View From the 5th Grade Trenches: October 2012 Halloween Lit

I'm over being silly this week on Charlie Holmberg's blog.

I profess to being a Halloween nut. I love the spooky factor. I love the snap of fall in the air. I love any and all things pumpkin. I love seeing teeny tiny superheroes come a-knockin' at my door. Did I mention the candy?

Most of all, I love Halloween stories. Here are a few of the faves from the 5th Grade Trenches.

A new discovery for this year is a hilarious parody of Madeline by Rick Walton and Nathan Hale.

And some returning hits...

What are some of your faves?

Journeys of Wonder: Volume 2 - Has Landed!

I'm super crazy excited to announce the release of our second volume of genre fiction short stories.

So super crazy in fact that I'm doing a giveaway of two print copies of Journeys of Wonder: Volume 1. Just leave a comment telling me your favorite genre of fiction and your email. 

I will snag an innocent bystander to draw two names from my Empire Strikes Back baseball cap and arrange for teleportation of your prize.

JOURNEYS of WONDER: VOLUME 2

An Anthology of Genre Fiction

Journeys of Wonder: Volume 2 – the second anthology in a series of genre fiction. Quick on the heels of Volume 1 this new volume brings back some favorite authors and introduces a couple of new ones.

Featured in this volume are five incredible tales – each of which will leave you in wonder and amazement.

1. CAL by Lisa Gail Green: A young man challenges his father after falling in love with a cybernetic life form.

2. The Terrible, Perfect Duet by Trysta A. Bissett: Cicadas, insomnia, and high school. What could possibly be more horrifying?

3. Helios by Leslie S. Rose: As humanity flees the wrath of Earth's dying Sun, a daughter's quest to claim her birthright jeopardizes the chance to escape.

4. Encrypted by Ian Kezsbom: Spies. Codes. Murder. A thriller about a man on the run – hiding a secret that others would kill for.

5. Lighting the Sacred Way by S. P. Sipal: Set during the time of the Roman Empire, a woman tries to vanquish the evil spirit residing within her. One that arrived on the day her husband was murdered.

On sale only at Amazon.com! $.99 for a limited time or free through the Amazon Prime lending library!

Visit us at: www.journeysofwonder.com

Va Va Vroom, A Counting Book by Sarah Lynn

I adore picture books. Coming from a design background, illustrations are a huge draw for me.

But that's not all...

You may think that by fifth grade, picture books are history, and I don't use them in class any more.

 Not so. 

They still serve many purposes such as teaching:

• Elements of storytelling
• Cause and Effect 
• Picture vs. text connection
• Main Idea vs. Detail
• Sequence

And they are also:

• An accessible practice tool for English Language Development
• Material for reading aloud to younger cross-age buddies that carries the added bonus of refining speech presentation skills 

My latest crush is an adorable book, 

Va Va Vroom, A Counting Book

by Sarah Lynn with Illustrations by Daniel Griffo, about three kids racing for the finish line in a clever counting lesson.

Admit it, you said, "Oh, how cute." 

Here's a fun trailer for Va Va Vroom. I dare you not to be charmed. 

I also want to give a shout out to Tip Tap Pop another treasure from Sarah Lynn. This story about a grandfather and a granddaughter will warm your heart.  

The holidays are coming. Children + Picture Books = LOVE

Long Live Picture Books. 

View From the 5th Grade Trenches: September 2012 : Panic Button

First of all, I want to apologize for being the worst blogger in Bloglandia. 

New school year + New school site + Parent conferences = NO TIME LEFT TO DO ANYTHING BUT COLLAPSE

I promise to let the October breezes carry me back over to your wonderful blogs.

I've invited the panic button onto my blog this week so anyone concerned about education in our country can give it a push. 

Since when is education not important enough to finance?

Since when have teachers become villains?

Since when have students ceased to be individuals and become test scores?

Since when has hugging a child in distress become an action that can threaten your job?

Since when is it vital for a ten year old to identify the chemical signature of photosynthesis?

Just sayin'.

Thoughts?

What's Your Chocolate?

