Monday, July 15, 2013

Meet Callum, my first guest reader!

Meet Callum, avid reader, dive team member, and Canadian who has lived in the US since 2nd grade.  We met at my doctor's office.  When I walked into the waiting room after my appointment in June, I was thrilled to discover this young man reading the latest Rick Riordan book, The Mark of Athena.  A quick chat revealed that Callum not only reads lots of books, but he loves to talk about them.  He will be in sixth grade this fall, and I was surprised to discover that we live in the same community.  My doctor's office is a twenty minute drive from my home so I assumed that he was from a Seattle neighborhood.  With his mom's permission, I snapped a picture of him and promised to interview him for a guest reader post on Sweet Summer Reads.

Fast forward three weeks to a bench outside our public library where Callum and I met to talk about his reading life.  The beach bag at his feet was filled with the books that he's read this summer and wanted to share with you.

The first book out of his bag was Arcade Catastrophe, the second book in the Candy Shop War series by Brendan Mull.  Callum says one of the interesting things about this book is that it's about kids going into the sixth grade, just like him.  His favorite genre is adventure books that have action, magic, and fighting.  Callum pointed to Nate on the cover of the book and commented, "It's easy for me to imagine that I'm this character in the book."

The next book out of his bag was The Janitor's Boy by Andrew Clements.  Even though this book is kind of old (according to Callum), he reports that Clements is an awesome author who writes about a boy and his relationship with his father in The Janitor's Boy.  Callum is also reading two other books by Andrew Clements this summer,  The Last Holiday Concert and The Jacket.

The third book Callum shared was The Mark of Athena, the book that he had been reading in June when I met him at the doctor's office.  Callum remarked, "I'm pretty sure a lot of kids have read this.  It's like all Rick Riordan's books where the kids are sons and daughters of gods, and they go on magical quests.  This book has a lot of action, it's super funny, and it has an awesome cliffhanger ending so I can't wait for the fourth book."

Callum pulled Twerp out of his bag and observed that it  is "... probably the best book I've read this summer.  The book is set in the 60s so it's pretty interesting.  If you combine Joey from the Joey Pigza series with August from Wonder, you kind of get what this kid's like.  He's kind of disobedient at times, but in the end he makes things right which is good.  It's super good, so I recommend you read it."  Actually Callum's recommendation of this book when I first met him in June inspired me to move this book to the top of my TBR (to be read) pile.  Look under the comments in the Books Read in June post for my review.  You will need to click on Older Posts at the bottom of the blog in order to find the Books Read in June post.  I gave the book 4 stars, but Callum insists that it's a 5 star read!

At this point, we continued our discussion by talking about Callum's favorite places to read - his bed, his desk, and the table on his deck where he reads with his family. Callum remembers that his dad always read to him when he was little.  When asked where he finds books to read, he mentioned his classroom library where he uses this strategy to pick a book:  "I pick it up, start reading, and if I like it, I keep going.  But if I don't, I put it back."  Callum mentioned that it's good to come back to books that you might have discarded earlier.  "Last year, I tried The Candy Shop War by Brendan Mull and didn't like it.  But this year I read it on vacation and loved it."  When looking for new books, he likes to continue a series or author that he's liked before.  His favorite place to get new books is Island Books, an independent bookstore in our community.  He commented that he shops from the tables in the store.  Here's the view of what's currently on the tween reader table at Island Books.  Note the book Twerp in the lower right hand corner of the table.


What an interesting afternoon I spent with Callum as he shared his favorite reads of the summer!  Thanks, Callum, for this delightful glimpse into your reading life!

If you've completed at least three books this summer and would like to be interviewed and featured as a guest reader, contact me at this address - Ramona.Behnke@mercerislandschools.org or leave a comment on the blog.  You don't have to be one of my students in order to be a featured guest reader.  I'm actually hoping for a Skype visit with Abby from Arkansas and perhaps one of Dr. Clay's granddaughters from Texas.  If you're a kid or adult who enjoys reading books for tweens (students in upper elementary and early middle school), feel free to leave your favorite reads under comments in the posts, Books Read in June or Books Read in July.

22 comments:

  1. What a great post and what a reader! Those were some pretty hefty books that he had. I really like your idea of a guest reader. I have a classroom website and I think this would be great addition. Thanks for the idea...I hope you don't mind if I use it.

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    1. Leigh Anne, you may certainly use this idea. It probably wasn't original with me. The willingness to share with others is a hallmark of this online community. Thanks for stopping by!

