Coffee For The Brain Book Tournament - News Update

Alright people, I have won a grant which allows me to spend a good chunk of money on books for this tournament. I know things have been busy this last week or so with end of the quarter, parent teacher conferences, etc.

It is time to get your game face on and get involved. Sign up to be a judge. You and a partner will be delivered two books to read beginning third quarter. Read them, decide which one you like better and it moves on to the next round.

I need more judges. I need more book nominations. What are you waiting for? Maybe a little movie trailer to get you motivated? Well, I read your mind. Watch the movie trailer and then click on the tabs up top and sign up and nominate.



Okay, you watched it. You are pumped up now. So go ahead and sign up. I will be waiting here on my computer waiting for the names to start pouring in. Invite your teachers, parents, friends, etc. to join.

While your at it, go ahead a make me a video to promote this tournament. Make a video response to this one on YouTube. I look forward to a great tournament.

Eco-Meet 2010

I put together a little video to highlight my 4th grade ELP students who did an excellent job representing themselves, families, and our school at the 2010 Eco-Meet at Lock and Dam 14 on October 22nd. Hope you enjoy the video and I look forward to our next project.

Two Week Slob and Lazy Streak Comes To A Close

It has been two weeks since I finished up with the last race of my goals that I set out to achieve back in late May/early June. Since my run at the Chicago Urbanathlon I decided to take it easy for a couple weeks and just let the body have a break from the constant training I was throwing at it on an almost daily basis.

Well, let me just say that I did not just rest and recover, but I turned into a slob. After just a few days I had lost all motivation and self control. I forgot how easy it is to make excuses, eat whatever, and just not do anything good of yourself. Not only that, but that way of life is very addicting and such a hard cycle to break. I was only under the "Slob and Lazy" spell for two weeks, but it quickly took me over. Every night I would say I was going to run or workout and I would wake up 5 minutes late and make an excuse that I did not have time.

Yesterday, I found my motivation to change. I rearranged the basement and was able to install my ceiling mount for the TRX. I did a 10 minute core workout that about killed me. I looked at myself in the mirror and saw how quickly I was losing everything I worked so hard to achieve.

I got up this morning to run. I wanted to do a long run to wake me up and to evaluate where I am fitness wise. I could have easily made excuses to not run. I could not find my shoes, my iPod would not sync to my iTunes to load up the music I wanted, my stomach hurt from eating like a slob last night(Incredible Pizza), etc. I got out there and ran. I felt great at first, but let me tell you that I was able to tell that I lost some ground. It was a struggle to finish the 7 miles. I wanted to go for 10, but then I would have been useless the rest of the day.

I ended up running the 7 miles in 57 minutes for an 8:12 mile pace. Not too bad, but I had to work way to hard for these results. I cannot believe that two weeks ago I was running stairs in Soldier Field. This was my wake up call. What is yours? Have you found yourself in the rut of making excuses and not living the way you want to? If so, get out and test yourself. It may not be a 7 mile run, but maybe a mile walk. How do you feel? Are you happy with that? No, then create a plan.

I know the last two weeks I was not happy with myself. I did not like the way I was living and how I lost the interest to take care of myself. Start now. Don't wait until tomorrow or the next week where you can blame Halloween, Thanksgiving, X-mas, etc. There is always an excuse, but the change starts with you.

Time to put together a training plan for my first triathlon. Stay tuned.

Book Review: Dragonbreath: Curse of the Were-Wiener

Book: Dragonbreath: Curse of the Were-Wiener
Author: Ursula Vernon
Cybil Book #12
Pages 200

From Penguin Group USA


Danny Dragonbreath and his best friend Wendell thought the hot dog from the school cafeteria looked a little . . . off. Then things got weird when the hot dog bit Wendell, and weirder still when Wendell started to sprout back hair. Could Wendell be morphing into a . . . (cue ominous music) were-wiener? All evidence points to yes. And unless he and Danny can get past the lunch ladies and slay the alpha-wurst, the whole school could be infected.


Written in Ursula Vernon's trademark hybrid style of comic-book panels and text, this is the thrilling third book in the series. In a starred review, Kirkus Reviews said Dragonbreath "will leave readers in stiches and on tenterhooks waiting for the next one." Curse of the Were-Wiener will make kids everywhere laugh, shriek, and take a closer look at their lunches.



My Thoughts

This is the third book in the Dragonbreath series. I do not have time to go back and read the first two in the series, but I really don't think I needed the other books for this novel. How can one not love the concept of a dragon that can barely breath fire and an iguana who is his friend? To make it even better, there are evil hot dog wieners on the loose! Oh yeah, and evil potato salad.

This book is geared for a younger audience for sure. I breezed through this book and did not really have to focus too hard to understand the plot. I can see some of my sixth grade students really gravitate towards this book. I found it funny and engaging to hold my interest despite the fact that I like more gritty novels. The images and flow of the book worked really well. All in all, this was just a fun read.

Patrick Carman speaking about Skeleton Creek tonight!!!! Tune in

Watch live streaming video from skeletoncreektv at livestream.com

Book Review: Jack Blank and the Imagine Nation by Matt Myklusch

Website of author

Hardcover Edition: 467 pages

Genre: Middle Grade SF/Fantasy
Cybil Book #11



From the website of the author is a short description(see link above to discover more)
JACK BLANK doesn’t know who or where he comes from.  He doesn’t even know his real last name.  All Jack knows is his bleak, dreary life at St. Barnaby’s Home for the Hopeless, Abandoned, Forgotten, and Lost.  Everything changes one morning when Jack receives two visitors.  The first is a deadly robot, straight out of one of Jack’s favorite comic books, that tries its best to blow him up.  The second is an emissary from  a secret country called the Imagine Nation, where all the fantastic and unbelievable things in our world originate- including Jack.
Jack soon discovers that he has an amazing ability- one that could make him the savior of the Imagine Nation and the world beyond, or the biggest threat they’ve ever faced.

My Thoughts

This was a fun read. I was looking very forward to reading this novel. The premise really grabbed my interest and I was excited to finally get a copy of the book to read not only for myself, but for the Cybils.

The atmosphere and setting of the book was so awesome. The whole concept of these superheroes really grabbed me from the start. I loved the machines, mechas, superheroes, villains, the city, etc. I found it so creative and great use of the imagination(even the title is quite clever).

The book is a longer read for middle grade, but many students crave these longer books. I actually just talked with a student at parent teacher conferences and I had this book on my table and a conversation started about trying to find good books that are long reads. He was off to find this book.

My only complaint I have with this book is that I wanted more action. There are so many cool characters and situations that could have contained some additional fighting scenes. The final scene at the end was great. I wanted more. However, being the first book and knowing book two is coming out next summer I understand that with any series the author has to create the relationships and dynamics to have the story further develop. I understand why there was not more action, but I want more action. Book two will hopefully have more action and fighting with these characters.

