It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

It's Monday! What Are You Reading?  So, as I often say, it is hard to keep up with a blog about reading when you have no time to READ!  This week (or month for that matter) has not been a great one for my reading life. Report cards, NCTE, Thanksgiving holiday, etc. have all kept me from reading much. But I have read two things that I love so I thought I'd share. (For more It's Monday! What Are You Reading? posts, visit Kellee and Jen's blog, Teach Mentor Texts.)

I felt like I won the lottery when I was handed an ARC of James Preller's new book (the first in a new series--HOME SWEET HORROR (SCARY TALES SERIES).  I had heard about this series as I am a huge James Preller fan  (because he is one of the best author visits ever). But I didn't know the arcs were available yet.  So I was thrilled to get one when I had asked for books appropriate for 4th grade at his publisher's booth at NCTE.  This was the first on my stack that I read when returning from NCTE.  I actually took it out of a child's hands so that I could read it over Thanksgiving break.  And I loved it.  When I was a librarian, I learned just how much kids loved scary stories. And I learned how few scary stories there are for elementary kids.  I could not keep enough copies of Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark in the library.  And even those, I believe, are a bit much for 3rd-5th graders. Except for Mary Downing Hahn's books (which are perfectly scary for this age), there isn't a lot out there.  So, I am very excited about this new series and I am even more excited now that I read the book. This is an early chapter book--120+ pages with great black and white illustrations.  Terrifyingly wonderful illustrations, by the way by Iacopo Bruno.  The text is large enough that it isn't intimidating. And the book are really quite scary. Dead people, ghosts, true terror.  These aren't pretend scary books--they are scary books meant for readers who actually want to read scary books.  (Sometimes scary books for young kids are fake-scary and kids know this.). But Preller, as always, knows this age group well. He knows how to make the books really scary but still perfect for upper elementary kids.  The ARC says grades 2-5. I am not so sure about Grade 2 although I have had 2nd graders who love scary stories.  But for fans of truly scary stories, this is going to be a great series. And I love that the length and difficulty make it more accessible than other scary stories out there.  Me, I am not a fan of scary stories--they scare me and I have nightmares. Every since Amityville Horror, I've pretty much given up on reading them.  But I will read these because they are just the right level of scary for me and because they are really engaging. It looks like 2 of these are coming out at the same time (Book 2 is called I SCREAM, YOU SCREAM).  Hoping James Preller is writing fast-right now-so that he gets lots of these out fast. Not sure how librarians are going to keep enough copies of these for readers.  This series is not due out until July and I do hate to write a post about it this early, but I figure we are all looking for new scary books for elementary kids so I figure you'll remember this one. Or you'll preorder it right now.  (You can read more about these books on James Preller's blog.)

The other book I read was I HATE READING: HOW TO GET THROUGH 20 MINUTES OF READING A DAY WITHOUT REALLY READING by Arthur and Henry Bacon was one that was recommended to me on Twitter.  Maybe during #titletalk. This is a fun picture book that is really a "how-to" book.   Written by two brothers, it is a guide for getting through those dreaded 20 minutes of required reading time. Filled with reminders and tips, these brothers have all kinds of tricks up their sleeves. A fun read filled with humor and fun.  How I've missed this book for 4 years is beyond me!

A big part of my reading this week was during my NCTE12 Roundup. Little did I know when I offered to pull posts together, what a great experience it would be. I was so lucky to read all of these posts as I added them to the round up.  Whether you attended the convention or not, the posts are definitely worth reading--so much to think about. My thinking is that the conversations we started at NCTE12 will last all year!

James Preller Author Visit: An Amazing Day

We hosted James Preller at our school on Friday for a K-5 Author Visit. It was a great day to be the librarian at Riverside. A great day for kids and teachers!

James Preller has many books and I love all of them.  One of my favorites is JUSTIN FISHER DECLARES WAR. I think it was when I read this book that I realized how well Preller understands kids at this age.  What I learned today, is that he understands kids and people of all ages.  It is a gift and his writing shows that.

James Preller had every group of students engaged, thinking and laughing. He told stories of his life and stories of his writing. He told us about his family and he shared his first ever book with us.  He talked to us about the ways in which his real life plays into his writing by sharing specific examples.

As a K-5 librarian, it is sometimes difficult to find an author who really meets the needs of all K-5 students. James Preller certainly does. He has books for all ages and he has an amazing rapport with students of all ages. The Kindergarten classes had a ball and the older kids left saying, "Wow, that was great."

We really kept the visit simple and about reading and Preller's books. All of the kids in the school knew James Preller's work and I love the fact that they can grow up with his books. Our primary kids had a great time with A Pirate's Guide to First Grade. Talking in pirate talk is really pretty fun and kids had a ball with that. But the book is about school and literacy and lots of things so the book was a great anchor before his visit. During his visit, our 1st grade classes wore construction paper pirate hats. They were amused and had a fun time listening to his reading of the story in their hats (which was much, much better than mine--I guess I need to learn to talk from the back of my neck or something or other that Preller advised.). (If you do not know about Construction Paper Crayons, they were quite a hit for a few classes who decorated their hats. Thanks to our wonderful art teacher for sharing this great new type of crayon!)

We had lots of classes read Jigsaw Jones and I am sure they will all be checked out for the rest of the school year.  I believe strongly in series books for transitional readers and this is a perfect beginning mystery series. Now that the students have some insights into Jigsaw, they'll read them a little differently.

With our older kids, James shared some of his work around Six Innings and Bystander.  Our 5th graders just finished Bystander and were interested in all he had to say about bullying and being a bystander, about standing up instead of staying silent.

I bought many copies of each of Jimmy's books for our library. I imagine they will all be checked out tomorrow. I imagine they will be checked out all year as our students look for the books they know a bit more about.

The author visit was one of the best for lots of reasons.  James Preller is genuine. He is a great guy and very sincere. He let kids know who he was as a person and as a writer. And I think this visit really had an impact on their lives as readers. For our students, meeting James Preller was about meeting a rock star.  But it was also about reading and books and understanding the life of a writer better. The day was a joyful one and I would highly recommend James Preller as an author visit for elementary and middle school students. It was really a perfect day.

James Preller visited Bailey Elementary School a few years ago and Bill has been raving about the visit ever since. I can see why.

(I interviewed James Preller a few months ago for a Choice Literacy podcast. You can find that podcast here.)