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    2. I has some extra time this evening and went back to read the other posts on this blog - what a terrific idea. I have created a classroom blog using Kidblog to use this school year. My goal is to get them writing posts similar to SOLC and also about their reading.

      I really like your idea for a "summer blog" - one would think it would get kids motivated to read during a time when most kids don't! I am glad I found this.

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  2. Love your blog - it's great to meet Callum. I would love to send students to read about other readers. I hope you will continue this site through the school year!

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    1. Good idea! I'd like to know about other platforms that make it easier for kids to comment. Any ideas from those of you who did SOL with your students last year?

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  3. Ramona, this blog is so fun! Haven't read a tween book in awhile, but I'd say my favorites were the Sammy Keyes series, Harry Potter, of course, The Secret Garden (I guess that's a classic, but I think it's great to read at any age) and The Outsiders (although that might be more teen than tween...it's all blending together!). Can't wait for the next guest reader!

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    1. Ana, I love that you stopped by my blog. It's always fun to talk books with you and your family.

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  4. Hi guys this is Callum and I hope you will read some of these books.

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    1. Callum, thanks for encouraging the readers of Sweet Summer Reads. Be sure to come back and post the other books you read this summer. I hope you'll make it to the MI library event on July 30. Be sure to stop by Room 104 on schedule day for one of my famous cookie bars!

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  5. This comment was posted to my other blog, but I wanted Callum to see her comment.

    Peg D July 16, 2013 at 2:19 PM
    How cool! Wouldn't it be wonderful if all kids could have that passion for reading? Sounds like an amazing conversation and Twerp is on my next bookstore trip list. Thanks Callum, for sharing. :-)

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  6. Wow--thanks for sharing Callum's interview. My son has some similar reading interests, so I think I will share it with him, too.

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    1. Thanks, Maya. Please have your son comment here (under Jodi McCarthy, that's Callum's mom) if he reads any of the books. Callum would love to hear from other readers. Encourage your son to share books he's read also.

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  7. Wow - this is awesome -- the blog, the interviews, the book love! Love the conversation you had with Callum! Amazed by his reading and knowing himself as a reader. Keep it up Callum! Read on!

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    1. Thanks for stopping by the blog. I'm having so much fun with this blog and hoping lots of students are stopping by. Feel free to share it with any tween readers in your life. Callum would love to hear from other students.

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  8. Callum here, I'm writing a list of all the books I've read, and I will give it to you on the 1st day of school.

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    1. Thanks, Callum, it will be fun to see what you've completed this summer. See you on Tuesday!

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  9. By,Callum McCarthy
    For a cookie bar, I read The Mark of Athena, The Candy Shop War 2, The Janitors Boy, Small Steps, Twerp,The One and Only Ivan,Wings of Fire book 1, Navigating Early, The True Blue Scouts of Sugarman Swamp and The Surprise Attack of Jabba the Puppet. Thanks for reading everyone!

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    1. Wow, Callum, that's quite a lengthy list. You were one busy reader!
      Here's the additional information I need for THREE of the books you read. Post the book title, author, and your rating. You might choose to use a star rating system of 1 - 5 stars, with 5 stars being the best book you've ever read, and 1 star indicating that you didn't like the book. You might also want to include the genre. Feel free to share your thoughts about the book, but remember you don't have to post a lengthy review. Callum, you might decide to choose your top 3 books from your list and explain why each was a favorite. Just share with us a bit more than just the titles. That cookie bar is within reach!

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  10. Here it goes,
    The Candy Shop War 2, Brandon Mull, 5 stars, and Fantasy
    The One and Only Ivan, Kathrine Applegate, 4 stars, and Animals Stories
    Small Steps, Lous Sachar, 4 stars, and realistic fiction.
    FOR COOKIE BARS!

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    1. You're so close that you can almost taste the cookie! Please explain why each of these books was one of your favorite reads for the summer and you'll cross the finish line. -Mrs. B.

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    2. Here it goes,
      The Candy Shop War 2 is a very good book with lots of action and adventure.
      Small Steps is the sequel to Holes but is not as good but was a little bit more funny.
      The One and Only Ivan was really sad, but had a happy ending to it. It was so descriptive that I could picture the gorilla sitting in is cage all alone.:(


      The cookie bar is mine!$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

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  11. Callum, thanks for your tenacity! You crossed the finish line to seize the cookie bar!

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