Wednesday Book Review: Goodbye Summer, Hello Autumn by Kenard Pak

Book Review: Goodbye Summer, Hello Autumn by Kenard Pak. 

Pak, Kenard. Goodbye Summer, Hello Autumn. New York: Henry Holt, 2016.

This is a wonderfully simple story about a little girl walking through nearby parks/forests and then her small neighborhood and town.

She walks and picks flowers:

Looks at the leaves changing:

Walks through her town feeling a chill, and getting ready for colder weather:

This book is beautifully illustrated, and the small details will enthrall children. The small details and repetition (the small blue bird, the dog, etc.) reminds me a little of Jan Brett's books where small animals return page after page, and kids delight in finding these small friends! 

I can't wait to read this to Baby Thakkar and take a nature walk with her to find flowers, leaves, and maybe even a few other surprises! 

Read aloud the book Goodbye Summer, Hello Autumn, and take a nature walk, or try a themed walk!

Wednesday Book Review: Ideas Are All Around By Philip C. Stead

Book Review: Ideas Are All Around by Philip C. Stead

Stead, Philip Christian. Ideas are all around. New York: Roaring Brook, 2016.

The basic premise is that someone is supposed 
to write a book today, but doesn't have any ideas. 

However, his dog wants to take a walk, and as they walk they see and find ideas!

I liked how he took photos of real places/things and added his own drawings at the bottom (left). 

as well as the text (in typewriter font!) to tell the story (right).

The 2 page spread below:





The way he describes things was also wonderful. As a want-to-be-writer, I loved his way of explaining that this was his childhood home:




I think Ideas Are All Around has great potential for a creative writing class or as a jumping off point for young writers (like to start Writers Workshop).

If you are doing a writing project, this book has some great ideas to find *ideas!* Want to jump start your students' writing? Read aloud the book Ideas Are All Around, grab some iPads and my quick reaction sheet and get the ideas flowing today!

Wednesday Book Review: The Girl Who Drank the Moon By Kelly Barnhill

Book Review: The Girl Who Drank the Moon By Kelly Barnhill

I read The Girl Who Drank the Moon in about a week! When I first got the book, my initial thoughts were that I really like the concept, and I wondered if what perspective they would tell it from - the witch? the girl? the townspeople? Enjoyably, they told it from the perspective of the witch, the girl, 4 main characters in the town, and the Bog monster. 



The Girl Who Drank the Moon reminded me of Dealing with Dragons by Patricia Wrede, one of my childhood favorites. The chapters titles and writing had a similar style. 


I throughly enjoyed The Girl Who Drank the Moon, even though it was a little slow in the middle. I loved the concept and the way all the stories intertwined over the years and families, it was incredibly detailed and I enjoyed learning more about the witch and her relationship to the other characters. I would have liked to know more about her background, but I understood that the story had to keep moving. All in all, I would highly recommend this book! 

Wednesday Book Review: More-igami by Dori Kleber, illustrated by G. Brian Karas

Book Review: More-igami by Dori Kleber, illustrated by G. Brian Karas.

MORE-IGAMI. Text copyright © 2016 by Dori Kleber. Illustrations copyright © 2015 by G. Brian Karas. Reproduced by permission of the publisher, Candlewick Press, Somerville, MA.

Joey loves folding things. Road maps, accordions, (and a fold-a-way bed)!

Then Sarah Takimoto's mother comes to school and shows them a wondrous thing - origami!

After that, Joey has a new passion! He wants to become an origami master and knows it will take practice. He folds everything in sight, art paper, recipes, money, anything!

Then he goes to the local restaurant, because everyone knows fajitas always make you feel better. Mr. Lopez loves his pyramid napkins and asks Joey to make more!

He makes many more:


Will Joey become an origami master? Read More-igami and find out!

Wednesday Book Review: School's First Day of School, by Adam Rex and Christian Robinson

Book Review:
School's First Day of School 

By Adam Rex and Christian Robinson Rex, Adam, and Christian Robinson. School's First Day of School. New York: Roaring Brook, 2016.

School's First Day of School is an adorable book about the school building worries. The story is very cute and simply written, and encompasses a child's worries about school wonderfully. I love the relationship between the janitor and the school (the janitor explains that students will soon fill the school):

Then I love the building intrigued by a fire drill:

I also love that they end the day in the library (or what looks like the library to me, with a Read poster, shelves and tables/chairs):

The illustrations are beautiful and filled with small details. For example, I love how all the houses and the school building have "faces." Makes the school seem more personable! 

More detailed photos:



Overall, a great book to start conversations about what might be worrying a child before going to school, or to read aloud in the classroom to help students remember that everyone is worried and nervous on the first day of school, even the school itself!

Teaching an Immigration unit? Try out these resources!

Teaching an Immigration unit? Try out these resources:

Online:
Immigration Nation Game

Books:
Dear America Series (various authors)
Green, Robert. Immigration. Ann Arbor, MI: Cherry Lake Pub., 2008. Print.


Laínez, René Colato, and Fabiola Ramírez Graullera. René Has Two Last Names. Houston, TX: Piñata, 2009. Print.



A different view of immigration and it's impact on immigrants - Bubonic Panic: When Plague Invaded America. By Gail Jarrow. Calkins Creek. 2016. (Grade 5 Up)






Start at the beginning and foster conversations:
Lewison, Wendy Cheyette., and Laura Freeman-Hines. L Is for Liberty. New York: Grosset & Dunlap, 2003. Print.

Wednesday Book Review: Get A Hit, Mo! by David A. Adler

Book Review:
Get A Hit, Mo!
By David A. Adler New York : Viking, published by Penguin Group, 2016

Get A Hit, Mo! is a Penguin Young Reader Level 2 (labeled Progressing Reader). I really like this letter to parents and educators (right) that gives activities to enhance the reading (especially if your child or students like to read the same book 100 times, this might vary the re-readings), ideas like adding -ing to words and making connections, in this case, thinking about Mo's feelings when he has a hard time hitting the ball and connecting yourself to the text and thinking about a time when you had a hard time.

This would be a great book to use for sub plans or for a child who is failing for the first time and needs a reminder that it's ok to fail and to try again. It also has an African American main character and family, along with a female coach and a diverse team of children. 

After reading the story, I felt that it was a little didactic and not really interesting to kids. As an adult, I felt like it was predictable (spoiler alert - he gets a hit!). They also repeat that he can't hear what Coach Marie is saying, but they never tell us what she says. I would have liked it if it was something like keep trying, or focus on the ball, or some other either growth mindset or baseball skill related encouragement.

But, if you have a child who loves baseball, is not a big reader, and wants to feel successful at reading and see themselves in a book, this might be a great step into reading book as it has a lot of repetition, short words, and an easy to follow plot. Support a local bookstore and buy it at Anderson's!