Writing With My Fate According to the Butterfly

Last summer, I led two virtual book clubs with students. They were 7th graders moving into 8th grade and one group read My Fate According to the Butterfly by Gail D. Villanueva. I first learned of Gail and his sweet book through our World Read Aloud Day celebrations. When I started working in my current school district, I introduced the free World Read Aloud Day Skypes to teachers. Now every student visits with an author on World Read Aloud Day in our K-8 district. 

I'm really proud of making connections - between kids and creators, between reading and writing, between teachers and books, between teachers and kids. I love it. So I was excited to share this book with a small group of students. We read and discussed but I also stopped here and there to slow down and look at the writing and that's what I'd like to share today. 

Years ago, I volunteered with 826CHI and spent two weeks with middle grade writers for their summer camp and the focus was food! I love food. I didn't realize how awesome food would be as a theme though until I was there and living it and experiencing how the amazing people of 826CHI brought it to life for me. 

We all have experiences with food. And we all have food that nourishes us or makes us want to throw up. We all have feelings connected to food. Food is such a universal experience. I think of one of my former students who uses a feeding tube. Even she has connections to food. So for this week's mentor text, I picked a snatch of text from My Fate According to the Butterfly that slows down to celebrate the best kare-kare ever. 

My thought for using this is to notice how she first tells us what she's describing. And then she shows us. Y'all, we need to show AND tell. It's okay to show and tell in our writing. Sometimes we need one more than the other, sometimes we need them together, sometimes they stand alone. But showing and telling both matter. 

So here's the excerpt:

"In moments like these, I'm so glad I'm not allergic to peanuts. 

This kare-kare must be life's way of rewarding my hero-ism, bringing me to this carinderia. Because this canteen has the best kare-kare ever. 

Swimming among the orange peanut sauce are beef chunks and pieces of ox tripe with melt-in-your-mouth texture. It also has a generous amount of soft eggplants, string beans, and pechay greens. The peanut sauce isn't too thick, nor is it too thin. It's the perfect sauce on a cup of steamed rice. Add a dash of their sweet-and-spicy shrimp paste, and you've got a saucy, savory, and slightly sweet combination that's like heaven on earth." (p. 122)

There's so much to talk about here! First she tells us what she's talking about. She writes, "...the best kare-kare-ever." It made me think of all the best things I know....

And then she tells us the details. Above are some words I wanted to think about for my own writing: swimming, chunks, melt-in-your-mouth, dash of..., and like heaven on earth. We talk a lot about cliches and not using cliches in writing but at the same time, there is definitely vocabulary that goes with writing about food. These stood out to me and I wanted to think about these for my own writing. 

But first I had to think of food that I think is THE BEST. What foods do you think are the best? Here's my list!

What stood out to me is that all my food comes from other places! When I decided to go vegan, I started exploring places with vegan food, everywhere I go I look for vegan food! From here I decided to zone in on one and see how I would first tell and then show about that food. 

Blind Faith Cafe's Vegan Chocolate Cake

(AKA the best cake ever)

When I went vegan, I went in search of the yummiest vegan options - here, in Chicago, and everywhere I go. And hands down, Blind Faith Cafe in Evanston has the best chocolate cake ever. 

Drizzled with raspberry sauce and served with a side of raspberry sorbet is the most divine chocolate cake. Not too dry, not too gooey, the cake is perfect. The vanilla frosting is sweet but subtle. Take a bite with cake and frosting and raspberry sauce and feel the love and joy and bliss that's like heaven on earth. 

I love mentor texts like this because they truly help me feel held and free when it comes to writing. That I can try something like this myself, that I have stories to tell, that writing can be fun. 

You know you want a piece of this cake now!!! Come to Chicago and I'll take you to experience it. It's awesome. But I also hope you toooootally want to go write about your best food, to show AND tell me all about it. What food do you think is the best?!?

A Perilous Journey of Danger and Mayhem: A Dastardly Plot

Title: A Perilous Journey of Danger and Mayhem: A Dastardly Plot 
Author: Christopher Healy
Publisher: Walden Pond Press 
Publication Date: September 25th, 2018 
Genre/Format: Historical Fiction/Middle Grade Novel 
GoodReads Summary: It's 1883—the Age of Invention! A time when great men like Thomas Edison, Alexander Graham Bell, Nicola Tesla, and George Eastman work to turn the country into a land of limitless opportunity.

And it all happens at the world famous Inventor’s Guild headquarters in New York City—a place where a great idea, a lot of hard work, and a little bit of luck can find you rubbing elbows with these gods of industry who will usher humanity into the future.

Unless, of course, you’re a woman.