Overall, I strongly recommend this read. It contains everything for a great story adn who does not love superheroes, robots, and mechas? Give this author a chance and I cannot wait to see where he takes the story in the next chapter. I know he will have time to further work on his writing craft as I follow him on Twitter(after reading the book) and read that he is done working for MTV to be a full time writer. I wish him the best of luck.

Time for your input and suggestions - what apps do you have?

Looking for some new apps for my iphone and ipad. If you have some that you think are worth me downloading let me know. I plan on getting back to making app reviews again and will be starting that in the next week or two. Go ahead and tell me what apps you love.

Student Artwork

I am working on a presentation for the School Board and as I was working on a photostream in my Flickr account(which I have not accessed in quite some time) I realized that I have not received any student artwork in my dropbox yet this year. Every year I always find artwork created in Paint in my dropbox. Last year, I began to post these wonderful creations on my blog. I have attached down below the artwork from last year and whenever you have a free moment, go ahead make some art and place in my dropbox and one day it will appear here on the blog.

Coffee For The Brain T-Shirt Design Challenge

I have created a tab for the Coffee For The Brain T-Shirt Design Challenge. I had several students submit artwork for the official blog shirt. Take a gander and vote for your favorite design. One of these lucky designs will make it to a shirt that will be sold here on the blog.

Book Review: Countdown by Deborah Wiles

Author Website

Countdown Official Site

I loved this book! I mean, I wish I was still teaching in sixth grade because I would teach this novel along with Watsons Go To Birmingham in my classroom. I cannot remember the last time I took so many notes on a novel before.

Egg Drop Challenge - Final Results and Recap

Here are the final results and reflection of our Egg Drop Challenge. I get a little talkative about the project, but I just had to speak on the educational reflection of this project.

Submit your Halloween Decorations, Costumes, and Pumpkins

Coffee For The Brain March Madness Book Tournament Opens This Week

Watch the video to learn about the Coffee For The Brain March Madness Book Tournament



If you need more info click on the tabs on top of this blog. You will find the book nomination form, judge application form, and the overview of the book tournament.

If you have any ideas or suggestions please leave in the comments. I will gladly listen to any ideas. This is all new so hopefully this turns out to be awesome so we can do this again next year.


Place your nominations BMS students, staff, and adults involved in the lives of our students!


The rules:

• One book per person. Have two young adult books you love? Get a best friend, teacher, or parent to vote.

• Anyone may nominate. Anyone! This means you in sixth grade or you in C hall in 7th grade or you way in the back of school in 8th grade. And me. And that person over there, and the guy(or girl) who keeps checking you out in class! Or that kid that is in all your classes that you have not been kind enough yet to know his or her name. Anyone! Anyone – who attends Bettendorf Middle School and parents of a child who attends BMS. Teachers and staff members are also allowed.

• The book must have been published between Oct. 1, 2009 and Oct. 31st 2010. An update to the book nomination rules. Due to the nominations that have been coming in I think that I need to revamp the book nomination rules. I will allow any book to be entered. However, books that make the tournament this year will not be eligible for next year if we have another tournament.


• As long as a book has a nomination, it'll be considered. You don't need to try and nominate it over and over. The nomination form will kick it back to you anyway.

• Books must be either middle grade or YA. Essentially, books that fall into the grade categories of 5 - high school. Due to the content of some YA novels there could be some controversial items. I will offer disclosure first prior to you reading in case you are not comfortable with the reading.

Nominations will close on November 19th

If you have any questions please email or track down Mr. Maurer a.k.a. Coffeechug.

Coffee For The Brain March Madness Book Tournament Update

An update to the book nomination rules. Due to the nominations that have been coming in I think that I need to revamp the book nomination rules. I will allow any book to be entered. However, books that make the tournament this year will not be eligible for next year if we have another tournament.

Coffee For The Brain March Madness Book Tournament Opens

I had an epiphany the other day while running. I have been fortunate enough to be selected to be a Cybil judge for the reading challenge and as I continue to grow as a blogger and educator I kept thinking to myself that I need to do something to create excitement about reading in my building. We have established a great culture of reading here at BMS and I wanted to add more. Being a sports enthusiasts and realizing that boys are still a challenge to motivate to read I came up with a bracket like the NCAA tournament in March, but instead of college basketball teams we would have books. Let me explain my vision in greater detail.

I will be asking for reading judges. These judges will work in pairs. These pairs will be assigned two novels (like a basketball game). They will have two weeks to read both books. They will be asked to write a review of each book (stats of a basketball game or newspaper write-up) that will be posted on my blog for others to read. After completing both books, the pair will decided on which book they liked better (winner of the game). They will write up a rationale why they chose the book they did and that novel will move on to the next round. This process will continue until there is a declared winner. Each round will last two weeks.

I also envision having two brackets. Each bracket will be the same, but one bracket will be students reading the books and the other bracket will consist of adults i.e. teachers, staff members, etc. I think it will be interesting to see how our likes and differences match up on the tournament bracket. This will also cause some great discussion in the classrooms and hallways.

As a reward for reading and taking part, I will allow the judges to keep the books they have read. It is the least I can do for taking time to read. If the people do not wish to keep the books, then simply return them to me and I will have a contest to give them away to others who do wish to have them.

Here is quick list of dates and this is all subject to change as we approach the time.

October - I will be prepping all materials, working out rules, details, applications, seeking insight, etc.

Start Date Announcement  – November 19th - Starting at midnight I will open up the nomination form (like the Cybils). I will have a Google Document on my blog for people to submit book nominations. Only one nomination per person.

Start Date Announcement – November 19th – I will be accepting applications to be a judge for this contest. The application will also be posted on my blog.

Early December – I will host a meeting with all judges to go over rules, details, and field any questions. We will also determine at this point in time how we want to handle the final rounds of judging.

December – The entire month I will be purchasing all the books to have ready to go when we return from Winter Break.

