The Wild Robot Protects (Peter Brown)

 

I was so excited to hear that there is a third book in this series now! I picked it up the day it came out. It doesn't disappoint! 

I have read the previous two books aloud to my class a number of times. I thought it would be a good idea to plan for a parent/child book club and have my students read it and we plan to get together early in January to share our experience. I will return and report after that happens. 

Goodreads says:

The action-packed third installment in Peter Brown's internationally bestselling The Wild Robot series takes Roz on an under-the-ocean journey to save her beloved island!

Life for Roz and the animals on their island is perfect: wild, natural, harmonious. Her son Brightbill has even found a mate! But then, one day an injured seal washes ashore and warns of dangerous, cloudy waters that are flowing toward the island—and soon the animals are forced inland to fight over dwindling resources.

 

Roz calms and organizes the animals, but the poison tide takes a terrible toll on the island. And when the robot discovers that her new body is waterproof, she marches into the waves and sets out across the ocean, determined to stop the poison tide.
 
During her undersea journey, Roz encounters amazing geological formations and incredible creatures, and she sees the devastation caused by the toxic waters. Creatures she meets along the way direct her to a mysterious character known as the Ancient Shark, who explains that the poison tide is caused by a huge station that floats on the waves; a station operated by humans and by robots. To stop them, the Ancient Shark is prepared to attack with an army of sea creatures. However, Roz hopes to find a peaceful solution, instead. Can the wild robot save the ocean and her island and everything she loves?

 

This thrilling third installment of the Wild Robot series takes readers on a new adventure under the ocean and to the frigid northern waters where Roz may have to make the ultimate sacrifice.

Boundaries (Henry Cloud and John Townsend)

 

This book was really timely and had some great things to think about when it comes to boundaries. The authors are Christian and had many scriptural connections.

Goodreads says:

Having clear boundaries is essential to a healthy, balanced lifestyle. A boundary is a personal property line that marks those things for which we are responsible. In other words, boundaries define who we are and who we are not. Boundaries impact all areas of our lives: Physical boundaries help us determine who may touch us and under what circumstances -- Mental boundaries give us the freedom to have our own thoughts and opinions -- Emotional boundaries help us to deal with our own emotions and disengage from the harmful, manipulative emotions of others -- Spiritual boundaries help us to distinguish God's will from our own and give us renewed awe for our Creator -- Often, Christians focus so much on being loving and unselfish that they forget their own limits and limitations. When confronted with their lack of boundaries, they ask: - Can I set limits and still be a loving person? - What are legitimate boundaries? - What if someone is upset or hurt by my boundaries? - How do I answer someone who wants my time, love, energy, or money? - Aren't boundaries selfish? - Why do I feel guilty or afraid when I consider setting boundaries? Dr. Henry Cloud and Dr. John Townsend offer biblically-based answers to these and other tough questions, showing us how to set healthy boundaries with our parents, spouses, children, friends, co-workers, and even ourselves.

Forged By Reading (Beers and Probst)

 

I am a big fan of these two authors and have read a number of their books. This one spoke to my heart. The bottom line is that reading is what makes our world a better place and it should do something TO us. What happens in your head? What happens in your heart? And what will you do after reading what you've read?  (This is part of their BHH approach - only now they've added a D at the end for what are you going to DO) It's all about the power of a literate life. They're singing my song! 

Goodreads says:

Bestselling authors Kylene Beers and Robert E. Probst expand the vision of what it means to be an independent reader in our schools and in our nation by challenging our concepts of literacy. In an educational climate dictated by standards, tests, and mandates, Beers and Probst offer a needed vision of the interrelated nature of literacy and democracy, while they inspire us to do the hard work. Divided into three parts―Change, Power, and Hope―each section of the book helps us reenvision a world where all experience the power of a literate life.

Native American Night Before Christmas

 

We enjoyed this story. Some of my student's weren't familiar with Twas The Night Before Christmas since many of them don't celebrate Christmas so the connection was kind of lost on them. 

