100 Best Children's Novels

According to a poll done by Fuse #8, a blog on the School Library Journal. http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/blog/1790000379/post/1820053782.html

Teachers and booklovers, you will love this!

x#100 The Egypt Game by Zilpha Keatley Snyder (1967)
x#99 The Indian in the Cupboard by Lynne Reid Banks, illustrated by Brock Cole (1980)
#98 Children of Green Knowe by Lucy M. Boston (1954)
#97 The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane by Kate DiCamillo (2006)
#96 The Witches by Roald Dahl (1983)
#95 Pippi Longstocking by Astrid Lindgren (1950)
#94 Swallows and Amazons by Arthur Ransome (1930)
x#93 Caddie Woodlawn by Carol Ryrie Brink (1935)
x#92 Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine (1997)
#91 Sideways Stories from Wayside School by Louis Sachar (1978)
x#90 Sarah, Plain and Tall by Patricia MacLachlan (1985)
x#89 Ramona and her Father by Beverly Cleary (1977)
#88 The High King by Lloyd Alexander (1968)
#87 The View from Saturday by E. L. Konigsburg (1996)
x#86 Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling (1999)
#85 On the Banks of Plum Creek by Laura Ingalls Wilder (1937)
#84 The Little White Horse by Elizabeth Goudge (1946)
#83 The Thief by Megan Whalen Turner (1997)
#82 The Book of Three by Lloyd Alexander (1964)
#81 Where the Mountain Meets the Moon by Grace Lin (2009)
#80 The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman (2008)
#79 All-of-a-Kind Family by Sydney Taylor (1951)
#78 Johnny Tremain by Esther Forbes (1943)
x#77 The City of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau (2003)
#76 Out of the Dust by Karen Hesse (1997)
#75 Love That Dog by Sharon Creech (2001)
#74 The Borrowers by Mary Norton (1953)
x#73 My Side of the Mountain by Jean Craighead George (1959)
#72 My Father's Dragon by Ruth Stiles Gannett (1948)
#71 A Series of Unfortunate Events: The Bad Beginning by Lemony Snicket (1999)
#70 Betsy-Tacy by Maud Hart Lovelace (1940)
x#69 The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart (2007)
x#68 Walk Two Moons by Sharon Creech (1994)
#67 Jeremy Thatcher, Dragon Hatcher by Bruce Coville (1991)
#66 Henry Huggins by Beverly Cleary (1950)
#65 Ballet Shoes by Noel Streatfeild (1936)
#64 A Long Way from Chicago by Richard Peck (1998)
#63 Gone-Away Lake by Elizabeth Enright (1957)
x#62 The Secret of the Old Clock (The Nancy Drew mysteries) by Caroline Keene (1959)
x#61 Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli (2000)
x#60 The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle by Avi (1990)
#59 Inkheart by Cornelia Funke (2003)
#58 The Wolves of Willoughby Chase by Joan Aiken (1962)
x#57 Ramona Quimby, Age 8 by Beverly Cleary (1981)
x#56 Number the Stars by Lois Lowry (1989)
#55 The Great Gilly Hopkins by Katherine Paterson (1978)
x#54 The BFG by Roald Dahl (1982)
#53 Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame (1908)
#52 The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick (2007)
#51 The Saturdays by Elizabeth Enright (1941)
#50 Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O'Dell (1960)
#49 Frindle by Andrew Clements (1996)
#48 The Penderwicks: A Summer Tale of Four Sisters, Two Rabbits and a Very Interesting Boy by Jeanne Birdsall (2005)
#47 Bud, Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis (1999)
#46 Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls (1961)
x#45 The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman (1995)
#44 Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing by Judy Blume (1972)
x#43 Ramona the Pest by Beverly Cleary (1968)
#42 Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder (1935)
x#41 The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare (1958)
#40 The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum (1900)
#39 When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead (2009)
x#38 Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J.K. Rowling (2003)
#37 Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry by Mildred Taylor (1976)
x#36 Are You There, God? It's Me, Margaret by Judy Blume (1970)
x#35 Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling (2000)
x#34 The Watsons Go to Birmingham, 1963 by Christopher Paul Curtis (1995)
#33 James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl (1961)
#32 Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH by Robert C. O'Brien (1971)
x#31 Half Magic by Edward Eager (1954)
#30 Winnie-the Pooh by A.A. Milne (1926)
#29 The Dark Is Rising by Susan Cooper (1973)
#28 A Little Princess by Francis Hodgson Burnett (1905)
#27 Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland (1865)/Alice Through the Looking Glass (1872) by Lewis Carroll
x#26 Hatchet by Gary Paulsen (1989)
#25 Little Women by Louisa May Alcott (1868 & 1869)
x#24 Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling (2007)
#23 Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder (1932)
#22 The Tale of Despereaux: Being the Story of a Mouse, a Princess, Some Soup, and a Spool of Thread by Kate DiCamillo (2003)
#21 Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan (2005)
x#20 Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt (1975)
#19 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl (1964)
x#18 Matilda by Roald Dahl (1988)
#17 Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli (1990)
x#16 Harriet the Spy by Louise Fitzhugh (1964)
x#15 Because of Winn-Dixie by Kate DiCamillo (2000)
x#14 Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling (1999)
x#13 Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson (1977)
#12 The Hobbit, or There and Back Again by J.R.R. Tolkien (1938)
x#11 The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin (1978)
x#10 The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster (1961)
x#9 Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery (1908)
x#8 The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett (1911)
x#7 The Giver by Lois Lowry (1993)
x#6 Holes by Louis Sachar (1998)
x#5 From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E. L. Konigsburg (1967)
#4 The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis (1950)
x#3 Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone by J.K. Rowling (1997)
x#2 A Wrinkle in Time by Madeline L'Engle (1962)
#1 Charlotte's Web by E.B. White (1952)


I've only read forty-two. But I just started another one tonight!

