My Name is Not Isabella

Hello Bloggie Fans,

I apologize for my lack of blogs, however, I plan to try and keep up with them as time permits. The book that I choose is by Jennifer Fosberry. It deals with the concept of "What do you want to be when you grow up?" I particularly selected this book, because today was my first day of Student Teaching, and when I grew up it was my dream to be a teacher:) It is fun to see those dreams come full circle. I love this book from the story to the illustrations and to the resource tidbits at the back of the book. The neat this is that this book has a complimentary entitled My Name is Not Alexander. From teachers to moms this is a fun book to introduce to your students/children. As a mom you could take their picture every year -on the first day of school with a chalk board that says the date, grade, and what they want to be. It will be fun to watch their ideas change. In the classroom you can do the same concept, but maybe have them write or draw the idea -save the paper. Then on their graduation have it framed for them. Once again I will put a link on the bottom of the page for reviews and possible ideas for this book. So without further ado I give you "My Name is Not Isabella."

*Pull up a Chair, Grab a Cup of Coffee and Enjoy!

"Good morning, Isabella" the mother said. "It's time to get up and out of bed." "My name is not Isabella!" said the little girl. "Then who has been sleeping in my daughter's bed?"asked the mother. " I am Sally the greatest, toughest astronaut who ever was!" (Fosberry, 1-2) As you can see this book deals with a mother and a daughter. The conversation follows this same dialogue pattern though out the book, only every page she is someone new. The characters she becomes are after famous women, and at the end of the book they supply a short bio for each person mentioned. This book is adorable , excellent for all ages and can be used as an excellent first day of school opener. I haven't read the companion, but I highly recommend it. The illustrations are fabulous, and your kids/students will love it.

*Enjoy the rest of your coffee, and let me know how the book is.

-Aly

Links for the book

http://thepioneerwoman.com/homeschooling/2010/09/book-review-my-name-is-not-isabella/

http://www.sourcebooks.com/readers/browse-our-lists/spotlight/1341-my-name-is-not-isabella.html

Chains

Hello Bloggie Fans,
I hope that you are excited for the weekend as much as I am :) The next book that I have for you is a book that captures the idea of freedom-for slaves and for America. Halse has written an outstanding book, based on real events and real people. The perspective of the book also allows students to see things in a different light, to see how things were for slaves. Chains would make an excellent supplement to a history lesson- allowing for the integration of English and History. The age that would be appropriate for this book would be 6th-8th grade. I will once again attach links for other reviews/synopisis of the book. So without further ado- "Pull up a chair, Grap a cup of coffee and Enjoy!

Close your eyes and imagine that you are a slave- nothing but property. You aren't allowed to speak out of turn, you aren't allowed to be literate, you are simply their to work. Now imagine that your owner had put in her will that you were to be freed. However, the will is nowhere to be found, and you aren't worth the time or the effort to have it located. You have had a sliver of freedom, a mere taste, and now you are property, back down to nothing.
This is the situation that Isabelle has found herself in, only she is ot alone, she has a sister with epilepsy. They have been sold to new owners that serve on the loyalist party in New York. While there Isabelle is forced to decide whether she is to betray her master and help the rebels- with the hope of freedom. However, plans change, promises aren't kept and Isabelles family gets split apart. Will she survive her cruel masters? Will Isabelles family be reunited? Does freedom come to her? These are all questions that you have to discover on your own, but just as Isabelle had a taste of freedom-you have had your appetite wet for this splendid novel. Relax, Enjoy the rest of your coffee and pick up this book.
-Alys

Links for Readers

http://www.readingrants.org/2008/09/15/chains-by-laurie-halse-anderson/
http://www.teenreads.com/reviews/chains
http://www.powells.com/biblio/62-9781416905851-0

Catching Fire

Hello Bloggies,

I have been so caught up in finishing this book that I have neglected my blog. The good new is that since I finished it I can share it with you! This book is particularly special in that it is as good if not better than the first. That rarely happens. Suzanne Collins' Catching Fire is the second book in the trilogy of the Hunger Games. If you have never picked up this series than you need to get off the computer and go to your local library to check it out immediately! This series is based off a Dystopian, or an imaginary place or state in which the condition of life is extremely bad, as from deprivation, oppression, or terror. Collins writes in such a way that the reader is immediately hooked. The young protagonists offer relatability to the younger grades such as 12 and up. It would make for an excellent read aloud, that will have your students begging for more. The other fascinating part is that in 2013, one year from now, the movie is to be released in Theaters! So without further ado - Pull up a Chair, Grab a Cup of Coffee, and Enjoy!

