children’s literature

Sweet Reads

Posted by

0

whizz pop chocolate shopMagical candy is kind of a draw in children’s literature. Mr. Star Wars recently read The Whizz Pop Chocolate Shop and let me borrow it when he finished. In the book, a family inherits a closed down chocolate shop with lots of magical secrets. It is my newest Charlie and the Chocolate Factory “read alike” book. Books that use food (particularly chocolate) as a central plot detail are a big hit with kids.

Mr. Star Wars and I tried to name all of the books we know that use food in some way. We came up with chapter books with candy, chapter books with non-traditional foods– like worms (!), picture books, an even some books that one food item steals a scene. I cut us off after we started on the picture book titles because there are just so many books we could list. What is your favorite book that will make your mouth water?

snicker of magic

Candy (mostly chocolate)

beetles lightly toasted

Gross (but hilarious)

  • Beetles, Lightly Toasted by Phyllis R. Naylor
  • Freckle Juice by Judy Blume
  • How to Eat Fried Worms by Thomas Rockwell

bone soup

Picture Books

Scene Stealer

charlie and the chocolate factory

 

Terrific Teachers Book List

Posted by

0

hate that cat

During the month of February, my students and I work on a poetry unit. A key piece to the POETRY UNIT is the novel, Hate That Cat, by Sharon Creech. I love this book. I cry in front of my students when I read this book. I want to be the character, Miss Stretchberry, in this book. Miss Stretchberry is that once-in-a-lifetime teacher who changes a child’s entire school career. She sees all of the hidden strengths in Jack, the narrator in the story, and spends time nurturing those qualities. She also sniffs out Jack’s worries or troubles and gently solves problems. In return, Jack rises to the occasion and is motivated to stretch his capabilities while he has Miss Stretchberry as a teacher.

word after word after word

Characters like Miss Stretchberry are some of my favorite, so I started building a list of books with inspirational teacher characters. I wish I had more book titles, but here is my first draft. I probably could expand the list into movie titles like Dead Poets Society or Stand and Deliver because movies with inspirational teachers get me too.

  • Anne of Green Gables by L. M. Montgomery
  • Because of Mr. Terupt by Rob Buyea
  • The Great Gilly Hopkins by Katherine Paterson
  • Hank Zipzer by Henry Winkler (pay attention to the music teacher)
  • Homesick by Kate Klise
  • Love That Dog and Hate That Cat by Sharon Creech
  • No Talking by Andrew Clements
  • The Running Dream by Wendelin Van Draanen, 7th grade+ (pay attention to the math teacher)
  • The Secret School by Avi
  • The View from Saturday by E.L. Konigsburg
  • The Wednesday Wars by Gary D. Schmidt
  • Wonder by R. J. Palacio
  • Word after Word after Word by Patricia MacLachlan
  • The Year of Miss Agnes by Kirkpatrick Hill

For adults (and particularly teacher adults), try the book Educating Esme by Esme Raji Codell.

wonder

Instead of Junie B. Jones

Posted by

4

just graceMiss Priss is a good little independent reader, but she is still at a stage where she needs 8-year old content, shorter chapter books, and simple plot lines. An obvious choice is Junie B. Jones, but the character bothers me. I want Miss Priss wants spunky book characters that are in the same vein as Junie B., but she also wants I want the character to use decent grammar.

Here are a few book suggestions that meet the decent grammar and spunky girl character criteria. Miss Priss reads them on her own, but we also spend time reading together several nights a week. I read a page aloud, and then my daughter takes a turn. It helps build her reading fluency without slowing the reading down so much that she loses momentum. It is also just a fun activity for the two of us.

no dogs allowed

1st grade+

  • No Dogs Allowed by Stephanie Calmenson and Joanna Cole
  • Just Grace series by Cherise Mericle Harper
  • Cam Jansen series by David A. Adler
  • Heidi Heckelbeck series by Wanda Coven
  • Ramona Quimby series by Beverly Cleary
  • The Never Girls series by Kiki Thorpe
  • Ivy and Bean series by Annie Barrows
  • Gooney Bird Greene series by Lois Lowry
  • My America: Meg’s Prairie Diary series by Kate McMullan
  • Hailey Twitch series by Lauren Barnholdt

cornelia

4th grade+

  • Wide Awake Princess series by E.D. Baker
  • Ten Good and Bad Things About My Life (So Far) by Ann M. Martin
  • Destiny, Rewritten by Kathryn Fitzmaurice
  • The Magic Half by Annie Barrows
  • Cornelia and the Audacious Escapades of the Somerset Sisters by Lesley M. M. Blume
  • The Tail of Emily Windsnap series by Liz Kessler
  • Because of Winn-Dixie by Kate DiCamillo
  • The Meaning of Maggie by Megan Jean Sovern
  • Maggie Malone and the Mostly Magical Boots by Jenna McCarthy and Carolyn Evans
  • The Bread Winner by Arvella Whitmore
  • The Egypt Game by Zilpha Keatley Snyder
  • A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett
  • Anastasia Krupnik by Lois Lowry

