Laura the Beautiful, my true friend, makes me feel great. -- by Andrea Vela
Aunt Polly - Tom's Aunt Polly, she is - and Mary, and the Widow Douglas is all told about in that book, which is mostly a true book, with some stretchers, as I said before. -- From The Aventures of Huckleberry Finn --submitted by Asne
Miss Small, the gym teacher, is teaching A.J., Andrea, and the gang to juggle scarves, balance feathers, and do the Chicken Dance. -- My Weird School, Miss Small is Off the Wall -- submitted by Sooji
And she did not want to sit next to Frank Pearl, who ate paste, in class. --Judy Moody --submitted by Laura
Daniella, the soccer girl who rocks and rolls, went to her house. --by Mabel Garcia
Fudge, my annoying younger brother, just walked into the room. -- Fudge-a-mania -- submitted by Claire Griffiths
Samantha and I, the new students of the class, got lost on campus. -- Daniella
Jack, the gold-greedy pirate, yielded.-- Pirates Past Noon -- submitted by Daniel
Carly, who's nice, is my classmate. -- by Ricky
Mike, the horrible kid, was at the party.-- by Carlos Javier
Friday, December 5, 2008
Thursday, December 4, 2008
Sentences from my recent reading
From Sister Spider Knows All by Adrian Fogelin -- a well-written story about an unusual family that has a booth at a flea market:
Mimi says our family may not be a greetingcard, but the three of us together - John Martin, her, and me - are family enough for anyone.
Just after the sun goes down it seems as if the light comes from inside of things.
From Rocket Boys by Homer H. Hickam, Jr. -- this is a re-read for me. It's a memoir of a boy, a family, a group of friends, and a town:
Great Lead: Until I began to build and launch rockets, I didn't know my hometown was at war with itself over its children and that my parents were locked in a kind of bloodless combat over how my brother and I would live our lives. I didn't know that if a girl broke your heart, another girl, virtuous at least in spirit, could mend it on the same night. And I didn't know that the enthalpy decrease in a converging passage could be transformed into jet kinetic energy if a divergent passage was added. The other boys discovered their own truths when we buil our rockets, but those were mine.
I got on my bicycle in the morning with a big white canvas bag strapped over my shoulder and delivered the Bluefield Daily Telegraph down this valley, pedaling past the Coalwood School and the rows of houses that were set along a little creek and up on the sides of the facing mountains.
It was a decision that I believed she often regretted, but still would not have changed.
My mother took no pity on me and scrubbed the coal dirt off me with a stiff brush and Lava soap.
He was wearing his green and white football letter jacket and also a nnew button-down pink andblack shirt (collar turned up).
"Sonny's small," Coach Tom Morgan told my Uncle Clarence at practice one day,"but he makes up for it by being slow."
"There are two things every woman really wants: one, she wants to know that a man really loves her, and two, that he isn't going to stop. . . . "
The night air was so clearn that when I looked up, the stars seemed to form a glowing blue-white bridge that arched from mountain to mountain.
All I've done is give you a book. You have to have the courage to learn what's inside it. - Miss Freida Joy Riley
Mimi says our family may not be a greetingcard, but the three of us together - John Martin, her, and me - are family enough for anyone.
Just after the sun goes down it seems as if the light comes from inside of things.
From Rocket Boys by Homer H. Hickam, Jr. -- this is a re-read for me. It's a memoir of a boy, a family, a group of friends, and a town:
Great Lead: Until I began to build and launch rockets, I didn't know my hometown was at war with itself over its children and that my parents were locked in a kind of bloodless combat over how my brother and I would live our lives. I didn't know that if a girl broke your heart, another girl, virtuous at least in spirit, could mend it on the same night. And I didn't know that the enthalpy decrease in a converging passage could be transformed into jet kinetic energy if a divergent passage was added. The other boys discovered their own truths when we buil our rockets, but those were mine.
I got on my bicycle in the morning with a big white canvas bag strapped over my shoulder and delivered the Bluefield Daily Telegraph down this valley, pedaling past the Coalwood School and the rows of houses that were set along a little creek and up on the sides of the facing mountains.
It was a decision that I believed she often regretted, but still would not have changed.
My mother took no pity on me and scrubbed the coal dirt off me with a stiff brush and Lava soap.
He was wearing his green and white football letter jacket and also a nnew button-down pink andblack shirt (collar turned up).
"Sonny's small," Coach Tom Morgan told my Uncle Clarence at practice one day,"but he makes up for it by being slow."
"There are two things every woman really wants: one, she wants to know that a man really loves her, and two, that he isn't going to stop. . . . "
The night air was so clearn that when I looked up, the stars seemed to form a glowing blue-white bridge that arched from mountain to mountain.
