Comment

Comment by Lynn Hollister on July 12, 2009 at 9:19pm

I have just finished reading Winter Girls by Laurie Halse Anderson and Fairest by Gail Carson Levine. Both were great reads that I am excited to add to my class library. Anderson does a great job of taking the reader into the mind of a young girl sticken with anorexia in a way that creates understanding and empathy for those who fight against it on a daily basis.

Levine creates a lovely female heroine who fights against all odds to find the true meaning of beauty. It is a great message for young girls who think beauty is what is portrayed in magazines and on television.

Comment by Ken C on July 1, 2009 at 8:16am

Last week I read The Graveyard Book (I know, I'm late) and thought not bad at all. Interesting that he based it on The Jungle Book because you'd never have guessed as much (though I see the logic -- ghosts take in boy instead of animals take in boy).

Also truly enjoyed an oldie but goodie, True Notebooks by Mark Salzman. His tales of teaching a writing class in a juvenile prison had me in hysterics half the time due to the badinage between the boys. Man, if the feedback in my class went like THIS, I'd flip. But it's a prison and almost no holds barred. Loved the character of Mr. Sills, an officer in the prison. Great stuff.

Comment by Lynn Hollister on June 22, 2009 at 10:50am

I just finished The Dead and the Gone and Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts, and Other Powerful Web Tools for Classrooms. I am currently in the middle of Everlost.

Dead and Gone was interesting to me because I was reading it on the plane to New York which is where the book is set. It was my first trip to New York, and it was interesting to me how my perspective changed when I picked the book up again to read on the plane home. I could connect so much more to streets, buildings, neighborhoods, and landmarks mentioned because I had just been there. It was an experience that reminded me how important it is to scaffold reading for students, especially students that have had limited life experiences.

Comment by Ken C on June 5, 2009 at 4:58pm

Vicki says: What happened was a repetition of misinformation as truth. So what's that got to do with reading? I think it's yet another thing for teachers to think about when helping kids with non-fiction.

I think this happens more often than we think with the "news" which people assume is all "non-fiction." The phrase "feeding frenzy" comes to mind in the shark-eat-shark world of journalism (remember yellow journalism?), and sometimes facts earn their chops by dint of being repeated so often (NOT a good thing).

Consider how many of our history books are "fiction," too. Myth-building. Story-telling. Reputation-enhancing. And, as the politicians call it, "spinning." Ever read the book that has a title that goes something like this: Lies My History Teacher Told Me? Good stuff. Uh... if you like history, anyway.

Comment by Vicki Steinberg on June 3, 2009 at 8:26pm

I heard the Columbine author on NPR and was very interested to hear him say the media had originally made so many mistakes and fed on itself that there's an amazing amount of misinformation out there about the events and the two boys. He should know as he was one of those early reporters. He said the incident was one of first, if not the first, events where so many people had cell phones. What happened was a repetition of misinformation as truth. So what's that got to do with reading? I think it's yet another thing for teachers to think about when helping kids with non-fiction.
BTW, I've started to read the Muriel Spark novels; she's the English author of The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie. I love finding (re-finding) an author who has several books I can soak myself in. Sometimes I want these books to be a series and sometimes not. Spark's are not a series but make the Anglophile in me happy. If you like England and English history, there's also a ton of books by Norah Lofts.

Comment by Brenda Krupp on June 2, 2009 at 8:27pm

I have just finished ColumbinebyDave Cullen. I couldn't put the book down. I told two teacher friends I was reading it and got strange looks. But it is well written by a journalist who did his research. I learned a lot and think it is a book that needs to be read. Columbine is one of those events that you know where you were when you first heard the news (especially if you are a teacher. It made us all realize how vulnerable we are to violence and how many kids are troubled.) Another interesting aside, the publisher is 12. This group publishes only 12 books a year, one a month, because they want their books to be done by authors with a unique perspective, and they want their books to be conversation starters. Their ultimate goal is to enrich the reader with the work.

Comment by Brenda Krupp on May 29, 2009 at 3:16pm

Totally agree Ken. I finished it last night - it was due to the library. It was not a page turner. But I loved Death's last comment - I am haunted by humans.

Comment by Ken C on May 27, 2009 at 7:18pm

The Book Thief seems to appeal to both adults and (certain) kids. Some people love it, but I've also seen it ripped pretty bad. I read it but didn't find it a page-turner. Maybe I'm Holocaust-booked out.

Comment by Brenda Krupp on May 27, 2009 at 12:56pm

Vicki,
I absolutely agree. I carry it around but it is not making me put down my work and read. I keep think there is something more to it that I am missing.

Comment by Vicki Steinberg on May 26, 2009 at 9:59pm

I have a bookmark halfway through the book. And it's been there a while. What stopped me and what's keeping me from either abandoning or finishing? And who says this is a book for a kid of any age?

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