Best Reads - Summer Vacation

Here's what I read and loved this summer. Click on the titles to read plot summaries. If you'd like to see all of my books, you can follow me on Goodreads.

Picture Books

The Panda Problem by Deborah Underwood
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Between this and "What If?," I have a new lesson in plot structure!


I'm Bored by Michael Ian Black
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Fantastic, funny combination of words and pictures. Would recommend for any kids having a summer vacation slump.



I'm Sad by Michael Ian Black
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Will pair with "When Sadness is at Your Door."





Hello by Fiona Woodcock
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Adore the concept. Not a US illustrator, so can't use for Mock Caldecott, but I CAN use as a mentor text for the kids to create their own stories. May use in addition to or instead of my Oops Pounce Quick Run activity.


The Pigeon Has to Go to School by Mo Willems
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I hope not every other teacher at my schools is planning to read this! Because it's what I'm starting out K with!


The Dumb Bunnies by Sue Denim
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

OMG. If I buy this for my libraries, will I get in trouble because "dumb" means "stupid" and "stupid" is the "S word"? And because they flush someone down the toilet? I kind of love it. However, did Dav steal taking the bikes from the Sesame Street doodlebugs taking the family car to the zoo?


What If...? Then We...: Short, Very Short, Shorter-than-Ever Possibilities by Rebecca Kai Dotlich
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

So a couple of resolutions might make the anxious more anxious, but overall, I think this will be a great book to share and a good companion to "Fortunately."


Can Cat and Bird Be Friends? by Coll Muir
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Tempted to read to 4th and 5th grade and then partner them up and force them to find something in common. Also considering making my own award for my kids to vote for because Mock Caldecott is only for Americans, and this is British.


Gittel's Journey: An Ellis Island Story by Lesléa Newman
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Bumping up to a 4 because although I've read dozens of versions of this story, my students have not. And given the immigration issues of today, they should.

Early Readers

A Short Tale About a Long Dog by Henry Winkler
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

PERFECT for my second graders.

Nonfiction

The Important Thing About Margaret Wise Brown by Mac Barnett
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

WOW. I don't even really like Margaret Wise Brown's books, but I LOVED this book about her. And about some other things as well. Will probably use for Mock Sibert if I get my act together on that. Will definitely recommend to those teachers who do "The Important Book."



Guitar Genius: How Les Paul Engineered the Solid-Body Electric Guitar and Rocked the World by Kim Tomsic
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I want to do more with art and music in library.

Middle Grade Novels

Bernice Buttman, Model Citizen by Niki Lenz
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Oh, Bernice. What a great character. Loved this. Lots of funny lines, like "She had rays of sunbeams shining out her nostrils, I tell you want." I want to focus more on social emotional learning next year, and this fits that arena without being mushy, lame, or didactic. Hope Lenz is working on a second novel.



The True History of Lyndie B. Hawkins by Gail Shepherd
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I laughed. I cried.

Similar sentiment to Paulie Fink:

p. 91: "The whole point of learning about history, Mr. Handy told us in class, is you figure out that knowledge is changeable. New people come along and retell the story. Every year we are here on Earth, we make little nudges and revisions to what we think about where we came from and what we have done."

p. 124: Why have I never heard about soldiers cutting up shirts and petticoats to make the first stars and stripes?

p. 165: "I think what you are talking about is more the plot of you than the theme of you."

p. 269: "A young officer at the counter is doing something efficient with a stack of carbon copies."

And Dawn's categories!


One-Third Nerd by Gennifer Choldenko
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Super sweet, funny, and realistic. I liked that Izzy's Down Syndrome was made out to be a difference, but not a handicap.

p. 79: ... Mrs. Johnson tells Dakota, "We'll take questions later." Dakota's arm drops like a boulder. A second later it shoots up again. "Dakota," Mrs. Johnson sighs. "You didn't say how much later."

p. 95: That's the trouble with being a kid. Nobody ever tells you the right things to worry about.


Genesis Begins Again by Alicia D. Williams
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Gen broke my heart. The racism within her family and classmates - and within herself - was, quite frankly, shocking to me. The brown bag test and the bleach elicited out-loud reactions. Powerful stuff.




A Good Kind of Trouble by Lisa Moore Ramée
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Ramee nicely balances the typical middle-school friendship drama with the bigger issue of the Black Lives Matter movement, all with a touch of humor. I liked it a lot.

p. 297: "And if you are never afraid, then how do you know when you're brave?"