A good conversation starter:

- Why is Santa's face red?

- Why do they call him Old Red Shirt?

- How does he go up the smoke hole?

Goodreads says:

An innovative retelling of the classic Christmas tale, Native American Night Before Christmas presents a whimsical look at a Native American Christmas Eve, when Old Red Shirt (the Indian Santa Claus) comes a-calling on his wooden sleigh pulled by a team of flying white buffalo. Jesse Hummingbird's inspired illustration transform the author's playful adaptation into a fresh and modern work of art. A delight for people of all ages and cultures. Winner of the 2010 Moonbeam Award for Holiday Books.

Little Brown (Marla Fraser)

 

This one surprised my students. "The author didn't solve the problem!" 

We were a little stumped. We had a good discussion though about people that are like Little Brown. It's hard to know how to deal with them. Don't be like Little Brown. Just be friendly! 

Goodreads says:

A grumpy and lonely little dog at the dog park decides to take matters into his own paws.

Little Brown is one cranky canine because no one ever plays with him at the dog park. Or maybe no one ever plays with him because he is cranky. Either way, Little Brown decides today is the day to take action, so he takes all of the toys and sticks and blankets from all of the dogs at the park and won’t give them back. But what will happen now?

Tilly and the Bookwanderers (Anna James)

 

This is one of many series about books coming to life - either going into a book or characters coming out of the book. In this book, the main character I chose this as a read-aloud without reading it ahead of time. It is a lovely story and very imaginative, but it is tricky as a read aloud because some of the words were quite advanced for my students. I found myself reading ahead so I could figure out what to skip. There's a lot of description of people and places that causes my students to tune out. Once I got that figured out everyone became much more engaged in listening to the story. 

p. 108

...so many out-of-the way things happened to me that  I began to think that very few things are indeed really impossible. I know a woman - who spoke a lot of nonsense most of the time, it has to be said - but she once told me that she sometimes believe as many as six impossible things a day and all before breakfast! And so nowadays I try to make a little more space for the impossible to happen.

p. 157

"Oh Tilly. To my eternal sadness, we are not magical at all; we're just lucky enough to be able to use the natural magic of books and reading. It exists for everyone, but some of us can exert a little more control over it...."

p. 177 

Bookwandering if the ability to travel inside books and only a few readers can do it/ you could say we can read a bit harder than most people. Something tips us over from visiting the books purely inside our imagination to being physically transported there. We still don't know precisely how it happens, and why bookwandering magic affect s some people and not others. We think any reader probably has the potential to do it, but perhaps predictably there are very high numbers of booksellers a or librarians, as book wanderers almost always have a very special or particular relationship with books and reading. 

p. 178

The Underlibrary exists to protect readers, and our stories, we have important rules in place to help do this. As I'm sure you can imagine, some books are far safer than others to explore, and we've had some pretty close calls in the past when people have been pulled through all sorts of unsavory characters when their abilities awoke.

p. 193 Books can change minds and change worlds, open doors and open minds, and plant seeds that can grow into magical or even terrifying things. Stories are things to be loved and respected at the same time; never underestimate the power of them. It's why books are often casualties of censorship; those who ban or burn books are those who are scared of what can be found among their pages. But imagine what might happen if those people also knew there was a way to permanently damage those stories; it's why we are so secretive. What we do could be put to such terrible use in the wrong hands'. 

p. 207 Book wandering is only possible in bookshops and libraries in our experience. It just doesn't seem to work unless you are in a book emporium of some kind; you need the potency of all the different book worlds brought together in one space

Goodreads says:
A magical adventure to delight the imagination. A curl-up-on-the-sofa debut from a uniquely talented author.

Eleven year-old Tilly has lived above her grandparents' bookshop ever since her mother disappeared shortly after she was born. Like the rest of her family, Tilly loves nothing more than to escape into the pages of her favourite stories.