I plan to share this list with my students and their parents, and with my colleagues too!

memegank

I stole this interview meme. Forgive me, internet.



http://jamelah.net/blog1/

1. What’s your idea of a perfect date?

Errr...what does it say that this completely stumps me? Food and fun of some kind. Maybe some element of nature as well--stars, forest, sea.



2. What did you want to be when you grew up? Do you still want to be that?

For most of my growing-up life, I wanted to be an Olympic gymnast. (I started gymnastics classes as a toddler.) I was wishy-washy and whiny, which as it turns out are not good ways to become excellent at any endeavor, let alone an athletic one requiring hours of painful practice. It wasn't a realistic goal or anything, it was just a shiny future dream that crashed when I realized, at around 13 or 14, that I was the same age as the elite gymnasts and I was most decidedly nowhere NEAR elite.



You know what, though? I still love gymnastics and feel a certain longing whenever I watch it.

I love to dance and tumble. A good running split leap feels like flying. (Or at least, I remember these things vividly, since I'm physically incapable of them anymore, in my old age.) So yes, a part of me does still want to be an Olympic gymnast.



3. If you had to pick up and leave tomorrow, what would you pack and where would you go?

As in just one place? To stay? Paris is my first instinct, because I love it. Although maybe the Greek Isles? I've never been, but I have a hunch that the sun, the sea and the colors would be extremely restorative for my tired and bitter soul.



[It's currently 3.45 in the morning. Please pardon the ridiculousness I've got going on here.]


4. If you could only eat three things for the rest of your life, what would they be?

Good caesar salad. Real bread with butter or Nutella. And....french fries? pickles? Cookie Crisp? Oh god, please don't make me do this.



5. What are your favorite song lyrics?

Well, I'm certainly singing Tori Amos in my head right now because of Jamelah's answer. And I do love that song. Or am I confused? I get Spark and Purple People mixed up in my head. (because I love them both and they're not on her regular albums.)



Speaking of Tori, this was a life-changing lyric for me:

"Winter"

When you gonna make up your mind?

When you gonna love you as much as I do?



I literally broke down when I heard this song and these lyrics for the first time, when I was a senior in high school. Something about self-esteem and family shit and independence and my place in the world and other introspective stuff.



Here's another one: "This Woman's Work" by Kate Bush (from the Felicity soundtrack)



I know you have a little life in you yet.

I know you have a lot of strength left.

I know you have a little life in you yet.

I know you have a lot of strength left.



I should be crying, but I just can't let it show.

I should be hoping, but I can't stop thinking



Of all the things I should've said,

That I never said.

All the things we should've done,

Though we never did.

All the things I should've given,

But I didn't.



Oh, darling, make it go,

Make it go away.



Give me these moments back.

Give them back to me.



Driving on I-90 westward across Mercer Island, in early 2003. This song came on, one I'd heard many times since college. These plaintive, wistful lyrics hit me like a fist in the gut, and I doubled over in the driver's seat, sobbing. Out of nowhere. I think it was repressed grieving about the end of my AmeriCorps term. (Yes, you may roll your eyes.)



http://etceterablah.com/
1. In terms of career-path stuff, if you could do or try anything other than what you’re doing now, what would it be? Possibly acting. Even though I'm kind of shy, introverted and have terrible self-esteem, I love performing. Growing up I was in a few plays--not ever as anything more than the chorus/background, though, which I guess tells all of us my talent rank. This was my backup dream after I figured out gymnastics wasn't happening. It was, sadly, equally unrealistic.


2. What’s your favorite thing about yourself? What’s your least favorite thing about yourself? Interestingly, my answer to both is the same--ideas. I have great ideas. Big, creative, fun, strange ideas. However, either they are shot down by cohorts, are impossible, or I can't get my shit together to actually follow through on them. See above re: failed dreams and incompetence.


3. Who gave you the best piece of advice you’ve ever gotten, and what was it?
I don't remember any real advice, or at least I don't remember anyone telling me Grand Pearls of Wisdom that stuck out.

What's funny is the truth I've found this year in a tagline we endlessly mocked six years ago: "There's no shame in your humanness."

I've had to face a lot of my humanness as I've become, somewhat unwillingly, an adult. It's not a pretty picture.


4. Speaking of advice, if you could go back in time and tell your teenage self anything, what would it be? Work harder in school! Also try not to be such a freaking weirdo. Make some real friends and figure out how to ignore the stupid shit, because just as you suspect, it really doesn't matter.


5. You can go anywhere in the world you haven’t already been. Where do you go and why? There are so many places on my list that I don't even have a list, because it would be depressing. Right now I'll say Peru, because I want to see Macchu Picchu and rainforests and the Andes. Plus it wouldn't be far--relatively speaking--to get to Patagonia, which seems breathtaking. (Thank you, Amazing Race.)



http://allthewine.wordpress.com/

1. Why have you chosen to be an anonymous blogger?

Fear, of course. Of being found-out, of being in trouble, of being mocked, of facing reality of, you know, real life.


2. What’s your dream job — the one you would love doing, even if you made no money doing it?

Travel photography! Duh.


3. What’s your favorite vacation destination?

I'm changing it up a bit for this one and will say Australia, because I adored what I saw and there's oh so much more to see. (You totally thought I was going to say Paris, didn't you? Yeah, so did I. I'm full of surprises. Except not really.)


