Teresa

=Book Log=
 * # || =Book Title= || =Author= || =E, JR, C= || =Date Completed= ||
 * ==1== || Legend of the Ghost dog || Kimmel || JR || Summer ||
 * ==2== || I survived || Lauren Tarshis || E || Summer ||
 * ==3== || Kelsey Green Reading Queen || Claudia Mills || E || Sept.17 2015 ||
 * ==4== || Fortunately the Milk || Neil Gaiman || JR || Dec.3 2015 ||
 * ==5== || A Dog Called Homeless || Sarah Lean || E/JR || January 2, 2015 ||

Mrs. Palmieri recommends...
Feb.1, 2016
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Dear Mrs. Palmieri

I am really enjoying our read aloud book (Hiding out at Pancake Palace). There definitely are some new parts that are popping out at me. Now that we are reading and learning more about a Austin (Elvis's father) I'm starting to realize that maybe he is not as bad as i thought. After he sat and talked with Elvis and told him how he knew he was putting a lot of pressure on him with fame I felt a little better. Only a //little// though because if he felt bad for doing this to Elvis than why did he put his little sister in the business too? Another part of the book that got me thinking was on the same paragraph as the other example. Elvis bravely said to his dad to just call him Aron! This really was a big deal and shows even more proof that Elvis really wants to be //Aron//. Sometimes you have to stop and think about how Aron is still a kid and is also just trying to figure himself out, find who he wants to be. I now think that Elvis is on his way to finding out who he is on the inside and deep in his heart.

Lastly I needed to talk about my guided reading book. It is such a great book and I'm so glad we get to read it. My favorite character is Mr. Woodwell. He is so kind and helpful to Skiffy and even though he is getting old he still will be there for Skiff. Skinny is also a great character. I honestly feel so bad for little skiff. He lost his mother and now that his dad is deeply depressed and turned into an alchaholic. Then of course to make things worse Tyler Croft comes into the picture. This bully is is so bad he even has a little chant that he came up with to make fun of Skiff. So far I am really intrigued by this book and am enjoying it as well.

-Teresa

Hi Mrs. Palmieri I am currently reading, "Jack Gets A Clue", one of the many MCBA's. This book is very short, in fact its pretty easy. This book genre is definitely //mystery////.// As you may know this book is on the easier side of reading levels. I'm just about in the middle of this book and I already know the answer to the mystery.

In the book __Hiding Out at Pancake Palace__ I am really convinced that RJ's mother and sister know that Aron is actually "Elvis Ruby". It was obvious to me since RJ's sister and mother stayed there at Cecilia's Birthday party. I also figured it out because RJ's older sister was all dolled up with a nice dress and makeup! I felt bad for Aron at the Birthday party because when it was time to sing "Happy Birthday" he couldn't. If he did everyone would recognize his memorizing, and spectacular singing voice. One thing I don't understand is why Aron could have just lip-synced of just tried to have sung in a weird voice. Now that he ran out of the room everybody going to know somethings up.

I do feel bad for Cecilia also because of her tough friendships with kids in her class. In my book talk book, " A dog called Homeless" one of the main themes is that, Having a friend by your side is very important. This is very true and I realize that maybe Aron is softening up to Cecilia. A prediction I have for this book is that maybe Cecilia and Aron are going to become good friends.

See you in class! From, Teresa

January 18, 2016

Hi Teresa,

I wish I had more time to read at home, but it was funny over this weekend I found myself thinking about __Hiding Out at Pancake Palace__. I was thinking about what would happen next and I'm getting really excited to finish it! This is what happens when I get hooked into a book! I wasn't sure I loved this book at first. At first, I thought Cecilia seemed strange (alright, she IS strange) and I wasn't sure if I would like her as a character. I have found that if you don't like the characters in a book, it can make it very hard to want to keep reading the book.

This happened to me last year when I read aloud my class the MCBA, __The Lost Treasure of Tuckernuck__. Did you read that one last year? The female main character of that book was Laurie, and she was quite unlikable! She was snobby, kind of nasty, and altogether kind of tough to tolerate. It took a little while but class and I really go into the story and soon I better "understood" why Laurie acted the way she did. We liked the book so much, we decided to immediately read the sequel, __The Magician's Bird__. Reading that was easy because we already knew and understood the characters. Do you find that you like to read sequels or books in a series because she kind of already know a lot about the characters?


