POC Fall In Love Too

     I consider myself lucky that my office is in the library at the middle school where I work. When students come in to look for books, I often find myself talking to them about books, suggesting books, or helping them find books. If you know me at all, you know how much fun this is for me!

     This week a student came in looking for a book. I asked her if I could help her find anything specific and she said no, she was just looking at books to see if she found something she liked. 

     "What was the last book you read that you liked?" I asked her. 

     "Everything Everything," she explained. "And then I saw the movie this weekend." She liked the movie and thought they did a good job even though some parts were different from the book. 

     I asked, "What did you like about Everything Everything?"

     She paused. And then she admitted, "The romance."

via GIPHY

     I squeed. That's the only and best word to describe my reaction. 

     It's not often that a student comes in looking for romance and it happens to be my favorite genre. I've read all the books in The Princess Diaries series, all the books in The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants series, tons of Sarah Dessen, Stephanie Perkins, Elizabeth Eulberg, John Green, Jordan Sonnenblick, and David Levithan. 

     Aisle to aisle, I scanned the shelves, thinking of some of my favorites, spotting others that stood out to me, handing them to the student until she had a stack to look through. 

     Not one of them featured a person of color as a protagonist.

     There is a Latinx character in The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants...but it hit me right in the gut that I didn't have a book to give her that was about a person of color falling in love. Maybe if I had taken a little more time to search, I would have come up with one but none stood out to me as I went through the stacks.

    In the last year or so I've read Yaqui Delgado Wants To Kick Your Ass, Gabi, A Girl In Pieces, Piecing Me Together, The Hate U Give, and Always and Forever, Lara Jean, the third book in Jenny Han's To All The Boys I've Loved Before series and Always and Forever, Lara Jean is the only one that truly stands out to me as a contemporary young adult romance....though there are elements of romance in others. 

     Obviously, I'm aware of the We Need Diverse Books campaign and the need for people of color to be represented more in children's and young adult literature. I get it. But when I had a student standing in front of me wanting to read one of my favorite genres and I couldn't come up with more than one or two books with a protagonist who was a person of color, I wanted to cry.

     People of color fall in love just like white people fall in love.

     We fall in love too.

     We need more romance books with people of color as the protagonists.

     Now I'm on a mission to find contemporary young adult romance books with protagonists who are people of color for this student and for myself. I'm going to buy books if I have to but I'm determined to give her books that feature protagonists who are people of color.

Rich In Color has a list of YA Reads with POC-Centric Romances and I compiled a list here from my research of recently published or soon to be published. I haven't read any of these yet so if you have any thoughts to share on these or others I should add, please share in the comments. 

Everything Everything by Nicola Yoon

Let's Talk About Love by Claire Kann

A Girl Like That by Tanaz Bhathena

In Search of Us by Ava Dellaira

The Beauty That Remains by Ashley Woodfolk

The Way You Make Me Feel by Maurene Goo

When Dimple Met Rishi by Sandhya Menon

Meet Cute: Some People Are Destined to Meet with stories by Jennifer L. Armentrout, 

Sona Charaipotra, Dhonielle Clayton, Katie Cotugno, Jocelyn Davies, 

Nina LaCour, Emery Lord, Katharine McGee , Kass Morgan, Meredith Russo, 

Sara Shepard, Nicola Yoon, Ibi Zoboi, Julie Murphy

Love, Hate and Other Filters by Samira Ahmed

King Geordi the Great by Gene Gant

The Education of Margot Sanchez by Lilliam Rivera

I Am Thunder by Muhammad Khan

American Panda by Gloria Chao

Down and Across by Arvin Ahmadi

That Thing We Call A Heart by Sheba Karim

Again, I haven't read any of these books so please let me know if there is one here I should bump to the top of my stack to read or others I should add!