Molly Pepper, daughter of brilliant but unknown inventor Cassandra Pepper, lives with her mother in New York. By day, they make ends meet running a pickle shop; but by night, they toil and dream of Cassandra taking her place among the most famous inventors in America.

In an attempt to find a way to exhibit Cass’s work at the World’s Fair, they break into the Inventor's Guild, where they discover a mysterious plot to destroy New York.The evidence points to the involvement of one of the world’s most famous inventors, and now it’s up to Molly, Cassandra, and a shop hand named Emmett Lee to uncover the truth—even if no one will ever know it was they who did it. 
What I Think: I already loved Christopher Healy's Hero's Guide series and how he portrayed the female characters in that series but now there is more girl power to love from him! A Perilous Journey of Danger and Mayhem is such a fun blend of historical fiction and girl power and adventure.
     As a mentor text, there is really rich description throughout the entire book. You could easily find many examples of how word choice makes an impact on what message the writer makes. Chris describes using very specific words and he also shows readers what is happening using the five senses. As I was listening to the audiobook sample, I realized how great he described the pickle shop and how he also was able to tell us about Molly by showing us that she lives there as well. I pulled the snatch of text below that you'll also hear in the audiobook clip. I would ask writers to close their eyes and listen to the sample. Ask them to visualize as they listen. Then I would show them the snatch of text below and ask them to think about how describing the setting helps a reader and how it can even help a reader understand the character. You could even ask writers to think about their own character and draw their room or closet. This is an opportunity to think about how the room is organized (or not!) and what is found there. Then they could write a paragraph or two describing the room or setting and show readers about their character using this technique. All of this tells us about the character and is a neat way to explore a character. 
Snatch of Text: "For the most part, Pepper's Pickles looked like any of the other specialty food establishments along the bustling thoroughfare that was Thompson Street. Upon entering, customers would see barrels of fermenting cucumbers and a wooden counter stacked with murky jars of dill spears. They would smell a tang in the air from the canisters of salt and flasks of vinegar crammed onto shelves. But few took note of the tall folding screen that protected the rear half of the store from prying eyes.
     If a customer were to peek behind that screen, however - which none did without feeling the sting of a shot from Molly's Thimble Cannon - they would see a long worktable littered with springs, screws, bolts, gears, and tools of every time. And the'd see two thin beds, a stove-top, and a clothesline drooping with damp bloomers. Because the Peppers also lived in their pickle shop." (p. 5)
Audiobook Clip: Listen here.

 Here are the tour stops:

September 24th - Novel Novice

September 25th - A Foodie Bibliophile in Wanderlust

September 26th - Unleashing Readers

September 27th - Teach Mentor Texts

September 28th - Novel Novice

September 29th - Maria’s Melange

October 1st - The Flashlight Reader

October 2nd - Nerdy Book Club

October 3rd - Book Monsters

October 3rd - Novel Novice

October 4th - Blustocking Thinking

October 5th - Satisfaction for Insatiable Readers

And don't forget the giveaway! a Rafflecopter giveaway

Thanks to Walden Pond Press

for sending me a copy of this book to review 

and for partnering with me for this giveaway.

