Tops of 2015...so far

My reading has picked up again after a bit of a lull, so I'm adding to my list of top titles for 2015 every day.  I'm also changing my list Tops of 2015 every day, so it's all a bit confusing. I've mentioned a few in my recent posts and thought I'd do a bit of organizing to make it easier to think about what is on my list since we're a little more than half way through the year.

There's a lot of good stuff this year, so it wasn't easy to narrow my list down to top 5, all of these titles are easily interchangeable with other titles but I had to start somewhere.  I'd love to hear what titles you have on your list that are missing from mine.

My top 5 picture books for 2015...so far, are:

If You Plant a Seed by Kadir Nelson: Obviously the illustrations are beautiful and the simple lesson about sharing is too.
My Grandma's a Ninja by Todd Tarpley Ill by Danny Chatizikonstantinou: When ninja Grandma comes to visit it's all fun and games, until she starts to get in the way. Can't wait to read this in THE PIT!
With a Friend by Your Side by Barbara Kerley: A collection of photos accompany the text that tells the importance of friendship. Kids will love looking at this one.
And Nick by Emily Gore Ill by Leonid Gore: The four mouse brother are always competing for attention and Nick always gets left behind. In the end he blooms brightest of all.
See You Next Year by Andrew Larsen Ill by Todd Stewart: The annual trip to the beach highlights include a new friend and all of the usual beach things. Good end of summer story for THE PIT.

and my top 5 fiction books for 2015...so far, are:

The Honest Truth by Dan Gemeinhart: Two points of view, one a teen cancer patient runaway and the other his friend who is left behind and knows where he is. One word description, INTENSE!
Echo by Pam Munoz Ryan: Starting with a magical fairy tale, this is a wonderful piece of interwoven story writing.
Lost in the Sun by Lisa Graff: Strong and dramatic from start to finish. The main character, Trent, deals with his anger after being involved in the accidental death of a friend. I'm thinking this will be best for older readers.
The Cottage in the Woods by Katherine Coville: This 3 Bears story from the bears' view is a little long, but fascinating how the author brings in all of the other fairy tales.
Catch You Later Traitor by Avi: Based on Avi's memories of growing up during the Red Scare, written like an old time detective novel make this a pretty quick read.  I'm not sure kids will have enough background knowledge to completely understand it.

So there you have it, my Top 5 of 2015...so far.  I know there will be changes as I keep reading, let me know what yours are.

Timmy Failure Will Be a HUGE Success!

As usual, my friend Beth at Cover to Cover was right on the money with her suggestion of Timmy Failure Mistakes Were Made by Stephen Pastis.  I will be purchasing it on my next trip to my favorite bookstore and I know it will not stay on the shelves in our library.

Much like Wimpy Kid or Big Nate, Timmy Failure is done in a journal style including drawings and handwritten notes throughout.  Timmy is an interesting kid who has the unfortunate last name of Failure.  He lives with his mom and starts his own detective agency from his mother's closet.  His sidekick and business partner is a polar bear named Total.  It is unclear whether Total is real or imaginary, I suppose that will be up to the individual reader to decide.

Timmy's detective agency is called Failure, Inc. and the book is the published history of Timmy's life as a detective.  He proves to be a little short sighted in his investigations, keeping the reader informed of all of his discoveries with excerpts from his detective notebook.  For example when he is asked to investigate a classmate's missing Halloween candy and sees the little brother, Gabe, covered in chocolate with a pile of candy wrappers surrounding him, he writes, "Gabe not tidy."

Timmy's adventures continue and his gift for missing the obvious answers to the mysteries he wants to solve provide a lot of reasons for laughing out loud.  There is also the other story that sneaks in occasionally.  The story of Timmy, the son of a single mom who is having a little difficulty making it.  They move out of their house into a one bedroom apartment and Timmy deals with it in various ways including denial, and doing poorly in school.  All of it is handled in a way that kids will understand, but not be put off by. 