One day Tilly realises that classic children's characters are appearing in the shop through the magic of `book wandering' - crossing over from the page into real life.

With the help of Anne of Green Gables and Alice in Wonderland. Tilly is determined to solve the mystery of what happened to her mother all those years ago, so she bravely steps into the unknown, unsure of what adventure lies ahead and what dangers she may face.

Bartholomew and the Oobleck (Dr Seuss)

 

Great for our matter unit in science! I even tried making oobleck with my class. Oobleck is a great example of a non-newtonian fluid.

It took us a few story period to get this story read. It's a long one! 

Goodreads says:

n this Caldecott Honor-winning picture book, join Bartholomew Cubbins in Dr. Seuss's classic tale of one king's magical mishap.

Bored with rain, sun, fog, and snow, King Derwin of Didd summons his royal magicians to create something new and exciting to fall from the sky. What he gets is a storm of sticky green globs called Oobleck, which soon causes a royal mess. But with the assistance of the wise page boy Bartholomew, the king (along with young readers) learns that the simplest words can sometimes solve the biggest problems.

While Bartholomew and the Oobleck is one of Dr. Seuss's lesser known works, it is nevertheless totally Seussian and as topical today as when it was first published in 1949, addressing subjects that we know the good doctor was passionate about throughout his life: the abuse of power (as in Yertle the Turtle and Horton Hears a Who); rivalry (as in The Sneetches); and of course, zany good humor (as in The Cat in the Hat and the 43 other books he wrote and illustrated)! This is a perfect way to introduce new readers to an old classic or to reward existing fans.

With his unique combination of hilarious stories, zany pictures and riotous rhymes, Dr. Seuss has been delighting young children as well as helping them learn to read for over fifty years. Creator of the wonderfully anarchic 'Cat in the Hat', and ranked among the world's top children's authors, Dr. Seuss is a global best-seller, with nearly half a billion books sold worldwide.

Lessons in Chemistry (Bonnie Garmus)

 

Most of the time I felt angry and slightly enraged while reading this book. It had laugh out loud moments, heart warming moments and shocking moments too that practically gave me whiplash. Most of the men in this book are gross. Just gross. I found it rather ironic that it ended happily about Calvin...which I suppose made Elizabeth happy? Irony. I do think that one of the tragedies of that time was how shame was so common and people were secretive rather than being open about everyone's mistakes. 

I loved how the dog, Six Thirty, had thoughts on many of the important moments. 

Goodreads says:

Chemist Elizabeth Zott is not your average woman. In fact, Elizabeth Zott would be the first to point out that there is no such thing as an average woman. But it’s the early 1960s and her all-male team at Hastings Research Institute takes a very unscientific view of equality. Except for one: Calvin Evans; the lonely, brilliant, Nobel–prize nominated grudge-holder who falls in love with—of all things—her mind. True chemistry results.

But like science, life is unpredictable. Which is why a few years later Elizabeth Zott finds herself not only a single mother, but the reluctant star of America’s most beloved cooking show Supper at Six. Elizabeth’s unusual approach to cooking (“combine one tablespoon acetic acid with a pinch of sodium chloride”) proves revolutionary. But as her following grows, not everyone is happy. Because as it turns out, Elizabeth Zott isn’t just teaching women to cook. She’s daring them to change the status quo.

Laugh-out-loud funny, shrewdly observant, and studded with a dazzling cast of supporting characters, Lessons in Chemistry is as original and vibrant as its protagonist.

Digital Minimalism (Cal Newport)

 

I loved his points about the need to have walking time/quiet time where we don't have a radio or audio book or podcast or something like that in our ears. Our brains need quiet time. 

I also loved his point about the importance of scheduling in high quality leisure. It is too easy to fill out time with mindless social media scrolling. I need to schedule in the time for high quality leisure and NOT fall prey to what's easier. 

