title

The art of character crafting

Hello and Happy First Blog Post for this Fall Challenge! 

I started reading this book, Merci Suarez Changes Gears, a while ago (because it's the 2019 Newbery Award Winner!) and this challenge is just what I needed to push myself back into reading. 

Currently, the main character, Merci Suarez, is in her Social Studies classroom with her bossy friend, Edna.  In this chapter, we are getting to know her teacher, Ms. Tannenbaum.  Mrs. Tannenbaum has introduced a big group project and the students are brainstorming materials.  Merci has an idea but her overbearing friend, Edna is the only voice being heard.  Ms. Tannenbaum approaches the group and the author, Meg Medina, begins to introduce this teacher through Merci's thoughts.  I am always fascinated by the inferences a reader can make from the author's craft of writing. 
 "Just then, Mr. Tannenbaum, who has been circling the room, stops by our group.  I look down at her feet.  There's a tiny tattoo on her ankle, which Abuela would hate."..... 

"Ms. Tannenbaum tugs on her earings.  They're tiny mummies, I notice.  She smells nice, too.  Like laundry detergent and baby powder...."

"She smiles.  Her teeth have a little space between them in front..... her blue eyes dart around, hopefully. 

"Ms. Tannenbaum has a picture of herself on a misty footbridge in Peru.  She went to the Canary Islands to learn how they talk in whistles in the mountains.  She went to Africa to help protect gorillas.  She's basically a courage machine in every way."

So, without every being directly introduced to this teacher, I know as a reader that she is someone I want to be!  Seriously, in Africa to protect gorillas?  I can tell she's a free spirit, adventurous, maybe even a bit of a rebel.  I can tell Merci admires her and based on this chapter, will likely build a mentor-type relationship with her as the story unfolds. 

I'm also predicting as the story unfolds, Merci will find her voice and stand up against her overbearing friend, Edna.  :)

Until next week! 
Dr. K.

Wrinkle in Time

A Boy Called Bat

Have you heard of The Global Read Aloud Project?  If you were fortunate to attend the ISLA conference in Ft. Wayne, you had the opportunity to hear Pernille Rip speak.  Since I read one of last year's book, A Long Walk to Water, I wanted to tap into one of this year's GRA books! 

I shared the website and information about the global read aloud project with my daughter's third-grade teacher. She was interested, so I ordered her the book for middle-grade readers, A Boy called Bat. It has been so fun to watch her connect with other classes around the world through this project. She is using the platform Seesaw for this connection.   Audrey is really enjoying this book at school, so I ordered another copy so I could check it out myself.

This book centers on a boy who wants to show his mom that a skunk can make the perfect pet. The mom is a veterinarian and brought the skunk home initially as a rescue.   So far, I have been most impressed with the author's ability to juxtapose traits of the skunk with the 10-year-old boy, who is autistic. It's quite brilliant actually.  

On the opening page, the reader meets Bat and learns he does not like to eat leftovers, sliced cheese, or most yogurt flavors. On the next pages, the author quickly introduces a number of Bat’s other “quirks” – oversensitive hearing, flapping his hands, and being particular about the way his possessions are organized, which are autistic traits. Early in the story, the mom does bring home the skunk. Bat loves the skunk so much, in fact, that he is able to overcome some of his daily obstacles.

I love this book because it highlights important inclusive educational practices. It would be great to study point of view or sensory perception.   I am looking forward to continuing this book and learning more about how he overcomes his challenges, and if he's able to convince his mom to keep the pet skunk!

Until next week,

Dr. Kingsley

Lost in a Maze

Another week and a few more tallies towards my book challenge count. This week, I started reading Flora & Ulysses by Kate DiCamilo and have nearly finished listing to Maze Runner by James Dashner.  Listening to books in the car has definitely helped to make my commute to and from campus more interesting.  I traveled some this weekend, which also gave me some additional driving and listening time.  

I’m going to solely discuss the Maze Runner.  I’m not sure if it’s because I’m listening to this text, but I have anticipated the book nearing its ending only to find that it continues to keep going and going like the Energizer Bunny!  I am enjoying the book; however, the plot is seeming to continue on past its expiration date, and the clues are slow to reveal themselves.

Throughout this novel, I’ve been viewing the maze through Thomas’s eyes, trying to figure out the puzzle and how ingenious the author has been to place the clues as “breadcrumbs” along the way.  I know at the end of the novel, I’ll use those “breadcrumbs” (analogy only) to find my way back through the novel—realizing missed insights along the way.  

I love how the author uses native terms, “or glader slang,” only known to the Gladers.  It’s sure is a creative way to emphasize voice using nonsense terms, which obviously represent common curse word (i.e. shank, klunk, shuck face).  I’m still on the fence regarding the author’s writing style.  Although straightforward and representative of a 5th-grade reading level, he seems to overuse appositives to the point of distraction to the reader—always starting a sentence with incomplete thoughts.  And, he has the innate ability to leave the reader in a constant state of constant confusion (which I guess is the goal!) 

