Those Wacky Greek Gods....

My 6th grade students are reading the Percy Jackson The Lightning Thief in their ELA class and are about to begin researching Greek gods and goddesses. While I was selecting books and other resources for them to use in their research I was very distracted and kept stopping my work to read books about Greek gods and other Greek heroes.

First up: Young Zeus by G. Brian Karas. This is a really fun picture book with graphic-novel-like panels that tell the story of young Zeus and his discovery that he actually had lots of brothers and sisters who were trapped inside his father Cronus's stomach. Zeus frees his siblings from his father's insides and a big war begins. With a little help from some relatives (the Cyclopes and Hundred-Handers) Zeus and the other Olympians win the war. Fun book for those just beginning to learn about the gods.

I moved on to The Iliad and the Odyssey retold and illustrated by Marcia Williams. In this book, you get the basic information of the two epic poems via comic book-like panels with very modern dialogue. The main points and characters are covered and you get the essence of each character and the story. I think this is a great one to read BEFORE trying to tackle the real deal so you have a good understanding of who's who.

I moved on to a graphic novel version of The Odyssey by Tim Mucci. I liked this one too - The format/layout is very "graphic-novel-y" and I really liked the artwork. Odysseus is telling Calypso of his travels and adventures trying to get home. She's trying to convince him that he can stay with her forever. Of course Athena speaks up for Odysseus and Calypso eventually lets him go. He eventually makes it home to Penelope and Telemachus ready to take his crown once again.





Finally, I read The Mighty 12: Superheroes of Greek Mythology by Charles R. Smith, Jr. This is a picture books with all 12 Olympians, along with a few other characters like Hades 3 headed dog Cerberus & Medusa. Each character has a 2-page spread with a poem telling their story and personality. The illustrations are great and I think this is another great one for someone just getting started in Greek mythology.

A Little Shakespeare

This week I read a few stories from Shakespeare. I say "stories from Shakespeare" rather than the actual plays because the books I read are novelized versions of the plays. First up: Othello by Julius Lester. This is a "novella" of the play Othello. Jealous Othello listens to his jealous friend, Iago, and murders his faithful wife Desdemona. Yup, even in novella format jealousy and hot-headed-ness rule the day and it doesn't end well for anyone. Lester uses some of the Shakespeare's original dialogue helping this story ring true.

Next I read Bruce Coville's re-telling of Macbeth. Coville has re-told several of Shakespeare's plays in beautifully illustrated versions. In this version of Macbeth Gary Kelley does a wonderful job with the illustrations. The "Scottish play" isn't very long and so Coville kept most of the original story intact. He also used some of the bard's original dialogue keeping the story close to the original. Beautiful book.

Next up: Hamlet by John Marsden. It's more of a YA read than the first two I mentioned (it gets a bit racy at times) and Marsden modernizes the setting slightly (Hamlet wears jeans in some scenes). But Marsden definitely stays true to Hamlet's tormented soul. This one is pretty intense!

I also finished another adult book The Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford. Henry is a Chinese boy growing up in Seattle during WWII. When anti-Japanese sentiment in the US grows, his father makes him wear a pin that says "I am Chinese." Henry is the only non-white student at his school and button or no, he is a target for the school bullies. In the middle of the year Keiko, a Japanese girl, starts attending Henry's school and they work together in the school's cafeteria. A strong bond of friendship and love begins to grow between the two even when anti-Japanese hostilities grow louder in Seattle. Henry does all he can to help Keiko's family but can really do very little. The book goes back and forth between the past (1940's Seattle) and the present (1980's Seattle) where we meet Henry's son Marty. This one is a sweet story that made me want to listen to more Jazz music.

Number 40!!!

I've hit another milestone, 40 books done. If I'm aiming for 25 books per quarter, I've got to read 10 books in the next 3 weeks. Hmmm.... Will we have a snow day on Wednesday to help me out? :-)

First up: Mirror Mirror by Marilyn Singer. This poetry book is amazing. Using a fairy tale theme, Singer writes reversible poems from two characters point of view. By changing the punctuation and capitalization the poems have totally new meaning. For example:
Cinderella's Double Life
Isn't life unfair?
Stuck in a corner,
while they're waiting for a chance
with the prince,
dancing waltz after waltz
at the ball,
I'll be shining
these shoes
till the clock strikes midnight.

Till the clock strikes midnight,
these shoes!
I'll be shining
at the ball,
dancing waltz after waltz
with the prince
while they're waiting for a chance,
stuck in a corner.
Isn't life unfair?

The two versions of Cinderella (the one stuck at home working and the one at the ball) get the chance to tell their stories. I don't know how Singer was able to write these amazing poems!! Definitely worth reading!

Next up: For Good Measure : The Ways We Say How Much, How Far, How Heavy, How Big, How Old by Ken Robbins. I've always been interested in the origins of words. Maybe in another life I'll be an etymologist. But for now I'll settle for this book. Tracing the history of words we use to measure time, wood, distance and weight Robbins answered some of my own personal burning questions. Like "Why is the abbreviation for pound lb?" Turns out it's because the word pound comes from the Latin phrase libra pondo which is where we get our word 'pound.' Fascinating, right?

I also finished Revolver by Marcus Sedgwick. I'm not sure how to categorize this book: adventure? survival? I don't really know. All I know is this was an exciting book! When Sig's father dies on the frozen lake near their house Sig's sister and step-mother travel 6 miles to get help. While Sig is alone in the cabin with the body a mysterious stranger comes and tells Sig that his father owed him a lot of gold. Not knowing anything about the "deal" the stranger and his father made 10 years ago, Sig must find a way to get rid of the stranger but stay true to his mother's religious teachings. Very exciting! I'm happy to say that Revolver was named a Printz Honor book for 2011 just this morning!! A worthy award for a very exciting book.

Finally, another adult book, Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen. Jacob Jankowski is now living in a senior's assisted living home, waiting for Sundays when his family will come visit him. But this Sunday is different. This Sunday his family is going to take him to the traveling circus next door to the home. Seeing the tents go up reminds Jacob of his own days working in a traveling circus and the people he met. Wonderful book, I enjoyed every page, especially the interview with the author at the end of the book where she tells that she based many of the incidents in the story on actual events!! I wish I'd seen the elephant stealing that lemonade.

Snowed In

This holiday was a snowy one. But that gave me plenty of time to read! This time there was a mix of adult and Young Adult books.

A Tale Dark and Grimm by Adam Gidwitz was a trip! Gidwitz fills the reader in on the real story behind some of Grimm's famous fairy tales. I never knew the witch with the candy house was just the beginning for Hansel and Gretel. Dragons, dates with the devil, chopping off heads, chopping off fingers, surviving in the woods - there's non stop action in this one!! Great read aloud for the whole family.

Now for some adult fare...
The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest by Stieg Larsson. This is the final book in the trilogy that starts with The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. While definitely not for children, I loved these books, disturbing at times, but I love these characters and am sorry that there won't be any more books about Lisbeth and Mikael.

Lastly I listened to Cross by James Patterson. I have listened to several Alex Cross books and have enjoyed them. I love the alternating narrators and this one didn't let me down. I'm so glad Alex finally gets some closer on who killed his wife Maria!