 * Feel free to tell me about a character in the book that you just read/or are currently reading**


 * Back to Cecilia- so at the beginning she seemed strange, but now I find myself feeling sorry for her. She is lonely and kind of an outcast. I'm sure it's not easy to be her- and it definitely feels like she really wishes she had friends. On page 125 it says, "It wasn't like Cecilia wanted to be friends with Natalie. All she wanted was to wave and have them wave back." It's such a simple thing- you don't realize how much it might mean to someone just to be friendly towards them.**


 * What are your thoughts on our read aloud?**


 * Your friend,**
 * Mrs. P**


 * Dear Mrs. Palmieri**
 * How was your vacation? I bet Liam got a lot of good gifts!**


 * I also am enjoying the new read aloud book (Hiding out at the Pancake Palace). I like how the author decided to have the book told from two points of view -Aron/Elvis and Cecilia. A prediction that I have is that Aron and Cecilia are going to meet up in the book and become allies. I predict this because they have similar interests and somewhat of a connection. For example, Cecilia's parents always tell her how when she was born in the woods on a camping trip the trees seemed to sing and Elvis the celebrity pop singer love music and singing!**


 * As I'm thinking more about** theme **I trying to figure out what this book is telling me or what lesson I'm learning.. I did kind of get the feeling, like you, that Elvis might like it better being Aron.Maybe he likes living a normal life just like any other kid his age better than being on TV and having paparazzi constantly be there at his apartment trying to snap a picture of him. I feel he's to caught up trying to be someone he's not and that the real him is a regular boy not a Justin Beiber figure!**


 * Right now, I picture the theme as, be yourself not who you think your expected to be! ( Elvis might be a little caught up in living up to his dads expectations!) **


 * I am looking forward to our next read aloud!!**


 * -Teresa ;)**


 * January 3, 2015**
 * Hello Team 7-**


 * Welcome back from vacation!**


 * I found myself thinking about our new read aloud during this break. I always get excited when I'm reading a new book out loud to my students that I also haven't read.**


 * Several of you were talking to me about your book talks before we left for vacation. I know specifically people were wondering about how to figure out a book's "theme" or "author's message". This sometimes feels like it will be hard, but might not be as tricky as you think. Think about what the author is trying to teach you, the reader, through the story; what big life lesson do they want you to know. One of the themes in __Silverwing__ is teamwork, or believing in yourself.**


 * What do we think might be the message in __Hiding Out at Pancake Palace__? Let's think about what we know so far. Elvis is cutting off and coloring his hair- something he is famous for and he has to hide away from the world because of this embarrassing thing. I wonder if the message might be something about "being true to oneself" like don't be pretend to be something else, be who you want to be. I'm also wondering if Elvis really wants to be this famous star- or is this something his dad really wants? Again, since I'm reading this with you guys I'm just guessing (speculating)**


 * I don't think we know as much about Cecilia yet- but I predict she and Evis (Aaron) are going to help each other in some way. She wants to find out if the trees sing- he likes to sing. **