4. Outside of the usual answers, like December or your birth month, what is your favorite month of the year, and why?

I might have said June, because school gets out, but do you remember June? It lasts FOR.E.VER. when you're waiting for school to get out. Plus, here in NY, it's hot and sticky and yuck blech.

So maybe I will go with August of my youth in Seattle. It's really warm but not humid or gross, the sun doesn't go down until like 10pm, there's Seafair for fun, and you can start thinking about back-to-school shopping for new clothes and school supplies.



5. What’s your favorite thing about Detroit?

Erm, that I've never been there? (That's what I get for shamelessly not playing by the rules of this meme.) The only thing I can think of is the Tigers. My ex-stepdad's friend was their trainer and sometimes we got amazing tickets (Kingdome!) when they came to play the Mariners, and he got us some signed swag (though I remain highly irritated that the trainer friend gave it to my brother, who was like nine and didn't know or give a crap about baseball).

Boredom meme

Pretty sure I've done this before. I've been around too long.

Which American accent do you have? Neutral You're not Northern, Southern, or Western, you`re just plain -American-. Your national identity is more important than your local identity, because you don`t really have a local identity. You might be from the region in that map, which is defined by this kind of accent, but you could easily not be. Or maybe you just moved around a lot growing up.

Click Here to Take This Quiz Brought to you by YouThink.com quizzes and personality tests.

I love to read!

I love books. Reading them, collecting them, listing them, the smell of them. I love nothing more than getting absorbed into an excellent book for an entire day, or staying up way past my bedtime because I just can't put it down.

This summer I've done a fair amount of reading. Last week or thereabouts I tore through three books in four days. I've been meaning to write a little bit about some quality YA books I've read recently. Since I've been busy and lazy to do that, here's a fun meme that I got from Happily Ever After.

"The Big Read reckons that the average adult has only read 6 of the top 100 books they've printed."
1) Bold those you have read.
2) Italicize those you intend to read.
3) Underline the books you LOVE (I'll use asterisks)
4) Reprint this list in your own blog.

1 Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen--Read it only once. I should read it again to appreciate it more.
2 The Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien--will never read it.
3 Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte
4 **Harry Potter series - JK Rowling **--I LOVE these. Especially the later books. So much more than 'just a kid's book'.' Sigh.
5 To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee
6 The Bible--I wouldn't mind reading it in a historical analysis course, but not as a religious thing.
7 Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte
8 Nineteen Eighty Four - George Orwell--Utterly fascinating! Although I think I didn't actually finish it. I have a copy of it, somewhere.
9 His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman
10 Great Expectations - Charles Dickens
11 Little Women - Louisa M Alcott--I think I read like a third of it in middle school.
12 Tess of the D'Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy--Do real people still actually read this book? This is one that I've only heard of in books, where characters are forced to or supposed to read it.
13 Catch 22 - Joseph Heller--Been on my list for at least five years. Have a copy somewhere.
14 Complete Works of Shakespeare--Pshaw. Yeah right.
15 Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier
16 The Hobbit - JRR Tolkien--Another never. Sorry.
17 Birdsong - Sebastian Faulks
18 Catcher in the Rye - JD Salinger--Totally didn't get it.
19 The Time Traveller's Wife - Audrey Niffenegger
20 Middlemarch - George Eliot--I bought it, read like fifty pages, and then lost it at an airport. I don't think I would have finished it anyway.
21 Gone With The Wind - Margaret Mitchell--Won't read this one either. I saw the movie one time in college, and it wasn't my kind of thing.
22 The Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald
23 Bleak House - Charles Dickens
24 War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy--No freaking way.
25 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams--I'm so dumb because somewhere, I have the book with all five novels, but never read it.
26 Brideshead Revisited - Evelyn Waugh
27 Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky
28 Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck--Henry Ford was really hot in the movie version. :)
29 Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll--Eh, probably another never.
30 The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame
31 Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy
32 David Copperfield - Charles Dickens
33 Chronicles of Narnia - CS Lewis--Doubtful.
34 Emma - Jane Austen--I should read this. I've liked all the movies based on this.
35 Persuasion - Jane Austen
36 The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe - CS Lewis
37 The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini--Did not love it.
38 Captain Corelli's Mandolin - Louis De Bernieres--Maybe someday; I heard it's really good.
39 Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden--Meh. Interesting historically, but overflowery descriptions got on my nerves.
40 Winnie the Pooh - AA Milne
41 Animal Farm - George Orwell
42 The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown
43 One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez--Also been on my list for years.
44 **A Prayer for Owen Meaney - John Irving** I. Love. This. Book. So. Much.
45 The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins--I've heard it's an excellent creepy ghost story, so I don't know if I could handle it.
46 Anne of Green Gables - LM Montgomery--This series was the staple of my childhood.
47 Far From The Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy
48 The Handmaid's Tale - Margaret Atwood--I love her stuff.
49 Lord of the Flies - William Golding--Read it in high school. Really fascinating.
50 Atonement - Ian McEwan
51 Life of Pi - Yann Martel--Couldn't get past the first forty pages.
52 Dune - Frank Herbert--Never.
53 Cold Comfort Farm - Stella Gibbons
54 Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen
55 A Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth
56 The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon
57 A Tale Of Two Cities - Charles Dickens--Is it wrong that I always get this one mixed up with Down and Out in Paris and London by George Orwell, which I have read?
58 Brave New World - Aldous Huxley--Freaking awesome.
59 The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - Mark Haddon
60 Love In The Time Of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez--Heard it's good.
61 Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck--Coudn't get past the first chapter. The dialogue style gave me a headache.
62 Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov: On the list. Or is that Reading Lolita in Tehran?
63 The Secret History - Donna Tartt--Also has been on my list for years, but eh.
64 The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold--Creepy.
65 Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas
66 On The Road - Jack Kerouac
67 Jude the Obscure - Thomas Hardy--I only know about this book because the main character in Ordinary People--my all-time favorite book--had to read it. Another one that I've never heard of anyone in real life/modern time reading.
68 Bridget Jones's Diary - Helen Fielding--Bloody brilliant. Many overlook this because it's so ubiquitous, but she basically started a new genre. And the book is good! Deeper than one might think, as most quality 'chick-lit' books are. The film adaptation is great. The sequel is excellent, although not the film version.
69 Midnight's Children - Salman Rushdie
70 Moby Dick - Herman Melville
71 Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens
72 Dracula - Bram Stoker--I have this book at school but I think it might be too icky for me.
73 The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett--Childhood classic.
74 Notes From A Small Island - Bill Bryson--I love Bill Bryson, but I don't think this is his best book.
75 Ulysses - James Joyce--Never gonna.
76 The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath--Very tragic.
77 Swallows and Amazons - Arthur Ransome
78 Germinal - Emile Zola--Never heard of this one, but I read most of Nana in college, and I visited his grave in Paris. Does that count?
79 Vanity Fair - William Makepeace Thackeray
80 Possession - AS Byatt
81 A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens
82 Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell
83 The Color Purple - Alice Walker--I think this one has also been on my list for years and years.
84 The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro
85 Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert--I bought this one years ago and still haven't read it.
86 A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry
87 Charlotte's Web - EB White--Surprisingly, I never read this childhood classic, I think because I heard it's really sad.
88 The Five People You Meet In Heaven - Mitch Albom--Blah. Too overhyped.
89 Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle--Have it, didn't read it. Maybe someday I will.
90 The Faraway Tree Collection - Enid Blyton
91 Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad--The horror! The over-symbolism!
92 The Little Prince - Antoine De Saint-Exupery--Surprisingly haven't read this one either.
93 The Wasp Factory - Iain Banks
94 Watership Down - Richard Adams
95 A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole
96 A Town Like Alice - Nevil Shute
97 The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas
98 Hamlet - William Shakespeare
99 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl--Truthfully, I can't remember if I've read this one all the way through or just seen the movies. I was in the play too. But again, I don't think this is his best book. A couple years ago I reread The BFG, and that was just utterly delightful.
100 Les Miserables - Victor Hugo--I read parts for a class while in Paris, does that count? :)

