Anna and the French Kiss

Anna and the French Kiss is loved by many readers of YA.  It’s won awards, it’s gotten awesome reviews. It sounds sweet.  It looks sweet.  It has to be sweet, right?  I am pleased to say I finally read the book and every single page of the book was fun and sweet.  I just can’t tell you if I loved the book so much because of the writing or because of the storyline, but I enjoyed it so much, I was just left wanting more of the likable cast of characters.  Come on, couldn’t you see the students at SOAP (Anna’s Paris American School) each having their own awesome storyline in a YA book of their own?

Anna is on her way to Paris to spend her senior year at a French boarding school.  When she arrives she finds she is the only new student in her class.  She is introverted, but finds some true friends including a charming American boy with a French name and a British accent.  Oh, American boy with French name and British accent also has a girlfriend.  Anna takes solace in the fact that she kinda has a guy at home too.  While Anna is dealing with French class, a new culture, an overwhelming city of light, and this gorgeous guy, she truly does find real friendship.

I just have to recommend that all YA and romance readers read Anna and the French Kiss.  It’s a fast read, very fun and sweet.  The romance is just this side of innocent, but quite believable as a teen love.  As a writer, Stephanie Perkins speaks to her readers like they were friends.  She speaks a language that includes pop-culture and history, music and style, friends and family, sexy and sweet.  She’s won me over and I’ve already added Lola and the Boy Next Door to my To Be Read List.  Highly Recommended !!

Easy Chapter Book: Grin and Bear It

My Lil Guy at age 3 is ready to sit and listen to longer read alouds.  We have been reading longer picture books and I am resisting breaking into chapter books!  I can’t wait until we are ready to read Ramona Quimby together!  For now, I have started looking at ‘Easy Reader’ books and short easy chapter books.  At the library this week we found Grin and Bear It by Leo Laundry.  The cover drew me in, so did the title.  You see: my husband and I are very fond of puns, word play, and coincidentally funny names.  We are always noticing funny signs, one upping each other with funny retorts, and sharing puns we hear throughout the day. AND Grinn and Barrett just happened to be the name of an intersection near my husband’s childhood home.  I guess for those reasons, I couldn’t pass up this book.

Bear is a closet comedian who wants to impress his friends, but can’t seem to get past his insecurities.  He practices and practices, he is more than prepared.  He has puns, jokes, and some very cute lines.  My personal favorite was the introduction on the Woodland Stage, “Bucks and does, pups and kits, put your hooves, paws, and claws together for our first performer.”  I have to admit, it made me laugh.

Reading this aloud to Lil Guy was funny especially since he is really coming into his own sense of humor.  The illustrations were nice too.  There are simply drawn animals with sometimes humanlike clothing or expressions.   While the story maintained pace,  the part about Bear going for a root beer, falling asleep and dreaming about his friends was a bit off.  Overall though, we liked it at our house and the story was requested at the very next bedtime at our house.  The book is childish enough for even the youngest readers, but also might have appeal for struggling older readers because of the chapters and MG novel look to the book. The book is 48 pages, 7 Chapters, Very Readable.

Recommended to Early Readers and Struggling elementary school aged Readers.

Me & Earl & the Dying Girl

BTW: I LOVE this cover

I cry at movies, weddings, and Hallmark commercials.  I cry at all those things and sunsets, funerals, sweet ‘love you’ whispers, and many other emotional moments, everyday.  I also cry while reading a great book.  Me & Earl & the Dying Girl is a great book.  I laughed to the point of getting annoyed looks from my husband across the room and I cried until I had to put the book down, staining the library pages with my tears. The book is a surprisingly real look at high school friendships, the teenage mind, and death and dying.  The story is told in such a way that pulls readers into a teen’s life in a very personal way.

Protagonist Greg is sharing his life with you.  He doesn’t leave out the annoying parts, the gross parts, the socially awkward parts, or the heart-breakingly emotional parts.  He shares his personal story via short chapters, mini screenplay scenes, annotated lists, and multiple flashbacks.  Greg uses self deprecating humor as a tool to talk about parents, school, girls, friendships, and everything in between.  Add to the story Greg’s friend Earl whose constant references to erections, penchant for getting into trouble, and his massive anger issues somehow make him likable.  (Doesn’t sound true, but somehow, yes, it’s true.)  Finally the last part of the puzzle is Rachel, terminally ill and without stigmas or prejudice befriends both Greg and Earl.

