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Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs

I first heard about Ransom Riggs when award-winning author and vlogger John Green shared a video Riggs had posted about his photograph collection. It appears that these photographs played some role in inspiring Riggs to write this book for young adults*.

Jacob is a teenager who was fascinated by photographs of extraordinary children his grandfather showed him when he was young. As Jacob gets older, he dismisses the stories surrounding these photographs as mere fantasy and accepts his ordinary life as the way things really are.

When his grandfather is killed in the woods behind his house, Jacob thinks he sees one of the tentacled monsters that were the villains of those stories. Ensuing nightmares lead to visits to a psychiatrist and a diagnosis of acute stress disorder. To resolve Jacob’s continuing questions, he talks his parents into letting him visit Cairnholm Island, the setting of his grandfather’s stories of peculiar children threatened by monsters.

Readers will get drawn into Jacob’s journey to seek the truth. What he finds is an intriguing and dangerous world with some very peculiar children indeed. Their meeting will cause irreversible changes to the worlds of both Jacob and the children.

• Book trailer 
• Information and the first three chapters

 *Disturbing violence and some profanity

Game on!

Next week, I am starting an online class on game-based learning through 3D GameLab. I am really excited about finding ways to harness the motivation that is inherent in good game experiences and use it in learning experiences for my students. Check back if you are interested in seeing what I discover along the way.

The following infographic from Knewton gives a good overview of why I am interested in this topic.


Created by Knewton and Column Five Media

The Strange Case of Origami Yoda by Tom Angleberger

Dwight is a weird kid and therefore considered a loser by many of his classmates. Tommy and his friends are not much higher on the social totem pole, but at least they try to avoid potentially embarrassing situations. This is not easy to do in middle school when you always strike out playing softball in P.E. or your pants get wet in an awkward location or you really want to ask a girl to dance.

Unexpectedly, Dwight’s weirdness offers possible solutions when he tells the other kids to ask his origami Yoda finger-puppet for advice.  But can Tommy really trust Origami Yoda’s advice on a matter of great importance? Is the finger puppet magic? Or is it just Dwight messing with them? How can Origami Yoda seem so wise when Dwight seems so clearly clueless?

To help him decide, Tommy puts together a case file with stories from classmates who asked Yoda’s advice. His skeptical friend Harvey adds his rather mean comments and eventually makes his own advice-giving origami Yoda. In the end, Tommy has to decide whether to trust weird Dwight’s Yoda and risk embarrassment or listen to negative Harvey’s Yoda and play it safe.

The Strange Case of Origami Yoda is a fun, quick read, illustrated with doodles and instructions for making your own origami Yoda.  The audiobook is well done, with five narrators for the different kids who contribute to Tommy’s case file. The embarrassing situations are true-to-life, and the questions of whether it is okay to be weird, to be mean, to take chances, or to hide behind criticism add real depth to the story.

Author's web site: http://origamiyoda.wordpress.com/
Sequel: Darth Paper Strikes Back (Published August 23, 2011)

Tangerine by Edward Bloor

Paul Fisher is legally blind and an outstanding soccer goalie. He’s been told that he stared at an eclipse too long but has no memory of how his eyes were damaged. He fears his older brother Eric while their parents seem oblivious to any threat.  These contradictions pulled me right into Tangerine by Edward Bloor.

When the family moves to Florida, their new town of Tangerine adds to the mystery: the continual muck fires, disappearing koi, a student struck by lightning, and a massive sinkhole.  Paul finds his way around these hazards as he joins the soccer team at Tangerine Middle School - the school on the other side of the figurative tracks from his middle class subdivision.

Paul is a clear-sighted and honorable character surrounded by a family absorbed in their own concerns and dreams.  The mysteries and citizens of Tangerine provide a complex and rich world where Paul can seek his own place and perhaps a clearer view into his own past.

Author site: http://www.edwardbloor.net/b_tangerine.aspx

Kenny and the Dragon by Tony DiTerlizzi

Kenny is an earnest, studious young rabbit whose interest in reading and learning about the natural world isn’t always understood by his peers or his parents.  The arrival of a dragon on his family’s land provides a unexpected opportunity for Kenny to find friendship.  Unlike the legends Kenny has read, Grahame the dragon is not fierce and destructive, but interested in crème brûlée, poetry, and music.  Kenny introduces Grahame to his parents and they soon fall into a routine of delightful conversation and pleasant meals.  This peaceful friendship is interrupted when townsfolk get a glimpse of the dragon and assume that he is as vicious as the tales tell.  How will Kenny stop a mob intent on seeing a traditional knight vs. dragon battle?

Tony DiTerlizzi's web site is well worth a visit.

Teacher notes: Could be useful for talking about stereotypes or first impressions.  Or finding creative solutions to conflict.

Exploring Prezi

I had heard occasional references to the presentation tool called Prezi, but I never saw an example until a recent visit to a site with suggestions for creating book trailers. The presentation by Michelle Harclerode swooped around from point to point explaining the steps of creating a book trailer.

I decided to try Prezi when preparing to speak briefly at our beginning of the year staff meeting. I wanted something visual to reinforce my words. Prezi had the added advantage of capturing our teachers' attention.

So what is Prezi?
This online presentation-builder allows users to create a canvas with whatever text and images are desired. During a presentation, users can click on various elements to zoom in and focus on those details. Or users can create a specific path that takes them from element to element on the canvas.  Their getting started tutorial explains the basics fairly well.

What I've learned about using Prezi

• Start with your big ideas and spread them around the canvas. Then add details to those main ideas.
• Practice with just text to start. Then add pictures to create visual interest.
• If you want a group of objects (text and/or images) to be seen at the same time, use a frame to group them.
• Be careful with how much zooming and movement you use: The right amount creates interest, but too much creates motion-sickness.
• Once your text and images are in place, set up just the first few steps of your path.  Then view the show to see how these elements appear.  You may realize that you want to change the grouping, size, or location of your elements.  If you like how the first few steps appear, continue to set the rest of your path.

My first Prezis:
Media Program comments: Talking points for beginning-of-the-year staff meeting.
Media Orientation: I used this Prezi the first time that classes came to check out books.  I used QuickTime to create a screencast, recording my voice as I clicked through the presentation.

Now you try!
I'd love to see your experiments with Prezi.  Share links in the comments.