Kids+Books+2011

= = = OK all you Teacher Librarians to be, share with us a book, or series, classic, or brand new, YA, primary, picture, early chapter, middle grades! Something YOU think is worth promoting to your young charges. Thank you! = I have been reading the YA book //Boston Jane// by Jennifer Holm. I enjoyed the first one so much that I went right on to the sequel //Boston Jane, The Claim.// It is historical fiction about a tomboy turned lady turned frontier woman. She is fiesty and independent and couragous. She accepts her circumstances and makes the best of them. I plan to read the Newberry Honor Book: //Our Only May Amelia also// by Jennifer Holm. I am trying to read some of the books in our library so I will know what to recommend to the students. Thanks for all the suggestions on this wiki!



Here is a sampling of my favorite children's books. I've included a few from my favorite children's author (Leslie Lott).

Whitney Chamberlin: This is the first book I ever checked out of a library when I was all of five years old--but no wonder it caught my eye! GORGEOUS illustrations, clever rhymes, and a tantalizing mystery will appeal to any kid (of any age). I highly recommend Graeme Base because of how he carefully crafts his books to not only create an entertaining, but also an educational reading experience.
 * __The Eleventh Hour__ by Graeme Base**

I have a few that I would recommend for middle school students. I am an avid reader and when I get into a book, I stay up till all hours just to finish it. Right now I am reading //The Scorch Trials// the sequel to //The Maze Runner//. Both are amazing--you can't believe what these kids have gone through just to survive! Oh, not all survive the experiments WICKED puts them through! Sherri Wolles

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Liz Sorlie: 14 COWS FOR AMERICA (14 VACAS PARA AMÉRICA) Ages 6–10 / nonfiction, Written by Carmen Agra Deedy, Illustrated by Thomas Gonzalez, In collaboration with Wilson Kimeli Naiyomah. Published by Peachtree. Wow! This picture book is powerful. It is Kimeli's account of 911. He returned to his people, the Maasai, after witnessing the events of September 11, 2001. Telling this story to his people moved them to give what was most revered, their cattle. The tribe gave 14 cows to America. This gift formed a unique bond between the Massai and America. There is a very cool US flag that is in the embassy in Kenya and will be part of the memorial in New York as well. This book was read to most of the students in my school. Here is the link that will assist teachers with the book.[|14 Cows for America]. The illustrations are authentic and striking. I say authentic because there was a middle school student that lived in Africa for several years and had quite a bit of contact with the Massai. It is a must have for all libraries.

I thought I would insert a comment here about 14 Cows. We used this book in September as a joint venture between geography and reading. In geography the students learned about the Maasai culture in preparation for reading the book in their reading classes. It turned out to be a good experience for the students. One of our weak reading standards is in the area of multicultural readings. This combined effort was used to help improve that standard. Another good book on the Maasai culture is //Facing the Lions: Growing up Maasai on the African Savannah// by Joseph Lemasolai Lekuton. This is a biographical account of growing up Maasai - it is a great coming of age book and shows how Lekuton battled between the modern world and keeping hold of his Maasai culture. It also sounds like a good connection to Countdown by Ben Mickaelsen as suggested below. Mary Erickson

A book that may segue with 14 Cows...is a book club selection that my 5/6th graders read--Countdown by MT author Ben Mickaelsen. A middle school aged boy is selected for a NASA flight mission. His ranching background is mentioned and is a source of conflict, as he is not sure he wishes to continue the family ranching legacy. The back-up finalist who is also selected for this mission happens to be a girl. This relationship creates tension related to his own competitiveness and general assumptions toward girls. As the story continues and our protagonist is orbiting earth, he encounters a Hamm radio contact with another young man his age from the Masaii culture. This character is also undergoing internal conflict regarding his culture and who his family wishes for him to become. They argue over the radio for all the world to hear! Finally, they meet. This story invites students to connect their feelings and opinions as they try to relate to our main character. A wonderful story, as most Mickaelsen books are for this age range. Enjoy. Suzanne McCandless Speaking of Ben Mickaelsen... I absolutely loved the book Petey. Very good read about accepting people for who they are. Being from Montana and living for a short peirod in Bozeman it is nice that Ben Mickaelsen is from that area. Katie Dvarishkis I love all books about people who excede your expectations. One of the books that I read recently was Out of my Mind by: Sharon M. Draper [|Out of my Mind Summary]

One series that I heard tons about before I actually brought myself to read it was The Hunger Games by: Suzanne Collins. I thought that the books sounded a little morbid for my liking, but after much insistance I finally read the first book. I was addicted! I couldn't set down the first two books and it has taken everything I have to not buy the third book while I have been on vacation because I already have one copy at home. I recommend this series.

