New Barbara O'Connor Book Trailer

I haven't posted in a long time, but I can't WAIT for this new book and I wanted to share it.

All my Friends!

Look at this!!!! Look at all my friends! I am so excited for all of you who are listed. If you check out my sidebar, you will find MANY of these blogs listed as the Best 100 Book Blogs for Kids. I think it is WONDERFUL!
(I tried to tag all my cyber buds, but there were too many!)

The Small Adventure of Popeye and Elvis by Barbara O'Connor

The Small Adventure of Popeye and Elvis by Barbara O'Connor


My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Now anyone who knows me, knows I am a fan of Barbara O'Connor. I am also a sucker for a good southern accent and a backwoods setting. This book has backwoods written all over it and this is what I loved the most!
My favorite part of the book is the family in the rambling RV. I wanted to know them. I thought maybe I did know them. Oh, the characters... Gosh, Barbara is so good at character development. I knew all those characters. I put a face with them in a split second. (Or split page) The NAMES, the NAMES, the NAMES! I am always complaining about authors using obscure character names. These were obscure in a perfectly lovely way.
The book is short. A quick read. Perfect for that reluctant reader that isn't going to pick up a book over 200 pages, even if paid to do so.
Of course there were dogs in this book. But maybe not in the way that you would expect. Knowing a little bit about Barbara O'Connor, this part of the plot just tore me up.
Mrs. O'Connor is such a fan of vocabulary. I see that theme in many of her books. There is no exception here. Does it fit? Maybe. That might be my only complaint. Sometimes I wasn't sure the vocabulary added to the story. However, as teacher I have to view vocabulary building as a good thing no matter what.
I recommend this book to students in grades 3-5.
Way to go, my friend. Homerun! Sorry for the rambling post.

View all my reviews >>

Barbara O'Connor's Newest Book Trailer

After returning from vacation and finding 422! posts in my Google Reader, I sifted through and picked out some of my favorite blogs to read. I hope I am not too late to present to you a book trailer for Barbara O'Connor's new book, The Small Adventure of Popeye and Elvis. Humor me and watch it again if you have seen it already, if not... What are you waiting for???


Now who is with me? Get on over there to Amazon and pre-order your copy. Ya know ya want to!

VoiceThread

VoiceThread? What is it anyway? That is the same question I had. So I checked it out. Then I found out via Barbara O'Connor that this was on there: VoiceThread from Sara Holmes.
So try it for yourself and then try not to get absorbed in watching everything you can find... I DARE YOU!
OH-- And Now I think I learned how to embed it!

Greetings From Nowhere by Barbara O'Connor

When you are trying to find books fit for a fifth grade student and you keep coming up empty handed, you are T-TOTALLY THRILLED when you come across a book such as Greetings From Nowhere by Barbara O'Connor.
I am going to start with the most obvious selling point of this book for me. I absolutely adore the arrangement of chapters with a different character's points of views. Each chapter follows the view of the story through a different character. It is brilliant! I know, it has been done before, but I absolutely love the way it is SPECIFICALLY done in this book. It is seamless. The stories overlap just enough, but nothing is repeated in a way that says, "In case you forgot from last chapter."
Each of the characters adds such a different dynamic to the novel. They all have their own inner struggles, but each has something to endear them to the reader. I hate to pick favorites but Loretta is my favorite character in the book. Of course as I read, I began to love every character for one reason or another. I was rooting for everyone in the end.
The plot of the story follows the fate of a small motel, The Sleepy Time Motel in the Great Smoky Mountains. The hotel is owned by at widow named Aggie. She and her husband originally opened the successful motel years ago and now that he is gone and business is slow, Aggie is finding herself in a position of thinking about selling the motel. As each of the other characters is introduced, the fate of the motel improves.
It is no secret that I wasn't really into the cover of O'Connor's Fame and Glory in Freedom, Georgia, but I think the cover on this book is delightful! I love the way it looks like a real postcard and is almost cartoon-ish. This one is hit for me.
I guess I didn't address how this is a perfect book for fifth grade? Well, take my word, IT IS! The characters all have stories my students can relate to, the vocabulary is just right, and the story move quickly. I am very excited to recommend the book to my kiddos. I can't wait to see what they think of the chapter arrangements. But what I most want to ask them is, "Who is your favorite character?"
OMG, how could I have forgotten to mention--- on page 188 there is a list of guests and one of the guests is Hattie Norris from DAYTON, OHIO! Love-It!

