Rachel's Reading Record...

Past Readings

2008-09-07T15:33:00.000-07:00

Ok I will be adding to this as I remember books I have read in the past either with my students, for fun, or as assigned in class.

This set up isn't the easiest to navigate... maybe I should be posting by title. Any avid bloggers have any ideas/suggestions, let me know.
: )

Ida B. by Katherine Hannigan
I first heard this when I was student teaching for Sheila Thomas. She did it as a read- aloud and did a wonderful job bringing the text to life right before our eyes. I was so sad the days I wasn't in the classroom and missed her reading!
I read it to my own class last spring and it is just wonderful! The writing and voice are so fun to read, even though the content gets heavy. This is just a great book to loose yourself in, or read to a upper elementary kiddo. I begged my Mom to read it, and well, Mom, I want you to post your thoughts on Ida B. Call me if you need to know how : )

The City of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau
I first read this a few years ago, and thought, "Well that was nice." I mean the story was novel, and the suspense is fun, but it felt like something was missing. I still can't put my finger on it, and let it go. I decided to go ahead and read it to my 4th graders in Spring '08 and see how it would go. They loved it. They even started acting it out toward the end. Is it a quality book? I don't know, but I do know they loved it and would get excited about reading time, which is AWESOME! This book will come out as a movie in theatres October 2008. Try and read it before hand.

So with my students I spend many of read-alouds on Bluebonnet Books. They are supposed to vote on their favorite, and I want them to have an educated vote. So I expose them to as many as possible before the big voting day. I also like to see what's out there and being considered as current quality text. Here are ours from last year that we read:

Ghost's Grave by Peg Kehret
The kids loved this! They were very excited when it came time to read. It is about ghosts and mystery and everything kids love. I remember enjoying this book, as well. It is fun and the characters are all so unique. And as I am learning in my lit class, it is important for the reader to easily relate to the main character. I think this one is especially normal. The kid's situation of going to stay at his Aunt's for the summer, seems likely and the situations he encounters have such believability, it might actually have happened! All in all a fun read, and no you won't go to bed with nightmares! : )

These are Books from College...

Crispin by Avi
This is a book geared toward maybe middle school, but when I read it as a 20 year old, I was SO wrapped up in the story. This book made me fall in love with Avi's writing. I had never heard of him and this was a great starter. The story is suspenseful, and your heart goes out to our protagonist. You're with him every step of the way and cheering him on and yelling warnings at him. It engaged me in a way few books have. The ability for Avi to masterfully illustrate a scene with his words is phenomenal. I for sure recommend this title!

The Whipping Boy by Sid Fleischman
Great book, especially when Jim Hoffman is reading it to a large group of third graders all cozied up in a small classroom. It was magical. This is a fast read, fairly skinny book, but a great lead it for studies on the Middle Ages. The story is classic, and a fun read.

To Teach: The Journey of a Teacher by William Ayers
LOVED IT!!! I think anyone, teacher or not, should read this title. It gets your brain thinking!!! It makes you want to be the change you want to see in the world. It makes your heart go out to public school educators around the nation! Read it! I LOVED it!!!!! It's all about 'creative insubordination'!!! You go William!

Walk Two Moons by Sharon Creech
I think I read this in one night. I sat down to get ahead in my readings for class and next thing I know it is dark out and I am done with the book. It was really enjoyable. Creech made me involved in the text. I had to know what happened and my heart was with Sal. Again, a good read. Anything I had to read for Jim's class, I will probably recommend... he's the best. Thanks Jim for giving us the chance to read great literature in your class!

Fall 2008

2008-09-07T15:27:00.000-07:00

Well now that teaching has begun, I haven't spent much time in the books. However, this lit class I am taking is giving me the chance to read TONS of kids books! Which happens to be my favorite. So look forward to a sampling of many awesome books.

In Class
With my students I am reading excerpts from Sherlock Holmes and will begin The City of Ember on Tuesday.

For Fun
I am going to include my readings for my class under this heading, because I really think it is fun reading. The first one on the cue is Holes by Louis Sachar (I know, can you believe I haven't read this yet?)!! I'm excited.

Summer Readings 2008...

2008-09-04T19:03:00.000-07:00

Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card
Loved it. But really, what person has read it and doesn't? This book is recommended for middle school and up. There are a few scenes that some parents might want to pre-read, but really are important for the situation. I mean that one shower/locker room scene needed to be that way because there is no more vulnerable situation than that... so kudos to Orson for taking a risk. This book captured me, because it was so strange and unique, yet somehow plausible. It doesn't seem that far off that the government would come to the point that they did in this book. I really like that it was similar to Brave New World and 1984 in the way it brings attention to the direction our world is headed. It is even cooler because it exposes that kind of deeper reflection on our society to a younger audience BNW and '84. All in all, definitely worth the read. Entertaining and enlightening.

