HOOK KIDS on READING: August 2011

Saturday, August 20, 2011

10 BOOKS YOU SHOULD READ TO YOUR CHILDREN

Special Report:
Top 10 Classic Books Parents
Should Read to Their Kids

The question was asked on Linkedin's Children'sBooks

by Brian Presley

Director of Sales & Marketing at
What To Do With The Kids!

Many members sent in their 10 best choices. Linkedin is a worldwide resource site that offers a great place to network in your field of expertise: job search, ask questions, have discussions, or find others willing to mentor you or offer advice.

I am listing a sampling of the choices sent in to Linkedin's Childreb's Books. For full details and the complete lists, click on Linkedin's Children's Books link above.

Remembering Crystal by Sebastian Loth;
The Chicken Thief by Beatrice Rodriguez;
The Fox and the Hen by Eric Battut;
The Little Red Hen by Byron Barton;
Mouse Mess by Linnea Riley

Anything by Roald Dahl
Willy the Wimp - Anthony Browne
Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carrol
Beatrix Potter collection

Jungle Book, Ruyard Kipling. If old enough.
The Graveyard Book, Neil Gaimen. If old enough.

Frog and Toad
But Not The Hippopotamus
Where the Sidewalk Ends
A Pizza the Size of the Sun
Winnie the Pooh

Farmer Duck by Martin Waddell and Helen Oxenbury
The Blunder of the Rogues by Tim Egan
Benny's Had Enough by Barbro Lindgren & Olof Landstrom
Officer Buckle and Gloria by Peggy Rathmann
Moo Baa La La La (board book) by Sandra Boynton
The Happy Hocky Family by Lane Smith
Hatchet by Gary Paulsen - for older kids

Goodnight, Moon - Margaret Wise Brown
Guess How Much I Love You - Sam McBratney & Anita Jeram
The Hungry Caterpillar - Eric Carle
The Little Mouse,

Where The Wild Things Are - Maurice Sendak
Green Eggs and Ham - Dr. Seuss
The Runaway Bunny - Margaret Wise Brown

NOTE: the original request was for Classic Children's Books. However, if you have favorites that are not old enough to be classics add them to the COMMENTS section. OR - if you disagree with any of the choices tell me about it as well.

I will send a copy of my FREE Time-travel adventure to all who leave a comment, or the title of one or more of their favorite children's book - classic or not.

SAFE sample e-mail: mfinke at frontier dot com

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** Margot’s Magic Carpet

Books With a WOW Factor

** Manuscript Critiques

Personal Guidance a Specialty!

Saturday, August 6, 2011

BITS and PIECES . . . that Caught My Eye!

BITS and PIECES

will be a regular weekly segment

(More often, if the BITS and PIECES are fun and interesting)

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BLOG JOG DAY

A chance for hundreds of different people to read your BLOG and win FREE gifts.

The BIG Day is Sunday, August 7th!

Sunday is Blog Jog Day! Please come to this site on Sunday, August 7th (tomorrow) to jog through some amazing blogs, enter contests, even win some great prizes!

Hope to see you then!

Blog Jog Day is a one-day-event where Bloggers are joining together for a pyramid effect promotional rally. We all post on the same day with each post leading the visitor to the next Blog, and so on full circle. That's it! Visitors explore your Blog, and then click on to the next one bringing potentially thousands of unique visitors to your site. Nearly 2,000 joggers showed up last November.

JOIN NOW!

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* Margot’s Magic Carpet
Books With a WOW Factor
http://perfectmagiccarpet.blogspot.com/

* Manuscript Critiques

http://www.margotfinke.com

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SKYPING AROUND the WORLD

Today SKYPE flew my “Magic Carpet” back to a class on the east coast. I listened to all the wonderfully innovative stories these kids wrote after my first visit with them. They really remembered to use powerful words and add lots of action – FANTASTIC! They illustrated their books, and every child wrote a cute Bio to go with their story. They were so proud of their accomplishments, and I was busting my buttons too. Such a thrill to be a part of turning a class on to the joys of reading and writing. YAHOO! I also read them “Never Say BOO to a Frilly,” as a treat for all their hard work. And their teacher, Geralyn Downey, went all out to encourage each child, and make them feel proud of their writing. Great teachers like Geralyn are real treasures.

I made a Skype Author Visit to a classroom in Auckland, New Zealand. They were so enthusiastic and smart. They even made a Video about my visit. I was thrilled and humbled. Read about it HERE

I also Skyped with high school teens in New Delhi, India. They asked so many questions. It was wonderful to see so many enthusiastic kids interested in reading and writing.

NOTE The only limit to an author visit to schools anywhere in the world are the Time Zones. They must work with where YOU live, as well as where the schools are situated.

SKYPE THANK YOU NOTES from TEACHERS

Thank you so much for this Margot. I am looking forward to skyping with you at 11. Just to let you know- the students took great pride in their stories. Although they are somewhat silly, and some maybe not too logical, the goal was for them to write and feel pride in publishing and sharing their stories. In that, they have all been successful. So, I hope that you will be able to sit back and let US take you YOU on a Magic Carpet Ride today! Talk to you soon! Geri

I did. . . and it was AWESOME!!

