Blogs

Book Review:
Any Second by Kevin Emerson
Pub. date: November 20, 2018
Read courtesy of netgalley.com

5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Review!
I cannot wait to get this book for my high school's library!

My students are taught to be an upstander instead of a bystander. In Any Second, Maya did this... and beyond. Kevin Emerson wrote a story that is both unique and scarily possible, which is what makes it such a compelling read.

Emerson did a great job with the pace of the storytelling and the points at which the narrator's focus switched between Maya and Eli. There was also enough detail to create mental pictures without being grossed-out to the point at which the story's narrative could have been overshadowed by the horror of the circumstances. There was enough to make the reader squirm without having to be told the minutia of Eli's torture and captivity.

The author created an atmosphere that allowed the reader to be drawn into Maya's and Eli's decision making. As a reader I was being told things each character couldn't know, and since I had no way of telling them, I had tension, sympathy, relief, anxiety, and hope right along with them.

The main characters had consistently true personalities, which helped this reader connect with the plot and action. The minor characters never felt extraneous and were used well to move the story forward. One Second will appeal to many different kinds of readers and could be recommended to readers of realistic fiction as well as of action/adventure or suspense fiction.

[The only negative critique -- a hiccup I encountered -- is in chapter 17, where Eli contemplates "how some commentators said Eli's disappearance would have been a bigger deal if he'd been white." Emerson has already made the book uber-inclusive (ex., religion, sexual orientation, gender roles, class, etc.), so this one line struck me as intrusive to the flow of the story, an extraneous or obvious attempt to highlight what the author had already made clear about Eli's ethnicity when discussing Eli's names.]

Influence by Sara Shepard; Lilia Buckingham Pub Date: 05 Jan 2021 Read courtesy of http://netgalley.com

Glad I stuck with it! Went from an almost DNF to 3 stars to 4 ⭐⭐⭐⭐. Might have been my disinterest, disdain, or dread of the effect social media has on this generation of teens that initially had me turned off, but as the plot developed, there was a real story behind all of the 'influencing' going on. [Get your cringe ready for an "in my day" story... when I was a teen, we were only worried if our business got out there if the teacher intercepted a note we passed in class or a parent picked up the extension of the phone while we were on the line.]

I read the beginning trying to deny or dismiss the reality that so many teens hope they'll be the next Internet sensation and monetize their notoriety. I didn't just want to be reading about the wannabes and cliques. By persisting, I was gifted with a well-crafted story that highlighted the not-so-glamorous side of teen Internet fame as well as the public perks. I'm sure Sara Shepard's fandom will be hooked on Influence as much as they are on Pretty Little Liars. Even readers unfamiliar with the Pretty Little Liars series (insert blush and finger-pointing here) will become engrossed as the author deftly crafted false leads as to whom the murderer could have been. I liked flip-flopping my choice of criminal as the story progressed.

There's something for everyone in the book: physical and mental illnesses, friendships and back-stabbing, romances and break-ups, straight and gay, good home lives and dysfunctional families, and race-fluid characters. parties and murder. This will be a great addition to my HS library. Posted by Pseudandry at 7/29/2020 08:37:00 AM

5 stars
The mesmerizing story of two close brothers who become torn apart by the civil rights tumult in 1968 Chicago. Roland Childs is a civil rights leader and father to Sam and Stick. For as long as they can remember, they have been involved in their father's demonstrations. Sam is the "good son" who always does the expected and Stick has the fiery temper and tests his father's oath of nonviolence. And it is this conflict between father and son that comes between the two brothers. Sam learns that Stick is a member of the Black Panthers Party and thinks he may want to join as well. But Sam is conflicted about many things and is not always definite about what kind of person he wants to be. He cares for Maxie, but she lives in a bad neighborhood and at one point, Sam lies and insults Maxie, and loses her caring and admiration. As Sam continues to question what kind of person he is, who he should give his allegiance to (his father or his brother), events conspire to make Sam question the mythological tale Stick would read to him over and over as a child. What kind of person would he be? Was he the rock or was he the river? A piercing coming of age story of a boy who struggles mightily to become the kind of person both his father and brother envision.

