Where's You Go, Bernadette

So spring break is FINALLY here, omg I didn't think it would ever be here and I finished my first book, Where'd You Go Bernadette by Maria Semple. At first I thought this book was super funny and I loved Bernadette, she was super quirky and I loved the voice she had in the book. There were times when I was laughing out loud, but then it felt like the book didn't go anywhere. I thought the information about Antarctica was really interesting and did spark an interest but then the book just seemed to end. This was a bummer because based on the first part of this book I had super high hopes. Oh well, on to the next book!

The Storyteller

Well I just finished The Storyteller by Jodi Picoult and I think it is an AMAZING book. It might be one of my favorite by Jodi. What I love about her writing is that you go into her books thinking you would handle situations one way if faced but while reading she makes you question things about yourself. I felt like I was going through things with this book and was anxious to see how situations were resolved because I didn't know what I would do.

I find books about World War II really interesting and at times reading about the Holocaust in this book was hard and I found myself getting really angry. It is amazing things that happen in this world.

Jodi did a beautiful job writing about religions in this book. I also thought her writing about forgiveness was amazing and I found myself reading parts over and over...then I remembered I was reading on my kindle and I could highlight it and have it documented forever!!!

I LOOOOOVVVVEEEEEEDDDDD the characters as I always do!! You should read this book and I think it will make you want to know more about your family history!

My other favorite Jodi Picoult books are:

The Pact- wow this was one I could not put down and I just kept wishing there could be a do over for the characters.

My Sister's Keeper- My friend Julie O. (although she lives in Ohio and I don't see her very often, when I do I love to talk books with her. I also love to talk teaching with her. Basically I think she is amazing) recommended this book to me a few years ago before I was a crazy reader. I still remember how this book made me feel and how I could not put it down and I could not wait to talk to Julie about it. I loved how every chapter was told from a different point of view. Jodi Picoult had me from page 1.

Change of Heart- Not my favorite of Jodi's but still a good read!

Memoirs of a Goldfish

So I know I have the best job in the world for several reasons and one of those reasons is I love children's books as much as I love adult books. Today we were continuing to talk about point of view so we read Memoirs of a Goldfish by Devin Scillian and yes I said Memoirs of a Goldfish. It is an amazingly adorable story told from the point of view of a goldfish who lives in a small bowl. New things keep being added to his tiny bowl until he is out of space and wants to be alone again. His wish comes true and suddenly he realizes he misses all his friends!

This is one of those books that you will be reading over and over and laughing each time...I promise!!!!

Twitter

YAY! I finally figured out how to connect my Twitter account to my blog. You can follow me at @bookgirlsbooks

I am also loving my new header courtesy of Mark and Tim, it is beautiful!!!!!

World's Best Librarian

So just because I work in a school and because I am a teacher are not the only reasons why I love children's books as much as I do. I am lucky enough to have one of the greatest librarians in the world (this is a fact) who I get to work with and her name is Rachel.

She is one of the most amazing people I have ever met. She not only inspires the kids to read and enjoy books but she does the same for all of the teachers who are lucky enough to work with her.  The kids love the days when we get to visit her and so do I. She has a gift for the way she reads stories, you are hanging on every word. She also has a gift for costumes :)

As a person who loves books and stories as much as I do, I love talking books with Rachel. She knows all of the authors and always has a great book to go with a lesson. She has helped me grow as a teacher with her knowledge and I am thankful that I am lucky enough to work with her!!!!!

Point of View

So this week I started teaching my first graders about point of view. We had the best time and I found some really great books to use as read alouds!

These were our favorites


Button Up!: Wrinkled Rhymes by Alice Schertle and Petra Mathers. These poems were so cute and perfect for teaching point of view. Each poem was told from the point of view of a piece of clothing. We turned it into a game, I would leave out the name of the piece of clothing and the kids would guess. We had a great time!






So in my classroom we love to read books about dogs! I Didn't Do It by Patricia MacLachlan is a book of adorable poems about puppies, told from the point of view of puppies. Does it get any better?  We LOVED reading these poems, they made us all so happy!  I am sure this book will quickly become one of our classroom favorites and now I think I need to get Once I Ate a Pie by the same author because I can't get enough dog books in my room!
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So if you love dogs and love reading books about dogs and you are not in first grade, I have a great book for you, The Art of Racing In The Rain by Garth Stein. OMG this is one of the best books that I have ever read and it is all told from the point of view of a dog...AMAZING! I loved reading this book so much it took me forever to read the last 20 pages because I didn't want it to end. I love the story and Enzo is on my list of best characters EVER!!!!!!

Snow Day!!

Today we got our first snow day of the year. I love snow days because you have the whole day to do nothing in your house. I did venture out to the grocery store (yuck) and then quickly returned to my spot on the couch with my dog, my blanket and my kindle. I had only about 50 pages left of the book I was reading which I love because then you have enough time in the day to start another book! The Book I finished today was The Autobiography of Us by Aria Beth Sloss. 

I wanted to love this book because it was about friends and covered the span of their lives. Unfortunately the book just made me sad. I did love that the book was set in the 1960s and I loved how the author talked of the clothes and what mothers wanted for their daughters. Overall I am only giving the book 2 stars. The book had potential and covered a lot of interesting topics but it just didn't do it for me. However it made me very sad for women of that generation and how hard things were for them and made me grateful for the life I have.

Later today and I am enjoying my snow day and watching the snow start to really come down, I will be starting The Storyteller by Jodi Picoult.  I know it sounds dorky but I love a new Jodi book when it first comes out. There is something about her that just sucks me in and I can't wait! It has been a while since I have read one of her books so I am super excited. I will be sure to let you know what I think!

Here I Go Again

This month for book club we read Here I Go Again by Jen Lancaster. This is her newest book and I loved it just as much as I loved her others. There were several times that I laughed out loud while I was reading this book. The book just made me so happy. I loved the music and pop culture references and in usual Lancaster form she talks about great Chicago spots. When I was done with this book I was so sad because I was enjoying it so much. This book all of the things that I love about reading. I highly recommend this book, it would be a perfect beach read or rainy afternoon read, you won't be sorry!

Book Club

So I am part of the most amazing book club EEEVVVEEEERRRR! I love these girls and I look forward to getting together with them every month. One of the best things about this group is that most of us didn't know each other before book club and now I truly love them and consider them to be a very important part of my life.

We might not spend the whole night talking about the book and there are months when most of us might not even read the book but the nights we meet are wonderful. We share things and learn from each other and eat good food and drink good wine!

There are some of the books that we have read. We usually have mixed feelings about the books!

The Help

Here I Go Again

The Devil In The White City

The Language of Flowers

Cutting For Stone

Still Alice

Guernsey

The Kitchen Daughter

Blame

The Christmas Wish

The Wednesday Sisters

Alice Bliss

How To Talk To A Widower

The Sugar Queen

When She Woke

Miss Pettigrew

Olive Kitteridge

Freedom

ICE

So I guess I should start with last Thursday. I presented at the 2013 ICE Conference with my friends Rachel and Caryl. The name of our presentation was 50 Shades of Literacy, Putting the Spark back in Reading. We had almost 200 people in our presentation, I was so nervous I could have cried. It was an honor to present with these amazing educators. Rachel talked about the books, I talked about the classroom and Caryl talked about the technical side.

Take a look at their beautiful blog!
http://harmoniouspassion.blogspot.com/2013/02/50-shades-of-literacy-putting-passion.html

This was a professional goal I had for myself and I am proud to say I can "check it off" my personal to do list!