Children’s Book Recommendations

All posts tagged Children’s Book Recommendations

The Golden Compass, by Philip Pullman

Published December 9, 2014 by Dagmar

goldencompassI’ve had The Golden Compass on my school library shelf for three years.  I’ve wanted to read it and never had the opportunity.  With so many students all eager for fiction recommendations, my reading list can be long and scattered – science fiction, mysteries, fantasy, realistic fiction.  I’m often reading several books at one time.  One or my fourth grade students simply tore through this series this fall.  I’m grateful to her for putting this book and series back on my radar.  The beginning of this book really grabbed my attention.  I didn’t stop reading until I’d finished the book.

The Golden Compass is the first book in the “His Dark Materials” series (The Golden Compass, The Subtle Knife and the Amber Spyglass).  Lyra is the main character.  Her world resembles the current world with recognizable countries and geography.   Every human being has a daemon, an animal that acts as an expression of each person’s soul, and is their closest friend.  Daemons change form as a child grows and eventually settle into one animal form when the child becomes an adult.  Lyra is being raised by the Scholars at Jordan College.  Lord Ariel, her uncle, visits Lyra occasionally, but she is largely left to her own devices.  She spends most of her time with her best friend, Roger, a kitchen boy. Together, they get into a lot of mischief, battling with other children, climbing onto the roof of the College and discovering all that tunnels and rooms that lie beneath the College.

The story begins as Lyra, a girl, and her daemon, Pantalaimon hide in a wardrobe in the Retiring Room at Jordan College.  Hidden, she sees the Master of the College walk into the room and put poison in the wine glass of the visiting Lord Asriel, who is soon to arrive. Lord Asriel enters the Retiring Room only to catch Lyra, hiding in the wardrobe.  Lyra tells him of the poisoned wine. Grateful to know about the plot to kill him, Lord Asriel allows her to crawl back in the wardrobe so that she can see the slideshow he is presenting to Scholars at Jordan College.  The slideshow shows the Aurora in the North and an image of a city in the sky.  Lord Asriel speaks to the group of Scholars about a mysterious substance called “dust”.  Lyra is fascinated by the images Lord Asriel has shown the group.  She is curious about everything she has heard and wants to visit the North to learn more about “dust” and the City in the sky.

From that day forward, Lyra’s life changes completely.  She and Roger begin to hear rumors that children are being stolen from Oxford and surrounding areas.  Then, Roger is abducted.  Lyra also learns that Lord Asriel is being held prisoner in the North. Then, the Master of the College tells Lyra that she must leave Jordan College and go live with Mrs. Coulter, a beautiful and charming, but mysterious, woman.  Before she leaves the College, the Master gives her a strange device called an alethiometer, that looks like a compass.  She is told to keep it safe from others.

Lyra soon finds out that she has a special gift that allows her to “read” the alethiometer.  She learns more about her family and the evil that exists in her world.  She is forced to run away from Mrs. Coulter’s house and is found and protected by Gyptians, a nomadic people who move from place to place on their boats.  Together with the Gyptians and an armored bear called Iorek Byrnison, Lyra heads north to free her friend Roger, the other lost children and Lord Asriel.

This is a fast-paced book’s unfolding mystery will hold you in suspense until the final pages.  There are truly evil characters and smart, loyal characters that you’ll come to love.  Lyra is brave and determined to fight the evil she sees.

I highly recommend this book to fourth grade-middle school readers who love mystery and fantasy.

4th and 5th grade book club: Historical fiction

Published November 19, 2014 by Dagmar

One of my favorite times of the week is my time with the 4th and 5th grade book club at my school.  We meet on Wednesdays at 1:20 and have trouble getting them to leave the library before my preschool class comes for their library time at 2pm.  Today, instead of talking about our slate of books we’re reading this fall (more to come on that), we chose the books that we’ll read in January when we read historical fiction books.

HistoEliza's Freedomrical fiction is one of my favorite genres, because I love learning about other times and other cultures.  It wasn’t hard for me to create a great list of 10 books from my library.  I presented these books to my students and had them vote on their top six choices for the book club.  These books will be available to them during the month number the starsof January (and yes, some of them will read all six books).  The choices they were given were:

  • Under a War Torn Sky, by L.M. Elliot (World War II)
  • Number the Stars, by Lois Lowry (World War II)
  • My Name is Keoko, by Linda Sue Park (World War II)
  • Inside Out and Back Again, by Thanhha Lai (Vietnam War)
  • A Million Shades of Gray by Cynthia Kadohata (Vietnam War)
  • Sophia’s War, by Avi (Revolutionary War)
  • My Brother Sam is Dead, by James Lincoln Collier (Revolutionary War)
  • The Mighty Miss Malone, by Christopher Paul Curtis (Depression)
  • Eliza’s Freedom Road, by Jerdine Nolen (1850s)
  • Jefferson’s Sons, by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley (1780s-1790s)

jeffersons sonsmy brother samPlease click on the highlighted books to see books I’ve reviewed.

