Mrs.+Mohrmann

I will be teaching one class of 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th and 10th grade reading next year. Will I be YOUR teacher?

SUMMER 2012 I just finished up //Letters of a Woman Homesteader//. I checked the book out from the library, but just this morning I found a FREE kindle edition on www.amazon.com.

FINISHED - 1. Letters of a Woman Homesteader 2. The Outsiders - I listened to the audio. I haven't read this book in twenty something years. I read it in (I think) 7th grade. It was written by a 15 or 16 year old girl. 3. Bears I Have Known - a park ranger's true tales from his experiences with bears in Yellowstone and Glacier National Parks. Great for animal lovers, hunters, and adventurers. 4. Stolen - wow - great book. Written as letters from a victim to her captor. It is a story of a girl named Gemma's survival when a young man steals her in an airport on her way to a family vacation. 5. Lost and Found 6. The Scent of Rain and Lightning 7. Fever 1793 - an amazing historical fiction book. A girl is living in Philadelphia in the summer of 1793 when yellow fever (Malaria) sweeps through then entire town, killing thousands. This is her story of her world being turned upside down when she has to flee the city as her mom contracts the disease. I loved this book! Honestly, I would recommend it to just about anyone. There is history, adventure, morality, death........

This summer, I plan on reading just a few books for work, but mainly reading fun books. My goal is to read at least 8 books this summer. Here is what I have read in the summer of 2011: 1. The Last Season by Eric Blehm. This is a true story of a back-country park ranger in the Sierra-Nevada mountains. It really is a detective story about this ranger living alone in wild places who goes missing. He is a twenty-eight year veteran and everyone is surprised that something might happen to him. An exciting read - especially for those who love hiking and nature.

2. Savvy by Ingrid Law - a Indian Paintbrush Book This New York Times Bestseller is about a young teenage girl named Mibs. She is about to turn 13, and in her extraordinary family that means discovering her extra-special ability - or savvy. Mibs goes on an adventure with some unexpected people and discovers her savvy along the way. This is a wonderful book and it makes sense why it was a New York Times Bestseller and Indian Paintbrush Book!!!

3. The Name of this Book is SECRET - by pseudonymous Bosch
====This is a fantasy novel about two kids: Cass and Max-Ernest (about age 11) come across a magicians diary and end up investigating his mysterious death. The way this book is written is interesting and fun. It is written from the author's standpoint who really doesn't want to let YOU in on this secret he knows. There have been 3 additional books and I guess a 5th one is planned. This is also an Indian Paintbrush book.====

4. A Long Way From Chicago - by Richard Peck. I really don't want to tell you that much about this book because it is so wonderful I want you to read it to find out. I suppose I could call it fiction - with a heavy emphasis on historical fiction taking place in the depression. Sounds boring, right? It is so funny! The Grandma in this book is hilarious. I will start the sequel tonight. READ IT!!!!



5. A Year Down Yonder - by Richard Peck. This is a sequel to A Long Way From Chicago. Although not as good, this was still a good novel. I got to see more of the humorous antics of the Grandma and have some closure with the characters from the first book. I would say that the first book is a MUST read, but this one is just "good".

6. A Dog's Purpose by W. Bruce Cameron. This book was told from the point of view of a dog. It may sound kind of dorky, but it was actually pretty cool. The story goes about this dog who keeps on getting reincarnated into other dogs. Each time he is trying to figure out his purpose in life. At the end, the entire story is weaved together and it comes full circle. I liked the way this was written. I have never owned a dog, but I am a huge animal lover. I liked how this was written from the dog's perspective. I think that both teenagers and adults would like this book.

7. Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli. Spinelli is the author of some twenty-five books. I had read Loser and Crash and quite honestly I thought the cover to Stargirl made it look interesting. The bright colors caught my eye at Barnes and Noble - for real. I actually will probably use this book with my 6th or 7th grade class. It is terrific!!! Basically the plot is that there is a new girl at Mica High in Arizona. She is as magical as her name - Stargirl. She has a pet rat, strums her ukele at lunch and sings Happy Birthday to every student in the school. She becomes instantly popular and Leo follows in love with her. She is so different and everyone loves her....at first. Her popularity is quickly found and quickly lost. The book looks deeper into popularity and conformity. Very good! Tonight I will start the sequel: Love, Stargirl.

