Hold Fast

Hold Fast 

by Blue Balliett

Published March, 2013

From Barnes & Noble:

• From NYT bestselling author Blue Balliett, the story of a girl who falls into Chicago's shelter system, and from there must solve the mystery of her father's strange disappearance.  Where is Early's father? He's not the kind of father who would disappear. But he's gone . . . and he's left a whole lot of trouble behind.
  
  As danger closes in, Early, her mom, and her brother have to flee their apartment. With nowhere else to go, they are forced to move into a city shelter. Once there, Early starts asking questions and looking for answers. Because her father hasn't disappeared without a trace. There are patterns and rhythms to what's happened, and Early might be the only one who can use them to track him down and make her way out of a very tough place.
  
  With her signature, singular love of language and sense of mystery, Blue Balliett weaves a story that takes readers from the cold, snowy Chicago streets to the darkest corner of the public library, on an unforgettable hunt for deep truths and a reunited family.

Excerpt:
"...'Reading is a tool no one can take away.  A million bad things may happen in life and it'll still be will you, like a flashlight that never needs a battery.  Reading can offer a crack of light on the blackest of nights.'
    Early looked carefully at her mother's face.  'You sound like Dash now.'
    'Do I?' Sum smiled with her eyes, one of the saddest smiles Early had ever seen."  (p.166)

With themes of everything from homelessness, mystery, words, puzzles, to family, Hold Fast is a book I cannot wait to share with my class.  So much so that I am working on a bunch of activities to go with the novel.  When they're done, I'll put them up in my TpT store.

I'm linking up with Heather at Peacocks and Penguins to share with her Read it Wednesday Linky!  (Just cannot resist!!)

I'm off to start a new book.  Have you read Capture the Flag by Kate Messner yet?

Summer Readin'

Summer's here and I've been a reading fool!  I miss reading so much during the school year.

And since most of what I've read has been kids', I'm linking up with Teach Mentor Texts for the weekly linky:

Coincidentally, the books I read last week are all about immigration.  I didn't plan it; it just happened.  Weird.

The Weight of Water by Sarah Crossan is written in verse.  In it,  Kasienka and her mother immigrate to London from Poland.  Her mother is convinced that she will be able to find Kasienka's father and reunite their family.  With her mother completely focused on her own problems, Kasienka is left to try to fit in with her new classmates with no one to talk with.  Her escape is the school pool.  When she's in the water, her problems seem to float away - at least for the moment.

The Weight of Water is a coming-of-age story that deftly handles issues of immigration, alienation, and first love.  I love novels-in-verse like this one (and so do my kids) because they are quick and easy to get lost in.  Sarah Crossan writes Kasienka's story concisely but with compassion for a young girl's determination to figure out where she belongs. 

Here I Am by Patty Kim is a picture book about a little boy and his family who moves from his home to a busy American city.  This wordless picture book follows the boy through his first months in his new home - full of new sounds, sights, and a language he doesn't understand.  His isolation is apparent in the pencil and watercolor sketches.  As is his journey into acceptance and love in his new home!  Lovely - and anyone who knows me, knows I love the challenge of a wordless book for my students.  I can't wait to get a copy of Here I Am when it is release later this summer!

Inside Out and Back Again by Thanhha Lai many people have already read.  I am late to the bandwagon on this one, but it was just as good as I expected!  This 2012 Newbury Honor book follows Ha as she and her family must leave the only home they've ever known - Saigon.  Beautifully written - like The Weight of Water - in verse, I know that I will reread this one time and again.  I can't wait to recommend this to my class next year!  (How's that for positive thinking!)

Ivan's Great Fall: Poetry for Summer and Autumn from Great Poets and Writers of the Past by Vanita Oelschlager I reviewed yesterday here.  Great poetry picture book.


Here's a peek at what I'm reading next:

I'm also reading The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown.  I have no idea how I missed it when it came out?!?!  Loving it so far!  I can't wait to get my hands on the new one!

What are you reading?  Have you read any of these great books?

...but I have a good excuse! & a Blog Hop

I have been a very bad blogger this week, but I have a good excuse!  My aunt is visiting from Tennessee, and my sister brought my nieces up for the weekend.  It's been fun!  Yesterday, after a great P.E.O. meeting, my sister and I took the girls to Amish country where we went on a buggy ride through the woods.   The highlights for the girls were 1. the free ice cream after the ride and 2.  the horse poop.  'Nuff said.

