Sign of the Cat by Lynne Jonell Blog Tour

One of the first books on my summer #bookaday reading list was the upcoming release, Sign of the Cat by Lynne Jonell. I grabbed it and headed to the pool just last week.

Seeing as I got to the pool when it opened, I had about thirty minutes of uninterrupted reading before the first former student approached me. That was terrific because I got a good grasp on the book so I could share its plot with the kids.

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Duncan lives in a fishing village with his mom and his cat. His dad passed away years ago and Duncan doesn’t know much about him. He longs to be himself, to do his best, but his mom has so many rules. He must wear a hat at all times, never stand out. He must not be a good swordsman, a good student. He needs to appear to everyone to just be average, or even below average. He must essentially be forgettable. Duncan, however, is anything but average. He is a smart student, an inquisitive boy, and has a talent that he hasn’t told anyone about – he can talk to cats. Yes, that’s right – he can talk to them in his own language, or even theirs. His own cat taught him years ago.

So Duncan and his mom continue to live this quiet life until one day when he breaks his mother’s rules and does his best on a test. This sets into motion a chain of events that involve a journey at sea, a kidnapping, and a quest to discover who he truly is. What an adventure.

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Sharing even the beginning of the book at the pool with my students was comical. Several begged to borrow it right then and there. (I had to tell them I would bring it back, I had to finish it for this blog tour.) Many students told me they would come back later and see where I would rank it among some of our favorites of the year (the answer would be at the top.) And a few students began crafting their own ideas for stories where they could talk to animals. This is a book that hooked them – and me – from the beginning.

Luckily for my students, and for you, there isn’t long to wait. Sign of the Cat is released on Tuesday, June 16^th. I hope you grab a copy and journey into Duncan’s world. There you will meet some characters that you won’t soon forget. What a fabulous book.  

The Girl Who Could Fly by Victoria Forester

The kind folks over at MacMillan asked me if I wanted to be part of a read along they were doing with the book The Girl Who Could Fly, written by Victoria Forester. This would be in anticipation of the sequel, The Boy Who Knew Everything, which is being released this October. I was happy to participate, but I had one problem, I hadn’t read the first book.

So I got it and oh my goodness, I loved it.

I immediately sent this photo out on Instagram to my friend, Tony. This is his kind of book, after all.

To bring you up to speed, this book follows the story of Piper who, as the title suggests, can fly. She lives in a quiet rural community where that power would make a bit of a fuss. When a doctor appears and has the solution, she and her parents grab it. Piper will go to a special school for kids with special powers and everything will be wonderful, right? Nope, never is.

I loved this book and especially love the character of Piper, a child who just wants everyone to be happy. She quickly finds out that she is up against some formidable odds and the resolution in the book is fabulous to read. I cannot wait to see what happens in the sequel.

That being said, for this read along I need to answer a question from the folks over at MacMillan… if you could have one superpower, what would it be and why?”

And I think I have to take my cue from Piper. I really just want people to be happy. It breaks my heart when I see so much sadness, anger, violence, and jealously in this world. It doesn’t seem to always equate with people having less that feel this way, some of the happiest people I have ever met have little possessions, but a beautiful inner strength. I don’t know what causes those evil feelings to permeate a person’s spirit, but I’d love to be able to help them learn to be happy and content.

So that is my wish for a superpower, how about you? Share with us in the comments or on social media. I cannot wait to find out.  

What Are You Known For?

I’ve been thinking about this a lot of late, what you are known for. What your reputation is as an educator, as a person? It came back to me again this morning while reading through my Facebook feed. I saw some beautiful words that Kate DiCamillo wrote about having an older dog. (Side note, how does every single thing she writes turn out so beautifully? Facebook status updates – works of art. Seriously.)  When I read Kate’s words, it immediately made me think of my friend, Margie, and her beloved dog, Xena. Anytime I see a dog, I think of Margie. Or also a colleague, Leigh, and her quest to save as many dogs as possible.

This led me to think of other friends and how I always link certain topics with certain people, or certain feelings with certain people. When you begin that line of thinking, you have to begin to wonder, what do people think about you? Right?

As I have mentioned several times, I live in a tiny town. Your reputation often precedes you. I have a feeling that can happen in larger towns as well. I talk to my students about this regularly. Growing up, I didn’t think about this enough. Your actions can speak louder than your words. What you do matters. I want my students to figure this out before I did.