Has there ever been a more delicious blog hop? I don't think so.

I remember my first date with a chocolate bar. I was probably eight years old and I'd saved up a whole dollar. I rode my bike down to the liquor store and bought one of the GIGANTIC Hershey bars with almonds, the one with all the squares usually used for s'mores.

My mom would have fillet me if she knew I'd spent my dollar on that, so I hid behind the back fence and ate the whole thing in one sitting.

Bliss.

Nirvana.

No regrets.

Chocolate has been the one constant in my life.

My daughter doesn't like chocolate. 

I've failed as a parent. 

No, wait. Glass half full time...I will eat her share.

Here are the other yummy Hop Links. 

GUTGAA Meet and Greet

Here we go with Deana Barnhart's Gearing Up to Get An Agent fab blogfest. The first task is a meet and greet.

Mini-bio: I’m a mom of two amazing kids in their twenties. One is an actor and one a writer. We will be eating lots of ramen noodles in our house until we all hit it big. I snagged a BA and MFA in theater arts back in the 80's. I never had "big 80's hair." I taught design for years at UCLA, and had a couple of plays produced there. Yes, you may call me, Professor Rose. Yes, you may snicker at the thought of that. Now I teach fifth grade north of Los Angeles. I love writing YA because those teen years are so deliciously crazy. It’s a kick to go back into that emotional soup. My short stories appear in the current Journeys of Wonder, Volume 1 anthology and the upcoming Paramortal 2 by Cliffhanger Books.

 

-Where do you write?

My "office" is a white tile topped kitchen table in a corner of my bedroom. (I have issues with getting rid of furniture) There's a bulletin board above the table to tack up pictures, notes, and irreverent inspiration. 

-Quick. Go to your writing space, sit down and look to your left. What is the first thing you see? Mirrored closet doors that are covered with post-its for various projects artfully hiding a "side-view" of me hunched over my laptop.

-Favorite time to write? After lunch into the evening

-Drink of choice while writing? Water or flavored iced tea - I had to give up the Diet Dr. Pepper. Sad day.

-When writing , do you listen to music or do you need complete silence? I HAVE to play music. I’ll listen to the playlist I’ve created for the project I’m working on. I listened to Elton John’s Aida about a million times when I was writing my short story AFTERDEATH for the Journeys of Wonder Anthology. Yes, I cry at the end of Aida every single time.

-What was your inspiration for your latest manuscript and where did you find it? Lately I’m into using fairy tales and myths as springboards. I’m working on a Rapunzel retell so I read every version of the story I could get my hands on, including watching the movie TANGLED. Is it wrong to have a crush on an animated character? Don't tell me if it is.

-What's your most valuable writing tip? Hook up with critique partners who are honest and caring. I'd shrivel up and die without Lisa, Julie, Ian, and Deborah.

Join in the blogfest fun. Click on the badge in the sidebar to hop in. Can't wait to meet everyone.

Location-Location-Location

I love creating settings. I'm sure that passion is a holdover from my theatrical design days. When I write, I can build a world without slamming my finger under a misplaced hammer stroke.

In fact, my one hoarding tendency is the files and files I keep of old scenic calendar pages, amazing images I've come across on the Internet, and the endless pictures I take myself. 

I keep a setting diary full of sketches or bullet pointed details when I encounter delicious visuals. Later I can draw from this resource to combine elements from completely different places into a new reality.

I get a rush when I come across a funky or unique locale to add to my diary. On the road between LA and Las Vegas there is such a goldmine.

Alien Fresh Jerky in Baker, CA. Now hang on all you alien activists - it's not jerky made from aliens. It's beef jerky in dozens of flavors from traditional to habanero to whiskey. All delish, and yes, quite fresh. 

The alien themed decor is trippy and plays homage to the Area 51 mythology.

Can you imagine a character in your story encountering this mecca on a road trip?

What fun!

Do you have a system for crafting settings? Any cool roadside   stops we should add to our "must visit" list?  

