The Book Search

I'm reading a wide variety of things this week and one of the things I'm really appreciating is the language of the writer.  One of the things I so admire about writers is the way they choose the words they do.  This first book is a great example of that.  It's called "The Hired Girl" by Laura Amy Schlitz.  It's about 14 year old Joan, who we first meet living on her father's farm, tending to the needs of her father and her four older brothers.  Her mother has died and so she's left alone with the tasks of keeping the house clean as well as cooking and laundry.  She really wants to go to school but her father has forbidden her to return (he thinks it's a waste of time as she's really only fit for cleaning and cooking).  Joan's mom has a small surprise for her and when Joan's father crosses a line, Joan decides it's time to seek her fortune elsewhere.  She buys a train ticket to the big city with a plan to get a job as a hired girl (

I read a really terrific blog post from Donalyn Miller about the importance of teachers reading so that they know what books to choose for their students. Here's a link to her post.   It reminded me WHY I spend so much time reading and how much I hope that the Booksearch (my database that lets you search for books based on the skill you want to teach) can help people find the right books. Here are some of the newest non fiction books that I think should find their way into YOUR library, or at the very least, on to your reading list.  The first one is called "Women in Black History" by Tricia Williams Jackson.  This is a compilation of several different biographies of notable African American women.  They are arranged chronologically and there's a nice array of women who have made an impact in lots of different ways.  What I really liked about this book was the style of writing.  The biographies are short but written in such a gentle way that you can really feel no

I'm still digging through all the new titles in my library and not to brag, but boy, did I make some great choices! The first one is a picture book called "Egg Nature's Perfect Package" by Steve Jenkins.  I think Steve Jenkins is a genius.  His other books (like "What do you do with a tail like this?" or "Eye to Eye") have impressed me and my students for quite some time, but I picked this one up today during our free reading time during my fourth grade book club (I need to model for them, which is how I justify reading during the school day!).  I started reading and I don't think I even got to the second page before I started looking around for someone to show it to.  You have to know that this kind of behavior makes me insane when the kids do it (Look!  Look at this!  Oh my gosh, you have to see this!  Wow, can you believe this?) and I COULD NOT STOP MYSELF.  By the third or fourth page (when he's comparing the size of giant squid egg,

Today was my favorite kind of day in the library.  The bookkeeper let me know that my book order finally came in (YAY!!!!) so I dragged the three very heavy boxes over and started to open them up.  I always think of opening boxes as something like opening gifts and these were so exciting and so gorgeous.  It was a BLAST!!  In fact it took me several hours to get the books unpacked.  Not because there were so many (there were a lot, but they DID fit into three good sized boxes, and frankly, my budget doesn't allow for gigantic expenditures, but still) but because every time I pulled one out I thought of someone who needed to have this book in their hands RIGHT NOW.  My reward for putting the right book in someone's hands varies- "FINALLY."  Tears rolling down cheeks "This is the BEST book I've EVER read".  Books hugged to chest.  Arms thrown around my waist (I'm 6 feet tall and I work in an elementary school).  There were only a few minor fisticuffs,

Since I've basically read nothing but middle grade fiction since October, I'm glad to be reading something else.  I fell with a thump into the YA books that have made all the "awesome" lists for this year and lucky for me they were all available at my local library!  I lead a charmed life. The first one I read was called "Everything, Everything" by Nicola Yoon.  It's about 18 year old Madeline who leads a very sheltered life because she has a rare immune deficiency which leaves her vulnerable to air and food borne pathogens.  Picture Bubble Boy as a girl.  Madeline is a kind, thoughtful, smart girl who is mostly obedient and makes the best of her situation (no whining or complaining for our girl!).  Madeline's mom is Japanese and her dad was African American but there aren't too many cultural references (other than to her hair)  there so I'm not sure that it matters.  Madeline's world is rocked when a new family moves in next door.  The

I've finally had a chance to double back and look at some of the lists people have been generating for other book awards.  Reading for CYBILS was awesome and I hope I get a chance to do it again next year.  I was a little surprised that this title didn't make it onto our middle grade fiction list.  It's been coming up as a short list possibility for the Newbery and I can see why.  It's called "Full Cicada Moon" by Marilyn Hilton.  It's written in free verse, which makes you think of previous year's great books "Brown Girl Dreaming" by Jacqueline Woodson or "In and Out and Back Again" by Thanhha Lai.  This one also has a terrifically interesting storyteller-Mimi.  Mimi's mom is Japanese and her dad is African American and so Mimi is herself and not like everyone else.  People are constantly asking her, especially since her family just moved to Vermont from Berkley, CA and in 1969, being bi-racial was a pretty big deal.  Mimi miss