Book Club

So I joined a book club and I love it!! I know it may seem odd that I'm so excited to spend my free evenings discussing books. I do it all day long, after all. The big difference is that my book club is with adults and we read books written for adults. This past week we read "Sarah's Key" by Tatiana de Rosnay. Two thumbs up - I highly recommend it. Next on our list - "Year of Wonders" by Geraldine Brooks.

Uprising by Margaret Peterson Haddix

This week I read Uprising by Margaret Peterson Haddix. This is one of the best pieces of historical fiction that I've ever read. The book follows three main characters. Bella is a recent Italian Immigrant who comes to New York in hopes of earning money to keep her family in Italy from starvation. Yetta is less recent Russian Jew who, after moving to New York, is caught up in the garment workers' union and the workers' rights movement. And Jane who, although was born a wealthy American, abandons her father and his money, believing it to be blood money earned at the expensive of the immigrant workers. These three fictional characters are caught up in two main events from history - the Uprising of the 20,000 and the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire.

To learn more about the Uprising of the 20,000, click HERE.

Two of the 20,000 Garment Workers striking for workers' rights.

More shirtwaist workers participating in the strike.

To learn more about the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire, click HERE.

Remains of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory after the infamous fire.

Remains of those who perished in the fire.

Percy Jackson and the Olympians

Tonight I went to see the movie, Percy Jackson and the Olympians. It's based off of the book, The Lightning Thief, by Rick Riordan. I'm currently reading this book with my 7th grade students. I also read it with my students last year - to read a little about that, click HERE. Anyway, both years my students have LOVED reading the book and learning more about Greek Mythology. We've been so excited to see the movie. It's all we've been talking about this week in class. I surveyed my students, asking them if they planned on seeing the movie, and about 80% said they planned on seeing it.

I love the book, and really enjoyed the movie, even though they are SO different. I'm way excited to see what my students have to say about the movie, although I know I'm going to hear A LOT about how the movie "got it wrong." They've already mentioned a few things they noticed from the movie trailer. Anyways, I strongly recommend reading the book and recommend seeing the movie - although if you were only going to choose one, go for the book (of course, a reading teacher would say that, right?)

What? You're Listening to Me?

Two weeks ago, in my reading class, we read the Greek Myth about Theseus and the minotaur. Because I'm too lazy to recount the myth, click HERE if you want to know more about it. Then last week, I book talked The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. When I finished my book talk, a student raised his hand and stated, "Ms. George, do you know what this book [The Hunger Games] reminds me of? The myth we talked about last week about the minotaur. Remember how they had to send kids to the island every year to face the minotaur? It's kinda the same, huh?"

My thoughts: Holy Crap. You listen to me? And make connections? You have made my day.

Interestingly enough, Suzanne Collins was inspired by the myth for her novel The Hunger Games (well, at least accorrding to wikipedia).

The Hunger Games

This weekend I read The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. I loved it so much, I also read the second book in the series, Catching Fire. Needless to say, I didn't get much done this weekend.

The Hunger Games takes place in a post-apocalyptic country called Panem. This country was formed after the countries of North America were destroyed. Panem consists of a rich Capitol, and 12 surrounding, poor districts. Each year the Capitol holds a lottery in which a random teenage boy and girl are chosen from each district to be sent to the Capitol to compete in The Hunger Games. These Games are a large televised event in which all 24 tributes are dropped in a large outdoor arena to fight to the death. Not only do they provide entertainment for the rich residents of the Capitol, but they serve as a punishment to the 12 districts for a rebellion that occurred 75 years earlier. The message is clear - Don't mess with the Capitol. Each year we kill your children, put we could do much, much worse.

The Hunger Games follows Katniss Evergreen, the girl tribute from District 12, as she fights for her life in the arena. Not only does she fight for her life, but in her own way, she fights against the Capitol by refusing to play the Games their way. By doing so, the Games become even more deadly.

I highly, highly recommend this book. It is one of the most riveting books I've read in a long time.

