tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-48619720434635477282024-02-07T16:50:10.721-08:00So Many Books, So Little TimeSarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05956613534167855329noreply@blogger.comBlogger76125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4861972043463547728.post-39807022273014799712017-03-04T07:05:00.001-08:002018-05-15T16:58:29.765-07:00Breaking PointSarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05956613534167855329noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4861972043463547728.post-41926424478608965532016-07-29T13:08:00.002-07:002018-05-15T16:57:23.394-07:00The Book FairySarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05956613534167855329noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4861972043463547728.post-84462521916119127102016-06-07T15:34:00.002-07:002018-05-15T16:58:07.013-07:00ConfessionSarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05956613534167855329noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4861972043463547728.post-29737193995075556682016-05-24T18:03:00.001-07:002016-05-27T18:18:14.184-07:00New bookcases!It will come as no surprise to most nerdy people that I am a book hoarder. If you follow our Two Nerdy Sisters blog, we have a weekly post dedicated to my book purchases. Anyway, I had books double shelved and piled everywhere. I was fortunate enough to inherit bookcases from my husband's aunt. Now every book in my house has a home. I gave some of my bookcases to my children, enabling them to deal with their overwhelming stacks of books.<div><br></div><div>My reading closet:</div><div><br></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgir3YPzbSYInDcuhIJnYSxJ2jEY0bTiARupEY8pubTqQKTHtAHO5AEiScz1EO052N44p17RrRYM9QGj1IR-caH47LxAiONV0Xc0tAPEe9JXBv0mKKvI_1SctjLDENG5bz2z5s0AYTIhng/s640/blogger-image-1328660230.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgir3YPzbSYInDcuhIJnYSxJ2jEY0bTiARupEY8pubTqQKTHtAHO5AEiScz1EO052N44p17RrRYM9QGj1IR-caH47LxAiONV0Xc0tAPEe9JXBv0mKKvI_1SctjLDENG5bz2z5s0AYTIhng/s640/blogger-image-1328660230.jpg"></a></div><br></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgw07tbJGVFyjbmOFPfEy9l1d0KOpURELfzHNkcrMgxj6JFnda7EqhtN5RWQnn2run9-ozOffy_2WPqlIgCoSg9sirVzRtOcvkVng-B6kau0BPMgdgYDCeXLMc2xeFQYwEEcou065Y4WXs/s640/blogger-image-1579115100.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgw07tbJGVFyjbmOFPfEy9l1d0KOpURELfzHNkcrMgxj6JFnda7EqhtN5RWQnn2run9-ozOffy_2WPqlIgCoSg9sirVzRtOcvkVng-B6kau0BPMgdgYDCeXLMc2xeFQYwEEcou065Y4WXs/s640/blogger-image-1579115100.jpg"></a></div><br></div><div>This bookcase held encyclopedias; it is perfect for picture books.</div><div><br></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQps_d9Zo0yLPgAoxVPmvC5jWuxdUyXgHxgQxkAfSweNEwj46OBNpjtJejkC1aG38mZuvcoyTh5JicyNPj_Jo6WwQhuWd9wymQ_WqyabPjTL2UdbtMip8T_sXVvO6FTH-dKbDfQy7rPe8/s640/blogger-image--1718685104.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQps_d9Zo0yLPgAoxVPmvC5jWuxdUyXgHxgQxkAfSweNEwj46OBNpjtJejkC1aG38mZuvcoyTh5JicyNPj_Jo6WwQhuWd9wymQ_WqyabPjTL2UdbtMip8T_sXVvO6FTH-dKbDfQy7rPe8/s640/blogger-image--1718685104.jpg"></a></div><br></div><div>This one was in the basement and was going to be given to Goodwill. I protested and it is my favorite.</div><div><br></div><div>In my bedroom:</div><div><br></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj825p8TPzgsjSbHFWyebGScWGhXXwi19Jla_2vwAM4Agp1PV7SRGued2FSIMOcopFvCYVY2VnOmLZ7AmfZcPZtfItiRKMEQ3S848nYYBtNUlRo6lfG17aJP5yMBc-Qt0T4iUYp8wprXTU/s640/blogger-image-1340217609.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj825p8TPzgsjSbHFWyebGScWGhXXwi19Jla_2vwAM4Agp1PV7SRGued2FSIMOcopFvCYVY2VnOmLZ7AmfZcPZtfItiRKMEQ3S848nYYBtNUlRo6lfG17aJP5yMBc-Qt0T4iUYp8wprXTU/s640/blogger-image-1340217609.jpg"></a></div><br></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXjp1rHbfhM-ibW3mlDJWeUtd9XyTOK9ZI9ZVz00-dBiecgRsoTehx_vb7wNefwFPp5UrXwSQTQIveIjJNIVh7ELsy_qL87benac6iCm8KIFZNjyzVW2r8WYl7F8FHJHxDOCwVS9Dok9Y/s640/blogger-image--2082152066.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXjp1rHbfhM-ibW3mlDJWeUtd9XyTOK9ZI9ZVz00-dBiecgRsoTehx_vb7wNefwFPp5UrXwSQTQIveIjJNIVh7ELsy_qL87benac6iCm8KIFZNjyzVW2r8WYl7F8FHJHxDOCwVS9Dok9Y/s640/blogger-image--2082152066.jpg"></a></div><br></div><div>DVD rack turned into bookcase. ☺️</div><div>At the top of the stairs:</div><div><br></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjP3-DuITL1ide2S5bRw58MV_5rp45lH3AH9_2ltEumEa33ppiYBP0xpBxY6SpsOTNWAjz1DuA6SNvsmG-IcvqbtgfdxyDL1qHV49xdnn5rcauFoqLHNLDr7SdUNkjoH3WKh0Wgsl684uE/s640/blogger-image--141765123.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjP3-DuITL1ide2S5bRw58MV_5rp45lH3AH9_2ltEumEa33ppiYBP0xpBxY6SpsOTNWAjz1DuA6SNvsmG-IcvqbtgfdxyDL1qHV49xdnn5rcauFoqLHNLDr7SdUNkjoH3WKh0Wgsl684uE/s640/blogger-image--141765123.jpg"></a></div><br></div><div>What's that? An empty one! (Well, I begrudgingly gave my husband a shelf.) I have a place for all the books I will order in the future. It should take me a year or two to fill these.</div><div><br></div><div>The total number of bookcases in our house now? 14 We could open a small library. </div>Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05956613534167855329noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4861972043463547728.post-54195800761478324732016-04-08T08:04:00.003-07:002016-06-07T15:40:14.516-07:00My Favorite Book From Every Year I've Been AliveThis idea stolen from my friend and <a href="https://newberypie.wordpress.com/">Newbery Pie</a> co-blogger, Benji Martin. Check out <a href="https://elementaryschoollibrarian.wordpress.com/2016/04/05/my-favorite-book-from-every-year-ive-been-alive/">his list</a>.<br />
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1978: My favorite Dr. Seuss book because it has my favorite quote -<br />
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<img class="irc_mi" src="http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1348870328l/7785.jpg" height="200" style="margin-top: 6px;" width="145" /><br />
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<img class="irc_mi" height="211" src="https://angiev2014.files.wordpress.com/2015/05/seuss-quotes-1.png" style="margin-top: 7px;" width="320" /><br />
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Honorable Mention: <i>The Stand</i> by Stephen King<br />
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1979:<br />
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<img class="irc_mi" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51T3DKZoipL._SX327_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg" height="200" style="margin-top: 0px;" width="132" /><br />
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1980:<br />
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<img alt="813214" height="200" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1331317781l/813214.jpg" width="124" /><br />
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1981:<br />
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<img alt="Ramona Quimby, Age 8 (Ramona, #6)" height="200" id="coverImage" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1300270683l/91253.jpg" width="120" /><br />
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1982:<br />
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<img alt="43615" height="200" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1375776480l/43615.jpg" width="130" /><br />
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1983:<br />
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<img alt="6327" height="200" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1351707720l/6327.jpg" width="130" /><br />
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1984:<br />
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<img alt="306654" height="200" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1223675895l/306654.jpg" width="128" /><br />
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I know this is an odd choice, but I read this in high school for a book report. It is a still a favorite.<br />
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1985:<br />
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<img alt="375802" height="200" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1408303130l/375802.jpg" width="122" /><br />
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1986:<br />
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<img alt="830502" height="200" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1334416842l/830502.jpg" width="122" /><br />
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1987:<br />
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<img alt="9375" height="200" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1165961740l/9375.jpg" width="131" /><br />
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1988:<br />
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<img alt="39988" height="200" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1388793265l/39988.jpg" width="130" /><br />