Stephen Pastis is the creator of the comic Pearls Before Swine which most elementary students won't be familiar with, but the humor and story telling in Timmy Failure will appeal to elementary readers in grades 2 and up.  I think it certainly has a wider age appeal then Wimpy Kid and will be a very popular series.

Giants Beware is a Fun Graphic Novel

On my last trip to Cover to Cover Sally handed me a copy of Giants Beware by Rafael Rosado and Jorge Aguirre. She'll be participating in the publicity of this new graphic novel and wanted to know what I think.

I think I like it! The heroine in the story is Claudette, a tom boy who dreams of nothing more than slaying giants. She is tired of the town historians telling the story of the battle against the Baby-Feet Eating Giant and how he got away. Claudette is tired of living in a town that lives in fear of the beast and wants to find him and slay him. Adding fuel to her fire is the fact that her father, the famous sword maker, was maimed by a giant during his giant hunting days. She wants to continue the family tradition, hunt down this gruesome beast and kill him once and for all.

The scrappy Claudette enlists the help of her friend Marie, a wannabe princess and her brother Gaston, a wannabe pastry chef/sword maker. The three of them set off with Claudette's dog, Valient, on an adventure that takes them through the Forrest of Death where they encounter an old crone who used to be the Maiden of the Forrest. Then they come to the Mad River where they meet the Mad River King and his son the fish face. Throughout all of the adventures humor prevails. When they finally meet the giant the fun doesn't stop and with the help of some "magic" berries they conquer him too.

While I'm not a huge fan of the graphic novel genre, I know a lot of my students are so I'm always on the look out for some good stuff to add to our collection. I'll be adding this one and telling Sally I like it a lot!

A Couple of Reviews and an Award Too!

So I've finished both trips to Boston for the summer and both went well. The weather could have cooperated a little more, but the kids were troopers and didn't mind their raincoats and sweatshirts. When I returned this time I saw a comment that informed Karen and I that we have been chosen as one of the Top 50 Teacher Blogs by a website called Teachercertificationdegrees.com We didn't start this for awards, but it's nice to be recognized especially when some of our blogging friends like A Year of Reading and Raising Readers and Writers are also included, so, thank you.

Before I left I finished two short novels that I liked, not only because they are short, quick reads, but also because they are well done. The first is an early chapter book called The Golden Ghost by Marion Dane Bauer. Delsie wants a dog in the worst way but her father is allergic to all animals, including ground hogs, so all she can do is wish. As the summer winds down, she and her best friend Todd are bored and looking for something to do. In her desperation for adventure, Delsie throws out the idea of exploring the "ghost houses" on the edge of town. The houses are nothing more than abandoned company homes, but kids start stories and soon they are known as the ghost houses. Even though they aren't supposed to go in, Delsie and Todd do and Delsie senses a presence in one of the houses that appears to have had someone living in it recently. As the story continues the drifter who lives there appears and so does a sparkling being that resembles a golden retriever, but Delsie is the only one who can see it. Young readers will enjoy the mystery and ghost of this story. There is just enough suspense to keep them interested and just enough ghost to make it a young reader thriller.

The second book was Hothead by Cal Ripken, Jr. and Kevin Cowherd. Cal Ripken is a legend, not only for his streak of games played, but also because he played the game the right way. Who better to write a baseball book than a genuine baseball hero. In Hothead, Connor Sullivan is the star of his baseball team. In true Cal Ripken fashion he is humble and an ultimate team player. When things at home start getting tense due to his dad's job loss and money problems. It affects Connor's play and attitude and he begins to lose his cool on the field earning him the nickname Pshyco Sully. His old school coach pulls him from the big game and the school reporter threatens to do a tell all article in the school paper if he doesn't get himself under control. Connor is forced to take a look at himself and figure out how to channel his energy into performing better on the field. I was a big fan of Matt Christopher books growing up, and, even though those books still hold up today, I've been on the look out for some books that today's kids will relate to. Hothead fits the bill and I can't wait to introduce it to my kids next year. It's well written, less than 200 pages, and the beginning of a series by Cal Ripken, Jr. which automatically gives it sports credibility. I found this cool related website with some batting tips from Cal Ripken, Jr. himself.