*Update*

Suggested titles from Twitter:

You Bring The Distance Near by Mitali Perkins

I Believe In A Thing Called Love by Maurene Goo

Solo by Kwame Alexander

The Sun Is Also A Star by Nicola Yoon
Fire In The Streets by Kekla Magoon

Genre Introductions

     At the beginning of each school year, I know I need to acclimate my students to books. Since I teach intensive reading, many of my students are reluctant and struggling readers; that means that they have not been around or fans of books, so my classroom library is a bit overwhelming. The best way I have found to introduce my students to my classsroom library and books in general is a mini-genre study. The way it works is I spend each day introducing a genre. I separate my genres into the main 7- realistic fiction, fantasy, science fiction, historical fiction, informational nonfiction, biography, and traditional literature - and 3 formats - graphic novels, poetry, and short stories. (Updated to include poetry as a format after much discussion with teachers and students [you can see some below].) Thus, the mini-study lasts approximately 10 days including 1 review day and 1 assessment day.
     Each mini-study goes the same: First, I introduce the genre and we enter the definition onto a tree map. Then, the students brainstorm aspects and examples of the genre using a circle map. For example, if we are doing "Fantasy", it will include things like: magic, vampires, Harry Potter, Twilight, Amulet, talking animals, dragons, couldn't ever happen, etc.

      Following our discussion of each genre I would read a picture book of that genre and then we'd discuss how it is said genre. The picture books I used were:

Historical Fiction: Titanic Cat by Marty Crisp

Biography: Martin's Big Words or John's Sweet Dreams by Doreen Rappaport

 or 

Realistic Fiction: First Day Jitters by Julie Danneberg

Fantasy: Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak

Traditional Literature: Lon Po Po by Ed Young

Science Fiction: Zathura by Chris Van Allsburg
(though we discuss how this one could be considered fantasy as well)

Poetry: Falling Up by Shel Silverstein (read Strange Restaurant)

Short Story: Nightmare by R.L. Stine
Graphic Novel: Into the Volcano by Don Wood
[Did not read the whole books, used them to show the format]
   

     After each picture book, I use this opportunity to show students how to respond to writing like I am going to ask them to when we start our reading workshop. Thus I model a journal entry after each picture book.

     Next, I allow my students to access the classroom library. Each student gets to pick two books of the discussed genre.  I then do a book pass where students pass around the books they chose. With each set of books, the students get 2 minutes to preview the book and decide if they want to add it to their "Books to Read Someday" list. 

     The last thing we do, and this was new this year (an idea that I stole from my friend), was after students got the books they chose back, as an exit slip, they needed to tell me why the book they chose is the genre we are discussing. For example, if a student had Suck it Up by Brian Meehl they would put that Suck it Up is fantasy because it has vampires in it and vampires don't exist. 

     After going through all 8 genres and 2 formats, we review by playing the Pyramid Game and 4 corners and we finally end with an assessment which includes multiple choice, short answers, and students writing a story of a specific genre. By the end of the unit, students have a long list of books they want to read from all the genres and know how to find books in the classroom library. 

This is the beginning of cultivating readers.
Happy growing!

The True Meaning of Smekday

Title: The True Meaning of Smekday 
Author: Adam Rex 
Publisher: Hyperion 
Publication Date: October 2007 
Genre/Format: Science Fiction/Novel 
GoodReads Summary:  It all starts with a school essay. 
When twelve-year-old Gratuity ("Tip") Tucci is assigned to write five pages on "The True Meaning of Smekday" for the National Time Capsule contest, she's not sure where to begin. When her mom started telling everyone about the messages aliens were sending through a mole on the back of her neck? Maybe on Christmas Eve, when huge, bizarre spaceships descended on the Earth and the aliens - called Boov - abducted her mother? Or when the Boov declared Earth a colony, renamed it "Smekland" (in honor of glorious Captain Smek), and forced all Americans to relocate to Florida via rocketpod? 
In any case, Gratuity's story is much, much bigger than the assignment. It involves her unlikely friendship with a renegade Boov mechanic named J.Lo.; a futile journey south to find Gratuity's mother at the Happy Mouse Kingdom; a cross-country road trip in a hovercar called Slushious; and an outrageous plan to save the Earth from yet another alien invasion. 
Fully illustrated with "photos," drawings, newspaper clippings, and comics sequences, this is a hilarious, perceptive, genre-bending novel by a remarkable new talent. 
What I Think: I remember burying a time capsule when I was in elementary school. I have no idea if people still bury time capsules, but I remember them being awesome then. This book is the story Gratuity tells so that it can go into a time capsule to tell people in the future about when aliens invaded Earth. It's an interesting way to tell the story and asking kids to write about their world for people in the future would be fun. I think this would be especially perfect for middle schoolers and high schoolers because pop culture is so interesting and unique. I'm sure my students would have a completely different story about life today than I would. Especially with all the changes in technology, I would love to read what they have to say. 
     This book reminded me a bit of When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead. I liked reading about Gratuity's journey to find her mom and save the Earth...but at the end, it gets interesting when readers finally find out how things all fit into place. It was like a lightbulb going off in my head which reminded me of the end of When You Reach Me. 
     This book is a perfect example of middle grade science fiction! Sometimes I think it's hard to find science fiction that isn't dystopian or post-apocalyptic. I wouldn't consider this book to be either of those, to me it's pure science fiction.
Read Together: Grades 6 - 8 
Read Alone: Grades 6 - 9 
Read With: When You Reach Me and First Light by Rebecca Stead, 11 Birthdays by Wendy Mass, The Last Book in the Universe by Rodman Philbrick, Cosmic by Frank Cotrell Boyce, The Name of This Book Is Secret by Psuedonymous Bosch  
Snatch of Text:  
     "I'd been living by myself after Mom left. I didn't want anyone to know. I had learned to drive our car short distances by nailing cans of corn to my church shoes so I could reach the pedals. I made a lot of mistakes at first, and if anyone was walking on the sidewalk at 49th and Pine after dark on March, 3rd, 2013, I owe you an apology.
     But eventually I got really good. Like, NASCAR good. So, while more people were reporting I'd drive there myself, with no help from anyone." p. 7
Mentor Text For: Making Connections, Asking Questions, Characterization, Expository
Writing Prompts: Describe the world (small - like your city or town - or big - like your country or the whole world) and explain what you would want people in the future to know about what life was like now.  
Topics Covered: Family, Friendship, Aliens, Courage, Perseverance, Cloning, Teleportation 