Small Towns and Quirky Characters

Posted by

5

moon over manifest

I read Moon over Manifest by Clare Vanderpool this weekend. It won the Newbery a few years ago, and the title keeps appearing on book suggestion lists I receive, so I had it in my pile of to-reads. There are multiple characters and flashbacks, so you have to stay on your reading toes (and probably be at least a 6th or 7th grader). It has a style and setting that remind me of To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. Spoon River Anthology by Edgar Lee Masters also came to mind while I read.

The main character, Abilene Tucker, is sent to live with a family friend in a small town during the Depression. The town is chock full of quirky characters who are more interesting to me than Abilene. The minor characters are the reason I like the book. It took several chapters before the story grabbed me, but I loved the twist at the end during the courthouse scene– it was worth the wait.

snicker of magic

Moon Over Manifest kick-started a new list of books that are set in small towns with memorable side characters. Do you ever read books and get caught up with the stories of the extra characters more than the protagonist? What other books have great quirky characters?

  • Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery
  • A Snicker of Magic by Natalie Lloyd
  • A Tangle of Knots by Lisa Graff
  • A Year Down Yonder by Richard Peck
  • Danny Champion of the World by Roald Dahl
  • Hound Dog True by Linda Urban
  • Pie by Sarah Weeks
  • Remarkable by Lizzie K. Foley
  • Stone Fox by John Reynolds Gardiner
  • The Egypt Game by Zilpha Keatley Snyder
  • Three Times Lucky by Sheila Turnage
  • To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
  • Turtle in Paradise by Jennifer L. Holm

three times lucky

 

 

Listen to It

Posted by

2

james and the giant peach

It is time for our annual summer road trip, and we loaded up on audio books from the public library earlier this week. I then had to make a trip back to the library because Mr. Star Wars and Miss Priss listened to the first batch of books on CD in the TV room before we even packed the car.

Audio books are a great addition to long road trips. They keep voice levels low, so everyone can hear the narrator, and it provides a discussion topic for the whole group since everybody listens to the same story (we play our books on CD aloud– no earphones, although, that is an option). All ages can enjoy a story no matter the actual reading level of the book.

We have been listening to audio books for about 6 years. I cannot gush enough about the benefits of audio books. The narrator reads the book with the correct expression and syntax modeling good oral reading skills for a child. If a child follows along in the printed book at the same time he is listening, sight words, vocabulary, writing mechanics, and varied sentence construction are reinforced. When a group listens to an audio book, it tends to prompt more discussion. This will give a child extra practice re-telling a story, identifying conflicts in the story, and making predictions about future events– all of the skills a (good) active reader utilizes.

bunnicula

I posted an audio book recommendation list awhile back. Many of the books I had on my original list are still here. The Magic Treehouse series is still our favorite. Mary Pope Osborne narrates, and her voice works well. The stories are also a good length for our car attention span. Each story is about an hour and a half.

  • Magic Treehouse (any in the series) read by the author, Mary Pope Osborne
  • The Boxcar Children read by Phyllis Newman
  • Little House in the Big Woods (or any Little House book) read by Cherry Jones
  • Tales of a 4th Grade Nothing read by the author, Judy Blume
  • The BFG read by Natasha Richardson
  • James and the Giant Peach read by Jeremy Irons
  • The Bunnicula Collection read by Victor Garber
  • No Talking read by Keith Nobbs
  • Benjamin Pratt & The Keepers of the School: Fear Itself read by Keith Nobbs
  • The Wizard of Oz read by Maureen Lipman
  • The Year of Billy Miller read by Dan Bittner
  • Heavy Hitters (or any in the Game Changers series) read by Fred Berman
  • Ribsy (or any Henry Huggins book) read by Neil Patrick Harris
  • Charlotte’s Web read by the author, E.B. White
  • The 1oo-Year Old Secret (or any in the Sherlock Files series) read by David Pittu

Avoid:

  • A Series of Unfortunate Events read by the author, Lemony Snicket.  (This was probably a bad choice on my part.  Not only was the author’s voice too nasal-y, the book is much darker read aloud, and the content was too old for my children’s ages.)

In my house, we all agree that the narrator is the key to a good audio book. What books have you enjoyed on tape? Who was the narrator?

no talking