THE DOGS OF WINTER- Bobbie Pyron

That crazy time of the school year, when everything moves at warp speed, and the paperwork seems to multiply every night. I am still trying to read, at least a little. This weekend, I finished Bobbie Pyron's 'THE DOGS OF WINTER. This story is set in Russia, in the late 1990's. The Soviet regime had fallen, typical support agencies had collapsed, and people were living in dire poverty, with little support from the government. Many children (perhaps even two million), lived alone and uncared for  on the streets of Russia.

THE DOGS OF WINTER is loosely based on the life of one of those children, Ivan Mishukov. Ivan is very young, only about four, when his beloved grandmother dies. His mother becomes involved with an unscrupulous man and then disappears. The man attempts to take Ivan to an orphanage, but the boy escapes, and turns to life on the streets, where he is taken in by a pack of wild dogs. DOGS OF WINTER chronicles Ivan's life with the dogs.

A survival story sure to be enjoyed by any dog lover.

WHAT I'M READING

My motto in life, "When the going gets tough, the tough get reading." And so I read a lot this weekend…

THE FAULT IN OUR STARS

Hazel is a sixteen-year-old girl who has spent most of her teenage years been battling cancer that started in her thyroid and metastasized to her lungs. At a cancer support group, she meets osteosarcoma survivor, Augustus (Gus) Waters. Although Hazel has determined that she will not allow anyone to be close to her (she likens herself to a human grenade who will explode and cause pain in people's lives), Gus soon convinces her otherwise. A gorgeously written, very realistic (or at least it seems realistic) novel about teenagers living life with laughter and joy and courage in the face of really tough odds. Note to my elementary teacher friends: This is definitely YA- upper middle school and high school.

WONDER is another book that everyone is talking about (and should be). I downloaded it on Netgalley and read it in one sitting, then ran out and bought it today, planning to start it as a fourth grade read aloud on Wednesday. WONDER is the story of ten-year-old August, who was born with serious facial deformities. Because he has had to undergo many surgeries, he has always been home schooled. Now, in the fifth grade, his parents think he is ready to attend school with everyone else. Auggie has mixed feelings, mostly because he has spent his entire life with people staring at him and saying unkind things. Told through the eyes of several different people, including Auggie, his sister Via (short for Olivia), Olivia's boyfriend Justin, Olivia's former best friend Miranda, and Jack, a child who becomes one of Auggie's best friends at school. So much to love about this book- the varying voices of narrators, beautiful writing, but most of all, the messages of kindness and caring and courage. I can't wait to share this with my kids on Wednesday, I think we have a lot to learn from Auggie.

The third book I read this weekend was WHERE YOU LEFT ME, by Jennifer Gardner Trulson. Jennifer Gardner was a former lawyer, the wife of Doug Gardner, and the mom of five-year-old Michael and Julia, age 2, when 9/11 changed her life forever. Doug, an executive at Cantor Fitzgerald, was killed, and Julia had to remake her life without him. Her children, especially her daughter, were very young, and Trulson wanted to preserve their dad's memory, so she started keeping a journal and recording her memories on a hand held tape recorder. WHERE YOU LEFT ME also chronicles the development of her relationship with her second husband, Derek Trulson.

Finally, I'm reading STILL: NOTES ON A MID-FAITH CRISIS by Lauren F. Winner. I read Winner's faith memoir, GIRL MEETS GOD several years ago. A week or two ago, I read that Winner had a new book, STILL: NOTES ON A MID-FAITH CRISIS. The reviewer likened Winner's newest book to that of Anne LaMott, who is one of my favorite writers. Of course I immediately had to download the book. Winner has, in the last few years, gone through a divorce and pretty much journeyed away from God, and then is in the process of rethinking what she believes. I'm only about a third of the way in, but am totally enjoying her honesty and faith journey.

Next week's reading, I hope:

A MONSTER CALLS

THE ONE AND ONLY IVAN

HUNGER GAMES

A BOUNTY OF THANKSGIVING READS

Did a little reading between sporting events this weekend…The three books I read range from easy to medium to pretty difficult.

LIKE PICKLE JUICE ON A COOKIE is a book I have been reading about for the past six months. Finally saw it during a trip to the library on Friday. It's an easy chapter book, told in verse, perfect for those kidlets who are just making their way into novels. Eleanor Kane, has had the same babysitter for eight years, actually since she was born. Now Bibi's father is very ill, however, and she must move to Florida to care for him. Eleanor misses Bibi horribly, but comes to love her new sitter, the mancala playing Natalie. A great little book about saying goodbye, about grieving, and about starting over again…

TROUBLEMAKER is Andrew Clements' newest, or maybe just one of his newest. Clayton is a sixth grade troublemaker, with a two inch thick behavior file to prove it. When the book opens, he is in art class, drawing a caricature of his principal, Mr. Kelling, disguised as a donkey (WARNING: the word in used the book is jack***, which some people may find offensive). He can't wait to show the picture to Mitch, his older brother and role model, newly released froma 30-day prison stay. Mitch, however, is not as excited about the picture as Clay thought he would be. It seems that Mitchell has learned some invaluable lessons in prison, and wants his brother to change. That weekend, he takes Clayton to the mall to reshape his image, then it's up to Clay to prove he really has changed. Clayton soon discovers, however, that change is hard and getting people believe you have changed is harder still…

