Emery's Review of Frozen

EMERY SPECIAL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

My people , since my mom is too busy to write your stuck with me! And so let us begin.

The movie Frozen was really great.  The singing was stuependos the cast was swell there is

Just one problem witch is it was snowing everywere EXCEPT a place right next to… you will just have to find out. The graphicts are great in 3d . get a seat early trust me some people had a really hard time finding a seat.

Book #4 Emmy Laybourne’s Monument 14

I didn’t want to like this book because it’s yet another post-apocalyptic novel, but I finished it and I will probably read the sequel. Monument 14 is reminiscent of Gone and Alas, Babylon in that readers get some of the details behind the catastrophe(s) and daily survival strategies (unlike in How I Live Now which doesn’t seem like a fair comparison as M14 is longer).

Here’s the summary: Dean, his brother Alex, and 12 other children ranging from elementary to high school find themselves trapped in a supermarket after being caught in a deadly hail storm. They must work together to battle the dangers inside and outside of the supermarket.

What I liked about this book—Laybourne manages to make the reader familiar with a large cast and develops many of their personalities without relying on stock characterizations, she uses a lot of the “show, not tell” approach. I like that it’s told from Dean’s point of view (I think every novel I’ve read thus far is in first person). I like that it’s not told in a journal-type format. For a while there, it seemed like every novel I read was written as a diary and that might have been okay for this story, but I like that it’s not.

It must be hard to find a refreshing approach for a popular plot in young adult and adult fiction, and Monument 14 sort of reminds me of a Stephen King book for younger readers (but not as young as Emery). Or a plot for a television mini-series.

What’s your favorite post-apocalyptic novel?

Book #3 David Klass’ Grandmaster

I started this book right after I finished Reality Boy. It was a coincidence that Grandmaster also deals with repairing a father-son relationship, but in quite a different way. It doesn’t seem fair to compare the two books as Grandmaster is written for a younger audience, but I do like the focus on father-son relationships, and if you’re a dad, you might read this book and share it with your pre-teen son. There are also a few female characters who represent a variety of roles.  It’s a book that you can feel comfortable putting in your school library or classroom shelf and I look forward to giving this book to a middle school teacher I know.

Grandmaster is the story of freshman Daniel Pratzer. He has just begun attending an expensive private high school and joins the chess team after being unable to find another sports team to join. Daniel, who is the worst player on the team, is surprised one day when the two captains invite him and his dad to join their team which is set to compete at a weekend father-son chess tournament (which a large cash prize for the winners). The captains inform Daniel that his father is a chess grandmaster—a fact Daniel’s father has kept from his family.

The structure of the novel is straightforward (no flashbacks here) and the plot moves quickly and is captivating (I read it in a few hours). I was worried that there would be long complicated descriptions of chess moves, but there aren’t. The descriptions of chess are actually interesting with historical facts thrown in as well as what I imagine are real names for chess strategies. And, although I suspected what the ending might be, it was still a little suspenseful at times. My favorite bits were the moments when the father realizes how important it is for his son to see him excel at something and Klass writes as if he has experienced moments like the ones in the book when Daniel is proud of his father.

I would be interested in seeing who reads this book. I think if Emery were just a few years older, he’d enjoy it (he’s currently reading Wonder but has been reading Erin Hunter’s Warrior cat series, which is on target for the late elementary student who reads animal fantasies. 

Book #2 Meg Rosoff’s How I Live Now

Full confession, I’m married to an author and I know how damaging a one-star review can be to someone’s ego. I do not like the star system  and am rethinking whether or not to use Goodreads for that very matter. How I Live Now is one reason why.

I was surprised to find this among the books we were given at ALAN because it was published several years ago. Then, I read the line on the cover “Now a major motion picture.” I sort of remember seeing the film on television a while ago, but after reading the description, deciding not to watch it. But, I also remember hearing from several people how much they liked the book. So, after talking with my son Emery, who told me to not say anything if it I wouldn’t want it said to me, we concluded I should say what I liked about the book—but I can’t help but say the new cover is completely misleading.

How I Live Now is a post-apocalyptic novel about a teenage girl who moves from America to live with her aunt and cousins in England. Her aunt leaves them soon after to travel to Oslo to try to negotiate a peace treaty. Then, an unknown and unidentified enemy soon occupies England and after a blissful love affair (which some people will take issue with), Daisy and her cousin find themselves separated from the rest of their family and must find their ways home.  

Okay, good parts (first, Ms. Rosoff has a neat blog, which hasn't been updated lately, but is entertaining). The lack of details about the conflict and the very few scenes of violence focus this novel on the relationships between characters. The writing at the end of the novel, especially the symbolism, makes up for the beginning. I guess if I were going to try to write a literary analysis of the novel, I might focus on the pastoral elements of the novel . . . and as a former English teacher, I could come up with several prompts on understatement, symbolism, and literary allusions (which I’m sure are there, but I’m not going back to look for them). There’s an interesting hint of the supernatural, and I wish Rosoff had explored that just a little bit more instead of just repeating what certain characters could sense. I’m not sure if that makes sense, but I’m not trying to include spoilers.

