Author: dbassobrien

Review: Books in Verse

Yes, I have an obsession with books. I read a lot because there are so many good books out there, and I want to read them all. I keep a book journal where I record the books, I have read over the year. When I reviewed the books looking for a common theme, I noticed there were a lot of novels written in verse (poetry form) this last year.

Here’s a quick summary of them:

Clap When You Land by Elizabeth Acevado

This novel follows two characters: Caminos Rios who lives in the Dominic Republic and Yahaira Rios who lives in New York City and how their stories are intertwined when a plane crashes revealing secrets about their lives.

Starfish by Lisa Fipps

Fipps uses precise language to capture the emotions of Ellie, an overweight middle schooler, to cover topics of bullying, familial relationships as well as her interactions with her controlling mother who does not support her but rather makes her feel worse.

Alone by Megan Freeman

Alone follows Maddie’s story as her town is mysteriously evacuated, and she is left to fend for herself.

Red, White, and Whole by Rajani LaRocca

By the end of this book, I was crying. The connection LaRocca creates between the reader and her main character, Reha, as she struggles with her Indian American identity is so well captured in her word choice. While caught between two worlds, she is also learning to understand her mom’s disease.

The Red Pencil by Andrea Davis Pinkney

Amira dreams of going to school but her dreams are crushed when war breaks out and she cannot go to school and finds herself living in a refugee camp.

Punching the Air by Ibi Zoboi and Yusef Salaam

This is a story about Amal who was wrongly convicted of a crime and what this does to him as a teenager in a system he doesn’t belong.

Other Words for Home by Jasmine Warga

Jude emigrates from Syria with her mother to Cincinnati and leaves her dad and brother behind. She has to adjust to living in a new country with only  have her family where everything is new to her.

Becoming Muhammad Ali by Kwame Alexander and James Patterson

This story alternates between prose and verse as Patterson and Alexander tells the story of boxer Muhammad Ali through his teens as we meet his childhood friends, his life as a student, and his encounters with racism.

Graphic novels have been popular and still are, but I believe books in verse are starting to come in a close second.

Back Blogging

I know I have been quiet the past year (almost two years at this point) with my semi-regular blog posts. With the stress of being a teacher during the pandemic, I had to let something go and blogging seemed an easy enough one. I am feeling ready to try again and blog more regularly to communicate with parents and students about my learnings.

Just because I stopped blogging by no means did I stop learning, reading, or listening. In fact, I probably did more of all three of those things during my hiatus.

It has been a year of transitions. A transition into a new building. A transition being under new leadership. A transition having new students.

I would say, overall, even with all the ups and downs, I have been pretty satisfied with the school year. We have a great team who rallies around our students and leads with solutions. I, also, believe we have a group of parents who support us and the work we do.

However, I am sad to see such an exodus of teachers across the nation leaving the classroom and many the profession for so many reasons: stress, feeling attacked, underappreciated, and exhaustion. I would agree that I have not been this tired from work in my life. Maybe in college when I stayed up too late or when I had a newborn, but not from the daily pressures of my job. I am hoping that things are starting to come around and calm a little, but it could only be wishful thinking. Here’s to being back blogging, perhaps a good sign that life is starting to quiet.

Going Pointless: A Journey

As an English teacher, an anxiety can be “grading” papers. I have always told myself once you sit down and start reading student papers, it is never as bad as it seemed in my head, so just do it. I came to realize that the apprehension didn’t come from reading student papers, but rather from having to put a grade on it. To say, “this deserves an A or B or Q.” When I started teaching at The Crest Academy, I stopped putting letters on students papers and the fear lifted. I can only imagine how it dissipated for the students to not feel like their writing was being validated by an arbitrary letter or set of points.

This past summer, I was fortunate to meet Sarah Zerwin, an English teacher in Boulder and the author of Point-less: An English Teacher’s Guide to More Meaningful Grading. She put into words and extensive practice, what I had been attempting.

Zerwin’s philosophy is that learning is in our process and not just our products. We are looking to teach students positive learning behaviors (how they act while learning) rather than just to turn something in to check it off their to do lists. It is an opportunity for students to move away from behaviors that result in points and move them toward behaviors that results in learning. By removing a point system from this process, the hope is that students will chose to engage in the class more authentically.

We have completed 3/4 of our school year and it seems to be working. I have been able to share new language with students around learning plans and setting goals as well as telling the journey of their learning. Through their stories, they are able to share how they have struggled and succeeded in meeting their learning goals as well as how they have grown. They are able to pull examples (data) from Infinite Campus, their writer’s notebooks, and Google Classroom to revisit their learning for the semester. Students have been engaging in reading and writing extensively this year and it shows. They are able to self-monitor their progress.

Recently I read Simon Sinek’s book The Infinite Game and he writes: “The motivation to play in an infinite game is completely different — the goal is not to win but to keep playing” (p. 32). Sinek parallel’s the idea of guiding a student to want to engage in reading and writing meaningfully rather than to get it out of the way. I hope to guide students through an infinite game of learning rather than a finite one where they do the work to be done or move on or “play” the system, but rather feel proud of and confident in their learning. I work to create a culture where students want to have a desire to engage and are inspired, so they have a will to come to school and enter my classroom. They do the work for themselves rather than for me, the teacher. 

Through going point-less, it takes the pressure off of the students to perform for a grade on every task and see their learning as a whole where they can continuously read and write. They circle back to piece of writing and try new books, because they know their is a process, and they won’t be faulted along the journey.

Update on My Summer Studies

I haven’t forgotten about you. It has been a busy summer of learning.

When we last left off, I said I had some work to do. I am deep in it. I have been reading many books about race and equity. I have been listening to podcasts. I have been attending online seminars with experts on the topic. I am feeling more confident about joining students in the classroom with resources and discussions. This will be a long process, and I am just getting started. Please, feel free to share any resource ideas with me as I am busy gathering books for the classroom library and book sets to center our discussions.

This leads me to my other studies, which aren’t far removed from issues around race and equity. I spent a good portion of my summer weeks taking Colorado Writing Project II. I first took the course when I started with the Salida School District 12 years ago, and am thrilled to be reinvigorating writing workshop in my classroom this year. I have remembered old ideas, gained new ones, and prepared for both in person and online writing workshop with our students. I focused my research on “how I can help students find their voices, so people will listen to them.” I can’t wait to hear what they have to say! I am excited to get back into writing practice with students.

