{First Quarter Reading} 2012 Edition
- Girls Don’t Fly by Kristen Chandler (Jan 1)
- Squish: Super Amoeba by Jennifer L. Holm (Jan 1)
- Hereville: How Mirka Got Her Sword by Barry Deutsch (Jan 6)
- Moon Over Manifest (audio) by Clare Vanderpool (Jan 7)
- Tempest by Julie Cross (Jan 11)
- May B. by Caroline Starr Rose (Jan 11)
- Robot Dreams by Sara Varon (Jan 15)
- Bake Sale by Sara Varon (Jan 16)
- The True Meaning of Smek Day (audio) by Adam Rex (Jan 17)
- Breaking Stalin’s Nose by Eugen Yelchin (Jan 24)
- The Fault in Our Stars by John Green (Jan 25)
- Death Cloud (audio) by Andrew Lane (Jan 25)
- Chopsticks by Jessica Anthony & Rodrigo Corral (Jan 28)
- Why We Broke Up by Daniel Handler (Jan 31)
- The Future of Us by Jay Asher & Carolyn Mackler (Feb 5)
- Amelia Lost by Candance Fleming (Feb 5)
- How to Save a Life (audio) by Sara Zarr (Feb 10)
- Legend by Marie Lu (Feb 15)
- The Survival Kit by Donna Freitas (Feb 19)
- Mangaman by Barry Lyga (Feb 20)
- Sidekicks by Dan Santat (Feb 21)
- There is No Dog by Meg Rosoff (March 1)
- Love in a Nutshell by Janet Evanovich and Dorien Kelly (March 6)
- Lola and the Boy Next Door (audio) by Stephanie Perkins (March 7)
- Friends with Boys by Faith Erin Hicks (March 8)
- The Silence of Murder by Dandi Daley Mackall (March 17)
- The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate (March 18)
- The Battle for Skandia (Ranger’s Apprentice #4) (audio) by John Flanagan (March 21)
- I Hunt Killers by Barry Lyga (March 31)
An okay quarter as reading goes. I look through this list and only a few stand out at me as worth wild reads {The Fault in our Stars and the audio of The True Meaning of Smekday} but other than that it was pretty lackluster for reading. Hoping this next quarter brings a better crop of books.
{Top Ten Tuesday} Books on my Spring To Be Read List
Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. Check out the round up of this week and other Top Ten Posts.
Since last July I have been serving as chair for the teen book award here in Michigan. So needless to say I have been reading a ton of teen books, so this spring I’m looking forward to catching up on all of the great middle grade novels that have been released recently but have passed over for my committee reading.
- The Mighty Miss Malone by Christoper Paul Curtis
- Bigger than a Breadbox by Laurel Synder
- Breadcrumbs by Anne Ursu
- Chomp by Carl Hiaasen
- Glory B by Augusta Scattergood
- The Year of the Book by Andrea Cheng
- Jefferson’s Sons by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley
- The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate
- Wonder by R.J. Palacio
- The Humming Room by Ellen Potter
What are you looking forward to reading this spring? Happy Reading!
{Top Ten Tuesday} Historical Fiction Novels
Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. Check out the round up of this week and other Top Ten Posts.
Top Ten Historical Novels
- The Book Thief by Markus Zusak – my all time favorite novel, a perfect historical novel!
- A Brief History of Montmarary by Michelle Cooper
- The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows
- Inside Out and Back Again by Thanhha Lai
- The Berlin Boxing Club by Robert Sharenow
- City of Orphans by Avi
- The Watch That Ends the Night by Allan Wolf
- Breaking Stalin’s Nose by Eugene Yelchin
- May B. by Caroline Starr Rose
- Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson
Besides contemporary fiction, historical fiction is my next favorite genre to read. Happy Reading!
{Storytime Tuesday} Construction/Build it
I tend to have a lot of books that work well for the girls in my storytime, so this week I wanted to have books that would also appeal to my boys and a construction or built it theme seems to have fit the bill.
Opening Song: If You’d Like to Read a Book
Calendar: Talk about the weather outside. We talked about the snow we got last night and how it is a cloudy gray day. We counted from 1 to 14 on our calendar and recited the days of the week.
Rhymes: I like to read a few different rhymes out of my Mother Goose book. This week we talked about the colors that we saw in the illustration.
Dance: Sunshine Dance
Sunshine, sunshine turn around {touch the ground, reach up high, touch the sky, touch your shoes, I love you}
Fingerplay: I have 10 Little Fingers
Books: Road Work Ahead by Anastasia Suen
On the way to grandma’s house we run into all kinds of road construction. A cute story about patience and a great vocabulary building storytime, since we learn the names to a lot of the road construction equipment.
