Night and Day

I have read two very different books this week, Nightmare at the Bookfair and Someone Named Eva.

"Nightmare" is the perfect book for you if you like a lot of action to keep things interesting. A boy hits his ead at a bookfair and the book tells about his crazy dream. Since most of the book is a dream it jumps around and stays interesting.

"Eva" is a historical fiction novel about a young girl taken from her home during WWII, and trained to be a model German citizen. I loved this book, although it saddened me and shocked me too. Although the
characters are fictional, the story is based on fact. One reason that I love the book so much is that you begin to know and empathize with the characters. I like books with strong characters, how about you? What books have you read that have great characters?

I hope you have begun your own summer reading adventure! I'd love to hear about it!

For Fun

I truly enjoy learning, and right now I am very interested in cool tools on the Internet to make learning more enjoyable. In order to learn more about those tools, I am taking an online course, this is my second one. Tonight I learned about a cool site called Wordle, that we will definitely use when school starts. You take any text, I used this blog, and you can turn it into a word cloud. Here is the one I made:

Try it out, and send me your pictures. (Quick instructions for saving: use the print screen button on your computer keyboard, this copies the screen. Then paste the picture into powerpoint and use the crop tool to get rid of the extra. Finally, save the slide as a jpg. Have mom or dad e-mail it to me!)

The 39 Clues

I have heard everyone talking about The 39 Clues for a while now, but haven't had a chance to start reading it. I picked it up from the library last week, and couldn't put it down! It is very exciting, and I like how the author writes the book from the point of view of the boy and the girl. That way you get so see how the different characters react in different situations. This book reminds me of the television show The Amazing Race. I don't watch it, but if you do and you like it, this book would probably interest you. All of the books I have read so far this summer have been the first in a series, which is good and bad. It is good because I love all of the books and want to read more, but bad because I want to read them all right away! There isn't enough time to read them all. If you've read The 39 Clues, let us know what you think. Have you been to the website and figured out the clues yourself?

My next book will be one from the summer reading list, Nightmare at the Bookfair. I'm going to pick it up soon, and I hope that you will read along with me!

Two Books Finished

I have finished both The Lightning Thief and The Sisters Grimm. Both
were excellent books and I would recommend them to young and old.

Although both fall into the fantasy category of non-fiction, they were
very different and I liked them for different reasons. The Sisters
Grimm was a fun read, with a mystery at the end. There are many more
books in the series, so I bet it will be a while before the mystery is
solved. Do you like mysteries?

The Lightning Thief is also the first of a series, but there is no
mystery to it. You know by the end of the book who the bad guy is, and
you know there are going to be many more battles before the end. Will
good triumph over evil? If you already know how the series ends don't
tell me!

What are you reading right now? Do you like it? I have seen one
student with The Penderwicks and spoke to another who is going to read
Half Magic (not on the list, but intriguing) and Someone Named Eva.
Let us know what you're reading and how you like it!

Another Great Book and a Fun Website

I am a self-proclaimed bookworm, so it is not unusual for me to be reading 2 or 3 books at a time. So while I am reading The Sisters Grimm, I am also reading The Lightning Thief, and I cannot put it down! It is the first in a series about a young boy who realizes that he is a demi-god, half human-half Greek god. I love it because it is full of mythical creatures and magic, but also a lot of action. Once Percy realizes he is a demi-god, strange and scary things start happening, and he is chosen to go on a dangerous quest. Very intriguing!

The Sisters Grimm is getting good as well. There has been a kidnapping, and now the rescue begins!

I also wanted to let you know about a website that I think you would like, and that might be beneficial to you as a reader. The site's name is Shelfari, www.shelfari.com. You do have to register to use it, but the benefit is in the virtual bookshelf. You can put books on your shelf that you want to read, books that you are reading right now, and books that you have already read. I read so many books that I sometimes forget what I have and have not read, and would love to have had this tool when I was young. You will also find that it helps to have a record of what you have read, and I think it would be interesting for you to be able to look back as you get older and see what types of books you have read, and if your tastes have changed.

Happy reading!

Welcome to Mrs. Weiss's Wondrous Summer Reading Blog

I'm so excited that you are a part of my class! We are going to have great times next year, but first we have some well deserved vacation time. While on vacation, pick up a couple of books, and explore new terrain.

I've already started my summer reading. The book I'm reading now is The Sisters Grimm: Fairy Tale Detectives. I think that fairy tale and fantasy books are my favorite, because I can lose myself in a world that is full of new and interesting things. I'm only a few chapters into The Sisters Grimm but already am intrigued by the mysterious things that happen. For instance, the spaghetti has green meatballs, black noodles and bright orange sauce. Weird!

I hope that you will visit our blog often and share your ideas!