How Many Guinea Pigs Can Fit On a Plane

As soon as I saw the cover, I knew I would love this book. Math people everywhere will love it! I can totally see my students pouring over it and discussing it. So fun! ....and now I finally get what pi means!

It answers all sorts of great questions and even has super good math tricks. This one is a keeper!







Goodreads says:

How many bees does it take to make one jar of honey?

How many soccer balls would fit inside a hollow Earth?

How many pieces of gum would it take to stick you to a wall and keep you there?

Believe it or not, you can find out the answers to these questions yourself using math! Combining questions from real readers like you with surprising answers, How Many Guinea Pigs Can Fit on a Plane? proves that numbers can be fun and that math is power.

The Elegance of the Hedgehog (Muriel Barbery)

My goodness. I started this book in April and it took me until July to finish it. I had a hard time getting into it. One of the problems was the words. oh the words in this book!! There were so many words I'm just unfamiliar with. Is all the wordiness really necessary??

page 1 There he stood, the most recent eructation of the ruling corporate elite-a class that reproduces itself solely by means of virtuous and proper hiccups....
eruct (verb) to belch forth, as gas from a stomach or to emit or issue violently, as matter from a volcano
"You ought to read The German Ideology," I told him. Little cretin in his confer green duffle coat.
cretin (noun) a stupid, obtuse or mentally defective person

Then there was the rambling. It rambles on and on and seems to not be about anything. One of the great readers I admire and follow in Goodreads is Donalyn Miller. She abandoned the book and said:

Abandoned on page 145. I could not connect to the characters at all and did not care what happened to them. Perhaps, I would have liked it better if I was French-- the book was originally published in France.

However, this is one of those books that makes me glad I"m in a book club. I did finally finish it. I had to re-start it a number of times and it took a deadline to get me to finish it. And in the end, I'm glad I did.

The story is set in France and I have a great love affair with everything French. Despite their social awkwardness and preference to be invisible, I really did enjoy getting to know Renee ( "a widow, short, ugly, chubby", with "bunions on my feet and, on certain difficult mornings, it seems, the breath of a mammoth") and Paloma. There's something about those two that we all live.

You have to be really smart to read this book, I think. I'm glad I have my book club to help me get more out of it than I could ever get on my own.

Goodreads says:

We are in the center of Paris, in an elegant apartment building inhabited by bourgeois families. Renée, the concierge, is witness to the lavish but vacuous lives of her numerous employers. Outwardly she conforms to every stereotype of the concierge: fat, cantankerous, addicted to television. Yet, unbeknownst to her employers, Renée is a cultured autodidact who adores art, philosophy, music, and Japanese culture. With humor and intelligence she scrutinizes the lives of the building's tenants, who for their part are barely aware of her existence.

Then there's Paloma, a twelve-year-old genius. She is the daughter of a tedious parliamentarian, a talented and startlingly lucid child who has decided to end her life on the sixteenth of June, her thirteenth birthday. Until then she will continue behaving as everyone expects her to behave: a mediocre pre-teen high on adolescent subculture, a good but not an outstanding student, an obedient if obstinate daughter.

Paloma and Renée hide both their true talents and their finest qualities from a world they suspect cannot or will not appreciate them. They discover their kindred souls when a wealthy Japanese man named Ozu arrives in the building. Only he is able to gain Paloma's trust and to see through Renée's timeworn disguise to the secret that haunts her. This is a moving, funny, triumphant novel that exalts the quiet victories of the inconspicuous among us.

The Pig on the Hill (John Kelly)

What is it with ducks? This pig must be related to Jory John's bear from Goodnight Already and I Love You Already.  This one would be good to read with Treehouse in our Open Court unit on friendship because duck builds a bridge between their two houses.



There are some hilarious illustrations in this book!

Goodreads says:

The pig lives all alone in a house on top of a hill. He’s very happy with his quiet life. He has his books, his tidy tidy house and a lovely view.

Until one morning he opens the curtains to find a duck has taken up residence on the tiny pinnacle of rock outside his window. Much to the pigs annoyance the excessively friendly duck likes the spot and decides to build a house there. With a swimming pool. And a garden and patio.

