Week of April 14

Fiction Book of the Week:

El Deafo by Cece Bell

Lexile- 925-1185

About this book: 

In general it is hard to make friends but imagine having a giant hearing aid strapped to your chest?  Her one desire is to have a friend but she feels this will never happen with her hearing aid.  Then she realizes her Phonic Ear is like having a super power!  She can hear things she is not supposed to like what the teachers are saying in the teacher's lounge! She becomes a superhero at the school- El Deafo-Listerner fo All but will this new power get her a true good friend? Read and find out!

Why read this book?

This is a graphic novel memoir of Cece Bell's hearing loss when she was young and shows how she took a perceived weakness and turned it into a strength.  As the book teaches us- maybe our differences are our super powers.  

Non-Fiction Book of the Week

Above the Dreamless Dead: World War I Poetry and Comics

edited by Chris Duffy

Lexile 925-1185

Summary:  World War I was the first modern war and terrible.  Three million English men were killed - along all class lines- alone.  From this terrible war came the Trench Poets that wrote about the horrors and fear and loss of this war.  Various graphic artists put the famous poets (Wilfred Own, Robert Graves, Thomas Hardy) to stark black and white graphics.  

Why you should read this book?  The hundred anniversary of the Great War is upon us.  It was the war also known as "The war to end all wars" and "the war to make the world safe for democracy" and in hind sight we know this not to be true, sadly.  What feels like an endless state of war, these Trench Poets and the graphic artists strip away any romantic or noble idea of war.  They remind us of the terrible human cost of war and the nightmarish effects on the young men (and now women and men) that come home and live with the memories of death and suffering.  

Week of March 23

Get a book for spring break!

 

Fiction Book of the Week:

Zombie Baseball Beatdown by Paolo Bacigalupi
Lexile:  925-1185
Horror, Humor, Realistic Fiction, Sports

Summary:  Rabi, Miguel, and Joe are playing baseball near the towns meatpacking plant when the zombie apocalypse begins.  The feed the cows are eating is toxic and turning the cattle into flesh eating zombies.  The boys become zombie investigators with their baseball bats to uncover the sinister corporate plan to sell tainted zombie meat across the country.

Why you should read this? "Much of the story delving into issues often overlooked in youth fiction: the capricious treatment of immigrant workers, the absence of options for the poor, and the questionable record of the USDA. Simultaneously smart, funny, and icky, this book asks a tough question: Is it worth looking the other way in order to save yourself" from Booklist- AND it is a baseball zombie story!

Non Fiction Book of the Week:  

Stubby the War Dog by Ann Bausum
Lexile: 925-1185
Biography, Nonfiction

In 1917 at Yale, Private Robert Conroy informally adopeted the stub tailed terrior who would later become a war hero.  Conroy ends up smuggling the dog onboard when he ships of to France for the Great War and teaches him how to salute, which when Conroy gets caught with the dog saves the dogs life.  Stubby becomes the troops mascot (like Moose!)  Stubby goes on to be more than a mascot but an actual hero.

Why you should read this? "Bausum uses Stubby as a conduit to talk about WWI warfare in general, and indeed the dog does suffer injury, live through horror and fear, and return home a decorated hero (who meets no fewer than two presidents). The speedy story is surrounded by evocative period photos, including plenty of the goofy-faced Stubby, and leads up to his later careers as a vaudeville star and a football mascot, and his eventual taxidermied inclusion in the Smithsonian. A triumph on three fronts: educational, emotional, and inspirational. For older teens, suggest Bausman’s adult title, Sergeant Stubby. Grades 4-7." from Booklist. 

 

Graphic Novel of the Week

IN Real LIfe by COry Doctorow and Jen Wang

Lexile: 925-1185  

Adventure, Science Fiction, Graphic Novel, Tech, Gaming
http://www.teachingbooks.net/tb.cgi?tid=40899

Summary:  Cory Doctorow is a great author that incorporates tech, hacking, and teen issues.  In this book, gaming is a good thing for the main character, Anda who enjoys playing the massive multiplayer games.  Everything is good until Anda's avatr befriends a gold miner in China.  Then it all turns wrong and is no longer a game.  

Why you should read this?  What is a gold miner?  Massive multiplayer games?  Learn about the world of gaming.  It also deals with gender and ethnicity issues in the gaming world at times a little heavy handed but interesting all the same.  

