Shooting Kabul, by N.H. Senzai

Published May 1, 2013 by Dagmar

shooting kabulMiddle schoolers barely remember a time when the United States didn’t have troops in Afghanistan.  Shooting Kabul takes place in Kabul and in Fremont, CA.  The book starts as 12 year old Fadi and his family, afraid of the way Kabul has changed under the rule of the Taliban, make a dangerous nighttime escape from Afghanistan.  Fadi loses hold of his six year old sister’s hand in the escape.  Broken-hearted, the family is forced to save themselves and leave little Mariam behind in Afghanistan.

Shooting Kabul is the incredible story of an immigrant family adjusting to life in Fremont in a large Afghani community.  The family moves in with relatives and has to live in cramped quarters and the hospitality of their relatives until Fadi’s father can find work.  Fadi has to transition to an American middle school and his father finds work as a taxi driver.  It is difficult to support the family as a taxi driver and particularly difficult, because his father was a university professor in Kabul.  Fadi cannot forget his little sister, alone in Afghanistan, or maybe even Pakistan.  He is determined to find her and bring her to America.  He enters a photo competition with his new friend, a girl named Anh.  First prize is a photographic journey to anywhere in the world.  Fadi thinks this is his way to get back to Pakistan, where he thinks his sister might be.

Then, 9/11 happens, and it’s hard being at school where kids only see you as Afghani and someone who might be responsible for the attacks.  Fadi concentrates harder on winning the photo competition and finding Mariam.

This book kept me and my students in suspense. I had to keep turning the pages to see if Fadi could find his little sister. A great read.

One Grain of Rice, by Demi a mathematical folktale

Published May 1, 2013 by Dagmar

one grain of riceThis book is a mathematical folk tale.  It also happens to be a great read aloud book, especially for third grade.  Even the most fidgety child is amazed and applauds at the end of the book.  I love the colorful drawings.

Once there was a greedy raja in India who asked all of his subjects to give him nearly all of their rice, so he could store the rice safely in case there came a famine.  However, when the famine came, the raja kept all the peoples’ rice for himself.  One day, a young woman was gathering rice that had dropped from the raja’s baskets onto the road.  She was arrested for stealing and brought before the raja.  The girl, named Rani, cleverly told the raja that she was simply returning the rice to him.  He was pleased and granted her one wish.  She asked him to give her one grain of rice and then double the grains of rice every day for thirty days.  The raja, clearly not clever at math, readily agreed, thinking Rani a fool.  Little did the raja suspect that in thirty days, one grain of rice on day one would result in his giving more than one billion grains of rice by day thirty.  Asking Rani what she would do with the rice she received, Rani replied that she would feed the hungry.  The raja then mended his ways and became a truly wise and fair raja.  The best part of reading this book aloud is always the  “oohs and aahs” I get when I fold out page at the end of the book, showing the 256 elephants it takes to carry the millions of grains of rice the raja had to deliver.

Mike Lupica’s Sports books

Published April 27, 2013 by Dagmar

My malMike Lupicae students who are into sports are very particular about their sports, it’s either football, basketball or baseball.  It is not a blend.  So, what do I give students who want to read nothing but sports books and Sports Illustrated?  I had a suspicion that I could pull them in with Mike Lupica’s books, and am happy to tell you that I have kids, many of them reluctant readers, grabbing his books off the shelves.

Mike Lupica is a syndicated sports writer for the New York Daily News.  Most importantly, he writes realistic fiction about football, basketball and baseball.  This is realistic fiction that has my tween and middle school boys excited about reading. I think these books could easily reach high school age students too.

Here’s a link to his web-site: http://www.mikelupicabooks.com/

Take a look.  You can also check out my review of Heat, Mike Lupica’s book about a 12 year old boy trying to get to the Little League world series.

Malice, by Christopher Wooding

Published April 27, 2013 by Dagmar

MaliceIs your tween or middle schooler looking for an edgy, sinister book?  I’m asked every day for “scary” books and usually lead my students to my ghost story collections.  But, for those kids who don’t mind dark books, read A Series of Unfortunate Events, tore through the Cirque du Freak series and are looking for more, Malice could be the answer.  It is sinister, so I’d suggest middle school for this book.

I read Malice in one sitting.  It was that good.  This smart, but scary book is part novel, part graphic novel, part fantasy.  Malice is about high school kids caught up in the mystique surrounding a comic book called Malice.  It is said that kids who perform a ritual to call the main character, “Tall Jake” disappear, sometimes for months and sometimes forever.  The pages of Malice, if you can get your hands on a copy, show the kids who have disappeared fighting for their lives in a strange fantasy world.  Little do the kids who do the ritual know that Tall Jake is real, the world of Malice is real and as terrifying and deadly as the comic book makes out.  Those that come back from having disappeared don’t remember a thing about the time they were away.  Because no one remembers Malice after they return, no one can warn the other kids about Malice and the dangers of calling Tall Jake.  Seth and his friends, once in Malice, fight for their lives and swear that they will find a way to stop Tall Jake.

This book has a sequel called Havoc which continues the story of Seth’s fight against Tall Jake.

If I Never Forever Endeavor, by Holly Meade

Published April 27, 2013 by Dagmar

If you knowIf I Never a child that is struggling with taking risks or overcoming a fear, this is an inspiring book.  I share this with my grades, 2nd through 6th but think it works best with 2-4th graders.  I had a great experience reading it to my third graders recently.  They were drawn in by the words, written in verse, and the simple but beautiful illustrations of a yellow bird, green trees and a blue sky.

