The Newbery Challenge: The View from Saturday

Hi, Mr. Sharp, 

Thanks for participating in the Newbery Challenge with me. It has been quite the exciting (usually) adventure. 

I hope your Saturday morning view is a great one.   May you spend this three-day weekend doing all your favorite things. 

Your friend,

-John 

Please visit Colby's blog to watch his The View from Saturday video. 

Mr. Travis Jonker designed the cover on the right. 

This video was not on YouTube when Colby and I celebrated From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler. 

E.L. Konigsburg takes us inside her powder room. 

Borrow The View from Saturday from your school or public library. Whenever possible, please support independent bookshops. 

Voice Actor Mark Turetsky

Mr. Colby Sharp's lucky fourth graders Skyped with voice actor Mark Turetsky about audiobooks. They were kind enough to finish my sentence starters about this memorable virtual experience. 

I wrote the words in red, and Mr. Sharp's kids wrote the words in black. Thank you, 4-Sharp! 

*We prepared for Mark Turetsky's Skype visit by...

- writing out our questions and reading them out loud to make sure they made sense.

-writing an introduction, conclusion, and questions. 

-assigning groups and writing introductions, questions, and completing a project. 

-writing letters. 

*Mark Turetsky told us...

- that before he reads for an audiobook that he reads the book a few times. 

-it is OK to make mistakes. If you make a mistake, just go with the flow. 

-to READ, READ, READ, and READ. 

-it is best to read the book you're about to record a bunch of times. 

-not to rush. 

-that we should read the words with expression and fluency to make the reader enjoy listening to the book. He told us not to read like a robot. A reader will not enjoy listening to a robotic voice. 

-to use our hands to say the words. 

-to read, write, and learn. 

-some ways to read when you are stuck on a word. 

-to speak loudly and clearly. 

*The Origami Yoda audiobooks...

-are wonderful. 

-are very good books. I listened to them when I was in third grade. 

-are fun, active, encouraging, and interesting. 

*Audiobooks are...

-fun. 

-great to listen to while you're driving and walking around town. 

-books you listen to on audio. 

-books that you read in a speaker and it goes in a little cube. 

-very convenient for people on the go because you can listen to books while driving, at a sibling's game, on a break at a tournament, or while you are waiting in line at the store. 

-really good and fun. 

*I'll always remember...

-the Skype with Mark Turetsky and the wonderful tips he told to our class. 

-is the best audiobook recorder ever. 

-to read. 

-that we Skyped with Mark. 

-that Mark Turetsky is a nice guy. 

-how I became a more expressive reader after Mark's visit. 

-that we Skyped with him. 

-to read a lot at home and at school. 

Photo credit: Niki

*Mr. Sharp always encourages us...

-with our writing and gives us lots and lots of great opportunities to make our writing better. 

-to read, to write, and to do the best we can do and the best we can be. 

-to read all books. 

-to be good readers when we grow up. 

-to read and to try our best. 

-to write the best we can.

-not to read for prizes, but to read for fun. 

-to listen to leaders. 

-not to be a bully. 

-to read all books. 

-to read a lot. 

-to try our very best. 

-to grow more and to publish as much writing as we can. 

-with reading. 

I am giving away a copy of The Strange Case of Origami Yoda audiobook. 

Rules for the Giveaway 

1. It will run from 5/23 to 11:59 p.m. on 5/25. 

2. You must be at least 13. 

3. Please pay it forward. 

"See Things Differently" with Chronicle Books

Are you in the mood to smile? What a silly question! You're always in the mood to smile. Please press play.  

Did it work? Are you smiling? I surely hope so! If you're not smiling, go read a picture book. I highly recommend Flora and the Flamingo, Open This Little Book, Have Fun, Molly Lou Melon! , The Loud Book, hello! hello!, Good News, Bad News!, A Dog is a Dog, Me Want Pet, Boy + Bot, The Gentleman Bug, Rocket Writes a Story, I'm Bored, The Three Ninja Pigs, and Flight 1-2-3. 

The May #SharpSchu Book Club Meeting

I am trying very hard to focus on all the wonderful things about last night's Sharp-Schu Book Club meeting, but we had so many technology issues that I could not archive the chat. Strike one. TweetChat was broken. Strike two. HootSuite was broken.Strike three. Regular Twitter stopped working. Colby Sharp and I did our best to keep the chat moving forward. We greatly and sincerely appreciate everyone who stayed with the chat and kept discussing Giants Beware!, hello! hello!, and Another Brother. (I understand all the people who decided to excuse themselves from the chat. Trust me, I thought about it.) Rafael Rosado, Jorge Aguirre, and Matthew Cordell did not let technology woes stop them from participating--they did their best to answer as many questions as they could see. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!  (Matthew, I hope your head did not explode.)

 

Have you watched the book trailer for Giants Beware!? 

I interviewed Jorge Aguirre and Rafael Rosado on Giants Beware's first birthday. 

Watch Giants Beware! come to life. 

Subscribe to the Giants Beware! blog. 

Pamela Paul featured Giants Beware! in The New York Times. 

Download the Giants Beware! discussion guide. 

Jorge Aguirre and Rafael Rosado celebrated Astronaut Academy Day. 

The official Another Brother book trailer. 

Fun fact: author-illustrator Philip C. Stead created the music for the hello! hello! book trailer.

I celebrated hello! hello!'s book birthday on October 30, 2012.

Margie is Another Brother's biggest fan.

Make sure you subscribe to Matthew's blog.

Jules Danielson chatted with Matthew Cordell about hello! hello!

Matthew's friends call him MATT. 

Read about the origins of hello! hello! 

Have you read all of Matthew Cordell's books? 

The #SharpSchu Book Club

Mr. Colby Sharp, Matthew Cordell, Jorge Aguirre, Rafael Rosado, and I hope to chat with you tomorrow at 7:00 P.M. CDT.

Video of the Week: Scholastic's Fall Preview

Earlier today, the one and only Donalyn Miller posted on the Nerdy Book Club's blog about the fifth annual Summer Book-A-Day Challenge. Her post likely inspired you to organize and prioritize your current to-read list. Which book is up first? 

Enjoy! 

While most of the books mentioned in the Scholastic 2013 Fall Preview will not be out in time for the Summer Book-A-Day Challenge, it will get you excited about the picture books, readers, graphic novels, and middle-grade novels that will join your ever-growing to-read pile. Happy watching, learning, and reading! 

The Newbery Challenge: The Midwife's Apprentice

OK, Mr. Sharp, I had to create at least one six-second video for the Newbery Challenge. 

 
Please visit Colby's blog to find out what he thinks of The Midwife's Apprentice. 

Spend twenty-four minutes with Newbery Medalist Karen Cushman. 

Karen Cushman wrote a "nerdy" essay about receiving THE CALL.

Download The Midwife's Apprentice discussion guide. 

I interviewed Karen Cushman about Will Sparrow's Road. 

Travis Jonker designed the cover on the right. Well done, Mr. Jonker!