Guys Write for Guys Read
Guys Write for Guys Read: Boys' Favorite Authors Write About Being Boys by John Scieszka
More than 80 authors have to come together to share stories about the good, the bad, the ugly, and hilarity that is being a boy. This book has it all. From traditional short stories, to laugh-out-loud comic strips.
This book is the first in a series connected with the larger "Guys Read" movement spearheaded by John Scieszka. I loved this book and can't wait for the rest of the series to be published.*
The Bad
Really the only bad thing here is that they had to limit it to just under 300 pages.
The Good
The great thing about this book - and really, there are so many great things - is that there's something for everyone here. You may not love every entry in the book, but everyone can find something they connect to. This is a great read-by-yourself book, or a good book to read with someone. It's one of those books you can keep coming back to again and again.
What Next
How to keep a journal
How to draw a comic strip
How to write a good story
*Technically Guys Read: Funny Business (which has been published and is currently available in all major book stores...and probably some not-so-major ones too) is the first book in the Guys Read Library, but Guys Write for Guys Read is kind of what got the ball rolling, so I'm including it.
More than 80 authors have to come together to share stories about the good, the bad, the ugly, and hilarity that is being a boy. This book has it all. From traditional short stories, to laugh-out-loud comic strips.
This book is the first in a series connected with the larger "Guys Read" movement spearheaded by John Scieszka. I loved this book and can't wait for the rest of the series to be published.*
The Bad
Really the only bad thing here is that they had to limit it to just under 300 pages.
The Good
The great thing about this book - and really, there are so many great things - is that there's something for everyone here. You may not love every entry in the book, but everyone can find something they connect to. This is a great read-by-yourself book, or a good book to read with someone. It's one of those books you can keep coming back to again and again.
What Next
How to keep a journal
How to draw a comic strip
How to write a good story
*Technically Guys Read: Funny Business (which has been published and is currently available in all major book stores...and probably some not-so-major ones too) is the first book in the Guys Read Library, but Guys Write for Guys Read is kind of what got the ball rolling, so I'm including it.
The Compound
"Eli’s father built the Compound to keep their family safe. Now, they can’t get out. He won’t let them."
Eli's Dad is a billionaire, and because of that his family has always had everything they ever wanted. His dad even built an underground bunker so they'd all be safe if the world ever came to an end. Then, one day, it does. His family flees to the bunker for safety and in the process loses Eli's twin brother and their grandma. Flash forward several years - the food is running out, the tension is running high, and something isn't quite right. Eli starts to make some unsettling discoveries about the life they left behind, but will he survive long enough to discover the truth?
The cons:
Though the story is fairly understandable and straight-forward, there's one element of the story (and I don't want to spoil it, so I won't get into specifics) that is treated in vague language and doesn't really make a whole lot of sense. The idea does come across by the end of the book, but for much of the story I think the readers are left to sort of fend for themselves on this topic and try to make sense of what they can. That was perhaps the intention, but I personally think it takes away from the flow of the plot and is somewhat jarring.
The pros:
This is a pretty easy read. It's short, easy to understand, and pretty adventurous. There's enough mystery to keep you going, but not so much that you get confused. Eli is easy to relate to without being boring. I think young people - and especially boys will really connect with this story. It's exciting and ends as mysteriously as it begins.
What next?
Other books by S. A. Bodeen -
The Gardener
Forts:
Make a wooden fort
Make a blanket fort
Build a fort step-by-step
Build an indoor fort
Emergency Preparedness for kids:
FEMA for kids (Federal Emergency Management Agency)
Ready Kids
Emergency Prep for kids
Disaster Preparedness
How to survive a zombie apocalypse from the official Center for Disease Control webpage
Wilderness Survival for Kids
The cons:
Though the story is fairly understandable and straight-forward, there's one element of the story (and I don't want to spoil it, so I won't get into specifics) that is treated in vague language and doesn't really make a whole lot of sense. The idea does come across by the end of the book, but for much of the story I think the readers are left to sort of fend for themselves on this topic and try to make sense of what they can. That was perhaps the intention, but I personally think it takes away from the flow of the plot and is somewhat jarring.
The pros:
This is a pretty easy read. It's short, easy to understand, and pretty adventurous. There's enough mystery to keep you going, but not so much that you get confused. Eli is easy to relate to without being boring. I think young people - and especially boys will really connect with this story. It's exciting and ends as mysteriously as it begins.
What next?