I think my problem is I just wanted more. A review on Amazon did call it a crossover book for adults and young adults, which might explain my reading—since I was reading through a young adult lens. Perhaps previous novels I’ve read in this genre have spoiled me. I like this type of plot; as a teenager I fell in love with Alas, Babylon and I admire the young adult novels, Ashfall and the Life as We Knew It.

Tomorrow, I will do the chess book--just didn't have it with me today when I had time to write my post while waiting for my flat tire to be fixed.  http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/how-i-live-now-meg-rosoff/1100290701?ean=9780449819609

Book #1 A. S. King’s Reality Boy

Reality Boy by A. S. King (2013) 

I’ve read one other book by A. S. King and I loved it. Everybody Sees the Ants memorized me with its complex characters (and also features a male protagonist with family issues). Reality Boy is even better.

Here’s a quick summary.

Almost 17-year-old Gerald Faust, former star of the reality television show, Network Nanny is angry. Although the episodes, which captured his “crapping” on tables and in shoes, are 12 years old, his classmates still torment him with nicknames like “the Crapper” and his family is still dysfunctional—extremely dysfunctional. When a former viewer expresses sympathy for Gerald, he begins to open up to a girl and a boy who travels with a circus. 

One of my favorite parts of Reality Boy is the way King structures the novel. The chapters that are set in present day are interspersed with chapters set during the filming of Network Nanny. In fact, I found those chapters even more compelling than the present day chapters as they exposed the “behind the scenes” antics of Gerald’s psychopath sister and the inner workings of a “reality show.” Gerald’s relationship with his father is also a wonderful part to this book and King gives readers the hopeful (note, not happy ending) that makes a high-quality contribution to young adult literature.

Both books are perfect for a late high school/ early college crowd, and King’s style and content remind me a little of M. E. Kerr’s work, which was a hit with my tenth graders once upon a time.

Next up is a book about a boy who’s on a chess team who also has an interesting relationship with his father.  

A New Project for ProfessorMom

So, I’m at my fifth conference for this year. It’s my absolute favorite—The ALAN Conference. (ALAN stands for the Assembly on Literature for Adolescents with National Council of the Teachers of English). Basically, it’s two days of listening to authors speak on the books they’ve written for young adults (which Emery is not yet, but I can’t wait for him to be). One of the biggest draws for the conference are the books that publishers give to attendees. When I first started attending ALAN conferences in 1993, we used to get a bag of 10-15 books. Today, we get boxes with approximately 40 books. Usually, I keep a select few for myself (usually the Little, Brown ones) and give away the rest to my students and teachers.

I’ve never read every single book that I’ve been given at ALAN.

I’m going to this year.

And I will blog about each book.

Yes, I have a goodreads account and will probably duplicate my reviews there, but this project kind of feels like a Julie/ Julia blog project or The Daily Varnish, a blog on which two friends blog about a different type of nail polish each day. The books this year just look so good and so inventive, I want to read all of them, but I feel like I need to hold myself accountable somehow.

I’d like to be finished by the end of my semester break which I think is in early January.

The only rules I will follow are Daniel Pennac’s Reader’s Bill of Rights. I completely support these rights as I think they are essential to building life long readers:

They are

1. The right to not read 

2. The right to skip pages 

3. The right to not finish 

4. The right to reread 

5. The right to read anything 

6. The right to escapism 

7. The right to read anywhere 

8. The right to browse 

9. The right to read out loud 

10. The right to not defend your tastes

Look for my first post on A.S. King’s Reality Boy soon. I’m having trouble putting it down. 

An Awesome Evening with Patti Lupone and Seth Rudetsky

The Patti Lupone

Awesome  Stupendous (For those of you who might not catch this reference, Seth wrote a book for teens last year call My Most Awesome Awful Popularity Plan)

Okay, I really try to update our blog every Saturday, but I wanted to wait until after we saw a show last night because I had a feeling it would be more interesting than our intended post about Wii Fit U (which will come later). 

I do have a habit (see New York post) of trying to find educational/ fun activities for Emery that I think he might be interested in. And, sometimes I fantasize about his going to a really cool school like the New Orleans Center for Creative Arts (NOCCA). But, I haven’t made that far in advance plans yet, nor have I begun to prepare him for the audition process (I did prep him for his kindergarten entrance exam, but that's a story for another time). I guess what I'm trying to say is that I do occasionally restrain myself and respect his wishes (which is why I didn’t make him attend an audition yesterday). But, it’s hard.

Back to the story. So, I was on the NOCCA site Thursday looking at audition guidelines when I saw the headline "See Patti Lupone & Seth Rudestky in the Next Broadway @ NOCCA Event." We had just seen parts of the New York Philharmonic’s version of Company, starring Patti Lupone, Neil Patrick Harris, and Stephen Colbert on PBS last weekend, (some parts are not appropriate for Emery yet) and we listen to Seth Rudetsky on SiriusXm (see Story Pirates entry). Unfortunately, because the concert was in two days—it was sold out.

