It's Monday - blog tour links!

Monday Reading  

It's Monday! What are you Reading? is hosted by Jen at TEACH.MENTOR.TEXTS.  And shared with Ricki and Kellee at UNLEASHING READERS.   

         And, also visit Sheila at BOOK JOURNEYS for more reviews. 

 Tweet! at #IMWAYR

         Here is information about the first days of the Jacqueline Wilson blog tour, and HERE is the website where you can learn more about this popular British writer, and register to win a new IPad Mini.  As you can see, I'll be posting about my book(s) later in the tour.  So far, terrific reads, but I'll share more later.  In the meantime, check out Karen Yingling's week of reviews and more!  

Tour Schedule

• October 13th : Hetty Feather on Ms Yingling Reads
• October 14th: Lily Alone on Ms Yingling Reads, for Marvellous Middle Grade Monday
• October 15th: The Longest Whale Song on Ms Yingling Reads
• October 16th: Little Darlings on Ms Yingling Reads
• October 17th: Hetty Feather on Ms Yingling Reads
• October 18th: The Worst Thing About My Sister on Ms Yingling Reads, for Tomboy Friday!
• October 19th: Hetty Feather on The Fourth Muskateer
• October 20th: Hetty Feather trilogy 1 on Teacher Dance
• October 23rd: Excerpt of Hetty Feather on TBC
• October 28th: Hetty Feather trilogy 2 on Teacher Dance
• October 30th: Excerpt of Queenie on TBC

      I read two good books this week, in addition to the Jacqueline Wilson books I'll review later.

      Like the bees that flew in from the east and settled on our flowers is one of the ways Helen Frost showed the feelings of the Native Americans about a different kind of people, changes across our land. Those different kinds of people were the colonists, in this book about the early strife among the people in what eventually became the War of 1812. The setting is the area almost directly south of the Great Lakes. It is a heart-breaking book, about displacement, distrust, and misunderstandings, all ending in the loss of homes, generations of friendships, and eventually lives. It is a marvelous and heartbreaking story, told in two voices, young boys who have been friends, one a Native American, the other a trader’s son. Wise words are throughout in Helen Frost’s straight-talking boys, first having fun, then pushed into hurt, and finally sorrow. The Native American Grandma says: Grief gathered kindling. Fear struck the flint. Anger fans the flames. There is additional informational about the poetic forms chosen for the two boys who told the story and the Native names and language that were included in the story. I imagine this to be a wonderful read aloud that would support interesting and serious conversation about our past, how misunderstanding leads to conflict, and perhaps, how we might resolve them. I enjoyed the book very much.

             This is a re-read of course, but I wanted to remind myself of the good lessons in this book, for all ages, even the US Congress! I have used the stories to start conversations about accepting differences and how to come to some kind of compromise when having conflicts. Those Sneetches get into such a snit, and by trying to be just the people who are the “best” group, they end up spending all their money. In The Zax, two Zaxes (Is that the correct plural?) will absolutely not budge off their path, going south or going north (sound familiar?) And then there is Mrs. McCave, naming all her 23 sons Dave. To be different is not only the goal, but makes everything in this household easier. Finally, in What Was I Scared Of?, Dr. Seuss offers one more good lesson, that we may think someone else is a little weird, but forget they might think the same of us! I am reminded of Robert Burns: “O wad some Power the giftie gie us. To see oursels as ithers see us!”

Next:  More Jacqueline Wilson reading, poetry and picture books.  I am teaching the book Hatchet to a second group, reading three different professional books with three different groups of teachers:  Opening Minds by Peter H. Johnston, Book Love by Penny Kittle, and Finding the Heart of Non-Fiction by Georgia Heard.  I've read the first two before, but this is a chance to read and discuss with colleagues-much fun!