Lost Reviews

My last week at school in May was full of me rushing around. I was trying to make sure I had all assignments graded for my students. I was trying to make sure I had everything set up for my sub. I was trying to get our house ready to be tented the day I had surgery. I was trying to help my mother, who lives with us get her items ready as she and my husband would have to be out of the house for three days. My mother-in-law opened her home to my mom so we didn't have to rent a motel.  I was also trying to gather up everything I would need to take to the Therapy Rehab Center. I needed my husband to hold on to that packed bag until I was transferred from the hospital.  The last thing I was preparing was a group of reviews.  As I read and wrote the reviews on paper, I gave the books to a fellow teacher to share with her young son.  Somewhere along the line I never got the reviews posted. As I was going through my notebook, I found them and thought it would be a good idea to get them posted. Here they are, I hope you enjoy them.

Monty: The Courageous Survival of a Rescue Dog by Janet Squires
Genre:  Children's Picture Book
Source:  I received a copy to facilitate my review. The opinions expressed here are my own.

Monty is a mixed pit-bull dog. He is found out in the desert. He has been shot and is severely injured, and near death. Nicole is an animal rescuer who finds him and takes him to a vet in hopes he can be save. Once they realize he will live they try to find him a forever home. This is a true story so there are lots of pictures and very little writing. I kept wondering, what kind of person would do something like this to a dog? Then I wondered what made him so special and determined to survive. By all odds he should have died.  If you want to learn more, he has a Facebook page.

If You Were Me and Lived in Elizabethan England by Carole P. Roman

Genre: Children’s Picture Book

Source: I received a copy to facilitate my Review. The opinions expressed here are my own.

The author has given us a look at a time called Elizabethan times. This was when Elizabeth the I was queen. The author has done a great job comparing and contrasting the life of the poor to the wealthy. She also showed major differences between life in the city and the country. In the back of the book she has included a small biography of eight very important people who lived during the Elizabethan period and what they contributed. There is also a glossary included to help explain unfamiliar terms.

If You Were Me and Lived in Renaissance Italy by Carole P. Roman

Genre: Children’s Picture Book

Source: I received a copy to facilitate my Review. The opinions expressed here are my own.

In this book we learn about the period after the Middle Ages. It was a time of rebirth. The awakening of creativity. It was called the Renaissance. The author has given a lot of information about how those who had some money lied. Everything was different from the clothes they wore to the food they ate. The author included a section on the changes in art, famous artists and a glossary.

If You Were Me and Lived in Colonial America by Carole P. Roman

Genre: Children’s Picture Book

Source: I received a copy to facilitate my Review. The opinions expressed here are my own.

The research done for this book had to have been extensive. The author gives the reader some history in England that led to people moving across the ocean to what became Colonial America. We get a look at how tough life was for these people, especially the first year. You learn about the friendship with the Natives that helped them survive. The back has small biographies of several important people to the colonies.

If You Were Me and Lived in Ancient Greece by Carole P. Roman

Genre: Children’s Picture Book

Source: I received a copy to facilitate my Review. The opinions expressed here are my own.

Readers will learn about some of the most important city-states. They will also learn a bit about the different gods they believed in. They will learn about how homes were made and what they ate. I found it interesting that girls were not considered citizens. I loved the way this book was set up. As you read about a specific topic you learned about the god or goddess that best fit with that topic. There is a separate section in the back that deals with the different gods.

Mortimer: Chapter Book for Early Readers by Mary Kincaid

Genre: Children, Early Reader

Source: I received a copy to facilitate my review. The opinions expressed here are my own.

This story is written in first person. This is the story of Mortimer the mole. He learns to dig and eat worms with his family. However, Mortimer is very curious. He hears noises from above. He asks his father about them and is forbidden to go above ground. His father tells him that moles that go above ground never return. What will happen to Mortimer when his curiosity gets the best of him?

