Graphic Novel # 1 - To Dance by Siena Cherson Siegel

To Dance 

To Dance Trailer

Mary's Thoughts:

This book is about the Siena Cherson Siegel's childhood and her love of dance. She lives out her dreams when her parents take her to New York to audition at the American School of Ballet. Siena is accepted to the school and the book details her experiences there. She has the opportunity to meet the famous ballet choreographer, George Balanchine, and Michel Baryshnikov, the leading male ballet dancer of this generation. Siena has an ankle injury when she is 18, which ends her ballet career, but she doesn't stop dreaming. She enrolls in college and later returns to dance, just for the love of it.  This book will be fascinating to those students who dream, as I once did, of becoming dancers when they grow up. 

Pixie's Thoughts:

Woof! I give this book 4 paws. It was better than I expected! It has lots of movement and action, which I like! If all the books are like this, I will be a happy camper! 

Classroom Applications:

• Students can work together to do shared research on the American School of Ballet using a wiki. (CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.2.7)
• Teacher can place the following question on a book blog post for students to respond to: "What challenges does Siena face in the story? How does she respond to those challenges? (CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.2.3)

An Introduction to Mary, Pixie, and the Reluctant Reader Project

                                                 Meet Mary

My name is Mary and I am an ESL teacher at the elementary school level. I am also a bookaholic. I love books. I devour them. Even though I am crazy about reading, I still have my preferences. I enjoy both fiction and nonfiction. My favorite genres are history, historical fiction, realistic fiction, picture books, biography, self-help, religious and inspirational.

There are some genres that I do not choose from when selecting a book. This isn't because I have an aversion to those genres, but because they do not pique my interest. The genres I do not go to when selecting books include sports fiction, horror, fantasy, and graphic novels.

                                                Meet Pixie

I first met Pixie two years ago on June 25, 2011. That was her adoption day. I have loved every minute with her since!

Pixie is a fawn and white, five year old chihuahua-pug. She loves chicken, long walks, and her  blanky. She detests rain, hates strangers, and prefers not to read.

                                Enter Reluctant Reader Me Project

This spring, I enrolled as a student in the Master of Education in Literacy program at Judson University. One of our first assignments was to choose a genre we were either reluctant to read or had little knowledge about. We were to choose a genre that we would struggle with if a student were to ask us for recommendations of five books to read. Over the next several months, we are to read several books in that genre so we can come up with some book recommendations. Hopefully, we will also be able to feel some of the experience of a reluctant reader.

After some thought, I ended up choosing graphic novels. I chose this genre for several reasons: 1) I haven't read any graphic novels or comic books since I was a teenager, because as an adult reader, I haven't had any interest in that genre. 2) I am aware that graphic novels are recently becoming very popular with readers of all ages. 3) Educators I know are starting to use graphic novels in the classroom. 4) I would be unable to recommend five books from this genre if one of my students asked for ideas.

Pixie is a reluctant reader. Period. I am a reluctant reader of graphic novels. So on with our adventure!