Oh. My. Gods. by Tera Lynn Childs

I haven't written a book review for awhile so I thought I'd write one about the book I read today. Today I read Oh. My. Gods. by Tera Lynn Childs. I bought this book about a year ago, but for one reason or another it kept getting pushed to the bottom of my pile. Well, I couldn't put it off any longer - I had to read it. This week I started teaching Greek Mythology. I have some books about Greek Mythology that I recommend to my students, but I need more. Because of this, it was time to read Oh. My. Gods. I'm glad I did because I liked it a lot.

Phoebe Castro is the main character in the novel, Oh. My. Gods. Phoebe is a 17-year old girl who loves to run and is banking on an athletic scholarship for college. She has it all mapped out - all she has to do is maintain good grades during her senior year and continue doing well in cross country. All that is put into jeopardy when her mother announces she's remarrying and both her and Phoebe are moving to Greece. Things get even worse when Phoebe learns her new step-father is the headmaster of an exclusive private school with only has one admissions requirement - students must be a direct descendant from one of the Greek Gods. Reluctantly, the school makes an exception for Phoebe. Needless to say, in a school in which the entire student body has the blood of the Gods coursing through their veins, Phoebe has a difficult time fitting in. She has run-ins with the popular descendants of Zeus, the Goth-like descendants of Hades, and cheerleader descendants of Aphrodite.

I highly recommend this book for anyone who wants to read about Greek Mythology with a little twist.

Team Edward vs. Team Jacob

This is not part of my Advent Blog, but I wanted to write about it. Today I had planned to play a game with my students. I started by saying, "We will be dividing into two teams." I was about to go on and say , "Team 1 and Team 2," but I was interrupted when a student (a male student) asked, "Can we be Team Edward and Team Jacob?" I started laughing. They are ridiculous kids who apparently like ridiculous books.

The Book Thief

So, I finally finished The Book Thief by Markus Zusak. It has been one of the hardest books to read. I had a hard time getting use to the narration (the narrator is Death) and some parts were so very tedious. Despite these difficulties, this book moved me more than any other work of fiction. I know, it's weird. I didn't particularly enjoy reading this book, yet I loved it. Again, a weird contradiction. So, why did I love The Book Thief? The book talks about the power of words - I love that. Unfortunately, Zusak isn't very consistent with his own words - some sections of The Book Thief are masterfully written, while others are a rambling mess. Here are a few I consider masterful:

She was the book thief without the words. Trust me, though, the words were on their way, and when they arrived, Liesel would hold them in her hands like the clouds, and she would wring them out like rain. (page 80)

People may tell you that Nazi Germany was built on anti-Semitism, a somewhat overzealous leader, and a nation of hate-fed bigots, but it would all have come to nothing had the Germans not loved one particular activity: To burn. The Germans loved to burn things. Shops, synagogues, Reichstags, houses, personal items, slain people, and of course, books. (page 84)

There was once a strange, small man. He decided three important details about his life: 1. He would part his hair from the opposite side to everyone else. 2. He would make himself a small, strange mustache. 3. He would one day rule the world. The young man wandered around for quite some time, thinking, planning, and figuring out exactly how to make the world his. Then one day, out of nowhere, it struck him - the perfect plan. He'd seen a mother walking with her child. At one point, she admonished the small boy, until finally he began to cry. Within a few minutes, she spoke very softly to him, after which he was soothed and even smiled. The young man rushed to the woman and embraced her. "Words!" he grinned. "What?" But there was no reply. He was already gone. Yes, the Fuhrer decided that he would rule the world with words. "I will never fire a gun," he devised. "I will not have to." His first plan of attack was to plant the words in as many areas of his homeland as possible. He planted them day and night, and cultivated them. He watched them grow, until eventually, great forests of words had risen through Germany . . . . It was a nation of farmed thoughts. (page 445)

She tore a page from the book and ripped it in half. Then a chapter. Soon, there was nothing but scraps of words littered between her legs and all around her. The words. Why did they have to exist? Without them there wouldn't be any of this. Without words, the Fuhrer was nothing. (page 521)

The Chronicles of Vladimir Tod

The Chronicles of Vladimir Tod is a series of books written by Heather Brewer. The first book in the series is Eight Grade Bites, the second book is Ninth Grade Slays, and the third book is Tenth Grade Bleeds. The books follows Vladimir Tod, a half-vampire/half-human teenager, as he tries to live a normal teenage life - well, as normal as can be expected when you are a blood-drinking vampire. Not only does Vlad face the problems of an everyday teenager (school, grades, bullies, girls, etc.), he also has to deal with life as a vampire. And it's not an easy vampire life for Vlad - hiding the fact that he drinks blood, avoiding garlic, improving his mind-control abilities, and battling the evil vampire, D'Ablo. Fans of the vampire genre, will certainly enjoy these books.

