Guys Read: Other Worlds edited by Jon Scieszka

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Guys Read: Other Worlds
Edited by Jon Scieszka
Illustrated by Greg Ruth
Published September 17th, 2013 by Walden Pond Press

Goodreads Summary: Other Worlds, the fourth volume in Jon Scieszka’s Guys Read anthology series for tween boys, features ten thrilling new tales of science fiction and fantasy from some of the biggest names in children’s literature.

Prepare yourself for ten trips into the unknown, as ten of your favorite writers—Rick Riordan, who has written an all-new and exclusive Percy Jackson tale, Tom Angleberger of Origami Yoda fame, Newbery medalist Rebecca Stead, Shannon Hale, D. J. MacHale, Eric Nylund, Kenneth Oppel, Neal Shusterman, Shaun Tan, and none other than the late Ray Bradbury—spin tales of fantasy and science fiction the likes of which you have never imagined.

Compiled by National Ambassador for Children’s Literature (and Secret Ambassador for the Intergalactic Alliance) Jon Scieszka, Guys Read: Other Worlds is sure to boldly take you where no reader has gone before.

My Review: This was such an amazing short story anthology. Usually when you read a collection of short stories there are a few winners and a bunch of losers, but with this one there are a tone of winners and a couple runners-up.

Let’s talk about how awesome it is to read a new Ray Bradbury story and a phenomenal story at that. It is an amazing story about survival, life, and love. It is such an interesting concept (a world where you only live 8 days) and is executed so well (you wouldn’t expect any less from Bradbury). And it is just one of the amazing stories. The amazing list of authors in this book would impress anyone: Rick Riordan, Shannon Hale, DJ Machale, Tom Angleberger, Neal Shusterman, Rebecca Stead, Shaun Tan, Kenneth Oppel, Eric Nylund, and Ray Bradbury. I also love the variety of stories. There are fantasy and science fiction stories – Percy Jackson right next to a story about aliens – and there are serious and funny stories – Tom Angleberger’s hilarious Rise of the Roboshoes alongside The Klack Bros. Museum by Kenneth Oppel.

Even though I don’t want to pick favorites, I would say if you are going to pick and choose go with the stories by Hale, Angleberger, Shusterman, Tan, Oppel, and Bradbury.

Teacher’s Tools For Navigation: I think this book would be the best as a read aloud or in the classroom library. They are just great stories and need to be shared.

Discussion Questions: After reading ___[story title]___, why do you think it was chosen to be included in Other Worlds?; What do you think is the theme of The Dirt on our Shoes by Neal Shusterman?; Which of the stories were your favorite?; In Rise of the RoboShoes what could beat the Roboshoes?; Using the illustrations and story from A Day in the Life write a narrative about the boy.

We Flagged: “All fiction and storytelling is answering that “what if…” questions. But science fiction and fantasy go a step further: They bend the rules of reality. They get to imagine the “What if” in completely other worlds.

And that is why good science fiction and fantasy stories can be so mind-expandingly fun.” (from Scieszka’s intro, p. vii-viii)

Read This If You Loved: Any of the authors who contributed or Fantasy/Science Fiction in general

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**Thank you to Walden Pond Press for providing a copy for review!**

The Dream Thieves by Maggie Stiefvater

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The Dream Thieves
Author: Maggie Stiefvater
Published: September 17th, 2013 by Scholastic Press

Summary: Now that the ley lines around Cabeswater have been woken, nothing for Ronan, Gansey, Blue, and Adam will be the same. Ronan, for one, is falling more and more deeply into his dreams, and his dreams are intruding more and more into waking life. Meanwhile, some very sinister people are looking for some of the same pieces of the Cabeswater puzzle that Gansey is after…

Review: This sequel will not disappoint lovers of The Raven Boys. The book is written in multiple points of view, but in my opinion, Ronan’s perspective is the highlight of this installment of the series. He is tormented by terrible nightmares and his harrowing past. Each of the characters is further developed from the first novel, and I loved the new advancements. Additionally, readers are introduced to two, incredibly complex characters, The Gray Man and Kavinsky, who offer dark perspectives and are essential to the unfolding of the story. I loved the new characters and the intricacy of this story. I will admit that I missed the central focus on Blue and her household of psychics (as in The Raven Boys), but Blue certainly plays a strong role in this book. The psychics were my favorite part of the first book in the series. Stiefvater does a brilliant job in the development of Ronan’s story which adds an interesting twist to this book. I also enjoyed how she wove several, different plot threads. This book kept me guessing, and it is quite unpredictable, which made it a pleasure to read.

