Some Great Books to Try!

Keeping Safe the Stars by Sheila O'Connor

In this story Pride, Nightingale and Baby are the Stars. Orphaned and living with their grandfather, Old Finn, in rural Minnesota, the children, like their grandfather, are wary of outsiders. They believe, as Old Finn taught them, in self-reliance.
But then Old Finn falls seriously ill and is taken to the hospital all the way in Duluth, leaving the children to fend for themselves. Pride, as oldest, assumes the lead. Though she makes mistakes, she keeps them afloat; they even earn money for the bus trip to Duluth. But when they finally see Old Finn, he can't walk or even say his own name, and Pride knows her days of keeping safe the Stars are drawing to a close. Self-reliance can't make Old Finn well again. But maybe, just maybe, a secret from Old Finn's past might make a way for them to stay together after all.
If you enjoy stories about challenges, family, and love this would be a great book for you!

Joey Pigza Swallowed the Key by Jack Gantos is a realistic fiction book about a boy with attention deficit disorder.  Because of Joey's disability, he often gets himself into trouble at home and at school. This book is part of a series about Joey's character and his misadventures.  If you enjoy reading books about students your age who face challenges and rise up to meet them, this would be a good book for you.

The final book that I'm going to tell you about today is Night on Fire by Ronald Kidd.  It is historical fiction and it takes place during the time period of the Civil Rights Movement.  The main character in the book is thirteen-year-old Billie Simms who doesn't think her hometown of Anniston, Alabama, should be segregated, but few of the town's residents share her opinion. As equality spreads across the country and the Civil Rights Movement gathers momentum, Billie can't help but feel stuck--and helpless--in a stubborn town too set in its ways to realize that the world is passing it by.  In the story Billie is faced with a serious decision: stand idly by in silence or take a stand for what she believes in.
If you like historical fiction, and books that make you think and feel, this book is for you!  Thank you to my former student, Bryn McCall, for recommending this amazing book to me.

Welcome to 4th Grade!

Hard to believe that September is right around the corner!  I spent the first four weeks of summer taking classes and what I've learned has inspired me to implement some new ideas this year in reading and writing.  I have read some amazing professional books and young adult books.  I also spent a great deal of time over the summer writing so I'm looking forward to sharing some of that with you this year.  But this is the 40 Book Challenge blog, so let's talk about books.  I've read quite a few good ones so far that I'd like to share with you.
The first book that I'm going to tell you about is Feathers by Jacqueline Woodson.  Here's a summary of the book:
 “Hope is the thing with feathers” starts the poem Frannie is reading in school. Frannie hasn’t thought much about hope. There are so many other things to think about. Each day, her friend Samantha seems a bit more “holy.” There is a new boy in class everyone is calling the Jesus Boy. And although the new boy looks like a white kid, he says he’s not white. Who is he?
During a winter full of surprises, good and bad, Frannie starts seeing a lot of things in a new light—her brother Sean’s deafness, her mother’s fear, the class bully’s anger, her best friend’s faith and her own desire for “the thing with feathers.”
Jacqueline Woodson once again takes readers on a journey into a young girl’s heart and reveals the pain and the joy of learning to look beneath the surface.

Another book that I've read in the last few weeks is Rain Reign by Ann M. Martin.  Here's a summary:

Rose Howard is obsessed with homonyms. She's thrilled that her own name is a homonym, and she purposely gave her dog Rain a name with two homonyms (Reign, Rein), which, according to Rose's rules of homonyms, is very special. Not everyone understands Rose's obsessions, her rules, and the other things that make her different - not her teachers, not other kids, and not her single father.
When a storm hits their rural town, rivers overflow, the roads are flooded, and Rain goes missing. Rose's father shouldn't have let Rain out. Now Rose has to find her dog, even if it means leaving her routines and safe places to search.
Hearts will break and spirits will soar for this powerful story, brilliantly told from Rose's point of view.  Keep checking here for updates and Happy reading!
 

What a Nice Story!

My good friend, Luke Abate, shared an awesome book with me.  The book is The Year of the Dog and it was written by Grace Lin.  In the story the main character, Pacy, is celebrating the Chinese New Year.  This year is the "Year of the Dog" and Pacy's mom tells her that means it is a good year for family, friends, and "finding yourself".  Read the book to see how Pacy discovers who she is and why she is so lucky!  This realistic fiction book was so much fun for me to read because it reminded me of one of my "Old Favorites" from my reading life, B is for Betsy by Carolyn Haywood.  If you like stories about friendship and family, then you would enjoy The Year of the Dog.

You've Got to Read This Book!!!!!!

Today I'm going to tell you about the book Small As an Elephant by Jennifer Richard Jacobson.  This book is amazing!  I'm not sure if I loved it more because the main character's name is Jack, or because the setting of the story is Maine, one of my all time favorite places!  In the book Jack, and his sometimes unpredictable mom, finally take a vacation to Acadia National Park.  Things are going well until Jack wakes up one morning and finds that his mom has left him!  Jack doesn't want his mom to get in trouble, so he tries to find his own way back to his home in Boston.  This book is full of adventure and if you read it you will be awed and inspired by Jack's courage and resilience.  Read Small as an Elephant, you won't be disappointed!

I Like Science Fiction? Who Knew It????

Over the weekend I finished reading Catching Fire the second book in the Hunger Games series by Suzanne Collins.  One thing that I have to say about this series is that you should read them in order, so that the plot makes sense to you.  I read the first book over a year ago, and while I didn't love it, I didn't hate it either. When I reflect on my reading life, I am not sure why I never moved on to book two.  To be completely honest, it was the 40 Book Challenge that was my incentive for revisiting this series and I am sooooooooo glad that I did. 
In this book, the characters remain the same, but what happens to them this time around is almost unbelievable.  If you have read The Hunger Games, and like science fiction, this would be a great book for you.  One caution, this book does have violence in it.  If you are someone who scares easily you may want to read this book with an adult, or just skip it until you get a little older.  Happy reading :-)

Pushing Yourself is an Important Part of the Process!

Over the weekend I finished the book My Side of the Mountain by by Jean Craighead George.  Although this book is in my preferred genre, realistic fiction, the subject matter is not one that I would typically choose.  The picture on the cover was interesting to me and it is a Newberry Honor book, so I knew I had to try it.  The story is about a young boy named Sam who runs away from his family home in New York City to live, on his own, in the Catskill Mountains.  Sam learns to live off the land and has many adventures.  I can't imagine being able to survive on my own in the woods (especially in the winter).

  Many times throughout my reading of this book I wanted to abandon it, but I pushed myself to read strong, and I am glad I did! If you like reading about adventures, survival, and nature, then this might be a book for you.

     Another book I recently read is Spilling Ink by Anne Mazer and Ellen Potter.  This is a nonfiction book for young writers.  These authors give you lots of tips to help you through the writing process.  If you like to write, and you like reading about writing, then you would enjoy this book.  Give it a try!

Historical Fiction - My New Favorite Genre?

Last night I finished reading a wonderful book called Glory Be by Augusta Scattergood.  The genre is historical fiction and the setting is the early 1960's in Mississippi.  In this book the main character is a twelve year old girl named Glory who struggles to understand the concepts of prejudice and discrimination.  The story follows Glory through one summer of making choices that aren't always easy.  If you like books with strong, determined main characters, that are both informative and inspirational, then you should definitely read Glory Be.