Blog Note

This assignment really challenged me.  I would get behind and work to slowly get caught up one post at a time and one day at a time.  It was hard for me to not want to post everything at once.  Once I would get caught up then it would seem that I would just get behind again.  

Module 10: Looking for Alaska

Summary: Miles is an ordinary and sort of invisible boy in his home town in Florida so he decides that he wants to go to the same boarding school in Alabama that his father attended to change his life.  Once he gets there he meets some unforgettable friends who change his life forever.  For the first time Miles feels love, loss, and friendship.

APA Reference: Green, J. (2005). Looking for Alaska. New York, NY: Penguin Group

Impressions: I read The Fault in Our Stars after seeing some high school students reading it and listening to them discuss it.  Ever since reading The Fault in Our Stars I have wanted to read some more of John Green's books.  This book which I believe is his first book was also just as enticing as The Fault in Our Stars.  From the very beginning Miles draws the readers in and they feel sorry for him but at the same time they can relate to him.  There has been a time in all of our lives where we felt like Miles alone and like we really do not fit in.  For Miles escape was his solution.  The only thing was that he thought that his escape would be going to the same boarding school that his dad attend, but really his escape came in the form of friends.

Professional Review:

LOOKING FOR ALASKA

by John Green

Age Range: 14 & up

The Alaska of the title is a maddening, fascinating, vivid girl seen through the eyes of Pudge (Miles only to his parents), who meets Alaska at boarding school in Alabama. Pudge is a skinny (“irony” says his roommate, the Colonel, of the nickname) thoughtful kid who collects and memorizes famous people’s last words. The Colonel, Takumi, Alaska and a Romanian girl named Lara are an utterly real gaggle of young persons, full of false starts, school pranks, moments of genuine exhilaration in learning and rather too many cigarettes and cheap bottles of wine. Their engine and center is Alaska, given to moodiness and crying jags but also full of spirit and energy, owner of a roomful of books she says she’s going to spend her life reading. Her center is a woeful family tragedy, and when Alaska herself is lost, her friends find their own ways out of the labyrinth, in part by pulling a last, hilarious school prank in her name. What sings and soars in this gorgeously told tale is Green’s mastery of language and the sweet, rough edges of Pudge’s voice. Girls will cry and boys will find love, lust, loss and longing in Alaska’s vanilla-and-cigarettes scent. (Fiction. YA)

Looking for Alaska. (2010, June 24). Retrieved from https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/john-green/looking-for-alaska-2/

Library Uses: Looking for Alaska has some great quotes that could be used to make posters for a high school or public library.

Module 10: Smile

Summary: Raina is a middle school student who is having to get braces after knocking her front teeth out.  Hilarity and typical middle school situations ensue when she has to go through many different stages until she starts to look normal again. 

APA Reference: Telgemeier, R. (2010). Smile. New York, NY: Scholastic, Inc.

Impressions: Smile is such a cute book.  For the last 3 years I have taught those awkward middle school students and have loved every minute of them.  I never thought that I would like middle schoolers and my very first year I fell head over heels in love with them.  Raina totally reminded me of why middle school students are so awesome.  This great little graphic novel shows that no matter how hard life gets we can make it through with family and friends.  I was not sure of the graphic novel format at first but I am so looking forward to having time to read the next one in the series.  The characters are totally believable because the book is based on the author and events in her life according to the notes in the back of the book.  Smile is nice and refreshing in that completely captures life in middle school in a normal life kinda way.

Professional Review:

Review: Smile

DECEMBER 30, 2009 BY SNOW WILDSMITH

In sixth grade, Raina Telgemeier fell while running and severely damaged her two front teeth. Because of that she had to endure four years of braces, headgear, retainers, surgeries, and more in an effort to make her teeth look and work the way they should. On top of all of that, she also had to deal with the usual problems of teenage life: middle school, high school, best friends who aren’t, low self-image, crushes on boys, etc. Smile is her story of trying to find her way.