“If in all of forever, I never endeavor to fly, I won’t know if I can…I won’t know if I can’t.  On the one wing, I could try and find that I flap and I flail, flounder and plummet, look foolish and fail.  On the other wing, I could try and take flight…If I did endeavor, and found my wings clever, I could see the world! Or get lost in it.”

I think this book really works with kids, because it acknowledges the fears that come with taking risks but also explores the possibilities and opportunities if risks are taken.  After I read this book, we had a great discussion as a class of times when students took risks.  They also talked about risks they were still scared to take.  I love this book, because it is thought-provoking at the same time it is comforting and uplifting.

Stargirl, by Jerry Spinelli

Published April 26, 2013 by Dagmar

stargirlStargirl is magical, just like Stargirl herself. What happens when you meet someone completely different —  someone who does things that no one would ever do, things that draw a lot of attention.  What if that someone doesn’t even care that they’re different?  Would you have the courage to be that person’s friend?  I loved this book and so did my students.

Leo Burlock is in high school.  He’s just like any other kid.  He’s kind of popular, a nice guy.  But, when a new girl, Stargirl, arrives at school, she changes things for him and for everyone.  She brings her ukelele to the cafeteria and serenades people on their birthdays.  She sits down in class and puts a curtain and a vase of flowers on her desk.  She joins the cheerleading squad and cheers for both teams.  Stargirl’s complete innocence catches him by surprise and makes him fall in love with her.  For a time, the entire student body falls in love with her too.  But, then, Stargirl makes a big mistake, and the penalty is huge.  She is shunned by the entire school, and Leo, as her boyfriend, is shunned too.  “And the shunning — it was clear now — had come to me.  It was less absolute for me than for her, but it was there.  I saw it in the eyes that shifted away from mine, the shoulders that turned, the chatter that seemed less loud around me now than before.  I fought it.  I tested its limits.  In the courtyard, between classes, in the lunchroom, I called out to others just to see if they would respond. When someone turned and nodded, I felt grateful.” In desperation, Leo asks Stargirl to change, to be normal.  “She constantly quizzed me about what other kids would do, would buy, would think.”  Stargirl does her best to change for Leo.  “In our minds we tried to pin her to a corkboard like a butterfly, but the pin merely went through and away she flew.”

Ginger, by Charlotte Voake

Published March 15, 2013 by Dagmar

A sweet book about adapting to change.www.ginger

Ginger is a ginger-colored kitty who is pampered by the little girl he lives with.  She makes him delicious meals and gives him a nice basket.  He’s very happy, until…a little kitten joins the household. The kitten upsets Ginger by eating out of his food bowl and trying to call into his basket.  Ginger is so upset that he decides to leave home.  The kitten misses him and gets into all kinds of trouble.   The little girl finally realizes that Ginger may be upset and might have run away.  She finds him outsie in the rain, sitting alone under a bush.  After bringing Ginger in, the little girl makes sure that Ginger has his own bowl and his basket back.  The kitten gets his own cardboard box to sleep in.  What a sweet ending when the little girl finds Ginger and the kitten in the cardboard box together.  The book’s large type and simple theme makes this book great for young students and anyone who loves cats.

Boot & Shoe, by Marla Frazee

Published March 15, 2013 by Dagmar

Boot&Shoe-103112-kids-380This book is fantastic and has the funniest, sweetest ending.  The language is up-to-date, the illustrations are really great.  I loved it as did my students.

Boot and Shoe are two adorable dogs who were born in the same litter.  They do everything together, eat, sleep, pee…but Boot likes to be on the back porch and Shoe spends his days on the front porch.  One day, a squirrel causes havoc.  Boot and Shoe chase and chase the squirrel until they get totally turned around.  Boot ends up on the front porch and Shoe ends up on the back porch.  Boot and Shoe are determined to wait until the other returns to their proper spot.  They wait and wait and wait.  Finally, they decide they should check the other porch.  Without seeing each other, Boot ends up back on the front porch and Shoe ends up back on the front porch.  They wait all night for each other.  Finally, they miss each other so much that they cry.  All my students are really sad at this point in the story.  Luckily, every dog has to pee.  Where do Boot and Shoe finally find each other?  You’ve got it…at their favorite place to pee, the bush.  You can’t help but giggle.

This very cute book is highly recommended for K-3 students.

Joseph Had a Little Overcoat, by Simms Taback

Published March 15, 2013 by Dagmar

josephThis beautiful book is a Caldecott Medal winner is based on a Yiddish folksong, “Hob Ich Mir a Mantl”.  I read it to my preschoolers and kindergartners and got a wonderful response.  This book is not only set apart because of its beautiful, colorful illustrations but because of the cutouts that show how Joseph creatively uses his old overcoat as it shrinks to a button and then, finally, to nothing.   “Joseph had a a little overcoat.  It was old and worn.  So he made a jacket out of it.”  My favorite message is on the last page.  When Joseph finally loses the small button he’s made out of the remains of his overcoat, he says, “So Joseph made a book about it.  Which shows…that you can always make something out of nothing.”  A great message and a beautiful book for little ones.

Olympians, by George O’Connor

Published March 12, 2013 by Dagmar

zeusAnother great graphic novel series.  This series focuses on the greek gods.  The pages are full cover and the author, George O’Connor pulls from historical texts as he retells the myths of each of the gods he writes about.  The illustrations are full-color and dramatic and are a real draw for students.  The series includes books on Zeus, Athena, Hades, Hera and Poseiden to be published this month. Highly recommended for tweens and middle school readers.