We talked about why authors often pick times of war or conflict as settings for historical fiction.  Then, the students had a chance to look at each of the books and discuss them before they voted on their top six choices to include in the book club “library”.

And the winners were – in order of preference: Eliza’s Freedom Road (winner), Inside Out and Back Again, Jefferson’s Sons, My Brother Sam is A MillionDead, Number the Stars, A Million Shades of Gray.  In my opinion, they really can’t go wrong with any of these titles.inside

Next month, when my students choose the books they’ll read, I’ll be excited to hear what attracted them to the books they selected and what they thought about the books.  Stay tuned!

My Teacher is a Monster!, by Peter Brown

Published November 1, 2014 by Dagmar

teacher monsterPeter Brown, author of You Will Be My Friend and Children Make Terrible Pets, has written a new book that was a big success with my kindergarten students.

Running into your teacher outside school can be fun.  Or, if you think your teacher hates you, it can be “a terrible surprise.”

Ms. Kirby is always yelling at Bobby, especially when Bobby flies paper airplanes in class.  Ms. Kirby stomps, and she roars.  Ms. Kirby even looks just like a monster.  Bobby runs into Ms. Kirby sitting on a bench reading a book.  Not knowing quite what to do, and feeling awkward, Bobby sits next to her on the bench.  Suddenly, a gust of wind blows Ms. Kirby’s favorite hat off her head.  Bobby runs to catch Ms. Kirby’s hat.    Ms. Kirby is so grateful to Bobby that she thanks him and then shows him how she likes to quack with the ducks at the park.  Bobby decides to show Ms. Kirby his favorite part of the park.  Sitting at the top of a hill in the park, Ms. Kirby has an idea.  She pulls out a piece of paper and gives it to Bobby.  Bobby quickly folds it into an airplane and launches it.  It’s the best paper airplane flight ever.   Bobby and Ms. Kirby each decide the other is not so terrible.  In fact, Ms. Kirby starts looking like an actual teacher, instead of a monster.  It’s a great resolution…until Bobby throws a paper airplane in class.

I love Peter Brown’s dedication, “To misunderstood teachers and their misunderstood students.”  Have fun with this one!

Bats, by Gail Gibbons

Published October 24, 2014 by Dagmar

batsI was looking for interesting science books for my 3rd graders and was happy to find this great book by Gail Gibbons.  Gail Gibbons has written over 170 non-fiction books.  She is great at explaining concepts in short bursts with careful illustrations.  Her book topics are wide-ranging including: trains, tunnels and animals of all kinds.

With Halloween approaching and our 3rd graders studying animal adaptations, bats seem like a natural choice for this week.  This books begins with general information, including: the fact that bats are nocturnal, that they are shy and gentle, and that they are mammals.  It continues information about their body structure, where they roost, their use of echolocation to find food, different types of bats and what they eat.

Our 3rd graders were really engaged as I read.  The pages provide just the right amount of information for students to absorb while they looked at the pictures and asked questions.  We play a game in my library.  Our students challenge my co-worker and me to find information about a topic from the books in our library.  Yesterday, our students challenged us to find out how bats land upside down.  We were able to find some information on our shelves about how bats land.  Today, I cheated a little and found a great video on the internet, courtesy of the New York Times, showing how bats defy gravity and land upside down.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/24/science/24obbats.html

Happy Halloween!

 

Benjamin and Bumper to the Rescue, by Molly Coxe

Published October 21, 2014 by Dagmar

Many thanks to Amélie of Amélie’s Bookshelf for recommending this terrific book.  It provided a great opportunity to talk to my kindergarten students about authors and illustrators and whether illustrators always had to draw or paint the pictures to a book.  In this case, Olivier Toppin has taken photographs of stuffed animals with real props in order to illustrate the book.

Benjamin and BusterAs I read this to my kindergarteners, they were held in great suspense, some said they were even scared as we read it.  Trust me, this is a very gentle book with a kindergarten-sized villain and two really good guys, named Benjamin and Bumper.

When Benjamin’s mom goes off to do errands and doesn’t return, Benjamin and Bumper set out to find her.  Luckily, they are very practical animals, packing lots of tools that they might need for their search and rescue mission, including: their scooter, ropes, ladders, a sewing kit, a fishing pool and some tools.  When they discover that Mrs. Middlemouse has been captured by the terrible Sir Pouncelot, they’ll need all these various things in order to save her from becoming an ingredient in one of his dinner casseroles.

Will Benjamin and Bumper be able to save Benjamin’s mom?  Will Sir Pouncelot learn a lesson?  Tune in to this, the first of the Benjamin and Bumper Adventure series, to find out!

Maniac Magee, by Jerry Spinelli

Published October 20, 2014 by Dagmar

ManiacMagee1This book may be my favorite book of the year.  Written by the author of one of my recent favorites for middle and high school, Stargirl, was recommended to me by the students in one of my third grade classes.  They’d been read the book by their teacher.  I’d been given all sorts of recommendations, Captain Underpants, among them.  This one stuck in my mind, because I knew it had won the 1991 Newbery Medal and because I’d always meant to read it.

