Central Ohio Kidlitosphere Blogger Unite!

I was so please to be invited to breakfast and a book buying and viewing expedition with the Kidlitosphere Bloggers in the Central Ohio area. Although I am officially Southern Ohio, I was still included and I couldn't have had more fun! Because I am slow, I am one of the last to post on the topic, so I will do a round-up. I would also like to say it is so wonderful to be included with the Geek Chic of Central Ohio. (Inside joke) Everyone is so welcoming and I feel like I have known these people all my adult life. (They are just that nice... really!) Although none of us could make the trek across the US to Portland, we were with you in spirit.

Bloggers Reactions and Recounts of the Day:
A Year of Reading
Literate Lives
BestBooksIHaveNotRead
Books I Purchased at Cover to Cover:
Hate That Cat by Sharon Creech
Alvin Ho: Allergic to Girls, School, and Other Scary Things by Lenore Look
Violet Raines Almost Got Struck By Lightning by Danette Haworth
Moving Day by Ralph Fletcher

ARC I Received at Cover to Cover:
Same Difference by Siobhan Vivian
Dog Lost by Ingrid Lee
Greetings from the 50 States: How they got their name by Sheila Keenan
Illustrated by Selina Alko
The Mostly True Adventures of Homer P. Figg by Rodman Philbrick

Teacher Swap!

How lucky is this??? You get randomly paired with another blogger who has many similarities to you, you have no trouble putting together gift for them, AND... you are blog invited to breakfast together on the very day the SWAP ends??? Well that is what happened with Kristine and I. Today we met and exchanged gifts. Oh, this was just too much fun!

Here's what I got:
S= Supplies (Day of the week magnets, post-its and pens
C= Chocolate A school must have. (Hot-fudge sundae Jelly Belly)
H= Health Tea to fight off kiddo germs
O= Organizer clips- You can't have enough
L= Luxuriate in warm bath with a good book. (Bath Fizz Ball)

I hope I get to do this again next year!

September Carnival of Children's Literature

I Remembered! Yes! One point for me in the month of September! I remembered to submit to the September Carnival of Children's Literature. You can view the carnival now at Jenny's Wonderland of Books.

Madeline and the Cats of Rome by John Bemelmans Marciano

Did you know a brand new Madeline book came out this past week? Madeline and the Cats of Rome by JOHN BEMELMANS MARCIANO. I put this in caps because it IS NOT the orignal Madeline series author, which was Ludwig Belemans, who of course is no longer with us.
John Belemans Marciano is the grandson of Ludwig Belemans and Madeline and the Cats of Rome is the first all new Madeline book in close to 5o YEARS!
There is so much history behind the original author and the legacy he left with his Madeline stories. John Belemans Marciano does a wonderful job of helping his grandfather's legacy live on. Marciano is a self-taught artist (as was his grandfather) who uses his grandfather's original art as a springboard for his own.
The new book Madeline and the Cats of Rome is such a reminder of everything I loved about being a little girl. I love that Madeline is still up to some antics, which always made me laugh as a little girl. And the flowing verse makes the story one that kids can remember each and every time the book comes out. (And you know it won't be just once.) The artwork was so close, you could be confused that it really was by Ludwig, but enough different that it becomes Marciano's own.
For all ye who heard Madeline read over and over as a child and for all ye who have read Madeline over and over to a child, here is a new book for your shelves and the shelves of your children to come.
**** Watch out!!! Shameless plug of my nieces coming... right... now....!!!**********
I will be waiting patiently to overread Madeline and the Cats of Rome to my favorite little monkeys!




Other reviews:
Charlotte's Library
Booklust
The Children's Book Review
Kiddos and Books

Teacher Swap

Oooo, if you didn't sign up to take part in the Teacher Swap you are T-totally missing out! I have been paired with Kristine from BestBooksIHaveNotRead. It is so bizarre that we are quite alike. She has posted the answers to the questionnaire we were provided here. So I will post my answers as well. By the way... I just know there is going to be a wonderful book to blog about very soon... I haven't come across it yet, but I know it is out there!

1. Do you have any hobbies? Beyond the fact that I love reading my other hobbies are really just things I enjoying doing such as: sunning, shopping, and vacationing. (But I don't think those are actual hobbies)
2. Do you enjoy crafting? If so anything in particular? I do enjoying crafting. I am more into card making and stamping than scrapbooking. But I get in the mood for both. I also have a sewing machine I tinker with now and then.
3. 5 favorite things you can't live without. Make-up, hair products, purses, all my school junk such as professional books and kidlit, and junk food. (Those are really superficial??)
4. Do you collect anything? Not really. I am a collector of anything and everything
5. Do you have any Children or pets? I do not have any children but I do have one great Mutt I love very much. (Rizzo)
6. Favorite things to do during "back to school" season. Shop for supplies, organize my room, look for new books to start the year off with, and FREAK OUT! ;)
7. What makes you think of school? Notebooks, books, and basically anything in an office supply store. ( I love that stuff)
8. Favorite treats? Candy bars (without nuts), Hostess Cupcakes, pretty much any kind of junk food
9. Favorite color combo. I love the colors blue, orange, green, pink in that order, but not necessarily together.
10. Any allergies? None that matter to anyone but me. Bee stings and sulfa ;)
More interesting information about me:
I am married. Live in Dayton, OH. I went to college at the University of Dayton. I teach in the town I grew up in Xenia, OH. I have taught fifth grade language arts and social studies for 11 years in the same elementary school. I have no kids but my sister recently had twins, so I have adopted them as my own ;) My husband as recently been very sick and is in the process of getting a new liver. Our life is improving so much each and every day.

