Book Club = Eating Extravaganza

Today was Book Club!  (BTW that just made me think of how, during student teaching, the el ed majors would call gathering at the bar next to campus Friday afternoons "book club"...oh the good times...)  Anyways, this book club actually does involve some reading.  This month the book of discussion was Harry Potter 7, which of course we had all read before, but wanted to reread/discuss with the movie just coming out (which I still have not seen!!!).  Actually though, I'm pretty sure that the only reason we picked HP was so that we could just keep discussing the Hunger Games Trilogy, our OBSESSION.  The past two book clubs have both been discussing Hunger Games books, and both had fabulous Hunger Games themed desserts, including a cookie cake designed like the arena in book 2, and cookies shaped like Katniss's mockingjay pin.  All courtesy of our resident book club baking/cooking/crafting EXTRAORDINAIRE!!!  This month, we upped the ante by each writing trivia questions for one of the books so we could have our own Hunger Games Game.  God, we are so lame, but it was so much fun.

Too fabulous to eat...almost!

This month, she outdid herself and cooked up this AMAZING edible Hunger Games game board!!!  We had a great time moving our game piece around the brownie board, answering trivia questions, and eating amazing food.  The beverages were one thing that DID go along with the Harry Potter theme--butter beer floats and pumpkin juice!  Umm can you say delicious?

The pathetic dent we made in the HUGE game board!

I apologize to anyone who is bored outta their minds because they don't know what on earth The Hunger Games are.  I suggest you read the book review I wrote on them a few months ago, then get yourself to the library ASAP because you are missing out on one awesome book series!!!

Next month's book club book?  Twilight.  I have never read it and the other girls are avid fans who insist I will love it.  And, let's be honest...we just can't bring ourselves to tackle an adult book.  :)  That's okay...right?

My Raspy Little Voice

Well, I DID make it through Monday, although by the end of the day I had a killer sinus headache and a next-to-nothing voice.  Since Monday is a Battle of the Books day, instead of my usual dramatic reading of Frindle I had the kids choose parts and read a chapter like a play.  They LOVED it!!!  We switched the "narrator" every few pages because, like most novels, it is narration heavy.  But it was the perfect way for me to rest my voice as well as a way to not only get the kids even more into the book, but to sneak in some fluency practice!  Man I'm so tricky... ;)  Anyways, after Battle, I pretty much went home and passed out for most of the evening.  It was clear that I would not be making it into school Tuesday.

While my voice was pretty pathetic Monday, I was surprised to wake up Tuesday and find that I had NO voice at all!  This has never happened to me, and I have to say it was a weird feeling.  I could manage a whisper, but when I tried to speak in my normal voice, literally nothing would come out.  When you're a talker like me, this is NOT a desirable situation.  I decided it might be time to head to the Immediate Care at my doctor's, and I was lucky enough to get a doctor who is unopposed to "preventative" antibiotics.  Yes, I know it's a bad idea to take antibiotics too often because you'll build up an immunity, but he must have sensed my pain and sent me home with a Z-pack prescription, a "stay home from work" note for Wednesday, and instructions to rest my voice and drink milkshakes.  Yes sir!!

I decided to follow his advice to give my voice and body another day of rest today, and took sick day #3 of the year.  Man oh man, we are certainly off to a rough start!  What will I be like come winter and actual cold/flu season??  The whole 2-days off in a row thing did mean that I had to come in this morning and drop off manuals, set up the room.  Lucky for me though the sub I requested was available, and my fingers are crossed that she was able to keep them in line better than the sub I had last week!  That's nothing against that sub, mind you, my children are of the "baptism by fire" school of thought when it comes to any new adults in their lives.

I am HAPPY to report that after a 2nd day of rest, my voice is STARTING to reappear. Now, this doesn't mean it is normal by any means, and I will still be enlisting student volunteers for a majority of our reading tomorrow.  But it's a start.  Now, to look over my lesson plans and figure out how I can teach math in a small group/guided style to prevent unnecessary voice use...hmmm...