I *heart* It:

Larf

Title: Larf     
Author: Ashley Spires   
Illustrator: Ashley Spires  
Publisher: Kids Can Press 
Publication Date: April 2012 
Genre/Format: Fantasy/Picture Book 
GoodReads Summary: No one believes Larf exists, and he likes it that way. Larf, you see, is a sasquatch, the only sasquatch in the world (or so it seems). He has a very pleasant, and very private, life in the woods, where on any given day he might be found jogging, gardening or walking Eric, his pet bunny. But everything changes one morning when Larf discovers that another sasquatch is scheduled to make an appearance in the nearby city of Hunderfitz. What? That must mean he's not the only sasquatch in the world Excited by the prospect of having a friend to share hair grooming tips with (and let's face it, teeter-tottering alone is no fun), Larf disguises himself as a city slicker and heads for Hunderfitz -- where he's in for a couple enormous surprises. Ashley Spires once again shows her chops for creating irresistible, quirky characters and laugh-aloud stories and illustrations. Readers with little feet and big feet will fall head over heels for Larf. 
What I Think: I loved Larf after seeing the cover of this book. He just seems like such a nice sasquatch (although I've never met any sasquatch to compare him to.) Once I read the story, I still liked Larf. He's just a nice sasquatch who does his own thing and seems to enjoy his life. But when he finds out there is another sasquatch who exists, he wants to meet him. He could have a friend! Sometimes you don't realize what you are missing until you do something different. It reminded me of the Scaredy Squirrel series. He is so scared to doing something different and worried but then, when he does, it's not so bad. I love trying new things but it's not always easy.

Ashley Spires' illustrations truly add to Larf's story. This is a picture book that is so much more fun when you really pay attention to all of the illustrations. Her voice and the humor in the story is intensified when you take your time to really look at the illustrations and everything that is happening in the book besides the text. Larf can really be a great way to help introduce students to graphic novels. In graphic novels, there are so many clues and inferences going on in the art that students need to pay attention to. Larf has these elements in it so it would make a perfect book to transition from a picture book to a graphic novel. AND, even more exciting, Ashley Spires has an awesome graphic novel series, Binky the Space Cat. Students can read and look closely at Larf and then they can read one of the Binky books and notice how similar they are.
Read Together: Grades K - 5 
Read Alone: Grades 2 - 5 
Read With: Scaredy Squirrel (series) by Melanie Watt, Binky the Space Cat by Ashley Spires,
Snatch of Text:  

"Larf is a sasquatch. The only sasquatch, it seems.

He lives a quiet life in the woods with his bunny, Eric."

"Have you ever felt like

nobody knows you even

exist? That's exactly how

Larf feels. And he likes it

that way."

