Kellee

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? #IMWAYR 10/23/17

October 23, 2017 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.

Last Week’s Posts

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

Tuesday: Ten Favorite Books That Feature Food

Wednesday: National Geographic Kid’s What Would Happen?

Thursday: Landscape with Invisible Hand by M.T. Anderson

Friday: Review with Giveaway and YouTube Video!: Bruce’s Big Move by Ryan T. Higgins

Giveaway open until Thursday!!!

Sunday: Blog Tour with Author Guest Post with Activities and Discussion Questions!: Dragonfly Song by Wendy Orr

Last Week’s Journeys

My parents were in town last weekend into early last week, so reading didn’t really happen (neither did commenting on blogs–SORRY!), but I was able to finish my audiobook and one of my ALAN books.

Stella By Starlight by Sharon Draper is a book that I think is one that is perfect for introducing kids to the idea of racism. The book overall is Stella’s story of her every day life. She struggles in school, she gets in trouble, and something happens in her family; but more than that, it is the story of freed Black Americans fighting racism in their town.
The Dark Intercept by Julia Keller is a sci-fi book where a man believes he has made the perfect world, so he created New Earth with only the richest and most intelligent people of Old Earth. He uses a system called The Intercept as a weapon to keep everyone safe. The Intercept uses memories and emotions as a weapon against disobedience and criminal behavior. Violet, President Rowley’s daughter, begins to figure out that something is going on that is threatening the safety, and she is certain she can figure it out. This was one epic novel!

Ricki

We enjoyed Pug & Pig Trick-or-Treat by Sue Lowell Gallion! It is an adorable story that we’ve read a few times this week. This duo is always a pleasure to read.

Henry and I have been reading a little bit of Making Scents by Arthur Yorinks each night. It tells the story of a boy who was raised as a dog. When his parents pass away, he goes to his aunt and uncle’s house, and they are not pleased to have a boy who thinks he is a dog in their house. I recommend this book for upper elementary or lower middle school readers. It’s a fun graphic novel that was interesting to read.

I REREAD Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson. My students are reading it this week, and I wanted to refresh my memory. It was just as enjoyable to read the second time.

I finished listening to The Smell of Other People’s Houses by Bonnie-Sue Hitchcock. I really enjoyed this book and loved the audio. I plan to read it in print, as well. I think it would be enjoyable in different ways in print.

This Week’s Expeditions

Kellee

I am taking a break from audiobooks for a bit to listen to S-Town, a podcast created by a producer of This American Life. It is hard to describe what it is about, but it begins with a man from Alabama contacting the producer about a suspected murder in his town that he believes is being covered up because the perpetrator is the richest teen in town. But then it ends up not being about that at all. It is very good–I highly recommend it. I am currently on Chapter 4 of 7, so I hope to finish it this week.

My other ALAN panelist is Jodi Lynn Anderson, and I am just starting her newest, Midnight at the Electric. It is also about someone leaving Earth for somewhere else, but I think that is where the similarities with Dark Intercept will end. Hopefully I have time to finish it this week.

Ricki

Life has been really crazy, but I am really looking forward to diving into Turtles All the Way Down by John Green.

Upcoming Week’s Posts

top ten tuesday

Tuesday: Ten Unique Book Titles

Wednesday: Earth! My First 4.54 Billion Years by Stacy McAnulty

Thursday: Pug & Pig Trick or Treat by Sue Lowell Callion

Friday: Brave Red, Smart Frog: A New Book of Old Tales by Emily Jenkins

Sunday: Author Guest Post from Laura Gehl, Author of Peep and Egg

So, what are you reading?

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

Blog Tour with Author Guest Post with Activities and Discussion Questions!: Dragonfly Song by Wendy Orr

October 22, 2017 by Kellee

Dragonfly Song
Author: Wendy Orr
Published October 27th, 2017 by Pajama Press

Summary: The whispers say it’s not true that the Lady’s firstborn died at birth. They say it’s worse—the baby was born with an extra thumb dangling from each wrist. If she’s not perfect, she can never follow in her mother’s footsteps.

