I love to watch student-made book trailers, especially when the students are not mine, and I’ve already read the book. I guess I see with a teacher’s eye: Did the student get the gist of the book? Did she love it and want others to read it as much as I did?
I felt a thrill when I watched this trailer for Nancy Farmer’s The House of the Scorpion. The images and music parallel one another nicely, adding that touch of intrigue, which parallels the adventures in the book. The few errors in writing make me smile– my students will do that, too.
My kids will soon start creating their own book trailers. They got to choose the books they read. They get to figure out how to format and create a trailer that will get others to want to read that book. Should be interesting to see what they come up with.
For their final project my English I students are to create their own book trailers. We’ve watched enough of them this year that they should have a pretty good idea of what an effective trailer should do: compel someone to read the book.
In a last ditch effort to get my kids to understand the task, we are watching student-made book trailers for the next little while. These are a couple that are done very well about the book IF I STAY by Gayle Forman.
In my experience, if you can get a kid to read just one of Forman’s books, she will read them all.
Watching this book trailer, I am reminded of how much I loved this book when I first read it. I passed it off to my son who read it but also lost the book cover. Does anyone else have a difficult time getting kids to read hardback books that have no cover? Dark, thick, foreboding. I cannot get one kid to even try a book unless the cover is at least attempting to be cool.
So, a week ago I’m cleaning out closets, and I find the jacket to SHIPBREAKER by Paolo Bacigalupi, and I’m reminded of its protagonist Nailer and the beautiful girl who changes his life. I love these words in the front cover:
Even at night, the wrecks glowed with work. The torch lights flickered, bobbing and moving. Sledge noise rang across the water. Comforting sounds of work and activity, the air tanged with the coal reek of smelters and the salt fresh breeze coming off the water. It was beautiful.
There’s a mini-lesson on imagery in there, isn’t there?
“There was a girl. Her name was Angie. She was happy.” ~E.E. Charlton-Trujillo
How can you not love a book with a cool title? My Sister Lives on the Mantlepiece is my favorite book title of all time. The book itself was pretty good, but oh, that title!
Fat Angie has rested on my whiteboard rail for some time now. I decided I needed to make it move and found this awesome book trailer. I know the perfect student for this book, but I’ll show the trailer and let her see why it screams “Read me!” for herself.
Close to the top of my favorite things to do: match the perfect book with the perfect kid. Hoorah!
My students are primarily of Latino descent. Most claim to “hate” reading. Every year I push, shove, pull, and sometime want to shriek as I try to get them to climb into a book. It’s not a mountain. It is just one book.
I truly believe that if a kid can find just one book that inspires, enlightens, “hooks” him, that kid can become a life-long reader.
The trouble is getting that kid to at least TRY reading. I have a lot, a whole lot, of Fake Readers.
That is why I love it when an author shows up with a book, or two, or three that kids will read. Last year the librarians at my school entered some contest, and they won. The prize package? a visit to our school from the author Simone Eckles. She spoke about her books and her writing process. She was funny and kind, and students clamored to get her autograph. The librarians had prepared well, getting additional copies of the books from Barnes and Noble, and allowing students to purchase them at a discount.
I purchased one of each, and all three books disappeared before the year was out. I purchased them again, and they are gone again. No one admits to being the last to return them, although my list says otherwise. I don’t quite get it.
There must be a reason my students steal these books, and since they’re stealing them, they must be reading them–maybe? The stories are gritty and real and mirror the lives of my students. The characters are well-developed and mimic the behaviors of my kids. The bad boy and the “good” girl overcome their differences and end up together: a happily-ever-after my students surely hope for themselves.
So, once again, I am purchasing these books, and this week’s Reel Reading for Real Readers highlights to book trailers of Mrs. Rasmussen’s most often stolen books:
PERFECT CHEMISTRY
RULES OF ATTRACTION
CHAIN REACTION
New to Real Reading? Here’s how it works. Join us.
What: Weekly posts of book trailers of our favorite and most student-engaging YA books.
Why: Visual images can intrigue the most reluctant and even hostile readers.
When: Thursdays so you can find the book in preparation for showing the trailer on Fridays. (We might get some traction with weekend readers here.)
How: We’ll post ours. You post yours, using the meme Reel Reading for Real Readers. Leave us a comment with your blog link, so others can add to their book trailer libraries.
Gritty. Real. Not to mention a killer title. Exactly what my students like and want to read. Check out today’s book trailer for Yaqui Delgado Wants to Kick Your Ass by Meg Medina.
If you’re new to Reel Reading for Real Readers, here’s the low down:
What: Weekly posts of book trailers of our favorite and most student-engaging YA books.
Why: Visual images can intrigue the most reluctant and even hostile readers.
When: Thursdays so you can find the book in preparation for showing the trailer on Fridays. (We might get some traction with weekend readers here.)
How: We’ll post ours. You post yours, using the meme Reel Reading for Real Readers. Leave us a comment with your blog link, so others can add to their book trailer libraries.
I hate a love/hate relationship with zombies. I love the man and boys in my house who love “The Walking Dead;” I kind of hate that the whole zombie deal has infected their thinking as to what makes good entertainment on Sunday night. Nevertheless, my guys love it, and I spend the evenings on the downstairs couch with a good book, usually about anything but zombies. Usually.
Then, I got this zombie-project idea from a colleague, and I must admit, I am a bit fascinated. My students are, too. Two book trailers that got our attention this week? The Enemy by Charlie Higson and Rot and Ruin by Jonathan Maberry.
I love to watch student-made book trailers, especially when the students are not mine, and I’ve already read the book. I guess I see with a teacher’s eye: Did the student get the gist of the book? Did she love it and want others to read it as much as I did?
Three Teachers Talk 