Our Skype Visit with Stephen McCranie

After 22 years of teaching, I had a FIRST on Wednesday, November 7, 2012.  My fourth grade class had their first SKYPE session with an author/illustrator.  Through Twitter, I came across Stephen McCranie and saw that he was offering to Skype with classrooms.  I set up a time with him, and the countdown began.

I bought copies of both his Mal and Chad books, checked them out from our school library, and got my students reading them.  As the kids began to read the two graphic novels, the excitement about the books built.  The readers were reading them as fast as they could so that everyone could have them done by the time we Skyped with Stephen.  Well, we reached that goal and were ready to go...

We spend a half an hour with Stephen McCranie on the morning of November 7th.  I remember the class coming in so excited for this opportunity.  It brought me such joy to know that they were this excited to meet and spend time with an author/illustrator.  Stephen started out by sharing with the class the key elements of a graphic novel, showed them how they could make their own drawings, and then created an original drawing for our class. 

I think the highlight was the opportunity Stephen gave us to ask questions of him while he finished our class drawing.  I was so impressed with the questions they asked and the care they took to ask just the right one.  There were certain students in my class that really blew me away with their questions.  One student that normally doesn't share too much, asked him "What was the motivation to create the large cat in your book."  He had such a large smile on his face when he asked.  Definitely a highlight moment for me...

Now that we have had our first Skype session, I can't wait to set up more for my students.  It brings the books, the authors, and the experience to life.  Thanks Stephen!  We still talk about that morning and are counting down the days until Belly Flop (Mal and Chad #3) comes out!!!

Tell The Wolves I'm Home by Carol Rifka Brunt

How I Heard About It:   I was talking books with a co-worker (which I do a lot) and was telling him about a couple of the last few books I had read.  He told me about this book.  I of course went home and downloaded it on my Ipad and read it! 

What It Is About:  The story takes place in the mid 80's when AIDS is becoming a real health issue in our country.  June and Greta are high school girls living outside of New York City.  Their Uncle Finn lives in the city and has AIDS.  June has a special relationship with her Uncle and is devastated when he passes.  She meets his friend Toby and her life is forever changed.  The story tells of the friendship between June and Toby and also of her relationship with her older sister Greta. 

What I Thought Of It:   I truly enjoyed this novel.  It well written and the story flowed from page to page.  The characters were real and I enjoyed getting to know them.  It was quite interesting to read about this time in our history and how AIDS was looked at and reacted to.  We have come a long way.  There was a soft feel and tone to this story.  It draws you into it and doesn't let go until the very last page.  Even after the last page the characters are still with me. 

Who Should Read It:   This book is for anyone that enjoys a great and powerful story about people, about life, about relationships, and about understanding.  I think any reader at the high school level or above would enjoy this story.  This is a debut by Brunt and is simply an amazing story.  Please hit the bookstore or download this book now.  I know you will not be disappointed.   

Memoirs of an Imaginary Friend by Matthew Dicks (Adult Book)

How I Heard About It:  I remember seeing this title on Twitter quite awhile ago.  I put it on my Good Reads "to read" list.  I ordered it a few weeks ago and was quite excited when it arrived in the mail.  I read it in a few sittings and really enjoy it.  

What It Is About:  This was the story about Max and his imaginary friend Budo.  Max is in third grade and has Autism.  He had created Budo to be his safety net, his friend, and his confident.  The novel is told from the point of view from Budo which was quite interesting.  As the reader you forget he his actually an imaginary friend.  You learn about the world of imaginary friends and how and why they exist.  Max has many struggles in schools and things get worse for Max when a paraprofessional from his school gets involved in his life.  Max needs Budo to save him.  Budo teaches Max that he can save himself.  It is a unique and special relationship.

What I Thought Of It:  This novel did not disappoint.  I was hooked from page one until the very end of this story.  Being a school teacher I loved reading about Max's experiences in school and how the children and the staff react and treat him.  I loved reading the story from the point of view of Budo.  I completely forget he was actually an imaginary friend.  When I did focus on his character it was thought provoking.  The story line was engaging and I couldn't wait to find out how the story was going to end.  This was an emotional and intense roller coaster ride of a book.  I loved it and I'm recommending it to all of my reader friends.  

Who Should Read It:  I think anyone who loves a good fiction story will thoroughly enjoy this book.  It is fast paced and different from most novels.  Readers who also like to stretch their thinking and imagination will enjoy the story.  In my opinion this book is geared toward readers from middle school, high school, and adult readers.  You must pick up this novel now and experience the lives of Max and his imaginary Budo.  

It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

Thanks to Jen and Kellee for hosting this idea on their site.  Here is a link to their site...

                

                 http://www.teachmentortexts.com/


Books I Read this Past Week...

Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil by John Berendt
Memoirs of an Imaginary Friend by Matthew Dicks (5 Stars out of 5 Stars)
Mal and Chad: The Biggest Bestest Time Ever by Stephen McCranie (5 Stars out of 5 Stars)

Books I Will Read this comingWeek...

Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil by John Berendt
The Casual Vacancy by JK Rowling
Mr. Terupt Falls Again by Rob Buyeau

It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

Thanks to Jen and Kellee for hosting this idea on their site.  Here is a link to their site...

