Story Exploratory's Back to School Giveaway!

Yesterday I shared how my identity is still evolving and how this year I became a small business owner. I'm so proud of Story Exploratory and am excited to share it with the world. 

To celebrate back-to-school season, Story Exploratory is hosting a Back to School Giveaway!

Here's the link to the Story Exploratory Facebook page so you can join in on the fun!

Reading Revealed Giveaway!

School starts for us on August 14th so I’ve been planning! I met with my 8th grade team last week and will be meeting with my 7th grade team in two weeks. 

In our school, students have a 3-period block of English Language Arts and Social Studies so I’ll have a group of 8th graders in the morning and a group of 7th graders in the afternoon. I’m planning to start the year with conversations about identity with both groups so I read Being The Change by Sara Ahmed and Upstanders by Sara Ahmed and Smokey Daniels. Both of these are absolutely amazing and I highly recommend them.

I also read through the first Units of Study Writing resources for both grades and then I read Reading Revealed by Diane Stephens, Jerome C. Harste, and Jean Anne Clyde. To be honest, the content in Reading Revealed is geared more towards K-5 but it’s still full of ideas so I’m excited to share it here as a giveaway for my K-5 friends.

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Interested in what I’ve got planned for exploring identity with students? I’ll be sharing posts soon but to start, I took time to write about my own identity here. When it comes to identity, it is imperative to start first with ourselves so you might want to try this yourself. If you do, I’d love to see your list! Link it in the comments or paste in some of your 31 things about you. Feel free to use my 31 Things About Me post as a mentor text!

Thanks to Scholastic

for sending me a copy of this book to review 

and for partnering with me for this giveaway.

The Lost Girl Blog Tour and Giveaway

Today I'm thrilled to kick off the blog tour for The Lost Girl by Anne Ursu! A big thanks to Walden Pond Press for inviting me to participate and for giving me the opportunity to offer a giveaway too!

About The Lost Girl:

Once upon a time, there were two sisters, 

alike in every way, except for all the ways that they were different.

    When you’re an identical twin, your story always starts with someone else. For Iris, that means her story starts with Lark. Iris has always been the grounded, capable, and rational one; Lark has been inventive,  dreamy, and brilliant—and from their first moments in the world together, they’ve never left each  other’s side. Everyone around them realized early on what the two sisters already knew: they had better outcomes when they were together.

    When fifth grade arrives, however, it’s decided that Iris and Lark should be split into different  classrooms, and something breaks in them both. Iris is no longer so confident; Lark retreats into herself as she deals with challenges at school. And at the same time, something strange is happening in the city around them: things both great and small going missing without a trace. As Iris begins to understand that anything can be lost in the blink of an eye, she decides it’s up to her to find a way to keep her sister safe.

What I Think:

Where do I even start!?! Maybe that's not the best way to start but seriously, this book is amazing on so many different levels. Yes, it's a sister story but at the same time it's a girl power story. When I first started reading, I thought of twins I know. I was friends with twins when I was in elementary school and I have a friend who has twin girls. No doubt, they share an amazing bond. Then I started thinking of my own sister and my cousin who I consider a sister. But as the book went on, I thought of so many friends who stand beside me, whose hands I've held, who remind me to carry on and how much they are sisters to me. I thought about how much they mean to me, how much they encourage me, and how strongly I believe in them. We're all the stars in our own stories but we couldn't do it without our supporting actors.

I really don't want to give the story away. It's so luscious and wonderful that you just have to live it for yourself. But I do want to say that I wondered how I would relate to the characters, seeing as I'm not a twin. Well, I did. I loved getting to know Iris and Lark and I loved seeing how they grew apart and together. And I love the suspense of it all. It's truly a must read for anyone out there. Whether you have a sister or not. Whether you are a sister or not. Whether you are a girl or not. You won't be disappointed.

Like me, I'm sure you'll have lots to talk about after you finish reading The Lost Girl but here's a fantastic Educators’ Guide, written by Melissa Guerrette that you might find useful.