Teacher’s Tools for Navigation: It would be hard for teachers to introduce this text as a whole-class reading if students haven’t read the first book in the series. That said, teachers could set the context of the story and show samples of the darker passages from Ronan’s perspective to teach imagery and mood. If a small group chose it as a literature circle text, students would enjoy comparing and contrasting the author’s purposes and characterization between the two books in the series. This would show students how important it is to build characterization both within a story and across books in a sequel as a plot advances.

Discussion Questions: How do the purpose and direction of this book differ from the first book in the series?; How does Stiefvater develop her characters further from the first book?; In what ways does Ronan struggle to negotiate with his past?; How does Adam cope with his obstacles and circumstances? Do you agree with his approach?

We Flagged: “Sometimes, some rare times, a secret stays undiscovered because it is something too big for the mind to hold. It is too strange, too vast, too terrifying to contemplate” (Prologue).

Please note: The above quotes are from the Advanced Reader Copy. The e-book (a galley) did not provide page numbers. The quotes may change when the book is published.

Read This If You Loved: The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater, The Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor, Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo, White Cat by Holly Black

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**Thank you to NetGalley and Scholastic for providing the Advanced Reader Copy for review!**

The Boy Who Loved Math by Deborah Heiligman

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Nonfiction Picture Book Wednesday

Nonfiction Picture Book Wednesday is hosted by Kid Lit Frenzy and was started to help promote the reading of nonfiction texts. Most Wednesdays, we will be participating and will review a nonfiction text (though it may not always be a picture book).
Be sure to visit Kid Lit Frenzy and see what other nonfiction books are shared this week!

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The Boy Who Loved Math: The Improbable Life of Paul Erdos
Author: Deborah Heiligman
Illustrator: LeUyen Pham
Published June 25th, 2013 by Roaring Brook Press

Goodreads Review: Most people think of mathematicians as solitary, working away in isolation. And, it’s true, many of them do. But Paul Erdos never followed the usual path. At the age of four, he could ask you when you were born and then calculate the number of seconds you had been alive in his head. But he didn’t learn to butter his own bread until he turned twenty. Instead, he traveled around the world, from one mathematician to the next, collaborating on an astonishing number of publications. With a simple, lyrical text and richly layered illustrations, this is a beautiful introduction to the world of math and a fascinating look at the unique character traits that made “Uncle Paul” a great man.

My Review: I have been on a great streak of picture book narrative biographies and this is another one. I love how the author so cleverly combined Erdos’s story and mathematics without ever overloading the story with numbers. This book is so much fun (and the colorful illustrations add even more playfulness to it) yet teaches so much within its story.  What impresses me the most is just how much the book makes you think about math, want to learn more math, and want to play with numbers. Even in book form, Erdos is making math understandable.

Teacher’s Tools For Navigation: What a great book to use in a math classroom (or elementary classroom). This book makes math sound fun and would definitely be a jumping off point for many different mathematical ideas (such as prime numbers, harmonic primes, amicable numbers, odd/even numbers, Euclid’s Proof of the Infinity of Prime Numbers, Sieve of Eratosthenes, Euler’s map of Konigsburg, negative numbers, the Party Problem, Erdos distinct distances problem, Erdos number, epsilon). Many of the ideas are shared in a fun way and would help be a foundation for scaffolding.

Discussion Questions: What math idea/activity do you find to be the most fun?; Use math to complete Paul’s trick- how old are you in seconds? Minutes? Hours? Days?; What are the answers to Paul’s questions about prime numbers? Do they go on forever? Is there a pattern to them? Why is it that the higher you go up, the farther apart the prime numbers are?

We Flagged: “Paul played with numbers. He added them together and subtracted them. One day he subtracted a bigger number from a smaller number.
The answer was less than 0.
How could a nubmer be <0?
Mama told him numbers below zero are called NEGATIVE NUMBERS. Paul thought that was so cool.
Now he knew for sure he wanted to be a mathematician when he grew up. But first he had to tackle another big problem…” (p. 9)

Read This If You Loved: On a Beam of Light: A Story of Albert Einstein by Jennifer Berne, Jim Henson: The Guy Who Played with Puppets by Kathleen Krull, Lost Boy: The Story of the Man who Created Peter Pan by Jane Yolen, Odd Boy Out: Young Albert Einstein by Don Brown, A Wizard from the Start: The Incredible Boyhood and Amazing Inventions of Thomas Edison by Don Brown, Sandy’s Circus: A Story about Alexander Calder by Tanya Lee StoneMe…Jane by Patrick McDonnell

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This book just makes me want to learn more!

