Reading Trends

We are in the midst of conferences. Kids are out early, and we are there into the early evening (often). The Scholastic Book Fair is also here, which is great. Personally I don't purchase much there, if for no other reason than I prefer used books. While Book Fair gives our school a small percentage of the sales, I find that I spend more than my fair share over the course of the year. I tend to purchase books every other week or so, usually stopping by Ravenna's Third Place books to check their used selection (and taking advantage of my teacher discount).

What are kids reading? Let's find out (in light of said book fair)...

• The Lost Hero by Rick Riordan (I'm reading it too... 100 pages in, love it)
• The Percy Jackson series by Rick Riordan (I have 2 copies of each title in the series, all are checked out... the Lightning Thief is on my 20 Book Challenge)
• The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins- I have my reservations about it, and intend to read it. I worry about the lack of schema, even if you can decode it!
• Simon Bloom the Gravity Keeper by Reisman- purchased via Amazon, on my list of "need to read soon"... this is a Battle of the Books title.
• Series of Unfortunate Events- oddly enough, the Lemony Snicket books that were wildly popular in the early half of the 2000's are all over the place in our 5th grade. Weird!
• Guardians of Ga'hoole- The Guardians series took off partially because of the movie that is out (or is coming out, and I don't follow movies much). There is another series by Kathryn Lasky that I put on my Book Fair wish list, and I am excited to check those out too (The Wolves of Beyond).

It is excited to see the multitude of books being read, and the reading culture that is building in our cohort. Very very excited!

Reading Challenge

This week I am going to kick off our 20 Book Challenge. I found it via the Readingzone, and couldn't help but be excited. I have some kids who are voracious readers, as well as quite a few who are more than slightly ambivalent. The 20 Book Challenge will look something like this...

By the end of the school year, you are challenged to read 20 different books. Of those 20 books, 5 books will need to come from a predetermined list (1/4 of the books). There will be a list of approximately 40 books for the kids to chose from, with the list coming from National Book Award winners, ALA Notable Books, Newberry Winners and those nominated, Sasquatch Award books, Battle of the Books, and Global Reading Challenge books. They can read other books, they need to get those cleared through me.

Why am I doing this? Kids need to develop a love of reading, and reading often isn't their first choice of spare time activities. Additionally, many of the kids I have taught in my two years struggle to find a book that they like independently. That being said, I have had tremendous success with kids once I have steered them to a book, author, or series. Beyond my work in novel study, I want kids to have read a variety of books with a myriad of characters and storylines.

The math behind this looks something like this...

• 20 books at an average of 300 pages per book= 6,000 pages
• We have 34 weeks between now and the end of the school year, including school breaks but excluding the last half week in June... 6,000/34= 176 pages per week.
• You should be reading everyday of the week, so 176/7= 25 pages per night.
• Say you take one day off, and only read 6 days of the week... 176/6= 29 pages per day.
• 2 Comprehension Projects (one by the end of January, one by end of May)- book reviews, book jacket, book talk presentation, etc.

You might ask, what happens if they don't finish? My response is: We are going to read 20 books. There isn't anything punitive. But I don't want to lower the bar at all, because lowering the bar will give all my kids an escape route to not finish.

Great Series

This afternoon I finished The Last Olympian, the final book in the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series. At first I resisted the series. My prior experience working in a bookstore where parents got angry when the Harry Potter book wasn't released (not our fault, talk to JK Rowling!) made me resist. I was put off by popular series'. But now that I teach 5th grade, it isn't an option any more. I need to read what the kids are reading, being fluent and immersed in their world.

I will also admit that I strongly dislike hardcover books. I prefer tradepaper, finding it easier to tote around and a cheaper alternative. That wasn't an option in this case, as it isn't scheduled to be released in paper until January and I'd like to finish the series before school starts.

All that being said, whoa! I was engrossed in the final chapter of this series, thoroughly enjoying the wall to wall action throughout. I was also looking for answers to a myriad of questions. What would happen to Percy and the prophecy? Would Luke be destroyed by the Titan lord Kronos? How would Nico's situation with his father, and exile from camp be resolved? I had a myriad of other questions as well, as those are merely some of the larger questions at hand.

I was impressed. The Last Olympian was not entirely predictable (some predictability is needed in kids books, keeping them interested and pulling them along). It balanced predictable ends with turns that you didn't quite expect. Rick Riordan answered a fair number of questions, while also leaving the door open for a future half-blood series (in the notes it mentions the conclusion of the "first" camp half blood series). I also think it successfully showcased all of the characters and their growth (in the book, and series). It was well worth my time this summer.

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Going forward, I still have a few more books to tackle. I am in the midst of the Phantom Tollbooth, a book I haven't read but wish I had. I also would like to tackle City of Ember (DuPrau), and Hesse's Out of the Dust. By then I imagine our staff development days will have started, and my summer reading will have slowed to a crawl.

Good Reads

(image from sfkids.org) Today I am making the trek in to school. My wife is at an orientation for National Boards, so I am left with little to do but run and work. If I don't head to school, the likelihood that I use my creative energy is slim to none.

After reading the Red Pyramid (certainly recommended), I decided to read Al Capone Does My Shirts. I really enjoyed it, which is saying something for someone that doesn't typically like period literature. I prefer more modern stories, largely because of the ability to relate to the characters and story. But this was fantastic, and featured an ending that I was not expecting. The characters were believable and easy to identify with. Their problems seemed realistic, but didn't cripple the story. I'd like to use it for a novel study (character traits-growing up in particular, inferences/predictions) but I am a little bit nervous about that.

Why am I nervous? It is just a story, right? Part of the problem lays in how realistic the literature is, as Choldenko did a wonderful job authoring this story. Near the end there is a scene where the main character (Moose) and his father are talking about the struggle their family has had because of the strain Moose's sister has created. She is a young adult with special needs (autistic), and the family has struggled in balancing those needs and normalcy. In this late scene Moose's dad is tired, and he pours himself a beer before pouring a little bit into a glass for Moose. Moose acknowledges how odd this is, but also how important their conversation must be (partially because of his dad's action). He doesn't drink it, but the few lines about this make me a bit nervous. On one hand, you can feel the realism seeping out of the page, sensing the depth of their conversation. But on the other there is no possible way to condone or explain the action of Moose's father. We can talk, as educators (or society- what have you), about taking the kid gloves off and not censoring things that kids see around them. That is easy to say until you feel like you might be the first experience they have without that aforementioned censorship.

Reading Challenge

I've finished the first four books in the Percy Jackson series. Thus far they have been very entertaining. I've enjoyed how Riordan mixed mythology into the stories without being teachy. The books were action-packed, and moved along fairly quickly without an overwhelming amount of downtime.

Having read all four, and planning to purchase the fifth when it comes out in paperback on July 27th, I couldn't help but think of my previous class of kids. They would eat the books up (some were reading them during the year). But going further, I think I am going to create a 40 Book Reading Challenge or something like that. Essentially I'll be going through ALA Notable books, Newberry Award winners, etc to create a list of books that kids *should* read. We'll also do some book talks during the process. The end goal being to get kids reading books that are widely recognized as being good literature. I'm going to stay away from some of the older books that I plan to use for novel study, if for no other reason than they are older (kids and older books can equal pulling teeth). Where did the idea come from? The Reading Zone... the idea came from here.