Wednesday, November 28, 2018

Sample Book Review and Requirements for Honors English 7

Journey by Aaron Becker

When a young girl is desperate for some attention from her family but they appear to be too wrapped up in their own lives to notice her, she draws herself into an imaginary land and can get herself out of any predicament with just a few lines drawn from a magical red crayon. But for older readers who look at this book and immediately make the connection to the classic picture book Harold and the Purple Crayon, there may be a surprise allusion for you later in the story.

Journey is an absolutely stunning, heart-skipping wordless picture book. It will make you gasp at its beauty and feats of imagination. It is probably my favorite wordless picture book of all time. 
What is so captivating about this picture book is the variety of influences you see in Becker's art, namely the Eastern influences, especially on the first full page spread where our protagonist enters the land of her imagination and you see paper lanterns strewn about the forest. But truly, this book can be summed up by reading Aaron Becker's biography on the back flap:
 

"Aaron Becker has made several memorable journeys in his lifetime. He's lived in rural Japan and East Africa, backpacked through Sweden and the South Pacific, and, most recently, ventured from San Francisco Bay to Amherst, Massachusetts, the town he and his wife, daughter, and lazy cat now call home. To this day, his favorite destination remains his imagination, where he can often be found drawing secret doorways and magic lanterns."

LOVE thatEspecially because, despite the fact that the journey in this book is by that of a young girl, it still felt very much like a personal journey for the illustrator. So reading his bio at the end didn't surprise me at all. This book really is his journey. If you are a reader who likes books to take you on a journey, don't miss this gem of a story that proves a picture really is worth a thousand words. 



Book Review Assignment Requirements

Your book review must include:
·       A picture of the book cover at the top of your paper
·       Mention the title and author of the book in your title or first paragraph (italicized and capitalized properly)
·       A one paragraph summary of the book that does NOT give away the ending
·       One paragraph that gives your opinion of the book
·       Incorporates some sort of quoted evidence such as:
o   A quote from the book
o   Something the author has said about the book in an interview or on their website
o   Something another reviewer or critic has said about the book such as:
§  School Library Journal
§  Publishers Weekly
§  Kirkus Review
·       Also discusses some sort of literary elements in the story such as: characterization, similes and metaphors, static and dynamic characters, allusions, climax, rising action, exposition, etc.



Remember that the point of a book review is persuasion, whether that’s to read the book because it’s SO GOOD or not to read the book because it’s SO BAD. The best book reviews are for books you either loved or hated. Sometimes I read a scathing book review and want to read the book just to see if it’s as bad as the reviewer says it is. You know the old adage: all publicity is good publicity.



Due Date: December 12

Sunday, September 16, 2018

Come to Our Enchanted Forest


The Scholastic Book Fair starts on Friday, September 21. Students will visit the book fair with their classes, but it will also be open every day after school from 3-4 PM in the Wayne Wesenberg wing of the Holy Family Hall.

Online shopping for the book fair has already started. You can shop online at the Scholastic Book Fairs website or you can download the Scholastic Book Fair app. If you order any books online, they will be shipped to the school free of charge.

Hope to see you at our Enchanted Forest!

Wednesday, May 2, 2018

Summer Reading Book Recommendations


You are not required to choose a book from the following list. It is merely here to give you guidance for anyone who needs it in choosing their two books for summer reading. Please make sure you choose books appropriate for your reading level. The books are listed in their categories in order of difficulty (e.g., Extraordinary Jane is easier than Islandborn)

Fiction Picture Books
Extraordinary Jane by Hannah E. Harrison
Last Stop on Market Street by Matt de la Pena
The Magician’s Hat by Malcolm Mitchell
Super Manny Stands Up by Kelly DiPucchio
Are We There Yet? By Dan Santat
The Most Magnificent Thing by Ashley Spires
The Artist and Me by Shane Peacock
Islandborn by Junot Diaz

Nonfiction Picture Books
Marvelous Cornelius by Phil Bildner
The Day-Glo Brothers by Chris Barton
Her Right Foot by Dave Eggers
When Paul Met Artie: The Story of Simon &Garfunkel by Greg Neri, illustrated by David Litchfield

Early Chapter Books
Charlie and Mouse by Laurel Snyder
Bink and Gollie by Kate DiCamillo
Mercy Watson to the Rescue by Kate DiCamillo
The Princess in Black by Shannon Hale
Captain Pug by Laura James
Dory Fantasmagory by Abby Hanlon
Fortunately, the Milk by Neil Gaiman
The Year of Billy Miller by Kevin Henkes

Middle Grade Novels
Crenshaw by Katherine Applegate
The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate
Because of Winn-Dixie by Kate DiCamillo
Me and Marvin Gardens by Amy Sarig King
Ghost by Jason Reynolds
Bluffton by Matt Phelan
Turtle in Paradise by Jennifer L. Holm
The Battle of Darcy Lane by Tara Altebrando
Wonderstruck by Brian Selznick
Same Sun Here by Silas House and Neela Veswani
Dead End in Norvelt by Jack Gantos
Bigger Than a Breadbox by Laurel Snyder
Orphan Island by Laurel Snyder
A Snicker of Magic by Natalie Lloyd
Enchanted Air by Margarita Engle
Home of the Brave by Katherine Applegate
Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson
The War That Saved My Life by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley
A Night Divided by Jennifer A. Nielsen

Young Adult Novels
Rebound by Kwame Alexander
Solo by Kwame Alexander
Ghetto Cowboy by G. Neri
Hope Was Here by Joan Bauer
The Schwa Was Here by Neal Shusterman
Peak by Roland Smith
Goodbye Days by Jeff Zentner
Alex and Eliza by Melissa de la Cruz
The Boy in the Black Suit by Jason Reynolds
The Running Dream by Wendelin van Draanen
The Only Road by Alexandra Diaz
The Summer of Letting Go by Gae Polisner
Fever 1793 by Laurie Halse Anderson
Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson
Not a Drop to Drink by Mindy McGinnis
The Bitter Side of Sweet by Tara Sullivan
Girl in the Blue Coat by Monica Hesse
Book of a Thousand Days by Shannon Hale
The Sun is Also a Star by Nicola Yoon
Challenger Deep by Neal Shusterman
Bone Gap by Laura Ruby
Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys

Young Adult Nonfiction
March: Books 1-3 by John Lewis
The Nazi Hunters by Neal Bascomb
Fault Lines in the Constitution by Cynthia and Sanford Levinson
Alexander Hamilton:Revolutionary by Martha Brockenbrough










Wednesday, March 7, 2018

Tuesday, February 6, 2018

And the Winner Is...

The 2018 Cabrini Mock Caldecott Award goes to:



Big Cat, Little Cat by Elisha Cooper



There were also two honor books:

Egg by Kevin Henkes
After the Fall: How Humpty Dumpty Got Back Up Again by Dan Santat

Monday, January 29, 2018

2018 Cabrini Mock Caldecott Contenders and Ballot

These are the books that we will be voting on for the 2018 Cabrini Mock Caldecott.


The actual Caldecott Award will be announced by the American Library Association on Monday, February 12th

Click this link to vote for your 2018 Cabrini Mock Caldecott winner.

Monday, January 8, 2018

Check Out What's New in the Library with Padlet



I created a Padlet account over Christmas break to showcase new library books. Any time you want to see what's new in the library, check out this link here.

I will also put this link under the resources tab.