tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-64447173925985608452024-03-06T15:02:03.393-05:00BooktalkThreeI read a lot of children's/teen literature for my job as a reference librarian on the youth services team. A booktalk is an effort to get a young reader to pick up the book and read it. It's not a book review - it's more like a brief sales pitch. My goal is to write the booktalks (as soon as I've read the books) and to make them accessible to my colleagues, parents, and other readers.Carey Haganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03269877142669100775noreply@blogger.comBlogger210125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6444717392598560845.post-83802289409649566682017-03-01T10:46:00.000-05:002017-03-01T10:46:01.829-05:00Lily and Dunkin by Donna Gephart (Booktalk)Have you ever met someone who hated his or her name? You have to meet Lily and Dunkin.<br />
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Lily's real name is Tim, which she hates. She's always felt as if she were truly a girl, but the world sees her as a boy. Lily's mom calls her Lily, but her dad insists on calling her Tim. Lily is in 8th grade and wants to start taking hormone blockers so that she can ultimately transition to becoming female. At school everyone knows her as Tim; she dresses as a boy.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfDd8tUWvKUuxaxs7exSYmISte4pY7K4l-9xeNE-mCWw5Xhidl5WYygdb6ai4D9cjQ8h5NDGBe7U4mD1MKMXc630H7hX5MDbmpOgJFNN1r7xSHSdVTbBP4eWKFbiVKt9MOANcgPedabB18/s1600/Lily+and+Dunkin.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfDd8tUWvKUuxaxs7exSYmISte4pY7K4l-9xeNE-mCWw5Xhidl5WYygdb6ai4D9cjQ8h5NDGBe7U4mD1MKMXc630H7hX5MDbmpOgJFNN1r7xSHSdVTbBP4eWKFbiVKt9MOANcgPedabB18/s200/Lily+and+Dunkin.jpg" width="133" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One of my favorite novels of 2016.</td></tr>
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Norbert also hates his name, and who can blame him? He's also in 8th grade, and he's bipolar; he developed early, and he's really tall for his age. Without his medication, there are two versions of him: one is manic and filled with energy, and the other is sluggish and extremely depressed. Plus he's got that lousy name.<br />
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Do these two people have anything in common? They sound incredibly different, and they're at different popularity levels at school. But after a few encounters, they get to know each other. Find out what happens in this amazing novel called Lily and Dunkin.<br />
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<i>Lily and Dunkin</i> by Donna Gephart. 2016: 352 pages, Delacourt Books for Young Readers. Booktalk to middle school, high school.Carey Haganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03269877142669100775noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6444717392598560845.post-83624244843736354002016-12-20T16:51:00.000-05:002016-12-20T16:51:27.820-05:00Every Hidden Thing by Kenneth Oppel (Booktalk)Paleontologists love their fossils, and most of them are not thought of as people who get into fistfights with each other in public. Rachel's and Samuel's fathers are both paleontologists who hate each other's guts. Even worse, both men are competing for the same hidden fossil: the rumored bones of a giant "Rex" buried somewhere in the Badlands. It's the late nineteenth century, and this find would elevate one of them to worldwide fame.<br />
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So it would be logical that Rachel and Samuel would hate one another, too, but they don't. They learn to appreciate how much they have in common with one another: they're both kind, analytical, and fascinated with fossils. Both of them want to find these secret bones, too, and they have to find a way to keep their bond hidden from their fathers.<br />
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<i>Every Hidden Thing</i> by Kenneth Oppel. 2016: Simon and Schuster Books for Young Readers. 368 pages. Booktalk to older teens due to some adult content.Carey Haganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03269877142669100775noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6444717392598560845.post-39360685639973477662016-12-15T06:53:00.000-05:002016-12-15T06:53:05.295-05:00The Night Gardener by the Fan Brothers (Booktalk)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitdtkumrppqv6q-R3lGRe5HlNvRrtQqTN-Q_In3a8JGMCalJGJhsteBCH-prs7Q8j2k_7qu88ZCU4s5brAMfySPg1tI37ApSVC_S70g6ic6GwxJPUpqYJc2L2j6fjXxjtM1IZ3c3VIt7d9/s1600/Night+Gardener+Owl.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="141" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitdtkumrppqv6q-R3lGRe5HlNvRrtQqTN-Q_In3a8JGMCalJGJhsteBCH-prs7Q8j2k_7qu88ZCU4s5brAMfySPg1tI37ApSVC_S70g6ic6GwxJPUpqYJc2L2j6fjXxjtM1IZ3c3VIt7d9/s200/Night+Gardener+Owl.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">[<i>Begin by showing page 2 in which William is drawing an owl on the ground</i>.] William is lonely. He lives in an orphanage. Notice the drab colors in this drawing.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">A mysterious man passes him, carrying tools. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Look what appears the next morning [<i>show owl topiary page</i>].</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">William stares at it all day, and he goes to bed filled with a sense of excitement. [<i>Show picture of house with cats</i>.] More and more start to appear: what do you notice is happening?</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i>The Night Gardener</i> by the Fan Brothers. Simon and Schuster Books for Young Readers: 2016. [48] p. Booktalk to grades K-2.</span>Carey Haganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03269877142669100775noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6444717392598560845.post-70506006562808100672016-12-14T09:47:00.000-05:002016-12-14T09:47:29.545-05:00Juana and Lucas by Juana Medina (Booktalk)<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEij1SIC6SI1GyzZz3ch_I8WZCn_CmPClYBmWtXVnGU01Et1lyzUu9wiMq7E3Cbbxs3XJ1sas5fvKRVA_1Z6qLWwCJzpskX61r7RmG90wnSwXbS66SuVWIiH1TGWJ_Eo14O0fDbGbnAVhV5r/s1600/juana+name.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEij1SIC6SI1GyzZz3ch_I8WZCn_CmPClYBmWtXVnGU01Et1lyzUu9wiMq7E3Cbbxs3XJ1sas5fvKRVA_1Z6qLWwCJzpskX61r7RmG90wnSwXbS66SuVWIiH1TGWJ_Eo14O0fDbGbnAVhV5r/s320/juana+name.jpg" width="299" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Juana wants you to get her name right. That's her dog, Lucas.