The Lastest in The Magic Thief series

I actually got to meet Sarah Prineas, and listen to her speak, 2 years ago as part of our kick-off to the 48 Hour Book Challenge. She was on a book tour to promote her new series, The Magic Thief, and was going to be at Cover to Cover. At the time, she had the first 3 books planned out, but wasn't sure how far to take the series after that. She said she didn't want it to go on longer than it held readers' interest.

Well, after finishing the 3rd book in The Magic Thief series, Found, I sincerely hope this isn't the last book. I always hope in a series like this one (good vs. evil), that when it's truly time for the series to end, that I will feel like things are all wrapped up in a nice neat package with a lovely bow on top. Some things are resolved by the end of Found, but one big question about what will happen to the main character, Conn, is not at all resolved.

I'm not a big fantasy fan; the only reason I read any of the Harry Potter books is because I was reading them aloud with my youngest daughter when they first came out. But, after meeting Sarah Prineas in person, and hearing the premise of her story, I decided to give this fantasy series a try. I'm so glad I did; here was a fantasy book with magic, wizards, spells, good, and evil that was more accessible to a typical 5th grade reader (and I always read with that in the back of my mind). My students in the past 2 years have proved that I was right about the accessibility - boys and girls who couldn't manage those fantasy books that are so huge could read this series, enjoy it and feel successful all at the same time.

This third book is not quite as riveting as the first one was, but to a follower of Conn, Nevery, Rowan, Argent, and Benet this story keeps you turning the pages because each of these characters are still important to the story. Also, important trademarks of this series are still in place: maps to help the reader visualize the different settings, a guide to the characters in the back of the book, and a more in-depth guide to specific places in the story. Once again, these trademarks make the story more accessible to a wider range of readers.

I picked up an ARC of Found on Saturday, but knowing how popular this series has been, I will be adding this book to my classroom library for next year.

48 Hour Book Challenge - Update #4 (Karen)

It's Sunday and I'm into my second 24 hours of the 48 Hour Challenge.

• I read the 3rd book in The Magic Thief series, Found, from 7:30 AM - 8:30 AM. Couldn't help wishing I had this book before school was finished. I had two students who were avidly reading this series.
  
• From 8:30 - 10, I went swimming (swam 1 mile, and it felt great)
• From 10 AM - 12:30 PM, I finished Found (The Magic Thief) and then blogged about it for later in the week
• My hope is to read 2 - 4 more books before bed tonight, but I have a graduation party later on. We'll see how it goes.
  

First Day of School AND an Author's Visit, Too!!

I know many teachers look forward to this time of year: the first day of school when we get an opportunity to meet the members of our community for the next 180 or so days. Today was that day.

This day came with lots of change for me. I chose to move schools and work in a building whose leader shares similar philosophies about children and literacy as I do -- a wonderful plus. Because of this move, I left a fabulous community of children, parents, and staff (including my amazing team and my blog partner, Bill) where I used to work and am trying to learn more about the community in which I work now -- both a negative (missing what I left) and a positive (looking forward to new communities).

But enough about that. Let me tell you what happened for our 5th graders on their very first day of school today -- Margaret Peterson Haddix came to talk to them about her latest release, Sent!! How cool is that?!! An author visit on the very first day of school!

Haddix's book, Sent (the second in her new series, The Missing), was released in stores today. Her visit to us was a small kick-off for that release. How fortunate we are to live in the same geographical area that she does! In addition to a small presentation for the kids, followed by a question and answer session, Margaret also graciously autographed all the books that students purchased today.

This group of 5th graders might be a new community for me, but I did find out that most of their 4th grade teachers last year had read Found, the first book in the Missing Series, to them. When the kids heard about the visit, they were pumped, and even better, they were knowledgeable about many of her books, including Found.

Margaret Peterson Haddix started her session with a short synopsis of the first book, Found. She did it in a way that wouldn't give away the entire story for children who had not yet read the book. I am always fascinated to hear how authors get their ideas for stories, and Haddix did not disappoint. She said the idea came to her because she had fallen asleep on an airplane late at night, after a very long day and she was incredibly tired. When her plane landed at Columbus, she woke up confused, not knowing who she was or where she was for a moment. From there, a book was born.

Having the opportunity to hear an author read her own work is truly a gift. They read with the inflection and the pacing that they imagined as they wrote their story. So, when Margaret Peterson Haddix read aloud to our group today, I was mesmerized and so were the children and the other adults in attendance as well. She read part of the first chapter of Sent, where it sets up the premise that the kids are traveling through time back to the 15th century.

She shared with the students that she plans to have seven books in The Missing series. The next book in this series will also involve time travel, but she'd like to keep the century a secret (though she was feeling generous and did tell our kids), and the title of the next book is Sabotage. What a great title!!

As a writing teacher, I loved when she told our 5th graders that she likes trying to find the best words for the story she is writing. What a great lesson for our students to hear!

During the question and answer time, she was incredibly patient. All questions had value for her, she answered them thoroughly, and she usually made a comment about how glad she was that that particular question was answered. Talk about an author who can make children feel good about themselves!

