Slice of Life - What's saving your reading life?

Inspired by Akilah--who was inspired by Elisabeth-- I will share some of the things that get me and keep me reading.

Reading Challenges: One of the big inspirations for what I pick up next is challenges on Storygraph (I"m crystalreading over there - let's be friends). I made the move from Goodreads to Storygraph near the beginning of the year and that's one of the things I love most. I am participating in the Onboarding Challenge that helps get you familiar with the format of the app. I also found the Decolonize Your Bookshelf Challenge hosted by the owner of an Indigenous bookstore called Paperbacks & Frybread. Currently I am also in a Ramadan Readathon and I am about to start reading for the Trans Rights Readathon. Yesterday I started gathering my books (the stack in the image at the top of the page) and today I have started reading. 

Book Clubs: There is an amazingly awesome book club here in town that has mostly people who were teachers or librarians or still are. We meet at the home of a woman who doesn't really eat sweets, but loves to bake so she makes lovely desserts for us every month and there is always enough that we can take some home to our loved ones too. We read YA or Adult fiction and nonfiction. Another one here in town is hosted by the indie bookstore and a local organization that works to fight intolerance and prevent hate. These two groups help diversify my reading and I love chatting about books with them. 

Libby: Here in California libraries in almost all cities allow state residents to get a library card. Some people collect them like Pokemon cards or baseball cards. I strategically collect those that have robust digital collections and add them to my Libby app. It makes it easy to get those books that the library may not have on hand yet or those that have a long waiting list.

Libro.fm: As an educator or librarian (or media reviewer or influencer), there are free audiobook ALC downloads available every month. It's awesome and I usually have one going so if I am caught without a book to read, I at least have something to listen to. I also use them on long drives. 

My students: I'm a teacher librarian in two elementary schools and sometimes my students recommend books or I read books so I can recommend them to my students.

Colby Sharp: Colby is so excited about books. Every time I watch one of his videos, I add books to my TBR. His enthusiasm is incredible and he is great at book talks. He's a fifth grade teacher and I often neglect reading middle grade so he helps me keep up. 

It's Monday! What are you reading?: This group of bloggers also makes me add books to my TBR. They share so many excellent titles every week. 

What keeps you reading? 

 

Writing Workshop with Kate Messner!!

So excited to see Kate Messner's blog today.  I have been doing a happy dance and my dog thinks I have gone mad.  I cannot wait to show my students tomorrow.  They will be super excited about it.  To win the signed book is really cool, but getting a free writer's workshop series is extremely and amazingly awesome. Big smiles keep popping out on my face.  That just made my week.

I am also loving the cover art of Marty Mcguire Digs Worms!  A little squirmy and a lot of fun. :)

2011 Favorites

This year I believe I read more books than I ever have in one year.  I think I will top out at about 550 books.  I still have one more day though so it's not a final number yet.  It's true that around 300 of them were picture books, but more than 200 of them were novels or narrative non-fiction so it's still a lot of pages.  Whew.

This whole reading frenzy was inspired by Donalyn Miller.  She has this great reading challenge called Bookaday on Goodreads.  I happened to see Bookady and think maybe I could read 365 this year since I know I did it once in Jr. High (seriously - I wrote them all down).  I laughed though because I noticed that there was a guy on there who was aiming for 2011 books this year.  I even called my daughter over and said, "Look at that - he's got to be crazy."  By now I have come to discover that yes, he is crazy.  Crazy about books.  And, I have come to appreciate all that Mr. Schu does to promote reading and books.

During this reading challenge, I have read some simply amazing books and as most Nerdybookclub members seem to do, I must share some of my favorites.

Picture Books

Me...Jane - the text and illustrations fit together so well. I loved the mix of created illustrations with actual photos from Jane's childhood and it had a quiet feel. Beautiful.

Blackout - pictures are great, but I also enjoyed the message of taking a time out to reconnect with each other.

  

Press Here - just absolutely fantastic for many ages. The interactivity of it is so fun for little ones.

I Want My Hat Back - hilarious and a great way to get people interacting since some things are left to the imagination and readers don't always agree about what happened. Plus, the eyes of the animals are just a hoot as one of my students demonstrates above.