Lety Out Loud by Angela Cervantes
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This would make an excellent RI Children's Book Award nominee. And I loved when the book recommendations started getting added to the pet profiles!

Young Adult

This Promise of Change: One Girl’s Story in the Fight for School Equality by Jo Ann Allen Boyce
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Holy shit.

Some gut punches here.

Delivered in verse that is truly poetic.

Interspersed with media coverage from the time.

Damn.

p. 89: "All those cups of sugar. / All those cakes and pies / Mrs. Smith baked with those borrowed cups. / How did they bear to swallow them? / How do I bear / to swallow this?"

p. 124: "The news is something / that happens / to other people / in other places. / Until it happens to you."

p. 168: "It's the little things that help. ... It's the little things that hurt."

p. 192: "It's the big things that grow from the little things."


A Story About Cancer With a Happy Ending by India Desjardins
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Love how the artwork colors reflect the mood of the text.

For Grownups

Nine Perfect Strangers by Liane Moriarty
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

It went off the rails a bit about 2/3 of the way through, but still a great summer read/ride. Frances' observations and worries made me laugh out loud. I would love to have her back as a character.

Best Reads T3 2018-19

Here's what I read and loved this spring. Click on the titles to read plot summaries. If you'd like to see all of my books, you can follow me on Goodreads.

Picture Books

When Sadness Is at Your Door by Eva Eland
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Wow. Simple and stunning.




The Undefeated by Kwame Alexander
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Gave me chills



There Are No Bears in This Bakery by Julia Sarcone-Roach
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I will order for next year and do a lesson on similes, I do believe.


Hands Up! by Breanna J. McDaniel
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Took me a while to realize it is the same character throughout. Really liked the idea, but it was the afterword that made me make the connection to the rally cry. Powerful and joyous.


Because by Mo Willems
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Save for Mock Caldecott? Use now for a lesson in cause and effect? Give to the music teacher for her to use? Hmm.


The Bell Rang by James E. Ransome
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Beautiful paintings. Visceral text. Would recommend as an upper-grade readaloud tied into history lessons v. me reading it to first graders with no context.


Hey, Water! by Antoinette Portis
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Could pair with "Water is Water" for a lesson.



Potato Pants! by Laurie Keller
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

May pair with "Horrible Bear!" for a K lesson on handling righteous indignation.





Tomorrow Most Likely by Dave Eggers
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Kind of random, but I liked it.

Middle Grade Fiction

Sweeping Up the Heart by Kevin Henkes
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Beautifully written. We are completely in Amelia's head for a week.

p. 11: "She was moving quickly because she was eager to work, but more to the point she was reinventing her walk, trying to make it faster and more graceful. Purposeful. Her legs had grown so much lately that she felt out of sync, as if her body belonged to someone or something else. And she'd recently decided that she hated her knees."


Nightbooks by J.A. White
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Loved the structure, with all of the truly creepy short stories interspersed with the main plot. The big reveal was cuckoobananas. RICBA nominee.





The Peculiar Incident on Shady Street by Lindsay Currie
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Not sure the reasons for the haunting were explained completely satisfactorily, but nicely spooky for the middle grade set. RICBA nominee.





Margot and Mateo Save the World by Darcy Miller
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Nonstop action. And Dr. Smalls looking up "foot cancer" made me lawl. This will be an easy sell to get kids reading RICBA books.

Graphic Novels

The Epic Origin of Super Potato by Artur Laperla
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

So incredibly silly. I laughed out loud twice.




New Kid by Jerry Craft
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Much stronger than a lot of the offerings in its category, I thought. Although I sometimes had trouble telling all the kids apart and tracking their personalities. Page 108 where we think Gran'pa is a ghost made me laugh. Collin's banishment perplexed me. How do they know who paid for what? Chapter title spreads were great.

Nonfiction

Beware of the Crocodile by Martin Jenkins
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Wow! Perfect for the kids who want more animal books. Lots of facts presented with drama and sometimes a little bit of gruesomeness. Too bad neither creator is American, so I can't use it for Mock Caldecott next year.


Rocket to the Moon! by Don Brown
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I wish the entire series were already available.






An Inconvenient Alphabet: Ben Franklin & Noah Webster's Spelling Revolution by Beth Anderson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I'm going to do more with alphabetical order in library class next year, because the kids just do not know it. I wanted to cry this week when second graders were playing an online guide words game. HOW CAN A WORD THAT STARTS WITH M COME BETWEEN APPLES AND BANANAS??????