Nobody but the old wise-woman knows what truly happened to Aissa, the firstborn daughter of the priestess. If they saw the half-moon scars on the servant girl’s wrists they would find it out, but who would look twice at lowly, mute No-Name? Then the soldiers of Crete come to the island, demanding children as tribute for their god-king’s bull dances as they do every year. Aissa is determined to seize this chance to fight for her own worth and change her destiny once and for all.

Lyrically written and refreshingly unpredictable, Dragonfly Song is a compelling Bronze Age fantasy that suggests a fascinating origin for the legend of the Minotaur and his dark tribute.

“As mesmerizing as a mermaid’s kiss, the story dances with emotion, fire, and promise.” -Kirkus Reviews, starred review

More information about Dragonfly Song: http://pajamapress.ca/book/dragonfly_song/

About the Author: Wendy Orr was born in Edmonton, Canada, but grew up in various places across Canada, France, and the USA. She studied occupational therapy in the UK, married an Australian farmer, and moved to Australia. She’s the author of many award-winning books, including Nim’s Island, Nim at Sea, Rescue on Nim’s Island, Raven’s Mountain, and Peeling the Onion.

More information about Wendy Orr: http://www.wendyorr.com/

Author-Created Activity Guide:

Art: In Chapter 2, Aissa and the potter’s daughter make ‘circles of flowers
in a ring of stones.’ Later, Aissa makes patterns of flowers and shells for the fishers’ goddess (the first in Chapter 9) and patterns of rocks and her small treasures for the goddess in her sanctuary cave. Patterns are used in some religions and meditative practices; Indian or Tibetan mandalas and Navajo sandpaintings are probably the best known now.
To draw a mandala: http://www.art-is-fun.com/how-to-draw-a-mandala/
Ideas for mandala-type patterns using fresh flowers: http://twistedsifter.com/2014/07/flower-mandalas-by-kathy-klein/
Make your own patterns with sea shells, flowers, pebbles, leaves, seeds, or other natural materials. Glue them into place on card, or photograph them.
Writing: In Chapter 24, Aissa learns to write on the clay tablets used for taxation records. The writing she used was called Linear B, and was a combination of a ‘syllabary’ – each symbol representing a syllable of a word – and ‘logograms,’ which are symbols of whole words. These tablets were supposed to be temporary, but were baked into pottery when the palaces burned down. Have students make their own clay tablets using real clay or as in these instructions: http://www.ehow.com/how_12110304_make-egyptian-hieroglyphics-tablet.html
For some of the Linear B logograms: http://www.omniglot.com/writing/linearb.htm
Time Capsule: Without written historical records, interpreting archaeological finds can be very difficult. Put together ‘time capsules’ of small items – e.g. a birthday card, Barbie doll, shopping list, old iPod, CD… Break the class into small groups and have them use the items to ‘interpret’ questions such as this society’s religion, dress code, and social structure.

Author-Created Discussion Questions:

Like The Hunger Games, Dragonfly Song draws on the Greek myth of Theseus, in which seven youths and seven maidens are sent as tribute from Athens to Crete, to be eaten by the monstrous half-man, half-bull Minotaur. However, Dragonfly Song looks back to the possible origins of the myth in Bronze Age Greece, and the palace of Knossos in Crete. The bull was obviously a very important symbol, probably even a god – even though the real animals would be sacrificed to their god – and there were many scenes, on paintings, vases, and gold jewellery, showing young acrobats somersaulting over the backs of bulls. What if these acrobats were part of a payment to Crete in return for protection by – or from – their powerful navy? If so, the tribute would have come from as far as the Minoan navy reached. Discuss the power of myth – why have some stories lasted for thousands of years?
Discuss how the physical setting of Aissa’s home is a metaphor for the grimness of her life there. (e.g. The island is rocky, poor and isolated; buildings are dark, built of rock or burrowed into the side of the mountain.) What about the springtime when she develops new strengths after being cast out of the servants’ kitchen?
In the Bull King’s palace, the buildings are awe-inspiring, filled with light and extraordinary art. The culture appears to be obsessed with beauty – but is there a darkness underpinning it?
Dragonfly Song is set in the Bronze Age, but the ordinary people of Aissa’s island still use stone tools as well. Why do you think that would be?
In the prologue, The Firstborn Daughter, what are the clues to tell us that this is a matriarchal society? How does it differ from a patriarchal society? The Mosuo of China are an example of a matriarchal society in the present day. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eoTrARDa8BU
Chapter 8 mentions that the chief killed the last lion for his cloak when he married the Lady. Why might he have wanted a lionskin cloak rather than a deerskin? Why do you think the islanders didn’t worry about conservation and keeping all their native species alive?
In Chapter 9, the servants are ‘screaming with joy at their game of hate.’ Why do you think the author described bullying Aissa as a game? How does bullying Aissa make the servants feel?
Aissa is an ‘elective mute’ because there is nothing physical or intellectual preventing her from speaking. However, that doesn’t mean that she could speak if she wanted to: Mama’s command, ‘Stay quiet, still as stone till I come back,’ is buried so deep in her subconscious, and is so mixed with the trauma of the family’s death and disappearance, that Aissa can’t simply decide to start talking, even when she’s safe. Would she have been more accepted by the other servants if she could talk? How might it have changed the story if she had regained her speech after singing the snake away from Luki? Do you think she could have regained her speech if she had been treated kindly after being rescued? Do you think that meeting Mama again was the only reason she regained her speech, or might it have been partly because she’d faced death in the bull ring, and was safe now? A real-life example of a child choosing to become mute after trauma is Maya Angelou’s story (summarized in Goodnight Stories for Rebel Girls).
Discuss the book’s structure with the students. What was their reaction to the combination of free verse and prose?
Wendy Orr says that using free verse made it easier for her to access and portray Aissa’s emotions. Have the students choose an emotion, e.g. rage, grief, or joy – and write about it in free verse. Next, have them write a short story using the ideas and images that arose from the verse.
Why do you think the author chose to write in free verse rather than rhyming, like the children’s rhyme in Chapter 10?
Here comes rabbit, hippity hop
See his ears flap and flop;
Here comes hedgehog, curled up small
Roll him over like a ball.
Wendy Orr says that she normally writes in silence, on the computer, but found that the verse sections for this story had to be written by hand, playing the album Agaetis Byrjun by the Icelandic band Sigur Ros. Experiment with playing different types of music as the students write verse.
For useful images and links, see the Pinterest board: https://www.pinterest.com/wendyorr1/dragonfly-song-bits-of-background-and-teaching-ideas/

Don’t Miss Out On the Rest of the Tour!

October 22: Unleashing Readers, Activity Guide and Discussion Questions https://www.unleashingreaders.com/
October 23: YA and Kids Book Central, Book Playlist http://www.yabookscentral.com/blog/
October 24: Log Cabin Library, Guest Post http://logcabinlibrary.blogspot.com/
October 25: The Children’s Book Review, Character Interview https://www.thechildrensbookreview.com/
October 26: Bluestocking Thinking, Review http://bluestockingthinking.blogspot.com/
October 27: Charlotte’s Library, Interview http://charlotteslibrary.blogspot.com/
October 28: A Foodie Bibliophile in Wanderlust, Interview http://www.foodiebibliophile.com/
October 29: Writers’ Rumpus, Guest Post https://writersrumpus.com/

Recommended For:

Thank you to Wendy Orr for her fantastic activities and questions!

Review with Giveaway and YouTube Video!: Bruce’s Big Move by Ryan T. Higgins

July 20, 2018October 20, 2017 by Kellee

We’re so excited to be partnered with Disney-Hyperion to bring you this review and giveaway of Bruce’s Big Move!