Meme goodness!

I've been tagged by both Mister Teacher and 15! Thank you!

1. The rules of the game get posted at the beginning.
2. Each player answers the questions about themselves.
3. At the end of the post, the player then tags 5-6 people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know they've been tagged and asking them to read your blog.
4. Let the person who tagged you know when you've posted your answer.

1) What was I doing 10 years ago?

Let's see, in the spring of 1998, it was my sophomore year of college. I moved out of my awesome dorm room and into a nearby apartment. (Since it was next to campus, they rented by room instead of by apartment--my room in a 4-bedroom, 2-bath apartment cost $250 a month! I'm actually laughing thinking about that number. Wow.) Since even that tiny rent was a stretch, I was driving home (1.5 hours each way) every other weekend to work at Starbucks. I was thinking about my major, that French wouldn't be that great on its own, so I applied to transfer to UW to major in French and Women Studies.

I'll tell you this much, I would have NEVER in a million years thought I'd be living in New York being a teacher! I would have laughed uproariously at the very idea.


2) What are 5 things on my to-do list for today (not in any particular order):

--Finish vacuuming (I tidied up my main room this morning! But my swiffer is still charging.).

--Eat a real meal (do nachos count?).

--Walk up the block to the store for some fake butter.

--Email a couple schools for post-interview updates.

--(Pretend to) Write lesson plans for the week (but I'm not holding my breath).

Plus I should really work out again. And watch the Netflix movie that's been sitting on my dvd player for a month. And bring down the recycling.

3) Snacks I enjoy:

--Pepper-jack nachos

--Dry Cereal (right now I'm on a Frosted Joe's O's or Cookie Crisp kick)

--Pickles

--Frozen french fries or tater tots

--Edamame

--Pistachios

--Wafer cookies


4) Things I would do if I were a billionaire:

--Travel the world.

--When I was ready to hang out in the same place for awhile, I would open a restaurant serving only food I like. (for example: big leafy salads, nachos, mojitos, curly fries, pineapple, spiced apple cider, cheese pizza, garlic naan, chocolate mousse, fresh squeezed orange juice, corn on the cob, edamame, juicy pears, hot cocoa, cinnamon toast, veggie tacos, fruit tacos, authentic French crepes, baked potatoes, granola, smoothies, Belgian waffles, nacho tots, LOTS of fresh bread and butter, etc) Oh, and people could sit and read, or knit, or write on laptops. And music would play all day. Don't you want to come to my cafe now? :)

--Travel some more.

--I would give lots of money to support organizations like AmeriCorps, HeadStart, mosquito nets in Africa, and something to increase teachers' salaries.

(Can I admit that I'm not a bit depressed that I can't actually do any of these things? I keep coming back to add more to my cafe menu list. And my passport has sat unused for months now....)

5) Three of my bad habits:

--Being lazy

--Having lots of ideas and thoughts but not being good at follow-through

--Hoarding things. (I have a jar of this yummy spread, it's like nutella but with a creamy vanilla striped in--bought in Barcelona in December of 2005 and still unopened!)

6) 5 places I have lived:

--Issaquah, WA (With divorced parents, I lived in a lot of houses around the Seattle area. But Issaquah was the first.)

--Bellingham, WA

--Perry Point, MD

--Queens, NY

--Can I count Paris, France for that month of study abroad? Please?


