Monday 29 June 2015

Bok! Bok! Boom!

Image from: https://s2.netgalley.com/catalog/book/35581

By: Cyndi Marko

Read hard copy from EJ Library

The first Kung Pow Chicken book Let's Get Cracking! was on Silver Birch Express and I read it to the Grade 3 & 4 classes. Before long kids in Grade 1 & 2 were begging me to read this book too because they heard about it from older siblings! Way to go Cyndi Marko!

Needless to say, I am excited to read all the rest of the Kung Pow Chicken books this summer and so is my son who is going into Grade 2. We read this one together in a single sitting. My son Trevor says, "It was good but it wasn't my favourite. There wasn't as much action in it." My other son says, "The first one had more, like, not sitting around."

We all agreed the first one was better than the second. We will read the third and fourth too and hopefully we find one we like just as much as the first!

Parent Point: These are GREAT books for kids in Grades K-3. My son who just completed Grade 4 also listens in when we read these but doesn't love them the way my younger son does. They are funny and are half graphic novel/half chapter book. They are quick reads, great read alouds, and kids seem to love these books. I would definitely recommend checking out these great books!! As an extra bonus, the author is Canadian!

An Abundance of Katherines

Image from: http://onlyifyoufinishedkatherines.tumblr.com/

By: John Green

Read on  HDSB Overdrive

One of my summer reading goals was to get a few more John Green books finished. I read and liked The Fault in our Stars and wanted to see what else this acclaimed author has to offer.

I think An Abundance of Katherines has many clever aspects to it. The main character, Colin, is obsessed with dating people named Katherine and making his life matter, although he is unsure of how to do that exactly. I enjoyed his character and that of his two friends Hassan and Lindsey as well. I liked that the main characters were flawed and uncertain and unique and found that made them relatable. I liked that Lindsay's mom worked so hard and was so dedicated to the people of the town. I also liked how the story ended, which I won't say anything more about in case you are planning to read the book. :)

I will say a few things held me back from loving this book. At times all the footnotes were kind of annoying. Luckily, I was reading an e-version of the book so I could flip back and forth easily but I imagine this would be annoying in the paper edition. I also found some of the language off-putting, although I found the explanation at the end interesting.

Parent Points:  This book contains profanity and some sexual content.


Sunday 28 June 2015

Getting Started

One of the last activities I did with a bunch of my classes was having them set reading goals for the summer. I set out a number of books for inspiration and showed them how to use Novelist and Overdrive to get more reading ideas. The kids were then to write down 2-3 that they would like to read over the summer.

Many of the books on the tables were personal favourites and with one class it led to a discussion on the books that I read and my own reading goals. I told the class I would set a goal to read 16 children's books over the summer. Recently that led me to the decision to also blog about the books so that I have a running record of the books that I read and my thoughts about them. 

So, here's to summer reading, great memories, and getting my 16 books (and blog posts!) finished in the next two months. :)