January 3rd – 14th – This is the first round. Not quite two weeks, but this is the time we have to work with. This will be crazy insane keeping track of all the books, reviews, and judging decisions. (64 books)

January 17th – 28th – The second round of judging begins (32 books)

January 31st – February 11th – The third round of judging (16 books)

February 14th – February 25th – The fourth round of judging (8 books)

February 28th – March 11 – The fifth round of judging (4 books)

March 14 – March 25th – The sixth round of judging (2 books)

March 28th – April 8th – Final book will be voted on as yet to be determined until judges meeting

April 11th – Announce the winner

Book Review: Zombiekins by Kevin Bolger

From Booklist

All is well in Dementedyville, U.S.A. That angry mob wielding pitchforks and torches? Why, they're just going over to the yard sale at the spooky house owned by Widow Imavitch! That's just where fourth-grader Stanley is headed, too, and he leaves with Zombiekins—a Frankensteinian stuffed animal that is part bear, part bunny, part lizard . . . and ALL EVIL! At school the next day, Zombiekins' bite turns the class tattletale into an undead monster. (“In some ways it's an improvement,” admits Stanley.) When the plush terror escapes, no realm is safe—not music class, the playground, or the teachers' lounge. Even the little kids have been transformed into “kinderzombies.” Humorous zombie books for middle-grade readers are piling up faster than severed limbs these days, and though Bolger's entry doesn't add much that's new to the canon, it's a fast and funny read helped along by Blecha's art, which provides some G-rated goo and gore. This will have readers shouting such zombie catchphrases as hrnrgrghnrr and yaarghhh. Well, maybe not, but they'll have fun anyway. Grades 4-6. --Daniel Kra

My Thoughts:

I really liked this book. I think there is enough here in this book to really grab the interest of readers, especially ones who may have a hard time finding something to read. The age group is 4-6. I typically do not like books for this level because there is just not enough grit to grab me, but this is one that did grab me, bite me, and turn me into a zombie fan. I have been working hard to find books that appeal to the sixth grade level as not every student in sixth grade is ready for the heavy topics of the YA genre. The author has done a nice job with his writing. I was impressed in his style of writing where the wordplay caused me to smile or laugh. There was enough stuff between the words to really get me thinking while not sending this book to a higher grade level. The whole time I was reading this I could not help but think about back when I was a kid and then infamous Gremlins movies. Please check out this book about an possessed bunny/teddy bear stuffed animal that goes crazy with moonlight. It will be a pleasure for you to read. 

With that being said, I cannot wait to begin to share these stories with my kids when they are older and able to read more than their names. Additionally, there looks like an excellent website is in the making which I will have bookmarked on my computer as soon as I get it back up and running. Here is a link

I could not find a book trailer, but on the site you can click through a story synopsis which is pretty cool(go the link above and click the BOOK option)

The illustrator also has an amazing website of his work as well. Be sure to check it out.

Book Review: Cosmic by Frank Cottrel Boyce

From Booklist
*Starred Review* Liam is a big lad. So big that strangers mistake the 12-year-old for an adult. Even his teachers seem to conflate tall with old. So heaven forbid he should ever make a mistake. Then it’s all, “You should know better, big lad like you.” Life sure is hard for poor, burdened Liam (did I mention the Premature Facial Hair?)—until, that is, he decides to enter the Greatest Dad Ever Contest and in short order finds himself on a rocket ship that is off course and 200,000 miles above the earth. Yes, quite a few things—some of them cosmic and all of them extremely funny—do happen in between. Boyce is a Carnegie Medal–winning author, after all (for Millions, 2004), and he knows how to tell a compellingly good story. But in his latest extravagantly imaginative and marvelously good-natured novel he has also written one that is bound to win readers’ hearts, if not a clutch of big prizes—though Cosmic was shortlisted for both the Carnegie Medal and the Guardian Children’s Fiction Prize when it was published in England. There are lots of surprises in Liam’s story, and without spoiling any of them by saying more, just know that this is not only a story about big lads, but also about dads and dadliness! Grades 4-7. --Michael Cart

My Thoughts

If you look anywhere on the internet or talk to anyone who has read this novel they will probably tell you how much they love this book. They will tell how great the storyline was and how fun of a read. Would I disagree? No, I would not, but I don't think I will be placing it on my Cybil Shortlist either.

As I take on the role of a judge for the Cybils I find myself reading in a new way. I am reading and really paying attention to all the details of the story. I think abut the average reader. I believe that this story would be a huge read in my middle school. Actually, I am not sure why I have not seen more students reading this one yet? Middle grade students will love this story. A kid who pulls off being an adult to fly in a rocket? How fun would that be. I read the story in a few days and rather enjoyed entering this "Cosmic" world. I did not feel any connection to it and that is why I will not be placing it on my shortlist. Does that mean that I would not give this book a 5/5 star rating? Heck no, this book is great. If I had a chance to do book talks to my students this book would be up there on my list. Knowing that I have read some others and a predicting that many more will be just as good it is a hard decision.

One element that I really did appreciate was the whole "dad" element that was presented in the story. Being a dad myself I had to stop and think that I keep my kid spirit with my children and not always be a "dad" with making rules, keeping track of this and that, etc. It is easy to be caught up in the actions of a regular day to find yourself laying in bed wondering why you did not take time to play with your kids.

I am very interested in reading the other stories by Frank Cottrell Boyce as I think he is an amazing author. The story would appeal to both boys and girls. The story reads fast and contains everything a great story should.

Go check this book out if you have not already read this one. It is well worth the time to read.

Human Pac Man and Watermelon to Face Videos

I came across these video the other night. One I find to be crazy and the other is just too funny to put into words. I still don't know how the watermelon did not do more damage.

Urbanathlon Pictures for your viewing pleasure

Just follow the link and you can see me finishing the race and a few photos that the company captured.

Action Sports International

Leave a Comment About Something Useful

That is all I ask for this post. What is something useful that myself and others could find useful or helpful? Leave it in the comments. I have not had a comment in a while a feel a little lonely. Time for us to share some good ideas.

What have I found useful today? The amazing ingenious of 8th grade minds(and sometimes scary). Post coming later.

What have I found interesting today? I have more adults signed up for the book tournament than students! I figured it would be the opposite.

Time for you to share.

A Video, A Slideshare, and questions about teaching this generation

I came across an interesting video while reading a post on Angela's Blog that showed some interesting facts about college students. What I liked best about the video was not so much the stats, but how everything was generated. The students collaborated and created something of their own via the internet.

It was instant.

It was organized.

It was their world.

I teach at a middle school level where students don't think twice about using Google Forms in my classroom. I am very close to being a paperless classroom.

I am constantly trying new things (some work and some don't). I need to do even better and connect with the students more.



While reading all my tweets from my Twitter account I came across this slideshare presentation that has some really great Web2.0 features and programs.

Top100 Tools for Learning 2010

View more presentations from Jane Hart.

Why do I share all of this? I want to know what you are using in the classroom? What tools have you begun to incorporate to meet the needs and learning styles of this generation? If you are a student, what more needs to be done? How should things change to meet your needs? Please share what works well for you to learn and to teach.

Don't forget to join my Diigo groups where I have been sharing some websites and tools that could of great use to anyone involved in education i.e. parents, teachers, students, etc.(Click on the Diigo tab at the top of the blog)

18 hours remain to vote for Egg Drop Challenge

Time is running out to vote for your favorite Egg Drop Design Product.

Looking to collaborate with my students. Throw me an idea of a challenge you would like to collaborate or communicate with and we can work together to put everything together.

