52 this year

My goal was to read 52 books this year... I'm a little behind pace. I did decide that I don't have to consider it a failure until February, though, since I didn't start keeping track here until February.

Letters to a Young Teacher by Jonathan Kozol
Genre: Education Rating: (out of 10): 8
I'm not such a young teacher anymore, and during parts of this I felt as though he were preaching to the choir... but that's what Kozol is about. He points out inequities and injustices in education for the larger population. There are several chapters in here that would be great to read as a staff at our school, and a few that I want Dave to read to understand the problem with why schools work the way they do. It is reaffirming to read things I know to be true about education in print- as if there is hope out there for turning things around.

Brisinger by Christopher Paolini
Genre: Children's Literature, Fantasy Rating: (out of 10): 8.5
Dave pointed out that this was a "transitional" book, and I had to agree... but I loved it. This book bridges the gap between his 3rd and the final 5th book in the series. While it was huge, the book kept moving quickly enough that I read it in a week. There was a lot of character development, and even though it stayed away from the romance angle (which I was intrigued by), I still found it interesting. It also revealed how Galbatorix has so much power... I thought it was neat.

Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria? by Beverly Daniel Tatum, Ph. D.
Genre: Education, African American Studies Rating: (out of 10): 6.5
This was a book I started two years ago and put down. The book would be interesting and helpful had I not been involved in my masters' program at EMU. I feel like this would have been a good book to read during one of the classes, since I gained most of the knowledge and perspective of how racial identity forms in several of my classes.

A Young People's History of the United States by Howard Zinn, Adapted by Rebecca Stefoff
Genre: History, Textbook for Kids Rating: (out of 10): 7.5
Zinn writes revisionist history, in other words, history from the point of view of the losers. It is extremely interesting, but the format was not something I can use in my classroom. I was hoping for some primary source documents and writing from other perspective to use, but it was more narrative and a little harder than my fourth graders could handle. Still, interesting, and I finished this book quickly, unlike the adult version. I've been working on it for years.

Playing for Pizza by John Grisham
Genre: Realistic Fiction Rating: (out of 10): 7
This was not in his normal genre of law. The book was about a washed-up NFL quarterback who ended up playing semi-pro football in Italy. I loved the parts about Italy and food (great reminders of our trip in March). I made Dave read the book because some of the description of food was so realistic. Otherwise, the book was alright. It had a lot of football and was a bit of a "coming-of-age" story. A quick read.

Catching Up

The Amulet of Samarkand: The Bartimaeus Trilogy Book 1 by Jonathan Stroud
Genre: Children's Literature, Fantasy Rating: (out of 10): 7.5
The series was set in London during the American Revolution (but for some reason the magicians had cars). The series revolved around the conflict between the magicians running the government and the commoners. I really enjoyed the differing perspectives in the whole series of these books. It was cleverly written, for some reason just not a "can't put down" book.

The Golem's Eye: The Bartimaeus Trilogy Book 2 by Jonathan Stroud
Genre: Children's Literature, Fantasy Rating: (out of 10): 8.5
This book had twists and turns, and it took me about the whole thing to figure out who the villain behind the golem was. The character development of the main character was interesting as well.

Ptolemy's Gate: The Bartimaeus Trilogy Book 3 by Jonathan Stroud
Genre: Children's Literature, Fantasy Rating: (out of 10): 8
The third book tied up some questions about the past of the characters and gave background information. It was really tied up very well. I just didn't love the series. Great writing, though.

Settling in Michigan by Lynne Deur
Genre: Primary source, history Rating: (out of 10): 6.5
Short stories in this book gave accounts of early Michigan. Useful for teaching.

Orphan Trains: Researching American History by Deitch & Bracken
Genre: Primary Source, history Rating: (out of 10): 8
This book contains a variety of types of sources: newspaper, firsthand accounts, adoption documents, etc. Very complete picture of what the orphan trains were like. It will be indispensable for my unit.

Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer
Genre: Fantasy Rating: (out of 10): 8.5
I'm tempted to give two ratings: One for the beginning of the book and one for the end. I thought that the climax of the book was about halfway through, and the rest was superfluous. Dave did point out to me that there were some loose ends that needed to be tied up. The plot was predictable as it was heavily foreshadowed in the beginning of the book, but enjoyable nonetheless.

The Green Book by Jill Paton Walsh
Genre: Children's Literature, Science Fiction Rating: (out of 10): 6
The book is about a group of people who are forced to evacuate Earth and live on an unknown planet. I am thinking about starting the year with a space theme, and I heard of this book from an example unit. The book was a little strange, though... not sure it will accomplish what it is meant to accomplish as an introduction to the year, and afraid that it will scare the kids- make them worry about the end of the world. We'll see. I may try it.