All I've done is give you a book. You have to have the courage to learn what's inside it. - Miss Freida Joy Riley
Monday, November 24, 2008
Miscellaneous Sentences
Everyone who was present that day could sense that words had a mysterious magical power, that they could reach the heart and make the oldest things new again, over and over, if only one used them with feeling and passion. --The Legend of the Wandering King by Laura Gallego Garcia
I have a crew cut, yes a crew cut, sallow skin, and the kind of mouth that puckers when I breathe. -- Fat Kid Rules the World by K.L. Going
I want to say it with a snarl, but when your cheeks are puffy you don't snarl, you huff. -- Fat Kid Rules the World by K.L. Going
The moment already makes the Awkward Hall of Fame, but as per my life, it has to get worse. -- Fat Kid Rules the World by K.L. Going
I am the Rocky Balboa of obese drummers.-- Fat Kid Rules the World by K.L. Going
She wasn't afraid to live life; I wasn't afraid to take notes. -- The Isabel Factor by Gayle Friesen
She was pretty, popular, poised, polite, occasionally persnickety but never around parents. (And political.) Sorry. Runaway alliteration again. -- The Isabel Factor by Gayle Friesen
I have a crew cut, yes a crew cut, sallow skin, and the kind of mouth that puckers when I breathe. -- Fat Kid Rules the World by K.L. Going
I want to say it with a snarl, but when your cheeks are puffy you don't snarl, you huff. -- Fat Kid Rules the World by K.L. Going
The moment already makes the Awkward Hall of Fame, but as per my life, it has to get worse. -- Fat Kid Rules the World by K.L. Going
I am the Rocky Balboa of obese drummers.-- Fat Kid Rules the World by K.L. Going
She wasn't afraid to live life; I wasn't afraid to take notes. -- The Isabel Factor by Gayle Friesen
She was pretty, popular, poised, polite, occasionally persnickety but never around parents. (And political.) Sorry. Runaway alliteration again. -- The Isabel Factor by Gayle Friesen
Friday, November 21, 2008
Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy
All happy families are alike; each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.
Stepan Arkadyich subscribed to and read a liberal newspaper, not an extreme one, but one with the tendency to which the majority held. And though neither science, nor art, nor politics itself interested him, he firmly held the same views on all these subjects as the majority and his newspaper did, and changed them only when the majority did, or, rather, he did not change them, but they themselves changed imperceptibly in him.
To each of them it seemed that the life he led was the only real life, and the one his friend led was a mere illusion.Levin suddenly blushed, but not as grown-up people blush - slightly, unaware of it themselves - but as boys do, feeling that their bashfulness makes them ridiculous, becoming ashamed as a result, and blushing even more, almost to the point of tears.
'So you see,' said Stepan Arkadyich, 'you're a very wholesome man. That is your virtue and your defect. You have a wholesome character, and you want all of life to be made up of wholesome phenomena, but that doesn't happen...'
It was as if a surplus of something so overflowed her being that it expressed itself beyond her will, now in the brightness of her glance, now in her smile.
Stepan Arkadyich subscribed to and read a liberal newspaper, not an extreme one, but one with the tendency to which the majority held. And though neither science, nor art, nor politics itself interested him, he firmly held the same views on all these subjects as the majority and his newspaper did, and changed them only when the majority did, or, rather, he did not change them, but they themselves changed imperceptibly in him.
To each of them it seemed that the life he led was the only real life, and the one his friend led was a mere illusion.Levin suddenly blushed, but not as grown-up people blush - slightly, unaware of it themselves - but as boys do, feeling that their bashfulness makes them ridiculous, becoming ashamed as a result, and blushing even more, almost to the point of tears.
'So you see,' said Stepan Arkadyich, 'you're a very wholesome man. That is your virtue and your defect. You have a wholesome character, and you want all of life to be made up of wholesome phenomena, but that doesn't happen...'
It was as if a surplus of something so overflowed her being that it expressed itself beyond her will, now in the brightness of her glance, now in her smile.
Thursday, November 20, 2008
Sentences with capital letters stalked by my students
Antoine Aragon put on his Nike shoes. - written by Luis
From his childhood in the segregated South to his current fight with Parkinson's disease, Ali never backed down. --The Greatest by Walter Dean Myers - submitted by Dylan
Miss Binney stood in front of her class and began to read aloud from Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel, a book that was a favorite of Ramona's because, unlike so many books for her age,itwasneither quiet and sleepy nor sweet and pretty. --Ramona the Pest by Beverly Cleary - submitted by Andrea
Arthur Spiderwick's Field Guide to the Fantastical World Around You, lay atop of his pillow, open to a page on protective devices. --The Spiderwick Chronicles - Book 3 - Lucinda's Secret by Tony DiTerlizzi and Holly Black - submitted by Alejandra.
One of those gathered, a fifth grade student at Dry Creek Middle School, tape recorded the spirited exchange between Mander and the angry mob. --Regarding the Fountain by Kate Klise - submitted by Sooji
Cleaning the attic, Grandma, was a snap, and there was no trick to asking Mrs. Edwards if she wanted me to run any errands for her. --Kid Power by Susan Beth Pfeffer - submitted by Mabel
"Be quiet," Alexandra hissed as Buddy and she crawled into the gap between Target and Walmart, where they saw Chantel, Eric, and Wendy already waiting for them. --written by Claire
Alfonso's brother worked in the United States, so Alfonso always talked about going there someday, but he stayed in Mexico because of his attachment toPapa and El Rancho de las Rosas. --Esperanza Rising by Pam Munoz Ryan -submitted by Antoine.
