A Summer of Novels, Bios, Class Reading, Read Alouds and Graphic Books

I am sharing out some of the books in my “stack” this morning as part of the day’s Summer Reading for teachers, which I believe may have started over at the New York Time learning blog and then attracted a bunch of notice from other organizations including the National Writing Project — and folks are encouraged to use the #summerreading hashtag on Twitter to share out all day today … and well, here I am with my pile of books in front of me.

http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1328842672l/4414890.jpg

First of all, this is the first year that our school is launching a mandatory summer reading program for our students. I struggled about which book to pick because I wanted something engaging, something most of my incoming sixth graders had not read, and something that would also allow for some neat teaching and writing moments. I ended up withThe Mostly True Adventures of Homer P. Figg by Rodman Philbrick. What is cool is that I have started a collaborative effort with a teacher in Texas who is also doing the same book with her incoming sixth graders. She had reached out to me, asking for some guidance on using technology in her classroom, so I suggested we do a shared book with our students and use Edmodo as a summer response space for our kids. It’s one of those “grand adventure” ideas because she is new to technology and I have not used Edmodo. So, we’re going to see how it goes.

I am constantly, every day, reading aloud to my seven year old son. We are now in the midst of the second book of The Lord of the Rings, but then we will take a break from that epic adventure to read A Hero of WondLa by Tony DiTerlizzi. This is the second in a series about a girl caught up in an adventure on a strange planet (is it Earth?) that is a great adventure. We loved the first book — Search for WondLa — and are looking forward to getting back into the mix. Waiting for books in a series to get completed and published … requires patience, doesn’t it?

And now on to my own personal reading list.

http://www.americanbluesscene.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/Bobby-Keys-Every-Nights-a-Saturday-Night-204x300.jpg

I recently picked up Every Night’s  a Saturday Night, an autobiography of saxophonist Bobby Keys (who has played with the Rolling Stones and many other legendary rock bands). I am a sucker for the backroom stories of musicians, and Bobby Keys was one of those icons of my childhood. When my friends were listening to the lead guitar parts, I was listening for the horn parts, and Keys is one of those over-the-top characters that can easily steal the show and the stage from the main band members.

http://www.chicagoreader.com/imager/b/magnum/6460692/3910/Are-You-My-Mother1_magnum.jpg

The other day, I got a package in the mail containing Alison Bechdel’s Are You My Mother? I don’t remember registering, but I won the book via a contest at The Graphic Novel Reporter. I was happy to get it, since I did enjoy Home and have read lots of positive reviews about this graphic biography of Bechdel’s mother. I am sure it is infused with smart writing and storytelling. (By the way, don’t confuse this one with the children’s book Are You My Mother? by PD Eastman. But that one is a good one to read with the little ones. Bechdel’s book? Not so much.)

I also have had Hilary Mantel’s Bring Up the Bodies waiting my attention. I absolutely loved Wolf Hall, and the narrative devices that I can’t even quite explain except to say that Mantel’s writing completely hooked me into the head of Thomas Cromwell, and never let up. This novel continues the story of the reign of King Henry. The problem with this book is that it really does require a lot of my attention, and summer means home with three boys. I’ll need to carve out some space for this historical drama.

http://blog.delusionsandgrandeur.net/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/CORNER003_t607.jpg

And I have been reading tons of great responses about The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate — so much so that I finally bought the book only to have my middle school son snap it up with a “I saw that at the bookstore” and it has now disappeared into the netherworld of his bedroom. I’ll head off on an expedition to get it back one of these days. It looks interesting, and I do so trust my #nerdybookclub friends when it comes to book suggestions, particularly ones that might interest my students when I am done with it.

Finally, no summer is complete without a little professional reading, right? I am hoping to get a copy of this collection of essays (some from National Writing Project teachers) called What Teaching Means: Stories from America’s Classrooms. I’m always curious about my fellow educators’ perceptions and experiences.

Peace (in the pages),
Kevin

 

 

 

 

 

Book Review: Talking Back to Facebook

http://www.kera.org/files/2012/05/Talking-Back-to-Facebook.jpg

My wife saw my copy of Talking Back to Facebook by James P. Steyer on the table, not far from where our teenage son was using his Facebook app to do an update, and immediately took it from me and began reading it. We’ve been sharing it back and forth (I finished it first! I l know, it wasn’t a race but still …) and I’ve been leaving it around for my son to look at. He’s conveniently ignored it. But we haven’t.

(If you want to see my updates as I was reading the book, you can check out the Goodreads site).

