Reading Aloud

I'm over at From the Write Angle today talking about some benefits of reading aloud your own work. I hope you'll pop on over and join the discussion.

Our teachers never read aloud to us when we were in school. I wish they had.

When I'm in the classroom, I read aloud to my students every day. It's often the favourite part of the day for me and the students. There's something very special about sharing a good story about strong characters. We talk about why things happened, what we think will happen, and agonize when things go wrong.

Over the years I've developed a huge pile of favourite read-alouds. And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie, The Outsiders by SE Hinton, Hatchet by Gary Paulsen, and Killing Mr. Griffin by Lois Duncan are huge favourites with the older kids. Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli, The Giver by Lois Lowry, & Dogsled Dreams & Ice Dogs by Terry Lynn Johnson are the faves for the slightly younger crowd. And then are lots more!

How about you? Any favourite memories of books read aloud by teachers?

Favourite Couples

Valentine's Day is almost upon us. Cue the cardboard hearts and fancy chocolates!

Love and romance are part of human culture and obviously show up in many of our books. There have been countless couples throughout history who have captured the hearts of readers. Even young readers.

Some of the earliest couples I remember reading about are:

• Anne Shirley & Gilbert Blythe from Anne of Green Gables
• Nancy Drew & Ned Nickerson (had to look up his last name!)
• Amy March & Laurie (never did like that match up though)

There weren't really any YA books around when I was a kid and I moved pretty much from those books to Agatha Christie - not a lot of romance for poor ol' Hercule!

Current MG and YA books are full of couples and love triangles (but that's another post) and some of them are very memorable. One of my recent faves is in Ice Dogs by Terry Lynn Johnson. While it's totally an adventure book the realistic relationship that grows between the characters is fabulous. Shannon Messenger, Medeia Sharif, Elana Johnson, and Shelli Johannes are other authors who create strong relationships between their YA characters. Wish those authors had been around when I was a kid!

Who are your favourite couples from the books you read as a child or teen?

Ice Dogs

My very good blog buddy Terry Lynn Johnson is revealing the cover to her new book Ice Dogs today. Terry's first book, Dogsled Dreams, is a favourite of mine and my students. There are 3 grades of kids waiting eagerly for this next book to come out - and they're not waiting patiently!

Ice Dogs will be released 1 year from today, but today we're getting to see the cover!!! It's SO pretty!!

 

Isn't it awesome?!?! I love the dog's eyes and the echo with the blue below - just perfect!

 

Here's the blurb:

 

Sometimes I wish I could trade places with the dogs. They only have to worry about running and eating. They love fiercely and don’t worry about things they can’t control. And when someone dies, they can sit on top of their house, throw their head back and howl.

Lost.

That’s how 14-year-old dogsledder Victoria Secord has felt ever since her father died. A champion musher, Victoria is independent, self-reliant, and thanks to her father, an expert in surviving the unforgiving Alaskan bush. When an injured “city boy” and a freak snow storm both catch Victoria and her dog team by surprise, however, a routine trip becomes a life or death trek through the frozen wilderness. As temperatures drop and food stores run out, Victoria must find a way to save them all in this high stakes, high adventure middle grade novel of endurance, hope and finding your way back home.

 

***
I've been lucky enough to read an early version of the story and it is absolutely incredible! Can't wait to have the final copy in my hands!

What do you think of the cover and the blurb? Doesn't it make you want to learn to dogsled?

Dogsled Dreams

As a writer, my A to Z challenge is going to be about books, characters, TV shows and movies that have impacted me somehow. Enjoy! Be sure to check out Lee’s blog to find more bloggers taking on this challenge!

Dogsled Dreams

(source)

This is a recent read of mine. I’d known Terry from her blog before her book came out. I ordered myself a copy and won a copy on another blog. I read the book myself and loved it. I decided to read it aloud to the students in my class. (I’m very selective about the books I read aloud!) The kids LOVED it. There were lots of groans when I finished reading each day – they didn’t want me to stop. Since then, many of the students have reread the book. If I didn’t have so many of the students again this year, I’d read it again. I know the students next year will love it too!

Do you remember any books your teachers read to you that completely sucked you in?

Forward ... March!

Matthew MacNish & Alex J Cavanaugh have brewed up another blogfest! In this one, we`re to choose 3 blogs we think others will enjoy, but who may fly under the radar. SO HARD!!!!

I have so many great blog friends - it`s pretty impossible to select just 3. But, them`s the rules, so...

Terry Lynn Johnson - Terry`s MG adventure Dogsled Dreams was THE favourite book in my classroom last year. They loved Rebecca and her dream to run her dogs in a dogsled race. It`s a fabulous story. As an added bonus, Terry is a true outdoor adventurer herself. She kayaks and canoes all over the place and has had some hysterical adventures!

Riley Redgate over at In the Jungle - Riley`s a young aspiring author and is having a blast with her blog. I originally met Riley over at Agent Query Connect. She`s very talented and her sense of humour is quick and often surprising. You`ll love her spirit!

