Wild About Books

When a librarian, Mavis McGrew, accidently sets up her bookmobile outside of the zoo, she ends up teaching all the animals the joy of reading. The illustrations are by Marc Brown, the author and illustrator of the Arthur series.

I Hate Books!

Obviously the title hooked me. How offensive! ;) I just had to learn why this kid hated books.

Hamish is an amazing storyteller. He has had great role models in his life, with his grandpa and older brother. They could read and bring the stories to life and Hamish was extremely entertained by their talents. When Hamish goes to school, he continues to tell stories to classmates and teachers until they begin to discover that what he is "reading" isn't matching what is on the page. Read this book to see why the storytelling master hates books.

Sheep in a Jeep

As part of my Little Bo Peep extension for prek visits this week, I thought it would be fun to brainstorm where those sheep went while they were "lost." Sheep in a Jeep and the many other books in this series offer good suggestions. The short rhymes and repetitive sounds are just right for young listeners.

Gregor the Overlander

While in the laundry room of his apartment building, Gregor and baby sister Boots fall through a grate into a portal to the Underland. Here, a community of rats, cochroaches, bats, and other creatures are on the brink of war unless the prophecy can be fulfilled. Gregor and Boots could play a vital role in the Underworld's future, but his only goal is to return home.

Most of the fun of this book is breaking apart the prophecy that is told in rhyme and anticipating how it will weave into the story. This is book one in a series called Underland Chronicles by popular author Suzanne Collins.

Warriors: Tigerstar and Sasha Into the Woods

This graphic novel version of the popular Warrior series was a treat. We first meet Sasha, a pet cat, as she is abandoned by her family. Desperate, she heads into a neighboring woods and meets Tigerstar. She is captivated by his leadership and bravery and learns of a clan system the wild cats have set up within the woods. This book has a cliffhanger type ending which leads the reader directly into book two.

One Potato, Two Potato

Love this book! Mr. and Mrs. O'Grady are poor and share everything they have with each other. But what they really long for is friends. Mr. O'Grady discovers a buried pot while working in his potato garden which proves to be magic. Any item you stick inside it will automatically make a duplicate! They have fun testing it out, and realize it can do a lot more than double potatoes. But will this pot truly make them happy?

A good character lesson could include the O'Grady's lack of greed, and how how they never overdid it. Students could discuss what they would put in the pot.

To enrich the experience of reading this book, please see me for some Suzy Red activities that provide the critical thinking associated with the storyline.

The Extraordinary Adventures of Ordinary Basil

Basil thinks his life is ordinary. That is, until he sings a tune that summons a flying boat manned by a quirky professor. Basil boards the contraption and sets sail to a new land in the clouds that is the relocated Atlantis.

This top secret land is in conflict with an evil man still on Earth who wants to destroy their peaceful society. He uses Basil and his friend as pawns in regaining control and they are jailed.

This book is the first in a short series of adventures for Basil. It is a chapter book in a picture book format.

Miss Bridie Chose a Shovel

I have always loved this book. If you are studying immigration, historical fiction, or human geography, this is a must read.

Miss Bridie begins her life changing journey to America by selecting one item from home - a shovel. She could have picked anything but felt the shovel would be a part of living a good life. What would you have picked? This shovel stays with her throughout the story, in the best and worst of times. The story ends with a repeating sentence that reminds the reader of the main point of the story - how selecting the shovel was the perfect choice.

Let's Take Over Kindergarten

Their teacher gets stuck inside the class jungle gym and all the kids go crazy with freedom. They mess up the room, run around, and more while Miss Tuck looks on. But when things get out of hand, kids get hurt, someone pinches someone, and the like, the kids realize what they need is order and a grown up to keep them safe.

The Night Pirates

It is night, and Tom wakes up to a bunch of girl pirates entering his room. He joins them as they sail off to an island where grown up pirates are sleeping. Captain Patch sees a floating house, rather than a boat approaching, and it scares his crew. The kids steal the treasure and sail back in their house/boat. All will remain a secret, or will it?

Dirty Joe the Pirate: A True Story

I have been searching for fun books with a Pirate theme for Talk Like a Pirate Day later this month. In this one, Dirty Joe is on the search for smelly socks when he comes across a foe by the name of Stinky Annie. It has a cute conclusion while still ending in true pirate fashion.

The Clock Struck One

This "time-telling tale" follows the rhythm of Hickory Dickory and has all kinds of animals chasing one another after the mouse kicks things off. By making its run at one o'clock, every hour a new animal or person adds itself to the chain. By midnight everyone falls asleep exhausted. But what hour follows midnight??

Good partnered with Hickory Dickory or beginning of time telling. The characters lend themselves to a Farmer in the Dell activity too.

Miss Nelson is Missing

Funny story illustrated by James Marshall about a teacher who decides to teach her class a lesson. After acting unruly at school, the child return to find their sweet, story loving teacher, Miss Nelson, is absent and that Miss Viola Swamp is there to subsitute. Miss Swamp whips those kids into shape! When Miss Nelson returns, the child are grateful and follow her rules.

This is a good beginning of year book or prior to the first substitute of the year.

A Perfect Day

A simple story of one child's perfect day with their dad. A good book if talking about the time of day you do things (morning, noon, night). I am using it in conjunction with Hickory Dickory Dock, mice and clocks.