Top Ten Tuesday – Page 16 – Unleashing Readers

Top Ten Tuesday: Scariest Topics

October 27, 2015 by Kellee

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish. The feature was created because The Broke and Bookish are particularly fond of lists (as are we!). Each week a new Top Ten list topic is given and bloggers can participate.

Today’s Topic: Scariest Topics

These topics give us nightmares.

Ricki

1. Serial Killers

Ever since I was very young, I’ve found the idea of serial killers to be terrifying. Books about this topic scare me!

2. Death of Family Members

Because this is my greatest fear, reading about others who have lost family members makes me feel a wealth of terrifying emotions.

3. Drownings

Luckily, many books don’t feature drownings. When I was about five years old, I almost drowned, so reading drowning scenes makes me very frightened.

4. Bugs

I am embarrassed to say that I am very frightened by ladybugs. If a book has a bug scene, I flip a few pages.

5. Scenes in the Woods at Night

Do the woods creep anyone else out? I won’t go camping with my husband because of it.

Kellee

1. Realistic Apocalypse

I can read dystopian books without ever being afraid, but a realistic apocalypse in a novel freaks me out because there is such a chance those events could happen. The Living and Life As We Knew It are the ones that scare me the most.

2. Poltergeists

I don’t believe in ghosts, but I don’t not believe in ghosts, so realistic ghost stories with freaky poltergeists can give me some interesting dreams.

3. School Shootings

As a school teacher, this is too close to home.

4. Breaking & Entering & Killing

This is a real life fear, so anytime it is in a book, it really freaks me out.

5. Children Dying

No words for how terrifying this is. Sad and scary.

What topics give you nightmares?

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Top Ten Tuesday: Ten Wishes We’d Ask the Book Genie to Grant

October 20, 2015 by Kellee

Today’s Topic: Ten Wishes We’d Ask the Book Genie to Grant

If only there was a book genie…

Ricki

1. The ability to pause the day at any time to read

2. Unlimited funds to purchase books

3. Instant access to (free) audiobooks and e-book downloads

4. A bigger house to fit all of my books, so I wouldn’t have to agonize over the decisions each time I purge my shelves.

5. The ability to map and write a review from my brain instantly (to save more time for reading, of course)

Kellee

1. Unlimited book exchanges of any books

2. An extra hour in each day just for reading

3. A beautiful library added on to my house

4. The ability to speed read

5. The ability to remember everything I read

What would you have the book genie grant for you?

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Top Ten Tuesday: Author Duos We’d LOVE to See Write a Book Together

October 13, 2015 by Kellee

Today’s Topic: Author Duos We’d LOVE to See Write a Book Together

These authors kick butt. If they wrote a book together, we might just faint.

Ricki

1. Matt de la Peña and Chris Crutcher

While neither of these authors sticks strictly to sports, they both have written incredible books that feature sports in them. I love how they never used sports as a crutch or the main aspect of a book. Instead, they value character and story first. I’ve seen them speak together!

2. A.S. King and Laurie Halse Anderson

These two women rock my world. I can’t imagine the story that would emerge if they worked together.

3. Ruta Sepetys and Patricia McCormick

Both of these authors teach me so much through their stories. I think they’d be an incredible pairing.

4. Kekla Magoon and Jacqueline Woodson

I read every book these two women write. They develop character in such a beautiful way. I am always recommending their books to other readers.

5. Oliver Jeffers, Drew Daywalt, and Jon Klassen

I know the first two authors came together to create a masterpiece series (The Day the Crayons Quit), but I’ve been thinking that adding Jon Klassen into the mix would make the world explode.

Kellee

1. Kenneth Oppel and Patrick Ness

These two authors are so unique, and I cannot even imagine what they would come up with if they wrote a book together!

2. George O’Connor and Rick Riordan

These two gentleman are mythology geniuses, and I would love to see a fiction graphic novel that mixes mythology and fiction.

3. Laurie Halse Anderson and John Green

Two of the most brilliant contemporary authors writing together would be epic!

4. Deborah Wiles and Jim Murphy

Deborah Wiles writes some of the best historical fiction, and Jim Murphy writes some of the best literary nonfiction. I would love a book that was half fiction and half nonfiction combining their abilities.

5. Kate DiCamillo and Jennifer Holm

A co-written novel by Holm and DiCamillo would blow my mind!

Which authors would you love to see write a book together?

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Top Ten Tuesday: Books I’d Recommend to Students If They Like _____.

April 22, 2023October 6, 2015 by Kellee

Today’s Topic: Books I’d Recommend to Students if They Like ______.

One of my most important jobs as a reading teacher is helping students find books that they will like. Often students don’t know what to read next, and it is up to me to help them find their next book. My Top Ten Tuesday list this week is ten books/series that my students really enjoy and some books/series I may recommend, depending on the student, for them to read next.

