Maria's Mélange

Join the throngs of writers who post their Slice of Life each Tuesday (or as often as we can!) Thanks to the Two Writing Teachers team who host this weekly.  What is the point of celebrating New Year, anyway? If you think about it, this midnight is just like every other midnight. The endless procession of seconds, minutes, and hours continues. That one brief instant in time is not inherently different. It's not magical. It holds no real power over us or our futures. We watch the ball drop, or we slumber peacefully while others celebrate. Why is it important to have a point where we can close the door on the past, and gaze into the future? Why do we feel a compulsion to set goals that we know we will break; sometimes before the suns sinks on the very first evening? I'm not sure if it is something human nature compels us to do, or if we have been trained into this ritual by the yearly celebration. What I do know is that the chance to look back on som...

Again - big thanks to Jen and Kellee at Teach Mentor Texts for hosting this each week. Check their site for more amazing book lists. The very last day of 2012 is here. I still have a few books I'd hoped to finish this year, but I feel like I made a huge dent in my to be read list. Well, maybe not a "dent". For every book I finished, I think I added at least 3 more. I was going to do my "overall stats of 2012" here, but I think I'm going to power through at least one more Newbery book before I do it. So I'll post that later this week. I've also followed the tradition of posting some of my "favorites of" lists.... Favorite MG books of 2012 Favorite Graphic novels of 2012 and I still plan to do a YA list and a "girl power" post. That post will also include movies and some of the news of the year. Before I jump into this week's reading (I swear, it's coming), I'd like to reflect just a bit on some of the amaz...

As the year winds to a close, it is time to take a look back at some of my favorite reads of 2012. I've already gone through my favorite middle grade books, so today I'll share the graphic novels that made me smile. Maybe you'll even discover a new title or two? Cowboy by Nate Cosby , Chris Eliopoulos (Illustrations) Hardcover, 96 pages Published May 29th 2012 by Archaia Entertainment ISBN 1936393670 (ISBN13: 9781936393671) “Justice ain’t got no age” is the perfect tag line for Cow Boy, a new all ages comic about a ten year old boy in the Wild West. Check out my full review of Cowboy - or just trust me and go grab yourself a copy! Legends of Zita the Spacegirl by Ben Hatke (Goodreads Author) Paperback, 224 pages Published September 4th 2012 by First Second ISBN 1596434473 (ISBN13: 9781596434479) Love love love Zita! Great science fiction that explores the concepts of heroism and family while keeping a sense of humor that will appeal to all ages. I ...

Welcome back to Sci Friday - a blog feature where I share my science and science fiction favorite books for the world to see. "Women must try to do things as men have tried. When they fail, their failure must be but a challenge to others" - Amelia Earhart This summer I visited Washington, D.C. with my family. My husband and sons rushed around to all the museum exhibits and monuments with unbridled glee. I always enjoy these kinds of outings as well, but I started to notice something as I walked around... Women's contributions to our nation's history and science were present, but often seemed to be spotlighted as a bit of an anomaly. Each time I found a woman's story, I found myself drawn to her. I lingered. I took more pictures. I teared up a bit. This has always been the way of the world, and I seem to remember noticing this problem more as a young girl and teenager. I guess as I hit adulthood I just pushed it out of my mind more. I'm not sure why it...

Join the Slice of Life community each Tuesday as we share glimpses into our lives with one another. Funny or sad, poignant or barbed... each week is an adventure. Visit the Two Writing Teachers blog to check out posts from other Slicers.   (With thanks to Laurel Synder for her tweet that inspired me to write this little slice of honesty) It's that time of year again, when I rant about Santa: killingthebuddha.com/mag/confession… — LaurelSnyder (@LaurelSnyder) December 21, 2012 Okay, so I admit I am a total humbug this time of year. I dread decorating, since it just means that I'll need to put away those decorations again in a few short weeks. I enjoy a live Christmas tree, but the smell makes me sneeze. Removing the tree just means even more cleaning, vacuuming, and hoping that the prized yet fragile ornaments will be stowed away carefully enough to survive another year. My lack of holiday cheer, though, is absolutely not the reason for the following admission: ...

