If anyone wants to know what elephants are like, they are like people, only more so. - Peter Corneille
Posted on Thursday, December 29, 2011 by SueI was hooked from page one. This book is fast paced and spellbinding. Jack and his mom are on a camping vacation at Acadia National Park in Maine, but when Jack wakes up in the morning his mother is gone. She's had her ups and downs before and Jack is worried that if anyone finds out she abandoned him that he'll be separated from her. Jack describes his mom's periods of spinning leading us to understand that his mom is really not irresponsible, but the victim of a mental illness. Jack needs to use all the resources his 11-year-old mind can muster up to get himself back home to Boston, without food, phone or money.
Great chapter headings with amazing little-known facts, quotes and even jokes about elephants. Jack hopes that his fascination with elephants, particularly one in Maine, will help reunite him with his mom.
Read this book!
Oh, the Human Spirit!
Posted on Friday, September 16, 2011 by Sue in book review, Chilean miners, Marc Aronson, TrappedI love nonfiction that reads like fiction - especially if it involves survival and unsuspecting heroes. You know the kind where ordinary people are called upon to do more than they could ever have imagined. This book is that and more..... it is about the collective hero-effect of so many people from around the world who are drawn to a remote mine in Chile to work together to rescue 33 miners trapped for almost 10 weeks. It is about Camp Hope, set up above the disaster that cared and nurtured each family member during the crisis. It is about the 33 men who made a daily commitment to survive below.
Aronson adds wonderful glossary, timeline, afterward and, my favorite, a 4-page commentary on what he learned by writing this book and what he hopes students who write research reports can gain from his experience. A teacher's dream!
Aarrgh! Talk Like a Pirate Day - Sept. 19
Posted on Thursday, September 15, 2011 by Sue in pirates, Talk Like a Pirate DayHow much did the pirate pay to have his ear pierced?
A Buccaneer!
Tuesday, September 19th, is Talk Like a Pirate Day! Celebrate the day with your favorite pirate book! My favorite is Dirty Joe, the Pirate: A True Story by Bill Harley. This book screams to be read aloud. I've used it in large groups (150 kids) and small story time settings. After the story we take a little poll about the color of our socks and underwear. One little boy even shouted out that his dad had Superman underwear on!
The dreaded Dirty Joe and his piratical crew sail in search of the smelliest treasure ever: dirty socks The rogues cheerfully pillage their way across the seven seas, until the day they run across another band of pirates-one led by the notorious Stinky Annie. Has Dirty Joe finally met his match?
Pirates and Underwear in one story....what's not to love about that?
Read for the Record - October 6th
Posted on Tuesday, September 13, 2011 by Sue in JumpStart's Read for the Record, Llama Llama Red PajamaOn October 6, 2011, more than 2 million voices will call for an end to America's early education achievement gap by reading Llama Llama Red Pajama by Anna Dewdney – setting a world record in the process! Sit down to read in your community.You'll be standing up for children everywhere! Let me know in the comments just how you plan to share this great book!
Learn more about JumpStart's Read for the Record Campaign.
In a Middle School Not So Far, Far Away .....
Posted on Wednesday, August 31, 2011 by Sue in book talk, guys read, Origami YodaIn Tom Angleberger's The Strange Case of Origami Yoda we met sixth-grader, Dwight who offered great advice to his classmates with wisdom from his finger puppet Yoda. Now the kids are in seventh grade and Dwight has been suspended and may be expelled, which means no more origami Yoda! Even worse, Darth Paper, a puppet created by Dwight's nemesis, Harvey, has taken Yoda's place. He spews insults and evil and just might be connected to the trouble Dwight is involved in. Tommy and the kids in McQuarrie Middle School are building a case to save Dwight. Just like the first book, Darth Paper contains Tommy's hilarious cartoon-like drawings. Sure to be a hit with the kids who love Diary of a Wimpy Kid series and Star Wars!
Here's a link to Tom Angleberger's YouTube video on how to make a Darth Paper!
Pete the Cat and His Rockin' School Shoes
Posted on Friday, August 19, 2011 by SueFor all of you helping someone special get ready for school.... this is the book for you!
Watch the author perform the book .... you'll have the song stuck in your head for a while.
Check it out!
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