I'm No Einstein

I hope you are enjoying the pile of new books that arrived in school this week.  Keep reading and putting them back on the shelves for others to enjoy.

I like to take my own advice so I am reading one of the new arrivals.  Jon Scieszka is famous for writing children's books like The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales, and The True Story of the Three Little Pigs.  He also writes chapter books like The Time Warp Trio.  Not being a child hasn't stopped me from enjoying his books and even using them to teach my classes (point of view is played with in the The True Story of the Three Little Pigs).  So when Frank Einstein and the Antimotor Motor arrived I decided to read it before I put it on the shelves.

Basically a kid invents a robot that sort of invents itself.  The story is what happens next... and I am still reading it so I don't quite know yet.  But it is silly and I am feeling like a kid again reading it... and I do like feeling like a kid.  That is my review thus far.

Maniilaq

Delving into the Alaska bookshelf in my classroom I read Maniilaq: Eskimo Prophet Crying from the Wilderness by Sarah Haile. There are other books on him in print, check Amazon, and even some YouTube videos about him.

Although this is about a figure from Inupiaq history many things reminded of what I have heard here on Yupik traditional stories.

Basically Maniilaq is a great hunter but he is also controversial in his community.  He was traditional, but as he had visions of the future he began to break more and more with traditions:

"Maniilaq was a cautious man in many ways who disliked arguments.  With knowing eyes he studied the shaman's face for he had known the man from the time of his first remembering, and he was aware that the man from the time of his first remembering, and he was aware that the man would contest the obvious and make foolish decision based upon his decision not to agree with another man.  It did not matter if a person spoke the truth or not; however, knowing this he yielded to the temptation to irritate the shaman." pg 121

Haven for Fables

Fablehaven by Brandon Mull
Sometimes an author writes to share the magical world of their imagination.  This is such a book.  After watching a current graduate bury himself in this book I decided I should find out what I have been missing...

As with many a magical journey some poor kids get sent off to stay with a curious relative.  They explore and an adventure begins.  Don't despair, this read has its own twists on the classic.
AR level 4.8 11 points

Engineering a Notebook

The book of the day is Max's Logbook by Marissa Moss (who wrote the Amelia Notebook series lurking on my graphic novels shelf... and in the corners of the junior high classroom since they are well read).  The author website is excellent.

Back to the book.

Like the Amelia notebooks this book is full of humor and is an example of great voice in writing— you can actually imagine this kid very easily.  It is more of a science notebook than a journal (which the Amelia ones are) and has a narrative thread also... like the eraser characters.

It is a light fun read but it does deal with the problems Max is having at home.  He deals with his parents going through a divorce.  That is a tough topic but it doesn't make it a depressing book (which it has the potential to).

AR level 3.7 worth 1.0  point (on my graphic novels shelf in my classroom)

The Fabric of Time Needs Ironing

Ok... so that was a lame way of trying to say I just read                A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle last night.  Actually it was the graphic adaptation of that classic of science fiction executed beautifully by Hope Larson.

Finally a fitting reason to use the effects on my PhotoBooth :)

A Wrinkle in Time is one of those classic books that I remember reading when I was a kid, yes I totally was a kid.  Anyway, I also remember I thought it was confusing the first time I read it... luckily I went back and read it again and again... great book.  I think I read it the first time when I was too young, so that is why I had a little trouble... or my brother was bugging me, or any number of distractions were getting me off track.  It was worth revisiting.  You should read it sometime.

This book is a graphic novel adaptation of the original.  I thought it was well done.  It doesn't hold a candle to the original, kind of like going to the movie verses reading the book, but it has its charms.  The art is well done and it is enjoyable... but you still should read the original in all its strange endearing glory.  Maybe it will spark your interest enough to go find the original.

This is an AR level 2.7 worth 2 points, if you read the original it is a level 4.7 and worth 7 points.

Madeleine L'Engle on Writing

Edge of my Seat

Last night I read, Edge of Nowhere by John Smelcher.  He is an Alaskan author and this is his third book.  Two other books he wrote are: The Trap, and The Great Death... and many others.

Did you like reading Hatchet?  Then this is a great book for you.  I always thought Hatchet was a great read, but I also thought even in all that work waiting for survival... he pretty much stayed in the same place most of the time.  This book reminds me of Hatchet... but that story dropped in South-East Alaska... with a dog... and more movement.

"When they had finished eating their lunch, Seth noticed that the tide was going out exposing the dark sea bottom.  He had seen movies in which people spelled out S.O.S. in large letters with whatever was at hand.  He hastily gathered light coloured rocks and spelled out the universal signal, thinking a plane would be able to see it.  He waited nearby on the beach for the rest of the day, hoping that they would soon be rescued.  While waiting, he and Tucker took a nap, tired as they were from staying awake all night watching the bears.  Little by little, hour by hour, the tide turned, poured inland, and drowned the stone-spelled letters.  — Only the fish and scuttling crabs would read it." 83

AR 6.0 ~ 5 points

Some Secrets about Sound

Today I am reading Secrets of Sound: Studying the Calls and Songs of Whales, Elephants, and Birds by April Pulley Sayre.

