Nurture Shock and Other....

I just finished Nurture Shock: A New Way of Thinking About Parenting by Po Bryson on my new KINDLE! God, I love that machine. I really thought I'd miss the turning of pages, but, alas, NO! I love that I can wrap my hands in fleecy blankets in my frigid bedroom at night and never have to take them out! Next page, next page, next page....my goodness! So, the Bryson book is a must for parents because it looks at different aspects of children and goes to research that pretty much turns everything we think on our heads. For instance, if teens just get an hour more of sleep (one district did this for high school-later starting time), their SAT scores can go up 200 points! You have to read the research for the details, but that's the beauty of the book; the research is completely accessible to everyone. I love the preschool program he talks about- the name escapes me at the moment. Check out the website to see what it has to offer!

I had the misfortune of having to explain to my daughter what suicide is after an 8th grader at her parochial school committed suicide yesterday. This is a first in the history of the school and will have reverberations for eons due to the circumstances surrounding it. I made sure that I told her what I think every time I hear of a young person committing this act: "Nothing is that bad. Your parents will always love you-and so does God."

I received a huge box of ARCs this week from Scholastic that I can't wait to dive into. I was kind of tickled that The Babysitter's Club reissues were in there. I'll see what the resident 4th grader thinks of them. They don't yet make ARCs for the Kindle so I will content myself turning pages as I read them.

Hello Lover!

No school on Monday due to the MLK holiday, but I will be glued to the computer screen to hear the award winners. I have no predictions as others do, but I am hoping that some of my favorites from the year claim a spot or two. Then, off to read them all and make notes for our presentation NEXT November at NCTE where my illustrious colleagues and I are making plans to review book awards once again. Whew. I thought this would be a short post. Huh.

NCTE- Day #1

NATION, SAVVY, GRACELING, BODY DRAMA, PROPHECY OF THE SISTERS, SHIVER, THE SURRENDER TREE, BECAUSE I AM FURNITURE, FRANKIE LANDAU-BANKS.
What a great opening day. We started out presenting in session A and we were pretty happy with it but know it could use some tweaks for next year. The books I book talked are listed above. We were so honored to be chaired by Teri Lesesne, who is my reading and teaching heroine. :)

After our session, I sat in on a great panel on censoryship with Lauren Myracle, Jay Asher and David Leivthan. I then scored an ARC for David Levithan and John Green's new book called Will Grayson, Will Grayson and I can't wait to read it! I also got to meet the famous Rachel Moore from Penguin, who has been sending me ARCs to review for the last year. Very appreciative!

I then went to see Alfred Tatum even though I have his new book but haven't had time to read it. How inspirational! I will use his premise to show my school that Read 180 and Culturally Relevant Pedagogy for struggling readers and writers are diametrically opposed.



I ended the day with attending a session on Photovoice done through Pioneer Middle School in Michigan (just a short hop from my district!). I can't wait to try to do this with my students this year in and around Ann Arbor.

Amelia Walden Award

The time is coming! I'm anxious to see who the finalists are on Friday! Since I know two people on the 6 person committee, I'm anxious to see who wins this award!



Here is the press release:


Inaugural Amelia Elizabeth Walden Award for Young Adult Fiction Launched

The Assembly on Literature for Adolescents (ALAN) of the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) is pleased and proud to announce the first annual Amelia Elizabeth Walden Book Award.

Established in 2008 to honor the wishes of young adult author, Amelia Elizabeth Walden, the award allows for the sum of $5,000 to be presented annually to the author of a young adult title selected by the ALAN Amelia Elizabeth Walden Book Award Committee as demonstrating a positive approach to life, widespread teen appeal, and literary merit.

Amelia Elizabeth Walden was born in New York City on January 15, 1909. She graduated from Columbia University in 1934 and attended the American Academy of Dramatic Arts. From 1935 to 1945, she taught English and Dramatics at Norwalk High School in Connecticut. Walden wrote over 40 novels for young adults. She passed away in 2002 in Westport, Connecticut.

***ANNOUNCEMENT OF THE FINALISTS FORTHCOMING***

Over the past year, the ALAN Award Committee members considered 232 young adult titles for this inaugural award. The finalists will be announced on Friday, July 17, 2009. The winning title will be revealed at the November 2009 ALAN Workshop in Philadelphia, PA. A reception will be held in honor of all finalists, each of whom will be invited to participate in a public reading.

For more information about the award, please contact the 2009 AEW Award Committee Chair, Wendy Glenn, at wendy.glenn@uconn.edu.