I was surprised at how seriously the students took this tournament, especially since there was no reward other than a movie for the book that won. Next year, I would like to add prizes and have students fill out their own bracket. That's something I plan to work more on this summer. Overall, it was a great experience for me, and it encouraged my students to pick up a book that they might not have read before.
Another exciting happening this week was the arrival of our first Scholastic book box. I have been contacting the company since August of 2013, trying to get them to send me catalogs, and my first one didn't arrive until early March. That left us little time to get our book orders in and returned before break, but we made it! My kiddos ending up bringing over $100 to order books, so with those bonus points I picked out some books to put on my classroom shelves. As I have stated before, I really try to preview everything I put on my shelves, and this time was no different. I brought home The Maze Runner, Pegasus: The Flame of Olympus, and The Lunar Chronicles for a little light reading this week.
Pegasus by Kate O'Hearn was the first book I read, and while I liked it, I wasn't blown away. Too many questions and the characters weren't entirely believable. I also really like getting to know each character in the book, and by the end, I felt I only knew 2 of them. Now, to be fair, this is part of a series, so O'Hearn may be adding more in the follow-up, Pegaus: Olympus at War. I recommend this for students who like fantasy and easy-reading. Percy Jackson fans might be a bit disappointed.
The Maze Runner by James Dashner was brilliant. I keep telling myself I have to stop reading apocalyptic books because I get all creeped out, but I continue to do it anyway! Each dystopian novel I have read in the past few years(The Hunger Games, Divergent, Legend) have all been similar in that the world is a crappy place and it's ending because humans have made epic mistakes in how they treat the planet and its people. However, each book makes the story unique in multiple ways. The Maze Runner had me right from the beginning. Dashner's characters are individuals. Each have their on faded memories, talents, weaknesses, etc. Danger literally lurks around every corner and night time is scary, but beautiful. The only issue I had with the book was the lingo used by the boys. Initially, it threw me and I had a hard time concentrating, but by the end, I was ready to move right on into The Scorch Trials. I recommend this book for 7th grade and up. Fans of The Ranger's Apprentice, Divergent, Legend, etc. will probably really enjoy The Maze Runner!I am only a few chapters into Cinder and I'm a little wishy-washy about the story right now. I'll write more after I finish!
If you are off this week as well, enjoy your break! If not, have fun at school!
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