Last year around this time we were happy to welcome author Tom Angleberger to our school.  He had just published the now wildly popular book, The Strange Case of Origami Yoda and was starting to visit schools.

He was fantastic as a speaker and presenter.  Last year we decided to have an After School Origami Yoda Extravaganza before Mr. Angleberger arrived.  It was awesome and he said he would have really liked to have been there.

So this year we welcome Tom Angleberger back to SMS.  This year he comes with Darth Paper Strikes Back and Horton Halfpott to his writing credit, as well as a few new books on the horizon.

To give him his wish we will be having another after school extravaganza, this time with Mr. Angleberger in attendance.

We are calling it….Tom Angleberger Strikes Back!

In the comments of this post you can write about your experiences at our after school extravaganza.  What did you enjoy?  What did you wish you might have seen?  What questions do you have for Mr. Angleberger that might not have been answered?

Hit that comment button and tell us what you are thinking.

Read on,

Mr. H

PS…Remember you don’t need an email or website to post.  Just put bob@bob.com in for the email and leave the website blank.  As always never leave your last name on the internet.

The IBRG is off to a fantastic start.  We created a video dealing with Horton Halfpott by Tom Angleberger and then the guys are TMC Guys Read responded in kind.

Now, inspired by our first attempts and the great works from our west coast partners, SMS Guys Read presents the responses to the response…

TMC Guys Read had a few questions for us.

First our Guys Read books…

Then where did the Intercontinental Ballistic Reading Group name come from?

and then do we do any Guys Read field trips?

From the questions we moved to a little target practice inspired by Miss Neversly’s relationship with our hero Horton.

as you can see it was a little out of control.

and finally we reopened the idea of Luggertuck Theater with our version of the “meet/cute”  in movies you always have the love interests meet in a cute way.

This week was a great week for the IBRG.  We had a blast and look forward to seeing the TMC Guys Read response to the response to the response to the response.

Read on,

Mr. H

So earlier this week I announced a partnership with the lads over at TMC Guys Read.  In this digital partnership we plan to create videos that connect our two groups, even though we live on opposite sides of the nation.  SMS Guys Read will make and video and then TMC will make a response and we will go back and forth discussing a book.  For our first book, we chose Horton Halfpott by Tom Angleberger.

Yesterday we had our first SMS Guys Read meeting of the new  year.  We spent that time preparing for this video.  We did a short reading (we read to page 10), conducted a quick poll, did a gruesome art project and polished a script I had been working on.

Today, we gathers a few of choice GR members during our lunch break and filmed the video.  The following is our second attempt.  We might have been able to make it even better, but lunch was ending and students were starting to come in to collect their backpacks.  You can see me holding them toward the end of the video.

We had great fun making the video and fully plan to get better as we complete the reading of Horton Halfpott and start to better understand how to make a good video blog.  So look to the future as we bring these two great reading groups closer together….digitally at least.

Enjoy….

and a few outtakes…because they are funny.

Read on,

Mr. H

On to you TMC Guys Read….Have fun!

Boy has SMS Guys Read gone dark for a long time?  Our last post was December 7th and I am writing to you know on January 31!  Goodness we have been gone a long time.

So I have some really cool news to share. Over the break I made some contact with another Guys Read club way over on the other side of these United States.  I won’t tell you where there are, but will say that most of them will cheer for the Sounders FC.

This contact has led their leader, Mr. Shaffer and I to try an intercontinental reading group vlog project.  We will be sharing small video blogs about our reading with the lads of TMC Guys Read and see what kind of silliness we can get up to digitally.

We have decided that Tom Angleberger will get the first Intercontinental Ballistic Reading Group treatment.  We will collectively read Horton Halfpott or The Fiendish Mystery of Smugwick Manor or The loosening of M’Lady Luggertuck’s Corset.

This is super exciting as not only will be able to share with another cool group of guys, but Angleberger is on board to share with us as well.  Check the TMC Guys Read blog to see his Tweets with Mr. Shaffer.

So this Wednesday we will meet and put or first video together for the opening of Horton Halfpott.  My plans are coming together nicely and I am excited to see where this first video blog ends up.  Many of you will want to get your hands on a copy.  I have one, but you should be able to find it in the library or out in the bookshops.

This could be a huge partnership that could lead to lots of really cool digital projects.  I can’t wait and I know you will all be ready to help out.

Read on, Mr. H

Oh BTW… We didn’t just pick Tom Angleberger because he is a super cool author who is incredibly funny and intelligent.  We also picked his book as he will be on our campus on February23!!!

He even drew a sketch for our new t-shirt… as modeled by C-3PO.

We have just one SMS Guys Read meeting for this calendar year.  When we go out on Winter Break we will also have to deal with our Track Four break.  We will not meet again until the end of January.  Now we can always stay  in contact her on the web.  I will do my best to add new posts and thoughts, if you will add your thoughts in comments.

So for this last meeting I thought we would give this commenting challenge a test.  I got this idea when I stepped in to my local library branch and started browsing the staff recommendations, and found these…

I thought it would be interesting to talk about Tintin as the new Steven Spielberg movie is set to release on December 21.

So today you will break into seven groups and explore one collection of Tintin stories.  From there we will hit the Computer lab and start commenting.  You will need to give your opinion of the volume you reviewed and respond to other comments.

Remember that we are interested in collaborative learning, not throw-away comments.  So show us what you can bring to the conversation.

Read on,

Mr. H

As we begin the month of December many of you might be interested in some ideas for book gifts, or ways to spend that bookstore gift card grandma sent.

So I’m here to help.  The following list compiles some great new middle grade novels, most of which I have either read or I have on my need to read pile (which is ever growing and immense).