Bruce’s Big Move
Author & Illustrator: Ryan T. Higgins
Published September 27th, 2017 by Disney-Hyperion

Summary: After the events of Hotel Bruce, our favorite curmudgeonly bear shares his home with not only his four geese, but three rowdy mice besides! Fed up with their shenanigans, Bruce sets off to find a rodent-free household. But as usual, nothing goes quite according to plan…

A hilarious sequel for fans of the previous Bruce books, as well as a standalone discovery for new readers, Bruce’s next reluctant adventure is sure to keep kids giggling.

About the Author: Ryan T. Higgins (ryanthiggins.com) is an author and illustrator who likes the outdoors and cheese sandwiches. He is NOT a grumpy old black bear, but he DOES like making books about one—starting with the best-selling Mother Bruce, which received the E. B. White Read-Aloud Award and the Ezra Jack Keats New Illustrator Honor. He lives in Maine with his wife and kids… and too many pets.

LEARN MORE
Visit books.disney.com
Follow Disney-Hyperion on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram
#BrucesBigMove #FollowBruce

Kellee’s Review: Bruce is back and still a curmudgeon. Following the events in Mother Bruce where he becomes the mother to 4 geese and Hotel Bruce when 3 mice move in, Bruce decides enough is enough and wants to get away from the rodents once and for all, and he is willing to go to the extreme (moving) to get away.

One of my favorite things about the Bruce books are the character’s expressions! Bruces’ stories are one only half told in the words, the rest can be found in the illustrations. The illustrations are so expressive and detailed giving each character a personality without it having to be explained.

And just like in the first two Bruce books, there is a definite message in the end! What do you think will make Bruce happy?

Ricki’s Review: I can’t decide whether I like the words or the illustrations more in this book. They are both hysterical! I absolutely adore Bruce. He makes me smile. Ryan T. Higgins is incredibly talented—I will read anything he writes!

Kellee is spot on. Bruce’s facial expressions make me laugh and laugh. I wish I captured my 4-year-old reading this book. He kept laughing and pointing to the pictures. I like the Bruce books because Higgins incorporates clear messages for readers, and he masterfully creates books that make great classroom read alouds!

Teachers’ Tools for Navigation: Use Bruce’s Big Move, and the other Bruce books, as read alouds to discuss illustrations’ purpose in stories, theme, and characterization with students. Alternatively, consider asking students to create their own Bruce fanfiction!

Discussion Questions:

Why does Bruce want to get rid of the rodents?
On each page, look at the characters’ expressions and discuss what clues they give the reader about the character.
What do you think will make Bruce happy?; Did you predict the ending of the book?
What do you think the author’s message was at the end of the book?

Flagged Passages:

“Bruce wished there was a way to get rid of the pesky rodents. But there wasn’t.”

Realtor Ryan help his bear friend Bruce find the perfect rodent-free home:

Read This If You Love: The first two books in the Bruce series, You Will Be My Friend! by Peter Brown, This is a Moose by Richard T. Morris, Be Quiet by Ryan T. Higgins, Here Comes Teacher Cat by Deborah Underwood, Nibbles by Emma Yarlett

Recommended For:

classroomlibrarybuttonsmall

Disney-Hyperion is partnering with us for a Whole Lotta Bruce GIVEAWAY!
One (1) winner receives:
Copies of Bruce’s Big Move, Hotel Bruce, and Mother Bruce
Branded tote bag and stickers

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Signature and

**Thank you to Alex at Big Honcho Media for providing copies for review!**

National Geographic Kids: What Would Happen? by Crispin Boyer

October 18, 2017 by Kellee

Nonfiction Wednesday

Nonfiction Picture Book Wednesday is hosted by Kid Lit Frenzy and was started to help promote the reading of nonfiction texts. Most Wednesdays, we will be participating and will review a nonfiction text (though it may not always be a picture book).
Be sure to visit Kid Lit Frenzy and see what other nonfiction books are shared this week!

