48 Hour Book Challenge

MotherReader is hosting the 4th Annual 48 Hour Book Challenge. I observed from the sidelines last year, shook my head, and said, "These ladies are crazy!" Well, now I've decided to take the plunge, too. I don't think I can forgo showers, but my calendar is wiped clean in order to participate. This will be a great way for me to slim down my TBR mounds, and will still count for the Spring Reading Thing challenge! Here are the rules from MotherReader herself:

Here are the basic guidelines:

1. The weekend is June 5–7, 2009. Read and blog for any 48-hour period within the Friday-to-Monday-morning window. Start no sooner than 7:00 a.m. on Friday the fifth and end no later than 7:00 a.m. Monday. So, go from 7:00 p.m. Friday to 7:00 p.m. on Sunday... or maybe 7:00 a.m. Saturday to 7:00 a.m. Monday works better for you. But the 48 hours do need to be in a row. Edited to add: But during that 48-hour period you may still have gaps of time in which you can’t read, and that’s fine. In the middle of the three different challenge weekends I’ve had to go to work, attend a ballet recital, and drive for a Girl Scout event. You can certainly work around the other events in your weekend.
   
2. The books should be about fifth-grade level and up. Adult books are fine, especially if any adult book bloggers want to play. If you are generally a picture book blogger, consider this a good time to get caught up on all those wonderful books you’ve been hearing about. Two graphic novels can be included in the reading. I’m not trying to discriminate, I’m just trying to make sure that the number of books and page counts mean the same thing to everyone.
   
3. It’s your call as to how much you want to put into it. If you want to skip sleep and showers to do this, go for it. If you want to be a bit more laid back, fine. But you have to put something into it or it’s not a challenge.
   
4. The length of the reviews are not an issue. You can write a sentence, paragraph, or a full-length review. The time spend reviewing counts in your total time.
   
5. On your blog, state when you are starting the challenge with a specific entry on that day. This makes it easier to track the participants. Write your final summary on Monday, and for one day, we’ll all be on the same page, so to speak.
   
6. Your final summary needs to clearly include the number of books read, the approximate hours you spent reading/reviewing, and any other comments you want to make on the experience. It needs to be posted no later than noon on Monday, June 8th.
   
7. Sign up in today’s comments. You’re more than welcome to post the challenge on your site. Point them to today’s post to sign up. On Friday, June 5, I’ll have a starting-line post where you can sign in to say you’re officially starting the challenge.

Books that I plan to read include:

Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli

Al Capone Does My Shirts by Gennifer Choldenko

Life as We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer

The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare

The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman

I doubt I'll be able to read all of these, let alone more, so I'll stop before I disappoint myself entirely with an unrealistic goal. The point is not to win, but to challenge myself.

For the Greater Good, I pledge to donate $1.00 for every 50 pages I read to Literacy KC and Rosebrooks.

Just Finished Reading...

The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle by Avi.

I might be a little hard on this novel, but the main character and especially the ending really did itself in. I loved the language Avi used, his knowledge of sailing, and the helpful diagram included in the back. There were many action and suspense-filled moments that kept the story moving at a brisk pace. However, (the dreaded however) I couldn't fathom how her father would arrange for her take passage across the Atlantic on the Seahawk, especially given the stiff and "punctilious" nature of her parents -their reaction after hearing of her travails. They look down on her like somehow she chose to board that ship. And these other passengers that were supposed to have traveled with her? She was given a closet to sleep in. Where would they have put any extra bodies? There were too many improbabilities and Charlotte herself was a dense and feebleminded girl for whom I cared none.

Just Finished Reading...

Milkweed by Jerry Spinelli

A homeless orphan boy thinks his name is Stopthief. He doesn't know who his parents are or where he comes from, but finds himself in Warsaw, Poland snatching bread loaves from women in fox furs. The year is 1939 and he is rolling in food, treats, and prizes lifted from people off the streets. The people don't chase him because there are bombs going off in the distance that distract them. Then one day a parade of Jackboots comes to town and peculiar things begin to happen - the boy sees a man using his beard to wash the sidewalk, Jews paint the outside of their shops to "deter" customers, Jackboots start inhabiting homes that didn't use to belong to them. And then the Jews are paraded into a walled in ghetto; their homes the size of closets. It doesn't take long before they begin to starve, contract typhus, and become further degraded and abused by lice, Jackboots, and Flops (Jews who policed other Jews inside the ghetto).

Milkweed does not portray the Holocaust in the melancholy way Anne Frank or Number the Stars do. It's the literary equivalent of ghastly photos, videos, and documentation of the horrors of this time in our history. I'm recommending to my principal that this book be included the 7th grade Holocaust study; it's that potent. Thank you to Donalyn Miller who mentioned it in The Book Whisperer or her blog; I can't remember. I had never heard of this book before and that's a shame!