"If it were up to me, I would try to forget the Hunger Games entirely. Never speak of them. Pretend they were nothing but a bad dream. But the Victory Tour makes that impossible. Strategically placed almost midway between the annual Games, it is the Capitol's way of keeping the horror fresh and immediate. Not only are we in the districts forced to remember the iron grip pf the Capitol's power each year, we are forced to celebrate it. and this year, I am one of the stars of the show. I will have to travel from district to district, to stand before the cheering crowds who secretly loathe me, to look down into the faces of the families whose children I have killed..." (Collins, 4). Catching Fire follows Katniss and Peeta as they try to escape the clutches of the Capitol. Katniss has been accused of defying the Capitol, and through her and Peeta's victory, last year in the Hunger Games, they have started a rebellion. Katniss needs to persuade the other districts that she was merely love struck and was not acting out in a form of defiance. This is hard since she is in this love sandwich with Peeta and Gale. Peeta is the one that she needs to marry and Gale is the one that she would rather marry, or is it?! Peeta and Katniss is an unexpected turn of events finds themselves back in the Games. This leaves the question? Who will survive? The Capitol won't let two people come out alive again- so who will it be?

If you have read these books I would love to hear your opinion on them, and make sure to check out the resources below! Enjoy the rest of your coffee, and the rest of your day.

-Aly

List of Resources For Teachers

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/10/magazine/mag-10collins-t.html?_r=1&pagewanted=all

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1919156,00.html

http://www.suzannecollinsbooks.com/catching_fire_88086.htm

http://www.suzannecollinsbooks.com/

http://thehungergames.wikia.com/wiki/Catching_Fire

http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/153394.Suzanne_Collins

http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/contributor/suzanne-collins

Wicked Girls

Hello Bloggie Fans,

I hope that you had a wonderful Christmas. The novel that I am dying to introduce to you today is Wicked Girls by Stephanie Hemphill. Wicked Girls offers the reader a new perspective on the famous Salem Witch Trials. It is told in verse and from the perspective of 7 different girls. This book, 390 pages, offers more than just a fictional story- it offers a plausible, research-based account, and also provides the readers with alternative resources to further your research, and a brief account/into to the real girls and the "witches". I was hooked and I feel that this book would make for an excellent read-aloud. It could show the value of different perspectives and introduce historical fiction as a whole. At the bottom of the page I will attach resources that may be of value if you decide to adopt this book into your classroom. Without further ado "Pull up a Chair, Grab a Cup of Coffee, and ENJOY!"

" Black, she wears black, her petticoats like tar. The sky is white. I cannot look to it. Even her blood colored black. I cannot see but black and white. Old and dead, the tree that creeps from the rock wears no frock of leaves, not even in the summer. Charolette Easty's body convulses, her legs squirm. The blood gushes from beneath her nose and mouth and ears. She dies slowly. She swings though no wind blows. My hands ball. I could punch own the clouds. There is such power in my hands. I bend over and retch like an empty water pump, for nothing comes out of my mouth. The other girls gnaw on their nails, stare bewildered at the body hung on the tree. Margaret trembles. Her teeth chatter louder than shutters unloosed in strong wind. Abigail opens her lips to speak. I lift my finger, and she reconsiders. Elizabeth rubs her shoulder as Doctor Griggs checks the stopped pulse of the witch's body. She then falls to her knees, folds and refolds her hands in prayer. Susannah stays wisely out of view. And Ann, Ann's big eyes scour my skin. No matter what be about, even a hanging, Ann cannot unleash her eyes from me" (Hemphill, 252- 254). The section presented to you is a little more than half-way through the book and the section is entitled First Witch Hanging - from the perspective of Mercy Lewis, 17. In summary , a group of girls, want their voices to be heard and acknowledged in the town. Through a series of events the girls get named as the seers of the invisible world. They are charged with presenting the town with the witches/wizards. However, most of this is random pickings or purposeful based on a persons history. Either way the fame that is entitled to them is attached to a lie. Will the girls come forth with the truth? Will they get caught and the 'witches' go free? That is for you to discover when you pick up the book.

-Aly

Links

1. http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6970101-wicked-girls
2. http://ebookstore.sony.com/ebook/stephanie-hemphill/wicked-girls/_/R-400000000000000240315
3. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=okEy0HKhDEQ
4. http://dogearedandwellread.wordpress.com/2010/07/13/wicked-girls-by-stephanie-hemphill/

The Missing Mitten

Hello Bloggies,

"Where are my mittens?! Mom, I've lost my mittens?" Have you heard these words before? These are common phrases that occur just about every winter season. Steven Kellogg understands this quite well as he writes The Missing Mitten Mystery. This delightful story captures the very scenario that many young children have experienced. The neat thing with this book is that it ties wonderful into art or even English. It would be fun to have your students make mittens. They could draw on the mitten a spot where the mitten was lost. For English they could write/illustrate a scenario where they have lost/found a mitten. These are some simple ideas that could be done to accompany this book (at the end of the entry I will attach links to other websites that offer excellent ideas). So without further ado- Pull up a chair, Grab a cup of coffee and Enjoy!

