Alex

=Book Log=
 * # || =Book Title= || =Author= || =E, JR, C= || =Date Completed= ||
 * ==1== || Siverwing || Kenneth Oppel || Just right || Tuesday Sep 16 ||
 * ==2== || I Survived the Shark Attack of 1916 || Lauren Tarshis || Easy || summer ||
 * ==3== || Sunwing || Kenneth Oppel || Just right || Friday Oct 11 ||
 * ==4== || Bon e:The Great Cow Race || Jeff Smith || Just Right || 11-8-14 ||
 * ==5== || Bone: Eyes of the Storm || Jeff Smith || Just Right || 11-9-14 ||
 * ==6== || Timmy Failure || Stephan Pastis || JR-E || 11-18-14 ||
 * **7** || Percy Jackson ( The Lightning Thief ) || Rick Riordrain || A mix of all 3 || 11-27-14 ||
 * **8** || Bone: The Dragon Slayer || Jeff Smith || JR || 12-2-14 ||
 * **9** || Brendan Bucklys 6th Grade Experiment || Sundee Tucker Frazer || E || 2-28-15 ||
 * **10** ||  ||   ||   ||   ||

Mrs. Palmieri recommends...

 * ==#== || ==Book Title== || ==Author== ||
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Hi Mrs Palmieri

I recently started reading __Liar and Spy__ and so far I like it I think that It started off a little slow though. I got a little freaked out when the character Safer snuck into Gorges room and left him a note. If I where Gorges I would freak out! But I guess that's just a character trait. If I have enough time I might read __The Familiars__ before the MCBA party.

Your student Alex

Hi Alex-

I can't believe how fast this school year is flying! I am so glad that we read __Tortilla Sun__ too, and I was surprised how much I enjoyed it. It reminded me how fun it can be to read a book out loud "cold"- like I have never read it before so I get to ask questions and make predictions right along with you guys. __***I'd like to read another book by this author, Jennifer Cervantes,because I enjoyed the beautiful imagery she created when she described the village with such beautiful colors.**__ **On page 22 she describes Albuquerque from the airplane- "it looked like brown sandpaper stretched between a giant mountain in the east and a long green ribbon of trees in the west. The river beyond the valley curled back and forth across the landscape as if it were looking for a place to rest." That's one of the many beautiful descriptions I enjoyed.**


 * I'm glad that we made the decision to read another MCBA. I like __Tuckernuck__ so far. I wouldn't say I love it, yet. It's hard when a book doesn't grab you right away. I know many students have mentioned that this book is kind of hard to follow- and I agree. This might be another good reason that we are reading it together so that we can talk about and think about everything that is going on and help each other to understannd. Actually, I think one of the parts I'm struggling with most in the book are the main characters. When I read a book, I tend to like something about the main character right away- Ex. I love Shade and Marina.**
 * In Tuckernuck, I like and feel sympathetic to Bud; his mom is gone, dad seems intense, and other kids seem to think he's kiss up. But Laurie, I just don't like her. I feel like she acts bratty like on page 40 where she says, "Sorry Bud no dice. I found it, okay? All you did was act like a klutz. This paper means treasure, and sorry, I'm not giving it up." **


 * Do you this Laurie is bratty? Do you think Bud is annoying? Do you think they will change through this story?**


 * I would love to hear about your guided reading book or other books you are reading too.**


 * I would especially like it if you could find a quote like I did above to back up your ideas.**


 * Your friend,**
 * Mrs. P:)**


 * 12-8-14**
 * Hi Mrs.P-**


 * To answer your first question no I didn't finish __Firewing__ I think I sort of got bored of it when Griffen wandered into the underworld. I think it's because Kenneth Oppel sort of made it seem like Griffen is a dummy and just fell into a pit. I found this book hard to follow when Goth was talking to Zots. I think Kenneth Oppel didn't make it clear who was talking and when. I had to back up multiple times to understand the conversation clearly. Right now I am reading __Percy Jackson-Sea of Monsters__ and what i've noticed is that all the chapters in both The Lightning Theft Sea of Monsters is that every Chapter has a very weird name however, the names make sense. I look forward to hearing from you again**


 * Your Student-Alex**


 * December 7, 2014**
 * Hi Alex-**


 * Did you end up finishing __Firewing__? Is that the one you are going to abandon and come back to? I don't blame you if you are. It's kind of a let down after reading __Silverwing__ and __Sunwing__. It's so dark, and sad, and scary. I feel like it lacks a lot of the elements that make the other two books so awesome.**