The duck tries to be friendly. He’s very confident and outgoing. It seems he’s been everywhere (unlike the pig), done everything; skiing, mountain climbing, parachuting, scuba-diving, even brain surgery. The pig just wants to be left alone.

Eventually, after a particularly loud party, the pig shouts at the duck, and the next morning finds a note pinned to the duck’s front door. It reads:

‘GONE AWAY.’

At first the pig is pleased. But gradually realises that his life without the duck is quiet and slightly dull. He comes to miss the duck and regrets rejecting him.

One day there is a knock on the door and the pig opens it to find the duck wearing a som- brero and carrying a pinata. He’d only been on holiday in the South. He does it every year. Maybe next year the pig will join him. 

Kitten's First Full Moon (Kevin Henkes)

Great story for our imagination unit. Things aren't always what they appear. The illustrations are black and white and beautiful. Another beautiful Kevin Henkes book.

Could also be a good springboard for a discussion about goals and how we sometimes run into problems as we try to reach goals. And sometimes, in the end, things end up differently than we expected, and that's ok.

Goodreads says:

The nationally bestselling picture book about a kitten, the moon, and a bowl of milk, written by the celebrated author and illustrator Kevin Henkes, was awarded a Caldecott Medal.

From one of the most celebrated and beloved picture book creators working in the field today comes a memorable new character and a suspenseful adventure just right for reading and sharing at home and in the classroom. It is Kitten's first full moon, and when she sees it she thinks it is a bowl of milk in the sky. And she wants it. Does she get it? Well, no . . . and yes. What a night!

A brief text, large type, and luminescent pictures play second fiddle to the star of this classic picture book—brave, sweet and lucky Kitten! "Henkes's text, reminiscent of Margaret Wise Brown's work in the elemental words, rhythms, and appealing sounds, tells a warm, humorous story that's beautifully extended in his shimmering, gray-toned artwork."—ALA Booklist

Winner of the Caldecott Medal, an ALA Notable Book, a New York Times Best Illustrated Book, and winner of the Charlotte Zolotow Award

Supports the Common Core State Standards 

My Old Pal Oscar (Amy Hest)

The illustrations in this book are beautiful. I am a fast reader and tend to skim though picture books but the topic of loss and the beautiful ocean pictures brought a sense of peace that made me want to slow down and really feel what the character was sharing. And also because dogs and oceans are good for the soul.

"I know what you want. You want to be pals. Well, we can't be pals. No sir. No way. Won't. Ever. Do. That. Again. Ever."

Goodreads says:

After a young boy’s beloved pet passes away, he encounters an adorable stray dog on the beach. The boy tries to walk away and ignore the cuddly creature, but the puppy continues to follow him, undeterred. Though the boy is still dealing with the pain of his loss and feels afraid to care about a new pet again, as the two walk the sand together, the boy slowly opens himself up to the joy of having a new dog in his life and making peace with the past.
 

New York Times bestselling Amy Hest and Amy Bates, the beloved team who created The Dog Who Belonged to No One, have created a touching story about new beginnings and how friendship and love have the power to heal.

I Love You Already (Jory John and Benji Davies)

The friendship between Bear and Duck continues precariously. Goodnight Already was hilarious. So is this one. I think Jory John is secretly writing to help people understand introverts. Introverts are ok with being alone. Let it be!  This would be an interesting discussion during our friendship unit.

Goodreads says:

From the creators of Goodnight Already!, Jory John and Benji Davies, comes another standout hilarious picture book about Bear and Duck. Bear can't wait to spend a pleasant day by himself. His persistent next-door neighbor, Duck, wants to take a morning stroll . . . with Bear. He just wants Bear to like him already. . . .

A Cage Went in Search of a Bird (Cary Fagan)

The illustrations in this book are beautiful. The idea of a cage searching for fulfillment in his life to find a bird to cage was a little disturbing. I'm sure kids would just think it was funny. For me, it bordered on my fear for women who get into abusive relationships. This is a great metaphor for that.

Goodreads says:

A long-empty birdcage takes a chance and leaves behind its attic home to find a bird to keep. Out in the world, the cage encounters many birds and offers shelter to each of them. One by one, they refuse, explaining why they belong elsewhere. The cage feels lonelier than ever – until the cage in search of a bird finds a bird in search of a cage.

Based on an aphorism by Franz Kafka.