For those of you who enjoy Haddix's writing, she shared that she has a couple of other books to look for in the near future:

1) Claim to Fame is due out in November
and
2) She will be writing the 10th book in the 39 Clues series. I believe she said that she follows Linda Sue Park's part of the series.

Margaret Peterson Haddix in our school on the first day -- that will be something these 5th graders will remember for a long time to come!! What a gift!!!

(And I couldn't call myself a kidlit blogger if I hadn't gotten the requisite photo op with Margaret, Bill, and me.)

48 Hour challenge - 2nd book (K)

**This post is dedicated to my just-graduated 5th grade class! **

I just finished Sent, the second in The Missing Series by Margaret Peterson Haddix. The first book, Found, was the last read aloud I shared with my class this past school year. It had most of them on the edge of their seats wondering what would happen next. I didn't get to finish Found before the end of the year, so it showed up on many of their summer reading lists.

They were then planning on reading Sent as soon as it was available to them. I'm telling them now that it is DEFINITELY worth it. I'm not a time traveler fan, but this book is just one adventure after another, so I truly enjoyed it.

Without ruining the plot, the castle on the front of the book is a great clue for the fact that some children will be time traveling back to the 15th century. What I enjoyed equally as much as the adventure in this book, is the historical component. I wound not have thought that from the first book, Found, but I predict there will be historical components in each of the remaining books in the series as well.

Sent is great reading! Coming out in August 2009! Be sure to check it out!

21st Century Literacy in My Classroom

This week, I had an interesting experience. I'm currently reading aloud Found (The Missing series) by Margaret Peterson Haddix. It is engaging from page 1 and the perfect read aloud to keep my students' interest as the school year is winding down.

Many of my students are so intrigued by this book, that they've either purchased their own copy of Found, or they've gotten a copy from the library. They're huddled in groups around the room, looking at various books, following along as I read aloud.

And then, on Tuesday, a first happened for me. One of my students (we'll call him Jay) brought in a Kindle that had Found downloaded onto it. The other students swarmed around Jay, wanting to see how the Kindle worked. Jay was the most popular guy in our class that day.

Some of you may have seen a Kindle before, or maybe you own one yourself, but for me, this was my first encounter with this wonderful tool. Jay gave me a 5 minute tutorial on how to turn pages, and how to download books. It was fascinating!

For me, that tutorial and watching the engagement of a variety of students with this reading tool, was a wake-up call. I realized that the Kindle was a reading tool that I could see myself using. I think that it will be something I may give myself for my birthday.

I still love the feel of a paper book in my hands, however, the ease of downloading a book with the Kindle, its ability to fit easily in my purse and travel with me, and the large font that is easy to read are just a few of the reasons I'm looking forward to owning this tool.

So, a huge shout out to Jay who brought 21st century literacy into our classroom. And, a huge thanks to Margaret Peterson Haddix for writing a book like Found, so engaging that a student had to get it on his Kindle!!!

The Missing: Book 1 -- Found

I was browsing in my favorite children's bookstore, Cover to Cover the other day, when Franki (A Year of Reading) pointed out a book that has gotten a lot of buzz recently. It was from a new series by Margaret Peterson Haddix called "The Missing". The book is called Found.

I was so mesmerized by the intrigue in this book that I started and finished it all in one afternoon. I am not usually a fan of science fiction, but this book had me on the edge of my seat the entire time I was reading. The fact that the "heroes" in this book are two 13 year old boys, and one of the boys' 12 year old sister, really made the action in the plot line more meaningful to me.

The story starts mysteriously with a prologue where a plane just "appears" at a gate at the airport, but no one gets off. When a new employee finally goes onboard to see what is happening, she discovers 36 babies, one in each of the seats. No one else, including the crew, can be found.

Fast forward to chapter one which starts 13 years later, when we meet our main characters: Jonah, Chip (his new friend), and Katherine (Jonah's sister). We quickly find out that Jonah was adopted into his family and Katherine was born into the family. Shortly after that, we learn that Chip finds out he was adopted, also (he was unaware of that fact for 13 years). Then, both Jonah and Chip start to receive anonymous notes in the mail:

"You are one of the missing."
and later
"Beware! They're coming back to get you."

I don't want to spoil this book for anyone by divulging too much (there are important surprises and plot twists and turns throughout the whole story), but the rest of the book contains many interesting things:
- breaking into a safe
- a trip to the FBI
- ghost-like appearances
- a list of witnesses
- a list of survivors
- time travel
- a device called "the Elucidator"
- the partial knowledge of exactly who "the missing" are
And that's just naming a few!

What I do know for sure is that the last chapter, and especially the last page, left me wanting much, much more! After checking around online, it would appear that the next book in the series is called Sent, and it is due out in Spring 2009. The last time I felt myself feeling this way, dying to know what happens next, is when I finished City of Ember -- such a cliffhanger!! For that same reason, I'll be anxiously looking forward to the second book in The Missing series. Found was a great book, but I have about a bazillion questions after finishing it. I'm hoping the next book, Sent, will help answer those questions.
All that being said, Found would be a great book for anyone who loves science ficiton or things involving time travel!!

For more reviews of Found:
BrianGriggs.com
Semicolon
The Reading Zone
Books for Kids Blog
Book Obsession
Jen Robinson's Book Page