The Midnight Palace by Carlos Ruiz Zafón

I recently started receiving galleys from NetGalley. A fun and interesting way to get advance reader copies. There is a list and I pick what looks interesting. I click a button to request a copy and wait for a response. If they say yes I down load it to my iPad. There is a wide range of books to choose from. I couldn’t believe my eyes when I say a listing for The Midnight Palace by Carlos Ruiz Zafón. I quickly clicked the button and patiently waited (not really I couldn’t stand the wait!). Once the email came I was on my way to reading another fantastically scary book.

I don’t normally do scary. I am what is commonly referred to as a chicken. Covered eyes and all, so it is interesting that I am so taken by Carlos Ruiz Zafón’s young adult books. I guess it is easy to figure out why. His books they are engrossing and beautifully written. This new book is no different. The book was written in 1994, but because of legal issues (Carlos Ruiz Zafón mentions this on his site.) was not translated until this year. It was worth the wait.

The Midnight Palace takes place in Calcutta in 1932. The beginning of the book starts with a first person narrative of events that happened that year. The Midnight Palace is a place where a group of orphans from the orphanage have secret meetings to discuss wonderful dreams and goals. One of the orphans is Ben. When the orphans turn 16 they must leave the orphanage. The story opens on the eve of the departures. It is that night that Ben discovers he has a twin named Sheere. They have been hidden from evil reincarnated their entire lives. Evil goes by the name Jawahal. He is driven to destroy these two teenagers no matter who or what gets in his way. Jawahal is the name of the orphan’s father spelled backwards, Lahawaj. Ben and Sheere’s father was an architect that built a fabulous train station in Calcutta, but a horrific event happens that kills hundreds of children and destroys the station. Once the twins turn 16 Jawahal want to … I can’t tell you because there is NO WAY THERE WILL BE SPOILER here!

Carlos Ruiz Zafón is a master of prose. After finishing The Midnight Palace I wish there was another I could read today. Alas, I will have to wait.

CCIRA Conference and The Boy Reader Session

Last week I presented at the CCIRA Conference. Yes, I presented at the same conference with people like Regie Routman, Katie Wood Ray and Patrick Allen. The proposal CCIRA accepted was: Kyle will share his newest thoughts on motivating boys. He will discuss the importance of humor, talking during “independent” reading, graphic novels and book clubs. He will provide a wide range of new book titles boys love to read.


The morning of my session I found out that I would present in the amphitheatre. I was nervous at first. Like I said in my last post I don’t have a front to my classroom. Anyhow I quickly got into the presentation and shared many titles. Further down will be that list. It was cool  Katie Wood Ray and I both shared City Dog, Country Frog by Mo Willems and Jon J Muth.

 

The part of my presentation that stood out for me was the part on “dependent reading”. I have been observing the boys in my class during independent reading time. Often they are sitting next to another boy. Here are a couple of observations I have made:

 

1. They are looking at the same book and are taking turn reading and discussing what they just read.
2. Reading different books, but stop often to share what they have just read.
3. Constantly borrowing each other’s book to reread a favorite part, and discussing the book.

The difficulty teachers face is that this behavior can be disruptive to others, so we tell them to stop talking and get back to work. What would happen if we just let them do these behaviors? Would their fluency increase? Will they have a deeper understanding of what they read? Will they be more engaged in the reading process? I argue YES! YES! YES!

 

What are your thoughts?

 

 

 Here are the books I shared:

 

Picture Books

 

1.  Bear in Underwear by Todd H. Doodle
2. city dog, country frog by Mo Willems pictures by Jon J Muth
3. It’s a Book by Lane Smith
4.  A Couple of Boys have the Best Week Ever by Marla Fazee
5.  Let’s do Nothing by Tony Fucile
6.  A Pig Parade Is a Terrible Idea by Michael Ian Black illustrated by Kevin Hawkes
7. Shark vs. Train by Chris Barton & Tom Lichtenheld

 

Novels

1. My Life as a Book by Janet Tashjian cartoons by Jake Tashjian
2. because of mr. terupt by Rob Buyea
3. Cosmic by Frank Cottrell Boyce
4. Wildfire Run by Dee Garretson
5. NERD 2 M is for Mama’s Boy by Michael Buckley
6. Boom! by Mark Haddon
7. Crunch by Leslie Connor
8. Milo Sticky Notes and Brain Freeze by Alan Silberberg
9. The Strange Case of Origami Yoda by Tom Angleberger
10. The Kneebone Boy by Ellen Potter