I know that with COVID there is so much uncertainty it makes our heads spin. Please, know we have all been working hard and can’t wait to be back with students.

 

 

Teaching Hard Topics: Racism

My knowledge of what is going on in the country regarding racism is limited, but what I do understand is that people are coming together to speak up against racism, justice, and freedom. I also know that I have received more emails than I can keep track of sharing resources and ideas and thoughts about how we can teach our children to develop their opinions and feelings about racism as well as how important it is to be educated about the topic.

This is a reminder to me that our children may be struggling to understand the current events, want to know more, and not sure where to start. As an English and Social Studies teacher:

  • I plan to, first, educated myself.
  • I would like to help bridge this gap with students as I help them to find their voice in their writing and share it with others.
  • I would like to have safe, yet difficult discussions with students about hard topics.
  • I would like to help students research their ideas to formulate their thinking, so people will listen.
  • I would like to listen to their worries and fears and help them make sense of them.

Though I am not an expert on the topic of racism, I hope to spend some time thinking, reading, and studying about how I can better educate myself and teach our children about it. Austin Channing Brown, author of I’m Still Here: Black Dignity in a World Made for Whiteness, reminded me that I am a ” . . . grown white . . . adults who can think critically on [my] own, who can read books and listen to podcast and study history and be self-reflective . . . and look at the world and say, ‘something is not right here, let me change the way I vote . . . let me go do.’ ” Brown also has a show called Next Question that might be a way to start conversations with your children. (I have not had a chance to watch any episodes, yet, but plan to spend some time with it.)

I know school starting in 2 1/2 months may seem like a while to wait, but the issues will still be relevant and important even if the spotlight moves somewhere else. If you are looking for a place to start, perhaps it could be by defining with your children “racist” or “racism”. I gathered from listening to Ibram X. Kendi, author of  How to Be an Antiracist and Director of the Antiracist Research and Policy Center at American University, that a good place to begin our discussion is with a definition of “racist” and “racism”. He would define “racism” as: “A collection of racist policies that lead to racial inequity that are substantiated by racist ideas.”  This definition might be difficult for our children to understand and most likely wouldn’t make sense to them. So, what is a definition that can give them confidence to start to understand the issues.

Here begins the work to better educate myself, so I can be a resource to better educate others. I welcome any ideas, fears, and hopes.

Students’ Top Books for 2019-2020 (Summer Reading)

The Crest Academy Top Books for  2019-2020

(Suggestions for Summer Reading)

Read some books!

Here are a few of my favorite young adult books I ready in the past 12 months:

  • You Got This (Non-fiction) by Maya Penn
  • Marcelo in the Real World by Francisco Stork
  • Scouts by Shannon Greenland
  • In the Shadows of the Sun by Anne Sibley O’Brien
  • White Bird (Graphic Novel) by RJ Palacio
  • New Kid (Graphic Novel) by Jerry Craft
  • Ban This Book by Alan Gratz
  • Shouting at the Rain by Lynda Mullaly Hunt
  • The Benefits of Being an Octopus by Ann Braden

Before I give you the students’ top books for the year, here is a quick reminder: If students have any of our school library books, please, gather them in their boxes that we distributed to be returned to school when we collect student boxes.

And here is the list of books the students suggested. Hopefully, between the two lists, students won’t run out of ideas!

  • The Hate U Give  by Angie Thomas
  • The Boy in the Striped Pajamas  by John Boyne
  • Uglies by Scott Westerfeld
  • My Side of The Mountain; Julie’s Wolf Pack  by Jean Craighead George
  • Soldier X by Don L. Wulffson
  •  The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
  • Starless Night by R.A. Salvatore
  • Dragons of Autumn Twilight by Weis & Hickman
  • The Wee Free Men by Terry Pratchet
  • Wild Robot; Wild Robot Escapes by Peter Brown
  • Lucky Broken Girl by Ruth Behar
  • Wrinkle In Time by Madeleine L’engle
  • Chicken Soup for the Pet Lover’s Soul by Multiple authors
  • A Dog’s Purpose; A Dog’s Journey; Ellie’s story by W. Bruce Cameron 
  • The 39 Clues Series by Jude Watson, Rick Riordan, Gordan Korman
  • Between Shades of Gray; Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys
  • Year of Yes! By Shonda Rhimes
  • Wicked by Gregory Maguire
  • The Prince and the Dressmaker by Jen Wang
  • Nevermoor Series by Jessica Townsend
  • Sunny Side Up by Jennifer L. Holm
  • Just Jamie by Terri Libenson
  • Fish In A Tree by Lynda Mullaly Hunt
  • Writing Radar bhy Jack Gantos
  • The Son of Neptune; The House of Hades; Kane Chronicles; Percy Jackson Series by Rick Riordan
  •  A Tale of Magic by Chris Colfer
  •  Fever 1793 by Laurie Halse Anderson
  • Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card
  • The Roar; The Whisper by Emma Clayton
  • The Misfitsby James Howe
  • Each Little Bird That Sings by Deborah Wiles
  • Harry Potter by JK Rowlings
  • The Hunger Games Trilogy by Suzanne Collins
  • Touching Spirit Bear by Ben Mikaelsen
  • Turnabout by Margaret Peterson Haddix
  • Sea Witch by Sarah Henning
  • Explorer Academy: Falcons Feather by Trudi Trueit
  • Moo a Novel by Sharon Creech
  • Front Desk by Kelly Yang
  • My Big Fat Zombie Goldfish by Mo O’Hara
  • Legend of Greg by Chris Rylander 
  • Dogman by Dav Pilkey
  • Goosebumps by RL Stine
  • The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky
  • The Help by Kathryn Stockett
  • The Catcher and the Rye by J.D. Salinger
  • The War I finally Won (this is a sequel) by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley
  • The Outsiders by SE Hinton
  • Ghosts of War Secret of Midway by Steve Watkins
  • Blood On the River by Elisa Carbone
  • Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe by CS Lewis
  • W.A.R.P. The Reluctant Assassin; W.A.R.P. The Hangman’s Revolution; W.A.R.P. The Forever Man by Eoin Colfer
  • Scare Scape by Sam Fisher
  • Alex Rider Stormbreaker; Evil Star by Anthony Horowitz
  • The Bridge Home by Padma Venkatraman
  • The Penderwicks at Last by Jeanne Birdsall
  • Jeremy Fink and the Meaning of Life; 12 Finally; A Mango Shaped Space by Wendy Mass
  • Diary of a Wimpy Kid – Wrecking Ball by Jeff Kinney
  • Wish by Barbra O’ Connor
  • A Long Walk To Water by Linda Sue Park
  • The Chaos of Standing Still by Jessica Brody
  • Guts by Raina Telgemeier
  • Gutsy Girls  by Tina Schwager & Michele Schuerger
  • Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer
  • Animals Make Us Human by Temple Grandin
  • Molly Moon Series by Georgia Byng
  • Dragonbreath Series by Ursula Vernon
  • The Boxcar Children by Gertrude Chandler Warner
  • Red Rising; Golden So; Morning Star by Pierce Brown