BONUS NEWS: From Wed. 8-29 to Friday 8-31, the e-version of Journeys of Wonder, Volume 1 (see sidebar) is free-free-free.
Click HERE to go grab it.

Cause and Effect

If you give your cat some freedom,

 it may dart out from under a table.

If the cat darts out from under a table, the fiend will trip you.

If you trip and face plant on the tile, taking a dining room chair along for the ride, you will sprain your wrist. 

(which hurts more than a break I'm told

I TOTALLY believe it)

If you sprain your wrist, you will have to wear one of these.

If you wear a wrist splint, you will have to type with one hand and take pain killers.

If you take pain killers, your cat will have total freedom and you won't care anymore.

I'm over at Lisa Gail Green's Blog 

PARANORMAL POINT OF VIEW 

this week discussing the issue of...

...da da da

When critique partners don't agree

BEWARE OF THE CAT

View From the 5th Grade Trenches: August 2012 - Suggestions Please

Now that the new school year is upon us, my monthly feature:  View From the 5th Grade Trenches

where I crack open my classroom door so you can peek at life in 5th grade at a public school will be starting up again.

For the first installment of the 2012-2013 school year I'm going to pick your brains.

What books should I read aloud to my class this year?

I am thrilled to open the year with:

Stand by, Lee for a barrage of questions and comments from my new crop of 5th graders.

I am seriously toying with the idea of following that with:

since I have a "thing" about kids being exposed to the book before they see the movie.

And now, it's your turn.

What is a MUST READ for my kiddos this year?

Lola and Sarah

A while back Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins was getting a lot of love in Bloglandia.


I read it and fell in love myself.


When Sarah H., a former middle grade student of mine, who has now entered the YA realm of readership asked me for a book recommendation, I shouted LOLA AND THE BOY NEXT DOOR.

Sarah graciously agreed to share her authentic teen opinions of this wonderful book with all of you.

First, let's get to know Sarah.

I'm in 10th grade. My favorite subject is French. I love to go horseback riding, draw, and cook.

(Aside from Leslie: Sarah is one of THE most talented artists I've ever had the pleasure to teach.)

My goals for right now are to try the best at what I'm doing, and when I get back to school from summer break, I'm going to study hard in every subject so I can pass my classes.

(Aside from Leslie: Sarah is every teacher's dream student.)

Did the characters in Lola and the Boy Next Door feel authentic to you? 

Yes. Stephanie Perkins made every character come alive for me in the way she described them and talked about them. I liked every character, yes, even Calliope. I mean, sure she was mean at first, but near the end she was nicer to Lola. The only character I disliked was Max from the start. The way he treated Lola was harsh. I know he's the antagonist of the story, but I still didn't like him even if he did make the story interesting.

Lola is an artist. Do you find that kids with artistic gifts are celebrated in high school as much as students with other strengths like academics or sports?

Kids with artistic gifts should be celebrated more in high school. It is a talent that should be acknowledged.

What was your reaction to Lola's unique family of two dads?

I love Lola's two dads. They're just the best. Andy and Nathan make the best dads for Lola.

Did you feel the author respected the intelligence of her teen audience in the way she told Lola's story?

Yes. Lola had her first boyfriend and her first love right in front of her. Some teens can understand how Lola felt trying to decide between the two. When you have your first boyfriend you can be too crazy about him to see the problems that are happening between you and you can't let him go. That's what Lola's problem was. She was too crazy in love with Max that she didn't see he was the wrong guy for her.

Any other random thoughts about Lola and the Boy Next Door?

I liked that the story was in first person so you know what Lola's thoughts and feelings are throughout the story. I also love how the author squeezes in humor. I thought the book was perfect.

Okay, Sarah, wish list time. If one of the amazing authors out there was writing a book just for you, what would you want it to be about?

Write about my normal high school life because it's full of drama, friendship, crushes, heartbreak, betrayal, enemies, etc., but in the end, make it turn out better.

I agree, Sarah. I love it when authors make crazy life turn out better. Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts on Lola and the Boy Next Door. 

Have you read Lola? What is your take on celebrating the arts in high school on the same level as sports and academics?