Dangerous Angels

Dangerous Angels

Block, F. (1998). Dangerous angels. NY:  HarperCollins.

This book is divided into five short stories about the Weetzie Bat family.  This is a non-traditional California family who makes movies and loves music.  The author does a beautiful job describing the setting of the canyons, plants, and wildlife. Readers will appreciate the aesthetics of "in the garden there were also little butterflies that looked like petals blown from the roses with the almond scent."  The names of the characters, Witch Baby and My Secret Agent Lover Man, are as unique as the characters themselves.  The stories carry the same theme that everyone is searching for how they fit into the world and for love.  My favorite story is the 4th one titled "Missing Angel Juan" because I could go with Witch Baby to New York, roller skate through the city, find a tree house, and find my missing soul mate. I like that letters from family and love letters are included in the text, because there is something special about old-fashioned letter writing.  It is such a personal form of writing that I hope doesn't go out of style. When I was little, my aunt and I wrote many letters to one another and they are treasured keepsakes for me. These Weetzie Bat stories are fanciful and the writing is beautiful.

Author's website:

http://www.francescaliablock.com/books

Interview with author:

http://the-toast.net/2013/12/28/interview-with-francesca-lia-block/

When You Reach Me

When You Reach Me

Stead, R. (2009). When you reach me. NY:  Random House.

Miranda is in sixth grade and she has to make new friends after Sal decides he doesn't want to be her friend anymore.  She gets anonymous notes about saving someone's life.  The setting of this story is important.  Miranda and her mom frequently talk about staying safe in New York and by their apartment building.  There is some violence, a naked man, and the laughing man.  Miranda's mom makes some major changes in the story.  At first, she practices to be on the 25,000 Pyramid and complains about work.  Then, at the end of the story, she is happier because she is going to marry her boyfriend and she is going to go to law school.  Miranda's character changes because she learns about friendship.  The time travel makes the story appealing to many readers. 

Reading Guide:

http://www.juniorlibraryguild.com/images/9780982350690/StudyguideTeacher/WhenYouReachMe_TE_JLGGuide.pdf

I Am The Messenger

I Am The Messenger

Zusak, M. (2002).  I am the messenger. NY:  Random House.

Ed Kennedy is a 19 year old taxi driver who becomes a hero when he stops a bank robber.  Then, he gets a playing card with addresses.  Each one leads him to a person that needs his help.  Ed's character changes from a teenager with no ambition to a special person who has changed the lives of many with his messages.  He shows such kindness to an old lady who needs somebody to love.  He demonstrates humor when he tries to get more people to attend church service by advertising "Free Beer!"  He exemplifies bravery when he saves a wife from her abusive husband.  Readers may connect with his dysfunctional relationship with his mother.  The theme is stated at the end of the story when we find out who gave Ed the cards, "If a guy like you can stand up and do what you did, then maybe everyone can.  Maybe everyone can live beyond what they're capable of all."   This is a Printz Honor book and written by the author of Book Thief, one of my favorite books of all time.

http://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/196151/i-am-the-messenger-by-markus-zusak/9780375836671/teachers-guide/

Infographics

What is an infographic?

I listened to Albert Cairo's podcast to get the explanation of an infographic.  An infographic is a visual representation of evidence or information.  You take raw information and transform it into visual information that a person can understand. It has a storytelling component so there is a depth of a topic.  Albert Cairo is good at creating infographics because he is very knowledgeable about numbers and visuals.

Infographics is new to me so I explored three webapps before creating my own infographic.

1.  Easel.ly-  I liked that it was easy to sign in and it is

for free.  It used some of the same features as Microsoft Office.  I followed the tutorials to make a Venn Diagram.  I think this is a good one for teachers to use because many topics lend themselves to comparisons.  This was straightforward and easy to use.  The topic in the video physical changes vs. chemical changes is a topic that many science students could use.  The user can spend time making the background and texts a different color so it would be personalized.

2.  Piktochart-  I found this the easiest to use for my topic.  I was able to easily change the text samples to what I wanted to write.  It had graphics for my subject or I could have uploaded my own pictures.  I enjoyed using this format.  It had a tutorial when you sign up.  I didn't know how to make my project public and I could search the question to get an immediate answer.