Goodreads says:

Minimalism is the art of knowing how much is just enough. Digital minimalism applies this idea to our personal technology. It's the key to living a focused life in an increasingly noisy world.

In this timely and enlightening book, the bestselling author of Deep Work introduces a philosophy for technology use that has already improved countless lives.

Digital minimalists are all around us. They're the calm, happy people who can hold long conversations without furtive glances at their phones. They can get lost in a good book, a woodworking project, or a leisurely morning run. They can have fun with friends and family without the obsessive urge to document the experience. They stay informed about the news of the day, but don't feel overwhelmed by it. They don't experience "fear of missing out" because they already know which activities provide them meaning and satisfaction.

Now, Newport gives us a name for this quiet movement, and makes a persuasive case for its urgency in our tech-saturated world. Common sense tips, like turning off notifications, or occasional rituals like observing a digital sabbath, don't go far enough in helping us take back control of our technological lives, and attempts to unplug completely are complicated by the demands of family, friends and work. What we need instead is a thoughtful method to decide what tools to use, for what purposes, and under what conditions.

Drawing on a diverse array of real-life examples, from Amish farmers to harried parents to Silicon Valley programmers, Newport identifies the common practices of digital minimalists and the ideas that underpin them. He shows how digital minimalists are rethinking their relationship to social media, rediscovering the pleasures of the offline world, and reconnecting with their inner selves through regular periods of solitude. He then shares strategies for integrating these practices into your life, starting with a thirty-day "digital declutter" process that has already helped thousands feel less overwhelmed and more in control.

Technology is intrinsically neither good nor bad. The key is using it to support your goals and values, rather than letting it use you. This book shows the way.

Hidden Potential (Adam Grant)

 

How  did I not know about this guy? This book was great! He also has a podcast and has done a number of Ted Talks. This book was really fun and inspiring to read....really connected to the Carol Dweck idea of possibility thinking. I'm singing up for his podcast and will also put this on my list of books to re-read regularly.

p. 10   Amazing: 

In the late 1980s, around the same time that the Raging Rooks were learning chess in Harlem, the state of Tennessee launched a bold experiment. At 79 schools - many of which were low income - they randomly assigned over 11,000 students to different classrooms in kindergarten through third grade. The original goal was to test whether smaller classes were better for learning. But an economist named Raj Chetty realized that since both students and teachers were randomly assigned to classrooms, he could go back to the data to analyze whether other features of classrooms made a difference. 

Chetty is one of the world's most influential economists. He's the winner of the MacArthur genius grant. And his research suggests that excellence depends less on our natural talents than we might expect. 

The Tennessee experiment contained a starling result. Chetty was able to predict the success that students achieved as adults simply by looking at who taught their kindergarten class. By age 25, students who happened to have had more experienced kindergarten teachers were earning significantly more money than their peers. 

Chetty and his colleagues calculated that moving from an inexperienced kindergarten teacher to an experienced one would add over $1000 to each student's annual income in their twenties. For a class of 20 students, an above-average kindergarten teacher could be worth additional lifetime income of $321,000.

Kindergarten matters in many ways, but I never would have expected teachers to leave such a visible mark on their students' salaries two decades later. Most adults hardly even remember being five years old. Why did kindergarten teachers end up casting such a long shadow?

The intuitive answer is that effective teachers help students develop cognitive skills. Early education builds a solid foundation for understanding numbers and words. Sure enough, students with more experienced teachers scored higher on math and reading tests at the end of kindergarten. But over the next few years, their peers caught up. 

To figure out what students were carrying with them from kindergarten into adulthood, Chetty's team turned to another possible explanation. In fourth and eighth grade, the students were rated by their teachers on some other qualities. Here's a sample:

• Proactive: how often did they take initiative to ask questions, volunteer answers, seek information from books and engage the teacher to learn outside class?
• Prosocial: How well did they get along and collaborate with peers?
  
• Disciplined: How effectively did they pay attention - and resist the impulse to disrupt the class?
  
