LP Readers Recommend...

More summer reading reviews are coming in from LP's busy summer readers!  This week we have recommendations from an incoming second grader and two incoming fourth graders.  Thank you Jack, Daniel, and Anna for sharing your recommendations with the LP summer reading community.  

If you are wondering what to read next, be sure to check out these three books -- and also be sure to send your book reviews or book trailers to dustie @ spiffychicks . com to earn an extra chance to win the Kindle at the end of summer!

Jack M. (second grade) recommends:

He says, "I read The Dark by Lemony Snicket, a legendary author.  I thought this book was amazing! This book was amazing because it has great details.  The main character is a little boy named Lazlo.  In the story Lazlo tells you where the dark can hide.  My favorite part was when the dark visited Lazlo’s room.  This book helped me not be afraid of the dark.  If you are afraid of the dark try this book!"

Anna M. (fourth grade) recommends: 

She says, "I read Nurse, Soldier, Spy by Marissa Moss and John Hendrix.  This book is a true story about a girl named Sarah Edmonds who is running away from a marriage arranged by her parents.  She disguises herself as a boy and names herself Frank Thompson, then runs away to the United States. My favorite part of this book was when the chaplain asked Frank if she wanted to be a spy and Frank did not hesitate and she said “I’M YOUR MAN!!!”  I also liked when she spilled water on the spy for the South.  I recommended this book to all ages under 6th grade.  Boys and girls will like this book because it has a lot of action in it." 

Daniel B. (fourth grade) recommends:

Daniel says, "If you like sports and suspense, you will love this book. What happens in this book can really happen in real life. It teaches you lessons that are great to learn in life, like don’t get ahead of yourself and don’t get too proud and full of yourself. The character, Drew (True) Robinson, is a basketball star who is getting too much respect and attention. So then he gets way too full of himself. He meets someone who learned the hard way that getting too full of himself has its consequences. What happens? Read the book! I think you will like True Legend and always remember the advice this book gives you!"

First Summer Guest Blogger: Upper Grade Recommendation

Looking for an adventure book with suspense and an underlying theme about the importance of teamwork?  Well our first guest blogger for the summer (and first LP reader with not one, but TWO chances to win the LP Reads Summer Reading Kindle), says you should look no further than Colossus Rises by Peter Lerangis.

Here's some of what he had to say to LP Reads about this first book in the Seven Wonders series:

"I read a lot of series books with action in them.  So far, this series ranks in my top three.  I like action and suspense, so I would give this book a four out of five stars.  Percy Jackson is still my favorite series because it has so much action in it, but I like this book because the characters are descendants of Atlantis and it takes place in Greece.  The characters are really likable - athletic, innovative, good at computer programming and making things (like an alarm clock that launches a bird across a room to wake people up), and smart.  If you like fantasy and suspense, you will like Colossus Rises."

Librarian and Bookworm Love

The only problem I see with reading is that there is NEVER enough time to do as much as I'd like.  So thank goodness for the community of readers out there who work and volunteer in libraries -- and who share all of their recommendations online!  When I'm not green with envy that they've knocked down handfuls of books each week AND written about them, I find myself super thankful that I can open up a browser for an insider's view on what is new or up and coming in the world of children's literature.

Three of my go to experts are John Schu, Jen Robinson, and MaryAnn Scheuer.  Mr. Schu is a passionate K-5 librarian in Illinois, Jen Robinson is a San Jose gal who harkens from an interesting background in Industrial Engineering, and MaryAnn Scheuer is a K-5 librarian just through the tunnel in Berkeley.

 If you're looking for a little reading inspiration for your readers this summer, stop by Mr. Schu's blog, sign up for Robinson's newsletter or pop in to Scheuer's Great Kid Books Site.  Mr. Schu's site is a great place to visit with your children.  They can even watch book trailers in preparation for creating their own trailers to submit to the LP Reads blog -- hint, hint!  (Don't forget, kids earn extra entries in to the Kindle drawing for every book review/trailer etc. they submit to dustie @ spiffychicks.com). Scheuer has just finished a nice series of book recommendations by grade level and has posted recommended reading lists for each grade level as well.  If you have tiny tots in your house, Robinson's adventures include her Kindergarten through Young Adult recommendations as well as her running list of books she is reading with her Baby Bookworm. Perfect for the tiny tots in your house - because it is never too early to get the reading bug!