3.  Infogr.am-  I liked this program, when I watched the tutorial.  I thought that I was going to use this to make a graph.  I had trouble knowing what graph to use.  I think that maybe if I was a better data collector, that I would have been better at making a selection.  This is a great program to make bar graphs, line graphs, and pie charts.

I did my research on "Writing, Technology, and Teens." This is my infographic:
https://magic.piktochart.com/output/20556118-shannon-caesar-infographics?presentation=true

The Darkest Part Of The Forest

Black, H. (2015).  The darkest part of the forest.  NY:  Little, Brown, and Company.  Hazel lives in a unique town named Fairfold with her brother Ben.  The horned prince breaks out of his glass coffin after many years.  It is up to Hazel to save her town from the monsters.  Hazel's character drastically changes throughout the book.  When we meet Hazel, she is drunk, kissing boys at a party and seems like she is lost.  Then, we see that she is a caretaker of her brother.  Finally, we learn that Hazel has been dividing her waking and sleeping hours.  At night, she has been a knight.  Hazel saves her prince, brother, and town. Readers will enjoy the setting of the story.  Fairfold is a place of faeries, changlings, and elves. I though the beginning of the story was slow, but as soon as it got past the teen dating, I was hooked. I loved the strong character that Hazel became.

http://blackholly.com/books/darkest-part-forest/

Blogs and Blog Readers

Blogs and Blog Readers

I chose the Blog Reader "My Feedly."  I liked it because it was easy to use and free.  I searched "library" as my topic and I had many choices.  I quickly was able to locate "The Daring Librarian", Gwyneth Jones, who I follow on Twitter.  She is a wonderful resource with 3,000 followers.  She has articles about Flocabulary, MLK, and a must read titled "Do NOT read this Blog Post."

Next, I'll highlight 5 blogs that I chose to follow:

1. http://librarybulletinboards.blogspot.com- This blog has great bulletin board ideas for a library. The "Hats Off To Reading" could be used in March for Read Across America Day when we celebrate Dr. Seuss' birthday!

2. http://www.abbythelibrarian.com/This is a book review blog.  I love the way she has it set up:  book talk, my thoughts, and read alikes.  I am a big proponent of giving readers "read alikes" so they always have a book to read next.

3.http://www.mightylittlelibrarian.com/This blog contains what is happening at Tiffany's school.  She has been a librarian for eight years. Tiffany Whitehead's blog inspired me because she feels that being a librarian is a calling and I love her inspirational quotes.

4.http://blbooks.blogspot.com/- Becky's blog contains book reviews.  I chose this because I found her 2017 War Bingo Card very interesting.  I think a game format like this can encourage readers to read more and to choose books that they might not necessarily read if it wasn't for the game.  This is a great idea that could be changed to another topic!

5. http://www.nikkidrobertson.com/- Nikki is a high school librarian who has a blog containing thoughts on politics to how she remodeled her library over winter break.  I chose this blog because the first post was about finding books for ESL students and that is my passion.  Also, I liked that she interested in how girls and different ethnic groups are represented in books.

https://www.tumblr.com/blog/caesarlibrarian

My Tumblr account

Looking For Alaska

Looking For Alaska

Green, J. (2005).  Looking for alaska.  NY:  Penguin.  Away at boarding school, Miles meets a girl named Alaska.  She is the leader of some crazy school pranks.  Alaska gets drunk and dies in a car crash.  Miles and his friends try to find out if it was a suicide or an accident.    Readers will like living vicariously through Miles and his friends as they are living in a boarding school, doing crazy pranks, sneaking cigarettes and booze, and still trying to pass their classes. The book goes from funny, when they get a stripper to pose as their annual speaker, to sad when you learn how Alaska's mother died.  In this Printz Honor book, John Green, the author of The Fault In Our Stars, captures the relationships in young adulthood. Miles and his friends have a great friendship because it is them against the "rich" kids. Miles and his roommate are a "nerdy" cool because Miles knows famous last words and Colonel knows capitals and populations. 

