I really enjoyed all the presentations. Each group was creative in the way they presented their genre; most of all the interview with Amelia Earhart. The skit that the first group put on was a great attention grabber as was the pounding on the door by the group that presented The Diary of Anne Frank. The animation presentation is something children would have a blast doing. Each presentation was informative regarding the genre and the activities that we had time for were interesting. Everyone did a great job! :)

Favorite fiction

It is very difficult for me to choose a favorite book as I have many. It really depends on the kind of mood I am in. I have a pretty eclectic taste when it comes to reading...well actually with everything. I can however, share a few of the books and authors that I have enjoyed or enjoy reading. I love almost all Stephen King, Clive Barker, Dean Koontz, James Patterson, Dan Brown, Tom Clancy, David Baldacci, Charlaine Harris, John Grisham and Anne Rice (a middle and High school favorite). I could go on, but as you can see I tend to lean towards the suspense/thriller categories. I enjoy fantasy/adventure as well as some drama.

Welcome to the Monkey House by Kurt Vonnegut is one of the first books i remember truly enjoying. Its a collection of short stories that basically have a common theme of human nature in society. It is an older book, some stories were written in the '50s I believe, but the book was put together in the late '60s.

I also enjoyed reading Wally Lamb's, This Much I Know is True. It's about a gentleman's struggle through life having to deal not only with his own life's trial's and tribulation's but also having to care for his twin brother who was declared schizophrenic. While going through all this he is reading his grandfathers autobiography and learning a great deal about himself and his mother. There is definitely plenty of drama to keep you interested in this one.

When the Wind Blows by James Patterson is a great Science fiction novel. A recently small town widowed veterinarian and FBI agent who is on leave, discover a group of mutated children that have wings, 200 year life spans and are extremely intelligent. The whole experiment was backed by the US Government and has ties that hit close to home. Frannie and Kit help the children escape and eventually find their true parents. The Lake House is a sequel to this book, but I have not had the chance to finish reading it as of yet.

Shared Reading

I love the idea of shared reading groups. It not only allows for group interaction, but also allows for the not so fluent child to participate in reading allowed without the pressure or stress of being the focus of attention. It is a great way to introduce key vocabulary words. This is a perfect way for the second language learner student to be exposed to and have the opportunity to practice language both with text and with their peers as they emulate the story in their own lives. I've been witness to many children, mine included, that role play the stories that they read out on the playground and in their environment.


A to Z teacher stuff is a site I came across and thought it was really helpful for embellishing lesson plans or getting ideas and fillers for lesson plans. There are a lot of great books within the site. It is a teacher-created site that serves as an online re-source. In addition fo finding thematic units, lesson plans and tips it also serves as a discussion forum.
www.atozteacherstuff.com

Artie Knapp is a featured author who's stories captivate children's interest by using humor. His stories are based on life experiences that children can relate to and he also has some books that relate to life hurdles. His stories are great for using with lesson plans.
www.artieknapp.com

Laura Numeroff is the Author of the: "If You Give series"... , "What People do best series" and about twenty other books not included in her series. If You give a Mouse a Cookie jump started her career. Many teachrs also use her stories to supplement their lesson plans. Her books are a great way to connect reading and writing.
www.lauranumeroff.com

Author's Profile

Cornelia Funke is a multiple award winning author of children's fiction. She is originally from Germany but now resides in Los Angeles. Her books are fantasy and adventure. Many of them have been translated to English. Among her more popular are the Inkworld Trilogy, Dragon Rider and the Thief Lord. She also has a Ghosthunters series and a few picture books.

www.corneliafunke.de/en/

Brandon Mull is the author of the Fablehaven series for young readers. Fablehaven is fantasy world filled with trolls, satyrs, witches, imps, fairies and much more. There are plenty of adventures, plots and twists within the four books to keep kids reading. A screenplay has been written for the first book and one is in the works for The Candy Shop War; not part of the Fablehaven series.

http://www.brandonmull.com/

Diane deGroat is an award winning illustrator/author of children's picture books. With the encouragement of her grandmother she took art lessons as a pre-teen and would win awards for local art contests. She was an illustrator for twenty years after college working with different authors and publishers. When illustrating was no longer a challenge for her she took writing classes, read a lot more and Roses are Pink Your Feet Really Stink was her first book she wrote and illustrated. since then she has written the Gilbert holiday series and others . She makes school visits and offers workshops in an effort to promote children's writing.