As Simple as It Seems is Simply Good

So. B. It. enjoyed a bit of a resurgence in the library this year. One of my fifth grade girls read it and loved it and pretty soon, half of the fifth grade girls were reading and loving Sarah Weeks' novel. At the end of the year it was selected by our middle schools as a summer reading choice for in coming sixth graders. Since I read it so long ago, I have a vague memory of it, but I do remember that I liked it so I wasn't surprised when the kids picked it up and loved it too.

Just recently at Cover to Cover I saw a new title, As Simple as It Seems, by Sarah Weeks so I reserved it at the library since I hadn't really heard anything about it. I just finished it, and it is REALLY good. So good that I'm adding it to my Newbery watch list. I haven't seen it on any lists so far, but then I haven't seen too many lists so far. Hopefully it will get some attention soon.

Verbena Colter is a 12 year old Fetal Alcohol Syndrome child. She has struggled in school all of her life but with supportive parents she does ok. She looks different from other 12 year olds. She is smaller than other 12 year olds, but she still has all of the difficulties of a 12 year old girl.

At school she only has one best friend, and when that friend sort of abandons her for another more popular girl, she is left with nobody. That's bad enough, but when she discovers a family secret, she begins to wonder who she really is, and that's trouble. Not big trouble, but she becomes moody and embarrassed about her family situation which brings out a lot of anger towards a mother and father who have done nothing but make her the center of their world. She's not spoiled, just loved...a lot!

On her birthday she wishes she could be someone else and when a boy and his mother move into the "haunted" house up the road, she is given the chance. In her anger Verbena begins to do stuff that her mother has told her not to do, nothing really bad, just going for walks alone along the nearby Bonners Lake even though she can't swim. While there, she discovers an old abandoned boat and the new boy nicknamed Pooch.

Pooch has some issues from health to family and he mistakes Verbena for the ghost of the girl who lived in the house where he is staying until she drowned in Bonners Lake. Verbena goes along with it and sees it as her birthday wish coming true. Eventually she wishes she could tell him the truth so she could have another real friend but she can't figure out a way to end the lie.

Without spoiling the story, let's just say dramatic events lead to a dramatic climax which lead to an very satisfying end. Sarah Weeks mixes the right amounts of humor and drama to keep the reader in the book, I couldn't put it down. That's why I'll be recommending As Simple as It Seems to my fifth grade boys and girls and adding it to my Newbery watch list.

Other reviews:
Library Voice
Richies Picks
Kiss the Book

My Next Trip to Cover to Cover 6

Well summer's winding down, I was actually working at the school today, and my frequent trips to my favorite children's bookstore Cover to Cover will become less frequent. In addition to helping me remember what I want to buy, I've found another bonus to my lists, last time I was at the store, my friend Beth who works there asked if she should just go ahead and order the books I write about on my Cover to Cover lists. So, Beth, fire up the computers, here's my next list of books.

Back of the Bus by Aaron Reynolds Illustrated by Floyd Cooper: The book gives a fictional eyewitness account of Rosa Parks refusing to give up her seat. I'm always looking for new ways to tell this story to the kids and the short text and detailed pix in this one make it easy to share.

The Gentleman Bug by Julian Hector: A gentleman bug, who enjoys a good book, notices the new lady bug in town and tries to woo her by changing his look. When she spurns his advances and he embarrasses himself in front of the bug elite, he thinks his chances are over. However, he receives an invite to the grand opening of the new building in The Garden and is thrilled to find that it is a new library and his lady bug the new librarian. Short story with beautiful illustrations.


Oh No! (Or How My Science Project Destroyed the World) by Mac Barnett Illustrated by Dan Santat: This picture book has a sort of graphic novel look to it with just one short sentence on each page telling the story of a little girl who builds a robot for her science fair. Unfortunately the robot goes rogue and destroys the town. The girl must find a solution to defeat the evil robot which gives the book its surprise ending. I was a little confused by the book at first, but the incredibly detailed pix made me take another look and then I loved it. Pretty sure the kids will too.