Graphic Novels

 Lunch Lady by Jarrett J. Krosoczka

 Hardy Boys by Scott Lobdell

 Frankenstein The Graphic Novel by Mary Shelly

 

Poetry

 

 City I Love by Lee Bennett Hopkins

 Guyku a year of Haiku for Boys by Bob Raczka & Peter H. Reynolds

 

 Others

 

 Horrid Henry’s Joke Book by Francesca Simon

 Guys Read Funny Business edited by Jon Scieszka

 We Are in a Book! By Mo Willems

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2011 CCIRA Conference Part One

What a wonderful three days. The CCIRA conference ended today with two sessions by Katie Ray Wood and luncheon entertainment by Janet Stevens and Susan Stevens Crummel, but more about them later. Back up to Thursday morning. I barely slept that night because of excitement for the conference. Thursday was a busy day. First, I was to spend the day hosting Wendy Maas, but weather put an end to that. I do miss the fact that I didn’t get to spend the day with her. Next, I did a session on boys and reading. (My classroom doesn’t have a front. The tables are on the perimeter. The Third Teacher and my principal helped me design my layout) I found out I was speaking in the amphitheatre. I was nervous at first, but quickly got into my groove. I will blog more about my presentation later. Lastly, I received the Kay Mervar Outstanding Reading Educator Award at one of the luncheons. It was a wonderful day!


Friday turned out to be outstanding as well. Two sessions by Regie Routman! Her second one focused on optimal learning. We are in the process of finding a new leader for our school. Regie Routman said “It takes seven years for self-sustaining a school and one year to fall apart!” I will do everything in my power to make sure this doesn’t happen. The luncheon was Patricia Polacco. Unfortunately the weather was so bad in Chicago her train was delayed. Modern technology made it possible for her to SKYPE into the luncheon. At the end there wasn’t a dry eye in the room and the serving staff was back against the wall mesmerized. Thank you Patricia Polacco.

Today it was Katie Ray Wood. Wow. Wow. Wow. All I can really say is I can’t wait for Monday to confer with my writers!

My head is full and I hope I can put into practice what I heard and saw.

My thoughts on Read Alouds

I went to six different elementary schools and I don’t ever remember my teacher reading a novel to us. I am sure it must have happened, but it did not have an impact on me. Maybe this is why I was determined when I started teaching that I was going to read aloud to my class. It is by far my favorite time of the day. There are teachers in my building that DO NOT do a daily read aloud. Their reasons for not doing it are baffling. I mean really spending 10-15 minutes a day WILL NOT hurt their chances of success on the CSAP. The reality is that 10-15 minutes will help their chances of success in LIFE! (Enough of my soap box) Carol and Mary Lee have written wonderful observations about read alouds. Mary Lee has a link to a new blog by Rick Walton Why Read Aloud? that has some interesting comments. I want to add my thoughts to theirs.


Over my years of teaching I have taught first through fourth grade. There have been kids from families barely able to get their kids to school, English Language Learners and kids that belong to country clubs. Each and every one needs to be read to. Carol used to start our faculty meeting with a read aloud. It was the best part. So, even we need them! Back to kids.

I got into the blog world because of read alouds. When I went up to third grade (I mean started teaching third grade) I wanted to find something that looked good to me and my students. I asked around the school and teachers suggested Roald Dahl (most teachers read him, but not my cup of tea) Little House on the Prairie (sorry having a root canal sounded better!) The Littles and on and on. You get the picture fine books but I wanted WOW! With just a little research outside my school and the help of Carol I started finding some fantastic books to read aloud to kids.

Read aloud is a special time. It is right after lunch. It gives the kids a chance to relax and at the same time prepare for the afternoon. I rarely read the same book twice. There are a few exceptions. I read Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone years ago and re-read it this year. Most of the class had never heard or read the book. The day after I finished the book one boy came up to me, “Mr. Kimmal can I borrow Harry Potter to read?” I looked at him and said “D, we just finished it.” “I know but I think I can read it by myself.” He took the book from the shelf looked at me with a huge smile and said “Wow, I can’t wait.” He is still reading the book and doesn’t read his joke book everyday.

