It's Monday! What Are You Reading? 8/25/14

 It's Monday! What Are You Reading? is an opportunity for everyone to share their book journeys: where we've been for the week and where we plan to go next. To learn more about It's Monday! What Are You Reading? with a kidlit focus, jump over to Jen Vincent's blog, Teach Mentor Texts, and Kellee Moye's blog, Unleashing Readers.

 

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It's been way too long since my last IMWAYR post. 

 

I believe in transparency. I did not have the reading nor writing summer that I anticipated in June. 

 

I am disappointed. 

 

My four year old took all of two naps this summer. I had not planned for that. In previous summers, toddler nap time was when I had my time with my books. Yeah, I had not planned on not having nap time.

 

My summer was incredibly short. As the manager of a grant for my school district, I worked through the end of June and then started up again August 1. I was not too worried about it - even with travel in there, I packed books like I pack underwear - we never leave home without 'em. 

 

It's not that I didn't read. With a 4 year old in the house, we make regular visits to the library and leave with an amazing book stack. When it comes to picture books, I had an amazing summer. 

 

It's the young adult and middle grade book stacks that I barely made a dent in. 

 

By the time August hit, what I thought was a cold was actually some sort of bacterial lung infection. I didn't know it was worse than it was until I was using an inhaler (one I usually only need, on occasion, for exercise) at night just to sleep. In a rural area like where I live and work, doctors come and go and I couldn't get in to see anyone for nearly two weeks. I'm on antibiotics now, but in the meantime, I was literally too exhausted to do anything but sleep once I got Maddie down for the night. 

 

I was in a reading slump. 

 

I didn't like it but was too tired to pull out of it.

 

That is....until the principal of the 7-12 school where I will mentor this year posted the all-school-read for 7th and 8th graders on the school's Facebook page. 

 

 

Let's just say, I read The Running Dream by Wendelin Van Draanen in one sitting. It is an amazing book!

 

And, The Running Dream helped to kick me out of my reading slump.

 

I'm back... :o))))

Here's where I plan to travel this week:

#audiobook

Professional read as part of all district K-6 implementation for framework for math instruction

What are you reading this week?

Books That Make Me Smile: The Adventures of Beekle: The Unimaginary Friend

#booksmiles

Several Nerdy Book Club pals and I post weekly about a book that makes us smile. Follow #booksmiles on Twitter to see other book smiles. Check out these blogs to see what books make my Nerdy Book Club pals smile:Niki Ohs Barnes, Ann King, and Stacey H.  

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Sometimes the books that make me smile are the books that make Maddie smile. We recently read The Adventures of Beekle: The Unimaginary Friend by Dan Santat.

Beekle is the endearing story of how he (Beekle) goes in search of his friend since no one is imagining him. Anyone, especially a 4-year-old little girl, will appreciate how Dan Santat validates the reality of her imaginary friend. Maddie not only wants to read Beekle repeatedly; she also wants to go in search of Beekle. :)

Check out the Beekle book trailer. You will fall in love with Beekle.

What books make you smile? 

Books That Make Me Smile: Ninja Red Riding Hood

#booksmiles

I'm joining my Nerdy Book Club pal, Niki Ohs Barnes, and others to post weekly about a book that makes me smile.

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If you are not on Twitter then you really should be. Not only can you connect and learn from amazing educators from across the nation and from around the world, you are able to interact with wonderfully generous children's literature authors. One author that I have connected with is author Corey Rosen Schwartz. 

Corey is the author of The Three Ninja Pigs (and Goldilocks and the Three Bears and Hop Plop) and the soon to be released Ninja Red Riding Hood. Both Ninja books are illustrated by Dan Santat. 

Remember that Twitter plug? Well, it is through Twitter that Corey asked if I was interested in a F & G of Ninja Red Riding Hood for review.

Ummmm... YES, please!!!

So, true to her word, Corey sent me a copy of Ninja Red and I LOVED it. I had my #booksmiles on the entire read. 

Ninja Red continues to follow the plight of poor Wolf. After getting his rear kicked by The Three Ninja Pigs, Wolf sneaks into karate school thinking that he will gain the skills necessary (beyond huffing and puffing) to fill his empty stomach. As we know, Wolf crosses paths with Ninja Red ... what he doesn't expect is that she, too, has been to Ninja school.

Corey Rosen Schwartz made me a fan with Ninja Pigs and she continues to amaze with Ninja Red. I love how Ninja Red starts with wordless pages showing Ninja Red entering the bamboo forest and then ends with a wordless page of the Wolf exiting the same bamboo forest. This fractured fairy tale is told through rhyme and again includes a female character who knows how to defend and hold her own. Who doesn't love a girl that can kick butt?!

Here's a sample of Corey's fun Red Ninja rhyming:

Soon after, he heard someone knocking.
He called out, “My dear, come on in.
Oh, don’t you look good
in your lovely red hood,
but a shame that you’ve gotten so thin.”

Check out the Ninja Red Riding Hood book trailer here:

 

Check out author Corey Rosen Schwartz's website here: http://www.coreyrosenschwartz.com/Home.html. And, be sure to follow her on Twitter at @CoreyPBNinja.

Check out illustrator Dan Santat's website here: http://www.dantat.com/DANTAT.COM/DAN_SANTAT_author___illustrator.html. And, follow him on Twitter at @dsantat. 

Ninja Red Riding Hood's book birthday is next week. I have mine ordered & it should arrive on July 10. Celebrate by picking up your copy of Ninja Red and prepare to smile.

