Reading Teacher Writes

Blog Series: All Kinds of Readers

Day One: “I don’t like to read.”

You know that card game, “Bullshit?” That’s what I want to say when a middle school student says, “I don’t like to read.” (No, I don’t say it out loud. I don’t really want to say, “Bullshit.”) Instead, I say, “Yes, you do.”

After the gasp or rolling eyes, the student may start to argue, give excuses, or repeat: “No, I don’t like to read.” I’m ready. I fire back…

“You like to read your friend’s texts, don’t you?”

“You like to read your Facebook posts, right?”

“You like to read the menu at your favorite restaurant. Otherwise you wouldn’t be able to order what you really want.”

Every single student giggles at my comeback sentence. Every. Single. Time.

Why?

The student knows I’m right.

*****

This blog series, All Kinds of Readers, addresses ways teachers cope with the “I-don’t-like-to-read” readers. I have struggled with this for years. I’ve read, researched, and read some more. (I love to read!) How can I get students to find the passion, the joy of reading? Join me as I try to find solutions that work. Add your comments and questions to the conversation. Welcome to the blog!

IMWAYR: Thrilling & Beautiful Books

The weather hasn’t been nice lately – rain most of the time – which gives me lots of inside time to read. This week I share an upcoming YA thriller and a new picture book.

Every Stolen Breath, by Kimberly Gabriel

Set in modern-day Chicago, Every Stolen Breath is a fast-paced, YA thriller that readers are going to love. Lia, a teenager with asthma, PTSD, and anxiety, has been desperately trying to expose her father’s killers for two years. Her father was attacked and murdered by the Swarm, an organized mob of crazy teens, famous for their brutal killings in high-profile areas, such as Navy Pier.

Lia cannot uncover the truth about her father’s death by herself. While trying to overcome her own disabilities, she must trust in the skills and stories of others: a former Swarm member, a reporter who loves drama and TV cameras, and two loyal school friends with social media smarts who will help her – even if it means more danger. Lia is convinced that she knows how her father died, but there are secrets to be revealed, and many people who attempt to halt her efforts — even if it means silencing her forever. No one is safe from the secrets.This novel by Kimberly Gabriel, a Chicago native, will be sold in November, 2019. (Blink YA Books) Add it to your reading list today.

Bloom Boom! by April Pulley Sayre

I love celebrating the seasons with April Pulley Sayre!
Another beautiful, colorful tribute — flowers! This makes me think of all the wondrous days yet to come (once it stops raining).

(Beach Lane Books, 2019)

It’s Monday! What are you Reading? is a meme hosted by Kathryn at Book Date. It is a great way to recap what you read and/or reviewed the previous week and to plan out your reading and reviews for the upcoming week. It’s also a great chance to see what others are reading right now…you just might discover your next “must-read” book!

Kellee Moye, of Unleashing Readers, and I decided to give It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? a kidlit focus. If you read and review books in children’s literature – picture books, chapter books, middle grade novels, young adult novels, anything in the world of kidlit – join us! We love this meme and think you will, too. We encourage everyone who participates to visit at least three of the other kidlit book bloggers that link up and leave comments for them.

IMWAYR: Books for All Ages

It’s been a wonderful year for reading so far! In the first five months, I have read new favorite titles, re-read former favorites, and have been lucky enough to read upcoming titles that I’m sure to add to my favorites list. This week for “It’s Monday! What are you Reading?” I’ve sampled books for all age groups.

Children/Young Readers

Did you know Dav Pilkey created more characters? (I didn’t.) My favorite bookseller, Kathy at The Brain Lair Bookstore, showed me this one, and I immediately gave to my granddaughter. Big Dog and Little Dog have fun, make mistakes, and get into some trouble in this story collection that you’re sure to love as much as Captain Underpants and Dog Man. Thanks, Dav, for continuing to write for my family and students.