Reading Strategies to Practice:  Activating Background Knowledge, Making Connections 
Writing Strategies to Practice: Personal Narrative
Writing Prompt: Write about the first time you met one of your close friends. What did you have in common? Write about a time when you did something new for the first time.
Topics Covered: Identity, Adversity, Loneliness, Friendship

The Unwanteds

Title: The Unwanteds

Author: Lisa McMann

Publisher: Aladdin

Publication Date: August, 2011

Genre/Format: Dystopian-Fantasy/Novel

Goodreads Summary: Every year in Quill, thirteen-year-olds are sorted into categories: the strong, intelligent Wanteds got to university, the artistic Unwanteds are sent to their deaths. 

Thirteen-year-old Alex tries his hardest to be stoic when his fate is announced as Unwanted, even while leaving behind his twin, Aaron, a Wanted. Upon arrival to the destination he expected to be eliminated; however, Alex discovers a stunning secret behind the mirage of the "death farm". There is instead a place called Artime. 

In Artime, each child is taught to cultivate their creative abilities and learn how to use them magically, weaving spells through paintbrushes and musical instruments. Everything Alex has ever known changes before his eyes, and it's a wondrous transformation. 

What Kellee Thinks: This is one of the few books that I just cannot figure out the genre. The book starts off as most dystopian novels do- introducing you to a dreary civilization with a tyrant controlling the citizens. In The Unwanteds, you get introduced to the Stowe boys who are in the middle of the Purge- a ceremony that separates the wanted and necessaries from the unwanted. The unwanteds are sentences to death. Alex already knows he is an unwanted and has tried to prepare himself to be separated from his twin brother Aaron, who is a wanted. After the purge, Alex, along with the other unwanteds get taken to the death camp at the edge of the city. And this is where everything changes. The unwanteds enter the death camp to find that there is a magical world that is hidden (through magic) from the dystopic world on the other side of the locked iron gate. Here, Alex and his friends Meghan and Lani meet Mr. Today, the magician who runs Artime, as well as Jim, a magical flying turtle, and other amazing things. This, obviously, causes everyone's life to change drastically- and the adventure begins. 

And what I truly loved about this book- The unwanteds were any child who showed any creative talent, so Artime was a place filled with art, theater, music, writing, reading, etc. and the Artimians fought with their art (and magic)! How cool is it that the band-nerds and book worms and weirdo artists get to kick butt with what they love the most! Amazing shout out to creativity and art. 


Such a unique book and the blurb, "Hunger Games meets Harry Potter" really makes sense when you finish. A fun book for middle grade and a definite purchase for any teacher.

What Jen Thinks: I think this is a fun book that kids will enjoy because it does mix Hunger Games with Harry Potter. I was so distraught at the beginning when certain kids are deemed "unwanted" and sent to their deaths. It reminded me a lot of the short story The Lottery by Shirley Jackson. It's very cool that the kids end up in a magical world after they are sent away and don't actually end up dying. Some parts of the magical world were fun, but others left me wanting more. Part of it might have been that I had just finished listening to The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern (an adult novel) and the magic in that book knows no bounds whatsoever. I found that I wanted the kids and the adults in Unwanteds to be more creative with how they use their magic. I also felt like the book dragged a big once the kids were in the magical part of the world. 


I do agree with Kellee that the kids who find their passion in the arts do get to show off what they can do in this book and that is celebrated. I have a feeling kids will enjoy this book, but it fell short for me.
Read Together: Grades 4 to 8

Read Alone: Grades 5 to 8

Read With: The Emerald Atlas by John Stephens, Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer, The Eternal Hourglass by Erica Kirov, Tiger Moon by Antonia Michaelis, Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones, Book of a Thousand Days by Shannon Hale

Snatch of Text: 

"Drawing the picture- that's called art. Drawing. Sketching. There are lots of different words for it. And that wasn't magic at all. That was creative talents. You have it in you already, you know. Give it a try." (p. 66)  

Mentor Text for: Setting, Genre

Writing Prompts: In the Unwanteds, art, music, writing, etc. are considered evil. Do you feel that books, art, music, etc. are important to our civilization? Why? 

Topics Covered: Art, Creativity, Individuality, Reading, Books, Writing, Music, Magic, War, Family

Kellee *hearts* It:

Jen *hearts* It:

and 

Where In The Wild?

