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.