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">This is Juana. At first I pronounced her name wrong, but she taught me how to say it. It's "who-an-nah." I hate getting people's names wrong, and she's a cool kid. Juana lives in South America in the country of Colombia in a city called Bogota. She loves her dog Lucas, hates her school uniform (it's itchy), loves reading under the covers at night with a flashlight, loves soccer.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">You know which class is driving her crazy? English. Yeah, it is. She speaks Spanish, and she is finding English class really, really hard. Her mom says she has to get her grades up, because if she doesn't, she won't get to go on a trip she is dying to go on: a trip to Spaceland in Florida. She cannot wait to meet the comic book superhero Astroman there. So the trip is her carrot on a stick, so to speak.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">But English is really, really hard. I know you all don't think so, but many of you were born speaking it, so it came easy to you. Poor Juana. Even Lucas feels bad for her.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Juana and Lucas by Juana Medina. 96 pages. Candlewick: 2016. Booktalk to grades 1-4. Excellent read-aloud.</span><br />
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<br />Carey Haganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03269877142669100775noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6444717392598560845.post-40180694568937584842016-11-12T07:34:00.003-05:002016-11-12T07:34:57.565-05:00The Graces by Laure Eve BooktalkRiver is a lonely 15-year-old who has just moved to a small, old coastal town with her mother. She's not popular and she's picked on by mean girls. She becomes fascinated with this family whose children go to her school, and they're called the Graces, because that's their last name. Summer Grace is her age, and the twins, Thalia and Fenrin, are a few years older. They're beautiful and intriguing and popular, and their family is wealthy but is rumored to be witches.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">If you liked <i>Twilight</i> (or <i>Mean Girls</i>), try this.</td></tr>
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River develops a huge crush on the boy, Fenrin: he's got a lot of girlfriends and is one of the most popular boys in school, so when he shows an interest in her, she's flattered. Summer Grace starts befriending her, too - this uptick in River's popularity is great, and for the first time, she feels happy.<br />
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But River starts flirting with the supernatural: she visits an old, obscure bookstore to buy books on magic, and she practices spells. Yet there's another loner, Marcus, who warns her very strongly against associating with the Graces. He seems to have dated Thalia, and he warns that the Graces will use River and then discard her.<br />
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<i>The Graces</i> by Laure Eve. 336 p. Amulet Books, 2016. Booktalk to high school.Carey Haganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03269877142669100775noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6444717392598560845.post-36261529086375329832016-11-03T06:38:00.000-04:002016-11-03T06:38:59.891-04:00Raymie Nightingale by Kate DiCamillo BooktalkI want you to imagine three girls breaking into their teacher's house. One of the girls, Beverly, has taught herself lock-picking from a book. She is breaking in, and her best friends, Louisiana and Raymie, are right there with her. Why are they breaking into their teacher's house?<br />
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Their teacher is not a school teacher: she teaches baton twirling to girls entering beauty contests and other competitions. Two of them want to enter and win a local competition called the Little Miss Central Florida Tire 1975 competition. It's sort of a beauty/talent competition, and there is a big cash prize. You have to prove that you are talented and a good person. Breaking and entering is not a good way to prove that.<br />
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Let's get back to the girls. You've heard the expression "to be down on your luck"? What does it mean? [<i>Take answer/s.</i>] We have three girls down on their luck here. Raymie's dad just left her and her mom. Louisiana lost her beloved cat and doesn't have enough money to buy food. Beverly doesn't seem to have a dad around, plus she gets into fights with her mom. Beverly's mom forces Beverly to take baton twirling lessons, which she seems to hate. The lessons are where the three girls met one another.<br />
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But where is their baton teacher?<br />
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<i>Raymie Nightingale</i> by Kate DiCamillo. 2016: Candlewick Press. 263 p. Booktalk to intermediate grades, middle school. Great read-aloud.Carey Haganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03269877142669100775noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6444717392598560845.post-66786699362885804152016-10-19T16:49:00.001-04:002016-10-19T16:49:39.508-04:00Full of Beans by Jennifer L. Holm BooktalkBeans is tired of how his town stinks. There's garbage everywhere, because the town is broke and can't pay garbage men to come collect the garbage. His family has no money, but no one else in town has any money, either. It's the Great Depression of the 1930's, and Beans lives in Key West, Florida. He's always barefoot. His dad usually is out of work. I bet he's pretty thin.<br />
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When you're poor and hungry, you have to earn money somehow, and Beans is pretty good at it, at least, when adults aren't cheating him. When we first meet him, he's being ripped off by Winky, who should pay him more for the empty cans he brought in. Beans knows that Winky lies to him.<br />
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But then Beans gets another business opportunity: a fast way to make money, and it involves his wagon. Let's just say that smuggling is involved, and plenty of deception. And much higher pay. Enough money to buy his mom some hand cream she really needs for her damaged hands. But Beans' new job involves a high level of risk: what will happen to him if he gets caught? If you like humor and historical fiction, try Full of Beans by Jennifer L. Holm.<br />