Merci Suárez Changes Gears

Title: Merci Suárez Changes Gears 
Author: Meg Medina 
Publisher: Candlewick 
Publication Date: September 11th, 2018  
Genre/Format: Realistic Fiction/Middle Grade Novel 
GoodReads Summary: Merci Suarez knew that sixth grade would be different, but she had no idea just how different. For starters, Merci has never been like the other kids at her private school in Florida, because she and her older brother, Roli, are scholarship students. They don’t have a big house or a fancy boat, and they have to do extra community service to make up for their free tuition. So when bossy Edna Santos sets her sights on the new boy who happens to be Merci’s school-assigned Sunshine Buddy, Merci becomes the target of Edna’s jealousy. Things aren't going well at home, either: Merci’s grandfather and most trusted ally, Lolo, has been acting strangely lately — forgetting important things, falling from his bike, and getting angry over nothing. No one in her family will tell Merci what's going on, so she’s left to her own worries, while also feeling all on her own at school. In a coming-of-age tale full of humor and wisdom, award-winning author Meg Medina gets to the heart of the confusion and constant change that defines middle school — and the steadfast connection that defines family.  
What I Think: I visited a classroom last week for a writer's workshop lesson. We had Dr. Carla España, a consultant from The Ed Collab in to work with our middle school teachers. As she was presenting, she showed students some of her writing and how she slipped Spanish in sometimes. A student I was sitting with wrote a goal of using more Spanish in her own writing. When I asked her if she had ever thought of doing that before, she said not until this day because Carla had mentioned it. It gave me goosebumps. How powerful is that? I love Meg Medina's books because she does a great job of capturing the experience of being Latinx in her books. But beyond that, she does a great job of description and developing character through her description. The snatch of text I pulled shows how we can learn so much about a character from a short scene. 
     As a mentor text, I would think about asking students to look at the snatch of text below, or another snatch of text from Merci Suárez Changes Gears, and ask writers to look at what Meg has done to show us who the main character, Merci, is. We can tell a lot about Merci from this snatch of text. I would make sure students recognize that she uses dialogue to show how Merci interacts with others and how their words or actions show us about Merci. I would also think in general about how the scene goes and what that tells us about Merci. Finally, I would look at word choice and how the words Meg has chosen show us the mood of the moment and how that adds to what we know about Merci. 
Snatch of Text:
"I sit on the stool exactly the way the photographer says: Ankles crossed. Torso swiveled to the left and leaning forward. Hands in lap. Head tilted like a confused puppy. Who sits like this, ever? I look like a victim of taxidermy. 
    'Smile,' the photographer says, without an ounce of joy in her voice. 
    Just as I'm trying to decide whether to show teeth, a huge flash goes off and blinds me.
     'Wait. I wasn't read,' I say. 
    She ignores me and reviews her shots. It must be really bad for her to hold up the line this way. Do-overs mean time, and everyone in business knows that time is money. 
    'Let's try again,' she says, trying to adjust my glasses. 'Chin up this time.'
     Chin? Who is she kidding? I already know that's not the problem. My eyes is fluttering and I can feel the soft pull to the left. 
     'Look at the camera, honey,' the photographer says. 
    I blink hard and fix both my eyes on her lens, which always makes me look angry, but it's the best I can do. She shoots again and again in an explosion of shutter clicks. I must look as awkward as I feel, because I can hear the boys snickering." (p. 11-12)

Everything You Need for a Treehouse

Title: Everything You Need for a Treehouse 
Author: Carter Higgins 
Illustrator: Emily Hughes 
Publisher: Chronicle Books 
Publication Date: April 10th, 2018
Genre/Format:  
GoodReads Summary: Featuring beautiful images and a lyrical text with an exquisitely readable cadence, this book gives life and meaning to all the requisite elements of a treehouse, from time, timber, and rafters to ropes of twisted twine that invite visitors to sprawl out on a limb and slide back down again. For anyone who's ever wanted to escape real life and live in a nostalgic dream come true, this poignant picture book captures the universal timelessness of treehouses and celebrates all the creativity and adventure they spark.  
What I Think: This book offers such a sweet blend of excellent text and illustrations. I found myself sinking deeper and deeper into this book as I read. It's hard to explain but Carter does a great job with mood so that I was sucked into it almost like a lullaby. This makes Everything You Need for a Treehouse an excellent read for looking at mood and word choice and description. Being able to describe well, helps to set the mood of a piece of writing. 
     This summer, Heidi Schultz, the author of Hook's Revenge, wrote a blog post for Teachers Write where she shared an awesome way to look at how word choice can impact the mood of a piece. It was titled Setting as a Lens for Character but I really loved how this exercise shows that the words a writer picks impact what the reader understands. We know this of course, but this specific activity really shows how it's possible to take one description and spin it a different way simply by changing the words. I definitely recommend checking out her post and using it along side Everything You Need for a Treehouse as you look at word choice.
     Another way to use this book as a mentor text is to look at all the alliteration Carter packs in! Personally, I think this is part of why this book sucked me in, it flows and the words just slipped off my tongue as I read it out loud. I especially like that this is an opportunity to think about why a writer might employ alliteration. Sure, it can be fun or silly, but it also adds this element of how the words fit together or move along. 
     Of course, after reading this book, I hope you invite student writers to describe what they think they would need for a treehouse!
Snatch of Text: 

"Whether solo or squished

make sure your tree is tall - 

you'll want to see sun speckles up close."

Thank you to Chronicle

for sending me a copy of this book to review.

Drawn Together

Title: Drawn Together
Author: Minh Le
Illustrator: Dan Santat
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion 
Publication Date: June 5th, 2018 
Genre/Format: Fiction/Picture Book 
GoodReads Summary: When a young boy visits his grandfather, their lack of a common language leads to confusion, frustration, and silence. But as they sit down to draw together, something magical happens-with a shared love of art and storytelling, the two form a bond that goes beyond words.

