Treat Tuesday #172 (Happy Book Birthday)

Treat Tuesday:  Stuffed Chicken Parmesan

*My wife and I saw this recipe via Facebook.

*We had my dad over for Sunday dinner to watch the Packer Game.

*Our nineteen-year-old son was in Greenbay to watch the game.  He is a huge fan.

*We enjoyed this meal while watching the afternoon game.  

Recipe Site

INGREDIENTS

Servings: 3 

3 chicken breasts, boneless and skinless
Salt, to taste
1 cup mozzarella
2 cups flour
6 eggs, beaten
2 cups bread crumbs
1 cup oil, for frying
3 cups tomato sauce
½ cup parmesan
2 tablespoons basil

PREPARATION

1. Cut a pocket into each chicken breast.
2. Stuff the pockets evenly with the mozzarella cheese.
3. Press the edges of the chicken together to seal the pocket.
4. Separate the flour, eggs, and bread crumbs into 3 separate bowls.
5. Being careful to keep the chicken from opening, dip the stuffed chicken in the flour, shaking off the excess.
6. Dip the floured chicken into the egg, then the bread crumbs, coating it evenly.
7. Heat the oil in a large pan over medium heat. Preheat oven to 180°C.
8 .Fry the chicken until golden brown on both sides.
9. Place ⅔ of the tomato sauce evenly on the bottom of a baking dish. Place the chicken on top.
10.Top with the rest of the tomato sauce, then sprinkle the parmesan and basil on top.
11. Bake for 20 minutes.
12. Serve!

Treat Tuesday:  Middle-Grade Novel

Treat Tuesday:  Young-Adult Novel

Treat Tuesday:  Novel Published for Adults

An Inside Look #21 (Be Light Like a Bird by Monika Schroder)

An Inside Look - With Monika Schroder

Author of Be Light Like a Bird

*This was a new feature I added to my blog during summer 2016.  I don't have as much time during the school year to run the feature weekly, but definitely will when I come across a book/author/series that I want to dig into more.

*It has been such an honor to connect with authors and "chat" with them about their novel, the characters, and their thoughts about the story.

*Here are the links to the first TWENTY interviews…

Interview #1 with Elly Swartz (Author of Finding Perfect)

Interview #2 with Jeff Zentner (Author of The Serpent King)

Interview #3 with Nora Raleigh Baskin (Author of Nine, Ten, A September 11 Story)

Interview #4 with Cammie McGovern (Author of Just My Luck)

Interview #5 with Kate Messner (Author of The Seventh Wish)

Interview #6 with Paul Griffin (Author of When Friendship Followed Me Home)

Interview #7 with K.A. Holt (Author of House Arrest)

Interview #8 with Abby Cooper (Author of Sticks and Stones)

Interview #9 with Melanie Conklin (Author of Counting Thyme)

Interview #10 with Claire Legrand (Author of Some Kind of Happiness)

Interview #11 with Lynn Plourde (Author of Maxi's Secrets)

Interview #12 with Shaun David Hutchinson (Author of The Five Stages of Andrew Brawley)

Interview #13 with Gae Polisner (Author of The Memory of Things)

Interview #14 with Mike Grosso (Author of I Am Drums)

Interview #15 (Towers Fallings by  Jewell Parker Rhodes)

Interview #16 (My Seventh Grade Life in Tights by Brooks Benjamin)

Interview #17 with Donna Gephart (Author of Lily and Dunkin) 

Interview #18 with Ally Condie (Author of Summerlost)

Interview #19 with Phil Bildner (Author of Rip and Red Series)

Interview #20 with Barbara O'Connor (Author of Wish)

*This book reading experience was quite the treat.  

*A Twitter "friend" sent this to me via a "book tour" group we have.  I didn't know much about the story, but loved the title and cover.  I was excited to start this story based on the positive reviews I had read about.

*Once I started the novel, I could not put the book down.  I loved the story, the characters, and all the feelings involved while I was reading.

*It had been awhile since I had conducted "An Inside Look" interview, but knew I wanted to further explore this character.  I reached out to Monika and she was more than willing to share her thoughts with me and other readers.

*Here are the responses she shared with me and I'm thrilled to share them with you...

Be Light Like a Bird by Monika Schroder (Released September 1, 2016)

How did you come to know Wren?

In early drafts of the book the focus was on Wren's trouble being the new girl in school and her fight to save the bird sanctuary. Over many revisions I felt that I hadn't reached the core of who she was and what was hurting her. But I didn't know how to fix it and left the manuscript in the drawer for a long time. And then I suddenly knew who Wren was: her father had died and her mother had dragged her to northern Michigan. From there I rebuilt the emotional arc of the novel, focusing on the grieving and her relationship to her mother.