Merry Almost Christmas to those who celebrate such things... Thanks again to the Mentor Texts team, Jen and Kellee, for hosting this each week. Check out their blog for other posts, and the #IMWAYR tag on Twitter. I'm going to keep it short so I can also work on my slice for the week.... Graphic Novels - (Follow my board on Pinterest , where I add graphic novels I like)  I'm always a fan of Lunch Lady and Squish. Cardboard may have gotten a higher rating on a different day (one of the many reasons I'm not always thrilled with the 5 star system). The "bad guy" character just completely freaked me out. I think it's more Sandy Hook fallout. It was a very creative story, and had a lovely ending. Definitely give it a shot. Picture Books:  What an awesome picture book selection! I've decided I need to keep up with picture books during the year better. Oh, No ! - loved the art AND the fun text. I bought a copy for my nephew (shhhh) Gree...

Folks in my real life who know me well will just laugh and laugh when they see this. Book gap? Maria? Doesn't she spend ALL her free time reading? Well, scoffers, it's true. I do have several book gaps. My shelves are filled to falling down with fantasy and science fiction. I gobble up graphic novels. Some may say I read like a twelve year old boy Honestly, some do say that. I've heard that exact quote on numerous occasions. I won't get into the diatribe right now about how GIRLS read science fiction too (The record clearly shows that girls have turned to fantasy in record numbers, and I think that if we could get more excellent middle grade science fiction that more girls would get hooked on that genre early as well). Anyway - all of that is just an overly long segue way into one of my actual "Book Gaps" - one I'd like to work on filling this year. Sports Books. My goal? At least 6 this coming year. I'm going to be blunt here, I'm no...

Welcome back to Sci Friday! This week I offer up an unusual book about a fascinating physicist. Feynman by Jim Ottaviani (Goodreads Author), Leland Myrick (Illustrator) Hardcover, 266 pages Published August 30th 2011 by First Second ISBN 1596432594 (ISBN13: 9781596432598) Goodreads Summary: Richard Feynman: physicist . . . Nobel winner . . . bestselling author . . . safe-cracker. In this substantial graphic novel biography, First Second presents the larger-than-life exploits of Nobel-winning quantum physicist, adventurer, musician, world-class raconteur, and one of the greatest minds of the twentieth century: Richard Feynman. Written by nonfiction comics mainstay Jim Ottaviani and brilliantly illustrated by First Second author Leland Myrick, Feynman tells the story of the great man’s life from his childhood in Long Island to his work on the Manhattan Project and the Challenger disaster. Ottaviani tackles the bad with the good, leaving the reader delighted by Feynman’s ex...

My Favorite Middle Grade 2012 Books I'm going to cheat just a little bit, in order to keep this post at a reasonable length. The Nerdy Book Club community has been amazing at sharing the love for both Wonder and The One and Only Ivan. I whole heartedly endorse this affection, and I urge anyone reading this post to immediately go buy and read those books. In this post, though, I'm going to focus on a few books that didn't make the rounds as energetically. First up, two gems from Walden Pond Press. Neversink  by Barry Wolverton Hardcover, hardcover, 287 pages Published March 27th 2012 by Walden Pond Press ISBN 0062027913 (ISBN13: 9780062027917) Lockley is a puffin - not a penguin, thank you very much. Neversink is his island home. Many species of auk live on this island, along with a single garrulous walrus named Egbert and a lovely hummingbird named Ruby who visits each summer. Yet their life is about to change as an owl named Rozbel co...