FAQ

http://www.johngreenbooks.com/looking-for-alaska/

Discussion Questions:

http://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/292717/looking-for-alaska-by-john-green/9780142402511/readers-guide/

An Abundance of Katherines

An Abundance of Katherines

Green, J. (2006).  An abundance of katherines. NY: Penguin.  In this Michael J. Printz Honor Award book, Colin Singleton is a child prodigy, recent high school graduate, who just got dumped by his girlfriend Katherine. Colin, a child prodigy, and his best friend go on a road trip and end up in Gunshot.  

Colin's character is one who lacks confidence and always wants someone to love him.  He is an only child who has never had many friends or good social skills. Readers can see his character changing as the story progresses. At first he is so busy making a theorem about dumpee/dumper relationships, he could miss the possible new friendship right in front of him.  Luckily, he learns to start taking risks like learning to shoot a gun so he can go hog hunting.  Lindsey teaches him to tell a story so that it is not only about him.  The author does a great job, showing the importance of being selfless.  We see Colin, who is so smart, but is struggling with how he can become "known." In contrast, Lindsey's mother is doing everything humanly possible to save her town and the workers from losing their jobs.  This trip teaches Colin to readjust his priorities.  

I chose this book because I am a huge fan of John Green.  I think many young adults will want to read all of John Green books.  I know I started with Fault With Our Stars and kept on reading!

Author's Website:
http://www.johngreenbooks.com/

Discussion Questions:
http://www.shmoop.com/an-abundance-of-katherines/quotes-quiz.html

Textbook Chapters 10-13

Chapter 10-Realistic Fiction

 Realistic fiction are believable stories, consistent with the real world. The stories consist of real characters, settings, and events.  There is contemporary realistic fiction and modern realistic fiction. This is my favorite type of book to read. I like to make a personal connection to the character or to live a totally different kind of life. For example, I enjoyed recently reading Winger and Looking for Alaska because I liked the setting of a boarding school.

Criteria for Evaluating Realistic Fiction:

·       Consistent with the real world.  It’s important to select books that avoid stereotypes about cultures, gender, etc.

·       The theme should develop gradually and usually there is more than one them in a good book.

·       Many books address sensitive topics like death, sexual orientation, changing family structure, etc.  These topics are no longer avoided.  When reading our Young Adult books like Anne on My Mind and Lily and Dunkin, one can see topics like homosexuality and transgender are not taboo anymore. 

Chapter 11-Nonfiction

Nonfiction is defined by what it is not- it is not fiction.  It can be told as a narrative or an expository.  Nonfiction can be a biography, autobiography or a memoir.  A great resource for teachers is Delight to Wisdom.

Criteria for Nonfiction:

1.  Qualification of Author

It is important that the author be qualified to write on the subject.  One may check the author's website for the research completed on the subject or look at the author's notes.

These authors are highly respected:  Kathleen Krull, Steve Jenkins, Don Brown, Loree Burns, and Seymour Simon.  I know that I always turn to Seymour Simon or Nic Bishop.  Their information is wonderful, and the readers are captivated by the photographs. 

2. Accurate Facts
We rely on our authors to provide accurate facts in their books.  We can feel good about sharing books from quality series and reliable authors with our children.  There are resources like the book council that recommend nonfiction books based on accuracy.  Also, educators can have students look at books on a topic and have the students look for facts that might be in disagreement across resources.  Then, this would be an opportunity for students to do research on the topic.  I think students, as well as teachers, like it when books have websites at the end of the book so students can do further research.  Elementary students can depend on series like Time For Kids and National Geographic.



3.  Scope and Purpose 
The scope and purpose can be broad or narrow when looking at nonfiction.  It's Perfectly Normal has a broad topic of sex and changing bodies.  It's So Amazing, for younger children, has a more narrow scope of sexual reproduction. 


4.  Organization
The organization of a nonfiction book can assist readers finding information easily.  It is important that readers can do this without wasting too much time.  

