The Learning Librarian

Review: A Mango-shaped Space

2009-10-05T13:21:00.000-07:00

Last month, the school book club read A Mango-Shaped Space by Wendy Mass. I had them write their own book reviews to post here.

First, let me tell you about the book. It's about a an 8th grader named Mia who has what doctors and scientist call synesthesia, which means her brainwires that control her senses are crossed, and as a result, she sees colors and shapes and textures with her words and sounds. Mia has had this condition for as long as she can remember and has never told anyone about it since she attempted to when she was 8-years-old and everyone thought she was playing around and making stuff up. Mia finally ends up telling her parents during her 8th grade year when her synesthesia starts causing her to fail algebra and Spanish and she realizes that she needs help. While revealing her secret is a great relief, it also makes Mia feel like a freak, especially after everyone at school finds out about her synesthesia and she gets into a huge fight with her best friend. Mia then begins finding out about herself as well as find herself as she explores her condition that now has a name and meets other people that have the same condition.

This was a very touching book. Mia is a very relatable character who doesn't always act the right way or do the right thing, but her mistakes are very believable. The rest of the characters are just as believable and complex. Anyone with a sister will relate to Mia's annoyance with her older sister, Beth, who frequently changes her hair color and suddenly becomes a vegetarian yoga enthusiast. Mia's little brother, Zack, I found to be a little unbelievable and too quirky, but it was still amusing to read about all of his superstitions. I was pretty upset with Mia's parents at the end when her mom revealed some prior knowledge, but overall, I sympathized and understood most of their actions. That's what I loved most about this book--the realistic and fully fleshed-out characters who make mistakes that are understandable.

Here are the reviews from my brilliant book clubbers:

"it's very descriptive and shows the reader how the narrator can see the shapes and colors of words."

"it's nice being able to relate to this book."

"I liked that it portrayed a character who is different and has a different problem that not everyone is familiar with."

"This became one of my favorite books. It was like looking into a different world that you don't see everyday."

Till next time,

Julie

Back To School

2009-08-29T15:24:00.000-07:00

Well, it's that time again--back to school. So long, free time! Hello again, alarm clock which wakes me up when it's still dark outside. We're almost two weeks into the school year and I'm already pining for a break. Not because of the students or anything, but I'm just so tired while I'm trying to get back into a routine. Plus, I just got a dog last week, which makes things even more hectic.

This week, I had all of the 6th graders in the library to give a library orientation and to help them find books for their reading logs. In order to get to know their names, I had them fill out an index card and write what their favorite book was, along with their name. Not only did it help me learn their names, but I got to learn about them as I found out what they read. There were several mentions of the Twilight, Harry Potter, Diary of a Wimpy Kid and Percy Jackson series, which I expected, but there also a few surprises. Several students wrote that The Cay was their favorite. Some mentioned other classics, such as Hatchet and Woodsong by Gary Paulsen and My Side of the Mountain. A few mentioned Journey to Topaz, which I had never heard of before but definitely plan on checking out because it sounds really good. It's about the internment of Japanese-Americans during WWII, a piece of history that I'm fascinated by. One girl listed Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret as her favorite, a book that is near and dear to my heart. The one mention that I was most surprised about was a girl that listed the Archie comics as her favorite. I read those when I was in elementary school, and they had pretty much gone out by then! Then, I was able to get to know the students even better as I helped them find a book they liked for their reading logs. By the end, I was really struggling to think of mysteries and scary books for them because the vast majority of them want to read those.

While the week was exhausting, it was also extremely gratifying and enjoyable. I love doing reader's advisory and introducing a good book to a student and having them love it like I do. One of the most successful instances was when one boy, who said he like to read WWII books the most was struggling to find a novel he wanted to read. I recommended the wonderful book, Under the Blood-Red Sun by Graham Salisbury.

It's about a Japanese-American boy who lives in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii when it is bombed by the Japanese. The book follows the boy and his family in the aftermath and how they are treated by people after the bombing. Such a good book, and when the student heard me say that it took place in Pearl Harbor during WWII, his face lit up and he immediately went to check it out. That right there is why I love being a librarian, and I can't wait to hear if he like the book or not. This group of 6th graders seems like a really good group, and I'm excited to work with them during the next three years while they're in middle school.

