#IMWAYR - Great Books

          Visit Jen at Teach MentorTexts and Kellee and Ricki at UnleashingReaders to see what they've been reading, along with everyone else who link up.  

Still Reading - From my #MustRead list:  Scythe - Neal Shusterman   Oh my, what an interesting concept this is. And now, Thunderhead the next one is already out! 

I was so busy last week but did finish The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah. You can read my review on Goodreads. 

         It really is a new way to look at the word, yes, that word, NOTHING! The endpapers offer a lot of synonyms for it first, like nada, nil, zilch, zippo! I won't give much away this time, nearly writing "nothing", but it does include a delightful mix of animals and illustrations by Hugh Murphy, like that hippo on the cover. It is fun to read, a LOUD story. My youngest granddaughter took it immediately from me after we read it, and started over again! She's six.

         Another wonderful book just right for spring when insects, those "crawly bugs" seem to appear immediately, and then, according to David L. Harrison, they go to school! "Come by air/hop or crawl--/Crawly School/welcomes all!" This opening poem is wonderfully illustrated by Julie Bayless in a woodland setting that shows each "student" journeying to school, bag or backpack with each. Considering that these insects have poems that show their school actions, some not so good, it will be great fun to learn about the insects and compare what David has written, and Julia Bayless has illustrated to verify the truth, or what can be interpreted in a different way. The poor tick has a people problem: "She [the teacher] says they hate it when we bite/hide our heads and dig in tight." In "What's Left of Termite Class" - not much, because "We ate the walls/and foundation, hungry for more/alliteration." The school nurse, of course, is a mosquito, who "always takes some blood". You'll need to see this page, with other classmates leaving unhappily! Among other tips, there also "What We Learn in Bird Class". Imagination rules this school, and kids will love comparing it to their own!

         Well, at first I thought this would be for the youngest readers, but now after reading, it actually poses an existential question, "Do I have a greater purpose?". For the younger readers, it's a story of a machine turned into someone that cares, this time about a little flower. For older readers, what have I missed noticing in the world where I can make a difference? The story has the flavor to me of an old picture book by Virginia Lee Burton, The Little House. The illustrations too are big and bold, simply drawn, adding to the simplicity of the story.

         For older readers, this is all about semantics. There's "this" and "that", "one" or the "other" and when someone is "neither", the "others" believe that one doesn't fit. I imagine some good conversations happening when this is read to a group, or to one. It does end with the "Land of All", and quite a few other words to know about. The pictures are simple and colorful, will be engaging to young readers.

         I know that all of you who teach are in the midst of crazy end-of-school time, and wish you wonderful weeks of saying goodbye!