All the Lovely Bad Ones

Written by Mary Downing Hahn, All the Lovely Bad Ones is an exciting and sometimes spooky chapter book that tells the story of a brother and sister, Travis and Corey, who are staying at their grandmother's house in Vermont for the summer. But their grandmother's house isn't just any old house, it's a creepy old inn with a history of ghost sightings. There are even books written by ghost hunters about the sightings at the inn, and the two siblings can't wait to investigate the accusations themselves. Travis and Corey are notorious pranksters and can't resist playing good jokes on people, but when they decide to stage a fake ghost sighting of their own, they mistakenly awake the real ghosts that are trapped at the inn. Some of the spirits are playful and mischievous, but others are vengeful and restless. As the Travis and Corey try to understand the messages the spirits are sending them, they begin to uncover the horrifying truths about the inn's grave past.

I first read this book while I was doing a practicum observation in a 5th grade classroom. The students were reading it and I read it too so I could help with assignments. I could not put this book down. It had the intense mystery of any adult fiction novel, but suited for younger readers. I absolutely loved finding out about the horrors that took place almost a century ago at the inn, and I couldn't wait to keep reading to see what happened to the ghosts and how vengeful they would become. I thought this book was actually a little spooky for young readers as it shed light on some unsettling stories and scary characters, but overall the students really enjoyed reading it. I think this would be a great story to use in a Guided Reading activity. Students would be put in groups of 4-5, and each day one group would meet with the teacher at a time to read the story together and discuss guided reading questions relating to the story. By reading this story in guided reading groups, students have more one-on-one time with the teacher to have focused discussions and ask questions related to the plot and character development. The teacher also has a better chance to observe how each student is reading, paying attention, and making inferences and connections.

Hahn, M. (2008). All the lovely bad ones. New York: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing.

The Higher Power of Lucky

The Higher Power of Lucky is a quirky chapter book aimed at children ages 9-11 years, written by Susan Patron and illustrated by Matt Phelan. This book is about a 10 year old girl named Lucky who lives in the small trailer town of Hard Pan, California that has a population of 43 people. Lucky is an aspiring scientist who likes to examine the different species of Hard Pan like her idol Charles Darwin, and is also on a mission to find her own Higher Power. Lucky has heard of this mysterious yet inspiring Higher Power that changes your life for the better from the stories of the people who attend the Anonymous Meetings, whom she cleans up after as a small job. Lucky's story is unique because of her family situation: she never really knew her father and her mother died two years prior when she was eight. Since Lucky then became a warden of the state in need of a guardian, her absent father called on his Parisian ex-wife Bridgette, who flew to California to look after Lucky.

This book continues on to tell the reader of Lucky's fears of being abandoned by Bridgette and her plans to run away into the desert to find her Higher Power. However, her plans are set off-course as a dust storm makes it harder to survive than she expected. In the end, Lucky is reunited with her family and learns to appreciate the good things that can come from bad situations. With an incredibly lovable and relatable cast of characters, I easily fell in love with Lucky's story and the messages readers can take away from it. There are also some great science terminology in this book such as anti-venom, capillaries, specimen and enzymes. Geographical information such as weather patterns associated with certain regions are also included and could be used to examine climate facts.

Patron, S. (2006). The higher power of lucky. New York: Simon & Schuster.

Holes

Today I'm reviewing the well-known young adult novel Holes written by Louis Sachar. Holes won the National Book Award for Young People's Literature in 1998, and the Newbery Medal in 1999. This is an amazing read that seems to have it all! Family curses, treasure, destiny, poetry, friendship and adventure, Holes has a wonderfully mysterious, yet playful, plot that keeps the reader interested by providing satisfying twists and victories. This novel begins by telling the story of Stanley Yelnats and his misfortune that is blamed on his family's "curse". Stanley was at the wrong place at the wrong time when a stolen pair of shoes drops in his lap and he is accused of stealing. As punishment for his wrongdoings, Stanley is sent to Camp Green Lake, a "juvenile detention facility" in the middle of the desert where the "inmates" of the camp are forced to dig holes all day by the nasty and greedy supervisors.