The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel

During the past school year, a student recommended a new fantasy series to me. The series is The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel by Michael Scott. Three books in this series have been published so far (The Alchemyst, The Magician, and The Sorceress), but Scott is working on at least three more (The Necromancer, The Warlock, and The Enchantress). I had briefly heard of this series, but hadn't personally known anyone who had read it. I'm so glad my student read it and recommended it because it has been great!!

I love that the series mixes fantasy, mythology, and history.

The fantasy - Before humans (or as they're refered to in the book, humani) ruled the earth, the earth was ruled by a powerful race of Elders and their children The Next Generation. When this race fell from power, they retreated into Shadowrealms, other dimensions connected to earth. Throughout human history, the Elders have been plotting to return to earth. Their return depends upon the magical Codex, or Book of Abraham. The book not only contains the Final Summoning (the spell that will bring the Elders from their Shadowrealms into the world again), but the spells for immortality and the philosopher's stone.

Mythology - Where to begin? The book references all sorts of myths - the lost island of Atlantis, vampires, the Greek and Roman Gods, werewolves, the Egyptian sphinx, King Arthur and Excalibur.

History - People throughout history have learned of the Elders, the Book of Abraham, and the Final Summoning. Some have sided with the Elders and have been granted immortality for their loyality. Some of these include Dr. John Dee, Niccolo Machiavelli, and Billy the Kid. Others have acheived immortality through other means and are doing everything in their power to fight againt the Dark Elders and the immortals who work for them. Some of these individuals include Nicholas Flamel, Joan of Arc, and William Shakespeare.

This is a great fantasy series filled with magic and mystery. I highly recommend it.

On the Wings of Heroes

On the Wings of Heroes is another book I've finished on my Summer Reading list. It is written by Richard Peck. I love Richard Peck!! (To read more of my thoughts on him, click HERE). Once again, he has perfectly captured a time period in this historic fiction. On the Wings of Heroes tells the story of Davy Bowman and how his young life changes during WWII. When Davy's older brother, Billy, leaves home to fly B-12 bombers over Europe, Davy does all he can to help with the war effort at home. He collects scrap metal, paper, and even milkweed for life vests. As always, Peck has filled this book with the right combination of humor, oddball characters, adventure, and heart-warming moments.

Seedfolks

Although not an official book on my Summer Reading list, Seedfolks is a book I've been meaning to read ever since I saw the author, Paul Fleischman, speak at a conference last year (To read my thoughts on the conference, click HERE). I finally got around to reading it this week. Seefolks is about several neighbors living in a low socio-economic apartment building in Cleveland, OH. This building is located next to a vacant lot strewed with trash and discarded junk. This lot changes one summer after a young girl decides to clear a small section and plant a few lima beans. This inspires one of her neighbors to clear a small plot for herself and plant her own seeds. Neighbor after neighbor decide to do the same thing until the lot has been completly transformed from a trash-filled lot to a garden paradise. The lot isn't the only thing that is changed by these new gardeners. They, themselves, are transformed from strangers to close friends. The great thing about this book is that it is less than 100 pages and can be read in a single sitting. And, in true Fleischman style, each chapter is written using a different narrator until all the neighbors have told their own story.

The Last Olympian

The Last Olympian came out on May 5th, but I just finished it this week. It is the 5th book in the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series by Rick Riordan. This school year I had my students read the first book in the series, The Lightning Thief. This was the best academic decision I have ever made as a teacher. My students loved the book. About 50 of my students finished the book ahead of schedule and went on to read another book in the series. Every copy of the series was checked out of the school library and a parent told me every copy of the series was checked out of the local library. As a class we talked about the novel and Greek Mythology (which the series is based on) constantly, even after we had finished the novel and moved on to read something else. My students even had a count down to the release of book five, The Last Olympian. After May 5th, I had a dozen students who had bought the book. They quickly finished it and passed it on to another student who couldn't afford to buy it themselves. It was great to see!! I loved it. It's what a reading class should be all about.