CANNOT GET ENOUGH of my Big Broski! (Not children's literature related)

Because I can never get enough of my Big Brother infatuation, I am now posting the Weekly Recap video from TheRealDeal on BB10Dish for the third week in a row. As always, watch until the VERY end. There is always a little treat after the credits. This one is fun and funny.

August Carnival of Children's Literature

Opps, I missed this one! The Carnival of Children's Literature is up at Chicken Spaghetti.

Teacher Swap

Here's something fun going on at The Reading Zone. A Teacher Swap. It is a super good idea and I am trying to spread the word to help it become a reality. You can get all the info here. And the best part is, you don't HAVE to be teacher to participate, but it would be good if you are into the Kidlitosphere blogging arena because you would probably understand better.

Big Brother Update take 2

Again, not Children's Literature related, but why not keep with my trend. TheRealDeal has another great montage on BB10Dish. I am trying to keep with their wishes not to repost the video, so here is a link if you are interested. And again, watch until after the credits.
Weekly Recap

Summer Reading Goals Revisited

At the beginning of the summer A Year of Reading proposed a Summer Goals Meme. To revisited my own goals, I will post them here:

My Goals for the 2008 Summer:
1. Go on vacation.
2. Learn to cook the types of food that will help my husband.
3. Read at least 1 book a week. (Considerably less than last year, but my priorities are a bit different this year.)
4. Spend time with family.
5. Help my husband feel comfortable to the best of my abilities.

I will just make it short and say, I have accomplished and continue to work on all my goals. EXCEPT for the reading one book a week. I am PHYSICALLY READING one book a week, but it is never finished at the end of the week. I have gotten into a bad habit of starting 2 and three books at a time. Then it takes me forever to finish each book.
Husband Update: My husband is doing very well. Yesterday he jogged to the end of the street and back. Of course I followed him with the dog just in case. We also got the paperwork from our insurance will cover his liver transplant. We haven't however, gotten any information on the ACTUAL transplant, but at least we know someone has our information somewhere. What a WONDERFUL SUMMER!

TOTALLY NOT LITERATURE RELATED!

This is totally not literature related WHAT SO EVER and may be deemed inappropriate for some viewers, but it is my blog and I will do what I want!
I just found this new or not new, but new to me, site for my favorite show Big Brother! Not only did they present the show in its entirety last night when it was preempted for most of the US, they also have posted this great video montage for the week. The site is called BB10Dish! for anyone interested in the show. And I will provide a LINK ONLY to the video for those interested in viewing it. I don't want to annoy people who aren't interested. If you are a real fan, be sure to watch until the very end (after the credits) for the most PATHETIC rendition of "Happy Birthday" that I have ever heard!
Weekly Recap Video for Week 4 by RealDeal.

An Easy Way to Give

This is such an easy way to give! Now through September you can donate $3 at Macy's toward RIF (Reading is Fundamental) and receive $10 off a purchase of $50 or more. The best part is 100% of the proceeds go towards RIF. So basically it is worth it even if you weren't getting the $10 off... I think anyway. Read more about it Here: Book a Brighter Future.

Arte y Pico

I am very honored to be given the Arte y Pico Award from Literate Lives! I have seen it all over the web and I feel special to be a part of it. Many blogs have already been honored, but I am sure they won't mind seeing their name again. I am copying this straight from Karen and Bill's blog, so I hope I am not missing anything, but here are the rules:

Essentially this award is like a Meme. There are rules for paying it forward after your blog gets recognized.

They are as follows:

1) Select 5 blogs that you consider deserving of this award, based on creativity, design, interesting material, and contribution to the blogger community. The blogs can be in any language.
2) Post a link to each blog so that others can visit.
3) Each award-winner has to show the award and link to the blogger that awarded it.

4) The award-winner and the one who has given the prize have to show a link to http://arteypico.blogspot.com/

1) A Year of Reading. My mentor blog. Mary Lee and Franki have been going all out this summer. I see them post once and sometimes twice a day. I have learned SO much from them both. Everyone needs a mentor like these two ladies!

2) Help Readers Love Reading. A new blog I started reading this summer. I really like that the author is a male who teaches the same age as me. It gives me an entirely different perspective on books for my students. Here's to you, Brian!

3) A Teacher's Life. Jen is great! We have never met in person, but I know if did, we would be best of friends. She always has such kind words and thoughtful posts.

4) Jen Robinson's Book Page. Besides having THE BEST posts in the universe, Jen always keeps up with other's blogs. She regularly comments on my rambling boring blogs and has something nice to say. And she does my Memes even though she hates them.