BREADCRUMBS, by Anne Ursu, is the third book I read this weekend. I feel like I need to preface this review with a warning. I am not an allegory reader. I'm one of the few teachers I know who doesn't especially like MANIAC MAGEE. I think it's really well-written, I think it's got great life lessons, I know most people love it, but I just didn't much care for it. I have never read it aloud in a classroom, nor have I handed it to a kid to read. I'm also not a big fantasy lover. I only read 1.5 of the HARRY POTTER books and have only seen a couple of the movies.

Even so, I loved BREADCRUMBS. BREADCRUMBS is the story of Hazel and Jack, ten-year-olds who have been best friends for a long time. This year, however, things have changed . Hazel's mom and dad have split up. Hazel has been forced to leave a private school, where she was viewed as artsy and creative and wonderful, and attend a more traditional public school, where her dreaminess and creativity is viewed much less positively. The only good thing about the public school is that Jack also attends there, but then he stops talking to her…

It turns out that Jack has been hit in the eye by the shard of a mirror, broken by a goblin in a faraway world. Jack's heart is frozen and he becomes a very different person, eventually leaving all that he loves, including Hazel and his family, to follow the Snow Queen into the frozen woods. Hazel, being his best friend, decides she must go after him. On the way, she encounters any number of different friends and enemies, including some who appear to belong in one category, but then end up belonging in the other.

This novel, a takeoff on Han's Christian Anderson's "The Snow Queen" is way, way, way too complicated to try to explain. In fact, I'm not even sure that I'm ready to talk about it, but I'm hoping that some other people will read it and be ready to talk about it. A story of grieving and friendship and oh so much more…

HOUND DOG TRUE

Mattie Breen is about to start fifth grade. In a new school. Mattie's mom lives by a motto, "When the going gets tough, the tough get going." And so Mattie and her mom have moved from place to place to place. This time, they have ended up living with Mattie's Uncle Potluck, who is the custodian at the elementary school.

Mattie is painfully, painfully shy. And terrified of starting at a new school. She has decided that she will deal with lunch and recess, problematic times during the day, by becoming a custodial apprentice to her uncle. In the weeks before school starts, she follows him around the elementary school, jotting down all of his "custodial wisdom" in a notebook. Mattie believes that becoming an indispensable custodial assistant will save her from having to interact with kids in her new school.

Mattie takes notes because Mattie is a writer, not only of custodial notes, but also of stories. Or at least she was a writer of stories until a bully in a previous elementary school, destroyed her notebook. Her plan seems perfect, until Uncle Potluck gets hurt on the job…

I loved this book. Linda Urban did an amazing job of capturing the inner workings of a really, really shy child. How the meanness of one bully destroyed her. How afraid she was to even try to make friends. I loved the wisdom of Uncle Potluck. Loved how Mattie finally gathered up the bravery to make a friend.

A terrific read. One upper intermediate teachers have to have for all of the Mattie's in their classes.

RECAP OF READING

Not much blogging going on right now. It's not that I am not reading, because I actually have read quite a bit. Think it's more that most of what I have read has been recommended by other bloggers, and since they have already blogged about it, I wonder what I would have to say that is new or different. Which makes me wonder why I am bothering to blog at all, but that's probably a whole different post. Anyway, as far as what I have been reading lately…

AFTER EVER AFTER by Jordan Sonnenblick

Jeffrey is an eighth grade leukemia survivor. The lasting effects of chemo have shaped Jeffrey as a learner and a human being. He struggles with math, for instance, even though his dad is an accountant and math whiz. Nerve damage in one foot has left him unable to participate in physical education, or play the drums with his beloved older brother, Steven. Because of his struggles, Jeffrey is totally surprised when Lindsey Abraham, a hot new eighth grader from California, becomes interested in him. His delight in this new relationship is overshadowed by worries about passing the state math test and/or being retained in eighth grade, missing Steven, who has taken a year off to go to Africa and play the drums, and concerns about his best friend, Tad, who is also a cancer survivor.

Jordan Sonnenblick is an author that's new to me. I don't teach middle school and probably won't use his work a lot in my classroom. Even so, I enjoyed AFTER EVER AFTER tremendously and think middle school kids would love the real-life issues and relationships, also how Sonnenblick moves in and out of various teen friendly genre- email, instant messages, bulleted lists, etc., to tell the story. I have gotten recommendations from Twitter buddies for a couple of more that I want to read.

JAKE by Audrey Couloumbis

It's Saturday morning, the week before Christmas, and Jake and his mother are at the grocery store when she slips on the ice and breaks her leg. The hospital social worker asks Jake for the name of a relative. Aside from Mrs. Buttermark, a grandmother-ish neighbor and family friend, the only person Jake can think of is a grandfather, his father's father, who he hasn't seen since his dad passed away many years earlier. A sweet story about relationships and reconnection-- I especially loved the connection between Jake and Mrs. Buttermark, because I know so many kids who rely heavily on neighbors, or people who aren't biological family, for physical and moral support.

