Dork in Disguise

Jerry has moved to a new middle school where anything is possible. He wasn't to recreate his dorky self into someone who is cool. Minutes after arriving on campus, he meets Brenda, a fellow nerd, who is immediately on to him and his secret. She offers him tips to up his cool factor (how to walk, what to wear) as he lies his way into the cool kids group.

Jerry learns lying can be bad for your health and hard to keep up with! He struggles with what makes him truly happy and what he thinks will lead to happiness. A good lesson in being yourself and choosing friends based on common interests and not on popularity.

How to Train Your Dragon

Hiccup is the son of Stoick, Chief of the Tribe of the Hooligans. He doesn't quite fit the picture of a future leader, and is bullied by other boys in his training group. To prove his worth, he must pass the initiation.

To become initiated into the group, you must first sneak into the dragon nursery and steal a dragon (the more elite the variety the better). The is not an easy thing to do since roughly 3000 sleeping dragons are there and could attack if awoken. Next, you must train them with basic commands (stay, go) and teach them to hunt.

With the helpful (???, maybe not-so-helpful) How to Train Your Dragon book, Hiccup and his friend read the secret of training a dragon. This leads Hiccup to learn how to train a dragon "the hard way."

Dragon slayers Academy: The New Kid at School (Book 1)

Wiglaf is one of thirteen children and pretty much treated like Cinderella. He has the worst chores in the family, is not spoken to kindly by his parents, but keeps an optomistic attitude. When a homeless minstrel arrives at their house, everyone wants to reject him except Wiglaf. The family agrees to let him stay in the barn if he does some work for them.

Wiglaf and the minstrel become friends and Wiglaf enjoys hearing his tales. When the time comes, the minstrel reads Wiglaf's palm and tells him he is destined to be a hero. Months later they see a poster in the city requesting students for the Dragon Slayer Academy. The poster speaks to Wiglaf and he he begs to go.

This is what starts the series. Will Wiglaf become a hero?

The Real Thief

Easily twenty years old, the writer of Shrek has a chapter book that focuses on Gawain, a guardsman for the king. Charged with protecting the king's riches, he and two other humble servant protect the sole entrance to the goods. With in one in and out, and only two keys - one with the king and the other with Gawain - how could the rubies and other prize possessions be disappearing?

Now Gawain stands accused, but he is emphatic that he is innocent! The king and the community begin to turn on him as they reason through how the caper could be completed if it weren't him.

I good tale on standing by friends, dealing with guilt and its consequences, and determining when lines are crossed.

11 Birthdays

This Bluebonnet nominee (and one of my top two faves in the group) is a wonderful read aloud. It's like the movies Groundhogs Day meets Holes - I don't want to spoil the fun by saying much more than that.

Amanda and Leo were born the same day, in the same hospital, and named after respected great-great grandparents. Their families are brought together by chance a second time and become best of friends for the next ten years. A big fight occurs on the night of their tenth birthday and its consequences surface on the 11th birthday. The day keeps repeating itself!

This book has a great opportunity to work on predictions (as events happen one day, what could be changed when it repeats and what results may occur?) and the causes and effects of choices made.

Tomas and the Library Lady

I can only dream of making a life long impact on a child this way! Tomas is the child of migrant farm workers who spend part of the year in Texas and part in Iowa. His grandfather is the resident storyteller and Tomas hangs on every story and has all the details memorized. His grandfather encourages him to go to town to the library to learn some new stories.

With the support of the town librarian, Tomas's world is opened by the access to books. She welcomes him, provides water, he reads to her and he teaches her Spanish words. They build a great relationship that makes a huge impact on Tomas and indirectly on his family. Eventually Tomas must return to Texas, but not without warm memories and a gift her will treasure.

The final page has a biographical sketch of Tomas Rivera who this story was based on. He ultimately received his doctorate and has a campus library named after him. What a beautiful story of how one person can make a huge difference in someone's life!

Wolf!

What a great book! Anything that shows kids that reading is fun and takes a bit of practice to get really good at wins with me!

Wolf (it is assumed he's the Big Bad one) wanders up on a farm to find himself dinner. The smaller animals run away, but not Duck, cow, and Pig. They are too busy reading since educated animals live on this farm. Wolf is eager to impress these guys so he goes to school to read.

He returns and is able to read, but it does not wow the other animals as he had expected. So he gets more books at the library and practices. He even uses his own money to buy his own book. His story telling is amazing and the others are captivated by his skills.