Mini Poem Books

Mini Poem Books

enjoy your classmates’ poems

Lucy’s Poem

Chloe’s Poem

Leo’s Poem

Sawyer’s Poem

Mikayla’s Poem

Grayson’s Poem

 

I attached a folder in an email with the files that were too big to publish!

Here’s What Students Are Reading

Not sure what to read next?

Enjoy your classmates’ book reviews and add to your “to read next list.”

Also, if you need new books, you can put them on hold at the library if they say they are “on the shelf”.

Book Reviews and Trailers

(in alphabetical order by author’s last name)

   

A

The Traveling Cat Chronicles By Hiro Arikawa  review by luna paine

This is the story of a man and his cat, a story full of adventure, friendships, joyful reunions and memories. 

Written from the point of view of a cat named Nana, The Traveling Cat Chronicles, is a book to remember. This book is full of  fun, lovable characters with interesting histories you get to learn about through reading. 

Taking place in Japan, It starts by introducing the main character, who happens to be a cat, and gives you a bit of information about him. The next character you meet is kind Satoru who befriends the cat and later gives him his name, Nana. Throughout the book you meet Satoru’s old friends that he hasn’t spoken to in years but he also never forgot, and slowly uncover his past.

The first of his friends you meet is one from Satoru’s childhood Kosuke, then you go on to meet one of his friends from junior High Yoshimine, and then his two friends from high school Sugi and Chikako. And the final stop they make is to visit Satoru’s aunt Norico. 

The way this story is told, the setting of the book switches from past to present, giving you the history of the characters you grow to love. Throughout the book Satoru and Nana travel to all sorts of different places, and meet all sorts of people. On the way they learn things and see all sorts of amazing sights. There are a lot of great stories and memories within this book, and it’s definitely worth the read, even if you’re not really a cat person. 

If you like books about traveling cats, and wild adventures, then you will enjoy reading The Traveling Cat Chronicles. Join Satoru and Nana as they travel across Japan on a journey you won’t forget.   

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The Chaos of Standing Still by Jessica Brody review by Emerson Reed

Have you ever had a flight delayed? Maybe even cancelled? Well imagine having to spend the night at the airport on New Years Eve without any family with you. Ryn goes through this adventure with one text message holding her back and a new surprise every turn she makes. 

I was first drawn to this book when I flipped it over and noticed a few key words, Denver International Airport and New Years Eve, my birthday. I continued skimming my eyes down the back cover and decided to give it a try. 

Ryn may just be like every other teenage girl but she lost her best friend to a car accident one year for New Years Day which she is trying to get home for. Due to a big snow storm her flight was cancelled and was forced to be stuck in the airport until the next day, New Years Day. With a night full of sadness, fun, hope, and much more she comes across many mysterious strangers. One she connects with a little more than the others just because they accidentally swapped phones. But this night is hard for her. She still hasn’t been able to let her best friend go. But tonight is the first time she’s trying to move on. But what is it that’s just holding her back from moving on with life.

I recommend this book to teenage girls because they will be able to relate to Ryn’s adventure the most. 

I would love to read some of the author, Jessica Brody’s other work because of how much I enjoyed this wonderful book. I 10/10 recommend it.

The Wild Robot By Peter Brown Review by harley Romero

I just finished the book Wild Robot. I would give this book a 4.5/5 star because it gives you emotions and so much detail. I didn’t give it all 5 stars because the chapters are short; this is just my opinion because I don’t like short chapters. 

I don’t really like robot stories and if you don’t like them rather than that’s okay but just try it out. I tried it out and I loved the book. 

I would recommend this book but just as a warning it may make you cry. One more warning is it ends on a cliffhanger. (Not literally it does actually end on a cliff but I used the expression because it ended so you read the next book). 

One of my favorite things about  the book is how the other combined animals and robots. One thing that I think could chand is how he sometimes repeats himself. Once again I WOULD recommend this book.

The Wild Robot Escapes By Peter Brown Review by Grayson Brown

What would you do if you lost someone you love?

Roz is a robot that was born on an island and had a gosling called Brightbill. She got caught by three RECO robots and was sent to her manufacturer. Then she got sent to a farm where she worked. The children there helped her escape the farm. She found her son and they went on the long journey to their island. Roz got caught again and got disintegrated but her mind got transferred to another body and she got to go back to her island.

I picked this book because I read the first book The Wild Robot. The first two sentences were from the first book.

When Roz got caught it reminded me of when my two sisters got caught trying to sneak to our neighbors house in Costa Rica. It also reminded me of when me and my sister got caught trying to sneak candy because my sister stomped down the stairs.

The Wild Robot Escapes will have you standing on end wanting to just keep reading! But read the first book first!

Red rising by pierce brown review by sam visitacion

Red Rising by Pierce Brown is the first book in an amazing trilogy. If you are into the dystopian future genre and books about mars and inhabiting other planets this is a good book for you. The back of the book summary is this…

His wife taken. His people enslaved. Driven by a longing for justice and the memory of lost love, Darrow will stop at nothing to bring down his enemies… even if he must become one of them to do so.