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<i><b>Full of Beans</b></i> by Jennifer L. Holm. 195 p. 2016: Random House. Booktalk to grades 3-7.Carey Haganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03269877142669100775noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6444717392598560845.post-87285993507888578632016-09-05T15:46:00.001-04:002016-09-05T15:46:41.758-04:00This Is My Dollhouse by Giselle Potter Booktalk<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_dvMGpBUseUyrUdardI-s4EsSUVE2mSEckjdun7gF4cN3PaofOXcVw0jqxD_HeJCmM7NAQ99mMPdLCq0UIeI57eUpKp7q_CeIu-UeMQXoJcRWrpNPvoa_P4XBt_7Ac6X4qrm3X-0MTD2e/s1600/This+is+my+dollhouse.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="129" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_dvMGpBUseUyrUdardI-s4EsSUVE2mSEckjdun7gF4cN3PaofOXcVw0jqxD_HeJCmM7NAQ99mMPdLCq0UIeI57eUpKp7q_CeIu-UeMQXoJcRWrpNPvoa_P4XBt_7Ac6X4qrm3X-0MTD2e/s200/This+is+my+dollhouse.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
This little girl made her very own dollhouse! [<i>Show picture</i>]. Her parents did not buy it for her. She used a basic cardboard box, and look what she did with it! Look carefully: do you see the wallpaper in this picture? How do you think she did that? Right, with magic markers. And she made the most incredible tiny furniture, too [<i>show pages</i>]. I see a television which she made from a tiny box. I see a rug which she made from part of a real rug. I see a plate of noodles made from tiny little bits of yarn. Wow, she is imaginative.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPpgFSxt0nMTJRWT_Zb7RlflRCg__oxG9Be36EltCw1msmsaS-ECggE1mLmvCGzuiI3PuWEuvkZ8sVRDvDQVMg0qDL4ktMOUgnX8tDpMW_b7L71xBuIgpS3ZqPK68tEF3ZwP9wDE0H_oLS/s1600/This+is+my+dollhouse+maker.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="130" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPpgFSxt0nMTJRWT_Zb7RlflRCg__oxG9Be36EltCw1msmsaS-ECggE1mLmvCGzuiI3PuWEuvkZ8sVRDvDQVMg0qDL4ktMOUgnX8tDpMW_b7L71xBuIgpS3ZqPK68tEF3ZwP9wDE0H_oLS/s200/This+is+my+dollhouse+maker.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
She loves playing with her dollhouse family, too. She dresses them, feeds them, and lets them ride in a little elevator to the rooftop pool! I love that rooftop pool: can you see what it's made of? A little bowl of water.<br />
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But her best friend Sophie has a store-bought dollhouse [<i>show page]</i>. What do you think of it? Yeah, it does look a bit boring. And there's more. Sophie does not want to invent or create stuff for her dollhouse. She just wants things which were bought in a store. The two girls have a playdate coming up. Find out what happens in <i>This Is My Dollhouse</i> by Giselle Potter.<br />
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<i>This is My Dollhouse</i> by Giselle Potter. 2016: Schwartz & Wade. [40 p.] Booktalk to K-3rd.Carey Haganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03269877142669100775noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6444717392598560845.post-7829376606533046062016-08-24T16:59:00.000-04:002016-08-24T16:59:05.115-04:00Freedom in Congo Square Booktalk<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXNbWqNpKgb96QmJAauccDw5gf_a8tzEzaqYiWP5HwrCoXW3rTHN2bfimGM4nHXePYZJiEEfUKMo5dbXRwaAVUJ1CuE2a7ebADHyw4IV55p2nW0hO3DELQlMJNOVLdnzIRN5TQgHRXiUy-/s1600/FreedomCongofield.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="129" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXNbWqNpKgb96QmJAauccDw5gf_a8tzEzaqYiWP5HwrCoXW3rTHN2bfimGM4nHXePYZJiEEfUKMo5dbXRwaAVUJ1CuE2a7ebADHyw4IV55p2nW0hO3DELQlMJNOVLdnzIRN5TQgHRXiUy-/s200/FreedomCongofield.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
I want you to imagine a world in which all you did was work. You might work in the fields. You might chop logs. You might feed livestock all day. You were a slave.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYBGon3WGg-fV-qyIA1KOkDmExs7V8eXkZ5aKT8lC6b4KWjMI1rN6owKrrlUfJ0Dz6QKtqN6FtzC8uGVoHJ0p4wjoMekMht4TadkBxbKeVegA2lKYH43iATYnPZTtUMBNPLj5fettkzEi2/s1600/FreedomCongowork.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="129" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYBGon3WGg-fV-qyIA1KOkDmExs7V8eXkZ5aKT8lC6b4KWjMI1rN6owKrrlUfJ0Dz6QKtqN6FtzC8uGVoHJ0p4wjoMekMht4TadkBxbKeVegA2lKYH43iATYnPZTtUMBNPLj5fettkzEi2/s200/FreedomCongowork.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Point out the overseer to your readers.</td></tr>
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You took care of other people's things. You took care of other people's children. You were almost always watched. If you misbehaved, you'd be whipped with a lash. Do you see the overseer in this picture here? He was watching the slaves, and he's not their friend. They often lived in fear.<br />
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But there was one time when you could relax a little. On Sunday afternoons, you could meet up with other slaves in Congo Square. You could sing or dance or play music. For just a moment in time, you could forget your troubles. And this is what you lived for. Come join this amazing world of our past in <i>Freedom in Congo Square</i>.<br />
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<i>Freedom in Congo Square</i> by Carole Boston Weatherford and R. Gregory Christie. 2016: Little Bee Books. Unpaged. Booktalk to grades 1-4. Good read-aloud.Carey Haganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03269877142669100775noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6444717392598560845.post-85248891434234161352016-06-14T18:24:00.000-04:002016-06-14T18:24:52.574-04:00Rhyme Schemer by K.A. Holt (Booktalk)Boys don't keep journals? Kevin does. He's 12, almost 13, in the 7th grade. He's the youngest of five boys, and his parents - both doctors - are never at home. His brother Petey (the next oldest) often beats Kevin up. His journal is his way of blowing off steam. It's in poem form. Let's take a look here.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoJ_j0YARdaO9TiWgurBGXyXdz9EWLiHEds4CQeRtj0bi8np-TAV1bmj1j19mwndBX5ni8PqyXrx4kJDoazCtF1WexhzWacIexsJ2U_2PkOyZf5iMvsCC77hxxfSFkTGa-7_vE5KQHWcn3/s1600/Rhyme+Schemer+barf.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="230" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoJ_j0YARdaO9TiWgurBGXyXdz9EWLiHEds4CQeRtj0bi8np-TAV1bmj1j19mwndBX5ni8PqyXrx4kJDoazCtF1WexhzWacIexsJ2U_2PkOyZf5iMvsCC77hxxfSFkTGa-7_vE5KQHWcn3/s320/Rhyme+Schemer+barf.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kevin's real (private) diary is on the left. </td></tr>