 

Slice of Life - Finally, Some Time With My Girl

  A Slice of Life is a weekly blog hosted by Two Writing Teachers, Ruth Ayers and Stacey Shubitz. Click on Two Writing Teachers to be taken to their website to learn more about this week's 

Slice of Life.

 

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Today was the first real start to my summer. 

 

Ahhhh... relief!

 

Summer is a time to read & write. 

 

It's a time to run around with my hair in a pony tail and without anything on my face but some Burt's Bees on my lips. 

More importantly, summer means uninterrupted time with Maddie. 

Today, Maddie and I had no real schedule. We had a leisurely morning of cuddles and hot cereal. We then made our way to the outdoor swim center in Corvallis. Since Maddie is four we are able to get into the aquatic center at 11:30 a.m. instead of 1:00 (thankfully, because with 90+ degree temperatures everyone was at the pool today). I tend to supervise Maddie closely so I was in the pool following her around as she meandered about. At four, she wants to know that I am close, yet she really wants to have the freedom to move about on her own.

After swimming we enjoyed frozen yogurt together and spent time chit chatting.

When we got home, Maddie played in her pool with a couple of friends who are going to spend part of July playing with us while their mom works.

As I look back on the day, nothing major happened, but I realize that today I actually had time to just watch Maddie; time to just listen to Maddie; and time to appreciate the person that she is becoming.

Quality time with Maddie is the BEST way to begin my summer break. I am appreciative that I have this next month to soak in every Maddie moment I can.

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? 6/30/14

 It's Monday! What Are You Reading? is an opportunity for everyone to share their book journeys: where we've been for the week and where we plan to go next. To learn more about It's Monday! What Are You Reading? with a kidlit focus, jump over to Jen Vincent's blog, Teach Mentor Texts, and Kellee Moye's blog, Unleashing Readers.

 

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I'm baaaaack....

 

The second half of the school year proved to be crazy (and professionally rewarding) and the result was the blog taking a back seat. Truth be told, I missed my blog and so I'm happy to be back in the blog saddle. 

 

I've shifted things a tad bit and will post a recap of what Maddie and I are reading together on a blogpost for Five on Friday. 

 

This past week I finished The Real Boy by Ann Ursu. If you have not read it then you MUST. 

 

I am not sure why it took me so long to get my hands on Artemis Fowl, well the audio book, any way. I'm nearly finished and am actually looking for any reason to run errands so that I can listen to it. It is not a book I tend to read but the audio is amazing and I love it. Once I finish Artemis Fowl, I've already checked out Time Stops for No Mouse from the public library. 

 

 

 Here's what I've got in my stack for the week ahead:

 

 

   

My professional read for the week comes from a series that is popular in my school district. 

 

What are you reading this week?

Books That Make Me Smile: Tractor Day by Candice F. Ransom

#booksmiles

I'm joining my Nerdy Book Club pal, Niki Ohs Barnes, and others to post weekly about a book that makes me smile.

Two weeks ago, Mark, Maddie, and I made a stop at Home Depot. Like two peas in a pod, Mark and Maddie both made a beeline for the riding lawn mowers parked out front, each jumped on separate mowers and said to me simultaneously, "I need one of these, mama."

This week when Maddie and I made our weekly visit to the library, I came across Tractor Day by Candice F. Ransom.

Tractor Day, told through rhyme, describes a daddy and daughter day spent working their property on a tractor. As we read Tractor Day together, I couldn't help but smile as I envisioned a tractor day for Maddie and her daddy.

Leather seat.

Noisy gears.

Up we go!

Daddy steers. 

What book makes you smile?

Five on Friday: Maddie's Book Pics from the Week

Whew! It's been a while since I posted last. Chalk it up to a CRAZY spring. I am happy to be back, though, and I'm kicking off the return to the blog with a Five on Friday post. 

My Five on Friday post will feature the top five books that Maddie asked to have read repeatedly. This week all the books are new to us; however, several of the authors are standing favorites.

Maddie has been counting everything for weeks now. As such, I've been looking for books about counting at our public library. One gem of a find was written by a favorite of ours. Click, Clack, Splish, Splash by Doreen Cronin and Betsy Lewin shows Farmer Brown's animals counting their way to the shore leaving the farmer with an empty fish tank.   

Another favorite author of Maddie's is Alethea Kontis. This week Maddie repeatedly wanted to read Alpha Oops! The Day Z Went First where the alphabet performs out of order when Z informs everyone that, "Zebra and I are SICK of this last-in-line stuff! This time we want to go first!" Y believes it's time for a change so says, "Why not?" and so the out of order performance begins.

 
Much like other preschoolers, Maddie is curious about color. She frequently notices objects with multiple colors and tends to like to draw her version of the rainbow. Mouse Paint by Ellen Stoll Walsh tells the story of three mice who play in paint and create different colors. This book is a great way to introduce primary and secondary colors. 


A fun surprise for the week was Chicken Little by Rebecca Emberley

and Ed Emberley. The story of the Chicken Little's experience is reflected by the words, "oh my goodness, oh my gracious, the sky is falling, and we are running for our lives!" and through vibrant colored illustrations with a surprise ending - achooooo!

Perhaps my favorite book, I Can Be Anything! by Jerry Spinelli and illustrated by Jimmy Liao rhymes its way through the unending possibilities of what a child can be when he/she grows up. I appreciate the way that it helps to open a child's eyes to the chasing his/her dreams. 

It's always fun figuring out what kinds of books to search for when we take our weekly trip to the library. This weekend we will likely be looking for books about snails. :o)