It's Monday - What are you reading?

It's Monday!  What are you reading?

Sponsored by Sheila at Book Journey

 

I have been busy reading this week - I finished The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry (I was really surprised by the book, in a good but sad way), but most of my reading has been for my Coursera class.  I've suspended reading Tomatoland until my Kindle reappears as it's gone missing in our house!

 

So this week, I'm reading:

 

 

The Odyssey, Fagles translation, chapters 9-16.  I plan to get this done before Sunday so I can actually watch all the videos before the quiz is due.

 

 

The Casual Vacancy by J.K. Rowling - I told my(adult) daughter she can read it when I'm done so I best hurry up on this one.

 

 

Anna Quindlen is one of my favorite authors so I was happy to see this available at the public library.

 

 

I love to read cookbooks!  I have Ree's first book, The Pioneer Woman Cooks:  Recipes from an Accidental Country Girl.  Although I do find the step by very slow step ("Here's an egg," e.g.) a bit annoying, I will say her cookbook gave me the courage to try chicken fried steak, one of my favorite dishes when I go out to a restaurant, and it was fabulous.

 

 

We have a stack of new books to add and this is one I definitely want to read.  I'm going to a couple of meetings in the next two weeks, so when I am here, we're doing technology things with the classes, so no picture book reading for me with the students.  But this one looks great - I don't want Donna to get all the fun!

It's Monday! What are you reading?

I'm going to try to blog more this year, as a journaling exercise if nothing else.  So I'm going to join into the librarian meme hosted by Sheila at Book Journey.  I love to read what other people are reading, so here's my go at it.  I'm hoping it will inspire to read more books and fewer articles!

I already blogged about the books I read for storytime here (libraries and books theme).  I can't wait to read the books about books I've picked out for older students - Biblioburro and Ron's Big Mission and That Book Woman.  Two of my favorites.  (An aside:  Have you ever noticed how many books are out there about traveling librarians?  But it's always geography-specific.  I wish there was a category for traveling librarians, not only traveling librarians from Columbia or Appalachia!

Anyway, here are other books I'm currently reading:

 

 

Tomatoland is an interesting and sad book, too.  It will definitely make you go out and start a garden!  I'll want to discuss this with the Ag teacher when I'm done.

 

 

This book was given to me by a great friend who is a children's librarian in the Nashville Public Library system.  It even has a personalized inscription for me from the author!  It's very suspenseful and I am trying to rush through it to get to the end, without rushing through it and missing all the great details of life in Music City.  (We lived there for twelve years, moving back to the Midwest eight years ago.)

 

 

And the greatest, Captain Underpants and the Terrifying Return of Tippy Tinkletrousers.  I love all the press that Dav Pilkey has gotten lately.  One of my favorite things to do when I was substitute teaching was when I'd see a student - inevitably a boy - who had a Captain Underpants book in his hands.  I'd say, "What are you reading?" in a somewhat grumpy teacher voice - and then when they sheepishly admitted to having a Captain Underpants book, I'd exclaim, "Oh my gosh!  I love Captain Underpants!"  Sadly, you could tell for a lot of them, this was not the reaction they usually got.  One of my prized possessions is my Captain Underpants blow-up doll.

 

The next book I'm going to start is:

 

 

 



There are students at my elementary school who didn't like reading until we introduced graphic novels in the library last year.  It's so great to get to introduce them to some great books, and I love to tell them about the research that shows graphic novels can make you smarter.

No Passengers Beyond this Point

I finished another book!  I'm doing better on reading since the 48 Hour Book Challenge.  I suppose I should make a goal - how about I read thirty more books this summer - in nine weeks?  That'd be something!


To get started . . . I just finished Gennifer Choldenko's No Passengers Beyond this Point.

Choldenko is the author of historical fiction titles like Al Capone Does My Shirts and Al Capone Shines My Shoes, but also some realistic fiction titles like If a Tree Falls at Lunch Period and A Liar and Her Dog.  I wasn't sure what this book was - once I've chosen a title, I make a point of not reading the inside cover of a book.  (That practice does tend to make one choose a book its cover, but c'est la vie.)