Here is Spinelli's webpage. http://www.jerryspinelli.com/newbery_001.htm

8. Family Storms by V.C. Andrews. When I was a teenager, I read a series of books on the Dollanger Family that started with Flowers in the Attic by V.C. Andrews. I remember reading them really fast and thinking they were good, but thought maybe they covered issues that I wasn't ready for. The same is true for Family Storms. This book I would only recommend to High School students. The idea behind the book is kind of unbelievable, and I never really felt like the book could have actually happened. Basically a teenager named Sasha is living on the streets with her mom who has mental issues. Her mom ends up getting hit by a car and dying. While she is in the hospital, a well dressed woman, a complete stranger, takes care of Sasha. She asks/ begs Sasha to come and live with her in her multi-million dollar house. We come to find out the Mrs. Marsh (the woman) has never recovered from the loss of her youngest daughter, Alena. Sasha ends up sleeping in Alena's room, wearing her clothes and doing similar things to Alena. Alena had an older sister who makes sure that Sasha never fits into the family and is incredibly mean to her. The book focuses on this meanness and most of it made me sick to my stomach. Yick!

9. Love, Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli. (see above #6)

I think that sequels are rarely as good as the first one (book or movie). The same was true with this book. Although it was good. It was written like a letter to Leo from Stargirl. You get to see what she has been up to in the years since her time at Mica High in Arizona. I am glad that I read it, but it wasn't nearly as great as Stargirl.

10. Deep and Dark and Dangerous by Mary Downing Hahn. This was one of my 8th grade girls' favorite books last year. I literally carried it around with me for six months but couldn't get myself to read it. When I finally got started with it, I liked it. It is about a 13-year old girl (Ali) that finds an old picture of her mom, her aunt, and another girl that is torn out. Ali is spending the summer with her younger cousin and her aunt in the same house that her mom and aunt used to visit when they were young. While at the cottage, Ali meets a mean young girl named Sissy. Sissy has a big secret and it has something to do with the photograph. "Ali is dying to find out. Though, if she's not careful, that's exactly what might happen to her - die, that is."

11. I read a bunch of professional books like, "Do I Really Have to Teach Reading" by Cris Tovani, "Thoughful Reading", "Strategic Thinking"......

12. Standing Against the Wind by Traci L. Jones. This is the second book that I have read by Ms. Jones. My hairdresser actually knows the woman and that's how I heard of the book. The book is about a young teenager named Patrice. Her mother sent her off to live with her grandmother in Georgia and things were fine. Then the mom decided that she needed Patrice to come back to Chicago so she could get more government money. Mom ends up in jail so Patrice ends up with an aunt living in the projects. She cares about her schooling, and has big puffy hair so kids pick on her. She meets a guy named Monty who is popular and actually stands up for her. Patrice starts to tutor Monty's younger brother and a friendship happens between the two. It might even be stronger than a friendship. Patrice is dead set on earning a scholarship to a prestigious boarding school and she won't let anything stand in her way. But, her mom just might ruin it all for her.

This is what I read last summer 2010:
- Hatchet - Thirteen Reasons Why - OH - So GOOD! - Harris & Me - Seedfolks - On My Honor -The Adoration of Jenna Fox - I normally don't like science fiction, but it was pretty good. -Bud, not Buddy - LOVED it! -Rules by Cynthia Lord - a GREAT book about a 12 year old girl who just wants a normal life. -Hoot - now I need to watch the movie -Speak -Sold -Schooled -Looking for Alaska -The Boy in the Striped Pajamas -Diary of a Wimpy Kid -Buried Onions -American Born Chinese -Witness -Just Juice -Out of the Dust -Tears of a Tiger -Am I Blue? -Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian - The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big Round Things -The Hunger Games - OOOOHHHH MY!!! This is so good. I just pre-ordered the other two books in the trilogy by Suzanne Collins. -Claiming Ground by Laura Bell