Steyer, the CEO of CommonSense Media, comes out strong with worries about the ways the social media revolution is affecting our children, and uses Facebook’s status as King of the Hill to urge parents and politicians to pay attention, and to take action. While a bit strident at times (which will come as no surprise to anyone who follows the CommonSense Media site regularly, as I do), Steyer does a nice job of providing a valid framework for concerns over the ways that technology is impacting our young people’s childhoods. He does acknowledge the many benefits of social networking and technology, but mostly, this book zeroes in why we need to be aware of what is happening in online spaces like Facebook.

He notes that Facebook, despite its policy of not allowing children under 13 years of age to join, does very little to stop it (and I can support that view, given the number of my sixth graders on the network). He also says that Facebook’s continued use of resetting privacy features for users means that more and more children are sharing information that is best kept private. He urges parents to be more vigilant, and notes that when a new parent snaps that first image of their newborn baby and posts it online, they are unwittingly creating the first “digital footprint” of their child, without much forethought as to what that means.

What I like is that Steyer, while giving solid advice to parents, also calls Facebook, Google and others onto the floor, arguing strongly that leaders of those corporations have a moral obligation to protect our children, and they have not yet lived up to that obligation. Instead, he notes, companies see our children as “point of data” that can be manipulated and sold for profit. Steyer says the government needs to do more oversight, but that it also falls to parents to be more vigilant on behalf of our children.

Overall, this book is a worthy summer read, whether you are a parent or a teacher, or just know a young person who is on Facebook. We need to pay attention. As for my wife and I, and our son, we’re going to be having a more indepth conversation about the time he spends on his mobile devices, and figure out more ways to reduce that time. We’re gearing up for an argument, but hope to keep our stance strong and positive. In the end, we’re parents, not friends.

Peace (in talking back to talking back to Facebook),
Kevin

Book Review: Manhood for Amateurs

http://www.openlettersmonthly.com/issue/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/Chabon.jpg

I am a fan of writer Michael Chabon (although I can never remember how to pronounce his name, and then when I hear it said on the radio during book interviews, I say, oh, that’s how you say it … and then I forget). I recently finished his collection of essays in Manhood for Amateurs, Chabon’s musings on being a father and a husband in this modern age. Like most of his writing, the essays here are a mix of insight, humor and circling around important themes that really resonated with me as a fellow dad and husband. (Chabon has written The Wonder Boys, The Adventures of Kavalier and Klay, and Summerland, among other books).

Chabon’s childhood of comics and pop culture immersion in the 1970s, and his desire to try to balance being a supportive and flexible but not-to-overbearing father, and often feeling as that balance is never achieved, hit home with me. Even the subtitle says a lot: The Pleasures and Regrets of a Husband, Father and Son.

While not every piece in this collection is strong (if I were editor …), the majority of the essays could easily stand by themselves (and may have already done so in other journals and magazines … I’m not sure). Taken together as a collection, the writings here by Chabon are rich readings of a talented writer working to make sense of his world, even when he all too often comes up short and knows it. Still, his passion for his family, and for learning from his mistakes, is something worth noting.

I notice that Father’s Day is coming up. You may want to consider Manhood for Amateurs instead of a new tie this year.

🙂

Peace (in the learning),
Kevin

 

Book Review: Catching Fire and Conflicting Thoughts

http://images.wikia.com/thehungergames/images/7/76/Catching_Fire.jpg

I am still reading the Hunger Game series, mostly because I keep getting spurred on by my students, who are devouring the series. Catching Fire is the second book. It didn’t quite hold me as much as the first one, but I am reminded of what I liked about the book and didn’t quite so much like about the movie: the inner voice of Katniss. That first person narrative voice is the most powerful element of the series, in my mind, and the writing in the present tense brings her fears and concerns right to the surface of every chapters. That keeps me hooked.

Here, Katniss is becoming the spark of a rebellion, and then is sent back into the games for a second time. There’s a bit more political intrigue going on, but this book feels like a second of a series of three — sort of like a placekeeper for the larger story unfolding in the dystopian world. I will be heading into Mockingjay soon, if only to say to my students: I read it. I mean, I like the books fair enough, but I see some other books in my stack I’d like to get to, too.

On a related note, there has been a flurry of editorials and letters to the editor in our local newspaper about The Hunger Games series. It began with a regular columnist, whose area of expertise for the paper has been bullying, and she came out pretty strongly against the book and movie. She cited its violence and glorification of killing. She said it has no place in the hands of young people, particularly younger children. Then, she admitted that she had not read the book.