It was a hard week for so many... I wasn't sure what would come out when I sat down to write. So many have expressed their feelings so eloquently... but I still needed to put my own words on paper.  Visit other Slice of Life participants at Two Writing Teachers . It was an ordinary day. Or at least as ordinary as life gets while working in an elementary school in December. The morning passed in a blur of smiling faces, tasks completed, and departures. I took a few minutes of my quiet lunch to jump online; looking to see what other teachers and librarians were reading on this beautiful December morning. My heart stopped. Eyes filled with tears, I Scanned headlines for "Breaking News" Images of weeping Tiny children bundled off to Learn Grow Become Snuffed out. Moments passed, and I Discovered I had stopped Breathing. As the days pass, I find myself on edge. Wondering. Running "worst case scenarios" in my mind. Would I find c...

Stop by Teach Mentor Texts to check out what everyone else has been reading... or #IMWAYR on Twitter. I spent the week reading like a fiend, trying to catch up with as many of the Nerdy Nominees as I could manage. Saturday became a mini read-a-thon. Cocooned in my book nest, I tried my best to ignore the awful news from Friday. Still, it intruded. I started See You At Harry's and realized I just can't read that one right now. It's too soon... Here's the rest of what I read, though. Newbery - One more Nerdbery down! (That makes 55, for those playing from home) Picture Book - Science Fiction (Recommended by Kellee!) Non-Fiction Picture Books - Nerdy Short List I liked them both - but I think the graphic novel of Annie Sullivan was better than the picture book. I can see that the PB would be better to use with younger kids, though. Graphic Novels (First three are Nerdy Short List. Last one was due to my son's insistence that I read it. ...

And the nominees are..... Well, I meant to post this a while back. When Nerdy Book Club went looking for suggestions for their yearly Nerdy Awards list, I got my choices in quickly. Not all of my nominees made the "short list", of course, but I'm still excited about voting this week. Check out my "It's Monday" post last week and tomorrow to see what I've been quickly reading to make sure I know as many titles as possible before voting. (Voting went live today , and is open until Friday...) Graphic Novels    Lunch Lady Picture Day Peril    Legends of Zita    Cowboy    Wrinkle in Time (adaptation)    Mal and Chad - Food Fight!    Earthling!     Explorer: The Mystery Boxes    Princeless: Save Yourself    Giants Beware!  Picture Books - Fiction    Unspoken    Boy + Bot    Darth Vader and Son Picture Books - Nonfiction ...

Join the writing community at Two Writing Teachers . We slice each Tuesday!  I'm not going to lie - writing for my blog is usually pretty easy. Well, it's easy as long as I have an idea. The anxiety begins when I'm asked to step outside my comfort zone. When I'm asked to write a guest post for another site, or an interview with an author I loved, or get the "let's chat about your weekly column so we can reinvigorate it." Writing angst is a double edged sword. I can slap some words down here, and walk away feeling fairly content. I said my piece - I got my ideas out into the world. No anxiety, but little crafting. Yes, I try to make sure my ideas make sense and that I've expressed my thoughts in as lovely a way as I can. Yet I know that it's really first draft writing. When a larger audience looms, though, that's when it gets real. It's like a Scottish sword dance - nimbly stepping over and around that gleaming blade. I'm creatin...

Wow - has another week flown by already? It's been crazy.... or is that just my normal life now? I wasn't going to try to cram in as many Nerdy Short List books as I could, but then my school librarian had a stack sitting on her desk. In a moment of weakness, I grabbed a pile off the picture books. Yet I also spent a good chunk of this week finishing up a second guest post for School Library Journal's Connect the Pop blog. (One goes live today at 10 AM, one tomorrow. Please read them!) Thanks again to Teach Mentor Texts - Jen and Kellee - for graciously hosting this meme each week. Graphic Novels: Yay for Belly Flop ! This one is just as wonderful as the first two. I loved the imagination, and the message about being yourself. My sons both devoured it (multiple times) and declared it "awesome". Lio is a strange one, but I definitely liked it. Each page has a separate story (like comics in the newspaper), and there are a ton of literary allu...