And we passed dozens of little triangular signs showing the purple, blobby face of King Jellyjam, smiling out from under his shiny, gold crown. --The Horror at Camp Jellyjam by R.L. Stine - submitted by Salvador
The man from Royal and General was wearing a polyester suit with a Marks and Spencer tie, he looked about thirty. --Stormbreaker by Anthony Horowitz - submitted by Daniella
Dad riffing on the sax, dancing around like a rockstar, Emily tootling along on the flute. --The Avalon by Rachel Roberts - submitted by Laura
I thought about the wall extending all the way to Lathbury and to Turlock, which were butted up and walled in against The Lonely Sea, where fierce, mist-covered waves break against the soaring cliffs. -- The Dark Hills Divide by Patrick Carman - submitted by Catalina
But if I am not a Christian, why was I wearing a cross?-- When the Soldiers Were Gone by Vera W. Propp - submitted by Asne
From his childhood in the segregated South to his current fight with Parkinson's disease, Ali never backed down. --The Greatest by Walter Dean Myers - submitted by Dylan
Miss Binney stood in front of her class and began to read aloud from Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel, a book that was a favorite of Ramona's because, unlike so many books for her age,itwasneither quiet and sleepy nor sweet and pretty. --Ramona the Pest by Beverly Cleary - submitted by Andrea
Arthur Spiderwick's Field Guide to the Fantastical World Around You, lay atop of his pillow, open to a page on protective devices. --The Spiderwick Chronicles - Book 3 - Lucinda's Secret by Tony DiTerlizzi and Holly Black - submitted by Alejandra.
One of those gathered, a fifth grade student at Dry Creek Middle School, tape recorded the spirited exchange between Mander and the angry mob. --Regarding the Fountain by Kate Klise - submitted by Sooji
Cleaning the attic, Grandma, was a snap, and there was no trick to asking Mrs. Edwards if she wanted me to run any errands for her. --Kid Power by Susan Beth Pfeffer - submitted by Mabel
"Be quiet," Alexandra hissed as Buddy and she crawled into the gap between Target and Walmart, where they saw Chantel, Eric, and Wendy already waiting for them. --written by Claire
Alfonso's brother worked in the United States, so Alfonso always talked about going there someday, but he stayed in Mexico because of his attachment toPapa and El Rancho de las Rosas. --Esperanza Rising by Pam Munoz Ryan -submitted by Antoine.
And we passed dozens of little triangular signs showing the purple, blobby face of King Jellyjam, smiling out from under his shiny, gold crown. --The Horror at Camp Jellyjam by R.L. Stine - submitted by Salvador
The man from Royal and General was wearing a polyester suit with a Marks and Spencer tie, he looked about thirty. --Stormbreaker by Anthony Horowitz - submitted by Daniella
Dad riffing on the sax, dancing around like a rockstar, Emily tootling along on the flute. --The Avalon by Rachel Roberts - submitted by Laura
I thought about the wall extending all the way to Lathbury and to Turlock, which were butted up and walled in against The Lonely Sea, where fierce, mist-covered waves break against the soaring cliffs. -- The Dark Hills Divide by Patrick Carman - submitted by Catalina
But if I am not a Christian, why was I wearing a cross?-- When the Soldiers Were Gone by Vera W. Propp - submitted by Asne
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
More Carl Hiaasen - Flush
The deputy told me to empty my pockets: two quarters, a penny, a stick of bubble gum, and a roll of grip tape for my skateboard. (p. 1)
I was actually born in a 1989 Chevrolet Caprice on U.S. Highway One, my dad racing up the eighteen-mile stretch from Key Largo to the mainland. (p. 5)
Over the years Abbey and I developed a pretty good system: She keeps an eye on Mon, and I keep an eye on Dad. (p. 5)
I remember Mom's eyes narrowing when Dad told us the story-- it was the same look I get whenever I tell her I'm done with my homework and she knows better. (p. 15)
Summer mornings are mostly sunny and still, though by midafternoon huge boiling thunderheads start to build over the Everglades, and the weather can get interesting in a hurry. (p. 27)
I remember thinking of something clever to say, but all I could do was squeak like a leaking balloon. (p. 107)
It was one of those bright hazy days with no horizon, when the sea and the sky melt together in a pale blue infinity (p. 136)
She laughed -- one of those tired, what-was-I-thinking laughs. (p. 147)
I was actually born in a 1989 Chevrolet Caprice on U.S. Highway One, my dad racing up the eighteen-mile stretch from Key Largo to the mainland. (p. 5)
Over the years Abbey and I developed a pretty good system: She keeps an eye on Mon, and I keep an eye on Dad. (p. 5)
I remember Mom's eyes narrowing when Dad told us the story-- it was the same look I get whenever I tell her I'm done with my homework and she knows better. (p. 15)
Summer mornings are mostly sunny and still, though by midafternoon huge boiling thunderheads start to build over the Everglades, and the weather can get interesting in a hurry. (p. 27)
I remember thinking of something clever to say, but all I could do was squeak like a leaking balloon. (p. 107)
It was one of those bright hazy days with no horizon, when the sea and the sky melt together in a pale blue infinity (p. 136)
She laughed -- one of those tired, what-was-I-thinking laughs. (p. 147)
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Sentences from my recent reading
Two of the things Benjamin Hunter received for his twelfth birthday took him completely by surprise: a room and a letter. -- The Birthday Room by Kevin Henkes
The cats wove in and out of Lynnie's leg's, purring. If the cats had been trailing rope, Lynnie's ankles would have been bound together in a tangle. -- The Birthday Room by Kevin Henkes
I remember when we first came to Blowfly, Nevada, my dad squinted one eye at the flat countryside and said, "Jake, I believe if you climbed a tree, you could see clear to Mexico. If you could find a tree." -- Jim Ugly by Sid Fleischman