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[<i>Read the poem on page 6 and show both pages 6-7 to your readers</i>.] He's taking pages from an old book and circling words and phrases on that page to make a poem within a page - a found poem. This one is very Kevin: it says, "We will die. / The smell is killing us. / TEACHER SMELL is deadly. / Barf." Okay, so it got your attention but it's obnoxious and it's not a good poem. But the poem in his journal which he wrote to himself is pretty good. He talked about words jumping out at him "like tickly little fleas / needing a good scratching. / So I scratched them." He has a great imaginative mind and a flair for words.<br />
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So basically he's living two lives: the life of his private journal which shows a really good poet and the life of a found poem graffiti artist whose sole objective is to tick off authority figures at his school.<br />
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Why do you think he is doing this? [<i>Entertain theories</i>.] Some of you may be right. What would you think if I told you that Petey, his brother, threw his real journal out the car window and someone found it? Will Kevin be able to keep up his poetry?<br />
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<i>Rhyme Schemer</i> by K.A. Holt. 2014: Chronicle Books. 169 pages. Booktalk to grades 4-9.Carey Haganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03269877142669100775noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6444717392598560845.post-31818063849787481152016-05-14T07:49:00.001-04:002016-05-14T07:49:25.571-04:00Waiting by Kevin Henkes (Booktalk)Who are these creatures sitting on the windowsill? [<i>Give time for response</i>.]<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtCpKn68fWqVC588BvqwCeAQ7HBprwb4IX2Yytn4exgOaPdSivMX9H8Cy_p5bPl9l9rnKJPTpruz1R17yZzNNT-5K0K7Ahdia9ZfqnPA-uqQcwpcjlDVaX-usRglkGr-FDugwFBYJUTk2N/s1600/WaitingHenkes1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="167" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtCpKn68fWqVC588BvqwCeAQ7HBprwb4IX2Yytn4exgOaPdSivMX9H8Cy_p5bPl9l9rnKJPTpruz1R17yZzNNT-5K0K7Ahdia9ZfqnPA-uqQcwpcjlDVaX-usRglkGr-FDugwFBYJUTk2N/s320/WaitingHenkes1.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Let your readers study the creatures up close.</td></tr>
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I see an owl with spots, a rabbit with stars, a puppy on a sled, a pig with an umbrella, and a bear with a kite. My favorite is the owl. What do you think they are waiting for? [<i>Show picture, wait for responses.]</i><br />
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Yes, maybe they are waiting for sunshine. Is that why the pig has an umbrella: has it been raining? You think they are waiting for a person? Why do you think that?<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhO_Kz9HjJsT0iv8PRukr0eQjOvkST94L-9Qc3IgWTtJCuGH_dLg_QVP7RGMCBByg317d6UaCE2GxKd9XN5WtqrUaZFAz-sfjR83ra9TydP6LogZR8fRd0w_SUTSFta5eBe5dFmGsulpOGa/s1600/WaitingHenkes2.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/AVvXsEhO_Kz9HjJsT0iv8PRukr0eQjOvkST94L-9Qc3IgWTtJCuGH_dLg_QVP7RGMCBByg317d6UaCE2GxKd9XN5WtqrUaZFAz-sfjR83ra9TydP6LogZR8fRd0w_SUTSFta5eBe5dFmGsulpOGa/s320/WaitingHenkes2.jpg" width="258" /></a></div>
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I wonder what they're waiting for. If you look carefully at the beautiful pictures, you will find lots of great clues. Read <i>Waiting</i> by Kevin Henkes.<br />
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<i>Waiting</i> by Kevin Henkes. 32 p. 2015: Greenwillow Books. Booktalk to preschool - 2nd.<br />
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<br />Carey Haganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03269877142669100775noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6444717392598560845.post-62717999743567349322016-04-19T18:16:00.000-04:002016-04-19T18:16:00.877-04:00Crenshaw by Katherine Applegate (Booktalk)It's really embarrassing when your imaginary friend keeps showing up without warning. Oh, wait, it's worse when you're in fifth grade and you HAVE an imaginary friend, as Jackson does. Jackson's imaginary friend is Crenshaw, a very, very large black and white cat with definite opinions about everything.<br />
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Creshaw tends to show up especially when things are not going well for Jackson. He first appeared in first grade, when Jackson's dad was struggling with a a disease called multiple sclerosis. And later on, closer to the present time, he starts showing up when their family has lost all their money. I like Crenshaw. He leaves little gifts and signs, things that only Jackson likes. Like purple jellybeans. Jackson really likes those.<br />
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But Crenshaw is freaking me out a little. You know what he keeps telling Jackson? "You need to tell the truth to the person who matters the most of all." Tell the truth. And who is the person who matters the most of all? And will Crenshaw every vanish, or is he with Jackson for life?<br />
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Crenshaw by Katherine Applegate. 245 pages. Feiwel and Friends, 2015. Booktalk to grades 3-8, depending on students' reading levels. Great read-aloud.Carey Haganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03269877142669100775noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6444717392598560845.post-48599112599201806332016-01-25T14:23:00.002-05:002016-01-25T14:23:58.812-05:00Goodbye, Stranger by Rebecca Stead Booktalk<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMLRfgX1jxt8sYGLHzZl60WoBY7IG6XHpb-UVVvzVqU5BD83pN52VJRcsXSrFElteMj3bXGtPDxcCLYcUo4KvLeNgC-EA6v2tIKCfRb3Kl7BRJUdcz0hqOfBhsbDmvwpwousxtXBWPa7qv/s1600/Goodbye+Stranger+Rebecca+Stead.