WAR & WATERMELON by Rich Wallace

Brody Winslow is going through a lot of changes. He's starting seventh grade and will be going to a new school. He's trying out for the football team. And trying to figure out the girl thing. Maybe most importantly, his older brother, Ryan, has just graduated from high school, and is trying to figure out what to do with his life. He's not sure he wants to go to college, at least not right away, but the Vietnam War is in full swing, and if he doesn't go to school, he will probably go to war. Brody is caught right between his parents, who love their son and don't want him to go to Vietnam, and his brother, who doesn't want to go to school, but also doesn't want to fight a war he doesn't believe in.

I enjoyed this book. I grew up during the Vietnam War. When I was about eight, my cousin, Greg, who was a junior in high school, came to live with us for a couple of years. I remember many, many similar conversations around our dinner table. I think this book would be perfect during a study of that era. If kids didn't have some background knowledge, however, I'm not sure that they would really "get" the historical aspects of WAR & WATERMELON.

THE GREAT WALL OF LUCY WU by Wendy Wan-Lung Shang

Lots of people have been "talking" about LUCY WU. Mary Lee's brother, Dave, reviewed it on YEAR OF READING a couple of weeks ago. Karen reviewed it on LITERATE LIVES. Lucy Wu thinks she is going to have a perfect sixth grade year. Her sister, Regina, is leaving for college so Lucy will finally have her own room. She loves basketball and is eagerly looking forward to the start of a new season. Things change, however, when Lucy finds out that her great aunt Yi Po is coming to stay for a few months, and will be sharing Lucy's room. Lucy's parents decide she should attend Chinese School, which meets at the same time as basketball practice. And the class bully, Sloane (whose mom is President of the parent organization), does her best to make Lucy's life miserable.

Like Dave and Karen, I loved this book. Wendy Wan-Lung Shang really gets the life of a sixth grader, and especially a sixth grader from a different cultural background- that balance between trying to fit in, trying to be your own person, and yet also still retain your family's rich cultural history. And Shang teaches kids a heck of a lot about the Cultural Revolution in a way that is interesting and not preachy or forced. This one would definitely be on my shelf if I taught upper intermediate grades or middle school.

And right now? Well right now I'm rereading Patrick Allen's CONFERRING, in preparation for an online PD experience (thanks to Cathy Mere for organizing this) and am also reading he adult novel, ROOM, by Emma Donoghue.

A DOG'S WAY HOME

WARNING: This is probably another one of those everyone else has already read and blogged about this, so why is she just doing it now posts!

I am a dog lover to the nth degree. I wake up every morning with Jack and Star, my two black lab mixes, squished tight against me. I cover the couch, so the dogs can look out the window while I'm gone. When we moved in last summer, the backyard was beautiful. And now, well, let's just say now it's not (I'm open to ideas about how to have two big dogs and a backyard too, if anyone has any).

Interestingly, I don't always like animal stories. I especially don't like stories where the animals talk or act like people. Last week at the library, however, I picked up A DOG'S WAY HOME by Bobby Pyron. And I loved it.

Abby Whistler is a twelve-year-old girl, living with her mother, musician father, her grandmother, and her best friend, a sheltie named Tam, in the Blue Ridge mountains of North Carolina. Tam is an award-winning agility dog, and on the way back from a contest, four hundred miles away from home, the family is in a car accident. Abby and her mother are both hurt, and Tam's crate is thrown from the back of the truck, down the side of a mountain, and into a river. By the time Tam makes his way back to the spot of the accident, several days later, his girl is gone, and Tam is faced with a long journey home.

I had a lump in my throat from the beginning of this book to the end. The book is told in alternating chapters, one told from Abby's point of view, and the next from Tam's. Abby negotiates middle school and a mid-year move, all the while missing her dog and dreaming about him almost every night. Tam faces life in the wild- hunger, predators, bad weather, and animal traps- trying to get home to his girl.

A terrific read, sure to hold the attention of any dog lover…

JACOB WONDERBAR AND THE COSMIC SPACE KAPOW- Nathan Bransford

If I had to describe this book in a few words, I'd say Captain Underpants heads to outer space with sixth grade main characters. Or maybe Wimpy Kid goes sci- fi. Maybe the genre could be described as slapstick sci-fi. At any rate, this debut novel by Nathan Bransford, is really funny.

Jacob Wonderbar (substitute teacher slayer extraordinaire) and his two closest friends, Dexter and Sarah, are in the woods one day when a strange silver man approaches and offers to trade his spaceship for a corn dog. It's not long before Jacob, Dexter (who is much less adventurous), and Sarah are headed for outer space. They are having a great time until they encounter a large, unknown planet directly in their path. Left with few options, Jacob decides to blast it with a missile, and then, well, as the back cover of the book says, "Space travel is all fun and games until someone breaks the universe."