Title: Where In The Wild? Camouflaged Creatures Concealed...and Revealed     
Author: David M. Schwartz and Yael Schy
Photographer: Dwight Kuhn   
Publisher: Tricycle Press 
Publication Date: September 2007 
Genre/Format: Non-Fiction/Poetry/Picture Book 
GoodReads Summary: Ten creatures await, camouflaged in artful, full-page photographs, while playful poems offer clues about each animal's identity and whereabouts. Think you've spotted one? Lift one of ten gatefolds to find out. A full page of fascinating information accompanies each animal so readers can learn how nature's camouflage serves hunter and hunted alike. Why do fawns have spots during their first year of life? How did killdeer birds get their name? What makes a crab spider so good at ambushing its prey? 
What I Think: This book is brilliant. It's fun to see animals and how they camouflage themselves but this book makes this an interactive activity in a few ways. First of all, readers have to search for an animal hiding in the photograph. There is a page opposite the picture with a poem that gives you a hint as to what you are looking for. After you find the animal, you unfold the page and find out if you did in fact find the animal you were supposed to find and then you can read a little about that animal. I had a blast reading this with my family and with students. Everyone, from my pre-k son, to my 3rd and 4th grade students, to my husband, were determined to find the hidden animals. After we did all the work to find the animals, we really wanted to read more about them. It was a great experience.
There are numerous ways to use this book in a classroom. There aren't many non-fiction text features but there are some. I have been using it to listen and then identify the main ideas of the text. The poems really make kids think because they are like riddles. It would be neat to read just the poem before even letting kids see the photograph. They could listen and decide what animal they should be looking for, then you can give them time to look. It would be good practice for making a prediction even though this is a non-fiction text. The color in this book is amazing. It really brings the ideas to life.
Read Together: Pre-K - 12   
Read Alone: Pre-K - 12
Read With: Non-Fiction picture books by Steve Jenkins like What Do You Do What a Tail Like This?, Over and Under The Snow by Kate Messner, How They Croaked by Georgia Bragg
Snatch of Text:   

Wings Outspread

flitting

darting

zigzag flight

blurry wing beats

in the night

resting

outspread

wings of white

blend with birch bark

by day’s light

Moth

"Moths are nocturnal – they fly and feed at night. Some are expert fliers who can evade even the fastest bats. But during the day, a resting moth is easy prey for hungry birds. By blending into it surrounds, a moth that is well-camouflaged can sleep undisturbed.

The larvae of certain moths are called inchworms. These moths are known as “geometers,” meaning “earth measurers.” As a larva inches its way along a twig, it seems to be measuring it.

In England more than a century ago, a kind of geometer called the pepper moth had light-colored wings that were “peppered” with dark specks. Pepper moths hid well on light-bardked tress blotched with grayish lichens. After factories began to pollute the air in industrial cities, soot from the smokestacks darkened the tree bark. In some areas, the moth populations evolved to be darker, matching the trees on which they rested. By doing this, they continued to evade birds looking for a mothy meal."

Reading Strategies to Practice: Activating Background Knowledge, Using Non-Fiction Text Features, Asking Questions
Writing Strategies to Practice: Expository, Poetry, Riddles
Writing Prompts: Choose one of the animals from the book and do some extra research on the animal you chose. Write an expository paragraph about what other interesting facts you learn about the animal. 
Topics Covered: Integration - Science, Animals, Camouflage, Poetry, Riddles

Jen *hearts* It:

 

2012 Reading Challenges

It's almost 2012! I can't believe it. It has been such a fun year of blogging. Last week I reviewed the challenges I did in 2011 but now it's time for us to think about our 2012 challenges!

Kellee has decided on a bunch of challenges and I'm going to tag along on a few of them.
I'll let her tell you about them! Here's Kellee:

Below are the 5 challenges that I am going to participate in during 2012.
This is my first year participating in blog reading challenges (and I think I went majorly overboard) and I am very excited!!!

Hosted by Bonnie of Bookish Adour

For this challenge you can read Dystopian, Post-Apocalyptic or Ecotopia books.

Level: Contagion- Choose 15 books to read

1. Fever by Lauren DeStefano

2. Pandemonium by Lauren Oliver

3. Insurgent by Veronica Roth

4. The Death Cure by James Dashner

5. Drowned Cities by Paolo Bacigalupi

6. Bumped by Megan McCafferty 

7. Ashen Winter by Mike Mullin 

8. Legend by Marie Lu 

9. Crossed by Ally Condie

10. The Unwanteds by Lisa McMann

11. Bar Code Tattoo by Suzanne Weyn

12. Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi

13. Dark Falls by Kat Falls

14. All of These Things I've Done by Gabrielle Zevin

15. The Kill Order by James Dashner

Alternates: 

Birthmarked by Caragh M. O'Brien

Shadows by Ilsa Bick

Middle Ground by Katie Kacvinsky

A Million Suns by Beth Revis

Unwholly by Neal Shusterman

Son by Lois Lowry 

Cinder by Marissa Meyer

Struck by Jennifer Bosworth
Outpost by Ann Aguirre

Hosted by Shelleyrae at Book'd Out

For The Eclectic Reader 2012 Challenge I am challenging myself to 
read 12 books throughout the year from 12 different genres. 

