Kellee – Page 114 – Unleashing Readers

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? #IMWAYR 6/3/19

June 3, 2019 by Kellee

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? From Picture Books to YA!

It’s Monday! What are you Reading? is a meme started by Sheila at Book Journeys and now hosted by Kathryn at The Book Date. It is a great way to recap what you read and/or reviewed the previous week and to plan out your reading and reviews for the upcoming week. It’s also a great chance to see what others are reading right now…you just might discover the next “must-read” book!

Kellee and Jen, of Teach Mentor Texts, decided to give It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? a kidlit focus. If you read and review books in children’s literature – picture books, chapter books, middle grade novels, young adult novels, anything in the world of kidlit – join us! We love this meme and think you will, too.

We encourage everyone who participates to support the blogging community by visiting at least three of the other book bloggers that link up and leave comments for them.

Tuesday: Guest Review: Thunderhead by Neal Shusterman

Friday: Teachers’ Guide for Merci Suárez Changes Gears by Meg Medina

Sunday: Author Guest Post: “Helping Teens Understand the Immigration Debate” by Judy Dodge Cummings, Author of Immigration Nation

**Click on any picture/link to view the post**

Kellee

Sleepover at the Museum by Karen LeFrak: Now Trent wants to sleep at a Natural History Museum! A fun look at all the different parts of the museum.
There Are No Bears in This Bakery by Julia Sarcone-Roach: Fun and different picture book! I love the illustrations.
Building Books by Megan Wagner Lloyd: Books are for everyone, and this book helps its character realize that.
Hip-Hop Lollipop by Susan Montanari: What a great rhythmic picture book! And I loved seeing the motion in the illustrations.

Harold Loves His Wooly Hat by Vern Kousky: Trent and I both loved this cute book. It is especially thoughtful for us because just like Harold doesn’t want to take off his hat, Trent doesn’t like to wear anything but long sleeves and pants, so it was a good conversation starter.
Just One You! by Lillian Jaine: A great inspirational book with all of our favorite Sesame Street characters, and I really did love the edition of questions for parents to ask their kids while reading.
Owls Are Good at Keeping Secrets by Sara O’Leary: Trent adored this fun alphabet book! While I wouldn’t call it unusual, I will say that it is silly!
No Boring Stories by Julie Falatko: Why would a bunny want to join a writing group? The other animals probably shouldn’t assume anything.

Once Upon a Star by James Carter: Some of my favorite illustrations ever. And Trent loved the space information.
Paddington Sets Sail and Paddington and the Magic Trick by Michael Bond: Both of these are “read alongs” on the Hoopla app, and Trent and I read them (and others) when we need to fill some time.
My Heart by Corinna Luyken: The book filled my heart. Beautiful! Book of Mistakes was my Caldecott favorite, so I’m not surprised that I loved this one too.

The Mighty Heart of Sunny St. James by Ashley Herring Blake: Sunny St. James deals with heart surgery, family changes, and first kisses.
Every Moment After by Joseph Moldover: Eleven years after a school shooting, the survivors are graduating. The years have passed but the PTSD hasn’t.
Shout by Laurie Halse Anderson: Anderson’s #timesup memoir.
I Have No Secrets by Penny Joelson: Stuck In Neutral meets Out of My Mind with a murder mystery.

The Land of Stories: An Author’s Odyssey by Chris Colfer: Oh man! The true conflict has revealed itself! Need to get to the final book soon!
Extraordinary Birds by Sandy Stark-McGinnis: December’s outlet while moving from foster home to foster home is imagining she’s a bird and learning everything about birds.
Heroine by Mindy McGinnis: One car accident can change the trajectory of lives.

Ricki

Ricki is away on maternity leave and will return mid-June. Happy reading!

Kellee

Listening with Trent: Paddington by Michael Bond
Listening: Over the Moon by Natalie Lloyd
Reading on Kindle App: The Bridge Home by Padma Venkatraman
Reading: Fear of Missing Out by Kate McGovern
Reading and Listening with Trent: Inspector Flytrap by Tom Angleberger & Cece Bell
Reading Next with Trent: Mercy Watson books by Kate DiCamillo or Narwhal books by Ben Clanton

Tuesday: Call for Teachers of YA Literature Classes

Wednesday: Blog Tour with Author Guest Post, Recipes, and Excerpt!: Nixie Ness: Cooking Star by Claudia Mills

Thursday: Guest Review: The Strange Fascinations of Noah Hypnotik by David Arnold