<a href="View''>http://www.goodreads.com/review/list/62411-bj">View all my reviews >></a>

What I Want You to See

by Catherine Linka

Pub Date: 04 Feb 2020

read courtesy of Netgalley.com 

As a YA School Librarian, I try to read books from the perspective of my students. Although I've given this story a 5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ for its story, I can only see it being a 3 ⭐⭐⭐ for my high school students. I loved the story and the style of writing, but I'm just not sure it's the type of story my students would enjoy. It's hard to say what about it does this: perhaps part writing style, part narrow character/plot appeal. The ability of a reader to relate to the world of an artist might affect how receptive the reader will be to this story. If it weren't for an art teacher in my current school who works with encaustics (hot wax painting), I might have been more lost in the story. 

Personally, I liked the writing style; although, it did take a bit of getting used to; but once I did, I flew through the rest of the story. It isn't a "great literature" style, more like both sophisticated and terse at the same time. The juxtaposition of style matches the main character's, Sabine's, duality, a teenager who has to grow into adulthood alone.

Linka fleshed out believable characters with realistic dialogue. Her characters don't feel cookie cutter or stereotypical. She didn't have to exaggerate or embellish and thereby kept her characters true to themselves. Linka also accomplished something I find that quite a few of the authors I read have a problem doing: she provided a satisfying and not forced ending to the story.

I appreciated the internal dialogues Sabine has with herself regarding morality. She ended up doing something that was morally correct and personally difficult. I found myself questioning myself as to what I might have done and when I might have done it. I can ask no more from an author than this: I was engaged in the story!

Book Review: Moonrise by Sarah Crossan

courtesy of www.netgalley.com 

publish date: May 8, 2018

Sarah Crossan brought me into a world I don't think I'll ever encounter in my own life, but she brought me into it nonetheless. Great job helping me to be a part of someone else's life, especially when I'd have no understanding otherwise.

What it is like having your older brother on death row, having a family that can barely take care of itself, having the seesaw conviction of unconditional love with others telling you to forget about your brother... mix in a great [unexpected] plot twist... creates a story full of sympathy, doubt, and life.

I really enjoyed Crossan's writing style; it helped with the rhythm of the story and with the personalities of the characters. Not quite prose paragraphs and not quite verse novel, the format added motion and emotion to the narrative.

I read this right before I read, The Hate U Give, and Moonrise is it's own unique tale, not derivative or redundant, and it provides a great addition to the repertoire of life stories I never would encounter without the aide of Angie Thomas or Sarah Crossan. 

I can see this book working for a YA book club, especially because of the moral issues tackled: death sentence, race, poverty, family, and addiction.

I'm looking forward to having this book in my high school library.

7:30 am: Small committee meeting to evaluate 8^th grade “technology” literacy assessment test pilot data. Yes, we understand that you can’t really adequately assess these skills in a multiple choice test. However, this is what our middle school principals want. Okay – for one year. After all, the data might be very interesting. We decided last month that information literacy skills were more important – looking at both our district and state “definitions” of technology literacy – all framed within the important skills and concepts of information literacy. We tried out our assessment on 9^th grade students to see how they’d do. The results were less than spectacular. We dissect the test – try to determine what the problem areas are – is it vocabulary? Are we really not teaching students how to evaluate information critically and competently? We decide to continue our analysis on our wiki – as we separate for conferences, teaching, and other job responsibilities. Time is running short.

10:00 am: Travel to one of our high schools to train and brainstorm with a new audio/visual paraprofessional how to use the library system to effectively search and report on her equipment inventory. Dissect the MARC record form, see what fields display in reports, the circulation module, and the PAC. Yes – we can make this work! How lucky I feel that this new staff member has the technology skills to follow me as I show her searching and reporting strategies in software she’s never really seen before.

11:30 am: Meet with the high school’s library media specialist. She’s been saving up her questions for me. Right and left brain questions. How should she introduce AASL’s new Learning Standards and gain buy-in from her teachers? How do I see these relating to the previous 9 Information Literacy Standards, and the state-adopted ISTE NETS? Big questions – no immediate answers. How can we make the online library catalog display a message to students, when they are looking at non-fiction results, a suggestion to go to our online subscription databases for further information? And lastly, have I looked at her school’s linked “citation machine” to determine if this is producing accurate and up-to-date MLA citations? I did not have an answer for any of these questions – more to explore later.