National Geographic Kids: What Would Happen?
Author: Crispin Boyer
Published July 11th, 2017 by National Geographic Society

Summary: Ever wondered what would happen if some cool or crazy things were possible? Like what would happen if: you got sucked into a black hole; dinosaurs still existed; humans could fly; you could communicate with dolphins; or you could dig a hole through to the center of the Earth?

Get ready to explore all kinds of scenarios that would or could happen if the world was just a slightly different place. Each scenario is examined with real scientific, historical, and cultural facts in mind. This out-of-the-box book encourages readers to cultivate a better understanding of the world as it is – and as it could be!

Review: A favorite book of mine and my husband’s that we read years ago was Why do Men have Nipples?, and we really loved getting answers to questions that you may not even know to ask yet are really intriguing. What Would Happen? is the middle grade equivalent! So many interesting questions are answered! Do you want to know about global warming? Honeybees? Time machines? You will find answers in this book. Each question’s answer is set up to give the reader background knowledge, potential outcomes, extenuating circumstances, etc. to fill in any blanks and curiosities there may be. And as with all National Geographic books, the photographs are superb!

Teachers’ Tools for Navigation: I love that so many of the National Geographic books touch on such a variety of topics, but also in the books that are like What Would Happen?, the information only touches the surface. This book would be a perfect jump start to passion or inquiry projects. What do students want to learn more about? They can start by reading the spread in What Would Happen? then research more to prepare a presentation about everything they learn.

The book also definitely has a place in libraries: school, classroom, and home. It is a wonderful book filled with questions that kids will love to learn the answers to!

Discussion Questions: Every page in this book has a discussion question!

Flagged Passages:

Read This If You Love: Getting answers to burning questions

Recommended For:

**Thank you to Karen from Media Masters Publicity for providing a copy for review!**

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? #IMWAYR 10/16/17

October 22, 2017October 16, 2017 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
Margo J.
for winning our Baseball Mysteries by David Kelly giveaway!!

Last Week’s Posts

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

Tuesday: Ten Picture Books About Autumn

Wednesday: The Peculiar Incident on Shady Street by Lindsay Currie

Thursday: Nerdy Bird by Aaron Reynolds

Friday: Twinderella by Corey Rosen Schwartz

Last Week’s Journeys

Kellee

Two young adult books in one week? Oh yes I did!!

History is All You Left Me by Adam Silvera is a roller coaster of emotions. I know that is a cliché, but Adam Silvera takes us on a figurative roller coaster by switching between present tense, where Griffin is dealing with the grief of his first love’s death and the awkwardness of his new boyfriend, and the past when Griffin and Theo fell in love. The story is beautiful and sad and wonderful and terrible. In other words: you should read it and live this roller coaster.
Turtles All the Way Down by John Green may be my favorite by him, and I have loved everything he’s ever written. Now, I know it could be the John Green hangover talking because when you finish a John Green book you always feel like you read perfection, but I found this story to be the one with most heart and hurt by him. I can tell it is personal, and it is. I’m not going to tell you much more, but I am going to say you should read it. John Green has done for anxiety in this book what Laurie Halse Anderson’s Wintergirls did for eating disorders and Impossible Knife of Memory did for PTSD, what Teresa Toten’s Unlikely Hero of Room 13B did for OCD–they show that mental illness isn’t something that the person does to annoy others or that they choose to have, and that people with mental illnesses are more than their illness though it is part of them, and loving them can be hard but they need love. I love how this is explained in Turtles.

My parents are visiting this weekend and bought Trent and I It Takes a Village by Hillary Rodham Clinton which is a book that all teachers and parents and librarians should read to all their kids. It is full of acceptance and diversity and love.