 * Guess we will read more and find out!**


 * Your friend,**
 * Mrs. P**


 * December 10, 2015**


 * Hi Coach! The Book Talks are starting up, so I got started on reading my new book! I tried to pick a book with not to many pages, but not to little pages either. I decided to pick the book (//A Dog Called Homeless).// * I actually abandoned this book when I first read it, but now that I've read more I am enjoying it! So far I've read a few chapters and I've learned that Cally lost her mom and her, and her family are having a tough time getting used to not having a mom around. Her dads birthday was on the same day her mom passed away so the family goes to the cemetery to visit her moms grave. While she is at the cemetery something strange happens........Cally sees her MOM! She tries telling her dad, grandparents, and aunt but not one of them sees her mom and they all thinks she is lying and just being plain rude. Cally does not understand why only she can see her mom and no one else can. **
 * The next day she goes to school and participates in a fundraiser to help sick kids. All she has to do is be silent from 9:00 AM-3:00 PM. She talks to her school sociologist to see if its a good idea for her to do the challenge. While she is talking to Mrs.Brooks Cally looks out the dusty window and there she sees her MOM AGAIN! But this time she also sees a shaggy gray dog playing with her mom. Mrs. Brooks notices that Cally is paying attention to something outside and not focusing on what she is saying. When Mrs. brooks asks her whats wrong she says she needs to go to the bathroom but instead of using the bathroom she sneaks outside her mom is gone but she still sees the mysterious dog! **
 * I predict that Cally and that cheerful dog will become friends. I realized that the dog was able to see Callys mom just like Cally could. I liked how the Author made these two characters relate in a special way. This book makes me think about how lucky most kids are that have their moms and how it must be really hard for Cally to continue on through life without her moms guidance. **
 * I really can't wait to finish this book and I will keep you updated with Callys crazy life. **
 * See you in class! **
 * From you buddy, **
 * Teresa ;) **


 * December 6, 2015**


 * As Christmas approaches, I often like to reread some favorite holiday themed books from my own childhood. When I was your age and a little younger, I loved to read __The Little House on the Prairie__ series. These wonderful stories are from the childhood of the author, Laura Ingalls Wilder, as she grew up in the late 1800s in places like Wisconsin, Kansas, and eventually the Dakota Territory (today South Dakota). This time of year can be so busy and crazy and I always enjoy seeing how simple this pioneer family made their holidays. Sometimes we get so caught up in "buy, buy, buy" or " I want" that I really like reading these descriptions of the simple food and presents that they had and the happy holiday they created as a result. Here is a quote from fifth book in the series called,**
 * By the Shores of Silver Lake. Chapter 19 "Christmas Eve"-**


 * "It had snowed all day and soft, large flakes were still falling. The winds were quiet so that snow lay deep on the ground, and Pa took the shovel with him when he went do the evening chores. **
 * "Well, it's a white Christmas," he said **
 * "Yes, and we're all here and all well, so it's a merry one," said Ma **
 * The surveyors' house was full of secret. Mary had knitted new, warm socks for Pa's Christmas present. Laura had made him a necktie from a piece of silk that she found in Ma's scrap bag. Together in the attic, she and Carrie had made an apron for Ma from on of the calico curtains that had hung in the shanty. In the scrap bag they found a piece of fine, white muslin; Laura had cut a small square from it, and secretly Mary had hemmed the square with her fine stitches and made a handkerchief for Ma. They put it in the apron pocket. Then they wrapped the apron in tissue paper and hidden it under the quilt blocks in Mary's box." **


 * Descriptions like these really help me imagine what it would have been like to make gifts like Laura and her sisters did. Life was very different then.** *But when you read the descriptions of the family making and eating their meals and celebrating, it makes you as teh reader feel like maybe life isn't that different after all.

When I want to read these books, I usually pull out my little paperback set of all the books that I bought in book order when I was a student teacher. I was recently excited to discover __A Little House Christmas Treasury: Festive Holiday Stories__ was published. This is one book that contains all of the holiday stories from the author's different books. Perfect!

I hope you have a wonderful holiday with your family.

Your friend, Mrs. P

November 27, 2015 Hi Teresa-

I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving (and lunch at Chilis on Wed!)

I know that you've been reading- so don't forget to put any of those books on your log.

I have not had as much time as I would like to read, but I am trying to read the newest series by Rick Riordan. This series focuses on a character named Magnus Chase and the title of the first book is __The Sword of Summer__. I loved his other series- Percy Jackson and The Heroes of Olympus as I LOVE greek mythology. I'm excited about this new series as it focuses on Norse, Viking, mythology. I'm kind of jealous of the author- I wish I had thought to invent these cool series!