Summer Reading Challenge #1: Poetry

LP's Summer Readers are taking Biblionasium by storm!  Wow!  In all, LP's readers have read over 35,000 pages and more than 300 books so far this summer!  Some of our most inspired readers are nearing 3,000 pages as of yesterday.

Sounds like it is time for a challenge.  All Biblionasium participants should receive an invitation to the first LP Reads Summer Reading Challenge, which handily aligns with our genre goal to read one poetry book this summer.  Students will receive an invitation to the challenge the next time they log in to their account.  It will appear in their feed like this:

Click on "Here" to start the challenge, which can be completed at any time over the summer.  Students will earn a badge for reading just one poetry book.  If challenges seem seem like an effective way to motivate and or reward your reader, Biblionasium gives students the ability to create their own challenges (see below) or for parents/teachers to do so as well.

If you have suggestions about challenges you would like LP Reads to run for everyone -- or even just for your student -- let us know and we'll get those going for you.  For now, here are a few poetry book recommendations that may help with this first challenge.

"The Bug in Teacher's Coffee and Other School Poems" by Kalli Dakos

Sports! Sports! Sports! A Poetry Collection" by Lee Bennett Hopkins

"Switching on the Moon: A Very First Book of Bedtime Poems" by Jane Yolen

"Falling Down the Page: A Book of List Poems" by Georgia Heard

"Hailstones and Halibut Bones" by Mary O'Neill

"Around the World on Eighty Legs" by Amy Gibson

"Won-Ton: A Cat Tale Told in Haiku" by Lee Wardlaw

Summer Reading at LP

Hello Summer Readers!
Here are all of the details you've been eagerly awaiting about LP's Summer Reading Program.

Los Perales Elementary School

SUMMER READING PROGRAM 2013

The LP Summer Reading Program encourages children to read books over the summer and earn a $5 or $10 gift certificate for the 2013 Scholastic Book Fair, simply by following these easy steps:

1.        READ this summer! Read books, journals, magazines, even newspapers and record them online at Biblionasium.com. Students may read on their own or with a parent or caregiver. The reading goal for each grade is:

Grade	# Of Pages To Read
Completed K - entering 1st	20 books
Completed 1st  – entering 2nd	300
Completed 2nd – entering 3rd	600
Completed 3rd  – entering 4th	900
Completed 4th  – entering 5th	1,200
Completed 5th  – entering 6th	1,500

     

2. COMPLETE YOUR READING LOG New this year: Students will be asked to log their reading on Biblionasium, which can be accessed online either from home or the Moraga library. See below for detailed instructions about signing up for Biblionasium.  In addition, all parents/children will be asked to complete an online confirmation form at the end of summer in order to collect their gift certificates.

3.        COLLECT your $5 Gift Certificate for the Scholastic Book Fair in November 2013! 
*Students entering 6th grade will receive a $5 gift certificate to use at the Scholastic Book Fair or online.

4.        READ 5 CATEGORIES AND GET AN EXTRA PRIZE! Read at least one book in ALL of the following categories and get another $5 gift certificate ($10 total):  Non-fiction, Biography/Autobiography, Fiction, Historical Fiction, and Poetry.  