Ricki

I started the week off with M. T. Anderson’s Landscape with Invisible Hand. This is a phenomenal book. It reminded me a bit of Feed. It’s shorter and there is an alien element to the text. The book is an awesome social commentary that is wildly satirical. It’s bleak and dark.

I REREAD Endangered. This is my fifth or sixth time reading this book. My students are reading it for class tomorrow, and I wanted to remind myself of everything in the text. This book holds up to a rereading every time. Kellee—are you jealous I reread this one? I am laughing because Kellee and I are obsessed with this book. Eliot Schrefer kindly agreed to talk with my students on Wednesday. He is simply the best.

I read Miguel and the Grand Harmony, Matt de la Peña’s latest masterpiece. It is an absolutely beautiful, lyrical picture book. The illustrations are stunning and the words are captivating. This is another winner.

A friend said to me, “Have you read Flashlight Night? I love that book.” I was in the bookstore with Henry, and I decided to read it again. This is such a fun, clever story. (It’s by Matt Forrest Esenwine.)

I’d never read Triangle by Mac Barnett, so I was excited to read this one in the bookstore, too. I love Mac Barnett. Everything he writes is so clever!

This Week’s Expeditions

Kellee

I am so excited to be moderating a panel between Jodi Lynn Anderson and Julia Keller at the 2017 ALAN Workshop, so I am so excited to start their novels.

Ricki

I have a few more ALAN and NCTE books on the docket, and then I’m all ready to present at the workshop. Yahoo!

Upcoming Week’s Posts

top ten tuesday

Tuesday: Ten Favorite Books That Feature Food

Wednesday: National Geographic Kid’s What Would Happen?

Thursday: Landscape with Invisible Hand by MT Anderson

Friday: Review with Giveaway and YouTube Video!: Bruce’s Big Move by Ryan T. Higgins

Sunday: Blog Tour with Author Guest Post with Activities and Discussion Questions!: Dragonfly Song by Wendy Orr

So, what are you reading?

and

Twinderella: A Fractioned Fairy Tale by Corey Rosen Schwartz

October 13, 2017October 13, 2017 by Kellee

Twinderella: A Fractioned Fairy Tale
Author: Corey Rosen Schwartz
Illustrator: Deborah Marcero
Published September 5th, 2017 by G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers

Summary: Have you heard the story of Cinderella? Well, you don’t know the half of it.

Cinderella and her lesser-known twin, Tinderella, split everything right down the middle. They each do half the housework, half the mending, and half the mean step-sister tending. When the Prince throws a ball, their fairy godmother sends them both, and they dance the night away with the prince. But he simply can’t choose between Cin and Tin, and they are in need of some clever thinking and just a pinch of magic. The Prince agrees to share his kingdom half and half, and the fairy-godmother makes him a twin too, so they can all live happily ever after. Cin and the Prince rule the kingdom, while Tin and the Twin win all the kingdom’s math competitions. It truly is a happily ever half-ter.

Review: I am a huge fan of fairy tale retellings. I think they are a perfect way to bring attention to something, tell a unique story, or teach students because it is set in a basis of prior knowledge that most students already have thus allowing for a comfortable base to scaffold up from. With Twinderella, the story of Cinderella is used to teach about fractions and division while also telling a story of two sisters that find a way to make sure they can live happily ever half-ter.

Schwartz and Marcero are a perfect team to tell these twins’ story in a way that not only teaches but entertains. The balance was done so well between the math concepts and narrative. You learn how the twins make it all work, and you root for them to be happy.

Teachers’ Tools for Navigation: When I finished this book, I immediately texted my friend who teaches 2nd grade because I know that it is perfect for the classroom! It meets standards for second grade because of the focus on fairy tales and retellings and is a perfect introduction to easy fractions that they will begin looking at in 3rd grade.

Discussion Questions:

How is Twinderella different from the traditional Cinderella stories?
How did Tinderella make sure that everything was split equally between the two sisters?
What math concepts were taught in the story?
With the quadruplets, how would chores and such needed to be divided?

