I is for ...

Wow. Could not really find one author that I was super excited about.


I'm Not Cute! or I'm Not Scared! both by Jonathan Allen. What more can I say ... that little owl is adorable. I can't find an official webpage to link to so instead I will link to this stuffed toy on Amazon. Though the book pics are even cuter.

How many times can I mention Mo Willems on my blog? Apparently, a lot, because I Am Invited to a Party!, I Am Going!, and I Broke My Trunk all fit into the "I" category.

A new to me book that is on our state list is Imogene's Last Stand. It's all about a little girl who loves history and stages a protest to save her town's museum. It's full of quotes from famous people. May take a little scaffolding but I hope the kids like it next year! Found this on YouTube and thought it was cute.



On a related note, Laurie Halse Anderson's Independent Dames is a lot of fun.

Ah, Incarceron. Interesting story, that one. Just finished the sequel. It was a little harder to follow, I thought, but the whole idea is super cool.




INTERRUPTING CHICKEN! I believe I have also mentioned how much I love this one. A new picture book favorite. I read it to several classes the last week of school and we made doorhangers. One side was for "Shh! I'm reading!" and the other side was for times to "Interrupt me!" Got the idea from a pdf file you can find posted in several places around the web. Cracked me up how upset the kids would get when the chicken would interrupt the story. Pot calling the kettle black, my little friends. Pot calling the kettle black. Good thing we like you anyway!

The Dead by Charlie Higson

My rating: 2 of 5 stars


All the time I've been reading this I've wondered what I was going to say about it when I was done. Do not get me wrong. I did enjoy the story. If I could give two and a half or two and three quarters I would. But if I have to round up or down I'm going to round down.



Word to the wise. This one gets gory.



Coming after reading Rot & Ruin where the zombies were treated with much more respect I have to say I didn't like that about this story. All the description of bashing and splashing and kicking and oozing. Ugh. In the Maberry book the hunters were very careful to remember that the zombies were once someone's family.



That said, there were some interesting characters. Jack and Ed. Jordan. Poor Liam. Greg was a little strange, as was Matt and the whole "new religion" thing. The interaction between the different factions. The struggle to keep going and feel some hope.



I'll definitely keep reading the series. I'd like to know what happens next. I just won't recommend it to younger readers. Or anyone who recently ate lunch.



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ZOMBIES on Storybird

Can you tell I went to a district "tech camp" class a couple days ago? I actually had heard of it before and even had an account but had never actually USED it. Totally fun and totally easy. Can't wait to try it with some kids!

Young Adult and Adult Books I've Been Reading

Sapphique by Catherine Fisher

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


Still like the basic idea of the Prison that watches everything and the Realm outside stuck "in era" ... but honestly, I found this one harder to follow than Incarceron. Half of the time I couldn't tell who or what was actually doing the speaking. Which is strange. You'd think the second book would be easier to follow than the first.



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Rot & Ruin by Jonathan Maberry

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


OOOOH. Another superb zombie story. Maybe even four and a half. Yep. Four and a half. I read it for #bookaday so I was not careful about taking notes (who am I kidding ... I rarely am) but seriously. This was well written. Lots of description and action and word choice.



Can't wait to hear more from Benny Imura.



PS Good twist, too.



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The Jefferson Key by Steve Berry

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I know they are utter rubbish but I can't help it ... I love the action fictional action tinged with bits and pieces of truth. Made me want to go back to the East Coast (was actually in DC for a week or so last summer for the first time in over 20 years). Been a Steve Berry fan since I picked up The Amber Room in an airport bookstore a couple years back.

Sort of reminded me of National Treasure set where it was.


Now curious to go read the two ebook stories. Neither are Cotton Malone stories ... but they do deal with two characters integral to this one I just finished.



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I Don't Want to Kill You by Dan Wells

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Egads. This is one of the strangest stories I have ever read, and this latest book is no exception. John Wayne Cleaver is a troubled, troubled young man. But this author manages to make the reader care about him.



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Where She Went by Gayle Forman

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


While saying I "really" liked it might be a bit of a stretch ... I will say the author did a great job of extending a story that we didn't know had more to be told.

Kind of reminded me of Mockingjay in that I didn't always love some of the choices the author made in terms of the character ... when I was finished and sat back and thought ... yeah. That was the way it needed to go.