I took a look through the blowing curtain and saw a lot of city clothes. The woman had a thunderhead of copper-colored hair, and she wore gloves to her elbows as if she'd dipped her arms in whitewash. She began to dab at her eyes with a handkerchief as thin and lacy as a handful of air. -- Jim Ugly by Sid Fleischman
The rain came tumbling in, catching some men in the street, and pouring like molten silver off their hats. -- Jim Ugly by Sid Fleischman
When they stopped again to look, they were staring down deep canyon walls where water flowed like a flume, shot up in towers, roared betweeen basalt boulders. -- Biting the Moon by Martha Grimes
I know I'm setting up a problem for later because Dad's always late, but I have rules, too, and one of mine is: Sometimes you've gotta work with what you've got. -- Rules by Cynthia Lord
It follows the ocean's shoreline, and I look for snowy egrets standing stick-still in the salt marshes and osprey circling, hunting fish. --Rules by Cynthia Lord
Jumping in front of the frozen TV picture, he waves the remote in circles, like it's a magic wand. Rules by Cynthia Lord
Fierce, hard -- my sneakers slap the tar --swift, brisk. I take off across the lawn (squishy, springy). but as I round the far corner of the house, my feet slow to a walk. Rules by Cynthia Lord
Someone should tell you not to answer the phone in the principal's office, if that's a rule. Clementine by Sara Pennypacker
"All right, now, Clementine," Principal Rice said in her I'm-trying-to-be-patient-but-it's-getting-harder voice. "Why did you cut off Margaret's hair?" -- Clementine by Sarah Pennypacker
I am lucky that way: great ideas are always popping into my head withoutme having to think them up. Clementine by Sarah Pennypacker
Then he said, "Now Susan, let's just look at this calmly," and then he didn't say anything for another long time. And then he said "I'm sorry" seven times, which is two more times than he said it after he told my mother he thought her overalls were getting a little snug. --Clementine by Sarah Pennypacker
"Did you know the great horned owl is called the tiger of the night?" -- On Call Back Mountain by Eve Bunting
Pale moths swoop like ghosts against our window screen. -- On Call Back Mountain by Eve Bunting
The grass is crunchy under my bare feet. -- On Call Back Mountain by Eve Bunting
Mom looked at me, furious. I thought she would slap me for the first time in my life. She didn't. She stomped away. I stood there, wishing she had slapped me. You're supposed to put an exclamation point at the end of strong feelings. A slap would have felt like that. But instead, her heels clicked out her punctuation, dot dot dot . . . .
I couldn't see where my sentence would end. -- Sahara Special by Esme Raji Codell
I received your letter last week and, my goodness, you sound just like the author of the little book of directions that came with my blender. -- Regarding the Fountain by Kate Klise
Honorable Judge Anne Chovey finds both Mander and Eel GUILTY on charges of fraud, misrepresentation, greed, and in general, weasel-like conduct and slimy business practices. -- Regarding the Fountain by Kate Klise
The cats wove in and out of Lynnie's leg's, purring. If the cats had been trailing rope, Lynnie's ankles would have been bound together in a tangle. -- The Birthday Room by Kevin Henkes
I remember when we first came to Blowfly, Nevada, my dad squinted one eye at the flat countryside and said, "Jake, I believe if you climbed a tree, you could see clear to Mexico. If you could find a tree." -- Jim Ugly by Sid Fleischman
I took a look through the blowing curtain and saw a lot of city clothes. The woman had a thunderhead of copper-colored hair, and she wore gloves to her elbows as if she'd dipped her arms in whitewash. She began to dab at her eyes with a handkerchief as thin and lacy as a handful of air. -- Jim Ugly by Sid Fleischman
The rain came tumbling in, catching some men in the street, and pouring like molten silver off their hats. -- Jim Ugly by Sid Fleischman
When they stopped again to look, they were staring down deep canyon walls where water flowed like a flume, shot up in towers, roared betweeen basalt boulders. -- Biting the Moon by Martha Grimes
I know I'm setting up a problem for later because Dad's always late, but I have rules, too, and one of mine is: Sometimes you've gotta work with what you've got. -- Rules by Cynthia Lord
It follows the ocean's shoreline, and I look for snowy egrets standing stick-still in the salt marshes and osprey circling, hunting fish. --Rules by Cynthia Lord
Jumping in front of the frozen TV picture, he waves the remote in circles, like it's a magic wand. Rules by Cynthia Lord
Fierce, hard -- my sneakers slap the tar --swift, brisk. I take off across the lawn (squishy, springy). but as I round the far corner of the house, my feet slow to a walk. Rules by Cynthia Lord
Someone should tell you not to answer the phone in the principal's office, if that's a rule. Clementine by Sara Pennypacker
"All right, now, Clementine," Principal Rice said in her I'm-trying-to-be-patient-but-it's-getting-harder voice. "Why did you cut off Margaret's hair?" -- Clementine by Sarah Pennypacker
I am lucky that way: great ideas are always popping into my head withoutme having to think them up. Clementine by Sarah Pennypacker
Then he said, "Now Susan, let's just look at this calmly," and then he didn't say anything for another long time. And then he said "I'm sorry" seven times, which is two more times than he said it after he told my mother he thought her overalls were getting a little snug. --Clementine by Sarah Pennypacker
"Did you know the great horned owl is called the tiger of the night?" -- On Call Back Mountain by Eve Bunting
Pale moths swoop like ghosts against our window screen. -- On Call Back Mountain by Eve Bunting
The grass is crunchy under my bare feet. -- On Call Back Mountain by Eve Bunting
Mom looked at me, furious. I thought she would slap me for the first time in my life. She didn't. She stomped away. I stood there, wishing she had slapped me. You're supposed to put an exclamation point at the end of strong feelings. A slap would have felt like that. But instead, her heels clicked out her punctuation, dot dot dot . . . .
