Rebecca Stead

I finished "First Light" last night. It was dense and didn't really get going until page 150, but it was really imaginative and I plan on recommending it to all my readers who love Gregor the Overlander. 

This morning I began "Liar and Spy", which is a Mark Twain Award Nominee for next year. This book already feels a bit like "When You Reach Me", because of the setting and also the tone. 

If I win the lottery, I'd have Stead be my next visiting author. I love her. 

Paradise in Plain Sight

From the first page, I began to read "Paradise" aloud. And nearly every sentence afterward. Maezen's book wants to be read aloud and if you have ever heard her voice, you will hope she records an audio version. 

"Awaken! Take heed. Do not squander your life." 

I adored Maezen's first two books, but "Paradise" was written by a teacher with her head on fire. This is not a memoir. This is serious stuff. This book is about time. 

"Awaken! Take heed. Do not squander your life." 

Choices

I have a bunch of new fiction in my library right now and I'm kind of paralyzed by the choices. I need to buckle down and get serious about one. I'm going with Rebecca Stead. 

Grounded by Kate Klise

I read the first chapter and put it down. The idea of losing so many family members in a tragic accident bothered me so much, I felt I'd been punched in the face. Somehow, the book turned out to be exciting and fun. This is no Love, Aubrey (sob-fest). Grounded is light hearted and surprisingly optimistic. 

A Crooked Kind of Perfect

"Money talks, but it don't sing and dance and it don't walk. Long as I can have you here with me, I'd much rather be Forever In Blue Jeans." - Neil Diamond 

Oh man. Read this lovely book. I closed it hours ago and I'm still grinning my face off. 

History of Books - a lesson with dictionaries

Jeri Chase Ferris's biography of Noah Webster blew our minds today. This story takes us back to the beginning of America, and really, the beginning of books as we know them. And that's a "dictionary lesson" I can get behind. 

First Graders looking at some "historical texts". 

Kate Klise Day!

Not to be gushy or anything...but today was The Greatest Day Ever. Kate taught great writing lessons, told funny stories, and just showered all of us with love. I add this wonderful day with Kate to my list of Days I Wish I Could Live Again. 

Illustrator, Laura Huliska-Beith Day!!

Today Laura Huliska-Beith came to visit! She illustrated The Recess Queen, which is well known, and a bunch of other really pretty, fun books. 

This one is my favorite:

This is the copy I got for my daughter. Laura did such a nice job signing these. My students were so delighted by their signed books. 

Laura was great. She came with so much cool stuff to show us. She brought sketchbooks and a book dummy and she had a great slide show. 

Cheers to a good day in the library!