After befriending a young boy named Zero and having mishaps with the other inmates and faculty, eventually Stanley and Zero escape the camp and runaway into the desert hills. Throughout the story, however, there are many flashbacks that tell the stories of Stanley's and Zero's relatives and how their family curses are actually intertwined. The reader finally realizes that destiny has brought the two boys together so they can help break the curses set upon them by their ancestors. After almost dying of dehydration and exhaustion, the two boys find salvation at the top of a legendary mountain and learn the history of each others families. In the end, every character gets what they deserve and Stanley, Zero and their families live new, happy lives together.

I had read this story when I was in the 6th grade and I remember loving reading it as an assignment. It is interesting, mysterious, funny and unique. This book's plot is a great foundation to teach many things, such as foreshadowing, flashbacks, plot summaries and character development. A fun assignment would be creating a (fake) historical timeline of the incidents in this story and analyze how they connect. Students could also create a family tree for the characters that illustrate how they are connected.

Sachar, L. (1998). Holes. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux.

Rabbit & Robot: The Sleepover

In this adorable and funny book Rabbit & Robot: The Sleepover, two friends set on a night of fun are put off-track when their plans go slightly awry. Rabbit invites his friend Robot to his house to sleepover, and plans a whole list of things to do like making pizza, playing Go Fish and watching TV. But when Robot wants to alter the plans slightly by wanting to play other games and eat other foods, Rabbit gets upset! After having a picnic instead of eating at the table, and taking a nap before going to bed, the two friends realize that even though their night didn't go exactly as planned they still had a very fun evening anyways!

Cece Bell, author and illustrator of this short chapter book, tells a story of a common occurrence that happens often between friends! I liked reading this book because it sends a great message to young readers that having fun with your friends doesn't have to go exactly as planned. Some friends like to do different things and like to eat things you might not, and after reading this book children might better understand that it can be fun doing things others like. I would use this book in an elementary classroom to help illustrate cause and effect or sequence of events. There are many events that happen because of a different action that Rabbit did not predict, and using this book to teach predictions and cause and effect would be very helpful to young readers. After reading the story, the teacher could pass out cards with pieces of the story on them. The students could put the events in order, and then talk about which events happened because of something else.

Bell, C. (2012). Rabbit & robot: The sleepover. Somerville, Massachusetts: Candlewick Press.

Everything on a Waffle

Everything on a Waffle is a novel written by Polly Horvath is a delightful and hilarious story about a eleven-year old girl named Primrose Squarp who thinks her parents have been lost at sea. Everyone else in the small town of Coal Harbour thinks that her parents died when her father went into a nasty storm to find her mother, but Primrose believes in her heart that they will return home someday. Until then, Primrose, a now orphan, has to live with her Uncle Jack. In this witty and coming-of-age novel, Primrose observes the different qualities in the various humans she interacts with and through many small adventures and mix-ups, finds her place in Coal Harbour. Eventually and to everyone's surprise, Primrose's parents find their way home after many months of truly being lost at sea. Primrose is united back with her family with a newly-found look on life.

This was an amazing story that was filled with quirky characters, delicious recipes and a unique plot line. Primrose was a such an easy character to like, and I found myself rooting for her all the way! There were so many funny, sad and interesting events that happened in this story, and I felt like it was very easy to maintain my interest while reading. I love the idea of using this story in a middle school classroom as a unit book. Each student would get a copy of the book and dates on when they should read each chapter. A fun activity would be to use this book in literature circles, where the class is divided into three groups and each member has a role and activity assigned to them. For example, there would be an activity packet that is to include a character sketch, a written summary, a question generator, and a word wizard/definition page. All students would work together in their group to complete the literature circle.

Horvath, Polly. (2001). Everything on a waffle. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux.

Journey

Journey is a stunningly illustrated wordless picture book about a young girl who uses her imagination and creativity to go on an adventurous journey of a lifetime. Author and illustrator Aaron Becker creates a dream world of magical places, creatures and people that was constructed from inside the mind of an ordinary child who needed an escape from her lonely life. This book begins in a greyish world, one where the girl can't find friends or family to talk or play with her. Then she uses a magical marker to draw a door on her bedroom wall that opens to a new colorful world, filled with flying carpets, mystical ships and even a new friend. This book also reminded me of the anime movie Castle in the Sky by Hayao Miyazaki.