Queen of the Falls - the pictures are fabulous and the story (based on a real person) is a jaw dropper.

Pete the Cat: Rocking in my School Shoes - My kids adore this - the song adds so much, but Pete is just too cool.  I wrote about him earlier in the year here.

Middle Grade Novels

Wonderstruck - Selznick has done it again with a weaving of stories that pulls the reader along. The excellent illustrations really move the story.

Bigger Than a Breadbox - a bit of magical realism that touches the heart of any reader, but particularly a reader that has experienced the separation or divorce of parents. Beautifully done.

When Life Gives You OJ - unique storyline and I fell in love with the Grandpa even though he is seriously cranky.

Ghetto Cowboy - a part of urban life that I did not know was possible and characters that touched my heart.

Friendship Doll - great historical fiction following a Japanese dolls' interactions with people on a tour of the states prior to and through WWII.  Great for the history, but the doll was convincingly learning and growing while also affecting the people around her.

A Monster Calls - powerful message for anyone dealing with grief. Gives me shivers when I think about it.

Non-Fiction

Over and Under the Snow - loved learning about this fantastic other world full of creatures under the snow.  Also especially loved being able to talk to Kate Messner about writing this book. See post here.

Amelia Lost - I appreciated learning that Amelia was not perfect.  This was a more well rounded biography than those I have read in the past.

Heart and Soul - just beautiful and it is wonderful to see US history from the African American perspective.

Poetry

Hidden - fantastic novel in verse that has strong characters, a mystery and hidden messages.

Every Thing on It - unbelievable luck that there were still more Shel Silverstein poems out there for us to enjoy.




Graphic Novels

Zita the Spacegirl - feisty and fabulous main character.

Amulet: The Last Council - enough action for anyone and gorgeous illustrations.

Anya's Ghost - reminds me of something Neil Gaiman would do. Fantastic and seriously creepy. (YA)


YA

Divergent - LOVED IT! Action, adventure, and strong characters all together in a dystopian world. Excellent!

Under the Mesquite - another great book dealing with grief - this time through verse. I appreciated that it was based on the author's own struggles. Beautiful.

It's a long list, but I was wowed by a lot of books this year and there are even some I am leaving out to keep the list shorter like Balloons Over Broadway, Grandpa Green, Perfect Square, Breadcrumbs and Inside Out and Back Again.  I just have to stop at some point though.

Origami Yoda

Tonight is an Origami Yoda night.  When the book first came out I made a little Origami Yoda finger puppet, because who can read the book without trying that?  But I decided I wanted to make a larger version for my library at school.  The first one I made tonight followed the instructions found in the book which I found on the author Tom Angleberger"s Blog.  There's even a video to show people how to fold that one at the Star Wars website.

Not content to do the easier version in a larger size, I felt the need to make the cover version in a larger size.  Yikes.  That one is not for the faint of heart.  I was getting just a little frustrated with all of the crazy folds.  I don't know if I he's correct, but Yoda is mostly recognizable, so to my mind, he is close to being done.  

When I finish my tweaking, Darth Paper will be coming to life.  I just read that book last night and of course had a blast.  

Okay, I just finished Darth Paper.  Wahooo!  I am not sure Darth is too pleased to be at our house.  He seemed a bit put out when my daughter said, "Oh, he's so cute.  I want to hug him."  He's about 2 feet tall and is probably pretty sensitive about that.  And on top of that, I forgot to bring home paper for his lightsaber.  He is likely feeling vulnerable.  Poor guy.  

E-Reader Fun

Today I had the opportunity to learn more about my new NookColors and how to use them effectively in school.  Jen Malphy is doing an excellent job teaching all about e-readers.  It was really helpful and I finally got a lot of questions answered.  She has a ton of great resources on her ereadersintheclassroom wiki.