I don’t know about you but that sounds good to me. 

C

Chicken soup for the pet lover’s soul By Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen, Marty Becker, D.V.M., and Carol Kline Review By Livia Blondeau

If you’ve ever felt afraid or alone you know what all these people have felt. An older lady named Stella had to face her first Christmas alone. She felt lost. She didn’t even bother to put up the Christmas tree. But that Christmas eve there was a big surprise waiting for her at her door and that very night she had a chance to live life to the fullest and not live the life she had left alone.

The second I finished the story of Stella I broke into tears.The stories in this book will change you. It certainly changed me. I have been more hopeful than ever and I now realize that miracles can happen in the most unexpected ways and that reminds me of a really incredible story. The Topps family had a dog named snoopy and they were going to take a train to their new home. Now snoopy was an older dog and he wasn’t allowed to take the train with him. The family knew that they couldn’t give up on their seventeen year old dog and in the end I couldn’t believe the risk they took to save their beloved dog.

This book made me rethink things in a way that I never have and most of all, it made me happy!

The authors who wrote this book are incredible writers. The story of chicken soup for the pet lover’s soul is full of sadness, joy and excitement. I loved reading this book and I hope you all get a chance to have it to yourselves one day. The authors of this book are ordinary people and veterinarians and it lets us all know that ordinary people can do great things for great animals.

I hope you all read this book and enjoy all of the wonderful stories that give you a different perspective of life. 

My favorite quote in the book is in the story kitty magic at the end of the story one of the characters said, “She taught me to listen to my heart, even when my head is saying no.”

I think that chicken soup for the pet lover’s soul is a good book for anyone who is an animal lover or someone who likes inspiring stories and someone who is having a hard time. Whenever I’m mad or disappointed I go to my room and read these magical stories that can reach your heart.

This book is the most inspiring book that I have ever read and from this book I hope all of you are inspired to help the animals in our world that need a helping hand and when there is no one to do it, well now is your chance to be a hero.

the perks of being a wildflower By Stephen Chbosky review by chloe Kelley

Could you imagine going into high school without any friends or idea of what to expect? Well, take the exciting journey full of twisty turns and obstacles with Charlie Kelmeckis. This book is all about Charlie’s freshman year that includes, trying to make new friends, high school parties, college, family issues, girlfriends, and school work all into one fabulously written book. Charlie has some slight autistic tendencies, though it never confirmed that he has a disability in the book. After Charlie’s favorite aunt’s passing, he has some issues with depression, although after Charlie found three great friends, Sam, Patrick, and Mr. Bill Anderson, Charlie´s advanced English teacher. Bill helps Charlie realize that even though he struggles socially he is very, very, smart and has a knack for reading and writing. Sam and Patrick help Charlie realize that he is a very special person and nobody should tell him otherwise. Sam and Patrick are seniors who help Charlie a lot with getting through freshman year. At the beginning CHarlie is very shy and doesn’t have many friends and at the end Charlie sticks up for his friend Patrick by punching Brad who was making fun of Patrick for being gay. All in all, I think The Perks of Being a Wallflower is an amazing book and so inspiring to watch Charlie grow as a person and I highly recommend this book.

moo by sharon creech review by hanna kanar

When Reena’s parents decide to move to Maine, Reena doesn’t know what to expect. She is excited for the lobster, beach and blueberries, but instead she gets the cold and to top it all off her parents decide to volunteer her and her brother Luke as an eccentric neighbor named Mrs. Falala and her very normal cow named Zora. When Mrs. Falala sees Luke’s drawings she wants to start, Luke and Mrs. Falala sit and draw while Reena does all of the yard work and takes care of Zora and the other animals.

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The Graveyard Book By Neil Gaiman Review by Grady Harris

Ever felt out of place well that’s what Nobody Owens feels all the time.

A tragic event rendered Nobody Owens an orphan until he was taken under the arm of the graveyard and only had one human he could be in contact named Silas who was his legal guardian. Nobody knows and Body feels out of place amongst the ghosts and yearns for some more human interaction. Everything changes when Bod meets the girl who is eight like he is then. After that Bod wants to be free of the graveyard boundaries and act like a regular human but there’s a reason he was held there. 

The Graveyard Book is a book that is good for eleven through thirteen year olds. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes a good mystery and a little bit of fantasy intertwined into it.  

my side of the mountain Book By jean craighead george Review by Talus anderson

Hello, my name is Talus Anderson and today I’m going to be Giving my opinion on the book My Side of the Mountain. My Side of the Mountain is a really great book because It is full of Adventure. For example a kid named Sam goes up on the mountain because he wants to run away from home. It also has a lot of survival because he doesn’t go up with anything besides a knife so he has to find food and cook it himself and also find shelter.It’s a really great book from 4th grade to 6th grade it is not too hard to read. I myself liked it so much  that now it’s my favorite book. The reason why I like it is because it is full of Adventure and I just can’t stop reading it  because it’s just so fun to read to me. Maybe you should give it a try sometime.

refugee by alan gratz review by izzy hughes

Summary: Refugee by Alan Gratz, a story filled with heroism, history, and the relationship of family. Our story starts off with 3 main characters, in 3 different time periods. Josef is a Jewish boy who lived in Germany in the late 1930’s. Isabel, a Cuban girl who lived in the mid 1990’s. And a Syrian boy named Mahmoud in 2015. The theme of the book is simple, survival. Survival for themselves but also for their families. From sea to sea Gratz somehow connects these stories, even though each is completely different. If you read this book, you will get sucked in just like Isabel does when she tries to escape! Oh no I don’t want to spoil anything! So go read refugee by Alan Gratz. 

Personal Opinion: I read books, not many but I do, and by far this is one of the best!

I really enjoy the aspect of having 3 different stories, and non-fictional history is a personal favorite. I love how the stories are so different, it goes from modern day technology like iPhones, to facts about World War 2. So if you like history, adventure, and a little bit of hardship, I highly recommend this book to you.