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1989:<br />
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<img alt="47281" height="200" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1370917812l/47281.jpg" width="122" /><br />
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1990:<br />
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<img alt="4835" height="200" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1419913148l/4835.jpg" width="153" /><br />
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1991:<br />
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<img alt="10964" height="200" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1402600310l/10964.jpg" width="130" /><br />
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1992:<br />
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<img alt="5203" height="200" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1408313457l/5203.jpg" width="122" /><br />
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1993:<br />
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<img alt="3636" height="200" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1342493368l/3636.jpg" width="121" /><br />
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1994:<br />
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<img alt="773276" height="171" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1347227009l/773276.jpg" width="200" /><br />
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P.S. The Weston Woods version of this is amazing!<br />
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1995:<br />
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<img alt="37442" height="200" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1437733293l/37442.jpg" width="127" /><br />
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1996:<br />
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<img alt="13496" height="200" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1436732693l/13496.jpg" width="131" /><br />
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1997:<br />
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<img alt="25346" height="200" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1328867076l/25346.jpg" width="137" /><br />
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1998:<br />
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<img alt="38709" height="200" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1327781893l/38709.jpg" width="137" /><br />
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1999:<br />
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<img alt="22628" height="200" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1438668337l/22628.jpg" width="129" /><br />
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2000:<br />
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<img alt="6" height="200" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1361482611l/6.jpg" width="134" /><br />
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2001:<br />
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<img alt="33917" height="200" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1442708168l/33917.jpg" width="133" /><br />
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2002:<br />
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<img alt="242006" height="200" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1438898196l/242006.jpg" width="133" /><br />
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2003:<br />
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<img alt="37190" height="200" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1412211823l/37190.jpg" width="134" /><br />
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2004: A family favorite.<br />
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<img alt="237665" height="200" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1400866970l/237665.jpg" width="199" /><br />
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2005:<br />
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=4861972043463547728" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Image result for penderwicks" border="0" class="rg_i" data-sz="f" height="200" jsaction="load:str.tbn" name="8xu1wZ1u8E8q-M:" 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" 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2006:<br />
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<img alt="24686" height="200" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1442893193l/24686.jpg" width="178" /><br />
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2007:<br />
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<img alt="" class="irc_mi iMWUvXa4KzHw-pQOPx8XEepE" height="200" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/0/02/Harry_Potter_and_the_Deathly_Hallows_(US_cover).jpg" style="margin-top: 0px;" width="140" /><br />
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2008:<br />
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<img alt="2213661" height="200" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1303859949l/2213661.jpg" width="129" /><br />
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2009:<br />
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<img alt="5983694" height="200" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1344265026l/5983694.jpg" width="135" /><br />
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2010:<br />
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<img alt="7846067" height="200" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1327962539l/7846067.jpg" width="146" /><br />
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The best E&P book!<br />
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2011:<br />
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<img alt="10128428" height="200" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1327885739l/10128428.jpg" width="132" /><br />
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2012:<br />
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<img alt="11594337" height="200" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1424981397l/11594337.jpg" width="142" /><br />
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2013:<br />
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<img alt="17333265" height="200" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1361746283l/17333265.jpg" width="198" /><br />
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For the last two years, I couldn't decide so I picked two.<br />
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2014:<br />
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<img alt="20821284" height="200" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1424308405l/20821284.jpg" width="133" /> <img alt="20696727" height="200" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1424201895l/20696727.jpg" width="147" /><br />
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2015:<br />
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<img alt="22749539" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1453343012l/22749539.jpg" /> <img alt="23197611" height="200" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1422323993l/23197611.jpg" width="145" /><br />
<br />Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05956613534167855329noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4861972043463547728.post-66859098692755813722016-02-21T12:24:00.000-08:002016-04-05T02:12:34.854-07:00Balance is everything...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzhpXdCFfuiT0IOcRfHvaWDnsWPu1QjPS8tT39V1glWqU1u1GIxHhKJTTgX7NC9A230n78ERnFCVBPXrqQJqEHhyphenhyphenqahX9HPzC4Rc57SVMYl4HMW1H_j3-Bpr2clFH7RboauP8IGTLqonU/s1600/blogger-image-697583240.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzhpXdCFfuiT0IOcRfHvaWDnsWPu1QjPS8tT39V1glWqU1u1GIxHhKJTTgX7NC9A230n78ERnFCVBPXrqQJqEHhyphenhyphenqahX9HPzC4Rc57SVMYl4HMW1H_j3-Bpr2clFH7RboauP8IGTLqonU/s320/blogger-image-697583240.jpg" width="247"></a></div>
Here comes my resignation story. I am not going to give specifics about what went down or complain about how I was treated. That's not professional. I am not going to fill this post with a diatribe about how legislatures are killing education or how we are testing children to death. Those things are all true and you have heard them over and over again. If education is your passion, you will continue in this profession despite those things, and children desperately need people like you. If you are reading this, you are most likely an educator or someone very close to me. As they say, "No need to preach to the choir."<br>
