Jen's WRAD Blogging Challenge Post #2

Last week I posted my first post in the WRAD Blogging Challenge! It has been fun talking with colleagues about their plans for World Read Aloud Day. One teacher shared that she just started reading aloud Wonder to a 4th grade class that she works in and she plans to read to them on WRAD. 

The topic for this week is "Now and Then". Make sure to visit litworld.org to sign up for World Read Aloud Day and for ideas for how you can celebrate World Read Aloud Day!

Week 2: February 17 – February 23

Now & Then

Answer the following questions twice. 
First, from your ten-year-old self's perspective 
and then from your current perspective.

1. I think everyone in the world should read...

When I was 10: The Indian in the Cupboard by Lynn Reid Banks. The author visited my school and I love how the main character can bring his toys to life.  

Now: Wonder by RJ Palacio. As I read Wonder, I kept thinking of people I wanted to recommend it to...by the end, I wanted to give it to everyone I know. I have recommended it to so many people, from neighbors and friends to colleagues, I even recommended it to my doctor. It is such an important book about how we treat each other. The world would be a kinder place if everyone read Wonder.  

2. If I could listen to anyone in the world read aloud to me it would be...

When I was 10: My teacher, Ms. Risinger. I loved her as a teacher and loved being in her class!

Now: Nick Podehl. I love every audiobook I have listened to by Nick Podehl but specifically Will Grayson, Will Grayson by David Levithan and John Green and After Ever After by Jordan Sonnenblick. I also really enjoy Jim Dale as an audiobook narrator. Most recently, I listened to his narration of Erin Morgenstern's Night Circus and The Emerald Atlas by John Stephens. All of these are excellent books with equally excellent narration by these two men.

3. When I read aloud, my favorite character to impersonate is...

When I was 10: I didn't really ever impersonate them but I loved the girls from Ann M. Martin's The Babysitters Club. I read every book I could get my hands on. A few of my friends and I even set up our babysitters' club. We made flyers and had meetings and got lots of great babysitting jobs. 

Now: The Archduke from Extra Yarn by Mac Barnett (with illustrations by Jon Klassen). I love when it comes to his part of the story because he's just so arrogant and rude. I also love reading Robot Zot by Jon Scieszka because I get to do an the robot voice. Other great robot books I love are: Robot Zombie Frankenstein by Annette Simon and Boy + Bot by Ame Dyckman.

4. The genre that takes up the most room on my bookshelf (or e-reader) is...

When I was 10: realistic fiction - I remember reading A Wrinkle in Time by Madeline L'Engle but having a really hard time understanding it. I connected most with realistic fiction back then and some mild fantasy (like Indian in the Cupboard!). 

Now: I know picture books are a format and not a genre, but that's what takes up the most room at this point. We have fiction and non-fiction picture books at our house...it seems like every time we go to the library we end up a mix of both, too. For myself, I actually really love fantasy now which is so different from when I was ten. I think reading so much as a kid, even if it was mostly realistic fiction back then, helped me progress into a reader that can read and enjoy various genres. 

5. The last book I wish I’d written or inspired me to write my own story is...

When I was 10: I'm not sure! I loved writing and I always had a diary but can't think of a book in particular that inspired me to write my own story. 

Now: Every book! Every book I read inspires me to work on my own writing. Whether I find something that I admire or something that causes me to reflect on the decisions that the author made, I am constantly aware of what I can learn from every book I read. Right now I'm listening to The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan and have been thinking about the genre but also about the main character and the decisions that she makes. I'm also reading Necromancing the Stone by Lish McBride and I love her voice as an author. I love the brutal honesty in her characters. They are so real and seem like friends I would have had in high school or college. These are both completely different novels...well, with some similarities genre-wise, I guess...but I am definitely inspired to bring out my own voice and my own characters nonetheless.

How fun was this!?! I loved answering these questions and I hope you are blogging about these, too! If you are, leave a link so I can some read your answers and get to know your 10-year-old self!