As a book-loving teacher I have often made it my mission to find reluctant readers, often boys, the perfect book. The list below contains a few tried and true books for a variety of reading levels. In my experience they have all been successful in engaging boys (at least temporarily!) in the joys of reading. (Scroll over book covers for a summary.) ~Katie Harrison

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I am currently working my way through titles that seem to be popular with some of my avid readers. I just finished "The Truth About Forever" by Sarah Dressen. I was pleasantly suprised by the complexity of the story and how well the athor explored the emotions of Macy, the main character. I was expecting over-the-top teen drama and ended up with reading about a wonderful girl trying to figuring out who she truly is, outside of her mother's rigid expectations. Jane Ray Thanks, Jane -- I may try one of her books. We have some and they are popular!

Erin Carr As a kindergarten teacher read aloud time was one of my favorite parts of the day. One series I enjoyed reading aloud was the Pigeon series by [|Mo Willems]. I liked these books because they were interactive and the kids loved responding to them. The more expression I put into my voice and silly I acted the more they ate it up! The Knuffle Bunny books by Mo Willems are also wonderful.

Jennifer L. My children and I try to read every night. The __39 Clues__ series is great! It is about a couple of orphans, Amy & Dan Cahill, who have inherited a “challenge” from their dead grandmother. The kids must travel all over the world trying to uncover clues. Meanwhile, other family members have inherited the same challenge and are trying to do the same. The winner will become the most powerful person in the world. These books remind me a little of the Magic Tree House series, in that they are filled with historical facts. They do have cards that come with the books and a website that has a “discussion” page, so kids have lots of opportunities to read. []

It is interesting that each of the 39 Clues books is written by a different author. I am not sure how this all came to be, but I keep all of the books in the same area so kids don’t have to search for them…that is, when they are in. They are very popular in our library!

Vanessa M.

//The Hundred Dresses// by Eleanor Estes

I love this book and read it to my class every year as part of a bullying unit. Eleanor Estes created a timeless, bittersweet, and poignant lesson for generations to share. With a 1944 copyright, this book has definitely stood the test of time (mini math lesson – figure the years from first copyright). Wanda, a poor immigrant girl without a mother, is teased and ridiculed by peers, Maddie and Peggy. Daily, Wanda self-assuredly states to Wanda and Peggy that she has a hundred dresses while everyday she wears a faded blue dress. Maddie and Peggy are unconvinced and go to great lengths to make their point. The story develops with an art contest where Wanda wins the prize (you guessed it-drawing dresses), but too late for Wanda, as her family had already moved to escape the onslaught of discrimination. Maddie and Peggy soon realize they were wrong to have judged Wanda. What Wanda does in the end is touching and selfless. My 2nd graders are able to understand showing empathy and kindness, no matter the circumstances, are the key to living by the Golden Rule.

THE BONE SERIES by Jeff Smith This series is a set of graphic novels. I find that at our library students from grades 2-6 love this series. It especially reaches our reluctant readers. They are Accelerated Reader titles. They have had such popularity with our students from the past year (to this year) I have yet to keep one book (out of an entire set) on the shelf overnight. We purchased them January of last year. Stephanie Heggen

I just heard Cornelia Funke speak at a Reader's Festival today, and I am in awe of her creativity. She has written //The Thief Lord, Inkheart, Dragon Rider,// and a new one called //Reckless//. She talked about her creative process and storytelling (in her charming German accent), and I just felt like I would love to have her as a friend. Carol Bailey

Jake Maddox has a series of sports chapter books. There are ones with boys and girls as the main character. These books are written at a easy reading level, and are great to recommend to the struggling 4th and 5th grade readers. They look like other chapter books, but are a little easier. I also love the 39 Clues, The Andrew Lost Series, and The Dragon Slayers Academy. Also, I love the Sherlock Files by Tracy Barrett. It is a great mystery about the ancestors of Sherlock Holmes trying to solve his unsolved cases. The World According to Humphrey is also one of my favorites. This is about a class pet the tries to help out his classmates. - I could go on and on about different kids books. I keep thinking of more titles. :) - Emily Blackwelder

Dave Craig- Honus and Me and any of those series by Dan Gutman. Kids, boys and girls alike, seem to enjoy the sports/time travel element. His Weird School series is also well done and a fun read for elementary kids....and this elementary grown up, too. My students also really like the challenge of reading through the whole A-Z mystery series. They constantly compete to get the next letter in the series. I would also recommend Greetings from Nowhere. It is a relatively slow moving book, but tells a great story...maybe in the same sense of Because of Winn-Dixie. And I would be remiss if I didn't add my own childhood favorite...The Hardy Boys. Still available in our LRC! Dave C.

I have had quite a few students read the series //The Chronicles of Vladimir Tod//, so I decided to read them. I kind of like vampire books anyway, so these were fun to read. I enjoyed them because the reader is able to grow up with Vlad. He has the normal teenage issues, but then has his vampire issues too. I think students can relate to Vlad easily and are able to experience the life of a teenage vampire.