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Top Ten Tuesday: Books on our Fall 2013 TBR Lists

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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: Top Ten Books on our Fall 2013 TBR Lists

We can’t wait to read these! 🙂

Ricki

1. The Living by Matt de la Pena

I love anything by Matt de la Pena, so I can’t wait for this book, due to be released on November 12th. It is set on a cruise ship, which is a really cool idea. I have it pre-ordered, and I just can’t wait to get my hands on it.

2. Just One Year by Gayle Forman

I absolutely adored Just One Day by Gayle Forman, so I am incredibly excited for the sequel to come out on October 10th. It is told from Willem’s perspective, so I am quite excited to fall into his voice.

3. If You Find Me by Emily Murdoch

This one has actually been released, but I haven’t gotten my hands on it. It seems mysterious and haunting. I know a lot of people are putting it on their mock-Printz lists, so I feel like I need to read it…now.

4. Thrice Told Tales by Catherine Lewis

This was released at the end of August, and I heard from Teri Lesesne that it was very good. The book takes the Three Blind Mice nursery rhyme and uses it to illustrate about a hundred different literary terms. Many people are saying that it is great teaching text.

5. Grasshopper Jungle by Andrew Smith

I am getting really good at cheating in my top ten list. It says the books are on my Fall 2013 TBR list, and this one will be on my Fall 2013 list, but it won’t be released until February 11th, 2014. Does that count? The kids in the book release an unstoppable army of “horny, hungry, six-foot tall praying mantises.” Seriously? Who wouldn’t want to know more about that book. Once again, I have pre-ordered this gem, which I have heard is excellent.

Kellee

This list is actually really hard for me. I don’t usually plan that far ahead and I hadn’t looked at Fall books at all. So, this is a list of books that I plan on reading even if their release date isn’t Fall 2013.

1. The Real Boy by Anne Ursu

I loved Breadcrumbs by Anne Ursu so this novel of hers is one that I have been waiting for. I have also only heard really great things about it so that makes me even more excited!

2. Doll Bones by Holly Black

I’ve had this one for a while to read, but I decided to save it for the Halloween season as it is a scary book. Holly Black comes up with such unique ideas and is an excellent writer (I LOVED her Curseworkers series), so I am looking forward to this one.

3. Rose Under Fire by Elizabeth Wein

After Ricki’s review, who wouldn’t want to read this one?!?!

4. Wake Up Missing by Kate Messner

Everything I’ve read by Kate Messner has been amazing, so I am sure this one will be as well!

5. Allegiant by Veronica Roth

Who isn’t waiting anxiously for this one?!?! I am so excited to read the finale.

Which books are you most looking forward to reading this fall?

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It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? 9/16/13

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It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? From Picture Books to YA!

It’s Monday! What are you Reading? is a meme hosted by Sheila at Book Journeys. It is a great way to recap what you read and/or reviewed the previous week and to plan out your reading and reviews for the upcoming week. It’s also a great chance to see what others are reading right now…you just might discover the next “must-read” book!

Jen Vincent, of Teach Mentor Texts, and Kellee decided to give It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? a kidlit focus. If you read and review books in children’s literature – picture books, chapter books, middle grade novels, young adult novels, anything in the world of kidlit – join us! We love this meme and think you will, too.

We encourage everyone who participates to support the blogging community by visiting at least three of the other book bloggers that link up and leave comments for them.

Last Week’s Posts

**Click on any picture to view the post**

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Last Week’s Journeys

Kellee: Guys Read: Other Worlds is by far the best of the Guys Read series so far! I will be reviewing it this week, but I just had to start with that. You will here more about it on Friday. I also read some really great picture books which I’ll be sharing with you this week and in the future: The Boy Who Loved Math by Deborah Heiligman, Ol’ Mama Squirrel by David Ezra Stein, Crankee Doodle by Tom Angleberger, Journey by Aaron Becker, and Grumbles from the Forest by Jane Yolen & Rebecca Kai Dotlight.

Ricki: This week, I read about twenty journal articles about education. I learned a lot about the disconnect between what the university teaches and what student teachers learn in the classroom. I’ve also been reading a lot about the Common Core and how it fits (and doesn’t fit) in the classroom. For YAL, I finished Dream Thieves by Maggie Stiefvater. I will share more in my review on Thursday. It was a great sequel and a bit different from the first book, which was very interesting.

This Week’s Expeditions

Kellee: This week I am going to reading Stained by Cheryl Rainfield in preparation for a review (and giveaway!). I also have 3 more Unsolved Mystery from History books by Jane Yolen & Heidi Elisabet Yolen Stemple which I plan to read and review 3 Wednesdays in a row for you all. I’m sure they’ll be as good as the The Salem Witch Trials so I’ll love them.