About Anne:

    Anne Ursu is the author of Breadcrumbs, named one of the best books of 2011 by Publishers Weekly and the Chicago Public Library, and The Real Boy, which was longlisted for the National Book Award. She is also a member of the faculty at Hamline University’s MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults. Anne lives in Minneapolis with her family and an ever-growing number of cats. You can visit her online at www.anneursu.com

Be sure to visit all the stops on the blog tour:

FRIDAY FEBRUARY 1: Teach Mentor Texts

SATURDAY FEBRUARY 2: About to Mock

SUNDAY FEBRUARY 3: Novel Novice

MONDAY FEBRUARY 4: Maria’s Melange

TUESDAY FEBRUARY 5: A Foodie Bibliophile in Wanderlust

WEDNESDAY FEBRUARY 6: Bluestocking Thinking

THURSDAY FEBRUARY 7: .com

FRIDAY FEBRUARY 8: Unleashing Readers

SATURDAY FEBRUARY 9: Book Monsters

SUNDAY FEBRUARY 10: Fat Girl Reading

MONDAY FEBRUARY 11: Word Spelunker

TUESDAY FEBRUARY 12: Nerdy Book Club

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Game Changer! Book Access for All Kids Giveaway

Lately I've been reflecting on all the wonderful people who are in my life. Thanks to Twitter, I have friends all over the country and even in different parts of the world. I know social media has Hit's downsides but it has allowed me to connect and learn from so many wonderful people who have made me a better person in some way, shape, or form. 

And when I think of Twitter and everyone I've ever connected through Twitter, I think of Donalyn Miller. To be honest, I got on Twitter after I saw Ashton Kutcher talk about wanting to be the first person to reach one million followers. At the time he was married to Demi Moore and the idea of celebrities sharing a glimpse into their own lives was interesting to me. So I signed up. 

But then I read The Book Whisperer and I found Donalyn on Twitter. It seems like every time I see her I tell her again how she changed my life but it's sincerely true. 

Twitter is also where I first "met" Colby too and we bonded over I Want My Hat Back by Jon Klassen. Since then, I've learned so much from both Donalyn and Colby. I've learned to be unabashedly passionate about my love of books and reading and in sharing that with others. Our wild love of reading shouldn't be contained and in Game Changer! Book Access for All Kids they remind us how we cannot allow it to be contained because kids need us. We are the change agents, we are the readers kids need, we can make an impact. 

Here is my favorite quote from the book:

"Without access to books, the persistent gap between 

children who have access and those who don't will remain. 

Our students will not reach their full potential without books, 

regardless of the education reforms schools implement." (p. 8)

The book is filled with idea after idea and story after story, from Donalyn and Colby and from other amazing educators who are doing great work. While I most appreciate the specific examples and stories from the field, there is research to support everything (we all know certain people who want to see the research!). I'm so excited to share Game Changer! and offer a giveaway thanks to Scholastic because it's an important book that I know will help change the game for kids out there who need us and need book. 

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Thanks to Scholastic

for sending me a copy of this book to review 

and for partnering with me for this giveaway.

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.

JOIN: Celebrating My Mama and Reading and Writing

Every weekend, join me as I CELEBRATE This Week 

with Ruth Ayres from Discover. Play. Build.

Yesterday my sister and I took my mom to Milwaukee for a Mother's Day girls' celebration. It's been a long time since just the three of us went out and we had such a great time. We scheduled a private lesson for her at a yarn store. She loves to crochet but she got some tips from a nice lady who does the lessons at the Knitting Nook. Then we went out to dinner at a tapas restaurant called La Merenda. It was so fun to celebrate my mom and spend time with her and my sister.  

I'm grateful to still have my mom in my life and that my kids get to have her in their lives. 

On the drive to pick up my sister, she asked me about my writing and we talked about how my grandma loved to read and write. There are so many things that contributed to me being a reader and a writer but the fact that my family embraced books and encouraged me to read and write is definitely one of them. I'm lucky and I wish every young person could develop a love of reading and writing. 