I enjoyed reading Journey because it is so relatable for many of us, especially children. Some children grow up in situations where they don't have many friends, available parents or toys to play with. Everyone has felt alone at some point in their life and has wished to escape to a fantasy world, and this book captures this feeling perfectly. It shows readers that your imagination is a gateway to going to new places and seeing new things, even if you can't physically do them. I would use this book in a classroom as an introduction to creative writing. First the students would read the story once over, looking at the images, places and colors. Then a discussion about the book could follow, where the students can speak about what the book meant to them and how the places were influenced by places around the world. Finally, the students could write their own short story piece about an imaginative journey and illustrate a piece of their story as well.

Becker, A. (2013). Journey. Somerville, Massachusetts: Candlewick Press.

Lunch Lady and the Cyborg Substitute

Lunch Lady and the Cyborg Substitute is a graphic novel in the Lunch Lady series, written by Jarrett Krosoczka. The plot of the books in this series involves a crime fighting lunch lady who defends justice and defends her school from peril. In this book, Lunch Lady goes on a mission to uncover the mystery of the new substitute, Mr. Pasteur, who she finds out is a cyborg programmed to replace the popular teachers at school! The evil science teacher, Mr. Edison, is jealous of the well-liked teachers and wishes to win Teacher of the Year by way of sabotage. After following the substitute home from school one day, the Lunch Lady discovers he is a robot and is then promptly attacked by an army of cyborgs! If it weren't for the help of her nosy students, the Breakfast Bunch, who followed her to see what the life of a lunch lady entailed outside of school, then they might not have succeeded in getting away unharmed.

I really enjoyed reading another story from the Lunch Lady series, it was funny, suspenseful and clever! I liked how the characters ended up embracing their interests that other students thought were silly or uncool, and I also enjoyed that the characters stood up for themselves to a school bully. That shows readers that being yourself is a good thing and you're allowed to like what you like, regardless if it's "cool" or not. Also, standing up to a bully with confidence and non-violence may be easier after you've proved you can save the world from cyborgs! I would use this story in the classroom because it is a high-interest novel for students. It has a great mix of familiar words and content-specific vocabulary. I like that they used the names of famous scientists as character names, such as Edison and Pasteur. This could be a great introductory book for a science classroom, the teacher or students can take turns reading the story aloud while pausing to circle unfamiliar words. Then, the class could go over and discuss the meanings of those words or names to define. To branch off of this activity, after learning about the names of famous scientists students could write a short comic strip using one famous person as a main character to tell a story about their life or achievements.

Krosoczka, J. (2009). Lunch lady and the cyborg substitute. New York: Random House.

Red Sings From Treetops: A Year in Colors

Red Sings From Treetops: A Year in Colors is a recipient of the Caldecott Honor in 2010 and was written by award-winning poet Joyce Sidman and illustrated by Pamela Zagarensk. This children's picture book is about the four seasons and the many colors that are associated with each one. Ocean blue in the summer, black echos in winter, and red cardinals that return in spring. This is a circular story written in poetic prose that teaches children about how the four seasons are connected with objects, feelings, smells and sights that come back around every year. 

This book is a great tool to use when teaching about colors or the seasons, and can be used in a variety of ways in the classroom. Something that can be a helpful strategy when learning new vocabulary words or content words, such as the four seasons, is to illustrate the word with visual descriptions that correlate with that word. For example, students can write the word "Winter" in letters that look like blocks of ice, snowflakes, hot coco, etc to make comprehension more attainable. Or the word "Spring" with cherry blossoms and green leaves. This story is also available in Princess Anne Library's online audiobook library, which is a great alternative to having students silently read. While the story is being read aloud on the computer, students might even use some kinesthetic learning by standing up and mimicking the words and actions in the story, such as "low bending branch" (children would bend down low and sweep their arms around like branches).