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="188" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMLRfgX1jxt8sYGLHzZl60WoBY7IG6XHpb-UVVvzVqU5BD83pN52VJRcsXSrFElteMj3bXGtPDxcCLYcUo4KvLeNgC-EA6v2tIKCfRb3Kl7BRJUdcz0hqOfBhsbDmvwpwousxtXBWPa7qv/s320/Goodbye+Stranger+Rebecca+Stead.png" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">Bridge is a middle school girl who got hit by a car which she was younger and she almost died. That's her on the cover with a friend of hers. She's fine now, and she has two best friends whom she loves and trusts: Tab and Em. Tab is very headstrong and opinionated: she's a bit of a tomboy, and she loves history and politics. You'd never catch Tab putting on makeup or showing an interest in it. Emily is more traditionally "girly" and the boys notice her; she's good at sports and knows more of the "popular" kids. Emily also has a boyfriend but doesn't want to call it that.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">When you look at the three girls' personalities, they're actually fairly different, but they get along well and support one another loyally. Yet something changes when someone - we don't know who - gets Em's boyfriend's phone and finds a personal photo of Emily. This person forwards the photo to someone who then forwards the photo, and so on and so on. It's not a naked photo, but it's not a photo that Emily wants "out there." You'll have to read the novel to see the description of the photo!</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">So who did this? Can we trust Em's boyfriend? And more importantly, will Em survive the mean words and harsh words headed her way? And will her two best friends understand what she is going through? Will they stand by her? And who is this mysterious stranger alluded to in the title, "Goodbye, Stranger?" Read and find out.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i>Goodbye, Stranger</i> by Rebecca Stead. 304 pages. Wendy Lamb Books, 2015. Booktalk to middle school and high school. </span>Carey Haganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03269877142669100775noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6444717392598560845.post-2079242643856963982015-12-02T19:07:00.000-05:002015-12-02T19:07:04.305-05:00Going Solo by Roald Dahl (Booktalk)[<i>This booktalk is for designated for a high school audience.</i>]<br />
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Did you read <i>Charlie and the Chocolate Factory</i> or <i>James and the Giant Peach</i> when you were younger? Those were written by Roald Dahl, a brilliant writer and a fascinating man. He was also a British fighter pilot in World War II, and he had many near-death experiences in the war, including a very serious plane crash very close to enemy territory, one so bad that doctors thought he'd never see again. Luckily, they were wrong. He recovered, but while he was blind he had a huge crush on the nurse who helped him. You have to read it just for that part. It's both sweet and hilarious.<br />
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No one can write about scary, surreal, or bizarre experiences with the same dry humor as Roald Dahl. Before the war started, Dahl was employed by an oil company and he was sent to work in East Africa, part of the British empire at the time. He met so many eccentric characters there: people who exercised naked on a ship; a man who thrived on catching deadly snakes while calling them sweet names (he loved the snakes and wasn't cruel to them); a lady who wouldn't touch food with her hands at all, ever. He knew he'd ever encounter such types ever again, and he never did. There's something very strange and wonderful about being in a far away country, one very different from your home country.<br />
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I loved the postcards, telegrams, and photographs included which document his time in Africa and his time spent in the war. "One gasps at the waste of life"(83), he tells us. Yet Dahl survived, and he left this wonderful biography for us.<br />
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<i>Going Solo</i> by Roald Dahl. 210 pages. 1986. Booktalk to high school, adult. Great read-aloud.Carey Haganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03269877142669100775noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6444717392598560845.post-25301303873689398212015-10-15T15:45:00.000-04:002015-10-15T15:45:47.583-04:00The Night Gardener by Jonathan Auxier (Booktalk)The Night Gardener is a monster you need to be aware of. As far as I know, he lives in only one location: near an old mansion in England that has a huge, dark, mysterious tree. This tree grows dangerously close to the house. A frightened family lives in the house, and they have two young Irish servants, children who left Ireland because of a huge famine.<br />
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These Irish children - Molly and Kip - went from one horrifying situation (famine) to another one (the night gardener and the spooky house). In fact, the night gardener WATCHES you when you sleep at night. The night gardener works only at night. He waters his tree with what looks like silvery water. He and the tree have some eerie connection: and the tree has a secret hole in a locked room which can give you what your heart most desires.<br />
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But I can't tell you what price you'll pay if you get it.<br />
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The Night Gardener by Jonathan Auxier. 350 p. Amulet Books, 2014. Booktalk to grades 5-9. Great read aloud.Carey Haganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03269877142669100775noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6444717392598560845.post-14433554627841304102015-07-12T11:41:00.000-04:002015-07-12T11:41:19.538-04:00We Were Liars by E. Lockhart (Booktalk)[<i>Start by showing the map of Beechwood Island found on the opening pages.</i>] Imagine your relatives had their own private island. This is Beechwood Island, where the wealthy and beautiful Sinclair clan go on vacation each summer. Cadence, also called Cadie, lives in Windemere [<i>show on map</i>] with her mom and their dogs. Her cousin Mirren lives in Cuddledown; her cousin Johnny and friend Gat live in Red Gate.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmNYcdSEqQwmYbTlQMt3JUEXFISZ_Eiv7f1KG0vs3by41V7Vj7LdUvAF69So5OZWcAEtd6mCvup4hNONYm5Pn2uBTDRRNZSlwtubonRPzjNxyLAeAgqSozJB4Vl8wF-RtU2_PE_pNnbfxq/s1600/We+Were+Liars+Map.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="241" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmNYcdSEqQwmYbTlQMt3JUEXFISZ_Eiv7f1KG0vs3by41V7Vj7LdUvAF69So5OZWcAEtd6mCvup4hNONYm5Pn2uBTDRRNZSlwtubonRPzjNxyLAeAgqSozJB4Vl8wF-RtU2_PE_pNnbfxq/s320/We+Were+Liars+Map.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cadie's family's island, Beechwood, off coast of Massachusetts</td></tr>