Just Finished Reading...

The Knife of Never Letting Go by Parick Ness

THE FIRST THING you find out when yer dog learns to talk is that dogs don't got much to say. About anything.

"Need a poo, Todd."

"Shut up, Manchee."

"Poo. Poo, Todd."

"I said shut it."

The Knife of Never Letting Go is a brutal, traumatizing, sci-fi YA novel about a boy named Todd Hewitt (cannot be forgotten, his name is screamed throughout the story) who is the last boy in the settlement of Prentisstown, New Planet. Over 20 years ago, a group of believers left their old planet and sailed off in their spaceships in search for a simpler, more peaceful, less communicative way of life. What they found was a planet where everyone can hear each other's Noise, including the animals.

The Noise is a man unfiltered, and without a filter, a man is just chaos walking.

In Prentisstown, all of the women are now dead because of this germ. Todd is a month away from becoming a man on his 13th birthday when everything he knows to be truth starts to unravel and he must suddenly flee Prentisstown and the men who are pursuing him.

The book is set up from the perspective of Todd's Noise (or at least one strand of it) and so much of it is one long rolling run on sentence. Reading was also banned in Prentisstown, books were burned, and so of course Todd has had a very limited education. He is illiterate and several words are misspelled in Todd's Noise to emphasize this. At first, this all bothered me, but as I fell deeper and deeper into Todd's world, I saw the absolute beauty in his Noise, and in Ness's writing.

It's like the song of a family where everything's always all right, it's a song of belonging that makes you belong just by hearing it, it's a song that'll always take care of you and never leave you. If you have a heart, it breaks, if you have a heart that's broken, it fixes.

Todd's journey to becoming a man is more difficult than the average human ever endures.

Doing what's right should be easy.

It shouldn't be just another big mess like everything else.

___

Life equals running and when we stop running maybe that's how we'll know life is finally finished.

___

Maybe there really is hope at the end of the road.

I love this book and am disappointed in it all at the same time. It has a lot of the aspects of dystopian fiction that I love and hints of Ray Bradbury, but there are moments when I lost all respect for the main character Todd and moments when I couldn't keep reading, my eyes were too blurry with tears. And, worst of all, the story doesn't end. It stops on a cliffhanger and is picked up in the second book of the series The Ask and the Answer.

This book is not, not, not for children to read. The worst of the worst language is in it as well as violence and brutal savagery. Despite that, this book is so so good and highly recommended.

Monday Morning Inspiration

You can teach a student a lesson for a day; but if you can teach him to learn by creating curiosity, he will continue the learning process as long as he lives. ~Clay P. Bedford

Just Finished Reading...

Running Out of Tme by Margaret Peterson Haddix

Haddix's first novel... a bit dated but interesting concept all the same. A young girl named Jessie is living in a small town of Clifton in 1840, when diphtheria begins to prey on the village children. Jessie soon learns from her mother that Clifton is a tourist attraction and the year is actually 1996. The men responsible for beginning the town have stopped supplying modern medicine that could save the children's lives. Even more terrifying, they are refusing to let anyone leave the town - and they are being watched day and night by hidden cameras throughout the village. Her mother sends Jessie on a dangerous mission - to escape Clifton and find a man named Mr. Neely who can help. Jessie must not only make a sneaky escape, but she must quickly learn to adapt to a strange new world without drawing attention to herself. Cautious that any stranger could be one of Clifton's men, she starts out. Will she be able to reach Mr. Neely in time?

Just Finished Reading...

Tunnels by Roderick Gordon and Brian Williams.

I gave this book 3 stars on Goodreads. I wanted to like it but it was such a drudge to read for a good part of the story. Many complaints take away from those few adventurous, heart-pounding scenes. The book starts out slow and follows mainly Dr. Burrows, who has been investigating a mysterious orb, air shafts, and curious-looking men in sunglasses who seem to be following him. In the next moment (okay, so this part drags on for some time), dad goes missing and son Will soon begins his own investigation with the help of his friend Chester, to find his missing father. Will and Chester eventually find themselves miles underground, in a dark subterranean colony, and become the recipients of harsh and terrifying treatment by the Styx, an odd, menacing group of underdwellers with some serious animosity for topsoilers. While things are bad for Will, Chester's luck is even worse. This poor boy only meant to help his friend and now he might die at the hands of the Styx, all thanks to Will. Does Will ever find his father? Uh no, you're supposed to read the next installment called Deeper and perhaps the third installment Freefall, to find that out.

My complaints for this book are far ranging. First off, the pacing is terrible. We are with Will for most of the story with one chapter devoted to Dr. Burrows after he's gone missing. The only purpose in the chapter, I'm assuming, is to let us know he's not dead, and not the least bit worried about the crumbled family he's left behind. Why is Will trying to find him again?