Smile
Raina Telgemeier
Age Rating: 9-14, Grades: 4-8
Scholastic Graphix, February 2010
ISBN: 978-0-545-13205-3 (hdbk), ISBN: 978-0-545-13206-0 (pbk)
224 pages; $21.99 (hdbk), $10.99 (pbk)

Telgemeier has already proved that she can accurately portray the ups and downs of early adolescent life with her graphic novel adaptations of Ann M. Martin’s Babysitter Club books (also published by Scholastic Graphix). In Smile she uses her own history to talk to young teens and, by doing so, creates a level of authenticity which is hard to match. Even readers who aren’t forced to wear braces will identify with Telgemeier’s troubles with friends, feelings for the boy who ignores her, and difficulties figuring out just who she is. She doesn’t play the pity card; she just presents a situation and shows the reader how it made her feel. And since she was such an ordinary teen–not hugely popular, but not the bottom of the social heap–her experiences are accessible by a wide range of readers.

In her art it is clear that Telgemeier has a firm grasp of the comics medium. She never makes the mistake of telling what she could be showing. For example, when she develops a crush on Sean, a boy in her school, it occurs in two wordless panels, the emotions shown by blushing cheeks and a single, simple heart. Effective, age-appropriate, and believeable. Her characters are never childish, even if they are young. The young teens move from youthful bodies to the beginnings of womanly curves with just the right touch of awkwardness. Readers who enjoyed Telgemeier’s art in black and white in the Babysitter Club graphic novels will hopefully be thrilled to see that she’s in full color this time around. Stephanie Yue does the coloring and her bright, but not garish, color palette is a nice fit with Telgemeier’s deceptively simple style of art.

Even though this is a book about becoming a teenager, the physical details of adolescense are handled smoothly. There are some references to puberty, but nothing overly detailed, becauseSmile isn’t really about those physical changes. It’s about how something like braces or pigtails or wearing the wrong shirt can be life altering in middle school. How friends can affect how a teen sees him or herself for good or for bad. How the years between 12 and 15 are painful and strange. Telgemeier’s book is an excellent addition to middle school literature.

This review is based on a complimentary copy supplied by the publisher. All images copyright © Scholastic Graphix.

Wildsmith, S. (2009, December 30). Review: Smile. Retrieved from http://blogs.slj.com/goodcomicsforkids/2009/12/30/review-smile/

Library Uses: This graphic novel is about a girl who gets braces and it could be used to help a student who is down in the dumps because they are having to get braces also.  

Module 9: The Crossover

Summary: Josh and Jordan play basketball and love it almost as much as they love their family.  Josh and Jordan are the amazing twin sons of a once professional basketball player and are in the seventh grade.  They are also helping to lead their middle school team to the playoffs.  The only thing interfering with making it to the playoffs is life.  Love and death make an appearance and the twins are not sure that they will make it to the final game.

APA Reference: Alexander, K. (2014). The Crossover. New York, NY: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.

Impressions: Verse novel...  Honestly this was not something that I had ever heard of before we started discussions.  I had already pulled several poetry books and was well prepared to use them for my blog that was until someone mentioned this book.  I immediately switched tabs and reserved this book from my local library.  Later that afternoon I picked it up and after that point it did not leave my side until I had finished it.  I even stayed up late one night because I just could not put it down.  The very first verse took me some time to read.  I really had to figure it out but then Filthy McNasty drew me in.  The flow of the words on the page was like music but more than that I could see the brothers.  I could feel the ball being dribbled down the court, the crossover, the pass, the shot and the ball swooshing through the net. This book was just awesome.  By the end the boys struggles was the readers struggles and the boys loss also belonged to the reader.  My heart ached for the boys and burst with joy for them as they carved out their path in life.

Professional Review:

NEWBERY MEDAL

THE CROSSOVER by Kwame Alexander (HMH)
 SLJ Best Book, star

Gr 6–10—Twins Josh and Jordan are junior high basketball stars, thanks in large part to the coaching of their dad, a former professional baller who was forced to quit playing for health reasons, and the firm, but loving support of their assistant-principal mom. Josh, better known as Filthy McNasty, earned his nickname for his enviable skills on the court: “…when Filthy gets hot/He has a SLAMMERIFIC SHOT.” In this novel in verse, the brothers begin moving apart from each other for the first time. Jordan starts dating the “pulchritudinous” Miss Sweet Tea, and Josh has a tough time keeping his jealousy and feelings of abandonment in control. Alexander’s poems vary from the pulsing, aggressive beats of a basketball game (“My shot is F L O W I N G, Flying, fluttering…. ringaling and SWINGALING/Swish. Game/over”) to the more introspective musings of a child struggling into adolescence (“Sit beside JB at dinner. He moves./Tell him a joke. He doesn’t even smile….Say I’m sorry/but he won’t listen”). Despite his immaturity, Josh is a likable, funny, and authentic character. Underscoring the sports and the fraternal tension is a portrait of a family that truly loves and supports one another. Alexander has crafted a story that vibrates with energy and heart and begs to be read aloud. A slam dunk.—Kiera Parrott, School Library Journal

Parrott, K. (2015, February 2). SLJ Reviews of 2015 Youth Media Award–Winning and Honor Books. Retrieved from http://www.slj.com/2015/02/industry-news/slj-reviews-of-2015-youth-media-award-winning-and-honor-books/

Library Use: Since this is a verse novel it could be used to help reach a reluctant reader.  This book could almost be combined with music or even most defiantly be used as part of a book talk. 

Module 9: Comets, Stars, the Moon and Mars

Summary: This book is full of beautiful illustrations and poems about space.  There are poems that describe plants, galaxies, stars, and constellations. 

APA Reference: Florian, D. (2007). Comets, stars, the Moon and Mars: Space poems and paintings. Orlando, FL: Harcourt, Inc.

Impressions: This fun poetry book about outer space would be a great addition to a study of the planets.  The first time that I picked up this book I was trying to figure out what was wrong with the cover and then realized that it was a cutout.  The cutout in some form or another continued through out the book.  On every page I was looking to see how they would incorporate the cutout next.  Some pages even had multiple cutouts. The book begins big with the universe and works it way into the solar system with a poem for every body in the solar system.  When I got to the page for pluto I was pleasantly surprised that the book was current the the poem mentioned that pluto was a planet and now it is not.  The poems are fun and entertaining with silly things like "Heaven knows how it got knocked on its side." when it talks about Uranus.  I also really like that there is a glossary at the end of the book to really explain more about the subjects.  There is also a further reading page to help extend knowledge.  Of course every page is also filled with beautiful artwork.  The last thing that really caught my attention is that the author's picture on the back jacket shows him as a green martian.

Professional Review:

COMETS, STARS, THE MOON, AND MARS

Space Poems and Paintings

by Douglas Florian, illustrated by Douglas Florian

Age Range: 7 - 12

Stunning mixed-media illustrations accompany a series of poems that celebrate the wonder and mystery of space. From the universe, the sequence narrows its focus to the galaxy, the solar system and then each body in turn, from the sun to poor demoted Pluto, and beyond. The verse is characteristically playful, wrapping itself around astronomical facts with ease. Readers will learn about the temperature and size of the sun, our moon’s phases and Voyager 2’s discovery of Neptune’s rings. Delightful as the poems are, however, it’s this volume’s illustrations that surpass. Bright gouache on brown paper bags lend texture to each spread; stamped words allow the illustrations to incorporate such details as names of moons and “sun” in several different languages; collage elements add further whimsy to the whole. To top off this feast for the eyes, occasional die-cuts provide telescopic windows onto adjoining spreads, firmly establishing for the reader the truth that space is a vast continuum, with new surprises in every corner of the sky. Each poem receives a thumbnail gloss at the end, offering additional facts or extending the information presented earlier. Glorious. (Picture book/poetry. 7-12)

Comets, stars, the moon, and mars: Space poems and paintings. (2010, May 20). Retrieved from  https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/douglas-florian/comets-stars-the-moon-and-mars/

Library Uses: This book could be used as part of a poetry unit or it could be used as part of a solar system unit.

Module 8: The Trouble With Chickens

Summary: J.J. Tully is a retired search and rescue dog who is trying to enjoy his retirement that is until some chickens show up asking for his help.  The mother chicken and her 2 chicks want J.J. to help them find their 2 siblings.  As J.J. and the chickens look for the clues of what happened to the other 2 chicks an adventure ensues complete with cages and books.  

APA Reference: Cronin, D. (20110. The trouble with chickens: a J.J. Tully mystery. New York, NY: HarperCollins Publishers.