Mindy McGinnis over at Writer, Writer, Pants on Fire! - Mindy - known over at Agent Query Connect as BBC (Big Black Cat) has a fantastic blog. She has several series she runs with some rather unusual names. SAT (Successful Author Talk), BOA (Bloggers of Awesome) & SHIT (Submission Hell - It`s True). Yup - you can tell you`re going to like Mindy already, can`t you? :)

So, there you have it! 3 of the many fabulous bloggers I adore! Hope you have fun visiting! :)

Mini Updates

I've promised updates over the past few months on a few things, so here we go...

1) My Kindle. I'm still loving it! It's so easy to use. I love buying books - especially new releases - right away. I also like being able to support my blog buddies who have their books in e-versions only. I have about 15 or 20 blog buddy books on my Kindle right now and know I'll be buying more. The prices are usually better on the Kindle which is nice too. I still buy a ton of 'real' books - I'm a bit of an addict, especially for my classroom - but I'm loving the ebooks too.

The battery is great. It actually seems to hold longer when I'm using it frequently which is kind of odd. The charge tends to last several weeks.

The only down side I've experienced so far is downloading. Some books don't instantly arrive. Others do. I have a 'lite' internet connection and I think that's the problem. It sometimes takes me several attempts to get the book onto the device. I have to resend it from the Kindle site. All of the books eventually arrive, but it can take a bit of time.

Overall though - loving it!

2) Word Verification. Ages ago I asked my fellow bloggers how they felt about having to type in word verification. The results were mixed. A few friends had real nightmares and have VERY good reasons for having both word verification and comment moderation. Overall most people hadn't experienced many problems though. The first week I removed the word verification, I had a few comments from people who obviously didn't read the blog - and really just wanted me to click their link. Don't know if there was anything evil lurking at the other end of the link because I never clicked. It was painfully obvious these weren't real commenters interested in my site. Since then I've had zero incidents.

Hope I didn't jinx myself.

3) Blog Buddy Books. I've read several now and I've gotta say - I've gotten to know some mighty talented folks! My most recent reads are:

Dogsled Dreams by Terry Lynn Johnson - a fantastic MG adventure - my students are LOVING it!
The Hating Game by Talli Roland - a laugh-out-loud romantic comedy with fabulous characters
Breakthrough by Stephen Tremp - a wild science fiction adventure into the land of wormholes
When Danger Calls by Terry O'Dell - an awesome romantic suspense with characters you think you know
CassaStar by Alex J. Cavanaugh - fabulous sci-fi adventure with tons of suspense

These are all great reads!!! Hope you have a chance to read them too!

Next up?

The Prairie Grass Murders by Patricia Stoltey
Across the Universe by Beth Revis
Perilous by Tamara Hart Heiner
Chasing the Dark by Lisa Rusczyk
Veiled in Shadows by Allan Russell
Notes From Nadir by Lisa Maliga

There are so many more great books I'm waiting to buy from my other blog buddies, but I'm still paying off those Christmas bills! I'll get to everyone - promise!
So, now you're updated! What's new in your world??? :)

Dogsled Dreams

Woohoo!! Blog Buddy Terry Lynn Johnson's Dogsled Dreams is being released TODAY!!! :)
Dogsled Dreams is a Middle Grade novel sure to please. Here's the blurb:

Twelve-year-old Rebecca dreams of becoming a famous dog sled racer. She's an inventive but self-doubting musher who tackles blinding blizzards, wild animal attacks, puppy training, and flying poo missiles. All of her challneges though, seem easier than living up to the dogs' trust in her abilities.

I've taught Middle Grade aged kids for a long time. I know them really well. Rebecca IS one of them. No question. Rebecca could easily be one of the kids I've taught over the years. Terry's voice is perfect. I especially love the comments Rebecca makes to herself throughout the book. Spot on. She made me smile and laugh all through the story.

I know MG kids are going to love the plot line too. It's full of fun, mystery, worry and LOTS of adventure. One of the best points, in my opinion, is that the readers will easily be able to imagine themselves in Rebecca's shoes...or boots. The adventure isn't out of reach for them and it isn't something they couldn't do - as long as they are willing to work hard and commit. Great fun with a great lesson as well.

If you can't tell, I LOVED this book! I'm going to use it as a read aloud to my students once we're back in class later this week. I know they'll love it too!

And, if you don't believe me, check out these AMAZING reviews!!!

"A captivating and exciting debut novel." ~ Superior Outdoors Magazine

"A warm, coming-of-age story about hopes and dreams, but most of all, finding the true meaning of family and friends, whether they have two legs or four!" ~ Darcy Johns, Youth Services Librarian, Nova Scotia

"Any teacher using Gary Paulsen's Woodsong would want Terry Johnson's Dogsled Dreams as part of their classroom library." ~ Diane Johnson, Iditarod's Education Director

"Exhilarating." ~ BiblioReads

WOW!! Can you believe those reviews! Hurry and get your hands on this book NOW!

Heres the Barnes & Noble link - it's got the best price at the moment! Enjoy!!!
Check out Terry's website and her blog for lots more interesting stuff! Congratulations Terry - your book is sure to be a great success!