I couldn't see where my sentence would end. -- Sahara Special by Esme Raji Codell
I received your letter last week and, my goodness, you sound just like the author of the little book of directions that came with my blender. -- Regarding the Fountain by Kate Klise
Honorable Judge Anne Chovey finds both Mander and Eel GUILTY on charges of fraud, misrepresentation, greed, and in general, weasel-like conduct and slimy business practices. -- Regarding the Fountain by Kate Klise
Thursday, November 6, 2008
Sentences stalked by my students
It is no wonder that in Spanish, Esperanza means "Hope." --Esperanza Rising -- by Luis
Tio Luis's face hardened like a rock and the muscles twitched in his narrow neck. -- Esperanza Rising--Carlos Javier
By the time I looked back at the guys, he had been swallowed the crowd. --DJ Machale-- Antoine
Many of the roses had dropped their petals, leaving the stem and the rose hip, the green, grapelike friuit of the rose. --Esperanza Rising-Dylan
The rich person is richer when he becomes poor, than the poor person when he becomes rich. --Esperanza Rising--Andrea
Fiona has the same facial beauty as an iceberg, but unlike the iceberg she has absolutely nothing below the surface. --Matilda--Claire
"And the pinata? It's not anyone's birthday." --Esperanza Rising- Luis
The rooms seem to big without Papa's voice to fill them, and the echoes of their footsteps deepend their sadness. --Esperanza Rising-- Catalina
Her bones were as creeky as floor boards at midnight.--Night Noses--Mabel
She looked around at Papa's desk and book's, Mama's basket of crochetingwith the silver hooks Papa had bought her in Guadalajara, the table near the door that held Papa's rose clippers, and beyond the double doors, the garden.--Esperanza Rising-- Daniella
We only wanted to get away, only escape and arrive safely. --Anne Frank Beyond the Diary-- Laura
She fell to her knees and sank into a dark hole of despair and disbelief. --Esperanza Rising-- Daniel
Everytime she looked at the packages, they reminded her of the happy fiesta she was supposed to have. -- Esperanza Rising-- Alexandra
They were covered top to bottom, in long sleeved shirts, baggy pants tied at the ankles with string, and bandanas wrapped around their foreheads and necks to protect them from the sun, dust, and spiders. --Esperanza Rising-- Sooji
Leaning on the bathroom sink, I took several deep breaths. -- Monster Blood for Breakfast-- Ricky Ramirez
Tio Luis's face hardened like a rock and the muscles twitched in his narrow neck. -- Esperanza Rising--Carlos Javier
By the time I looked back at the guys, he had been swallowed the crowd. --DJ Machale-- Antoine
Many of the roses had dropped their petals, leaving the stem and the rose hip, the green, grapelike friuit of the rose. --Esperanza Rising-Dylan
The rich person is richer when he becomes poor, than the poor person when he becomes rich. --Esperanza Rising--Andrea
Fiona has the same facial beauty as an iceberg, but unlike the iceberg she has absolutely nothing below the surface. --Matilda--Claire
"And the pinata? It's not anyone's birthday." --Esperanza Rising- Luis
The rooms seem to big without Papa's voice to fill them, and the echoes of their footsteps deepend their sadness. --Esperanza Rising-- Catalina
Her bones were as creeky as floor boards at midnight.--Night Noses--Mabel
She looked around at Papa's desk and book's, Mama's basket of crochetingwith the silver hooks Papa had bought her in Guadalajara, the table near the door that held Papa's rose clippers, and beyond the double doors, the garden.--Esperanza Rising-- Daniella
We only wanted to get away, only escape and arrive safely. --Anne Frank Beyond the Diary-- Laura
She fell to her knees and sank into a dark hole of despair and disbelief. --Esperanza Rising-- Daniel
Everytime she looked at the packages, they reminded her of the happy fiesta she was supposed to have. -- Esperanza Rising-- Alexandra
They were covered top to bottom, in long sleeved shirts, baggy pants tied at the ankles with string, and bandanas wrapped around their foreheads and necks to protect them from the sun, dust, and spiders. --Esperanza Rising-- Sooji
Leaning on the bathroom sink, I took several deep breaths. -- Monster Blood for Breakfast-- Ricky Ramirez
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
"The Names of the Mountains" by Reeve Lindbergh
The loss of a kind German shepherd is an old muffled hurt by now, gentled by more vivid losses that have accumulated over the past thirty years of the family's life like so many succeeding snowfalls, altering the landscape until one forgets the look of underlying ground. p. 24
"He's like a . . . a soft burr - you can't shake him loose!" he would shout angrily, and then laugh at Alicia's moderating response. p. 39
Writers are magpies, collecting little beads of bright things from everyday experience to feather their literary nests. p. 55
I dive into the exit like a rabbit into its own familiar burrow, away from the fearful whine and rumble of the other highway, where accumulated trucks and traffic are roaring on without me toward New York. p. 71
His face looks gaunt and newly lined. p. 73
It has such peace, my mother's own essence: stillness, containment, a wordless sufficiency. p. 76
She's so unusually, painfully sensitive. p. 96
And family background, on either side, is just one among so many things that can slowly freeze and weigh down a marriage over the years, like ice on its wings. p. 101
They both prefer small dinner parties to large social affairs, almost any kind of concert to an athletic event, and one intimate contact with one relative, whether little loved or long lost, then the organized chaos of a family reunion. p. 153