This book should be a hit with YA readers.  I know I was immediately drawn to each of the characters for different reasons.  The direct and unapologetic nature of narrator, Greg, truly had adolescent crudeness and charm.  I just couldn’t stop laughing at him.  During one point in the book Greg nervously makes up a story about how his parents restrict how many pillows he can have on his bed because of his tendency to have self stimulating relationships with them (Greg doesn’t bother with this euphemism btw).  I laughed and saw how Rachel was drawn to him too.  Of course I cried too.  Author Jesse Andrews is able to build empathy for these teens and YA readers won’t be able to read this book without feeling it.  That’s somewhat rare for true empathy to come so naturally in book with such irreverent characters.

I am not going to hesitate to recommend this book.  Its style is bold and unforgiving, its message is powerful and important.  If you can sync these two contrasting thoughts in your head you will be rewarded with a great story.  Recommended for  Grades 10-12 and older YA readers.

Top Ten Tuesday

I decided to try a meme this week.  How exciting, right?  It’s a chance to share a post with others posting on the same topic.  This week I am trying: Top Ten Books That Were Totally Deceiving (those covers or titles that don't fit the books, a book that was totally different than its summary, or those books you thought were going to be fluff that turned out to be more serious etc etc.)  This meme is hosted by The Broke and the Bookish.  Be sure to check out the other great Top Ten Tuesday Lists like mine.

I should begin by saying, this list is full of book that I really liked.  These are book that were surprisingly good, surprisingly funny, or surprisingly new and fresh.  In these cases being deceived wasn't negative. The list is almost like a list of books you might have missed because they weren't what you expected!  Anyway, here is my list:

1. 2. and 3. The Penderwicks: A Summer Tale of Four Sisters, Two Rabbits, and a Very Interesting Boy, The Penderwicks at Point Mouette, and  The Penderwicks on Gardam Street by Jeanne Birdsall I’ve added the Penderwicks because I totally thought the book was written in the 1950’s.  I have read and enjoyed some old fashioned books like Ballet Shoes and The Family Under the Bridge, so I thought this one was so well loved by teacher, librarians, and Children’s Literature fans I thought I woud give it a try.  Only after picking up the book did I realize it’s a modern book!

4. It’s a Book by Lane Smith  I love sweet innocent picture books.  Don’t you? I love sharing picture books with children.  I even love sharing certain picture books with snarky teenage readers.  I laughed and laughed and laughed and was deceived by the adorable It’s a Book by Lane Smith.  If you read the book, you know why I was deceived.  Maybe it was the sweet pictures or the simple conversation between the cute monkey and his donkey friend.  Whatever made me think this book would have a sweet ending with an amusing lesson, I was wrong.  The book has a very amusing surprise ending for readers.  I laughed, I maybe even snorted.  I might have shared it with all of my eighth graders.  Ha.

5. and 6. Love That Dog/Hate That Cat by Sharon Creech These books deceive because, let’s face it:  They look and act like novels. They sit on the shelf in your 6^th , 7^th, ort 8^th grade classroom next to copies of Hunger Games, Bud Not Buddy, and The Giver.  Students see each other reading the book, maybe laughing or looking interesting, but it’s not until you pick up the book that you realize it’s a book set in free verse.  The book offers first person written poems from an adolescent perspective.  Whoa.  That’s unexpected, right?  What’s even cooler, the poems are good.  The books are written by Sharon Creech!  Watch kids grab these books and enjoy the simple and poignant poems written just for this age group, secretly hidden in a book that looks like an adolescent novel.

7. Catherine, Called Birdy by Karen Cushman This book looks like a serious book about a serious girl, right?  Maybe you would expect to hear about troubled times, hard work, and boring habits of ancient adolescents, right?  Instead readers are treated to a laugh out loud, hilarious tale about a stubborn girl with a mind of her own.  She has an amazing courage and a spirit of adventure that is all set in 13th century England.  The book does offer several other covers, but this one in particular really deceives readers.

8. Duck! Rabbit! by Amy Krouse Rosenthal   I thought it was a rabbit.  I really, really thought it was a rabbit.  Now after reading the book, I see:  It’s a Duck! You fooled me you sneaky rabbit.  I mean duck.  Rabbit? urg.  Duck?  Let this book trick you into seeing things differently. :)

9. Me and Earl and the Dying Girl by Jesse Andrews I absolutely loved this cover.  My thoughts were that it would be maybe silly, funny, or romantic.  I thought maybe it would be a friendship or love triangle.  I wasn’t sure about the title, but I had to go for it.  I was surprised by the ballsy attitude, language, and humor, but I went with it.  I didn’t think I would really come to like the characters, not protagonist Greg, definitely not Earl, and not even ailing Rachel. Then came the end of the book which was sweet touching and very appropriate.  I laughed and cried my way through this book.  It wasn’t what I was expecting at all.  But, I sure did like it.

