The Book Without Words: A Fable of Medieval Magic by Avi
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
It was lovely, really, and I have no major complaints about it, but a few hours after finishing it, I can’t remember how it ended. Parts were enjoyable, and I liked the concept and plot, but never really cared about the characters.
Posted in Book Reviews, Reading
The Story of Ferdinand by Munro Leaf
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Having deeply loved Ferdinand for well over thiry years now, I had not expected to discover anything except an old friend among its pages. Imagine my delight to discover that the cork tree is actually hung with clusters of corks – a suprise that tells me I have learned something about the world since the last time I read it. I still hope that one day, in a time of strife, I will find that I have an inner Ferdinand.
Posted in Book Reviews, Reading
You just finished a book you love. Maybe you’re an avid reader and you love most books. Maybe reading isn’t your thing, so loving a book is a pleasant surprise. No matter which person you are, I bet you want your next book to make you feel the same way. You may already know about Amazon’s many ways to get you interested in buying more books (great recommendations to take to your local library or bookstore, too). Here are several more ways to find similar books online. (I’m going to use Gary D. Schmidt’s Okay For Now, which was my favorite book of 2011.)
If you are looking for a book, why not start at a library’s website? One of the great things about the internet is that you can use websites from all over the world, so explore a little bit. However, if you use your local site, most libraries allow you to place an online request, so you don’t have to go back to the library over and over, hoping that their copy of Divergent will be on the shelf (not to say that happened to me … 😉 ). Libraries are using many of the same tricks as Amazon to show you other books you may want to check out:
My personal favorite is my home library’s page. Perhaps I am biased, but look at all the information the Minuteman Library Network gives you! Now, you do have to look for it. The top of the page doesn’t tell you …
…the awesome stuff hiding down at the bottom!
This bottom material sometimes loads slowly, so give it a few extra seconds.
Like many libraries across the country, the Boston Public Library‘s catalogue includes links to book lists and tags, which the red arrows are pointing to. Libraries using the Bibliocommons service will have this material, including the New York and Seattle libraries, to randomly pick two.
After the Minuteman Library Network, my next favorite source of recommendations is Goodreads.
The right column, underneath the “Genres” list, has “Readers also enjoyed…” recommendations:
Don’t forget to click through several pages of recommendations. Many books have 10-20 suggestions. I think the computer created this list by looking at the books read by someone who gave Okay For Now four or five stars, and seeing what else they rated highly. This gives really good results, because they are recommendations from people you know you already agree with!
Goodreads also links to lists and forum discussions that mention the book; both are in the left (main) side of a book’s page:
… and …
These aren’t as reliable for finding “another book like that one,” but they may introduce you to a book you would never have thought to try. Keep in mind that anyone can add to and vote on lists – I tend to ignore books that only have one vote, assuming that if they are a good match for my interests, I will see them recommended somewhere else.
If I don’t already have a pile of ten books to try next, I go on to:
Recommended sites (click images):
Posted in E-Resource, Reading
We Two Tutoring will be closed Friday, August 17 for professional development. We apologize for the inconvenience and will see you on Monday!
Posted in General
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
A beginning reader book in which the main character is literally playing with words? Yes, please!
Posted in Book Reviews, Reading
I am horrible at writing dialogue. This is one reason I steer away from fiction – I heard a rumor that characters like to talk. *shudder* But I also know it’s important to keep pushing myself as a writer, to keep trying those parts of writing I am not good at. And yesterday … I did it!
“How did you achieve this wonderful thing?” you might ask. (<– More dialogue.) Simple: I cheated.
In my opinion, all my dialogue sounds like I, myself, am talking. So I borrowed a few characters from one of my favorite TV shows – one of the characters is pretty weird, so he doesn’t talk the same way most people – and imagined a scene. I’ve heard hours of these characters talking, and I know exactly what they sound like. I closed my eyes and listened to what they were saying inside my mind. The story I came up with is only 249 words long and only includes three lines of dialogue but hey, that’s better than none at all.
A side trip into a discussion of fanfiction…
Now, this kind of writing is called “fanfiction,” and you can probably guess why. It’s important to do it responsibly because those characters are actually the property of other people. They don’t belong to you or me. If I sold that story to a magazine, I would be breaking the law. In fact, I won’t even put it up here on the blog for free. Some authors are also upset by the idea of other people copying characters they worked so hard to create, which is understandable.
Generally speaking, people are allowed nonprofit, educational, fair use of the characters, so a story you wrote in a private notebook to practice your skills as an author would be fine. That is similar to seeing art students copying paintings at a museum. They would not then hang it in a gallery and say, “Look at this beautiful portrait I made! I call her Mona Lisa!”
