Book Log & Wiki Checklist

Genre / Titles you read 

             I.      Non-fiction/Informational (1 chapter book or photo essay book reflection required on blog)

1)      My Life in Dog Years by Gary Paulsen

          II.      Poetry (1 chapter or picture book reflection required on blog)

1)      Hate that Cat by Sharon Creech. (required for discussion – do NOT use on blog)

2)      Behold the Bold Umbrellaphant: and Other Poems  by Jack Prelutsky

3)      Songs of Innocence by William Blake

4)      Chicago Poems by Carl Sandburg

5)      Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein

6)      Revolting Rhymes by Ronald Dahl

       III.      Modern Fantasy (1 chapter book reflection required on blog)          

1)      I, Jack  by Patricia Finney. (required for discussion – do NOT use on blog)

2)      Twilight by Stephanie Meyer

3)      The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

4)      The Giver by Lois Lowry

5)      A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle

       IV.      Historical Fiction (1 reflection required on blog –can be a picture book)     

1)      The Teacher’s Funeral by Richard Peck. (required for discussion – do NOT use on blog)

2)      Bud, Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis

          V.      Multicultural/Traditional (2 reflections required on blog – one can be a picture book)         

1)      Hiroshima: A Novella by Laurence Yep (required for discussion – do NOT use on blog)

2)      Her Stories by Virginia Hamilton

3)      Why Mosquitoes Buss in People’s Ears by Verna Aardema

4)      M.C. Higgins, the Great by Virginia Hamilton

       VI.      Realistic Fiction (1 chapter book reflection required on blog)

1)      Baby by Patricia MacLachlan. (required for discussion – do NOT use on blog)

2)      So B. It by Sarah Weeks

3)      Frindle by Andrew Clements

4)      Judy Moody by Megan McDonald

5)      Hatchet by Gary Paulsen

    VII.      Picture Books (5 reflections required on blog during the first two weeks of class. There should be a total here of at least six.)

1)      The Wednesday Surprise by Eve Bunting. (required for discussion – do NOT use on blog)

2)      –The Sweetest Fig by Chris Van Allsburg

3)      –So You Want to Be President? by Judith St. George

4)      –The Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg

5)      –Jumanji by Chris Van Allsburg

6)      – Kitten’s First Full Moon by Kevin Henkes

7)      The Keeping Quilt by Patricia Polacco

Wiki Checklist

Instructions: Write the number of entries for each category you posted into on the Course Wiki (requirement is two total posts, in two different categories)

____ Social Studies

____ Science

____ Math

____ Music

__1__ Art (Poetry genre) Behold the Bold Umbrellaphant: and Other Poems  by Jack Prelutsky

__1__ Reading/Language Arts (Multicultural/Traditional Literature genre) Her Stories by Virginia Hamilton

____ Physical Education

____ Other

Twilight

Meyer, S. (2005). Twilight. New York: Little, Brown and Co.

     The modern fantasy book of choice was Twilight by Stephanie Meyer.  This saga has been my absolute favorite series of the modern fantasy genre.  The targeted audience is for teens and young adults.
     Twilight is the first book in the Twilight saga series.  In this book, Isabella Swan moves to Forks, Washington from Arizona to live with her father.  Bella is a human teenage girl that is trying to adjust in her new school, when she notices the Cullen family.  The Cullen's family are all very beautiful.  The reason being they are all vampires.  The major theme of the modern fantasy novel is romance and love.  Two of the main characters have an unique relationship that readers "have" to keep reading to find out.  The novel is told in Bella's point of view, so she uses first-person point of view.  Vampirism is the most apparent symbol in the story.   By reading the story, you will find out that the Cullen's aren't the only vampires in the town of Forks, Washington.
     Teaching 5th grade reading and writing, I couldn't use this novel.  I would recommend upper middle and high school teachers use this modern fantasy novel in their classroom.  They could use this novel to work in groups on researching a character.  Students would analyze characterization and its importance in novels.  Each group would make a poster of their characters name, physical characteristics, personality traits, relationships to other characters and miscellaneous information about the character. 
     I recommend classmates in my graduate class to read this book and the rest of the series. Stephanie Meyer even produced the series Twilight in movie theatres!  However, I agree with the quote from class last week that books are better than the movies. tlg