Friday: Max Attacks by Kathi Appelt

Sunday: Author Guest Post: “Transgender and Non-Binary People Have Always Been Here” by Maria Cook, Author of Gender Identity: Beyond Pronouns and Bathrooms

Link up below and go check out what everyone else is reading. Please support other bloggers by viewing and commenting on at least 3 other blogs. If you tweet about your Monday post, tag the tweet with #IMWAYR!

and

Author Guest Post: “Helping Kids Understand the Immigration Debate” by Judy Dodge Cummings, Author of Immigration Nation: The American Identity in the Twenty-First Century

June 2, 2019 by Kellee

“Helping Kids Understand the Immigration Debate”

The United States is a nation of immigrants. With the exception of Native Americans, everyone living here has immigrant ancestors hanging from their family tree. Many of you live or work or attend school with immigrants. Some of you see an immigrant when you look in the mirror.

For more than a century, the Statute of Liberty has stood in New York Harbor and held her torch aloft, beckoning the world’s “tired…poor…huddled masses” to enter America’s Golden Door. However, even though the United States celebrates its immigrant past in story and song, we still struggle with each successive wave of immigration. History shows us that when foreigners come by the millions to America’s shores, even when the United States needs their labor, there is inevitably a backlash from citizens who want to close the Golden Door.

Today, we are witnessing that struggle play out on the news and in our neighborhoods.

Images bombard us—caravans, checkpoints, and children in cages.

Our lexicon expands—catch and release, national emergency, amnesty, and illegals.

Leaders stake claim to the truth as they debate whether to build a wall to keep immigrants out or to build a path that helps immigrants stay. Meanwhile, citizens want to know whose “truth” is the truth?

In an age when we can select media outlets from a menu that matches our political leanings, we often hear only information that corroborates our world view. We learn about immigration through a one-sided filter, our views become hardened, and the nation remains divided.

Today’s teenagers are tomorrow’s decision makers. They will shape future immigration policy. They will have to determine if America’s Golden Door remains open or is closed.

I wrote Immigration Nation: The American Identity in the Twenty-First Century to help youth explore immigration through unbiased, factual sources. The book examines the nation’s long history of immigration and the role the law has played as gatekeeper. Statistics and anecdotes tell the story of who immigrates, why they come, and how these newcomers are treated. The book explores the political, economic, and social impacts of current and future immigration. My goal was to equip teens with the knowledge they need to reach their own conclusions about what future U.S. immigration policy should be so they can use evidence and logic when participating in our national conversation about this important issue.

Here are three activities I developed to help young people explore different aspects of United States immigration.

Activity: Graph the Numbers

Sometimes graphs are helpful when thinking about complicated information. Design a series of graphs to communicate the history of U.S. immigration. Locate data at the Digital Scholarship Lab’s interactive website.

What changes in immigration do you want to show? Consider the following factors.

The rise and fall in the total number of immigrants from 1850 to 2010.
The most common countries of origin of immigrants in 1850, 1950, and 2010.
The percentage of the U.S. population that was foreign-born at different times in history.

What types of graphs most effectively illustrate these changes—a pie chart, bar graph, or line graph? Create a series of graphs and have a classmate try to read them. Are they successful?

To investigate more, choose one 50-year period between 1820 and 2010 and research the major world events that occurred then. What is the connection between these events and the trends in immigration at that time? How could you display these findings on a graph?

Activity: Graffiti as Protest

Throughout history, politicians have constructed walls to protect or divide, and people have created art on these walls to rebel and resist. In this activity, you will design art of a segment of the U.S. Mexican border wall that reflects your opinion of the state of immigration in the twenty-first century.

Research different views of President Trump’s proposed border wall. Read the opinions of both Republican and Democratic lawmakers, economic analysts, environmental experts, immigration officials, and immigrant advocates.
Decide what you think about the border wall. Is it needed? How much will it cost? How effective will it be? What does an extended border wall say about the United States? What are the psychological impacts of living behind a wall?
Write a thesis statement to communicate your main opinion of the border wall. A thesis statement is usually a single sentence that summarizes your specific position on a subject.
Brainstorm different ways you can artistically represent your thesis. How will you execute your ideas?
Draw, paint, or sketch your ideas on a large piece of butcher paper. Display on a fence or wall so people can view your artistic expression.

To investigate more, research examples of border wall graffiti on walls around the world. What common themes or images are reflected by artists in different countries?

Activity: What’s on Your Plate?

