Let's talk about what we read over break

Welcome back 6th graders!  I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and a blessed New Year!  Now that we’re back in school, it’s time to talk about all the great books we read over break.  So here’s what I want you to do:
In the comments section tell us in two concise paragraphs about your reading experiences over break. Here are some questions to consider:

• Did you read a really great book you couldn’t put down?  If so,  share with us!
• Did you struggle with certain books?  Getting reading done at all?
• Any cool reading-related gifts?
• Did you try a new reading experience for the first time? (Listening to an audiobook?  Reading an e-book? )
• How far did you progress in your twenty book goal? (or just how many books did you read in general?)

To make sure this doesn’t just become an assignment that you all come on here to complete without actually reading others’ thoughts, you will also be required to refer to a previous classmate’s post. You can always come back and comment later if you’re one of the first commenters and you don’t have anything to respond to.
This assignment will be worth 30 points.  Twenty points for your two paragraphs and ten points for adding to the discussion by mentioning something from another classmate’s post (and it should be more than just, “Hey _____,   that sounds really cool!”)


What did I read over break? Well I'm glad you asked!

I know a lot of you will be jealous to hear that I am currently reading the ARC of The Hero's Guide to Storming the Castle, the sequel to The Hero's Guide to Saving Your Kingdom. It is just as funny as the first book, and since I listened to the audio of the first book, I keep hearing Bronson Pinchot's voices for all the characters in my head as I'm reading. It's a pretty awesome experience actually. 

I finished an incredibly spooky audiobook called The Diviners by Libba Bray. For those of you who like Mary Downing Hahn and want to move into a more young adult book, The Diviners would be a great choice, though it's 578 pages so it is quite a time commitment. But it is so good! It takes place in 1920s New York, during the Prohibition and Flapper era and the main character, Evie, has special powers that she's trying to use to help stop a serial killer.

I also finished reading a book called You Tell Your Dog First by Alison Pace. It's a series of personal essays about why dogs have been so important in her life and writing career. I loved everything about it because it was funny, endearing, and helped me find a kindred spirit in knowing there are other people out there just as crazy about her dogs as I am. :)

I read a ton more books but I'll leave you with that. I could actually write like ten more paragraphs about the books I read but I doubt you'd read it all. I'm just happy that two weeks of no grading or lesson planning got me out of my reading funk. I was having a really hard time finishing books for quite a while and my lazy days of doing nothing helped me get quite a bit accomplished. My final book tally for 2012 was 93 books. Granted, those are novel-length books and when you take picture books into account I read over 300.

Plans for reading over Christmas break

To my dear, lovely 6th graders:

Christmas break is soon upon us, and many of you have visions of sleeping late (except for Christmas morning of course), sledding in the snow, and snuggling up by the fire with a warm mug of hot cocoa.

NOT SO FAST! You need to include reading in those daydreams.

Given that you are expected to read 5 books per quarter - which equates to finishing a book every week and a half - you can't assume that Christmas break is going to be time spent away from books.

So, I want you to take some time in class to peruse the classroom library, the school library, and even Goodreads, and start making some plans for what you want to read over break. I will expect a planned-out list of 2-3 books by Wednesday, which is our first day of reading conferences.

I understand many of you will not finish two or three books over break, but you all should at least finish ONE book. I still want you to give me a list of 2-3 books even if you only plan to finish one. Why? So in case you DO finish one book earlier than expected, you have a plan for what you will read next.

And since you all know that I never make you do something I myself wouldn't do, these are some of the books I have plans for reading over break:

Pandemonium by Lauren Oliver

In this much-anticipated sequel to the young adult book, Delirium, Lauren Oliver builds a dystopian world where love is considered a disease and you must get a surgical procedure when you are 18 to be cured of it. I received the ARC of this book at NCTE and cannot wait to read it! Publication date: March 6, 2012

Wintertown by Stephen Emond

This is another ARC I received at NCTE and it has been on my to-read list for quite some time. I was pleasantly surprised to discover that this book his illustrations, which gives it kind of a "young adult meets Diary of a Wimpy Kid" feel to it.

You might also have noticed that I recently put up a poster in the room of this book cover.

Publication date: December 5, 2011

The Kitchen Counter Cooking School by Kathleen Flinn

I have been reading this book on and off since October and I think it's time I just buck up and finish it. I'm enjoying the book, it's not as if it's boring or anything, but there are so many other books that I've been wanting to finish that this one just got pushed by the wayside. I WILL finish this book over break. I can guarantee that. (Famous last words, right?)

The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame

I got the audiobook of this at the library because I feel like my reading life is sorely lacking in children's classics (and adult classics for that matter). This book is over 100 years old, so I'd definitely say it's a classic.

No More Dead Dogs by Gordon Korman

Gordon Korman endeared himself to me when I went to one of his sessions at NCTE about humor in writing and in the classroom. His inspiration for writing this book was that he was tired of reading sad books where the dog dies at the end. At the conference, Mr. Korman said (and I'm paraphrasing here), "Whenever a kid picks up a book with an award sticker and a picture of a dog on the cover, the kid pretty much knows that dog is going down." With a pitch like that, how can you not want to read this book?

This is another one I will be tackling on audio thanks to my wonderful neighborhood library.


Now I know what you're thinking: "Mrs. Shuam, that's FIVE books! How are you going to read FIVE books in less than two weeks?!"

Pish posh! I've been known to finish TEN books in two weeks. So, the challenge is on! Who is going to read more books than Mrs. Shaum over Christmas break? (By the way, this is a challenge I will have NO PROBLEM losing. In fact, I wish I could lose this challenge to ALL OF YOU!)