Children’s Books 3 complete children’s stories and 23 previews of our children books by Francois Bissonnette

I AM BACK!
I apologize for not being around for a while. As the school year was coming to an end I had to take some time off. I left school three weeks before it was over. This was very tough as I had wonderful sixth grade students this year. On May 23rd I had both of my knees completely replaced. That was followed by 3 and a half weeks in a nursing rehab facility. I underwent therapy three times a day. Finally I was allowed home. I do home therapy four days a week and go to my doctor for therapy three days a week. Unfortunately, I had a setback. The day I left the hospital and went to the rehab facility the nursing staff found a pressure wound on the back of my left leg. They have been treating it ever since. Then one week after getting home I was working out on my recumbent bike, I was having trouble getting my right foot to sit properly in the pedal stirrup and banged my right knee and incision on the display screen. I ripped a scab off of my incision. This is where the setback comes in. Now the wound doctor had another wound to take care of. Unfortunately, the wound on my knee has gotten deeper and larger. It is possible it may compromise my implant.  After debriding, taking a culture and x-rays I am playing the waiting game. If all comes back negative they may use a wound vacuum to heal the wound. The only problem with that process is that it may mean I can't go back to school the first week.

Now, I've gotten to a point where I've been able to read and begin to write reviews again. It has been a long time.  Here is my first review.

Genre: Children's Picture Book

Source: I received a copy to facilitate my review. The opinions expressed here are my own.

Francois Bissonnette has long been one of my favorite authors. In this book we get excerpts and previews of his many stories.

Wanoo the Sorcerer: Naloo's version. Naloo visits her friend Wanoo. The last time she had seen him he was trying to learn magic. He told her that after training with the Enchanter Tarzi, he learned he could become a great magician if he persevered.

The City of Cats. One day in the city of cats a new family moves in. The new family was a mother dog and her pups. Muffy the kitten became friends with the pup named Goldy. Muffy's mom learns of the friendship and forbids it because they were different. In this book we learn that sometimes being different is the best thing.

Alicia and the Wolf is a wonderfully twisted version of the Red Riding hood Story. In this version Red Riding hood is being followed by a robber and a white wolf saves her.  It was a short but delightful story.

There are so many previews in this e-book. Once you read it you will see why his stories are some of my favorites. His fairy tales are so wonderful I use them in my classroom when I teach a unit on traditional stories.  I do hope you will check this author out.

Story Prompts that Work by Carly Berg

Genre: Writing

Source: I received a copy to facilitate my review. The opinions expressed here are my own.

This is a book of 52 writing prompts that can be used in a variety of ways. Some of them can be used for any age, while some are for the more mature audience.  I am going to talk about a couple of my favorites and how I, as a teacher, will use them with my students.

Prompt #3 – Unreliable Narrator  will work well in my classroom. We talk about unreliable narrators when we read a story about a dog who has been sold and really does not understand the true reason why he has been purchased. The situation of an unreliable narrator can make for a very humorous story as the students find out. I feel that I can help them better understand this by having them write a story with an unreliable narrator.

Prompt #6 – Choose a Story #1, #36, and #49  Is a great idea.  You have a first line, then choose a line from Setting, Main Character, and Situation.  The ones listed here may be a bit much for my middle school students but this is a wonderful idea and a wonderful way for me to come up with some writing prompts for them.

Prompt #18 – Twisted Fairy Tale #1 and #46  is something I do with the last unit I teach each year. We talk about fairy tales, fables, myths, legends and other traditional stories. They are required to take the story and tell it from another point of view, change the setting and time period. So they may take the story for Red Riding Hood and tell it from the Wolf’s perspective. It could be set in New York City in present time.

Prompt #19 – Objects  is one I will twist a little. Instead of going around the house and grabbing six objects that will become a list of words in a story. I would take objects and put them in a bag and have students pick from the bag to get their list of words.  This would be especially fun if we are studying a specific genre, for example ‘mysteries’ and they have to write a mystery story using those objects in their story.

Prompt #24 – A Picture is one I use every year. I find a variety of pictures and put them on my board and students may choose one or more to write about.

There are a lot of fun writing prompts here that can be done straight from the book, or you can put your own twist on them. One thing I really liked was that the author wrote example stories so you could get a better idea of what she was talking about. I can foresee this as creating hours and hours of fun writing.

Three Oliver and Jumpy Stories by Werner Stejskal

Genre: Children's Picture Books
Source: I received a copy to facilitate my reviews. The opinions expressed here are my own.

Oliver and Jumpy Stories 40-42

Story 40: Elephant Heaven
In this story Oliver, Jumpy and Joey visit ghost castle. They find a group of elephants in a desert waiting for them to lead them to fertile ground. Oliver is up for the challenge. They encounter a grass fire and an avalanche. Will they find the land of plenty?

Story 41: Waking the Princess
In this story Oliver sets out on his own to break a curse. Years before a Princess was put to sleep until a cat Prince could wake her with a kiss. However, the cat prince would have to overcome three challenges. The challenges included a genie out of a bottle, a giant and a spider. Will he be able to wake the Princess?

Story 42: Space Ball
Jumpy and Joey were watching a star in the sky when suddenly it began to move. It became a fireball and landed in their lake. The next morning a spacecraft emerged from the lake. A creature came out. What do you think the creature wants?

Oliver and Jumpy Stories 43-45

Story 43: Flying Carpet
In this story a stork from Africa delivers a letter to Oliver. He is needed to rescue another princess. He and his friends travel to Africa where they are given a magic carpet to help them rescue the princess. They manage to do this, but the guards chase them. Can they evade the guards and take the Princess to her destination?

Story 44: Birthday Party
Oliver returned home from one of his adventures to a surprise birthday party. His friends had cake and presents for him. He felt their love.  What kind of presents do you think he got?

Story 45: Magic Berries
In this story the three friends visit Ghost Castle again and end up in a land where there were very large berries. Before anyone could stop him, Joey ate a handful. He began to shrink. He found another colored berry and ate it. It caused him to grow fat. He found a third berry and ate it and it caused him to grow tall again, but remain fat. They were told they had to find a wood fairy to help them. Will Joey be able to do what is needed to get back to his regular size?

Oliver and Jumpy Stories 46-48

Story 46: Saving Fairyland
Fairyland was under attack. Their food was being destroyed. The Fairy Queen asked Oliver and his friends to help save her land. With their magic wands they went to help.  Will they be able to save fairy land?

Story 47: Cat King
Oliver and his friends visit the Ghost Castle again for another adventure. They find themselves in a room with several statues. One of them looks just like him.  The statues come to life and declare him their returned king. They take him to meet his bride. They get married and begin to eat. There is one major problem. When Oliver eats anything with mice or birds in ti he begins to turn white. The other cats think he is an impostor.  What will happen to Oliver and his friends.?

Story 48: The Bee Gnomes
Oliver is not the neatest cat. Sometimes his home can be quite messy. One day he woke up and found his house had been tidied up.  This happened several mornings. He pretended to go to sleep one night and found out who was cleaning up his house.  The bee gnomes had a favor to ask of him. Would he be able to help them?

Why "Teachers Write" Is So Important To Me

Every year since it began, I've joined Kate Messner for Teachers Write.  I do this for several reasons. First, I have the opportunity to write for me. Second, I have the opportunity to be led and guided my many of my favorite authors. Each of them have so many different styles and things to teach us. Most importantly for me, is that I learn so much to take back to the classroom to teach and encourage my own students on their writing journey. I have always hoped I was getting through.

Yesterday, ended my school year for me. I am having double knee surgery on Monday. This meant turning my classroom over to a sub for the last three and a half weeks of school. I've been trying to prepare my students, and myself, for the last month. I cry every year when they leave my classroom for the last time. Friday was an emotional roller coaster as I had former students coming and going as well as my sixth graders all day. But I have one student who is very quiet and has always had a beautiful writing style. She above all my students touched my heart in a way no other student every has. Below is her gift to me.  This is why I will always participate and encourage other to join Teachers Write.

A Poem for Mrs. Stiles

One day I walked

into a room

labeled Language Arts

where I could learn

how to put pencil to paper

and unleash the magic.

The magic that waits

beneath the white,

so my messy scrawl

could burn through

the snow-colored shield.

The little candle

in my pencil

could melt through the paper.

And the worlds I’ve gone to

through thin black crevices

in the pages of books

are extraordinary.

And I loved Language Arts

through the first school.

Elementary school.

And it was almost as great

as the library

where I could travel through

little black lines

in otherwise blank walls,

into worlds of magic.

For those years

my candle burned

in the same little room

in the same little school.

Then,

A new, bigger school

where I could see the sky

through patches of blue

in the hallway.

In middle school 

where I headed

to Language Arts

my heart in my throat

because my teacher would be

an author,

who had wildfires in her pencil,

and knew how to

burn through the paper

and create portals

to other worlds,

where anything was possible.

And I only had my candle.

She welcomed us

I liked her

in moments.

I was glad

she was the one chose

to show us how to burn through

paper

with flaming pencils.

Mrs. Stiles

I look forward all day

to Language Arts

where anything

is possible.

And we can write

About spinning torrents of wind

and flames unquenchable.

Neat, orderly writing

Or wild, imagined tall tales.

Poetry

with rhyming sequences

and corresponding syllables.

Or free

like an eagle

flying into the flaming sunset.

You helped my candle

grow into a flame

dancing on a torch.

You’ve been a great teacher,

Thank you for showing me

how to put pencil to paper

and unleash the magic.

The magic that waits

beneath the white.

Now my messy scrawl

can burn through

the snow-colored shield.

Thank you.

I’ll see you next year.

Good-bye,

and good luck.

Madison B.

Laura Sullivan: The Modern Romantic New Relaxing Classical Piano Music

Winds of Magic and Timeless were probably my favorites on this CD.  It is tough to choose as they are all so beautiful. I took this to school with me after I got it. My students know me well. When I am stressed I play music with no words. This year I’ve had to be very selective with what I usually play. I have a student on the Autism Spectrum with sensitivity issues. He sits right in front of my desk, so playing music can be very disrupting to him. I noticed something with this CD. I told him if it bothered him to let me know and I would move it, turn it down, or turn it off. He has a lot of tics when his senses are over stimulated. This is something he is working on. He was not having the best day with his tics. I noticed when I put the CD on they did not increase. When we came to the song Come Home his shoulders actually relaxed and the tics subsided for a while. I told his mom about this and the CD. They and his therapists are trying different things. If this will help him then I will provide them with a copy, just not this one. I am having surgery in a couple of days. This will accompany me to rehab as I know I will need the relaxation. I was trying to pick the best music to take and this is it. I grew up in a musical family. My father played 11 instruments and had a gospel quartet. From the time I was little until two days beforeh he entered the hospital and then passed away I sat with him as he played the piano for me. For this reason I have an affinity to music that has piano in it. I can say without a doubt that my father would have loved Laura Sullivan’s compositions. I look forward to more of her music in the future.

Indiana Belle by John A. Heldt

Genre: Adult, suspense

Source: I purchased a copy.

This is the third book in the American Journey series. This time the author takes us to the Roaring Twenties. You don’t have to read the first two books to read and enjoy this one. They read just like stand-alone books. In this book we are presented with a problem that any time traveler fears. What happens if something can and should be prevented in the past and you know it will change the future if you do anything to change it? This is this situation that faces our main character. Cameron Coelho is completing his dissertation on life and the social implications during the 1920s. He buys the journals of Candice Bell who is a reporter and is murdered. He gets to meet Candice and sparks begin to fly. But what happens when you fall in love with someone and you know the date and manner in which they will die?  Do you stop it knowing the possible consequences? 

In this book we not only get to relish the entire time travel experience, but we get to live vicariously through the author in the time of the 1920s.  I love that the author always spends so much time in research s that the reader feels they are a part of the time period. This one is a little different and has some wonderful twists. I highly recommend it and the rest of the series.

Mercer Street by John A. Heldt

Genre: Adult, suspense

Source: I received a copy to facilitate my review. The opinions expressed here are my own.

My Thoughts:

Give me a good time travel book any day and let me live in my own fantasy world. John Heldt has created two wonderful worlds. First we are in present time where Susan Peterson’s husband has died while having an affair. To ease the pain she goes to California with her mother and her daughter. Things take a real quick turn when the three of them time travel back to 1938 after meeting a professor.  Susan’s mother gets to meet her parents and herself as an infant when they were new refugees.

Susan and her daughter each fall for a different man. The problem is they must be careful not to change things that will alter their future. This means they will be forced to make some very tough decisions. That is okay because the author has given us three very independent and tough women. This has everything I could want. Time travel, history and some romance that is not all mushy.  The amount of research that went into this novel is what makes it so authentic and believable. I enjoyed the first book in this series. I highly recommend it to you.

The Burning by D.E.L. Connor

Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy
Source: I purchased it

This is the third book in this wonderful series. The characters in this series are connected to animal spirits. For those who love to read Native American stories, then this is the series for you. These teens have done battle before.  They have been fighting the evil spirit of Machayiwiwi, who was at one time a very powerful medicine man. The teens are guided and helped through visions given them by ancient chiefs.

This book is full of real life. Each of the teens deal with personal things in their own life. There are so many things happening that any reader will find something t identify with. There are many teens who deal with divorced or alcoholic parents. These teens deal with their feelings of love and jealousy. This author really knows how to keep the story real, but include the elements of magic in just the right does.

This book doesn’t have teens just jumping in trying to fight the evil. You see them actually live their life and get involved in things that aren’t always right or best for them. In other words it is todays reality.   If you haven’t read the other two books in the series you need to do just that. Make sure you have plenty of tissues handy. The author doesn’t sugar coat her plot. People die and teens must deal with it. Pull up a chair and prepare to read a book you can’t put down. Join Emme, Ollie, Charlie, Bets and their friends for an adventure you won’t soon forget.

Keegan's Point by H.D. Smith

Genre: Middle Grade, Mystery

Source: I received a copy to facilitate my review. The opinions expressed here are my own.

How bad can one day in your life be? For Charlie Parker the answer would be, pretty bad. His day starts with the knowledge he has to give an oral report during his fourth period class. It’s not that he’s not prepared. He is overly prepared. His report is on Keegan’s Point.  Charlie has had a fascination with Markus Keegan, a billionaire who owned his own island. Keegan was found dead in his mansion with several passports that had his picture and a lot of different names. His body and the passports were removed and everything else was left as it was. Charlie would love nothing more than the opportunity to   visit the island and explore its mysteries. He probably knows more than anyone else in his town about the reclusive billionaire. As prepared as he is to give his report, his fear of public speaking causes him to pass out in class. This in turn prompts his teacher to change the order in which people give their reports.  This would be good for Charlie, except it puts him in the cross hairs of the school bully.

Charlie’s bad day isn’t over. After being the punching bag for the bully his friends ask him about their camping trip. His mom wants a second adult to go along. This means Charlie will have to lie to his mom.

When he meets his mom at her diner he tells her that he won’t have to give his report for several days because his teacher changed the order. He doesn’t want to tell her anything more than he has to.

While in the diner, three visitors overhear Charlie talking about Keegan.  Charlie is kidnapped by them and taken to the island. This would make his bad day complete except a part of him is thrilled that he is going to finally see the inside of the mansion. Will he be able to help his kidnappers? What happens when one of the bad guys turns out to be a good, bad guy?  Will the mystery of Keegan’s Island ever be solved? 

This is a fantastic book.  I will say that it is a great book for the reluctant reader no matter what their gender. It is also a great book for anyone who loves mysteries and a quick read. The action keeps coming and there are plenty of twists and turns. A book I was very pleased to put on my shelves.