Although I usually hit most of these genres, 

the literary fiction one and classics will definitely push me.  

The genres are: 

1. Literary Fiction

2. Crime/Mystery Fiction

3. Romantic Fiction

4. Historical Fiction

5. Young Adult

6. Fantasy

7. Science Fiction

8. Non Fiction

9. Horror

10. Thriller Suspense

11. Classic

12. Your Favorite Genre (Dystopian!)

Hosted by Ashley at Basically Amazing Books & Jacinda at The Reading Housewives

With this challenge you get to set your own goal and I am going to go with planning on
reading 10 award winning books this year.  I'm not going to plan, though,
because many of them will probably be award winners from this year.

Once again I'll be participating in the Goodread's reading challenge where I'll challenge myself to read even more than this year.  I set my goal at 255 for this year and then read over 270 books. For 2012, I'll set my goal at 275 and hope that I will hit it and go over like this year.  

Hosted by Carolyn and Laura at Book Chick City

This one is self explanatory.  The 100 cannot include audio books or nonfiction.

As you can see from the GoodReads challenge, I aiming to read 275 books in 2012,
so at least 100 should definitely fit this challenge.


I am also going to start a couple of multi-year (possibly many years) challenges.

Mr. Schu at Watch. Connect. Read. and Mr. Sharp at SharpRead have started a stress free Newbery Medal Reading Challenge (#nerdbery). I am challenging myself to read all of the Newbery Medal winners.  I don't know how long this will take, I don't know if I'll do them in order and I don't know if I'll reread the 35 I've read, but I am accepting the challenge.


Along the same lines, Anna at A to Z Library and Laura at LibLaura5 are also doing #nerdcott which is reading all of the Caldecott winners (and honors; though I am only going to do the winners).  I will jump into this one too, but with the same promise as #nerdbery: I don't know how long this will take, I don't know if I'll do them in order and I don't know if I'll reread the ones I've read, but I am taking on this challenge.

Lastly, Kathy at The Brain Lair is challenging herself to read all of the Printz winners and honors, thus crowning #nerdprintz.  Again, who knows how long it will take, etc. etc., but I am jumping in.


Check out the Goodreads lists for each:
#nerdbery list
#nerdcott list
#nerdprintz list

*   *   *   

Kellee really chose some great challenges! I really like the idea of the Eclectic Reader Challenge...except the horror and suspense/thriller one have me hesitant. I know that I really cannot handle those kinds of reads so I'm not committing to that one. I am, however, definitely doing the GoodReads challenge to read more in 2012 than I read in 2011. That was a goal I set for myself in 2011 and I definitely want to do that again. I did read a ton in 2011 but that's okay, it's a perfect goal for me.

In 2011, I wanted to read more non-fiction because I didn't feel like I read enough non-fiction. This year, for the same rational, I'm choosing to do the Fearless Poetry and Exploration Challenge by Savvy Verse and Wit. I only have to read 2 books of poetry which I don't think will be a problem at all. I will probably read poetry from somewhere in children's literature. And especially novels in verse.

I love audiobooks and listen to them on my long drive to and from work so I am so excited about the 2012 Young Adult Audiobook Challenge hosted by A Book and a Latte! I shouldn't have a problem listening to 12 audiobooks throughout the year but I met a representative for Books on Tape at NCTE and realized I need to make sure to share that I've listened to a book and to incorporate a review of the audiobook aspect of my experience. For me this challenge is about reviewing audiobooks that I read as much as it is about listening to the audiobooks. I already have a great line up ready to go!