The missile blaster sets off a chain reaction that obliterates the path back to earth. Jacob, Dexter, and Sarah's efforts to get home end up taking them on a series of crazy adventures, which including an encounter with Master Cracken- the most rotten, black-hearted buccaneer this side of the Big Dipper, a trip to Numonia- a planet where the air smells like burp breath, and a trip to the Planet Archimedes to steal the world's largest diamond because it supposedly has magical wishing powers that might get the trio home. And then there's a trip to Planet Paisley- where the clothing store displays floral print dresses, pointy glasses, and beige clogs, which we soon come to find out are purchased by its inhabitants, substitute teachers who sit around drinking coffee and doing crossword puzzles (ok, what is up with that one!?!?!)

There's a lot to like about this book. It's funny and fast-paced. Jacob is African American. His friend Sarah is a a strong female character, more than capable of holding her own with the fellas. There's a small strand of serious-- the friendship among the three kids, and also Jacob's relationship with his dad, who in not in the picture. According to the blurb in the front of the book- this is the first in a series. Can't wait to see number two!

NOT MUCH BLOGGING GOING ON

I've been working on an all-consuming curriculum project, and by the time I have written 8 or 10 hours a day for that, I just don't have a lot of words left to write. I have, however, been doing Donalyn Miller's Book A Day Challenge, so here's a quick list of the books I have read in the last few days:

1) MARTY MCGUIRE by Kate Messner- everyone has been talking about this terrific new chapter book and I can definitely see why. Marty is a spunky third grader, full of good ideas, not quite as naughty as Junie B., kind of more like Clementine. Her teacher assigns her the lead in the class play, THE FROG PRINCE. Marty is not thrilled about playing a princess…

2) MILO: STICKY NOTES AND BRAIN FREEZE by Alan Silberberg- I grabbed this when I was at the library getting MARTY MCGUIRE. Thumbing through the inside, I expected it to be a DIARY OF A WIMPY KID book. It is about a kind of geeky middle school boy, and parts of it are pretty funny, but the resemblance ends there. Milo's mother has died, and he, his father, and his older sister are all trying to dig their way out of a canyon of grief… beautiful story, have tissues ready!

3) And a bunch of picture books:

FORTUNE COOKIES by Albert Bitterman, illustrated by Chris Raschka- a little girl gets a box of seven fortune cookies from her uncle. Every day, she opens a new cookie, and reads the fortune (done on pullout tabs that seem just like real fortunes). Each day, the fortune has something to do with what goes on that day, e.g. the first day, "Lose something you don't need." and the little girl loses her tooth; the second day is "money is like the wind" and she buys a kite. Kind of a "fortunately, unfortunately" book- I think kids would love it.

THE SECRET BOX- Wordless picture book- a child hides a box of treasures in the attic of a boarding school or orphanage. Years later, some children find the box and follow some clues from the contents of the box.

FOREVER FRIENDS by Carin Berger- gentle book about a friendship between a bunny and a bird, who find all kinds of things to do together. When winter comes, the bird migrates, and the bunny waits for spring and the return of her friend. Interesting patterns, e.g. notebook paper, in the collage illustrationsThis would be a good book to compare to CITY DOG, COUNTRY FROG.

ALFRED ZECTOR, BOOK COLLECTOR by Kelli Dipucchio. Hector is a little boy who loves books and wants to own more and more. Soon, he owns all of the books in his town. Hector reads and reads and reads, until one day, after many years, he realizes that he is the only person who owns any books, and he gives most of his collection away. Rhyming.

BOOM BOOM GO AWAY by Laura Geiringer A little boy is playing in his room when his mother tells him to go to bed. He and his toy friends aren't quite ready, however, and tell the mom to go away. Each two page spread features a different toy playing a musical instrument, complete with its own sound effects. Little kids are going to love the rhym-y sing song feel and all of the noises. I can imagine myself giving this as a gift to my toddler friends.

LOUISE THE BIG CHEESE AND THE LA-DI-DA SHOES by Elise Primavera, Louise wants new shoes. She is dreaming of black patent leather shoes, but her mother buys brown lace shoes with soles that squeak when she walks. A few days later, Louise's friend Fern shows up at school with la-di-da black patent leather shoes, and an attitude to match. Louise is kind of a cross between Fancy Nancy and Lily of purple plastic purse fame. I didn't know this series, but I'm definitely going to look for some of the other ones.

HOGWASH- Karma Wilson. It's spring and a determined farmer heads to the barn to wash his animals. The pigs refuse to be washed and a hilarious sequence of events ensues, complete with a note exchange, pigs in umbrellas and slickers, and a dive bombing plane. A funny book that kind of reminded me of the CLICK, CLACK MOO series.

LET THE WHOLE EARTH SING- Tomie de Paola- I loved this book, just like I loved Ashley Bryant's, ALL CREATURES GREAT AND SMALL, earlier this year. I think I would be more inclined to give it to friends as gifts, however, than to put it in my classroom library.

COOKIEBOT: A HARRY AND HORSIE ADVENTURE- Katie Van Camp. Harry and his friend Horsie want cookies, but mom has put them on a high shelf. The two friends build a Cookiebot that is able to grab the cookie jar, but then goes berserk, tracking all over the city in search of more cookies…Scientific looking drawings that I know kids are going to love.

