Wonder Woman I am not!

Boy, have I been a bad blogger this week.  I had big plans to be a part of the Teacher Week Linky, but only got Monday's post written, before I hit the wall.  We started with kids on Thursday after three days of meetings, and I am wiped out!  I spent yesterday catching up on laundry, sleep, and grocery shopping.  I also managed to write some basic lesson plans for this week.  So today, I have time to relax, read, knit and blog!

Speaking of reading, I am reading a really great story by Chandra Hahn called UnEnchanted; an Unfortunate Fairy Tale.  It was a freebie I found and started earlier in the summer on the school's iPad and found yesterday for my Nook.  In UnEnchanted, Mina is a typical insecure teenager who is unknowingly descended from the Grimm Brothers.  A family curse catches up to her, and she must complete the Grimm tales to stop the characters from living in our world.  I love it.  Click the picture to add it to your Nook library for free!

In other book news, Ivan died this week.  So sad!  Ivan's story was just released by Katherine Applegate (of Animorphs fame) in her remarkable book The One and Only Ivan.  You can read my review of this amazing story here.

In other news, my new class is great!  Although we only have two days done, and who knows what they'll be like when we actually start school work, so far, they have been delightful!  A bit chatty, but I am hopefully attributing that to their excitement of a new year.  This week, they will have so much to do, they won't have time to talk!!!  :)

The scariest night of the year is just around the corner.  No, I'm not talking about Halloween.  Or even Monday...  CURRICULUM NIGHT!  Picture me cowering in a corner...  I don't know if anyone can relate, but I get sooo nervous in front of parents!  I am super silly and have been known to sing and dance in front of the kids, but in front of the parents, I turn into a complete mess.  Even after 12 years, I hate it.  But I have a secret weapon this year.  I have made a Prezi to introduce the parents to room 102; my hope is they will be sol busy being amazed by my tech-savviness, they won't notice how nervous they make me!

Room 102 on Prezi

Back when I thought I was Wonder Woman and could do everything plus three more things, I was going to write about Prezi for Technology Tip Tuesday.  And to wrap up this crazy, rambling post, the movie at the end of my presentation is about Ivan.

Hope the beginning of your year is the best ever!

Addiction, Audio Books and A Giveaway

Here's a fact I should have shared in my "7 Random Facts" post.  I can't get enough of books.  I buy books waaayyy too often.  I take at least 3 books out of the library every week.  I stop strangers and ask them what they are reading.  I download books onto both my Nook and iPad weekly.  And I listen to books in my car instead of music.  (Which is kind of a shame because I also love music.  But that's another post.)

I want to share two audio books I have recently finished that were really, really good!  In fact both, I think, are better in audio than they would have been in print.  Anyone else ever have that experience?  Oh, and they're both YA books.

The first book I want to share is When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead.  It was great.  Puzzling at times, but definitely worth hanging in there.  Here's the synopsis from Shelfari:

By sixth grade, Miranda and her best friend, Sal, know how to navigate their New York City neighborhood. They know where it’s safe to go, like the local grocery store, and they know whom to avoid, like the crazy guy on the corner. But things start to unravel. Sal gets punched by a new kid for what seems like no reason, and he shuts Miranda out of his life. The apartment key that Miranda’s mom keeps hidden for emergencies is stolen. And then Miranda finds a mysterious note scrawled on a tiny slip of paper: I am coming to save your friend’s life, and my own. I must ask two favors. First, you must write me a letter. The notes keep coming, and Miranda slowly realizes that whoever is leaving them knows all about her, including things that have not even happened yet. Each message brings her closer to believing that only she can prevent a tragic death. Until the final note makes her think she’s too late. 

So I was listening to this in my car, and I kept referring back to the teaser on the case.  I couldn't for the life of me figure out where this was going.  Which, of course, is what made it so great!   One of the best parts (that I am willing to give away) is that Miranda's mom is trying out for The $25,000 Pyramid.  Remember that show?  (I'm old; I remember.)  I was thinking that it would be fun to create a Pyramid game on the ActivBoard for the kids to play as review.  

In case you have no idea what I'm talking about, here's a clip.