Sea Bear: A Journey for Survival by Lindsay Moore
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Moore creates sky, ice, and sea with a blue watercolor palette. The "tossed by a tempest" pages are particularly strong.



Bloom Boom! by April Pulley Sayre
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I need to get her books for my libraries.

For Grownups

On Turpentine Lane by Elinor Lipman
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

SUCH fun! Crazy plot points and a sweet little love story. Agree with this quote: "Dinner can be one lamb chop, or scrambled eggs, or a bag of potato chips. I'm content. Everything on the DVR playlist is mine."




The Golden Tresses of the Dead by Alan Bradley
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I am really liking Flavia and Dogger as partners.




Kingdom of the Blind by Louise Penny
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Armand, you hold so many secrets ... some of which were total fakeouts because Penny gave us characters' interior monologues which then were not quite accurate. But I shall allow for entertainment's sake.

Best Reads T2 2018-19

Here's what I read and loved this winter. Click on the titles to read plot summaries. If you'd like to see all of my books, you can follow me on Goodreads.

Picture Books

Animalphabet by Julia Donaldson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

GORGEOUS. Will use with PreK.

The Wall in the Middle of the Book by Jon Agee
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Could be used in high school as an example of metaphor / allegory. And it's timely.






Night Train, Night Train by Robert Burleigh
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The text rhythms sound like a train chugging along, and I liked how the colors were introduced gradually. Perfect for those 3-year-old train fanatics.


Dear Substitute by Audrey Vernick
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I really liked it but got mad that there was no librarian and therefore they couldn't go to library. Hmpf. Buy for any friends you may have who are elementary subs.



Grumpy Monkey by Suzanne Lang
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Sometimes you just need to be a grump. Take it from me ... approximately 25 years ago my baby brother threw me out of his family play because I was being too grumpy.


The Patchwork Bike by Maxine Beneba Clarke
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Fabulous artwork. I liked the book better after reading the author and illustrator notes at the end.




Little Hoot by Amy Krouse Rosenthal
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Little Hoot and I would get along so well ... I'm so good at pondering, staring, and going to bed early.

Early Readers

Fox the Tiger by Corey R. Tabor
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

So cute. Could be used as part of my Not a Box lesson with PreK.

Middle Grade Fiction

Inkling by Kenneth Oppel
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Some very strange things happened near the end, but all in all an original story that kept my attention. I loved how Inkling took on the mannerisms of his latest meal (e.g., "I am in the depths of despair" and "You is looking like a whopsy butterflapper!").



Sweep: The Story of a Girl and Her Monster by Jonathan Auxier
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Oh, the Dickensian squalor! Fantastic protagonist and OH! Charlie! Loved him and all of his quirks, like leaning in to the paper to hear the sounds the letters made.

I need a Nothing Room, "for being quiet, and things like that." And maybe some napping parties.

Young Adult

The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is the kind of book that can save a person's life. Should be stocked in every high school library. A novel in verse that was actually poetic.

p. 65: "Just because your father's present / doesn't mean he isn't absent."

p. 107: "He is not elegant enough for a sonnet / too well-thought-out for a free write, / taking too much space in my thoughts / to ever be a haiku."

p. 283: "It almost feels like / the more I bruise the page / the quicker something inside me heals."

For Grownups

Textbook Amy Krouse Rosenthal by Amy Krouse Rosenthal
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

AKR was a genius. Before her death, I only knew her as a children's picture book author. ("Exclamation Mark" is one of my favorites.) But when I read her Encyclopedia, I realized that she was a quirky, deeply sensitive, inventive, funny person. Textbook is even better. I'm so sad to know that she is gone, and we won't get anything else from her brain. The Art chapter and the Science Experiments were amazing - she was kind of a performance artist as well. Using words mostly.

Definitely go to the web site https://www.textbookamykr.com/ and read the Serendiptiy stories and look at the Blue/Green gallery. Oh, and watch the Beckoning of Lovely video. I am sitting here in tears after viewing it myself.



View all my reviews Goodnight Trump: a parody by Erich Origen
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

It's funny yet super depressing because it's true. This book should be read at Trump's trial as evidence. (Please let 2019 bring a trial, please let 2019 bring a trial.)


The Adults by Caroline Hulse
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Fun read full of imperfect people in a fraught situation ... even though it takes place over Christmas, would be a great beach book.