President Pennybaker

Luke Pennybaker thinks life is unfair. He asks to watch TV and his dad asks if he's done his chores. He hadn't, so he completes than anticipating a "Yes" and instead gets a "No." Frustrated, he decides to run for president to make things fair for kids. He gets the support of his classmates and locals. On a family vacation he gets the support of people all over the country. Will he win?

This book would serve as a good companion to Dan Gutman's The Kid Who Ran For President. The situations are the similar in that both boys are inspired to run, are too young to vote, uniquely name their party something other than Republican or Democratic, and each pick an unlikely running mate. Students could compare and contrast the chapter book to the picture book and discuss the electoral process, issues, debates, and defining "fair."

Otis

Otis the tractor is a hard worker and enjoys his life on the farm. He makes a terrific and unlikely friend in a baby calf and together they enjoy the run of the land. The farmer shows up with a new, yellow tractor and Otis loses his comfy stall in the barn and is parked outside where the weeds take over due to his lack of use.

One day the farmer goes to show off his prize calf but finds her standed in the middle of Mud Pond and he desperately needs her rescued.

A good story about friendship and kindness. Could be partnered with the video featuring the elephant and the dog's friendship as unlikely buddies. Just because you are different doesn't mean you can't be friends. http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/01/02/assignment_america/main4696340.shtml

Chrysanthemum

A great book on self-confidence and lessons on how not to be a good classmate, but my favorite lesson from this book is math!!

Chrysanthemum is 13 letters in it - half the letters in the alphabet! How many letters are in your name and what does that number correlate to?

Make a name graph (bar or picto) for the class and see who has the longest, or the shortest.

Make a scatter plot for frequency of the number of letters.

Compute the mean, mode, and median of the letters!

Billy & Milly Short & Silly

There are thirteen short - and I mean SHORT - poems that show the power of efficiently using words to get your point across. I have usually had the challenge of getting kids to s-t-r-e-t-c-h their thoughts out when writing, but this is a fun example of choosing the right words to succintly get your point across.

Dock Rock Shock Croc shows a boy fishing on a dock with a partially seen "rock," which soon causes shock as is shows its eyes, and we see its a crocodile!

Fun with word families as they can build into simple stories.

There was an Old Monster

A monsterous version of the "I Know an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly" story. It starts with a tick, and then some ants who make him dance in his pants, and works its way up the food chain to a bear. There is a twist at the end that makes this story its own.

This could be a good mimic text for writing in science and having students work their own food chain into the sing songy style. This story has an audio download available on www.scholastic.com/oldmonster per the book jacket but i found this to be a broken link.

Chicken Little

A funny take on an old classic. Encourages the lesson of proper planning, so possibly a good literature choice for setting up that moral for quality writing. There is also a few challenging words worked in that could be used as context clues lessons for younger readers (anxious, witless, prone, excitable, frantic). The illustrations are interesting.

A Mighty Fine Time Machine

A bunch of animal friends get swindled into trading goodies for a "time machine." They put all the pieces together only to find it inoperable. It didn't work. They tried another approach. It failed. They try again and it is a brilliant idea...but is it really a time machine now?

This Texas 2x2 nominee has a friendly message on the power and fun of reading.

Marimba! Animales from A to Z

The A-Z book walks us through what happens at the zoo once a year after the singing monkey lulls the zookeepers to sleep. The animales do the congo and tango with eat other. The Spanish words easily correlate to their English counterparts and the illustrations. The book closes with a translation and pronunciation guide with a small drawing of each animal.

Dona Flora

I love that this story is both a tall tale and has a Mexican-American flavor. Set in a small southwest village, Flora was sung to by her mother and grew to be a giant. All the villagers loved her and she loved taking care of them. When the people of her town feel threatened by a strange roar, Dona Flora will try to help.

Peppered with Spanish words and references, this is a great multicultural choice when teaching tale tales.

A Frog in the Bog

Written in couplets and triplets, this book is almost exclusively -og rhyming words. Good to read them working on the /og/ word family with early readers.

A frog is in the bog and there is a half-sunk log. Takes on elements of I know an Old Lady or This Old Man as the story progresses to its surprise ending.

Aggie and Ben: Three Stories

Ben goes to the pet store to decide which pet is best and names it Aggie! In the three stories, Ben selects his pet, brings the pet home to get settled, and comforts his new friend when it's bedtime and they are a bit scared in the new environment.

Franny K. Stein, Mad Scientist: Attack of the 50-Foot Cupid

Franny is a mad scientist and always cooking up something cool. With her not so helpful lab assistant Igor, who happens to be a lab (Labrador retriever), she manages to make a range of inventions such as an enlarging machine called the Biggerizer and the Manifester that changes 2D things into 3D things.