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As any passionate educator will tell you, being a teacher takes everything you have, and if you're not careful, it can be to your own detriment: to your health, to your family, to your relationship with God. As staff were cut and my responsibilities grew, I failed to maintain a balance and all those things suffered, particularly my health. This is by no means an original statement, but I obviously didn't hear it enough times: as educators, we must take care of ourselves. Like me, many educators are also parents. We get in the habit of putting ourselves last, and years of that practice eventually takes its toll.<br>
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I am so blessed to have the financial resources and the family support to take time to find my balance.<br>
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I love reading. I love children. I want children to love reading. I have breathed this every day for over 12 years. I believe that I was put on earth for that purpose. I am not done; I have just pressed the pause button. I will focus on my three readers at home for awhile. As usual, you'll see me on Facebook, Twitter and Goodreads keeping it #nerdy.<br>
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God bless you all and thank you for reading.Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05956613534167855329noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4861972043463547728.post-44364844458448479422015-11-04T17:45:00.001-08:002015-11-07T00:40:43.635-08:00Guideposts and Cockeyed OptimistsI'm not going to name this person, but if you know them, you may be able to guess their identity. I am not special or anything so I do not want to "name drop." This person has inspired hundreds, if not thousands, of people.<div><br></div><div>I love my job as a school librarian and I love children's literature. If you've read this blog, you know that I have publically identified myself as someone, along with millions of others, who suffers from mental illness, specifically depression and mild panic disorder. Last year, I had to acknowledge my illnesses because my diagnosis of chronic migraines led me to consider resigning. I know this person is one of the reasons I am still a children's librarian. </div><div><br></div><div>I hope that you all can find someone in your profession who is knowledgable, and has a strong unwavering ethical character, someone who can be a guidepost for you. Here is the lesson I learned this week:</div><div><br></div><div>How do we respond when faced with negativity from others within or from without our profession? Continue with business as usual. Addressing the negativity can turn it into a monster, especially when there is little or no chance for change/resolution of the issue/problem. My guidepost didn't say this; it is simply what they did. </div><div><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><br></span></div><div><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">So just think of Nellie Forbush,</span></div><div><br></div><div>"I have heard people rant and rave and bellow</div><div>That we're done and we might as well be dead</div><div>But I'm only a cockeyed optimist </div><div>And I can't get it into my head."</div><div><br></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEji0KigLdkibuJPqz9oQvfWAHTkmEAnpaG3l9oC8G0V813zfRSAk_rNivsxZ3tljWpzLCjKr7mzYp1tFhyq0KqCBs-u1FcZp4oLM-6OqlNj8iB2omTOWSQCR9JUgIQk8QGD9x1y542K0II/s640/blogger-image--625748025.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEji0KigLdkibuJPqz9oQvfWAHTkmEAnpaG3l9oC8G0V813zfRSAk_rNivsxZ3tljWpzLCjKr7mzYp1tFhyq0KqCBs-u1FcZp4oLM-6OqlNj8iB2omTOWSQCR9JUgIQk8QGD9x1y542K0II/s640/blogger-image--625748025.jpg"></a></div><br></div><div><br></div><div><br></div>Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05956613534167855329noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4861972043463547728.post-42474300446459357992015-10-29T11:28:00.000-07:002015-10-29T13:49:15.158-07:00Book Fair Judgment<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Last week we had our state library conference and today I set up my book fair. One librarian remarked to me that she hated that a certain book fair provider sold "toys" at the book fair. I could not have disagreed with her more. Here's why:<br />
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1) Making value judgments on what a child buys is not your place. That is a parent's decision.<br />
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2) At my school, many children cannot afford $4-5 for a book. I remember not being able to buy anything from the book fair in elementary school. It was not fun. With 50 cents, students can buy at least something. Yes, a few books are discounted, but they do not always meet a child's interest.<br />
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3) At my school, every dollar earned at the book fair benefits the library, and all the money is used to buy books that the students can then check out. I inform the students of why we have book fairs and let them know that even if they buy a 50 cents eraser, all the money adds up, and they are helping their library.<br />
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4) We use part of our profits for giveaways that all students are eligible to enter. This way if students cannot afford a book, it is possible that they could win one!<br />
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As a school librarian, I pride myself on creating a welcoming environment for students. We have an unlimited circulation policy, and I try to make instruction rigorous, student-centered and engaging. I want that to carry over to the book fair as well. We have one of those libraries open to the hallway and I have heard excited cries of "book fair" all day.Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05956613534167855329noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4861972043463547728.post-39841193015342645282015-10-29T05:00:00.002-07:002015-10-29T05:00:31.718-07:00Books about Mental IllnessI am reading two books about mental illness right now:<br />
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<i>Challenger Deep </i>by Neal Shusterman has been selected as a finalist for the National Book Award for Young People's Literature. The story is told in short chapters and changes from Caden Bosch's reality as a teen suffering from schizophrenia to his adventures as a pirate crew member on a journey to Challenger Deep, the Southern part of the Marianas Trench.<br />
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<i>Furiously Happy: a book about horrible things</i> by Jenny Lawson is a laugh out loud take on living life with mental illness. Lawson suffers from anxiety disorder so severe that she feels compelled to rip her own hair out. The title of the book comes from a time when she was so depressed that she decided that she was going to be "furiously happy," come hell or high water. Lawson holds nothing back and says what she thinks.<br />
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My father committed suicide in 2002 and I have had my own issues with depression, most recently last year when I had trouble dealing with a diagnosis of chronic migraines, which severely impacted my ability to function at work and at home. Reading these books has brought up a lot of emotions. In one book, a character goes to a mental institution; my father spent his last few months in one and then committed suicide the day he was released. I've always wondered what happened to him there and what role that may have played in his death. The comparison of mental illness to a trench is very apt. I feel well now; I am functioning, but a bout with depression creates a fear. It is almost like it is a monster lying in wait, ready to drag me down. Once you have been in the dark trench of depression, the idea of going back there is terrifying.</div>
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Disclaimer: Some may view this post as oversharing. I share because mental illness is stigmatized. If this helps one person, it is worth it.</div>
Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05956613534167855329noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4861972043463547728.post-78701221877777195692015-10-09T05:25:00.001-07:002015-10-09T05:27:41.670-07:00Perfectionist - pass it on<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">I share my experiences because mental illness needs to be talked about more. It shouldn't be a stigma. I'm sorry if anyone thinks it is inappropriate. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihET57G3h6_hvIbpJe1tp62dKczL7XGbLrhODaOAW8ve38UC8RC3HnpSyDfROqCG8rifvB_vMS8aIisxVGi_IchablebH8C6Eagg6O4S_-cAtYhLti52eP5nFLInCV0OM7Y8oAFH92wTs/s640/blogger-image-697583240.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihET57G3h6_hvIbpJe1tp62dKczL7XGbLrhODaOAW8ve38UC8RC3HnpSyDfROqCG8rifvB_vMS8aIisxVGi_IchablebH8C6Eagg6O4S_-cAtYhLti52eP5nFLInCV0OM7Y8oAFH92wTs/s640/blogger-image-697583240.jpg"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">One of the most heartbreaking things about being mentally ill is seeing manifestations of the disease in your own children's behavior and knowing that you are responsible for passing it down to them genetically. Also, in all honesty, I have been a negative role model of someone managing these issues. I'm glad that I'm turning that around and I plan to start talking to them, since my own father never talked to us about his issues and he was my role model for handling mental illness.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">My middle child (in 4th grade) has been identified has academically gifted. She gets extremely stressed out about grades and everything being perfect.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">My youngest child (in 2nd grade) has had some behavior issues and we have made the assumption she doesn't care about success in school as much as my older children. Yesterday, she asked to go to the bathroom, but "disappeared." When they finally found her, she would not say where she was or why. She finally admitted that she hid in the stairwell because she couldn't figure out how to write a math journal on her morning work. In NC, students have to pass a written comprehension assessment. This kept Christine at a Level K (grade level is J) even though she can read fluently enough to read books in this series (at least level M):</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/24727091-judy-moody-and-stink </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">I think she may also be gifted, and a closet perfectionist. Middle child also struggled with the writing and would melt down if things did not come easily to her.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><br></div>Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05956613534167855329noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4861972043463547728.post-19772350638483235372015-10-06T04:24:00.000-07:002015-10-06T04:24:10.979-07:00Hippocratic Oath for LibrariansTis the season for awards and best of lists. I was thrilled to actively nominate books for the <a href="http://www.cybils.com/2015/10/the-2015-cybils-are-open.html">Cyblis</a> for the first time. Several Mock Newbery blogs and groups are actively debating and choosing their favorite books. My friend Benji Martin and I even took a stab at it over at Newbery Pie, with our own <a href="https://newberypie.wordpress.com/2015/09/06/our-kind-of-too-early-newbery-predictions/">predictions</a>.<br />
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My husband is a nurse and I was thinking recently about the <a href="http://guides.library.jhu.edu/c.php?g=202502&p=1335752">Hippocratic oath</a> for doctors in comparison to our ethical standards. As librarians, our <a href="http://www.ala.org/advocacy/proethics/codeofethics/codeethics">code of ethics</a> doesn't really roll off the tongue the say way. Respect for authors and readers is definitely in there, as well as not self-inflating our own personal opinions, all things we need to keep in mind as we come to award/best of season. Ultimately, we need to remember that these are authors and illustrators who have shared something precious with us - their talent. I feel so blessed that I am the person who gets to share that talent with their intended audience - children. Now something exciting; look who I got to meet last week!!!<br />
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Post from Facebook:<br />
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"<span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.32px;">It was completely worth the drive in the rain. I almost missed meeting Katherine Applegate because the event was at 5 at a school even though the website said 7, and I went to the bookstore. I even acted like a normal person, although I cried when I got to the car. I hope authors/illustrators know how much of an impact they have. I can't say awards mean nothing, but Ivan changed my life long before it got its shiny gold sticker. And while we as teachers/librarians share those</span><span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; color: #141823; display: inline; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.32px;"> awards and try to get our kids excited about them, a child's love for a book matters more. Kidlit authors: thank you for your work - you helped to set me on the path of my life when I was a child. If you are an author or illustrator my age or younger: you have helped to keep me on that path at times when I didn't think I could (or didn't want to) do this job anymore. You are my rock stars and my heroes. I wish I could give you all an award."</span>Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05956613534167855329noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4861972043463547728.post-88326948625152606172015-09-07T02:11:00.001-07:002015-09-07T03:15:55.847-07:00ALA Youth Media Awards<div>
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">My school librarian friend in Alabama, Benji Martin, invited me to join his blog, Newbery Pie. I had stagnated on my Newbery Challenge, where I had intended to read all the medal and honor books from the present going backwards, getting stuck in 1996. Even though, Benji's challenge is the medal books in chronological order, joining him has been a rewarding (and productive) experience. I think what I enjoy most is messaging someone so regularly to discuss books. Thank you again Benji!</span></div>
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Yesterday we posted our <a href="https://newberypie.wordpress.com/2015/09/06/our-kind-of-too-early-newbery-predictions/">2016 Newbery Predictions</a> and I have a few additional thoughts.</div>
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1) Award committee members: thank you for your commitment. When deciding which books to predict, I realized I had a whole shelf of MG books I had not read. Then there are those that will be released in the next 4 months. Your commitment to readers, author and the ALA/ALSC/YALSA/other committees is admirable. I am honored to share the title of librarian with many of you, especially Scholastic's Ambassador for School Libraries, John Schumacher (served on the 2014 Newbery Committee and selected <i>Flora & Ulysses: The Illuminated Adventures</i> written by Kate diCamillo; illustrated by K. G. Campbell), and the Yarn costar, Travis Jonker (served on the 2014 Caldecott Committee and selected <i>Locomotive).</i></div>
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2) Authors and illustrators: I know awards are prestigious and having your work honored must be an amazing achievement (not to mention the bonus of selling more books), but what you do is magical, even if your book doesn't have a shiny gold/silver sticker on it. When Benji threw in the question about the Caldecott, I wanted to list 15 books. Even though it is nowhere in the criteria for any award, my favorite books are those that make me feel something. Her illustrations are amazing, but I chose <i>Yard Sale</i>, written by Eve Bunting and illustrated by Lauren Castillo, because out of all the picture books I have read to my girls this summer, it is the one they mention the most. They find connections to it everywhere. Also, at age 7, my youngest daughter doesn't always think about the feelings of others. I love the way <i>Yard Sale </i>is teaching her empathy. We also love <i>The Troublemaker </i>and <i>Nana in the City</i>. The latter has a shiny sticker, but the girls would love it even if it didn't. Books were always with me during the hardest times of my life; just last week I got lost in the world of 1960's Berlin depicted in Jennifer Nielson's <i>A Night Divided </i>while a family member was in the hospital. A world without children's books would be like living in East Germany during that time. Thank you for giving your time and talent to children (and grownups)!<br>
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Bottom line - I'm going to paraphrase Travis Jonker in response to the outrage over certain books not being honored for the Caldecott in 2014. A good book before the awards will still be a good book after the awards.</div>
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PS: #teamballetcat - It was an instant decision. We still love E&P in this house; I'm sure we'll be reading 3-4 tonight and then Snicker of Magic.</div>
Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05956613534167855329noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4861972043463547728.post-87884568304637404532015-08-30T05:49:00.001-07:002015-08-30T18:56:11.067-07:00Declaration: I Love Children's Books!One of my NC teaching standards as a school librarian is: <div><br></div><div>School Library Media Coordinators promote reading as a foundational skill for learning (http://www.ncpublicschools.org/docs/dtl/standards/professional/rubric-slmc.pdf).</div><div><br></div><div>For me, this is the reason I became a children's librarian. I feel that I have become a role model in this area. I have learned so much from Donalyn Miller and John Schu. Our district threw off the chains of Accelerated Reader a few years back. As mentioned in Travis Jonker's School Library Journal Article, Postcards from Nerdcamp (http://www.slj.com/2015/08/standards/postcards-from-nerdcamp-pd-gets-fun-in-a-grassroots-unconference-on-literacy/), I felt empowered by attending in 2014 and implemented unlimited circulation in my school library.</div><div><br></div><div>We have to be very careful what we say to developing readers because what we teach them could become ingrained into their reading identity for life. That's more important than this year's state test scores.</div><div><br></div><div>I still have a hard time abandoning books, and there are still people shaming me for reading children's books! Just this summer, a relative asked what I was reading and remarked, "You're always reading kids' books." I <span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">usually mention I'm a children's librarian in response, like this is my profession and I have to read kids' books. </span></div><div><br></div><div>This past weekend, I was almost brought to tears in a video I made that mentioned the effect of a children's book that inspired me.<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"> Then the author responded with a Tweet of encouragement. </span></div><div><br></div><div>Children's books aren't obligations! They are special and wonderful. The authors are amazing people who care about children and educators. I am proud to say that I read them! I read them because I love them. The books are why I am a librarian, not the other way around. </div><div><br></div><div>And this whole double-shelved bookcase of adult books? </div><div><br></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmkI4bnG-yttFqlsknLZn_rgv_A6JOL_Rw-EABxNASxQpZ3TnjgwuJaOVtliq058cwL-I6VAo3aAnXB7O7alrRU8ZmMBk-1ueY05WtMjC_XXKB0vjR5bpdVO5DZrkXWUiwU6rUZ9zExC4/s640/blogger-image--1547432866.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmkI4bnG-yttFqlsknLZn_rgv_A6JOL_Rw-EABxNASxQpZ3TnjgwuJaOVtliq058cwL-I6VAo3aAnXB7O7alrRU8ZmMBk-1ueY05WtMjC_XXKB0vjR5bpdVO5DZrkXWUiwU6rUZ9zExC4/s640/blogger-image--1547432866.jpg"></a></div><br></div><div>It is time to let most of them go to readers who will actually read them. I'm contacting the Friends of the Library in my teaching community who have a store off-site.</div>Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05956613534167855329noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4861972043463547728.post-9524953209220969342015-08-14T08:19:00.001-07:002015-08-14T11:03:03.689-07:00Bob SheaSo catching up on my #pb10for10 posts which I altered to feature 10 awesome picture books over a number of days. Today I am featuring three books - 2 written and illustrated by Bob Shea and the last written by Jory John and illustrated by by Bob Shea.<div><br></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlRdVeA5fSY1t_FrPdPIQIzpvwyTfNzrIz-vRlG8LID3r_M8GMXXrqPaLyhNhnSK1Pv6IWUOIuDGt0MeiKlB75XCEPT2xJRqMn17eE0PnjrcKMyp3_QXHGf8ZtLWBoPFrjtt7kGklJ_XU/s640/blogger-image-2013837951.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlRdVeA5fSY1t_FrPdPIQIzpvwyTfNzrIz-vRlG8LID3r_M8GMXXrqPaLyhNhnSK1Pv6IWUOIuDGt0MeiKlB75XCEPT2xJRqMn17eE0PnjrcKMyp3_QXHGf8ZtLWBoPFrjtt7kGklJ_XU/s640/blogger-image-2013837951.jpg"></a></div><br></div><div>So every little girl will want to read this book; it had a unicorn, rainbow colors and sparkles. However, when you start reading, you meet the funniest goat in all of English literature, and he has some real problems with this uppity unicorn. What's even more amazing is the lesson that is taught at the end of the story. </div><div><br></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghyphenhyphenSJF9o7-0hmK0mexk2FAlPFb0VPG0e9sCGLE8MvQdlI2btxNRdJKvbggw-Mf-W-4zj7ZAsjypEtQJ3ZqwB6tjA26JJpibR86c-tno6iTbrHxQT0oztTQpZwLn3yeNKlFG30dBL8zFGU/s640/blogger-image-691310137.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghyphenhyphenSJF9o7-0hmK0mexk2FAlPFb0VPG0e9sCGLE8MvQdlI2btxNRdJKvbggw-Mf-W-4zj7ZAsjypEtQJ3ZqwB6tjA26JJpibR86c-tno6iTbrHxQT0oztTQpZwLn3yeNKlFG30dBL8zFGU/s640/blogger-image-691310137.jpg"></a></div></div><div><br></div><div>If you have follow me on Twitter, you have probably seen my I love Ballet Cat posts and I really, really do. However, I am not going to talk a lot about this book because:</div><div>1) you should join the #SharpSchu Twitter conversation on Tuesday August 19th.</div><div><br></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVl1pusfB7xv9G4QmuOyvIr5gu3ygGw6qLCvb6KSV5JuTa_6CgRQf1abdiabt4LKeLtehsFcNxyhdDRc2XWLUiBz2MbROWXXfDSVvkLAFI9thjfSOJzOTiTpDk76Hb1eUybM7JOxzcqdE/s640/blogger-image-1552343602.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVl1pusfB7xv9G4QmuOyvIr5gu3ygGw6qLCvb6KSV5JuTa_6CgRQf1abdiabt4LKeLtehsFcNxyhdDRc2XWLUiBz2MbROWXXfDSVvkLAFI9thjfSOJzOTiTpDk76Hb1eUybM7JOxzcqdE/s640/blogger-image-1552343602.jpg"></a></div></div><div><br></div><div>2) I have a special story to share: my youngest daughter and rising 2nd grader is reading on grade level. She is not ready to read most chapter books, yet thought that is what she should be reading and tried to abandon picture books. I did not push, helped her read beginning chapter books like Junie B. Jones, although they were pushing the frustration level. Once she read Ballet Cat (about 25 times, but I've read it over and over a lot myself), she went back to reading picture books!</div><div><br></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhluvc8mbvYHHEUpD6tumiAwE3NS9BTYVLHwIuKyZqDPIkzJ__-mcF1OaIgYGyZfanNLXRSnyuKwP5OEVTP1W4WWYIWVx5qBNnZ0M64uRdWT9kIptjLO1GudjIykwq6vys-M-XoCDfPYRI/s640/blogger-image--2085659707.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhluvc8mbvYHHEUpD6tumiAwE3NS9BTYVLHwIuKyZqDPIkzJ__-mcF1OaIgYGyZfanNLXRSnyuKwP5OEVTP1W4WWYIWVx5qBNnZ0M64uRdWT9kIptjLO1GudjIykwq6vys-M-XoCDfPYRI/s640/blogger-image--2085659707.jpg"></a></div></div><div><br></div><div>I attended the Scholastic Book Fairs Reading Summit in Charlotte this summer. Former school librarian and now Ambassador for School Libraries with Scholatic Book Fairs, John Schu, gave me the opportunity to read a F&G of I Will Chomp You. Books where the characters interact with or have an awareness of the reader or that they are in a book are great because the kids enjoy them so much during read alouds. This book reminded me of a book from my childhood, The Monster at the End of the Book with Grover from Sesame Street. It was released on August 4th.<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"> </span></div><div><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><br></span></div><div><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">As a school librarian and a parent, I highly recommend these books for public, school, classroom and home libraries.</span></div><div><br></div><div><br></div>Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05956613534167855329noreply@blogger.com0Kernersville Kernersville36.077897 -80.110343tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4861972043463547728.post-31675927590257435222015-08-12T21:18:00.001-07:002015-08-12T21:18:08.000-07:00NC 2015 School YearI totally flaked and didn't do a picture book post today. There will be one tomorrow. Instead I'm tackling a hard topic: teaching in North Carolina. The NC government still has not passed the state budget. The fiscal year began on July 1st. This is a GOP that has complete control of the three branches of state government, yet are unable to pass a budget. They have cut education, given inequitable raises, tried to end teacher tenure (and are still wasting taxpayer dollars even though they have been told by two courts that the law is unconstitutional), etc. They clearly are incompetent at their jobs, and do not care about children or the future of our state. <div><br></div><div>NC is a right to work state. Teachers cannot unionize or go on strike. I understand if people are frustrated, and feel the need to move on to other states to make more money or maybe pursue a career outside of education.</div><div><br></div><div>However, if you are a teacher and you walk in a classroom on August 24th (except for schools who have already started), I know that you are going to give 100% to your students. We are not going to punish them for the failures of our legislation. We are professionals and we love our students. We are not in this for the money; if we were, we would have never stepped one foot into our classrooms. We will protect our students from bad legislative polices for as long as we possibly can; we have been doing so for years.</div><div><br></div><div>I would bet most of the ladies and gentlemen in our state legislature consider themselves to be Christians. I pray that they find it in their hearts and minds to do the right thing for the children of our state. <br><div><br></div><div><br></div></div>Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05956613534167855329noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4861972043463547728.post-19351635468767302482015-08-11T16:25:00.001-07:002015-08-11T16:25:54.084-07:00Nana in the City<div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0pIcleDryXvwU_vYM3IxokVMJj15XWvJ0iD2joOoK_3yoy3_O0bXv2Gl4bvXt21YWZvIocjhuB_1fNOFRgd3ganT0WdWeDHc5oUYRgJm-ZrpIf8YXziAi60ckW0SyR6G3N861HasZWC8/s640/blogger-image--198574872.