This morning we are going to a friend's house to swim.  Meg has been taking swim lessons this summer and can't wait to show off her skills!

So.  As I don't really have time to blog this weekend, I am joining in on the Newbie Blog Hop hosted by Janis at Grade Three is the Place to Be.

All you have to do to enter this blog hop is answer the questions below:

    1.  what state you are in - Northeast Ohio

    2.  your current teaching position - 5th grade in a Catholic school

    3.  your teaching experience - I have been teaching for 12 years - all in the same position

    4.  when you started blogging - If you look at the sidebar, it says I've been blogging since 2010, but only in the last two months have I actually done anything with it!

    5.  share a blogging tip / blogging resource - Comment - share the love!  I know I love it when people comment on my blog.  I feel like it's important that we show our support to each other.  Collaboration is amazing.  Every day, I strive to be a better teacher because of the bloggers who I am inspired by - and I want them to know it!

There you have it!  I have so enjoyed blogging this summer, but I know I'm going to need to make blogging a priority when school starts.  So I created a planning sheet to keep me on track.  You can download it here from my TpT store.

New signature! What do you think?

Grandpa Green

                       

 

Grandpa Green

Lane Smith

August 2011

When I went to the library yesterday, I was really looking for some of the great books I've used in my classroom this year but didn't have time to blog about like this one and this one.  Then I saw GRANDPA GREEN.  First, the cover struck me, then I saw who the author was, and I had to have it!  

Lane Smith is the award winning illustrator of many of my favorite go-to books, most notably these two:

GRANDPA GREEN does not disappoint!  In it a young boy tells, in a child's simple language, of his grandfather's exciting life while the pictures illustrate that life in the garden the grandfather has nurtured.  Memories are handed down through the topiary trees that have been carefully cultivated throughout the grandfather's life.  This is a captivating story of aging, love and family.  I found myself re-reading it immediately so I could savor the pictures and the message more slowly and carefully.

I can't wait to read this to my class next year on Grandparent's Day to both the kids and their grandparents.  This is the kind of book that will lead my students to ask their grandparents what life was like when they grew up.  Perfect.


Buy it at Barnes & Noble

Wonder

 

Wonder

R.J. Palacio

February 2012

After reading this blog post, I knew I had to read this book.  So when I saw it at the library today, I snapped it up, and rushed home to read it!  It didn't disappoint; this is perhaps the most touching, realistic middle grades book, and I am recommending it to everyone who teaches, goes to school or at some time has felt like an outcast.  

August Pullman is starting 5th grade in a new school.  A difficult transition for any kid.  But for Auggie the addition of two extraordinary factors make it even more stressful.  1. He's been homeschooled his whole life and 2. He was born with an extremely rare birth defect: as he puts it, "I won't describe what I look like.  Whatever you're thinking, it's probably worse."  WONDER follows Auggie through his first year at his new school - the ups and downs that every new kid faces magnified by about a million.  Cleverly told from several points of view, R.J. Palacio does a remarkable job at conveying emotions and feelings of the characters.  

I can't wait to share this book with my 5th graders next year.  Themes of family ties, growing up, acceptance, bullying, and growth and change make this a great book that I feel will lead to wonderful discussions.  I'm already planning some great anchor charts for character development!

I could really go on forever about this book: just read it.  I promise you'll love it!  I leave you with the book trailer from you tube:

Buy it now from Barnes & Noble.

Hollywood Nobody

Hollywood Nobody

Lisa Samson

August 2007

Fifteen-year-old Scotty Dawn has spent most of her life traveling from movie set to movie set with her food stylist mother, Charley.  Growing up independently has made Scotty a resourceful, inquisitive and introspective young woman.  She even documents her life on her blog, "Hollywood Nobody."  Scotty is determined to find her place in the world - even if it means uncovering long buried secrets.  But finding her way in the world isn't easy with a mother who seems to be keeping secrets and friendships that last only as long as the latest filming schedule. 

HOLLYWOOD NOBODY is the first in a series about life on the road, finding yourself, and discovering the flaws that make up everyone.  I love, love, loved this book!  Its intended audience is teens, which I haven't been for {really} long time, but I can't wait to read the rest of the series.  It's written as a diary with Scotty's blog posts thrown in.  I love Scotty's quirky style and her realistic view of Hollywood ups and downs.  Her blog is a fun but in no way snarky look at Hollywood stars, both real and fictionalized stars.  Highly recommend!

Buy it now from Barnes & Noble