"Oscar, I lost my other mitten. That makes five mittens this winter. I'm in big trouble" ( Kellogg, 1). Meet the child, who like so many others, who has trouble keeping track of her mittens. In this book we journey with her and her dog Oscar as she recalls her day of winter fun. We start with sledding, then snowball fights, then we venture into the unknown possibility that a bird, an eagle, or a mouse have taken it for their own purposes. But their is always the possibility that it was planted in the garden to grow more mittens. The young girls hope is slowly dwindling. Will she find her mitten? That is up to you to discover. Enjoy this book and please share the wonderful activities that you have/ will have done with your students/children.

-Aly

Links for Classroom Use

1. http://www.wondersomestorytime.com/2008/02/missing-mitten-mystery-by-steven.html
2. http://ourrandomactsofreading.blogspot.com/2010/01/missing-mitten-mystery-by-steven.html
3. http://www.scholastic.com/browse/article.jsp?id=3753191
4. http://www.preschooleducation.com/br105.shtml
5. http://www.thevirtualvine.com/mittens.html
6. www.users.muohio.edu/shermalw/EDP621SM2006/harrison_CLplan2006.doc

Snowmen at Night

Hello Bloggie Fans,

Have you ever wondered what snowmen do at night? Okay, so maybe you haven't, but I bet your youngsters have or even your preschoolers/Kindergartners have. Caralyn Buehner with the help of Mark Buehner not only tell, but show you exactly what snowmen do at night! This book has wonderful images, also it includes hidden images that keep your kids on their toes. If you decide to do this in the classroom it would work great to build your own snowmen in art. You could hook the three balls of snow together with paper fasteners-so that the balls can move around. It brings the snowmen to life:) I know that excitement is building so without further ado- Pull up a chair, grab a cup of coffee, and Enjoy Snowmen at Night!


"One wintry day I made a snowman, very round and tall. The next day when I saw him, he was not the same at all! His hat had slipped, his arms dropped down, he really looked a fright-it made me start to wonder:What do snowmen do at night?" (Buehner, 1-2) As we know snowmen melt, but in this book the author suggests that the snowmen are alive at night,and that is the reason for the droopiness. These snowmen drink ice-cold cocoa, they race, they ice skate, they make snow angels,they play baseball and have snowball fights, but their favorite is sledding. In this book you read about all the crazy things they do, and trust me your class or children will love it! It is a wonderful story for winter, and it is an easy explanation as to why their snowmen "melted." I hope you enjoy this book and I want to hear how you have or will have used this book.





-Aly

Christmas Wishes

Hello Bloggies,
 It is another day and I havea book that is excellent for Christmas preperation. It gives a slight twist to the traditional book Twas the Night Before Christmas . Tony Mitton presents Christmas Wishes with the introduction of two young mice and their preperation for Christmas. This book would be fun to read to Kindergarten- 3rd grade.  It lends itself to integration with a couple of other classes including, English and Art. With the younger grades you can have them practice their English skills by writing a letter to Santa. It allows you to teach them the proper mechanics for writting letters. I would make sure that if you have the older ones write a letter, Santa is still part of their life. To tie this into art class you can have your students create stockings.  It will make your classroom fun and getting into the spirit of Christmas. Remember, you set the tone of your classroom and you can make it fun, it just depends how much effort your willing to put into it.  With those ideas and introduction to the book- Pull up a chair, Grab a cup of Coffee and ENJOY!

"On the night before Christmas,the tree was all hung with lights and with baubles that shone as they swung" (Mitton, 1).  This is the set up of Mittons story. The Mice are busy getting their house ready for Dear Mr. Santa Clause. The lights are up, the tree decorated, the milk is set out, the note is written, and the carrots for the reindeer are left out. Then off to bed these little mice go to patiently wait for Santa Claus to show. Now two of the mice are as antzy as can be, and scurry to the window. What do they see? Do the mice really see dear Mr. Clause and his reindeer? It is up to you to discover this ending!
Enjoy the rest of your coffee and make sure to check out the websites on the side to find more books that are fun to use for your family or classroom.
-Aly