Buy My Hats! by Dave Horowitz: When I saw this one I thought of our fifth graders because it's a really simple look at supply and demand and price setting. All Frank and Carl, a bear and a fish, want to do is sell hats. Everyone around them is able to sell their goods, but Frank and Carl just have no luck. They try lowering their prices but only sell one. They try advertising and still don't sell any. In the end a change in the weather increases their sales and Frank and Carl have no idea why! It's a fun look at small business with very funny pix.

Justin Fisher Declares War Good in So Many Ways

So I'm back for a short time, everyone returned safe and sound from my second trip to Boston and in two days I leave for my annual golf trip to Michigan, or as I like to call it Dads' Camp. I won't be reading anything there, but I managed to read James Preller's new book Justin Fisher Declares War. For all of you recent readers of Literate Lives, James, or Jimmy is a friend of our blog and Karen and I so I was thrilled when he sent me a copy of his new book, autographed too! Here are several reasons I really like Justin Fisher Declares War:

1. It's short! Only 135 pages but so much is packed into those pages! It will be easy to convince my students to pick it up because they won't be intimidated by the size. I'm really starting to look for titles that are 200 pages or less.

2. It has some familiar characters. Trey and Spider from Along Came Spider are back in cameo roles. Kids like catching up with characters from other books, that's why series are so popular. James brings these two memorable characters back to interact with Justin Fisher, class clown.

3. It has a reading pit and a male librarian! WOO HOO!

4. It has lessons that can be taught through read aloud. I know class clowns everywhere who are struggling with the fact that they are losing friends because everyone is growing tired of their constant joking will see themselves. Hopefully it will lead them to reinvent themselves without changing completely, just like Justin Fisher.

5. It has a new teacher and an old teacher interacting with the old teacher sharing the age old advice "never let them see you smile." Obviously I don't agree with this philosophy, but it's such a classic. I loved it when the new teacher, Mr. Tripp, finds success with Justin when he chooses to ignore it.

6. As with all James Preller books, it has great characters interacting with each other.

7. It will appeal to all 4th and 5th graders.

As I was reading I realized that I have never created a mosaic for any of James Preller's book and since I love his stuff and he's a friend, I thought it was about time. So here it is.

My Next Trip to Cover to Cover 5

It's been a while since I posted a list of my future purchases, and here's what I've discovered about my bookstore posts, they are very helpful to me! Hopefully our Literate Lives readers are finding them helpful too, but the last time I went to Cover to Cover, I consulted my posts so I wouldn't forget something. Anyway, here are my next purchases at Cover to Cover.

Wonder Horse: The True Story of the World's Smartest Horse by Emily Arnold McCully: Born to slavery, Bill Key exhibited a talent for communicating and caring for animals at a very young age. Once he was a free man, Bill studied to become a vet and began taking care of animals. When his favorite horse dies giving birth to a crippled colt he is almost inconsolable over the loss. The colt comes to him and Bill is renewed. He realizes the intelligence of the horse and trains it to answer math and spelling questions. From that point on Bill and his wonder horse Jim travel the country entertaining crowds. This non fiction picture book will be a hit with all of the horse lovers at Bailey.

Stand Straight Ella Kate: The True Story of a Real Giant by Kate and M. Sarah Klise: Ella Kate Ewing was born at a normal size but soon after began growing at an abnormal rate. When she was done she was eight feet tall! Today we know that Ella suffered with gigantism but in her day, she was made fun of by kids and adults when she went in public. Her only way to deal with her height was to join traveling shows and circuses where people paid to see her. As cruel as this may sound, it actually worked out well for Ella, she became wealthy and built her own house to accommodate her size. When she would return from the road, she would host many of the townspeople to share her travels and the exotic locations she was able to visit. Kids will be fascinated with the actual size drawings inside the back and front cover and the story will be excellent for teaching about making the best of a difficult situation and not feeling sorry for yourself.