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Juvenile Fic (& one Non-Fic) I've Been Reading

GUYKU: A Year of Haiku for Boys by Bob Raczka

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Loved this one. Loved the poems and the illustrations. If I get a chance I will update this review from school (where the book currently resides) with a specific example or two. I just know I had to show a couple of them to my assistant and she laughed. And considering at the time the library was full of kids waiting for day cares to pick them up that's saying something. Can't wait to share it with the kids in the fall. (Gotta love it when book orders come in two days before the last day of checkout and what ... six school days before we're out for the summer.)



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Clementine and the Family Meeting by Sara Pennypacker

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


OK. All quotes are coming from an electronic ARC so ... page numbers are going to be off. But I can't help sharing a few. They make me laugh.



"Then Margaret had blabbered on and on about advanced lip-gloss tips and the proper application of eyeliner until I thought I would die of bore-dumb." (pg 8)



I will NEVER hear that word the same way again.



"I opened my backpack and pulled out my important papers folder and ... [it] was still there! I'm supposed to keep it until the end of the project, and every day that it's still in my backpack feels like a miracle." (pg 11)



I so understand that feeling.



I need to stop collecting quotes. It's slowing my reading down. ;]



"My inside clock keeps perfect time, and so I am never late for anything. Okay, fine, I'm late a lot, but it's only because I forget to set my inside clock. But I was remembering now." (pg 18)

Yep. Been there, too. Didn't know I had so much in common with Clementine.

"'What's on the agenda?' I asked. Agenda is Latin for 'list of stuff to talk about,' so when you say it, you're saving your mouth a lot of work. Plus, you sound smart." (pg 22)



HA! As a teacher faced with too many meetings lately ... I wish more agendas sounded smart.

"It's the teacher's job to teach and the students' job to learn. Both of you have to decide about how best to do that." (pg 66)



SO TRUE.

I absolutely cannot wait to share this with my students. As school gets out in a week it won't be until the fall. But you can bet I'll be adding more orange Clementine spines to our Pennypacker bookshelf!




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Shooting Kabul by N.H. Senzai

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


A kid-friendly fictionalization of what happened to too many Afghanis in the mid to late 90s. Taliban rule forced many if them to leave their homeland. Then 9/11 and even here they were not treated very well.
I actually lived in the Bay area in the mid-90s. I was doing church service work more with Hispanics but if this book is correct Fremont had more Afghanis than anywhere else in the US. I could believe that ... there were people from all over the world!



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Here There Be Monsters: the Legendary Kraken and the Giant Squid by HP Newquist

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Super curious ... if only tomorrow wasn't the last day of school. Will kids go nuts over this book? I think yes ... but we'll have to wait until the fall to find out.




DRAT on end of year new book deliveries. But HOORAY for sort of creepy weird fascinating books like this one!


Though the quote about Tennyson on pg 15 seemed kind of random. The English major part of me appreciates it but seriously? Why include "'Tis better to have loved and lost then never to have loved at all" in the book JUST because he also wrote a poem about the Kraken? Which is hard to read because it's printed in script?



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Picture Books I've Been Reading

A Balloon for Isabel by Deborah Underwood

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


OK. Totally silly. But I can't help but like it. USUALLY Balloons+Porcupines=Trouble.

But not always. ;]


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Ling & Ting: Not Exactly the Same! by Grace Lin

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


The author came to our school a couple of years ago and is a lovely person.


I can see why this won a Geisel Honor.

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Kindergarten Cat by J. Lewis

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


I have become one of "those people" who gets annoyed by books that miss a gigantic detail.

Kids would love it if they could have a cat in their room. But some of us are allergic!

That said, it's not my favorite J. Patrick Lewis but it is cute. Kids will like it.

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Imogene's Last Stand by Candace Fleming

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I LOVE this one. I don't know how the kids are going to feel about it but I love it. Will have to figure out the best way to promote it.

So fun with all of the quotes from famous people from history.

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Amazing Faces by Lee Bennett Hopkins

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Forgot to mark this one even though I read it a while back. Beautifully done. Looking through it again just about made me cry--A Young Soldier. One brother is already deployed and the second one left just this morning for basic training. :[

Trying to think through a lesson using this and the "Seek first to understand, then to be understood" habit (our school will be a "Lighthouse" campus next year) as there are so many different people represented in the book.


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Tough Chicks by Cece Meng

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Super cute illustrations and a great message ... don't be afraid to be different!



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WELL.

I think I fixed the whole conflicting Google Apps/Google Blog/Google Email thing. And school is not longer kicking my behind because it's summer! SO ... I really do plan on updating more. Ummm ... hooray!