Kellee

1. If a student likes the Amulet series by Kazu Kibuishi, I recommend the Battling Boy series by Paul Pope or Doug TenNapel graphic novels.

All of these graphic novels are very complex and deep, but often my students get stuck wanting to read only Kibuishi’s work. Paul Pope and Doug TenNapel are perfect books to turn to because they are brilliant graphic novelists.

2. If a student likes the Percy Jackson series by Rick Riordan, I may recommend Promise of Shadows by Justina Ireland, the Olympians series by George O’Connor, or Oh. My. Gods. by Tera Lynn Childs.

Often by the end of any of the Riordan series, students are fascinated by and experts in the mythology that was shared. To continue expanding their mythology knowledge, O’Connor’s Olympians series is perfect while the other two novels are YA mythology-based action books that are perfect for Percy Jackson fans.

3. If a student likes the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series by Jeff Kinney, I may recommend the Origami Yoda series by Tom Angleberger or the Joey Pigza Series by Jack Gantos.

Kids who like Diary of a Wimpy Kid like it for the humor and illustrations. While Origami Yoda and Joey Pigza may have less illustrations, they both are hilarious.

4. If a student likes the Hunger Games series by Suzanne Collins, I may recommend the Uglies series by Scott Westerfeld.

While Hunger Games is probably the most popular dystopian series, when I think of the epitome of dystopian, I think of Scott Westerfeld’s series.

5. If a student likes the Dork Diaries series by Rachel Renée Russell, I may recommend Sugar and Ice by Kate Messner or the Ginny Davis series by Jennifer Holm.

My students who read Dork Diaries are looking for stories that they will connect with. Both Sugar and Ice and Ginny’s books are true representations of middle school, and I know students will find the same connection with them.

6. If a student liked the Alex Rider series by Anthony Horowitz, I may recommend the I, Q series by Roland Smith or the Matt Cruse series by Kenneth Oppel.

Alex Rider is definitely my go to for adventure/spy books for my students, but when they finish his series, I always recommend Matt and Q’s story as a next step because they are both as action-packed as Alex’s stories yet different enough to be new and exciting.

7. If a student likes Wonder by RJ Pacalio, I may recommend Rain Reign by Ann M. Martin or Out of My Mind by Sharon Draper.

The protagonists in all three novels are so special, and readers reading their stories will build empathy for those around them.

8. If a student likes the Harry Potter series, I may recommend The Dungeoneers by John David Anderson or The Books of Beginning series by John Stephens.

When I read both of these books, my very first thought was that students who were Harry Potter fans will love these as well. They are fantasy-based yet not too far fetched while also being adventurous and well done.

9. If a student likes Smile and Sisters by Raina Telgemeier, I may recommend El Deafo by Cece Bell.

Smile and Sisters are so popular, but students often don’t know what to read when they finish with Raina’s books; however, they don’t have far to look because Newbery Honor El Deafo is sitting on the shelf right next to Raina’s books and is brilliant, thought-provoking, emotional, and funny.

10. If a student likes the Maze Runner series, I may recommend the Chaos Walking series by Patrick Ness.

The Maze Runner series is suspenseful, has an evil government, and is packed with excitement from beginning to end. My readers who finish The Maze Runner series are looking for another book that will hold there attention, and the Chaos Walking series is the epitome of suspense, evil antagonists, and excitement.

What books do you recommend if your student likes _____?

Top Ten Tuesday: YA Text Recommendations for Bestselling Adult Texts

August 4, 2016September 29, 2015 by Ricki

Today’s Topic: YA Text Recommendations for Bestselling Adult Texts

I love YAL. I’ll read the adult texts that everyone raves about, but often, I find YAL to be more compelling. If you like the bestselling adult novels below, I recommend specific YA texts (or middle grade text) that you might also enjoy.

1. Adult Text: Room by Emma Donaghue

YA Text: Stolen: A Letter to My Captor by Lucy Christopher

Both texts are about girls who are taken captive. Stolen leaves readers with much to think about.

2. Adult Text: Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen

YA Text: Circus Mirandus by Cassie Beasley

Both texts bring readers into a magical setting. Circus Mirandus pulled at my heartstrings.

3. Adult Text: The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot

YA Text: Fatal Fever: Tracking Down Typhoid Mary by Gail Jarrow

Both texts combine medicine, science, and a notable woman in history (for different reasons).

4. Adult Text: Sarah’s Key by Tatiana de Rosnay

YA Text: Hidden Like Anne Frank: 14 True Stories of Survival by Marcel Prins and Peter Henk Steenhuis

Sarah’s Key is beautiful prose. Hidden Like Anne Frank offers much knowledge about those who were hidden during the Holocaust. I learned many of my assumptions were inaccurate.

