The House that George Built (Suzanne Slade)

This book was a great introduction for our Structures and Design in science. It is a good mix of facts and poetry! It talks about problems in building it, its stability (they use the word sturdy), etc. It's great! We could easily have a discussion about quality of life from this book. It also gives some good history lessons on the US breaking away from England and becoming a nation.

Goodreads summary:

THE HOUSE THAT GEORGE BUILT takes readers through the process of how the president’s house came to be—starting with the contest George held to choose the perfect design for this legendary landmark, all the way to President John Adams’s move into the grandiose home. Cleverly written in the familiar format of "The House That Jack Built," author Suzanne Slade supplements her rhyming verse with lively conversational prose, describing how George was involved in this project from beginning to end, from selecting the location to figuring out how to get the thousands of heavy bricks to the construction site. Rebecca Bond’s watercolor illustrations help readers follow the steps to what became the White House as we know it today.(

The Princess and the Pony (Kate Beaton)

To celebrate Canada's 150th birthday, I set a goal this year to read 150 books by Canadian authors. This was my first! I took some of Kate Beaton's other books out of the library. Hark! A Vagrant was a comic book style book full of wit. I can't really include it in my list of books read though because I lost interest part way through. She's a clever author though, for sure.

The princess in this story is midunderstood. No one is realizing the potential she has quite as quick as she would like. The books is irreverent, using the word fart now and then. (We loved that in my class!) Princess Pinecone wants to be a warrior, but in the end, she gets the other warriors to join her side, of sorts. They start wearing sweaters and helps them show their warm cuddly side. If it is a story to encourage girls to be stronger and accomplish more, it fails. If it is meant to solely be entertaining, it wins.



Goodreads summary:

Princess Pinecone knows exactly what she wants for her birthday this year. A BIG horse. A STRONG horse. A horse fit for a WARRIOR PRINCESS! But when the day arrives, she doesn't quite get the horse of her dreams...

From the artist behind the comic phenomenon Hark! A Vagrant, The Princess and the Pony is a laugh-out-loud story of brave warriors, big surprises, and falling in love with one unforgettable little pony.

Ruby's Wish (Shirin Yim Bridges) Sophie Blackall (Illustrator)

We've listened to this story a number of times on Tumblebooks. My students are always captivated by it. The idea that girl's don't just automatically get an education, unlike boys, is a totally foreign concept to them. It makes no sense...and that is a wonderful thing. :)

Goodreads summary:

Ruby is unlike most little girls in old China. Instead of aspiring to get married, Ruby is determined to attend university when she grows up, just like the boys in her family. Based upon the inspirational story of the author's grandmother and accompanied by richly detailed illustrations, Ruby's Wish is an engaging portrait of a young girl who strives for more and a family who rewards her hard work and courage. 

A Child of Books (Oliver Jeffers)

This is ones of those books I want to look at again and again. I'm not as skilled as my students at taking the time to really soak up all that is in the illustrations of a book, but this one definitely made me want to stop and pause. Love it!

Goodreads summary:

I am a child of books.

I come from a world of stories.

A little girl sails her raft across a sea of words, arriving at the house of a small boy. She invites him to go away with her on an adventure into the world of stories... where, with only a little imaginaton, anything at all can happen.

Irresistibly engaging characters by Oliver Jeffers set sail and chart their way through Sam Winston's fascinating typographical landscapes in this extraordinary ode to the power and promises of storytelling. Forty treasured children's classics and lullabies are featured in the pictures, providing endless opportunities for discovery, memories and sharing.

Woven together by a simple story line, the one-of-a-kind illustrations in a A Child of Books provide an unforgettable reading experience that will inspire and encourage readers of all ages to explore, question, and imagine timeless stories of their own. 

Boy on the Brink (David McPhail)

This book reminded us of Where the Wild Things Are. My students noticed the change in font when he starts to dream. All of his dreams had something to do with something that happened to him that day or something that had been said to him. When he wakes up, there are several items in his room that were in his dream. My students noticed this right away. We talked about how pictures tell a lot about the story and sometimes the words don't seem to make sense when it is something like a dream. Dreams are crazy!

Goodreads Summary:

That night there was a storm. Thunder shook the boy's bed and sent it flying . . . and when it landed, the bed was transformed into a world of mountains and valleys, with a river that spilled over a waterfall into a vast green sea. 

A little boy is always the hero in his adventurous dreams...

After a fun-filled day of fishing, playing on the beach, and riding ponies at a carnival, a young boy goes to sleep and dreams of adventures inspired by the day's events. The boy rescues a yellow-haired girl from the castle guards, patches a crack in the dam, and saves a giant ship from falling off the edge of a waterfall, always managing to escape from the brink of disaster.

Award-winning author and illustrator David McPhail's distinctive artwork casts nighttime dreaming in a new light.

The Reason I Jump (Naoki Higashida)

If I were only as self-aware as this thirteen year old seems to be! It was an interesting read. I was hoping for a clearer picture that would help me understand autism better - but I was left with what I have always thought. It's very difficult to understand and it isn't easy living life with autism. I was glad to read the book though. His ability to describe why he does or thinks certain things was fascinating.


Goodreads summary:


You’ve never read a book like The Reason I Jump. Written by Naoki Higashida, a very smart, very self-aware, and very charming thirteen-year-old boy with autism, it is a one-of-a-kind memoir that demonstrates how an autistic mind thinks, feels, perceives, and responds in ways few of us can imagine. Parents and family members who never thought they could get inside the head of their autistic loved one at last have a way to break through to the curious, subtle, and complex life within.

Using an alphabet grid to painstakingly construct words, sentences, and thoughts that he is unable to speak out loud, Naoki answers even the most delicate questions that people want to know. Questions such as: “Why do people with autism talk so loudly and weirdly?” “Why do you line up your toy cars and blocks?” “Why don’t you make eye contact when you’re talking?” and “What’s the reason you jump?” (Naoki’s answer: “When I’m jumping, it’s as if my feelings are going upward to the sky.”) With disarming honesty and a generous heart, Naoki shares his unique point of view on not only autism but life itself. His insights—into the mystery of words, the wonders of laughter, and the elusiveness of memory—are so startling, so strange, and so powerful that you will never look at the world the same way again.

In his introduction, bestselling novelist David Mitchell writes that Naoki’s words allowed him to feel, for the first time, as if his own autistic child was explaining what was happening in his mind. “It is no exaggeration to say that The Reason I Jump allowed me to round a corner in our relationship.” This translation was a labor of love by David and his wife, KA Yoshida, so they’d be able to share that feeling with friends, the wider autism community, and beyond. Naoki’s book, in its beauty, truthfulness, and simplicity, is a gift to be shared.

Chester Racoon and the Big Bad Bully

This is a great approach to bullying. Some people just need the rough edges worked off. We can help them with that!

Goodreads summary:

In this latest addition to the Kissing Hand book collection, Chester Raccoon must learn to deal with another common problem of childhood: a bully at school.

When Mrs. Raccoon learns that there is a bully problem at school, she decides to investigate the situation. But after seeing the bully for herself, she shares a story about a forest that was full of smooth yellow stones, and how the animals living there changed a pointy stone they found into a smooth stone so that it wouldn't hurt any tender paws.

Chester, Ronny, and Cassy follow the spirit of Mrs. Raccoon's story when they next encounter the Bully. Approaching him as a group, they invite him to play, proving that the best way to get rid of an enemy is to make him or her a friend.

This book encourages children to understand that many child bullies are themselves unhappy and gives readers a good example of settling differences by peaceful means. Educators will embrace this story about a positive strategy for dealing with a bully.