My books read

Here is a pic of me with my books read this school year. 

I Completed my 40 Book Challenge!!

I have now completed my 40 Book Challenge!!  I am so excited!  Looking back at the books that I have read, I see a huge variety of genres and titles.  I did get stuck for a while on a "survivalist" kick (Climb or Die, Peak, etc.) and then got on a "end of the world as we know it" kick (Ashes, Ashes, Empty, Eleventh Plague, etc.).  But other than that I tried to read a huge variety.  Some books were more boy oriented.  Some were geared more for girls.  I tried to read a huge range of reading levels also.  I read anywhere from 3.5 up to 6.0.  One thing I did not do was throw in a nonfiction book, but I needed to keep to my 100 page minimum.

Overall, I enjoyed this challenge.  It really kept me in tune with what my students were reading and made my job of recommending books a lot easier.  I plan to do a different challenge next year where I read at least one book from every bookcase in the library.  It will be called the Bookcase Challenge.

Happy Reading!!

#40 - Can you Get an F in Lunch

This is book #1 in the How I Survived Middle School series by Nancy Krulik.  This was a very cute, but realistic, look at middle school life.  Jenny is just starting middle school and thinks things will be just like they were in elementary school.  She finds out that middle school is nothing like where she came from.  To start out, her best friend has found a new set of friends in the popular crowd.  She can't find any of her classes, and the older kids keep giving her wrong directions.  And to beat it all, she has no one to sit with at lunch!  Will it ever get better?  Will she make new friend?  Will she learn the rules of middle school?  You will have to read to find out.

This was a great book for the middle school set.  It was very realistic in its account of what middle school can be like and how you can overcome your problems if you work at them.

#39 - I Survived the Nazi Invasion, 1944

This is the newest book in the highly popular I Survived series by Lauren Tarshis.  It gives an account of the horrifying events in the Holocaust from a child's perspective.  Max and Zena are forced from their home and into the ghetto along with all of the Jews in their city.  Their father is taken away with all of the other men, but they do not know where.  Max sneaks out of the ghetto fence to pick some berries on a nearby bush when he is captured by a soldier.  Zena comes to his rescue and the two escape and go on the run.  Do they survive?  Do they ever see their family again?  What ever happened to their father?  You will have to read to find out!

This has been a great series for my library and has gotten many reluctant readers hooked on the historical events recounted in these books.  I would recommend them for grades 3 - 8 (or for anyone who wants a good read of a historical event from a child's perspective).

#38 - Trial by Fire

This book is #2 in the Stranded series by Jeff Probst.  It continues where the first book left off...the four siblings are stranded on an island in the middle of the ocean.  No one knows where they are.  The ship that had wrecked and left them on the island (but they were using as a shelter) has now been lost in a storm.  They are doing everything they can to survive.  They finally are able to start a fire, but will that be enough to keep them alive?  Will they be able to find food and water?  What about all of the supplies that were on the ship?  What will they do without them?  You will have to read to find out.

Just like the first book, I feel this book is great for all middle school aged students (maybe even younger).  It gives good details about their adventures and survival without being gory.  I would highly recommend this series to both boys and girls.

   

#37 - Stranded

Book 1 in the Stranded series by Jeff Probst left off with a huge cliffhanger and definitely left me wanting more!  It all begins with four kids on a boat going on a sailing adventure across the ocean with their uncle.  When a storm hits, the four kids are separated from their uncle when he is swept away with the life raft.  After the ship crashed onto a deserted island they must try to survive on their own.  What will they eat?  Will they have enough to drink?  Are there any dangerous animals on the island?  What will they do to help themselves get rescued?  For that matter, do they ever get rescued?  Since the book leaves us with a huge cliffhanger, we won't know until book 2 or 3 of the series.

This was a great book for middle school aged students.  It has a lot of danger and adventure, but nothing that the younger students couldn't handle.  With the book being a trilogy, it will leave students wanting to read more!  I can't wait to read Book 2!

#36 - What My Girlfriend Doesn't Know

This is Sonya Sones sequal to "What My Mother Doesn't Know."  It is written in prose just as the last book which will delight some readers.  It is a very frank discussion (from a boy's perspective) of love and the idea of love - even if he is looking for love in the wrong places when he has real love right in front of him.

This is a great depiction of love in high school and all of the good and bad to go with it.  The book is parental permission because of some mature themes since it deals with high schoolers.  I really enjoyed it and felt it was a very truthful look at the subject.