                

                 http://www.teachmentortexts.com/

Books I Read this Past Week...

Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil by John Berendt
The Casual Vacancy by JK Rowling
Memoirs of an Imaginary Friend by Matthew Dicks
Cardboard by Doug TenNapel (5 Stars out of 5 Stars)


Books I Will Read this comingWeek...

Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil by John Berendt
The Casual Vacancy by JK Rowling
Memoirs of an Imaginary Friend by Matthew Dicks
Mr. Terupt Falls Again by Rob Buyea
Mal and Chad: The Biggest Bestest Time Ever by Stephen McCranie

It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

Thanks to Jen and Kellee for hosting this idea on their site.  Here is a link to their site...

                

                 http://www.teachmentortexts.com/

Books I Read this Past Week...

Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil by John Berendt
The Casual Vacancy by JK Rowling
DragonBreath by Ursula Vernon

*I will continue to read the first two books during this coming week.  The beginning of the year was a tough one for me to keep up on my own personal reading.  I'm hoping now that I'm into October, I'm going to find more of a balance and be able to get some more reading in.  I miss it...

Sunday Morning Meanderings...

When I started this blog this past summer I had visions of posting thoughtful and meaningful ideas regarding my reading and teaching life on a daily or weekly basis.  Well, once the year began reality set in and I learned there is only so much time in one person's life and the daily blogging idea went out the window as they say. 

Teaching full time, running a before-school reading class twice a week, fathering two teens, being a "present" husband (not hooked to the laptop), reading children's books, reading my Boys' Book Club selection, reading books for pleasure, keeping up with my PLN on Twitter, and having a somewhat normal social life, the ReadWonder blog took a backseat. 

I woke up this morning and was thinking about my first 28 days teaching 4th grade and have so many wonderful memories and thoughts of the beginning of my 22nd year of teaching.  I have always had the passion for reading and books, but know that I started this year better than ever sharing all the books I read over the summer with my 27 students and the reading fire was lit from that first day. 

I am thrilled that I was introduced to the format of graphic novels and have shared many of those books with my students.  They love them and I think all the readers have read at least one during the first 28 days.  Many of our first reading clubs were graphic novels.  After a student has finished the requirements for a specific club, they get recognized during our morning meeting, receive a certificate of completion, and sign their name to that club sheet on our bulletin board.  For certain books and clubs, I have special book marks and/or items to give to the reader. 

My students look forward to our picture-book-of-the-day that we begin our morning with.  We have kept a list of all the books and keep them in our picture book bin in the front of the room.  It is so great to see students gravitate toward that bin during our reading zone time to reread the books on their own.

My first "Breakfast with Books" was a success with about 12 readers joining me on a Friday morning at the end of September to talk about The Strange Case of Origami Yoda.  It led many readers to the 2nd and 3rd books in the series.  This month we are reading Capture the Flag and will meet at the end of the month.  This is probably one of my most treasured events I do with my students.

A personal highlight for me was reading the book Pickle by Kim Baker.  I tweeted about it and Kim replied.  After some back and forth tweets, she sent my class a "SWAG" bag with many pickle goodies in it.  The excitement over this book in my room is palpable and I am so thankful to her.  It has been wonderful to learn through Twitter that authors are real people, approachable, and want to connect with their readers.  Thank you to all the authors who have connected with me over the last several months. 

Just recently I learned that our 6th grade team  from my building will be going to hear Donalyn Miller speak here in the Twin Cities.  I couldn't believe it.  I can tell you that the first thing I'm going to do tomorrow morning when I get to the building is to email my principal and ask her if I can join that team to attend her presentation.  I have gained so much knowledge and affirmation from Donalyn and it would be so COOL to actually see in her person to gain even more knowledge and insight!  I hope I can make that happen...

My school just finished our four week Read-a-Thon and I had 100% participation.  We may have gotten the most reading minutes for our grade level and maybe even the building (K-6).  I will let you know after our Read-a-Thon assembly on Wednesday. 

I'm also excited about our upcoming Skype visit with author Stephan McGranie who wrote the Mal and Chad books.  I have ordered both those books so my classroom can have their own personal copies.  I will be sharing the big news with my readers tomorrow during our morning meeting.  I can't wait to tell them and know they will be so excited! 

I'm not sure how much excitement we can take in room 113.  The vibe is just so positive, fun, exciting, and one I don't think I've ever had during my teaching career.

I know there are things I'm forgetting about the first 28 days, but this is getting a bit long and I don't want to lose the reader or two that might be reading this.  Oh, we are going to finish up the book Wonder this week and I have already had kids tell me they don't want the story to be done.  How great is that???

For whatever reason, I just had to get up on this gloomy Sunday morning and BLOG about my first 28 days teaching 4th graders to love to read, to love books, and to love being a part of a community of readers! 

I'm also hoping I can get more of a balance and find some spare moments to pop on the ReadWonder blog and share a bit of news here and there...

PS:  Oh, and I'm also helping with our 13th annual Book Donation Night at the end of October.  We just went to the Red Balloon Book Store in St. Paul and gathered 100 of the newest and best picture books and novels to display at our Fall Harvest so families and buy and donate them to our school library.  We have probably added over 1,500 books with this program and it brings me great joy to know that I'm helping build a complete and up-to-date collection of children's books!