Best Books

Middle School Book Club

Posted by

0

maze runner

I am sponsoring a 7th grade book club this semester at my school. Even though I am having to deal with the 7th grade beast (I so admire middle school teachers), I love reading books for an “older” audience. Book selection has been a little bit of a challenge. I can’t get the students to agree on one book choice, and it has been tricky to find appropriate books.

Below is my working list for the book club. Several I have ruled out because I think they are better suited for a high school kid. A few were recommended to me, and they are in my “to read” pile.

In the end, I probably could have had a dystopian society book club because the students picked between Maze Runner and Divergent as the first book pick, then traded books with each other, then read the sequels. We just moved on to the Fairy Tale/Fantasy genre, which I forced on them because I wanted to go see the Oz movie as an after school field trip.

The students unanimously picked The Recruit to read after we finish the Fairy Tale books. I anticipate that decision will change by the next meeting. Anything I could add as suggestions to my students? Any advice about the books in the “to read” list?

divergent

Dystopian

  • The Maze Runner series by Dashner
  • Divergent series by Roth
  • Matched trilogy by Condie
  • Ship Breaker by Bacigalupi (slow start, high school)
  • The Chocolate War by Cormier (high school level)
  • Life as We Knew It series by Pfeffer (high school level– could not put this book down)
  • City of Bones, Mortal Instruments series by Clare (8th grade+)

peter and the starcatchers

Fairy Tale

  • Entwined by Dixon
  • Wizard of Oz series by Baum
  • Peter Pan by Barrie
  • Peter and the Starcatchers series by Barry
  • The Grimm Legacy by Shulman

the recruit

Mystery/Spy

  • The Recruit, CHERUB series by Muchamore

On My To Read List

  • Gods Among Us (Divine Masquerade Series) by D.C. Belton
  • Confessions of a Murder Suspect by James Patterson
  • The Apothecary by Ian Schoenherr
  • Red Scarf Girl by Jiang

Fairy Tale Spin Offs

Posted by

9

grimms fairy tales

One of my students loaned me a book called The Land of Stories by Chris Colfer. You might recognize the author name as one of the Glee actors (yes, the TV show). The book sat on my nightstand for over a month before I finally picked it up. The student was starting to ask questions, and I was getting embarrassed. I judged the book by its cover– or rather the actor/author name and had pretty low expectations, but I needed to be able to make a few comments to my sweet student about the story. I was pleasantly surprised. It is a fun spin on the “ever after” of all of the best fairy tale characters.

Throw a library card, and you will hit a fairy tale spin off book. The books are everywhere right now, and I am hooked. Here is my suggested list. I have read only a few and most are on my “to read” list. Which one should I read next?

land of stories colfer

Upper Elementary

  • Dealing with Dragons by Patricia C. Wrede
  • Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine
  • Fairest by Gail Carson Levine (Enchanted series)
  • The Fairy Tale Detectives by Michael Buckley (The Sisters Grimm series)
  • Happily Ever After by Anna Quindlen
  • The Land of Stories: The Wishing Spell by Chris Colfer
  • Rapunzel, The One With All the Hair by Wendy Mass (Twice Upon a Time series)
  • A Tale Dark and Grimm series by Adam Gidwitz
  • The Wide Awake Princess by E.D. Baker (and others by this author)

entwined by heather dixon

Middle School

  • Enchanted by Alethea Kontis (Woodcutter series, mixed reviews)
  • Entwined by Heather Dixon
  • The Goose Girl by Shannon Hale
  • The Grimm Legacy by Polly Shulman
  • The Princess Bride by William Goldman

red riding hood

And a picture book that I thought looked fun…

  • Honestly, Red Riding Hood was Rotten by Trisha Speed Shaskan (and others in this series)

Board Books (an Addendum to The Best Baby Gifts)

Posted by

10

childrens board books

I am not sure what I was thinking when I did not include baby books as a suggestion for The Best Baby Gifts in my last post.

Board books are a great newborn baby and first birthday gift. The heavier page is sturdy and stands up to the wear and tear of a baby or toddler. They are specifically made to protect against drool damage. They are a good price point and wrap very well.

Many classic children’s picture books that were originally published in traditional hardback with paper pages are now available in a board book version too. Board books are typically not longer than 30 pages, so you may get an abridged version of the original book in the board book style. If you want to get your money’s worth, go for the board book version as a first book.

What books have you given as a baby or toddler gift?