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Their grandfather lives in the big house, Clairmont. They have multiple beaches, a family dock, boats, and paid staff. The four older kids - Cadie, Mirren, Johnny, and Gat - are about the same age, older teens. They're called the Liars. You'll find out why. They're nice kids.<br />
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But something is really wrong. When the story opens, Cadie tells us she is almost 18. Let me quote her. "I own a well-used library card and not much else...I used to be blonde, but now my hair is black. I used to be strong, but now I am weak. I used to be pretty, but now I look sick. It is true I suffer migraines since my accident"(4). What accident? And if she's one of the liars, is she lying now?<br />
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<u>We Were Liars</u> by E. Lockhart. Delacorte Press: 2014. 225 p. Booktalk to high school. Also has crossover appeal for adults.<br />
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<br />Carey Haganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03269877142669100775noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6444717392598560845.post-72926630814548413162015-06-26T15:22:00.001-04:002015-06-26T15:24:37.652-04:00The Impossible Knife of Memory (Booktalk)Hayley's high school experience is a piece of cake compared to her real job, living with her father. He's a veteran who barely survived his tours of duty in the Middle East. His PTSD-related flashbacks involve ambushed foot patrols, gruesome IED explosions, and suicide bombers living in ghost villages.<div><br></div><div>"You take care of him more than he takes care of you," her boyfriend Finn remarks.</div><div><br></div><div>So Hayley has some PTSD of her own. This is what it takes to be her:</div><div>- the ability to spend a lot of time on the road while Dad drives a big rig</div><div>- knowledge of how to keep the evil stepmom away</div><div>- the talent to keep drugs, alcohol, and firearms away from an often suicidal man</div><div>- stalling techniques to keep anyone from coming home with her, ever</div><div>- signature-forging on school forms</div><div><br></div><div>These are skills most high schoolers don't need to perfect in order to keep a parent alive. </div><div><br></div><div><i><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEwu_9fydUZ84COliUQhsGVSihZWPyWrI_2l9vMqpt8_46OSDUYE-o36mxvmxzch2Xo32r73fEy6JPSe0Ylvsi3GijOIcqGVuw_ZewLNKaiC9esvpewTWg1LMPvTs-jQE68J5I3boanDKw/s640/blogger-image-1239946535.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEwu_9fydUZ84COliUQhsGVSihZWPyWrI_2l9vMqpt8_46OSDUYE-o36mxvmxzch2Xo32r73fEy6JPSe0Ylvsi3GijOIcqGVuw_ZewLNKaiC9esvpewTWg1LMPvTs-jQE68J5I3boanDKw/s640/blogger-image-1239946535.jpg"></a></div>The Impossible Knife of Memory</i> by Laurie Halse Anderson. 391 pages. 2014: Speak (Penguin). Booktalk to high school (use discretion).</div><div><br></div><div><br></div>Carey Haganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03269877142669100775noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6444717392598560845.post-9011789155255409002015-06-18T09:51:00.000-04:002015-06-18T09:51:56.097-04:00Rain Reign by Ann M. Martin (Booktalk)Rose isn't like everybody else. When she gets upset, she may blurt out, "Two, three, five, seven, eleven, thirteen!" She loves prime numbers: they make her feel safe.<br />
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It's easy to upset Rose, who has Asperger's. She's smart, and her brain works differently than many people's brains. She needs a lot of order and routine in her life to feel safe. It drives Rose crazy when people break rules, laws, or routines. When she would ride to school every day on the bus, she would catch every single little thing the bus rider did wrong! Obviously, this drove the bus driver nuts, and she asked that Rose _stop_ riding the bus. No one likes a backseat driver.<br />
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There's a bright spot in Rose's life: her dog, Rain. Rose's dad found Rain in the rain and let Rose have her. But Rose's dad has some problems: his temper; his annoyance with Rose; his carelessness. Here's something sad: he let Rain outside during a massive storm and Rain did not return.<br />
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Rose is determined to get Rain back, even if she has to call and visit every animal shelter for miles around. But will her father sabotage her again?<br />
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Rain Reign by Ann M. Martin. 240 pages. Feiwel & Friends, 2014. Booktalk to grades 3-8.Carey Haganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03269877142669100775noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6444717392598560845.post-28486466974535649042015-06-04T17:43:00.001-04:002015-06-04T17:43:34.196-04:00Glory O'Brien's History of the Future by A.S. King (Booktalk)Glory O'Brien, age 17, has not been having a glorious life so far. Her mother killed herself years ago; her dad has eaten his grief and went from an original 120 pounds to 240. He won't get rid of the oven that his wife used to kill herself with, either. He won't go into his wife's photography darkroom or even discuss her. Glory doesn't have many friends, and she often actively dislikes her "best" friend, Ellie. Glory is happy to be graduating from high school in a few days: she wants to get away from all that is trivial and tedious. Why bother having anyone sign her yearbook? There's no point.<br />
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The only thing Glory likes is taking photographs; that was about all her mom liked, too, it seems. So when Ellie - often the holder of illogical and harebrained ideas - suggests that the two girls drink the remains of a dead bat, Glory decides to comply. What's the harm? Ellie had joked that the dead bat was God. Ellie is just plain weird.<br />
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Here's the good news: neither girl gets sick from drinking dead bat remains. But there's bad news, and it's literally "the future": the future that you and I will inhabit, if we live long enough. Both girls start seeing visions of it, and it's no place that women would want to live in.<br />
