Book Review: Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson

Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson

I picked up Brown Girl Dreaming from our high school library after reading rave reviews and enjoyed it from the first page all the way until the end.

Summary by Goodreads: 

National Book Award Winner

Jacqueline Woodson, one of today's finest writers, tells the moving story of her childhood in mesmerizing verse. 

Raised in South Carolina and New York, Woodson always felt halfway home in each place. In vivid poems, she shares what it was like to grow up as an African American in the 1960s and 1970s, living with the remnants of Jim Crow and her growing awareness of the Civil Rights movement. Touching and powerful, each poem is both accessible and emotionally charged, each line a glimpse into a child’s soul as she searches for her place in the world. Woodson’s eloquent poetry also reflects the joy of finding her voice through writing stories, despite the fact that she struggled with reading as a child. Her love of stories inspired her and stayed with her, creating the first sparks of the gifted writer she was to become.

Normally I don't pick up books written in verse, but I am so glad I did.  Jacqueline Woodson writes in a way that I was able to visually imagine each poem as the story unfolded.  I was able to delve into her life growing up in a time when discrimination was against the law, yet still prevalent throughout the country. Born in Ohio, yet moving back and forth between her grandparents in South Carolina and New York, Woodson deals with the remnants of the Civil Rights movement.  Each poem is a history lesson that is told in a way that children and young adults can understand and will want to discuss. This is one that I can't wait to share with my own children and book talk to our students at school.

Book Review: Glitter and Glue by Kelly Corrigan

Glitter and Glue:  A Memoir by Kelly Corrigan

Glitter and Glue has been on my Goodreads for a while now and I was excited when my hold came in at the library.  I really enjoyed this memoir and hope that you may too.

Summary from Goodreads:

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

From the author of The Middle Place comes a new memoir that examines the bond—sometimes nourishing, sometimes exasperating, occasionally divine—between mothers and daughters.
 
When Kelly Corrigan was in high school, her mother neatly summarized the family dynamic as “Your father’s the glitter but I’m the glue.” This meant nothing to Kelly, who left childhood sure that her mom—with her inviolable commandments and proud stoicism—would be nothing more than background chatter for the rest of Kelly’s life, which she was carefully orienting toward adventure. After college, armed with a backpack, her personal mission statement, and a wad of traveler’s checks, she took off for Australia to see things and do things and Become Interesting.

But it didn’t turn out the way she pictured it. In a matter of months, her savings shot, she had a choice: get a job or go home. That’s how Kelly met John Tanner, a newly widowed father of two looking for a live-in nanny. They chatted for an hour, discussed timing and pay, and a week later, Kelly moved in. And there, in that house in a suburb north of Sydney, 10,000 miles from the house where she was raised, her mother’s voice was suddenly everywhere, nudging and advising, cautioning and directing, escorting her through a terrain as foreign as any she had ever trekked. Every day she spent with the Tanner kids was a day spent reconsidering her relationship with her mother, turning it over in her hands like a shell, straining to hear whatever messages might be trapped in its spiral.

This is a book about the difference between travel and life experience, stepping out and stepping up, fathers and mothers. But mostly it’s about who you admire and why, and how that changes over time. 

Goodreads summed this book up perfectly.  Throughout the book, I kept thinking about my relationship with my own mother and how it has grown and changed dramatically since I was a child to a teenager and now as an adult with my own children.  As Kelly shared her experiences as a nanny in Australia, reminiscing on what her mother would say in each situation, I imagined my mother as well.  My only complaint was that I wished to hear more of Kelly Corrigan's story as a mother herself.  I loved Part One (her as a nanny in Australia), but felt Part Two was too short and I wanted to know more about her adult life and relationship with her mother when she returned home, married, and had her own children.

Glitter and Glue is one of the books that reminds me how important my relationship is with my mother.  For that I will be forever grateful Kelly Corrigan shared her story.  Happy Thanksgiving!