Even eighty page into the book, I wasn't sure how I'd classify the book.  I finally figured it out (it's neither historical nor realistic fiction).  Choldenko is such a gifted writer, able to change her voice completely.  Had I not known this was her book, I never would have guessed hers, even after reading all the above-mentioned titles.  However, I'm not sure that I'll suggest this for our state reading list for kids - I'm a volunteer reader for that, reading a lot of books this summer - because it is a pretty intense book, probably too intense for some readers.  (The problem is, I want to vote for Choldenko, but the only other choice we were given of hers is Al Capone Shines My Shoes.  Written three years ago, so four by the time the kids would get the list . . . way to be relevant, guys.)

Ninth Ward

I'm done with the 48 Hour Book Challenge, of course, but I'm determined to keep reading children's books continually, and to blog about them here.  


I finished Ninth Ward by Jewell Parker Rhodes.  

It's on a list for volunteers to read for the Iowa Children's Choice Award ballot for next year, so I had picked it up from the city library, and my 13-year-old daughter read it first.  I asked her what she thought and she really liked it, but said it was "haunting."  I knew it must be about New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina, so I knew it was likely sad, so I thought that was an interesting way to put it.  It certainly was sad, but this is children's literature, so it isn't too sad.  And if you've read the book, you know she was teasing me with the word haunting!  


I thought the author did a great job of bringing in suspense into a subject that we know how it ends.  When a family heads to the Superdome, I thought, "Oh no!  Not there!"  But thankfully, those aren't the characters that the story follows.  I don't think what happened there could be written about in a children's book.


I have this in the elementary library, but wonder when I would suggest this to a student.  Doing reader's advisory, if a child asks for a realistic fiction book that is about the saddest event in recent American history?  Not much call for that!  (Maybe I'll sell it when students ask for "realistic fiction.")


I'm not sure how I'll vote on this for the ICCA list.  It's an important book, definitely.  In a few years, maybe children will doubt that the travesties after Katrina really happened.  But I guess to dispel that, we do need a book about what happened at the Superdome.

Belly Up

This is my final book for the #48hbc - Belly Up by Stuart Gibbs.  It's a fun read that kids are going to love.  It's set in a zoo - who doesn't love that? - plus there's intrigue - a murdered hippo! - and the character's voice is fun and engaging.  It might even be good at the junior high, with image art like this:

Actually - I'm not done with it yet.  But I wanted to finish blogging about the book challenge.  It's been my busiest weekend yet this year (play, reunion, buying a car) and so I can say that I read 7.5  books for the challenge, and read for 13.5 hours in the 48 hour period.  I didn't do all I needed to in order to win the challenge (I don't even know what the prize was), but that's okay.  I think I should do this sort of challenge with my students over a weekend.  I know it makes me a better librarian to read children's books - how can you do quality reader's advisory if you aren't reading the books you are recommending?  But without some push like this, it's easy for these books to stay on my to-do list and never get done.

Cloaked in Red

I literally just finished the short story collection,  Cloaked in Red, by Vivian Vande Velde.  (Is that really her name?)

I had picked it up at the Scholastic Book Fair, but set it aside because I wasn't sure if it should be at the elementary or junior/senior high.  Definitely the latter!  I think older elementary would appreciate it, but there's just some lines in the author's note ("There are different versions, but they all start with a mother who sends her daughter into the woods, where there is not only a wolf, but a talking, cross-dressing wolf.") that although not inappropriate, are just not really intended for third graders.  I think the junior high girls would really like it though.  The stories are funny, and actually, with the author's note about what makes a good story (memorable characters, vivid setting, exciting plot, and important themes) and how these are lacking in the original tale of Little Red Riding Hood, I think this would be an excellent book for a high school writing class.  I'm going to suggest it to the high school English teachers.

So with that, I'm up to 9.5 hours in the #48hbc! 

Breaking Stalin's Nose

I just finished the Newbery Honor book, Breaking Stalin's Nose by Eugene Yelchin.

I try to keep up with new books and was surprised as anyone when this was given a Newbery Honor as I'd never heard of it.  But I will certainly give the committee a tip o' the hat - this was a great book.  A quick read, and one that could be an excellent book for even junior high social studies classes.  I'm giving it to my Russian-speaking daughter.  And, it took me 55 minutes to read - so now I'm at an even 8 hours read for #48hbc.

The Underdogs

An hour ago, I finished the book, The Underdogs by Mike Lupica.