Get those votes in.

So I begin another technology tool experiment

My new toy came in today. This is old news for many bloggers and educators, but I am going to experiment with podcasting. Why? I would like to get to the point where I can record some of my teaching moments and post online for students to use. I would really like to use it in a few days as I explain a new project idea that I will be unveiling to my 8th grade extension students, but not sure if I will be ready.

To practice podcasting, I need a topic. What should my first podcast be about? Leave suggestions in the comments and I will take the first one that strikes my fancy.

Podcast will be posted here on the blog.

Suggest away my fellow nerd clansmen.

Question to Ponder

I came across this image on the internet and just had to post it. Go ahead and answer it.

For me, I already have my next goal(s) for next year. Working over the winter on training and my fears.
1. Triathlon
2. Possibly a marathon (must get over fear of running this long)

Besides these two thoughts above, I don't really have any other fears of things to try. I actually enjoy trying new things to see how things pan out. Would love to find a way to get noticed to be asked by Google, Microsoft, Apple technology and teaching summits and conferences. I think to be part of the a cutting edge team would be sweet. Fear in this case is the unknown and trying to find and create something that would draw their attention.

Book Review: Savvy by Ingrid Law

I know that this book does not make the approval guidelines of the 2010 Cybils, but I am including this book in my Cybil label book review because the sequel, “Savvy”, does make the cut. I personally cannot read a book that is later in a series without reading the prior books. So, I have even more reading to do in the upcoming months as I try to catch up on some series.


I finally got around to reading this novel after a year of checking it out and never getting to it. I am so glad the Cybils have forced me to get with the times and read this book. What a lovely story. I fell in love with the storyline despite the fact that nothing grotesque or weird or anything disturbing actually happened.

For those of you that have been living in the dark like myself and don’t know what the novel is about, here is a quick summary.



My Thoughts:

The storyline really captured my interest. I loved the element of the savvy, but it was not so magical and fantasy like at all. In many ways, this felt like a real story (yes, besides the fact that her brother could conjure up storms and winds instantly or that Mibs could hear through ink faces). Their savvies were extreme to showcase the true nature of humans – that we all have savvy. One of the most emotional pieces and savvy moments *Potential Spoiler Alert* was when she told her father that his savvy was never giving up. That reflects back to the reader that we all have some savvy. Another thing that grabbed my interest is that I really cared for these characters. I felt many times myself rooting for something good to happen. The whole course of events kept me entertained and anxiously waiting for the end which is what a good story does. Despite the fact that there were conflicts (a story must have one in order to be a story), I really don’t label any particular character as being “bad”. This was unique to me because it once again displayed the idea that everyone has good and bad qualities and it is up to us to figure out how to balance our strengths and weaknesses. The ending was a great ending as closure was given to the story, but an opening to allow for a sequel. I cannot wait to get the sequel and read that to find out not only what will happen next, but to write about it as an actual Cybil book.

I would recommend this story to everyone, young and old, because it has such a great universal message. For some reason I kept thinking of Walk Two Moons even though it has been years since I have read that story. I feel some deep parallel between the two. Maybe it is the way each book grabbed a hold of me. Who knows, but this is such a fun, entertaining read that you must check it out. Alright, I am off to continue my Cybil reading. Starting in on Falling In by Frances O’Roark Dowell.

Don't Forget!!!!!!!

1. My 5th grade students are still taking votes on what Egg Drop Design Project you like best. Voting on the poll will stay open until Thursday at 10:29 am. Their class starts at 10:30 and we will unveil the results then. The link will take you to the post where the video and voting poll is all contained. Don't be afraid to leave positive comments or advice to the students on the post above or YouTube. Any feedback is appreciated as long as it is positive and or educational. Nothing mean please.

2. Diigo groups are still up and running. Give it at try. Install the toolbar and join one of the groups and practice learning how wonderful of a collaborative tool this web tool is.

3. Still taking ideas for the YouTube video challenge. I am accepting ideas about what we should do to compete among TA classes. So far we have the staring contest. I have a few other ideas, but will wait another week or so before deciding what to do. This is something that we could open up to anyone who follows this blog as well.

4. To anyone who teaches students outside of our building. We are looking to collaborate with your classroom. If interested in creating an online collaboration project contact me. I have grades 4-8 that we can work with. I am really excited about trying something that fits the idea of Design Thinking.

Chicago Urbanathlon - The results are in.....

Saturday I had my final big race of the season for me. This crazy race was my final big test that I set out to accomplish this year as I set a goal to get in shape and push my body. I have posted many, many times on this blog on my training and the races and am currently working on a final post of my thoughts on my goal setting and accomplishments. This post is not about that, but the actual race that I ran this Saturday with some other excellent athletes from my school staff.

Friday night I could not sleep. We drove to Chicago and had a good meal to get ready. When it was time to go to sleep my wife who has been battling a cold had a coughing fit from 12:00 - 12:45. After that point of hearing her struggle I was wide awake and my brain was going crazy. I had about a million thoughts racing through my head. I could not get myself to relax and fall asleep. Finally, at around 2:30 I dozed off and woke up to my alarm at 4:15 am.

I was tired. My eyes felt heavy and my legs felt like cement blocks. I was mad because I felt so bad. I started to get nervous about not being able to run well. I just had to stop the thoughts and get my morning ritual going on race day. I brewed some coffee, ate an egg and ham sandwich and just chilled reading on my iPad. I tried to stay offline all weekend to give myself a break from the internet and computer. As time slowly ticked by I felt better and more and more nervous. I don't know why I was so nervous, but I think it was because I could not anticipate how I would do on the challenges.

We left at 6:00 and got to the starting line area around 7:00. We all got ourselves ready to go and Mr. Uhde took off on the bus to his station, Mr. Shepherd took off to get to his relay station, and Mrs. Reid made her way to the assigned wave for the start of the race. I also took off and waited to hear the horn.

7:45 the elite runners took off and Mario Lopez kept the waves moving every couple of minutes.

We had beautiful weather. The sun was out and it was not too cold, but not too hot and I felt good. I took off at a pace faster than I wanted after ran the first mile in 7:39. I ran the second mile in 7:37 and hit the first obstacle of the tires and balance walk. My third mile was around 8:07 with the obstacle. I was moving at a good pace and felt good. I hit a wall at the fourth mile like I always do, but overcame that and continue to run at a pace around 8:08 for the next mile. I wanted to push on the bike path and cranked out a 6:16 mile at one point. When it was all said and done I ended up with the following results:

 

Overall, I felt quite pleased with my time. I had a goal of 90 minutes and I accomplished this feat. However, I was a little mad because I still had some left in the tank and in hindsight know where I should have pushed harder on some of the running portions. I honestly think I could have ran at around a 7:50 mile pace, but that would be extremely hard and not being able to do anything else the rest of the weekend. At the time I was not sure how to gauge what to keep in reserve because some obstacle early on really taxed me when I thought they would be easy and the ones I was worried about I breezed through. Next year I will have a higher goal for myself and do feel quite good with my results. 

