Catching Fire

Book #44: Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins

This book is the sequel to the Hunger Games. **SPOILER ALERT!! IF YOU HAVE NOT READ THE HUNGER GAMES, AND PLAN TO, DO NOT READ THIS POST.** You've been warned. I can take no blame if you ruin your life by reading this post before you read the Hunger Games.

Seriously, these books are that good. You need to read them. And if you read this post it will just ruin the whole experience. Ok, go read.






Hope this is enough space for people to get the hint...Anyway, onto the book. I'm going to be lame again and just reproduce the blurb from the book cover.

"Against all odds, Katniss has won the Hunger Games. She and fellow District 12 tribute Peeta Mellark are miraculously still alive. Katniss should be relieved, happy even. After all, she has returned to her family and her longtime friend, Gale. Yet nothing is the way Katniss wishes it to be. Gale holds her at an icy distance. Peeta has turned his back on her completely. And there are whispers of rebellion against the Capitol--a rebellion that Katniss and Peeta may have helped create.

Much to her shock, Katniss has fueled an unrest she's afraid she cannot stop. And what scares her even more is that she's not entirely convinced she should try. As time draws near for Katniss and Peeta to visit the Districts on the Capitols cruel Victory Tour, the stakes are higher than ever. If they can't prove, without a shadow of a doubt, that they are lost in their love for each other, the consequences will be horrifying."

This book was great and kept me turning the pages (I read until 2 am one night even though I had to get up at 7am...I just couldn't put it down. Then I kept thinking about it as I was trying to sleep. I even dreamed about it.)

I'm dying to read the last one, Mockingjay, which isn't even released until August 24. Ugh. That's 5 months away. Are you kidding me?

The Hunger Games

Book #43: The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

"In the ruins of a place once known as North America lies the nation of Panem, a shining Capitol surrounded by twelve outlying districts. The Capitol is harsh and cruel and keeps the districts in line by forcing them all to send one boy and one girl between the ages of twelve and eighteen to participate in the annual Hunger Games, a fight to the death on live TV.


Sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen who lives alone with her mother and younger sister, regard it as a death sentence when she steps forward to take her sister's place in the Games. But Katniss has been close to dead before--and survival, for her, is second nature. Without really meaning to, she becomes a contender. But if she is to win, she will have to start making choices that weight survival against humanity and life against love."

I heard about this book through a couple of junior high English teachers who raved about it and said it was the book that changed so many kids from non-readers to avid readers. Obviously, I had to read it. I picked it up on Monday and finished Thursday. That's saying a lot considering my week (2 days of all day classes followed by 4 hours of parent-teacher conferences each night, homework for my MEd., and keeping up with my amazing social schedule). I like reading. I like a good book but I am not the kind of person who tries to read at red lights or who tries to find busy work for her students so she can read or who ignores the fact that she is exhausted and needs sleep. This book made me that person. I hardly slept, I read anywhere and everywhere.

This book is crazy good. It's exciting and has some romance. Oh, man! I want to tell you everything that happens but that would not be nice. Go get this book now!

Sent

Book #40: The Missing: Book 2 Sent by Margaret Peterson Haddix

Ok, I read the first book in this series when I student taught and loved it. That's where my author crush began. I decided to make it my first read aloud when I began teaching (I would have done it as a book group but don't have enough copies). My students absolutely loved it. When we first began reading I told them it was the first book in a series and the second one came out at the end of August. When we finished Found, my students begged me to go buy Sent, the even offered to each bring in a dollar so I would have enough money for it. I told them no but they were welcome to go buy it or check it out and read it.

A few days later, I broke down and had to buy the second book, Sent. I am so glad I did.

At the end of Found, Jonah and Chip, who are both thirteen-year-olds, are trying to contemplate the news that they're both missing children from history, kidnapped from their proper time period. Before they can fully absorb this revelation, a time purist named JB zaps Chip and another boy, Alex, back to the fifteenth century, where they supposedly belong. Because Jonah and his sister Katherine do not want to lose their friends they grab Chip's arms just as he's being sent away. As a result Jonah and Katherine also end up in the fifteenth century, where they do not belong.

Chip's true identity is Edward V, king of England, and Alex is his younger brother, Richard, Duke of York. But Chip is convinced that his uncle, Richard of Gloucester, plans to kill them and seize the throne for himself.

JB promises that if the kids can "fix time," he will allow them to return to the present day. But how can they possibly return home safely when history claims that Chip and Alex were murdered?

Now that I have read it I'm really wanting to read it to my students because it takes place in the Middle Ages (one thing I have to cover with my 6th graders) and it's just as riveting as the first. I'm stuck. I wanted to make sure I read a different genre each time I do a read aloud but now I'm torn. This book is more difficult to categorize than the first. It obviously has elements of science fiction (time travel) but it also has historical fiction (the entire story takes place from 1483-1485). Maybe I'll just call it historical fiction and read it to them.

