Nicole

=Book Log= The Shadows || Jacqueline West || JR || ??? || finished ||
 * # || =Book Title= || =Author= || =E, JR, C= || =Date Completed= ||
 * ==1== || The Shark Attacks of 1916 || Lauren Tarshis || E || Summer ||
 * ==2== || The Familiars || Epstein & Jacobson || JR/C || Summer ||
 * ==3== || Silver Wing || Kenneth Oppel || Read Aloud || ??? ||
 * ==4== || The Books of Elsewhere
 * ==5== || Sisters || Raina Telgemeier || E/JR || finished ||
 * ==6== || The Young Man and the Sea || Rodman Philbrick || JR || Guided Reading
 * 7 || Shark Life || Peter Benchley || JR || abandoned ||
 * **8** || The Tygrine Cat || Inbali Iserles || JR || kinda abandoned ||
 * 9 || Tortilla Sun || Jennifer Cervantes || Read Aloud || finished ||

Mrs. Palmieri recommends...
(Higher Institute for Villainous Education) series ||  ||
 * ==#== || ==Book Title== || ==Author== ||
 * ==1== || Midnight for Charlie Bone (series) || Jenny Nimoo ||
 * ==2== || H.I.V.E.
 * ==3== || Artemis Fowl (series) || Eoin Colfer ||
 * ==4== ||  ||   ||

Dear Coach P, I do think Laurie is bratty but I think she has changed a little since the story started and I think she will change more throughout the story. I feel sorry for Bud also and I don't think he is annoying. I think reading another book byJennifer Cervantes is a good idea and I completely agree that her descriptions are very amazing.

Hi Nicole-

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 13, 2014

Dear Mrs. Palmieri, That happens to me all the time! Especially when I was reading savvy because at the time it was the longest book I had ever read. I was really happy when I finished it because I hd just read a long book but I was also really sad because it was an awesome book and I didn't want it to end.

I am going to be honest, at first before you started reading __Tortilla Sun__ I hadn't read the back so I was really bummed that you were reading it. Although, now that we've started reading it I am really intrigued. I love all the mystery and suspense in the book. In __Tortilla Sun__ I predict that Izzy is going to go into the hot air balloon that it told us about in the beginning and travel to a magical land that it described on the back. I also predict that Izzy will go on a treasure hunt with Mateo and go in the balloon and travel to a magical place. What do you predict will happen?

Your reader, Nicole

December 7, 2014

Dear Nicole-

Wow! You really loved __The Book of Elsewhere!__ I love seeing how into it you got. It's a series right? You'll have to keep reading them. It's so awesome when you love a book so much that you can't wait to get back to reading it. I felt that way when I was reading the Harry Potter books. It was so hard though because I would want to read them in one day, but would also want to savor the book and make it last because I didn't want it to end. Has that ever happened to you?

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

Dear Mrs. Palmieri,

I definitely recommend __The Books of Elsewhere the Shadows__. The genre of this book is definitly fantasy because I am positive that you cant go through paintings by putting on magical specticals and I know cats can't talk. I recommend it because I didn't get bored like I usually do during books. It grabbed my attention right away and all I wanted to do was read it. The reason why I liked this book so much is it was creepy, spine chilling, and descriptive. I felt like I was inside the book. I like how it showed the feelings of Olive (the main character) and how alone she felt. My favorite part of the book was the ending when Olive was trapped in the attic all alone with Aldous McMartin. I don't want to give away too much in case you decide to read it. I also love all the twists and surprises. I LOVE all the characters especially the cats. Sometimes I would read some of it before bed and during the next day I would be thinking about some things and I would think that some of the things that actually happened in the book happened in MY life and Not the book. That's how into the book I got. I really recommend this book and I hope you decide to read it.

your student and reader, Nicole

November 20, 2014

Dear Nicole,

I see that you never completed your first letter and since I know you are a great reader, I'm very much looking forward to hearing all your great thoughts on 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. Palmierei September 24th 2014

I am definitely enjoying __Silverwing__ so far! I am enjoying Silverwing so far because

September 1, 2014 Dear Nicole,

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