 

 

Week of March 9

Fiction Book of the Week:

Counting by 7s  by Holly Sloan

Lexile Level 925-1185 

Reading Interest Level:  5-9

Twelve year old Willow might be one of my favorite YA characters of the past year.  After a tragic accident (YA is FILLED with tragic accidents by the way) Willow finds herself alone.  Willow is extremely bright, a gardener, sweet, and can learn languages amazingly fast- not the qualities that make a middle schooler popular but it endears her to the Nguyen family that helps her through her rough time.  Willow is a person that brings people together and finds the best in everyone.  The story ends too well (another YA trait) yet the characters in the book are authentic and grow in meaningful ways throughout the story.  The story is set in Bakersfield and features a diverse cast without feeling like a checklist.  

Why you should read it?  Willow is a very interesting and unique character.  She learns Vietnamese to be friends with Mai Nguyen and when 8th grader Angela saw this she said, "This character has my name!  Hey there is Vietnamese in this book!"  She was so excited.  When a student is excited for a book- go for it!  The Nguyen family struggles with poverty and the issues Mai and her brother fight through daily might resonate with students.  The metaphors to botany are also particularly striking and beautiful.  

Non-Fiction Book of the Week

World Without Fish by Mark Kurlansky

Lexile Level 925-1185 

Reading Interest Level: 8th grade

Big deal fish!  This is a story of the sorry state of our oceans- a depressing story- and how students can do something for the oceans.  This fast paced story, highlighted  with engaging graphics, breaks down very complex concepts: evolution , climate change, biology and economics  in a very accessible way.  Intermixed into the story is a graphic novel of a fictional story that complements World Without Fish.   The text layout is gorgeous.  It is a sad story but a beautiful book.  

Why you should read this book?  This book explains the domino effect of what will happen if we loose the ocean's fish. The story is bleak but asks students to act.  I think the difficult aspect of Climate Change is the lack of hope and the feeling of hopelessness.  What are we to do?  This book offers a call to action for teens.  

Week of March 2

Best Fiction Book of the Week:

Rhyme Schemer by K.A. Holt

Reading Lexile: 925-1128

Interest Level:  5-8

Genres:  Humor, Poetry, Realistic Fiction

Kevin Jamison is a bully. And the entire school knows it. But when Kevin’s jerk of a brother, Petey, chucks Kevin’s poetry notebook (the whole book before that point) through the car window, a kid that Kevin had been bullying, Robin, finds the notebook. Now Robin is using it to blackmail Kevin and Kevin has to do everything Robin says. Now Robin begins to bully Kevin and Kevin is powerless. What’s even worse, is that the teacher is turning a blind eye to the situation! What can Kevin do? (from goodreads).

Kevin is not a nice kid- he is a bully- yet he is likable.  This is a a good book to start a discussion of what does the word bully mean and can a person change.  The word bully gets thrown around so much, it can lose meaning and this book reminds you that often victim and bully are interchangeable.  

This book is written in verse a good choice for a student who says, "too many pages".  

Best Non-Fiction Book of the Week

March Book One by John Lewis

Lexile: 925-1128

Reading Interest Levels: 7-12

Genres: Historical, Nonfiction, Graphic Novel, Biography

This is John Lewis's personal story of growing up as a share cropper's son, in a segregated school, attending the 1963 March on Washington, and his great participation in the Civil Rights Movement.  Book One focuses on Lewis's upbringing, his meeting with Martin Luther King, Jr., and his participating in ending segregation at lunch counters.  

Why should read this book:  

1.  There was a comic book called, Martin Luther King and the Montgomery Story that introduced the ideas of passive resistance and non-violent action in the 1960s and had a great influence on the movement.  Yeah graphic novels!

2.  It will challenge you to think and could change you a little.  

3.  The other day, I did a non-fiction book talk for Mr. Major's class.  On boy said, "I dont like books.  Only short ones with pictures!" Bam- I have a book for you- March Book One!  Not long and has pictures.

4.  Book One means (like all YA Books it seams) there will be a Book Two and Book Three.  

Week of February 23

Fiction Book:  

Gracefully Grayson by Ani Plonsky
Reading Lexile:  925-1185
Interest Level: 6-8

Summary:  Grayson is a sixth grader living in Chicago with his aunt, uncle and two cousins.  For most of his life he has struggled with feeling invisible, on the cusp of just disappearing.  He has a secret he needs to let out before it consumes him.  When he sees a chance to audition for the school play, Grayson sees this as his chance to become visible and tries out for the lead in the play, Persephone- a female role.  Against pressure from his aunt and the principal, Grayson takes the lead.  For his whole life Grayson has felt like a girl trapped in a boy's body and (I will change pronouns here) through the play she finally feels free.  