So there you have it. And now I have to go to bed, because I have another long day of writing in front of me tomorrow…

OPERATION YES- Sara Lewis Holmes

OK, so this probably falls into the "everyone else in the world has already read and reviewed this book but I hadn't and I just did, and loved it, so I'm going to review it anyway category."

Bo (short for Bogart) Whaley is a sixth grader at the dilapidated Young Oaks Elementary School on a military base in Reform, North Carolina. Bo reminds me of so many of the boys I have taught (not to mention the two I live with)- he is irrepressible, energetic, and funny, all great characteristics when one gets out into the world, but also characteristics that don't always work in the school setting. Unfortunately, Bo's father is the base commander, which means the spot light is often on Bo. Bo's dad wants his son to behave himself and stay out of trouble.

At the beginning of the book, Bo's 12-year-old cousin, Gari, comes across the country to live with Bo and his family, because her mother has been deployed to Iraq. Gari misses her mother and her old life desperately. She is not in North Carolina long before she comes up with a plan so that her mother will have to return.

The school and military base are strait-laced and conventional, but the new sixth grade teacher, Ms. Loupe, is neither. Ms. Loupe is an actress who uses improvisational theater to engage her students. Her creative, high energy style is perfect for Bo, and he is soon in the midst of his best year ever. Then the unthinkable happens. Ms. Loupe's brother, serving in the military in Afghanistan, is injured, and the sixth grade class bands together in a campaign to raise funds for injured soldiers.

I loved the gritty reality of this book. A school that is falling down. A librarian who curses by shouting out book titles (I am so going to try this!). Kids who are less than perfect. Cousins who fight as much as they get along. A girl that tries to solve a problem in a way that could end very badly but doesn't. And mostly, kids who band together to do something good in their world…

A great read!

NO PASSENGERS BEYOND THIS POINT- Gennifer Choldenko

On Thursday at our state reading convention, I heard Jeff Wilhelm talk about the texts kids, especially middle and high school kids choose. Wilhelm talked a lot about video games and how boys use those as kind of heroic journeys. I have been thinking about his talk all weekend, both in terms of my own sons (Son #2 is a video game addict) and also in terms of a book I've just finished.

NO PASSENGERS BEYOND THIS POINT, by Gennifer Choldenko, is an epic/heroic journey/fantasy tale. At the beginning of the book, sibling trio India, Finn, and Mouse Tompkins find out that their mother has lost their house to foreclosure, so their family will be moving to Colorado, to live with an uncle until the mom can get back on her feet. The mom, however, is a teacher, and has to finish the school year, so the kids will be traveling by themselves, with their mom joining them later.

At this point, the book takes a surprising turn. The plane "lands" but when India, Finn and Mouse disembark, they are not in Denver, where they were planning to land. Instead, they are in a deserted and unfamiliar airport. They are met by Chuck, a strange chauffeur who drives a shocking pink taxi covered with white feathers. Chuck explains that the children are not in Fort Baker, a small city outside of Denver, but have instead landed in a town called Falling Bird. At first, it seems like Falling Bird might be a perfect place to live. Each of the kids starts out in a house designed especially for that person- India's has all kinds of teenager delights, Finn's highlights his love of basketball, and Mouse gets to indulge in her love of science. Soon, however, the children discover that these delights are only temporary, and they set out on a problem-filled heroic journey to get back to their mom and to their new life in Fort Baker.

To me, this book feels a little like the action movies I sometimes see with my sons. There is a lot going on, lots of action, lots of adventure. There are symbols that keep appearing and reappearing- puzzle pieces, a white cat, and magical watches. I kept waiting for something to happen with those symbols, but for the most part they were just important for a few chapters, then faded away. Sometimes that bothered me a little, but I don't think it would bother kids, especially not those who are fast moving and just like a good plot. I'll be interested to see what my fifth and sixth grade readers think of this book.

SECRET LIFE OF MS. FINKLEMAN- Ben H. Winters

Mix 1 part Harriet the Spy, 1 part Andrew Clements, 1 part middle school friendship, and 1 part rock and roll, and you get THE SECRET LIFE OF MS. FINKLEMAN, a fun read for the "tweenish set." Bethesda's sixth grade social studies teacher gives his class a special assignment-- find a mystery in your own life and solve it. Bethesda decides that she will find out more about Ms. Finkleman, the school's reclusive and relatively unknown music teacher. She digs around a little and finds evidence that leads her to believe that Ms. Finkleman is actually the former, Little Miss Mystery, a rock star from the band, the Red Herrings.

Bethesda's discovery turns her middle school upside down. Ms. Finkleman, formerly kind of a "non-person" to her students becomes a superstar. The principal, eager to win a district music contest, orders the school choir to perform a rock concert, rather than the previously planned Irish folk music concert. And through a scheme hatched by Ms. Finkleman, Bethany becomes friends with Tenny, the class ne'er do well, who is actually a very gifted musician.

A really fun, quick reading mystery that doesn't get solved until the last few pages.

