137) The Desperado Who Saved Baseball by John Ritter – I enjoyed this tall tale of a prequel to The Boy Who Saved Baseball
138) The Crossing: How George Washington Saved the American Revolution by Jim Murphy – I just thought I knew about George Washington
139) Drama by Raina Telgemeier: I loved this graphic novel and can’t wait to share it
140) Cleopatra’s Moon by Vicky Alvear Schecter – a fascinating look at free will in ancient Rome
141) The Books of Umber: Happenstance Found by PW Cantanese – much better than the cover indicated
142) Blank Confession by Pete Hautman – a student recommended this title, and I loved it!
143) Rush for the Gold by John Feinstein – my favorite Stevie and Susan Carol mystery yet!
144) Locomotion by Jacqueline Woodson – a boy finds his voice through poetry
145) The Search for WondLa by Tony DiTerlizzi – definitely a fairy tale for the modern world and beyond
146) Inside Out & Back Again by Thanhha Lai – beautiful poetry captures a story of hope and courage
147) Peeled by Joan Bauer – ghosts and an evil plot unmasked by high school journalists–loved it!
I’m just a few books behind my goal of reading 200 books this year. With fall break, Thanksgiving, and Christmas break still to come with book-a-day challenges, I think I will make it. It’s hard to pick a few favorites when I’ve read so many good books, but I’ll try. I loved Drama and Peeled. I have to agree with the student who recommended Blank Confession. Happenstance Found was much better than I expected from the cover. Rush for the Gold is my favorite Feinstein novel so far.
Don’t know much ’bout history…At least I thought I knew a little something about history. Then I started reading books like The Crossing: How George Washington Saved the American Revolution (Scholastic Press 2010) and realized how much my history textbooks left out. Don’t worry. Jim Murphy has come through to fill you in on all the juicy details.
This side of history views George Washington as a great military leader, our first president, and the father of our country. The other side of history was not nearly as sure of Washington’s success. Washington wasn’t sure he was up for the job either since he had never commanded such a large military force. The first years of the war didn’t give anyone much reason to hope for victory as Washington and his army was outmaneuvered by the British army again and again. The Continental Congress was ready to replace Washington with someone else. In fact, they would have replaced him with General Charles Lee, but he had the misfortune of being captured by the British first.
The famous painting of Washington Crossing the Delaware by Emanuel Gottlieb Leutze may not be historically accurate, but it does dramatically portray one of the key turning points of the American Revolution. Somehow a ragtag army led by an inexperienced commander defeated the mightiest army in the world at that time. The rest, as they say, is history, and Jim Murphy brings it to life.
Did you know that writers have the power to control time? They do, and so do you, as you are writing your memoirs. In his book After the End: Teaching and Learning Creative Revision, Barry Lane discusses how writers can explode a moment or shrink a century.
After looking at the drafts you typed yesterday, I think we need to explode some moments. What is the important moment in your memoir? That is the moment you want to explode. How do you do it? Writers explode those big moments by adding in details, details, details. Movies do it, too. Here is the BIG scene from The Natural, starring Robert Redford. (If you love baseball and haven’t watched it, go rent if over fall break.) Notice how the action slows down. What are the details that the camera focuses on to create and prolong the tension of the moment?
Now go and help each other explode the big moment in your memoir. During your peer conference, ask the writer at least five questions that will help him or her add details to the big moment. Use the “Sensory Words” and “Juicy Color Words” handouts to help you think of just the right words.
I admit that sometimes I gripe and complain when things in life don’t go my way. Then I read a book like Bamboo People (Charlesbridge 2010) by Mitali Perkins, and I realize how lucky I am. Set against the backdrop of war in Burma, this powerful story brings together two boys who must make a choice about the kind of men they wish to be.
Chiko is more interested in books than politics, but after his father is arrested, he is desperate to find work to support himself and his mother. He also wants to impress the girl next door in hopes she might return his affection. When he goes to apply for a job, he is kidnapped and forced to join the Burmese army. He becomes friends with a street boy, Tai, and together they try to survive the army long enough to return home.
Tu Reh feeds the anger in his heart against the Burmese soldiers who burned his Karenni village. He is finally old enough to go out on patrol when his group comes across a group of dead and wounded Burmese soldiers. Tu Reh is left with the choice of what to do with the wounded Chiko. Should he kill him, leave him for wild animals, or bring him to the safety of the refugee camp.
Can these two boys from opposite worlds learn to see past their anger and find forgiveness? Could you?
