The $20,000 Pyramid

Miranda is the main character in When You Reach Me. The story takes place in New York City. In the beginning of the story Mirandas mom finds out she is going to get to be on her favorite show, The $20,000 Pyramid. Miranda and her moms boyfirend, Richard, make note cards and help her practice for the show every night.

I like how in the first few chapters, Mirands carreis around a treasured book that she has read so many times. That is my kind of girl.

I am anxious to find out what happens with Miranda's friend Sal.

Now that I have posted I can read the next section which is pgs 43-80.

Remember that reading and becoming familiar with childrens books will make you better able to help your students find books they want to read.

Buying the book

Well today I went to Books a Million and bought "When You Reach Me" by Rebecca Stead. I love book stores and all the beautiful books. I seriously could sit and look through them for hours.

Unfortunately because this book is new, it can only be purchased in hard back which of course makes it more expensive. If you are reading it with me try your local library or school library first. I did try that, but for some strange reason it has not made its way to the shelves of Auburn's public library.

I have broken this book into about 5 sections. Today I read to pg 42. I really did not want to stop reading, but dividing it into sections makes it easier for people to have a chance to read and respond, plus it keeps me from reading the book in one sitting, which is what I tend to do. I am enjoying the book so far. I am happy I am reading it because I loved the old classic Newbery books so much, like Witch of Blackbird Pond, Calico Captive, Caddie Woodlawn and so on, that I never seem to venture past them. This is good for me and will be for you too. You will be exposed to diffent stories and will know which books to recommend to the students in your class based on what you know they like to read.

My next post will be about what I read in the first section. So dont read it until you have also read it, because I dont want to give anything away. Happy reading!

Dear Classy Readers,

Today I read Ducks Don't Wear Socks by John Nedwidek and illustrated by Lee White. What an absolutely cute story. I can hardly wait to read this book to my college students on Monday. Yes you heard me right... I read to my college students. After all they are going to be teachers, so I thought why not introduce them to as many good books as I can BEFORE they become teachers. So far, they seem to all enjoy when I read to them. One of the things I missed the most about teaching young children was reading to them. It was my favorite time of the day, as all my other team mates would attest to. It turns out, it is still my favorite time of the day, just the kids are a little bit older.

In this story, there is a little girl named Emily and she is sooooo serious. She meets Duck and he is not serious at all. In fact he is quite silly.Emily encounters Duck in various situations and each time he is doing something very silly. One time she catches him wearing red polka dot underwear, while fishing off a boat for his pants. Duck begins to make Emily smile and I guarantee it will put a smile on your face as well as your students. Check this book out and read it to find out nmore silly things Duck does.

Research shows that children’s and parents' knowledge of books is an excellent predictor of preschooler's language skills. In light of this, I feel that as reading teacher that this same relationship can be assumed in the classroom between the teacher and student. It is incumbent on as educators to be familiar with good literature. This blog is set up to do just that. Every month 1 or 2 new children’s picture books and one chapter book will be highlighted. I will be reading them and posting my thoughts. I hope that as educators you take this opportunity to familiarize yourself with these books and share them with the students in your classroom. Please feel free to post any ideas or thoughts you may have about a particular book.

This months childrens picture books are:

1. The Lion & the Mouse by Jerry Pinkney (2010 Caldecott Winner)
2. Ducks Don't Wear Socks by John Nedwidek

This months chapter book:

1. When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead (2010 Newberry Winner)