Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children

I generally avoid thrillers & chillers, but this book came highly recommended so I gave it a shot. It scores way high on the creepy scale for me, though I did actually enjoy it. In this article from examiner.com, I discovered that there will be a movie released in July of 2015. Tim Burton is a perfect fit as director. This is a twisted and slightly horrifying tale and seems to suit him. What are some of your favorite books turned into movies?

The Top of My Summer Reading List

The Broke and the Bookish have a weekly feature called Top Ten Tuesday and they invite anyone to participate. This week the top ten is centered around our summer TBR books.

First, I have a few ARCs waiting for me that have me really excited.

A middle grade fantasy that's getting a lot of Newbery buzz

Middle grade historical fiction and sequel to Dead End in Norvelt

After Code Name Verity ripped me to shreds, I am a little worried about this one. 

Fantasy recommended to me by Cindy Pon and Cathy Burnett (The Brain Lair) on Twitter

For my Printz challenge I have this one on my shelf

From the Nerdy Short List from 2012 - I only have a few more to read

Several Goodreads friends I trust have given this 5 stars

I don't know how I have missed Cassandra Clare - must get busy reading her series

Maria Selke had this one in a It's Monday post and it caught my eye

I need a little more history and loved the last Steve Sheinkin book I read - Bomb

UPDATE: I have one last book to add to the pile. I just finished reading Amanda Palmer's amazing blog post about her husband's new book The Ocean at the End of the Lane and will HAVE to read it soon.

What will you be reading this summer?

It's Monday! What are you Reading?

Jen & Kellee over at Teach Mentor Texts host a meme every Monday that invites people to share the children's and young adult books they have been reading over the past week and what they plan on reading the following week.

You may find more complete information about what I am reading at Goodreads or by clicking on the Goodreads widget along the side of my blog.

The Past Week:

Picture Book

I loved the end notes about the writer of the song showcased in the book Sing. Joe Raposo wrote the song years ago and Tom Lichtenheld has illustrated it. Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast has a fantastic post about it. 

Novels

Three of these were historical fiction. I reviewed A Moment Comes on Rich in Color. It takes place during the partition of India. I also learned about some of Chile's political history when I read Gringolandia. Finally, Esperanza Rising deals with a young girl adjusting to a new life in California when she and her mother have to suddenly flee Mexico. Esperanza was such an inspirational character. The Language Inside was a novel in verse and was also about someone transplanted to another country. All four of these touched me on some level. I shed tears this week.

The Coming Week:

I will likely finish The Bitter Kingdom and Beyond Courage. I am also listening to Raven Boys though I read it already. I just picked up Rogue and I have a ton of books on deck. I will likely read The Real Boy also. Have a great week!

Reflection on a Beautiful Day

On Tuesday I slept in, baked some scones, cruised around the Internet and read some books, wrote a book review and hung out with my children. I love summer vacation. In the afternoon, I sat on the back porch reading The Language Inside (a fantastic novel in verse). The sun was warming my skin and I could smell the fragrance of the blooming bushes on the gentle breeze. As I appreciated the weather and my state of relaxation, I wondered if I would remember this day - this individual moment of peacefulness. Or would it be lost in the memories because there was nothing distinct to set it apart? Could I capture the moment to hold onto later when I need a happy thought?

I will give it a try. Putting it into words makes it seem more of a solid memory. Putting things into words is what many teachers will be doing very soon for Teachers Write. I am excited to be participating again this year. Learning together is so much fun and I am happy to do anything that helps to keep me writing.

Will you be joining Teachers Write? Will you be doing any other reading or writing challenges this summer?

Top Ten Beach Reads

A Beach on Lake Superior

The Broke and the Bookish have a weekly feature called Top Ten Tuesday and they invite anyone to participate. This week, their topic is beach reads. The phrase "beach reads" likely means many different things depending on who you are talking to, but for me, they are books that make me laugh. They're fun and lighthearted. So here are a few I might throw in my beach bag.

Poison is a fun fantasy romp with a dash of romance.

Cat Girl's Day Off combines a bit of sci-fi and mystery and a whole lot of fun.

Her super power is being able to talk to cats and they talk back. What's not to love?

Openly Straight is one of the funniest books I have read in a long time. There were serious moments too that choked me up, but I also had tears of laughter.

The voice of Rafe was so real and hilarious that I just kept smiling.

Libba Bray is the Queen of Humor. Beauty Queens is a work of art.

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian is another one like Openly Straight that can kind of break your heart, but also make you laugh so hard that you forget that a little.

Eleanor & Park is a very sweet book with a fun sense of humor.

Oh the awkwardness of first love.

My favorite fairy tale has always been Beauty and the Beast. In Beauty, McKinley retells the tale with much humor and of course plenty of romance.

