LOVE Book Talk Thursdays!

I could seriously talk about books all.day.long. I spend a lot of time reading and I always have, even as a little girl.  Books can take you to so many wonderful places, lands, fantasies etc.  My mind goes right into the book and provides the right amount of escape for me. It’s almost like a mini vacation from reality.  I often find myself getting attached to characters which is why I think I enjoy reading books in a series, so that I don’t have to say good bye to the characters I love so soon.

I read on average about 2 books a week. Sometimes they are professional books but mostly I enjoy reading fantasy, mystery and dystopian style books. YES I like those young adult books. But come on, it’s pure escapism!

So, I am linking up with Reading Toward The Stars for her Book Talk Thursday again.

The reason I wanted to link up today was because I am so into this book I’m reading I HAD to share with someone.  Now, this one is NOT for the kiddos! It’s called Dark Places By Gillian Flynn. She is the author of Gone Girl. If you read Gone Girl and you like it, you will LOVE this book!

It’s set up pretty similar to Gone Girl in the way that she goes back and forth between characters and also between time.  I’m not finished the book yet but aside from writing this blog post, all of my free time has been spent reading this book. I was up until 1:00 in the morning because I just couldn’t put it down.

I won’t summarize the book for you because you can click on the image of the cover and it will take you to the description on Good Reads (another website I love!).

So, if you are looking for a good mystery/suspense/thriller…this is the book for you!

Alright now, one for the kiddies.

It’s only right that I discuss Pinkalicious. I don’t know about at your schools or with your own kids but Pinkalicious is HUGE with my daughter (hence my blog name) and all of her little friends.  They are obsessed. Needless to say, I read these books regularly before bedtime.  BUT they are also great for teaching with.

Each book is written with a touch of fantasy but the issues discussed in the books are so easy for little kids to relate to.  For example, in Pinkalicious Pink of Hearts (A Valentine’s Day story) she becomes disappointed over the card her friend made for her but later discovers that her friend had also written her a beautiful poem.  It’s a great lesson for teaching kids that we all do things differently and that differences can be great!

Now, these books are VERY girly. Pinkalicious of course likes all things pink and girly: pink cupcakes, tiaras, fairies, glitter, crafts, etc.).  So, I’m not sure how engaging these will be for the boys but I say try it out and see!  She does have a little brother named Peter who is in all the books and he likes to help her out or go on adventures with her (a la Emeraldalicious).

I also like that on the website for these books there is a teacher/parent area and a curriculum guide. Click here to check it out.

If you’re looking for some cute and imaginative books for your kindergarten to second graders, these are great easy reads!

On another note, I finished my Weekly ABC Order Bundle.  It has 44 Worksheets to help your students learn their sight words.  It includes all 220 Dolch Sight Words through out all of the worksheets. There are enough pages that you could do this activity once per week with your students during your word work time. Click on the image to get your copy!

I’m off to go finish reading Dark Places!