I put off reading The Books of Umber: Happenstance Found because I couldn’t get past the cover. I still think it is a weird cover, but I’m glad I didn’t let it stop me from encountering this magical tale. PW Cantanese has created a world filled with magic and monsters and mystery.
Happenstance awakens in a dark room in an underground city. His mind is as dark as the world around him, but as he encounters new things, his brain provides the words for it. There is just one thing he cannot know or remember: who is is and where he came from.
He joins a group of adventurers who seem to have come to the underground city just to find him. Lord Umber leads the group on endless adventures. The shy Sophie is an archer and becomes a loyal friend. Oates is bound to tell the truth even when it hurts. Even as Happenstance is eager to learn the mysteries of his past, Lord Umber is hiding secrets of his own. Neither are from this world, but both may have a chance to save a world from destruction.
But first, Happenstance must escape from the evil Occo, who is chasing him across the sea and who will stop at nothing to get what he wants. Just what powers (besides seeing in the dark and not needing sleep) does Happenstance have?
I still don’t like the cover (though I get where the images came from), but I definitely want more of the Books of Umber.
Read first 15 minutes of class. Introduce DPG (Daily Grammar Practice). It’s like a vitamin for your grammar skills! We’ll add help notes to the Language Study section of your binder and practice using them to identify the parts of speech in the first week’s sentence. Finish typing the draft of your memoir in Google Docs. You need to print a double-spaced copy of your memoir. Remember to include a header with your name, date, period. Your username is your firstnamelastname17@jcsc.org. Your password is you lunch#17. Homework: Read.
Tuesday
Read first fifteen minutes of class. More DPG – Sentence parts and phrases. Sensory details bring your story to life. Brainstorm details that you see, hear, taste, touch, or smell to add to your memoir. Complete a peer conference focusing on sensory details. Homework: Read.
Wednesday
Read first fifteen minutes of class. DPG – Clauses and sentence types. The Rule of Thoughts and Feelings. The power in a memoir comes from getting inside the head and heart of the main character–that’s you. One way to do that is to give the reader your thoughts and feelings throughout your story. Complete a peer conference to look for places where you can add your thoughts and feelings to your memoir. Click here to read post on exploding a moment. Homework: Read.
Thursday
Read first fifteen minutes of class. DPG – punctuation and capitalization. Read my bad-on-purpose memoir. In your groups, list all the ways that it is bad. Next read my new and improved version. What do you notice about this piece of writing that makes it work? Here is the link for 2nd period’s notes. Here is the link for 3rd period’s notes. Now look at your memoir: what do you need to do to improve your writing to make it work better? Homework: Read. Typed draft of memoir due Tuesday.
Friday
Read first fifteen minutes of class. DPG – Diagramming sentences. Discuss book project requirements for either book trailer or reader’s theater performance. As a group, decide which project you would like to complete and assign tasks to each person. Homework: Read.
Read first 15 minutes of class. Introduce DPG (Daily Grammar Practice). It’s like a vitamin for your grammar skills! We’ll add help notes to the Language Study section of your binder and practice using them to identify the parts of speech in the first week’s sentence. Type the draft of your memoir in Google Docs. You need to print a double-spaced copy of your memoir. Remember to include a header with your name, date, period. Your username is your firstnamelastname17@jcsc.org. Your password is you lunch#17. Homework: Read.
Tuesday
Read first fifteen minutes of class. More DPG – Sentence parts and phrases. Sensory details bring your story to life. Finish typing the draft of your memoir in Google Docs. You need to print a double-spaced copy of your memoir. Remember to include a header with your name, date, period. Your username is your firstnamelastname17@jcsc.org. Your password is you lunch#17 . Homework: Read.
Wednesday
Read first fifteen minutes of class. DPG – Clauses and sentence types. Read my bad-on-purpose memoir. In your groups, list all the ways that it is bad. Next read my new and improved version. What do you notice about this piece of writing that makes it work? Now look at your memoir: what do you need to do to improve your writing to make it work better? Homework: Read.
Thursday
Read first fifteen minutes of class. DPG – punctuation and capitalization. Sensory details bring your story to life. Brainstorm details that you see, hear, taste, touch, or smell to add to your memoir. Complete a peer conference focusing on sensory details. Homework: Read. Typed draft of memoir due Tuesday.
Friday
Read first fifteen minutes of class. DPG – Diagramming sentences. The Rule of Thoughts and Feelings. The power in a memoir comes from getting inside the head and heart of the main character–that’s you. One way to do that is to give the reader your thoughts and feelings throughout your story. Complete a peer conference to look for places where you can add your thoughts and feelings to your memoir. Homework: Read.