With spare, direct text by Minh Lê and luminous illustrations by Caldecott Medalist Dan Santat, this stirring picture book about reaching across barriers will be cherished for years to come.
What I Think: Relationships with grandparents are special. My own kids adore their grandparents and I loved mine so much. I have memories of working in the garden and mowing the lawn with my grandpa, painting with my grandma, and playing cards with my other grandma. Each of them made me feel important. They showed me how to slow down and take my time and enjoy what I was doing. Drawn Together felt so true to me because my grandmother Mamita spoke Spanish and barely knew English. I learned most of my Spanish from her but there were still so many times when I struggled to express myself accurately to her or failed to understand what she was trying to say to me. Especially her jokes. She loved to recite poetry, sing songs, and tell stories and jokes. Jokes involve complex language which made them so hard to understand. I wish I could have better understood everything she ever said to me...but the reality is that I couldn't. It's hard to explain the heartbreak of this reality but in Drawn Together, Minh Le and Dan Santat bring this feeling to life. 
     While not everyone has the same experience with a language barrier with their grandparent, I wonder if many will still identify with the idea of misunderstanding each other in some way or another. In any relationship, there are so many ways to misunderstand each other. We can feel close and still feel so far away at the same time. 
     As a mentor text, Drawn Together can be used to spark conversations about relationships. It offers an opportunity for students to think about their own relationships and whether they recognize similarities in their own relationships or not. It's also a chance to think about how things like language differences might make growing a relationship difficult and whether there might be ways to overcome this. Student writers can then think about what relationships look like in their own writing and think about how things like language differences might impact the characters or people in their writing. 
     This book relies heavily on the illustrations to tell the story with the text. It's not a wordless picture book but there are several layouts without any text. I love books like this because they make it easy to focus on visual literacy. As a mentor text, readers can think about how they might describe what is happening in the illustrations and how to show this in their writing. It's a powerful way to link reading and writing. 
    Drawn Together is an absolutely beautiful book that everyone needs to read.
Snatch of Text:

"All the things we could never say come pouring out...

...and we build a new world that even words can't describe."

Love Sugar Magic

Title: Love Sugar Magic: A Dash of Trouble
Author: Anna Meriano
Publisher: Walden Pond Press 
Publication Date: January 2nd, 2018 
Genre/Format: Realistic Fiction/Mild Fantasy/Novel 
GoodReads Summary: Leonora Logroño’s family owns the most beloved bakery in Rose Hill, Texas, spending their days conjuring delicious cookies and cakes for any occasion. And no occasion is more important than the annual Dia de los Muertos festival.

Leo hopes that this might be the year that she gets to help prepare for the big celebration—but, once again, she is told she’s too young. Sneaking out of school and down to the bakery, she discovers that her mother, aunt, and four older sisters have in fact been keeping a big secret: they’re brujas—witches of Mexican ancestry—who pour a little bit of sweet magic into everything that they bake. 

Leo knows that she has magical ability as well and is more determined than ever to join the family business—even if she can’t let her mama and hermanas know about it yet. And when her best friend, Caroline, has a problem that needs solving, Leo has the perfect opportunity to try out her craft. It’s just one little spell, after all…what could possibly go wrong? 

What I Think: I have wonderful memories of making tamales with my grandma, my mom, my aunt, my sister, my cousin, and more recently my kids. We all pack ourselves into the kitchen to stir the dough and then when it's ready, we set up an assembly line and put tamal after tamal together. The joy and love in these memories reminds me of Leo and her family in Love Sugar Magic. 
     I love how we get to see the vibrancy of Leo's family and we can use this as  a mentor text for character development. Yesterday, I talked about how Tracy Holczer's character Lucy in Everything Else in the Universe also has a big family and how being part of a big family influences who she is and how she experiences the world. When we talk about characters and what makes them who they are, it allows us to also think about ourselves and what makes us who we are. And, ultimately, then we can think about other people and what makes them who they are. Discussions like this are so important. Discussions like this help us see that we might have things in common with other people and we might be different from other people. But just because someone is the same or different, it doesn't make them good or bad. Too often we don't slow down to ask why or to even realize that there might be a very good why that we need to understand. 
     As writers, we think about the world and the people in it. We need to know our characters and think about why they might make a choice that they do and in order do that, we need to understand what has happened in our character's past that has shaped them. Pairing Love Sugar Magic with Everything Else in the Universe gives readers an opportunity to think about the choice both authors made to give the main character a large and vibrant extended family. Recognizing the author's purpose in doing this give writers an opportunity to think about character development in their own stories.
     The snatch of text I pulled gives a little insight into Leo compared to her family getting ready in the morning and it also has an example of onomatopoeia, word choice, and being specific in describing. Lots of good things to discuss with these two sentences!