I don't see many of my 5th graders as sticking with this long enough to get into it.  (5th graders are a fickle bunch.)  For that reason I would recommend When You Reach Me as a read aloud in 5th grade.  Older students would love this on their own.
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The second novel I've been listening to is Skullduggery Pleasant.  This is the first in a series from Derek Landy. From Shelfari:

Meet Skulduggery Pleasant: ace detective, snappy dresser, razor-tongued wit, crackerjack sorcerer and walking, talking, fire-throwing skeleton - as well as protector and mentor of Stephanie Edgley, a very unusual and darkly talented twelve-year-old. These two alone must defeat an all-consuming ancient evil. The end of the world? Over his dead body.

The best thing about this book: the narrator!  Rupert Degas does an AHHH-MAZing job of differentiating between characters.  His voices go from creepy to silly and everything in between.  The story itself reminds me a lot of (text-to-text) Gerald's story in The Billionaire's Curse which I reviewed {here}.  This would be great in a Listen to Reading station for Daily 5 or as a read aloud for the whole class.  It's very fun!


I know this is a really long post, but I have one more thing to add.  Have you entered this amazing giveaway yet?  She is giving away a TON of stuff!  Plus, she's a Musical Theater Dork - just like me! (Her word is Nerd - I prefer Dork.)

 

Clown

 

Clown

illustrated by Quentin Blake

September 1998

This weekend I had a garage sale, and my sister sent a ton of my nieces' forgotten toys and books to sell.  After selling almost all of their old dolls, stuffed animals and most of the books she sent, I was ready to close it up and send everything else to the Goodwill.  That's when I found this gem in the leftover book pile!  I'm soooo stinkin' glad it didn't sell because I {LOVE} it!

Clown is a delightful wordless story about a toy clown who is thrown away with a bunch of other toys.  Determined to save himself and his friends, the clown travels through a city looking for a child willing to help him rescue the other toys.  Despite a series of mishaps,  he and the discarded toys find love with a new family.  Illustrated by Quentin Blake, my students will instantly recognize the artist from his illustrations of Roald Dahl books (always a *huge* favorite in 5th grade!).

Ever since I saw a post using wordless picture books as reading centers, I have been on the hunt for great wordless books.  (Sorry ~ I can't find the post and have deleted the download from the post that led to my fascination!  If you know it, let me know.)  

Anyway... the creative soul from whom I  'borrowed' this idea wrote three writing prompts for each book and differentiated them by color coding them for below level, on level, and above level.  I loved them so much, I made a set of my own for the books I found at my local library.

As soon as I found this book hiding in the stack in my garage, I knew I had to create a set of prompts for Clown, too.  Click the preview to get the preview set for free at my TPT store:

Or click here to get the full version with activity cards for seven wordless books, including my new favorite, Clown.

Buy it at Barnes & Noble

Pish Posh

Pish Posh

Ellen Potter

June 2011

Clara Frankophile is the 11-year-old daughter of  famous restauranteurs and owners of the very exclusive restaurant, Pish Posh.  According to Clara, everyone is either a somebody or a nobody - and Clara has taken on the job of deciding into which category the patrons of her parents' restaurant belongs.  When a person is declared a nobody, they are banished from not only the restaurant but also from New York society as a whole.  Hiding behind her sunglasses, Clara remains detached from the people around her.  That is until she declares Dr. Piff to be a nobody.  As he leaves the restaurant, he whispers a mysterious message that only Clara is able to hear.  Through a series of unlikely adventures, and a sudden new friend, Clara reaches outside of her normal realm to uncover a mystery and solve a century old puzzle.

The best part of this book is not the mystery; it's learning about Clara herself.  She's been pampered but completely ignored by her well meaning but clueless parents.  She lives alone, and doesn't even know enough to miss her childhood.  I would love to read a prequel about her early childhood; there were hints of stories there that could prove to be more fascinating than this story.  Clara's transformation to thoughtful and caring child is certainly the lesson taught.  Although far-fetched and unrealistic, the mystery keeps the action moving and the plot races forward quickly.  

I would not use this book in my classroom.  However, most of my girls - especially the girly-girls - would enjoy Pish Posh very much, and I will add a copy to my classroom library.

Buy it now at Barnes & Noble.