When the class is asked to make valentine's for the class, Frannie takes the easy way out by creating one valentine that has 625 possible sayings to it (try working out the math and see for yourself!). With a name similar to Frankenstein, you can image what Frannie's valentines were like, but the trouble really starts when her inventions and the valentines cross paths!

The math reference is for a combinations activity (factorials).

Dewey: There's a Cat in the Library

A kitten was secretly placed in the book drop off slot of the public library in Spencer, Iowa. The author, Vicki Myron, cleaned him up and gave him a name Dewey Readmore Books! This of course led to him becoming a library cat. At first Dewey does not know what the role of a library cat it, but over time, he defines it and it is just purr-fect!

This is a true story and several books have been based on Dewey. Good inspiration for writing about a personal experience.

Justin Case: School, Drool, and Other Daily Disasters

This book is Wimpy Kid meets Alvin Ho. It is set up as diary (journal?) entries that chronicle the third grade year of Justin Case. Every worry, perception, event, or interaction is documented in a comedic way which makes me think of it as a younger audience's version of Greg Heffley. The fact that he is so worrisome makes me think of Alvin Ho and the many things that weigh on his mind.

This title is a great choice for kids who love either series.

Robot Dreams

This 207 page graphic novel has zero, zilch, no dialogue. Wow! To understand the book, the reader has to infer from the character's reactions, behaviors, choices, and decisions.

A dog (??? Not really sure what he is!) makes a robot to be his friend. They share common interests and decide to go to the beach for a day of fun in the sun. Pretty good idea - unless you are made of metal! Poor Robot grows stiff and hardens on the beach only to be left behind by his friend. The friend tries to move on, but can't quite find a suitable replacement. In the meantime, Robot dreams of becoming free again.

Will they rebuild their friendship? Will Robot remain on the beach forever? That is all part of the fun in reading this book!

Glass Slipper, Gold Sandal

The ultimate Cinderella tale. As you know, there are many Cinderella stories from all over the world. The main fabric of the story is always the same: Beautiful, kind daughter treated as endentured servant by stepfamily, attends a big event, and meets her true love.

In Glass slipper, Golden Sandal we have a unique twist. As one primary story is told, elements from every Cinderella story out there gets woven in. The illustrations are large and small, and every country is faintly identified in the corresponding text as they realate to their cultures version.

Hardy Boys: The Ocean of Osyria

Talk about a blast from the past, the Hardy Boys have been successfully updated in this graphic novel format. The best part is that the clean cut image remains the same! So everything that we all liked about the Hardy Boys decades ago is still present, but with the modern day enhancement of a graphic novel.

In this story, the boys' friend Chet is accused of having an ancient necklace. Others want it and it is up to Joe and Frank Hardy to track it down and clear Chet's name while avoiding the bad guys!

Big Bad Wolf is Good

We all know the story of the Big Bad Wolf. Well did you know he doesn't want that reputation anymore? Well the trouble is, once you build a reputation, it is realllly hard to change people's opinions of you.

A good lesson in character development and how it can be difficult to build or rebuild friendships when others do not trust you or fear they may be hurt because of you. Each animal the wolf interacts with questions his intentions until his is able to flat out prove he has changed his ways.

Miss Brooks Loves Books (and I Don't)

Miss Brooks, the librarian, helps everyone find books they love. Some find books on fairies, or animals, or trains, but Missy can't find anything. When Book Week arrives, each child is expected to present their favorite book to the other students by giving a summary and dressing up as a character. Will Missy finally find a book that speaks to her and she enjoys?

The Fantastic Undersea Life of Jacques Cousteau

This Bluebonnet nominee and biography tells the story of Jacques Cousteau and the oceanic world of wonder he brought into the homes of the world. With his team, Jacques came face to face with all kinds of sea creatures. Together they developed products, like underwater cameras to film the creatures in their own habitat to share with all. Jacques also brought issues of water pollution to light and shared ideas on keeping the sea clean.

Pirates

If you are looking for a fun or frolicking actions of pirates, you have picked the wrong book. Through poetry that progresses in a story, this one tells of the life of "real" pirates. The ones that steal and fight and have no problem doing bad things. They are not heroes!

The poems cover from becoming a pirate, to days at sea, how a captain is picked, how the bounty is split, and more. Make sure you continue to the very end for an author's note on the history of piracy.