The Phantom Tollbooth

Book #33: The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster

Milo is a boy who just doesn't know what to do with himself. When he's in school he wants to be out and when he's out he wants to be in. One day, a tollbooth appears in his bedroom and because he has nothing better to do, he uses it and is transported to a magical land of letters, numbers and nonsense. He embarks on a quest with a watchdog named Tock to rescue Rhyme and Reason. During his adventure, he finds that life is far from boring.

For me, this was a middle of the road book. Good at some parts, lost my interest at others. I ended up just reading beginnings and endings of paragraphs at some parts and completely skipping chapters because I just wanted to be done. Probably not something I should say when I talk about this book to my class.

"'I can't see the point in learning to solve useless problems, or subtracting turnips from turnips, or knowing where Ethiopia is or how to spell February.' And, since no one bothered to explain otherwise, he regarded the process of seeking knowledge as the greatest waste of time of all." (p. 9).

This quote made me think a lot about how many people are taught in school. It's just a "learn this because you'll need it for next year" approach. If the things we're teaching our students are not more important than that, why do they need to know them? I try my hardest to give my students reasons to learn things other than "you'll need it next year." Which brings me to my first difficulty in teaching math this year. The 6th grade curriculum says 6th graders need to know how to find the prime factorization of numbers. Other than being helpful in other math operations, do you ever prime factor a number in real life? I can't think of anyone who uses this in their daily life except for math teachers. Do you know of a way I could make this part of the curriculum more realistic for my students?

Unicorns

Book #31 Into the Land of the Unicorns by Bruce Coville

Cara lives with her grandmother because her parents left her when she was a child. One day while Cara and her Grandma are out shopping a strange man starts following them. Trying to escape they run into a church and start climbing the bell tower. As the man pursues them Cara's grandmother hands her an amulet and tells her to jump off the bell tower at the 12th toll. When Cara does she finds herself in Luster, the land of the unicorns. There she befriends Lightfoot, a unicorn, the Squijum, a small squirrel like creature, and the Dimblethum, a wookie type animal. They journey through Luster in search of the Old One, pursued by the strange man and the Delvers. Along the way they meet Thomas the Tinker, a dwarf, and a dragon. Before the end Cara must face the truth about who she is and find out who the strange man is that looks familiar.

I enjoyed this book though it was pretty predictable. I would recommend it for 4-6th grades. The reading level is middle of 5th grade.

Talking Cats and Other Mothers

Book #30 Corline by Neil Gaiman

Having recently moved into a new apartment with her loving but preoccupied parents, Coraline finds herself bored one rainy day and, upon her father's suggestions, decides to explore the flat. She finds a locked door in the drawing room, which her mother opens and explains that once it led to the flat next door but was bricked up when the building (which was once a single house) was separated into apartments. That night, Coraline hears a strange noise and sees a small black shadow slip down the hall outside her bedroom and into the drawing room. When Coraline turns on the light, it has vanished, but the door which was previously closed by her mother, is slightly cracked. When she opens the door she is able to go to another apartment which is essentially the same as hers, there is even another mother and father. While there she learns to value her real parents even more.


As a elementary student, I loved being scared. This book is just scary enough to keep kids like me reading.

This is another book that many people have had a problem with. I'm not sure it it's on the censored list but people have complained. The book begins with this quote by G.K. Chesterton: "Fairy tales are more than true: not because they tell us that dragons exist, but because they tell us that dragons can be beaten." Even though this book is creepy, it tells kids that scary things can be overcome. Why wouldn't we want our children to get that message from a book? It's something safe. Geesh! Stupid people annoy me!

FBI Agents, Ghosts, and International Smuggling Rings

Now that my MEd. classes are over, I've gone on a reading kick. I will accomplish this goal!

Book #27 Found by Margaret Peterson Haddix

Ok, technically I didn't read this book this summer, I read it with my 5th grade students in April but I loved it so much that I had to write about it.

Found is the first book of the Missing series (Sent, book #2 in the series, comes out August 25, 2009. Please don't read about Sent until you read Found, it will spoil the end of Found if you do!).

Jonah is 13 and has always known he was adopted. He becomes friends with Chip who is also adopted but didn't know until he and Jonah did some investigating. They both begin receiving letters. The first one says, "You are one of the missing." The second one says, "Beware! They're coming back to get you." This leads Chip, Jonah and his sister Katherine into a mystery that involves the FBI, ghosts, smuggling and an airplane that appeared out of nowhere.

