The Secrets of Happy Families (Bruce Fieler)

 

This was a great book to listen to. Even though our kids are grown, it had lots of good tips.

Notes

- Adapt all the time - Talk, a lot.  - Create a family narrative - learn about ancestors successes and failures. Spend time crafting the story of your positive moments and how you overcame challenges.  - play together 

All happy families are alike. All unhappy families are unhappy in their own way - Tolstoy 

Happiness is something we make. 

Choose happiness. 

The easiest path to unhappiness is to do nothing. 

Tackle the challenge 

Tweak the routines 

Reach for the green stick (Tolstoy reference)

Goodreads says:

In The Secrets of Happy Families, New York Times bestselling author Bruce Feiler has drawn up a blueprint for modern families — a new approach to family dynamics, inspired by cutting-edge techniques gathered from experts in the disciplines of science, business, sports, and the military.

▪Don't worry about family dinner.
▪Let your kids pick their punishments.
▪Ditch the sex talk.
▪Cancel date night.

These are just a few of the surprising innovations in this bold first-of-its-kind playbook for today's families. Bestselling author and New York Times family columnist Bruce Feiler found himself squeezed between caring for aging parents and raising his children. So he set out on a three-year journey to find the smartest solutions and the most cutting-edge research about families.

Instead of the usual family "experts," he sought out the most creative minds—from Silicon Valley to the set of Modern Family, from the country's top negotiators to the Green Berets—and asked them what team-building exercises and problem-solving techniques they use with their families. Feiler then tested these ideas with his wife and kids. The result is a fun, original look at how families can draw closer together, complete with 200 never-before-seen best practices.

Feiler's life-changing discoveries include a radical plan to reshape your family in twenty minutes a week, Warren Buffett's guide for setting an allowance, and the Harvard handbook for resolving conflict. The Secrets of Happy Families is a timely, counterintuitive book that answers the questions countless parents are asking: How do we manage the chaos of our lives? How do we teach our kids values? How do we make our family happier?

Written in a charming, accessible style, The Secrets of Happy Families is smart, funny, and fresh, and will forever change how your family lives every day.

Holes (Louis Sacher)

 

This is a book that I always wondered why I hadn't read it. It's a well known book and teachers think it's great....well, those who have read it. I realized though that it was only written in 1998. No wonder I didn't read it when I was in school. It wasn't around! I did finally read it for my Grade 3 book club though.

Teaching potential:
I thought it was a great book with lots of potential for talking about literacy devices. The example, dramatic irony (when the reader knows something the characters in the story do not know) or foreshadowing (why is there an entire early chapter about a killer yellow spotted lizard?) The main character, Stanley, changes over time and is able to save his family from an inter-generational curse...which is bildungsroman (a genre that focuses on intellectual/moral growth of a character from youth to adulthood)....there's a moral development or the two main characters. Stanley and Hector start addressing each other by their real names (adults?) rather than their nicknames (Caveman and Zero).

Adult themes that could  be discussed:
Poverty and class - how some people are dealt different trials in life
Race Relations
What just and reform actually entails and how it is carried out.

Book Club ideas:
Bring shovels to put at door with a sign....Welcome to Camp Green Lake
Who said it game with quotes from the book
Watch parts of the movie and discuss it - venn diagram with holes book and holes movie
Make name tags for ourselves (first name and last name with first name spelled backwards)
TPT Coloring page

Food: 

Red candies for lizard eyes
Gummy words for rattle snakes
Onion dip/chips
Sploosh - cooked peaches (in a crock pot?) or peach fruit snacks in containers

Symbols in a bag
Sign: Which "hold" will you dig into? Will you find a yellow-spotted lizard, treasure or be cursed along with the Yelnats family?"
- onion (Sam's onions)
- Kate Barlow peaches
-Yellow spotted lizard toy
-Stanley's canteen of water
-Kissin' Kate Barlow's lipstick tube
-treasure box
-letter from Stanley to his mom
-fish fossil

Signposts
There is a lot of potential for Notice and Note signposts. I kept notes of some....I'm sure there's more! 