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<i>Glory O'Brien's History of the Future</i> by A.S. King. 307 p. 2014. Little, Brown. Booktalk to upper high school: contains mature themes.Carey Haganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03269877142669100775noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6444717392598560845.post-80644370645849495742015-06-03T18:48:00.000-04:002015-06-03T18:49:05.565-04:00Ophelia and the Marvelous Boy by Karen Foxlee (Booktalk)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-size: small;">Ophelia isn't supposed to walk through the museum alone. It's got hundreds and hundreds and rooms: it's huge and chilly and she doesn't know her way around. But her father works there now, and she's curious.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">She walks into a little gallery. It's a got a rope blocking it, but she goes under the rope. There are no museum guards in there, and it's very still and quiet.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">The room has an empty, peculiar smell. She goes through a closed door, which leads into another little room. It has a faded mural of mountains and a blue sea and a boy with a sword. Above this scene is painted the phrase, "The Marvelous Boy."</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">If you look closely enough at the painted mural, you'll see a tiny door: it's part of the blue sea in the painting. There's a tiny keyhole there, and Ophelia looks through it.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">There is a large blue-green eye looking back at her!</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">Museums are full of dead things from the past, but this one has a live boy concealed in an obscure room.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">And he doesn't know his own name.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><u><i>Ophelia and the Marvelous Boy</i></u> by Karen Foxlee. 228 p. Knopf: 2014. Booktalk to grades 4-8. </span>Carey Haganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03269877142669100775noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6444717392598560845.post-43136747855328458412015-05-25T10:16:00.000-04:002015-05-25T10:16:48.503-04:00Once Upon an Alphabet: Short Stories for All the Letters by Oliver Jeffers (Booktalk)There has been a big secret which your parents and teachers have kept from you, but it just got leaked in this book. Did you know that each letter of the alphabet has a secret history, a secret tale? You thought the alphabet was boring: HA! Nope. But to keep you and all the other students of the world in line, they kept the secrets from you. I only have time to leak three of these stories.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm1nSOAfdvjOGurYgslWYSe51ouJqcrErHh76TI08sN3Iq672I38j56NCLWR2hmFFBJrucijeNWu532iPoP0CIuzdt3-YiS80lrEmaOYeF5XyAanagkK55MzRRRqeoAyT6BiB3fRdFBTZ3/s1600/Once+Upon+an+Alphabet+B.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm1nSOAfdvjOGurYgslWYSe51ouJqcrErHh76TI08sN3Iq672I38j56NCLWR2hmFFBJrucijeNWu532iPoP0CIuzdt3-YiS80lrEmaOYeF5XyAanagkK55MzRRRqeoAyT6BiB3fRdFBTZ3/s200/Once+Upon+an+Alphabet+B.jpg" width="146" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bob and Bernard are not buddies.</td></tr>
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The letter B is all about battles and burning and Bernard and Bob. B is actually kind of an angry letter. Bernard and Bob cannot stand one another. They live on opposite sides of a bridge and have been battling each other for years. Bob burned the bridge and cannot get back!<br />
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H is sort of a scary, haunted letter. Helen lived in half a house. The other half of the house fell into the sea during a hurricane. Oh my gosh, I cannot bear to tell you what happened to Helen. It's too horrible.<br />
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O is full of wonder.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Owl and octopus</td></tr>
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Out in the ocean there is an owl who lives on the back of an octopus. They search for a problem, solve it, and move on...<br />
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<i>Once Upon an Alphabet: Short Stories for All the Letters</i> by Oliver Jeffers. 2014: Philomel Books. Booktalk to K-3. Would make a great read-aloud or starting point for creative writing.Carey Haganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03269877142669100775noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6444717392598560845.post-35634192034609231342015-05-22T15:52:00.000-04:002015-05-22T15:52:45.673-04:00Bo at Ballard Creek by Kirkpatrick Hill (Booktalk)Bo's dads are goldminers (and blacksmiths) who came to Alaska in the 1897 Klondike Gold Rush: an exciting time. That time is past, and many miners have left, but Bo's dads are still there. Wait? Dads? Yes, Bo has two: her mother didn't want her, and she literally handed baby Bo to a man and left. That man, Arvid, didn't have the heart to give Bo up to an orphanage. His best friend, Jack, helped Arvid raise Bo. It's normal for towns in early 1900s Alaska to be mostly men: they're all miners, and life can be tough.<br />
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Bo is older now, and I want to share my favorite facts about her. She can swear (bad words!) in both an Eskimo language and in Swedish. It's possible she has no idea what the words mean. She helps cook for the miners and she really loves biscuits. Her favorite Eskimo dish, though, is caribou bone marrow and caribou fat. Yum.<br />
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You have to be tough and resourceful if you live in Alaska. You also have to be fast on your feet. One day, when Bo was outside (it was summer), she inadvertently startled a grizzly bear. The bear started to run after her. Bo did what she had been told and dropped to the ground, totally flat. That's not exactly running, though, is it?<br />
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If you like adventure, animals, outdoor life, and interesting weather, you'll love a historical fiction novel called <u>Bo at Ballard Creek</u>.<br />