This book is written so well and is great for book groups because almost every chapter ends with a cliffhanger. My students were begging me to read more. It was great.

A Wrinkle in Time

Book #24 A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle

Meg Murray, her younger brother Charles Wallace and friend Calvin O'Keefe must find Mr. Murray, a physicist working to explore the 5th dimension, by traveling to other planets in other galaxies. They find that Mr. Murray is a prisoner on the planet Camazotz. On this planet, all suffering is gone and in exchange the people are expected to conform completely. It's a story of love, courage, and personal strength.


I read this book because I remember it being read to my 4th grade class. Read alouds were much different then and all we were to do was listen. There were no questions, no talking about the book...you just sat and listened and moved on with your day. This book is written at about a 6th grade level. While children can understand much higher levels when read to them, they still need some discussion of difficult or important parts to fully understand. I think this is why I remember enjoying some parts but being confused and not getting the whole story as a 4th grader.


It made me wonder, what would you be willing to give up to live in a seemingly perfect world with no suffering?

"Maybe if you aren't unhappy sometimes you don't know how to be happy." (p. 157)

The Giver

Book #23 The Giver by Lois Lowry

Where Jonas lives, life is safe, orderly, and predictable. Rules are strictly adhered to; every aspect of a person's life is carefully planned. People rarely make choices on their own; everything is decided for them by the community. There is no snow or sunshine, no colors or music, no animals or nature.

People in the community take special care to avoid doing or saying anything different. In the community, one must not say anything that causes discomfort to others, and one must use language precisely. Husbands and wives are matched as couples by a Committee of Elders who reviews each individual to see if a person's characteristics will be compatible with those of his mate. Exactly two children-one male and one female-are assigned to each family unit.

At the Ceremony of Twelve, children are given their job. Jonas is given the job of Receiver of Memories, the one person in the community who has access to all the memories of the past. He must keep these memories within himself until he can train a new Receiver to whom he can pass them. The Receiver has knowledge of things that no one in the community has access to, but the Receiver also has the responsibility to shoulder the burden of sorrow and pain that the memories bring.

I have read this book many times and I absolutely love it! I tried reading it to my 5th grade class and they didn't really get it. It's probably my fault though. I wasn't being a great teacher at the time and I just read it. Didn't ask questions, didn't clarify, I just read it. We also didn't finish because I was done student teaching. I will probably read it to my 6th graders but do a better job.

Whales on Stilts!

Book #19 Whales on Stilts by M.T. Anderson

"On Career Day Lily visited her dad's work with him and discovered that he worked for a mad scientist who wanted to rule the earth through destruction and desolation." This is a very different book. The writing is quite outlandish with a hint of the author making fun of himself and other mystery adventure writers. This blog also reviews books and has one on this book. I'm a bit lazy and pressed for time so I'll just let you read that one. I haven't read through the blog thoroughly but it's worth a look.

One of my favorite parts of this book is at the end of the book. It's entitled A Guide for Reading and Thinking: Questions for Further Study. The author states they hired Child Learning Specialist to help write these questions. Here are some of my favorite:

1. Who chose this book?
2. Can I hit him or her in the stomach?
8. Which whale book with a character named Lily and another one named Jasper is your favorite?
9. Oh, really?
15. Anchovies. Why?

Perpetual

Book # 18 Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt

Great book! I don't know what to say about it more than that though. The story is about Winnie Foster, her interactions with the Tuck family, and deciding whether or not she should drink from the spring and become immortal. Winnie reminds me a little bit of Bella in the Twilight series (just the basic premise--mortal or immortal? What would you choose?) Here is a Scholastic site with teacher resources and a pretty good summary. The resources aren't great (I think any decent teacher could come up with these things in 1 minute but it gives a starting point if you're not as amazing as me and my school buddies)

"The sweet earth opened out its wide four corners to her like the petals of a flower ready to be picked, and it shimmered with light and possibility till she was dizzy with it." (p. 45)

"The way I see it, it's no good hiding yourself away, like Pa and lots of other people. And it's no good just thinking of your own pleasure, either. People got to do something useful if they're going to take up space in the world." (p. 86)

Ghost, Get Togethers, Suicidal Body Updates and Dracula Bunny??

Book #7: Bunnicula: A Rabbit-Tale of Mystery by Deborah and James Howe

This book is not going to win any prestigious awards. The writing didn't really pull me and the story was really predictable. Chester, the literate, sensitive, and keenly observant family cat, was a pretty great character but there needed to be more. With only 98 pages though, I don't know what else could have been added. Looking at websites about this book (and the 5 others in the series. Who knew?) everyone says it's a classic. What determines a classic? Age? I would not classify it as such. There are probably people who love it and I wouldn't stop a child from reading it but it wasn't my cup of tea. 2 stars vampire bunny, 2 stars.

