Last Book

The Last book I read was another graphic novel. It was titled Y The Last Man by Brian K. Vaughan. This is also a series just like Sweet tooth the series is called Unmanned. That name is really significant because the whole tale is about how there is a freak accident and at the same time all over the world every man, animal and human dies. It is really interesting because there are a lot of key elements that play into this tale that you could use to incorporate into a classroom. This would have to be used in a high school classroom maybe an honors class. But there are politics, science, and obviously huge gender roles to be talked about in this book. Through out the whole book there are a lot of side stories going on through it and at the end they all tie together to lead into the next book. I think the three most interesting parts of this book are first how there is one man who lives but he survives with his pet monkey. You do not find out in the first book why the monkey survives but you do find out that he is going to play a MAJOR role in the following books. Another part that I find interesting is that when all the men die there is a group of females that join together and call themselves the Amazon. They are the revolutionaries of this time. They rome around on motorcycles and take lives, stand their ground they are the rebels that everyone is scared of. They are a cult and to join the cult you have to show your loyalty by not only killing someone and doing whatever the leader wants but you have to also cut off your left breast...it is not explained in depth in this book why they do this but it is expressed that it will be explained later on. The last part that is really interesting to me that I think you can really incorporate in maybe a politics class or something is that when all the men die the whole white house is empty and all the seats are open except one because there was only one women as the seat of environmental processes. Who then got moved up to president because as succession would have it if every seat a head of her dies she would get to be president. But what is really interesting is that there is a small rebel group that is formed to try and burn down the white house and get their power from the republican party. This group consist of the wives of the men who died. I think you could use this to introduce how succession works maybe...This comic book was really interesting and I am really excited to read the rest of the series.

Sweet Tooth

Over break my older brother and I book swapped and he gave me three comic books. I have never really been one for his comic books but I figured I would give them a try because he was reading my books which was a change for him. I just finished the first one last night, it is called Sweet tooth, Out of The Deep Woods by Jeff lemire. The basic story line of this graphic novel is that there is a plague that is slowly killing off all the humans, but when this plague went into activation there was a birth of kids that were born with some kind of animal in them. They were born with antlers, animal skin, fur, hooves..something. Gus is the main character of this novel in the beginning it is only him and his father. They live in the woods together, his mother died of the plague when he was really young. Gus's father tells his to never leave the woods because there is fire and murder and sin out in the world. Every night they pray for their mother that she is okay in heaven and that someday God will take them there to see her. When his father dies, Gus adventures into the woods to bury him next to his mother and at this point in time he gets hunted by two hunters. Luckily, he is saved by Mr.Jepperd who Gus has seen in his dreams before but never in real life. Mr. Jpperd tells Gus that he is not safe and that he needs to come with him. Now being alone with no family, he goes. Mr.Jepperd explains to Gus that there is a lot of people who would pay a lot of money to have someone like him who is half man half animal but that he would protect him and take him to the preserve where all the other ones are begin keep safe. Gus goes with him and along the way gets the nick name Sweet tooth from Mr.Jepperd because at their first meal Gus would not eat any of the meat that Mr.Jepperd was cooking because he did not want to eat another animal, so Mr.Jeppered gave him candy bars. Which Gus loved! As the story progresses they encounter a lot of situations where people try and steal Sweet Tooth, but Mr.Jepperd save's him. But in the end Mr.Jepperd and Gus get to the preserve and Mr.Jepperd turns Sweet Tooth over for a reward that he was promised. The whole story shows that you can not trust anyone except what you were brought up on. That you should trust your instincts and not just believe what some stranger tells you because they have food and say they will project you!
I really like reading graphic novels. Seeing the really detailed pictures to go along with the story really helps to fully understand what the author is trying to get across rather than just going with the images that I create in my head! I am excited to read the next two comic books my brother gave me. I think this is a great way for students who struggle with reading to read. In high school when we were reading The Great Gatsby our teacher has the book in a graphic novel form and each day someone new got to follow along with the graphic novel form. It really helped a lot of my class mates understand better what was going on in the tale. It makes me think if Romeo and Juliet were in graphic novel form would more students understand it better?

Crank Continued..