How To Sign Up for Bibionasium

• Create a parent account at Biblionasium.  You will be asked if your child has a username and password assigned from an instructor.  Please click “No.”  
• Next, you will be prompted to set up an account for your child.  During this step, you will create your child’s log in and password as well as enter the Classroom Code “LPRead060,” which is case sensitive (note: It is not LPReads060, but LPRead060).  This classroom code will link all LP Summer Readers together in a summer “class” of sorts, making it possible to send out reading challenges and to create mid-summer and end of summer reports about our collective page number progress.  On this same sign in screen, you will be asked your child’s reading level.  If you know it (either from your child’s teacher or from assessments done in the computer lab), you may enter it here.  This is optional.  You can learn more about Reading Levels on Biblionasium and look to this equivalency chart to roughly convert amongst the various leveling systems (Lexile, DRA, etc.). If you find yourself out and about and wondering about a certain book’s reading level, check out the app called Level It Books.
• Once you have set up your accounts, your child can log in using their unique username and password to log their reading.  First, they must add their current book selection to their bookshelf by clicking on “My Books.”  Once a book is placed on the bookshelf, it can be logged in the “Reading Log,” which is accessed via the left side column.  For the LP Reads Program, we are asking students to meet page number requirements (noted above) in order to earn their $5 Gift Certificate for the 2013 Scholastic Book Fair.  Incoming first graders can also track their page count; however, their requirement is to read 20 books.  Students who are participating in the local library summer reading programs may want to also log their time using Biblionasium.
• Lastly, be sure to have your children include the genre of each book they read in the comment section of their Reading Log.  Students who read from all of the following genres will earn an additional $5 gift certificate for the 2013 Scholastic Book Fair: Non-Fiction, Biography/Autobiography, Fiction, Historical Fiction, and Poetry.

Why Biblionasium.com?

It is interactive

• Students will have the opportunity to take part in reading challenges sent out by LP Reads throughout the summer (e.g., Read a Poetry Book this week).
• Students can share their favorite reads with schoolmates and friends.  
• It connects kids to book list resources and can help them find books that are at their right reading level.

It Offers Reading Incentives

• Children who log their reading five times a week, earn the chance to win gift cards from Amazon, iTunes, or Gamestop.  
• Students earn real-time acknowledgement throughout the summer for their reading accomplishments. Via Biblionasium’s badges/awards system, students earn accolades for doing things like reading five books or reading a book from a specific genre.    
• Parents and students can create their own challenges or earn awards by completing challenges initiated by LP Reads.

It Streamlines the Program’s Accounting

• We are reducing paper consumption this year while automating the process of logging each student’s pages read and gift certificates earned.  Less time processing paperwork translates into more time helping kids find their next great book!  
  
  Be sure to keep an eye on the LP Reads Blog for book recommendations and hopefully guest posts from students (Have your child submit any blog contributions to dustie@spiffychicks.com).

Build It - They'll Come

Apologies for the blogging hiatus (understatement), but now that we're in to the depths of summer, it is impossible not to be blissfully swept away into the world of children's literature yet again.  With the lists from The Storyteller's Summer Reading Club in the house, we are all surrounded by new and wonderful finds and I am reminded again that yes, there is a limit to the number of books that public libraries let you check out.

When it comes to summer reading and book borrowing, more is always better and the maxim "Everything in moderation" goes out the window for a solid three months around here.  Following the advice of children's literature aficionado Donalyn Miller (aka, The Book Whisperer), books are literally everywhere in our house and we are back to consistently listening to Books on CD in the car as well.  We've adopted one of Miller's suggestions for teachers and created a spot in the house to showcase new books for the week, and much to my surprise, even my somewhat-reluctant-to-be-second-grader-who-only-likes-sports-books has been spotted plucking a book or two from the window ledge to give them a read.

I believe Miller, if you build a culture of books, the reading will come.

Here's our current crop:

Family read aloud:  The Candymakers by Wendy Mass
Recent favorite book on CD: The Thief Lord by Cornelia Funke

Picture Ogler/Pre-Reader's current selection: Pete's Party by Jon Scieszka, David Shannon, David Gordon, and Loren Long
Reluctant-to-be-Second-Grader's current selection: The Journey that Saved Curious George: The True Wartime Escape of Margret and H.A. Rey by Louise Borden
Avid-Upper-Elementary's current selection:  No Such Thing as Dragons by Philip Reeve

Other summer dabblings that we've enjoyed:
Weird But True by National Geographic
Willoughby & the Lion by Greg E. Foley
Extra Credit by Andrew Clements

So what are you reading and loving this summer?