Shadow Children Series by Margaret Peterson Haddix

I'm a little embarrassed to admit this, but I first learned of this series a week or so after the spring 2011 ELA MCAS test. Some of my students were discussing one of the reading selections and questions from the test. A few of them were confused about it, but then went back and read all the italics and other small print on the page and figured out that it was an excerpt from a book called Among the Hidden. They explained that the government had made a law that you could only have two children in a family. All third children, known as shadow children, were illegal so most families who had more than two children kept them hidden so they wouldn't be taken away. My students were really curious about how this could happen, how anyone could live that way, what other laws the government made, would the children ever come out of hiding, how many shadow children were there? Well, since I hadn't read the series, we did a little research and discovered there were seven books in the series and it was written by Margaret Peterson Haddix. I borrowed the first book from a colleague and read it over the weekend. I was as enthralled by the concept as my students! I couldn't put the book down ~ or any of the other six books! We started Among the Hidden as our interactive class read aloud on that Monday and continued reading the series until the end of the school year! I highly recommend this series to anyone who likes suspense, mysteries, thrillers, puzzles, and stories where the protagonists are young adolescence. Let me know what you think of the series as a whole or any one of the books.


If you are interested in Margaret Peterson Haddix's thoughts on this series, click on the link below to read some of her thoughts. At the top of the link she cautions you not to read her thoughts if you haven't finished the book because she doesn't want to ruin the story!

http://www.haddixbooks.com/books/hidden_faq.html

Gollywopper Games by Jody Feldman

by Jody Feldman
amazon.com




Book Trailer by M. Harclerode

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rXWPyonVPAI

One reason I  enjoyed this book is because I love solving puzzles! I don't want to tell you the story, but I will tell you there is a competition that starts as teams of kids against each other. Then the members of the winning team have to compete individually against each other. They have to solve various puzzles and mysteries to move on to future clues. I found myself rereading the clues to see if I could solve the problems without reading the answers! There were a few unexpected twists and turns that also kept me turning the pages!
 

Steve Jobs Thinking Differently by Patricia Lakin

Steve Jobs Thinking Differently by Patricia Lakin

   
     If you are someone who likes biographies or computers or being inspired by others, then this book is for you! I learned an incredible amount about Steve Jobs and Apple Computers. I think the most important thing I learned is that Steve Jobs didn't give up. He was very determined to see his 'vision' become reality. His 'vision' changed and grew, he was continually experimenting with new ideas and thinking 'outside the box', and he always pushed his team to develop the technology necessary to create his dream. Steve Jobs must have been a very strong leader to have such dedicated people working with him. It seems he knew how to pick people who not only knew how to do their job, but who could work together to create something amazing! Click on the link below to hear this amazing quote from Steve Jobs. Enjoy!

Here's to the crazy ones.
The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers.
The round pegs in the square holes.
The ones who see things differently.
They're not fond of rules.
And they have no respect for the status quo.
You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them.
About the only thing you can't do is ignore them.
Because they change things.
They push the human race forward.
And while some may see them as the crazy ones,
we see genius.
Because the people who are crazy enough
to think they can change the world...
are the ones who do.