Why a good book is a secret door

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Author: kpelagio1421

Hey, it is still FRIDAY :D (Book Thieving 101)

Hey, it is still FRIDAY :D (Book Thieving 101)

The young adult book of choice I chose was The Book Thief. This book is in my opinion a hard read because it has small font, it lacks flow and the era of this book and be troubling for some people. To forewarn anyone who reads this I have not finished the book and am close to half way through but not quite there yet.

  1. The text seems to want readers to talk about loss, grieving and Nazi Germany.
  2. When reading this book all I can think about is Anne Frank and the Holocaust. It makes me sad. These connections helped me to understand the perspective the author narrative or writing in because the story is from the german side of the Holocaust and what german people went through during this time, however I haven’t finished the book so this is just my perspective so far. The book seems to be expressing the life of a young girl who was adopted at the beginning of the Hitler era by Germans so you read about how it affected them.
  3. Based on this book and what I have read the childhood seems awful. Parents are beating their kids with wooden spoons and slapping them across the face. I’m not saying there shouldn’t be discipline but sometimes the punishment can be taken too far. Also nuns taught the children at school and would lock children up or spank them for bad behavior. The books seems as if children should be seen and not heard. The children of this book have to obey their parents at all costs, unless you want a beating.
  4. In my opinion, I feel like this book is in reality because I can see most of the events mentioned actually happening during that time period. For instance, children had to attend youth meetings in a Hitler uniform and people had to hail Hitler. I feel this book is very believable and can be used to address certain areas of the Holocaust. It also sheds light from the perspective of Germans, that you don’t think would be greatly affected by the Holocaust but some of them experienced loss as well.
  5. I think the purpose of this book is still to be determined because I have not finished it. I will say that I think the author wanted to write a book from another perspective during the Holocaust rather than just what the Jews had to experience. The Holocaust was honestly a horrible time for all parties, yes I would agree it was more severe towards others but you can’t discount how it affected everybody involved.

I hope to update this post with new information later on, but please enjoy for now.

To Be or Not to Be

To Be or Not to Be

A) The verse book I chose was MONSTER. At first I was happy to choose that book because a teacher told me about it in high school and talked about how great it was. So in the beginning before I started reading I was excited and looking forward to it. To be honest this book interested me but it is a really difficult read because it does not keep me engaged. The story is written in movie script format consisting of multiple characters, flashbacks and journal entries. I find it difficult because the movie parts like cut scene with a description, don’t interest me and it is hard to keep track of all the characters. I feel like I would be more engaged if the book was just journal entries and the main character was more enraging as well. One thing this book does do a good job with would be relating to the main character who has to go to jail and is really scared and stand offish, which is how young people probably would feel but he is just a difficult character to understand. I also find myself re-reading a lot too. If I chose to use this book in my classroom it would be to do a play or have a justice unit and teacher the class about who makes up and court as well as educate them on juvenile delinquents.

B) “Think about all the tomorrows in life”

“All you got to have is the heart”

“Beat-beat-beating”

“My brain was pop-pop-popping”

“It sounded like a good life even though she said it like it was nothing special”

B2)

So much depends upon

making a decision

picking life’s choices, some hard, some easy

in order to follow your path…

The path of life

 

 

 

P.s. yes, I did see the OR but wanted to do all parts of the blog :)

 

Thank you for reading! Happy Friday!

Stepping out of my mind

Stepping out of my mind

My chapter book is Out of my mind. In the story Melody brooks is our main character suffering from Spastic bilateral quadriplegia, also known as cerebral palsy. This disability limits melody’s body functions, but not her mind. The text to me seems like it wants it readers to talk about doing the impossible. Yes, melody has limitations but like Steven Hawking she doesn’t all those limitations to limit her, she is very smart. The text is about accomplishing the impossible and proving to people you are more then what people first see. Some connections I made between myself and the main character is that I have goals and strive to achieve them achieve those goals, I like to prove people wrong when they pre-judge me, I enjoy learning new things and I sometimes feel trapped inside my head when I want to say something but can’t find the words. These connections made it possible for me to connect with the main character and to really put myself in her shoes. Reading the book melody goes through a lot but it is really easy to cheer her on and sympathy for her.