(Note: I WAS able to use my sick days to reread Mockingjay in preparation for my book club tomorrow evening.  Thank goodness I am healthy (er...healthier...), because I would be HEARTBROKEN if we had to postpone again!  And I just have to say that rereading the book completely reignited my Hunger Games OBSESSION.  Man, do I love these books...Kinda makes me want to start over with book 1 again...For now, though, I will control myself...)

Book Review: The Hunger Games Trilogy

My summer goals were very simple: sleep as much as possible, start running again, and read as much as possible. I am delighted to report that I accomplished all three. (Well, at least until my stress fracture last month...but that's a different story...). I read close to 15 books this summer, and hands down the absolute best were the three books in Suzanne Collins's Hunger Games Trilogy: The Hunger Games, Catching Fire, and most recently Mockingjay. Since reading these three books, I have become something resembling a newly-converted religious fanatic, telling everyone I know that they just HAVE to read The Hunger Games. When I told my mom that I haven't been this emotionally invested in a book series since Harry Potter, she finally understood just how amazing the books are and just how deep is my attachment to the characters.

Collins's writing transports the reader hundreds if not thousands of years into the future to the country of Panem, the nation that has risen up from the ashes of what was once the United States. Panem is divided into 12 districts by industry, all ruled by The Capitol, a ruthless government whose primary goal is to keep its districts in submission and to prevent any possibility of democratization on behalf of its citizens. In order to remind citizens that they are permanently under the Capitol's control, the Hunger Games are held each year. 2 "tributes" between ages 12 and 18 are selected from each district to fight to the death in a televised, gladiator-like pursuit in which only one victor will be crowned. As if it's not horrifying enough to have children seized from their homes to compete in this blood bath, their families are forced to watch their children either die helplessly at the hands of other merciless tributes, or, quite possibly worse, be transformed into heartless killers and manipulated by the games themselves.

Not only are all three books incredibly gripping action stories with twists and turns around every corner, but the intense plot is also intertwined with an equally as gripping love story that grows more and more complex in each book. Collins achieves that near impossible author task of getting her readers to fall completely in love with her characters, to a point that not only did I cry when they suffered or died, but I genuinely missed them when one of the books ended. What I think might be even more impressive than that, tough, is that Collins also manages to create a character as complex as Katniss for her protagonist. Too often young adult fiction falls flat with shallow character, or characters that are too perfect. As much as I love Harry Potter, at times Harry is just a little too much of a super hero for me. I think deep down every reader, especially the YA reader, wants to see a bit of themselves in characters. Katniss is truly a human heroine. She makes selfish choices at times (although she also risks her life to save her beloved sister), she can be unforgiving and holds grudges when deeply hurt, and she struggles with making decisions just as most teens do. Who couldn't identify with the broken shell of Katniss in Mockingjay who, after losing those things closest to her in the world, lies on the couch without so much as changing clothes (much less showering)? Collins captures genuine emotions in the 3 books with a rawness that we all can relate to.

By far the best books I've read all summer, the Hunger Games books will certainly be added to my favorite books of all time. While a bit violent for my fifth graders (although the language is tame and the relationship details conveyed tastefully), I would recommend these books to grades 7-12 (and of course adults too!!). Hands down 5 stars.

First Day!

I'll admit it...I had to hit the snooze button this morning.  Already.  It's the first day of school, and I'm already exhausted!!  Maybe I should have "practiced" getting into the back-to-school routine...oh well!  maybe next year!!  Because I know this will be a long, busy, exciting day, I'm starting out with a delicious breakfast PACKED with protein: oatmeal with banana, blueberries, peanut butter, and sunflower seeds. YUM!  Let's hope it holds me until our new late lunch time at 12:15 (I know that sounds normal, but last year I got very used to an 11:15 lunch.  This could mean a lot of stomach growling all morning!!)

Here's to hoping the 01-11 school year is just as rewarding as the 09-10, but maybe with a few less tears and late nights at school.  :)

(PS- today is the MUCH awaited debut of book 3 in the Hunger Games trilogy, Mockingjay!  Words cannot express my excitement.  Book review on all 3 books in the trilogy to come soon!)