I've read one Lupica  book before, Hero.  But it was pretty different than his other work (or so I hear) and this is your typical sports book that he usually writes.  If all his books are like this, though, I should read more.  It was an exciting story that ended just like you wanted it to.  I might get it for the junior/senior high library too, because i know some 7th graders who would really like this. 

So that puts me at 7 hours, 5 minutes for #48hbc, the 48 hour reading challenge.  I started at 2 yesterday afternoon so that's really bad!  I have a show to go to tonight plus church in the morning, so I'll need to read all afternoon and then some after we get back, and a good six hours tomorrow.  That will put me at 20 hours total . . . far short of what I was hoping, but certainly not a bad amount for my first try at this. 

But really, this is doing me a lot of good for giving quality reader's advisory.  I should do this more often!

Soccer Sabatoge

I started reading Soccer Sabotage, a graphic novel by Liam O'Donnell and Mike Deas. 

I have several of this series in the elementary library, and they are popular (the students are loving graphic novels).  I didn't finish, it though - I'm not a huge fan of sports fiction, anyway, and then the funny insets with just the head of the red-hair-afro kid, telling the fundamentals of soccer made it too much.  I did spend a half hour on it, though, so that counts!  So for #48hbc, I'm up to 3 hours, 5 minutes.  I suppose I should round that to 3 hours, but that definitely seems the wrong direction if I'm going to make it to the minimum 12 hours! 

On big fat cows . . .

That is, The Big Fat Cow that Goes Kapow by Andy Griffiths and illustrated by Terry Denton.

Before I left the library today, I grabbed a bunch of new fiction books that I'd been wanting to read.  I'm glad to see I hadn't put a spine label on this yet because I may have just put in the fiction collection, when it definitely should be in the easy readers.  I'm doing a new section for those easy readers, as we have youngsters come in for "Good fit books" (Daily 5 curriculum) and we are lacking in that area.  But this book is fantastic for that!  So I'm glad I read it - it didn't add to my minutes read, much (up to 2 hours, 35 minutes now) but I'll check out his other books, too.  Students will really like this book.

(This 48-Hour Book Challenge is such a reminder as to how important reading lots of children's books is imperative for quality reader's advisory!)

http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1317791347l/6400049.jpg

And yes, I know what books I buy for the collection, but we added over 1,000 new books at the elementary school today, so forgive me for forgetting what kinds are which!

Wonderstruck

I just finished Wonderstruck by Brian Selznick.  Of course I do have more recent books to read, but this has been on my to-read list for a long time.  When I finished my student teaching three years ago, I gave my cooperating teacher, The Invention of Hugo Cabret as it's always been a favorite of mine.

http://www.wonderstruckthebook.com

More than most books, I find Selznick's books overwhelming.  I probably should have saved this book for last, because instead of jumping into another book really quickly for this 48 Hour Book Challenge, what I really want to do is sit and think about the book for awhile.  At the beginning, it seems so disconnected and complicated, really, but Selznick brings together two stories - decades apart - in a most satisfying way.

That took two hours - only with Selznick can you finish a 600+ page book in two hours!  It's a quick read with over 400 pages of pictures, but it's a can't-put-down, too. 

Smile by Raina Telgemeier

For my first book, I read Smile by Raina Telgemeier.  It took me 30 minutes.  47.5 hours to go!

I knew nothing of this book other than it was very popular with my students.  I might have known it was a graphic novel, too, which explains part of the popularity - I've been building the graphic novel collection and the students are really digging that.  I was surprised that this was a graphic novel memoir (took me awhile to realize that, actually), and that it focused so much on teeth!  Considering that, it surprises me how popular it is at my school.  Don't get me wrong, it's a cute book - I really like the animation - and I plan to buy it for the junior high, too.  But if a graphic novel that is cataloged under Girls -- Dental care is very popular at the elementary, I think my students are super hungry for graphic novels!  Since it connected so well with the students, and since the animation is so fun, I'll check out what else Telgemeier has written.

http://goraina.com/webcomics/smile041_web.jpg

Liar, Liar

It's so sad, it's almost July 4th and this is only the second book I've read all summer!  Well, I have to start somewhere:



Liar, Liar by Gary Paulsen is about Kevin Spencer, a 14-year old boy who lies.  A lot.  But it works for him in a strange way, but the story has a good message that liars never prosper.  Or however that saying goes.