**warning this book review may be intense**

Zodiac Unmasked By Robert Graysmith Review by irene alvarez

This book Zodiac Unmasked by Robert Graysmith is a very entertaining one for people that like to read about true crimes. The book is about the notorious serial killer who called himself, the Zodiac. The killer terrorized California from the 1960s to the 1970s. The story of the killer is very known because not only of his killing spree, but also he liked to taunt the law enforcement with letters and codes that he created. Although he sent them many clues of who he might be, the Zodiac’s identity still remains a mystery to everyone.  

At the time of the murders, Graysmith was a cartoonist at San Francisco Chronicles. He took an interest in the case when the Zodiac sent letters to the Chronicle demanding that they were published. He also demanded that he got recognition for the other murders that he claimed he had done. Graysmith became obsessed with the killer and after ten years worth of research he published his book Zodiac. In that book he talks about his best suspect. In Zodiac Unmasked Robert Graysmith uses the suspect’s real name, Arthur Leigh Allen. Since he published his first book Allen had died and it gave Graysmith an opportunity to use his real name. 

Robert Graysmith spends just over 400 pages to describe why he believes Allen is the killer and all of the evidence against him. There was a lot of evidence that suggested that Allen indeed was the killer, but there was no definite proof. The book leaves a lot of blank spaces and makes many readers have many questions. The number one question asked about the book is, did Graysmith falsely accuse Allen of being the killer.  

 Whether or not Allen was the killer. The investigators never understood what the motive was, but they assumed that the Zodiac was thrilled about the attention he was gaining.

 The book includes evidence from all of the murders that the killer had committed and all of the survivors/witnesses descriptions. 

H

The outsiders by SE Hinton review by Melissa lang

What would you do if you spent your childhood running from the same hungry gang every day with no parents to run into their hands and cry. In the Outsiders By: S.E.Hinton Ponyboy fights not just for his life but the life of his brothers and the lives of the rest of the Greasers.

The Outsiders is a book about 2 gangs, the rich Socs and the poor Greasers. In the book Ponyboy 14,  lives with his 2 brothers Dallas/Dally and Sodapop/Soda in a small run down house. Their parents died in a car crash and left the income and the boys on Dally. Ponyboy’s best friend in the gang is Johnny. Johnny 15, has gotten beat up the worst and always carries a switchblade in his back pocket for safety. His parents are 2 drunks and don’t care about Johnny at all. Soda 16, and Steve 16, are best friends Socs is a drop out to help with money and he thinks he is dumb. Steve is also a drop out and his parents don’t care about him either. Dally 21, is like the Dad of the group, the responsible one, the tough one and he feels he needs to take care of Johnny. Darry 19, is the outlaw of the group he never ever follows the law he has been wanted a few times and does not care about the cops. And last but not least is two-bit 18 he is the one who brings Joy to the group and loves to hang out with the young ones Pony and Johnny but all tho age wise he should be hanging out with the older ones. And is sometimes like a pony and Johnny’s babysitter. 

What might surprise you this book is full of dirty ruff boys but this book is by a woman.

This book will take you all over the place to the movies, a fountain, an old church, the hospital and a vacant lot. When you read this you will feel like you are best friends with the boys, and when there is a death you will ball your eyes out.

Swing It, Sunny by Jennifer L. Holm Book Trailer by Lily Egbert

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diary of a wimpy kid by Jeff kinney Book Trailer by Kayla pursell

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The Unwanteds By Lisa McMann Book review by Clara Harris

How would you feel if, just because you drew a picture in the dirt, you were to be brought to the death farm and thrown into a lake of boiling oil? I would be petrified, and that was just how Alex felt, Petrified. But see, the thing was that it was not fair, he was being split apart from his twin, identical twin, Aaron. On the bus you are not allowed to talk. If you do, the governor’s cast a warning glance at you, but it was pointless as you were about to die anyways. 

There in Quill, you are not allowed to show emotion. If you do, elimination or death will be in place for you, but first they gave you the title Unwanted just to just to rub it in. The High Price Justine thought this was perfect, safe, and normal. It obviously is not. She thought it was a good idea to sort kids into 3 categories; wanted, necessarie, and unwanted. Alex was an unwanted, obviously.

Back on the bus, they got off and entered the death farm, everyone called it that. Alex found a girl named Megan, they had known each other back in Quill. Samheed, a mean boy, ended up being their friend. They are all thirteen, so friends are important.  Actually, scratch that, there was one girl who her father could not wait to get rid of, Lani, Alex assumed she was 12. (He was right.) How they got there to a magical land called Artimé was a giant tortoise flew down and made a piercing white light, then all was clear and they were standing in a beautiful green lawn, speckled with flowers and bushes and stuff of that sort, with a forest in the background with all different animals in it.  Where there used to be a tan cement building, there was a sparkling mansion. 

Then, a man wearing crazy robes walked over, “How does it feel to be eliminated?” But they were really saved by magic, Not eliminated. They were all dazed by this place, so bright and colorful. Quill forbade colors, so it was all brown like the earth. Quill was a miserable place for those kids, but all they knew. 

The kids got a tour and then went off to their rooms and to explore the mansion. The next day the classes began. Alex took art, Megan music, and Samheed took theater. The art teacher was Ms. Octavia, an octopus with an alligator snout. The music teacher was Ms. Morning, and the theater was Mr, Appleblossum. All the kids got into magic pretty fast, Megan taking the lead, except Alex. Mr. Today, the creator of this magic wonderland was an old fellow and was afraid that Alex’s connection to Quill, his brother, would get them discovered, so he held Alex back. When Mr. Today saw what he was doing wrong, he let Alex into magic training, and just in time, when he got in he immediately caught up to the kids his age. The nice thing about Mr. Today, was he let the students do almost anything they wanted, Including making spells of their own. When the students were sitting on the lawn, the High Price Justene and her Quillatary, just like the military but for Quill, Came in, the gate that closed off the magical land called Artimé was locked from the outside. That is why it was just in time. She let herself in. Mr. Today went to talk to her. He called out that all students go into lockdown inside. Murmures spread through the crowd about what was happening. Later, their magical blackboards, Alex’s blackboard’s name was Clide, said to get some sleep, something big will happen in the morning. 