www.diandegroat.com

10/23/09

Arnold Lobel wrote and illustrated the famous Frog and Toad stories among many more: Mouse soup, Mouse Talks, Uncle Elephant, Owl at Home, Ming Lo Moves the Mountain...these stories are perfect for beginner readers. A lot of his ideas came from cartoons his children liked to watch. As a child he would entertain his classmates with illustrated stories that he would make up. His favorite thing to do as a child was checking books out of the library...seems fitting he became an award winning author.

www.carolhurst.com/authors/alobel.html

Charlotte Zolotow has written over ninety books for children, picture books to young readers in the past fifty years. She has written books about animals and their relationships with people and was one of the first to write a picture book about death (has a few on death and dying). She has also written books about feelings and moods, friends, animals, neighborhoods and nature, relationships, seasons...and poetry collections. She has received many awards. at the ripe age of 90 she still works with her daughter who is also an author.

http://www.charlottezolotow.com/

Lionni's first book, Little Blue and Little Yellow, was inspired by a story he told his grandchildren on a long dull train ride. A list of 40+ books has followed with some earning awards and recognition. He received the American Institute of Graphic Arts God Medal and was a four time Caldecott Honor winner. His books are filled with bright colors and imagery that capture children's attention.

www.randomhouse.com/kids/lionni/

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Graeme Base is an Australian leading author and illustrator of picture books and young reader novels. He received classic status with his alphabet book, Animalia. It’s sold near three million copies and inspired an animated TV series. He holds a long list of awards and recognitions for other titles such as Jungle Dreams, Enigma, Uno’s Garden, The Waterhole and Animalia.
http://www.graemebase.com/

Eric Carle is a world renowned illustrator of many best sellers. He also lends his illustration talents to other authors. His most famous picture book is The Very Hungry Caterpillar. He has illustrated more than seventy books, most of which he also wrote and over 88 million copies of his books sold worldwide. His collage styled art technique captures kid’s attention.
http://www.eric-carle.com/

Its so important that we give our students the every opportunity to practice and enhance their language skills. This is a page that contains a list of books that promote the development of phonological and phonemic awareness skills. There are also counting books included that give you an opportunity to integrate language and math skills.
http://www.bridgew.edu/library/CAGS_projects/VCAIN/children

CH8
I simply adore fiction, all genres of it. I remember the first time my daughter was just captivated by a book. I was so excited and right then I knew she would be a reader. She was in second or third grade and was reading A Dog Called Kitty. I was in the kitchen and I heard her crying, flat out sobbing. I went in and asked what was wrong. She was so upset because the dog died in a horrid accident. I felt so bad for her and so excited at the same time because she had made a powerful connection and attachment to the story. It’s such a gift. It’s such a gift. I am particularly fond of the Double entry journal strategy to promote comprehension and plan to use it with y seven year old.
I’m so glad that the chapter included a section on censorship and gave some pointers on how to handle disgruntled parents. I don’t believe in censorship, especially when it comes to the arts. If someone doesn’t agree or like a particular work, then they don’t have to read, watch or listen to it. I just feel it shouldn’t be taken away from everyone.

children's author's

While searching for children's authors I came across these three that I thought are worth looking into:

Tomie DePaola has been recognized with the Caldecott Honor Award, the Newberry Honor Award and the New Hampshire Governor's Arts Award of Living Treasure. He has written and or illustrated over two hundred books. I particularly like Strega Nona, maybe its my Italian decent. :) You can read more about Tomie at http://www.tomie.com/

Katherine Paterson is an author of novels, picture story books, I can read and chapter books, Non-fiction and essays, Christmas short stories and re-tellings. Her earlier work is reflective of her passion for Japan. This can be seen in, Sign of the Chrysanthemum and The Master Puppeteer among others. Her works consist of different, some have christian emphasis and she has a long list of awards and recognitions. www.terabithia.com

Avi is an award winning author despite having dysgraphia. When he visits schools he asks to speak to the learning disabled children and shows them his manuscripts with all the corrections in red. An inspiration. Writing everything from historical to picture books. He's been able to attract even the reluctant reader. www.avi-writer.com