Blogging has been a really fulfilling way for me to share my love of reading and writing and to hopefully make an impact on the world by spreading a love of reading and writing. To celebrate eight years of blogging here, I'm happy to share the winners of three different books. I'm also offering to chat with anyone who wants to talk about writing. On Monday, May 28th, I've blocked off time to talk with 10 people who sign up for a personal writing conference with me. This will be first come, first served and we'll connect via Google Hangout. You'll have the option to share a short piece of writing with me ahead of time if you'd like or we can just talk about your writing life in general. It doesn't matter whether you have been writing for a long time or are new to writing. It also doesn't matter what you write. All writers count, all writers are welcome. Each writing conference will last 20-25 minutes.

To sign up for a writing conference with me, click the link below. Then click where it says, "Next available appointment slot on May 28, 2018." From there, choose a time slot that works for you and click "Save". This will save the appointment to your Google Calendar and reserve the spot with me. You will need to be signed into a Google account to be able to do this. I'll send you an email confirmation the week before our chat with more information. 

Jen Vincent Writing Conference Sign Up

And now the book giveaway winners! Thanks again to Scholastic for providing these books for me to give away. 

The winner of:

Comprehensive Literacy 

by Patricia L. Scharer

is Jill Bless!

The winner of:

One person will win The Megabook of Fluency 

by Timothy V. Rasinski and Melissa Cheesman Smith

is Lisa Maucione!

The winner of:

The Writing Teacher's Companion 

by Ralph Fletcher

is Lisa Cosgrove!

JOIN: Celebrating My Eight Year Blogiversary!

Every weekend, join me as I CELEBRATE This Week 

with Ruth Ayres from Discover. Play. Build.

You may have noticed that things have changed a bit around here! This weekend, I updated the blogger header, picked a new theme, and imported all my posts from my Story Exploratory blog. Now everything is here so I can blog a little more broadly about writing but have everything in one place. 

When I started blogging about books and writing in 2010, Peanut had just turned three, I was pregnant with Little Bean, and had finished work on my National Board certification. Eight years later and Little Bean is finishing up second grade. Next school year he'll be in third grade and Peanut will be in sixth grade which is the first year of middle school in our district. It's time to renew my National Board certification so I've been making plans to be able to start that process next year. 

So much has changed and yet so much has stayed the same. I'm sitting on our back deck as the kids play football with my husband, Chad. We celebrated Mother's Day by going out to lunch with my family and soon we'll head inside to take showers and go through backpacks and get ready for the week. 

Eight years ago I decided this blog would be about a celebration of books and how to use them as mentor texts. I had no idea how much my love of writing would grow, that I would start writing novels and picture books, that I would be part of an amazing virtual summer writing camp for teachers, that I would start to dream about one day being published, that I would try online writing contests, query agents, and sign with an agent, or that I would have books out on submission with publishers. 

Who knows what the next eight years will bring! I'm excited to see how my love for writing will grow and what I'll learn about writing and what experiences will come my way. Thanks for being part of my writing journey! And for being here to celebrate with me, I have some gifts for you! 

I have three awesome educational books courtesy of Scholastic to share. You can fill out the Google Form below to enter. I'll choose three separate winners in the continental US next Saturday, May 19th and announce the winners here on Sunday, May 20th. 

One person will win Comprehensive Literacy 

by Patricia L. Scharer. 

One person will win The Megabook of Fluency 

by Timothy V. Rasinski and Melissa Cheesman Smith.

One person will win 

The Writing Teacher's Companion by Ralph Fletcher.

Also, as you may know, Teachers Write will be back this summer and the sign up is already open. Being part of a writing community like Teachers Write has seriously changed my life and played a huge role in me seeing myself as a writer. Connecting with other writers is an important part of my writing life.

To celebrate the power of being connected as a writer, I've blocked off time on Monday, May 28th to talk with 10 people who sign up for a personal writing conference with me. This will be first come, first served and we'll connect via Google Hangout. You'll have the option to share a short piece of writing with me ahead of time if you'd like or we can just talk about your writing life in general. It doesn't matter whether you have been writing for a long time or are new to writing. It also doesn't matter what you write. All writers count, all writers are welcome. Each writing conference will last 20-25 minutes. I've never done this before so we'll see how it goes and if there is a lot of interest, I might find another day during the summer to offer this again. 