Why should a student read this?:  I was at a talk and the reviewer was discussing this book- he was a well known book reviewer for YA (young adult) books and his 74.  He got tears in his eyes when talking about this book because he said there were very few books that deal with transgender, much less for middle grades.  This would be a great book for a young person transitioning but almost better for those teens that want to be an ally.  We often talk about ally but what does one look like?  What do they do?  One of the fears of the adults is that teens can be mean to those who are different.  In the book, it shows that young people are often more understanding and quicker to accept differences.  The people that stand up for Grayson would be  great models  for our students.  






Other Books that are similar:  
* Beautiful Children for Ugly Children- This is more of a high school read and I loved it.  It is about a young person who was born a girl but identifies as a boy.  There is a list of resources in the back of the book and it normalizes what he calls "freakish" feelings.
* Luna
* I am J
* Parrotfish
* Freakboy


Nonfiction Book:

Lincoln's Grave Robbers by Steve Sheinkin
Reading Lexile:  925-1185
Interest Level:  5-8

Summary:  It is after the Civil War and the counterfeit money illegal business is rampant.  It was believed that half of all currency in circulation was fake.   When the leading counterfeit engraver is imprisoned, other gangsters decide to try to get him out.  The plan is to steal Lincoln's body to use as ransom for the jailed counterfeiter.  This true story reads like a narrative and is a quick read and very interesting.

Why should a student read this?:  Steve Sheinkin is my new favorite nonfiction author.  He writes engaging, well written stories in a narrative format.  He was once a textbook writer and was told not to put stories of moral ambiguity in the text.  To make up for his sins he decided to write these stories and they are wonderful.  This would be a gateway nonfiction book and open up the world of nonfiction to young people.  

Other great books by Steven Sheinkin:
* Bomb
* Port Chicago 50 
* Tale of Two Miserable Presidents 

An Introduction:  

We have many new books at the library.  n fact there are several hundred new books on shelves just waiting to be read.  


There is an abundance of information on the power of reading.  Yes, reading improves a young person's vocabulary, can help improve a student's test scores, and make them a better student overall.  Yet, I believe the two most important reasons are:

* To not feel alone in the world.  Young people often feel that they are the only ones in the world experiencing certain feelings or having a hard time.  When a teen reads a story that resonates with him/her it can alleviate the anxiety and hopelessness.  It is like hearing that song that just seems so perfect for the moment.  
* To learn to empathize.  Students can read about other people and experiences and enter their shoes, to see life through a different lense.  This can help young people relate better to their peers and others in their communities.  


This is from well-known educational researcher and philosopher Steven Krashen:

The Power of

Free Voluntary Reading

 Research says that FVR:

•

is effective in increasing and improving

reading

•

is pleasurable

•

results in superior general knowledge

•

improves spelling, writing, grammar

•

helps ELL learners dramatically

•

Improves scores on reading tests and other

subject matter tests

•

Results in better reading comprehension,

writing style, and increased vocabulary

•

Develops better thinkers

•

Works when students truly have choice, when

the program is consistent and continued, and

when teachers are also reading when students

are reading

* Vocabulary is best developed through

real encounters with the words in

context, over time, and in small doses

•

Acquiring a word requires acquiring all

of its subtle and complex qualities-hard

to teach with direct instruction

•

Time spent teaching vocabulary lists

better spent doing free voluntary

reading—more likely to result in word

acquisition. 

 

 

What we can do:

•

Individual classroom SSR

•

Have a variety of books available for low-level

readers—comics, series books, etc.

•

Publicize suggested reading lists

•

Survey kids about their reading interests

•

Librarian put out list of kids favorite books and their

interests

•

Establish a reading-as-reward system

•

Encourage reading aloud in class

•

Read aloud to Special Ed and ELL students

•

Talk about reading with colleagues and students 

 

 

What I am going to do is to review one nonfiction and one fiction book for the week and share that with you.  You can read the book and suggest the book to a student.  You can also encourage the student to go to the library and check out the book.  Let's all read together to get our kids reading.