New Book Trailer

You know how I love me some Barbara O'Connor... so here is a trailer for her new book out in the spring, Greetings From Nowhere.

Fame and Glory in Freedom, Georgia by Barbara O'Connor

Since I am now a fan of Barbara O'Connor, I had to run out and get all her books to read. I am starting with Fame and Glory in Freedom, Georgia.
The plot of the book follows the main character, "Bird" Weaver, who is somewhat of a social misfit. A new boy, Bird's age, moves into town and Bird is determined to make him her friend before the others "get to him" and ruin her chances. Her chance comes along when she finds out she must have a partner for the spelling bee. Come to find out Harlem Tate, the new boy, is somewhat of a social misfit as well.
First before I say anything else, I am always drawn to books about spelling bees because I am forever in charge of our school's spelling bee. (I enjoy the position, but I don't think I will ever get out of "being in charge") It is fun to find a book to help me promote the spelling bee. I thought the way they conducted the spelling bee was interesting. I wonder if that is something O'Connor made up or if there are actual spelling bees conducted in this manner.
The characters of this book make it! They are believable, lovable, and honest. Bird is an excellent judge of character, even when no one but her neighbor, Miss Delphine, is judging her correctly. I was rooting for both Bird and Harlem all the way through. But I couldn't help but to be rooting for everyone else as well. (Especially Harlem's father... oooo, great story there, but you'll have to read the book to find out his part in the plot.)
The novel is just the right length for a recommendation because it will not overwhelm the reader. -- Just 112 pages. I think the setting is fun too. I love books set in the south and I know a lot of the cities mentioned as we used to visit that area of Georgia each summer. I am going to say this right here and hope no one is offended, but... I was totally attracted to the cover, I loved the art. But I can't for the life of me figure out how it represents the story? Sure the girl looks like maybe what I expect, but the whole rest of the picture matches nothing in the book? Strange, I think. Maybe it is just me.
The message of the novel is perfect for fifth grade/sixth grade age students. It is important for me to teach children to see the worth in everyone around them, friends, family, or mere acquaintances.

How to Steal a Dog by Barbara O'Connor

Some of you may have recently read the post I had about the author, Barbara O'Connor, who wrote about reading my blog on her own blog. Oddly enough I had just checked out her book How to Steal a Dog from my local library. I waited the entire summer to get my hands on that book! It was ordered in June, but did not surface until about a week ago.
Now, I promise I am not saying this just because Ms. O'Connor may read this blog, but the book was perfect! I am always looking for books that are just right for a fifth grader and this is one of them. The moral of this story can be summed up in this line from book, "I guess bad times can make a person do bad things, huh?" To give you an idea of what those bad things are, listen to this perfect grabber lead "The day I decided to steal a dog was the same day my best friend, Luanne Godfrey, found out I lived in a car.
The story has wonderful messages about morality and it takes a daring look at homelessness, a topic not often talked about in children's literature. I just know there is a kid out there, in your room, in your life, in your mind, who has felt hopeless and helpless and possibly done something out of the ordinary to deal with this pain. The story also has the main character, Georgina, writing in a notebook as well. HOW AWESOME?!
The book is a quick read with an easy to follow, but not overly predictable plot. The vocabulary is not over-done for a read aloud for the fourth and fifth grade crowd. Even though the idea of stealing a dog isn't exactly moral, I would say any fifth grade student could see through that to the real point of the story.
I will be asking my school librarian to get this book on our bookshelves in a hurry. I just know as soon as I show to my students, they are going to be racing to the shelves!