Good Organizational Tools:

• Table of contents
• Index
• Suggestions for further reading
• Timeline
• Glossary
• Bibliography

Teachers and librarians need to spend time teaching this reading skill to children.  Many teachers prefer reading fiction books and the skill of reading nonfiction text takes a backseat.  These organizational tools are very important during tests, research, and pleasure reading.  As a mom of three boys, and a classroom teacher of  ESL boys, I remember that many boys prefer nonfiction and make sure that I teach this skill!

5.  Role of Visuals
Visuals elaborate the text and help break the text into chunks.  When the text is divided, it allows the reader not to become overwhelmed with too many words.  

Examples:

• Archival photos
• Graphic organizers
• Maps
• Charts
• Photographs

Questions To Ask About Nonfiction Books:

What would this book be like if it was written 50 years earlier or later?

What is your favorite illustration?

Would this be a good documentary?

Explain what the author did to research for this book.

What kind of teacher would this author be?

What would you ask the author during an interview?

What does the title tell you?

I had never thought of these questions before.  I plan on using these in my next nonfiction book discussion!

Chapter 12-Fantasy & Science Fiction

There are two types of Science Fiction:  Hard Sci Fi and Soft Sci Fi.  Hard Sci Fi has more science than story.  Soft sci fi is more story than science. There are the similar subjects and conflicts in science fiction as there are in other genres.  If I had realized this, I might have been reading more of the genre.  Until Hunger Games and Divergent, I didn't read much science fiction. 

First of all, there is a great resource to use to recommend science fiction books to your students.

See below:

There are 9 categories of science fiction books.  I will describe the category and list books in each category for you to read.

1.  Apocalyptic/Post Apocalyptic-  These books

will describe times during or many years after the catastrophe.  There is a primitive setting with survival skills.  I like the quote "Will you be a survivor or a statistic?"  My son is in 7th grade and he had to take a written survival test and he learned that he would be a survivor.  I wouldn't last a day if I didn't have my cell phone so I could call my mom.  What a baby!

Titles:

The Testing

Tumble and Fall

A Matter of Days

Monument 14

The Rule of Three

Ashfall

Life As We Knew It

The 5th Wave

Grasshopper Jungle

Phil Bildner, children's author, came to visit my elementary school.  He told us what books he was reading.  He was reading Grasshopper Jungle, so I bought and read the book.  I love getting book ideas from others.  I think that is important for teachers to remember!

2.  Steampunk-technology, Cyberpunk-hacking, computers, Biopunk-genetic engineering, DNA, putting things into your brain.

This would be something I would watch in a movie, but I didn't know this book category existed.  As an elementary teacher, I think I've been sheltered.

Titles:

Killer of Enemies

Etiquette and Espionage

Little Brother

BZRK

Dearly, Departed

I think the topics are frightening, but the titles are intriguing.  I know I don't want anything in my head, but my own brain!

3.  Dystopia-  In this kind of story, you will see propaganda to control citizens, citizens under constant surveillance, individuality discouraged, resistance to government, character is disillusioned and joins rebellion.

This is where I got hooked into reading Hunger Games and Divergent.  As soon, as I read these books, I understood the meaning of dystopia and wanted to read more.




It is also necessary to point out that sometimes a dystopia book might also have characteristics of a post apocalyptic book.  Many of these subcategories do that. 

Titles:
Legend
The Declaration
Bumped
Scored
Under the Never Sky
Article 5

I am putting these on my must read list!



4. Extra-Sensory Perception (ESP)-  I had to laugh because it took me a minute to figure out the initials ESP.  These books have to do with second sight, telepathy, being clairvoyant, and knowledge of the future.  The first thing I thought of was Edward and his family's powers in Twilight.  Yes, I am a fan!


Titles:
The Diviners
*Dr. Perry book talked this and it is too scary for me.  My mom would love it!  Happy Mother's Day!
Soulless
Clariety
Eat Brains Love
Freakling
Wake
Dead is The New Black
Vibes
Bruiser
* He takes on other people's pain.  I want to read this one!!!
Hidden Talents













5.  Robots, Androids, Cyborgs, and Artificial Intelligence

This is an interesting category. The books have characters that are half human/half robot and clones. The only cyborg I know of is on the Justice League.  