Nightmare at the Book Fair

I love Dan Gutman. He makes books that kids love to read. The My Weird School series really hooks kids into chapter books, and this title captures his likable writing style, with a relatable school situation and a unique twist.

When Trip Dinkleman agrees to help the PTO moms with setting up the book fair, he accidently has a shelf full of books land on his head. This sets us off on a story that covers twelve different genres! Each chapter's title lets you know how the story will turn, whether it is historical fiction, adventure, fantasy, or even reference! Some chapters are much longer than others, but the reader gets the gist for the type of story elements present in each genre.

The Wretched Stone

A ship at sea discovers land and brings aboard their extraordinary find. This unusual rock seems to have an effect on the crew, causing them to act strangely in its presence. A storm comes and the captain becomes worried the men won't be able to help.

Great sensory words for a writing lesson. Also, it is written in the form of a diary, rather than a narrative which is a different way to tell a story.

White Snow, Bright Snow

The story of a town that first has flurries then builds into a full blown snowstorm. It tells what the kids, adults and animals all do as they prepare for a snow day. It is the final snow before spring.

This book is pretty old school but would be a good choice for a sequencing activity.

Woof A Love Story

A dog finds himself falling in love at first sight...with a cat! The only problem is every time he tries to tell her, all she hears is "Woof." This story is written in a light and happy rhyme, but is an excellent example of a narrative poem. A great choice to use in music class since it plays a role in the storyline.

The Recess Queen

Mean Jean is the boss of the playground. Don't you dare try to swing, kick or bounce before she does or she'll grab you by the collar! When teeny, tiny Katie Sue, the new kid, arrives, she challenges the playground rules and sends Mean Jean into a tizzy!

A great choice for a lesson in friendship, kindness, and playground etiquette.

Some Dog!

George is beloved by his owners and lives the life of luxury. That is, until a stray shows up and changes everything. Now George has this crazy wild go-getter in the house who keeps him up at night with his snoring. When trouble arrives, it is George who saves the day!

Could be paired with Because of Winn-Dixie based on the dogs' fear of thunderstorms. Children could speculate why Winn-Dixie was alone in the first place or her behavior during the party in the ending.

The Furry News: How to Make a Newspaper

A step by step story on how to create a newspaper. Told in both cartoon and narrative styles, it provides good ideas for content (articles, critiques, activities, and advertising), editing, layout, and production.

The book ends with a more formal "how to" along with a glossary of relevant terms.

Casey Back at Bat

This book is a sequel to Casey at the Bat: A Ballad of the Republic written by Ernest Lawrence Thayer. The original story of Casey is told in a song and tells about the famous baseball player who struck out at the most important time ever.

Dan Gutman (My Weird School series) tells the tale of Casey and his second chance to make it big. Will he strike out again? Will he forever be a hero now? The illustrations are very creative since the images appear to be painted on newspaper.

Space Station Mars

This book is an excellent example of writing about what you know. This is based on the author's childhood memories when he and a bunch of friends thought aliens had come to their community.

It starts off with the boys going to see a science fiction movie, a shooting star, and some overactive imaginations. You can see how the story makes sense to these boys as they are bravely attempting to test asteroids and greet aliens. The author completes the book by including supporting photographs of the items mentioned in the book, which, to me, shows how daily experiences are an amazing source of inspiration for writing.

From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler

This book was a favorite of mine when I was in elementary school. I remember seeing the movie as an "after school special" back when they appeared once a month and were truly "special."

Claudia decides to teach her parents a lesson in appreciation by running away. Her master plan included one of her younger brothers and hiding out in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. After a few days on the lamb, the kids latch on to a mystery that Claudia is determined to solve before returning home.

A Wizard from the Start

This biography on Thomas Alva Edison reads like a regualer picture book. It shows Al, as he was called as a boy, as he builds his curiousity in science and inventions. Home schooling is what he credits for building his love of reading and learning. Working from a young age (twelve!) taught Tom a strong work ethic and inventiveness.

I like how School Library Journal calls the book, along with others by Don Brown, a "storyography." There are several other books by Brown written in this same manner that feature: Mark Twain, Neil Armstrong, and Teddy Roosevelt. They are very kid-friendly and bring out the human side of this famous figures.

Down Girl and Sit: Home on the Range

Told from the dog's perspective, we enjoy another adventure with Down Girl, Sit and their two masters as they head off to a country ranch. The dogs encounter creautres that as similar to their city life, but just different enough to to cause confusionand a little danger. They like life on the praire, but learn to appreciate the safety back home.