Sidman, J. (2009). Red sings from treetops: A year in colors. New York: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

Knock Knock: My Dad's Dream for Me

Knock Knock: My Dad's Dream for Me is a heartfelt, wonderfully illustrated picture book that tells a painful yet inspirational story of how an absent parent can effect a child's life forever. This story is about a young boy who finds joy and happiness in a little game he and his father play every morning called "Knock Knock", where his father knocks on the boy's door in the morning and the boy pretends not to hear him until he comes in to say "I love you". One day, the "knock knocks" stop coming, and the boy is confused and sad when his father stops playing their game. After months of his father being gone, the boy writes him a letter asking him to come home because he still has so much to learn from him. Eventually, his father writes him a letter back and tells him many inspirational and loving words to help him grow as a person and as a man. In the end through the author's note, the reader realizes that the father's absence was because he had been incarcerated. This story really hit home for me not because I can relate to the story, but because it reminded me why reading is so important for children. Reading doesn't simply teach students things or make them more competent readers, but often times it also gives children something to relate to when they may not have someone or something to relate to at home. This book shows children who are hurting in the same way as the main character how they might deal with their emotions about having an absent parent. The illustrations in this book were amazing, almost 3D, and it really supported the story and the setting.

I would use this book in the classroom as an introduction to writing personal stories. Writing can often be very therapeutic for people going through sad or emotional times, and using this book as a model for either talking about your problems or writing about them is a great idea. In the book, although the boy felt upset and sometimes directionless after his father left, he learned a lot from his father's wise words that eventually helped him succeed in his future. This could be used to help students confront their feelings and channel it into writing a personal piece of their own to show what they went through and how they grew or learned from it. I would highly recommend this story to anyone, regardless of their age or their background. I believe it was a very worthy recipient of the Coretta Scott King award in 2014.

Beaty, D. (2013). Knock knock: My dad's dream for me. New York: Little, Brown and Company.

Fancy Nancy Sees Stars

Today's book is titled Fancy Nancy Sees Stars, written by Jane O'Connor. Fancy Nancy Sees Stars is an "I Can Read!" book assigned to beginning readers at the 1st-2nd grade reading level. This book is about a little girl named Nancy who loves the stars! She is so excited when her class decides to take a night trip to the planetarium because she knows so much about the stars and constellations already, but when a rainstorm ruins the show, Nancy gets very sad. But not to worry! By the time Nancy's family gets home, the rain is gone and the sky is full of stars. Nancy and her family and friends decide to have their own night sky show in their backyard where they observe many constellations and even see a meteor. I loved this book for it's genuine characters that have a passion for astronomy even at such a young age. I think this sends a great message to younger children to get them excited about learning more about earth science and the solar system.

My favorite thing about this story (aside from the fact that it's about stars and stargazers!) is that the author includes subtle definitions of words that may be foreign to readers within the dialogue. For example, when Nancy tells the reader that her class will be visiting the planetarium, she then says "That is a museum about stars and planets". This is an excellent component of the story that will be very helpful for students reading at this level. Not only does it introduce them to new words, but it defines them so they are less intimidating, they can learn them right away without having to remember to look it up, and it makes the story more understandable when it uses words that students can understand. This would be a great book to use in the classroom when making a word wall of unfamiliar words, specifically for astronomy or earth science unit. Students could read through the book and write out the longer, harder words and then define them on a piece of paper. The teacher could then hang it up on a designated word wall where students can add words they find from other books or words they've learned in a lesson. This is a great way to increase earth science vocabulary knowledge in younger students. I look forward to reading more stories from the Fancy Nancy series!

O'Connor, J. (2008). Fancy nancy sees stars. New York: Harper Collins.

All Aboard the Dinotrain

Today's book is a TumbleBook, which is an online resource library that provides animated, talking story books for kids of all ages. I chose to read the story All Aboard the Dinotrain by Deb Lund. This rhyming picture book stars a thrill-seeking cast of dinosaurs that are taking a crazy ride on the dinotrain, which is more like a roller coaster! The train goes up, down and all around crazy twists and turns before the crew realizes their brakes are out! All the dinos have to work together to make a safe landing with a splash in a river where they all arrive happy and laughing. I thought this was a very cute book and I loved how the different dinosaurs all had different jobs. I thought the book was a great way to send the message to young children of the importance of working together to get a job done safely, and that working with a team can be fun! I can see this book being used in a PreK-2nd grade classroom when learning about using rhyming to enhance comprehension. Each student could be assigned a page in the book to help read, and then identify all the rhyming words on the page. Students can analyze why the words rhyme due to different vowels, and it can increase motivation because each student has a specific page assigned to them. Audio books such as these are also very helpful for students who struggle with reading.

Lund, D. (2006). All aboard the dinotrain. Florida: Harcourt Books.