What do you think is Wren's most admirable quality?

What I like most about her is that she has the courage to stop pleasing Carrie and instead decides to be true to herself and continue her friendship with Theo. I also admire her tenacity when she and Theo work toward saving the bird sanctuary. It is great that a kid is conscious of the environment and becomes active in her own community.

Is there anything you wish Wren would have changed or done differently in her story?

Since it caused her so much pain, perhaps I wish she had found out earlier what made her mother act the way she did, but then the story would have been very different.

What do you think Wren can offer to other children that are experiencing similar situations to what she went through?

Obviously, it would be nice if children who have experienced the loss of a loved one could find some solace when they read about Wren. But I also hope that all readers can connect with her activism and her decision to be true to herself instead of trying to please others in order to keep her friendship with the popular girls.

How did you research Wren and the circumstances she found herself in?

I often start a book with setting. The 'seed idea' for Be Light Like a Bird came to me the first time I saw a landfill. My husband and I had cleaned out the cabin my husband inherited from his father in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. I couldn't believe it when he drove all the stuff to a landfill nearby, a big hole where people bury unwanted items. In Germany we recycle or incinerate most of our garbage, so it left an impression on me when I saw a guy dropping a vacuum cleaner, a book shelf and an entire carpet into the landfill...a cemetery for junk.

I learned more about this landfill and read about the people in the community who had fought its expansion. Then I asked myself a "What if...?" question: What if there were a girl who loved birds and whose bird watching was threatened by the expansion of the landfill? Once I had that girl in my mind, I found myself asking more and more about her life. How did she get to Michigan's Upper Peninsula? And why was birding so important to her? As I mentioned earlier it took a long time until I learned that her father had recently died and that her mother had more or less dragged her up north. She was grieving and lonely and once she arrived in Upper Michigan she came up with a plan to make her mother stay. From there the story of Wren developed.

Do you and Wren share any similarities? 

When I was in middle school I tried to fit in with girls I had nothing in common with. So I am familiar with the pressure that such a situation puts on a girl. Then, as a teenager in the 1980s, when I was living in Germany I was very interested in politics. I collected signatures against Ronald Reagan, who was leading the Atlantic Alliance in their efforts to place more nuclear weapons on German soil, and I also attended a peace demonstration in Bonn, the German capital at the time, against the nuclear arms race.

What was the hardest scene to write about Wren?

The scene in which she finally finds out what happened between her mother and father was difficult to write. I had to dive into those emotions and find Wren's response amid her doubts regarding her mother's words. I rewrote that chapter many times.

Who do you think was Wren's biggest supporter and why?

I think her friendship with Theo is the most important support for her. He also experienced loss and it helps her to just talk to someone who also lost a parent. And when they start working on the school project together his steadiness and the fact that he helps her to stand up against the bully gives her a lot of strength.

Why do you think humans, especially adults vs. children, handle death or other traumatic events differently?  

I think a wife or husband has had a different relationship with the deceased and that influences the way they grieve. The same is true for children who loose a parent, they have had a different relationship to a father or mother than a surviving spouse. Those differences in the relationship determine the process of grieving. But I also think that individual people may have a variety of emotional responses to any major event in their lives. The important thing is to heal and to find people who help one to get through these hard times.

What do you think Wren is doing at the present time?

I hope she and Theo are sitting on their boulder, watching birds, or zipping through Pyramid on their bikes or, perhaps, she is enjoying a healthy meal her mother cooked after she took cooking lessons.

Music Monday #16 (My Hero by Harris J)

"My Hero" by Harris J

*One of the most rewarding moments in teaching is when I student brings to you an idea to use in the classroom.  One of my fourth graders asked if we could use this song for a Music Monday.

*In my opinion this is a true sign of learning.  I love it.

*He and looked at the video together and I knew it would make for an excellent selection.  The student also mentioned it could make for a "life lesson" Thursday also.  This just made me smile!

*Today is our SIXTEENTH Monday together and that means it is time for another musical selection.

*I truly believe Mondays are my favorite day for our writer's notebooks.  

*Each Monday I present a piece of music to my fourth graders.  I usually present this song via a video so they are hearing and seeing the music.  

*After I share the video, we discuss the song/video for a few minutes as a class.  It is always a joy to hear what my young listeners have to say about the song.  

*They then get busy writing in their notebooks.  We start off at the beginning of the year writing for about five minutes.  This will gradually increase as the year progresses.  

*Here are some ideas I give the writers to think about during their writing time...

*Their opinions of the song.

*Their likes and dislikes of the song.

*What the song reminds them of.

*Any connections they may have to the music.

*What they think the message in the piece may be.

*What listeners can learn from the song.

