It's Monday, What Are You Reading?

It is Monday and again I am joining in the meme over at Mentor Texts.

Hop on over and join in over at the Mentor Text Blog. Just click on the picture 
                                                 

This past week I have been reading The Mark of Athena by Rick Riordan.  It was the usual enjoyable roller coaster of:  into one challenge, out of it and into the next. I especially enjoyed the humour, and often found myself chuckling out loud.  As these characters age, a little more romance has been introduced! Of course in true style it ends with a cliff hanger.  I found I had to keep my wits about me as I read as there is so much to remember about relationships and gods....  One of my students is well prepared for this book, he has read the previous one a couple of times, so I am sure he is enjoying this one at the moment. In the meantime I have this one finished  and ready to go into the hands of another boy, who asked could he have it as soon as I had finished.  The boys in my class are the ones who enticed me into reading these books, now I am in the process of trying to get more girls hooked. I can't see why they wouldn't be.

My read for the coming week is Dead End in Norvelt by Jack Gantos, this year's Newbery winner. I haven't read anything by him before so I am looking forward to it.

It's Monday, What are you Reading?

It is Monday and again I am joining in the meme over at Mentor Texts.

Hop on over and join in over at the Mentor Text Blog. Just click on the picture 
                                                 
This past couple of weeks I didn't get a lot of reading done for children's literature, slowed down as term has gone into busy mode.

I read Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder and then I moved on to .....

Farmer Boy by the same author.  I know most people read these books when they were children, however they weren't in any libraries near me, so I didn't get to read them.  What hard working people these pioneers were and what an insight into life in those times.  It didn't seem to do them any harm because I notice that both Laura and Almanzo lived to a very old age.






Next up for reading is Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O'Dell as part of the Newbery challenge, perhaps Julie of the Wolves as well, will have to see how I go!

For professional reading I am reading 10 Things Every Writing Needs to Know by Jeff Anderson. Only read Chapter 1 so far and that was very good.

Happy reading everyone.

It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

It is Monday and again I am joining in the meme over at Mentor Texts.

Hop on over and join in over at the Mentor Text Blog. Just click on the picture 

This past week I read Kira Kira by Cynthia Kadohata, 2005 Newbery Award Winner.  It was a great insight into what it might be like for an immigrant family in a new country. It was about family, hardship, courage and loss. 

I also read Sidekicks by Dan Santat - graphic novel.  This was a lot of fun and I enjoyed it, I know it will be popular in my class. I thought it incorporated some great values around loyalty, forgiveness and friendship.

This coming week it is going to be A Wrinkle in Time and I would like to read one of the Goddess Girls to sample them - probably Artemis the Loyal.

It's Monday. What are You Reading?

It is Monday and again I am joining in the meme over at Mentor Texts.
Hop on over and join in over at the Mentor Text Blog. Just click on the picture below.

Gifts by Ursula Le Guin is the first in a trilogy, and is about Orrec and Gry, who live in the Uplands. The different clans have gifts that they pass on through father/son, mother/daughter. These gifts are to be used in the service of their community.  

As Orrec and Gyr grow they learn about their gifts and they come to realise that their gifts can be viewed in a different light. Gry has the gift of calling - animals - so that they come for the hunters.  Orrec supposedly has  the gift of unmaking - with a glance of his eye he can unmake (kill) a person. As they learn about and wrestle with their gifts they grow in their understanding of who they are and who they want to become.

It took me awhile to get into the book, but at some point I slipped into it, and lost myself to the world around me and entered the world of Orrec and Gry.  For some reason I always thought Ursula Le Guin was British, but I see I am wrong and she is an American.  This book has made me want to go back and reacquaint myself with the Earthsea books as it is at least twenty if not thirty years since I read them!

Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry, Newbery Award Winner 1977, by Mildred D. Taylor was my other read for this week.  I really loved this book with the delightful Cassie and the rest of her family.  This family never lost their dignity and humaneness in spite of the injustice and prejudices of those around them.  

