Teacher Book Talk Tuesday, even more fun this week!

I don't know what happened these past two Tuesdays, but somehow I just did not get my act together to create a post for Kathleen's summer reading linky.

I did make it this week, however, and it's a good thing because it's even MORE FUN, as in nifty giveaway fun! Let's start with my book talk first.

The book I've chosen to share this week is another one that is on my seventh graders' list for the annual county English Festival.

Now you might think this book is a bit gruesome... yeah!

You might cringe at the title... yeah!

However, it does detail a true event, and if you are female and of an age, I KNOW that you jumped rope to this little ditty...

Lizzie Borden took an axe and gave her mother forty whacks.
When she saw what she had done, she gave her father forty-one!

Actually, this rhyme tells an untruth. Lizzie did not whack her parents that many times as revealed in this terrific non-fiction read. I am not quite finished reading the book (I had six books to read for the English Festival and I saved what I thought was the best for the last). BTW, none of my seventh graders chose this book to read over the summer- they all had to read at least one of the books on the list over the summer- because they were completely "creeped-out" by the title. I can not wait to share this book with them once school does begin.

With murder, court battles, and sensational newspaper headlines, the story of Lizzie Borden is compulsively readable and perfect for the Common Core.  

In a compelling, linear narrative, Miller takes readers along as she investigates a brutal crime: the August 4, 1892, murders of wealthy and prominent Andrew and Abby Borden. The accused? Mild-mannered and highly respected Lizzie Borden, daughter of Andrew and stepdaughter of Abby. Most of what is known about Lizzie’s arrest and subsequent trial (and acquittal) comes from sensationalized newspaper reports; as Miller sorts fact from fiction, and as a legal battle gets under way, a gripping portrait of a woman and a town emerges.   

With inserts featuring period photos and newspaper clippings—and, yes, images from the murder scene—readers will devour this nonfiction book that reads like fiction... Amazon.

Although I have not completed the book (my copy is in Kindle format, my Kindle has no charge, and I can't find the chord... sigh... it will soon turn up), I have read enough to experience the thrill of this famous murder coming alive on the pages of this book. The author's voice is just the right blend of narrative and journalistic research. Snippets of personal accounts by witnesses, family members, and neighbors are interspersed within the text and serve as a timeout from the more detailed reading of the crime. It is these snippets that most appeal to me. These are the voices of real people who experienced and lived the excitement and sensationalism of the crime.

While my Kindle still had its charge, I found it difficult to put this book down. I was aware of this murder event from an early double digit age having checked out a book from the library seeking information about the woman whose crime I jumped rope to, and then while still in high school I remember watching this made for TV movie (for whatever reason it left quite an impression on me). I am delighted to have found it on YouTube! Have any of you seen this?


Lizzie Borden and the Trial of the Century is currently leaving quite an impression on me. I can not wait to complete the book. New information, revised evidence, and a fresh forensic perspective makes the familiar tale new again for me. However, don't just take my word for it! Amazon has quite a lengthy book preview posted HERE. Hop over and read the excerpts provided. I think you'll be just as captivated by Miller's telling of the axe murder tale as am I.

Speaking of hopping, be sure to hop on over to Kathleen's blog to see what book she is sharing for her book talk this Tuesday. Not only is she sharing a fun little book, she is giving away one copy of it. Not only is she giving away a copy, but I've joined up with her to include a ten dollar Amazon gift card as part of her book giveaway. That's the fun that I talked about at the beginning of this post. AND this is only the beginning of the FUN because this is just the first of a three week giveaway. You can read more about this triple crown event over on Kathleen's blog, Kidpeople Classroom, and enter the giveaway. Good luck!