Snatch of Text: "The hallway filled with morning noises as the Logroño family got ready for the day. Leo shuffled down the hall, her orange-and-black-striped knee socks shush-shushing against the wood floor." (p. 4)

Jabber-Walking

Title: Jabber-Walking 
Author: Juan Felipe Herrera  
Publisher: Candlewick Press
Publication Date: March 13th, 2018 
Genre/Format: Poetry 
GoodReads Summary: Juan Felipe Herrera, the first Mexican-American Poet Laureate in the USA, is sharing secrets: how to turn your wonder at the world around you into weird, wild, incandescent poetry.

Can you walk and talk at the same time? How about Jabberwalk? Can you write and draw and walk and journal all at the same time? If not, you're in luck: exuberant, blue-cheesy cilantro man Juan Felipe Herrera, Poet Laureate of the United States, is here to teach you everything he knows about being a real-life, bonified, Jabberwalking poet! Jabberwalkers write and speak for themselves and others no matter where their feet may take them -- to Jabberwalk is to be a poet on the move. And there's no stopping once you're a Jabberwalker, writing fast, fast, fast, scribble-poem-burbles-on-the-run. Scribble what you see! Scribble what you hear! It's all out there -- vamonos! 
What I Think: I love this! It's part writing strategy, part humorous fiction, and part autobiographical. Juan Felipe takes us on a wonderful journey. Even though I read this in one sitting at my kitchen table, it was like I was off and zipping around with him on writing adventures. He shares ideas for how to gather up ideas around you or from things you have read. And he shares stories from his life and how he became a poet. This book exudes voice like salsa juice running down your wrist as you try to eat an over-stuffed burrito. 
     As a mentor text you can totally share this book with students as you talk through how to gather up ideas. You can ask them to try jabber walking or even go on a jabber walk with them yourself. You can also look at voice because his voice to distinctly jumps out at you. No one else could have written this book. Voice is such a hard idea to grasp and having examples like Jabber-Walking is great because it's so obvious. It's so easy to see and hear his voice so it makes a perfect mentor text to study for voice. I would pair it with another poet to show the difference. Robert Frost comes to mind because he clearly writes poem about nature and about walking around and observing things but his style is so different from Herrera. 
Snatch of Text:  
     "SCRIBBLE your burbles, your words of things --- that you see and think and feel but it is really not thinking or even feeling. It is plain ole bonified, fuzzy, puffy, blue-cheesy, incandescent, brave Jabber!
     Jabberwalking is not for the neat, polished, well-combed aesthete --- it is as stated in the epigraph by Señor Lewis Carroll at the start of this fine volume. Jabberwalking is for the Jabber Walker with "eyes of flame."
Writing Prompt: Try going for a jabber walk! Grab your notebook or anything to write on and write with. Wander somewhere new or different and jot down what you see and notice. Then turn it into a poem. 

Creepy Pair of Underwear

Title: Creepy Pair of Underwear 
Author: Aaron Reynolds 
Illustrator: Peter Brown  
Publisher: Simon Schuster Books for Young Readers 
Publication Date: August 15th, 2017 
Genre/Format: Fiction/Picture Book
GoodReads Summary: Jasper Rabbit is NOT a little bunny anymore. He’s not afraid of the dark, and he’s definitely not afraid of something as silly as underwear. But when the lights go out, suddenly his new big rabbit underwear glows in the dark. A ghoulish, greenish glow. If Jasper didn’t know any better he’d say his undies were a little, well, creepy. Jasper’s not scared obviously, he’s just done with creepy underwear. But after trying everything to get rid of them, they keep coming back! 
What I Think: Happy Friday the 13th! What a perfect day to celebrate Creepy Pair of Underwear! It's so fun to see Jasper again. As I was reading, I thought of Edgar Allan Poe's Tell-Tale Heart and the song The Cat Came Back. My elementary school music teacher sang The Cat Came Back With Us so it would be cool to connect the song and this book with younger students. With older students, you could definitely tie this to Tell-Tale Heart. What a perfect opportunity to compare and contrast different texts for mood and also to look closely at how illustrations work with the text to contribute to the mood of a story. 
     Speaking of looking at how the texts and illustrations work together, the snatch of text I share below is an example of how Aaron Reynolds uses dialogue to show us what the characters are thinking and feeling but at the same time, Peter Brown uses the illustrations to hit the message home. As a mentor text, this is perfect for looking at how important dialogue is but also how description of what a character is doing when speaking allows an writer to really show how a character thinks and feels. To practice this, ask students to look at the page where Jasper is begging his mom for the creepy underwear and come up with a sentence to describe what they see in the illustrations or what they visualize in their head. Then have them try it in their own writing. Show, don't tell at its finest!
Snatch of Text:  
     "'Mom! Mom! Can we get these?" Jasper pleaded.
     'I think they're a little too creepy,' said Mom.
     'They're not creepy! They're cool!' said Jasper. 'I'm not a little bunny anymore. I'm a big rabbit now!'"