Few Americans grow their own vegetables, milk their own cows, or butcher their own meat. We go to the grocery store, where almost any food is available any season of the year. Have you ever considered the lives of the people whose labor brings that food to your plate?

A 2014 report by the American Farm Bureau Federation found the agricultural industry needs between 1.5 and 2 million workers. Because not enough legal immigrants or American citizens will do backbreaking farm labor, 50 to 70 percent of agricultural workers are undocumented immigrants.

Explore the relationship between immigrant labor and the foods you eat. How much do you rely on farm workers?

Keep a food diary for one week. What fresh fruit, fresh vegetables, milk, and meat do you regularly consume?
Select one of these foods and research the role undocumented immigrants play in getting that item from the farm or field to the grocery store. What do immigrants say about their work experiences in places such as chicken processing plants or California fruit orchards? What makes the work difficult? What do they get paid for their work and how do their wages impact the price you pay at the grocery store?
In a creative way, communicate the journey this food took. Consider a short story, comic strip, or storyboard. Share the story with you peers and discuss how Americans benefit from the labor of undocumented immigrants.

To investigate more, change your story so all the workers who produced your food were paid minimum wage. What impact would this have on you as a consumer?

More classroom resources can be found at https://nomadpress.net/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Immigration-Nation-Classroom-Guide.pdf.

Immigration Nation: The American Identity in the Twenty-First Century
Author: Judy Dodge Cummings
Illustrator: Richard Chapman
Published April 9th, 2019 by Nomad Press

About the Book: What does it mean to be an immigrant today? Has the immigrant experience changed since the last century?

Immigration Nation: The American Identity in the Twenty-First Century invites middle and high schoolers to explore the history of immigration in the United States, along with immigration law and statistics through the perspectives of immigrants, citizens, policy makers, and border agents.

For more than a century, an immigrant from France has stood vigil in the New York Harbor. At 350 feet tall, with a majestic spiked crown upon her head, a tablet of laws clutched in one hand and a torch held aloft in the other, the lady is hard to miss. She cries out to the world, “Give me your tired, your poor…I lift my lamp beside the golden door!” Millions of immigrants have answered the Statue of Liberty’s call, passing over, under, or through the Golden Door to become Americans.

However, on the eve of its 250th birthday, the United States is in the middle of an identity crisis. Should this land of immigrants open the door open to outsiders, people hungry for opportunity and desperate for freedom? Or should the country shut the golden door, barring entry to all but a select few? And what does it mean to be an American? How citizens answer these questions in the early twenty-first century will determine the future of America’s identity.

About the Author: Judy Dodge Cummings is a writer and former high school social studies teacher. She has written many books for children and teens, including Migration: Investigate the Global Journey of Humankind for Nomad Press. Lots of Judy’s books are related to history because that is her favorite topic to research, read, and write. Judy lives and writes in south central Wisconsin.

Website: judydodgecummings.com/books

Facebook: facebook.com/JDodgecummings

Thank you so much for this guest post!

Teachers’ Guide for Merci Suárez Changes Gears by Meg Medina

June 17, 2019May 31, 2019 by Kellee

Merci Suárez Changes Gears
Author: Meg Medina
Published: September 11th, 2018 by Candlewick Press

Summary: Thoughtful, strong-willed sixth-grader Merci Suárez navigates difficult changes with friends, family, and everyone in between in a resonant new novel from Meg Medina.

Merci Suárez knew that sixth grade would be different, but she had no idea just how different. For starters, Merci has never been like the other kids at her private school in Florida, because she and her older brother, Roli, are scholarship students. They don’t have a big house or a fancy boat, and they have to do extra community service to make up for their free tuition. So when bossy Edna Santos sets her sights on the new boy who happens to be Merci’s school-assigned Sunshine Buddy, Merci becomes the target of Edna’s jealousy. Things aren’t going well at home, either: Merci’s grandfather and most trusted ally, Lolo, has been acting strangely lately — forgetting important things, falling from his bike, and getting angry over nothing. No one in her family will tell Merci what’s going on, so she’s left to her own worries, while also feeling all on her own at school. In a coming-of-age tale full of humor and wisdom, award-winning author Meg Medina gets to the heart of the confusion and constant change that defines middle school — and the steadfast connection that defines family.

Teachers’ Tools for Navigation and Discussion Questions:

Please view and enjoy the teachers’ guide I created for Merci Suárez Changes Gears:

You can also access the teaching guide here.

You can learn more about Merci on Candlewick Press’s Merci Suárez Changes Gears page.