 * You have a lot of Just Right books on your log- I wonder if I could help you find something that might be more challenging? Do you think __Hollis Woods__ was a little challenging at first? I know you didn't love this book at first, but do you think it got better towards the end?**


 * One of the other MCBAs I read this summer was __Capture the Flag__. This story captured my attention right away as I have been to see the flag that they were describing being stolen. The real "Star Spangled Banner" is famous for surviving the War of 1812 and can now be seen at a very cool exhibit at the American History Museum (Smithsonian) in Washington D.C. One thing I really like about this book was how it started out with a lot of action and adventure and pulled you as a the reader right in. One thing I would have changed about the story was that it was slow in the middle and I had to push myself to stay interested and to finish it. I assumed that the author would make this into a series and I was interested to find her next two books are called __Hide and Seek__ and __Manhunt__. I like that her book titles seem to match with games that kids like to play- clever.** This book reminded me of several other series where kids work together to have some awesome adventures- like __Chasing Vermeer__ and __I.Q.__ ** Both books involve stolen famous artifacts or artwork, and if you like creative adventures with kids trying to solve the mysteries you would probably like these books too.

In my next letter I'm going to talk about __Tortilla Sun__- what do you think of it so far?

Talk to you soon, Mrs. Palmieri

November 25, 2014

Hello Mrs.P

I am just about done with the first book of the __Percy Jackson__ series (__The Lightning Thief__), and I was very disappointed when I found out that Ares took the helm of darkness. Earlier when I was reading I across the chapter called "I battle my jerk relative" and I made a prediction that Percy was gonna fight "smelly Gabe" because that was the only relative he ever called a jerk. I hope you write back soon -Alex

Hi Mrs.P I am also enjoying the first book of the Percy Jackson series. I think i'm gonna stick with Rick Riordrdin for a while because I also am starting to get into greek mythology. I also think i'm gonna abandon the Silverwing series and am going to come back to it latter. I got interested in the series when I got to the part where Percy gets to camp half blood. I hope you write back soon - Alex

November 20, 2014 Hi Alex-

I'm so glad that you got so into the Silvwering series. It's especially a great feeling as I love the series too. Many of the things you mentioned about __Sunwing__ are parts I liked/disliked as well. I love how the book picks up right where __Silverwing__ left off and I love the description and the meaning behind the "Paradise" that they found (can it really be paradise if you're not allowed to leave?) I wonder if you might enjoy reading another Kenneth Oppel series- Airborn. No bats, but still fantasy and great adventure!

Right now I am slowly reading __The Mark of Athena__. I really enjoy Rick Riordan's books (__The Lightning Thief, Lost Hero__, etc.) I have always LOVED Greek Mythology and was excited to discover a series that included it in modern day situations. I say I am slowly reading as I find myself dozing off at night and also that I'm getting a little bored with the series. I typically love books that are in a series (do you like books in a series?) because I like to have characters that I'm familiar with and can get to know over a series of books. Sometimes I think authors who write very popular series (like J.K. Rowling and __Harry Potter)__ start to write books that get too long and maybe could stand to be edited/revised to make them a more concise story. __The Mark of Athena__ feels like it's just a recycled version of his other books. Demi god kids having adventures, fighting monsters, trying to solve some giant quest or task by the end of the book. I dislike these parts of the book because I feel like I'm bored of the same thing happening over and over again. I've been told by other kids that I should stick with this book and the rest of the series, and I probably will. I just feel a little stuck right now.

Have you read any of Rick Riordan's books?

Talk to you soon, Mrs. P.

October 15, 2014 Hi Mrs. P I just finished the book Sunwing and hear are some notes I took about the book for you:
 * favorite character: Casel
 * favorite chapter: tree haven
 * favorite part: Goth V.S. Shade battle
 * least favorite part: when Shade gets "banded"
 * the part when I got hooked on: when Shade and part of his colony go looking for Casel and find the fake forest

September 23, 2014

Hi Alex-

Thanks for writing some thoughts about __Silverwing__. It's a great feeling to see so many kids excited and wanting to read it on their own. IF you could be any character in __Silverwing,__ who would you like to be and why?

When you write to me, don't forget to write in letter format with a date, greeting, body and signature.

Talk to you soon, Mrs. P

I reacently read Silverwing and i have to admit it was amazing! Its a fiction book about a bat named shade he is a type of bat called a Silverwing. He's what most would call a troublemaker. But he deserves his nicknames becaues he's breaks the law 3 times in the book and almast gets killed! TWICE!!! But his troubemaking pays of.

September 1, 2014 Dear Alex,

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