What challenges have you signed up for in 2012?
We look forward to another great year of reading and sharing books!

 and

Woods Runner

Title: Woods Runner
Author: Gary Paulsen
Publisher: Wendy Lamb Books
Publication Date: January, 2010
Genre/Format: Historical Fiction/Novel
Summary: Samuel is 13 and lives with his parents peacefully on the frontier in America. They live in a small settlement in a dirt floored cabin that backed up to the forest.  Samuel loved the forest, he'd become the sole provider of food for the settlement and he enjoyed every minute he spent in the forest. They lived far from any town so that it took sometimes months before any news got to their ears, including the beginning of the war.  It was not long after they'd heard about the war against the British that Samuel was out in the woods searching for  deer that he noticed smoke coming from where his settlement was- way too much smoke.  When he arrived he found destruction and death. All the cabins in his settlement were burnt down and bodies were everywhere; however, it seemed his parents were taken captive. It is now Samuel's only mission in life to track down and save his parents. On this adventure, he learns more about more about the horror of the war that America is now in.
What I Think: I love historical fiction! Well, good historical fiction and Woods Runner is good historical fiction.  After first I was feeling so-so about the book, but then on page 20 the book becomes such a page turner.  This book is only my 5 historical fiction book about the Revolutionary war, but it is the first that shows what happened from an American that live on the frontier.  This book also showed me some of the side work the British army and its allies did.  Being in war with someone and fighting them is one thing, but the British along with Iroquois Indians as well as the Hessians, the German fighters for Britain, were ruthless and often committed war crimes.  This book is built to not only entertain you, but to teach you.  Gary Paulsen puts snippets of historical information between chapters to help the reader understand more specifically what is going on in the book- I loved learning that little bit more!

Next to how much I loved the historical element of this novel, Gary Paulsen also crafts such an amazing survival adventure with a protagonist that anyone will root for.
Read Together: Grade 5 - 8
Read Alone: Grades 6 - 9
Read With: Chains and Forge by Laurie Halse Anderson, Hatchet by Gary Paulsen, Island of the Blue Dolphin by Scott O'Dell, Dear America books from the Revolutionary War, Nonfiction books about the Revolutionary War
Snatch of Text: 

"Oh, he knew the forest could kill.  Once, sitting by the fire, a distant relative, a shirttail uncle who was a very old man of nearly fifty named Ishmael, had looked over his shoulder as if expecting sea monsters and said, 'Nothing dies of old age in the forest.  Not bugs, not deer, not bear nor panthers nor man.  Live long enough, be slow enough, get old enough and something eats you.  Everything kills.'" (p. 5)

"There wasn't noise in the forest.  There were smells: wood smoke filled the air in every season because it wasn't just for heat, but to cook as well; the smell of oak for long fires, pine for short and fast and hot fires.  The smell of bread and sometimes, if they were lucky and had honey or rock sugar to pulverize in a sack with a hammer, sweet pie.  The odor of stew cooking in the cast-iron pot over an outside fire or in an iron kettle hung in the fireplace, the scent flying up through the chimney and out over the ground as the wind moved the smoke around.  There was the tang of manure, stacked in back of small shedlike barns to age before it was put on gardens; horse and cow and chicken manure from their farm and other farms.  So many smells swirled by the same wind throughout the small valley." (p. 8)

"He cried over each corpse, thinking of them living, thinking of them meeting in the cabin and living and talking and laughing and. . . just being. And now all gone.  Gone.  He could not stop crying, thinking of his parents, wondering, worrying." (p. 31)

Topics Covered: Revolutionary War, Family, Death, Nature, Survival

Hitler Youth: Growing Up in Hitler's Shadow & The Boy Who Dared

Special double review!!! These two books are my favorite companion books and felt that they should be reviewed together, so I am sharing them both.  A 2 for 1 special :)

Title: The Boy Who Dared
Author: Susan Campbell Bartoletti
Publisher: Scholastic Press
Publication Date: 2008
Genre/Format: Historical Fiction/Novel
Summary: Helmuth Hubener thought that Hitler was going to fix Germany, but the longer Hitler was in power, the more Helmuth realized that there was social injustice happening. 
What I Think: Based on a true story, The Boy Who Dared, accounts Helmuth's life and the choices he makes. Told in flashback, I felt that some of the suspense is taken away since you know Helmuth's current situation right from the beginning of the story; however, even with knowing the outcome, I wanted to read to figure out how Helmuth got there. 

The exposition of the book helped me understand the extent of Helmuth's society at the time which made me even more sympathetic then I would have been just jumping into Helmuth's life. Although we all know about World War II and the Holocaust, unless you have read other books on World War II Germany, you may not understand the extent of Hitler's power and brainwashing. With The Boy Who Dared, we follow Helmuth through his feelings about Hitler and the decisions he made.