Another book I read aloud often is Yellow Star by Jennifer Roy. It is a narrative of Ms. Roy’s aunt. Her aunt was one the few surviving children of the Lodz Ghetto. It is told in a dairy form and introduces children to the Holocaust. It is a powerful book that leads to many interesting discussions. It is a book that prompts kids to look deeper into our history. A couple of years ago a Jewish student in class was greatly touched by the books and spent a couple of years researching the Holocaust. His fifth grade independent project on the Lodz Ghetto was incredible.

The other book that I have read more then once is The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman. I had no intention of reading it twice, even thought it is a GREAT READ ALOUD! Last year I taught a 3/4 split. Most of the 10 of the 12 fourth graders had been in my third grade class. They talked about so much that the class begged, pleaded, promised extra good behavior if I would read it. Little did they know that the begging would have been enough. Here are a few of the things that happened during this read aloud. First, kids loved it so much you could hear a pin drop on the carpet. The book is filled with great stopping points. At one stopping points the class was so upset that I stopped that another teacher entered my room because she thought something bad had happened. “Mr. Kimmal is everything alright?” “Yes, they are just mad because read aloud is over.” It is hard to describe the look on her face. I’m sure she was thinking are they really that upset about a read aloud being over. Next, my building is old and I have two doors into my room. One day one of the doors was closed and when I got to an eerie part of the book the closed door creaked open just a little causing nervous laughter. Soon after my principal walked through the other door and the kids screamed. She was startled and said “I’m not scary!” Finally, I find the ending of The Graveyard Book very touching. “Mr. Kimmal What’s wrong with your voice? Why does it sound funny?” I replied that I was fine and luckily did not cry.

As I said at the beginning read aloud is my favorite time of the day. It is a non-negotiable. Patrick Allen just Twitted “Remember when children quoted authors? Now they talk about their reading levels.” I don’t want my students growing up just thinking about reading levels or CSAP scores. In 40 years I want them to remember their favorite read aloud.

Boom ! by Mark Haddon

A few years ago my book club, at the time, read The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night. I affectionately called it the dead dog book. I loved the book. You know I’m not much for dog books. The dogs always end up dead. Here the dog starts off dead, so no emotional strings to pull the tear ducts. Two summers ago we spent time in Scotland. We ended our trip in Edinburgh where I purchased another Mark Haddon book titled A Spot of Bother. (I got it at Waterstones!) Where the first was a YA book this one definitely was not. I enjoyed this one as well and since we had just spent time on the little island I did have some back ground knowledge.

So, I was very excited to see Boom!. The story is about two friends, Jimbo and Charlie, and the discovery that their teachers are aliens. Jimbo’s family is making a transition to Dad staying home and Mom working. Jimbo has a strained relationship with his older sister and HATES school. Charlie’s mom is a caterer and his dad is a doctor, very CSI! Charlie is, also the leader. In other words he gets both into trouble.

Jimbo and Charlie decide the must stop the aliens. OK Charlie decides and Jimbo reluctantly follows along. After they have proof Charlie disappears and Jimbo and his sister, Becky are attacked. They take off on a quest, become friends and help safe the world.

That last part is what makes this such a fun book. The aliens have most of their knowledge of earth from pop sources and ABBA! Mr. Haddon has a quirky writing is fantastic. I started the book and couldn’t put it down. This is a great 5th grade and above book. I was hoping that I could use it as a read aloud, but I was disappointed because of amount of times “Hell” is said at the end. I will push the line with read alouds but I do have a point. I get in enough trouble with cussing A LOT! I did give it to a fifth grader that loved and didn’t say peep about the language.

Cybil's 2010 Middle Grade Novels Finalists

The finalists have been announced.  I know I'm a lttle late.  Here is a link to the fantastic list.  It was great fun and hard work being a Round One Judge, but it must be even harder picking the winner.  Enjoy reading the list.  Cybils 2010 Finalist List.