1:00 pm Back in my cubicle – scanning email for “emergencies” and checking voice mail. Is Kids Catalog down? -No. Why can I only check in items and not check out? –You haven’t loaded a patron. My principal wants me to add these books to the database. The first few worked – then I keep getting errors. Why? – I need a bit more information to answer that question. Can you load this MARC record file right away? I have a student who has been asking to check out this book for 2 days! - Ok – wow – no errors – it loaded in less than a minute! The other 50 emails will need to wait…Checking my calendar – what’s on for tomorrow? A half-day training with teachers, librarian and technology teacher at an elementary school. A chance to model collaboration, integration of information literacy, backwards design, formative assessment…need to check my notes and make sure I have enough handouts.

2:00 pm Department meeting to review our progress on creating a video to show what 21^st century learning looks like. The script is in place – but where can we find those examples of excellence to capture on film? Do we all agree what it looks like? I am not sure. Add to my list of to-dos – find out when some great collaborative projects are happening in our school libraries. Schedule the film crew.

2:45 pm: My chance to be with kids – I am scheduled to read to a preschool class today! What a delight! I feel grounded.

3:30 pm: Finally a chance to catch up with the school I’m working with tomorrow. The agenda is approved – the plan is in place. I run off the handouts I need.

4:00 pm District Accreditation Sub-committee Meeting: We have been re-writing the district plan to accredit schools. This is an important place to have my voice heard. This is hard work – deep thinking, and it is late in the day. I contribute what I can to the conversation and decision making – content in the knowledge that the administrators and teachers, as well as the parents on this committee know that I am a librarian by profession – and I have good ideas to contribute and support the ultimate mission – student success.

Book Review

Body Swap by Sylvia McNicoll

Read courtesy of www.netgalley.com

Publication date: 09 Oct 2018

https://pollyannapollyanna.blogspot.com/2018/04/book-review-what-you-left-me.html

What You Left Me

by Bridget Morrissey

publication date June 5, 2018

courtesy of www.netgalley.com

Magical realism.  As a result of a drunk driving accident during their high school graduation, friends get connected through dreams to the friend who "is stuck" in limbo from his injuries. I might have liked this better if the characters beyond the three main characters were more developed. The other 'friends' are not stereotypical; it's just that they're not described enough for me to empathize or connect with any of them. They are more like plot devices than participants.

My suspension of disbelief isn't working when someone with a class rank of 11 gets over a year to make up one exam in order to keep her class rank. The real pressures of high school report cards, class rank, and accountability required magical realism to make this work.

I'd like to think teens are smarter than to ditch in the middle of their high school graduation ceremony in order to go on a drunk joy ride all while expecting to return to the ceremony and have no one notice they'd been gone. The ditch, the drinking... as well as magically connecting to one's alphabetical neighbor for the first time at graduation? 

I did appreciate the humorous lightness Morrissey offered throughout the story, but it wasn't enough to undo the falseness of the ending, "Do you really think you had control over what was going to happen to you?" Yes, don't get into a car with your impetuous, impulsive drunk friend.

Many educators, particularly those focused on having culturally responsive and inclusive classrooms, understand the value of being a “warm demander” for their students.  This term, originally coined in 1975 by Judith Kleinfeld, describes how teachers can hold their students to high expectations in a structured environment while still conveying a deep and sincere belief in, and care for, those students.  

More recently, teachers and coaches have described warm demanders as educators who, in the words of author Lisa Delpit, "expect a great deal of their students, convince them of their own brilliance, and help them to reach their potential in a disciplined and structured environment." If you are a teacher who is unfamiliar with this term, I strongly recommend making the effort to learn more about it, whether you work with underserved or highly privileged youth. 

This article is not focused on our students, however.  It is focused on you, the educator.  The purpose of this article is to invite YOU to extend the same level of warmth and unconditional positive regard to yourself.

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Great teachers are invaluable, yet too often their tireless work goes unnoticed or worse, unappreciated. While teacher appreciation week is in May, why wait to recognize the incredible work of our educators? These individuals dedicate their lives to developing the next generation. They come in early to prepare special lessons and stay late to help tutor struggling students. They capture the imagination of students by showing them the world of books, the power of math and the lessons of history. Great teachers make schoolwork come alive and they are not satisfied by helping students just achieve good test scores; instead they strive to spark curiosity, foster learning and encourage new discovery among the young scholars they nurture.