Real Vacation = More Reading Time!

Charlie Bone and the Invisible Boy by Jenny Nimmo
Genre: Children's Literature, Fantasy Rating: (out of 10): 6
These books are good light reading, but aren't deep enough for me to really like them.

Lyra's Oxford by Philip Pullman
Genre: Fantasy, Short Story Rating: (out of 10): 7
The short story here was interesting, and I didn't see the twist at the end coming. I haven't been able to figure out the meaning of the introduction, inserts, and additional artifacts at the end- I know that the story has a deeper meaning, and I know I'd love this book if I could figure it out. It has something to do with Lyra's time being connected to Dr. Mary's...

A Faraway Home: An Orphan Train Story by Jamie Panagopoulos
Genre: Children's Literature, Historical Fiction Rating: (out of 10): 8
While I've been doing research for my final project, I've discovered that there were orphan trains. I've been pretty fascinated by this information, and plan on teaching a unit around it this year or next. This book was interesting to me more because of the topic than because it was any great piece of writing. In the late 1800s to early 1900s, Aid Societies scooped orphans up off the streets of New York and Boston, cleaned them up, put them on trains, and shipped them out to the western states (Michigan largely included). There, the kids would get off the trains and families would come to pick out a child to adopt. They would largely help out on the farm. I just think it's fascinating.

The Latest

Charlie Bone and the Time Twister by Jenny Nimmo
Genre: Children's Literature, Fantasy Rating: (out of 10): 7.5
This one was about like the last- entertaining but nothing super special. I did like the general plot idea of the time twister but thought more could have been done to show the relationship between Henry and Ezekiel.

Responsive Teaching: An Ecological Approach to Classroom Patterns of Language, Culture, and Thought by C.A. Bowers and David J. Flinders
Genre: Teaching Rating: (out of 10): 3
There was very little in this book that I didn't know already from previous courses... at least if there was, it was not understandable! I think if I had read this for class instead of on my own it would have been more worthwhile as main points would have been pointed out to me. This was good go-to-bed reading- not a page turner.

Midnight for Charlie Bone by Jenny Nimmo

Midnight for Charlie Bone by Jenny Nimmo

Genre: Children's Lit, Fantasy Rating: (out of 10): 7
This was an interesting read. It took awhile to get into it, but then the plot was enough to keep the pages moving. There are some definite similarities to Harry Potter, but making comparisons helped keep my interest.

Eragon by Christopher Paolini

Genre: Children's Lit, Fantasy Rating: (out of 10): 8.5
The first half of this book dragged, but that may have been because I read it in pieces during silent reading at school. I couldn't put it down once I got further into it. The movie is terrible. It doesn't follow what happens in the story, and it is slow.

Eldest by Christopher Paolini

Genre: Children's Lit, Fantasy Rating: (out of 10): 9
This one moved quickly right from the start. One thing I was interested in was the love story, which moved slowly throughout this story (but anguishingly so- is that a word?). I have my guesses as to what will happen next... Now I will have to wait until September just like everyone else for the next book...

Creating Classrooms Where Teachers Love to Teach and Students Love to Learn by Bob Sornson

Genre: Teaching, Parenting Rating: (out of 10): 6.5
I have already read the Teaching with Love and Logic book, so this was nothing new. Reading it did remind me of some things to keep in mind as I teach, such as empathy. We were asked to read it over the summer by my principal.

Pregnancy Reading

I read these back in April when I was in the planning stages... I have others I'm working on.

I'm Pregnant! Now What Do I Eat? by Hope Ricciotti
Genre: informational, pregnancy, recipe Rating: (out of 10): 5
Just an overview book. Lots of recipes, which bore me because I don't cook. The information was basic and can be easily found elsewhere.

The Harvard Medical School Guide to Healthy Eating During Pregnancy by W. Allan Walker
Genre: informational, pregnancy Rating: (out of 10): 7
Much more informational and thorough. Kind of boring, though.

The Real Deal Guide to Pregnancy by Erika Lenkert
Genre: informational, pregnancy Rating: (out of 10): 8
I read this book first, so it was the most interesting. Mostly because the other books had the same information. This was easy reading though, and the first tip-off that pregnancy may be really uncomfortable.

More Meyer

host by Stephenie Meyer

Genre: Science fiction Rating: (out of 10): 7.5
Meyer's first attempt at adult fiction was pretty good. Intriguing, but somewhat predictable. I have to say I agree with my friend Scott, she "overwrites". The books are longer than they need to be. It was a page-turner, though!