Looking Back at 2012...

I haven't been blogging lately.  In fact, it was the end of November when I blogged last.  I think the month of December got the better of me.  It frustrated me at first, but then I gave myself permission to do just what I can do and that it is OK that I can't keep up with fellow bloggers.

As I look back at 2012, it was a full year personally and definitely professionally.  I know many bloggers are reviewing the year with their favorite books.  Many of those titles are my favorites also.  I wanted to wrap up the year by reflecting on my top ten professional moments because it was a year of such grand change. 

The events listed below are in no particular order.  They are the moments that come to mind as I think back over the last six months or so...

Number Ten: While sitting at my son's soccer game in June, I tweeted about the book Fake Mustache, and Donalyn Miller replied to my Tweet.  This started my journey in the world of Twitter.  My career will never be the same.  Thanks Donalyn! 

Number Nine:  As the summer rolled along, I started to follow more and more educators, teachers, and librarians.  To a great surprise to me, many of these same people started to follow me. 

Number Eight:  Learning about Colby Sharp and John Schu through Twitter.  It was so refreshing to find two male educators that were as passionate about reading and books as I was.  It was fascinating to follow their tweets and their incredible blogs.  As I mentioned above, I will never hit the blog status of these two guru's, but they are truly role models to me. 

Number Seven:  I tweeted about the book Wild by Cheryl Strayed.  The Oprah Book Club saw it on Twitter and messaged me to ask if I wanted a signed copy of the book.  A few days later, a copy of the book was at my house signed by Cheryl along with a note signed by Oprah.  This Twitter thing was becoming pretty darn cool. 

Number Six:  I prided myself on the amount of books that I read and exposed my students to.  The one "genre" that I was not aware of was graphic novels.  Because of Colby and John, and of course others, I was exposed to graphic novels and fell in love with them immediately.  It has been one of my teaching highlights this school year introducing many wonderful graphic novels to my fourth graders!

Number Five:  Again, through Twitter, I was introduced to Stephen McCranie.  He was offering Sykpe visits to classrooms across the country.  I quickly Tweeted him that we would love a Skype visit.  I got my students reading the Mal and Chad books and couldn't believe the excitement that grew because of the books and the Skype visit.  We had a great visit and it opened the world of Skyping with authors to me.  His books are still be circulated around my classroom.

Number Four:  I came across the book Pickle and the author Kim Baker.  I took a risk and reached out to her via Twitter to ask if she would Skype with us. She of course said yes and my class was in store for another Skype visit with another author.  It was so exciting to see how a book and an author can come to life via a Skype session.  The excitement is palpable. 

Number Three:  At the beginning of December I had the opportunity to meet a professional role model to me.  Years ago I had read the book The Book Whisperer.  It became my "bible" of teaching.  I thought she wrote it just for me because it was exactly how I thought reading should be taught to children.  It was amazing then to become Twitter friends.  It was even more amazing when I found Donalyn Miller would be conducting a workshop right here in the Twin Cities.  What a career highlight to meet Donalyn in person, hear her words, and be validated for what I know is true in my heart. 

Number Two:  During the November #TitleTalk with Colby and Donalyn, an idea struck me.  We all spend so much time reading children's books, but wouldn't it be great to read some adult books and talk about them via Twitter.  I started the #ABCT (Adult Book Club on Twitter).  The first book that was picked was Life Among Giants by Bill Roorbach.  We will be discussing this book on Twitter on Thursday, January 3rd at 7:00 PM.  I'm excited to see where this book club will go. 

Number One:  Taking another risk, I decided to head into the world of blogging.  I'm not sure why, but it sure scared the heck out of me.  I didn't know if I could measure up to all of the other bloggers that I had been following.  On July 18th, I took the leap and began this blog called ReadWonder.  The title was in honor of my love for reading and my love for the book Wonder by R.J. Palacio.  I'm proud of the blog, want it to be better than ever, and am excited for the next chapter for the blog in the year 2013! 


*For me this is a great wrap-up to the year 2012.  I'm not going to worry about the Mondays I miss for "What Are You Reading", or the books that I don't blog about after I read them.  I need to let myself be where I am and continue to use this blog to record the happenings in my reading and professional life.  I'm excited for the year 2013 and all that will come...