Anyway, so I finally read it. Although it was not my favorite in the series, it was a great way to wrap up the series. If you haven't started this FANTASTIC series, head to your local library NOW!!

Diary of a Wimpy Kid

Since I've been in Pennsylvania, I've finished three more books on my Summer Reading list. This post is dedicated to the hilarious novel, Diary of a Wimpy Kid, by Jeff Kinney (who was recently voted one of Time Magazine's 100 most influential people). All school year long I had seen students (mostly boys) with this book. I had wanted to read it, but just hadn't gotten around to it. As a thank you present, a student gave me a copy of the book telling me, "I LOVE this book," so I knew it had to be one of the first books I read this summer. I'm sure glad I did. It was hilarious.

The novel tells the story of Greg Heffley's first year in middle school. The book is written in a fun font that makes it look like an actual diary. It also has drawings littered throughout it. In fact, the book is advertised as "a novel in cartoons." Kinney perfectly captures life as a middle school boy as Greg deals with his annoying brothers, bullies at school, and problems with teachers, family, and friends.

I highly recommend it for anyone who has worked in a middle school, has children in a middle school, or was once themselves a child in middle school.

The River Between Us

So I finished the first book on my Summer Reading list. I read The River Between Us by Richard Peck. This novel was a great example of historical fiction. It is set in the small town of Grand Tower, Illinois during 1861. The town is right off the Mississippi River, which is usually packed with boats traveling from the South to the North and back South again.

One day, two young women, Delphine and Calinda, arrive in Grand Tower on one of these boats. They are two mysterious young ladies from New Orleans, who have left to avoid any fighting that may come to the city because of the Civil War. Delphine is wealthy and glamorous, while it appears Calinda is her servant, maybe even her slave. These two young women rent out a room from the Pruitt family. The narrator in the story is Tilly Pruit. She lives with her mama, her twin brother, Noah, and her younger sister, Cass. Delphine and Calinda soon transform the lives of the Pruitts, bringing a Southern flair to their small country home.

As the war gets closer and closer to Grand Tower, Illinois, the lives of our characters change more and more. The traffic on the river slows, the town folks begin to believe that Delphine and Calinda (and possibly the Pruitts) are Southern spies, Noah leaves and joins the Union army, and finally Tilly and Delphine leave to aid him and the other Union solders.

This is a great book filled with mystery, love, and life from the Civil War.

Summer Reading

I've compiled my list of books for my summer reading. If you've read a really great adolescent book and you think I should add it to my list, let me know.

• Uglies/Pretties Series by Scott Westerfeld
• A Time of Angels by Karen Hesse
• Amaryllis by Craig Crist-Evans
• On the Wings of Heroes by Richard Peck
• The River Between Us by Richard Peck
• The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Perilous Journey by Trenton Lee Stewart
• The Shadow Thieves (The Cronus Chronicles) by Anne Ursu
• The Journal of Scott Pendleton Collins by Walter Dean Myers
• Temping Fate by Esther Friesner
• The Giver by Lois Lowry
• Oh. My. Gods. by Tera Lynn Childs
• Pandora Gets Jealous (Mythic Misadventures Series) by Carolyn Hennesy
• Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney
• The Maze of Bones (39 Clues Series) by Rick Riordan
• The Curse of the Campfire Weenies by David Lubar
• The Last Olympian by Rick Riordan
• City of Ashes/City of Glass (Mortal Instruments) by Cassandra Clare
  

The Road to Damietta

I just finished the adolescent book, The Road to Damietta. First of all, I don't think this is a good example of adolescent lit. I think most teenagers lack the background knowledge (13th Century, city-states of Italy, Catholicism, the Crusades, etc). and interest for this book. Honestly, I had a hard time getting through the first 200 pages (although the last 100 pages were very good - I read them in one sitting).

I originally bought the book because I saw it was a historical fiction novel about St. Francis of Assisi. I love St. Francis - he's one of my favorite saints. Unfortunately, his character is not as prominent as the narrator, a selfish young noblewoman named Ricca. I did not like or connect with her character, at all. Throughout the book, Ricca believes she is in love with St. Francis. She follows his life as he changes from a fun-loving, merchant's son into a devoutly religious man.