Till next time,
Julie

Books and TV--A Match Made in Heaven

2009-05-28T10:19:00.000-07:00

Last week, the networks revealed their schedules for the 2009-2010 season. I was thrilled about some things (Yay! Chuck and Dollhouse are renewed!), disappointed and upset about some of the news (Boo! Samantha Who? is cancelled.), surprised about other news (Scrubs is coming back? But, didn't they have a series finale and wrap up storylines?), and befuddled and incredulous about other news (My Name is Earl is cancelled?! For Weekend Update on Thursday nights? Ugly Betty is moved to Friday nights?).

But, what's all of this got to do with a blog about books? Because some of the best TV shows on right now are based on popular book series. We all are familiar with books being brought to life in the movies with varying levels of success, but a developing trend right now seems to be turning popular books series into TV shows. Case in point: Gossip Girl.

I adore this show. It's pure teen soap and more than a little trashy, but I can't help but love it. Based on the popular teen book series of the same name, the CW network show follows NYC, prep school teens from the upper east side who are the children of NYC's most elite, with the exception of Dan and Jenny Humphrey and their friend, Vanessa. The book series is even trashier than the TV show so don't let your young ones read the books if you don't want them to read about teenagers drinking, bed-hopping, and worse. The books and the TV show both follow the lives of these teens through an anonymous teen gossip blog called Gossip Girl, who seems to see all and know all. I actually like the show better than the books, because the show gives the characters a lot more depth, making them more complex and less like caricatures, which the books tend to do. I especially love what the show has done with the Chuck character, especially with his relationship with Blair. Both the show and the books are highly addictive, and the books can be read in the same amount of time as an episode of the show.

The CW network is hoping lightning will strike twice this fall when it premieres another TV show based on a popular teen series, The Vampire Diaries.

The Vampire Diaries is a series of books written by L.J. Smith. These books were actually first published in the nineties, but were recently republished, due, I'm sure, to the unbelievable popularity of Stephenie Meyer's Twilight series. The books center around two vampire brothers, Stefan and Damon, who are in love with the human high school girl, Elena. Stefan and Damon have fought over the same girl before, which led to them being turned into vampires. While Stefan is repulsed by his vampiric nature and tries not to feed on human blood, Damon embraces the vampire life and has no qualms about feeding off of humans. I recommend these books to anyone who has finished the Twilight series and wants to read more books like Twilight. The series has all of the angst and romance of Twilight, and it's also pretty clean of gore, sex, and language. I like the Twilight books better because the characters are better written and I was much more into the relationships of Twilight than I was of the ones in The Vampire Diaries. Still, I enjoyed both series, and I am very excited about the TV show. This is the same network that brought us Buffy the Vampire Slayer after all.

If you liked Twilight, but still would like to read an adult novel, I would recommend the Sookie Stackhouse books by Charlane Harris. I read the first book, Dead Until Dark, recently and really enjoyed it. There are a lot of similarities to Twilight, but has more adult content. This series was recently made into a TV show as well: True Blood on HBO. Season One recently came out on DVD and I watched the first two episodes this week. Not for those with delicate ears and sensibilities, but so far it follows the book exactly. I might post a more detailed review later when I've watched more of the show.

Until next time,

Julie

New Look!

2009-05-17T21:52:00.000-07:00

I like this look much better. Very soothing and cozy. Makes me feel like curling up with a good book, a hot beverage, and some kind of furry companion. It's much more literary looking, too. This look pleases me. I promise more frequent posts are too follow. School's almost out for summer!

The inaugural post!

2009-05-05T16:45:00.000-07:00

I'm writing this blog because I'm kind of fascinated by them, and I'm using it as a sort of learning experience in order to use blogs and blogging in the classroom. In order to teach something, you've got to know something about it! I'll be using this blog primarily to talk about my favorite subject--books! I love them and I love talking about them. You'll find reviews of books with my musings and opinions on them, along with some random comments on other things probably. I hope you find something you like!