Recommended For:

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? #IMWAYR 5/27/19

June 2, 2019May 27, 2019 by Kellee

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? From Picture Books to YA!

We encourage everyone who participates to support the blogging community by visiting at least three of the other book bloggers that link up and leave comments for them.

Thursday: Guest Review: Nice Try, Jane Sinner by Lianne Oelke

Friday: Teachers’ Guide for Louisiana’s Way Home by Kate DiCamillo

Sunday: Author Guest Post: “Igniting Your Students’ Passion Using the ‘FIRE’ Method” by Scott Wilson, Author of METL: The Angel Weapon

**Click on any picture/link to view the post**

Kellee

I will update what I’ve read/am reading next week–this long weekend, family who I haven’t seen in 4-10 years are in town, so I just didn’t set enough time aside to write everything up to share! I’m sorry! But YAY FAMILY! This weekend has showed me that I really wish they live closer–it has been amazing watching our kids hang out and also get to know each other even more. <3

Ricki

Ricki is away on maternity leave and will return mid-June. Happy reading!

Tuesday: Guest Review: Thunderhead by Neal Shusterman

Friday: Teachers’ Guide for Merci Suárez Changes Gears by Meg Medina

Sunday: Author Guest Post: “Helping Teens Understand the Immigration Debate” by Judy Dodge Cummings, Author of Immigration Nation

and

Author Guest Post: “Igniting Your Students’ Passions by Using the FIRE Method” by Scott Wilson, Author of METL: The Angel Weapon

May 26, 2019May 26, 2019 by Kellee

“Igniting Your Students’ Passions by Using the FIRE Method”

Recently I was asked by my middle school alma mater to give a talk to sixth graders as part of their curriculum on pursuing passions. The teacher specifically asked that I be as honest as possible, since a lot of the students were not being very realistic and assumed that life was going to be handed to them.

To explain it in as fun and clear a way as possible, I used the “fire” method: comparing a burning passion to a burning fire. Passions and fires can both be dangerous if you’re not careful, and both require the same three elements to stay burning: a spark, oxygen, and fuel.

#1. Spark: The thing that sparked the student’s interest

Just like how a fire can’t exist without an initial spark, a passion can’t exist without one either.

For me, my passion is writing, and the biggest spark came when I was 13 years old and waiting for the fifth Harry Potter book to come out. Instead of waiting another two years, I decided to just write my own fanfiction version. That was the first time I realized that I could write a book, since up until then I’d always thought writers had to have a special office with some sort of writer magic in it. But as it turned out, all anyone needs is an idea and something to write it on.

Sparks can come in all sorts of varieties. If the student’s passion is basketball, maybe it was the first time they played with their friends. If their passion is baking, maybe it was the first time they tasted a slice of cake. If their passion is video games, maybe it was beating their first game by themselves.

Having students think about their spark can help remind them why their passion is their passion in the first place, and prepare them for the next two steps.

#2. Oxygen: The perseverance that prevents the student’s fire from going out.

It’s important for students to be aware that while pursuing their passion, obstacles are going to get in their way. It’s during those times that they have to take a deep breath full of oxygen and tell themselves it’s going to be okay.

For me, that happened when I wrote my first original book. I sent it out to publishers and got nothing but rejections or silence. So I wrote another, and the same thing happened. Again and again for a total of five books and nothing to show for it except tumbleweeds in my inbox.

My fiery passion for writing was dying, and I needed oxygen. Just like you can pump air into a dying fire with a bellows, I had to do the same: take deep breaths, get that oxygen, and persevere. I wrote another book, and the sixth time was the charm. That was when my first book was finally picked up by a publisher.

There are many different types of oxygen. If the student’s passion is being an athlete, maybe no team wants to have them play for them. If their passion is being a doctor, maybe they discover that they can’t stand the sight of blood. If their passion is being as actor, maybe they can’t find any acting jobs.

Thinking about what kind of obstacles can get in the way of their passion is a good way for students to prepare for them down the road. It can hurt to be very passionate about something and have it not work out right away, but as long as they remember to breathe in that oxygen, learn from their mistakes, and keep going, their flame won’t go out.

#3. Fuel: The job that pays the bills.

Just like a fire needs some kind of fuel to keep burning (wood, charcoal, etc.), passions need fuel too. Students should know that a lot of creative passions don’t pay well, and if they don’t have money for a roof over their head, then it’ll be hard to write, create music, make art, or whatever they want to do.