The Pirate of Kindergarten by George Ella Lyon Illustrated by Lynne Avril: When Ginny starts kindergarten, she realizes she love reading circle, but reading itself is difficult. Not because Ginny doesn't know her letters and sounds, but because she sees two of everything. Ginny figures out if she closes one eye things clear up but her teacher tells her to stop squinting, she realizes that if she gets really close the print things clear up but her teacher says "we read with our eyes, not our noses." And so it goes until a school vision screening discovers that Ginny suffers from double vision. When she visits the eye doctor he fixes her up with a patch until her special glasses are ready and Ginny is thrilled that it allows her to see like the rest of the kids. Great story to teach kids that we all can learn, we just do it differently. It's also a great eye opener for us teachers to our students' differences in the classroom.

My Next Trip to Cover to Cover 1
My Next Trip to Cover to Cover 2
My Next Trip to Cover to Cover 3
My Next Trip to Cover to Cover 4

My Next Trip to Cover to Cover 4

I really need to make a trip to the bookstore, I haven't been there in a couple of weeks and I may be having withdrawal symptoms, shaking, speaking incoherently, reading old newspapers, etc. I really need to get some Cover to Cover therapy!

Charlie's Superhero Underpants by Lee Wildish and Paul Bright: OK, so any book with underpants in the title gets my attention and almost always a laugh in THE PIT! This book will definitely get laughs as Charlie's favorite underpants, red with POW! across the front and KERZAP! OOF! and SPLAT! across the back, go missing from the clothesline. Charlie takes off on a round the world search for his favorite underoos and ends up trading various animals for other people's clothes around the world. When he meets the Yeti in Nepal, he finds his underwear in an absolutely HILARIOUS picture of the beast wearing the missing undies. VERY FUN!

Flying Lessons by Gilbert Ford: The book starts as a celebration of pigeons and their migration to the north. Pigeons do everything the same, cooing, rest on the same wires, caught worms together, dip in the same bath, and wait for their eggs to hatch. One day they are joined by an unusual "bird" that can't do all of the things they can do, but when the winter turns suddenly cold, the pigeons are stuck in the north, unable to fly. That's when the unusual "bird" comes to the rescue and gets all of the pigeons to safety. The pictures are wonderful in this fun book and lessons about not being to hasty to judge others can come from its reading.

But I Wanted a Baby Brother by Kate Feiffer and Diane Goode: The first book by these two was hugely popular in THE PIT and still doesn't sit on the shelves much, I have the same expectations for this book. When a baby sister comes home from the hospital, Oliver Keaton is NOT happy! All he wanted was a baby brother so he goes about trying to make a trade with his friends who have baby brothers. As he goes through his list of friends, one baby brother cries too much, one baby brother is into stuff that doesn't belong to him, and all of them are just annoying in a variety of ways. In the end Oliver decides his baby sister is just right for him and they become friends. Fun story of siblings learning to get along with bright colorful pictures, very fun.

A Place Where Hurricanes Happen by Renee Watson Illustrated by Shadra Strickland: The author of this spent time in New Orleans after Katrina working with kids. Using poetry and theater to help the children of New Orleans cope with the aftermath, she was inspired to write this book. Told first person through the eyes of a number of children, the reader follows them through the process of preparing for the hurricane to coming home for the recovery. Very well written, leaving nothing out, including the loss that all of the people of New Orleans felt. The pictures are beautiful, the children's faces filled with emotion and feeling.

My Next Trip to Cover to Cover 1
My Next Trip to Cover to Cover 2
My Next Trip to Cover to Cover 3

Henrietta Hornbuckle's Circus of Life Not Just Clowning Around

Another find from the new fiction shelf at my library and another really good book. I love these little surprises in the summer! Henrietta Hornbuckle's Circus of Life by Michael de Guzman was one of these little surprise finds.