Book Review: Guitar Notes by Mary Amato

Guitar Notes by Mary Amato

I just finished reading the book, Guitar Notes, by Mary Amato.  I had never read a book by her,but now I can say, this will not be the last one I pick up. (I actually checked out Get Happy when I went to the library last weekend and can't wait to read it too.)

Summary by Goodreads:

Tripp, who plays guitar only for himself, and Lyla, a cellist whose talent has already made her famous but not happy, form an unlikely friendship when they are forced to share a practice room at their high school.

When I began this book, I thought it might be your typical bad boy/good girl become boyfriend/ girlfriend story.  I was pleasantly surprised that there was more than just that in the plot.  Family pressure, friendship, and a love of music are the themes that run throughout this story.  Tripp can't live up to his mom's expectations and is constantly struggling in school.  Everyone perceives Lyla as perfect and she is having difficulties living up to this image.  Both come together via a few notes and a practice room.  They challenge each other to write music and connect with each other even though others want to keep them apart.

As I was reading more about Mary Amato, I came across The Thrum Society website and found some amazing resources that students and teachers will love.  One thing I did not know was that Mary Amato wrote and recorded all of the songs in the book. They are available for free download here.  If you are looking for a light read, I recommend this one and can't wait to share it with my students.

Thinglink, A Simple Tool Anyone Can Learn to Use

Last week my teammate and I offered a digital literacy workshop focusing on the uses of Thinglink in the classroom. We wanted to share a simple way for teachers to turn a static image into an interactive image and this tool is so easy to use. 

I was introduced to Thinglink last spring at the Illinois Reading Conference when the presenter posted all of his resources for the presentation on a Thinglink. I loved the idea, but it wasn't until my friend, Shawn McCusker, posted Four Ways to Think About Using Thinglink - Rethinking Thinglink, on his blog Go Where You Go that I really started searching for more resources to share with staff.  I also played with it on my own and saw all sorts of possibilities with this tool. Here was my first creation.(Hover over the image below to see the tags.)

Workshop Day:

Since the technology levels of our staff vary from one extreme to another, during our workshop, we had to hook our staff in and get them excited to try this.  We had them explore the Ultimate Word Wall Padlet created by Susan Oxnevad (see below) to help spark ideas on how they could use this in their classrooms. Just this little exploration brought out ideas that I never even imagined. Once hooked, we were able to have teachers find a picture online and create their own interactive image.    

Looking for ideas on how you can use Thinglink with your students?  Check out these resources:

• 87+ Ways to Use Thinglink in the Classroom - a collaborative slideshow created by Donna Baumbach

• Thinglink Toolkit
• Thinglink Teacher Challenge Ultimate Word Wall

Created with Padlet

• Thinglink How To Video - created by Richard Byrne at Free Technology for Teachers

The Ship of Brides by Jojo Moyes

The Ship of Brides by Jojo Moyes

Over the past few weeks I have spent time reading Jojo Moyes book, The Ship of Brides.  If you like historical fiction, you may be interested in this book.

Summary from Goodreads:

The year is 1946, and all over the world, young women are crossing the seas in the thousands en route to the men they married in wartime - and an unknown future. In Sydney, Australia, four women join 650 other brides on an extraordinary voyage to England, aboard the HMS Victoria, which also carries not just arms and aircraft but 1,000 naval officers and men. Rules of honour, duty, and separation are strictly enforced, from the aircraft carrier's captain down to the lowliest young stoker. But the men and the brides will find their lives intertwined in ways the Navy could never have imagined.

This is the fifth book I have read by her and while not my favorite one by her, she always seems to keep me pushing through and wanting to read more.  The story starts off in present day with a granddaughter traveling in India with her grandmother.  On a visit to a shipbreaker's yard they come across a ship, the ship where the real story takes place.

I gave The Ship of Brides 3.5 stars.  The story was well-written, but I found there were so many characters between the naval officers and the brides on the ship that I got confused and had a hard time keeping the different storylines separated.  If it wasn't a Jo Jo Moyes book, I probably would have put this one down and picked up something else.  I did end up skimming through several parts and wished I could get to know the young women much better.  In the end, I am glad I stuck with it and was able to see how the story all unfolds.