I know. How Cancon of me. But I gotta say- it does get my knickers a bit knotted up to see how many American and British books are showcased in our English classes and how little Canadian content. So I have made it my informal, quasi-mission to find books from Canadian authors that could workContinue reading “Two Great Canadian Youth Novels I think Should be Taught in the Classroom”
Category Archives: Personal blog
Middle School Reading: Tinfoil Sky by Cyndi Sand-Eveland
Mel and her mother Cecily have left Craig, drug dealer and all round creep, in the middle of the night. They threw what belongings they could find into the pinto and headed toward Cecily’s hometown, where they hope to stay with Gladys, Cecily’s mother until they can get back on their feet. But things don’tContinue reading “Middle School Reading: Tinfoil Sky by Cyndi Sand-Eveland”
Middle School Reading: The Agency series by Y.S. Lee
The Agency Series by Y.S Lee Volume 1 Mary Lang is a twelve-year old, half-chinese, half-irish London ragamuffin about to be hanged for thieving when she is offered the chance of a new life at Miss Scrimshaw’s Academy for Girls. The Academy is an unusual institution run by two very different young ladies, Ann Treleaven,Continue reading “Middle School Reading: The Agency series by Y.S. Lee”
Book review: Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children
If you’ve browsed the YA shelves lately, you will have probably chanced upon a thick-ish book with a black and white cover. The title is written in old-fashioned script. The photo on the cover is of a pudge-faced girl in what looks like a turn of the century shift, a sort of tiara shading herContinue reading “Book review: Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children”
The Political education of our children: some thoughts on Something Fierce
I recently read the 2012 Canada Reads selection, SomethingFierce: Memoirs of a Revolutionary Daughter by Carmen Aguirre and it got me thinking about my own politics. And consequently, the job I am doing instilling a political consciousness in my own children. If you haven’t read it, you should. It is a riveting, eye-opening revelation ofContinue reading “The Political education of our children: some thoughts on Something Fierce”
Three Historical Novels + One Steampunk for the Middle School Child
I have taken it upon myself to try and read all the books in the school’s English Curriculum. These are divided between books the whole class reads and books that only sections of the class read for their reader’s circles. The latter are divided by student interest and/or student reading level. Of course, I haveContinue reading “Three Historical Novels + One Steampunk for the Middle School Child”
YA Reading Continued…
To complete my feverish reading for a potential all school-read, I read two more titles. To recap, the books had to fit the criteria below: 1. Under 350 pages. 2. No movie version 3. An appropriate read for grades 7 to 11 (I know. Kind of impossible, right?) 4. Has themes that can be discussedContinue reading “YA Reading Continued…”
Thoughts on a Complicated Kindness and the Bone Cage
I managed to polish two more books off this week in my quest for just the right book to present to my school reads committee. The first one I’d been meaning to read for a while, the second I thought would be a good fit due to its subject matter. A Complicated Kindness by MiriamContinue reading “Thoughts on a Complicated Kindness and the Bone Cage”
How I loved How I Live Now by Meg Rosoff
I am in the middle of a massive Young Adult fiction marathon. The selection process of our 2012 school community reads is in full swing and this time I am obsessed with pushing the best possible books to my committee. Not that I wasn’t before. It is just that the winners for the last coupleContinue reading “How I loved How I Live Now by Meg Rosoff”
Are we corrupting our children? The debate about raunchy lyrics (yes there is one)
When I was ten, my favourite tape (yes, I am that old. I was buying tapes well into late teens. I still regret the unfortunate advent of CDs- stupid technology) was the soundtrack of Grease. In fact, I remember going directly from the soundtrack of the movie Annie, full of funny and moving songs aboutContinue reading “Are we corrupting our children? The debate about raunchy lyrics (yes there is one)”
Lina Branter 