*Happy New Year fellow blogger, Twitter friends, and all of you who truly have made a world of difference in my own life! 

Announcing ABCT (Adult Book Club on Twitter)

How ABCT Came About:   While on #titletalk on Sunday, November 25th we were chatting about book lists and books for our students.  As I was watching the tweets come in and adding my own thoughts, I had this flash of an idea.  I thought wouldn't it be fun to create a book club for all the adult twitter members.  I know we all read a lot of "kid" books.  I also enjoy reading books written for adults.  Hoping other teachers, educators, authors, and readers would feel the same way, I decided to take a leap into something totally different for me...

The Invite Sent Out:  I took a risk and threw out the idea of creating an Adult Book Club on Twitter (#ABCT).  I wasn't sure what response I would get.  It was amazing to me when I saw a few tweets come back with readers saying they would love to join this new book club.  It was surprising to say the least.  I must say that one of the greatest moments during this tweet "a-thon" was when @donalynbooks tweeted stating she would love to join this book club.  What a moment!  More and more tweets started coming in with more and more people on Twitter saying they were interested in this idea of a book club. 

First Book Chosen:   Since I was about to start a new book after #titletalk on Sunday night, I decided to throw that out as our first book club selection.  We are going to read Life Among Giants by Bill Roorbach.  I had read some great reviews of it and was hopeful it would be a great book to start with.  What was so fun to see was how many people either downloaded the book or looked into the book on that first Sunday night.  For me, the excitement was growing!    

Who Should Read It:   I'm hoping to get as many Twitter readers reading this book during the month of December.  The possibilities of this book club are quite exciting.  I've also contacted the author (via Twitter) to see if he would like to follow this online book club and discussion.  I have scheduled our first #ABCT for Thursday, January 3rd at 7:00 PM CT.  Won't it be interesting to see how many people log-in this night to have the book club discussion.  It is my hope that we also "Tweet-talk" the book while we are all reading it.  Please spread the word about the book, the new book club, and spread the excitement about giving ourselves some time to read an adult book in between all the books we read for our students and young people. 

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? (11/26/12)

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

                

                 http://www.teachmentortexts.com/

With conferences on Monday, November 19th and then the rest of the week off, it was a great week for reading.  I almost felt like it was last summer and was able to get through several books.  Everything I read this past week was great...

Books I Read this Past Week...

We the Animals by Justin Torres (My ADULT Book - 3 Stars out of 5 Stars)

Mr. Terupt Falls Again by Rob Buyeau (My KID Book - 3 Stars out of 5 Stars)

The Secret Tree by Natalie Standiford (My KID Book - 3 Stars out of 5 Stars)

Sidekicks by Dan Santat (My KID Book - 5 Stars out of 5 Stars)

The Genius Files:  Mission Unstoppable by Dan Gutman (My KID Book - 5 Stars out of 5 Stars)

*I will be picking The Genius Files for my December book club selection for my "Breakfast with Books" book club with my 4th graders.  I know they will LOVE it and will rush to get book #2.  I'm looking forward to reading the second one. 


Books I Will Read this ComingWeek...

Life Among Giants by Bill Roorbach (My ADULT Book)

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 (4Stars out of 5 Stars)
Tell the Wolves I'm Home by Carol Rifka Brunt (5 Stars out of 5 Stars)


Books I Will Read this comingWeek...

Mr. Terupt Falls Again by Rob Buyeau (My KID Book)
We the Animals by Justin Torres (My ADULT Book)

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! 

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...

Pickle by Kim Baker  (5 Stars out of 5 Stars)

The Running Dream by Wendelin Van Draanen (Adult Book)

 

Books I Will Read This Coming Week...

The Running Dream by Wendelin Van Draanen (Adult Book)

Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil by John Berendt (For my Boy's Book Club)

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/

*It was a busy week at school and I didn't have much time to read and when I would read it seemed that I always feel asleep right away.  Here are the books I'm working on, but haven't finished...

 

Books I Read This Past Week...

The Running Dream by Wendelin Van Draanen (Adult Book)

Pickle by Kim Baker 

 

Books I Will Read This Coming Week...