Middle Grade

My favorite dog character is back! Fenway and Hattie In the Wild sparks your interest with the bright red cover, and keeps you entertained with another crazy adventure. Victoria Coe, you’ve done it again. (I can’t really say much about this one without spoilers, and if you haven’t read the other Fenway and Hattie books, go get them soon.)

Lynda Mullaly Hunt writes such terrific novels for pre-teens. One for the Murphys and Fish in a Tree are still two of my favorite books of all time, and now Shouting at the Rain is out. I love the quote, “…a man is not made my his mistakes. He’s made by what he does about them.” This is about family, and life, and love, and growing up, and so many other things. Just. Read. It.

Teen/Young Adult

I’m just calling these “The Blink Books” as a group of amazing novels that Blink YA Books is publishing this year. I still need to finish, but you’ll be hearing much more about these titles on this blog soon. I have some new favorite authors here with Alison Gervais, Annie Sullivan, Lauren Mansy, and Kimberly Gabriel. I plan to get to know them more in years to come.

Look for these titles this fall: The Silence Between Us (August), Tiger Queen (September), The Memory Thief (October), and Every Stolen Breath (November).

It’s Monday! What are YOU reading?

IMWAYR: Versify! Many Books to Read

Spring Break is over and it’s time to get back to reality. Wait! Not quite! It’s the Kwame Alexander “Versify” and “Crossover/Booked” Bus Tour! That means more traveling for me, which is exciting! The Versify books (new imprint of HMH Books curated by Kwame Alexander) published on Tuesday, April 2nd, and I’m reading them this week:

The Last Last-Day-of-Summer by Lamar Giles

¡Vamos! Let’s Go to the Market by Raul the Third

White Rose by Kip Wilson

The Undefeated by Kwame Alexander (illustrated by the legend, Kadir Nelson)

While I was on spring break, I read Song for a Whale by Lynne Kelly. This is an amazing book about Iris, a special girl with electronics skills. She repairs old radios for Mr. Gunnar, the owner of Joe’s Junk Emporium. She is also a collector of cool old radios, and trades her skills for parts to fix them up. She’s deaf, too, and her skills are quite different from her hearing friends, which makes repairing radios even more intriguing. Her parents named her after a whale who had been beached near the family’s home on the Gulf of Mexico. Marine biologists found that this sei whale couldn’t communicate with other whales for some reason. Whales depend on sounds to follow their families and find food in the ocean. Years later, in science class, Iris learned of another whale, Blue 55, recorded making unique sounds, and traveling alone in the ocean. Scientists thought there must be a story, just as the sei whale’s, a reason that she was alone. Iris could relate to Blue 55, and wanted desperately to help. Iris decided to research Blue 55 and use her electronics knowledge to create a special song for the whale. Maybe the hybrid whale could find her family, or a least “know” that someone out there was like her.

You MUST read this book! Students and adults of all ages will root for Iris to save Blue 55 — finding one’s voice in a big world. It’s a beautiful and hopeful story of love and learning. I’ve added Song for a Whale to my 2019 “Best Books So Far” list. 5 Stars!

I also started reading (and will probably finish tomorrow) Reading to Make a Difference: Using Literature to Help Students Speak Freely, Think Deeply, and Take Action by the fabulous duo, Lester Laminack and Katie Kelly. I saw the pair at NCTE last November speak about this call to action, and the stories of the students who are making the world a better place inspire me! Pick this one as your next literacy PD read. You won’t be disappointed.

It’s Monday! What are you reading?

It’s Monday! What are you Reading? is a meme hosted by Kathryn at The Book Date. It is a great way to recap what you read and/or reviewed the previous week and to plan out your reading and reviews for the upcoming week. It’s also a great chance to see what others are reading right now…you just might discover your next “must-read” book!