Flagged Passages:

Read This If You Love: Math, Fairy Tale Retellings

Recommended For:

**Thank you to Penguin Young Readers for providing a copy for review!**

The Peculiar Incident on Shady Street by Lindsay Currie

October 11, 2017October 11, 2017 by Kellee

The Peculiar Incident on Shady Street
Author: Lindsay Currie
Published October 10th, 2017 by Aladdin

Summary: A girl unravels a centuries-old mystery after moving into a haunted house in this deliciously suspenseful mystery.

Tessa Woodward isn’t exactly thrilled to move to rainy, cold Chicago from her home in sunny Florida. But homesickness turns to icy fear when unexplainable things start happening in her new house. Things like flickering lights, mysterious drawings appearing out of nowhere, and a crackling noise she can feel in her bones.

When her little brother’s doll starts crying real tears, Tessa realizes that someone—or something—is trying to communicate with her. A secret that’s been shrouded in mystery for more than one hundred years.

With the help of three new friends, Tessa begins unraveling the mystery of what happened in the house on Shady Street—and more importantly, what it has to do with her!

Review: I always go in tentatively to spooky books because I am so jumpy and also really don’t enjoy when the only point of a book is to scare the reader. But I could tell right away that Shady Street was going to completely exceed other just-scary books because it was about so much more. Sure, there was definitely a shady mystery and some really scary moments, but it was all entwined with a story about friendship, family, identity, and moving. Lindsay Currie did a perfect job balancing the two goals of the book: to scare the reader and to make the reader care so much about her characters.

In addition to the plot development being on point, Shady Street‘s characters were each were fully-developed to give every reader someone to connect with. I also liked how Currie included actual Chicago folklore and landmarks to enhance the story (and as a girl who lives in Florida and loves Chicago, I loved the Florida truths throughout also). Check out Currie’s website for behind the scenes info, and here’s a video of Lindsay Currie on a walking tour through Graceland cemetery, one of the settings of the book:

Teachers’ Tools for Navigation: Students are going to love this story because it is a perfect mix of ghost story and coming-of-age story, so classroom, school, and public libraries all definitely need to have a copy–once one students reads it, the word is going to get out, and it’ll never be on the shelf!

In the classroom, using Lindsay Currie’s website and video, Shady Street is a good example of author’s decision-making, how the setting of a story can impact the plot, and how an author uses the setting to affect the mood.

Book Trailer:

Discussion Questions:

How would the story have been different if Tessa had not gone to the pond the first time?
Why do you think Inez chose Tessa?
Did the story end how you thought it was going to?
How did the author use the setting to affect the mood of the story? The plot?
Which character do you connect with the most? Explain.
What caused Inez to act the way she did?
Similar to what Tessa did at the end for Inez, create a name plate for yourself with illustrations that identify you.
Explain the act of condensation.

Flagged Passages: “The door clicks shut behind her, and I grab a pair of jeans off the chair I slung them over last night. My sketchpad is open just slightly and I stop in my tracks, confused at the small blur I can see in the upper left-hand corner of the sheet. It’s grayish black, like I started something then just barely ran the bad of my thumb over it.

‘What in the–‘ I start, bending closer to the page.

I didn’t draw anything last night. I was so tired from carrying boxes all over this ginormous place that I crawled into bed without even brushing my teeth.

I stare at the mark. It’s small and shaped like an upside-down L. Lifting the book and giving the paper a tap, I watch asn the unwelcome spot becomes dust again and drifts into the air. There will still be a darkened area there, but I’ll camouflage it with shading later. Still. There’s something about the mark that bothers me. Something off.”

Read This If You Love: Mary Downing Hahn novels, The Key to Extraordinary by Natalie Lloyd, Ghostlight by Sonia Gensler, Doll Bones by Holly Black, The Seer of Shadows by Avi

Recommended For:

**Thank you to Lindsay Currie for providing a copy of the book for review!**