The Running Dream by Wendelin Van Draanen (Adult Book)

Pickle by Kim Baker
Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil by John Berendt (For my Boy's Book Club)

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...

The Unlikely Plimgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce (4 Stars out of 5 Stars)

Babymouse Mad Scientist (#14) by Jennifer Holm (4 Stars out of 5 Stars)

Babymouse for President #16 by Jennifer Holm (5 Stars out of 5 Stars) 

Each Little Bird That Sings by Deborah Wiles (3 out of 5 Stars)

Books I Will Read This Coming Week...

The Running Dream by Wendelin Van Draanen (Adult Book)

Pickle by Kim Baker 

The Book Whisperer by Donalyn Miller (This is a re-read for me)

Year 22, 2012-2013, Fourth Grade, First Four Days

All weekend I have been thinking about the first four days of fourth grade last week.  They were the best first days I've had in a long, long time.

Everything just felt so different, so unique, and so creative.  I've been wondering why I'm feeling so differently toward the beginning of this year compared to others.  No matter how I look at it, everything comes back to Twitter. 

It was energizing to be in the classroom with so many new books in my toolbox.  I can't believe what a difference it can make when I personally know so many titles to share with my students instead of just having a passion toward reading and books.

My students and I are extremely excited about our September "Breakfast with Books" book club selection.  For those students who choose to do so, will be reading The Strange Case of Origami Yoda.  Our first book club will be on Friday, September 28th.  It was fun to reveal our book club poster and pass out the Yoda bookmarks.  These little things built up the excitement for our book club!

The highlight of the week had to be the sharing of graphic novels.  This genre was new to me this summer and I have fallen in love with them.  I think they were the perfect books to share with my students during the first days of fourth grade.  All my students are excited to read them and to join our different clubs when they have read all the books in a particular series.  We are most thrilled about Babymouse, Squish, and Lunch Lady.  I know we will be adding more graphic novels as the year progresses.

During one of our first four days, I gave my readers the Donalyn Miller Reading Interest Survey.  I hadn't used it in a couple of years, but after following her on Twitter this summer, I knew I wanted to pull it out again and offer it to my students.  The students enjoyed filling it out and it was quite eye-opening to me how honest the 4th graders were.  I know these surveys will help me in guiding my readers to the right books this year. 

As I have stated before, it is amazing to me how an online community of educators, authors, and other professionals can make such a huge impact on me as a teacher.  It brings me such joy and satisfaction to be a member of Twitter and know that I'm actually learning new things daily that transfer to my classroom immediately.  This transfer of information is truly beneficial to my students!

Thank you Twitter friends for all of this new learning and for making my 22nd year of teaching one of the best yet...

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...

Every Day by David Levithan (5 Stars out of 5 Stars)

Drama by Raina Telgemeier (4 Stars out of 5 Stars)

Bobby vs. Girls (Accidentally) by Lisa Yee (3 Stars out of 5 Stars)

Books I Will Read This Coming Week...

The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce (Adult Book)
Babymouse Mad Scientist (#14) by Jennifer Holm
Babymouse For President (#16) by Jennifer Holm
The Book Whisperer by Donalyn Miller (This is a re-read for me)

Every Day by David Levithan (Adult Book)

For my second "official" book review, I'm excited to review the book Every Day by David Levithan

How I Heard About It:  I have had this book on my Goodreads "to-read" list for quite a long time.  I can't quite remember how I heard about this book, but I do believe it was on Twitter.  I was thrilled when it came out last week. 

What It Is About:  The story revolves around the character of A.  He/She is a teenager that wakes up each morning in a new body of another teenager.  A spends the days in that person's body and lives their life for one day.  On one particular day A meets a girl and things start to get difficult.  How do you carry on a relationship when you are someone new each and every day? 

What I Thought Of It:  I was absolutely engrossed by this novel.  Once I started I could not put it down.  Even though it was written for teenagers, it was just as interesting to me as an adult reader.  I'm not sure if this book would be considered science fiction, but it is like nothing else I have read.  The story of A and his daily adventures kept me interested and wondering where the story was going to go and how it would all be wrapped up.  Another positive aspect of this novel was how the author included issues involving teenagers such as appearance, peer groups/peer pressure, sexuality, and acceptance. 