Goodreads says:

Stanley Yelnats is under a curse. A curse that began with his no-good-dirty-rotten-pig-stealing-great-great-grandfather and has since followed generations of Yelnats. Now Stanley has been unjustly sent to a boys’ detention center, Camp Green Lake, where the boys build character by spending all day, every day digging holes exactly five feet wide and five feet deep. There is no lake at Camp Green Lake. But there are an awful lot of holes.

It doesn’t take long for Stanley to realize there’s more than character improvement going on at Camp Green Lake. The boys are digging holes because the warden is looking for something. But what could be buried under a dried-up lake? Stanley tries to dig up the truth in this inventive and darkly humorous tale of crime and punishment—and redemption.

Thundercake (Patricia Polacco)

 

This one was okay. Sadly, my students don't really understand the idea of gathering up the eggs, milking the cow, going to the shed where dry good are kept, etc. to prepare to bake a cake. They didn't really get too excited about this story.

Summary:
A loud clap of thunder booms, and rattles the windows of Grandma's old farmhouse. "This is Thunder Cake baking weather," calls Grandma, as she and her granddaughter hurry to gather the ingredients around the farm. A real Thunder Cake must reach the oven before the storm arrives.

Can We Please Give The Police Department To the Grandmothers? (Junauda Petrus)

 

I'm not sure this is written for children. It touched my heart - but I don't think kids would really love it. 

Goodreads says:

Based on the viral poem by Coretta Scott King honoree Junauda Petrus, this picture book debut imagines a radically positive future where police aren’t in charge of public safety and community well-being.

Petrus first published and performed this poem after the shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri in 2014. With every subsequent police shooting, it has taken on new urgency, culminating in the 2020 murder of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer, blocks from Junauda's home.
 
In its picture book incarnation, Can We Please Give the Police Department to the Grandmothers? is a joyously radical vision of community-based safety and mutual aid. It is optimistic, provocative, and ultimately centered in fierce love. Debut picture book artist Kristen Uroda has turned Junauda's vision for a city without precincts into a vibrant and flourishing urban landscape filled with wise and loving grandmothers of all sorts.

Mexikid: a graphic memoir (Pedro Martín)

 

I don't really love reading graphic novels, but this one was recommended by many people that I admire as readers and so I decided to read it. The author is also the illustrator and there is a LOT in the illustrations. It also received a number of awards this year:

• Newberry Honor Book
• Pure Belpre author award
• Pura Belpre illustrator award
• Odyssey honor audiobook
• NPR best books of the year
• New York Times best books of the year
• The Guardian five best young adult books of the year
• Boston Globe best books of the year
• Booklist best books of the year
• Kirkus best books of the year
• Publisher Weekly best books of 2023

Goodreads says: 

A poignant, hilarious, and unforgettable graphic memoir about a Mexican-American boy’s family and their adventure-filled road trip to bring their abuelito back from Mexico to live with them.

Pedro Martín has grown up hearing stories about his abuelito—his legendary crime-fighting, grandfather who was once a part of the Mexican Revolution! But that doesn't mean Pedro is excited at the news that Abuelito is coming to live with their family. After all, Pedro has 8 brothers and sisters and the house is crowded enough! Still, Pedro piles into the Winnebago with his family for a road trip to Mexico to bring Abuelito home, and what follows is the trip of a lifetime, one filled with laughs and heartache. Along the way, Pedro finally connects with his abuelito and learns what it means to grow up and find his grito.

Stranded! A Mostly True Story From Iceland (Avar Dor Benediktsson)

What kid wouldn't be enamored by hearing a tale of visiting volcano? It's full of good advice, like if your shoes start to melt you probably shouldn't be standing there.  The author breaks the fourth wall and tells us what we are all thinking, for example, you should never sleep next to a volcano and it can't be true that his Grandpa did (He did!). The illustrations in this book are bright and colorful! I loved them!