SPOILER ALERT***

Additionally, there is no real explanation as to what these powder white residents are doing underground. A trip by Will to their church is a thin attempt. And what really bugged me about the plot, a member of Will's family appears out of nowhere to reveal she has been living topsoil as a spy for the Styx and now wants no more pleasure than to kill Will. Why? Beats me. How does she remember her brethren from down under when she's been topsoil since a toddler? Another good question not explained. Especially since Will has no recollection of ever living underground. The authors also leave the whereabouts of Will's real mother in the dark.

Spoiler Alert Averted - All Clear

This book was made obviously for the intention of mass marketing, a movie in production, and to have a taste of what other successful authors, such as JK Rowling and Rick Riordan, are experiencing. I don't believe the actual story was their priority.

Final word: Some of my more patient boys will enjoy this book and I will recommend it to them when they've run out of adventure/fantasy series to read. Otherwise, it's not going on my list of suggested reading.

SRT Update

There are now more books to add to my Spring Reading Thing list. A reminder to myself: my list is growing faster than I have the ability to get through each one. Especially since I'm stuck on one book that I tell myself I should like but am not convinced. My goal is to have it finished today, so that I may start on one that will be more enjoyable. The challenge ends June 20th, and I'm hoping I'll get most of my reading done in those three weeks after school is out. Right now, end of the year responsibilities, parties, events, and exerting all of my energy in keeping my kids roped in for these last few days is eating up all of my time and draining my battery. Plus, in lieu of summer shorts and bathing suits, I've given up soda and sweets and that makes me no happy ray of sunshine.

Back to my initial statement before I got lost in rant... I went to Barnes and Noble last night and picked up some books that are not on the list. My choices were based on the following: Is there a copy of this somewhere at school that I can borrow (or acquire)? Is this title more than likely available at the public library? Does this book fit into a unit of study I will teach next year? Is it appropriate for the age range of my students? Have I read enough about it from the blogosphere and Goodreads that there is an 80% chance I won't be disappointed? Is it available in paperback?

I had about eight books cradled in my arms until my husband found me and gave a worried look. Alright, it had gotten a little out of hand. So I went through my pile again and decided on the following:

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne

Looking for Alaska by John Green

All three of these books are listed for grades 9 and up. (I'll be teaching 5th and 6th next year.) The Holocaust isn't taught until 7th grade. And Looking for Alaska ties into no units that I can think of right now. However, these have been laying idle on my To-Read list for some time and I really couldn't bear putting them back on the shelves from which they came. If I'm to become a true bibliovore, I need to read books for myself as much as I read books for my students, and that is how I sleep at night.

Pajama Party Read In Day!

As an incentive for students to actively raise money for our "Fun Run," teachers were asked to set a class goal and come up with a special treat or reward for reaching it. I asked my students for 100% participation - and they complied. So, today we are having our very own Pajama Party Read In! Students get to come to school in their comfy pajamas, robes, and slippers. They are allowed to bring a pillow, small blanket or throw, and a comfort item (like their favorite teddy bear). Then, instead of "school," they may find a place to curl up and relax in the classroom with piles of books to read. I am looking forward to bringing my books and getting some reading done myself. Two things to note: today is an early release, so there is no worry that the students will begin to get restless (additionally, they still have art and a pizza party for lunch). Secondly, tomorrow their 8 book requirement for the 3rd trimester is due. Those students who've been slacking have an opportunity to save their grades, and those who have been going strong can just add more to the list.

I asked my students if they wanted to do the Read In with the other 4th grade class and I received an overwhelming "No!" Their reasons? "They will talk too much." "It will get too crowded and stuffy in here." (Even though we would use both classrooms the students decided the other class would want to be with us in ours.) Etc.

I told my team teacher that my class didn't want to include hers. She responded, "That's fine. I mentioned the Read In to them and they didn't like the idea at all."

This surprised me because I got the complete opposite reaction from my class. Not only that, but her class seems to be more full of dormant readers - those who'd rather be doing something else than reading. Many have already met their 8 book requirement, but then stopped reading after that. I have a chart on the wall in my classroom that shows students their progress. There are 20 squares for stickers, though the minimum requirement is 8. 4 students in my class have filled the chart twice (that's 40 stickers in one trimester) before I stopped tracking on the chart how many books they've read. The highest reader in the other class has reached about 25 stickers.

I will have all of these students again next year as I move on with them to lower middle school's 5th grade reading and English. My goal is to get these dormant readers as motivated to read as I've somehow done with my own students.

Until then, however, I'm looking forward to today's events! Books I'm taking with me? Tunnels (I am really trudging through this one, but refuse to abandon it.) and In the Middle.

Monday Morning Inspiration

Teacher appreciation makes the world of education go around. ~Helen Peters