5. Adult Text: The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien

YA Text: Death Coming Up the Hill by Chris Crowe

The Things They Carried is well-loved (and quite deserving of its praise). Death Coming Up the Hill is also set during the Vietnam War. The text is entirely written in Haiku format, and the syllable count of the entire text is the same as the number of soldiers who died in 1968 Vietnam. Chris Crowe is brilliant.

6. Adult Text: The Autobiography of Malcolm X by Malcolm X

YA Text: X by Ilyasah Shabazz and Kekla Magoon

X may not be autobiographical, but it is written by Malcolm X’s daughter and a fantastic YA author, Kekla Magoon. It offers a perspective of Malcolm Little’s teenage years that is quite compelling.

7. Adult Text: Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert

YA Text: Just One Day by Gayle Forman

Gayle Forman’s Just One Day captured my heart and reminded me of the things I liked best of Eat, Pray, Love.

8. Adult Text: The Gargoyle by Andrew Davidson

YA Text: I’ll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson

Art weaves through the narratives of these texts. Both have incredible depth and will make readers think.

9. Adult Text: Maus by Art Speigelman

YA Text: Hidden: A Child’s Story of the Holocaust by Loïc Dauvillier

Both graphic novels feature a survivor’s story, told a generation (or in the case of the second book, generations) later.

10. Adult Text: The Perfect Storm by Sebastian Junger

YA Text: The Living by Matt de la Peña

Both texts feature stormy settings on boats. While this is one of the few similarities between these well-written works, both are wonderful and worthy of high praise.

Which adult books have you enjoyed? Would you recommend (or would you like a recommendation for) a YA text?

Top Ten Tuesday: Books on Our Fall TBR Lists

August 4, 2016September 22, 2015 by Ricki

Today’s Topic: Books on Our Fall TBR Lists

We really want to get to these books.

Ricki

I am determined to get back to my #mustreadin2015 list!

1. Like Water on Stone by Dana Walrath

This has been on too many of my must-read lists. I’ve heard it is incredible!

2. Knockout Games by G. Neri

I just learned what this book is about, and now I really want to read it. I had no idea what “the knockout game” was until recently. I am horrified, and I feel compelled to learn more about this awful phenomenon.

3. See You At Harry’s by Jo Knowles

Everyone raves about this one. I love Jo Knowles, so count me in!

4. When I Was the Greatest by Jason Reynolds

I am embarrassed to say I have not read anything by Jason Reynolds yet. I follow him on Facebook and the web like crazy. I’ll be reading (at least!) one of his books before the ALAN Workshop.

5. Out of my Mind by Sharon Draper

Has this book reached “classic” status yet? I better read it very soon because everyone says it is incredible!

Kellee

I hope that I get to my #mustreadin2015 list; however, my fall is going to be filled with preparing for NCTE and ALAN.

1. Hook’s Revenge by Heidi Schulz

I cannot wait to present about humor with Heidi and some other wonderful ladies at NCTE.

2. – 5.

The Edge by Roland Smith

Hellraisers by Alexander Gordon Smith

Undertow by Michael Buckley

The Lost Tribes by C. Taylor-Butler

I am the moderator of the “Keeping ‘Em on the Edge of Their Seats” panel at ALAN with these great authors.

What books are on your Fall Must-Read List?

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Top Ten Tuesday: Villains

September 15, 2015 by Ricki

Today’s Topic: Villains

Halloween came early.

Ricki

1. Satan in Paradise Lost by John Milton

Satan seems to star in a lot of novels, but he really shines in this one. 😉

2. Grendel’s Mother in Beowulf by Unknown

If anyone harmed my son, I’d turn into Grendel’s mother.

3. Anna from Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake

She gives me the shivers!

4. O’Brien from 1984 by George Orwell

He is so methodical. You can’t help but respect that.

5. Abigail Williams from The Crucible by Arthur Miller

She is one of the ultimate villains in history and literature.

Kellee

There are so many great villains in YAL, but I tried to narrow it down to the most infamous! If you want to know who I would have included in a longer list, I’d be happy to share.

1. Voldemort (and Umbridge and Beatrix Lestrange) from the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling

How can I not include them? Harry’s epic 7 book battle with Voldemort and his legions is the best hero vs. villain story ever.

2. The villain from The Skinjacker Series by Neil Shusterman

I cannot tell you who it is, but s/he is one of those villains that really believes they are doing what is best where actually they are twisted and evil.

3. Aaron and Mayor/President Prentiss from the Chaos Walking series by Patrick Ness

A sociopath in power is just the scariest thing in the world.

4. The government in the Uglies series by Scott Westerfeld

I know this isn’t exactly following the theme, but I think the government that Westerfeld built in the Uglies series is the most dystopic and evil, so I had to include them.

5. Leck from the Graceling Realm series by Kristin Cashore

The way that Cashore builds Leck’s character throughout all of the books is brilliant.

Who are your favorite villains?

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