Finally, about ten minutes after the hour, the train comes in, just the way I remember it, with all the familiar self-important clankings and snortings, the heavily burdened, metallic groans I used to know. p. 164
"He's like a . . . a soft burr - you can't shake him loose!" he would shout angrily, and then laugh at Alicia's moderating response. p. 39
Writers are magpies, collecting little beads of bright things from everyday experience to feather their literary nests. p. 55
I dive into the exit like a rabbit into its own familiar burrow, away from the fearful whine and rumble of the other highway, where accumulated trucks and traffic are roaring on without me toward New York. p. 71
His face looks gaunt and newly lined. p. 73
It has such peace, my mother's own essence: stillness, containment, a wordless sufficiency. p. 76
She's so unusually, painfully sensitive. p. 96
And family background, on either side, is just one among so many things that can slowly freeze and weigh down a marriage over the years, like ice on its wings. p. 101
They both prefer small dinner parties to large social affairs, almost any kind of concert to an athletic event, and one intimate contact with one relative, whether little loved or long lost, then the organized chaos of a family reunion. p. 153
Finally, about ten minutes after the hour, the train comes in, just the way I remember it, with all the familiar self-important clankings and snortings, the heavily burdened, metallic groans I used to know. p. 164
Quotes from Lois Lowry books
"I have a plan," Mr. Willoughby said, putting his paper down. He stroked one eyebrow in a satisfied way. "It’s thoroughly despicable." -- THE WILLOUGHBYS
And then there was the matter of an impending baby brother. -- Anastasia Krupnik
"As soon as I finish this chocolate pudding, I'm going to jump out the window." -- Anastasia, Anastasia Again
In the delivery room, Sam's first words, "Don't drop me," are heard only as, "Waaaaahhhh!" -- All About Sam
"It was almost December, and Jonas was beginning to be frightened." -- The Giver
Kira felt the aloneness, the uncertainty, and a great sadness. -- Gathering Blue
Helena had not come to the Field the day before. -- Gathering Blue
And then there was the matter of an impending baby brother. -- Anastasia Krupnik
"As soon as I finish this chocolate pudding, I'm going to jump out the window." -- Anastasia, Anastasia Again
In the delivery room, Sam's first words, "Don't drop me," are heard only as, "Waaaaahhhh!" -- All About Sam
"It was almost December, and Jonas was beginning to be frightened." -- The Giver
Kira felt the aloneness, the uncertainty, and a great sadness. -- Gathering Blue
Helena had not come to the Field the day before. -- Gathering Blue
Sentences from "Hoot" by Carl Hiaasen
But on this day, a Monday (Roy would never forget), Dana Matherson grabbed Roy's head from behind and pressed his thumbs into Roy's temple, as if he were squeezing a soccer ball.
He word a faded Miami Heat basketball jersey and dirty khaki shorts, and here was the odd part: no shoes.
The soles of his feet looked as black as barbecue coals.
Trace Middle School didn't have the world's strictest dress code, but Roy was pretty sure that some sort of footwear was required.
He word a faded Miami Heat basketball jersey and dirty khaki shorts, and here was the odd part: no shoes.
The soles of his feet looked as black as barbecue coals.
Trace Middle School didn't have the world's strictest dress code, but Roy was pretty sure that some sort of footwear was required.
Friday, October 31, 2008
Not to Mention Patricia Polacco
She had a voice like slow thunder and sweet rain. - Chicken Sunday
One Sunday at the table we watched her paper fan flutter back and forth, pulling moist chicken-fried air along with it. - Chicken Sunday
One Sunday at the table we watched her paper fan flutter back and forth, pulling moist chicken-fried air along with it. - Chicken Sunday
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
I'm in love with YA author, Joan Bauer
It was the kind of room that forced you to make the bed and pick up your dirty clothes even though it was against your nature. - Rules of the Road
We are shouldering work, life, and Chicago humidity with the usual grace and sophistication. - Rules of the Road
"You know what I like most about waitressing? When I'm doing it, I'm not thinking that much about myself. I'm thinking about other people. I'm learning again and again what it takes to make a difference in other people's lives."
-- Hope Yancey, Hope Was Here
In minutes, I got every kind of sitter at the counter. I love watching people sit down. There are ploppers, slammers, sliders, swivelers, and my personal favorite, flutterers, who poise suspended above the seat and move up and down over it before finally lighting. -- Hope Yancey, Hope Was Here
She tends not to suffer in silence. -- Hope Yancey, Hope Was Here
Saw her walking up the welcome stairways, tossing her long, straight hair that was black like india ink. -- Hope Yancey, Hope Was Here
School.
It came up on me like indigestion. -- Hope Yancey, Hope Was Here
Tree's mother had been the time sheriff. -- Stand Tall p. 18
"You've got to hold on to the things you know to be true, set your mind to a higher place, and fight like a dog to keep it there. War can be so fierce, you can forget the good. Forget what you're about in this world, what's really important. There's always going to be somebody who wants to try to make you forget it. Don't let them." -- Grandpa, Stand Tall p. 71
We are shouldering work, life, and Chicago humidity with the usual grace and sophistication. - Rules of the Road
"You know what I like most about waitressing? When I'm doing it, I'm not thinking that much about myself. I'm thinking about other people. I'm learning again and again what it takes to make a difference in other people's lives."