It is part of the Scientists in the Field book series which I have a few of and plan to order some more... they are really well written, interesting, and could spark interest in some of my students.  I love it when my students are interested... then the work just falls away.

In this book various ways scientists use sound to study animals are explored.  From the smallest birds to the largest mammals on earth (whales and elephants) sound plays an important role.  I found it fascinating that the biggest jump forward in whale research was the end of the cold war.  At that time the military decided to let the scientists look at the data that had been recorded by thousands of sound stations deep in the oceans meant to detect submarine activity.  Once the information was shared the scientists had piles of new information and the military also learned what some of what they had labeled as basically question marks were.  (It was mostly whales.)

There was also a lot about elephants.  The low noises they make can give you a stomach ache... this knowledge has been applied to breaking up crowds in riots.  The people nearby get stomaches and leave, so the situation can be under control more quickly.

Much to learn... so open a book.  :)

"The more scientists know about the sounds animals make, the more questions arise.  Today they have more ideas than ever about where to look for animal sounds and what the animals might be saying.  They just need the time, space, funding, and help to find the answers." 55

AR level 7.4: 2.0 points

The Reason I Read

I read for a lot of reasons.  One of them is to understand how other people think.  I just read The Reason I Jump by Naoki Higashda.  It is an excellent book about what it is like to one child to have autism.  The whole book is written in short chapters mostly answering straightforward questions - with a few short stories interspersed like just the right amount of spice in a fine dish.



I really like how straight-forward he is and how, even though he has problems, he really shows he loves his life and how autism allows him to see the world in a way that he completely cherishes.  The explanations throughout the book are clear and insightful.  For example, in the section where he answers the question about why autistic people seem to ignore people even when they are asking them questions... Naoki responds with an analogy about conversations being like landscapes.  It is something like this; he never knows if he should be focussing on the mountain in the distance or that tree branch that is close to his face... if you are the tree branch... he might be focussing on the mountain, so say his name to let him know he should change the focus for now.

There has been some discussion on the translation from Japanese and how he speaks as though he speaks for autistic people everywhere... I think not everyone who is autistic looks at the world the way his way... but he sees the world this way and speaks from that place (though I can't speak to the translation).  It is an interesting read at the least.

"So I do understand things, but my way of remembering them works differently than everyone else's.  I imagine a normal person's memory is arranged continuously, like a line.  My memory, however is more like a pool of dots.  I'm always "picking up" these dots— by asking my questions — so I can arrive back at that memory that the dots represent."  10
Not an AR book :(  but indeed a great read.

Surprising Worlds

Science books.  They are fun reading too!  Today I read Hidden Worlds: Looking Through a Scientist's Microscope.  It was written by Stephen Kramer and follows scientist Dennis Kuunkel's career — how he got started and the various things he does with microscopes.

I have to admit that sounds kinda dull, but the photos in the book and the descriptions accompanying them were actually quite interesting.  No lie.

The most interesting series of photos were of a mosquito of all things.  First there is the, yeah that is a mosquito, picture taken of what they look like through a loupe.  A simple lens you can carry around everywhere.  Then the microscopes get more and more complicated... a compound microscope, electron microscope, scanning electron microscope, and finally transmission electron microscopic pictures of a mosquito.  The most interesting to me were taken by the electron microscope.  The wings became intricate things of beauty.  Really there are different layers and they look like delicate lace and feathers.  Amazing.

Here is an electron microscope picture of a mosquito's wing taken by Tim Messick since you don't have the book in hand.  That way you can get the idea.

Anyway, the book isn't just about the mosquito pictures I wrote about, but about how the pictures are taken and what you can learn about how the world works by using microscopes and your curiosity.

"A scientist who studies birds often sees and hears birds that other people never even notice.  A scientist who studies plants will observe things about trees and flowers that other people miss.  Years of looking through microscopes has given Dennis a good sense of where to look for the curious and beautiful hidden worlds in nature.  He sees things that most people walk right past.  One of the best ways to learn how to see the hidden worlds of nature is to take a hike with Dennis."  page 46
AR level 7.0 : 1.0 point

Aloha Moloka'i

Back to book blogging.  I thought it was fun to blog about what I was reading, but I didn't realize how easy it is to get out of the habit of doing it.  So this is my return to good habits and a place for my students to read about some of the books on the shelves in our school.

Right now I'm reading Moloka'i by Alan Brennert.  He has written another book about Hawaii, but I haven't seen or read that book yet.  Perhaps it is the arctic chill in the air last night when my heat went out... but I was thinking it would be a warm breeze of a book.  I was wrong.  It is a beautiful book, but it is also about the pain and loneliness leprosy,"the sickness that tears apart families," brought to a little girl that was only seven. 34  The book isn't all sorrow and tears... a lot of it is about being a teen with lots of rules that are annoying.  It isn't AR but it is a very good read.