Well … don’t shout out about a book that you haven’t read, for god’s sake.

Her editorial was quickly followed up by a stinging response that called her on the carpet for trying to cast judgments on a book that she has never even read. (Round of applause.) This writer acknowledged the violent theme, but noted that Katniss and others were trying to avoid the games and when forced to participate, mostly regretted the decisions. The writer also noted the political angle, and the Greek mythology that runs through the books. Finally, this response noted that the books are for Young Adults, or teenagers, not little children. The YA label is there for a reason.

That led to an editorial the other day from a local teacher, in response to the letter, in response to the original editorial. (OK< so I love local newspapers for allowing that kind of dialogue on the page to take place.) This teacher is well-respected in our community, and he noted:

“It is my firm belief that it is a great injustice we do our children to expose them to such violence because what it necessitates is a form of psychic numbing. Our hearts and minds are not intended to process this level of killing, let alone of children killing children, and for a young person to read such a book and to find it pleasurable there needs to be a switch that is turned off. “

I still feel mixed about my students reading The Hunger Games series, and I admit that I winced a little when I learned that our librarian had chosen the series for her sixth grade book club earlier this year. I’m no prude, I don’t think, but I know that not all young readers can distinguish the nuances of Katniss and her world (including her two love interests) as part of the larger narrative. This struck home the other day when I was in our library, and I was chatting with our librarian about something related to The Hunger Games (maybe I told her I was reading the second book) and a first grader overheard us, and said:

“I loved that movie.”

We both looked at this seven year old and then at each other, shocked. Until another first grader wandered up.

“Yeah. That movie was scary but cool.”

Yikes. The parent in both of us cringed. And I was reminded of that when I read the teacher’s editorial about exposure to violence in literature and pop culture. I don’t have the solution to fix the world, except to note that MY first grade son won’t be anywhere near The Hunger Games books or movies for quite a few years.

Peace (please),
Kevin

 

Book Review: The Serpent’s Shadow

And so, Rick Riordan‘s The Kane Chronicles come to end. Well, maybe. He certainly left enough hooks in The Serpent’s Shadow to bring back his hero siblings — Carter and Sadie Kane — for more adventures down the road (more on that in a minute), but for now, Carter and Sadie have successfully saved the world from the Egyptian god of chaos – the shadow serpent Apophis — and restored Ma’at to the world.

Just as Riordan is exploring Greek and Roman mythology with his Lightning Thief and Lost Hero series of books, here he delves deep into the lore of Egyptian magic and gods. My complaint remains the same: it gets confusing when he starts using the various gods. I have been reading this series and other Riordan series aloud to my son and we are constantly stopping and figuring out which god is which.

Luckily for him (and for me), I had ordered through Scholastic books a Kane Chronicle Survival Guide. At first, I thought the guide was just cheesy, but it turns out it was invaluable for us as readers, as my son kept stopping me and grabbing the book, and finding information about the gods and magic and more. He’s only 7 years old, so I certainly encouraged these research moments.

The writing in this series is not quite as strong as the other series Riordan is writing, but still, there is plenty of action, suspense and magic to keep my son interested. The narrator flips from Sadie to Carter, so we see the adventure unfolding through different eyes, and yes, we do learn quite a bit about Egyptian mythology and history. Early on in the series, my son and I made the predication that Riordan has some grand scheme to bring all of his series together: Percy Jackson and friends from The Lightning Thief series, Jason and others from The Lost Hero series, and the Kane kids from this series.

And Riordan continues to plant those seeds with mention to the Kanes about “other magic” in the world soon to a concern. And my son (he’s seven, remember) made a connection between a character that seems to run through all three: the son of the god of the dead. Here, he is Anubis, but in the other two series, he is Nico. They seem to be the same character, with the same personality.

So, who knows? We’re game to keep reading what he writes (The Mark of Athena comes out this fall — this guy writes up a storm!) and figure it all out.

Peace (in the adventure), Kevin

I Was Fako Mustacho

Fako Mustacho updated
There were a lot of giggles and chuckling, and pointing, yesterday as I donned a fake mustache and fedora for our school’s Dress Up Like a Literary Character Day. I decided I would be Fako Mustacho, the somewhat-odd-villain in Tom Angleberger’s book, Fake Mustache, who rigs an election in an attempt to become president with the help of the mustache (you’ll have to read the book to figure that one out).

While not a single one of my students could figure out who I was (not one had read Fake Mustache), by the end of the day, all of them knew about the book (I had it on hand and showed it each of my classes) and I have a line of kids wanting to read it. (You’re welcome, Tom.) It was fun but itchy. I was happy to get it off my lip at the end of the day.