-- Hope Yancey, Hope Was Here
In minutes, I got every kind of sitter at the counter. I love watching people sit down. There are ploppers, slammers, sliders, swivelers, and my personal favorite, flutterers, who poise suspended above the seat and move up and down over it before finally lighting. -- Hope Yancey, Hope Was Here
She tends not to suffer in silence. -- Hope Yancey, Hope Was Here
Saw her walking up the welcome stairways, tossing her long, straight hair that was black like india ink. -- Hope Yancey, Hope Was Here
School.
It came up on me like indigestion. -- Hope Yancey, Hope Was Here
Tree's mother had been the time sheriff. -- Stand Tall p. 18
"You've got to hold on to the things you know to be true, set your mind to a higher place, and fight like a dog to keep it there. War can be so fierce, you can forget the good. Forget what you're about in this world, what's really important. There's always going to be somebody who wants to try to make you forget it. Don't let them." -- Grandpa, Stand Tall p. 71
Monday, October 27, 2008
This sentence makes me feel good EVERY time I read it!
With a grin and a giggle, a hug and a whistle, we'd slap our knees and Mama would say: "Bless the world it feels like a tip-tapping song-singing finger-snapping kind of day. Let's celebrate."
- from Mama Had a Dancing Heart by Libba Moore Gray
- from Mama Had a Dancing Heart by Libba Moore Gray
Loooong sentences
If you have ever peeled an onion, then you know that the first thin, papery layer reveals another thin, papery layer, and that layer reveals another, and another, and before you know it you have hundreds of layers all over the kitchen table and thousands of tears in your eyes, sorry that you ever started peeling in the first place and wishing that you had left the onion alone to wither away on the shelf of the pantry while you went on with your life, even if that meant never again enjoying the complicated and overwhelming taste of this strange and bitter vegetable. - from The End by Lemony Snicket
American Chica by Marie Arana
This passage perfectly describes how I feel when I'm deep in Bookworld and am called out of it:
When we'd walk in from school we'd see her reenter in stages: the chin up, the quick blink, the realization that we were standing before her, and then our mother descending the staircase of her mind, peering down at us from some far landing of consciousness. She was there, but she was somewhere else, too, like a lynx with his nose in the wind, sensing trails that could call her away.
When we'd walk in from school we'd see her reenter in stages: the chin up, the quick blink, the realization that we were standing before her, and then our mother descending the staircase of her mind, peering down at us from some far landing of consciousness. She was there, but she was somewhere else, too, like a lynx with his nose in the wind, sensing trails that could call her away.
Some sentences my students stalked
Would anyone, either Jew or non-Jew, understand this about me, that I am simply a young girl badly in need of some rollicking fun? - from Ann Frank Beyond the Diary - submitted by Catalina
In spite of everything I still believe that people are really good at heart. - from Ann Frank Beyond the Diary - submitted by Asne
In spite of everything I still believe that people are really good at heart. - from Ann Frank Beyond the Diary - submitted by Asne
Saturday, October 25, 2008
From my friend, Danielle...
While in browsing in one of Quito's bookstores, I stalked this passage:
"You cannot pretend to read a good book. Your eyes will give you away. So will your breathing. A person entranced by a book simply forgets to breathe. The house can catch alight and a reader deep in a book will not look up until the wallpaper is in flames" --from Mister Pip
Wonderful, yes?
"You cannot pretend to read a good book. Your eyes will give you away. So will your breathing. A person entranced by a book simply forgets to breathe. The house can catch alight and a reader deep in a book will not look up until the wallpaper is in flames" --from Mister Pip
Wonderful, yes?
A Sentence from my Grandaughter, Kayden
"When my daddy drives, I go forwards, backwards, and sidewards," she smiled - demonstrating the effect by hurling her little four-year-old body around in her carseat.
A Few Sentences From "All Over but the Shoutin'" by Rick Bragg
He stops at my desk and leans against it. I do not remember exactly what he said but it was something to the effect of, "I know we said we would try to get you some gentle editing, but..." and my heart froze.
"... but we had to change the comma in your lead."
Instead I found my friends on the photo staff, a collection of delightful, smart, cranky, streetwise, and often fearless artists and weirdos who knew this city frontward, backward and sideways, and consented to let me ride along.
You do the best you can for the people left, a yard-fighting, teeth-gnashing, ugly-dog-raising, towel-stealing, television-praying, never-forgiving, hard-headed people that you love with all the strength in your body, once you finally figure out that they are who you are, and, in many ways, all there is.
"... but we had to change the comma in your lead."
Instead I found my friends on the photo staff, a collection of delightful, smart, cranky, streetwise, and often fearless artists and weirdos who knew this city frontward, backward and sideways, and consented to let me ride along.
You do the best you can for the people left, a yard-fighting, teeth-gnashing, ugly-dog-raising, towel-stealing, television-praying, never-forgiving, hard-headed people that you love with all the strength in your body, once you finally figure out that they are who you are, and, in many ways, all there is.