I feel like the book will have a surprising ending—one that I cannot even begin to predict.  Something with the magic window of disappearance in the cliff?  Something with Gally being a villain perhaps?  I’m wondering how this make-shift environment works – where is this maze and their society within the World?  Also, it seems Thomas has a violent and painful past.  Will this past be revealed?   I’m close to the end and my desire to finish the book is primarily based on getting some answers to all my questions! 

I also find myself while reading thinking about how the plot might be represented in the movie that is out?  It’ll be interesting if I'm able to find time to watch the movie and compare the two texts.   

Dr. Kingsley

A "Wish" a Day . . .

I am so excited about this book for many reasons.  I picked this book up at the school bookfair after parent-teacher conferences with my girls.  

I was told by my middle daughter, Audrey, (the one who reads the same graphic novels OVER and OVER again) that she was reading "too fast"  and often "rushing" through her reading, which in turn, is affecting her comprehension.  I knew it was time to stop having her read independently before bed and pick up a new and exciting book to read together.  

Wish by Barbara O’Connor is about a ten-year-old girl, Charlemagne (Charlie) Reese, who has been sent to the hillbilly town of Colby, North Carolina, to live with an aunt and uncle she hardly knows.   Charlie makes at least one wish a day. She wishes on stars and falling acorns and certain types of birds. She cuts off the tip of a piece of pie to eat last, believing it is good luck, the list goes on.  

What I LOVE most about this book (outside of Charlie's spunky, hot-tempered personality) is how the book shares viewpoints.  We call this critical literacy.  As a parent and teacher, we can use the book to discuss the stereotypes we are exposed to in the book and look at our personal biases and viewpoints compared to the character's and the author's intent.  Sounds deep, but hear me out.  

For example, Charlie is befriended by Howard who she calls the "up-down" boy because he walks with a limp.  Howard is a kind-hearted boy who has 7 brothers and lives in the smallest house Charlie has ever seen. His front yard is littered with rubbish and on Charlie's first visit inside his home, she finds the house, despite the piles of junk and dirt everywhere, filled with love.  Love from the mother who hangs up all the kids' proud school papers on the wall--love when the mother kisses each boys' head while serving dinner--and love through the minute-by-minute laughter and smiles shared.  

Charlie isn't familiar with this love as her mother has severe depression.  Her mother is bedridden and didn't care if Charlie went to school or stayed on the couch all day watching TV.  Charlie's father, Scrappy, is in jail.  Although I haven't yet read about Charlie's daily wish, I'm guessing it is to bring her torn apart family back together.  

So far we are looking and generational poverty, depression, bullies, incarcerated parents, and disabilities through the eyes of a child.    What a fantastic book to read critically with children and building deep discussion!  

I encourage you to add this book to your "Want to Read" list! 

Toxic Mud

I've made great progress this week on my book challenge.  My daughter has been reading Fuzzy Mud by the award-winning author Louis Sachar (most well known for writing Holes).  She keeps telling me it's the BEST BOOK EVER, so I picked it up yesterday and read about 75% of the book.  She's just ecstatic that I am discussing the plot along with her. "What part are you at?"  "What predictions do you have?"  "Oh, you are going to LOVE the next part!"

The power of sharing a book with a child is such a wonderful gift (and I'm thankful we are now into reading books with more complex themes). Move over Junie B.!

Yes, this book is about Fuzzy Mud, and by that I mean, mud that is fuzzy-- and toxic.  Two kids taking a shortcut home from school (Tamaya and Marshall) in an attempt to avoid getting beat up by the bully (Chad) and in the process, get exposed to fuzzy mud.  

They got lost.
The world got scared.
And the mud got fuzzy.


The second storyline in the book is what appears to be the court case on a toxin that was exposed into the air and polluted the forest. This toxin has contaminated the three kids.  The toxin has the reader (a.k.a. me!) worried about the lives of the children.  

What I'm loving the most about this book is the characters and relationship building that is unveiled from this unfortunate, suspenseful experience.  We learn about the bully and his homelife (don't all bullies "bully" because they have low self-esteem?).  We learn about one misunderstanding which leads to a downward spiral, which has affected the victim (Marshall)--in this case- for years--causing him to hate school every.single.day.

Did I mention yet that I don't want my daughter to leave the safety of her elementary building for the vast and scary world of middle school with hormonal adolescents?!?!? Ha!  Really, I'm only half kidding.  

What I predict from the remaining chapters of this book is the answer to the scientific mishap and the outcome this mishap has given for the children and the community.  

My daughter asked me tonight what genre I would classify this book.  At first, I hesitated to say realistic fiction due to the toxic spores causing the community to get infected, but then I replied, "gosh, this really could be realistic fiction."  I'm unfortunately thinking it's likely more of a reality than a fantasy in our global, often toxic, world.  

What do you think?  

Until next week!