Simon Sort of Says, by Erin Bow (eBook preview)

Presenting … First-chapter Friday, the eBook edition. Yesterday’s selection featured Simon Sort of Says, by Erin Bow: Read via Hoopla, and obtained through Sonoma County Library. Simon Sort of Says is a nominee, in 2024-2025, for the California Young Reader Medal, in its Middle School/Junior High category.

Moonflower, by Kacen Callender

Each Friday that school is in session, I share the link to a read-aloud preview of a book from SRCSA library. The “First-chapter Friday” selection for May 3, 2024 is Moonflower, by Kacen Callender.

Death by Chocolate : Little Fitz and Ziggy

Vaudeville performer Little Fitz and his ventriloquist’s puppet “Ziggy” are characters from a murder-mystery dinner party game called “Death by Chocolate.” I got to choose my character, and I wanted to be Little Fitz. I watched a video by Jeff Dunham where he explained how to do ventriloquism and I got a cat puppet to be my “Ziggy.” Here is a pre-game exchange, getting into character. To be true to Ziggy as required by the game, I had to portray Ziggy as a bit of a jerk. It was a lot of fun, and I think I might keep going, keep having fun with it.
https://youtu.be/Soy_p4Rr-Oc

Rez Dogs, by Joseph Bruchac

Each Friday that school is in session, I share the link to a read-aloud preview of a book from SRCSA library. The “First-chapter Friday” selection for April 19, 2024 is Rez Dogs, by Joseph Bruchac.

‘Big words’ don’t need apology

The narrator of a story I was reading, apologized for using “large words.” But I am autistic and using “big words” is part of who I am. In the past I was teased and ridiculed for having a large vocabulary and, when I read that passage, it seemed like the narrator had internalized being shamed for their vocabulary. I want to push back against the idea that people should apologize or feel at all ashamed for using “big words.”
https://youtu.be/9aIABl34AHg