It's Monday! What are you Reading? #IMWAYR

It's Monday!  What are you reading? is a meme hosted by Sheila at Book Journeys. Jen Vincent over at Teach Mentor Texts and Kellee Moye from Unleashing Readers decided to put a children's and YA spin on it and they invite anyone with an interest to join in. You can participate by creating your post then visit one of their sites to add your site. Finally, visit at least three participant blogs and comment to spread the love.

Today I finished a beautiful book- Circus Mirandus by Cassie Beasley.

As soon as I turned the last page, I ran to my computer to order everything ever written by Cassie Beasley. I was in awe to discover that this was her debut novel. It is a beautifully written, mysterious fantasy about a mystical circus that can only be seen by children who truly believe in magic. 

Years ago, Ephraim Tuttle spent some time at Circus Mirandus and on his final day, was offered a miracle by "The Lightbender" (the illusionist).  Ephraim saved his miracle with the hope that in the future, when he really needed it, The Lightbender would keep his promise. Now, years later, Ephraim is dying and his grandson, Micah, is desperate to find the circus and The Lightbender to help his grandfather. Micah's adventure to locate the circus along with his skeptical friend Jenny Mendoza, is a gripping tale that kept me hooked throughout the entire story. The detailed descriptions of the remarkable characters and circus scenes are fantastic!

This is a lovely story that I started and finished in the span of two hours. My children wanted dinner and my husband needed my attention but they all had to wait until I could finish reading- I was that engrossed in the magic of Circus Mirandus!

Grades 4+

My Diary from the Edge of The World

I have never read a book quite like this one by Jodi Lynn Anderson. My Diary from the Edge of the World is a story told by young Gracie Lockwood who lives on an alternate Earth. Her world mirrors ours- there's a T.J.Maxx, Wendy's, Taco Bell and even reality T.V., but in her world, dragons fly overhead, Sasquatches freely roam the forests and no one can go to the beach anymore because of the dangerous mermaids that drag people out to sea. Even her world's reality T.V. is a group of witches  living together Big Brother style. What was so fun about this book is that one minute I was reading about a typical 12 year old girl going to school, but then she causally mentions the genies that live in caves or unicorns she saw at the circus one year. I never knew what magical creature was going to be thrown into the mix of her typical suburban existence.

           "Nothing terrible or exciting ever happens in Cliffden. Only baseball games and lying in the grass and chasing the ice-cream man in summer.....collecting earthworms in puddles after rain or hunting for dragon scales in the fall. Mom puts them in a big glass jar because they add a splash of color."

She goes on to write in her diary about Cliffden's boring Halloween except for that one year when a ghoul escaped from the underworld scaring kids and stealing candy until the police sent him back. This book is great fun!
The conflict in the story is that her family is trying to run away from a Dark Cloud. When a Dark Cloud hovers near your house, it's just matter of time before it takes one of your family members away. Her father has told stories for years about the existence of another world just like theirs except there is no magic (of course he is describing our version of Earth). Her family (parents, siblings, and a friend from school) begin the journey to the edge of the world to try and find this universe and a place where the Dark Cloud can't follow them. The end is a surprise and I'm not sure what I think about it yet. One thing I have learned is that not all stories can end in a neat perfect bow, and that's usually for the best.
It's a fairly long book with 400+ pages but I hope that doesn't discourage students from giving it a try. It's easy to read, Gracie's voice is really funny, and it's really quite entertaining.

Story Thieves

Story Thieves by James Riley will be adored by all of  my fantasy/magic/science fiction loving students, but I'll admit it- this one was a challenge for me to finish.

The story is very inventive. One day, Owen catches his fellow classmate Bethany climbing out of a book. Yes, you read that correctly- CLIMBING OUT OF A BOOK! Bethany is a half fictional (her dad is a fictional character), so she has the power to jump in and out of any novel. After a little begging (and blackmailing), Owen convinces her to take him along, but he must promise to simply observe and not alter ANYTHING in the story. They jump into his favorite book, but coming face to face with his literary hero, Kiel Gnomenfoot, proves to be too much of a temptation for Owen. He soon starts a series of events that might change their lives forever.

I'm not sure why I struggled with this book. Admittedly fantasy is not my favorite genre, but I still typically get through most stories easily. This one was a very slow read, and I had to force myself to pick it up every night. It had an original premise and fun characters but started to get a little complicated half way through reading. It was hard to keep the book within a book characters and plot straight.

Nevertheless, it has mystery, adventure, and everything else young readers like, so I will certainly recommend it for ages 8 and up. I think it will fly off the library shelves and be a hit.

Beginner Chapter Books (And I Mean BEGINNER)

"But I don't want a picture book. I want a chapter book!" I hear these words all too often from the mouths of my youngest students. There is a strange phenomena that always seems to happen during the middle of first grade- picture books lose their draw. This is a sad fact but all too true. For many students (not all, thank goodness) picture books are viewed as too babyish and children want chapter books. I've had some students not even care what the book is about as long as it has CHAPTERS!!! I'm not sure if they want to be like the older kids, their older siblings, or just impress their teachers and classmates, but they become adamant that a picture book is no longer for them. I imagine that as they learn to read more fluently and hear more chapter books read aloud, their interest is piqued about this entire new section of the library that they used to pass by without notice.

