Mockingbird

Mockingbird is a touching story that should not be missed. Caitlin has Asperger's syndrome and for her everything is straightforward, black and white with no inbetween. She has trouble making friends and turns to textbooks for answers. But the tragic death of her brother causes her to seach for closure for herself and her father. Kathryn Erskine creates a story with warmth and insight.

My Life as a Book

After a break from blogging, I'm starting back.

I want to highly recommend the book: My Life as a Book by Janet Tashjian.

Derek is a reluctant reader who finds himself in a Learning Camp for the summer with three books to read. Derek is an active boy who loves to draw. He discovers a family mystery from the past which causes him to see that stories are all around.

This book would be great for fans of Diary of the Whimpy Kids. The nicely paced story with sketches in the margins, will entice readers to become engaged in Derek's story.

Read Across America

This week I'm reading these two books by Dr. Seuss in celebration of Read Across America. Happy Birthday, Dr. Seuss!

Sam and the Lucky Money

Sam and the Lucky Money is my favorite book to read in celebration of Chinese New Year. My kids love it. It's a wonderful story of giving. We have a nice size population of Vietnamese students at my school who celebrate Chinese New Year and give the beautiful red envelopes. Over the years, I have been blessed by their spirit of giving and am grateful.

Valentine Books

These are two books I like to read at school for Valentine's Day. Share the love!!

Rule of Three

Have you ever been in competition with your sister? Megan McDonald writes a story about three sisters, Alex, Stevie, and Joey, discovering who they are in the second book of the Sisters Club series, Rule of Three.

I was a little hesitant to read this one, for fear of it being typical but was pleasantly surprised. The characters were warm and realistic. Each sister had her area of strength and through the difficulty of Alex and Stevie wanting to both star in the class musical, they learn to value those strengths. Middle school girls will sympathize with these characters. Anyone who has a sister will see themselves in some small way feeling a part the of the Sisters Club.

Favorite Christmas Books

These are a few of my favorite Christmas books. Each is special in it's own way. Hope you enjoy this wonderful season of the year as we celebrate the birth of Jesus! Merry Christmas!

Texas Book Festival

Saturday I went to the Texas Book Festival in Austin. It was a beautiful day filled with books and authors. The most exciting session was the announcement of the 2010-2011 Texas Bluebonnet Awards Master List. Being a member of the TBA Selection Committee has been an honor and very rewarding, so this was very exciting! Jon Scieszka and Mac Barnett were the masters of ceremony and they made us laugh! They were all pumped up to announce the list! Now, it will be up to the children of Texas to decide their favorite.

When a Monster is Born

This week I'm sharing this funny book, When a Monster is Born by Sean Taylor with my first grade classes.

It's the story of what happens to a monster as he does life and the choices he makes. This book is a circle story with predictable text so children can join in on the reading excitement. A great choice for a not-so-scary monster story for this time of year. Kids will eat it up!!

Dying to Meet You

This is a fun ghost story that kids will enjoy. I.B. Grumply has rented an old house to finish writing a book because he is stuffering from writer's block. Little does he know that it is already occupied by a young boy, Seymour, and his friend Olive, the ghost of the former homeowner. This makes Grumply's problem even worse. What will he do?

What makes the story light hearted and quirky are the unique names of the characters and how the story is told. The author presents the story through letters and emails between each character. This extraordinary book will be a hit with kids!

TBA Books 2009-2010

Winnie's War

I just finished reading Winnie's War by Jenny Moss. It is a historical fiction set in 1918 in my neighborhood of Houston/Galveston. Winnie is the oldest of 3 girls who lives with a troubled mother, quiet father, and controlling grandmother. Spanish Influenza is spreading in the area and Winnie feels compelled to keep her family safe from this deadly disease.

The writing is smooth and descriptive. The characters are well developed and believable. I was engaged throughout the entire story wanting answers along with Winnie and feeling fear for her family.

I would recommend this book for fifth graders and older. I think it's a winner in the historical genre.

New School Year

I'm about to start a new school year. It brings me a great deal of excitement to think about the books I want to introduce to my students! I will have a new schedule with more time to do Book Clubs, projects, and promote reading! This will be a terrific year with more opportunities to encourage a love of reading.