• Determined: How consistently did they take on challenging problems, do more than the assigned work, and persist in the face of obstacles?

When students were taught by more experienced kindergarten teachers, their fourth-grade teachers rated them higher on all four of these attributes. So did their eighth-grade teachers. The capacities to be proactive, prosocial, disciplined, and determined stay with the students longer - and ultimately proved more powerful - than early math and reading skills. When Chetty and his colleagues predicted adult incomes from fourth-grade scores, the ratings on these behaviors matter 2.4 times as much as math and reading performance on standardized tests.

Think about how surprising that is. If you want to forecast the earning potential of fourth graders, you should pay less attention to their objective math and verbal scores than to their teachers' subjective views of their behavior patterns. And although many people see those behaviors as innate, they were taught in kindergarten. Regardless of where students started, there was something about learning these behaviors that set the students up for success decades later. 

p.29 On writing:

If writing isn't your preferred mode of learning, the greatest discomfort of putting your thoughts on a page is probably writer's block. As Steve Martin joked, "Writer's block is a fancy term made up by whiners so they can have an excuse to drink alcohol." There's a reason we don't talk about dancer's block or carpenter's block. Writer's block is actually a thinking block: you're stuck because you haven't figured out what to say. Some novelists get in the groove by typing sentences from fiction they've loved. I get my ideas churning by answering a few emails: it's like a warm-up to give me momentum. If writing becomes a regular routine, eventually words start to flow as fluidly on the page as they do out of your mouth. Psychologists have found that when people were randomly assigned to scheduled daily writing sessions, their output quadrupled - and even scheduling 15 minutes a day was enough to make progress. And now we have artificial intelligence (AI) chat bots to help. In preliminary experiments, randomly assigning professionals to use tools like ChatGPT and Bing boosts both the quality and quantity of their writing - especially for poor writers-by shifting effort from rough drafting to idea generating and editing. For the record, I didn't write a word of this book using AI. Though that's probably what an AI would tell you. 

re: taking breaks

p. 102 Taking breaks has at least three benefits. First, time away from practice helps to sustain harmonious passion. Research indicates that even micro-breaks of five to ten minutes are enough to reduce fatigue and raise energy. It's not just about preventing burnout: research reveals that when we work nights and weekends, our interest and enjoyment in our tasks drop...

Second, breaks unlock fresh ideas. 

Third, breaks deepen learning....it's well established that we can avoid that forgetting curve with spaced repetition - interspersing breaks into practice. 

p. 103 Relaxing is not a waste of time - it's an investment in well-being. Breaks are not a distraction - they're a chance to reset attention and incubate ideas. Play is not a frivolous activity - it's a source of joy and a path to mastery.

p. 104 Worthwhile practice is where progress is made. It's about quality, not quantity. You need to feel there's a shift - something is different when you walk out of the room.

re; deliberate play

The real outcome is her enjoyment. Without enjoyment, potential stays hidden.

On reading:
p. 172

If we want our kids to enjoy reading, we need to make books part of their lives. That involves talking about books during meals and car rides, visiting libraries or bookstores, giving books as gifts, and letting them see us read. Children pay attention to our attention: Where we focus tells them what we prize. 

p. 174

One of the great failings of English and literature classes is forcing students to slog through the "classics" rather than giving them the opportunity to choose books that pique their interest. Research reveals that when students get to pick their own books and read in class, they become more passionate about reading. It's a virtuous cycle: the more they read for fun, the better they get and the more they like it. And they more they like it, the more they learn-and the better they perform on exams. A teacher's task is not to ensure that students have read the literary canons. It is the kindle excitement about reading. 

...to make it engaging and interactive, whenever students were passionate about a book, the floor was theirs to tell their classmates about it. 