Dance: Hokey-Pokey
Flannel Board: Make a Pizza!
This is the kid’s favorite part of storytime, this is a must every week for my kids. I pass out the pieces to the kids and then call out the items that the kids were handed. A great opportunity for kids to practice being patient and taking turns.
Music: Musical Instruments and ABC song
Pass out instruments to the kids, sing the ABC song while playing our instruments.
Flannel Board: Build it
This week, I handed out different shaped and we built a house together.
Fingerplay: Itsy-Bitsy Spider
Say this 4 different ways. First at a normal speed, then as fast as we can say it, then as LOUD as we can, and finally in our library voices. {Favorite to calm my kids down}
Book: The Construction Crew by Lynn Meltzer
Another great construction book, filled with great illustrations.
Craft: Build your own…
Similar to our flannel board activity, I gave the kids all sorts of shapes in various sizes and they could create whatever they wanted.
Favorite Non-Valentine’s Day books for Valentine’s Day
As I look at my Valentine’s display today, there are only a handful of books left and they are mostly craft books. So I thought in honor of Valentine’s Day I would list a few of my favorite non-Valentine books that are perfect for Valentine’s Day.
My Heart is Like a Zoo by Michael Hall. Greenwillow Books, January 2010.
This is a darling picture book in which all of the animals are created from different sized hearts. I read this one to my storytime kids last week and they loved it.
How Dinosaurs Say I Love You by Jane Yolen, illustrated by Mark Teague. The Blue Sky Press, October 2009.
You can’t go wrong with a book by Jane Yolen and illustrated by Mark Teague. I love all of the Dinosaur books, but this one is perfect for Valentine’s Day. The Dinosaurs hare not having a good day, but they always make it up by showing their love in caring thoughtful ways. Great to share with young readers and a fun read aloud.
Henry in Love by Peter McCarty. HarperCollins, December 2009.
Henry has a crush on Chloe, but he is kind of shy. This is the story of how a blueberry muffin can change everything. A cute book, good for older readers.
A perfect day to curl up with the ones you love and read some love inspired stories. Have a wonderful Valentine’s Day.
{Waiting on Wednesday} February 1, 2012
Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine.
This week I’m waiting on:
Thou Shalt Not Road Trip by Antony John
{from Goodreads}
When sixteen-year-old Luke’s book, Hallelujah, becomes a national best seller, his publisher sends him on a cross-country tour with his unpredictable older brother, Matt, as chauffeur. But when Matt offers to drive Luke’s ex-crush, Fran, across the country too, things get a little crazy. Luke thinks he’s enlightened, but he really needs to loosen up if he’s going to discover what it truly means to have faith, and do what it takes to get the girl he loves.
I love a good road trip book. What are you waiting on this week?
{Storytime Tuesday} Dog/Puppy
Puppy storytime! One of my favorites, there are so many puppy related books. This week I chose all new puppy books to share with my little ones.
Opening Song: If You’d Like to Read a Book
Calendar: Talk about the weather outside, then go over the days of the week, and finally count from 1 to today {31, a big counting day, but they only come around once a month}
Rhymes: I like to read a few different rhymes out of my Mother Goose book. This week we talked about the different animals in the illustrations.
Dance: Sunshine Dance
Sunshine, sunshine turn around {touch the ground, reach up high, touch the sky, touch your shoes, I love you}
Fingerplay: I have 10 Little Fingers
Books: Charlie the Ranch Dog by Ree Drummond
Such a cute book about Charlie’s day around the ranch. This one is a longer story so it is perfect to read at the beginning of storytime before we start to get really wriggly.
Dance: Hokey-Pokey
Flannel Board: Make a Pizza!
This is the kid’s favorite part of storytime, this is a must every week for my kids. I pass out the pieces to the kids and then call out the items that the kids were handed. A great opportunity for kids to practice being patient and taking turns.
Music: Musical Instruments and ABC song
Pass out instruments to the kids, sing the ABC song while playing our instruments.
Flannel Board: Counting/Rhyme
Our counting/rhyme for the week: 5 Little Owls. First they fly away and then they return home.
Fingerplay: Itsy-Bitsy Spider
Say this 4 different ways. First at a normal speed, then as fast as we can say it, then as LOUD as we can, and finally in our library voices. {Favorite to calm my kids down}
Book: Pick a Pup by Marsha Wilson Chall
Time to pick out your pup! There are all kinds of dogs, hyper ones, sleepy ones, but which one will Sam take home?
Craft: Puppy puppet
{Wordless Wednesday} Robot Dreams
Robot Dreams by Sara Varon. First Second, August 2007. Copy from my local library.
