Advanced Reading Instruction In Middle School: A Novel Approach - Janice I. Robbins, Rh.D.

Genre: Educational

Source: I received a copy from LibraryThing

I received this quite some time ago. I took it to school with me and completely forgot to write my review. So many books I have on my school shelves or have shared with other teachers are all about working with reluctant readers. This book is all about working with those gifted students who read well but don’t respond to the same types of lessons. 

The book starts off with information to help students choose a variety of books. From there it shows you how to help students interact with the books. I have my students keep a notebook. One of the things they use the notebook for is to write down things that pop into their head as they read. They also write down words, phrases or sentences that they find interesting for whatever reason.

There is a section that talks about asking questions about the novel. For those teachers who think that it is ridiculous that someone should talk to them about asking questions, I am here to tell you that after almost thirty years of teaching it is easy to fall into a rut. We need books like this to help remind us of all those great ideas we had when we first started teaching.

For me this book, full of ideas for the gifted reader, but  has ideas that will work for those reluctant readers as well. I loved the sections on different genres. This book is something that every beginning teacher should have.

Silent Death by Ron Ripley

Genre: Adult, Horror

Source: I won a copy from LibraryThing

This is the first book in this series that I have read. I have now had to go back and purchase the others.  Abel Worthe is one extremely wicked and mixed up man. Money has always bought him what he wanted. He has a whole village of ghosts he has had trapped for years. Amongst all of these ghosts is a young boy named Alex. He can see and communicate with the ghosts, and more. Abel wants him removed from the village. He doesn’t seem to care what it might cost in lives.  Add to this mix a young teen ghost, the most evil of all and you have a wonderful story you will read from beginning to end.  Kimberly killed her whole family with a hatchet. She likes nothing more than killing people and ripping out their voice box. Here reason for this is just as crazy. I was drawn in to a story I couldn’t put down, from the very first chapter.  This is one of those book I can’t say too much about because to do so would create all kinds of spoilers. I will say this much. I will be reading the books before this one and the next one. This author has a new follower.

Pioneer Girl: The Annotated Autobiography by Laura Ingalls Wilder

Genre:  Adult, autobiography

Source: I won a copy from LibraryThing. The opinions expressed here are my own.

For those of us who grew up reading the “Little House on the Prairie” series, this book is a must read. When I first started student teaching almost thirty years ago I created a whole unit around Laura Ingalls Wilder and her books.  I had just about anything that had been written about her. One flood took all of that away. When I saw this book I knew it was a must read. After reading this book you will discover how much of her series was true to life. Like any author, things were changed in her children’s books to fit the age, theme or character she had created. This is not a book for the younger child. However, the older teen who like me fell in love with who this author was would really enjoy this book . For me I grew up in the country. I lived in a house that got an  indoor  bathroom not too many years before we moved in, so I was very familiar with and hated, outhouses.  A lot of the things Laura grew up with, I did too. We lived in a modern house, yet so much from my great-grandmother was there and we were expected to use it. I think having that connection is what made the books so real and special to me. Knowing the extra’s I’ve learn through this book and others helped me reconnect.

This book is full of pictures and references. That is one thing I really enjoy because it adds another layer to my learning about this most beloved author. I knew from years back that Laura’s daughter Rose helped her turn her story into the fictionalized stories I read as a child. For me that made it even more special.  There was just something  special about Laura  taking her own life events and putting them into a story that children in future generations would be able to connect.  For anyone who has every read “The Little House Series” and want to know more about the author and their creation, then this is a must read.  This book is special enough to me that I have directions that it will go to my granddaughter Haylee when I am gone. When she first started reading chapter books I introduced her to Laura’s series. I wanted my granddaughter to grow up know what a wonderful story looked like. We discuss her books all the time.  So I highly, highly recommend this book to anyone who has loved Laura Ingalls Wilder.