I have mixed reactions to this book.  It is so different than Gary Paulsen's other works.  Had I not known, I would have thought it was by Andrew Clements because it reads a lot like one of his school stories.  That's what I love about Carl Hiaasen - I can read his work and know it's his.  But I suppose something can be said for being flexible with your voice.  He's a ventriloquist of sorts!

But here's two things, one I liked and one I didn't.  Here's what I liked, on page 97:  "So I went where I always go when I don't know what to do - I headed for the library to organize my thoughts and hammer out a battle plan."  Love that, Gary Paulsen!  But here's what I hate, on page 108:  "My eyes stung and my throat closed, tight and burning.  I took a few minutes to stare at the floor until I was sure I could speak without squeaking or choking."  A few minutes?  MINUTES?  I mean really.  Do you know how long a few minutes is, to just sit there and wait for someone?  Certainly Paulsen is not the first writer to use this inaccuracy, but it is like fingernails on the chalkboard for me.

Writers - especially those writing for children - please use language correctly and avoid this usage.  Thank you for your attention to this very serious matter.

Even so, I'd give this book a good strong B+.  It's a fun character - plus I don't think it's going to be a series.  You know how I feel about series!

Summer Reading

My schedule is calming down a little bit since I finished my comprehensive tests last week (no scores back yet, knock on wood).  I still am taking three tech classes, but we're also mostly moved in to the new house, so I can actually do some reading.  I probably won't beat my reading last year of about 20 chapter books for children, but I'm going to try.  I am a volunteer reader for my state library association and have a list of children's books I've been asked to read.


So my first book this summer is Diary of a Wimpy Kid:  Rodrick Rules, by Jeff Kinney:

I know I'm behind in my reading as this was published and popular some time ago.  (Goodness, the movie is on DVD now!)  This book isn't on the list from the association, but I wanted to catch up on the series anyway.  My husband read it too, and it  really is laugh-out-loud funny.  When I did my student teaching in 2009, one fifth grader encouraged me to read these.  I love recommendations from kids! 

So back to this list - I should give some background on it.  Members of the state library association are asked to read as many of these books on a list as they can, and rate them based on whether they should be included on a list for students to read.  Then the votes are tallied, and the results are used as choices for students to vote on as the best children's book - not for this fall, but next.  So we're already 1+ years behind.  That's not really the problem, as the logistics of getting the list books to school libraries in time for the next school year requires it.  And as I said, Rodrick Rules is not on the list - but the first one Wimpy Kid book is!  So in 2012-13, students might be asked to choose Diary of a Wimpy Kid as the best children's book!  What the heck?  I mean, it's a great book, but could we choose a book that's a little less popular?  

First, we should give attention to authors who need our help - Kinney doesn't need it.  This list needs to be motivational, inviting students to read books they haven't read.  Plus, we look completely irrelevant as an organization!  The high school voters chose The Hunger Games last school year - again, a great book, but since the third book is out and the series is finished, couldn't we just not?  The average age for this summer's list is 2009 - that's not that behind, but seriously, let's not choose such popular books to be included on the ballot.  I hate giving Wimpy Kid a 1 for  "definitely should not be on the list," but that's what I'm going to do.

I learned in a great math class years ago about the math of voting, and how the votes are counted determines who wins the election.  I don't know how the votes are counted here, but I'm guessing it's a simple counting, and the more people who gave a book a 5 for "should definitely be on the list," the higher the score, and it will be the top choice.  Yes, most volunteers have probably read Diary of a Wimpy Kid.  It's that popular.  If it's on the ballot, most of the kid voters will have read it too, and it will probably win.  But that doesn't mean it should be on the list in the first place!

I know it's not easy to make up the list for the summer reading by the librarians so far ahead, then get volunteers and get the results all tabulated and such.  But before the list was emailed out this spring, couldn't we look at the list and take out such obvious successful outliers? 

That's the end of that!

Well, yesterday was my last day at the public library.  I wonder if I'll ever work in one again?  (Hopefully I'll volunteer.)  My favorite part is doing readers' advisory.  It helps me grow as a reader, myself, to see what other people find interesting.  And although I know you aren't supposed to just push books you like (hey, I have even suggested Twilight and the Warrior Kitties series), I have boosted the check outs for several of my favorites:

Theodore Boone:  Kid Lawyer, by John Grisham.  I see on blogs that a lot of people didn't like this, but I was wholly satisfied.  It was suspenseful to the very end.