Kellee Moye, of Unleashing Readers, and Jen Vincent, at Teach Mentor Texts decided to give It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? a kidlit focus. If you read and review books in children’s literature – picture books, chapter books, middle grade novels, young adult novels, anything in the world of kidlit – join us! We love this meme and think you will, too. We encourage everyone who participates to visit at least three of the other kidlit book bloggers that link up and leave comments for them.

A Whirlwind Trip to See Laurie Halse Anderson – #ShoutBook

Chicago! My Nerdy Book Club friends, Kathy and Kelly, and I took a road trip to see Laurie Halse Anderson during Laurie’s SHOUT book tour. It was a fantastic, whirlwind trip and we listened to the conversation with Laurie and Mikki Kendall regarding #MeToo, rape, and culture. We heard from survivors and learned some valuable information that can help everyone to be better humans. My top takeaway was that we need to have these tough conversations with boys and girls, men and women — at home and in school.

It was nice to see Laurie again — we got our “annual” picture (which I realized this year will be semiannual, since she’s coming to #NerdCampMI) and spent time learning about important issues. The girls and I had fun visiting (and running into Sarah Aronson!). “Nerdy Road Trip” doesn’t happen very often, but when it does, we have a great time!

IMWAYR: Supporting the Locals

I must read Shortest Way Home, by our mayor, Pete Buttigieg, before next week’s book signing! My local indie bookstore, The Brain Lair Bookstore, will be hosting the event, and I can’t wait to see the turnout!

By the end of the week, I will have Shout in my hands. We are road-tripping to see Laurie Halse Anderson on Friday while she is in the area for her book tour (We might even follow her around Saturday, but shh…I’m not sure yet.).

Some great reading and some local events headed my way! Have a nice week!

IMWAYR: Picture-Book-Palooza

I spent the evening re-reading picture books, and it was the most entertaining time of the day. I chose serious picture books first, then went for the funny ones to end my reading day on a light and enjoyable note. I love reading! What did you read today?

Sunday Snippet: A Bit of Thinking

SarahAronsonandMe_022019

Maintaining the Motivation –

Last week students at my middle school were lucky to hear author Sarah Aronson talk about her writing process and share information about her upcoming picture book biography, Just Like Rube Goldberg. I went home that night with renewed interest in researching and reading…and writing.

Four days later, I struggled to sit my “butt in the chair” today and write anything of substance. Why is that? How can we maintain the motivation for reading and writing after a big literacy event?

IMWAYR: Do Over!

Do Over! (Sometimes we need a “Reset” button.)

I had a plan for last week’s reading that has turned into the plan for this week’s reading. I have Trevor Noah’s Born a Crime (2016) on my desk, and I still want to read On the Come Up by Angie Thomas (2019).

There are new children’s books out, too. I enjoyed reading What If…? Then we… by my local author/friend, Rebecca Kai Dotlitch, (February 12th) and I am excited to help spread the word about the next title from Jarrett Lerner, Revenge of the Enginerds. (February 19th). Congratulations and Happy Book Birthday!

It’s Monday! What are you reading?

Graphic Novels are Books, Too! by Stacey DeCotis

I just completed an order for our school library — mostly graphic novels and picture books! If you’d like some help in how (and why) to use these books (yes, they are good books), please contact me.

Nerdy Book Club

Oh if I could count the times I’ve heard adults say that graphic novels are “too easy” or “not challenging enough” or “they don’t count as books”…

My 5th grade students this year are devouring graphic novels! Until I started reading them last year, I never understood why (I mean, yeah I got that there are colorful and interesting pictures, but what about the text?)

I fell in love with graphic novels! I started off with Raina Telgemeier’s Smile, Sisters, and Drama. Then I moved on to Ghost, then, El Deafo by Cece Bell.

Then the fantasy Amulet series by Kazu Kibuishi came out. I. Was. In. Love. Just yesterday I had a student ask if I could place the rest of the series on hold at the library (I had purchased 2 and 3 over winter break). I immediately went on my library network website and…

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