I think I have read my favorite John Feinstein book yet. Rush for the Gold: Mystery at the Olympics uncovers yet another sporting scandal. This time Stevie is on his own (well, Tamara and Bobby from the Washington Post and Herald are with him) to figure out what the sleaze bags are up to this time. This time, Susan Carol is the athlete, competing at the Olympics in the 100 and 200 butterfly.
Susan Carol swam out of nowhere to become the “It-girl” of the London Olympics. Her father has signed contracts with agents who promise millions–if Susan Carol can make the Olympic team and win a gold medal. Now her life is spinning out of control in a swarm of media and sponsors. Will she be able just to swim and hang out with Stevie? Will Stevie uncover the scandal before it’s too late?
I found myself out of breath reading all the way through this one. The swimming races were exciting and down to the wire. The agents and various others were complete sleazeballs. And as always, I enjoyed seeing behind the scenes of one of the biggest sporting events of all. It will probably be the closest I ever get to an Olympic game. I have a few more past mysteries to catch up on, and I am looking forward to Stevie and Susan Carol’s next adventure.
Your library card is a key that unlocks the world for you. Did you know that your library card allows you to
check out books and DVDs for FREE from the library?
check out books from any library on the Evergreen system?
download audiobooks to listen to for FREE on your iPod or other mp3 player?
download FREE ebooks to read on your Nook or Kindle?
downlaod FREE music to listen to?
That’s not all! During the month of September–National Library Card Month–our library is offering some pretty sweet giveaways. There are goody bags for anyone who gets their first library card. (It’s FREE, too!) All you need to do to get a library card is meet one of the following criteria:
Be a resident of Jennings County (bring something with your name and address on it)
Pay property taxes in Jennings County (probably not an issue for most 8th graders) OR
Have a valid card from a reciprocal library
Don’t feel left out if you already have your library card. There are goodies for you, too! If you use your library card to check out a book or something else, download free music or audiobooks, or check out the new ebooks available at the library, you are entered into a drawing for a Nook tablet or a $50 or $25 gift card from Barnes and Noble.
If you want to check out any of the ebooks and audiobooks, you will need to install the free Overdrive software. You can download the app from the app store for iPhone, iPod, iPad, or Droid. You can also download it onto your computer and transfer over if you have an older device. There’s a link on the library webpage that takes you to Overdrive. Just follow the directions on the screen for your computer or device.
What are you waiting for? Become a proud library card holder like me!
I am so excited to be part of the cover reveal for Elana Johnson’s third book in the Possession trilogy: Abandon. I first “met” Elana Johnson through her blog where she gives insider information on being a writer, raves over good books, and shares a peek into her life as she balances writing with teaching and family. I don’t know how she does it all. She also contributes to the League of Extraordinary Writers, the blog for all things dystopian. This cover reveal is hosted by AToMR Blog Tours.
I have not had a chance to read Possession, the first book yet, but I loved Surrender, the second book. Now there’s going to be a third book published by Simon and Schuster in June 2013. Are you ready for the cover? No, I think you should read the chilling description first:
seduced by power,
broken by control,
and consumed by love…
Vi has made her choice between Jag and Zenn, and the Resistance may have suffered for it. But with the Thinkers as strong as ever, the rebels still have a job to do. Vi knows better than anyone that there’s more at stake than a few broken hearts.
But there is a traitor among them…and the choices he makes could lead to the total destruction of everything Vi has fought for.
Vi, Jag, and Zenn must set their problems aside for the Resistance to have any hope of ending the Thinkers’ reign. Their success means everything…and their failure means death.
Now, it that doesn’t make you want to read it, here’s the cover:
That’s not all: There’s more! I have not yet made the move to Pinterest (I’m afraid of one more thing to suck me into the Internet), but this might tempt me to join the dark side.
ALSO:
Elana is running a Pinterest contest for the cover. She wants to get 500 pins (or repins) over the next two days. If we can get that many, she’ll pick someone who pinned the cover to win a $50 Amazon gift card.
It’s so easy to do this. All you have to do is click this PIN IT button and select one of your boards to pin the cover to. Elana has done everything else!
Don’t have a Pinterest board yet? Put it on your Tumblr page. Your Facebook page. Your twitter stream. Elana will count those too! Just be sure to tag her (@ElanaJ on twitter, Possession by Elana Johnson on Facebook).