To sign up for a writing conference with me, click the link below. Then click where it says, "Next available appointment slot on May 28, 2018." From there, choose a time slot that works for you and click "Save". This will save the appointment to your Google Calendar and reserve the spot with me. You will need to be signed into a Google account to be able to do this. I'll send you an email confirmation the week before our chat with more information. 

Thanks again for celebrating with me and for reading my blog! I'm so glad to share my love of books and writing and to connect with you. Don't forget to enter the book giveaway or to sign up for a writing conference. xo

Jen Vincent's Blog-i-versary Book Giveaway

Jen Vincent Writing Conference Sign Up

Scholastic Mag Vacay Fun! #ScholasticMagVacay

Guess what!? Scholastic has an awesome giveaway going on right now! 

If you are already a fan of Scholastic's classroom magazines or Scholastic Teacher magazine (like me!) or if you are new to them, this is a great opportunity. You can check out all the classroom magazines here. And if you aren't a subscriber already, you can go to this request form to receive a free sample issue so you can join in on the giveaway.

I love that they have so many different options for classroom magazines. My school district just finished our first year of dual language so I love that they have resources in English and in Spanish. Plus they have magazines for all ages on a variety of topis. 

Wanna know what you can win? If you enter, you have a chance to win cash prizes: $250, $500, and $1,000! How amazing is that?

So how do you submit an entry? It's super easy! Take a picture of you (or a video!) and your summer vacation with a copy of any Scholastic magazine (just like mine above) and share it to your personal social media with #ScholasticMagVacay. That's it! Super easy, right?

The contest opened on June 1st and will run through August 31st. For all the details, visit Scholastic.com/ScholasticMagVacay. And be sure to follow Scholastic on social media: Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest. 

Beach Party Surf Monkey Blog Tour and Giveaway

Thank you to Random House

for sending me a copy of this book to review 

and for providing a copy of the book 

for me to giveaway! (Details below!)

Title: Beach Party Surf Monkey 

Author: Chris Grabenstein 

Illustrator: Brooke Allen

Publisher: Random House 

Publication Date: May 1st, 2017 

Genre/Format: Realistic Fiction/Novel 

GoodReads Summary: There's always something wacky happening when you live in a motel, and P.T. (named after P. T. Barnum, of course) has grown up at the world's wackiest! When word gets out that the hottest teen idols in Hollywood (plus current YouTube sensation Kevin the Monkey!) will be filming their next movie--Beach Party Surf Monkey--right in St. Pete's Beach, Florida, P.T. and his friend Gloria know that the Wonderland would be the perfect location. Now they just have to convince the producers!

But when things start to go wrong (crazed fans? missing stars?), it will take all of Gloria's business genius and P.T.'s wild stories to save the movie before both it and the Wonderland are all washed up!

What I Think: I enjoyed both books in the Welcome to Wonderland series and am excited to share them with my kids! P.T. is such a character but he's lovable at the same time. He tells lots of stories gets into all sorts of sticky situations but his heart is in the right place. 
    As a mentor text, I would look at how Chris is able to build P.T.'s character through letting us into his head and dialogue. There is a lot of dialogue in this book. I picked a snatch of text when we get to be inside P.T.'s head and understand some of his thinking. This is an example of how we can grow to like him because we see his thought process. The best part is that he uses some great imagery in this snatch of text without making it boring. It's a great example of a simile done well! So fun!

Snatch of Text:  
     "As I grabbed the door, I realized that if I took Aidan Tyler into the lobby of the Wonderland, he'd be like a prize blowfish in an aquarium. His fans would just press up against the glass to gawk at him. Some girl would probably make smoochy faces at him, too. And that would mean I'd have to spend my weekend cleaning greasy lipstick smears off our floor-to-ceiling windows.
     'Change of plans,' I told him." (p. 47)

Writing Prompt: Write about what you think about when it comes to fame. Do you like the idea of being famous? Would you want to be famous? Or do you have other thoughts about being famous? Make connections with P.T.'s experience with fame and your own.

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