Sunday, August 5, 2007

The End is Near!

The end of summer vacation that is. Gone are the days of sleeping until noon. Gone are the days of watching soaps all day and eating bon-bons. Wait! That wasn't my summer.

Anyway, it is time to get ready for the first days of school. One very important decision for educators to make is what to read to their class. Choice Literacy has developed a list of worthy titles. Thank you to A Year of Reading for sharing.

What Happened to Cass McBride

What an absolutely brilliant book by Gail Giles! What Happened to Cass McBride is one of those books that grips the reader from the beginning and never lets go.

Cass McBride, a popular high school student, goes to bed one night and when she wakes up she is no longer in her bed. She has been buried alive. Who did this to her? Why?

I was left with one burning question as I read this book, and on the off chance that Ms. Giles would be reading this I just have to ask...What the heck is dry thirty?

Thursday, August 2, 2007

Done, done, and done

Yippeee! I am officially finished with my master's degree. I submitted my last assignment today and then did a very happy dance around the house with my kids. Two years ago I started the adventure, and now I am done. Wow. I can't believe I did it. Now who's up for celebrating?

Lawn Boy

Today I read Lawn Boy by Gary Paulsen. Interesting story about a 12 year-old boy who gets an old lawnmower from his Grandmother on his birthday. Paulsen includes witty chapter titles to accompany his creative characters. My favorite being Joseph Powdermilk, the rather large, rather strong boxer the young man just happens to begin sponsering with his lawn mowing earnings. While the story was enjoyable, I felt that I learned waaaaay more about stocks and business than necessary. However some young business minded reader will really enjoy the story.

Who's gonna win?

Elizabeth Bird over at A Fuse #8 Production posts her predictions for possible Caldecott and Newbery Award winners for this year. Unfortunately since I have been living life under a rock...ahem...I mean finishing up my Masters degree...I do not have any titles thus far to add to the list. In fact, I am still wading through last year's winners. Alas, there is light at the end of the tunnel. My last assignment will be submitted by the end of the day and I will be doing the very, very happy dance.