Dear Mrs. Palmieri, Sorry, that we have not been in touch in awhile on the wiki. I was a bit mixed up with the order of week 1 and week 2. I am still not quite sure which week is supposed to be writing so I just decided to write anyway and update my Wiki. In class Miss Hannable just read two more chapters of **Silverwing.** The part of the chapter that got me thinking was when Shade, Marina, Throb, and Goth are in the middle of a gusty lightening storm and Goth rips off Marina's band. At first I had thought that that was horrid but then when suddenly Goth gets struck by a flash of lightening I realized it was all because of the silver band that had attracted the bolt of lightening which then hit goth. I am also //SO GLAD// Shade found his colony and most importantly his mom. He really proved to everybody that he was not a runt. Since Goth **DID** survive the lightning I wonder if he will try to track down Shade and Marina and hurt Shades colony. Bye for now! From your friend, Teresa

Hola! Mrs. Palmieri I'm so glad to be writing to you! I definitely agree with you that the book is bizarre but funny. My feelings about Uncle Runyon changed when he was not helping Madeleine make a plan to save her parents from the sneaky Grand Poobah. I assumed that he would try to get working with the plan as soon as possible but instead he was being difficult and fell into the coma he had been wanting to have. I really feel bad that all of these terrible problems are going on in Madeleines life. First her parents get kidnapped by foxes and then to make things worse the one person she needs to count on falls in a coma. To answer some of your questions I might be willing to read a sequel, so far I really am enjoying the book but it got a little confusing with the whole chapter when the Grand Poobah along with his team of foxes kidnaped madeleines parents. The part that confused me was the rant they had with (Fanny Fox's Canned Rabbit Products) and the whole decoding part of the talk. The part that really got me thinking was when Mr. and Mrs. Bunny bought their new house that had come with a vehicle, left over clothes from the previous owners, and furniture from the previous owners. It also said in the book that there were foxes around the area of there new hutch and I think that the foxes just might have broken into the hutch and taken the original owners. When Mr. and Mrs. Bunny moved in it got me a little worried about there safety in there new house. To end things off I am interested in any kinds of books! If I had to choose one specific type of book I would choose Mystery because I like lots of books with cliff hangers and I find Mystery books to have a lot. I'll see you back in class!

Your Friend, Teresa

October 3, 2015 Hi Teresa-

Thanks so much for writing me back! I started reading __Mr. and Mrs. Bunny__ this summer but wasn't able to finish it before the start of the school year. I thought it was kind of bizarre. but funny! One part that sticks out in my mind is when the foxes come to kidnap Madeleine's parents.** *Madeleine actually reminds me a little of character in another one of my favorite former mcbas. The book is called The Other Side of the Island and the main character is named Honor. Both Honor and Madeleine's parents are "hippies" and seem to be against doing things like most everyone else and both Honor and Madeleine seem to be want to be the total opposite of their parents. I feel pretty bad for Madeleine when her parents say no to buying the white shoes. I am a big fan of royalty and would totally buy the white shoes to fit in. :)

Do you think you like __Mr. and Mrs. Bunny__ enough that you will want to read the sequel?

I would love to recommend some other books to you- maybe you could tell me about what books you usually like. Do you like mysteries, adventures, fantasies, animals?

Talk to you soon,

Mrs. P

Dear Mrs. Palmieri, I am currently reading Mr. and Mrs. Bunny- Detectives Extraordinaire! The genre of the book is unrealistic because I don't think that bunnys could be detectives and foxes can speak english. I noticed that the author switched off the scenes between, Madeline and Mr. and Mrs. Bunny. I think the illustrations helped me visualize the setting a lot better. Since have not completed the book I predict that the characters are going to meet up and solve the mystery in the story. I learned that if you want to change up or make your story better you can switch scenes and characters. I hope to finish Mr. and Mrs. Bunny Detectives Extraordinaire soon! Your Buddy, Teresa

September 10, 2015 Dear Teresa,

I am so excited to be sharing __Silverwing__ with you this year as a read aloud. This is definitely one of my all time favorite books, which is probably why I can’t imagine starting a school year without sharing it with my class. *The genre of this book is definitely fantasy since I don’t believe that bats and owls have wars or detailed adventures together. I also consider this to be a genre of my own invention- called Animal Adventure. I love the character Shade; he’s one of my all time favorites. *If I could talk to Shade, I would ask him if he thinks it was worth it to break the law and see the sun, especially after what happens to his colony as a result. What do you think of __Silverwing__ so far?

Your friend in reading,

Mrs. Palmieri J