Who Should Read It:  Even though this book is targeted toward teen readers, I think adult readers would also enjoy it.  The premise is so different and unique.  The story line draws the reader in right away and doesn't let up until the very last page.  I was able to read the book over a two-day period.  I don't think it would be appropriate for readers under 9th grade, but a great fit for anyone older than that!  Enjoy...

Sharp by David Fitzpatrick (Adult Book)

For my first "official" book review, I couldn't be more thrilled than to review the book Sharp by David Fitzpatrick.

How I Heard About It:  I saw an interview with David Fitzpatrick and Wally Lamb online on USA today.  Wally Lamb is my favorite adult author so that drew me to the interview to learn more about this book.

What It Is About:  This is a memoir about David's journey into the world of mental illness and how he found his way back.  He spent many years going from one hospital to another to another to another.

What I Thought Of It:  I don't read many memoirs, but when I do I enjoy them.  This was definitely a page-turner and I couldn't put it down.  The story was honest, raw, real, and disturbing at times.  I especially found it difficult to read about David's cutting and burning himself.  It is amazing how people can become so mentally ill that they do hurtful things to themselves.  The therapy he received was fascinating to read about and as the reader, I was rooting for him the whole time.  Of course I also love the fact that David became friends with Wally Lamb many years ago and Wally assisted him on his journey into writing. 

Who Should Read It:  I am recommending this book to everyone I know.  I think any adult reader that enjoys memoirs, will thoroughly enjoy this story.  As I mentioned before, this story is raw and real, but is necessary for David to tell his real story.  The pages read quickly and the story is quite engaging.   

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...

How Rocket Learned to Read by Tom Angleberger (5 out of 5 Stars)

Babymouse Musical #10 by Jennifer L. Holm (4 out of 5 Stars)

Babymouse Dragon Slayer #11 by Jennifer L. Holm (5 out of 5 Stars)

The Library by Sarah Stewart (5 out of 5 Stars)

The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore by William Joyce (5 out of 5 Stars)

Babymouse Burns Rubber #12 by Jennifer L. Holm (5 out of 5 Stars)

Babymouse Cupcake Tycoon #13 by Jennifer L. Holm (4 out of 5 Stars)

The Brilliant Fall of Gianna Z. by Kate Messner (4 out of 5 Stars)

*Sharp by David Fitzpatrick (5 out of 5 Stars) - Adult Book

Books I Will Read This Coming Week...

The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce (Adult Book)

Bobby vs. Girls (Accidentally) by Lisa Yee

In Memoriam of Ivan...

I have been thinking a lot about this book since I read the news about Ivan's passing yesterday.  Of course I learned about it on Twitter.  It came as quite a shock.  I know this is true for many people. 

Even before I joined the world of Twitter, I had  heard about this remarkable book.  I read it last winter and knew right away that I had to pick it for my "Breakfast with Books" book club.  My fourth graders and I read the book last spring and had a touching and meaningful book club discussion.  I even had some of the parents in my classroom read the book with their child.  This is exactly what I hope happens when I announce a book club selection.

As I became more and more a part of the Twitter PLN, I realized how important this book is to so many teachers, children, and readers.  It was so cool to follow Mr. Schu on his "Let's Go South" summer road trip and feel like I was meeting Ivan right along side him. 

This summer I've spent time planning what books I will read to my class, what books I will book-talk, and what books I will use for our book club.  I wanted all my students to experience the story of Ivan so I had decided to read The One and Only Ivan as our second read-aloud of the year.  I will be kicking off the year with Wonder. 

It is going to be even more meaningful when I read this book to my class and I share that Ivan passed away on Monday, August 20th.  This is such an important book that I think all children should be exposed to.

In memory of Ivan...

Meet Mr. Andrus...

Check out the video that I will use to introduce myself to both my new fourth graders and their families.

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...