Some books are timeless. Beverly Cleary's __Ramona__ __and__ __Her__ __Father,__ although written over thirty years ago, captures issues that our children face today. Ramona's father loses his job and Ramona tries desperately to assist him. In addition, he smokes and she wants him to quit. She comes up with numerous schemes that would challenge the best of parents, to do so. I really enjoyed this tale and see it having applicable lessons as our country struggles to come out of our current recession. **Angela Archuleta** __The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian__ by Sherman Alexie is a good book for YA and is used in one of our upper level English classes. Deanne Smith

//Johnny Tremain//

Ester Forbes

It is hard to believe that this book is almost 70 years old!!! Johnny Tremain is a 14 year old silversmith apprentice for Ephraim Lapham. For a young apprentice, Johnny is very skillful and shows great promise as a master silversmith. Johnny is very prideful about his skills which cause a rift between Johnny and the other to apprentices that Mr. Lapham employs. One day, Mr. Lapham receives and order for an ornate silver sugar basin from John Hancock. The Hancock order places great stress on entire silversmith shop and Johnny becomes even bossier to the other apprentices. While working, Dove intentionally hands Johnny a cracked crucible. The crucible fails and Johnny’s thumb becomes fused to his hand. The injury prevents Johnny to continue as a silversmith.

Johnny is forced to find work elsewhere. His deformed hand hinders him from finding work. He reaches out to a relative but is accused of stealing by the relative. Johnny is befriended by Rab who uncle has a printing shop. Johnny becomes a rider and delivers copies of the Boston Observer. As a rider for the Observer, Johnny is a firsthand participant of the Boston patriots and even helps with the Boston Tea Party. He is also a relay rider the night of Paul Reverse’s ride.

As tension grows between the colonist and the British, Rab goes to Lexington and enlists as a Minute Man. Rab is mortal wounded in the Battle of Lexington. Johnny is devastated by the death of Rab but understand that freedom and liberty has a cost. Johnny also learns that his hand can be surgical repaired. After he heals, Johnny takes Rab’s musket and joins the war. Kris Keller Chelsea Brigance: Savvy - Ingrid Law (Follow up book is Scumble, both are very lovely, great book for girls 5-6th grades especially) Masters of Disaster - Gary Paulsen (completely hilarious, high lexile, great word choice) Flawed Dogs - Berkeley Breathed (Sad beginning, but the rest of the book is very funny) I Survived... - Lauren Tarshis (She has a whole series of books that begin with "I survived" including a shark attack and the sinking of the titanic; simple reader connects kids to real events through historical fiction) Quackenstein Hatches a Family - Sudipta Bardhan-Quallen (Picture book; very cute for little kids and I even used it for predicting for older kids) I Need My Monster - Amanda Noll (Picture Book; great story about a child who tries out some subs while his under-the-bed monster is on vacation)

I use the following picture books to teach lessons on how readers need to infer from the text and/or pictures. A simple post it at the end of the book can prompt students after we have modeled with read alouds in class. I especially like //The Maiden on the//

//Moor// by M. Singer, //Santa Calls// by W. Joyce, //The Other Side// by J. Woodson and Eve Bunting's //Smoky Nights// and

//December//.

-Beth Lane media type="custom" key="10832599" Gordon Hawks: Sherman Alexie has an amazing book called The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian. It is about a boy on a reservation in Washington and in order to get the education he wants he transfers to school outside of the reservation. It is fun and has pictures and is great for YA readers who are looking for a fun book about sports and being different.

[|Sherman Alexie's Website]

Boneshaker by Cherie Priest is a wild and kind of crazy story from the Steampunk genre. I usually will not read something like this, not a big science fiction fan and definitely not a Steampunk fan. The story starts out with a flashback to Seattle in the Washington territory after the Civil war would have ended but didn’t. A Seattle affected by the Klondike and a walled in city populated by both zombies and non-zombies that enjoy the freedom of living in a lawless city. Hold on, this story is weird!

This story is about a 15 year old boy named Zeke who searches for the secrets about his father. He wants to find out more about who his father was or is. His father being the cause of the zombie hordes in Seattle doesn’t make him very popular either. His mother, Briar finds out that Zeke has left for Seattle and she takes off to find him. The biggest part of this story is the mother trying to find her son and protect him from the zombies, and the cities other inhabitants. There are times here where you are just wishing they would find each other and get the story moving. There are some really great parts in the book, if you can get around all of the useless characters.

Once she finds Zeke they work together to find out about Zeke’s father and her husband. They find out things they didn’t know and learn more about each other through the story. The mother and son relationship is deeply explored and is pretty great. I did love that fact about the book. Overall I would say it is an average book. There are some points where you just want to put the book in a drawer and try and read some more later when you fell strong enough to push through

-Rob Davis