Tiffany Aching is one of my all time favorite characters. She has intelligence and plenty of grit. 

The Wee Free Men though - they just crack me up.

I am always happy to find another fantasy book packed with action. Skulduggery Pleasant is fantastically funny even as he faces off against ancient evil. 

Stephanie Edgley, his apprentice, is also rather fabulous.

[all cover images from IndieBound]

No matter how many times I read the Heir Apparent, the lines crack me up. I don't read a lot of sci-fi, but since the virtual reality game that Giannine is trapped in happens in medieval times, it felt a bit more like fantasy. Giannine is a master of sarcasm and she keeps me smiling the whole way through.

What are some of your favorite beach reads?

It's Monday! What are you reading?

Jen & Kellee over at Teach Mentor Texts host a meme every Monday that invites people to share the children's and young adult books they have been reading over the past week and what they plan on reading the following week.

You may find more complete information about what I am reading at Goodreads or by clicking on the Goodreads widget along the side of my blog.

The Past Week:

Picture Books

Of all of the picture books, I would have to say Ball was my favorite this week. The enthusiasm and focus of that dog are illustrated so well. Anyone with a dog in their life, or wishing for one, will just love it.

Middle Grade

Yay! I had noticed recently that I wasn't reading as much middle-grade as I would like so this week I kicked it up a bit and got quite a few read. My favorite of the week was Doll Bones, but Weedflower was a close second (a review of Weedflower is here). Doll Bones had just the right amount of creepy in it. I typically avoid scary books because I am prone to nightmares after books or movies that are intensely scary. This was creepy, but not over the top. I loved the characters and wanted to know more about them even when the story came to an end. The dynamics of their friendship was almost as intriguing as the mystery. Their playfulness and creativity brought back memories of my own childhood make-believe adventures.

Young Adult

I liked both The Iron King and The Testing, but neither one really stood out for their genre. They were fun, but unfortunately they were also slightly "forgettable" as Simon Cowell would say. I felt that many characters and events were repeats from other books I had read. Entertaining, but not terribly unique. I liked that in both books, the main characters sometimes called for help, but also tried very hard to solve their own problems. They weren't always damsel in distressy. I am leaning toward reading the second book in both series, but it all depends on the height of my TBR pile.

Non-Fiction

I loved Almost Astronauts so much that I had to write a review even though it was the night before the last day of school and I had other things I needed to do. It brought me to tears and I am excited to share it with my fifth graders next year. Children of Manzanar paired well with Weedflower too.

The Coming Week:

I am listening to Esperanza Rising (MG) and should finish it this week. I am still reading an ARC of A Moment Comes (YA), and I plan to start an ARC of The Bitter Kingdom (Fire and Thorns #3) as soon as I finish it. I also have The Real Boy waiting in the wings. After all of Colby Sharp's tweets about it and this awesome Nerdybookclub post that includes some of the awesome illustrations, I know I have to keep that at the top of my TBR pile. Right now I have a ginormous pile though. Plenty to see me through summer #bookaday. What fun things are you getting to read?

Reivew: Gum Girl! (Chews Your Destiny #1)

Title: Gum Girl! Chews Your Destiny #1
Author: Rhode Montijo
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Review Copy: Netgalley
Release Date: June 4, 2013

Summary: Gabby Gomez loves to chew bubble gum even though her mother has warned her against it. It's not like she will turn into gum...except, that's exactly what happens! With her new, stretch-tastic powers Gabby can help save the day, but she will have to keep her gummy alter-ego a secret from her mother or else she'll find herself in a really sticky situation. [cover image and summary via IndieBound]

Review: Gum Girl! is a light-hearted and fun middle grade comic. I am happy to find books like this that are simple enough for beginning chapter book readers, but are more interesting than a controlled vocabulary reading practice book. The format of the book is a combination of narrative paragraphs mixed with comics. It reminds me of the Frankie Pickle series in that way. The first page technically has three paragraphs, but then the next eight pages only have four sentences all together. For the student just venturing in to the chapter book section, it is a little less intimidating because it has 130 pages, but the comic type illustrations break up the text. 

The premise of the story is interesting, but not developed very much. Gabby's super-powers are used, but the situations where they are required are all very short episodes. This book seems to be laying the groundwork for more in-depth capers in the future. 

Some of the pictures are pretty hilarious like the scene in the barbershop where Gabby continues to blow her bubblegum in spite of the flurry of hair. These types of illustrations make the book a lot of fun. I also appreciated the inclusion of some Spanish. It is done in a very natural way and there are plenty of context clues so readers won't miss out on what is being said. The book was unique, but not overwhelmingly so. I think students will enjoy it, but the future stories will need to be more developed with specific "bad guys" or crimes to solve, or the series won't last.