10. I Want My Hat Back by Jon Klassen  Ha. Ha ha ha. Some books surprise you.  Some books shock you.  Some books look sweet and innocent.  I want my hat back was just, shocking.  I have to say I am 100% team rabbit.  I also have to say, this is the kind of book that you have to read 3 or 4 times to find the curious looks, the subtle phrasing, and the shocking ending!!! 

That's my list and my first participation in Top Ten Tuesday.  Do you have books that deceived you?  Leave me a comment, I will be sure to check your list.  Thanks.

Happy Easter! Happy Passover!

Happy Easter!  Happy Passover!  In our family, we are celebrating both Easter and Passover this weekend.  I truly love holidays, so having a double holiday weekend is a treat for me.  In the spirit of all holidays and special occasions, we like to celebrate by reading of course!  Since the library’s selection of Easter and Passover books were quite picked over, I decided to look at our own shelves and baskets of books.  I had been meaning to go through my 3 year old’s books , redistributing the books so some new books might take favor.  I found: Company's Coming: A Passover Lift-the-Flap Book  by Joan Holub and Happy Easter Little Critter.

Company's Coming: A Passover Lift-the-Flap Book  by Joan Holub is perfect in the hands of a Lil Guy like mine.  In the book are enough flaps to keep pre-schoolers busy, enough text to reinforce family traditions, and enough to charm to make the book likable and fun.  Company’s Coming features one family sharing its traditions: setting the Seder table, small bits of Hebrew, favorite Passover foods, and a few other customs.  If you celebrate Passover, the book has a very recognizable sequence of events.  If you are not familiar with Passover, the book offers a glimpse into a family Seder.  There is a glossary in the back of the book offering kid friendly definitions lf unfamiliar terms: Afikomen, gefilte fish, matzoh, haggadah and others.   My favorite part of the book is also my favorite part of the meal: the Seder plate.  This version offers lift the flap foods that explain the food and what it represents for the meal.  I enjoyed this book because it doesn’t sensationalize the holiday, it reinforces it.  It shows the strong Jewish tradition of celebrating holidays with those you love in your own home.  Don’t pass this up if you have 3 – 8 year olds, it’s a perfect companion to the holiday.

Happy Easter Little Critter is of course from author Mercer Mayer.  The Little Critter series is a favorite in our house.  We have several book, e-books, and apps all featuring Little Critter.  Kids really like the playful and expressive Little Critter who is often featured with his family.  This book is no different, showing the fun and exciting parts of Easter as well as some obligatory and tiresome parts.  All in all the book is a sweet book just right for adding to your lil one’s Easter Basket. 

  

… and: I promise next year to take the time to find better Easter books to share with my Lil Guy and the blog.  Hope you enjoyed seeing 2 simple books that can be part of your holiday.  Let me know if you have an Easter or Passover book that I should check out.  What's your favorite read of the season?  Happy Easter, Happy Passover, and Happy Weekend to us all.

Baseball Poetry

In honor of baseball’s opening day, we are looking at a couple of baseball books each one told in verse.  I suppose that baseball has a long tradition with verse from Take Me Out to the Ballpark to Casey at Bat.  It is great that I can share these books in the month of April which many celebrate as Poetry Month.  

Poem Runs: Baseball Poems by Douglas Florian is a set of poems featuring different players on the baseball diamond including the umpire, the baseball, even the warm-up.  The poems are creative, fun, and alive.  Along with each poem is a beautiful illustration, sometimes integrating shape poetry.  While these poems are simple and short, they are precise in their knowledge about baseball, describing the ins and outs of the game.  One poem features a second baseman who loves to work the double play, another tells about the right fielder; sometimes know as being the least important on the field.   My husband, a first basemen,  particularly appreciated the poem about his position. This book is perfect as a read aloud, like most poetry, but also would be very accessible to young independent readers.  Highly recommended for read alouds and elementary readers grades 2-5. 