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0pIcleDryXvwU_vYM3IxokVMJj15XWvJ0iD2joOoK_3yoy3_O0bXv2Gl4bvXt21YWZvIocjhuB_1fNOFRgd3ganT0WdWeDHc5oUYRgJm-ZrpIf8YXziAi60ckW0SyR6G3N861HasZWC8/s640/blogger-image--198574872.jpg"></a></div><br></div><div><br></div>So apparently #pb10for10 was only supposed to be for one day. I blame this mistake on the fact that I've contracted a miserable summer cold. I also tend to want things my way so I'm just going to celebrate for 10 days. My theme: these books are AWESOME! Authority: 30+ yrs. as a booknerd.<div><br></div><div>So Lauren is amazing, and I was totally nervous and barely spoke to her at #nErDcampMI. Here is another book of hers you should check out:</div><div><br></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwnMiTRNxOUP2dcq4zMc9CKb5ROf7TTW2xTVYXHgy32J-59vLQdjLxrvk4ZBfXxMLghMX3Oaq58rj6q2jg9mQSgi9UZdCxvDBwKewrJKh9pCkMJFVWoS_cpQBnSvpO5Td4dm1UE0de8BA/s640/blogger-image--1846874170.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwnMiTRNxOUP2dcq4zMc9CKb5ROf7TTW2xTVYXHgy32J-59vLQdjLxrvk4ZBfXxMLghMX3Oaq58rj6q2jg9mQSgi9UZdCxvDBwKewrJKh9pCkMJFVWoS_cpQBnSvpO5Td4dm1UE0de8BA/s640/blogger-image--1846874170.jpg"></a></div><br></div><div>In this Caldecott Honor winning book, a boy spends a magical time with his grandmother in New York City. </div><div><br></div><div>I <span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">just bought a copy of this for my home at the Scholatic Book Fair Summer Reading Summit. I have a library copy, but it is always checked out so I haven't brought it home. My husband read it to my children and informed them that he knew Nana was not pronounced the English way because Lauren's last name was either Italian or Spanish (his grandmother was Italian and the girls' call his mother the Italian pronunciation of Nana). When I asked Lauren, she gave me the perfect answer, "You may pronounce it however you'd like." Of course, now all three girls want to go to NYC. I haven't been there since 1999 so I hope we get to go sometime soon!</span></div><div><br></div>Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05956613534167855329noreply@blogger.com0Winston-Salem Winston-Salem36.084447 -80.113049tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4861972043463547728.post-63082000125843656412015-08-10T10:17:00.001-07:002015-08-10T10:22:15.540-07:00The Troublemaker by Lauren Castillo<div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLUDXBz4wbioSJBKf_o2pk_9Jw7k9j6hIB3StV47E1KoBuqA4gi2h-SO6J9HaBiHYbM9tVeByvx70tyg2yoRRif1V7SimuKS_AyRLS5GVrgLeWqWFDrBtD_25yT38qR7CG9H2gCgKhl5Q/s640/blogger-image--1286926223.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLUDXBz4wbioSJBKf_o2pk_9Jw7k9j6hIB3StV47E1KoBuqA4gi2h-SO6J9HaBiHYbM9tVeByvx70tyg2yoRRif1V7SimuKS_AyRLS5GVrgLeWqWFDrBtD_25yT38qR7CG9H2gCgKhl5Q/s640/blogger-image--1286926223.jpg"></a></div><br></div><div><br></div>Mommy: "Get out or I will ban you from this bathtub!" 7 yr. old: "Fine, that just means I'll never take a bath again." No, this isn't a story from a picture book; this happened at my house this morning. Christine (or Beanie as she was nicknamed by her Auntie Amy when she was the size of a bean) was forgetting that we live in a house with 2.5 bathrooms, making her life without bath threats quite idle.<div><br></div><div>Despite her beginnings as a perfect baby (perfect delivery, perfect nurser, perfect sleeper), she is now known as The Troublemaker. She certainly makes life interesting.</div><div><br></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcMCLuyqikxpP6sBesbTume81K2efbhkwDQmFyWvxhv4lNdNfuihabBQZHfUhJ1ttZ46pWkxqn-qwgYXT6hsW6e0-2snW_tvMglB3RMRI8SfoX_chdZWG3P_MLiq9jiYjGDYfATPIQL50/s640/blogger-image-1632807409.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcMCLuyqikxpP6sBesbTume81K2efbhkwDQmFyWvxhv4lNdNfuihabBQZHfUhJ1ttZ46pWkxqn-qwgYXT6hsW6e0-2snW_tvMglB3RMRI8SfoX_chdZWG3P_MLiq9jiYjGDYfATPIQL50/s640/blogger-image-1632807409.jpg"></a></div><br></div><div><br></div><div>I love the picture book of the same name, written and illustrated by Lauren Castillo. In this story, a beloved stuff animal disappears, and an older brother makes it his mission to find it. When I heard they were giving away 50 copies at #nErDcampMI 2014, I told my mother and daughter that we had to get up at 5 am so we could make it from Ohio (where we had traveled to from NC the previous day) so that we could make it to Parma, MI so I could get a copy. </div><div><br></div><div>Christine loved the book and it is still one of our favorite books to read together. I ordered a copy for my school library and it is almost always checked out.</div>Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05956613534167855329noreply@blogger.com0Winston-Salem Winston-Salem36.07899 -80.112483tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4861972043463547728.post-58180532846155864782015-07-31T09:42:00.001-07:002015-07-31T09:45:55.044-07:00Backlash and Body Issues<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGREAUAc2KEkXgtHHUMvuJGrT3T7Rc2PHd6pj0aUm1BNuvhrLZISFynaaD3ohvRYSuh38gvFAtd_J9SjowG1jX3aoUtkTVmQdwHHeolSY91iyeiI-wj8LN0eDinP7R00kBYb7KLmMy_OU/s640/blogger-image-588309246.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGREAUAc2KEkXgtHHUMvuJGrT3T7Rc2PHd6pj0aUm1BNuvhrLZISFynaaD3ohvRYSuh38gvFAtd_J9SjowG1jX3aoUtkTVmQdwHHeolSY91iyeiI-wj8LN0eDinP7R00kBYb7KLmMy_OU/s640/blogger-image-588309246.jpg"></a></div><br>
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I'm currently reading <i>Backlash</i> by Sarah Darer Littman. I will let you search out a more thorough summary if you choose, but the short version is that a formerly overweight teen, Lara, attempts suicide after an incident involving Facebook. Just like with <i>Butter</i> by Erin Jade Lange, reading a book about weight/body issues causes me to reflect on my own.<br>
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I was spared any bullying about my weight in school, although I was teased for developing early and for being a nerd, the latter now being a badge of pride. I had self-image issues though, wanting to have one of the teeny size 2 model bodies. Of course, now I wish I could go back in time and hug my younger self and tell her she was beautiful as she was.</div>
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From age 17-21, I began the journey to obesity. The destinations included genetic factors and traumatic life experiences, but there was also a sedentary lifestyle and very bad dietary choices. I turned 37 this year. I can't change the former, but If I refuse to change the latter, the consequences are going to be things I can't live with, quite literally, in fact.</div>
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This week, we received an email from school personnel to send in our shirt size. Even though I lost 44 lbs. during the school year and based on the way my pants are currently fitting, maybe a few more this summer, I almost listed the same size as last year. Why do we have a fixed mindset of our body image? And a negative one at that? This is clearly one of Lara's problems in <i>Backlash</i>, but even as an adult, I am susceptible to the same thinking. It seems ridiculous to put it this way, but I have taken the leap and listed a smaller shirt size. Sometimes the biggest backlash we have to overcome is the one from within.</div>
Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05956613534167855329noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4861972043463547728.post-33230793704216945632015-07-24T14:13:00.001-07:002015-07-24T14:13:25.896-07:00#EDUheroes<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsS3T7b9Qj7ZNIYbYzOppQRJcUdslU74C6JtqGhRNcuHbBFCMeN8_u5GUtplraOhtHJOQWYxmIqF24elfJEILq98tOJrJCYXjGrl2uH-8oFD8aDArbnsKfueDNx5tPNJ76nBV19h7htM4/s1600/blogger-image--866927500.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsS3T7b9Qj7ZNIYbYzOppQRJcUdslU74C6JtqGhRNcuHbBFCMeN8_u5GUtplraOhtHJOQWYxmIqF24elfJEILq98tOJrJCYXjGrl2uH-8oFD8aDArbnsKfueDNx5tPNJ76nBV19h7htM4/s1600/blogger-image--866927500.jpg" /></a></div>
So this post is inspired by Pernille Ripp (@pernilleripp), a 7th grade teacher in Wisconsin. She wrote a blog post, <a href="http://pernillesripp.com/2015/07/24/i-would-be-a-liar/">I Would Be a Liar</a>. in which, she talks about her popularity and reminds us that everything is never about us, it is always about the kids. This is a wonderfully humble position, but #EDUheroes, it IS about you. You inspire us, you keep us going, you make us better teachers for our kids, as well as being tremendous educators to your own.<br />