Darth Paper Strikes Back by Tom Angleberger (5 out of 5 Stars)

Liar and Spy by Rebecca Stead (5 out of 5 Stars)

The Secret of the Fortune Wookiee by Tom Angleberger (5 out of 5 Stars)

Please Write in This Book by Mary Amato (4 out of 5 Stars)

Babymouse Puppy Love #8 by Jennifer L. Holm (5 out of 5 Stars)

Babymouse Monster Mash #9 by Jennifer L. Holm (4 out of 5 Stars)

Marty Mcquire #1 by Kate Messner (5 out of 5 Stars)

How to Steal a Dog by Barbara O'Connor (4 out of 5 Stars)

Marty Mcquire Dig Worms #2 by Kate Messner (4 out of 5 Stars)

Boy + Bot by Ame Dyckman (4 out of 5 Stars)

When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead (5 out of 5 Stars)

*This was probably one of the best weeks I had this summer as far as KID books go!!! 
*I didn't include book cover pictures because of time and that there were so many books.

Books I Will Read This Coming Week...

The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce (Adult Book)

The Brillant Fall of Gianna Z. by Kate Messner

The Library by Sarah Stewart

The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore by William Joyce

Bobby vs. Girls (Accidentally) by Lisa Yee

My First Blog Post (My Journey to Today)...

I have been putting this off because it makes me very nervous to write an actual blog post.  This blog was created on July 18th, but has not included an actual blog post from me. 

Little steps have been taken to create this blog.  I have been looking at other blogs, reading Tweets on Twitter, and communicating with other educators.  This past summer has been a life-changer for me and "ReadWonder" is just one of those changes.

I finished my 21st year of teaching last spring.  It was a difficult year and to be honest I was probably at one of my lowest points professionally.  I was ready to close the door to my classroom, head home for the summer, and not think about teaching for the next ten weeks.  Well, that was the farthest thing from what actually happened.

Last spring I was curious about Twitter.  I signed up for an account (much to the dismay of my teenagers) and started to poke around.  While at a soccer game for my son, I Tweeted about the book Fake Mustache.  I wasn't sure who would read it because I didn't have any followers.  The details aren't clear today, but somehow Donalyn Miller saw my Tweet and as they say the rest is history. 

Today I am at 208 followers of the most motivating and inspirational educators, authors, and teachers.  Twitter has opened up a whole new world to me and there wasn't a better time that this could have happened.  I feel more energized and excited for the upcoming school year than I have been in years. 

There are so many people to thank for this change in my professional life.  Mentioned earlier is Donalyn Miller who had been a mentor to me ever since I read her book The Book Whisperer.  Two other people that have me in awe are Colby Sharp and Mr. Schu.  It has been an incredible summer following their tweets and keeping up with their blogs.  Their excitement over reading, books, and teaching can be felt through the E-Waves!!! 

During my twenty-one years of teaching I have always had a passion for reading and books.  I love both books for my students and books for my own pleasure.  It is surprising to me that my love for literacy is even bigger and more intense than ever before.  My fourth graders are in for a year of wonderful books, extraordinary characters, and more reading than they have ever done. 

There are so many more people that I could thank for getting me started on this new journey of Twitter, blogs, and sharing electronically (Learning 2.0), but I don't think I can list all 208 of you.  Hopefully you know who you are.

If you do read this post and have any suggestions, I'm an open book so please feel free to give any feedback.  I think I now know how my student writers might feel when I ask them to share their writing.  It can be very scary, but I think I'm ready to hit the publish button...

The Library is Ready...

 I spent a third day in my classroom before our "official" workshop days begin.  My main focus was finalizing the classroom library.  Here is a picture of the non-fiction books.  This is one area that I know I need to build.  That will be a main focus for me this year. 








I am so excited about the main part of my library.  I love the circular book shelf in the middle that will highlight books that I want to make sure my 4th graders will read.  I also brought out some old bins (and bought new ones) to house popular books and series of books. 



I am going to encourage the reading of graphic novels this year.  This was a new genre to me this summer and I want to share these books with my students.  I have Babymouse, Squish, and Lunch Lady books in the red and blue bins. 





My desk sits behind this bookshelf.  I am going to display all of my favorite hard cover books here.  I use to keep them in a cupboard, but I want them out where the kids can see them and read them. 





After a great day in the classroom I cam home to a package in the mail.  More books to read and share with my future fourth grade students...