Milo Sticky Notes and Brain Freeze by Alan Silberberg

This autumn I read many books for the Cybil’s Award. A common theme was death and autism. One book had death, violent murder, autism and a National Book Award. Through out the process I kept saying to myself “This is a beautifully written book, but does it have kid appeal?” Milo Sticky Notes and Brain Freeze by Alan Silberberg is one that dealt with death and has kid appeal. The book is about a dork (the book says geek, but in my class it would be dork) named Milo Cruikshank. (I have a student this year named Milo with a last name that is even more fun or torturous.) His mother dies of cancer and after the death Milo, his sister and dad move often. Milo is always the new kid. Not an easy task for a tween, especially one that is having to deal with the death of his mother on his own.


Milo makes friends at his new school. As a matter of fact this friendship helps him start the process of fixing his family. Throughout the book Milo tries to win the heart of the girl of his dreams, balance two friendships one with a boy and one with a girl, not sticking out at school and how to be polite to strangers. Milo’s father has not dealt well with the death of his wife and mother of his children. Ok, to be blunt, Dad is a jerk. His way of dealing with the grief is to pretend that the person never existed. (Given how my dad grieved his parents Milo’s dad must be German and Dutch!) The stranger is the woman across the street. He befriends her after a tough day. Actually they befriend each other. Sylvia Poole helps Milo understand that it is important to remember loved ones. This leads Milo to take charge of his families healing in a fun and productive way.

Here is why I think Milo SN&BF has kid appeal:

• It is well written.
• It is funny.
• It is sad.
• It is filled with hilarious illustrations of Milo’s life.
• It has an alter ego named Dabney St. Claire. (Come on with an alter ego like this what’s not to love.)
• It has romance. Ok not really, just tween hopefulness.
• It makes you think.

 

There were many wonderful books nominated for the 22010 Cybil’s and in my opinion one of my favorites was Milo Sticky Notes and Brain Freeze.

 

The Kneebone Boy by Ellen Potter

As I wrote yesterday, I know can you believe it two posts in a row; there were many wonderful books on the middle grade Cybil’s list. One of my favorites was The Kneebone Boy by Ellen Potter. It was the last one I read. I had to wait a REALLY long time for it to come from the library and the copy I ordered from The Bookies won’t be here until next week. It is so good that I am glad I will have a copy for my classroom. Accessibility to kids was in the front of my mind when I read books for Cybil’s. It may be a beautifully written book, but will the average kid pick it up t o read. The answer with The Kneebone Boy is YES, YES, YES. Note to the publisher don’t change the cover when you release it in paperback. You can’t always judge a book by the cover, but in this case the delightful cover sets the stage for a wonderful read.

The story revolves around the three Hardscrabbles siblings. Otto us the eldest that hasn’t spoken for years, but uses a sign language that he created. Lucia, pronounced Lu CHia not Lucy a, and the youngest brother Max. They live in a small town in England called Little Trunks. From the beginning the reader does not know who the narrator is because the siblings they want to make sure that the story belongs to all three of them. I think it is Max. Anyhow, as you can tell by the cover they aren’t your average 21st century kids. Their father is an artist that leaves for periods of times to paint portraits of dethroned royalty. Many years ago their mother disappeared. The children have no idea what happened. This sets the stage for the adventure to find out what really happened to their mother.

During their quixotic quest they learn about survival, their great aunt and that their siblings are important. Their journey is what I enjoyed most about this book. It is fun to follow these quirky kids. The longer I read the book the more I cared about them. It is so odd (but not weird odd) that I think boys will love reading it. I have many boys like Max and Otto. Know you may ask why is it called The Kneebone Boy. I will not add a spoiler to this post. In other words you have to read it to find out.

I’ve heard and read that there is Newbury buzz about The Kneebone Boy. Often the winner is not so kid friendly. In this case it is very kid friendly. Regardless of whether it ends up with a gold sticker on the cover it is a winner for the reader. Thank you Ellen Potter.

My Life as a Book by Janet Tashjian

Done! I just finished my blurb for a book on the shortlist for the Cybil’s. It was a fantastic reading season. I read more this year then last. There were many great books and some not so good. It was an interesting list. It leaned older middle grade, boy and white. To get it out of the way the books I will blog about from the Cybil’s list express just MY views and not the fabulous Middle Grade category.