Although she has few actual interactions with him, her family disapproves of her obsession. As punishment, her father requires her to work as a copyist in the family's library/archive. Much of the first 200 pages describes her work making copies and illuminating those copies. After realizing that the work has done little to diminish Ricca's "love" for St. Francis, her father sends her to a nunnery in Venice.

After spending quite some time in Venice (the book doesn't give a definite time, but I assumed it was 1-2 years), Ricca learns that St. Francis is set to sail to Egypt with the Crusaders. She decides to follow him there, offering to translate for him. This was the best section of the book (the final 100 pages). It gave an excellent description of the Crusade, the city of Damietta, and the sultan, Malik-al-Kamil. I've been looking for a good book on the Crusades for the past 2 years, and had yet to find one. Although I choose to read this book to learn more about the life of St. Francis, I enjoyed it because of the portrayal of the 5th Crusade.

Despite not being a huge fan of this book, I still very much enjoyed the lessons learned from the life of St. Francis, including his prayer:

Lord, make me an instrument of Thy Peace,
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
Where there is injury, pardon;
Where there is doubt, faith;
Where there is despair, hope;
Where there is darkness, light;
And where there is sorrow, joy.

Sold by Patricia McCormick

Today I read the gut-wrenching novel Sold by Patricia McCormick. It is an excellent adolescent lit book that tells the story of Lakshmi, a 13 year-old Nepali girl who is sold by her step-father into a life of prostitution. She is taken from her mountainside village in Nepal and transported to India to work in a brothel. It is a quick read that shows the harsh reality that so many young girls face in the world. Although, for the most part, the story is bleak, the book ends with a message of hope. I highly recommend it.

School Stuff

School is going great this year. The school year is already one-fourth over. I'm trying to shake things up and do new things this year. Tomorrow we are going to start reading the historical fiction novel Fever 1793. I've never taught this book, but I'm really excited to teach it. The historical time period for the novel is Philadelphia's Yellow Fever Epidemic of 1793. To prepare my students to read it, we spent last week studying the non-fiction book An American Plague. I had my students Jigsaw this book. A Jigsaw is when students read a part of a book and then share their part with the class. This way, students only need to read a short section, but they get all the info in the book. The Jigsaw went very well and my students seem excited to start the novel.

Another new thing I'm trying are on-line quizzes on my wikispaces. My students took one quiz in class last week and it went really well. I'm going to start assigning the upcoming quizzes as homework. We'll see if that goes as well. To see my wikispaces, click HERE. Their upcoming quiz is under the label, "An American Plague."

Adolescent Literature Authors

Today I went to the Utah Council of Teachers of English (UCTE) Fall Conference. I was super excited for this conference because two of my favorite adolescent literature authors, Richard Peck and Paul Fleischman, were scheduled to speak. Not just one great adolescent lit author, but two!! UCTE really went above and beyond this year, and I was not disappointed.

Richard Peck spoke as the morning keynote speaker. He was very dynamic. He read us his short story, "Three-Century Woman." Loved it!! Following his keynote address, he signed books. Not only that, Pearson Publishers gave every conference participate a copy of his novel, On the Wings of Heroes. Sweet!! I felt bad that I forgot my copy of A Long Way from Chicago (my favorite Richard Peck novel), but since had a free book for him to sign, I wasn't too upset. The following Richard Peck quote is one of my favorites:

I read because one life isn't enough, and in the page of a book I can be anybody;
I read because the words that build the story become mine, to build my life;
I read not for happy endings but for new beginnings; I'm just beginning myself, and I wouldn't mind a map;
I read because I have friends who don't, and young though they are, they're beginning to run out of material;
I read because every journey begins at the library, and it's time for me to start packing;
I read because one of these days I'm going to get out of this town, and I'm going to go everywhere and meet everybody, and I want to be ready.

The afternoon keynote speaker was Paul Fleischman. He wrote one of my top 10 favorite books, Whirligig. He talked about how important it is to make connections with others people. He mentioned that literature allows people to make these connections through shared experiences. After his keynote address, he also signed books. I had him sign my copy of Whirligig and a copy of Seedfolks.

Overall, it was a fabulous conference. If UCTE brings in great authors next year, I will definitely go again.