Stars in the Shadows: The Negro League All-Star Game of 1934 written by Charles R. Smith Jr. and illustrated by Frank Morrison is also written in verse.  This book features a hundred of pages of baseball narrative told from the point of view of a baseball announcer.  Intermingled with the sports report are old-fashioned commercials and short fan interviews.  The spirit of old fashioned baseball is very alive in this book, but the couplets are sometimes forced and distracting.  While the verse may not be natural, the book’s illustrations are absolutely beautiful.  The style of the pencil drawn figures fits perfectly with the time period, so much so they almost steal show.  Non-fiction books are not often set to verse, and this non-fiction book depicts a truly inspiring story of the Negro League.  Recommended for fans of baseball, books in verse, and those inspired by true stories in Grades 3 - 6  

"And somewhere men are laughing,
and somewhere children shout;

But there is no joy in Mudville 

mighty Casey has struck out."

Even More Great Places to Read Everyday, Everywhere

I started this series about a week ago, looking for great places to read and ways to find extra time in your life to read … You can find details for the first 15 here and here.  Here is a review:

1. Read in Bed.

2. Read while on the Phone, waiting on hold for Customer Service.

3. Read at the Library.

4. Read while waiting at the doctor’s office.

5. Read in the car.

6. Read while sitting in your potty chair.

7. Read in a lawn chair while watching your children playing.

8. Read on a blanket, under a tree.   

9. Bring a book for little ones to read during church.

10.  Read as you have your private lunch.

11. Read on your commuter train ride

12. Read while waiting for water to boil/cooking in the kitchen.

13.  Always, always, always bring a book when you are visiting relatives, especially in-laws. 

14.  Read on a Plane Ride.

15. Read while you are waiting for the movie to start at the movie theatre.  

Thanks to Jen Robinson from Jen Robinson’s Book Page who shared these ideas:

16. Listen to audiobooks while doing chores around the house.  Jen mentioned folding laundry and cooking, I might try this while dusting and cleaning this weekend.  Anything to make housework a little more pleasant!

17. Listen to an audiobook while driving in the car.  I have tons of friends who do this to make the commute pass quickly; I am looking for the perfect book now to give it a try.

And some more ideas I been thinking about:

18. Turn off the TV and read.  One night a week (or more) turn off the TV and have personal or family book time.  My Lil guy loves to be surrounded by piles of books on the couch.  He will sit and read reclining on one side of the couch while I recline on the other side.  It’s a peaceful 20 or 30 minutes that I cherish.

19. Read in the bath.  It’s so indulgent to take a bath with a book.  While my e-reading habits don’t really promote this habit, for those of us who enjoy a nice soak, a book can add to a relaxing experience.

20. Read in bed (part 2). Many of us read before we fall asleep, but how many of us read before we get out of bed in the morning.  There is something about the morning that peaceful, especially after a goodnight’s sleep.  It might be a challenge to some of us, maybe after we’ve woken up a bit and brushed our teeth, or after we make the bed for the day, we should relax with a book before starting our day.  I know many of you are not convinced, but perhaps it’s a challenge you can attempt. 

So now we are finished with numbers 1 to 20.  Hopefully next time around I am going to look at how you can "pretend like you are doing something important when really you are actually just finding an excuse to read in peace".  Later I will explore how to build extra time with books into your family schedule and then finally how children can capture extra reading time at school.  I really have enjoyed this series of posts and hope to keep up with more ideas.  Please leave YOUR ideas in the comments and I will add them onto the list.  Thanks.  :-)

Black Boy, White School

Black Boy, White School is a powerful book that struck many nerves, made me uncomfortable at times, pushed the limits in many ways, and made me think.  Author Brian F. Walker paints a story showing truths that sometimes hurt and sometimes help all through the eyes of young black teen, Anthony.  Anthony is precariously navigating the street life of East Cleveland, the violence and poverty stricken neighborhood in Northern Ohio.  This is only part of the life that he has to balance.  Anthony also is the teen who turns to a book for solace, the son who replies with a yes ma’am to his mother, and the scholarship student who will soon be attending a nearly all white prep school in New England.

This book is unapologetic in its realness.  I say that because I have had Anthony as a student in my class.  As I read, my heart actually was beating fast because of how closely Anthony’s East Cleveland life mirrored those of students I have taught.  But the book’s author, Walker, doesn’t just expose the gritty street life in East Cleveland, he also exposes racism and hatred of immigrants.  He weaves a story that looks at attitudes of young black students towards each other and their white peers.  He puts age old traditions and what are deemed as socially acceptable practices under the microscope, so we can see them for what they are worth.  Walker does all of this through the eyes of a 14 year old boy, so that we are forced into looking into a mirror, examining our own beliefs.  

