands that Will Henry (who is always called by both his given name and his surname) stay away from John Kearns.
Book talk to come.



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Book Talk: Tears of a Tiger

Tears of a Tiger was one of the first young adult books I read when I started my teaching career. I was amazed at how powerful the story was and at the author's choice in ending. That year, I taught a section of English 9 in addition to my reading classes. I had a student, one I will never forget for other reasons, read Tears of a Tiger first. He came back to me, not too long after I'd given it to him, and said he cried at the end. I was surprised that 1) this big, strong guy cried at the end of this novel (I have since reflected on such perceptions and 2) that he felt comfortable enough with me to admit that he had an emotional response to this book. He went on to read the rest of the trilogy, then Feed by M.T. Anderson and 1984 by George Orwell. Watch the video to find out a little about Tears of a Tiger by Sharon Draper.

 

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2QsCIsVZVwk]

QR Codes in Books

 

I've heard tell that necessity is the mother of invention. What I like about summer is that it gives me time to think about what worked, what didn't work, and what drove me absolutely crazy in my classroom the previous year.

What you have to know about my classroom is that it's structured by Read 180. Three stations, 20 minutes a station. I tend to run into a problem when a student finishes his book and wants something else to read. While I'm teaching the small group, he'll come, interrupt the flow, and ask what he should read next.  I understand that most of the students I get are reluctant readers, I want them to learn to be independent reluctant readers. If twenty minutes is all I have with a group, I want to be able to use all 20 of those minutes and not take a quarter of them book talking to another student (not that I mind book talking--the timing is just inconvenient).

That prompted me to start making YouTube videos of my book talks. With any luck, I can get my channel unblocked at school and have a computer station set up so to the viewing of these videos can be done independently. If that doesn't work, I had another idea, which became my project for the summer.

Last school year I saw many conversations on Twitter about QR codes and using QR codes for comments. It wasn't until this summer and reading this blog post that I really understood what QR codes were and figured out how I could use them. To address my problem of being interrupted while teaching by a student who wanted a new book -- a problem I don't mind having because it means they're reading -- I decided to create QR codes that link to various YouTube videos and commentaries about books. These barcodes will be taped to the inside of the books at the beginning or end, and students can use my phone to access the content.

The fact that my phone is the device necessary for this project to work has beenthe only snag. Because YouTube is blocked, and because I want my students to be able to read whatever commentary from wherever on the web, and because I won't connect my iPhone to the wireless in my classroom, it seems like the best choice. Students have used my devices before without too much incident -- iPod nano to watch videos from Skeleton Creek and Trackers or listening to audiobooks -- so I'm not too worried. There will be ground rules. But I think having the video option will help those students who have a hard time reading the back cover of a book and deciding whether or not they want to read it.

I'll let you know how it goes.

Review: Bone: Quest For The Spark, Book One

Bone: Quest For The Spark, Book One by Thomas E. Sniegoski

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

When I picked up Quest for the Spark at the Scholastic Warehouse Sale in May, I fully expected it to be a spin-off graphic novel series. I was surprised when it wasn't. So a mostly-new cast of characters is on a quest for the light that will drive the darkness away.

The book talk will be uploaded by tomorrow.

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