TWO GREAT TWEENISH NOVELS

I've been trying to do #bookaday on Twitter over the Christmas break. Having just read 107 nonfiction picture books for CYBILS, decided that I would try to catch up on some novels that I have heard a lot about, but hadn't yet read myself. Read two this weekend that I absolutely loved .

THE STRANGE CASE OF ORIGAMI YODA by Tom Angleburger, is laugh out loud funny, mostly because it is so, so, so, true to most of the middle school kids I know. The book is presented as a "case file," created by a sixth grader named Tommy. Tommy is researching the verity of the Origami Yoda, a finger puppet made by Dwight, who is possibly one of the weirdest kids in the sixth grade. It seems that students in the sixth grade have been taking their major life issues, e.g. how do you not cry when you can't hit a softball, or what do you do to the school bully who has just broken three of your brand new personalized pencils, to the Origami Yoda. Yoda (or Dwight) provides helpful advice to the sixth graders. Tommy needs to find out whether the advice is true, because he wants to ask Yoda about the possibility of a relationship with a certain sixth grade girl. I cannot wait to get back to school and share this with all my DIARY OF A WIMPY KID reading friends. I know they are going to love it.

The second book, BECAUSE OF MR. TERUPT, is another book that is sure to be a winner with my fifth and sixth grade friends. MR. TERUPT chronicles the year of a fifth grade class, as told through the eyes of seven students in the class. Jessica has just moved cross country and is working through her mom and dad's divorce. Peter is the class clown/trouble maker. Luke is the class genius. Anna is the shy girl, being raised by her single mom, who was only 16 when she had her. Jeffrey is a kid who hates school, probably at least partly because he is working through the grief of a difficult family secret. The class comes together under the leadership of their amazing first-year teacher, Mr. Terupt. Midway through the year, a terrible accident puts Mr. Terupt into a coma, and the students have to work through their role in his injury.

This is a really good read, perfect for just about any kid in a fifth or sixth grade class (someone on Twitter commented that the kids seemed more like sixth graders than fifth graders and I think I would tend to agree with her). The book would be a great read aloud because just about any intermediate grade student would love the strong story line. Kids in the story are dealing with some really important issues- community, peer pressure, bullying, divorce, grief- and I know the book would open the door for rich conversations. Most of the chapters are relatively short, which would make the book perfect for even the most reluctant intermediate grade reader. Another book I can't wait to get into the hands of kids after break!

THE WONDER OF CHARLIE ANNE- Kimberly Newton Fusco

Most of what I am reading right now is nonfiction, and more specifically CYBILS nonfiction picture book nominees. Every once in a while, though, I feel the need to escape into a great story. And boy, oh boy, did I find a great one today!

Charlie Anne a tween-ish age girl, whose mother has just died in childbirth. The family, like many others, is struggling to survive during the Great Depression, and her father and an older brother, leave the family home and head north to work on a road-building crew. Charlie Anne, as well as her older sister Ivy, her younger sister Birdie, and her brother Peter are left in the care of Cousin Mirabel, who carries around The Charm of Fine Manners in her pocket and reads it to Charlie Anne several times each day. Charlie Anne's best friends are the family cows; but then Old Mr. Jolley, the widower across the street gets married. His new wife, Rosalyn, is raising Phoebe, an African American girl, who is about Charlie Anne's age. Much to the displeasure of their small town, Charlie Anne and Phoebe become friends…

This is a book that works on a million different levels for me. First, it's a really nice piece of historical fiction. Charlie Anne's town is probably not unlike a million others of that era-- almost all of the men have gone north to find work, the women are at home struggling to maintain family farms and feed and clothe their families on almost nothing. Charlie Anne has two dresses- one that she wore to her mother's funeral, and the other out of an old feedsack. Her underwear is also made out of feedsacks. Mirabel feeds the family mostly from the garden. Vinegar pie is a huge delicacy. It's also a book about Civil Rights and race relations. Phoebe is the first black person that Charlie Anne has ever known. Many of the townspeople, sadly even at church, react very strongly to the young girl.


Second, THE WONDER OF CHARLIE ANNE is a book about learning to read (a book about reading- can it get any better??!!?). Charlie Anne seems to have some kind of learning disability. Miss Moran, the town's previous teacher, has traumatized the young girl over her reading difficulties, making her do things like sit under the teacher's desk with spiders, stand in a trash can, and wait in a woodshed for the superintendent to beat her. Charlie Anne is terrified of school, but under Rosalyn's patient tutelage, things start to change.

Third, Charlie Anne is a great character, plucky and tough. She would much rather be outside milking cows or measuring the corn than inside doing the million household chores that Cousin Mirabel has in mind. She's fascinated by Rosalyn and Phoebe, who are the first women that she has ever seen in pants. In Phoebe, Charlie Anne finds a kindred spirit and blood sister. At one point, Charlie Anne is gutsy enough to defend her friend in front of the entire congregation.