*A fictional story about the music/video.

*These are just some ideas I give to the writers.  They are really free to write anything they would like as long as it connects to the song.

*After our silent reading, we spend a few more minutes sharing out what we wrote.  

*I keep a collection of the videos on our Schoology Site so that my students can always go back and rematch them anytime they wish.


Our Musical Monday Selections for 2016-2017 
Week #1 - "What I Am" by will.i.am                                                Click Here for Week #1 Music
Week #2 - "Clay" by Grace VanderWaal                                           Click Here for Week #2 Music
Week #3 - "One Voice" by Billy Gilman                                           Click Here for Week #3 Music
Week #4 - "I Don't Know My Name" by Grace VanderWaal            Click Here for Week #4 Music
Week #5 - "Proud" by Heather Small                                                 Click Here for Week #5 Music
Week #6 - "There's a Hero" by Billy Gilman                                     Click Here for Week #6 Music
Week #7 - "Can't Stop the Feeling" by Justin Timberlake                  Click Here for Week #7 Music
Week #8 - "Thriller" by Michael Jackson                                           Click Here for Week #8 Music
Week #9 - "Beautiful Thing" by Grace VanderWaal                          Click Here for Week #9 Music
Week #10 - "Live Like a Warrior" by Matisyahu                               Click Here for Week #10 Music
Week #11 - "Thankful" by Josh Groban                                             Click Here for Week #11 Music
Week #12 - "Hall of Fame" by The Script and will.i.am                    Click Here for Week #12 Music
Week #13 - "Clouds" by Zach Sobiach                                               Click Here for Week #13 Music
Week #14 - "Hopeful" by Bars & Melody                                          Click Here for Week #14 Music
Week #15 - "Do They Know Its Christmas" by BandAid                   Click Here for Week #15 Music

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? (1/9/16)

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…

The Julian Chapter (A Wonder Story) by R.J. Palacio

*Middle-Grade Novel (5 STARS out of 5 Stars)

My Book Review

All the Ugly and Wonderful Things by Bryn Greenwood

*Novel Published for Adults (5 STARS out of 5 Stars!)

My Book Review

The Hundred Lies of Lizzie Lovett by Chelsea Sedoti

*Young-Adult Novel (4 STARS out of 5 Stars!)

My Book Review

Orphan Island by Laurel Snyder

*Middle-Grade Novel (5 STARS out of 5 Stars!)

My Book Review

Books I Will (continue to) Read this Week…    

Chester and Gus by Cammie McGovern

*My Middle-Grade Novel

Kids of Appetite by David Arnold

*My Young-Adult Novel

The Girls by Emma Cline

*My Novel Published for Adults (Audio)

The Hundred Lies of Lizzie Lovett by Chelsea Sedoti

How I Heard About It:  I actually got an ARC of this quite awhile ago via NetGalley.  It sat in my account for many months.  Right before my trip to the Dominican Republic, I began to see posts, reviews, and comments about this upcoming novel.  I went to my Kindle and sure enough, there it was.  I put it on my list of books I wanted to read pool and beach side.  

What It Is About:  Lizzie Lovett was popular.  Hawthorn isn't.  Lizzie Lovett appeared to have everything.  Hawthorn knows she has very little.  Lizzie Lovett was the center of the high-school "in crowd".  Hawthorn is barely noticed and when she is, she is bullied.  Hawthorn was a freshman when she had a "brief" encounter with senior Lizzie, but the memory of it has stayed ingrained in Hawthorn's mind.  A couple of years after Lizzie graduated from high-school, she disappears from a camp site where she was spending time with her boyfriend.  This news captivated the attention of everyone in their small town, but Hawthorn takes it to a whole new level.  She gets a job where Lizzie use to work.  She forms a "bond" with Lizzie's boyfriend.  She sets course to find out what truly happened to Lizzie on that night at the camp site.  Hawthorn comes up with a theory and with the help of Lizzie's boyfriend, they try to find Lizzie and/or find out where she is.  Hawthorn was already on the "outs' of the high school crowd, but this "mission" puts her more in the spotlight than she ever imagined possible.  

What I Thought Of It:  If you have read my other two book reviews of the novels I read over vacation, you know they were top-notch reads.  This one completed the "trifecta" of excellent reading experiences.  I really enjoyed this story and found myself reading so quickly because I wanted to find out what was going to happen and what they found out about Lizzie.  It was cool that the story was about Lizzie, but really in the end was more about Hawthorn.  Many high-school life lessons were presented during the story and done in a very realistic way.  The writing was great, the characters were great, and the plot was non-stop.  This was an excellent young-adult book.  