Impressions: First off the title! I don't like chickens as birds.  Now don't get me wrong a I would not turn down plate of fried chicken but I don't care for the live version so I had to see what was the trouble with chickens. This book was really cute and for me as a dog lover I of course fell in love with the main character J.J. This book is easy to read.  The descriptions that are given in the book are also so funny.  I love how J.J. describes the chicks as popcorn with legs.  I have a 7 year old boy and I am working on getting him to try some longer books.  I really think that this book would be a great introduction into something longer but still easy to read.  The chapters are short and manageable and the vocabulary would be simple for a beginning or even a struggling reader.  The pictures would even help the reader figure out what it happening in the story if the reader got stuck.  I pulled this book off the shelf of the elementary library that I will be working in this coming school year.  I know that without a doubt I will be ordering the other J.J. Tully books if we do not have them and that I will be recommending them every chance that I get.

Professional Review:

THE TROUBLE WITH CHICKENS

From the "J.J. Tully Mysteries" series, volume 1

by Doreen Cronin, illustrated by Kevin Cornell

Age Range: 8 - 11

Popular farmyard chronicler Cronin (Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type, illustrated by Betsy Lewin, 2000, etc.) makes the jump to middle-grade fiction in this faux–hard-boiled mystery featuring talking animals. Her deadpan humor is much in evidence as she describes the circumstances under which retired search-and-rescue dog J.J. Tully undertakes the case of the missing chick. Puns abound, and J.J. is definitely not quite as clever as he believes himself to be, allowing readers to gently laugh at as well as with him. Sophisticated vocabulary and a complicated plot suggest the older range of readers as the most likely audience, but frequent illustrations and a relatively large font should make the story accessible to the younger end as well. Cornell’s black-and-white drawings extend both the humor and the action. In some pictures J.J. is slightly reminiscent of Scooby-Doo, another canine sleuth, while in others he is both distinctive and dogged in his determination to solve the puzzle. The chickens, mother and four chicks, are seriously silly looking and utterly adorable, which suits their surprisingly rounded characters just right.  Finding out how “Vince the Funnel” fits in, whether J.J. is being double-crossed by his client and how the climactic rescue will be resolved should keep readers engaged while Cronin’s constant word-play will keep them giggling. Fast and funny. (Comic mystery. 8-11)

The trouble with chickens. (2011, February 17). Retrieved from https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/doreen-cronin/trouble-chickens/

Library Uses: This book would be an excellent introduction from easy books to chapter books.  

Module 8: The Original Adventures of Hank the Cowdog

Summary: Hank is a cowdog and he is the head of security at his ranch.   A chicken was killed and Hank works to solve the mystery.  Hank and the other ranch dog Drover have some adventures while trying to solve the murder.  At one point Hank does not feel appreciated and he leaves to roam the wild.  He ends up finding out who murdered the chicken and that there is no place like home.

APA Reference: Erickson, J. (1999). The Original Adventures of Hank the Cowdog. New York, NY: Penguin Putnam Books for Young Readers.

Impressions: My son was given a basket full of around 30 Hank the cow dog books several years ago and until this semester they had been in the top if his closet.  I pulled the basket down and as I got ready to read book number 1 I looked inside the back cover and saw that the author lives in Perryton Texas.  That got me to thinking.  Perryton is in the top of the Texas Panhandle and this probably means that the author knows  about ranches and cow dogs.  This book was fun and had a lot of the typical Texas stereotypes.  I think that by the middle to the end of this school year my son is going to really enjoy starting to read these books.  The book was not a hard read and for someone who lives in the country and understands some of the country life that is described it will be easier.  There are some larger words but if a student works at it they should have not problems with the book. Overall I really like the typical cowboy sort of  character that Hank represents.  He gets that aw shucks kind of attitude around a pretty girl but is a big tough guy for his friends. 

Professional Review:

Gleason, G. (1988, September). [Review of the book The Original Adventures of Hank the Cowdog, by J. Erickson]. School Library Journal, 35(1), p. 198.

Note: No DOI and review was retrieved from a database.

Library Uses: I have heard that the audio versions of these books are amazing and they could be used to introduce students to the fact that more than books could be found in the library.