Finally, THE WONDER OF CHARLIE ANNE is a book about loss. Charlie Anne has lost her mom, her dad and brother are gone, and then her other brother is sent to Boston to live with an aunt. She seeks solace in talking to the cows and also to her mother. Phoebe has also lost her mom. I can think of at least three girls I know that could use this book, just to know that they are not alone…

A really, really, really good read on a snowy school holiday…

The FANTASTIC SECRET OF OWEN JESTER- Barbara O'Connor

If you asked me to name one of my all time favorite read alouds to use with intermediate grade students, I would not think for very long, maybe a millisecond, before I said, HOW TO STEAL A DOG by Barbara O'Connor. It is, by far, one of my favorite, favorite, favorite read alouds (and I'm not one of those teachers who reads the same books over and over and over again, in fact, I rarely read a book two years in a row).

I couldn't wait, then, to get my hands on Barbara O'Connor's newest book, THE FANTASTIC SECRET OF OWEN JESTER. I've been on the wait list at my library for almost a month, but they only have three copies, and it seemed like it was going to be a while. Tonight, while I was waiting for my son to have his hair rebraided, I broke down and bought it. And am so glad I did. It's terrific!!!!!

Owen Jester's father has lost his job at the hardware store, and the Jester family is living with Owen's grandfather, and his grumpy nurse, Earlene. The house is in a fairly rural area, and Owen has spent two weeks capturing an enormous bullfrog, who he names Tooley Graham-- Tooley for a cousin and Graham for Graham Pond, where the bullfrog was captured. Owen is thrilled to have a pet, but Tooley seems not nearly as happy as Owen.

One night, as the train passes through, Owen hears a mysterious thump. After much searching, he discovers the source of the noise-- a mini-submarine has fallen off of the train. Owen and his friends Travis and Stumpy, along with Viola, the neighborhood know-it-all and pest (not to mention the only one who really knows anything about submarines) hatch a plan to launch the submarine…

I know my intermediate grade readers are going to love this book!

LUCKY BREAKS- SUSAN PATRON

Over the weekend, I finished LUCKY BREAKS, the sequel to HIGHER POWER OF LUCKY, by Susan Patron. If I had to sum the book up in one sentence, I think I'd say, "It's an absolutely perfect book for an eleven-year-old." The book opens with a celebration of age eleven.

"Eleven, Lucky thought from her seat at the back of the school bus, eleven, eleven, eleven, and the idea of it, the sound of it, threw off sparks in her head. You start with one, two, three: those clunky one-syllable beginner-ages that toddlers play with. Keep going and you get to eight, nine, ten: the plodding steps you have to climb until at last, you arrive. Finally, finally you reach the best age, the one that, when you say it out loud, sounds like a little tap dance or a drumroll." (p. 1). (NOTE: This is just the first paragraph, there is actually another one that is equally beautifully written).

Lucky is turning 11, and she desperately wants her eleventh year to be something special. The problem is, there is not a whole lot special going on in the town of Hard Pan. Her mother, Brigitte, is still running her little weekend cafe. Her best friend, Lincoln, is still tying knots. Miles, the resident five-year-old genius is making his way through BRAIN SURGERY FOR BEGINNERS. Everything is very ordinary until Paloma, another eleven-year-old girl, visits Hard Pan with a group of geologists. Lucky suddenly realizes that what she really wants, maybe even needs, is an eleven-year-old best friend that's a girl.

This is a book about the quirkiness of families and living in community. It's a book about friendship, and about how friends, even good friends, sometimes have problems, and how they solve them, and forgive each other, and move on. It's a book about stupid, and yeah, even dangerous choices. LUCKY BREAKS is an absolutely perfect book for an eleven-year-old.

FAMILY REMINDERS- JULIE DANNEBERG

CALLING ALL COLORADO TEACHERS,
ESPECIALLY THOSE WHO TEACH COLORADO HISTORY.
HERE'S A BOOK YOU'LL WANT TO OWN!

Ten-year-old Mary McHugh lives with her father and mother in Cripple Creek, Colorado in the late 1800's. Mary is at school one day when a siren goes off, indicating that there has been an accident at the mine. After school, Mary discovers that her own father has been injured. He survives, but is no longer the happy, wood-carving, piano-playing daddy that Mary knew before the accident, and Mary and her mother must find a way to help him work out of his deep depression, and also help the family survive without its previous income.

FAMILY REMINDERS would be a terrific read aloud for anyone doing a unit on life in the mining towns. I can also see myself handing the book to some of our second, third, and fourth grade readers, think LITTLE HOUSE books, but a little easier. And I love Mary and her mom, plucky heroines who make lemonade when life hands them lemons. They're great models for today's tough economic times.

THE MOSTLY TRUE ADVENTURES OF HOMER P. FIGG- RODMAN PHILBRICK

Last weekend, my blogging friend Mary Lee (Year of Reading) was in town. I asked her about novels she had read recently, and she recommended THE MOSTLY TRUE ADVENTURES OF HOMER P. FIGG. On Monday, when I was at the library (notice I did not say bookstore!), I picked it up. I have to agree with Mary Lee, it's a good one.