As you read through, I am currently on chapter 24, some underlying assumptions about children and or childhood in one word is rough. Children can be mean to each other and you can have a rough childhood because of bullies at school. Melody faces some mean girls but doesn’t let them get to her, I think it makes her so much stronger and motivates her to keep trying no matter the limits. I would say that I agree with these assumptions because children have no filter. In my opinion, this book is very straight forward and real. Throughout the book you are on this journey with Melody and never once are you put in fantasy unless Melody is imagining something. This story is about her life and her experiences, so I would say it is very real, also why it is so easy to relate to Melody. Also a funny thing about this story is Melody is kind of sassy and quick witted, which keeps you engaged.

Lastly, I feel that the purpose of this book, so far is to encourage people to follow your goals and dreams not matter the circumstances or influences. It is your life to life and you need to grab hold of it and take charge. Be a go getter! reading this book, I think the author wanted you to connect with the character and know that no matter what you go through you are not alone, and that you will get through anything.

“Look at how you’re lying, You’re already on your side-halfway there. Use all that screaming and hollering energy you got to take you to another position. Toss your right arm over and concentrate!” “So I did. I strained. I reached. I tried, so hard I farted! Mrs. V cracked up. But slowly, slowly I felt my body rolling to the right. And then, unbelievably, plop! I was on my stomach. I was so proud of myself I screeched.”

All in all this book is a good read and I am excited to see where Melody goes and what she accomplishes next. Finding book where you are cheering on the main character make  it more exciting and engaging! I think this is a great book for all grade levels!

Readings Upon Readings Upon Readings…How good of a multi reader are you?

Readings Upon Readings Upon Readings…How good of a multi reader are you?

The series book that I chose is called The Land of Stories: The Wishing Spell by Chris Colfer (A star on Glee). I really like my series choice because it is an easy read, I like fairy tales and the main characters don’t bother me. The main characters in this series are twins. One brother and one sister, the sister is the smart over achiever in school and the brother is the more laid back student. I am currently on chapter 7, so I have a pretty good idea about the book so far and am enjoying it. I actually am interested in the whole book, which is nice. This series also strays from the common children’s stories we were told when we were younger.  Different in the way that the main characters of each story are more brave and different than our common childhood stories, they are not in the same boat as the Grimm fairy tales though. So far I haven’t really found anything I dislike about it, except that it builds up a lot of background info before you get to the Land of Stories, which I think is probably a good thing. I think children of elementary school and junior high, maybe grades 4th through 8th grade could enjoy this series, especially if they are considered wild readers. The length of the book is long it has 1-438 pages with 24 chapters including the prologue, which you should read it has more background. Some assumptions about children and childhood, I would say is that children are innocent until something tragic happens in their lives and it takes children on different paths than maybe they wouldn’t have originally been on. For children of this series I would say that because of their family dynamic and the tragedy that took place these fairy tale stories give them hope and something to look forward to. It also keeps them connected with their families because it is something they shared as a family. Some resources available related to the text is hard to say, maybe encouraging students to dig a little deeper into fairy tales and discover all the different versions that have been created. As a teacher you could expose them to all the different types of versions of one fairy tale, such as Cinderella and encourage students to write their own story.  Any ways I hope everyone is enjoying their series as much as I have, Happy reading!

Since reading Miller, I have taken more moments of my day to get a little reading time in. Before I wouldn’t want to read a book unless I knew I had time to finish a chapter, now I tell myself it is okay if you don’t finish they chapter you will eventually get there. Some take-a ways from chapter 2 are the following: having students be confident in their own abilities, improving students ability to choose their own books, reading aloud creates natural opportunities for modeling and practicing comprehension strategies and reading response, expose students to lots of books and building a confidence and capacity for students to pick their own books. I feel some of these key points are really important for building strong readers. Based on the chapter I learned that the library in my classroom wasn’t just because it was a classroom requirement it was the teacher providing us with the opportunity to read and choose books on our own. I guess I never really looked at our classroom library that way. Another magical moment I had from Miller’s chapter two was this quote “Children are made readers on the laps of their parents.” I used to love getting read to and reading books with my parents as a child. It was my favorite part about going to bed. I strongly feel that parents need to be a part of this moment to bond with their kids and teach them how to  read as well as different stories as well.  I believe that in my classroom I will try to incorporate silent reading times as well as reading to the class whenever the opportunity presents itself. Reading is a great way to be distracted or taken to another planet and I want my students to find that special bond with a really great book!