Goodreads says:

“This brilliant book will shatter your assumptions about what it takes to improve and succeed. I wish I could go back in time and gift it to my younger self. It would’ve helped me find a more joyful path to progress.”
—Serena Williams, 23-time Grand Slam singles tennis champion

The #1 New York Times bestselling author of Think Again illuminates how we can elevate ourselves and others to unexpected heights.

We live in a world that’s obsessed with talent. We celebrate gifted students in school, natural athletes in sports, and child prodigies in music. But admiring people who start out with innate advantages leads us to overlook the distance we ourselves can travel. We underestimate the range of skills that we can learn and how good we can become. We can all improve at improving. And when opportunity doesn’t knock, there are ways to build a door.

Hidden Potential offers a new framework for raising aspirations and exceeding expectations. Adam Grant weaves together groundbreaking evidence, surprising insights, and vivid storytelling that takes us from the classroom to the boardroom, the playground to the Olympics, and underground to outer space. He shows that progress depends less on how hard you work than how well you learn. Growth is not about the genius you possess—it’s about the character you develop. Grant explores how to build the character skills and motivational structures to realize our own potential, and how to design systems that create opportunities for those who have been underrated and overlooked.

Many writers have chronicled the habits of superstars who accomplish great things. This book reveals how anyone can rise to achieve greater things. The true measure of your potential is not the height of the peak you’ve reached, but how far you’ve climbed to get there.

Time For Bed's Story (Monica Arnold0)

 

Monica Arnoldo's story are a little bit crazy! This one wasn't that crazy to my class though. It was logical. Of course a bed has feelings! Of course it feels unappreciated and used. Some funny things to talk about! They especially loved the stinky stuff under the bed. 

Goodreads says:

In this engaging, laugh-out-loud funny picture book, a child's bed tells it like it is.

Bed has something to say.
Bed knows you do not like bedtime.
And Bed gets it. But look ...
YOU are not so great, either ...

Bed is fed up. Bed's patience is wearing thin. For years, Bed has put up with the kicking at night, the jumping during the day, not to mention the storing of all manner of stinky items. But enough is enough. Now it's time to consider Bed's feelings ...

In a story that's never been told before, Monica Arnaldo's hilarious picture book explores the point of view of an unusual narrator: a child's bed. Irreverent and full of personality, Arnaldo's Bed is also full of love and compassion, making for a relatable and, ultimately, endearing story. This playful and highly original book offers a lighthearted way to approach discussions on communication, perspective and viewpoint. It can be used to promote critical thinking in young children and an understanding that there are at least two sides to every story. It also contains character education lessons on compassion, respect and empathy.

Deep Work (Cal Newport)

This is seriously good stuff. I totally buy in. The trick for me is how do I find the time to really get into deep work? #momtroubles #RCsolutions

I'm going to start by tracking my time and perhaps seriously slashing social media time as he suggests (well, he suggests to quit it, but I'm not quite ready for that). 

This book is going to go on my list of books to re-read regularly.

Goodreads says:

One of the most valuable skills in our economy is becoming increasingly rare. If you master this skill, you'll achieve extraordinary results.

Deep work is the ability to focus without distraction on a cognitively demanding task. It's a skill that allows you to quickly master complicated information and produce better results in less time. Deep work will make you better at what you do and provide the sense of true fulfillment that comes from craftsmanship. In short, deep work is like a super power in our increasingly competitive twenty-first century economy. And yet, most people have lost the ability to go deep-spending their days instead in a frantic blur of e-mail and social media, not even realizing there's a better way.

In Deep Work, author and professor Cal Newport flips the narrative on impact in a connected age. Instead of arguing distraction is bad, he instead celebrates the power of its opposite. Dividing this book into two parts, he first makes the case that in almost any profession, cultivating a deep work ethic will produce massive benefits. He then presents a rigorous training regimen, presented as a series of four "rules," for transforming your mind and habits to support this skill.