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<u>Bo at Ballard Creek</u> by Kirkpatrick Hill. 278 pages. 2013: Henry Holt and Company. Booktalk to grades 3-8. Scott O'Dell Historical Fiction Award, 2014.Carey Haganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03269877142669100775noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6444717392598560845.post-65404746222062542782015-05-20T16:17:00.000-04:002015-05-20T16:17:23.003-04:00Sam & Dave Dig a Hole by Mac Barnett (Booktalk)[<i>When starting this booktalk, don't show the cover, and don't reveal the title. Just have the book open to page 11, pictured below. You will have the students examine the picture without talking for at least 45 seconds.</i>]<br />
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I want you to take a close look at this picture. I will give you plenty of time. I want you to think of at least five facts you can deduce from this picture. They can be facts about the plot - what is happening, or facts about what the book means.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Page 11</td></tr>
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[<i>Allow quiet time to examine picture. When they're done, let them discuss their deductions: the boys are digging a hole; they missed the first jewel; the dog knows about the jewel; one boy seems to be consoling the other boy; etc</i>.]<br />
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You did a good job of picking apart this cool illustration. Did you know that this book [<i>show cover now</i>] has puzzled a lot of people - including adults? Even your teachers might disagree with each other about what this picture book, seemingly simple, means! I've read this picture book several times and I'm still thinking about it!<br />
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You must read <u>Sam & Dave Dig a Hole</u> by Mac Barnett and decide for yourself what this story is really about.<br />
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<u>Sam & Dave Dig a Hole</u> by Mac Barnett, illustrated by Jon Klassen. Unpaged. Candlewick, 2014. Booktalk to 1st - 5th. Also great for classroom read-alouds. Caldecott Honor. E. B. White Read Aloud Award. Irma Black Award.Carey Haganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03269877142669100775noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6444717392598560845.post-19942105066062714372015-05-05T15:53:00.000-04:002015-05-05T15:53:05.974-04:00The Crossover by Kwame Alexander (Booktalk)What if your twin brother was your best friend in the whole world? And what if he stopped being your best friend?<br />
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Josh and Jordan (called JB) are twins who both love basketball. And they love each other, until things start going downhill in their friendship. Josh lost a bet with JB and JB cut off a lot of Josh's beloved dreadlocks. The results were freaking looking.<br />
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They used to eat lunch together -- actually, they ate all their meals together -- until JB got a girlfriend named Alexis. Now he eats lunch with her. Josh saw JB kissing Alexis in the school library. Fun. JB barely speaks to Josh. Josh is feeling increasingly isolated and alone.<br />
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The anger is growing. Josh messes up in a big game, sees JB wink at Alexis, and feels a surge of resentment - so much so that he hurls the ball unreasonably hard at JB who then starts bleeding and has to go to the hospital. Bad drama. Josh's mom is furious and chews Josh out. She asks Josh: you going to get mad at your brother every time he has a girlfriend? "You're twins, not the same person."<br />
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Will Josh ever get his best friend back?<br />
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<i>The Crossover</i> by Kwame Alexander. 237 p. HMH Books for Young Readers. Newbery Medal, 2015. Booktalk to grades 5-9.<br />
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<br />Carey Haganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03269877142669100775noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6444717392598560845.post-3556625682403009732015-02-20T07:54:00.000-05:002015-02-20T07:54:41.539-05:00The Port Chicago 50: Disaster, Mutiny, and the Fight for Civil Rights by Steven Sheinkin (Booktalk)Imagine you are in the Navy, and it is your job to handle explosives: big explosives, lots of them, and quickly. You load them onto the Navy's ships, and you have had no real training in safety measures. Scary job, huh? If those explosives and munitions explode, you are dead. There is zero room for error.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Page 35 in <i>The Port Chicago 50</i>.</td></tr>
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That was the job of some African-American Navy men in World War II. They got the lousy jobs in segregated units, and this had been a sad, ongoing fact in our country's history. It was unfair and prejudiced, yet many black men still wanted to serve their country, even if meant digging ditches, carrying explosives, working in the kitchen, and cleaning bathrooms and kitchens. They did not get the more "glamorous" jobs given to white men, and the only factor was their skin color.<br />
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But let's get back to the explosives at the Port Chicago base. I have some bad news: want to guess what it is? The explosives did blow up, killing 320 men, injuring almost 400 men, destroying the pier and the ships in the area.<br />
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The devastation was unbelievable and tragic. Lives were lost and ruined. Obviously, many of the men killed were the African Americans who handled the explosives. All the witnesses died.<br />
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Have you heard the expression "to add insult to injury"? What does it mean? {Let a student explain.} The surviving men were being asked to do exactly the same work in a different location: handling and loading ammunition - highly explosive - onto ships. I don't blame them for not wanting to do it, but the Navy did, and it accused them of mutiny, a deeply serious charge. Read all about their fight in <span style="font-size: small;"><b>The Port Chicago 50: Disaster, Mutiny, and the Fight for Civil Rights</b></span> by Steven Sheinkin. Booktalk to grades 5-12. National Book Award finalist.Carey Haganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03269877142669100775noreply@blogger.com0