All this being said, let me be honest about the writing in this book.  YA books sometimes can shock a teacher with the sex, swearing, open drug use, and violence.  This book does all 4 of those things … in the first 4 pages of the book.  If you are squeamish about gangster living or scared to know what’s really going on in the mind of your urban 8^th grade students, this book might not be easy to read.  As I was reading I also began to consider how I would approach a student about reading this book.  While the book clearly doesn’t glorify sex, swearing, drug use, or violence it does give a hefty dose of these things.  This is the type of book that will be secretly passed between friends, and I admit, I wouldn't mind older (high school) students having secret little discussion groups behind my back.  After all, the book was very well written, thought provoking, and generally would appeal to my urban students.

Recommended to students grades 10-12 and older interested YA readers.

Even More Books Catching My Eye

Here are a few YA/MG books that have been catching my eye and are currently on my To-Be-Read list.  I have already started a few and others I have put a hold on at the library.  Some are new and some are older, but each caught my eye via blog buzz, reviews, twitter chatter, or word of mouth.  Here is the run-down:

13 Little Blue Envelopes  I’ve started this book on my e-reader and have enjoyed it so far.  It’s sweet, sentimental, and adventurous and I like that!  I also am happy that it has a sequel, which will probably be read soon too.  Author Maureen Johnson is very easy to read and has a few other books I will look into too.

Take a Bow I absolutely adore Author Elizabeth Eulberg’s first 2 books, so this book being on the list is no surprise.  In fact, as I have written about before, it was Ms. Eulberg who was one of the major inspirations for me starting this blog.  I was kinda hoping for an ARC of this one, but it looks like I will buy myself a copy. I am thinking of getting the paper copy so that I can share it with students, of course.

Anna and the French Kiss  This book has been on my To-Be-Read list forever!  I am embarrassed to say just how long, but for one reason or another I just keep pushing it down the list.  I’ve read over 100 pages into it, but at this point it’s still on the list and when I go to read it, I will start at the beginning to regain momentum!

The Mighty Miss Malone Generously, Mr. Schu of Watch.Connect.Read is sending me a copy of this book.  I entered and won a contest on twitter from @MrSchuReads.  The book is written by Christopher Paul Curtis whose other novels are amazing and inspiring.  Also, as historical fiction, students love these books.  It looks like The Mighty Miss Malone has similar legs and will become a classic like Curtis’s similarly themed books.  I am excited that in this book we have a young female protagonist.  Can’t wait to receive this one in the mail.

Future of Us and 13 Reasons Why Both books by Jay Asher look interesting.  Future of Us is what really has me buzzing though.  Imagine that 20 years ago you turned on your home computer (a very old-school one I am sure!) and found your own facebook page, 20 years into the future.  All the connections, details, comments, and interests form the basis of Asher’s book.  I was thinking I would read this and then maybe get my husband to read it too.  Also, I haven’t read anything by Asher yet but he is so much fun on his blog, I had to try something of his!

Breadcrumbs This book has so much interest.  I have seen it reviewed on countless blogs and including on list for best children’s books of the year.  I am positive I will enjoy it especially because it’s a modern fairy tale of sorts.  Modern versions of fairy tales are so much fun!  I already have this one from the library, so I plan to read it this week.  I promise you will see my review soon.

Just a few others, case you were wondering:

So, that's my YA/MG read in my To-Be-Read list.  How about you?  What are you planning to read next?  Share what is at the top of your list with me!

Bloggiesta Wrap Up

Here is my Bloggiesta Wrap-Up.  To find out more about Bloggiesta and see other blogs that took on the Bloggiesta challenge, visit here and here.

What was I able to get done:

• I decided to completely delete all my tags and start fresh.  I am kinda pleased.  I did cringe at some of my older posts though.  Ha.
• I made a To-Be-Read list, plus a list of books I need to review.
• I also made some oversized buttons and posted my GoodReads goal.
• I’ve also visited and commented a ton.  Its been great to see everyone’s blogs!
• I started my post about Math Literacy.  Look for it to be posted in about 2 weeks.  :)

How you feel the event went:

I enjoyed it, but … whew a lot of work!  I also see that many of my fellow bloggiestas are amazing .  I am so inspired by them.  I don’t know that I would be able to devote this much time in a weekend normally to blogging.  I might have ignored housework.  Oops. 

The best new thing you learned:

Something I am anxious to use is the blockquote HTML code.

Suggestions:

No suggestions at this time.  I was happy just to get my feet wet.  I would just say, I hope bloggers can be gracious when replying to blog comments.  I also try to treat my blog guests as GUESTS since they are just guests visiting my site.

Thank You to the hosts of Bloggiesta and all the participants. Hopefully I will see you all in September.