A list of authors and their positions on using their characters in your own writing is available here; it is not a complete list.
Another challenge is that not everyone respects fanfiction, either. I do, and I’ve seen my students do great work when they were inspired by characters and settings in their favorite books, movies, or TV shows. Just keep in mind that, again, your own practice notebook is a good place for fanfiction; handing it in to a teacher for a grade is riskier; trying to sell it as a book is wrong.
Always, always, always acknowledge the wonderful writers whose hard work creating those characters and worlds inspired you, even in your own notebook. Those authors who allow fanfiction are sharing a special gift with you, and they are awesome.
Back to the writing exercises …
Posted in Writing
Whether you are preparing for a standardized test or English is not your first language, you will need to learn about words outside a vocabulary workbook. Professor Word is a useful tool for studying the new words you find everywhere. It highlights SAT/ACT/GRE words in your browser and enables pop-up definitions for all words. It is in beta testing right now, which explains some awkward interface issues (it doesn’t seem to have an “off” switch), but it is still a valuable tool this back-to-school season.
ProfessorWord’s home page:
See those three red circles? Those are my three favorite items on the homepage.
When you want to use ProfessorWord on a web page, click the bookmarklet you have added to the top of your browser. A green PW icon in the upper left will tell you it’s running. Clicking the icon opens a menu that allows you to turn SAT/ACT/GRE highlighting on and off, among other actions.
Clicking a word on the page opens a green bubble with the definition (here I am using it at Goodreads, a wonderful book website). You can scroll in this bubble or expand it to show all of the text at once. Notice that the bottom of the bubble links to three websites for more information. I was so glad to see Merriam-Webster listed first because its definitions are better written than Dictionary.com. (Dictionary.com also suffers because all the automated bells and whistles result in grammatical mistakes like “What is a jargon.” Jargon is an uncountable noun, so using the indefinite article “a” is incorrect.)
Look – even the vocabulary words inside the bubble are highlighted! It’s like the movie Inception …
Now, ProfessorWord is a great tool, but it is just a tool – you have to do the thinking. In particular, make sure you study deeply enough for your goals. Did you come across the word “jargon” on a page and wonder what the author meant? For that, the green bubble gives you enough information.
However, if you are preparing for a standardized test, you need to take another look. Of the three nouns, two seem to be about language and include descriptive words like particular, specialized and characteristic. That middle definition definitely doesn’t fit with the other two. Let’s click through to the Merriam-Webster website:
Click (and notice the spelling) …
Ahhh – this is a different word with a different pronunciation. “Jargon” is only a secondary spelling of the word and would not be used on a standardized test. Now you know that if you see “jargon” on the SAT, they are not talking about yellow gems. (Personally, I am relieved. I have taken all three tests and never heard about this gem!)
You may have also noticed the intransitive verb listing. The fact that it is not in the green PW bubble is a hint: this is another very rare use that would not be used on a standardized test. This is why you must use your human judgment when learning vocabulary and not rely on a computer’s inflexible program.
Recommended sites (click images):
The site at the center of our conversation.
When you need a good online dictionary or thesaurus, head here.
Word Central is Merriam-Webster’s children’s dictionary & thesaurus.
A book lover’s dream website; I’m online daily.
Posted in E-Resource, Vocabulary
New Kid, New Scene: A Guide to Moving and Switching Schools by Debbie Glasser
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Speaking directly to kids, and using many quotes from kids, Glasser and Schenck have written the book I wish I’d had in 11th grade. And 8th, 6th, 5th, 2nd, and 1st grades. Yes, I moved a lot as a kid, so I speak from experience when I say that New Kid, New Scene does a great job of addressing real worries kids have.
There is a running movie theme throughout that may seem a little hackneyed but helps organize the materials in a way that allows readers to go directly to the parts that will be most useful to them. “What’s My Next Line” helps kids take care of themselves, whether that’s by talking to an adult or changing personal habits to reduce stress. “Casting Call” provides self-assessments that help readers think about how they react to changes and what kind of friends they are looking for. “Coming Attractions” previews the next chapter, allowing readers to more easily jump back and forth, taking control over how they read the book – in a time when many kids feel they have no control over their life, even this small detail may help. Lots of headlines and text boxes also help readers navigate around the material
Throughout, the emphasis is on what feels right for the individual reader. There are plenty of suggestions, some even seemingly contradictory, because (for example) some kids want to know how to make a new set friends while others might want suggestions about how to keep in touch with old friends. Honestly, though, I think moving is such a complex experience that both sides will be useful to each kid at one time or another. I strongly recommend New Kid, New Scene.
Posted in Book Reviews, Health & Wellbeing, Reading