I just got about 100 pages deeper into Crank and it is so extremely intense. I love this book. There are so many things to love about it. One thing that is really interesting that I think everyone should read it for or at least pick up the book and flip through it for is some of the sonnets are written in the shape of images.( like a house or an arrow) That is self makes the book more interesting I think. With every turn of the page there is something new and exciting to read about our character. She has traveled down to see her dad who she has not seen since her parents have gotten a divorce. While she is down there she realizes all the reasons her mother has left him and still hates him. He is still a drug abuser, a low life, had a low paying job and does not want to clean him self up. He works at a bowling alley under the table where he gets and abuses the drug coke. While Kristina is down there she meets this boy and falls in love stealing him from the girl who lives down stairs. This whole time that she is with this lover Adam, who everyone calls "buddy" she tells him to call her "Bree" her other half. When she is "Bree" she is not her self she does strange things she tries Crank,the "monster." Her father does not stop her, instead he just does a line with her and lets her walk home alone where she gets raped by three men. There are just so many things that happen with in 100 short pages that are so engaging. She has sex for the first time with Adam and Adam's girl friend see's and jumps out of her bed room window. There are a lot of things as a writer that you can incorporate to keep a reader truing the page and I think that Hopkins has really done it in this situation.
As a reader you picture and imagine what is going to happen next and with most box that I have read like the hanging tree I could guess and guess right what was going to happen next but with this book as i flip the page to see what happens next i find that I am wrong and that the writer has thrown me for a loop. As a reader this is something that I look for in a GREAT book. This book i would recommend to any person of all age levels. maybe 8 grade and up.

The End Of Many

I finished Reading a few books and just did not get a chance to blog about them.
Fahrenheit 451- I finished this book in a really fast manor. I have never finished a book so fast. I think because I enjoyed it so much. And the fact that it fit into the society so much today I could really relate to it. This book was written in 1953 and now today has evolved to actually make its self true. The idea that we do not actually need books to read. The idea that technology is going to take over to the world and we are going to lost touch with all the simply things in life, like reading a paper back novel taking in the old moldy smell of the book. I actually just read and article for my other class that they are coming out with the Human Body 2.0 where we wont need to actually ingest food anymore we can just implant these nano-bots onto our clothes that go into out body when we need nutrients. It is so interesting and scary to think about that we could actually not need to eat to survive! That is what I really take from this book that we are missing out on the small things by moving into this modern world that technology is taking over the world and replacing the simple pleasures that we used to enjoy.

Crank

I started reading Crank this past weekend. I picked it up a long time ago in high school and got about 15 pages in and just stopped because I lost track of time. I picked it up again and really loved it. I forgot why I loved it so much but quickly remembered. It is because of the short quick intriguing sonnets that Ellen Hopkins has throughout the whole book.
It is interesting because there are so many different characters portrayed in this tale even thought there are really only a maximum of 5 characters.( up to the part I have read) but it is interesting because the main character Kristina has a split personality. And when she talks both parts of her are talking . Every other line is what she says out loud and then what her other half Krista would say. so it is really interesting and fun to read.
So far the plot of my story is just a broken family, but it gets interesting I can tell because I keep filiping forward and reading the titles of each sonnet.

Collective thoughts

After reading my comments and post, I do see a change in my reading skills. I find my self trying to reach into the book more to find more answers than just what is on the page. When reading 451 I found my self willingly looking for more information on the web, as I finished Hanging Tree I found myself looking deeper into the authors thoughts as I read his words. There is a lot that you can take a way from a book that I think most people miss. I know a lot of people who find reading a chore so they just read because they have to so they are just reading whats on the page. Where as now I feel like when I read and respond to an open forum I find my self re-thinking about what really went on in that chapter and I am able to reconnect my self and mind with the book.

Survey's: How technology aids students with learning Disabilities

Please take these surveys accordingly to help me gather research for my project to show how technology aids students with learning disabilities. It is a known fact that students with learning disabilities learn completely different than the average student. I know form first hand experience. I would not say that I suffer from dyslexia but I grow everyday from my learning disability and intend to help other children see how a learning disability is not a disadvantage at life but an advantage. Most students who have dyslexia use different parts of their brain more than the others, for example I fail to use the part of my brain that helps me with my short term memory, comprehension, spelling, and writing. However other parts of my brain work really fast and well. I excel when it comes to creative wringing, sports,music, and building things. Being able to see things in different ways means that I learn and take in information in different ways. For me technology has always been a MAJOR outlet for me. It it were not for the speedy online dictionary I would not have made it though high school. My brothers and I were also privileged to use Dragon Speak which is a program that as you talk your way through your paper the computer program types what you say. These technologies have help my brothers and I (who both have dyslexia) to get through high school and many classes and over come out disability. If you would be so kind to participate in my survey below and help me acquire information for my project to show what schools and students are missing without technology and how it would be really beatifically if they had small things like Dragon Speak.
Below there are two different surveys the first one if for teachers and the second for students. Please take what ever one fits your situation because the questions are different. The survey is anonymous but your answers will be pulled into a final tally.

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?PREVIEW_MODE=DO_NOT_USE_THIS_LINK_FOR_COLLECTION&sm=u3xqnuFvxRMeWBt2HPLtF8qS%2fgOwdqs532uKEV4Dljw%3d

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?PREVIEW_MODE=DO_NOT_USE_THIS_LINK_FOR_COLLECTION&sm=cpdcKDeMmCAJpvbKNN%2bRlxuHcOr4R5gDWfYnjXMuZQ8%3d