My Life as a Book by Janet Tashjian was one of the boy books. (Since this is The Boy Reader it fits nicely into this blog.) It is a great book, so I ordered it for my classroom. (The copy I read came from the library.) I have a list of boys that will enjoy reading this book. Derek Fallon is a typical 12 year old looking forward to a fun summer until he ends up at Learning Camp. Derek is labeled a “reluctant reader” by his teacher, but as he says “I like to read. If everyone just left me alone with Calvin, Hobbes, Garfield, …”. Does he remind you of anyone you know? At the beginning of the book Derek finds a ten year old newspaper article about a girl that drowned. His mom refuses to discuss the article. Note to Moms when asked about something mysterious avoidance just leads to no good! Derek spends many hours trying to find out the answers to his questions. At one point he spent an hour READING on- line, but is afraid he will get in trouble because he wasn’t READING.

I enjoyed this book because Derek is a fun, lovable, and determined kid. The book is filled with little, fun illustrations (done by Jake Tashjian the author’s son) of vocabulary words. A strategy Derek is supposed to use to help him remember his words. I liked how Derek solved the mystery and to be honest I didn’t see the twist coming at the end.

Even though Derek is twelve I would say this is a third and fourth grade level book. A struggling or “reluctant” fifth grade would easily enjoy it as well.

Poetry Friday

I am very excited about today’s Poetry Friday which is at The Miss Rumphius Effect. Three years ago our district started a poetry competition for grade K to 5 and the winning poems are published in a poetry collection. Poems are submitted in the spring and in the autumn students, parents and teachers find out if the young poets will be published. Last night was the book reception and poetry reading. Two of my boy poets are now published poets. They did an awesome job reading to a packed auditorium. Below are their poems. I hope you enjoy them. The first one is on the Welcome Page.

Books are ways to escape reality,

ways to feel joy in times of pain

Books are portals to other worlds
      waiting to be opened
         waiting to be read
      waiting to be enjoyed
       waiting to be explored.

Ethan (currently a fifth grade)

The Full Moon

The full moon casts and eerie glow on the ground
Lighting the night for the horned owl to find its prey
Telling people it is time to turn into werewolves
It lures us to sleep with its glow
That’s the moon.

Nicholas (currently in fourth grade)

Both boys are very high readers. Last year there were many times when I had to say “Put the book down. Do something else.” Never thought I’d say that as a teacher.

because of mr. terupt by Rob Buyea

The Cybil’s list of middle-grade fiction is full of 144 books. Our task is to read the first 50 pages of as many books as possible and then marrow it down. Not an easy endeavor, especially if they are like because of mr. terupt by Rob Buyea. At page 98 I realized I was way past the 50 page minimum.

SPOILER ALERT!!!

I don’t cry. Plain and simple I don’t cry. I have a good reason for not crying. It is too hard to stop. I don’t like the feeling of losing control. It took many years for this to happen. The event that put me to the point of no more tears happened 20 years ago. I spent too many days crying while my brother laid in a coma with a brain injury. For a long time I thought it was my fault. Why didn’t I just drive him to the bank? I was an adult so I realized that it wasn’t my fault. It was just an accident. This book made me cry and I didn’t care. Actually, I do care. It is such a special book that it deserves my tears and laughter. Thank you Mr. Buyea.

As teachers we read many books that touch us and more importantly we get to spend our day with children that touch us and make us better people. because of mr. terupt is a book that has both. It is a beautiful book about a class of fifth graders and a new teacher. The book is told by seven of the students. I love books like this because it is a graet way to teach voice and narration to kids. My spoiler gives away that someone ends up in a coma with a brain injury; but as Jessica, one of the students, tell Mr Terupt she likes happy endings. This book does have one.

I first I thought this would be a great read aloud. I’m not sure. The tears are still fresh. I will get back to you if I do. What I can say is enjoy this first novel.

Thank you delacorte press and Random House for the book.

Cybils 2010

Teachers are an odd breed. We fill our plates and when we see something new and exciting we say "Wow, now I can fill my dessert plate!" That's what it is like being a First Round Cybils Judge. Even better is the fact that this year I came back for seconds. I am a judge on the Middle Grade Panel. It is a strange category because middle grade is an odd group. the range is beginning third graders to just shy of YA. Talk about a range. I have read some wonderful books so far. Stay tuned for updates.