The Book Search

I've had a little time this weekend to dip back into Netgalley.  Boy, it feels like it's been a long time since I read something on a device!  The good news is, my devices still work and Netgalley has some great things to read!  This first one is SOOO much fun.  It's called "The Amazing Crafty Cat" by Charise Mericle Harper.  It's about a girl named Birdie who is exuberant and cheerful and loves to craft.  In fact, she loves to craft so much, that she has created an alternate ego, a super hero, named Crafty Cat, who can swoop in and save the day.  It's Birdie's birthday and Birdie (and Crafty Cat) have come together to create the greatest birthday break ever.  They've created panda cupcakes that are delicious and adorable and everyone, even the evil villain, Anya, will think it's the greatest birthday break in the history of the world.  Except that there is an accident on the way to school and series of mishaps that might get even the most ch...

The Scholastic Book fair is at my school this week, YAY!!!  It's always a lot of fun (and a lot of work) and one of the best things is, I get to read all the new books.  This morning, I spent the morning reading some of the new picture books and there were some really good ones that I thought could be used as mentor texts for the bigger kids. One thing we find at our school is that we want our kids to do research projects, but having them write reports or give oral presentations (even using technology) seems dated and artificial.  When I read this book "Abraham Lincoln His Wit and Wisdom from A-Z" by Alan Schroeder, I thought "This is something my kids could do!"  It's all information about Abraham Lincoln but instead of being in chronological order, it's in alphabetical order.  So G is for Gettysburg Address (a famous speech Lincoln made), The Globe Tavern (where Abraham and Mary Lincoln were married), and Good Samaritan (Lincoln did kind things for o...