It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

So here's a look at what I've been reading...

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The Genius Files: Never Say Genius by Dan Gutman
The second book in the series, twins Coke and Pepsi are back to save the world, or at least themselves, from the creator of the group called the Genius Files, even though they supposedly killed him in the first book. There aren't any codes hidden in the spine of the edge of the text like in the first book, but there are still ciphers in the story and the action continues throughout the book with just a few slow part.  I think fans of the first book will enjoy this one, too, especially the ending. But you'll have to read the book to found out what that is!

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Fake Mustache by Tom Angleberger

An exciting book for young readers who are fans of adventure stories mixed with a bit of mystery.  Find out how a couple of young preteens save the country from another young teen who just also happens to be the best friend of one of the kids who is after him.  Sound confusing?  Read this book and all will be revealed!  I am sure that fans of Origami Yoda will love this book by the same author.  I wonder if there'll be a sequel?

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3 Below by Patrick Carman

The second book in the Floors series packs just as much excitement in it as the first!  Leo and Remi are left, once again, to save the Whippet Hotel from the clutches of the evil Ms.Sparks who can't wait to tear the building down once the boys fail to pay the taxes owed on the property.  This time the boys explore the basement floors in the hotel,but just because they are below ground doesn't mean they aren't just as exciting as the crazy rooms in which guests in the Whippet get to reside.  Readers of the first book won't be disappointed in this sequel.  It's packed with just as much mystery and action.  Looking forward to reading the next one!

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Spy School by Stuart Gibbs

I was so excited about ordering this book. The description looked promising and I had a few choice readers in mind when ordering it, but I was extremely disappointed after reading only a few minutes to come across useless cussing in the book (one "damn" and three occurrences of "ass").  It's really too bad, too, because it would be a great mystery/action/adventure book otherwise.  What young reader wouldn't love a good spy novel, especially when the main character is a young boy?  Such a shame!  If you can get past the unfortunate cussing (which I can't...it did not enhance the story at all and I don't think the parents of my elementary students would appreciate the cussing,either), the story is full of action that will keep even the most reluctant reader glued to the page.  It has suspense, mystery, and adventure, and you're left wondering if there might be another book. Maybe Mr. Gibbs will do a rewrite of this book (I did find a few typos as well), and edit out those four little words that are keeping this book from being accessible to younger readers who would appreciate the action-packed plot.

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My Big Mouth: 10 Songs I Wrote That Almost Got Me Killed by Peter Hanman

Davis Delaware is a ninth grader who has transferred to a new school after his mother died and his father got a new job.  In a way, he is looking forward to starting over with a clean slate.  He was kind of a loser in his old school.  He gets his chance when he starts a band with the coolest girl in school, Molly, who also happens to be the girlfriend of the biggest jerk, er, uh, jock in school.  Of course Davis is gaga over Molly so he tries to impress her by telling all kinds of lies which gets him in all kinds of trouble.  I especially appreciated that the action picked up at the end and that Davis seems to learn his lesson about lying.  Some kissing scenes, but they are mild enough for fifth graders to read.  Reluctant readers will appreciate the drawing and "notebook fiction" feel of the songs Davis writes.  Not bad for a "boy"book. 

So have you read any good books lately?

*I'm an affiliate for things I've bought or used personally.  If you click through any referral links (if included), at no cost to you, I will earn a commission if you make a purchase.  Thank you for your support in this way.

Book Tasting Anyone?

A couple of  weeks ago I tried out something I've seen on several TL/SLMS blogs within the last year...a book tasting.  It was a fairly easy lesson to create, but it does take some time to plan.

First I created a short PowerPoint about how to browse  or "taste" a book. 

Then I put together a "menu" for the tasting based on a menu created by Mrs. Lodge of Mrs. Lodge's Library blog.  You can see her post here.  

Next I ran a STAR Reading report for each 2nd-5th grade class and divided them into four to five like reading ability groups.  This is probably the most time consuming part of planning/preparing this type of lesson.