     "...the underwear glowed. A ghoulish, greenish glow."
Writing Prompt: How does the author use dialogue to show what the characters are thinking and feeling?

Caleb and Kit

Title: Caleb and Kit     
Author: Beth Vrabel 
Publisher: Running Press 
Publication Date: September 12th, 2017 
Genre/Format: Realistic Fiction/Novel 
GoodReads Summary: Twelve-year-old Caleb is shorter, frailer, and more protected than most kids his age. That's because he has cystic fibrosis, a diagnosis meaning lungs that fill with mucus and a shortened lifespan. Caleb tries not to let his disorder define him, but it can be hard with an overprotective, prying mom and a big brother who is perfect in every way.

Then Caleb meets Kit-a vibrant, independent, and free girl who lives in a house in the woods-and his world changes instantly. Kit reads Caleb's palm and tells him they are destined to become friends. She calls birds down from the sky, turns every day into an adventure, and never sees him as his disorder. Her magic is contagious, making Caleb question the rules and order in his life. But being Kit's friend means embracing deception and, more and more, danger. Soon Caleb will have to decide if his friendship with Kit is really what's best for him-or Kit.
What I Think: Navigating relationships is something kids have to go through but also something that lasts into adulthood. Caleb has a lot of different relationships to manage in this book! I feel for him but I also love that Beth makes him relatable and shows the reality of what it's like to be a friend, a brother, and a son. I would recommend this to readers who enjoyed Lisa Graff's Lost In The Sun.
     As a mentor text, this book is an opportunity to look at expanding small moments when writing personal narrative. Students can think about their own relationships and experiences and choose one moment to zone in on and describe for the reader. Students can take this opportunity to be descriptive and to use the five senses to build imagery and bring readers into the moment with them. Oftentimes, writers tell the story bit by bit, outlining a list of everything that happened. But it's important to be able to pause in a moment and zoom in on what's happening. You know those pictures where you get a 360 degree view? You can swipe from side to side and up and down to get a look all around. That's what we need to do as writers. Stop, turn around, and describe everything using our five senses so our readers can feel what it's like to be there too.
Snatch of Text: "Each step I took made my shoes suck deeper into mud with a squelching sound, and each time I lifted my feet it made my chest hurt. A few more yards in and I realized I was in trouble. My chest burned. I tried to ignore it. The pain twisted and coiled around my ribs - not like I couldn't breathe but like my body didn't want to." (p. 9)
Writing Prompt: Write about a time in your life when your brain wanted to do something but your body didn't or couldn't cooperate. Write about a time in your life when you were in a disagreement with someone close to you.

Bonus fun! Enter Beth’s #WhereIEscape giveaway and/or post your own photo of a place you go to get away from the world!

Thank you to Running Press Kids

for sending me a copy of this book to review!

The Evaporation of Sofi Snow

Title: The Evaporation of Sofi Snow 
Author: Mary Weber 
Publisher: Thomas Nelson 
Publication Date: June 6th, 2017 
Genre/Format: Sci-Fi/Novel
GoodReads Summary: Ever since the Delonese ice-planet arrived eleven years ago, Sofi's dreams have been vivid. Alien. In a system where Earth's corporations rule in place of governments and the humanoid race orbiting the moon are allies, her only constant has been her younger brother, Shilo. As an online gamer, Sofi battles behind the scenes of Earth's Fantasy Fighting arena where Shilo is forced to compete in a mix of real and virtual blood sport. But when a bomb takes out a quarter of the arena, Sofi's the only one who believes Shilo survived. She has dreams of him. And she's convinced he's been taken to the ice-planet.
     Except no one but ambassadors are allowed there.
     For Miguel, Earth's charming young playboy, the games are of a different sort. As Ambassador to the Delonese, his career has been built on trading secrets and seduction. Until the Fantasy Fight's bomb goes off. Now the tables have turned and he's a target for blackmail. The game is simple: Help the blackmailers, or lose more than anyone can fathom, or Earth can afford.
What I Think: The gamer in me really loved this book! But I especially loved that it was a book gamers and reality tv show lovers could relate to. It's such an interesting premise and world...and then Mary throws in a few twists so I just wanted to keep reading so much that I couldn't put it down. 
    As a mentor text, I love the world building but also how she shows us the characters. She layers in what they are doing, what they are thinking, and how they are feeling. It took me a lot of writing so start to pay attention to all the layers that go in to good writing. 
     I would especially pay attention to word choice and use this to show how word choice really makes a difference when it comes to descriptive writing and showing readers what is going on. This is a YA novel and I usually use the $100 word term to talk to younger writers but I think it would apply to teen writers as well. $100 words means we're using words that are more descriptive than $1 words. It's like going out for a super fancy steak dinner instead of the dollar menu at McDonald's. Which kind of writing would you want to devour? Right? It's a great metaphor and helpful as student writers think about which words they use in their description. 
Snatch of Text:  
"The floor beneath Sofi's feet shuddered, and a second later her stomach lurched as the entire level of gamer rooms began to descend. Waves rocked against the giant windows, slapping them with foam while they sank down, until all but the top three feet of glass was submerged beneath the oceanscape. She was staring into an enormous pool of water reaching higher than her head and deeper than she could swim. And so lucid she could almost see the other side." (p. 37)
Writing Prompt: Use descriptive writing to describe a fictional or real setting. Write about how Mary Weber's word choice helps you better understand the situation the character Sofi is in. 

