Best Reads of Q2 2018

As an elementary library teacher, lots of people ask me for book recommendations. I figured I'd collect the best of what I read each season and share my comments in one post. Including grown-up reads. If you'd like to see all of my books (including my 1-star reviews), you can follow me on Goodreads.

Picture Books

Some Pets by Angela Diterlizzi
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

LOVE. And I don't even like pets! Idea for K lesson - kids can draw a pet and choose an action word to go with it.



Black Bird Yellow Sun by Steve Light
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

For younger kids than my PreK. Is the bird going to eat the worm???



It Came in the Mail by Ben Clanton
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

For all of us who love to get mail!





Bus! Stop! by James Yang
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Fun! Could have the kids draw their own idea bus afterwards.


Don't Blink! by Amy Krouse Rosenthal
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Super cute.

Would You Rather... by John Burningham
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I made a lesson out of it.





A House That Once Was by Julie Fogliano
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Oh Ms. Fogliano has such a command of language.





Hello Lighthouse by Sophie Blackall
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Meticulous.







Perfect Square by Michael Hall
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Create!

Early Readers

Snail and Worm Again by Tina Kugler
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I LOVED THIS SO MUCH. My very favorite of the 6 Geisels this year.

Middle Grade Novels

Sunny by Jason Reynolds
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

A self-contained gem. My favorite of the series so far, I think.

p. 99: "Diary, I watned to tell her that was impossible, but she was so nice and she already had a broken arm, and I'd already almost died, so I felt like maybe we should let some of the small things slide."



The Science of Breakable Things by Tae Keller
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

REALLY good. And I want to buy the "Whose Pants?" game for my schools.

p. 102: "Maybe sometimes the strongest thing of all is knowing that one day you'll be all right again, and waiting and waiting until you can come out into the sun."

p. 292: "As it turns out, you can't always protect breakable things. Hearts and eggs will break, and everything changes, but you keep going anyway."


You Go First by Erin Entrada Kelly
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

So glad I'm not a middle schooler any more.

Slow slips.
"You are a finch."
"There's this saying by Robert Frost. It goes, 'In three words I can sum up everything I know about life: it goes on."


Ban This Book by Alan Gratz
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Loved the spirit of the kids sneaking books. A librarian's dream.

At first I was kind of annoyed at all of the old books being mentioned at the beginning (stuff from when I was little, which the kids just don't read anymore), but Gratz' comment at the end that all the banned books in this title have actually been banned in real life satisfied that quibble. (P.S. They DO still read Mixed-Up Files in class, hooray!)

Loved the imagining of library "scientists."

Loved the kids threatening each other "Wait Till Helen Comes." (Mary Downing Hahn is still very popular.)

Wonder if Gratz is friends with Dav Pilkey? There are no notes to that end.

Loved the Mysterious Benedict Society shout-out.

Loved the made-up camouflage titles.

Loved the kids' final solution to the problem. #resist

Nonfiction

The Youngest Marcher: The Story of Audrey Faye Hendricks, a Young Civil Rights Activist by Cynthia Levinson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Why did I never learn about the kids getting themselves thrown in jail???? Timely in the wake of the Parkland kids' activism.


Sergeant Reckless: The True Story of the Little Horse Who Became a Hero by Patricia McCormick
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

She ate poker chips and a ceremonial blanket? Ugh. My stomach hurts. Lively writing and a truly interesting topic.


Rodent Rascals by Roxie Munro
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Easily digestible information, and I love that the rodents are painted at actual size.



Fairy Spell: How Two Girls Convinced the World That Fairies Are Real by Marc Tyler Nobleman
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Fake news! Will probably use next year ... just not sure which grade.

For Grownups

The Keeper of Lost Things by Ruth Hogan
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Delightful (and sometimes sorrowful) storytelling, but I could have done without the supernatural elements. Question: Who actually wrote the interstitial stories about the objects?


The Diver's Clothes Lie Empty by Vendela Vida
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

So many unique plot revelations. Highly entertaining. Although I prefer closure at the end of stories. I want to read more by Vida. P.S. The narrator's voice was perfect.


The Last Anniversary by Liane Moriarty
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I'm going to miss the characters after being with them in the car and at the gym and falling asleep for a couple of weeks. One of Moriarty's better books. Recommended to any friends looking for a summer read.