Sammantha

=Book Log=
 * # || =Book Title= || =Author= || =E, JR, C= || =Date Completed= ||
 * ==1== || Capture the flag || Kate Messner || JR || 9/19/14 ||
 * ==2== || The Familars || Epstein and Jacobson || JR/C || Summer ||
 * ==3== || Liar and Spy || Rebecca Stead || JR || 9/17/14 ||
 * ==4== || The Worst Witch || Jill Murphy || E || 9/30/14 ||
 * ==5== || The Worst Witch again || Jill Murphy || E || 9/31/14 ||
 * ==6== || the worst witch at sea || Jill Murphy || JR || 10/6/14 ||
 * **7** || the worst witch saves the day || Jill Murphy || E || ? ||
 * 8 || The young man and the sea ||  || JR/C || finished ||
 * 9 || Ever after high the story book of legends || Shannon Hale || JR || November ||
 * 10 || Ever After High a wonderlandiful world || Shannon Hale || JR/H || November ||
 * 11 || The babysitting war || ? || JR || finished ||
 * 12 || Maggie Malone and the mostly magical boots || Jenna McCarthy and Carolyn Evans || JR/C || finished ||
 * 13 || Ever After High Next Top Villain || ? || E/JR || 3/2/15 ||
 * 14 || Dumpling Days || Grace Lin || Easy || finished ||  ||
 * 15 || A Million Ways Home || Dianna Dorisi Winget || Hard || still reading ( Guided reading book) ||
 * 16 || The Lost Treasure of Tuckernuck || Emily Fairlie || Hard || still reading (MCBA) ||
 * 17 || Mr. Terrupt falls again ||  || hard || still reading ||

Mrs. Palmieri recommends...

 * ==#== || ==Book Title== || ==Author== ||
 * ==1== || Journey to the River Sea || Eva Ibbotson ||
 * ==2== || Secret of Platform 13 || " ||
 * ==3== || Which Witch || " ||
 * ==4== ||  ||   ||

Dear Mrs.P,

Like you, I really enjoyed Tortilla Sun too, but not so much the lost treasure of tuckernuck. It really just never fully captured my attention straight from the beginning and I agree that it is hard to follow. Tortilla sun did have outstanding words and descriptions, and it would be interesting to see if all of her books have some Spanish words. My favorite part of that book was when she saw her dad in her dream.

The book that I am reading right now is called Dumpling Days. It is a little easy, but I need to read some more MCBAs so I chose this one. It is about a Chinese girl named Pacy Lin and her family going to explore their family's history in Taiwan." Since we are going to Taiwan, you'd better learn how to use chopsticks" she said to me. I just finished a book from the series ever after high. As you can tell, I really enjoy this particular series. It is about famous fairytale characters daughters and sons. They can all choose to follow their parents destiny, or be a rebel and be different than their parents.

I also think that Laurie is bratty. It is very confusing to me and really don't understand it.

Hi Sam-

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:)**

December 12, 2014

Dear Mrs. P, I am finding some more challenging books, I just have to look a little deeper but right now I am reading a challenging book called __The Name of This Book is Secret.__

I also read the book C__apture the Flag__ this year. I thought I would like it, but it was a little hard to follow at some parts. Don't you agree? I thought I would like this book because I liked the __I survived__ series. I love history, so those kind of realtic fiction is great for me. Have you read any of those books? I think that one of them is a MCBA. I thought this book was unrealistic because The star spangled banner is most likely in real live lot harder to steal, verses the book where the criminal just unscrewed a few bolts. I also have never herd of the book __Chasing Vermeer__. Can you tell me more?

As you already know, me and Sdyney both read a little far ahead in __tortilla sun__, but know I wish that I had stuck with the book instead of ditching it because if you ignore the Spanish words, it is a great book and I am glad that you are reading it out loud to the class.

Talk to you next time, Sam

December 7, 2014

Dear Sam,

I'm glad that we were able to pick out a few more possibly challenging books that might be more your style. I think you might really like

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 24, 2014 Dear Mrs. P,

The worst witch series was fantastic! The book was about a young witch named Margret who always got into trouble. Each book talks about the different adventures Margret goes on with her friends. In the worst witch at sea, she goes on as field trip to the beach and explores a shipwreck. The character I admire is Margret because she is not afraid of anything like punishments or getting in trouble. Even though she is an total opposite, it is cool to someone different than me. I really recommend this series and series interest me the most because I like seeing how the character's change overtime. I am trying to get more challenging books, but it is hard because most of the challenging books don't seem very interesting to me. Some people have recommended the Rick Riordon series but I think it just is not my style of reading right now. Do you think I should try the Rick Riordon Books? I am thinking about it.

Talk to you soon, Sam

November 20, 2014

Hi Sam-

I see from your book log that you've been reading up a storm and a series that I"m not familiar with . What else can you tell me about "The Worst Witch" series?

Let's see if we can move you a little away from "E" and "JR" books and find maybe a few "C" ones. It's fun to read easier books from time to time, but you've got great skills and I'd like to see you sharpen them on some more complicated books.

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.

Talk to you soon, Mrs. P.

Dear Mrs. Palmari- September 24,2014

I think that Silverwing is very amazing so far.After reading the first page, i felt a little confused.But after reading the first chapter, I felt a little better about this book. If I talked to Shade, i would ask him why would you really want to break the law that badly? I predict that Shade will get to see his dad at one time in this story.

September 1, 2014 Dear Sammantha,

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