And they are figuring it out. Unfortunately for them, they are often figuring it out in front of a lot of eyes. The world of social media makes growing up hard. I want to make it easier for my beautiful students. I’d love to give them the magic answers, but I don’t think there are any. I think this is something they have to do on their own.

So I turn back to myself. I try so very hard to be a good role model for my students, and for my own sons as well. I try and put forward a positive message. I try and let my fifth graders know me so we can build that relationship that is so very important to our foundation of our year together. And then I wonder, what is it they see? What do they truly know about me? Just the other day, I got a note on Instagram. It told me what I needed to know, how I was seen, and it made my heart happy.

If I am known as a teacher who loved her students, sunsets, and books – I am grateful. I love when students reach out, share their thoughts with you. I love when I am given the chance to know that what I am doing matters. And at the end of a school year, when you are wrung out and questioning if you made the impact that you wanted to in that short year together, this is just the best. Thanks, AJ. You absolutely made my week.

What are you known for? As a teacher, an educator, a parent, a friend? What an excellent tool for reflection. I will be asking my students to write about this question next year.

Summers Off

My typical summer activity - reading books for my classroom, poolside. 

I read a Facebook status update this morning from Kylene Beers and it made me smile. She was preparing to go lead a two day professional development workshop in Colorado and then heading to Pennsylvania later in the week to lead some PD there. She mentioned that anyone who referred to teachers having the "summer off" should see the teachers in her sessions who have "taken on, rather than taking off." She went on to write about all that teachers typically do in a summer, their time "off." 

To be clear, I love summer vacation. Absolutely love it. Today I sit typing this on day seven of our summer break. That being said, it does get tiring when I have been told repeatedly over the last seven days (and every year I've been a teacher), "Oh, it must be so nice to have your entire summer off..."

It is nice to have it off, but for reasons I don't think that the kind people making that off-handed comment realize. I think the summers are when I am actually present in the rest of my life, not just in my classroom. My boys have a mom who is almost completely theirs. I am able to stop and think. I don't mind as much when they have friends over because I haven't been with 80 kids all day long. I am more relaxed, more rested, more everything.

In summer I can catch up on my reading. During the school year I might be lucky to read three books a week. During the summer I read a book a day, if not more. There will be professional reading mixed in, but by and large these are books for my classroom so that I can recommend books to my students all year long. This is the only way I know how to hook readers, know the books they need to read.

Summer is also my time to write: curriculum, unit plans, journal for me, blog posts, articles, and try my hand at writing a book. In this writing I become a stronger writer so I can better assist my students. I see where I can find lessons for them in my own writing and make note of that. During the school year, I write as well, but I never get the amount written that I can in the summer.

In summer I also attend conferences and writing retreats. All told this summer vacation I will be gone for nine days to workshops so I can learn even more as an educator. I look forward to these like small mini-vacations. I see friends at each one and I leave feeling reinvigorated and ready to teach. 

Summer break is a wonderful benefit of being an educator. I do love the time with my family. I find that I sleep more the first two weeks of break than I do the rest of the summer, my body is typically exhausted from the end of the year stress. But I also feel that summer break is necessary. I work a crazy amount of hours all year long, and yet never feel caught up. Summer is that catch up time. It is my time to get inspired for the next year. The time to read and write so that I can be the best reading and writing teacher to my students. And it is the time to catch my breath. 

So the next time you see a teacher this summer, maybe ask what they are doing with their summer break instead of mentioning how lucky they are to have that "time off." If you ask me, I will gladly share. You might even get a book recommendation or two out of it. 

Summer is here and I am greeting it with open arms.

It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

I'm thrilled to link up with Teach Mentor Texts and Unleashing Readers each Monday and share our reading lives. Check out their sites for more information. 

Last week saw the beginning of summer break and summer #bookaday. My goal, like the last few summers, is to read a book a day over summer vacation. Now there might be days that I don't read a book, and other days that I read more than one, but it will hopefully average out to a book a day by the end of summer. So far, I'm off to a great start:

If You Ever Want to Bring an Alligator to School, Don't! is a fun picture book that I was sent towards the end of the school year. My students picked it up unprompted and told me it was hilarious. Poor Magnolia, she just wants to have the best show-and-tell of all of her classmates, but this alligator is just not cooperating. 