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Kisses From Katie by Katie Majors Review by Eiley BlonDeau

When Katie Davis goes on a mission trip during Christmas break to Uganda, her life is changed.  When she saw all the needs (and the incredible amount of poverty) she knew that she had to return to Uganda and care for the people of the village.  She had to leave everything.  She left her parents, her brother, her friends and her boyfriend to move to Uganda. Katie never knew that this was the place that God had chosen for her, and that God would work many miracles through her.  Katie ended up adopting thirteen children, established a ministry called Amazima, which means truth in the Ugandan language. This ministry provides food for hundreds of people and sends many other children to school, educating them and teaching them about Jesus Christ.   

Katie’s story will make you laugh, cry, and hope as you read her amazing story.

“It wasn’t because of anything I did; it was because I serve an unbelievably gracious God who will honor a willing and obedient heart”. 

Katie followed God to Uganda and he worked many miracles through her.  She was able to do this because she obeyed god with a willing and obedient heart.

This book inspired me to pay more attention to God and listen to what he is saying to me.  I recommend this book to any one and every one.  I rate this book a 10 because it is very inspiring and it shows very powerful acts of love and hope and we all could use a lot more of that in this crazy world we live in.    

Touching Spirit bear by Ben Mikaelsen Review by Fisher HOlloway-O’Brien

 A truly artful and moving book. It touches a deep consciousness of the angry juvenile delinquent in us all. It shows that even the worst of us have reasons for it. Some of what we do is influenced by how others have treated us in the past. The process of healing yourself, forgiving others, forgiving yourself and then helping others whom you have hurt.

 The circle is part of everything. Justice is a circle. Commit a crime, serve time, then make it right again. Life is a circle. You are born, you live then you die. Yes, even death is part of life.  In touching spirit bear, Cole Matthews comes to this alarming discovery after he is mauled, and almost killed by a spirit bear, an all-white bear that lives in southern Alaska, wich sparks a change in him, to heal himself and heal those he hurt

Touching Spirit bear by Ben Mikaelsen Review by carson mcconathy

Touching Spirit Bear is a book about a juvenile delinquent who is sentenced to a year of isolation on an island. On the second night he gets mauled by the spirit bear. He is taken off the island and after several months of recovery he decides to go back to the island. I really enjoyed this story because it was very entertaining and had a really good moral behind it. It shows how much a person can change in isolation. It somewhat relates to our current situation of quarantine except we can still talk with others. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who wants a good story with good morals.

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A Long Walk to Water By Linda Sue Park review by Sawyer pack

This book has a many characters but there are two main ones Salva Dut, and Nya. Salva Dut was separated from his family during a civil war in what is now South Sudan. He has to walk for weeks with only the hope that one day he will find his family again. Salva also struggles to find food and water to survive along with avoiding rebels, lions and other threats. Salva leads one thousand five hundred fellow lost boys to a refugee camp near the Gilo River. On his way, many people die including his uncle and some of his friends. Seven years later, he arrives in America. He lives with a family in Rochester, New York. Years later, he finds his father who tells him that most of his family survived. Hearing that, Salva starts a volunteer group to build wells in South Sudan called “Water for South Sudan”. He helps others in need of clean water in South Sudan.

Nya is an 11-year-old girl who walks eight hours every day to get water from the pond. She and her family live in South Sudan in 2008. Her family home is far from the nearest pond, she walks there twice a day to support her parents and younger sister, Akeer. She also has a little brother that her mom takes care of at home. During the story, her sister, Akeer, gets sick because the water was contaminated. Later in 2009, a well is built in her village so she will not have to walk so far and drink unsafe water. A school is built along with the well and Nya is overjoyed by this. She then introduces herself to Salva Dut at the end of the book, she was confused by the fact that Salva, a person from the Dinka tribe would help her village of the Nuer tribe.

This book made feel very fortunate that we live in America where most houses have running water. I was also very impressed that Salva and Nya persevered and fought through these long walks so that they could either help their families or try to be reunited with their families. I think that this book is great for anybody that likes stories that are a little sad but turn out good in the end. I also think that this is a good book for people who may be interested in the lost boys.

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The Red Pyramid by Rick Riordan Review by Ani DeShazo

Carter Kane and his dad have traveled all around the world together. Julius Kane, Carter’s dad, is an archaeologist and travels around to find Egyptian ruins. Sadie Kane lives with her grandparents. After her mom’s death, her grandparents separated her from her brother and dad. When their dad is imprisoned in a magical box and the world is put in danger, they must work together to stop a mighty god and have humans and gods work as one. 

The story switches out between the point of view of Carter and Sadie Kane. This great book brings excitement and adventure. I would recommend this book to people who like action, adventure, and problem solving.   

Put this book on your list today!

Magnus Chase by Rick Riordan review by Fisher Holloway-O’Brien

Rick Riordan writes about a new gaggle of gods: the Viking gods. Although Thor is nothing like the marvel movies, and the overlap between it and Percy Jackson is kind of weird, Rick is back at it again. Excitement never ends when 16 year old Magnus Chase is killed and sent to the Viking warrior heaven called Valhalla, a place where those who have died a noble death go to train for Ragnarok, the final battle. 

But Ragnarok may come around sooner than it seems, as the devious Loki, god of tricks, stirs in his magical bonds trying to escape and lay waste to the known world with only Magnus and his fellow honorable dead.

 The House Of Hades by Rick Riordan review by Leo Nudge

How would you feel if you were stuck in Tartarus trying to escape and close the doors of death so the monsters could not escape? That’s what happens to two of the main characters, Percy and his girlfriend, Annabeth. While Percy and Annabeth are in Tartarus, their friends Jason, his girlfriend Piper, Leo, Frank, Hazel, and Coach Hedge, who is a satyr, are above ground. The challenge for the friends is to close the doors of death and make it back to the mortal world alive. The doors of death can only be fully closed when shut on two sides: the mortal world and Tartarus. 

The group of friends above ground is trying to save Annabeth and Percy and close the doors of death on the other side before Gia awakens! From what Rick Riordan explained about Taurus so far it reminds me of when me, my dad, and our friends visited an inactive volcano. Hecate thinks that Hazel can manipulate the mist which is what makes mortals not see what is actually happening. Do you think Hazel can manipulate the mist? 