7) 5 jobs I have had:

--Chandler

--Catering worker for company picnics

--Barista

--Macy's watch salesperson

--Mortgage assistant


8) 6 peeps I wanna know more about:

Is this where I link and tag others?

--Jen at Quarter Life Crisis

--California Teacher Guy

--Miss Brave

--Maggie

--Nicole at Brushes with Adulthood

--Ms M at NY Teacher

but anyone else please feel free to tag yourself. :)

Seven Random (boring) Things

Ms Frizzle linked to me for the latest meme. (Yay, I love being linked!)

Here are the rules:
- Link to the person that tagged you and post the rules on your blog.
- Share 7 random and or weird things about yourself.
- Tag 7 random people at the end of your post and include links to their blogs.
- Let each person know that they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

1. I like to snack on frozen french fries.

2. I own zero pairs of brown shoes.

3. I own fifteen pairs of black shoes. (Jesus!) (At least five are scuffy and worn [ugly] work shoes.)(At least five I never wear.)

4. I hate shoe shopping and I don't believe in handbags. (Here, take my Girl Card. Apparently I don't need it.)

5. I love orange juice and will never drink apple juice.

6. But I love hot apple cider. Especially if it's spiced.

7. I am a whore for back scratches.


I'm not sure I know enough bloggers who haven't already been tagged by someone, so feel free to tag yourself if you like!

Bonus Number Eight: This morning I submitted electronic 'applications' for jobs in Seattle and Kansas City. Random, but I feel good about making strides in the job search!

Stolen Meme

Nancy just did (re-did?) this one. And I'm pretty sure she did it before too and tagged me. [EDIT: It was another teacher meme she tagged me for. Oh well. I'm not too proud to invite myself to the teacher meme party.] I'm finally completing it in an effort to get myself in the mood for school and in the hopes that sometime in the next couple days I'll get my plans written down so I'll feel like I can tackle this thing called a job.

1. I am a good teacher because…
Education is really important to me, and I am knowledgeable and passionate about my subject area.

2. If I weren’t a teacher I would be a…
public speaker.

3. My teaching style is…
not so much with the workshop model (GASP!!!). Sometimes, sure. But a seven minute mini-lesson is the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard of. I do go through the "here's something," "let's talk about it/you guys figure it out," "discuss," "do it together," then "now see what you can do." And that hardly ever fits in a class period. But I do feel that it involves the students a bit more and encourages them to pay attention.

maybe?

4. My classroom is…
always full of books and piles of stuff, and music if I can help it.

5. My lesson plans are…
often done in my head and on the spot. I'm good at speaking and teaching on the fly. However, there are times when I'll do a whole week at a time, all printed out on a sheet, and I'll feel so proud and productive. At the beginning of the year, I will map out several weeks or a month at a time. It makes me feel prepared. Once the spring hits, though, those written plans disappear, just like my patience. :)

6. One of my teaching goals is…
To not take things personally. To be more patient and openly caring. And to start tracking students a bit closer with their writing.

7. The toughest part of teaching is…
Dealing with the tough kids that I can't get through to. And having no money. And waking up early.

8. The thing I love about teaching is…
Trying to get new ideas and concepts through to students. Not just dialogue format and verb tenses, but world travel, current events debates, google tips, etc. Things that I link to school but really are important knowledge for citizens of the world today. I love getting (forcing?) kids to care about something other than myspace and the new ridiculous song on the radio.
The other best thing is seeing student progress. Test prep progress doesn't exist in my opinion, but writing progress is clear to see. It's exciting to know something is getting through and feeling effective. Not that this happens much, mind you.
And yes, I love the much-needed vacations.
Oh, and the community of good, fun teachers, if you can find it. I'm grateful for the teacher-blogger community for providing friends, mentors, idea-bouncers, and the knowledge that we're all going through the same things together.

9. A common misconception about teaching is…
That teachers are stupid. (Some are, certainly. But I'm not, and I make sure to surround myself with others who are sharp and thoughtful and skilled educators [often better than me].)

10. The most important thing I’ve learning since I started teaching is…
I never feel effective enough. Or patient enough. Or able to deal with difficult parents. These are important things because I'm stubborn and don't like to give up, so I have to keep trying to improve myself.


This has made me feel a bit better.

You know what else did? Last week (?) I wrote up a resume and cover letter to submit to a charter school, to feel like I was being proactive about my dread for my continuing job. I had to do several drafts because I kept thinking of more things I've done. And honestly, I kick ASS on paper. I was really impressed with myself (in an observer kind of way) and what I've done in the last three years.

I've got plans and ideas for this year too: more trips, even better bookroom makeovers, homework club after school, possibly a community service club. I'm excited about all those things. Just not about the everyday ins-and-outs of teaching.

Like it or not, tomorrow I have to suck it up and meet the new staff and admin and get my room set up. Hoo boy.

School's out; More time for memes!

Ms M has tagged me for a meme, like more than a week ago, and now I'm finally going to finish it!

Here it is, and I shall tag these 8 bloggers in return: (this is exciting because I might actually know of eight bloggers who also know of me! woo!)
Nancy at Se Hace Camino El Andar
Kelly at Ogretmen [oops, she's traveling. for later, then. :)]
other Ms M at NY Teacher
Ms X at Unaccountable Talk
Miss B at In Pursuit of Happily Ever After
Jen at Quarter Life Crisis
Sam at Clean up on Aisle Life
Mr Lawrence at Get Lost, Mr Chips

The rules are 1. Let others know who tagged you. 2. Players start with 8 random facts about themselves. 3. Those who are tagged should post these rules and their 8 random facts. 4. Players should tag 8 other people and notify them they have been tagged.