Homer P. Figg is an orphan. He lives with his brother Harold Figg and a wicked step uncle, Squint, on a farm in Pine Swamp, Maine. After an unforunate incident involving pig slop, Squint becomes angry with the boys and finagles a deal so that Harold is conscripted into the Union Army, even though he is seventeen and not technically old enough to serve. Homer sets out to find his brother and bring him home. And so begin the adventures (or perhaps the misadventures) of Homer P. Figg…

In his hunt for his brother, Homer is captured by evil bounty hunters Smelt and Stink, meets Jebediah Brewster, a Quaker whose home is a station on the Underground Railroad, and travels as the "Pig Boy" with Professor Fenton Fleabottom, an elixir salesman with a few secrets of his own. His adventures (or misadventures) with these characters are funny and fun to read, but also include a great deal of information about life during the Civil War era.

A couple of parts toward the end felt a little forced and were a little hard to believe. Mostly, though, it's a really good read. I'd use HOMER P. FIGG in a unit on the Civil War, maybe in a text set with ELIJAH OF BUXTON. 

THANK YOU, LUCKY STARS- Beverly Donofrio

Ally is a fifth grade girl who wakes up on the first day of school, and excitedly dons the leggings, butterfly t-shirt, and rhinestone hair clip that she and Betsy, her best friend since kindergarten, have agreed to wear. When she arrives at the bus stop, however, she discovers that Betsy is wearing a matching outfit,  but it doesn't match Ally's. Instead, Betsy is wearing the same jeans skirt as Mona, another girl that lives on their block. Ally's dreams of singing a duet of "Bridge Over Troubled Water" at the annual talent show,   along with her hopes for a fun fifth grade year quickly go down the tubes. 

Because she has no one else, Ally becomes friends with Tina, a quirky new girl that moves into their class. Tina wears plaid leggings and a Princess Leia bun, asks for Hershey kisses from the principal's candy dishes when she is sent to the office, and seems determined to totally embarrass herself (and Ally) in the talent show.  She also tells great stories, loves disco (Ally's favorite genre), can make an interesting experience out of anything (e.g. she rides Ally's bus route one day simply because she has never seen that side of town), and makes some unusual friends, such as George, a virtuoso violinist who associates with almost none of his other fifth grade peers. 

THANK YOU LUCKY STARS would be a nice book to have around for times when the fifth grade meanies strike. It's a story about surviving the ending of one friendship, and beginning new ones. It's a story about loyalty. It's a story about accepting and enjoying people who are a little different than you. A great fifth grade girl book.

BEETHOVEN IN PARADISE- Barbara O'Connor

Last summer, someone pointed me toward HOW TO STEAL A DOG. The book jumped right onto my list of all time favorite super great reads, and I've devoted this year to reading all of Barbara O'Connor's novels. She is the woman! Aside from the fact that she has pictures of the world's cutest puppies on her blog, she writes such good stuff.  Her characters are the kids I teach and love- most of them don't have "perfect" parents, they aren't straight A students, lots of them don't even have best friends. Barbara O'Connor's chararacters are kids who have tough lives, find help and support in unlikely places, and are somehow managing to make it through. They give my kids hope. 

Marvin is one of those kids. He loves, loves, loves music and wants to learn to play the piano. Marvin's dad thinks music is for sissies, and wants his son to play baseball instead. Marvin finds support for his passion from a neighbor, Wylene, a reclusive neighbor who works in a handkerchief factory and loves music as much as Marvin, from Sybil, another kid who has a less than traditional life and is somehow remarkably sane and grounded, and from his grandmother, Hazeline.

This is a novel about following your passions. It's a novel about self-acceptance. It's a novel about surviving with less-than perfect parents, in a less-than-perfect world. And it's a darn good read!

THE LEANIN' DOG- K.A. NUZUM

About two weeks ago, I read an article about THE LEANIN' DOG, by K.A. Nuzum, a Colorado author. I'm buried in piles of CYBILS Intermediate/YA Nonfiction, but since it was a dog story, and since it was by a Colorado author, I made a mental note, and resolved that as soon as I had made it to December 31st, and had read all 59 of the CYBILS books, I absolutely had to get hold of this book. Then  last week I was at the TATTERED COVER, and there it was, THE LEANIN' DOG, just sitting there, calling my name. And of course I had to have it. And once I had it, of course I couldn't wait to read it. And boy, am I glad I did! This is one heckuva great read!!!!!!   SOOOOOOOOOO GOOD!!!! Definitely one of the best books I have read this year. 

Eleven-year-old Dessa Dean lives with her dad in a cabin high in the Colorado mountains. It is December, about a week before Christmas, and Dessa is grieving the loss of her mother, who froze to death about six weeks earlier, as Dessa sat next to her in the snow, begging her to get up. The trauma of the accident has caused Dessa to become an agoraphobic, and she has not left the house/front porch in over six weeks. 

One day, as Dessa studies, she hears a noise on the porch. She opens the door and finds a big brown dog with a gimpy leg. Dessa and the dog become friends, and the relationship becomes a place for the healing of Dessa's deep sadness.  

This is a story of grieving, friendship, and healing. A must read for any dog lover…