Ricki: I have big goals this week. First, I want to finish listening to Enchanted by Alethea Kontis. It is a very fun fairy tale that has been making my drives to school very enjoyable. I’ll share more next Monday. Then, I want to read a sci-fi book by debut author, Cristin Terrill. It is called All our Yesterdays, and it looks awesome. The cover makes me reminisce about Divergent. Lastly, I plan to read The Spectacular Now by Tim Tharp. I started it this week, and it is a bit bizarre but quite entertaining. I just need to learn to balance my YAL with the academic reading for school.

Upcoming Week’s Posts

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 So, what are you reading?

Link up below and go check out what everyone else is reading. Please support other bloggers by viewing and commenting on at least 3 other blogs. If you tweet about your Monday post, tag the tweet with #IMWAYR!

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Novels with Math Content

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Well I couldn’t leave out math, could I?!?!
Last Sunday I posted my list of novels I came up with for a science teacher (plus more!) and today I wanted to do the same but for math. I taught with a math teacher who wanted to build a classroom library of books with math content in it and I was happy to send her a list. 

This list is was originally a list for a 6th grade teacher to use as read alouds and/or independent reading, but as I have worked on expanding it, it has grown to include books for older and younger students. I didn’t include many picture books though there are tons of math picture books. I tried to stay with 4th and up.

This list contains books that I recommended to her and have read as well as books that I added this week because of  research and with the help of some friends on Twitter.
secret lies algebraThe Writing on the Wall (Do The Math, #2)  Uses math to describe human relationships & events
Sticks   “Math whiz” friend, Geometry in pool, Gallileo
An Abundance of Katherines  Theorems, Functions, Graphs
The Phantom Tollbooth  Mathematical land
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time  Protagonist with autism who is passionate about mathematics
Gifted  Protagonist uses math in her everyday life
Hannah, Divided  Mathematical instincts, Talented mathematician
The Number Devil: A Mathematical Adventure  A boy meets the number devil in his dreams & explores math with him
Math Doesn't Suck  Kiss My Math  Hot X: Algebra Exposed!  Girls Get Curves: Geometry Takes Shape  Nonfiction
  (Series) Math concepts, Math vocabulary
The Shadow Guests  Aunt mathematician
The Wright 3  Codes, Fibonacci sequence
Geek High (Geek High, #1)  (Series) Protagonist with mathematical talents
School. Hasn't This Gone on Long Enough? (Dear Dumb Diary, Year 2 #1)  (Series) Protagonist hates math
The Rapture of the Nerds  Vinge singularity
A Wrinkle in Time (Time, #1)  Tesseract, Dimensions
Evil Genius (Genius, #1)  Characters with mathematical talents
Claudia and the Middle School Mystery (The Baby-Sitters Club, #40)  (Series) Claudia struggles with math in all of the books, this one it is the focus
Saraswati's Way  Mathematically talented boy looking for a math tutor to expand knowledge
Math Curse  Fun math “problems”
Lost in Lexicon: An Adventure in Words and Numbers  Mathematical land filled with mathematical concepts & math history
The Square Root of Murder (P.C. Hawke Mysteries, #5) Math equation is a clue in a murder
The Dot and the Line: A Romance in Lower Mathematics Geometry
Lawn Boy Stocks, Payroll
8918253 Character has dyscalculia, dad is a math whiz, chapters start with math metaphor
8496465 Main character has a gift for math
174328 (and others) Math riddles & problems
4581447 (series) Math equations play a role in the mystery
12561863 (series) Main character is a math genius

 

Are there any titles I missed?
I hope you find both this and the science list helpful!
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Hitler Youth: Growing Up in Hitler’s Shadow & The Boy Who Dared by Susan Campbell Bartoletti

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These two books are my favorite fiction/nonfiction companion books, so I wanted to share them with you together. 

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Hitler Youth: Growing Up in Hitler’s Shadow
Author: Susan Campbell Bartoletti
Published April 1st, 2005 by Scholastic Nonfiction

Goodreads Summary: In her first full-length nonfiction title since winning the Robert F. Sibert Award, Susan Campbell Bartoletti explores the riveting and often chilling story of Germany’s powerful Hitler Youth groups.

“I begin with the young. We older ones are used up . . . But my magnificent youngsters! Look at these men and boys! What material! With them, I can create a new world.” –Adolf Hitler, Nuremberg 1933

By the time Hitler became Chancellor of Germany in 1933, 3.5 million children belonged to the Hitler Youth. It would become the largest youth group in history. Susan Campbell Bartoletti explores how Hitler gained the loyalty, trust, and passion of so many of Germany’s young people. Her research includes telling interviews with surviving Hitler Youth members.