Other books by S. A. Bodeen -
The Gardener
Forts:
Make a wooden fort
Make a blanket fort
Build a fort step-by-step
Build an indoor fort
Emergency Preparedness for kids:
FEMA for kids (Federal Emergency Management Agency)
Ready Kids
Emergency Prep for kids
Disaster Preparedness
How to survive a zombie apocalypse from the official Center for Disease Control webpage
Wilderness Survival for Kids
Book Reviews
After some consideration I think I'm going to change the format of my book reviews. Though videos are awesome, I think it'll be easier to do written book reviews, plus there are lots of people smarter than me who have made videos showing all kind of activities connected to the books I'll share, and it seems a bit like overkill for me to look up their videos and then make my own video of what they show you when I can just give you the videos that I would have watched in the first place. Stay tuned for more book reviews!
New Series!
Brandon Mull - a fantastic author for boys - has a new book coming out today.
A World Without Heroes is the first book in his new Beyonders trilogy. I've always been impressed with Brandon's creativity, inventiveness, and storytelling. His books are adventurous, fun, and filled with exciting twists and turns. This new trilogy is sure to be a winner!
A World Without Heroes is the first book in his new Beyonders trilogy. I've always been impressed with Brandon's creativity, inventiveness, and storytelling. His books are adventurous, fun, and filled with exciting twists and turns. This new trilogy is sure to be a winner!
Writing Blog
Reading and writing are like macaroni and cheese. Therefore, I have created a new writing blog. Every day I'll post a new writing prompt. It might be a thought, a short story, a question, a picture, anything really. If you or your students are having trouble thinking of something to write, pop on over to Writeous!
The Dangerous Book for Boys
Cool science experiments you can do at home
How to be the best at everything for boys
Conn and Hal have also published a series of pocket Dangerous Books: Things to do; Things to know; Wonders of the World; and Facts, Figures, and Fun.
The Time Warp Trio: Knights of the Kitchen Table
Links
A quick note on some of the links at the top of the page:
Guys Read: This is an initiative started by John Scieszka (like Fresca) and others to get boys to read. It's an amazing resource for literature geared toward boys. You can find a link at the bottom of the Guys Read page to Scieszka's website. He's an outstanding advocate for boy's literacy and has some awesome stuff on his website as well.
Book Clubs 4 Boys: This is a website put together by a mom that holds book clubs with her boys. As I've mentioned before one of the problem's of boys' literacy is that there are feminine stigmas attached to reading. When you think of book clubs, you generally don't picture a bunch of men sitting around discussing a book. She designs her book cub meetings so boys can further discuss books, but also have some fun with projects relating to what they've read. Check out her site, it's got some spectacular stuff for boys to get involved in.
Books for Boys: Another list of some great literature for boys.
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Howdy!
Literacy is unbelievably important in today's world, yet many children lack basic literacy skills. And from what research is telling us boys are suffering more than anyone - worldwide. That's due to everything from feminine stigmas attached to reading to a lack of good male role models to misconceptions parents have about what "reading" and "literacy" include. So it's my mission to help boys see how amazing reading can be by showing them what's out there in terms of literacy.
I'm also going to talk about things that can help all kids become better readers - comprehension strategies, fun vocabulary words and activities, genres etc.
Take a look at my videos, facebook, twitter, links and suggestions. If you have anything to offer in the way of further suggestions for books or topics to discuss, activities to demonstrate, or anything else you think would be helpful, feel free to drop me a line!
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Cool Words
Here's the running list of all the cool words of the week. Have fun!
tempestuous (tem-PEST-you-us):
Like a tempest. A tempest is a really big storm. So, if something is tempestuous that means it's acting or behaving kind of like a really big storm. A tempestuous kid is a kid who's really wild and out of control.
1st grade was a tempestuous year for me. I got in lots of trouble.
Presidential (prez-i-DEN-shul):
Anything having to do with the president. And not just the president of the United States. It can be the president of anything! You school, your organization, or your universe.
"My presidential powers allow me to make my own rules."
"This presidential feast has foods that all of our past presidents loved."
enamored (e-NA-murr-d):
Being in love with something. You may not think this is such a cool word now, but give it a few years.
tip: Usually you will use the words "of" or "with" after enamored. Like this -
Jack was enamored of the girl in his math class. (That means he was in love with her)
Dan was enamored with his new bicycle. (That means he totally loved it!)
corpulent (COR-pew-lent):
This word comes from the word "corpus" which means "body". Corpulent means "lots of body", in other words it means "fat". Have fun with this one, just be careful who you use it against. ;)
verdant (VER-dunt):
verdant (VER-dunt):
This means green. People usually use this word when they're talking about a landscape.
The verdant forests of my hometown are perfect for exploring.