My body is very sore today. Will take things easy for a week or two and then get back into the swing of things. This was a fantastic race. The course is beautiful. How often does one get to run on Navy Pier when nobody is around or run up the stairs of Soldier Field and see the whole stadium? The Bettendorf Relay team of Mr. Uhde, Mrs. Reid, and Mr. Shepherd kicked butt running in 1:30 and taking 17th in their  relay division out of 244 relay teams. Everyone trained hard and pushed themselves and the results showcase the hardwork. Good job to everyone and look forward to doing this race again next year.

My students need your vote! Egg Drop Challenge Commercials

For the last few weeks(I only see my awesome kids two days a week for ELP) my 5th grade students have been working on a new project of ours called, "Egg Drop Design Challenge".

Overview

View more documents from aarmau.

This challenge has really forced them to collaborate as a team and really think through the process of keeping an egg safe. We launch our eggs on October 28th, 2010 at 10:30. I will be filming the results and posting, but before we test to see who the winner is we need your help.

Not only did they have to create a device to keep the egg safe, but I asked them to create a commercial to work on their writing and speaking skills. Below is a video that contains 5 commercials. The beginning takes you through some interviews leading up to the commercials. What we need from you is to view the video and vote for ONE team/commercial/device that you like best.

What is our goal? Hopefully, by next Thursday at 10:29 when the poll closes we are hoping for 500 votes if not more. Please only vote one time to not skew the voting percentages. Thank you for your time. These kids have worked hard and are putting their hard work to the test and broadcasting to you all. Let them feel your love. Leave positive comments and vote and spread the word!.

Diigo Groups

I am working on learning about Diigo and implementing it as a useful tool in my teaching practices. I have created four groups which you can see on the page link on top labeled Diigo. Feel like joining? Go ahead. I have a BMS group and Coffee For The Brain Diigo group.

Not sure what Diigo is? It is simply a web tool that allows you to share articles, research, highlighting important parts of websites, making sticky notes, collaborating on the information, etc.

Come join my group and let us explore and learn together about Diigo. Why not work together to fit the pieces of the puzzle together and find out how to make this super awesome tool useful in the classroom.

I will be experimenting with Diigo with my Lego Robotics team and as extra credit with my Animal Farm language arts extension unit. Will keep you posted.

ITEC Conference: Learning and Goals

**This is a long post which I learned today from Cool Cat Teacher is not what you are to do, but I have too much to share about the ITEC Conference to not go long.**

I attended the ITEC Conference today as it was such a breath of fresh air. Why? Simple, this conference has once again sparked my passion for technology. Now, I sat in my car on drive home (about an hour) and started to plot everything I have going on in my life right now and everything that I am trying to accomplish. I have a lot on my plate. Lately, I have been feeling run down and tired. However, today I felt the strong urge to accomplish a few more goals. First, let me start with what I am currently working on.

1. This blog - it continues to get bigger as I become more involved in more projects and ideas. I want to really expand my blog to the next level. I want to be able to have student created posts and participation. My goals would be to eventually have a partner blog where the other blog would be all student driven work and materials.
2. Training for my races with the last big one this weekend. Training for triathalon starts late fall/winter.
3. Lego Robotics - our team is doing great, but I am quickly realizing that we have our hands quite full with much to learn and do by December 11th.
4. Continuing to create a better program for my students in ELP and extensions
5. Preparing for a board presentation come November
6. Reading the 100+ books for the Cybils Book Panel that I was selected to be part of.
7. Prepping for my very own Coffee For The Brain March Madness Book Tournament coming soon to a blog near you.

These seven things mentioned above are just job/personal goals of mine that don't include the daily goals of being a good father and husband(which is plenty to keep one busy) and finding time to just have fun. However, this conference has me thinking of new ideas and things that I want to try. I realize that not all of this will be possible, nor will it all be able to be accomplished this year. However, I will take on one or two right away and continue to chip away at this goal list at a pace that makes it work and fun!

1. Twitter feed for Bettendorf Middle School operated by my TA. My students will be divided into teams and their job will be to gather information to be posted on the Twitter feed. This feed will only be for Middle School and keep teachers and students current with events going on around the building.

2. Dailybooth pictures. I would like to showcase my students working in the classroom and posting pictures of them in action for parents, teachers, and community to see that learning is taking place. Maybe Dailybooth is the format, but I would like something similar to post and have instant online access.

3. iGoogle Personal Learning Network that I learned about from Vicki Davis a.k.a. Cool Cat Teacher who presented here at the conference. This is something that I feel would be so valuable to have for my students. First, I have to learn how to create this before embarking this task upon my students. I need help building this they way Cool Cat Teacher showed at the conference. I must email her and find more information

4. Build my own Google Site. I have a basic plan started, but have much to learn. One more step to expanding this blog and my impact on technology and learning.

5. Diigo. Once again Cool Cat Teacher opened my eyes to a tool that I feel will change the concept of research and learning as we know it. Many are already using it and it is time for me to get on board. I have this up and running already, but need to find a way to share my links on my blog.

6. Foursquare

7. Somehow, someway getting my own classroom up on the iTunes U section where I will video myself teaching, providing handouts, podcasts, student interactions, etc. My whole class would essentially be available for download.

8. Using and finding a way to possibly implement World of Warcraft into curriculum or after school club/activity.

9. Collaborate online with students from other states and countries to work on learning objectives and goals. By creating a real world audience I believe the learning will be much more powerful.

10. Read all the books mentioned in the various presentations. There were some really interesting reads shared by the presenters.

These are some lofty goals, but if I take them one at a time I will be super excited to see where this all leads.

I will also be typing up all of my notes and eventually sharing what I learned from the conference as well. This will happen in chunks as I take on each of these items stated above.

ITEC Conference - Day 2

Today I will be Tweeting notes and things I am learning from the ITEC Conference. Just click on the Tweet Feed tab up above and I have made a page for this specifically for others to read, follow, and reply. Vicki Davis session at 8:00 am today. Must make a mad dash to make it in time.