Who Should Read It:  This would be the perfect read for readers in high-school, college, and/or adult readers.  It is such a solid story that all three groups of readers would enjoy equally.  I believe this is Chelsea's debut novel and boy did she hit it out of the park.  A must-read.  Happy Reading!  

Rating:  4 STARS out of 5 Stars

Orphan Island by Laurel Snyder

How I Heard About It:   This was a great "gift" from #NCTE16.  It was one of the ARC's that I brought home from Atlanta.  Once I had it home and shared it with my class, I began to see positive reviews on Twitter.  The book was in the hands of a reader and before my winter break I asked her if I could take it with me on my vacation.  It was the first book I read via the pool and beach in the Dominican Republic.  

What It Is About:  An island exists somewhere in the world that "holds" nine young children.  Only nine can live here and once a year one of the "residents"  must leave the island when a new child arrives via a boat.  Life has been like this for a long as anyone can remember and this life has provided an almost perfect existence for these nine inhabitants.  During the latest "Changing" Jinny must say goodbye to the eldest member Deen as he boards the small boat to depart while the newest member of the community joins the island.  Her name is Ess and she is about to change Jinny in ways she never imagined.  Jinny becomes the newest Elder, must "train" Ess with the ways of the island, and make sure she is safe.  It is a turbulent year for Jinny, Ess, and the other seven islanders; but nothing prepares them for the day when Jinny is suppose to leave the island while welcoming a new young one.  Her decision will not only change her life, but everyone who lives on this island for "orphans".  

What I Thought Of It:  I really lucked out with two of the books I brought with me on vacation.  This was one of the best middle-grade novels I've recently read.  Once I started reading, I couldn't stop.  I was fascinated by the concept of the story and had so many questions as I read.  Whenever I found myself reading too quickly, I had to slow down to take it all in.  There were moments when my heart actually hurt when Jinny was faced with such difficult life decisions.  It was like they were real people and I was right there with them on the island.  When a writer can accomplish this; that is a definite sign of solid and wonderful writing.  I've just recently sent the book to a Twitter friend and have a feeling when the book is returned; I will read it again.  

Who Should Read It:  If I have time this year, I may use this as a read aloud in my fourth-grade classroom.  It would make for an excellent read aloud in grades four, five, and/or six.  When the book comes out and you put it in the hands of an individual reader, they should be in graders five, six, or middle-school.  Of course adult readers who read middle-grade novels, will definitely want to read this.  It will NOT disappoint.  Happy Reading!!!  

Rating:  5 STARS out of 5 Stars

All The Ugly and Wonderful Things by Bryn Greenwood

How I Heard About It:  While browsing my "Good Reads" account, I somehow came across this title and was intrigued by the title.  After doing some "research" I found that it had incredible reviews and many 4-5 star ratings.  I decided it would be one of the novels I put on my Kindle for my vacation to the Dominican Republic that we took over the holidays.  

What It Is About:  Wavy is an eight-year old girl living a difficult life.  Her father is a drug dealer.  Her mother can be two different people depending on if she is on or off drugs.  Wavy has a little brother, Donal, who has become her responsibility because of the lack of parental supervision.  She has learned to keep her mouth closed, stay out of sight, and do exactly as she is told.  Wavy is a smart young girl who has a keen interest in constellations.  After a motorcycle accident involving Kellen, a guy that works for Wavy's father, she forms a "friendship" with him.  Kellen becomes a "parent" figure to both Wavy and her younger brother.  While they don't have any parents that make sure they are safe, feed, and educated; Kellen takes on this role.  As time goes on, Wavy and Kellen begin to form a "relationship" that even they can't quite define.  All they know is that they depend on each other as family members do.  When tragedy strikes Wavy's family, Kellen is ripped away from her, and the two of them aren't sure they will ever see each other again.  

What I Thought Of It:  This is a complete WOW novel.  All of the reviews were spot on.  The plot-line was incredible, the writing was top-notch, and the cast of characters was like none other.  I was a bit worried about the "relationship" aspect of these two characters; but found that it was handled with grace, dignity, and heart.  There were moments when I was a bit uncomfortable but to me that is a sign of brilliant writing.  As I finished the disturbing story, I felt a sense of hope for these characters and the strong will they had to survive and find peace from a difficult and dysfunctional situation.  While reading on vacation, I could NOT put this book down and finished within a few days.  

Who Should Read It:  I have been telling all of my adult-reader friends about this novel.  This is definite a book for the adult reader.  The reader should be alright with difficult subject matter, raw situations, and moments when you question what and why characters are acting out the way they are. The book will stretch the reader into a world that I'm sure most people can't relate to; but will make them think, feel, and react in ways they haven't with any other story.  Happy Reading!  

Rating:  5 STARS out of 5 Stars