Jeffrey Magee was orphaned at the age of three when his parents’ trolley went off the tracks of the P & W Trestle into the Schuylkill River.  Jeffrey moved in with his aunt and uncle who always fought. One day, he ran away, literally.  He ran all the way to a town called Two Mills.  Two Mills was split by Hector Street.  The West End of town was reserved for whites.  The East End of town was for blacks.  The two populations didn’t mix at all.  In fact, no one who was white dared come into East End.  Likewise, no one who was black purposely went into the West End of town.  Until Maniac Magee, unaware of the rules, showed up in the East End of town.  He met a girl named Amanda Beale, a great lover of books.  He managed, unbelievably, to borrow a book from her, a girl who did not, as a rule, lend her books.  He promised to return it and ended up living in Amanda Beale’s house.  There, he had two little brothers, a sister and a mother and father – a home.  Maniac Magee was fearless.  He could do extraordinary things.  He hit home runs off a star pitcher, ran touch downs on the football field, untangled complicated knots, ran on a single rail of a railroad line and actually sat on the Finsterwald’s front steps to read a book. He never went to school but loved to read.  He was a maniac.  He was legend.  All was going well until one day someone pointed out that he was white.  Maniac, didn’t even realize it himself.  Things changed after that day.  People didn’t like that the Beale’s were sheltering him.  So, Maniac ran.  He ran and found a home at the local zoo, in the buffalo pen.  There, he met a true friend, Grayson, who would make him another home in the park.  Soon, Maniac had to run again, this time, to the West End and a house where two small boys needed someone who would keep them safe.  He was fine there, taking care of those two boys who needed him and for whom he would do anything.  Until the day they asked him to do something he absolutely could not do, and he ran again.

Like my students, I became completely absorbed in Maniac Magee’s story.  I hope you will too.

 

 

The Most Magnificant Thing, by Ashley Spires

Published October 17, 2014 by Dagmar

For those of us who see ourselves as inventors, scientists, or just creative types, we know the frustration of tryThe Most Magnificenting to recreate the vision in our heads.  So it goes for a “regular girl and her best friend in the whole wide world.”

The girl sets out to build the “most magnificent thing”, “easy-peasy”.  She gathers materials, hires an assistant (her dog) and starts to build.  When she is finished, she is “shocked to discover that the thing isn’t magnificent.”  Determined to get it right, she tinkers, adjusts, examines and builds many things.  None of them fit the image in her head; and, needless to say, none of them are magnificent.  Finally, she gets MAD.  Completely losing her patience with the creative process, she starts smashing, jamming and pummeling her creation and in the process smashes her finger.  “It is not her finest moment.”  Her assistant, the essence of calm, holding his leash in his mouth, suggests a walk to clear her head.  She has a hard time calming down, but after a while, “the mad gets pushed out of her head.”  She starts to see some good elements in each of her earlier designs and sets out to try again.  Finally, she finishes her creation.  It isn’t exactly what she imagined, but turns out to be a most magnificent thing.

I think everyone that reads this book will totally relate to this girl’s emotions as she creates her magnificent thing.  Ashley Spires is not only a gifted author, but also a very gifted illustrator.  I loved absolutely loved this book, and so did my students.

In November, by Cynthia Rylant

Published October 17, 2014 by Dagmar

In NovemberThis is a very peaceful book about the changing seasons and the coming of winter.  Beautiful illustrations by Jill Kastner are a great accompaniment to Cynthia Rylant’s words.

“In November, the earth is growing quiet.  It is making its bed, a winter bed for flowers and small creatures.”  “In November, some birds move away and some birds stay.”  “In November, the smell of food is different.  It is an orange smell.  A squash and a pumpkin smell.”

The story talks about the animals, birds, trees and finally ends with a family joining in a special meal, presumably Thanksgiving.  This is a wonderful book to share with your younger students as Thanksgiving approaches.

The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid of Anything, by Linda Williams

Published October 17, 2014 by Dagmar

The Little Old LadyHere’s a fun read for your younger Halloween fans.  This book is a perennial favorite at my school.  I  usually read it with kindergarten, pre-k and 1st grade students around Halloween and love to have them join in with me as I read.

There once was a little old lady who wasn’t afraid of anything.  As she walks in the woods, she is followed, first by shoes that go CLOMP, CLOMP.  Then, she is followed by pants that go WIGGLE WIGGLE, a shirt that goes SHAKE SHAKE.  Each time, she turns and says “Get out of my way, I’m not afraid of you!”.  When she gets home, who should knock on the door, but the shoes, pants, shirt and a pumpkin head all trying to scare her.  When she says she’s not afraid, the pumpkin head looks so sad that she comes up with a great way for him to scare someone. Read the book to find out how!

Happy Halloween!