  • Are You My Mother? by P.D. Eastman
  • Baby Faces and others by DK Publishing
  • The Cheerios Play Book by Lee Wade
  • Each Peach Pear Plum by Janet and Allan Ahlberg
  • Goodnight Moon, The Runaway Bunny, and Big Red Barn by Margaret Wise Brown
  • Jamberry by Bruce Deegan
  • Moo, Ba, La La La! and Barnyard Dance by Sandra Boynton
  • My Truck is Stuck by Kevin Lewis and Daniel Kirk
  • The Napping House by Audrey Wood
  • 1 is One by Tasha Tudor
  • Open the Barn Door by Christopher Santoro
  • Planting a Rainbow by Lois Ehlert
  • Sheep in a Jeep and Sheep in a Shop by Nancy E. Shaw
  • Time for Bed by Mem Fox
  • Very Hungry Caterpillar, Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? and others by Eric Carle

1 is One page sample

Journal Voice Books

Posted by

2

OrigamiYoda_Cover

I do not know exactly what to call this style of book, but I know it when I read it. Lately, I have been reading a lot of them. This new book trend is a hybrid of the diary book format and a graphic novel, and they are all over the place. It is an updated version of Diary of a Wimpy Kid, and I find the newer versions a little more clever. I do not anticipate any of these books winning a Newbery, but I do catch myself laughing aloud now and then.

How do I know I am reading a journal voice book?

  1. The book is written in 1st person, and the speaker has a conversational “kid-speak” voice (very casual).
  2. The main character is usually not a popular kid at school and has social dilemmas.
  3. Most books have a graphic element to them. They include doodles and cartoon drawings in the margins and/or images that make the page look like a piece of notebook paper. They often have fun fonts.
  4. The main character is often a reluctant reader or a struggling student in some way.
  5. There is a lot of white space on the page, and it is easy to finish the book quickly.
  6. And here is my final little observation. Almost all of the books have a male main character– especially the ones targeted at 3rd+ grade levels.

my life as a book

  • The Strange Case of the Origami Yoda (and sequels) by Tom Angleberger
  • The Great Hamster Massacre series by Katie Davies
  • I Funny: a Middle School Story by James Patterson
  • Other Middle School stories by James Patterson
  • What the Dog Said by Randi Reisfeld
  • Wonkenstein, The Creature From My Closet by Obert Skye**
  • Potterwookie, The Creature From My Closet by Obert Skye **
  • My Life as a Book by Janet Tashjian
  • My Life as a Stunt Boy by Janet Tashjian
  • Justin Case School, Drool, and Other Daily Disasters by Rachel Vail

Younger Readers (not past 3rd grade):

  • Hailey Twitch series by Lauren Barnholdt
  • Dear Dumb Diary series by Jim Benton
  • Frankly, Frannie series by A.J. Stern

** My Personal Favorites

wonkenstein and potterwookie

 

The Cookbook Collection

Posted by

14

cookbook collection

Part of the Cookbook Collection

After a slow start to my meal planning for the holidays, I got into the groove with the Breakfast Cups. I cooked many of my favorite comfort foods over the past few days. Some of the highlights have been Almond Bacon Cheese Dip, Dill Dip, Orzo with Roasted Vegetables, and my family’s sausage breakfast casserole.

Some of my recipes are family recipes, but many come from key cookbooks that anchor my cookbook library. Below is a list of my most used cookbooks along with the names of the best recipes (in my opinion) from those cookbooks. If you click each cookbook name below, it is linked to an Amazon listing.

What cookbooks do you have that you cannot live without?

The Artful Table

The Artful Table: Great Food from the Dallas Museum of Art League (This is the best cookbook I own. Everything turns out well.)

  • Pork Tenderloin with Red Onion Confit
  • Heavenly Potatoes
  • Country-Fried Chicken Salad (use store bought chicken tenders)
  • Picadillo Sarita
Notice the post it notes marking the most used recipes

You can tell which cookbooks are my favorites by the Post-it notes and other scraps of paper sticking out of the top to mark good recipes.

The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook

  • Sun-Dried Tomato Dip
  • Turkey Tea Sandwiches
  • Banana Crunch Muffins

Barefoot Contessa Parties

Colorado Collage

  • Carrot Basmati Rice Pilaf
  • Ginger Chicken Kabobs
  • Telluride Tortellini with Chicken

Creme de Colorado

  • Pasta with Broccoli

kansas city junior league

Company’s Coming (out of print– available used)

  • Steak Soup

Beyond Parsley

  • Spaghetti Pie
  • Artichoke Sausage Soup
  • Sugared Bacon

Above and Beyond Parsley

  • Pacific Rim Tenderloin
I find scraps of paper with old party notes in many of my favorite cookbooks.

I find old party notes in many of my favorite cookbooks. I never throw the notes away, so I can go back and recycle good ideas I may forget.

Southern Living Easy Entertaining

family cookbook

Family Cookbook (Not for sale at the present time)

  • A few years ago I compiled all of our traditional family recipes into a Shutterfly album with family photos. My dad is famous for kitchen pictures. These are the pictures of people caught mid-bite, or people standing in their sweat pants on a holiday morning stirring a pot of some kind (see photo below). There is usually one group photo at the table during a large gathering too. These were the photos I used to “enhance” the family cookbook. I use my family cookbook all of the time. I have all of my favorite recipes in one location and do not have to hunt through every loose piece of paper and recipe card box I own to remember how to make our family’s Christmas Eve egg nog. This makes a great birthday gift, Christmas gift, or Mother’s/Father’s Day gift.
Making Mashed PotatoesThanksgiving 2007

Check me out making mashed potatoes.
Thanksgiving 2006