5) Greetings From Nowhere. Barbara O'Connor is my best author friend. No matter that she is my ONLY author friend. But seriously... her posts are funny and informational. She has tons of great posts about writing like her Writing Tips Tuesday. She also has great information for author visits that I also enjoy hearing about.

Take a Look

Want something to do today? The July Carnival of Children's Literature is up at Read. Imagine. Talk.
I found lots of new blogs to read. (Wait... is that a good thing or a bad thing?)

I Am...

I guess it is unnecessary to say I am on a Blog break. It is pretty obvious by the lack of well, blogging. I am reading for myself. I am reading for my husband. I am reading for my sister. None of which is blog worthy in the sense of my CHILDREN'S Literature blog. I know it is not necessary to tell everyone what I am doing all the time, but I want everyone to know my heart IS still in it. And I read the blogs everyday. (All 65 kidlitosphere blogs in my reader) I will post here and there when I see something interesting. Until then, here's hoping something slows down around here so I can have more ME time. ;)

I've Been Busy

I have been very busy becoming an aunt today!

2 Videos For Tuesday

I saw two videos I liked today. I will share them with you.

From 100 Scope Notes. A book trailer:



From Read Roger. It is worth watching all the way until the end:

Waiting for Normal by Leslie Connor

Waiting For Normal by Leslie Connor is just one of those books that makes me say "Whoa!" As soon as I finished reading it, which by the way was very quickly, I thought to myself, "She GETS IT." The "she" being Leslie Connor. The "it" being the lives of so many children in the world. But Connor also must have done so much research, either that or I have lost the fact that she was once an elementary school teacher. She had so many of the little nuances of school life correct. As a teacher, you just know when someone has done good research on school because they get things right down to the little details.
The story is of Addie and her dysfunctional life living in Schenectady. And when I say dysfunctional, I mean it. There is a little bit of everything in Addie's life. Some of the most stable parts of Addie's life are slipping further and further away. The story shows how Addie attempts in her own childish way to hold it all together.
Some people may think this character is trying to overcome way too much for one book. It may seem like Addie's battle is too complicated for one person. I might think that too, had I not seen it for my own self in the lives of students in my classroom each year. I am always surprised how resilient children can be. I have seen this EXACT student in my classroom. Boy does it tear your heart out! What I like about the story is that Connor doesn't go the convenient way and have a teacher try to save Addie's life. Although I would have enjoyed this, I think it may be too cliche. Being honest, sometimes situations like Addie's can fly under the radar. Especially when the student is moving from school to school.
I would recommend this book to GIRLS in my class. I would love to say I would read it aloud or recommend it to everyone, but that is not possible in this case. Although it is one of the best books I have read this year for my age group students, it has far too much girlie talk to recommend to a boy. (Sorry, but I am NOT talking about "Periods" in the classroom in front of fifth grade boys) One other point I was not fond of was the way Addie called her mom "Mommers." Yuck! Don't love that. I am not a fan of weird names in books. I would love to hear other Teachers opinions of this book. Read it! I promise you'll love it.

Other Reviews:
Literate Lives
Abby (the) Librarian
Fuse #8

Shooting the Moon by Frances O'Roark Dowell

When I was on vacation I devoured Shooting the Moon by Frances O'Roark Dowell. At first I felt like I wasn't sure it was the book for me, but as I read on, I really Loved It!
The story is short at 150 some pages. It is historical in nature, the setting being during the Vietnam War. (And of course you know I love that) But what is HUGE about the book is the message about changing perspectives.
Jamie, the main character is an "Army Brat" whose brother has recently joined the army and will soon be sent to Vietnam. Jamie lived her whole young life believing there was no better place to be than fighting for your country in war. That is until she actually comes face to face with the realities of war. Her brother's first letter home to Jamie is less of letter than she would like to receive. Instead it was a roll of film he would like developed. Not just developed by a store, but actually developed by Jamie herself. As the story goes on the pictures become more and more truthful with the realities of war.
This isn't the only plot line going on in the story either. Jamie has a summer job working in the rec hall where she becomes friends with some men in the army. And there is also the story of how Jamie's Colonel father deals with her brother's deployment.
I think students in my class could really get behind this book. Not only is our town situated very near to an Air Force Base, placing many military children in our district, but there is a war currently happening. This book would really be a great starting board for talking about some of the harsh realities behind war. Frances O'Roark Dowell is very careful not to be too preachy about war or even too supportive of war. The novel had the perfect balance for me.
Take a small portion out of a day and sit down with this special novel. You won't be disappointed.

Other Reviews:
A Fuse #8 Production
Kiss the Book
Brenda Ferber's Blog
a wrung sponge

Happy Happy!

I guess I missed my Blogoversary... or however you want to say that! It has been one year since I started this blog. This post will make 156 posts. There have been ups... meeting authors (here and there), making friends, having fun. And there have been downs. But I would not trade this experience for anything. I have learned so much, and continue to make many new friends!
Here's to 156 more posts,
CHEERS!