A mix of cultural criticism and actionable advice, Deep Worktakes the reader on a journey through memorable stories-from Carl Jung building a stone tower in the woods to focus his mind, to a social media pioneer buying a round-trip business class ticket to Tokyo to write a book free from distraction in the air-and no-nonsense advice, such as the claim that most serious professionals should quit social media and that you should practice being bored. Deep Work is an indispensable guide to anyone seeking focused success in a distracted world. 

Mazy Chan's Last Chance (Lisa Yee)

 

This book is amazing. It is well written and touches on a multitude of hot topics. It is powerful because the main character is a middle-school aged girl just trying to figure out life by observing adults. Through grandfather telling Maizy family history stories we learn about racism towards Chinese people over the last hundred years in North America. Maizy sees her family brought together to a greater understanding of each other and that not everything is as it seems.

Goodreads says:

Welcome to The Golden Palace!

Maizy has never been to Last Chance, Minnesota. . . until now. Her Mom’s plan is just to stay for a couple weeks, until her grandfather gets better. But plans change, and as Maizy spends more time in Last Chance (where she and her family are the only Asian-Americans) and at The Golden Palace—the restaurant that’s been in her family for generations—she makes some discoveries. For instance:
• You can tell a LOT about someone by the way they order food.
• And people can surprise you. Sometimes in good ways, sometimes in disappointing ways.
• And the Golden Palace has Secrets.

But the more Maizy discovers, the more questions she has. Like, why are her mom and her grandmother always fighting? Who are the people in the photographs on the office wall? And when she discovers that a beloved family treasure has gone missing—and someone has left a racist note—Maizy decides it’s time find the answers.

The Girl Who Drank The Moon (Kelly Barnhill)

 

It took me a while to get into this book. After about 100 pages, I was entranced It took me a while to get into this book. After about 100 pages, I was entranced by the writing and by the story. There's something really special about it! It made for a great Children's Lit book club discussion as well.. There's something really special about it! It made for a great Children's Lit book club discussion as well.

Goodreads says:

Every year, the people of the Protectorate leave a baby as an offering to the witch who lives in the forest. They hope this sacrifice will keep her from terrorizing their town. But the witch in the forest, Xan, is kind and gentle. She shares her home with a wise Swamp Monster named Glerk and a Perfectly Tiny Dragon, Fyrian. Xan rescues the abandoned children and deliver them to welcoming families on the other side of the forest, nourishing the babies with starlight on the journey. 

One year, Xan accidentally feeds a baby moonlight instead of starlight, filling the ordinary child with extraordinary magic. Xan decides she must raise this enmagicked girl, whom she calls Luna, as her own. To keep young Luna safe from her own unwieldy power, Xan locks her magic deep inside her. When Luna approaches her thirteenth birthday, her magic begins to emerge on schedule--but Xan is far away. Meanwhile, a young man from the Protectorate is determined to free his people by killing the witch. Soon, it is up to Luna to protect those who have protected her--even if it means the end of the loving, safe world she’s always known.

Come Over To My House (Theo LeSieg)

 

Great way to talk about people with differing abilities. Every page is at a different house with someone who has something special. In the back you can read about each of the disabilities. 

Goodreads says:

Come Over To My House is a delightful picture book that explores the home lives of children and parents who are Deaf or disabled.

Co-written by disability advocate Eliza Hull and bestselling author Sally Rippin, the inclusive rhyming text authentically explores the characters' various disabilities.

A cast of friendly characters invite friends over for a play – there’s fun to be had, food to eat and families to meet!

Come over to my house. Come over and play!
I’ll show you around, you can stay the whole day.
We’ll swing on the swing-set and splash in the pool.
Then I’ll race you inside where my bedroom is cool.

Featuring a gorgeous die-cut cover, bright illustrations and a diverse cast, this is a must-read for all families.

Goat's Coat (Tom Percival)

 

Cute! Fun to read it and predict what the next rhyming word may be. 

Goodreads says:

This illustrated rhyming picture book about Alfonzo, a goat with a very special coat, celebrates the power of kindness and friendship.