But the good news is that their “fuel job” can be related to their passion. For me, I work as a writer/editor at the news-entertainment website SoraNews24. Not only do I get to put my writing experience into practice, but I also get to pay the bills and have food in the fridge too. Meanwhile, after work, I still get to pursue my passion of writing books.

There are a ton of different “fuel jobs” out there. If the student’s passion is sports, maybe they could be a personal trainer, or a coach for a school team. If their passion is music, maybe they could be a music teacher/tutor, or edit music for movies/videos. If their passion is gaming, maybe they could playtest games, or help market them.

Being realistic with students can help broaden their view of what they can do with their passion. It also can help show them that they’re not a failure if they don’t achieve their dream job, they’re just fueling their passion in a different way.

Students can come up with their own list of the three elements, and then see for themselves how they link together: the spark that made them interested in the first place and reminds them why they love it, the oxygen to help them overcome obstacles, and the fuel to feed their passion. It’s a lot of fun to have them share their sparks, oxygen, and fuel with each other, and give suggestions as well.

Just like a real fire, as long as they have all three elements, their passion will burn bright for a long time.

About the Author: Scott Wilson works as a translator and editor for the Japanese news-entertainment website SoraNews24. He runs ScottWritesStuff, a creative writing livestream on Twitch, and in his free time can be found playing video games and Magic: The Gathering with friends. Metl: The ANGEL Weapon is his first novel. He lives in the Japanese countryside with his wife.

METL: The Angel Weapon
Author: Scott Wilson
Published March 5th, 2019 by Month9Books

About the Book: When technology is outlawed, the future looks a lot like the past.

Thirteen-year-old Caden Aire spends his days working in the fields and his nights sleeping in a horse stable, all under the watch of Metl—Earth’s mysterious and artificial second moon, a looming relic of humanity’s lost era.

But Caden’s simple life changes when one night, a fiery red X suddenly appears on Metl’s surface, and the same red Xs start glowing on his palms.

Now Caden must find the only person who knows what’s happening to him, but he doesn’t have much time. Metl has started on an impact course with Earth, and to stop it, Caden will have to face both the unsettling truth about his world … and about himself.

Thank you, Scott, for the advice on how to keep our students’ writing passion burning bright!

Teachers’ Guide for Louisiana’s Way Home by Kate DiCamillo

May 30, 2019May 24, 2019 by Kellee

Louisiana’s Way Home
Author: Kate DiCamillo
Published: October 2nd, 2018 by Candlewick Press

Summary: From two-time Newbery Medalist Kate DiCamillo comes a story of discovering who you are — and deciding who you want to be.

When Louisiana Elefante’s granny wakes her up in the middle of the night to tell her that the day of reckoning has arrived and they have to leave home immediately, Louisiana isn’t overly worried. After all, Granny has many middle-of-the-night ideas. But this time, things are different. This time, Granny intends for them never to return. Separated from her best friends, Raymie and Beverly, Louisiana struggles to oppose the winds of fate (and Granny) and find a way home. But as Louisiana’s life becomes entwined with the lives of the people of a small Georgia town — including a surly motel owner, a walrus-like minister, and a mysterious boy with a crow on his shoulder — she starts to worry that she is destined only for good-byes. (Which could be due to the curse on Louisiana’s and Granny’s heads. But that is a story for another time.)

Called “one of DiCamillo’s most singular and arresting creations” by The New York Times Book Review, the heartbreakingly irresistible Louisiana Elefante was introduced to readers in Raymie Nightingale — and now, with humor and tenderness, Kate DiCamillo returns to tell her story.

Teachers’ Tools for Navigation and Discussion Questions:

Please view and enjoy the teachers’ guide I created for Louisiana’s Way Home:

You can also access the teaching guide here.

You can learn more about Louisianaon Candlewick Press’s Louisiana’s Way Home page.

Recommended For:

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? #IMWAYR 5/20/19

May 20, 2019 by Kellee

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? From Picture Books to YA!

We encourage everyone who participates to support the blogging community by visiting at least three of the other book bloggers that link up and leave comments for them.

CONGRATULATIONS
to our giveaway winners!