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As rewarding as it can be to be an educator, there's a dark side. It can be heartbreaking and soul crushing. Hundreds of teachers cannot handle it, and leave the profession. Such a thing can happen even 12 years in. This past school year, my job changed drastically. I went from a 33% to 100% fixed schedule, and I lost my media assistant, becoming responsible for shelving all the library books. My budget for purchasing books was slashed by 80%. In the current economic times, this isn't out of the ordinary, and you're expected to adjust and keep going. My adjustment was particularly hard because I started having debilitating migraines, causing me to miss many days of work.<br />
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I often felt overwhelmed, and most of all guilty, feeling like I was letting my students down. I seriously wondered if it was time for me to walk away from being an educator, even though I wanted to be a school librarian from the time I was a little girl.<br />
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Even though that teacher light dimmed in me, it never went out. I still read the Nerdy Book Club entries everyday and I read tons of kidlit books like always. John Schu, @MrSchuReads, with his 25,000+ followers, somehow noticed that I wasn't posting on Twitter and would send me DMs to check on me. I needed to find a piece of information from <i>Reading in the Wild </i>by Donalyn Miller (@donalynbooks).<i> </i>I reread the whole book just so I could hear Donalyn's voice speak to me about reading.<br />
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Sometime in February the information about #nErDcampMI started coming in from Colby and Alaina Sharp, two more #EDUheroes who teach in Parma, MI. The day after my birthday, March 16, Mr. Schu posted about Scholastic #ReadingSummit and I signed up that very day. It was survival mode the rest of the year, but I didn't quit, looking forward to seeing my #EDUheroes in person. Being around my nerdy friends (old and new) at #nErDcampMI lifted my spirits so very much. I was excited to meet Pernille. Her <a href="http://pernillesripp.com/?s=nerdtalk">nerdtalk</a> brought the house down, and then she led a session on Day Two that helped inspire my sister Amy Ralph (@lehmanac), also a librarian, to share her current frustrations and to start her own <a href="https://thehisolibrarian.wordpress.com/">blog</a>. #ReadingSummit was another celebration of the love of reading and further cemented my commitment to my job as a librarian. I bought books, was given books (partially under duress) and even gave away books. It was glorious.<br />
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Never underestimate your impact! I'm not going to be a Pernille, Colby, Donalyn or John. Even if you only have a few followers, you can still be a #EDUhero to someone, and you may never even know it. Yes, we are here for the kids, but we also need to be here for each other so we can be here for the kids. Thank you all for being here for me.<br />
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<br />Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05956613534167855329noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4861972043463547728.post-58838077543929389062014-11-25T11:50:00.004-08:002014-11-25T11:50:59.519-08:001997 Newbery Authors - Did You Know?<br />
When these books were published, I was in either the last semester of high school (Class of '96) or the first semester of college. With the intentions of becoming a high school English teacher, I certainly wasn't reading middle grade books so I had to read 4/5 of the 1997 Newbery books.<br />
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Posting summaries is getting rather boring, so I decided to dig up some information about the authors to share.<br />
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E.L. Konigsburg, the author of the 1997 medal winner, <em>The View From Saturday</em>, holds a place in Newbery history as the only author to win both a Newbery medal and honor award in the same year. Can you name the year and the titles?
<a href="http://www.ala.org/alsc/awardsgrants/bookmedia/newberymedal/newberyhonors/newberymedal">Source</a>.<br />
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Nancy Farmer, author of the Newbery Honor Book, <em>A Girl Named Disaster</em>, actually believed that she had a twin brother that her parents gave up for adoption. She wasn't gullible enough to believe that he was turned into a lampshade, as her older sister claimed.
<a href="http://www.nancyfarmerwebsite.com/bio.html">Source.</a>
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Eloise McGraw was 81 years old when she received a Newbery Honor for The Moorchild. The state of Oregon has named a book award after her.
<a href="http://www.literary-arts.org/what-we-do/oba-home/book-awards/young-readers/">Source</a>.<br />
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Although she is from Virginia, Ruth White taught middle school in my home state of North Carolina. <br />
She wrote a sequel to her 1997 Newbery Honor, <em>Belle Prater's Boy</em>. Has anyone read <em>The Search for Belle Prater</em>?
<a href="http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/contributor/ruth-white">Source</a>.
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Megan Whalen Turner's Newbery Honor Book, The Thief, is the first in a series. Four book have been published, with two more supposedly forthcoming.
<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8306741-untitled">Source.</a>
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I plan to go on a hiatus from my Newbery Challenge until the YMAs for 2015 are announced. Last year, I had read 4/5 of the Newbery books before the were awarded. Time to read lots of 2014 books! My Newbery goal for 2015 is to read the medal and honors from 1996-1987.
Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05956613534167855329noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4861972043463547728.post-10540015448185770572014-10-08T18:42:00.000-07:002014-10-08T18:42:45.611-07:00Becoming a writing teacherI have admitted on this blog before that I do not feel like a writer. Someone at work recently commented that the love of reading pours out of me, and it is impossible for the kids not to see it. I enjoy teaching my library classes and feel highly competent in that area. I know that being a reader is the reason why I excel as a librarian. Co-teaching writing each morning from 8-8:30 is not an area where I feel as strong. Fortunately, the classroom teacher I'm working with has put a great deal of trust and faith in me. She is a leader (in her classroom and the school) and has put me at ease about jumping into new territory as a teacher.<div><br></div><div>I feel so honored to have these students, many of which I've seen grown from age 5 to age 10 (or 11), share their stories with me. One student shared a time when her older sister scared her on an amusement park ride. Another shared about the time she met her best friend in 2nd grade. That I knew the characters from these stories made me smile, thankful for the years of connections I have had with these students. I am also learning things I didn't know, that one student's sister has seizures and that another's greatest triumph was the time he defeated his dad in a basketball game.</div><div><br></div><div>Some might view this time as a chore, and would rather focus their energy on their main role at school. I see it as a time to grow. I get to strengthen my bond with my students. And, who knows, in the process of teaching writing, I may just become a writer myself.</div>Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05956613534167855329noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4861972043463547728.post-40555992432955748182014-09-29T09:06:00.000-07:002014-10-08T18:43:11.333-07:00Rediscovering Old Favorites: Frog & ToadA month ago, if I were prompted to recall favorites books from childhood, <i>Frog and Toad</i> wouldn't have made the list. I had a general recollection of the books, but I couldn't remember any of the stories. A few weeks ago, I decided to use the <i>Frog and Toad</i> books to help teach character analysis to first grade. I could have chosen a "newer book," but for some reason <i>Frog and Toad</i> caught my eye. Now I find myself searching out more <i>Frog and Toad</i> books to read, for me. My favorite story is "The Story" from <i>Frog and Toad Are Friends. </i>Frog is sick so Toad decided to tell him a story. The problem is that he can't think of one and does ridiculous things like pour water over his head. I laughed along with the kids while reading it.<br />
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Then I discovered that their was an animated film, <i>Frog and Toad Together</i>. I never saw it as a child, but Frog's voice reminds me of one of the <i>Fraggle Rock</i> characters. My favorite story is "The Dream."<br />