Hidden Dangers: Seek and Find 13 of the World's Deadliest Animals

Title: Hidden Dangers: Seek and Find 13 of the World's Deadliest Animals  
Author: Lola M. Schaefer 
Illustrator: Tymn Armstrong 
Publisher: Chronicle Books 
Publication Date: August 8th, 2017 
Genre/Format: Non-Fiction/Picture Book 
GoodReads Summary: These 13 deadly creatures can be difficult to spot until you're right on top of them . . . or they're right on top of you. Look for each animal in its environment—look closely!—and learn all the ways you could perish—or survive—depending on how smart, well-informed, and good at running away you are. From the deathstalker scorpion and the poison dart frog to wasps, alligators, and many more, young readers will gain a new appreciation for the animal kingdom, and the dangers it hides in plain sight!
What I Think: I love a good non-fiction book! What makes this book stand out to me is the descriptive text and the lovely illustrations. The book is gorgeous visually but the description truly brings the illustrations to life.
     As a mentor text, I would point out how the text and artwork support each other. I would ask students to close their eyes the first read through, then look at the picture the second read through, and then finally invite them to write down or circle words that stand out to them. This is a great opportunity to look at word choice and specifically make a link to word choice in non-fiction text. There is a misconception that non-fiction writing is not creative writing it...but I disagree. Sure, the topic you are writing about has to sit squarely in facts but the word choice we use in non-fiction writing and the literary elements we employ can surely take on a creative nature. And honestly, the best non-fiction does exude imagery. So have students look at the text and notice what stands out to them, talk about those super specific words, and then invite them to try it themselves! 
     ***I especially love this snatch of text because there are TWO examples of alliteration! Love it!
Snatch of Text:  
"Don't crowd a shark. A GREAT HAMMERHEAD, like some other sharks, will defend its territory if threatened. WITH ITS TEETH. If one of these 500- to 1,000-pound (227- to 454-kilogram) creatures confuses you with an enemy or a tasty fish, swim...and swim fast! The hammerhead will strike with his head and bludgeon you again and again until you are weak and weary. Then it will open its powerful jaws and shred you with its serrated teeth. YOU WILL BE DEAD."
Writing Prompt: Write about a ferocious animal that interests you. Or maybe you'd prefer to write about a completely non-ferocious animal! But as you write, pay attention to your word choice and see if you can work some $100 words in there.

Things That Surprise You

Thank you to Blue Slip Media

for sending me a copy of this book to review 

and for providing an awesome prize pack

for me to giveaway! (Details below!)

Title: Things That Surprise You 
Author: Jennifer Maschari  
Publisher: Balzer + Bray 
Publication Date: August 22, 2017 
Genre/Format: Realistic Fiction/Novel 
GoodReads Summary: Emily Murphy is about to enter middle school. She’s sort of excited… though not nearly as much as her best friend Hazel, who is ready for everything to be new. Emily wishes she and Hazel could just continue on as they always have, being the biggest fans ever of the Unicorn Chronicles, making up dance moves, and getting their regular order at The Slice.

But things are changing. At home, Emily and her mom are learning to move on after her parents’ divorce. Hardest of all, her beloved sister Mina has been in a treatment facility to deal with her anorexia. Emily is eager to have her back, but anxious about her sister getting sick again.