   
                                  

   Titles:
Eve and Adam
Beta
Girl Parts
Cinder
Skinned
Partials





6.  Space, Aliens, Extraterrestrials- books have alien invasion, colonization, and first contact.

The book that I recently read in this category is The Knife of Never Letting Go.  The story is about a boy who has to flee his town to save his life.  Everyone can hear each other's thoughts and it is called "Noise."  When running to a new town, he meets a girl whose spacecraft has just crashed.  This is book was different that what I normally read, but I enjoyed the story line of the friendship between the girl and the boy and I was rooting for his safety.

Titles:
Black Hole Sun
Rules
Tune
These Broken Stars
Mothership

I have Mothership on my must read list.  It sounds like it has a lot of humor and drama in it.  It is about a spaceship school for pregnant moms and the teachers are aliens who want to steal the babies.  Wow!




7.  Time Travel/ Parallel Universes-  Characters time travel because they are taken by force, to escape death, or to save someone.

My son and I love to watch the Flash every Tuesday night and I have learned a lot about time travel by watching that show.  Going back in time, can really mess things up!  I just read When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead.  Time travel saves someone's life in this book.

Titles:
Waterfall
The Here and Now
Tandem
The Power of Un

8.  Virtual Reality/Gaming- The character in this book could be lost in the gaming world, have a chip implanted, could die in the virtual world and in the the real world.

Titles:
Feed
The Eyes of Minds
Doomed
Ready Player One
Epic
Z
Awaken



This seems like a category that would get more kids to read.  My son is a good reader, but a reluctant reader.  I always think we need to find the right author or right series.  I'm going to show him these books and see what he might like!





9.  Miscellaneous-There are some books that don't fit into any category.

Titles:
Dull boy
The Originals
Turnabout
Hunt
The Memory of After
Things Not Seen
Sick
In The After
Starters
Undead
When We Wake
Noggin
What's Left Of Me


Evaluating Science Fiction and Fantasy:
1.  Characters must be consistent and believable.
2.  Fantasy world must have rules.
3.  Author has to create a way for readers to suspend disbelief
4. Themes should have universal truths. 

Chapter 13-Graphic Novels

What is a graphic novel?

A graphic novel is a format.  It is a story, sequential art,  that can be written for elementary, middle school, high school, or an adult.  I love this description-it is where "art and text unite."

It is an extension of a comic book.  A graphic novel tells a story using pictures.  These are gaining more credibility as they win awards such as Newbery and Printz.  I would point this out to teachers and parents because many still believe it is not "real" literature.

How To Use In The Classroom:

• teaching tool
• more concrete so it is easier to teach symbolism, flashbacks, etc.
• visual literacy
• independent reading
• book talks
• just for fun

Great Resource:

I am so excited about this resource.  Chip Kidd worked on Jurassic Park and in this book he teaches about graphic design.  I have many artistic children in my class who would love this book.  I've already emailed our librarian to see if she'll order a copy for our school!

2016 Graphic Novel Reading List:

http://www.ala.org/alsc/graphicnovels2016 

I love lists!  This list is by grade level so it is super easy to use!

This is a list started in Texas.  Little Mavericks K-6:
http://www.txla.org/groups/little-mavs-nominees

Major Types of Graphic Novels:

1. Manga- Japanese style comic

These are extremely popular.  I have friends with middle schoolers who read these non-stop!  Then, they buy t-shirts and practice drawing like the artists.

2.  Superhero Story-Marvel, DC, Darkhorse

My elementary students read these books.  I feel I can easily talk to the boys about these books since I am familiar with the characters.  It is a good graphic novel for my students who need more picture help.

3. Personal narratives- autobiographical stories

This is the kind of book that I normally read. I am looking forward to trying to read this "perzine" and introducing it to my students.

4. Non-fiction- autobiographical but a greater social issue

 

When I read the memoir Persepolis, I kept thinking about Mari's hardships growing up in a warring country.  I teach in an ESL program where many of my students have left countries because they are not safe.  This book really touched home.  It is amazing that a graphic novel could be so moving and make me think about social issues very deeply.