Let me tell you the tale of Alfonzo the goat,
who was terribly proud of his lovely new coat.
Alfonzo was happy; he pranced and he skipped.
Then he heard a sad noise, croaking out of a ditch.

Alfonzo couldn't be happier. He just got an amazing new coat, and he feels like a million dollars. But when he discovers some creatures in need of help, will Alfonzo be able to give up his treasured possession to save the day?

This book shows that kindness is definitely the best recipe.

The Last Thing He Told Me

 

I don't read mysteries very often. When I do, I really enjoy them! This one was an easy read and really kept me up late. 

Goodreads says: 

A woman searching for the truth about her husband’s disappearance…at any cost.

Before Owen Michaels disappears, he manages to smuggle a note to his beloved wife of one year: Protect her. Despite her confusion and fear, Hannah Hall knows exactly to whom the note refers: Owen’s sixteen-year-old daughter, Bailey. Bailey, who lost her mother tragically as a child. Bailey, who wants absolutely nothing to do with her new stepmother.

As Hannah’s increasingly desperate calls to Owen go unanswered; as the FBI arrests Owen’s boss; as a US Marshal and FBI agents arrive at her Sausalito home unannounced, Hannah quickly realizes her husband isn’t who he said he was. And that Bailey just may hold the key to figuring out Owen’s true identity—and why he really disappeared.

Hannah and Bailey set out to discover the truth, together. But as they start putting together the pieces of Owen’s past, they soon realize they are also building a new future. One neither Hannah nor Bailey could have anticipated.

This Is a School (John Schu)

 

This would be a fun book to give the grade four students when they graduate and have each of their teachers write in their book....like people do for The Places You'll Go.

Goodreads says:

A moving celebration of school and all it may signify: work and play, creativity and trust, and a supportive community that extends beyond walls.

A school isn’t just a building; it is all the people who work and learn together. It is a place for discovery and asking questions. A place for sharing, for helping, and for community. It is a place of hope and healing, even when that community can’t be together in the same room. John Schu, a librarian and former ambassador of school libraries for Scholastic, crafts a loving letter to schools and the people that make up the communities within in a picture book debut beautifully illustrated by Veronica Miller Jamison.

We Will Rock Our Classmates (Ryan T Higgins)

 

More surprises from Penelope! Great story for contrasts and contradictions! There are plenty of surprises along the way:

• Feeling different than everyone else (everyone ALWAYS wants Penelope to be a dinosaur when they play....she never gets to pretend she's something else)
• When they're playing dentists they scold Penelope for not flossing AND they find someone's backpack stuck in her teeth
• Is nervous about performing (you would think a bring strong dinosaur would never feel nervous!)
• Daddy Rex teaches Penelope about great things people in her family have accomplished and this helps buoy her up

Goodreads says:

Readers will twist and shout for this headbanging companion to the #1 New York Times best-selling We Don't Eat Our Classmates.

Penelope is a T. rex, and she's very good at it. She also likes to rock out on guitar! With the school talent show coming up, Penelope can't wait to perform for her classmates. But sharing who you are can be show-stoppingly scary, especially when it's not what people expect. Will Penelope get by with a little help from her friends?

Trying (Kobi Yamada)

 At  first I thought this book was a little preachy. However, after reading it with my class, I felt totally different about it. 

Key: We don't have to wait until we can do something perfect to try it

Goodreads says:

How will you know what's possible if you don't try?

This is a story for anyone who has ever felt like a beginner, or had doubts, or worried they weren't good enough. It's a story for those who have experienced the pain of trying something new and not having it turn out as they had hoped.

Written by New York Times best-selling author Kobi Yamada, this captivating book celebrates the way failure is the just the beginning of the journey. With alluring black-and-white illustrations and a powerful message, this beautiful tale is about how failure has so much to offer--lessons that help us learn, grow, and discover all the amazing things we can do.