The Great Book Break-Up

Up until very recently, I would never think of "breaking up" with a book. However, the more I read, the more I have learned to value my time as a reader. I always tell the kids to give it at least 2-3 chapters before giving up on a book. Some books really do take a little longer to get going. Over the past few weeks I have "broken up" with several books. Reasons for my great book break ups recently were couldn't get into the story, characters were not very interesting, poorly written, knew I wasn't going to buy it for the JRT Library within a few chapters, etc.   Despite the many books I didn't finish this week, I did FINISH and ENJOY:

Marty McGurie by Kate Messner
This would be a great read aloud to a third grade class. It has a GREAT fairy tale / fractured fairy tale tie in!

Clementine by Sara Pennypacker
Another great read aloud for 2nd and 3rd graders. I loved this because it is funny like Junie B. Jones but a little more mature. 

Al Capone Does my Shirts by Gennifer Choldenko
LOVED this. It was not at all what I expected. Great historical fiction for boys and girls! Really loved reading about life for the children living on Alcatraz.

Star in the Storm byJoan Hiatt Harlow
Another 5 star book! I loved her other book called Thunder from the Sea. I really loved this one because it was kind of a nail biter! I couldn't put it down because I HAD TO KNOW what was going to happen next!! 

Back to Work

Over the past two and a half weeks I have been making the transition back to work and fighting a sinus infection. I haven't had a TON of extra time to read or write about what I have been reading. I'm hoping now that I'm starting to feel better and get back into the routine that I'll be reading and posting more!

What I've recently finished:
I just finished Al Capone Does My Shirts by Gennifer Choldenko.  I know this book was written "a long time ago" in 2006, but I never got around to reading it back then. I heard that the third book in the series was coming out this August, so I finally decided to read it. I was really glad I read it because it was great. I'm looking forward to reading the next two books in the series to find out what happens next to the kids who live on Alcatraz! 

I also finished reading The Gecko & Sticky: Villain's Lair by Wendelin Van Draanen. I'm always on the look out for great read "transition" chapter books. I call them transition chapter books because they are great to read aloud to second and third graders who are ready to listen to longer books, but might not be ready to tackle the whole book by themselves. I liked this book because it was full of action and was funny! I think the boys will really enjoy the main character and LOVE the villains! 

What I'm reading now:
The Land of Elyon Book 1: The Dark Hills Divide by Patrick Carman. This is also an older book (2005), but I really LOVED Carman's Floors books, that I wanted to read more by him. 


What I'm reading with my son:
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix