Nefertiti the Spidernaut: The Jumping Spider Who Learned to Hunt in Space by Darcy Pattison

Genre: Children's Picture Book, Nonfiction
Source: I received a copy to facilitate my review. The opinions expressed here are my own.

Darcy Pattison has written a wonderful and informative story about a spider who went to space.
Nefertiti was a Johnson Jumping Spider. She was chosen because she was the largest of her siblings. They wanted to see if she could adapt to zero gravity to hunt in space. They sent along a food supply of fruit flies.   She not only learned to hunt in space, but when she returned to Earth, she needed to learn to change her hunting methods. I never realized how smart spiders  were until I read this true story. I believe, like all of Darcy’s books, this is another great book that should be in all classrooms.
I received a copy to facilitate my review. The opinions expressed here are my own.

Indecent by Ethan Brant

Genre: Young Adult, Adult, Suspence

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

From Goodreads:

Based on true events!

There was a time when six countries were united by one man named Tito. He defended the country from the tyranny of Hitler, thus establishing himself as a leader. His system of government was Socialism controlled by his Secret Police¾the UDBA. Most of the population was thrilled to live such a life and they considered the agents their protectors, but one brilliant kid disagreed. 

Zlatan, at the age of sixteen, decides to live outside the system, but that leads him to prison, to serve a sentence of five years. Inside he meets his teacher, Uncle, a former spy for Tito’s Gestapo, who arranges an early release for him, but it comes with a high price. 

In front of the prison gates, two agents catch him and give him an ultimatum¾do or die. Zlatan agrees to their criminal requests but not for ”King and Country” but for the freedom he craves. His actions lead him to discover something dark in the pit of his mind. He learns there are greater things to fear than the police and other criminals. He must answer the question . . . 

IS HE ACTUALLY FREE? 

Be the first one to find out in this debut novella by a young author, filled with suspense and psychological battles of an abnormally self-aware man.

My Thoughts

If you are looking for a light, easy, feel good read, then put this book down. This young talented writer knows how to draw out the emotions in his readers. His book is a fictionalized account of actual events.  His main character Zlatan has found himself in a situation where he is searching for freedom. The acceptance of what he hopes will give him that turns out not to be freedom. We see this young man go from a period in his life where he is a small time criminal who ends up in prison, to a young man who accepts what he thinks will be his ticket out. He leaves the prison only to find himself in a deeper hole. It makes you wonder how dark a person is willing to let their soul get. For Zlatan you can see the struggle within. He is power hungry yet you still see a side of him that wants to be rid of all the evil.  We can remove ourselves from bad situations and turn our lives around. Unfortunately the things we have done in our past, no matter how much we are able to cover them up still haunt our thoughts and memories.  This up and coming author has done a great job of touching a nerve in his readers. It makes us take a deeper look inside our own selves. With the exception of  a small amount of language I didn’t care for, I would definitely recommend this book.

Guest Post - Radine Nehring

I am pleased to have Radine Nehring write a guest post for me.  When I read it I immediately thought, "this is exactly the way to speak to my students who think I am crazy when I talk about hearing voices."  Please enjoy the post and check out her book.

A discussion of writers as "weirdos" because they hear voices in their heads has been going 'round Twitter recently.

As a famous heroine in fiction would say--"Fiddle de-de."  Nothing weird about voices in our heads. Truth be told, which of us does not hear interior voices?

Some of the time they are us speaking silently to ourselves. "Whew--look at those tattoos. What will they look like when she's 80?"  "Sheesh, another one who ran a red light on the end of yellow."  "I used to be slender, and look at me now. Still--the extra weight gave me worthwhile cleavage." "What am I gonna do about _____________?" (Fill in the blank.)  And, "I miss her so much, but at least I can still hear her voice. I pray that memory never fades."

Admit it. You, too, hear those "yours alone" voices--or at least your non-verbal voice and the voices of those close to you. That is NOT weird.

Yes, I am a writer and yes, I hear voices in my head. Some are me speaking to myself about my work as an author, and, at other times, about my life in general. These voices make no outward sound. In addition, when I'm working on a short story or novel, editing my work, or just reading something I wrote, I definitely hear my characters as they speak their lines. Thing is, would they come out as believable if their voices weren't heard somewhere? Do they sound like real people? Is her voice distinguishable from his? Call it playing God if you want, but fiction writers are in the business of creating quasi-real characters, whether earthlings, or a being from a galaxy far, far away. My friend, those beings HAVE to communicate--first, to their creator, and then to everyone who reads their story.

Is that what makes up a writer's voice--which is something we hear talked about frequently? Partly, yes, but the term is usually applied in a more generic way. A writer's voice is a composite of all that person is as a writer, plus the words they put in the mouths of their characters. I wonder--How often do people reading a series of books by one of their favorite authors have a feeling of closeness to that author simply because they are steeped in a special series of voices the writer has created? 

Brief bio and links for Radine Nehring

For more than twenty years, Radine Trees Nehring's magazine features, essays, newspaper articles, and radio broadcasts have shared colorful stories about the people, places, events, and natural world near her Arkansas home.

In 2002, Radine's first mystery novel, A VALLEY TO DIE FOR, was published and, in 2003 became a Macavity Award Nominee.  Since that time she has continued to earn writing awards as she enthralls her original fans and attracts new ones with her signature blend of down-home Arkansas sightseeing and cozy amateur sleuthing by active retirees Henry King and Carrie McCrite King.

Website URL:  www.RadinesBooks.com

Blog URL:  http://radine.wordpress.com

Facebook URL:  www.facebook.com/RadineTreesNehring

Twitter:   @RTNehring

LinkedIn:  www.linkedin.com/in/radine-trees-nehring

Buy link for Portrait to Die For

http://www.amazon.com/Portrait-Die-Radine-Trees-Nehring/dp/1610092228/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1457470278&sr=8-1&keywords=Portrait+to+die+for+nehring

9/11 Remembered

On this day fifteen years ago, the face of America was changed forever with the attacks on America. This last Friday I did my 9/11 presentation for my sixth graders, most who were born around 2006. Only a few of them had any information about that day. I had two students whose parents lived in some part of New York at the time and had shared info with them. I had one student who lost an uncle in one of the towers.

I had three administrators and a few of he teachers come in throughout the day to sit through my presentation. We started off talking about what freedom is and isn't. Then we talked about positive and negative characteristics in people such as tolerance - intolerance, love - hatred. I had a list of them and asked students what was significant about them. They realized they were opposites and the list on the left was positive and what we wanted to see in people and the list on the right was negative and what we saw in the terrorists that day.

I was careful with the pictures I showed them. I showed them what the Towers, Pentagon, and flight 93 looked like before they were hit and then afterwards. My husband, daughter and I were in New York City ten months after 9/11. One of the first things we did was visit the Intrepid Museum. They had set up a makeshift memorial inside. I showed a timeline to the students of that event from pictures I had taken at that memorial.  I showed them pictures of Ground Zero I had taken. We talked about the memorials that people created.  Finally I told them of the personal connections I had to that day. I first learned about the events from one of my students who came running into the school pounding on my hall doors screaming my name. She was in a panic. Since my daughter danced with her I assumed something terrible had happened to her parents. I let her in and she shot past me running to my room to turn on the TV. She and her family had been in NY with our principal and his family just a few months before and had been at the top of the Towers.  We ran up the hallway and told another teacher to turn on his TV and then ran and told the principal. Our principal made us leave the TVs on all day long. We had block scheduling, so that meant I had sixth graders first thing for ninety minutes. We sat and talked and about what we were seeing. I tried to reassure them that everything was okay when I didn't know if it was. They started talking about what they would do if they were in the Towers.  That made me wonder what would happen if three teens found themselves in the Twin Towers on 9/11. That was what sparked the idea for my book Steps to Courage.

 I cried as I wrote that book because it was hard. It brought back all the memories and all of the feelings I had that day. To this day I can't read my book without crying. I did a lot of research. I worked with a lady at school who had lived in New Jersey and was able to help me with a lot of the information I needed about subways. We talked for hours about what it was like for her on that day.  There were several personal connections that day.  My husbands sister lived in Washington, D.C.   She said the explosion at the Pentagon was so strong it threw her dishes out of her cabinets. His cousin's daughter had gone across the street from the Pentagon to pick up printing for a meeting. She stepped out in time to see the plane hit.  We didn't hear from her for three days so we didn't know if she was alive or not.  My sister lost a former roommate in one of the towers. She'd left behind a husband and a one year old. They never found her body. I remember her aunt coming to tell us about a memorial service for her and how they'd finally had her declared legally dead so they could move on.

I want my students to understand that fear, hatred and bigotry are just a few of the things that prompted these attacks.  I also wanted them to see that we as Americans join together to show compassion during a time of adversity. Those of us who lived through that day will always remember. May we all remember those who lost their lives on that day.

I have included the powerpoint I showed to my students.

Two Beautiful Nonfiction Books

How They Became Famous Dancers – Anne Dunkin

Genre: Middle Grade, Young Adult, Nonfiction

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

This is a wonderful book. My daughter loved dance and at one time was enrolled in eight different dance classes. She could tell me about many of the people who shaped dance in recent years. This book takes us way back to Louis the XIV. This book is the story of twelve dancers who cover the year from the early 1600s to the year 2000. I had not heard of many of these dancers. Their passion for dance was so strong they let nothing stand in their way. In addition to the biographies, at the end of each chapter was a section called “Create a Dance”. This section allows you the reader to create a dance in the style of the dance you had just studied. This is a book I will put on my shelves once I have shared it with my daughter.

Galloping to Freedom: Saving the Adobe Town Appaloosas – Carol J. Walker

Genre: Nonfiction

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

After reading this book I’ll never look at or think about wild horses in the same way. This is the story of a rescue of Americas wild horses as captured through beautiful photographs of the photographer. The photographer was able to take pictures of these horses in the wild, when they were captured and when they were resettled onto safe sanctuaries. Thanks to her photographs many horse families were kept together. Unfortunately when she checked in on some of the horses she learned that some of the mare had given birth in such crowed corrals that the foals did not survive. This is a story of sadness and hope. The sadness as we see progress taking away the lands of those who had the right to live there, the wild horses. It is also a story of hope as we see several people who cared enough to set aside areas that would be safe sanctuaries. I think one of the saddest things was that they sterilized all of the males. This means in some cases the end of the line of those fine stallions. Sometimes I read books like this and wonder why God put humans over animals if we were going to treat them the way we do.

Just a Drop of Water by Kerry O'Malley Cerra

Genre: Middle Grade, Realistic Fiction
Source: I purchased a copy

I have read three stories in the last few days about 9/11 for middle grade students. This story is by far my favorite. Jake and Sam  have been best friends for years. They run cross country together.  They have become friends with the new kid Kirk.  His father works in Washington. When 9/11 happens their friendship will be tested. Shortly after this terrible event, Jake's mother begins to flip out. When Jake and Sam's friend Bobby turns against Sam, Jake takes revenge.The reason is simple, Sam is a Muslim American.  He has never practiced his religion so he knows nothing about it. When his father is questioned and then taken away by the FBI, people begin to think the worst.

This story shows two things. It shows how so many people came together, and it also shows how some people let fear affect them. When prejudice rears its ugly head what lessons will each of the characters learn?

This is a book I will be reading with my students starting next week.  I am so pleased to have had several sites recommend this as a must read book for middle grade classrooms.

Nine, Ten by Nora Raleigh Baskins

 Genre: Middle Grade, Realistic Fiction

Source: I purchased a copy

This is the story of four teens from different parts of the country. Amy’s mom has a new job in New York City. They have just moved to California. She doesn’t fit in with the girls there. The girls in her new school  assume that the reason her mom has a job in New York, and she and her dad are in California is because her parents are splitting up.  This causes all kinds of anxiety for her.  Sergio  lives with his grandmother. He hates the father who left him and his mom.  Will is angry because his father died trying to help a man  along the side of the road.  He is more angry because he learns the man was already dead and in his mind his dad died for no reason.  Nadira is a Muslim girl who is proud of the scarf she wears. However, at her new school she is beginning to feel uncomfortable when someone asks her about her scarf.  Even though these kids don’t know each other they all have one thing in common, 9/11.

This is a must read book. You need to read it to see how each of their lives were changed on that day. Another great book to put on my shelves for my students.

Eleven by Tom Rogers

Genre: Realistic Fiction,  Middle Grade

Source: I purchased a copy.

Eleven is one of those books that is a quick read because it holds your attention from the very beginning.

Alex Douglas is almost eleven and he knows what he wants for his birthday. After all he has two things he loves. Planes and dogs. He isn’t old enough to fly a plane yet, but his parents have talked to him about being more responsible before they will get him a dog. That is the only thing he wants. The night before his birthday he really blows things. He has argued with his mom and then he tells his dad he hates him.  Could things get any worse?  When he wakes up the next morning on September 11^th he has no idea how bad things can get. He is sure he won’t be getting a dog for his present. On the bus he becomes the target of the school bully.  Shortly after school starts he is sent to pick up his sister from school and told to go to his mother’s work. No one will tell him anything. He is told to go home and not to watch the TV.

Alex had seen a stray dog on his way to school and then he sees him on his way home with his sister Nunu. He is sure this is meant to be his dog.  Then he learns the terrible truth about event of the day. His father drives a PATH train that stops under the Twin Towers.  His last words to his dad was “I hate you.” He starts making deals. If he takes the dog back to his rightful owner, then his dad will come home safe. The strange thing is, he meets a man who lives next door to where the dog used to live. He too has been making deals in hopes his son will come home.

I made it all the way to the end before I started crying. Mac, the old man and Alex for a bond that was not expected. They have a connection through the love of planes.  This is a book that keeps you reading to see who will and who won’t survive.  I couldn’t put the book down. The events were well researched and not too heavy for middle school students. I am proud to put this book on my shelves for my students.

Be Light Like a Bird by Monika Schroder

Genre: Middle Grade, Realistic Fiction

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

Wren is a twelve-year-old girl whose father dies in a plane crash. This is a realistic look at the grief process and how it affects everyone. This is a very heavy topic for middle school children. However, a recent discussion in my sixth grade classroom brought forward that often times middle school is when grandparents and sometimes parents die. This is their biggest fear, the loss of family and friends. This is the perfect book for my school shelves. The relationship between Wren and Theo reminded me of two kindergarten students I had. Curtis lost him mom to cancer. He grew up watching her in constant pain, even though she tried hard to protect him from it. He took her death hard. Then Sarah’s dad suddenly died of pneumonia. It was Curtis who helped her through the grieving process.  He had no idea he had helped me as well. Theo and Wren reminded me so much of them.  I love when books can help me make a personal connection. This is an emotional read so get out your box of tissues. This is one you won’t want to put down.

Fire in the Ashes – Jonathan Kozo

Genre: Adult, Nonfiction

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

Jonathan Kozol has written another book that looks at those who are less fortunate than many. He has followed the lives of many inner city children. He has shown us that society has in many ways hindered them, yet many of them have survived to go to college and find their way out of this hell that was created for them. As he exposed some of the areas and conditions that these children have had to live through, society moved them to areas that really were not much better and often put them in harm’s way even more. Kozol’s stories are heart-wrenching and often hopeful as we follow these lives and wonder how they managed to survive. A man like this does this from the goodness of his heart. He truly cares. You can feel this as you read the book. He doesn’t judge people. He just tells their stories.