Tweet

Chicago Urbanathlon Training - Week 2 and 3 Recap - 4 Days until race day

I have been so busy lately that I have not had to time to blog about my training which is so important for me to do. I know some could care less, but this forces me to stop and analyze my training. We are 4 days until race day. We finally found out the race is a total of 9.75 with obstacles and the stair obstacle has finally been posted. Check out this link to see the obstacles in our race(when you scroll you will see the video for the stairs) 

Back to the training
When I last left off I had finished a 51 minute tempo run last Wednesday. I took a rest day on Thursday as I was pushing hard three days in a row so I did nothing on Thursday. I know rest is so important, but I felt so sloppy all day without any exercise. My body needed a rest and therefore was good. Friday I ran with Mr. Shepperd and ran a new course. We ended up running 3.85 miles in 29 minutes for a 7:40 mile pace. This time makes me happy, but you have no idea the amount of hills we ran on this course. I feel like as soon as we finished one hill we were taking up another. This was a challenging run, but a good one to throw into the mix.

Saturday, I ran my last long run prior to the race. I was set out for a 100 minute run and ended up running 90 minutes. I started off slow with a 9:07 mile pace and my goal from this point out was to work on increasing my time each mile like you are supposed to do in a race. My next mile was 8:30, then 8:15, 8:28, 8:24, 8:20, 8:01, 7:53, 7:57, 7:57, 7:43, 7:12. I ran 11.2 miles in 1:32 for an 8:13 mile pace. I was quite happy with this pace and hope this is what I can sustain at the race. I am not sure how the obstacles will affect my endurance, but time will tell.

This morning I set off on an easy 3 mile run. I took off that way with a 8:22 mile pace, but quickly decided to push myself this morning knowing I am going to do little to nothing the next few days. I ran a 7:14 second mile and a 6:48 third mile finishing the 3 miles in 22 minutes. I felt good which surprised me based on how tired and sluggish I have felt the last couple days.

At this point I will taper my workouts. I might do one slow easy run tomorrow, but then that will be it to allow my body proper rest. We leave for Chicago Friday and start the race at 7:45 Saturday morning. I feel ready and just hope my body has one more race left to show good numbers. I have had a great first year in running races and want to end on a good note.

Book Giveaway: Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins WINNER

Congratulations to Kathy from the blog http://iamareadernotawriter.blogspot.com 

She is the winner of the book giveaway for Catching Fire.

Don't forget to enter for the Lure Book Giveaway going on now!!!

Nerd Factory - Season 2 - Episode 13

Author Interview: Deborah Kerbel

1.    I read in the back of the book that you were writing feverishly when the idea came to mind. I was wondering if you would be able expand some more on this? I would love to hear how this idea came to mind.

The idea for Lure came at me like a pie in the face.  It was the morning of August 21, 2009 and – on my way to a local paint store - I had parked my car outside a little white clapboard house on a little sidestreet.  Two signs on the house immediately caught my attention.  The first one said: Thornhill Village Public Library.  The second: Mrs. Ellen Ramsden, née Frizzell. 1851.  And just like that (as the title of this novel implies), I was pulled in by a force bigger than I understood.  Although I had no idea yet what the story would be about, I was absolutely certain in that moment this little old building would be the subject of my next novel. 

After a bit of research, I discovered the long documented history of paranormal activity associated with the library.  The building was haunted.  Brilliant.  My book would be a ghost story.

I started plotting the story that same day and for the next month, I put everything in my life aside so I could write Lure ‘in the moment’ - capturing the sights and sounds of Thornhill in the dying days of summer.  I wrote into the early hours of the morning every night, driven by the need to finish the book before the season changed.  A month after I started writing, the first draft was finished. 

2. How did you decide or maybe I should say think of using the alternating narrators of John and Max? I think this format is what really sells the story and makes the novel an awesome read.

To tell you the truth, I don’t remember exactly how it happened.  It was John’s character that came to me initially…I wanted to tell his story and slowly reveal to the reader how he became a ghost and why he was haunting the library.  But to do that effectively, I needed some help.  And that’s where the character of Max came in. 

3. I have been constantly trying to write a novel of my own to no success. What is your writing methods and/or process? What is your schedule like if you have one at all?

Honestly, my writing schedule is a bit of a patchwork.  I’m a ‘stay-at-home’ mom to two high-energy kids – my son is 8 and my daughter is 5 – so I have to search out the little pockets of silence around their schedules and use them for writing.  I usually write for two hours in the morning while my daughter is at kindergarten then another few hours every night after both kids are in bed, my husband is watching TV, and the house is calm.  For me, it’s meant exchanging most of my leisurely evenings for writing time…but until my kids are bigger, it’s the only way I can fit writing into my day.

4. When conducting research on this library and town, what were some of you favorite things you discovered?

Researching this book was a lot of fun and I discovered so many things about the history of Thornhill – the little area just north of Toronto where I’ve lived for the past eight years.  Probably the most surprising discovery was that Oakbank Pond where I set the ‘big’ scene in LURE wasn’t actually there in the late 18^th century.   Back then, it was just a small spring on a farmer’s field – not nearly big enough for my…um, evil purposes.  So in the final draft of the book, I had to substitute a common mill pond (which, according to the Thornhill historian, would have been there back then) to keep the scene historically accurate.

5. What are some current books that you have read?

Secret Daughter, by Shilpi Somaya Gowda and Half Brother, by Kenneth Oppel – two excellent reads! I also just finished listening to the audio book of Fire, by Kristen Cashore which was tremendous. And just last night, I started reading Plain Kate, by Erin Bow.

6. Being that we are in the Halloween season, do you have any ideas on your costume?

LOL! I’m way too busy trying to plan my children’s Halloween costumes to think about my own.  And with so many kids in our neighbourhood, I’m always the one who has to stay at home and hand out the candy.  It’s hard work, but somebody’s got to do it…yum!

Book Give Away: Lure by Deborah Deborah Kerbel

Yes, in spirit of Halloween and the month of October I am starting things off with a book give away. This is a book that I truly loved and enjoyed reading. (click on link for my book review).

I have received word from the publishing company, Dundurn Press, that they will mail out a copy of the book to the lucky winner.

I know this is super exciting. I cannot wait to see who wins. I hope many of you give this a shot because the book is such a fun read.

Here is what you have to do to apply for the contest.

+1 for being a follower
+1 for promoting contest via Facebook, Twitter, or some other means(provide me a link)
+2 for creating something for Halloween such as a scary story, picture, video, fun Halloween link, etc. If I really like your creative spirit I will throw in some more voting nominations for you(I will go up to +5)

So, some of you could kill two birds with one stone by writing a ghost story and submitting it to the writing contest that is going on with the release of the novel (check my review link above to learn more) and win even more great prizes.

I will accept applications until October 24th and announce the winner that same day. Good luck and another great opportunity as part of my Spook Fest participation.