{from Goodreads}
This moving, charming graphic novel about a dog and a robot shows us in poignant detail how powerful and fragile relationships are. After a Labor Day jaunt to the beach leaves the robot rusted, immobilized in the sand, the dog must return alone to the life they shared. But the memory of their friendship lingers, and as the seasons pass, the dog tries to fill the emotional void left by the loss of his closest friend, making and losing a series of friends, from a melting snowman to epicurean anteaters. But for the robot, lying rusting on the beach, the only relief from loneliness is in dreams.
This is a charming little wordless graphic novel. I have really come to enjoy the wordless format. And this is perfect for readers to slow down a bit and take in the pictures.
This is about a dog and his robot. They are best of friends, they share all their time together. Then on a Labor day outing to the beach, Robot gets wet by the water and becomes immobilized and Dog can’t take him home. Robot is left on the beach all alone with only his dreams of his friend. And the dog tries to fill the void left by Robot by making friends with a snowman and anteaters. But none of those friends fills the void he still feels from leaving robot.
Without words we see what happens when something comes between friends. Friendships are a big part of our lives and when we lose friends we hurt. Robot Dreams deals with these emotions and makes the reader face what we sometimes don’t want to face, seeing someone unhappy or hurt because of something we did. A great book to share with young school children who are dealing with making and losing friends and how that effects others, not just ourselves. This is one of my favorite graphic novels and her new one Bake Sale is just as wonderful.
{Storytime Tuesday} Surfing/Hawaii
After some snow and much colder weather, a surfing/Hawaii theme was perfect. A fun theme to break up winter/snow themes that become common during these months.
Opening Song: If You’d Like to Read a Book
Calendar: Talk about the weather outside, then go over the days of the week, and finally count from 1 to today {24}.
Rhymes: I like to read a few different rhymes out of my Mother Goose book. This week talking about colors we see in the illustrations.
Dance: Sunshine Dance
Sunshine, sunshine turn around {touch the ground, reach up high, touch the sky, touch your shoes, I love you}
Fingerplay: I have 10 Little Fingers
Books: Froggy Goes to Hawaii by Jonathan London
Another great Froggy book. Fun in the sun and surf!
Dance: Hokey-Pokey
Flannel Board: Make a Pizza!
This is the kid’s favorite part of storytime, this is a must every week for my kids. I pass out the pieces to the kids and then call out the items that the kids were handed. A great opportunity for kids to practice being patient and taking turns.
Music: Musical Instruments and ABC song
Pass out instruments to the kids, sing the ABC song while playing our instruments.
Flannel Board: Counting/Rhyme
I did 5 Little Snowmen. {I needed a little bit of snow thrown in, this is Michigan after all!}
Fingerplay: Itsy-Bitsy Spider
Say this 4 different ways. First at a normal speed, then as fast as we can say it, then as LOUD as we can, and finally in our library voices. {Favorite to calm my kids down}
Book: Pig Kahuna by Jennifer Sattler
Two pigs, one who loves the water and the other who doesn’t. One day they find a great treasure a surf board.
Craft: Hawaiian Lei
Flowers and leaves cut out of craft foam, threaded on some yarn with cut up straws in between the flowers and leaves. A great craft to work on motor skills.
{Audiobook Review} Ready Player One
Ready Player One by Ernest Cline, read by Wil Wheaton. Random House Audio, August 2011. Check out from my local library.
{from Goodreads}
At once wildly original and stuffed with irresistible nostalgia, READY PLAYER ONE is a spectacularly genre-busting, ambitious, and charming debut—part quest novel, part love story, and part virtual space opera set in a universe where spell-slinging mages battle giant Japanese robots, entire planets are inspired by Blade Runner, and flying DeLoreans achieve light speed.
Where do I even begin. First I LOVED this book, and listening to this one was a really treat. Wil Wheaton does an amazing job of narrating and bring Wade Watts to life. If you have a long commute or a long road trip coming up check this one out.
The year is 2044 and real world basically sucks. Everyone is crammed into the cities since electricity only really works there. People are living on top of one and other in the stacks, so everyone escapes to the OASIS, a virtual world were you can be anything you want to be.
James Halliday the creator of the OASIS has passed on and left a hunt to a set of keys that will unlock James Halliday’s fortune. Of course this is a difficult hunt filled with references from 1980′s pop culture {the era when Halliday was a teenager}. For years millions of people of hunter for the keys, until one day when Wade is the first to discover that key.
If you have any love for 80′s pop culture, you will enjoy this book. Filled with references to movies, video games, t.v. shows and any 80′s this will be a trip down memory lane. At times it is a little hard to believe that one person could know all the lines to some obscure 80′s movie, but if life really did suck as much as the book made it out, I guess I might just spend all of my time plugged into the OASIS too. The book spoke to my inner geek and was one of my favorites that I have read in a long time.