Almost everyone can relate to being inspired at some point in their lives by a great teacher … someone who took an interest and gave support, helped with mastery of a skill, taught us how to conquer a problem or made it possible for us to take a dream of who we wanted to be and turn it into reality. More than ever, we need teachers that not only educate our students, but help connect them to their passions and explore the possibilities of what could be. Teachers deserve our thanks every day for all they do. 

A new video, “Salute to Teachers,” (http://youtu.be/ypFRxw9czi4) thanks these important mentors by showing the dynamic influence of educators. They ignite students’ minds and passions by asking simple questions like “what,” “why,” or “how.” Once the curious fire of learning is stoked, great teachers have the ability to build on that excitement and desire for discovery. Engaging teachers bring personal commitment to the classroom every day and that kind of interactive connection between teachers and their students motivates learners of all ages to test boundaries and become a part of the larger world around them.

Surveys have shown students are greatly influenced by their teachers. The mentorship of a teacher can solidify a student’s success in high school and beyond into college. Last fall a Microsoft survey found that a majority of college students studying science, technology, engineering or math decided to enter those fields because of a teacher. Great instruction sparks interest in exploring the world––one teacher can encourage a student to make a lifelong commitment to learning.

In a world that is ever changing, the importance of teachers is a constant. Teachers play a critical role in the future of our planet. The GLOBE Program (http://www.globe.gov) is taking this opportunity to salute teachers everywhere—for all of the things they do. GLOBE encourages you to thank teachers for their work on the frontlines and for pushing the world to be a better place by inspiring students everywhere. Share the “Salute to Teachers” video with all of the educators that have impacted your life. From your elementary or secondary school teachers or college professors, to the teacher who inspires your child, show your appreciation by posting the video on their Facebook page or to your social media profiles, as well as by sharing the link with others so they can also thank the great teachers in their lives. Together we can show teachers how much we appreciate all that they have done – and continue to do – for our communities and us each day they are in the classroom. 

• School Librarians and the Common Core Standards: Resources
  This is a livebiners presentaion from Carolyn Jo Starkey that presents detailed resources on how the Common Core Standards relate to school library media studies.
  Tags: CommonCore, standards, curriculum, librarians, Information fluency, 21cif
  • - By Dennis OConnor
• Posted from Diigo. The rest of Info Fluency group favorite links are here.

Untold Mayhem (audiobook version)

How to Pack for the End of the World by Michelle Falkoff Pub Date: 10 Nov 2020 read courtesy of http://netgalley.com Put five different competitive high schoolers together to see who can survive hypothetical apocalyptic disasters, and you get five unique interesting challenges. Falkoff crafted an entertaining story that expertly incorporated five different characterizations into the survival scenarios. I found some fairly profound truths in this story that resonated with me: (1) "I hated that I tended to assume people were straight unless they indicated otherwise." (2) "Funny how different it felt, having a crush versus liking someone who liked you back. I'd had butterflies with Hunter, but they'd made me feel a little bit sick. Wyatt made me feel nothing but happy." (3) "We'd been so fixated on managing big-picture problems that we hadn't yet learned how to deal with the day-to-day complexities of being ourselves..." Unfortunately, the author used some standard YA story formulas that I tend to dislike. For example the characters don't tell others how they feel but then expect others to be mind readers and act a certain way. In addition, this author actually comes out and has a character articulate another overused plot line "...where we need to help ourselves because the adults weren't going to be of much use." Throughout the book, the lead character Amina frequently claims she doesn't know her friends as well as they know her. The purpose of this characterization is so she can eventually prove she does end up knowing one her friends better than her other friends do. The repetitive self-deprecation, however, is annoyingly tedious. Nonetheless, I like the ending in which the characters learn to be " ...less concerned with what we put in our go-bags and more about how to use cooperation and empathy to prevent the things we were so scared of from happening." I only wish that Falkoff had listened to her own advice. Why was it necessary for her to call out 'Republican' vs. 'Democrat' in a doomsday scenario in which a Republican was so "unpopular" that he got elected for a third and fourth term? Since the good messages outweigh the trite precepts, I will enjoy putting this book into the hands of my high schoolers.