Peace (in the literary fun),
Kevin

PS — I wish I could have ordered a mustache that was a little longer, and red. But you take what you can get …

 

Book Review: I Survived Hurricane Katrina

I Survived Hurricane Katrina, 2005

If you use Scholastic book clubs, you might (like me) collect a lot of points. I use them to order books for the classroom, and it is well worth the bookkeeping it takes. This year, I have been really trying to keep an eye on non-fiction or at least realistic fiction, knowing that I need to keep adding those kinds of texts with the shifts our state is going through with the Common Core. On our last order, this bundled collection of “I Survived …” books caught my eye (quick: cue up Gloria Gaynor … or Cake).

Although I thought they were non-fiction (maybe I need better reading skills), the series is actually realistic fiction of survival. The bundle includes stories about shark attacks, the Titanic and Hurricane Katrina. I decided to jump into I Survived Hurricane Katrina, just to get a taste of the story by Lauren Tarshsis. I liked it. While somewhat simple and perhaps lower reading level than my students are used to, the story of an 11 year old boy who gets separated from his family during the storm, clings to trees and debris to survive, helps rescue a stranded dog, and then himself is rescued by a good samaritan made for a fast-paced adventure story.

I also appreciated the end notes by Tarshis, where she talks about the inspiration for the book (including her anger at the government for not protecting New Orleans and then not doing enough, quick enough, to help survivors) and provides lots of facts about Katrina and its aftermath. I could see a lot of research exploration around hurricanes, government policy and planning, survival and hardship, and more with this book.

Peace (in the rising tide),
Kevin

 

Book Review: Out of My Mind

A few months ago, I was a keynote speaker at a National Writing Project conference down in Birmingham, and the other keynote speaker was author Sharon Draper. We had time to chat during our rides and in-between events, and what I didn’t want to say to her is: Sorry, Ms. Draper, I haven’t yet read your books. So, we talked about teaching and learning and other things. Her keynote address was just fantastic, too.

Now, I wish I had read her books.  I wish I had read Out of My Mind before meeting her because I think I would have given her a huge hug and thanked her personally for telling such a rich and enriching story that touched me deeply as a reader. Like the other book I recently read (actually, I read it on the plane ride down to Birmingham that weekend I met Draper, as it turns out) that reached into expectations, limitations and compassion — Wonder by RJ Palacio — Draper’s Out of My Mind hits your heart in all the right places. If you are not effected by the story of Melody, who is silent on the outside due to cerebral palsy but never quiet on the inside, then you need to have your heart checked out.

I can’t think of a book that had a better beginning, either, where Melody (the narrator) tells us of all the words swirling around her head and how language and understanding came to her at an early age. If you love language — reading and writing — then the opening chapter is for you. Despite her love of words and language, Melody can’t speak more than a grunt, and she can’t really move without a wheelchair, and the world looks at her body and labels her “retarded” because we all too often associate a crippled body with a crippled mind. Melody is out to prove those assumptions wrong, but Draper wisely never preaches, nor does she resort to pity for her narrator, either. Melody is a fierce independent person who is lucky enough to be surrounded by a supportive family and circle of supportive adults who believe in her intelligence.

And when technology, in the form of a special computer that allows her to “talk” to the world through simple keyboarding commands, enters the story, Melody finally has the means to show the world just how smart she is, and nothing is ever the same for her again. She has photographic memory, among other attributes, that she uses to her advantage. Still, she has her share of harassment from other students in her inclusion classroom, and even doubts from some teachers, as the plot moves into Melody taking part in an academic competition and the role of a big sister (an event with the little sister will make your heart skip a beat).

Out of My Mind, with its eye-catching cover of a goldfish jumping out of a fishbowl, is now out in paperback and I am scrambling to see if our school might have some end-of-the-year funds to get a set of the books for my sixth graders. This book by Sharon Draper is a keeper, and a reason why fiction is both a powerful storytelling medium and a way to teach about life. I know that I, for one, will never look at another student in a wheelchair again in the same way. Melody taught me that.

Peace (beyond the surface of things),
Kevin

 

Student Book Glog: Only You Can Save Mankind by Terry Pratchett

I know Terry Pratchett’s name from the science fiction section of my local bookstore, but I don’t think I ever read his books. Or if I did, I forgot them. This student chose Only You Can Save Mankind primarily for the title (he told me) and I hope he got a few hints … just in case. This glog is part of a series of independent books that my students read recently.

Peace (in the survival),
Kevin