This book is fabulous to read with the nonfiction book by Susan Campbell Bartoletti, Hitler Youth, which recounts the history around the Hitler Youth and what Helmuth was living through. (Hitler Youth reviewed below!)
Read Together: Grades 4 - 8
Read Alone: Grades 5 - 10
Snatch of Text: "It's morning.  Soft gray lights slips over the tall redbrick wall.  It stretches across the exercise yard and reaches through the high, barred windows.  In a cell on the ground floor, the light shifts dark shapes into a small stool, a scrawny table, and a bed made of wooden boards with no mattress or blanket.  On that bed, a thin, huddled figure, Helmuth, a boy of seventeen, lies awake.  Shivering. Trembling.
It's Tuesday.
The executioner works on Tuesday." (p. 1)


"It grinds Helmuth's stomach, the way Hugo makes all the decisions, as if he is the father." (p. 39)


"A sparrow flits by.  Nearly tempts him to the window, but he stops himself.  Wants tot save the best part off the afternoon for later.  Doesnt' want to sit, either.  As so he paces.  Eight steps the length of the cell.  He pushes off the back wall, turns, takes eight steps back, pushes off the front wall.  Back and forth, back and forth." (p. 74)


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Title: Hitler Youth: Growing Up in Hitler's Shadow
Author: Susan Campbell Bartoletti
Publisher: Scholastic Nonfiction
Publication Date: 2005
Genre/Format: Nonfiction/Novel
Summary: During World War II, Hitler controlled more than just the military; he controlled the entire country of Germany. Much of what this book explains are parts of the WWII history that is not taught in our schools and shows the true extent of the power that Hitler had over everyone. 

The Hitler Youth began as a voluntary organization to support Hitler, but it quickly became a way for Hitler to control the youth. Soon the Hitler Youth was not voluntary and they were being used in much the same way as the military. 
What I Think: This book tells true stories of children in the Hitler Youth and children that were brave enough to speak up. It is truly horrific and fascinating. Susan Campbell Bartoletti uses a combination of narrative and expository writing to take her reader on a journey through Nazi controlled Germany starting with their depression and taking us through the the end of World War II. By intertwining true stories of the youth of Germany with historical fact, Bartoletti pulls at your heart strings and shows the true effect that Hitler had on the entire nation. It also takes you through the steps that Hitler took to brainwash the entire population, starting with the most desperate citizens, including the youth. 

Although many nonfiction books are hard to get through and are dry, this one has a voice to it that is deeper and more sensitive than most. You become connected to the people of Germany and the youth of the story, so it doesn't matter if that I already know the outcome- you have to know how they make it out of their deceit filled situation.
Read Together: Grades 4 - 8
Read Alone: Grades 5 - 10
Snatch of Text: "The dark streets were already flooded with thousands of excited people, who, like Melita, were running out to watch the victory parade in honor of Adolf Hitler... Melita couldn't understand why her parents didn't support a great man like Adolf Hitler, who said that a person's money and titles didn't matter.  All that mattered was whether a person contributed to the well-being of the people." (p. 15-16)


"Throughout the war, Alfons saw so many mangled bodies that he felt immune to the horrors of war.  But one day a superior officer shocked him, saying, 'Do you know that we are slaughtering tens of thousands of Jews and other subhumans every day in Poland and Russia?"
Stunned, Alfsons looked at the officer.  He was a decorated war hero who had been reassigned to the Hitler Youth after he had lost his left are in battle.   But despite the officer's rank and experience, Alfons refused to believe that the Nazis would systematically murder people, and he told him so.
Furious, the officer swore at Alfons, " Hasn't it occurred to you yet that you and I are serving a mass murderer?"

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Read Both Books With: Parallel Journeys by Eleanor Ayers, Alfons Heck & Helen Waterford, Briar Rose by Jane Yolen, The Book Thief by Markus Zusak, Resistance: Book One by Carla Jablonski, London Calling by Edward Bloor
Reading Strategies to Practice with Both Books: Making connections, Asking questions
Writing Strategies to Practice with Both Books: Attention grabbers, Dual/Parallel story lines, Characterization, Multiple Perspectives, Narrative Nonfiction
Writing Prompts: After reading both books, why was Hitler able to manipulate and affect the youth of Germany the way he did?
Topics Covered: Cross curricular- Social Studies, Hitler Youth, War, Choice, Death, Fear, Loyalty, Mistakes, Prejudice
Translated to Spanish: No