What an amazing month August has been! I presented seven staff developments speeches and workshops-- working and speaking with dedicated, hard-working teachers in Lousiana, Texas, and Iowa. We shared our goals for improving students’ reading motivation and engagement and looked ahead to the new school year.
I co-hosted a Twitter chat, #titletalk, with outstanding high school teacher and book guru, Paul W. Hankins. Our beginning question, “How do we promote independent reading in our classrooms?” sparked a flurry of management tips, lesson ideas, and book titles from teachers, librarians, and authors all over the world. We plan to hold another #titletalk chat soon.
As a close-of-summer surprise, I learned last week that I am one of three finalists for Texas’ Elementary Teacher of the Year. I am honored and thrilled to receive recognition from my peers and community along with other incredible teachers in my state. On the same day I received the announcement, I met many of my new students at our campus Meet the Teacher Night. What a memorable day! I predict another wonderful year for my students and me.
In spite of my hectic schedule this past month, I kept reading! In my final Book-a-Day Challenge post, I share the 58 titles I read over the past four weeks. My Book-a-Day total is 135 for the 77 days of summer vacation. I packed up most of the books and took them to school. My new students were amazed that I read so many books this summer and clamored to check out these books as soon as possible. It makes me smile to see them carrying around their new books friends.
Here are the books I read since my last Book-a-Day Challenge post. Starred entries indicate special favorites.
Primary Picture Books
**All the Seasons of the Year by Deborah Lee Rose.
**Animal House by Candace Ryan.
Brontorina by James Howe.
**Chicken Big by Keith Graves.
Chicken Little by Rebecca Emberley.
Color Chaos by Lynn Rowe Reed.
Dancing Feet by Lindsey Craig.
Day and Night by Teddy Newton.
Dear Tyrannosaurus Rex by Lisa McClatchy.
**Dog Loves Books by Louise Yates.
**Dotty by Erica S. Perl.
Firehouse by Mark Teague.
Goldilocks and the Three Bears: A Tale Moderne by Steven Guarnaccia.
**How Rocket Learned to Read by Tad Hills.
I Know a Rhino by Charles Fuge.
**Interrupting Chicken by David Ezra Stein.
**In the Wild by David Elliott.
The Legend of the Golden Snail by Graeme Base.
Library Mouse: A World to Explore by Daniel Kirk.
A Long PIece of String by William Wondriska.
Miss Tutu’s Star by Leslea Newman.
**Mr. Putney’s Quacking Dog by Jon Agee.
My Uncle Martin’s Big Heart by Angela Farris Watkins.
**On a Windy Night by Nancy Raines Day.
One Drowsy Dragon by Ethan Long.
Otis and Sydney and the Best Birthday Ever by Laura Numeroff.
A Pig Is Moving In by Claudia Fries.
Quackenstein Hatches a Family by Sudipta Bardhan-Quallen.
Swim! Swim! by Lerch.
Thank You, Miss Doover by Robin Pulver.
This Is Silly! by Gary Taxali.
The Two Little Boys from Toolittle Toys by Vincent X. Kirsch.
Too Purpley! and Too Pickley! by Jean Reidy.
You’re Lovable to Me by Kat Yeh.
Middle Grade Picture Books/ Poetry
Animal Crackers Fly the Coop by Kevin O’Malley.
**The Butt Book by Artie Bennett.
**It’s a Book by Lane Smith.
Me, Frida by Amy Novesky.
A Place Where Hurricanes Happen by Renee Watson.
Middle Grade Fiction
**Boys without Names by Kashmira Sheth.
**Doodlebug: A Novel in Doodles by Karen Romano Young.
Falling In by Frances O’Roark Dowell.
**Notes from the Dog by Gary Paulsen.
**Umbrella Summer by Lisa Graff.
Middle Grade Nonfiction
The Anne Frank Case: Simon Wiesenthal’s Search for the Truth by Susan Goldman Rubin.
Bones by Steve Jenkins.
Lafayette and the American Revolution by Russell Freedman.
Skit-Scat Raggedy Cat: Ella Fitzgerald by Roxane Orgill.
The Year of Goodbyes: A True Story of Friendship, Family, and Farewells by Debbie Levy.
Graphic Novels
**Foiled by Jane Yolen.
Prime Baby by Gene Luen Yang.
**The Sons of Liberty #1 by Alexander and Joseph Lagos.
Young Adult Fiction
**A Mango-Shaped Space by Wendy Mass.
**The Orange Houses by Paul Griffin.
Tithe: A Modern Faerie Tale by Holly Black.
**White Cat by Holly Black
Young Adult Nonfiction
**Charles and Emma: The Darwins’ Leap of Faith by Deborah Heiligman
Adult Books
A Reliable Wife by Robert Goolrick.
I hope you have enjoyed your summer reading. I know I have. I also met some wonderful Twitter and blog compatriots who posted updates about their own personal reading challenges all summer. Reluctant to end our #bookaday posts, many continue to tweet their reading updates. You can continue to find titles under #bookaday and #bookaweek.