And here are the 8 random facts. Some of them are in response to other people's facts, and some of them you may already know. Are they supposed to be eight things you don't already know? Meh, whatever. Hope it's not too boring....

1. I am a lefty. My hand stays upright, and the whole side of my hand gets inky and messy. Especially when writing on the overhead. Using manual can openers is really difficult if I think too much. I believe that I use them upside down or inside out or something. And good god, remember those scissors in elementary school? The green lefty ones never, EVER worked. So I suppose out of survival instinct, I quickly learned to cut right-handed. I can cut well with either hand now, but the detail work does require left-hand power. Oh, and I play baseball right-handed.

2. I have never smoked a cigarette, or anything else, for that matter. Not even once, not even to try it. Never wanted to, either.

3. I once saw a blue frog. We were canoeing on a peaceful little river in...Michigan perhaps? Not sure. We all saw this little blue and white froggy sitting on a rock, and figured it was a toy or something. But then it hopped away and we were all, wow! a blue frog!

No one has ever believed about it, which is frustrating.

4. I'm adopted. I'm quite sure I've mentioned it here before, but just in case you didn't know, now you do. :) My family tree is rather complicated, not only with birthparents and half-siblings, but also with stepparents and that. I don't call anyone my "real" parents; that really bugs me. Since I've been lucky enough to have met my birthmom when I was seven, I have sort of compartmentalized everyone and their title, so to speak. So my mom and dad are my mom and dad, and my birthparents are birthmom and birthdad (I met him when I was fifteen). Nobody's "real" or "fake." And add me to the ranks of people who are irritated when the media always mentions someone's "adopted son or daughter," rather than just "son or daughter." Like, that really doesn't have anything to do with anything. Nobody on either side of that relationship thinks it's fake, so the media shouldn't harp on that either.

5. My first road trip was to Yellowstone, with my dad and brother, when I was around eight or nine. My first trip out of the country was to Vancouver, BC around the age of ten. I lost all three of my rings that I wore at the time. My first trip to a non-English speaking country was to Mexico (Mazatlan) in eighth grade. Later that year, I left the continent for the first time and went to France and England for three weeks. I've been hooked on travel ever since. In two weeks, I'll be (cross your fingers) visiting a new country *and* a new continent! Very exciting. If I could travel all the time, I would.

6. My favorite class or subject in school was always science. In elementary school, I'm sure that part of the appeal was that we didn't do science very often and it always involved hands-on activities and fun experiments. For example, I remember one very clearly in either third grade or fifth grade: we had a light bulb, a battery, a wire, and a big blob of blue clay. We had to complete the circuit using the clay (although I would not have called it completing the circuit, just 'making the light go on'). I don't remember if mine worked, but I do remember having a great time with it.

In high school, I was lucky to have fantastic teachers for biology, chemistry and physics. I worked harder for those classes than I did in any other class in school, and though my grades were solid Bs or B+s, I was most proud of myself for them. I aced the stoichiometry test in chem, where you have to figure out the numbers of molecules in reaction equations. (This is possibly ironic because I've never liked math in regular math classes. Science math, however, is totally different and acceptable. Sorry, math teachers. :)) Then in physics, which was a *very* tough class, two girls and I made the awesomest lab report. We were given this long problem about a pulley and a bucket of nails and two nincompoops. The task was probably to figure out the velocity of all the different times it went up and down. Anyway, we had such fun with it--we created a comic strip! We gave them names and made the one hit the other one, and gave them an ambulance at the end. I was endlessly amused. Sadly, we never made copies of it, so I never saw it again after we turned it in.

In college, I had two quarters of first-year chem with a very dull prof, but the last quarter of that and the first quarter of organic chem were much better. Organic chem really kicked my ass. That class was one of the few that I visited the prof during office hours for help. And then, after studying really hard and getting some help/reassurance from the prof, I earned an A on a test! I was really proud. In the class, I might have somehow pulled a B, probably a low one, but I decided to let it go after the one quarter. A week into the second quarter of o-chem, I dropped the course and took no more science after that.

7. I've been an English teacher for three years, but I hating writing in school. It was a pain in the butt and I never felt like I did a good job. It wasn't until college, when I had to write many papers for every class my last two years, that I realized I enjoyed the process of writing and producing a good piece of writing. My favorite part is to get a draft done and then rip it apart in revision and editing. Something about fixing is so satisfying! With all that practice, I became quite a good writer, though you wouldn't really know it from reading this silly blog. :)

8. I'm an extremely picky eater. I call myself a vegetarian, because I don't eat meat (no, not fish either--that's dead animal and therefore meat), but there are plenty of vegetarian things I don't eat either. And it's not a moral issue, it's just dislike or unwillingness. Meat grosses me out, although I would never ever lecture anyone else about eating it. More power to you, really. There are a whole lot of things I don't eat (notice I'm not just saying I don't like them; I really will not eat them), but the things I do eat, I eat a lot. I don't starve by any means. I eat a lot of salad, potatoes, edamame, cereal, cheese, yogurt, and of course I heart dessert (except cheesecake, yuck), especially if it's chocolate.

Music Stories

Kelly tagged me for a music meme, and I'm gonna do it all wrong, because I'm annoying like that. :) Here goes!

Name 10 songs, and tell the story of each:

1. Most frequently played in iTunes (or the equivalent).
In iTunes (which I don't really use alone), Haley Bonar, Daisy Girls: my favorite track on her second album, Lure the Fox. On iPod, Jason Mraz, The Boy is Gone, from his first album. I like his softer stuff a lot.