The problem with this new interest is that they aren't discerning enough about what is appropriate material. Students will wander over to the 4th-5th grade shelves because, of course, the longest books must be the best ones. I have often had six-year-old students who beg to check out the biggest fattest books in the library. This is a tough age because even the best early chapter books (Geranimo Stilton, Jake Drake, or Marvin Redpost) are still a little too tough.

Because they are so excited to read this new type of book, I feel it's really important to direct them to stories that they can read successfully and that they will LOVE. Getting students hooked on a series also helps to keep the reading momentum going. A great tip to finding an appropriate series is to choose a book with a main character who is the same age as the reader. Additionally I try to help them choose books that have larger type, are less than 100 pages, and have few difficult words. The five finger rule is in full effect! (If there are four to five words on the page that the child doesn't know, than it's not a great choice.) Even if a struggling reader can't read chapter books alone, most of them are fun to read aloud with an adult.

The list that I've complied is for the chapter book beginner. These are books I would recommend to grades K- 2. There are fantastic chapter books for ages 8 and up, but I'm going even lower than that! Here are my suggestions for terrific early/first chapter books:

Roller Girl

I have  a lot of love for this Newbery Honor book! To be honest, I saw it on the bookstore shelves for months but had NO IDEA it was a graphic novel before I bought it. I don't know how I missed that since there has been so much buzz surrounding it. When I opened it I was a little nervous because I don't usually enjoy graphic novels, but this book might have made a convert out of me!
Roller Girl by Victoria Jamieson is the sweet story of twelve year old Astrid who decides to attend roller derby camp after watching a local match. Her best friend was going to join as well, but decides not to at the last minute. Besides having to go alone, Astrid must face the awkwardness of being the new girl with no experience. As a beginner she definitely takes her lumps and struggles through the camp while learning lessons about hard work and determination. While roller derby camp is the main setting, this story is much more about friendship. Twelve is a difficult age and childhood friends start to grow apart. Roller Girl is ultimately about the struggle to maintain those friendships or to decide it might be time to let them go. Astrid learns that being honest with herself and others is the only way to roll! (sorry- I couldn't resist the pun!)

This book was great fun! There was a part of me that wanted to run out and find a local roller derby league to join. I had no idea what kind of stamina it takes to be a roller girl. From the costumes to the names (Rainbow Bite, Winnie the Pow etc..) the pageantry of roller derby and the fierceness of the competitors was explained well and illustrated beautifully. Fans of Raina Telgemeier will love this!

Books for the Reluctant Reader When Wimpy Kid isn't Enough

I've been a reader my entire life, so it pains me to share that my son would rather cut off an appendage than read a book. He's a ten-year-old science loving, robot making, future engineer who finds no value in fiction. He'll read non fiction books about computers or electricity but just flat out doesn't enjoy a good story. So why do I keep looking for something he might like? Because fiction books will improve his problem solving and analytical skills. They will increase his vocabulary, comprehension, and ability to make predictions. I tell him until I'm blue in the face that fiction books will make him smarter!

My hunt for fiction books that he would like began a few yeas ago. I bought him all the usual high interest titles such as Big Nate, Magic Tree House, Timmy Failure and of course Diary of a Wimpy Kid. He read them all begrudgingly but he didn't really like them. Harry Potter, A Series of Unfortunate Events, and Spiderwick Chronicles (books most kids love) were too scary for him and made him even more resistant. So now my challenge was to find something he would read AND like AND that would not be scary.

I came across a book that had a title he couldn't resist- Charlie Joe Jackson's Guide to Not Reading by Tommy Greenwald. Charlie Joe doesn't like to read either, but of course by the end of the story, he reluctantly finds value in books. My son devoured this  which was great because there are five Charlie Joe books! My boy read them all, and some nights I even had to force him to put them down and go to bed.

It's certainly been a long road of trial and error but I've since managed to find a few that he really truly enjoyed. Hopefully this list will help another reluctant reader!

Under Their Skin

I couldn't wait to start the new Margaret Peterson Haddix series. I've always been a fan of her books, and her work is a big hit with my students. I can't wait to show them her newest story Under Their Skin.

I am struggling with writing a summary because there are so many secrets and twists, and I don't want to give anything away! Nick and Eryn's mom is getting remarried to her boyfriend Michael. Michael has two teenage children but Nick and Eryn are told they will NEVER get to meet them. What is going on with these mystery step-siblings? What is the big secret? Why must they stay hidden? Nick and Eryn set out to find the answers to this puzzle.

What I liked about the story is that several secrets are revealed rather quickly, so it doesn't drag out the sibling mystery too long; however, after that is resolved, an even bigger plot twist is introduced. I'm pretty good at predicting which way YA mysteries will go, but I didn't see this one coming. I'm excited to get this one on the library shelves. Ages 10 and up.