Summer+Reads+2014

PICTURE BOOKS 1. __FRIENDS__ and __WHAT'S YOUR FAVORITE ANIMAL?__ by EricCarle. He's done it again with these two offerings for young children. First, with __FRIENDS__, he tackles the issue of a best friend moving away. Then, in __WHAT'S YOUR FAVORITE ANIMAL__, Carle calls on his children's book author and illustrator friends to share their favorite animal with young readers and WHY it's their favorite. This is the perfect book to read prior to a STAYCATION to the local zoo. It's also a wonderful way to introduce other authors and illustrators to a young one. Little bios are given at the end of the book, so that you can learn a bit more about each friend of Eric Carle's. 2. __THE DAY THE CRAYONS QUIT__ by Drew Daywalt - A young boy, named Duncan, wants to color, but boy is he in for a surprise. All of the crayons have quit. Beige is tired of playing second fiddle to brown. Blue needs a break from coloring all of the water and sky. What a delight for all ages. Duncan solves his problem by presenting his teacher with a NEW drawing, for which he received an A for creativity. The fire engine is blue, the sky is yellow and the whale is orange. 3. __TUESDAY TUCKS ME IN, The Loyal Bond between a Soldier and his Service Dog__ by Fmr. Captain uis Carlos Mantalvan, USA with ret Witter. when Luis returned from war, he had difficulty adjusting to a "normal" life. Not only does Luis have an injury, but everything seems to scare him. Tuesday, the service dog to the rescue! This story is taken from the best selling memoir, __Until Tuesdy: A Wounded Warrior and the Golden Retriever Who Saved Him.__ The photographs sell this story, for as a golden retriever owner, there's nothing like the facial expressions of a golden's love for his master. 4. __Hi, Koo! A Year of Seasons__ by Jon J. Muth. The title is a play on the poetic term of Haiku. Koo is the name of a panda who shares Kaiku poems for each season. This book could be a springboard for personal poem writing during the summer.Teachers, this could be a great introduction to teaching Haiku in your classrooms. 5. __The SNATCHABOOK__ by Helen Docherty and Thomas Docherty -"In every house, in every bed, a bedtime story, was being read." Suddenly, all the stories were being stolen from each home. A brave bunny sets out to find out who and why this was happening. This rhythmic rhyme reminds me of something Dr. Seuss would write - similar to The Grinch! When the mystery is solved, all of the books are returned and the criminal is forgiven and is read to by Eliza Brown, the bunny who saved reading in the woods. For THE RELUCTANT READER: 1. __National Geographic Kids; WEIRD BUT TRUE! 300 Outrageous facts.__This is one of several in a series that may interest you. Short lived facts that have little reading on each page, but a reluctant, middle aged child would enjoy reading them. "A sneeze travel 100 miles an hour." "The Empire State Building was built with 10 million bricks." 2. __Soccer Hero__ by Matt Christopher and __Soccer on Sunday__ by Mary Pope Osborne from the Magic Tree House Series might be coupled together as good reads during The World Soccer Cup Event in Brazil. Soccer has taken over the country and it just may be the link that attracts the reluctant reader. 3. __Frozen, The Junior Novelization__ by Disney retells the entire story in a more Kid-Friendly Form. It's the movie that rocked the world for Disney in 2014, so perhaps it would be a read to attract a reluctant reader. 4. __THE DUMBEST IDEA EVER__ by Jimmy Gownley - Jimmy (really) learned to read from his mom's flashcards and Peanut's Comic Strips. Plus, Jimmy's dad grew up reading Comic Books, so comics were cemented in his life. Over two hundred pages, but it's all told through comic writing, so the pages fly by. It's his story of how he became a comic writer starting at the age of 15. CHAPTER BOOKS 1. __WONDER__ by R.J.. Palacio. I believe that every child should read this book before leaving sixth grade...every family for that matter. My mother's book club, who's average age is 80 years old, has read it. It's the story of a child named Auggie who has many challenges in life, mainly his face. He was born with a severe facial deformity. He's been home-schooled and protected by his family until fifth grade. Reluctantly, Auggie joins the "real world" by attending a private school that has some who accept him and others who look for ways to force him back into his protective world of home-schooling. This is an unforgettable book that has a message that needs to be heard. 2. __WONDERSTRUCK__ by Brian Selznick - I found this book to be even more inviting than __the Invention of Hug Cabret.__ The book has two stories, one told through text and the other told through illustration. Each story is told separately and they intersect and become one story at the end. Selznick crosses these two stories with great style. I'm amazed at his writing technique. 3. __FLORA an ULYSSES__ by Kate DiCamillo - this won the Newberry Award this year. For me, I read it because it was given the top award, but it wasn't my favorite of the year...but if you enjoyed __The Tale of Despereaux,__ you are sure to enjoy this one, too. It's a story about a squirrel, instead of a mouse. It brings meaning to the theme of superheros, cynics, poetry and love. "Together, Flora and Ulysses will conquer villains, defend the defenseless, and protect the weak. 4. __IN HARM'S WAY, Keepers of the School Series__ by Andrew Clements (author of Frindle) - Ben, Jill, and Robert are out to save their school that is days from being destroyed. Have they met their match with two janitors that are behind so much of what they call BAD? 5. __Spirit Animals, Book 1, WILD BORN__ by Brandon Mull - Four kids, along with their spirit animal emerge to stop a dark force from the past that is rising. They must save the Land of Erdas. What's really cool is that you can discover your own spirit animal and join the adventure at spiritanimals.com . 6. __BAD KITTY Drawn to Trouble__ by Nick Bruel. I LOVE this book, because the author teaches all of the literary elements of a story through the story telling of BAD KTTY. Plot, theme, conflict etc. are taught through his writing of his main character from his NY Times Best Selling Series, BAD KITTY. Plus, the author teaches the reader how to draw BAD KITTY, step by step.