2. Set to skip in iTunes.
I heart Billy Joel and Simon & Garfunkel, but I skip Piano Man and Mrs Robinson, respectively, because they've been massively overplayed and I much prefer the other tracks.

3. A lyric you love.
God, so many! I even started a list in a notebook back in high school. Here are three that come to mind as still being great:

I ain't gonna be the same,
but who's to say that's a bad thing?
--Deborah Falconer, Tabs

A restaurant that never has to close
Breakfast every hour,
it could save the world
--Tori Amos, Purple People

that god damn bitch of life she made me cry,
so I'd like to poke her squarely in the eye
--Groove Armada, Think Twice

4. Makes you dance.
I can't not bop around to Jack Johnson. Ask my students! Though, they can't help bopping too. Same with all Grammar Rock. Coolness goes out the window once they hear those catchy tunes!

And you can't forget about Justin Timberlake. Ooh, does he know how to make you move.

5. Different from the rest of your musical taste.
I own an Eminem album, but it's not on my computer. I have a cheesy French rap-type song called "Sexy Pour Moi" by Tragedie that entertains me to no end.

6. You know all the words.
Like all true members of my generation: Baby Got Back by Sir Mix-A-Lot.

And way more. Like, I sing along with all my favorite albums. Come on, people! What a silly question!

7. Have liked for the longest amount of time.
I was going to say Whitney Houston's pop album, My Name is Not Susan. She was my favorite singer of all time in elementary school, and probably one of the few contemporary artists I was even aware of at the time.
But then I realized that the music I was exposed before then to was folk rock like Neil Diamond, John Denver, Simon & Garfunkel, and Billy Joel. So I suppose they're the ones I've liked the longest.
Other than that, I've loved Tori Amos, Sarah McLachlan, and Alanis Morrissette since high school. Little Earthquakes and Fumbling Towards Ecstasy got me through the end of high school and are in my Top Ten Albums list.
Uh oh, that made me think of my other Top Albums, and so actually Pearl Jam's Ten has to be the one I've loved the longest. Represented by Jeremy, of course. That came out in sixth grade and I came to love it in eighth and ninth grades. I bought Nirvana's Unplugged album during either junior or senior year, and that's the second of my favorites of All Time.

I told you I was going to do this thing wrong. :)

8. Most recent addition.
Jenny Lewis and the Watson Twins, Rabbit Fur Coat. I bought the album after hearing this song. I'm a sucker for clear, acoustic melodies.

9. Reminds you of a relationship.
The slower Grace is Gone, Dave Matthews Band: Takes me right back to Chimney Corner with my AmeriCorps team. I can see the rafters (critters Mo and Fo and all) and smell the fireplace, everything. That whole album (well, it was the Lost Lillywhite Tapes, most of which became faster and the album Busted Stuff), plus Poe's Haunted, can do that as well. But also, my teammates turned me on to Jack Johnson and Pete Yorn, for which I am quite grateful.

10. Played at a memorable concert.
Hm. I was going to be at a loss for this one, because I've been to only a handful of concerts: Whitney Houston in 6th grade, Janet Jackson in 8th (velvet rope tour), and Smokey Robinson (at the Puyallup Fair). But I've seen a couple live shows in my post-collegiate life, and a couple songs do stand out.

First is Show of Hands, by Deborah Falconer. She played a benefit show of the Groundlings that I got to attend (very cool!), and later we saw some of her shows at the Coffee House, where Kirsten Dunst and Tobey Maguire, plus Leo DiCaprio and his posse, were in attendance (star-struck! squee!). But that first song was lovely and melancholy, which are two of my favorite qualities in a song. And she's put it on a couple of her indie discs, so I've got several versions.

Next is Drinking Again, by Haley Bonar. I saw her sing that one song, and Mason Jennings was singing with her, harmonizing (it was his show; she was his opener, but I missed her set). It was gorgeous enough for me to remember for a year, when I finally got around to buying her album. And she has become one of my all-time favorites.

See? All done wrong, but I can't help myself. I love to talk, and I love to jabber on about my favorite songs. Check out my list/links in the sidebar.

Durr.

Someone's blog mentioned the alleged face-recognition site myheritage.com. I'm pretty sure I'd been there before and checked it out, but hey, it's the last night of the weekend and I'm not doing anything (thank god! woohoo!). So I uploaded a picture, a close up, one where I'm wearing glasses (because I usually am). And the 'facial recognition' first came up with Elvis Costello. There were a total of ten people that I 'looked like', eight of them men wearing glasses, including Elton John and Larry King.

Oh, brother, PLEASE! Are you kidding with this?

I uploaded another picture, without glasses, face angled off to the side. Thankfully, no MEN on the list this time. Now the number one person I look like is BEYONCE (PS, shut up, Beyonce. I will forever go TO THE RIGHT, TO THE RIGHT, to forever avoid you and your repetitive 'songs'). And every other equally-unlikely person on the list (Grace Kelly and Raquel Welch!?) was also facing the same angle.

Now it's just laughable. DUH, stupid website. You suck.

What's Your Number, Baby?

Thanks to Science Goddess for posting hers.

Now you try!

Ha! Or should I say, ROAR.

My students totally called this! Tee hee!

Your results:
You are Hulk

Hulk 95% The Flash 75% Superman 70% Spider-Man 65% Supergirl 65% Wonder Woman 60% Robin 60% Green Lantern 50% Iron Man 45% Batman 35% Catwoman 10%

You are a wanderer with amazing strength.

Click here to take the "Which Superhero are you?" quiz...

What I've Been Missing Most During This Crazy Month

What Kind of Reader Are You? Your Result: Dedicated Reader You are always trying to find the time to get back to your book. You are convinced that the world would be a much better place if only everyone read more.
Obsessive-Compulsive Bookworm
Literate Good Citizen
Book Snob
Fad Reader
Non-Reader
What Kind of Reader Are You? Create Your Own Quiz

This is SO true of me!

