"I want to be thoroughly used up when I die."

My DA kids are reading the book Three Cups of Tea. The geography and the people, the story and the spirit of this book are each extraordinary.

The man behind this true story, Greg Mortenson, is a true American hero who school by school is promoting peace and justice in an impoverished land; but he is not alone. Jahan, the first young girl from her village to be educated, has just as much courage as Greg. Haji Ali, a village leader, holds himself with wisdom and patience unfamiliar to the Western world. Jean Hornei and his wife Jennifer Bergman give so generously, it's not surprising that the title of this post comes from Jennifer's necklace inscription.

There are several versions of this book. Anyone up for a challenge should try the original, but there are a few other versions depending on who is reading the book. For more information, please go to this website.

I urge you to read this book. It will reach right through you and grab you by the spine. In my experience, that's always been a sign of a good book.

Peace,
-Stenson

Highlights of an Independent Reading Project!

Many, many, many 7th graders are upset with me. I've made them pick a topic (they had a choice of four: war, real teens, sports, or strong young women), and they had to read about this topic for SIX WEEKS (that's a long time for 13 year olds).

Anyway, some good has come out of it. Here a few of the good books we stumbled on:

Emako Blue by Brenda Woods. A realistic look in the lives of young black women growing up in today's world.

Stolen Voices by various kids. A informative, personal look into the lives of kids living amidst war.

Fallen Angels by Walter Dean Myers. An exciting book about a young black man who is surprised and changed by the Vietnam War.

13 Reasons Why by Jay Asher. A book different from others told from the interesting perspective of a girl who committed suicide by recorded her story in audio tapes first.

The Child Called It Series. Three books about the survival of a child abuse victim. It's a true story, so it's really sad how badly he was abused, yet it makes you want to read on!

The Girl with the Baby by Sylvia Olsen. This book follows a girl who is forced to raise the baby alone. Readers learn about the consequences of having a baby at such a young age.

It's been too long!

The last time I blogged it was FEBRUARY!
Now I'm blogging about summer reading.
Something went wrong! So sorry, your readers.

Here's the deal. Summer is a great time to get caught up on all of the books you are excited to read. Here's a new list from Amazon.com. Now, I know it's amazon, and that means they are just trying to make money, but you can always look for these titles at the library.

Check it out and get reading!

Keep reading,
-stenson

Book talks, Talking about books, books and talking and books and talking.

See:


It's time for Booktalks! All year, 7th graders have worked hard on their independent reading. What have they been reading? We'll soon find out. For a few samples, check out the 7READ podcast. You recognize the booktalks because the titles are in all caps (as shown above).

So the ones currently on the website are samples from last year. Soon, this year's booktalks will be up and running. Take a listen. You might want to check out a few!

Keep Reading!
-Stenson

We Are the Ship

I love baseball. I love good writing. I love this book. Have you heard about it? It's popping up everywhere--most recently at the Young Adult Book Awards where it was honored and celebrated.

This is what Phil Taylor of Sports Illustrated said about the book:

The artist finds beauty even where there seems to be none, and in that way Kadir Nelson and the men of the Negro leagues are soul mates. Negro leagues baseball (1920-47) was an exquisite flower grown from poisonous soil -- the ugly racial attitudes of 20th-century America -- and nurtured by men who refused to allow the ignorance that barred them from the major leagues to extinguish their passion for the game. Nelson, some 60 years later, saw the dignity in that passion and has honored it with a book of oil paintings, We Are the Ship: The Story of Negro League Baseball, depicting Negro leagues stars and game scenes, some of which grace these pages.

So it's a Young Adult book, but it's written like a children's book because of the intense illustrations. You'll pour over the pictures and the voice of the characters. Amazing book. Enjoy.

-Stenson

Our DA Challenge

Booktalks! Podcasts! New Genres! It's madness!!!!

So, the DA readers are embarking on a new challenge this week. They are writing booktalks that will eventually be a part of the DA Booktalk Podcast.

Once the booktalks are recorded, we are going to find the perfect audiences. Other middle schools, other classes, other kids, public libraries, anyone interested. We'll us our marketing skills to get the word out there.

The kids were urged to try new genres. Here's just a preview of the books that the DA kids read:

Shape Shifters by Bruce Colville
Fallen Angels by Walter Dean Myers
Next by Michael Crichton
The Book Thief by Marcus Zuzack
Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
Persopolis: The Complete Story by Marjane Satrapi
R is for Rocket by Ray Bradbury

Have you read any of these? Will you subscribe to our booktalk podcast? Hope to hear from you, and you can count on hearing from us!

Keep Reading!
-Stenson and the DA 7th graders

My Fave Author

Laurie Halse Anderson did it again. Her book Chains grabs you and pulls you along on a serious, heart-gripping ride.

If you like history, you'll especially love it.

The main character is fiesty, smart, and ready to be free (she is a slave). Her heart is strong and big. A role model for us all.



Read it now. Here are a few other links to see what others are saying about it.

The author's website (there's even a "playlist" on this website!)

Reading Rants Blog

Fantastic Fiction

Mitalia Perkins