The Book Search

I've been wallowing in so much middle grade fiction that I forgot that I can read picture books!  And they go fast!  What a treat!  And wow, were there some great ones in the Netgalley list this week. This first one really knocked me out.  It's called "Saved by the Boats" by Julie Gassman and illustrated by Steve Moore.  It's a short picture book about September 11 in NY.  It's not about the terrorists or even about the people who were killed, it's about a group of people who wanted to help (and if you can remember that day as clearly as I do, just about everybody wanted to help, but there just wasn't much to do from a distance).  This group of people were boat captains.  It turns out that when the planes crashed into the buildings, the debris falling completely closed car traffic in the area and the public transportation was also closed.  So how would all the people in the area get home safely?  It turns out that since NY is an island...

I don't usually read YA books.  I've gotten onto kind of a jag with middle grade fiction, so it felt good this week to break into the YA realm.  Some of it is very similar to the middle grade fiction (SO MUCH DEATH) and a lot of it is much, much bigger than the middle grade fiction.  Hence, the YA categorization. The first one is called "The Monster on the Road is Me" by J. P. Romney.  It's about a 15 year old boy named Koda.  He lived in a small town in Japan with his elderly parents who are shiitake mushroom farmers.  Koda can not imagine a fate worse than being a mushroom farmer, but it looks like that's where he's headed.  He loves video games, doesn't like school and he doesn't have many friends, mostly the kids at school pity him.  Koda was diagnosed with narcolepsy awhile back and so his parents insist that he wear a helmet so when he rides his bike, if he falls asleep, at least his head will be protected.  One day, a girl at Koda's ...

It's spring break at my school so my husband and I went on a little trip to Las Vegas.  We'd never been before so we had a good time trying to figure out where things were, the best way to get there, and where the best places were to get something to eat.  The eating part is actually one of our favorites-my husband is a pastry chef and now teaches culinary at a local high school.  We had a great time and due to some flight delays, I had time to read!  Here are a few of the high spots. The first one is called "A Bandit's Tale" by Deborah Hopkinson.  It's about a boy named Rocco who lives in a small village in Italy with his big family.  Rocco makes a bit of a mistake involving a donkey and some money and his parents decide that the best way to "help" Rocco would be to send him to America with a local man who promises that he will take care of Rocco and help him get work.  It turns out this "padrone" has a group of boys that he expects to e...

This week I had the opportunity to present at the NCRA (the North Carolina Reading Association).  I've been looking at ways to market my database ( The Booksearch ) which lets you search for books based on the skills you want to teach.  I was presenting about finding just right books and boy, did I have a lot to think about!  I've presented on this topic a few times, but on Monday, I listen to Tim Shanahan, a professor at University of Illinois at Chicago.  (Here's a link to his blog .)  He was talking about teaching reading and he explained that most of the reasons that we work really hard to get books on the right levels for kids is based on a research study done in the 1940s and IT'S WRONG.  Holy cow.  Talk about mind blown.  But I thought it made a lot of sense.  I often have the feeling that when I'm teaching reading that it's mostly my job to show the kids how and then get out of the way.  That's kind of what Shanahan was saying to...

One of the big units my fourth and fifth graders read during the year is one on social issues.  They usually really like it because they get to read about the big stuff-death, abuse, war, homelessness, disabilities... I sincerely hope they haven't had to deal with the issues, but the truth is, they do.  Not all of them, thankfully, but a lot of kids deal with some of these things on a daily basis, and it's great for building empathy, even if they don't have to deal with them directly.  These new books all would be great for a social issues unit. The first one is called "Feathered" by Deborah Kerbel.  It's about 11 year old Finch and it gets it's title from a story she tells that when Finch was little, she sprouted a feather.  They pulled it out and no more grew in, but Finch always has had the sensation that she would one day be able to fly.  In the meantime, her life is not awesome.  Her dad died of cancer 9 months ago, her mom is suffering from dee...

It's hard to find good non fiction for little kids.  Kids are interested in EVERYTHING but it's hard to get a good balance of the specific vocabulary that you need to be able to understand complex topics and text that's easy enough for kids to read.  Here are some that seem to be working that balance! The first one is called "Stickmen's Guide to Aircraft" by Chris Oxlade.  It looks like this might be a series (I checked Amazon and there is another one!) and I think that's a good thing.  This book about aircraft gives an excellent overview of aircraft.  It has information about the history of aircraft as well as information about how aircraft are designed and built.  It also has information about different kinds of engines.  The graphics are nice too.  There is a lot of information in the graphical parts (which my students think is awesome).  This one will appeal to elementary school teachers because it's going to be a great one for teaching...