Book Review: Attack of the Fluffy Bunnies

From Booklist

Twins Kevin and Joules are excited enough to be attending summer camp in the wilderness, but if there’s anything their obsession with classic horror flicks has taught them, it’s that camp is a prime setting for scary monsters, and that funny noise they just heard in the bushes is definitely something to worry about. Three Fluffs (“Fierce, Large, Ugly, and Ferocious Furballs”) have crash landed on earth after their marshmallow planet got exploded by a stray comet, and the warrior rabbits use their hypnotizing gazes and vicious floppy ears to commandeer the camp and turn its inhabitants’ brains into sweet, sweet mush. The sugar-rush plot follows a well-established course. The twins are savvy enough to know the obvious candidates to be gobbled up first and how many backup plans will be needed to triumph against the ferocious alien bunnies. A lighthearted, clever send-up of zany horror conventions, this book is just the thing for kids about ready for M. T. Anderson’s Whales on Stilts (2005) and other Jasper Dash books. Grades 3-6. --Ian Chipman

My Thoughts
When I finished this book, I thought instantly that this book is not for everyone. It has great satire in throughout and everything is just a long play on word joke or sarcastic tone to it. Take for example the first chapter in which you finish and it ends by telling to you to go the next chapter if you need to learn more about FLUFFS which a huge science chart is displayed. There are parts where it is graphic novel style and others where it reads like a book. There are advertisement breaks, times when the narrator stops telling the story to speak directly to the reader, etc. SPAM, candy, marshmallows, and other food items and heavy plot movers. Did I like the book? I thought it was okay. It was almost too much for me. When I read Falling In earlier in the week I loved the narrator stopping from the story to speak to the reader, but this book was just too far out there for me. I enjoyed the point of what the author was doing and I really think that this book would appeal to the kids who need something zany like this novel to find an interest in reading. Keep in mind the grade level range is 3-6 so this is a little lower than my typical YA read. I can instantly think of several kids in my school who would gobble this book up like FLUFFS do marshmallows. So, as always, go out and give this book a try. It was way out there, but a lot of fun if you can handle all the things mentioned above......and SPAM!

The coolest tattoos ever!

I am so going to buy me a set of these once I get paid. Oh yes, they will make it into a video at some point in the near future. Now to only think of a storyline to use these awesome tattoos.

Here is the link to buy them

Things I learned from making a volcano with my kids

Last week I posted a video and blog write up on making a paper mache volcano with kids. You can scroll back to find it and watch the video on my YouTube channel(see sidebar). Anyways, I meant to post this earlier, but just now remembered to write it up.

1. When mixing white paint with blue to create sky blue or a hue similar to that the actual color is called Dark White. I don't know why I love this comment from my daughter except that is reminded me that people can have different perspectives and/or opinions and it is okay. I just love how she worded it like it was so obvious. This is important to have open views as a teacher when we deal with so many students who have different insights into topics. The glass might be half full for me, but half empty for others.....or simply just Dark White.

2. Why do we have to lose our passion for life as we get older? Why not just be creative and be kid. As I still think I have many child qualities I realize when I play with my kids that their imaginations are so much further out there than the typical adult. In a matter of 15 minutes my kids transformed my garage into a "workstation" to work on bikes and other items that break down.

3. Don't doubt yourself. As adults I know that we have a hard time setting goals and trying new things(which I constantly challenge you to set goals during my training posts) because we have been instilled with the idea of fearing failure. Kids don't worry about failure as much. They give something a try and if it does not work, then they move on and try something else and not really viewing it as failure, but just not turning out the way they like. So once again, what goal(s) are you going to set for yourself? I know in our building we will be starting the Fit for a Mile activity with teachers. Do you have a goal of a certain time? Maybe it is just to complete a mile. Go ahead and make a goal and see what happens.........and don't be afraid of failing, just learn from it and try something new.

Book Review: Falling In by Frances O'Roark Dowell

From Booklist


*Starred Review* Feeling like a changeling in her own world, sixth-grader Isabelle Bean falls into another, where she meets her healer grandmother, Grete, and corrects a misunderstanding that had terrorized generations of children. Although it uses traditional tropes and the faintly medieval setting of much of children’s fantasy, this perfectly paced story has enough realistic elements to appeal even to nonfantasy readers. The plot centers on Isabelle’s efforts to convince the other world’s children that her grandmother is not a wicked witch. This task is complicated but ultimately accomplished by Grete’s accidental poisoning at the hands of a small boy. The storyteller’s voice is evidenced by the opening line (“On the morning this story begins”) and occasionally interrupts the narrative with explanation and rumination. The decidedly opinionated narrator’s privileged stance lends a sense of directness and immediacy to the telling, and the adult perspective allows for more complex language and deeper understanding. Dreamy and distractible, Isabelle is an appealing protagonist whose newfound gift for hearing calls for help reflects how she has grown up enough to see beyond herself. Like Isabelle, her story has that “barely visible edge of otherworldliness” that gives it power. Grades 4-7. --Kathleen Isaacs
 
I am only 16 pages in and I have begun my review. Why? This book has grabbed some of my emotions and tugged them back and forth. I started off hesitant of this book because once again a story starts off with a flat character with nothing more than being mean and non-understanding. What type of character do you ask? A teacher! I am a teacher and this drives me nuts. Why does every teacher have to be ugly, old, mean, cruel, no passion for students, etc.? I was ready to stop reading, but I decided that was not truly a good enough reason to give this book a try. So, I kept on reading and not even 5 pages later I feel the pain and loneliness for the main character, Isabelle. This poor girl has been isolated for no other reason than being shy and slightly different. I see this happen from time to time at school and it breaks my heart. Why are kids so judgmental? I have these talks with my kids all the time because even at a young age they tend to be judgmental about people by their physical appearance. My heart went out to this fictional character especially when at the end of chapter 2 when it states”….she never gave up……..And she never gave up hope. She always kept a tiny sliver of it in her right pocket.” This has stuck with me even while I go back to this book to find out more.


Upon completing the novel

I love Isabelle. I think her eccentricities and her way of thinking is what every child should have growing up. The questions like “Do ice cubes ever feel cold?” or “Do pencils have dreams?” seem like weird questions, but really I found myself stopping and pondering the answers to these questions. In many ways this story reminded me of a newer version of Alice In Wonderland where you never know what is going to happen next or who is right around the corner.

What a fantastic read! I never, ever would have picked this book up had I seen it on the shelf at the library or book store. The cover does not grab me personally and even reading the inside sleeve did not do much for me. This just goes to prove that my Question to Ponder from earlier this week about judging a book by its cover is a bad decision because I never would have read this lovely story. Thank goodness for the Cybils for adding this to the list of books to be read. This novel is geared for ages 8-12 and is one you don’t want to miss.