The Secret by Rhonda Byrne
I preferred reading this to seeing the video. It seemed less focused on money and more on all aspects of life than the video was, which appealed to me. I found the repetitive nature and spelling out of each part actually helpful in this type of book. It really drilled in the points and helped me to reevaluate my thoughts. I read this in early June and have since fallen back into my old habits of thinking. I think the best things I took away from this book was to be constantly vigilant of my thoughts and make an effort to stay positive. I figure this can't hurt. When I went on a 12 day road trip with my parents, I was really grateful I had just read this book. I know it helped my sanity!! Haha no offense Mom and Dad, but that's a long time in the car. I left the trip with a smile, so I would say this book was helpful.

New Earth by Eckhart Tolle
I started this on my road trip with the parents and just haven't wanted to finish it. There are some good points, but you have to read through his verbose nonsense to get to it. It's funny to me because he keeps talking about absolving ourselves of our egos, but it sure seems like he has quite an intellectual ego. I found myself gaining too little enlightenment for the effort. Anyone else trudge through the whole thing and have advise to press on and finish? I will if someone has a strong argument. I stopped reading it and focused that time to my scriptures, and funny, now I feel more at peace and like my egos are diminishing. So in conclusion I recommend when looking for 'self help' or 'inner peace,' read the Book of Mormon. That did it WAY better for me...

When You are Engulfed in Flames by David Sedaris
So I really enjoy most everything David writes, and find myself laughing outloud in public when reading his works. However, this book seemed darker than the others, and maybe I should have taken a hint from the cover. I ended up not finishing this book either. I just felt it was more depressing than funny, and maybe all of his books are like that and I just didn't notice. I am a different person now than I was when I read the other books. I guess I am a little less cynical, so maybe David's writing hasn't changed, I just did. Either way I thought this had some good laughs, but not enough to counter the vulgarity or cynicism for my taste. Let me know if you finished it and it had something worth getting reading.

The People of Sparks by Jeanne DuPrau
This is a children's book around 4th graders level. It is the sequel to The City of Ember, which is coming to Theatres this October, so read it now! I liked the message in this sequel, but I wasn't as engaged in the book. I found it interesting and the perspective of the people of Ember now in Sparks entertained me. It was fun to experience everyday things as something new and strange. This is a fun read, and would be great to read to a class to talk about facing challenges that seem insurmountable. It also teaches about patience, compassion, and finding solutions to impossible situations. A quick read... read it aloud to a class or child. Yea.

The Prophet of Yonwood by Jeanne DuPrau
Still reading, I got distracted with Twilight. Seems good, but I read only a few pages so far. It is the prequel to City of Ember... Check it out.

Twilight by Stephenie Meyers
Honestly I skimmed this book. It was redundant. I tend to skim through books that have a lot of character development, and this one does. I know it is necessary, but maybe not so much Edward is amazing and perfect and majestic and all that vomit inducing swooning... Call me a curmudgeon! Although, I do have to say, even though the writing seemed a little simple, the story was engaging enough to make me want to read the sequel.

New Moon by Stephenie Meyers
Much better than the first. I really like the relationship between Bella and Jacob better. Maybe because he is more the type that I would be attracted to... fun, silly, not perfect. Their friendship seems more realistic, but I guess that makes sense since Edward is a vampire. Parents beware... I found that while the author leaves much to the imagination with the physical affection between characters, she definitely gets the imagination going. It might be a little intense in that aspect as well as the near death situations throughout all the books. It gets pretty detailed at times... especially in the next books.

Eclipse by Stephenie Meyers
Honestly I read all 4 books in about 2 weeks, so they are all muddling together in my mind... I plowed through this one, too. It probably helped that I was house sitting and had nothing better to do with the scorching hot summer days than read in a cave. The books get better and better... it is fun to experience the progress of Stephenie as a writer. I love how each book uses more difficult vocabulary than the last and the redundancy seems to have been done away with. I really found myself reading each line and savoring the book. I wanted to know the ending, but at the same time I didn't want it to end. I was definitely team Jacob, but not for Bella, more for me. : )

Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyers
LOVED IT!!! I read it and read it and read it... maybe in a day and a half. All I know is my brain hurt from all the reading. I was worried the ending would be cheesy or make me mad... but it was neither. It felt perfect! All those pages from Twilight to now was worth it and whats better is the movies are coming!! I really have to thank Kaylen for tempting me with her books and insisting I open them... 'if I dared'. : ) I don't want to spoil it. Oh and this one gets REALLY strange and gory and a little mature... so pre-read parents... at least skim it first. I'm not saying you should or shouldn't let your kid read it, but just know what they are reading so you can talk to them about it, or something.

I think that is all I read... its late and I have a migraine... and I need to teach tomorrow... so good night.