Some sentences stalked by my 5th Graders
But as Mr. Canker said, there is a book about everything if you only know where to look, and one day he went to Todcaster Library and began to read. - Which Witch - Dylan Morris
Two days went by before I actually learned what happened that night, because it was at supper on Friday that Aunt Millie said, "A fox got my turkey that was nesting by the Christmas tree." - The Midnight Fox - Carlos Javier Perez
"The sea monster!" I shrieked. "The sea monster!" Would they believe me this time? - Deep Trouble - Luis Fernando de Santiago
Then, blessedly, the skies would clear and his mood would lift, and he'd put to sea again in the Ida Penrose, leading his little fleet to the pearling grounds. - The Divine Wind - Catalina Scarone
I sing, and the sun hears my song and answers. - The Listening Silence - Asne Andersen
I hope you have a family business you can push him into when he leaves school because he sure as heck won't get a job anywhere else. - The BFG - Claire Griffiths
Early evening is a time when animals visit streams or places where water seeps out of the ground. - Fur, Feathers, and Flippers - Daniella Sarmiento
Just when you think everything is going swimmingly, somebody goes and throws a shark in the goldfish bowl! - Goodbye Grace? - Laura Rushton
She darted away without waiting for an answer and dashed to the bus. A Ghost in the House - Salvador Alvarado
But headmasters (and policemen) are the biggest giants of all and acquire a marvelously exaggerated stature. - Boy - Mabel Garcia
The dummy stared up at her, his painted eyes as dull and wide open. - Night of the Living Dummy - Antoine Aragon
Her hands flew up and she tumbled back onto the floor. - Monster Blood - Ricardo Ramirez
The plants appear in spring, when the winter - frozen seas break up, and ice is carried away by winds and currents. - Fur, Feathers, and Flippers - Sooji Kim
It was reddish-brown and hung in curls like springs that touched her shoulder and bounced as she walked. - Ramona the Pest - Andrea Vela
The Himalayas contain 100 times as much ice as the Alps and provide more than half of the drinking water for forty percent of the world's population, through seven Asian river systems that all originate on the same plateau. - an inconvenient truth - Daniel Escobar
A committee picked a simple but elegant design by James Hoban, a young Irish American architect. - The White House - Alejandra Mercado
Two days went by before I actually learned what happened that night, because it was at supper on Friday that Aunt Millie said, "A fox got my turkey that was nesting by the Christmas tree." - The Midnight Fox - Carlos Javier Perez
"The sea monster!" I shrieked. "The sea monster!" Would they believe me this time? - Deep Trouble - Luis Fernando de Santiago
Then, blessedly, the skies would clear and his mood would lift, and he'd put to sea again in the Ida Penrose, leading his little fleet to the pearling grounds. - The Divine Wind - Catalina Scarone
I sing, and the sun hears my song and answers. - The Listening Silence - Asne Andersen
I hope you have a family business you can push him into when he leaves school because he sure as heck won't get a job anywhere else. - The BFG - Claire Griffiths
Early evening is a time when animals visit streams or places where water seeps out of the ground. - Fur, Feathers, and Flippers - Daniella Sarmiento
Just when you think everything is going swimmingly, somebody goes and throws a shark in the goldfish bowl! - Goodbye Grace? - Laura Rushton
She darted away without waiting for an answer and dashed to the bus. A Ghost in the House - Salvador Alvarado
But headmasters (and policemen) are the biggest giants of all and acquire a marvelously exaggerated stature. - Boy - Mabel Garcia
The dummy stared up at her, his painted eyes as dull and wide open. - Night of the Living Dummy - Antoine Aragon
Her hands flew up and she tumbled back onto the floor. - Monster Blood - Ricardo Ramirez
The plants appear in spring, when the winter - frozen seas break up, and ice is carried away by winds and currents. - Fur, Feathers, and Flippers - Sooji Kim
It was reddish-brown and hung in curls like springs that touched her shoulder and bounced as she walked. - Ramona the Pest - Andrea Vela
The Himalayas contain 100 times as much ice as the Alps and provide more than half of the drinking water for forty percent of the world's population, through seven Asian river systems that all originate on the same plateau. - an inconvenient truth - Daniel Escobar
A committee picked a simple but elegant design by James Hoban, a young Irish American architect. - The White House - Alejandra Mercado
I realize
that I'm becoming a bit obsessive about Sentence Stalking, but I have never seen any one thing make such a difference in my students' reading and writing and in mine as well.
For the uninitiated, Sentence Stalking is that search for interestingly punctuated, precisely worded sentences that catch your fancy for one reason or another. Since becoming a stalker, I read more slowly - savoring the how and why of why a sentence is written in the way the author wrote it.
Our school - I teach at InterAmerican Academy in Guayaquil, Ecuador - has adopted sentence stalking in a big way. Our school is plastered with sentences harvested from our reading and written on sentence strips. Students pause and read. We take field trips around campus to find punctuation patterns or interesting figurative language that can be models for us in our writing. Sentence Stalking brings mentor texts down to the smallest level and can be used from Kindergarten to 12th grade. We're doing it. And we find, as teachers, that our writing is improving at the same time.
For the uninitiated, Sentence Stalking is that search for interestingly punctuated, precisely worded sentences that catch your fancy for one reason or another. Since becoming a stalker, I read more slowly - savoring the how and why of why a sentence is written in the way the author wrote it.
Our school - I teach at InterAmerican Academy in Guayaquil, Ecuador - has adopted sentence stalking in a big way. Our school is plastered with sentences harvested from our reading and written on sentence strips. Students pause and read. We take field trips around campus to find punctuation patterns or interesting figurative language that can be models for us in our writing. Sentence Stalking brings mentor texts down to the smallest level and can be used from Kindergarten to 12th grade. We're doing it. And we find, as teachers, that our writing is improving at the same time.
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