Suicidal Body Update:
1) The allergies have let up (cue chorus of angles or gospel singers).

2) The cough is still there but not as bad as previously stated (no, it probably isn't Swine Flu and yes, I probably was over reacting).

3) Large bumps, still present. Still painful? Not as much.

4) Broken toe, still broken. Ugly boot? Still present. Ugly boot + cap & gown = lots of boyfriends?

5) No more knee spasms (woot!).

6) Migraine went on vacation for a few days but came back during the night. I think he had been drinking and decided I needed to feel some of his hangover (I don't drink but I'm guessing it's similar).

So on the plus side, unemployment is helping my body.

Graduation par-tay!! Wahoo! After class (which got out an hour early!!) I went to Lindsay's house for a graduation party/get together. It was a lot of fun. We talked and complained and took a lovely stroll down college-memory road. This is where I would add pictures if I took any so use your imagination.

Ghosts live in my house. Or should I say haunt my house? I'm not into supernatural stuff but I'm pretty sure my house is built on what used to be an Indian burial ground. There are always noises going on in the house and not just normal creaking house kinds of noises. Voices when no one is home, slamming doors, walking around kinds of noises. Or maybe a vagrant who hasn't realized I'm home all the time (thanks unemployment!) lives in my attic and he hasn't figured out that he should hide all day now. Maybe all I'm hearing is him borrowing clean underwear and shaving. That's not creepy at all.

On a happier note, I love So You Think You Can Dance and it's officially back. Here's a favorite dance from last year. It's pretty much magical. Watch it 14 times in a row. I did.

Bunches of Made Up Words

Book #4: Frindle by Andrew Clements

I enjoyed this book. It was a very easy read and is about a 2nd-4th grade level book. It's is about a boy named Nick who learns from his teacher that words mean what they mean because we say they do. He gets an idea to start calling pens "frindles" and soon has his whole school using the word. The story follows his 5th grade year and how the word frindle grows into a nation wide word. I give this book 3 stars.

Book #5: The BFG by Roald Dahl

I can hear the outcry now. I'm sure people are going to be very upset with me for saying this but I HATED THIS BOOK! I usually like books by Roald Dahl but this was the exception. I think the reason I hated this book so badly was because of the massive amount of made up words and because of The BFG's horrible grammar. Why are giants always so bad at speaking standard English? Is it in their gigantic DNA? I had the most difficult time finishing this book and actually put it down many times because I was sick of it. I was very disappointed because I had heard that it's a great book. I didn't think so. I gave this book 2 stars. One of the stars was just because it's written by Roald Dahl.




I also had an interview for a 6th grade position today. I rocked it hard! I was so relieved to know that I can give a good interview, the first two I was just a ball of nerves. Now I've gotten over my anxieties and I think I'm going to get a job soon. I hope it all goes well. By the way, this principal taught 6th grade at Jordan Ridge (where I went) when I was in 6th grade. Small world, right?

Rats, Unemployment and (over the counter)Drug Induced Dreams

Book #3: Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH by Robert C. O'Brien
If you want a book that will make you like rats and mice, this is it. I hate mice and rats, ewww, disgusting! But I loved the characters--Mrs. Frisby, her mice children, Nicodemus, Justin, Mr. Ages, Brutus--all of which were mice and rats. In the end I almost shed a tear. It was a great book in which if you're anything like me you will identify with the characters (yes, they're mice and rats) and want to live their cool little lives. This book also won a Newbery Medal and I can see why. It is excellently written. Another aspect I enjoyed with this book is that it was written in 1971 (38 years ago!) but is still relevant and still a good read. I think, if not already classified as this, it will become a classic. I give this book 5 stars!

The plus side of being unemployed

-I can sleep until 10 am, eat breakfast then go straight back to bed

-With all this extra sleep, my body is recuperating quite quickly

-I'm reading daily

-I don't have to shower every day

-I'm dreaming again (I think I have to have at least 7 hours of sleep a night for a long period of time for this dreaming thing to happen)

-I am able to make it to family and friend get togethers

What I've learned over the past 3 nights

Benadryl Allergy + Melatonin - an alarm clock = Super Crazy Dreams

I don't remember the details but I was "dating" some guy or maybe we had just met. He had a son. We all ate ice cream. The son wanted more ice cream but there wasn't any more. The dad had to leave. I was bummed. So I packed up my stuff (we were sleeping (not in the same bed or even the same room, my dreaming self is not a super slut) at my grandparent's house but it was more like a motel) and accidentally bumped into him as we both left.

There were 3 more last night that I think would fit better into the "crazy dream" category but I don't remember any details though I do remember waking up after one, saying the details and going back to sleep.