Kate DiCamillo's The Magician's Elephant, or any of her other titles.  The nearest and dearest to my heart really is The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane, but I don't recommend that to just anyone.  I think you have to be ready for it - having had some sort of loss in your life - to really appreciate it.

Scat by Carl Hiaasen - or any of his other children's books.  I absolutely love the "Easter eggs" that are included for those who have also read his adult books (let's hope and those readers are adults - a bit risque for kids).  I like that his themes of Florida, environmental protection, and the bad guy getting it in the end are consistent no matter the level, and I also like that he doesn't talk down to the young reader.  He's just fantastic and I've read all his books.

My Life in Dog Years by Gary Paulsen is one of the few autobiographies for children out there.  Truthfully, it's one of the best books I've ever read, and certainly one of the top two children's books I've read (with Love That Dog by Sharon Creech).  I recommend it to the kids looking for a dog book, and there are plenty.  It's a very popular Dewey section!

Flotsam by David Wiesner is just a fabulous picture book - for children or adults.  The pictures are exquisitely detailed and I love that there is such a detailed storyline without any words.  I used this book in my student teaching with 5th graders, having them write a story to go along with the pictures.  Wordless books are great for kids learning to read because they can interact with the book without tripping on the print.  This has definitely been my favorite picture book, until . . .

Chalk by Bill Thomson came along.  Talk about exquisite!  I cannot believe that it didn't win a Caldecott.  The others were fine, but not even close to this one, in this non-artist's opinion.  In fact, I was going to base my ALA president's election vote on whoever was NOT on the Caldecott committee this year - if one of the two were on it, they lost my vote.  Alas, neither were and had to choose otherwise (hint, one seems to be much more technological than the other, considering websites and such - she got my vote).

Anyway, look at this interior shot of Chalk:

INCREDIBLE!  David Wiesner, I believe you've met your match.

The Boy Who Couldn't Sleep and Never Had To

In my Readers Advisory class, I am reading a different genre every week (this week, romance - - eeeew!) and then writing a review.  I figured that would be a good thing to include here for many reasons, not the least of which, maybe later I'll want to remember what book I read, but won't have access to the course online anymore.  For now, I want to share the book The Boy Who Couldn't Sleep and Never Had To by D.C. Pierson.  I personally hope this becomes a movie because it would be fabulous, as long as it stays true to the book.

THE BOY WHO COULDN’T SLEEP AND NEVER HAD TO, by D. C. Pierson. New York: Vintage Books, 2010. 226 pp. 978-0-307-47461-2. The prologue begins compellingly: “All the newspapers and TV pundits are calling this fall’s freshman college class the ‘Symnitol Generation.’” Symnitol, we find out, is a pharmacological solution to man's desire to stay awake, to have more hours in the day, and this is the story of how this came to be. When the action in this fast-paced, action-driven novel begins, the narrator, Darren, tells about his passion for drawing but also for staying out of sight at high school. This is shattered when Eric, a very strange boy with an oddly mature presence, takes note of Darren’s drawing and they become quick friends as they work on a comic book-movie-video game project. When Eric tells Darren about his “thing” - not having the ability or need to sleep - Darren is incredulous but then a believer. When the two realize the extent of Eric’s powers, their worst fears of "The Man" become reality, and the action really begins. The ending is unsettling and yet satisfying as the book comes full circle. Surprisingly slated as adult fiction, this title appropriately won an Alex Award, as teens will delight in this book. Graphic novel fans that want to read a traditional book will enjoy this fast-paced title with lots of twists and turns.

Author interview can be found here.

The Ghost and the Goth

YA isn't my favorite genre.  After being forced to read Twilight in a YA class, I was happy to never go back.  (Seriously, why is Twilight so popular?  It portrays a TERRIBLE example of romantic relationships.  Edward is not romantic, he's abusive.)  

But this book came through our YA workroom as a new title, and I was so intrigued I had to read it:

The Ghost and the Goth by Stacey Kade

I was not disappointed!  It was fun and funny.  I like how the narrator switched from Alona (the ghost) and Will (the goth).  Good writing = good marketing, I guess - this book will appeal to lots of different teens.  (Though none of mine.  Boo.  But my husband read it.)

My 16-year-old son pinpointed it for what it was from looking at the cover.  "Ugh, they're going to make a TV show out of it."  I don't know about that, but there's a sequel coming out this June . . .

