Savvy

My favorite book of the summer will probably be Savvy by Ingrid Law. It is a tall-tale that is so believable and fun you forget it is a fantasy. This book hooks the reader with the first line, "When my brother Fish turned thirteen, we moved to the deepest part of inland because of the hurricane and, of course, the fact that he'd caused it." Mibs, the main character, will get her Savvy on her 13th birthday, and she can’t wait to find out what it is and neither can the reader. When her father is injured just before her birthday, Mibs hopes her Savvy will be something that can save him. But first she must get to the hospital. She hides on an old school bus driven by a Bible salesman with two of her brothers and the preacher’s children, and the journey begins. Check out the author's website for a videomercial here:http://us.penguingroup.com/static/packages/us/yreaders/savvy/index.html

Something to think about:If you could have one extraordinary power (like, say, controlling the weather or speaking with animals) what would you choose? Why? Leave a comment and tell us.

vozMe - From text to speech

vozMe - From text to speech

Posted using ShareThis

This is a tool you can use to help you read things that are difficult for you. Copy and paste a text into the box and Vozme reads it for you. It does not read with expression but most of the words are pronounced correctly.

Doing Time Online

I just finished reading the book, Doing Time Online by Jan Siebold, and I would highly recommend it. It is a quick, easy read that offers a lot of ideas to jump start your thinking. The main character, Mitch, made some bad choices and is having to face the consequences. His punishment is to spend time chatting online with a person in a nursing home. His conversations with Wootie lead him to some new understandings. Read to find out what he did to get in trouble, how he deals with Trotter, and what he learns from the O.L.D. If you are keeping up with your writer's notebook, you might try writing about your favorite family story or write about your nickname.

Swindle book video

Looking for a good book to read this summer? I think you might like the book Swindle. Check out the video here.

Great summer reads

Summer has started, and I have already read some great books!
Hitler's Daughter by Jackie French is a powerful short read. Have you ever wondered what it would be like to be Hitler's child? What if you had a deformity? This story gives us a glimpse of what it would have been like to live during the Holocaust. It also raises some interesting questions. What would you do if you found out your parents had committed a terrible crime?

Lunch at Longhorn's

Today students who read 1 million words this year (measured by AR) were treated to lunch at Longhorn's Steakhouse. What a great time we had. We talked about books, summer, and sports. The food was delicious, but the socializing was even better. These kids are great conversationalists. While some students chose the traditional burgers or chicken fingers, a few went all out with steak or ribs. The students also had peanut butter cup desserts-yummy! If you get a chance to eat at Longhorn's, please let them know how much you appreciate their support of our students. The manager, Kevin Williams, graciously donated the meals for our readers, and his staff treated our students wonderfully. We have decided to make this a yearly tradition!

The True Story Reader's Theater