• Peter Nimble & His Fantastic Eyes by Jonathan Auxier
• Wildwood by Colin Meloy and Carson Ellis
• The Apothecary by Malie Meloy
• Breadcrumbs by Anne Ursa  (just announced as NPR’s Backseat Book Club selection for the month of December)
• The Unwanteds by Lisa McMann
• Floors by Patrick Carman
• The Familiars & Secrets of the Crown by Adam Jay Epstein and Andrew Jacobson
• Mysterious Benedict Society Series and Mr. Benedict’s Book of Perplexing Puzzles, Elusive Enigmas, and Curious Conundrums: A Mysterious Benedict Society Companion Book

I am just finishing Wildwood by Colin Meloy and his wife Carson Ellis.  It has been a fantastic fantasy set in a large wooded park outside of Portland, Oregon.  It reminds me of the world of Narnia a great deal.  Rich language and great adventure pulls you through this novel.

I have also read Floors by Patrick Carman.  Floors tells the somewhat zany tale of a rich eccentric who builds a fantastic hotel with all kinds of crazy rooms and floors.  The life size pinball room interests me the most.  It is reminiscent of The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin.

My daughter read, and loved, The Familiars by Adam Jay Epstein and Andrew Jacobson.  She is looking forward to reading the sequel, Secret of the Crowns.

My next read becomes a toss-up between The Unwanteds, The Apothecary (which was written by Colin Meloy’s sister), and Breadcrumbs.  I might ask the students to help me make the final choice.

Let me know if you have any questions or would like to know more about the books on the list.

Read on,

Mr. H

As you may well know SMS Guys Read attacked our local cinema last night to see the opening of the movie Hugo, based on Brian Selznick’s The Invention of Hugo Cabret.

I was super excited.  I loved the book and I have never seen a 3-D movie.  I was also a little nervous as I was going to be in the charge of a fairly large group of middle school age boys, hyped for a school break and cashed up at a movie theater.

Everything turned out pretty well and we all had a really good time.

Can you believe that I had 28 middle school guys on the day before Thanksgiving at a book club outing!

The movie is absolutely amazing. I read the movie companion book before seeing the film and I truly recommend reading that companion before seeing the film.  You will know so much about the true world of early film making, George Melies, automatons and how this great book became a great movie.

I have so many favorite scenes and parts, but I have to say that my absolute tops are the scenes with Christopher Lee, the bookseller.  So many great lines about books and libraries and a book shop that would make any book lover drool…and it was in 3-D!

So many of you will see Hugo this Thanksgiving, we would love to hear your thoughts on the film, the book and what you enjoyed about the whole experience. Hit that comment button and share your thoughts on Hugo.

Read on,

Mr. H

So after a minor moment of panic, for about three minutes I though the Hugo movie was not opening in our area, I can now release the time for our Hugo Field Trip.

The voting and meeting debate for 2D vs 3D was interesting, we have some strong opinions in both camps, but the poll and the comments clearly show that we will be viewing the Hugo film in 3D.

The fact that we want to see the film in 3D is somewhat interesting, because the movie theater is only showing the film in 2D once a day, and that time is while we are still in school.  So the universe is telling us we made the right choice.

So on Wednesday we will not stay after school, but instead meet at Beaver Creek Cinema for the 4:20 show.  I would love to have everyone who is attending to show up between 4:00 and 4:15 so we can get tickets, buy junk food and get good seats.

I also am excited to see if they take our sign away again this year.

The 3D movie is a bit more expensive than the regular film.  Matinee prices for 3D run $11 and $10 for kids.  The movie runs for two hours and seven minutes, so parents will need to be back at the theater around 6:30.

I hope to get a good crowd of guys together for this awesome looking book to movie adaptation.

Let me know if you have any questions.  You can email Mr. H at his school account or at smsguysread@gmail.com.

Read On,

Mr. H

So next Wednesday we will meet up at our local movie establishment for the much anticipated showing of Hugo, based on the novel The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick.

I can’t tell you times yet, they told me they would be posted yesterday but they lied, it will be sometime on Thursday afternoon.  So check the announcements at school for the official times later this week.

I have been reading, in fact am finished with a great little book called The Hugo Movie Companion.  The book is also written by Brian Selznick and tells the story of how the book came to be and then how the book became the movie.

It is full of great little real life details and wonderful full color images from the movie.  It also tells lots of stories from major players in the making of the movie.  You almost feel like you know how a movie is truly made after finishing the book.

One of my favorite thoughts from the book was dealing with the plan to film the movie in 3-D.

The book talks about how in 1931 there was a new movie technology that was seen with lots of suspicion… sound!  Can you imagine a time where the vast majority of people looked at the idea of sound in a movie as a gimmick that took away from the film?

The book and movie makers claim we are in another technology shift today.  Much of the movie going world looks at 3-D as a gimmick that takes away from the film, or even makes it cheesy.  I would put myself in that spot, I have only really seen 3-D movies in IMAX or Disney settings and think of them as gimmicky.  I also fall into the camp of not wanting to pay the extra dollars just to see the film in three dimensions.

So I am interested to see and hear if the Guys Read field trip to the Hugo movie should be a 2-D or 3-D adventure.

Here is a poll to light our way…

Should SMS Guys Read see the Hugo film in 2-D or 3-D?
So vote for the dimension you most want to experience this film in and let us know in comments why.

Read On, Mr. H

I’m sure many of you have seen this little slice of video love, but if for some reason you have found yourself under a rock you need to sit back and give yourself two minutes and thirty-six seconds.

Enjoy…

Thoughts?

I did watch this clip with one of my classes today and the feeling around the room was gut-wrenching frustration.  They wanted to re-read the books and time travel ahead to March.  I have to say I was right there with them.

Read on,

Mr. H