Another one down!

I don't know how long I've been aware of this National Endowment for the Humanities list - probably fifteen years? - and I've been slowly working on getting all of these read.  Even if I read nothing else, I doubt I'd be done with it by now.  Well, that's an exaggeration, I probably would have been.  Dang you, John Grisham!  Anyway, I've been making very good progress on the K-3 list that I wanted to post here.  Of course, many are pictures books - just wait until I get to the high school list! - but it's still good.  

just finished Alice in Wonderland which was a very unusual book.  So much of what is in it is in the public consciousness - the rabbit hole, the Mad Hatter, the Queen of Hearts - but here it all is in one pretty short story.  I'm not sure I like it, really, but I know I love this video of it, from the British Film Institute, a 1903 short film of the story.  How amazing to think that the only one still alive here is probably the trees.

Some of these books I've probably read - Aesop's Fables! - but I haven't marked it just to be sure.  A couple I'll have to get via inter-library loan.  And I know it's really weird I haven't read Curious George - he's super popular at my library, but my kids were never interested so I haven't read it yet.  Next on my list to read is Mouse and the Motorcycle, which will probably come back to me; I bet I read it as a child - I only mark it if I remember reading the book.  My absolute favorite here would be Millions of Cats.  What's yours?

The K-3 list, with what I have left to read highlighted:

Aardema, Verna. Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People’s Ears.
Aesop. Fables.
Allard, Harry. Miss Nelson Is Missing!
Atwater, Richard and Florence. Mr. Popper’s Penguins.
Bemelmans, Ludwig. Madeline.
Brown, Marcia. Stone Soup.
Brown, Margaret Wise. Goodnight Moon.
Brunhoff, Jean de. The Story of Babar.
Burton, Virginia Lee. Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel.
Carle, Eric. The Very Hungry Caterpillar.
Carroll, Lewis. Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.
Cleary, Beverly. The Mouse and the Motorcycle.
Collodi, Carlo. Adventures of Pinocchio.
Crews, Donald. Freight Train.
Daugherty, James. Andy and the Lion.
dePaola, Tomie. Strega Nona.
Duvoisin, Roger. Petunia.
Flack, Marjorie. The Angus series.
Freeman, Don. Corduroy.
Fritz, Jean. The Cabin Faced West.
Gag, Wanda. Millions of Cats.
Galdone, Paul. The Three Little Pigs.
Grahame, Kenneth. The Reluctant Dragon.
Gramatky, Hardie. Little Toot.
Hoban, Russell. Bedtime for Frances.
Johnson, Crockett. Harold and the Purple Crayon.
Keats, Ezra Jack. The Snowy Day
Kraus, Robert. Leo the Late Bloomer.
Krauss, Ruth. The Carrot Seed.
Leaf, Munro. The Story of Ferdinand.
Lear, Edward. A Book of Nonsense.
Lionni, Leo. Frederick.
Lobel, Arnold. Frog and Toad Are Friends.
Lopshire, Robert. Put Me in the Zoo.
Marshall, James. George and Martha.
McCloskey, Robert. Make Way for Ducklings.
McDermott, Gerald. Anansi the Spider.
Merrill, Jean. The Pushcart War.
Milne, A.A. Winnie-the-Pooh.
Minarik, Else Holmelund. Little Bear.
Parish, Peggy. Amelia Bedelia.
Piper, Watty. The Little Engine That Could.
Potter, Beatrix. The Tale of Peter Rabbit.
Rey, H.A. Curious George.
Selden, George. The Cricket in Times Square.
Sendak, Maurice. Where the Wild Things Are.
Seuss, Dr. The Cat in the Hat.
---. Green Eggs and Ham.
Slobodkina, Esphyr. Caps for Sale.
Steig, William. Sylvester and the Magic Pebble.
Stevenson, Robert Louis. A Child’s Garden of Verses.
Taylor, Sydney. All-of-a-Kind Family.
Thurber, James. Many Moons.
Udry, Janice May. A Tree is Nice.
Van Allsburg, Chris. The Garden of Abdul Gasazi.
Viorst, Judith. Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day.
Ward, Lynd. The Biggest Bear.
White, E.B. Charlotte’s Web.
Yashima, Taro. Crow Boy.
Zion, Gene. Harry the Dirty Dog.
Zolotow, Charlotte. William’s Doll.