Go Pahk that Cah?

What American accent do you have? Your Result: Boston You definitely have a Boston accent, even if you think you don't. Of course, that doesn't mean you are from the Boston area, you may also be from New Hampshire or Maine.
The West
The Midland
North Central
The Northeast
Philadelphia
The Inland North
The South
What American accent do you have? Take More Quizzes

Somebody's doing wonky math here if the results for Boston and the West can be anywhere near similar. I totally have a West Coast accent, except when I have a Midwestern accent, or except when I'm around New Yorkers and I adopt a little of the local ways of "tawking."

In other news: phew!

Your Language Arts Grade: 100%

Way to go! You know not to trust the MS Grammar Check and you know "no" from "know." Now, go forth and spread the good word (or at least, the proper use of apostrophes).

Are You Gooder at Grammar?
Make a Quiz

My Political Standing, According to the Experts of the Internets

You are a Social Liberal (60% permissive) and an... Economic Liberal (11% permissive) You are best described as a: Socialist Link: The Politics Test on OkCupid Free Online Dating Also: The OkCupid Dating Persona Test

Civics Test

What do you know about this country? Take a pretend sample immigration test. I got 18/20.

My pirate name is:

Red Jenny Rackham

Passion is a big part of your life, which makes sense for a pirate. You have the good fortune of having a good name, since Rackham (pronounced RACKem, not rack-ham) is one of the coolest sounding surnames for a pirate. Arr!

Get your own pirate name from fidius.org.

Weekend Meme Fun

Thanks for the tag, Rebecca!

Four jobs you've had:
--foodperson at catered corporate picnics: I usually got stuck with the corn booth (lots of shucking involved there) or the hamburgers/hotdogs. Once I got the smoothie booth, that was a fun treat. And I also usually got stuck with helping to wash the dishes. It took an hour or more and left me soaking wet from head to toe (outdoor tent plus industrial kitchen sink and cooking tools).
--candlemaker: (Officially, that oocupation is called a chandler. Did you know that?) It was the summer of the 1996 Olympics, and I could watch the swimming and other events while pouring, mixing, wrapping, etc.
--barista: For nearly my whole college career plus a little after. Only was forced to drink coffee once; for the rest of the time I successfully avoided it. I made friends, developed crushes on coworkers, and smelled heavily of coffee and milk. My bad wrists complained heavily for the first year or two with the manual espresso machines, but the advent of the automatic ones made everything much smoother and faster, if less artistic. My specialty drink to make was a caramel macchiato.
--watchseller: For the holiday season at the Bon Marche after AmeriCorps. It was actually pretty fun. I'd thought it would be boring, but we kept pretty busy and I was decent at matching watches to people.

Four movies you could watch over and over:
--The Princess Bride
--Love Actually
--Amelie
--Bring It On

Four places you've lived:
--Paris, France
--Perry Point, MD
--Bellingham, WA
--Brooklyn, NY

Four websites you visit daily:
--overheardinnewyork.com
--televisionwithoutpity.com
--gofugyourself.com
--thebreastcancersite.com

Four television shows you love to watch:
--Grey's Anatomy
--Alias
--Scrubs
--Bones

Four of your favorite foods:
--Edamame
--Chocolate Gelato
--Caesar Salad
--Fresh French baguettes

Four albums you can't live without (at least for the moment):
...this is hard! I play random lists by alphabet! don't make me choose!
--Haley Bonar, The Size of Planets
--Simon & Garfunkel, The Greatest Hits
--Rhys Fulber, Conjure One
--Norah Jones, Come Away With Me

Four places you'd rather be:
--Paris!
--Greece
--London
--Western Washington State

Four (or six) people who are now obligated to do this on their blog:
--Mz Smlph
--Nancy
--Ms Frizzle
--Ms M
--Smoh
--Mr Lawrence
--everyone else that I know, who wants to

Sunday memes

You Passed 8th Grade Science

Congratulations, you got 7/8 correct!

Could You Pass 8th Grade Science?

Ms Frizzle, you better get 100% on this one! :)

You Passed the US Citizenship Test

Congratulations - you got 9 out of 10 correct!

Could You Pass the US Citizenship Test?

You Passed 8th Grade Math

Congratulations, you got 10/10 correct!

Could You Pass 8th Grade Math?

You Are 50% Weird

Normal enough to know that you're weird... But too damn weird to do anything about it!

How Weird Are You?

I disagree with the percentage, but the tidbit is eerily spot on! Heh.

You Are Midtown

You love so many things, you don't fit into any one label. Your city girl persona goes to a fancy restaurant one night and a dive bar the next.

Are You Uptown or Downtown?

You Are Somewhat Machiavellian

You're not going to mow over everyone to get ahead... But you're also powerful enough to make things happen for yourself. You understand how the world works, even when it's an ugly place. You just don't get ugly yourself - unless you have to!

How Machiavellian Are You?

One of the questions was: You assume that most people have a viscous streak that could come out at any time. Ha! "Viscous" instead of "vicious!" Tee hee! Rather changes the question, doesn't it?

Because it's been awhile

You Belong in Rome You're a big city girl with a small town heart Which is why you're attracted to the romance of Rome Strolling down picture perfect streets, cappuccino in hand And gorgeous Italian men - could life get any better? What City Do You Belong in? Take This Quiz :-)

I was hoping for Paris, naturally, but Rome is great too. Ah, the Eternal City. Gorgeous place. I didn't find any gorgeous Italians, but I did find a couple Aussies. That works for me!