Percy and Annabeth are following the Phlegethon which is the river of fire. You can drink it but it doesn’t taste good. While they are walking, they hear empousai, which are Greek vampires, who they follow for a while. Eventually Annabeth and Percy get to a cliff and they have to find a way down the dangerous cliff. When they finally reach the bottom they start walking but there is one problem: they are out in the open. They notice the empousai are gone….But then, “hissss” the empousai appear!  It is a losing battle because they are outnumbered a dozen to two, and Annabeth does not have a weapon. Do you think Percy and Annabeth will survive the rest of the way? 

I think this book is amazing. I started liking Rick Riordan in 4th grade when our teacher read The Lightning Thief. It was Rick Riordan’s first kids’ book. That was in the first Percy Jackson series. I read the entire series and read the Heroes of Olympus series as well. This includes, The Last Hero,The Son of Neptune, The Mark of Athena, The House of Hades, and The Blood of Olympus. I own all of the books in the Heroes of Olympus series and I highly recommend reading them!

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire By JK Rowling Review by Levi Hamilton

How would you like to be entered without knowing in a competition that could put your life in danger when you already are in life threatening danger?

In Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Harry Potter (A wizard that’s unusual even by wizarding standards) is asked this question, and, although he doesn’t like it, he has to do the competition. In this book you can get your fill of suspense, excitement, and even some grief. 

Once you start this book it’s practically impossible to put the book down until you finish it. I love this book and it might be my favorite book of the whole series, (which happens to be my favorite series). 

When I started this series, no one in my family had read it, in fact, it was one of my classmates who started me on the series. Once I got into it, I convinced my mom to try it, now she loves it. I also got my sister to start it too, my dad, well, I’m still working on him.

This is a great book and I would highly recommend it. I hope to see that you will love it as much as I do. 

Will Harry be able to win the tournament; much less stay alive?

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Legacy book one of the Legacy of the Drow Series by R.A. Salvatore Review by: Finn Blackburn

How would you feel millions of miles underground, dark elves on all sides and the lives of your friends hanging on the balance.

Drizzt Do’urden had hoped and believed that he would never see his evil kin again after he left the evil ways of the Drow or dark elves. After he had left the starless nights of the underdark he started wandering, in the past series Icewind Dale he met 4 friends and they made an unstoppable team or so they thought.

Legacy book one of the Legacy of the Drow by R.A. Salvatore is a masterpiece of quick thinking and dedication everyone will enjoy and you will become attached to the unlikely group, a Dwarf king, a renegade Drow, a girl who was raised by dwarfs, a halfling thief, and a legendary barbarian. 

I would recommend this to anyone who likes books like the Lord of the Rings, Rangers Apprentice or Inheritance, it is one of my most favorite stories. I hope you enjoy it too.

Between Shades of Gray By Ruta Sepetys Review by scarlett campbell

One of the books I’ve loved reading is “Between Shades of Gray” by Ruta Sepetys. This book is about 15-year-old Lina and her family’s long, hard, and journey from deportation out of Lithuania to Siberia that may bring tears to your eyes. Along the way, it feels as if you’re hearing her story, as if you’re sitting right next to her. There’s suffering, loss, laughter, hope, and even love. 

The reason I chose this book was because it seemed different from other works of historical fiction I’ve read in the past, and it definitely was. This book did an amazing job on elaborating on a different side of World War 2, and recognizing a community of people that suffered in a time where hope was wished among all.

I would recommend this book to lovers of historical fiction, and readers that are utterly fascinated by the war that made history forever. Please, check out this book from your local library, or wherever else you may happen to find it. I hope this book moves you as much as it moved me. Happy reading. 

Shiver By Maggie Stiefvater Review by lucy hughes

Shiver is the kind of book that checks off every bullet point that a good book needs. Fantasy, romance, cliff-hangers, plot-twists, everything, even different points of view. This 392 page book is exactly what you need to read next. 

Grace has always been interested in the wolves behind her house, but especially one wolf in particular. When one of the wolves is shot, the truth finally comes out. Every summer, the wolves turn into humans, but there’s a catch. After a while, they can’t turn back human.

 The wolf that was shot? A 19 year old boy/wolf named Sam, is the werewolf Grace is in love with. When he accidentally gets shot, Grace takes care of him. Before you know it, they are in love. Yet, there’s something Sam isn’t telling Grace, once it gets too cold, he’ll never be able to become human again. When a local boy gets bitten and turned into a werewolf, the whole town is in a rage to get rid of the wolves of mercy falls. 

 Plot-twist after, plot-twist, death, and realization all makes you not able to put the book down. 

The help by Kathryn Stockett book Trailer by Emery Kelley

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Students Self-Advocate

I wrote my first draft of this blog and then realized the voice of it was all wrong, so here is a second attempt and a chance for me to connect it to what might matter now.

This week, I finished reading Phyllis Fagell’s book Middle School Matters: The 10 Key Skills Kids Need to Thrive in  Middle School and Beyond and How Parents Can Help. I realized it is a time when parents feel like they need to help their kids because everything is so new and it is the first time we are experiencing social distancing and distance learning. This gave me the idea of how this book can connect to distance learning. Though there are sections on socializing, negotiating conflict, and cultivating passion, I will only focus on three of the ten key skills.

Before I zoom in, here are Fagell’s ten key skills:

(1) Make good friend ; (2) Negotiate conflict; (3) Manage a student-teacher mismatch; (4) Create homework and organization systems; (5) Consider other’s perspectives; (6) Self-advocate; (7) Self-regulate emotions; (8) Cultivate passions and recognize limitations; (9) Make responsible, healthy, and ethical choices; (10) Create and innovate.

As we engage with middle school students, Ken Ginsburg, co-director of the Center for Parent and Teen Communication at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, reminds us that teens are wondering: “Who am I?” “Am I normal?” and “Do I fit in?” These questions can affect all of the skills Fagell writes about, so we can keep these in mind as we spend time with our children.

The three areas I would like to elaborate on are not necessarily self-explanatory, or we, as a parent or a teacher, might need some help knowing how much we should step in or how our children can learn and practice these skills over the next several weeks.