Hazel is changing too. She has new friends from the field hockey team, is starting to wear makeup, and have crushes on boys. Emily is trying to keep up, but she keeps doing and saying the wrong thing. She want to be the perfect new Emily. But who is that really?

Things That Surprise You is a beautifully layered novel about navigating the often shifting bonds of family and friendship, and learning how to put the pieces back together when things fall apart. 
What I Think: I've been excited to tell students all about Things That Surprise You because it is such a real book about having friends, keeping friends, and making friends that I imagine many middle schoolers will relate to. It's a book I would recommend to readers who like Rebecca Stead's Good Bye Stranger and Ann Brashares' The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants. 
     As a mentor text, I love how Jennifer takes a moment and describes it so that we can feel what the characters are feeling. I pulled out two snatches of text that include similes that I love. They demonstrate how we have to be intentional about the similes we include. The imagery she creates with this similes definitely match the mood of the character and the scene.
     I also like how Emily, the main character, has her own character arc but her sister Mina has one as well. Too often writers focus on the main character and how he or she changes but we also have to look at how our supporting characters change and how our main characters might even impact the change our supporting characters go through. It's real life, right? But being able to do it in our writing as well is important and Things That Surprise You is a perfect mentor text for looking at how the main character isn't the only one who is going to grow as the story progresses.
Snatch of Text: 
"Walking in here is like stepping into a pair of the fuzziest socks. It feels cozy and right." (p. 11)

"All the good feelings I had built up whoosh out of me like air from a flattened bike tire." (p. 97)
Writing Prompt: Write about what you look for in a good friend. Use examples from Things That Surprise You and Emily's experiences with friends in the book and connect to your own experiences as well. 

Giveaway!

One lucky winner will receive a copy of THINGS THAT SURPRISE YOU (U.S. addresses).

PLUS!

One grand prize winner will receive a Crafty Unicorn Kit!  The prize includes a fun craft kit, a copy of THINGS THAT SURPRISE YOU, unicorn stickers, and puzzle cards! 

Enter here.

Out of Wonder

Title: Out of Wonder: Poems Celebrating Poets 
Author: Kwame Alexander with Chris Colderly and Marjory Wentworth 
Illustrator: Ekua Holmes 
Publisher: Candlewick Press 
Publication Date: March 14th, 2017 
Genre/Format: Poetry/Picture Book 
GoodReads Summary: Out of gratitude for the poet's art form, Newbery Award winning author and poet Kwame Alexander, along with Chris Colderley and Marjory Wentworth, present original poems that pay homage to twenty famed poets who have made the authors' hearts sing and their minds wonder. 
What I Think: I'm such a fan of poetry and I love how this book celebrates so many different poets. Not only that, but each poem was inspired by one of those poets and it's a great example of the power of mentor texts. Writing poems is a great way to play around with style as a writer and using favorite poets as inspiration is such a powerful way to get going with poetry. I had a lot of fun trying my hand at this after reading Forgive Me, I Meant To Do It by Gail Carson Levine. You can read my blog post about it here.
     Out of Wonder is a perfect mentor text for poetry and you can use it in a few different ways. I'm sure the authors took time to read many poems by the poet they were emulating and even might have spent time researching the poet as well. Writers can choose one of the poets in Out of Wonder, read the poem in honor of them, and then go do some research on him or her and his or her poetry before trying to write on their own. Writers can also use the poetry in this book and choose one poem to use as a mentor text for his or her own writing. One thing I love to do with poetry is to borrow a line from a poem and use it to start or inspire my own poem.
     The more writing I do on my own and with other writers, the more I realize how helpful it is to have a place to start from. Whether it's brainstorming, finding an idea from my day, or finding a word or line from another author...anything to get started helps. Mentor texts help us in this way and poetry is powerful as a mentor text.  Kwame talks about just this in the preface of the book. He writes, "Writers often struggle with the blank page. A clean slate can motivate, but it can also scare us. We are always in search of experiences that spark ideas for our poems and stories. Inspiration can also come from reading the works of other poets."
Snatch of Text:  

Majestic

celebrating Maya Angelou

Rise

into the wonder

of daybreak.

Be a rainbow in the cloud.

Be a free bird on the back of the night wind.

Shine on, honey!

Walk with joy in your golden feet

over crystal seas

and purpled mountains.

Know your beauty

is a thunder

your precious heart unsalable.

Be brave,

like a new seed bursting

with extraordinary promise.

Shine on, honey!

Know you

are phenomenal.

-Kwame Alexander

Writing Prompt: Choose one of the poems in the book and use it as a mentor text to write your own poetry. Choose two of the poems in the book and compare and contrast the description used in each of the poems.