I’m not one to give up so easily. I enlisted my poor husband (who should have been working) to find us tickets! I won’t reveal my secrets, but we managed to get 2 tickets to sit on stage—that’s right ON STAGE. Since we got in line at 6:20—we got the best seats in the house—downstage right. As far as I could tell, they were the only two seats that did not have an obstructed view on stage as the other seats either couldn’t see Seth at the piano or the two of them during the interviewing segments. I’m not describing our seats so much as to brag, but just to emphasize the incredibleness on being on stage with performers of this caliber.

Seth opened the production with a condensed version of his "Seth Deconstructs Broadway" show. In it, he explained how he listens to music, poked fun at major artists in his “What were they thinking?” segment, and closed by teasing his 11 year old self (Seth, we think your rendition of Annie’s “Tomorrow” was fabulous and we’re still singing the angry version. He also showed a hilarious clip of Patti at the Tony’s. (You can see it here).

Then the two of them shared the stage. They we perform a piece together (all great hits, “Meadowlark,” “Rainbow High” (with the help of a few backup singers from the audience) and my new favorite “Invisible” from Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown. She also sang “Trouble” from the Music Man and sang a bit to Emery (he can get into a spot of trouble from time to time).

Okay, I’m pretty sure Emery was the only person there under 15 and I wish more children were there, after all, it was held at NOCCA, which is a performing arts school with programs for 6-12 graders (the tickets were very expensive, so that might have been one reason). Yes, Patti and Seth occasionally used colorful language; however, it was all appropriate, in my opinion, for a ten year old. What was really wonderful were the candid stories Patti and Seth shared. Who knew Patti has suffered from stage fright, not gotten parts, and performed in shows that didn’t do well? Seth was the perfect host—the music was sublime. Patti’s voice is lovely, lovely, and I wish I knew more about singing so I could tell you why. Her energy and stage presence were also a delight.

Thank you both for a memorable evening. 

Emery"s comments: One time the Patti performed in the Kennedy theater and 25 people showed up! Patti had good vibrato. The show was hilarious! Our secret was ... never mind I won't tell p.s. MOM is the one in trouble! >:(

Parent-Teacher Conferences and On Being a Professor Mom

Click here to Emery and Victor's Movie Trailer

It’s hard for me to be a professor mom and a parent. Most of my life is spent teaching, reading about teaching, and writing about teaching. When those experiences intersect with my experiences as a mom, they are often tested in many ways. Nowhere does that become more clear than in parent teacher conferences.

And it’s hard enough having a son that I sometimes don’t understand (his idea of revision in a recent essay he wrote was to change the word “kill” to “slaughter”), but it’s even harder meeting teachers who may not share a similar teaching style to mine.

I would just like to say that I firmly believe that it’s important for teachers to develop their own styles and that’s a lesson I try to get my students to understand. But, sometimes I wonder if my thinking “I know what’s best for my son,” sometimes gets in the way. So, I don’t often go to parent teacher conferences and instead chose to let Victor handle dealing with Emery’s teachers—it’s better that way.

But I recently felt the need to meet with one of Emery’s teachers and was reminded how wonderful and lucky we are to have teachers who care about our children, and even though their approaches might not be our approaches, it’s important to trust them. I think the lesson I learned that when in doubt, communicate with your child’s teacher, even if it’s hard to suppress certain aspects of your identity. 

Conferences, Gimmicks & the Zombie Apocalypse

Yesterday I and several of our students and colleagues presented at the Louisiana Council of Teachers of English Conference in Natchitoches, Louisiana. It seemed as if all of us presenters have bought into the idea that the more gimmicky our session’s title, the more likely attendees would go to our sessions. Some examples were “Let’s Talk,” “What’s on Your Reading List?” and “Visceral Academic Vocabulary.” Mine was “Reel Teaching,” and in our session we examined flipped teaching, blogging, creating digital book trailers, and teaching with reality television pedagogy (one of my research areas).

One of the more interesting ones was “Surviving the Zombie Apocalypse.” In this session, freshman compositions professors Mckinna and Riveria describe how they reconstructed their freshman composition courses to get students to think about themselves as zombies, warm bodies, and humans and how understanding these three archetypes can help them improve their writing skills. They also tweaked their writing assignments to include zombie-themed prompts and an analysis of informational literature on surviving the Zombie Apocalypse.

I love a good gimmick and often tell my students that gimmicks are a good way to “trick your students into learning.” According to Merriam-Webster, a gimmick is “a method or trick that is used to get people's attention or to sell something.” And, the term doesn’t always have a positive connotation. In fact, when I asked Emery just now what a gimmick was, he said it was “a scam.”

But I use them all of the time—remember Tech-free Thursdays? But, I completely understand the problems with teaching and parenting with gimmicks—trends are often transitory, students sometimes don’t find a teacher’s co-opting of their cultural artifacts cool, and life isn’t going to supply you with endless gimmicks to get you to get a job done. I wonder what lessons we are unintentionally teaching if we use gimmicks? Who knows, they could inspire the next marketing genius.

Are you a fan of gimmicks?