Jennifer A. won Finding Orion

and

Teresa C. won We Are (Not) Friends

Tuesday: Blog Tour with Giveaway, Educators’ Guide, and Review!: Finding Orion by John David Anderson

Thursday: Guest Review: The Forest Queen by Betsy Cornwell

Sunday: Author Guest Post!: “Combining History with Fantasy – Why and Three Hows” by Malayna Evans, Author of Jagger Jones & the Mummy’s Ankh

**Click on any picture/link to view the post**

Kellee

The Dark Side of Nowhere by Neal Shusterman: One of his earlier books that show how innately good a storyteller he is! About finding out that your family isn’t exactly what you think it is.
Sasquatch and the Muckleshoot by Adam Gidwitz and Joseph Bruchac: I adore this series! This story was a little less action and more narrative than the first two. And if you haven’t seen, they’re making a Unicorn Rescue Society game: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/jessecasey/unicorn-rescue-society-the-card-game!
The True History of Lyndie B. Hawkins by Gail Shepherd: Lyndie B. Hawkins’s life changed really quick, and she is working to figure it all out.
Finding Orion by John David Anderson: Check out my post from last week!

Trent and I are taking a chapter book break to read new picture books!

One Fox: A Counting Book Thriller by Kate Read: I love when I find unique counting books, and this definitely is one! So much fun!
Camp Tiger by Susan Choi: An extended metaphor about change and fear. Beautiful illustrations!
Lana Lynn Howls at the Moon by Rebecca Van Slyke: Such a cute book about figuring out our place.
The King of Kindergarten by Derrick Barnes: Loved reading this one to Trent as he gets ready to go to Kindergarten in the fall!
Nobody Hugs a Cactus by Carter Goodrich: Even the most grumpy need some love (and that grumpy cactus is so adorable!).

I Will Race You Through This Book! by Jonathan Fenske: Definitely one of Trent’s favorites from this group–I really think that interactive picture books done well are some of the best out there!
I Lost My Tooth by Mo Willems: Another multiple read title for Trent. Mo Willems just knows kid humor, and this story of tooth ignorant squirrels is just too funny.
Blooming Beneath the Sun by Christina Rossetti: Illustrated by Ashley Bryan because he loves Rossetti’s poems, so you know it is beautiful.
Sign Off by Stephen Savage: What a cool concept about sign silhouettes coming to life!
Little Blue Truck’s Springtime by Alice Shertle: Little Blue Truck is a favorite of all five year olds, I think.

Little Fox and the Missing Moon by Ekaterina Trukhan: Little Fox is so cute!
Fly by Nathan Clement: A narrative nonfiction text looking at traveling by airplane.
I Love You All Year Through by Stephanie Stansbie: These books always choke me up–any book to show love is a winner!
Bedtime for Beasties by Leslie Staub: A girl takes control of her fears!
Dolphins: Strange and Wonderful by Laurence Pringle: Dolphins are strange and wonderful, and we loved learning about all the different kinds.

Like a Lizard by April Pulley Sayre: This was a fun way to teach about lizards! A great mix of silliness and facts.
The Very Impatient Caterpillar by Ross Burach: This book was hilarious–both Trent and I thought so!
Mrs. Wow Never Wanted a Cow by Martha Freeman: A good book for rhyming.
The Goose Egg by Liz Wong: Trent loved this one, too! Fun look at idioms mixed with a fun unexpected parenting story.
Moon! Earth’s Best Friend by Stacy McAnulty: Stacy McAnulty is brilliant–Moon! has been read so many times in my house already.

Douglas, You’re a Genius by Ged Adamson: This book reminded me a bit of Phineas and Ferb.
There’s a Dragon in Your Book by Tom Fletcher: Another really well done interactive picture book! We went and requested There’s a Monster in Your Book right away!
Perfect by Max Amato: Pencil versus eraser.
Dust Bunny Wants a Friend by Amy Hevron: Trent loved that he could read this mostly-wordless picture book. I loved that super cute illustrations and how much Trent pulled from them to add to the story.
Lion Lessons by Jon Agee: Too funny! Just a very clever book about nature versus nurture.

Ricki

Ricki is away on maternity leave and will return mid-June. Happy reading!

Kellee

Currently Reading: The Mighty Heart of Sunny St. James by Ashley Herring Blake
Currently Reading with My Ears: An Author’s Odyssey by Chris Colfer
Currently Reading with My & Trent’s Ears: A Bear Called Paddington by Michael Bond

Thursday: Guest Review: Nice Try, Jane Sinner by Lianne Oelke

Friday: Educator Guide for Louisiana’s Way Home by Kate DiCamillo

Sunday: Author Guest Post: “Igniting Your Students’ Passion Using the ‘FIRE’ Method” by Scott Wilson, Author of METL: The Angel Weapon

and