Henrietta is the only child of Hortense and Morris Mortimer (Momo) Hornbuckle. They are a clowning family, members of the small and struggling Filbert's Clown Circus. They travel in a caravan of RV's with the only family that Henrietta has ever known. She has never gone to school but is very wise and smart, she has never lived in a house, but always felt at home. Now the year's tour is beginning and the big show in Union Park, NYC serves as the incentive to learn a new act with her father.

Henrietta and Momo begin working on an act called The 8 Foot Clown. Henrietta will stand on her father's shoulders wearing a costume that creates the illusion of an 8 foot clown. The act will debut in NYC. Hortense Hornbuckle has a different incentive for this season's tour, she wants to meet up with her estranged sister, Carlotta, in Oyster Bay and try to reconcile the differences between them. Differences that stem from Hortense's life choice of marrying Momo, instead of pursuing the teaching career she trained for. This is the storyline that provides all of the foreshadowing for tragedy because it's all about "preparing for what happens when the circus is gone."

Henrietta isn't ready to accept the idea that her happy, carefree life with the family of clowns could ever end. Momo isn't much help with accepting it either since it's all he's ever known. It's interesting how author Michael de Guzman uses the various characters to show all sides of Henrietta and her family, there's Sweetpea, a 16 year old who wants something other than clowning, that forces Henrietta to examine her life and realize that she loves being a clown. It's her Aunt Carlotta that points out to Henrietta that she is an intelligent, pretty girl who is a clown as an act, but not as a person. Henrietta's beloved father Momo personifies her self confidence and makes her feel that she can do anything.

When tragedy strikes the family and the circus is forced to close, Henrietta learns that there may be life after the circus when all of her clowning family reveals their very "normal" life plans when the circus ends. Henrietta talks them into one more show, for Momo, in NYC and with the help of the mechanic Ixnay, Henrietta pulls of the 8 Foot Clown routine by herself and she and her mom ride of into the sunset with adventures unknown on their minds.

I liked Henrietta Hornbuckle's Circus of Life. It was a quick read with great characters and plot line that kept me going. Even though Michael de Guzman dropped hints along the way of what was going to happen in the end, it wasn't predictable and I was surprised at the turn of events. I'll be recommending this to fourth and fifth graders in the fall.

New Books for the Library

I just finished a stack of books from the library and I had some stuff waiting for pick up at my favorite book store, Cover to Cover so I made the trip over and thought I'd let you know some of what I brought home.

Boo Hoo Bird by Jeremy Tankard: Everyone loved Grumpy Bird in THE PIT so I was excited to see that there is a sequel. In this one, Bird gets bonked on the head with a ball and all of the animals try to help him. I think it's just as good as the first adventure with the animals and can't wait to share it in THE PIT. I couldn't help thinking about the You Tube of "That really hurt Charlie!" so bird may adopt an English accent for this one!


The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman: I succumbed to the pressure and bought the Newbery winner. Even though I'm not a big fan, I know a lot of kids will like the weirdness of it all. After talking to a number of librarians I realize it's not any darker than some of the Harry Potter series which I love.



Roscoe Riley Rules #5 Don't Tap Dance on Your Teacher by Katherine Appleton: I can't keep books 1 - 4 on the shelves and they all have waiting lists so imagine my surprise when one of my second graders informed me that there was a book 5!? WHO KNEW!? I guess I should have but it's pretty fun when one of the kids beats me to the punch on a new book.



The Sherlock Files #2 The Beast of Blackslope by Tracy Barrett: I loved the first mystery solved by Xena and Xander Holmes (my review) and a group of kids connected with it as well, so I was excited to see book 2 out. Tracy Barrett really developed the mystery in the first book and kids could figure it out if they paid attention to the clues.

A Whiff of Pine , a Hint of Skunk: A Forest of Poems by Deborah Ruddell Illustrated by Joan Rankin: A collection of fun poems about animals and plants in the forest. The illustrations are awesome with lots of expression on the animals' faces. The poetry flows nicely and will be fun for kids to read aloud. My favorite is Beaver Biography.



With only a week of circulation left, many of these books will be waiting for kids to check them out next year, but I'll introduce them and hope they pick them up at the "big" library this summer.