Share This! Connections, Myths, and Other Randomness from my Basement.

Sometimes I am not very quick when it comes to making connections.  When I began my obsession with Twitter a few months ago, I started following @ProfessorNana also known as the "YA Goddess."  Not long after, my school Literacy Coach told me I should check out a "really great blog" full of book reviews and recommendations by a woman named Teri S. Lesesne.  Imagine my surprise when I put two and two together and realized I was already following her and reading her blog. Teri S. Lesesne IS @ProfessorNana.

Anyway, a few years ago, I borrowed a really good book from a former colleague entitled Naked Reading: Uncovering What Tweens Need to Become Lifelong Readers (Stenhouse Publishers, 2006).  The reason I bring this up is because I was cleaning my basement. (I have since halted that task so I could distract myself with THIS one.) Due to my phenomenal organizational skills, the book had somehow fallen into a random bin--and I swore I had returned this book to that former colleague. (Sorry, Heather.)  Guess who the author is? Teri S. Lesesne.

Flipping through the book, I noticed I had a few pages tabbed.  (It's what I do.) On one tab I had written "Share This!" Unfortunately, I didn't note who to share it with and since I certainly like to encourage myself to follow my own directions--I figured it was imperative that I take the time out from cleaning the basement and share it with YOU.

Exploding Some Myths About Reading 

Myth #1 Kids must read only "good" books and not be allowed to wallow in popular fiction. She adds that another myth often follows this one and that is: "It is not quantity but quality that matters in reading.  How much we read does matter."

Myth #2 Readers are easy to spot; they always have their noses in books.


Myth #3 Readability (reading levels, lexiles, etc.) is a good way to match books to kids.


Myth #4 Canned reading programs can create readers.


Myth #5 Once kids are independent readers, reading aloud and shared and paired reading should become activities and strategies of the past.


Myth #6 Kids can automatically distinguish between good and bad literature.


Myth #7 Reading is a science that can be broken down into component parts easily for quick consumption.  (Blogger's Note:  Once upon a time we actually tried to do this as an English department.  I am so ashamed, but in our defense we didn't know any better at the time.)


Myth #8 Reading is the same no matter what we are reading or why. So wrong it it almost laughable.

Myth #9 Having grade level lists is a good idea.


Myth #10 One size fits all, and the corollary: one book is good for all kids.(p. 3-5)


She adds the word "WRONG!" behind each of these myths and explains why they are indeed so.  It's worth the read and I say this because I have several more tabs and nuggets from the book I deemed as important.  However, I need to promptly review the tabs of my thoughts so I can return the book to its original owner.

Fact:  Sometimes cleaning your basement can lead to something completely random and cause you to make strange connections. However, it can also lead to a blog post that forces you to avoid cleaning the rest of it altogether!

By the way, you can find the link to Teri Lesesne's blog here.

More information about her book can be found here.

A Haphazard Early Morning Book Review: Where She Went

where she went by Gayle Forman

Hardcover, 264 pages

Published April 5th 2011 by Dutton Juvenile (first published November 4th 2010) 

I have been reading since 4 am and I think am seeing two computer screens through my sore, crusty, drying eyes, or maybe due to my lack of solid rest as I write this. Forgive me if it doesn't make sense.

You know how it is when you get caught up in a book and you read it so fast you feel like you never got a chance to really enjoy it? I do it all of the time, but I loved this book so much that I had to mentally force myself to watch my pace. In most books, I skim over the things like the quotes under chapter titles, but in an attempt to model good reading (for no one other than myself at this hour), I even devoured Adam's lyrics placed at the beginning of every other chapter. (I noticed this pattern shifts near the ending. Purpose? Meaning? I will investigate and see if I can find the significance of this after I've had a nap.) 


Yes, it's a sequel.  The first book is if I stay.  (See link below.)

The story of Adam's and Mia's relationship three years after the accident can be appropriately referred to as my personal reading vortex for the past few hours. (Vortex is a great word--I am almost certain I stole it from the author.) I had to stop and re-read episodes from the book in an effort to catch my breath, hiccup through sobs, and grapple with Adam's emotions while completely enveloped in his story. I was thankful that I had finished the first book only a few weeks ago. I enjoyed this book more than the first and without trying to spoil the story, I was satisfied, prepared, and able to come to terms with the ending that I originally thought was meant to be. Even though I was on page 191--still 69 pages away from the end, I trusted the author would help both Adam and I through to the end. If this was how it was going to be--it made sense. It was fair. Oh, but I was pleasantly surprised with the direction that it took. I sobbed all over again as I finished.

I am such a sucker for a good love story. 

Check it out here!