My Review: During World War II, Hitler controlled more than just the military; he controlled the entire country of Germany. Much of what this book explains are parts of the WWII history that is not taught in our schools and shows the true extent of the power that Hitler had over everyone.

The Hitler Youth began as a voluntary organization to support Hitler, but it quickly became a way for Hitler to control the youth. Soon the Hitler Youth was not voluntary and they were being used in much the same way as the military.

This book tells true stories of children in the Hitler Youth and children that were brave enough to speak up. It is truly horrific and fascinating. Susan Campbell Bartoletti uses a combination of narrative and expository writing to take her reader on a journey through Nazi controlled Germany starting with their depression and taking us through the the end of World War II. By intertwining true stories of the youth of Germany with historical fact, Bartoletti pulls at your heart strings and shows the true effect that Hitler had on the entire nation. It also takes you through the steps that Hitler took to brainwash the entire population, starting with the most desperate citizens, including the youth.

Although many nonfiction books are hard to get through and are dry, this one has a voice to it that is deeper and more sensitive than most. You become connected to the people of Germany and the youth of the story, so it doesn’t matter if that I already know the outcome- you have to know how they make it out of their deceit filled situation.

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The Boy Who Dared
Author: Susan Campbell Bartoletti
Published February 1st, 2008 by Scholastic Press

Goodreads Summary: Bartoletti has taken one episode from her Newbery Honor Book, HITLER YOUTH, and fleshed it out into thought-provoking novel. When 16-year-old Helmut Hubner listens to the BBC news on an illegal short-wave radio, he quickly discovers Germany is lying to the people. But when he tries to expose the truth with leaflets, he’s tried for treason. Sentenced to death and waiting in a jail cell, Helmut’s story emerges in a series of flashbacks that show his growth from a naive child caught up in the patriotism of the times , to a sensitive and mature young man who thinks for himself.

My Review: Helmuth Hubener thought that Hitler was going to fix Germany, but the longer Hitler was in power, the more Helmuth realized that there was social injustice happening.

Based on a true story, The Boy Who Dared, accounts Helmuth’s life and the choices he makes. Told in flashback, I felt that some of the suspense is taken away since you know Helmuth’s current situation right from the beginning of the story; however, even with knowing the outcome, I wanted to read to figure out how Helmuth got there.

The exposition of the book helped me understand the extent of Helmuth’s society at the time which made me even more sympathetic then I would have been just jumping into Helmuth’s life. Although we all know about World War II and the Holocaust, unless you have read other books on World War II Germany, you may not understand the extent of Hitler’s power and brainwashing. With The Boy Who Dared, we follow Helmuth through his feelings about Hitler and the decisions he made.

This book is fabulous to read with the nonfiction book by Susan Campbell Bartoletti, Hitler Youth, which recounts the history around the Hitler Youth and what Helmuth was living through.

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Teacher’s Tools For Navigation: If I taught a grade level where the Holocaust or WWII was taught in history, I would love to use these books supplementally in English class. These books tell a story within WWII that isn’t normally taught in history and really shines a light on a different side of the story. It would be a great way to discuss point of view, persuasion, and propaganda. I can also see these being used in thematic sets and then in lit circles. Each book adds to a whole look at WWII.

Discussion Questions: After reading both books, why was Hitler able to manipulate and affect the youth of Germany the way he did?; How did Helmuth affect those around him? History?

We Flagged: “The dark streets were already flooded with thousands of excited people, who, like Melita, were running out to watch the victory parade in honor of Adolf Hitler… Melita couldn’t understand why her parents didn’t support a great man like Adolf Hitler, who said that a person’s money and titles didn’t matter.  All that mattered was whether a person contributed to the well-being of the people.” (Hitler Youth p. 15-16)

“It’s morning.  Soft gray lights slips over the tall redbrick wall.  It stretches across the exercise yard and reaches through the high, barred windows.  In a cell on the ground floor, the light shifts dark shapes into a small stool, a scrawny table, and a bed made of wooden boards with no mattress or blanket.  On that bed, a thin, huddled figure, Helmuth, a boy of seventeen, lies awake.  Shivering. Trembling.
It’s Tuesday.
The executioner works on Tuesday.” (The Boy who Dared p. 1)

Read These If You Loved: Parallel Journeys by Eleanor Ayers, Alfons Heck & Helen Waterford, Briar Rose by Jane Yolen, The Book Thief by Markus Zusak, Resistance (series) by Carla Jablonski, London Calling by Edward Bloor, Once (series) by Morris Gleitzman, The Berlin Boxing Club by Robert Sharenow, Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys

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