I borrowed this from The Stack at our public library - hardcover and well read, almost at that level where I go -" ew! too yucky dirty to read!"  I want this to be available to my class so I have ordered a class copy and the next two that follow as well.  I remember reading Black Like Me as an 11 or 12 year old and it opened my reader eyes to another world. I had the same kind of awakening when I read Kathryn Stockett's The Help, when it came out,  it was set in a time when I was growing up in another part of the world, I kept thinking this was happening when I was alive.  While it's easy to relegate these books and the issue of racism to the south in North America, yet these books ask us to examine our own treatment of the people around us, wherever we live.

This week I plan to read Voices by Ursula Le Guin, the book that comes after Gifts, and I will also make a trip to the library to see if I can pick up another Newbery book to read for the challenge. A couple of Lunch Lady books have arrived so will probably read them as well.

Happy reading everyone!

It's Monday. What are you Reading?

It is Monday and again I am joining in the meme over at Mentor Texts.
Hop on over and join in over at the Mentor Text Blog. Just click on the picture below.

I read Eragon through the week, mainly to see why some of my students have enjoyed it. I can see that they would and I would encourage them to keep going with the series, although I will probably call it a day with this one. I loved especially the relationship between the dragon Saphira and his Rider Eragon.  For me it lacked I am not sure what to call it, psychological depth - plot seemed to me to be the most dominant aspect.

This week I have planned to read an Ursula Le Guin - I so loved her Earthsea trilogy, so while fossicking around in our local library looking for Newbery winners, I got sidetracked by her books and picked out Gifts to read.  I also have coming Roll of Thunder Hear My Cry by Miltdred Taylor, so I hope to read that this week too, to get back on track with the Newbery books.

It's Monday - What Are You Reading?

Last week I started to join in with this Monday meme and as I visited some of the blogs I was just amazed at the reading that is happening among teachers and librarians.  It is inspiring, and while I know I will never be as passionate readers as they are - I certainly have no problem using my spare time to read.  

Hop on over and join in at the Mentor Text Bog.

The first book I read this week was Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan.  I had already 

watched the movie thinking that would possibly be a quick way to 'read' the first book.  However while I enjoyed the movie, I chose to read the book, and enjoyed it, especially the humour.

My next book was the 1968  Newbery Medal book, From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil  E. Frankweiler by E.L. Konisburg.  I found a rather pristine copy in our school library.  I'm hoping to make that look a little more hand used by the end of the year.  I was immediately drawn into the story and enjoyed the word by-play between Claudia and Jamie.  I identified early on with Claudia - page 10, "Claudia knew that it had to do with injustice.  She was the oldest child and only girl and the only girl was subject to a lot of injustice.  Perhaps it was because she had to both empty the dishwasher and set the table on the same night while her brothers got out of everything."  I wasn't the only girl, but I was the oldest, so I was sympathetic!

I loved Jamie too, inspite of being a 'tightwad' he was very endearing and he was an excellent foil to Claudia his sister.

Good Masters! Sweet Ladies! Voices from a Medieval Village by Laura Amy Schlitz was my next book.  This book was the 2008 Newbery Medal book.  I was a little dubious as I picked it up, I wasn't sure if I would like it. It is a mixture of prose and poetry and can be performed for an audience. In fact that was the purpose of the author.  I soon became involved and enjoyed meeting the various characters.  The stories are told with humour and compassion.   It is set in medieval times and I can only say I am thankful I didn't live then.  I would see this book as a very useful resource if you were studying medieval times.  

Finally yesterday the graphic novel Babymouse Queen of the World arrived and I had my first introduction to her.  I thoroughly enjoyed it and chuckled away.  At first glimpse it seems easy reading, however I think the ideas the book explores will easily be relevant to my 10 -12 year olds.  I have a couple more coming in my National library collection - yes New Zealand teachers the library has some copies.  I look forward to introducing this to the girls in my class.  Anyone had experience of boys reading them?

What's on my reading list for the next week?

The Story of Mankind - this will be a slow read, just a small diet each day! The aim is to read it eventually as part of the Newbery challenge.

Moon Over Manifest by Clare Vanderpool - also part of the challenge and just have it for the week as an ebook from the library.

The Higher Power of Lucky.   Susan Patron  - also Newbery medal.

If there is time I then intend to read Bud Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis.  However this one might also be next week, as the count down to going back to school on the 31st January looms closer.  And of course those staff meetings that come before that.