From a happy New Jersey teacher:

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"Thank you so much for our class skype today! The children learned so much, and cannot stop talking about it! They took your suggestions for writing to heart and are excited to begin writing their own stories tomorrow! LOVED this experience! Thank you!"
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SKYPE Inspires a Class:

Hi Margot,

I just wanted to let you know that my students have been working hard on writing their own stories since skyping with you. They were wondering if you might have time to Skype with us again to listen to their stories.

One little boy in particular has been so enthusiastic about this that he has been asking to work on his "book" every day since skyping with you. It is a very short story, but he could NOT be any prouder! You have really made an impression on him, as well as the other students! Thank you for this!

If you ever have time to skype with us again, they would LOVE to share their stories with you!

AND I AM GOING BACK TO HEAR THEIR STORIES AS SOON AS WE SETTLE ON A DATE.

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Geralyn Downey shared your link: "To my teacher friends. Our class skyped with Margot Finke, children's author, and we LOVED it. Please watch this, and consider having her visit your class via skype. Believe me, you will love it! She was fantastic!"

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Thank you for the Skype! My class loved your storytelling!

From Mrs. Hime's Third Grade Class

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I just wanted to thank you for visiting our class! I know my students were so excited to engage with you and found your artifacts so interesting! My students struggle every day to battle obstacles that I would wish for no child, yet they do it fearlessly. With half of my students living below the poverty line, many of them will never see the world, nor the next parish. But I do believe that experiences like the one you gave them is invaluable in their realization that there is so much more out there! Thank you again for taking the time to talk to and read to my students!

Shane Silpe - 3rd Grade Teacher

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Thanks a ton for the Skype session with us. My students and I were absolutely thrilled to have you in our classroom. They wouldn't stop talking about you today. They shared their amazing experience with everyone at school and in their community as well. Today they wrote some poems for you. My students want to send you thank you emails and their poems. Do you mind if I let them email you on this id?

Once again thank you very much Margot. We thoroughly enjoyed your session, wish we could have listened you read the other story you showed us.

Regards, Harini - 4^th grade teacher in New Zealand.

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Thank you for spending your time with us. The children are still very excited about skype and sometimes have trouble sitting still! When the session was over, we discussed what they learned and they had a ton to say. We are also going to write a narrative using an Australian animal. It will take us a couple of weeks but I cannot wait to see what they produce. It was a great way to kick off our narrative writing unit. I think the children would love a copy of your book. Will you sign it for us? I know as they are writing their stories, yours would be a wonderful model for them.

Sincerely, Jennifer - 5th Grade Teacher

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Hi Margot,

Thank you so much for your email and especially for the wonderful Skype visit!! It was so much fun and so informative!! It was a huge hit and everyone raved about you!! :-) Regarding the books, I think it would be fine to send them to my school as there are lots of deliveries during the summer. I would love to do this again next year (preferably mid-year) with our new first grade classes!! Thank you so much for all of your time and enthusiasm!! I hope you have a wonderful summer!

Nancy – first grade teacher.

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GREAT BOOKS for RELUCTANT READERS and BOYS!

ASSORTED:
Lawn Boy by Gary Paulsen
Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli
Hatcher by Gary Paulson
Bud, Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis

PICTURE BOOKS by Margot Finke
Rattlesnake Jam
Mama Grizzly Bear
Kangaroo Clues
Ruthie and the Hippo's Fat Behind
Horatio Humble Beats the Big D
Don't Eat Platypus Stew
Prairie Dog's Play Day
Never say BOO to a Frilly
Squirrels Can't Help Being Nuts

YOUNG BOYS:
Cars That Go and Things That Go by Richard Scarry
The Carrot Seed by Ruth Krauss
Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus by Mo Willems

MID GRADE BOYS:
A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket
The Baseball Card Adventure Series by Dan Gutman
Bud, Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis
The Night Tourist by Katherine Marsh
Taconi and Claude by Margot Finke

Jeff Kinney's WIMPY KID Series:
http://www.wimpykid.com/
Diary of a Wimpy Kid
The do it Yourself Book
Rick Riordan's books

Rick Riordan's Books:
The Titan's Curse
The Battle of the Labyrinth
The Sea of Monsters
The Lightening Thief.

Mystery of the Copper Turtle Doris Holik Kelly
The Revenge of Thelma Hill by Margot Finke

See how most of these authors are MEN.
Come on ladies, anything they can do . . .

WRITING CENTER

The transition from high school to college can be a challenging one, especially when it comes to writing academic papers and other written assignments. New college students will find that they are expected to write more, and that their work must meet higher standards, set by instructors who expect students to show up with the written communication skills necessary to succeed in class. Regardless of the type of writing you are asked to do, proper grammar and punctuation is expected. Use our quick-reference guide to avoid some of the most common mistakes student writers make. Grammar – Punctuation – Other Common Issues – Different Writing Styles – Citation Guide