Day 7: 45 Days of Summer

Battle Bunny by Jon Scieszka and Mac Barnett. Illustrated by Matthew Myers

For every kid who’s ever wanted to write their own book. 

Or felt that a book needed more action and battle scenes. 

Not that I’m recommending you draw all over library books, but Battle Bunny is a terrific adventure. 

And a fun idea for all those books headed for the garage sale bin. 

Go Agent Alex!

Best for: Kindergarten - 2nd grades

Tell a Fairy Tale Day!

Yes, it is true, Mrs. Yusko is finally back at school! It has been a long, LOOOOONG road to recovery, and while I'm still not there, I'm finally done with treatments and surgeries (after a year and a half)! So, it's probably time that I get back to blogging about books...

Today just happens to be "Tell a Fairy Tale Day." So, I thought that I would use today's post to share my favorite fractured fairy tales that we have here in my school library.

In no particular order:

1) Beastly by Alex Flinn. Okay, maybe they are in a particular order. I LOVED THIS BOOK. And I was booktalking it LONG before they made it into a movie. This is such an incredible and inventive retelling of Beauty and the Beast from the Beast's point of view, set in modern day NYC. Many of your fairy tale favorites also have cameo appearances. Please rush out and read this book NOW. And then check out all of Ms. Flinn's other titles because they are all terrific. Cloaked; Towering; Bewitching...I just didn't want this list to become the Alex Flinn fan club.

2) Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister by Gregory Maguire. Yes, that Gregory Maguire. Long before Wicked became a SENSATION, this was the book that I liked best. The story of Cinderella told from one of the stepsister's point of view. Terrific!

3) Cloaked in Red by Vivian Vande Velde. Another of my "please rush out immediately and read ALL of her books." This book is a collection of short stories featuring all the characters (and I mean all) from Little Red Riding Hood. The author's introduction to this collection is some of the funniest writing ever!

4) Rumpelstiltskin Problem by Vivian Vande Velde. Okay, I know that I told you to read all of Ms. Vande Velde's books already, but this was the first book of hers that I read and I couldn't let it escape mention.

5) Princess of the Midnight Ball by Jessica Day George. I will admit (and all my students know) that I am not a fan of books where there's a girl in a dress on the cover. Ugh. Could there be anything worse for me? (Well, yes, there could be a vampire in it, but I digress). But what the author has done with this book (and the succeeding companion books in the "series") is nothing short of clever, brilliant writing. A must read!

6) The Sisters Grimm series by Michael Buckley. I really enjoy this series. I wish that it was more popular in my school, but alas, it has not found a wide readership. But it is fantastic...and there are 11 books in the series so you could be busy reading it all year long.

7) Princess Ben by Catherine Gilbert Murdock. Okay, I originally read this book (even though there's a girl in a dress on the cover) because the author's "Dairy Queen" series was fantastic. I was won over! You will be too!

8) Book of a Thousand Days by Shannon Hale. Again, this is an author where I am just going to say READ ALL OF HER BOOKS. NOW.

9) Toads & Diamonds by Heather Tomlinson. This book is beautiful. Simply beautiful. Again, not the widest of readership as it takes just the right sophisticated reader to appreciate it. But worth the time if that person is you.

10) Tale Dark & Grimm by Adam Gidwitz. This is the story of Hansel and Gretel turned on it's head and told in a way that would make the Grimm brothers proud. There are sequels also...read them all.

11) Enchanted by Alethea Kontis. I know, I know, there's a girl in a dress on the cover. That's what I said also. And then I listened to this audiobook while going through chemo one day and realized what all the hype (and trust me, there was plenty of it surrounding this book) was about. So unique!

12) Thrice Told Tales by Catherine Lewis. The Three Blind Mice giving writing advice? What could be better?!

13) The Grimm Legacy by Polly Shulman. Okay, I'll admit that I'm probably drawn to this because the main character works in a library, but it's a library where they keep the "artifacts" from Grimm's fairy tales. And maybe you could check them out???

14) Cinder by Marissa Meyer. I cannot say enough good things about this entire series (Scarlet; Cress; more to come). Completely original world building that gives a nod to their fairy tale inspiration but does so much more. Science Fiction, dystopian, adventure, mystery...these books have it all.

First Semester is in Full Swing!

Boy, isn't that the truth...

I just looked at the number of blog posts for September, and it is a frighteningly low number, especially when compared with August.  Clearly school is in full swing!  But I promise, I'm turning over a new leaf in October.

So, what have I been doing that has kept me from checking in with the blog on a regular basis?  Well, obviously A LOT of reading, lesson planning, writing, newsletters, reviews, teaching classes, teaching teachers...the list goes on and on, as it does for every teacher.  Lately I have been wrapped up in our "Not Just Reading and Writing" project, which started last week and is already moving along. 

This is a popular and well-loved project at EJH that allows students in our 7^th grade Tech I classes to tie their learning of technology skills into the Language Arts 6+1 Traits of Writing curriculum, and demonstrate both in a culminating project of writing, illustrating, and publishing a children’s picture book of their own design.  When the final books are published, our 7th graders invite kindergartners from the neighboring elementary schools to visit the junior high library for a field trip to hear the stories read aloud. (To see pictures of this project in action, click on the link above).  This project has won a Best Buy "Teach Award" grant, a Best Buy "@15" grant, a Lake Washington Schools Foundation grant, and a grant from the Evergreen PTSA.

While I have learned MANY things during the process of teaching creative writing to 7th graders, one of my favorites is the discovery of "Chester's Masterpiece" by Melanie Watt.  What a perfect book to teach students about what a good story needs, and how difficult the process is.  For those of you not familiar with Watt's books about Chester the cat, you should definitely read them all.  But if you are looking for a fun way to introduce students of any age to creative writing, you MUST pick up this newest one where Chester takes over and decides he can write a book all by himself without the help of Ms. Watt.  WONDERFUL...FUNNY...PERFECT!  My daughter would say, "Two Thumbs Up!"

I cannot wait to see the books that this semester's classes create.  Will keep you updated on the progress.  What has been keeping you busy so far this school year?