Best Reads T1 2020-2021

This past school year knocked us all for a loop. Prepping for hybrid teaching sucked up most of my time and energy; when I got in bed to read, I fell asleep within a couple of pages. But here is what I managed to finish and loved during the fall. 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

I Am Every Good Thing by Derrick Barnes
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

"I am a lightning round of questions, and
a star-filled sky of solutions."

Loved this.
Simple.
Powerful.
Joyous.
Proud.
Reflective.
So good.

 

Madame Badobedah by Sophie Dahl
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

So lovely. But I don't know that I can think of any students who would read it. Hmm. May look for a readaloud video and get their feedback.

 

Share Your Rainbow: 18 Artists Draw Their Hope for the Future by Various
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Oh 2020.

May we get to the end of the rainbow in 2021. 2022? Please by 2023.

 

 

There's an Alien in Your Book by Tom Fletcher
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Cute. Will use for PreK when we can all touch the same books again.

 

View all my reviews Nana Akua Goes to School by Tricia Elam Walker
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Unique and sweet take on the "share a family tradition" trope. Could be a jumping-off point for some kind of heritage celebration ... you know, when COVID times are over.

Prairie Days by Patricia MacLachlan
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The artwork is truly stunning ... like bright quilts come to life. As a city girl, though, I was nervous about the inability to walk to CVS or a bus stop. Will recommend to 2nd grader teachers for their urban/rural unit.

Early Readers  

See the Cat: Three Stories About a Dog by David LaRochelle
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Fully expecting this to get a Geisel. Cute and easy to read and funny and yes please.

 

Middle Grade Fiction

Fighting Words by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I thought Bradley handled the subject matter so well. Incredibly realistic characters and reactions to situations. Shitty, shitty situations.

Accidental Trouble Magnet by Zanib Mian
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Super cute. Kind of a standard hybrid "Oh what is going on in my life and how do I fit in?" book for middle grades, but featuring a Muslim kid, which is not so standard yet. Sadly, the prejudice his family faces kind of is. The situations with the mean neighbor and the school bully were smoothed over a little too easily, but third graders don't need to be traumatized by xenophobia. They do need to learn more about kids who are different than them, and to realize that just because they may eat different food or celebrate different holidays doesn't mean they aren't mostly the same.

Tornado Brain by Cat Patrick
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Getting into Cat's head was a good reminder that not all of my students think / feel the same way I do.

Plot-wise, I had an issue with her and Tess being able to get into school on a Saturday, but other than that the situations all seemed realistic. I was a bit taken aback by the resolution of the mystery ... did we ever find out EXACTLY what happened?

p. 124: "Sometimes I think I've said things because I hear them so loudly in my head, in my own voice. But I forget to actually say them out of my mouth. Except then I think I did, and that gets confusing for people. And for me."

p. 163: "I wondered if depression was something you caught like the flu or Ebola and you didn't know you had it until it was too late."


Stand Up, Yumi Chung! by Jessica Kim
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Definitely would recommend for RI Children's Book Award. Although could 3rd graders handle the reference to the maxipad on p. 25? Hmm. Eh, bodies are bodies.

Yumi tries to pull off a crazy plan, and there is a calamitous climax, but all's well that ends well. I didn't find her stand-up hilarious, but Kim's overall writing is amusing. Yumi's path to figuring out how to stand up for herself is appealing if a little wackadoo, and I think some of my students will relate to her experience as a child of immigrants.

p. 108: "Dad's full of interesting ideas. Like the time he tried to solve our backyard rodent problem by hanging giant mobiles shaped like predatory birds he made out of Styrofoam. Only for them to be eaten by rats."

Nonfiction

The Secret Garden of George Washington Carver by Gene Barretta
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

GWC 4EVA! I first learned about him in 4th grade. Amazing. He would be so sad to hear how many people have peanut allergies these days.

 

Ruth Objects: The Life of Ruth Bader Ginsburg by Doreen Rappaport
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I read "I Dissent" and "The Case of R.G.B. Against Inequality" to students this week, and now after reading this one, I prefer it to the other two. It has the most information about specific cases, which I think illustrates Ginsburg's importance more clearly.

 

Vote for Our Future! by Margaret McNamara
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I kind of couldn't deal with such a readaloud this year, but I think I will do this in the future. Maybe as a kickoff to first-grade Mock Caldecott? Or I wonder if I could start some other school voting tradition for K or something ... will have to ask the principals. Something innocuous, like a song to play during morning announcements or a spirit day option.

 

The Boy Who Invented the Popsicle: The Cool Science Behind Frank Epperson's Famous Frozen Treat by Anne Renaud
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Fun story that explains the invention well and includes science activities that demonstrate some of the principles at work. I may finish this COVID year with a Mock Siebert for my older kids, and this will be on the list.

 

Hello, Neighbor!: The Kind and Caring World of Mister Rogers by Matthew Cordell
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Extra star for nostalgia. My dad and I went to see "Won't You Be My Neighbor"? a couple of years ago in the theater, and at one point, everyone in the (small) audience had tears running down their cheeks.