Manage a student-teacher mismatch: “Kids can learn from a teacher they don’t like. It’s a chance to practice working with someone they find difficult. This is a life skill they’ll need in the workplace, and it requires understanding themselves” (5).

Students might begin to feel frustrated with us as they are not understanding what our expectations are or the work might be hard because we aren’t teaching them face-to-face, but we can remind them that that everyone is trying their best and all doing something that is new and challenging.

I believe managing this mismatch can be important as they move on to high school and have more teachers as well as when they are working in a group or team and don’t always love their group members or teammates. If they can learn this skill now, it will benefit them later.

We can ask our children these questions to help them listen without judging their teachers, peers, or parents: “Why do you think they did that?” and “Where do you think they were coming from?”

Create homework and organization systems: “Ideally, children, not teachers or parents, take ownership of homework and grades. Kids may say they don’t care, but they don’t have to be invested in a particular outcome to change their behavior. . . They need to be able to create and tweak their organization systems and learn to monitor and take responsibility for their own work. . . They need to learn to carry the burden and experience the connection between preparation and performance” (5).

I think this will be especially important as students are expected to manage their own time, work load, and work space. Let’s help our children figure out tools that work for them (and for us) to know what they need to get done for the day, and how they will go about doing it. (Another tip to help our children get started on their work is to ask how long they think it will take to complete the task.) We can help them create these systems and tools and then we can let them manage themselves. They may need more support at the beginning as they learn these responsibilities, but eventually, we can ease up and use taglines such as “I believe you can do this on your own.”

If we can work with our children now, in the long run, these simple routines can help and then our children begin to take ownership because we aren’t saving them every time we have to remind them to do something. Though it is understandable that each kid will have different needs we can work to not lower our expectations of them but rather think about what we can change to help support them child.

Self-advocate: “This is hard for adults, let alone kids, but it’s imperative in a world full of people who’ll tell them ‘no.’ By middle school, kids should be mastering how to ask teachers for help or clarification” (6).

Distance learning is a great chance for students to communicate openly and honestly with teachers and administrators when they need help or better understanding. I look forward to students practicing their proper email format and setting up times to video chat or call me when they are stuck on their work. This is a chance for parents to encourage their students to reach out to teachers parents can read emails, before students send them, to coach on proper email etiquette and wording.

It’s a chance for students to learn. And as we learn, we might make some mistakes and that is okay.  There will be mistakes along the way, but as we practice skills, we usually get better.

Jessica Lahey, author and former teacher, shares that students should be the ones taking responsibility, doing the communicating, and understanding what they need to be successful and happy (134).

I found some of the principles in Fagell’s book are similar to what I have learned from Love and Logic which is to give our kids choices such as when they would like to do their work or if they would like to email or talk with a teacher. We can give some parameters and also help them create checklists, check their planners, or do a weekly backpack overhaul (or, for distance learning, an overhaul of their work space).

This seems especially pertinent now as we stay home for distance learning that students can create their own routines, checklists, and communication with teachers and parents.

As students are doing work, if they seem to get frustrated, here are some questions to help get them unstuck:

  • Does it feel irrelevant?
  • Are you disorganized?
  • Are you trying to be a perfectionist?
  • Are you having a hard time getting started?
  • Are you getting distracted by being online?
  • Is the space your are doing your work the best space for productivity?
  • Do you need a break?

Again, I thank you for your presence with your children in these challenging times. Our own self-care is also important, and I hope these ideas can help you have more calm and peace for yourselves now and in the future as our children begin to take more ownership over their own learning.

Mood Meter

Even before these uncertain times, I had intentions of writing this post as middle school often brings uncertain times for our children. They feel like they are going to be stuck here forever. It is our job to help them feel okay sitting in their emotions, whether a friend has decided to hang out with someone else, or they didn’t do their work the way they wanted and are now disappointed in themselves.

I, recently, read Permission to Feel by Marc Brackett, and he gave me a new way to look at feelings. For so long, I have used the Non-Violent Communication concept of what am I feeling and what do I need to help guide my understanding of emotions. I use the list of feelings from this book to help ground me.  From Permission to Feel, I learned about the Mood Meter. It helps to divide up our feelings a little deeper by using pleasantness as the x axis and energy on the y axis and then a gradient of colors in each quadrant.

Top right yellow: pleasantness and energy (happy, excited, optimistic)

Top left red: low pleasantness but high energy (angry, anxious, frustrated)

Bottom right green: high pleasantness but low energy (peaceful, contented, serene)

Bottom left blue: low pleasantness and energy (depressed)

There is even an app you can download to keep track of your mood or to help our children keep track of their moods. Here is a short video to explain it further:

Yale Emotional Intelligence: Mood Meter from Mark W on Vimeo.

Brackett also discusses in his book the 5 Skills (RULER) to help us with our emotions:

Recognizing the occurrence of an emotion — by noticing a change in one’s own thoughts, energy, or body or in someone else’s facial expression, etc. 

Understand those feelings and determine their source — what experiences actually caused them — and then see how they’ve influenced our behaviors

Label emotions with a nuanced vocabulary

Express our feelings in accordance with cultural norms and social contexts in a way that tries to inform and invite empathy from the listener.

Regulate emotions, rather than let them regulate us, by finding practical strategies for dealing with what we and others feel. 

Brackett emphasizes the importance of understanding the emotion. He asks us to be emotional scientists and ask questions rather than judge our children or ourselves. Here are some questions we can ask our children to help us better understand their needs and our role:

  • What might have happened to cause this feeling?
  • What usually makes you feel this way?
  • What’s going on that you’re feeling this way?
  • What were you doing just before you started to feel this way? Who were you with?
  • What do you need right now? What can I do to support you?

Another recommendation from the book is a Family Charter (How do we want to feel as a family? ). Brackett describes it as:

“A written document/pact that details how everybody in your home wishes to feel. It also includes a list of commitments that everyone in the family will make to one another to create the best possible home environment” (181).

You may not have time to read his entire book but here is some more information from Brackett and his team at the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence.

I ask in these uncertain times that we acknowledge our own emotions as well as help our children to understand theirs.

Thanks for being a parent who is working toward being encouraging, patient, present, understanding, and everything else our kids need.