I was not really sure if I would enjoy reading this way, but I am definitely getting used to it.  One night awhile back I needed to sit waiting alone for a long time and I looked all over my car for a book.  I figured I was out of luck, but suddenly realized I had about 40 books in my backseat in the Nook.  Fabulous "Duh!" moment.  So far I have read several picture books and two full length novels and it is starting to feel natural to hold this funny device.  I don't really think I will ever completely lose my love for paper books, but I am enjoying the e-readers and really look forward to using them with my students.  I think they will love reading on them and creating books to put on them.  I can't wait to get started!

Back from Vacation

Vacation was wonderful!  I had almost no opportunity to indulge in online activity because of our remote location.  There was plenty of time for hiking, swimming, laying on the beach, and of course - reading.  We stopped by a few places that had book exchange corners. I loved grabbing something random to read and leaving behind something I didn't need anymore.  Those little corners are always a fantastic find and just make my day.  They are like a little present out of the blue.  It inspires me to start a corner like that in our staff lounge at my school.

Recently I saw that some people are super serious about "little libraries" as they call them.  Little Free Library seems to have a great idea for supporting reading anywhere and everywhere.  Maybe I will do something like that too in the future.  People have so many fun ideas.

My School Shoes

I am so excited about Pete and his school shoes.  Last week I finally met Pete the Cat.
He is truly rockin' in those shoes.  Hopefully I can find a great pair myself.  School is just around the corner and I know my students are going to have a blast getting to know Pete.  People sure seemed to love him at this library visit.

10 For 10 Inspiration

Okay, I have to admit that the 10 for 10 Picture Books event also had something to do with starting a blog. Cathy from the blog Reflect and Refine and Mandy from the blog Embrace Learning want to know which ten picture books we cannot live without.  I started thinking about my list about a week ago and it keeps changing.  It is quite a challenge to narrow the list down to just 10 because there are so many fabulous books for children, but I will give it a shot.

1. The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle - this book is the earliest book I can remember as a child.  It seems to delight children over and over again.  With the little holes to play with and the bright beautiful illustrations, this book is always a winner.



2. The Happy Hocky Family by Lane Smith - no matter how many times I read this book, I howl and so do the kids.  Lane Smith's humor is quite cracked and sometimes I am not even sure why we are rolling on the floor, but there we are.





3. Shark vs. Train by Chris Barton - who can resist this great competition between these tough guys?



4. Me...Jane by Patrick McDonnell - this biography is fantastic.  The illustrations are gentle like Jane and the mix of real drawing and photographs with the illustrator's work is perfect.



5. Here's a Little Poem by Jane Yolen and Andrew Fusek Peters - it is stretching definitions to consider this a picture book since it has a few too many pages, but I just wouldn't survive without some poetry.  Children love the No-No Bird (a child stomping his feet and throwing a tantrum) because they have all seen or done the very same thing and the poem about ice cream is a winner too.



6. Sitti's Secrets by Naomi Shihab Nye - is a truly beautiful story of family and place.  This explores the relationship of a young girl with her Palestinian grandmother.  They don't speak the same verbal language, but the language of love does the job.




7. No David! by David Shannon - absolutely hilarious - enough said.





8. We are in a Book! by Mo Willems - Elephant and Piggie may be simple characters, but they are sly and silly too.  I love this book about books and reading and so does almost every child that has the good fortune to meet this book.

9. Mrs. Katz and Tush by Patricia Polacco - we have a heartwarming and beautiful tearjerker here.  It is a great way to see some parallels with the Jewish and African American experiences.  Beyond that, it is a fantastic example of community.




10. My People by Langston Hughes and Charles R. Smith Jr. - the photographs are fantastic and of course the poetry is too.  I love seeing the beauty and joy in the faces of his people.  You can't help but smile in response.

Here I Am

I am here.  Is anyone else?  I heard about a 15 Minutes a Day Challenge and decided that writing a blog might be more fun than filling those pages in my notebook.  Even if nobody else visits this blog, I am hopeful that I will learn something and be better able to teach students about blogging.

I cannot remember a time when reading hasn't been a huge part of my life.  As far back as my memory goes, I have had books around me.  They have been friends, lifelines, comic relief, educational and often pure escape.

On this blog I hope to share a bit about the many books I am reading and some of the cool lit things that I stumble across on the Internet.