Chicago Urbanathlon Training - Week 2 - Wednesday

This morning the schedule was for me to run a 60 minute tempo run. I ended up running 51 minutes cutting it short by 9 minutes. I will tell you a couple reason why I cut it short. I felt great running this morning. After being sore from that crazy core workout and having some knee pain yesterday I started to worry that maybe I was pushing my body too hard after my first big half marathon race. I have been pushing my body pretty hard this last week in a half because I feel like I need to prepare my body and mind for this crazy race coming up next weekend where I have to hurdle taxi cabs, climb underneath cargo nets, climb over a bus, and several other obstacles along a 9 mile run.So, this morning I started off slow with my first mile coming in at 9:09 which I planned on doing. But, I also knew that my tempo pace was already behind schedule so I knew I had to push myself to get my average pace right around 8:00 minute miles. I continued to run 8:06, 8:07(stop for a car), 7:38, 7:34, 7:46. The last mile I felt my body begin to fatigue. I looked at my watch and noted the 48 minute timer on my watch. I knew I could push myself for another 12 minutes, but would it be worth it? I said no, and pushed hard back to my house running the last .41 of a mile in 2:55. I wanted to end on a good note where i felt good about the run, my body felt good, and I would not be pushing myself too hard to only falter later. i think I made the right choice. I have a rest day tomorrow which my body needs with a 5 mile run on Friday. All in all in 51 minutes I ran 6.41 miles reaching my precise tempo pace of 8:00 minute miles.

By the way, how are your goals working out? Have you written down your plan of action to achieve your goals. If not, then quit wasting time and making excuses and get it started. You will feel better about yourself, trust me!u

The LLaBB: I THANK MY COMPETITORS

The LLaBB: I THANK MY COMPETITORS: Pat Summit: 'I carry this with me all the time.'"THANK MY COMPETITORS: My competitors do more for met han my friends"

Chicago Urbanathlon Training - Week 2 - Monday and Tuesday

Brrrr! It was cold this morning when I took off on my run. Today was planned for an easy 3 mile run with Tabata Sprints. I took off and felt good as I had not done any running since Saturday. My body needed the rest and more importantly my knees were sore. I ran 3 miles in 24:53. I planned to run some Tabata Sprints, but my knee was providing me some really sharp pain so I called it off to be safe. I am too close to race day to push through injury and risk not running. I have a 60 minute tempo run tomorrow so hopefully the pain subsides.

I do feel some muscle soreness from our workout yesterday. We ran through the following circuit and this one is tough.

Agility and Warmup
Circuit through this 2 times with each one lasting 20 reps or 60 seconds depending on what happens first
1. Body Squat
2. Push Ups
3. Stepping Side Squat
4. Quadruped Squares - crawl like panther, forward, sideways, backwards, sideways

3 rounds with 30-45 second transition
1. Push Up with Roll
2. Walking Lunge with Split jump
3. Tricep Dips
4. Prone Back Extension Swing
5. Medicine Ball Victory Swings
6. Medicine Ball Skater Lunge
7. Medicine Ball Balance Bridge
8. Medicine Ball Balance Twist

Question to Ponder

Do you judge a book by its cover?

I do, I will not lie. If a book does not sell me with what I see on the cover, then it is possible that I might not  ever read a great story. The visual piece of a cover is so important to me even though I tell myself not to judge a book by its cover. I cannot help it. My brain instantly forms an opinion. What about you?

Nerd Factory - Season 2 - Episode 11

Book Review: Lure by Deborah Kerbel

I just finished the novel “Lure” by Deborah Kerbel and I loved this story! What a perfect story to read this time of year right around Halloween season. As I read the book, I constantly was trying to figure out the meaning of the title and the cover image and all I can say is that the title and image are perfect for the story even though I did not realize it at the time.

I want to start by telling you to check out the website of the author. It is quite good and has some photos of the library mentioned in the book.

Here is the press summary for the novel:
A Victorian library, a fishing lure, and a ghost named John…


When Max Green is uprooted from his home in Vancouver to a dull, Toronto suburb, things look pretty grim. He’s got a new neighbourhood, a new school, and no friends. But then he meets a pretty girl named Carolyn who introduces him to the old local library. Soon Max learns that ghosts are known to haunt the halls, and as he explores the history of the building, Max is drawn into a mysterious chain of events that will change his life forever.

My Thoughts
I really enjoyed this read and think students will too. What I liked about this “ghost” story is the fact that it seemed so real. I know that she mentions in the book that there is talk of the place being actually haunted in real life, but I really felt like this could happen. The whole writing style of the novel is what sold the ideas. The author bounces back and forth between John and Max. Max has moved and is just trying to find his niche in his new location when he finds himself introduced to Carolyn and the library. As events unravel in his life, the next chapter takes us back in time to John who lived during the late 1800’s. We follow both storylines until everything is bridged together. I LOVED this approach because the events that happen seem so much more plausible as we read what is happening currently and in the past.

John was a great narrator. I really liked him as a character. I like Max too, but John and his storyline is what really grabbed my interest. As I read about John I could not help but get spooked when I went back to reading about Max.

Read this book. Read while in Halloween season. There is nothing too inappropriate or gruesome, but just enough to give you the chills in a few scenes. I even nominated this book as my vote for the Cybil panel.
I hope to have a book giveaway contest soon and would love to hear from others who have read this book. The book is released on October 2nd. Check this book out and don’t forget to go to her website and read her other two novels.

Don’t forget about the writing contest. I know some of you may have started this and I know of one who has finished. Write a story, submit it, and don’t be afraid to share your story here on the blog. I would love to share your story. You can email me your stories at aarmau at gmail dot com.

Here is the info on the writing contest.
Think you can write a terrifying tale? What If? Magazine and Dundurn Press are challenging readers to write their own ghost story. The winner will get a personal critique from Deborah, a Dundurn Press prizepack valued at $150.00, and their story will be published in What If? Magazine! Check out all the details on our website.

Need your input....Sweating to the Oldies

Does anyone remember Sweating to the Oldies with Richard Simmons from 1988? No? Yes? Well, here is a little video clip to bring back some memories.




Well, I am working on a possible project where this video will be recreated and revamped by none other than the staff member here at BMS. I still need to work out some ideas and technical aspects, but as I do this I need some insight from you.

We need music. Music that will be fun and music that will get the heart rate going. I don't care what decade the music is from as long as it is clean and has a good beat. So go ahead and post a song nomination in the form below.

Cybil Book List for Middle Grade Science Fiction and Fantasy......as of 10/3/10

Here is the current list of books in my judging category for the Cybils. You can always go to the main website to view all the books in all categories, but I will be focusing on my group because that will keep me busy enough. Here is the list so far and don't worry this list will become larger as people still have until October 15th to place votes.

**Remember that you can always keep track of what books I have read by following the blog daily or going to my label list and finding the one title, "Cybil Books". This will give you access to all of my reviews for this judging panel.


Here is a current link to the four books I have read and reviewed so far. Some of these it has been a while since I have read them and may have to read again..


The following books have been nominated in the 2010 Fantasy/Science Fiction category.

Elementary/Middle: