Thank you, Kellee and Jen, hosts of the wonderful Teach Mentor Texts blog! You host It's Monday! What Are You Reading? and I learn so much by participating!
This weekend I rewarded myself with lots of reading time. After finishing WONDER by R.J. Palacio last week, it was really hard to find a new good book to read. (Note: It is really hard to write a good review of Wonder because it's an amazing book, and I want to do it justice. I promise to try!)
I bought this book when it first came out, but, as is the case with a lot of books in my TBR pile, I hadn't gotten around to it.
AMELIA LOST by Candace Fleming
Amelia Lost was highly recommended. There were a lot of facts in it that I didn't know. It contained many features of non-fiction (sidebars, insets, etc.). I think it's suitable for an older audience (not for 4th grade). I remember reading lots of biographies about Amelia Earhart when I was in elementary school, so I've always been interested in her story.
NERDS 3: THE CHEERLEADERS OF DOOM By Michel Buckley
This one was recommended by one of my students. When a student tells you "You have to read this book!", you do. He even lent me his library copy. (I borrowed it one day, then went out and got my own copy!) If you loved NERDS 1 and NERDS 2, you will really love this one. I think it's better than the last one. It's about cheerleaders, spies, and it's mysterious and funny.
PICTURE BOOKS:
I managed to get in these titles, too:
Newbery Challenge:
Funny Little Woman
My Friend Rabbit
White Snow, Bright Snow
JUST FOR FUN:
Scaredy Squirrel
Scaredy Squirrel At Night
Scraredy Squirrel At the Beach
(If you have not read Scaredy Squirrel, do so soon. He is so funny!)
This week I will be reading THE FOURTH STLL PART II and SOLDIER BEAR.
TEACHING NOTES FOR THE WEEK:
- Last week, my class created a Voicethread for EXTRA YARN. I plan to polish it up this week and post it here.
- We are also creating videos to tell the story of the Battle of the Alamo.
- One of my many goals this week is to create more opportunities for collaboration.
- On Friday, my 4th grade book club will meet and we will do our best to celebrate Read Across America Day!
I want to read Amelia Lost! And apparently Wonder too as you are the second blog I have sen brag it up this week :)
ReplyDeleteHi, Sheila!
DeleteThanks for commenting on my blog! You won't be able to put Wonder down! Auggie's story broke my heart, but it strengthened me, too. I'll be rereading it!
Amelia Lost is on my TBR list & I've ordered Extra Yarn, in part because of your review last week. I can't wait to read it! I'll also have to look up the Scaredy Squirrel books at the library-they sound fun. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteHi, Linda!
DeleteThanks for commenting on my blog!
I'm so glad you are getting your own copy of Extra Yarn! You will love the pictures and the story, so you'll need your own copy to keep and enjoy.
Enjoy Scaredy Squirrel! He makes me smile.
It was hard for me to write a review of Extra Yarn because I loved it so much so it's funny to hear you say it's hard for you to write your Wonder review. Isn't that strange? For me, there was just so much I loved and so much I wanted to say that it was hard to know where to start and what exactly would be the most important to include. I have the first in the Nerds series but haven't read it yet and Scaredy Squirrel is awesome. I'm going to have to try and remember to check back to hear your voice thread for Extra Yarn. Sounds fun!
ReplyDeleteI will post it as soon as we improve it. I've taught my students how to create it and they love it!
DeleteI love Voicethread!
Thanks so much for reading and commenting on my blog!
Yay for Scaredy Squirrel- he IS hilarious! I have only read the first one; I will definitely have to pick up the others.
ReplyDeleteI understand your problem with Wonder- I never reviewed The Fault in our Stars because I couldn't put into words what I felt about it.
How are the other books in the NERD series? I've only read the first.
Just realized I didn't say anything about Amelia-
DeleteDid you love how her story was told in this biography? I found it fascinating!
Kellee,
DeleteThanks for reading and commenting on my blog! I understand COMPLETELY where you're at with TFIOS because that book affected me as well. .So powerful!
Nerds 1 is funny, Nerds 2 isn't quite as good as #3 (but it's still okay), and Nerds 3 is the best one in my opinion.
Nerds 3 is being passed around in my room right now.
I really DID love how Candace Fleming unveiled Amelia's biography! So clever. I thought I knew a lot about her, but I really didn't. Great research!
Have a great week of reading!