Posts Tagged ‘book trailer’

Two more memoir book trailers

Here are the last two of the book trailers my morning classes did over the memoirs we read.  I am thrilled with their productions.  I’m not so thrilled with the technological problems we encountered.  We did learn much from this experience, including patience and perseverance.

Here is another book trailer for Night by Elie Weisel:

The last one (but not least) is over The Lost Boy by Dave Pelzer:

More book trailers

After much frustration dealing with multiple technical difficulties, I am very proud to show the last of the book trailers created by my students over the memoirs they read.  I am most impressed with the determination and perseverance they showed in completing these.

The first trailer is for the book Night by Elie Weisel:

The second trailer is also for the book Night by Elie Weisel:

The last trailer is over Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank:

Fun on a Friday: Book trailer for Unwholly

Unwind just might be my favorite book by Neal Shusterman.  It is the story of a future United States torn apart by a second Civil War over the issue of abortion.  In the compromise to end the war, the concept of unwinding is born.  Babies will live, but teenagers (between the ages of 13 – 17) can be harvested for the body parts for transplants.  If your parents declare you too unruly, if you a not-good-enough ward of the state, or if you were born for it, you can be unwound.  You’re still alive, just in pieces spread throughout many different people.

Unwholly continues the story.  It came out this week, and here is the trailer for it.  Only watch it if you dare:

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Slob by Ellen Potter

I thoroughly enjoyed Slob by Ellen Potter even though it was not at all what I was expecting.  I didn’t expect to be amazed by Owen’s intelligence and courage in facing up to the bullies in his present and to the secrets in his past.  I wanted to be able to invent gadgets like the booby trap to catch the Oreo thief stealing from his lunch every day.  Owen’s most important invention just might shine truth on the terrible secret from his past.

I didn’t expect to be impressed with Jeremy’s stubbornness and loyalty.  She may be loud and sometimes obnoxious, but she will do anything to stand by her brother.  It took me a minute to figure out why Jeremy was a she, but I soon figured out why she would lead the GWAB (girls who want to be boys).

I didn’t expect to be horrified by Mr. Wooley, the gym teacher who terrorizes Owen in PE class.  He is truly diabolical in the torments he creates.  I cheered when Mason outsmarted him and when Owen finally stood up to him.

I didn’t expect to enjoy the secondary characters so much either:  Mom, who has the voice you want in your ear during a crisis; Nima, the Tibetan neighbor who makes delicious momos and gives wise advice; Mason, the misunderstood juvenile delinquent; and Izzy, the extra-tall best friend.

I think this book trailer is a good way to end.  Enjoy!

Chomp by Carl Hiaasen

Carl Hiaasen strikes again with a mystery packed with humor and adventure smack in the middle of the Everglades.  Chomp (Alfred A. Knopf 2012) takes sure aim at reality television (Does anyone really believe they reflect reality?), vampires (Whether or not they sparkle), and child abuse (on a more serious note).

Wahoo may be my favorite Hiaasen character yet.  While his dad Mickey wrangles alligators and pythons for dippy reality tv star Derek Badger, Wahoo has to wrangle his dad to keep them from getting fired or worse during the filming of Expedition Survival.  In the midst of chaos and near disaster, Tuna (one tough chick) shows up with a shiner from her father and joins the crew.  Before you know it, there are angry snakes, stunned bats, confused vampires, and a gun-toting dad on a collision course in the Everglades.

Enjoy the trailer below and then find a copy of Chomp to read.

The Eleventh Plague by Jeff Hirsch

Stephen Quinn was born into a world that had collapsed after the war and a deadly influenza virus known as the eleventh plague.  He roamed the desolate landscape with his family as salvagers, looking for scraps of anything valuable enough to trade.  Above all, they keep to themselves to avoid the bands of slavers.  Then Stephen’s grandfather dies and his father is left in a coma.  Can Stephen trust the people who take him to Settler’s Landing?  When he and Jenny play a prank that goes horribly wrong, Stephen must choose who he will stand with and hope it is not too late.

Jeff Hirsch has created a chilling portrayal of the future that seems all too possible–just not likely, I hope.   The landscape is littered with the broken down remnants of our modern life.  Cars fill parking lots of empty malls.  The golden arches sag beneath the tendrils that threaten to pull them down.  In the midst of this death and destruction, Settler’s Landing promises the hope of rebuilding a new life–or does it?  Underneath the calm and order of farming and school and even a doctor’s care, a darkness lurks that could ruin it all.  By the end of the story, each character must make a choice about who they will be.  Will they give in to fear or take a stand for what is right?

I loved the character of Stephen Quinn.  He is haunted by the voice of his grandfather and afraid to accept the hope offered by Settler’s Landing. With his fathe unconcious, he has to make the decicions that will determine their survival, but the world contained in Settler’s Landing is unlike anything he as ever experienced.  He is desperate for the community and even school, but his emotions get the better of him, especially where Jenny is concerned.

I’m still thinking about this book and week later.  Can we choose who we will be even in the most dire circumstances?

Fun on a Friday: Creativity

Where do good ideas come from?  Whether you are looking for a good idea for writing or for anything else, see what Steven Johnson has to say.  Maybe I’ll check out his book and create some more good ideas for class, too! 

I found this video on the blog for The League of Extraordinary Writers.  It’s a great place to visit if you like dystopian literature–that means books where the world has gone way wrong.  I’ll share some of my favorites in class today.

Fun on a Friday

First, a confession.  I don’t have this book….yet.  But I want it.  I have been hearing nothing but good about this book from people who have read it.  Check out this trailer.  Doesn’t it look good? 

 

Now, who else wants to read Gae Polisner’s Pull of Gravity?

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