Books for All Ages!

          Jen and Kellee host this kidlit meme atTEACH.MENTOR.TEXTS.  Join them and the other bloggers who are sharing what they are reading.

          It's Monday! What are you Reading? is another meme hosted by Sheila at BOOK JOURNEYS that offers reviews of all kinds of books.  

        If you’re on Twitter, use the hashtag #IMWAYR when sharing your link!

The Boy Who Loved Words – Roni Schotter, Illus. by Giselle Potter

       "Upon my word!" you may say. "How lucky I am!" are words you would hear from me after reading this book, and you will also see those words a number of times in the book. Roni Schotter tells the story of a young boy who collects words, and notices things for much of his life. He is lonely and feels set apart, but carries on with his word gifts! Words-both beautiful and intriguing-float around the man, pleasing, but not without experiencing loneliness still. At last he hears a lovely song, and thus begins a new part of life, with his wife, but that's the last of the story which I'll let you read. It's a great story, whimsical too, with numerous uses in the writing workshop.

The Gardener, The Librarian and The Journey by Sarah Stewart, illustrated by David Small

       The Librarian has been mentioned numerous times in the past days, and I am lucky to have found it at my library! It tells the story of a young girl named Elizabeth Brown who reads and reads, in fact she grows up doing the same thing, reading! David Small's illustrations are delightful, filling the pages with Elizabeth's books so much that one thinks there can't be any more on the page! Too many books can be a problem, as so many of us know, and this story solves that dilemma quite happily. I can't wait to share this with different students. 

       David Small won the Caldecott Honor award for the beautiful illustrations for The Gardener.  They are in watercolor, a little faded to give a hint of the past, and telling a story of a young girl who needs to be sent to the city during the Great Depression because of the family's economic needs. The story is told in letters that seem to take place over a "season".  during that time, the little girl, named Lydia Grace, learns to help her Uncle Jim and his workers in his bakery, and in turn, she teaches the workers how to garden.  There is a surprise at the end, which is both satisfying and heartwarming.  I love the letters, especially the P.S.'s!

       The Journey This particular book by Stewart is about a certain week in a young Amish girl's life when she is given the privilege of a trip to a big city as a birthday gift from her Aunt Clara. Again, Small's watercolors add such joy to the story, with a myriad of details that can be found in a city. The girl shares diary entries to tell the story. While she loves being there (she writes: "I feel like happiness has rushed up and grabbed me from behind," the reader also sees that every glorious site in the city reminds her of the particular things at home too. For example, when she looks over the city from the hotel balcony, the next page of the book shows another view, the view that she has at home when looking out over the land from a porch. It's a sweet book, emphasizing the theme of 'home sweet home'.

We Are In A Book – Mo Willems 

       I have checked out many Elephant & Piggie books, and loved every one. This one is a favorite and I bought it, because I wanted to be able to use it often, or share it again and again. No matter the plot, although it's fun, I just love the smiles on these two favorite characters. They make me smile to see their glee at something very exciting to them. It happens every time. When they smile, so do I. This time, they discover some awesome ideas because they are in a book. It's another priceless and fun story to read aloud.

 Woolvs in The Sitee – Margaret Wild, illustrated by Anne Spudvilas – This is such an intriguing picture book, definitely for older students.  I’m not sure if it’s in the future, or if it’s a metaphor for children at risk in their own environments.  It’s a book to be read aloud and discussed, about helping each other and about facing fears in order to make life better. 

Rocket Writes A Story – Tad Hills – If you enjoyed How Rocket Learned To Read, here again is another story about Rocket’s challenges in school, this time finding ideas for a story.  The little yellow bird appears again as his teacher, with helpful writing advice.  I imagine that many teachers of younger students will use this for writers workshop conversations. 

Footprints in the Snow - Mei Matsuoka – This pleasant looking wolf is tired of being thought greedy, nasty or scary, so he begins to write a different story showing that he is none of those things, until his natural instincts almost overcome.  The illustrations are simple, yet stylistic and include many details.  When the wolf ventures into the snow to talk with animals, we see their own realistic tracks moving across the page.   During the reading, the eye is caught again and again with the beautiful drawings. 

The Wednesday Wars by Gary D. Schmidt - I needed to re-read this book for a book group I've been asked to facilitate because of a summer reading assignment.  I had forgotten how much I love Gary Schmidt's writing, & it might cause me to re-read Okay For Now & Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy, too.  If you haven't read The Wednesday Wars yet, you should, & then put it into the hands of your students.  It's just wonderful how not only the main character is one you will care very much about, but almost all the other characters too, including the antagonist father.  How much we as adults can see in this father who has made his goals to be successful in order to take care of his family.  He has sadly forgotten that he just needs to love them.  There is so much to discuss in the book, yet Schmidt's continuing theme in the 3 books I've read are that the young male main characters must figure out what is the right thing to do in life. 

Next:  I still need to finish Small As An Elephant by Jennifer Richards Jacobson, then I'll start Remembering Mrs. Rossi, by Amy Hest, which was reviewed on Teach Mentor Texts last week.  I was lucky to find it at the library. I also have a few poetry books to read & share.