Don't Worry Wuddles (Lita Judge)

 

Lita Judge writes beautiful books, many of which are non-fiction. This one is a fiction story about a sheep that just keeps giving and giving in preparation for winter. My class really enjoyed the repetetive nature of the story.

I couldn't help notice that sadly, in the end, the sheep is, ironically, left cold because she's given so much to others...luckily, all the animals give her a group hug.

Goodreads says:

In this snowy day picture book, a kindhearted but overeager duckling tries to be helpful by sharing Wuddles the sheep’s wool to make sure all their animal friends stay warm—but will there be enough for Wuddles?

Snow is coming, and the barnyard animals are preparing for the cold. Duckling has an excellent idea! Fleecy Wuddles the sheep has plenty of wool to keep everyone nice and toasty. Surely Wuddles doesn’t mind sharing? Soon there’s a goat in legwarmers, piglets in onesies, and more! But will this outpouring of generosity leave Wuddles himself out in the cold? Not to worry—Duckling has one final, absolutely heartwarming idea!

White Fox (Chen Jiatong)

 

I did this as a read-aloud in my class after a few students had read it and said I HAVE to read this to the class. Everyone did love it. I had some reservations about it but I read it to the end. 

These were my reservations:

- This book was originally published in Chinese and the translation is a little painful. It really needed an English speaker to edit it and make it more like we speak. The translation wasn't wrong, it was just not comfortable and not what we'd say in English. It could have really been tightened up with details that are irrelevant to the main story taken out.
- There is a lot of killing! In the first chapter Dilah's parents die. Later, a young couple is killed. It's a lot for grade three. Dilah meets other characters along the way but then they're gone and don't reappear again.
- The ending makes it impossible to not read the next book. Main issues are not resolved!

I don't think I'll read book two (or any after that). You just never know what kids will love though. The book has potential but if it's going to stick around it will need some editing.

Our sign post tracking was mostly involved with keeping track of all the characters. There are a lot! There are some themes that come up again and again.

Goodreads says:

A young white fox called Dilah returns home to find his mother gravely injured. Before she dies, she tells him about a treasure with the power to make animals human. The clues to its location are contained in a moonstone buried beneath their den. But wicked blue foxes seek the treasure too and Dilah must race to find it first. Along the way, he meets all sorts of other creatures: a friendly seal, an ancient tortoise and a fierce leopard - but can he stay one step ahead?

The Sour Grape (Jory John and Pete Oswald)

 

Another act of brilliance by Jory John and Pete Oswald! This one has a ton of things that could be used for Notice and Note Signposts too. 

Goodreads says:

The Sour Grape holds grudges for every reason under the sun. Lime never returned a scarf they borrowed? Grudge! Orange never called back? Grudge! But when a friend holds a grudge against the Sour Grape without listening to an explanation, the Sour Grape realizes how unfair grudges can be. Could a bunch of forgiveness and compassion be enough to turn a sour grape sweet?

Jory John and Pete Oswald serve up another heaping plate of laughs and lessons with this empowering, witty, and charming addition to their #1 New York Times bestselling series!

Elizabeth, Queen of the Seas (Lynn Cox)

This is a lovely story of a determined elephant seal named Elizabeth. We loved the story! There were lots of gasps and worried looks when she'd crawl out on to the road to sun herself. We especially loved the picture of her when she returned back to the city again.

We had a great discussion about genre. This is based on a real story and so it has elements of non-fiction (facts) and elements of fiction (beginning, middle, end, parts are from someone's imagination, characters, setting and plot). We discussed what a book would be like if it was a non-fiction story about Elizabeth. It might have real pictures and you could probably start anywhere in the book and understand the information.

Signposts:
Again and again: She returns to her home despite numerous attempts to re-home her

Tough Questions:
Should someone really do this to an animal? Do we really know what is best?

Contrasts and Contradictions:
Elizabeth surprised everyone by not staying with other elephant seals they tried to re-home her with and instead, returning to the city to sun herself on the road.

Goodreads says:

World-renowned swimmer and bestselling author Lynne Cox and Caldecott Medal-winning illustrator Brian Floca team up to bring us this inspiring story of an elephant seal who knew exactly where she belonged.

Here is the incredible story of Elizabeth, a real-life elephant seal who made her home in the Avon River in the city of Christchurch, New Zealand. When Elizabeth decides to stretch out across a two-lane road, the citizens worry she might get hurt or cause traffic accidents, so a group of volunteers tows her out to sea. But Elizabeth swims all the way back to Christchurch. The volunteers catch her again and again—each time towing her farther, even hundreds of miles away—but, still, Elizabeth finds her way back home.

Includes back matter with information about elephant seals.

Stella Diaz Has Something To Say (Angela Dominguez)

This will be a great book for Grade 3 Book Club. The lessons are quite overt and easy to find, which is a great way for children to learn to discover the theme in a story. We could practice it as a class. This is also the Global Read Aloud book for this year. I am tossing around the idea of connecting with another class and also reading it aloud.  It was also a quick work to find Notice and Note Signposts.

Goodreads says:

In her first middle-grade novel, award-winning picture book author and illustrator Angela Dominguez tells a heartwarming story based on her own experiences growing up Mexican-American.

Stella Diaz loves marine animals, especially her betta fish, Pancho. But Stella Diaz is not a betta fish. Betta fish like to be alone, while Stella loves spending time with her mom and brother and her best friend Jenny. Trouble is, Jenny is in another class this year, and Stella feels very lonely.

When a new boy arrives in Stella's class, she really wants to be his friend, but sometimes Stella accidentally speaks Spanish instead of English and pronounces words wrong, which makes her turn roja. Plus, she has to speak in front of her whole class for a big presentation at school! But she better get over her fears soon, because Stella Díaz has something to say!

Stella Díaz Has Something to Say introduces an infectiously charming new character with relatable writing and adorable black-and-white art throughout. Simple Spanish vocabulary is also integrated within the text, providing a bilingual element.

Porcupining: A Prickly Love Story (Lisa Wheeler)

This seemed like a great one for Valentine's Day! He sings a song again and again about his search for a wife.

I liked that the purcupine set a great example of kind words (okay, pretty nice words...he tried) with everyone he met.

My students were captivated by this story and had a good laugh.

Goodreads says:
What could be more poignant than a porcupine pining for a companion? With pun-filled prose and pleasing pictures, this passionate tale of love and friendship between two prickly creatures in a petting zoo makes a perfect read aloud (and a sublime Valentine).

Just One Goal (Robert Munsch)

Today we celebrated an un-birthday in my classroom so the birthday girl, who is a great hockey player, brought the book for story. I hadn't read this one before. We really loved it! We especially loved that this was written about a real girl.

Goodreads says:

At last — Canada's favourite storyteller takes on Canada's most beloved pastime!

Ciara is tired of hauling her hockey gear across town to play on the rink. It makes no sense—there is a perfectly good frozen river in her own backyard! But her dad says it's too jagged, and her mom says it's too bumpy, and her older sisters don't see why she can't keep going all the way across town, just like they did. But Ciara won't let anybody stop her. And with a little help from the neighbourhood, she knows that her team, the River Rink Rats, will finally win a game on their own brand new rink.

In classic Robert Munsch style, this warm fun story of community and hockey takes a hilarious turn. With the excitement and pace of a real hockey match, the River Rink Rats play their final game on their new rink. The pressure is on; the crowd is watching; Ciara has the puck; the crowd keeps watching; the ice starts to...CRACK!; Ciara keeps playing; the ice starts to drift; the crowd starts running; Ciara shoots to SCORE and—

You can be sure that no matter how the game ends, there will be hot chocolate!