Margaret's Book & Resource Share

Books for Kids (& adults who love kids' books)

Bruce Coville
One of the authors that I can really count on is Bruce Coville. Every year, I have students who don’t identify themselves as readers who make strong connections with Coville’s books. Last year I had a student who fought with me nearly every day about reading The Monster’s Ring, but he did eventually finish the book. This year, he is talking up that book and all the others in the series, telling other kids that they need to read them! I love how his perspective has changed over the course of the summer.

Coville has written a series called The Magic Shop Books which are about characters who wander into a magic shop and the adventures they have as a result. These books include Jeremy Thatcher, Dragon Hatcher; The Skull of Truth; Jennifer Murdley’s Toad; and The Monster’s Ring. Coville is also well known for books about aliens on Earth, for example, My Teacher is an Alien and Aliens Ate My Homework. While Coville hasn’t had a lot of critical acclaim, I can count on his books to catch the interest of kids across the elementary school spectrum. You can read more about Coville at http://www.brucecoville.com/.

The Weird School Series by Dan Gutman
This is a fun series written at the 2nd/3rd-ish level. The titles all follow the same pattern: Ms. Hannah is Bananas, Mrs. Roopy is Loopy, Mr. Klutz is Nuts, etc. The main characters are two boys who seem to get into frequent scrapes and a ‘know-it-all’ girl, Andrea, who spends lots of time explaining things for everyone else. While the characters are somewhat stereotyped, I find that many students can connect with them and want to find another book in the series immediately after finishing one. Another advantage to the series is that the author can incorporate fairly sophisticated vocabulary because Andrea explains it for the boys (and for the reader). With the ‘reluctant readers’ that I teach, I have even found 5th graders willing to read books in this series because the antics of the characters are so humorous.

Graceling by Kristin Cashore
In Graceling, Cashore has created a feudal world with an interesting infusion of magic. Some people in this world are born with a grace which is an extreme, magical talent. The main character’s grace is fighting and killing people. She was fostered to her uncle, the local overlord, who used her as a bully to keep the peasants and farmers in line. The crux of the story begins when she escapes her uncle’s influence and begins to establish her own identity, including how she will use her grace for good, rather than for bullying. I particularly enjoyed this YA novel because of the ways in which the main character works to disrupt the cultural gender stereotypes in her world. While I read this book for my own reading pleasure, not because I can use it in my elementary teaching context, I believe that middle and high school readers would relate to the teen characters in the book.

Resources for Finding Books for Students

http://planetesme.blogspot.com/
Here is a blog devoted to children’s literature by Esme Raji Codell. Esme was a classroom teacher who wrote Educating Esme, which shared her diary from her first year teaching and is more recently writing popular children’s books (check out Sahara Special). This blog is FILLED with suggestions of inviting texts for children of many genres. I also really enjoy the section on the bottom right corner entitled “Where I Lurk Lately” which lists many other really useful blogs also about children’s literature. (I’ve copied this from Anne who posted the very first entry on this blog in June. Thanks Anne!)

How to Get Your Child to Love Reading by Esme' Raji Codell
This book was my first introduction to Codell's work. One of the things that I admire is the way Codell moved from being a teacher, to a librarian, to an overall promoter of children's literature and MOST IMPORTANTLY, turning kids on to reading. This book is full of specific books that many children, at all ages, will love. The chapters are organized according to genre (sort of). Chapter titles include "The Math and Science of Reading;" "Inside the Gingerbread House: Fairy Tales, Wonder Tales, and Fantasy;" and "Now Playing in a Book Near You: Broadcast and Performance." Check it out for great books and fabulous ways to connect your kids with books.

http://www.oyate.org/
(I've pasted the following description from the Oyate home page.) Oyate is a Native organization working to see that our lives and histories are portrayed honestly, and so that all people will know our stories belong to us. For Indian children, it is as important as it has ever been for them to know who they are and what they come from. For all children, it is time to know and acknowledge the truths of history. Only then will they come to have the understanding and respect for each other that now, more than ever, will be necessary for life to continue.

Oyate is an important resource for finding authentic texts that value the native culture. They are actually a bookseller of culturally appropriate and relevant materials. In addition, they read and review each resource and book that they sell. Finally, they publish critical reviews of the 'worst of the worst' of the insensitive and inappropriate books that are available in the mass market.

Some of Adam's Favorites

Some of my suggestions are from my own childhood, some were gleaned from recommendations at school, and one is arguably not a children's book at all!

Dear Mrs. Larue - Letters from Obedience School, Mark Teague, 2002

What a fun book which promotes literacy and visual interpretation, too. Ike the dog has been sent to obedience school, and his letters are reminiscent of the "Hello Mudda, Hello Fadda" lyrics: what he writes to his owner isn't very accurate. In fact, Ike spins a tale of woe, misery and selflessness regarding his time in detention, his adventures on the lamb, and his explanations about his previous misdeeds. It's entertaining and interesting to see how the illustrations contradict his letters. Sprinkled throughout the book are newspaper stories about Ike and his whereabouts, which might inspire students to realize how papers do update and inform their readers with great tales about their own towns and community.

The Stranger, Chris Van Allsburg, 1986

Last semester I got turned on to Chris Van Allsburg books, and this is one of the favorites I've discovered so far. The story is about a farmer who takes in an injured man, and the man's identity remains a mystery throughout the book (sort of). The fun is putting together an argument about who he is and why he's where he is. The illustrations are photo realistic, warm and telling, complementing the finer nuances of the text. A classroom of sharp listeners should enjoy building and defending their interpretations about the main character.

Fantastic Mr. Fox, Roald Dahl, 1970

Mr. Fox must save not only himself and his family, but his entire community of animal friends from the fiendish farmers Boggis, Bunce and Bean. Mr. Fox reminds me of a classy gentleman burglar, the kind "Lassiter" and "Ocean's 12" feature. He's also a bit of a Robin Hood, sharing his take with his friends while stealing from the most unsympathetic antagonists ever. Mortality isn't kept hidden either, as the farmers want the fox dead!

Skippyjon Jones, Judy Schachner, 2003

This is the first installment in Schachner's Skippyjon Jones series about a Siamese kitten's overactive imagination of wild and absurd dreams of being a superhero chihuahua: Skippito Pepito! The text is strewn about the pages, intersecting a bisecting the illustrations, which are rough yet charismatic in form. Her prose pushes nonsensical rhyme to a delightful edge, which can make your students (especially primary) squeal in amusement. This series is meant to be read aloud.

A Girl Named Zippy, Haven Kimmel, 2001

This book appeared on the Today Show's book club in 2002, and once I heard the subtitle ("Growing up Small in Mooreland, Indiana), I thought it sounded great -- it is! It's author Haven Kimmel's first memoir, and its form is unique and inviting. She defies a linear chronology, instead, joining chapeters around themes. Her tone is both charming and brutally honest, making her voice earnest and credible. For those of us who were kids in the early 70's, this book will stir memories. This would be a productive book for 5th and 6th grade book clubs, as Kimmel asks many questions while offering few answers.