Turkish Delight Anyone?

So last Wednesday's YA Highway Road Trip got me thinking.  The topic was about opening your "Fantasy Bookstore", what would it look like, what would you sell.  Of course, I would sell children's books of all genres; picture books to young adult.  Several people posted about including a cafe in their Fantasy Bookstore -- which I totally would do that too.  One person said she'd sell cupcakes in her children's bookstore -- which I think kids and parents would DEVOUR!

Not sure if other people suggested this in their posts, but  my husband and I then started discussing the idea of a cafe in our children's bookstore that served foods that were featured in or inspired by children's novels.  We decided that having an entire menu to create, serve, and maintain everyday would be too complicated, and it would take away from our focus on books and children's literacy.  So we came up with the idea to feature ONE ITEM every day (or once a week?), print out a calendar, and use it as an incentive to have people come in and visit the bookstore.

With that concept in mind, we came up with these foods inspired by children's novels...

• Turkish Delight -- from The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe
• Green Eggs and Ham -- from Green Eggs and Ham (of course)
• Haystacks (confection made from fried chow mein noodles, butterscotch chips and peanut butter) -- from How to Eat Fried Worms
• Butterbeer -- Harry Potter
• Pumpkin Pasties -- Harry Potter
• Oatmeal (Gruel)-- Oliver Twist
• Lamb Stew with Dried Plums -- Hunger Games
• Dauntless Chocolate Cake, Candor Ice Cream, Erudite Fizzy Drinks -- Divergent series
• Cloudy with a Chance of Spaghetti and Meatballs -- Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs
• Stone Soup -- Stone Soup
• Pancakes, Cookies, Muffins -- If You Give A Mouse A...

Now let me be CLEAR.  We do NOT have any plans whatsoever of actually doing this.  But it was fun to imagine! :)

Any other ideas to add to this list?

What happens to good intentions?

So that box of wonderful books I intended to read?  Didn't happen.  I could give you a gazillion reasons why.  But really, I got caught up in the holidays, and in researching writing (as in writing middle grade or YA lit.)

I have always wanted to be a teacher.  Always.  I played teacher when I was 8 years-old.  I made floor plans of my classroom.  I created classroom schedules.   I "taught" my stuffed animals.  I even made attendance sheets.  But...

I have a secret.

I also wanted to be a writer.  My closet was filled with boxes of spiral-bound notebooks containing all of my stories.  Most of them were fanfic stuff, written before I even knew what fanfic was all about.  As soon as I got into books (about 3rd grade), I got into writing, too.  I was so inspired by the stories I read, that I wanted the stories and characters to continue.  So I continued them.  Now, series books were not exactly abounding when I was young.  There were the Little House on the Praire books, The Boxcar Children, the Chronicles of Narnia, and the "Fudge" books by Judy Blume.  My favorite was Madeleine L'Engle's Time Trilogy.  But those were about it.  Regardless, books were my inspiration, so I wrote and wrote and wrote.

Years later as a young college student, I devised this plan to teach during the school year, and write during the summer.  Great plan, right?  For someone who had NEVER ACTUALLY TAUGHT  in a classroom.  But for someone who was always thinking on the practical side, this was a logical course of action.  I figured my chances of gainful employment were greater with teaching than with writing.  And given the knowledge I had back then, I was probably right.

It's been 21 years since I graduated from college.  I've been teaching since 1998, and have been teaching at my current school since 2001. It's a unique school -- awesome environment, incredible staff -- but a lot of hard work, and not a lot of summer break.   I am happily married, and have two amazing children.  But I still have this dream of writing.

A few things helped my dream re-surface:

1. One of my students mentioned a girl's ability to fight as a quality worthy of marriage.  I blogged about it here.  It made me think about girl characters in books.
2. I was an avid reader in elementary school.  Someone very close to me is not.  This person has amazing reading comprehension skills, but is still developing fluency and reading stamina.  Some books are too long for this person, even though this person is able read it.  Just something that made me go hmmm.
3. I found out that the author of one of my current favorite reads, Divergent, is only 24 years-old.  Her name is Veronica Roth, and when I poked around her blog, I was totally inspired.  She had so many great tips!
4. I started looking up other favorite authors, and was also inspired by Jessica Day George, author of Dragon Slippers.  This inspired me, too.  She is a mom!  Like me!  It also took her nine years and 187 rejections.  (That was totally frightening -- but inspiring nonetheless).

My husband and I talked, and he has always known this dream of mine.  Our first Christmas as a married couple, he gave me a blank journal, "To write your ideas for your book," he told me.  I still have that book, but it never really got filled.  I realized I need to make the time if I want this to happen.  However long it takes.  This Christmas, he gave me a software called Scrivener.  I love it.  I'm actually using it, playing around, hashing out ideas, characters.  Maybe it will become something.  Who knows?

But I'm not giving up my day job. :)

Reading list of good intentions (aka Winter Break Reading)

I'm cleaning up my classroom, getting ready for our much awaited 2-week break.  The table that also functions as my desk (a horseshoe table -- great for group work with students) is quite the display.

The Arrowhead water bottles and bowls of grapes are leftovers from our class Christmas party.  The snowflakes are  part of our collection for the surviving students and staff of Sandy Hook Elementary (more details here).  I don't know why I have 2 boxes of Kleenex.

This is me fine-tuning my lesson plans for after the holidays.  My friends and co-workers claim that I am organized.  One has even labelled me as a "linear thinker." I beg to differ.  The picture says it all.  As I write this, I should really be focused on finishing up my lesson plans, cleaning up, and getting out of here -- but the urge to write came upon me, so here I am.

Anyway, a couple of my colleagues and I use the Daily 5 CAFE in our classrooms to teach reading and language arts.  I LOVE it.  Each student keeps a "book box" -- a collection of books he/she intends to read.  

I also keep a book box (for which my blog is named) - a collection of books that I intend to read. Emphasis on intend.  In the time I intended to read these books, I ended up reading a number of YA titles such as: Eon and Eona by Alison Goodman, Graceling by Kristin Cashore, and Divergent and Insurgent by Veronica Roth.  Not really titles I would keep in my 4th grade classroom -- though I enjoyed them IMMENSELY.   I devoured them after my children were tucked in bed, and many a late night was spent caught up in the "one more chapter" cycle.  At 43 years-old, I am not a young adult -- but I totally love YA literature.

This winter break, I am determined to pay more attention to my love for children's literature.  I've taken the books out of my classroom book box, and put them in my bag to take home and enjoy.

Here they are:

In case you can't read the titles, they are (from left to right)

Inside Out & Back Again by Thanhha Lai

Book 2 of the Sisters Grimm:  The Unusual Suspects by Michael Buckley

The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane by Kate Di Camillo

Esperanza Rising by Pam Munoz Ryan

The last book was The Guardians of Ga'Hoole #2 The Journey by Kathryn Lasky -- I want to read book one first, and have no idea how this one got in there.

Do you have any book recommendations for me?  I'm a fast reader, but don't think I can devour all these in 2 weeks.  I love reading, but I love spending time with my family more.  Luckily, some of that is easily combined for many of my family love reading, as well.   Send in your recommendations and I will be happy to add them to my list of books I intend to read....