Who's Next? Any suggestions?

Any suggestions?

 I of course want to know who the bald guy is in the background?!?

Mr. Lemoncello's Library

Escape From Mr. Lemoncello's Library

by Chris Grabenstein (2013)

A game, a mystery, a list of great authors and books to read, a Willie Wonka homage, and a celebration of libraries. Kyle loves to play all sorts of games, and while spending the night at the brand new town Library takes part in he most challenging game yet: how to escape from being locked in the Library? It is more game than dangerous mystery, very Charlie and the Chocolate Factory-ish, but there are many clues and puzzles to unravel before the end. Great examples of teamwork, using your brain, never giving up. And many, many books are referenced to fill an entire shelf.

Deeper: How many authors and books are mentioned? Research libraries, Dewey Decimal, and apparently there is one more problem to solve for the reader, not the characters in the story. I think this would be a great read aloud and higher level project book.

Nice author's website too, and it looks like he visits schools!

The Fault In Our Stars

The Fault In Our Stars

John Green (2012)

Quite the prolific young man, this Mr. John Green. Author (5 or 6 books since 2005?), websites (leading the "fight to increase awesome and decrease suck"), and YouTube star... when does he sleep?

Cancer isn't new, rare these days is any person that hasn't been touched by it. And while this book is about the pain of living and dying with cancer, it does such a great job letting us know the characters as real, quality people that I didn't feel played when someone died, I felt thankful I was able to read the story.

And I'll probably kiss my boys a few extra times today.

Besides the whole painful death by cancer subject matter there is alcohol, language, and un-explicit sex. Nothing most kids don't see/hear/know about already but I'd still suggest waiting for the teen years to read it.

Awesome People Reading

Of course they're cool, they're reading!

Book Shelves

Why spend an hour taking pictures of our bookshelves?  Cuz I've been spending hours cleaning and organizing my office space and the school/work books.

But I've always liked the sports shelf too:

um, why are you sideways?

100 Great Books For Kids

(...I'm sure adults can read them too.)

Scholastic's "100 Greatest Books for Kids"  -- well, we see about that. They can't be great if I haven't read them, right? Time to count...

Hmmm... I'm a failure as a dad/teacher/book advocate: 48/100. Less than half. How did my sons ever learn to read?!?

The Great Gilly Hopkins

by Katherine Paterson (1978)

Newbery Honor

Several of my students have read this book but all they could tell me,  in hushed, conspiratorial and slightly shocked tones, was that she, Gilly Hopkins used bad words! Being a concerned and responsible adult in charge of their proper education, I had to check this out for myself.

And dammit if she doesn't! Hell, that girl is right sassy and big for her britches, and deserved a resounding thwack on her backside, if you ask me.  She's also in the foster care system, steeling herself for another rejection and desperate to escape and return to the flower child mother who abandoned her.

I wasn't too sure about this one at first but by the end I loved it.  Family is where you find it and make it, and as Trotter says, Life is tough.  It's not a Disney happy ending, and it's probably a little dated unless you're not old enough to know it's dated.

2012 Best Sellers

Thank you Good Books For Kids, this is a nice list of books with the reading level included.

The Wikkeling

The Wikkeling

by Steve Arntson (2011)

A little spooky, a bit complicated, and very much well worth it. Three kids that don't fit in with the "normal" -- one would love to be a garbage collector when he grows up -- in a future society of computers for standardized testing on every students' desk and cell phones tracking one's every movement. (hmm, did I say "future"?)

A special attic is discovered, full of old books and candles and a window that shows a tree lined street of the past, and the children are chased by a ghost-like creature that is also connected to the city's Big Brother-like computer system. A little mystery, some adventure, helping friends and standing up for what you believe in. Cats, grandparents, and a man named "Oak" are also involved.

4/5 stars, highly recommend it.

connections: 1984, The Last Book In The Universe

Wonderstruck

Wonderstruck

by Brian Selznick (2011)

Just in time to go watch Hugo Cabaret on the big screen I got to read Selznick's new magical combo of words and illustrations.  There is a lot going on, the two stories in words and pictures across different time periods are not always the smoothest to follow, but it all wraps up cleanly and clearly in the end. The pencil drawings are incredible, telling a beautiful and emotional story all on their own.

 Set both in the 1920s and 1977, the stories follow a boy and a girl each searching for a parent and running away from an unhappy home situation. It's not light-hearted -- one mom dies, the other leaves the family and rejects her child -- but there are elements of mystery, searching, danger and adventure, not to mention wolves!, that will keep readers interested. I would be curious to see how a child reads just the drawing pages all the way through first, just to see how much or what story they make from it.

Lots of connections -- museums, collections, sign language, Deaf community/school, that Basil Frankenriter (?) book about kids running away and living in the museum...

The Annotated Cat

The Annotated Cat

by Philip Nel

While a bit too dry/scholarly for most classrooms, this could still be an interesting reference book and certainly helps illustrate the importance of editing and rewriting for young authors. If Dr. Seuss himself has to work hours on one page and try many different words in a sentence to get it just right, maybe that will encourage students to keep working.

I love annotated editions because I like knowing where the ideas came from and how the story and art takes shape over the creative process.  This is a great book for Seuss fans, talks a lot about his early years and the effort to improve beginning reader books. The author tends to repeat himself, how many times can one bash poor ol' Dick, Jane, and Spot, but overall interesting and worth a look.

Common Sense Media

I mostly check out this website for movie info (violence? cleavage? creative cuss words?) but they also do book reviews

California Young Reader Medal

The 2011 CYRM Winners -- let's see, have I read them all?

The Children's Book Review

Great website which can be found HERE.

SF, Fantasy, Horror!

The Internet Speculative Fiction Database

and Alternative History, too -- The Alternate History List

Deconstructing Penguins

by L. and N. Goldstone (2005)

Nice companion to understanding what you and/or your children are reading, focusing on the protagonist vs antagonist and theme in each book with clear, simple terms and examples.  Books covered include Charlotte's Web, Babe, Animal Farm and The Phantom Tollbooth.