The Detective's Assistant was super fun and I had many students asking me to let them borrow it over the summer. Cornelia, or Nell, has been sent to live with her aunt, Kate Warne. Kate is not expecting to have to raise a child, and isn't thrilled by the prospect. Nell figures if she can make herself invaluable to her aunt, she will let her stay, so she sets out to become her assistant. Based on the real life of one of the first female detectives, Kate Warne, who worked for Pinkerton. Nell is fictional, but takes part in several of Warne's famous cases. 

Sign of the Cat I am reviewing this weekend for a blog tour. Fabulous. 

Improbable Libraries was a gift and is a great book for any fan of books in your life. 

Lost in the Sun by Lisa Graff was sadder than I had anticipated. Trent was responsible for another child's death the previous school year. It is a fact, and a memory, he cannot escape. Lost in the Sun follows his story the following school year as he tries to put his life back together. Beautiful.

Orbiting Jupiter by Gary D. Schmidt is breathtaking. It is also heartbreaking. Jack lives on a farm with his parents. They sign on to become the foster parents for Joseph, who is only fourteen. What Jack knows about Joseph is that has spent time at Stone Mountain, a juvenile prison, and he almost killed a teacher. He also has a daughter named Jupiter. 

I was unprepared for Schmidt's book to have the impact it did. At under two hundred pages, I was completely captivated by Jack and Joseph's relationships. Angered, at times, by those who didn't give him a break. In love with several teachers that did. This story works its way into your heart and doesn't let go. Look for it this fall.

And this week I'm beginning by reading The Question of Miracles by Elana K. Arnold. 

A Long Way From Chicago

The last chapter book read aloud is a hard one to pick. I try and alternate the books I share - switch up the genre, the gender of the protagonist, alternate between fast paced reads and slower ones. On a more practical note, time is also a consideration, and at the end of the year, even more relevant. So it was that at the start of May I was looking at less than twenty days and wondering what book I could possibly read aloud to finish off of our year together.

Enter Richard Peck's amazing book, A Long Way from Chicago.

A Long Way From Chicago has a special place in my heart. It entered the world in September of 1998, the same year I began student teaching. I remember picking it up for the first time and reading it, sharing it with my students. It took place in the same county where I was teaching - and the same county where I still teach. I poured over the chapters, trying to figure out what town it took place in. 

I still recall heading to a local bar in a town with a population of just over two hundred and fifty people. It was just down the road from my grandma's house, where Chris and I were living while we saved up money to buy our own home. I walked into the bar with the book in hand and talked to some of the farmers who were there, many friends of my grandmother. I had them help me pinpoint the location, watched them laugh as I told them the story, and saw them get excited to see locations they knew so well inside of this book. And then they shared their stories of growing up with me. It was magical. 

When you live surrounded by cornfields, halfway between Chicago and St. Louis, there aren't a lot of times you see your community in books. You might be lucky to read about other small towns, other farming communities, but you never read about your community. So when I found this book, I knew it was special. 

Joey and Mary Alice live in Chicago in 1929. Their parents have decided they need to head down and visit their grandma, Grandma Dowdel, on their own for a week every summer. Each chapter of the book is a new year, but follows that year's visit to Grandma. Grandma Dowdel, in my opinion, is one of the best characters ever written in children's literature. She is the clearest example I know of letting your actions speak for your character.

I love sharing Peck's book with my students. Not only because they can imagine themselves in Joey and Mary Alice's place, but because they often wouldn't finish it on their own. It is a masterfully crafted book. Yes, it is slower - in some ways - than some of their action packed fantasy novels, but the writing! I love teaching them to look for the clues he throws out at the start of each chapter, and how nothing he mentions is random, but will somehow come back into play at the end of each chapter. I love reading and letting them absorb the relationship between Grandma Dowdel and her grandchildren. And I absolutely love reading the last chapter, Troop Train, and trying oh so hard not to tear up, and failing each time.

A Long Way From Chicago is a book you should not miss. And once you read it, pick up the sequels, A Year Down Yonder and A Season of Gifts. These books are ones you should not miss. My students often go on to read them all. I hope you will do the same. 

End of Another School Year

It's the end of another year. Another year, another group of students, another year of attempting to inspire readers and writers. I love summer. I year for summer. And yet, the end of the year fills me with sadness as I prepare to say goodbye to my fabulous students.

We've been beyond busy over the last two weeks. I tried to take as many pictures as I could, just so we could recap it on Tuesday and celebrate. If you are interested in seeing what we've been up to, watch the video below. I'll be sharing it with my students Tuesday morning on our last day of fifth grade together. 

Have a great day.