This summer I have been busy reading some of the newest children's literature and will share some of those books in the next few weeks. I must first prepare for the next week when all our kids will enter the school with much anticipation.

What a great time of year!

Texas Bluebonnet Award Winners

One Potato, Two Potato

by

Cynthia DeFelice

pictures by

Andrea U'Ren

Texas Bluebonnet Award Winner 2009

This week was the TLA Convention in Houston.  The TBA Banquet was Thursday and the TBA was presented to author, Cynthia DeFelice and illustrator, Andrea U'Ren. The event is the highlight of the conference with Texas students presenting them with the award!  As a member of the TBA  Committee, I had the pleasure of meeting these two amazing ladies. We presented them with a James Avery Texas necklace. They were so warm and gracious. The students and the librarians fell in love with them. I'm thankful to be a small part of this award and event. 

Humphrey

Adventure According to Humphrey 

by Betty Birney is the latest in the Humphrey series of books. Humphrey and his classmates are setting sail for adventure.  They are learning about making boats and getting them to sail. Humphrey is visiting the library to learn everything he can about building sea worthy boats. The will take their boats to the local park to see which sails the best in the pond. Humphrey is there along for the ride.

I love these series of books about Humphrey. He is a classroom pet hamster who learns with the children and keeps a journal of information.  Kids will love him and his curiosity.  This series of books had a lot of appeal for second to fourth graders.  

Surprises According to Humphrey is on the Texas Bluebonnet Award Master List for this year.  Humphrey is a winner with kids!

Reading and Blogging

I've been taking some time off from blogging and miss it!  Having one TAKS test down and another in April, I'm hoping that I can get back to reviewing and talking about books.  

My focus at school this year has been getting a SSR program started.  We began in September (after Hurricane Ike) and it is going well. This has been a great change from the AR program.  The kids seem to enjoy it and they are reading books of their choice!

My next focus will be encouraging teachers to reading aloud to their classes.  Many are doing this already but we need everyone on board!  I've been reading some great blogs on this topic which is inspiring me to promote reading aloud.  Also, I want parents to know that they need to read to their children every day and the difference it can make! I hope to share more books that will be great read alouds. 

So let's get busy reading to our kids!

Kenny and the Dragon by Tony DiTerlizzi is a fun and light-hearted story of a young rabbit, Kenny, who meets and befriends a dragon. Grahame is not your typical dragon because he loves poetry, books, and music.  Word gets out that a dragon is near the village and the people send a dragon slayer to kill Grahame. Kenny must make some tough decisions to save his friend. This story is based on the classic tale, The Reluctant Dragon. Older elementary kids will enjoy this fantasy.  

There's a Wolf at the Door

This creative and lively book is a retelling of five classic fairy tales by Zoe Alley with illustrations by R.W. Alley.  The illustrations are set up like a graphic novel that is easy to follow.  The dialog is updated and quick witted. It made me giggle several times with the sarcastic comments of the sheep exposing their point of view.  I started to feel sorry for the wolf by the end of the book.  This is a fun read for second through fifth graders with a good sense of humor.

Lost and Found is the latest book from Andrew Clements. It is the story of identical twins, Jay and Ray Grayson, trying to find their individuality. They have moved to a new school, so when Jay goes to school while Ray is at home sick, Jay feels like a real individual.  But when the school makes a mistake and only Jay is enrolled and not Ray, the plan begins. They decide to share the identity of Jay. The twins switch days going to school but soon begin to face complications.

Clements writes a well paced story with lots of kid appeal. This would be a great book for third to sixth graders.

Dog Gone

Dog Gone by Cynthia Chapman Willis is a touching story of a young girl, Dill, dealing with the loss of her mother. Everything has changed around her house. Her special attachment to their dog, Dead End, becomes stronger because he was her mother's dog. Then, Dead End runs off and is suspected to be part of a dog pack attacking livestock in their rural town. Her grandfather is seriously ill while her father is busy trying to keep the family business running. With her friend, Cub, they try to catch Dead End to hide him from the townspeople. Through these events, Dill must face head on her loss.  

This is a nicely paced story that will touch readers' hearts. I would recommend if for 4th graders and above.