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<iframe width="420" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/XgvOKgt8wq8" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05956613534167855329noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4861972043463547728.post-17418503836981385022014-09-06T08:59:00.002-07:002014-09-06T09:00:11.977-07:0010 Impact BooksI was recently challenged to participate in a social media meme to list 10 books that have had an impact on my life. Talk about hard choices! Listing 100 would even be a challenge. After a lot of thought, here are my choices:<br />
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1. <i>Charlotte's Web</i> by E.B. White - My favorite book from childhood and a perfect model on how to be a friend. I named my daughter Charlotte after the main character; yes, she was named after a spider.<br />
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2. <i>Anne of Green Gables</i> by Lucy Maud Montgomery - Anne Shirley is such a kindred spirit. I always wish I could find a "bosom friend" like her.<br />
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3. <i>Little Women</i> by Louisa May Alcott - I still have the copy of this wonderful book that my Aunt Connie bought me when I was 11 years old.<br />
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4. <i>Paradise Lost</i> by John Milton - I was not a fan of poetry in my high school English classes. I read this in college and loved it, probably because it was poetry that told a story.</div>
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5. <i>The Wizard and the Glass</i> by Stephen King - This is Volume IV of the Dark Tower series, and my favorite by a mile. Roland's story could be read as a standalone, and if you do not want to commit to the whole series, I encourage you to do just that.</div>
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6. <i>Me Talk Pretty One Day</i> by David Sedaris - A book that made me laugh like no other. Whenever I have a bad day, I think of Rooster's advice. Read this book to find out what it is.</div>
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7. <i>We Are In a Book! </i>by Mo Willems - Willems is a genius! He makes listening to beginning readers enjoyable, a great feat indeed. These are perfect to share with an entire class or one on one with a child. </div>
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8. <i>The Book Whisperer</i> by Donalyn Miller - This book represents everything I am passionate about - sharing the love of reading with students. It also represents my online professional learning community that I have found through the <a href="http://nerdybookclub.wordpress.com/">Nerdy Book Club</a>.</div>
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9. <i>The One and Only Ivan </i>by Katherine Applegate - Winner of the 2013 Newbery Medal, this book will make you cry. It is based on a true story of a gorilla living on display in a mall.</div>
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10. <i>The Giver</i> by Lois Lowry - Do you like <i>The Hunger Games</i> and <i>Divergent</i>? Lowry did dystopian fiction long before Collins and Roth, and in my opinion, she did it better. This book won the Newbery Medal in 1994.</div>
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<br />Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05956613534167855329noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4861972043463547728.post-18490762307612390202014-08-31T09:36:00.004-07:002014-08-31T09:38:01.467-07:00Newbery Challenge 1998My Newbery challenge is to read every medal and honor books starting with the present and going backwards. Because the enormity of this challenge, I'm electing not to reread books that I have read since 2004.<br />
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For 1998, I had already read:<br />
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This left two honor books to read:<br />
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Lily's Crossing is set in 1944, during World War II. Lily's father is sent to build bombs in Detroit, leaving her to spend the summer with her grandmother at Rockaway Beach. Lily is not a saintly protagonist; she lies, sneaks into movies and is disrespectful to her grandmother. Her lying becomes problematic when she meets a Hungarian refugee, Albert, and promises to help him return to Europe via boat to help rescue his sister.<br />
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I obviously know what the verb "wring" means, yet I still found the idea of wringing the necks of pigeons, injured from gunshots, shocking and quite horrifying. The main character, Palmer, would agree with me. He seems to be suffering from PTSD, haunted by memories of Family Fest, a festival that includes a shooting contest involving 5,000 pigeons. Palmer is conflicted with his desire to fit into a gang of friends and his feeling about participating in acts of cruelty, including bullying a girl who is his neighbor and friend, as well as becoming a Wringer. </div>
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So both of these books were beautifully written, and I was sure I would be rating them both as five stars. Then I got to the endings. Both suffer from the <i>Okay For Now</i> problem. Both start as straight-forward historical/realistic fiction, but their endings move them to the realm of implausibility. I found myself thinking, "Really? That would never happen." I realize this is an adult perspective, but it did damper my reading of the book a bit. They were excellent despite this turn so I rated them both 4 stars.</div>
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On to 1997!</div>
<br />Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05956613534167855329noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4861972043463547728.post-91757988371376096292014-07-28T09:53:00.002-07:002014-07-28T09:57:25.654-07:00Newbery Challenge 2000I had not read even one of the books from the year 2000, so this was an interesting challenge.<br />
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The medal winner:</div>
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Christopher Paul Curtis is one of those authors whose work is something I'm always going to read. I read and loved <i>The</i> <i>Watson's</i> <i>Go</i> <i>to</i> <i>Birmingham</i> - <i>1963, Elijah of Buxton </i>and<i> The Mighty Miss Malone. </i>Bud Caldwell is an orphan living in Michigan in 1936. The story opens with an awful experience in foster care. Then Bud decides to travel from Flint to Grand Rapids to find the man he thinks is his father, based on flyers his mother had advertising a jazz band. I loved the same things @MrSchuReads mentions in his <a href="http://mrschureads.blogspot.com/2013/06/the-newbery-challenge-bud-not-buddy.html">#nerdbery video</a>. I was so excited when Deza Malome showed up! <i>Bud</i>, <i>Not</i> <i>Buddy</i> is definitely on my top 10 list of Newbery winners.</div>
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Newbery Honors</div>
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I loved Tomie dePaola's picture books growing up. This is the beginning of a biographical series. It reminds me of a beginning reader book because of the short chapters and overall length of the book. I am thrilled to have the opportunity to meet Tomie dePaola in September at <a href="http://scuppernongbooks.com/">Scuppernong Books</a>.</div>
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This book is so, so sad. Two girls lose their baby sister, and are sent off to live with their aunt, who has no children of her own. The younger sister refuses to speak, traumatized by what happened. Their grief and getting fed up with their aunt leads them to climb up on the roof (as seen on the cover), refusing to come down. The story begins there and everything else is told in flashbacks. It is set in a North Carolina, which is interesting, but the sad topic made it hard to read.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4EHAmBT10BbegC1jTh-e_I9Hbkdzj-Q1MjnCRI_XOt48Ny-C8uRW7LHvk4_YEnPZJEKjQLZOYxrI58l95S8M_UAhQCs5nLSyIfleQbUFZ_7C8VCE2K5asuO5zLbxmvgE-zHfvFlnX2fw/s640/blogger-image--1988918365.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4EHAmBT10BbegC1jTh-e_I9Hbkdzj-Q1MjnCRI_XOt48Ny-C8uRW7LHvk4_YEnPZJEKjQLZOYxrI58l95S8M_UAhQCs5nLSyIfleQbUFZ_7C8VCE2K5asuO5zLbxmvgE-zHfvFlnX2fw/s640/blogger-image--1988918365.jpg" /></a></div>
I blogged about this book in <a href="http://ralphreads.blogspot.com/2014/06/booktears.html">this post.</a> @colbysharp referred to this book in his <a href="http://mrcolbysharp.com/2013/06/15/newbery-challenge-bud-not-buddy/">#nerdbery video</a> for <i>Bud, Not Buddy</i>.<br />
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I have already read <i>Holes</i>, the 1999 Newbery winner, and <i>A Long Walk to Chicago, </i>the only Honor book for that year so on to 1998! <br />
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Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05956613534167855329noreply@blogger.com0