Finally, I pulled 6-10 books for each group that would fit their reading ability and placed them on serving tray on a table along with a flower vase and some battery operated candles, just to set the mood.  I pulled non-fiction books since that is our Genre of the Month.  Also since most students don't usually go straight for non-fiction, this was a great chance to show students that non-fiction can be enjoyable, too.

After the first book tasting lesson with a second grade class, I realized it might be helpful to have a list of adjectives to help fill out the menu, so I created a list of adjectives, laminated it and placed several copies of it at each table.  It took the second grade class longer to fill out their menu, so I also thought it might be better to do a guided "tasting" and only "taste" one book.  So I created a shorter menu for 2nd and 3rd graders.

You can get a copy of this pack here or by clicking on the picture above.

If you're interested in how other TL/SLMS have done their book tatstings, you might like to check out these blog posts:

Mrs. Lodge's Library: "Book Tasting"  (This is the blog post that the book tasting menus are based on.)
The Unquiet Librarian: Book Tasting posts
Barrow Media Center "Book Tasting"
Miss Liberry Teacher "Book Tasting"
Tree Frog Blog "Welcome to the Book Tasting"
Liquid Literacy "Book Tasting"

So have you ever done a book tasting?  If so, how did it go?

UPDATE:  I was a guest on Jocelyn Sams' Elementary Librarian's podcast and I shared all about my book tasting experiences. You can listen to the podcast here.  I had so much fun and hope to be a guest on her podcast again soon.  =)

Spring Book Fair

The Book Fair is here!  The Book Fair is here!

I wish I could keep up this momentum and excitement through all of the Book Fair!  LOL  Yes, it's that time agian. Time to get books in the hands of the kids and time to find out what books I need to add to our collection.  I love the Book Fair...mostly.

The Spring theme as set by Scholastic is "Story Laboratory: Reading Give You Super Power!"  To decorate for this theme, I found some cute science clipart online and traced them onto bulletin board paper.  I cut those out and taped them up on the windows.  I also cut out some slime splats from brightly colored paper. 

Scholastic has some cute "Readioactive" signs available to print out from the online tool kit.  I printed some off on bright yellow paper.

I used some of the same decorating techniques that I used in the Fall 2011 Book Fair to create the laboratory door on the outside of the Media Center by making a secret code number pad out of a tin tray from the dollar store.   I used some "caution" tape that we had left over from a yard renovation we did a few years ago to add a little something "extra" to the doors.  Something similar comes in the Book Fair decorating kit you can purchase through the Scholastic Resource Catalog.  I think the scholastic tape might have "Readiacitve Books" on it rather than caution.  To save money, I just used what I had.

The teacher wish list board was easy to make with one of the files on the Scholastic Book Fair toolkit.

For poster numbers, I used the teacher Wish List pocket clipart and added a number over it. Then I just copied those onto bright paper and cut them out.

For the guessing jar, I used gummy worms and the sign provided in Scholastic's fair files.

I am hoping that all this decorating gets the students excited and that they come ready to shop for books.  To help keep them from being distracted with the "doodads," I am again using the "doodad" board idea that I got from this post from the Three Ring Library as well as from this post from Mrs. Reader Pants.

I am also using a tip I saw about providing a free "goodie" to those who buy at least one book from the Book Fair, to encourage students to purchase books rather than the junkie stuff.  I can't find where I read that tip, but so far it has been a bit hit.  If you remember seeing this little tip somewhere, please let me know and I will add a link.

In fact, I am down to two bins of free doodads after just one day.

Thanks to a tip from Jenny, a blog follower, and this post on Mrs. Readerpants, I was able to get the Book Fair delivered a few days early so that I could still have a Preview Day on the Friday before. Yay!

I am hoping that this Book Fair is a bit more successful that the Fall Book Fair.  I am trying to promote it more this go 'round and I hope that it helps.  The first day our sales were up a bit from the first day of the Fall Book Fair, so that is encouraging.  

So are you excited about your next Book Fair?  Got any great Book Fair tips to share?

Valentine Bookmarks

So I've been making bookmarks again!  You know my kiddos love them some bookmarks.  It's a good excuse to buy clipart.  =)

Here are some Valentine's bookmarks I've made.

This is a free sample pack of 4 Valentine bookmarks...2 color and 2 black and white.

  You can get it HERE in my TpT store.

And this is a pack of 20 Valentine bookmarks for $2.00 on my TpT store.  There are 12 colored bookmarks and 8 black and white bookmarks for your students to color.  You can get it HERE in my TpT store.

Enjoy!

It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

I wanted to get the memory of the DOAWK books I read a few weeks ago out of my head, so I went for some "girly" books last week. Here's what I thought of what I read...

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Finally, by Wendy Mass

The second in the Willow Falls series, I found this book to be a little slower than the first.  The same mysterious woman with the mole on her face that is shaped like a duck appears again and mysterious things happen.  This book reminded me a lot of a recent Disney movie...16 Wishes starring Debby Ryan.  Rory makes a list of all the things she will be able to do when she's 12 and slowly gets to cross them off after her birthday only to find that she didn't really want most of those things on her list.  Fans of the first book will enjoy this one, too.

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Rule of Three by Megan McDonald

Very cute preteen book about a trio of sisters.  This is second book in the series.  It pretty much picks up where the first book, The Sisters Club, leaves off.  This book focuses in on Alex, the middle sister. Any middle child will be able to relate the "hardships" Alex goes through in this book.  She often feels overlooked because she's not the older and she's not the baby, but by then end, she realizes that being in the middle is not so bad.   Easy, but enjoyable read.

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Whisper, by Alyson Noel

I had been eagerly awaiting the fourth book in the Riley Bloom series and was glad to see Riley back on the Earthly plane rescuing souls, although I did find it difficult to get into the storyline about convincing a gladiator named Theocoles to cross over.  This was a more challenging Soul Catcher assignment for Riley, but she did ask for a challenge.   Maybe with the help of Messalina, Theocoles' girlfriend, Riley might be able to convince Theocoles to cross the bridge to the Here and Now.  But does Messalina really want to help Riley?  I did enjoy this book, but I wonder if this is the final book in series.  It was difficult to tell from the ending.  Guess I will wait and see.

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No Ordinary Excuse by Michelle Adams

Gemma forgot to do a project over the break and now she has to come up with a reason why she needs extra time to finish her project.  But she can't just use any ordinary excuse.  She's used too many in the past. What will she come up with?  Cute book, although it was a bit slow in spots. Some readers might get distracted by the Australian jargon, but good readers will be able to get the meaning from the context.   Readers will definitely want to stick it out to the end to find out how it all turns out.  I personally love that Gemma, the main character, learns a lesson about telling the truth by the end of the story.  Yay for YA books that teach moral values!

I was able to get a free copy of No Ordinary Excuse through NetGalley.  If you are a SLMS or Teacher Librarian, you can get free copies of books through NetGalley, too.  If you haven't checked out NetGalley, I highly recommend it.  It's free to sign up if you are a librarian and you can get access to tons of free eBooks (which are really more documents downloads, but hey, it's free!) to try before you buy.  You don't have to write a review of the books you download, but I am sure it is highly appreciated if you do.I highly recommend it.  I've been able to find and a read a few good books that I know I will want to add to our collection.

So, have you read any good books lately?

*I'm an affiliate for things I've bought or used personally.  If you click through any referral links (if included), at no cost to you, I will earn a commission if you make a purchase.  Thank you for your support in this way.

Super Sale

Next week is Book Fair week and I am exhausted from setting up the Book Fair and having a Preview Day on Friday so this is just a quick post to let you know I'm participating in the Teachers Pay Teachers Sale this Sunday!

Thanks to Ashley Hughes for creating this cute button!

You can get up to 28% off everything in my TpT store on Sunday.  Just enter the promo code: SUPER when you check out.

Happy weekend!

February Reading Spotlight Poster

Happy February!  Hope your New Year started off well and continues well into February.  The author I've chosen to spotlight this month is Mary Pope Osborne.  You can snag your free copy of this poster by clicking here or on the picture below.  Hope you enjoy!