Parts of A Graphic Novel:

• Cover
• Inside page
• Panels
• Gutters (white space between panels)
• Dialog balloons (points with speech)
• Thought balloons (round with words)
• Captions( rectangular/Ex: Later that day)
• Sound effects (Rrrumble!)

I've been guilty of thinking that graphic novels are for pleasure reading.  I now know how to use them in the classroom.  I'm glad I have the correct vocabulary to use as I teach the parts of a page.  Also, I love the idea of using an e-book so students can see how to read from left to right and top to bottom.

Common Core Standards-E/LA

Texas is not a common core state, but we can use these to look at graphic novels.  CCR shows how we can get students as young as kindergarten ready for college.

Grade 3- These books can be used for CCR to describe character:

Babymouse

This is a hugely popular graphic novel with the girls.  The colors are pink, black, and silver  Babymouse is so likable and is a good introduction to graphic novels.

Squish

Once again, you can see that this book has just 3 main colors.  This is an important element in graphic novels.

Lunch Lady

When I was a teacher at Francone Elementary, many years ago, the author of Lunch Lady visited our school.  He was so amazing that I have been a big fan ever since!

Other popular graphic novels for this age group and this CCS:

Cleopatra In Space- puts Cleopatra in a different setting

Hilo-multicultural

Lumberjanes-challenges stereotypes

The Nameless City

Last of the Sandwalkers

Nimona

This is on my must read list.  It is a National Book Award Finalist.  I love that the girl character is full figured!!!

Grade 7-CCS- Determine Word Meaning

Students can have an easier time with word meaning when reading a graphic novel because the illustrations provide scaffolding.

Little Dee and the Penguin

Lucy and Andy Neanderthal

These books are multicultural.

More books:

Space Dumplins

Gettysburg-The Graphic Novel

The Silence of Our Friends

Olympian Series:

Hades

Ares

George O'Connor includes lots of research and includes author notes.

There are graphic novels that take a higher level story and make it easier for lower level readers to understand.

For example:

Macbeth

The Odyssey

The Merchant of Venice

The Golden Compass

If a student reads this, he will still be able to participate in class discussions.  I think this is a valuable tool for ADHD, Special Education, and ESL students.

I am especially excited to see that The Graveyard Book was changed into a graphic novel.  This is one of my favorite books and I can't wait to read the graphic novel!

Grade 5-Compare and Contrast 2 or more Characters

These are two graphic novel fairy tales:

Calamity Jack and Rapunzel's Revenge

I enjoyed reading this book!  She uses her braids as a lasso.  I teach ESL students who just moved to the United States.  They need to read fairy tales, but they don't want to read a baby book.  These graphic novels are perfect for them!

Comics Squad Recess!- This is a collection of graphic novel stories.  It is written by top name authors.  It's fun to recognize who did the artwork.  I like that there are multiple styles in one book.  Students can find a favorite author and then find more books by that author. 

Grade 9-10:  Non-fiction

Here are some examples of non-fiction graphic novels:

Steve Jobs

Feynma

Dinosaurs

Paleo

One Dead Spy

Big Bad Ironclad

Donner Dinner Party

Treaties, Trenches, Mud, and Blood

This is one of my favorite non-fiction graphic novels:

It has great information about three women scientists who research primates.  I enjoyed the section about Jane Goodall.  It is inspiring!

Grade 8-Points of View

Trashed

Students will get a kick out of all the facts about garbage.

My Friend Dahmer- This graphic novel contains author notes and research.  It states that the kids that grew up with Dahmer knew that there was something wrong with him, but the adults didn't do anything. 

Howtoons- I emailed this to the science teachers at my school.  These graphic novels contain science experiments.  This looks like a super fun book!

Grade 3- Compare and contrast

Fable Comics

Compare graphic novels by same author:

Faith Erin Hicks

Gene Luen Yang

It is exciting to note that many authors of Graphic Novels are WOMEN!!!  See the following list:

Roz Chast

Emily Carroll

Maggie Thrash

Raina Telgemeier

Sveltlana Chmakova

Noelle Stevensen 

Lucy Knisley

What do you do if you need help finding good graphic novels?  

• review journals
• comic book shops
• review websites (noflyingnotights)