Unfortunately, my library only has this book available as an e-book. I'd love to read it to my class! It's just not the same reading it on the ViewBoard though. I think I've got to buy it! 

Goodreads says:

Based on a true story, the author humorously recounts the time his grandfather got stranded with a friend on Surtsey, a brand new volcanic island in Iceland. The adventurers face epic challenges like molten lava, melted eyeglasses and scant supplies before finally getting rescued. Graphic novel-like layouts and spirited text invite readers to search for the one thing that's not actually true in this thrilling yet light-hearted tale of adventure. Endnotes include information about volcanoes, Icelandic culture and Norse mythology.

North Woods Girl (Aimee Bissonette)

 

I started off the discussion prior to this book with "What are Grandmas like?" Ha! That got some interesting answers. 

Cranky

Strict

And then one person said, "Well, mine is usually pretty kind."

I asked if they were usually sporty...that got a big No! 

They didn't say that mostly they were soft or round....which I kind of expected. 

Apparently there is a good variety of grandmas out there! 

Luckily, when we were finished, one of the comments was, "Well, that wasn't what I expected." This led perfectly into a Notice and Note contrasts and contradictions discussion.





Goodreads says:

“When Grandma tucks her pants into her oversized boots and grabs her walking stick, I run to catch up,” reports a young girl charmed by her visits to Grandma’s north woods home. Their walks take them through the seasons, to a pond with a downed tree just right for sitting, to a garden lush with tomatoes ready for canning, through a snowy nighttime woods where the only sounds are the squeak of boots on snow and the hooting of a distant owl. Whatever the month, there are plenty of woodland critters to observe: squirrels or rabbits or deer, geese or goldeneyes or mergansers. The forest of North Woods Girl is an active, populated place, brought to life by Claudia McGehee’s colorful scratchboard artistry. Time with Grandma teaches about quiet observation, generous sharing of resources, the beauty of the forest and pond at any hour. Grandma is the quintessential north woods girl, breathing deep the piney scents, relishing the chirping activity of her animal neighbors. Small wonder that her admiring granddaughter is inspired to follow in her footsteps. With a tale as understated as Grandma herself, Aimée Bissonette shares a message of appreciating the treasures of our natural surroundings.

Aimée Bissonette is a writer, teacher, and lawyer living in the Twin Cities. This is her first children’s book. Writer-illustrator Claudia McGehee lives in Iowa City. Her previous works include A Tallgrass Prairie Alphabet and A Woodland Counting Book. 

The Imaginary Garden (Andrew Larsen)

 

Grandpa has moved into an apartment and really, there's nowhere for a garden. Imagination can solve that problem though. Beautiful illustration! This book won the Govenor General's Literacy Award. Another great Canadian author from Montreal. He also wrote Bye Bye Butterflies. 

Goodreads says:

Theodora loved her grandfather's old garden. His new apartment's balcony is too windy and small for a garden. But what appears to be a drawback soon leads to a shared burst of creativity as Theo and her Poppa decide to paint a new garden. As they work side by side — sowing seeds with brushes and paint — a masterpiece begins to take shape that transforms the balcony into an abundant garden.

When Poppa goes away on holiday, Theo helps nurture the garden and it begins to take on a life of its own. This garden grows not from soil but from love, imagination and creativity.

Readers will marvel at each stage of this fertile garden as it grows from seed to full flower, revealing the power of art to enrich our lives.

Drawn Together (Minh Le and Dan Santat)

 

This book is beautiful! The illustrations are amazing and the author's and the illustrator's story behind it is amazing. We used this as part of our friendship unit. We can be friends with people that are not our own age!

This book would be good to go back to when we do our biographies in class.

Goodreads says:

When a young boy visits his grandfather, their lack of a common language leads to confusion, frustration, and silence. But as they sit down to draw together, something magical happens-with a shared love of art and storytelling, the two form a bond that goes beyond words.

Too Much And Never Enough (Mary Trump)

 

I don't know if those who are Trump fans would ever read this. It explains a lot though. An interesting perspective from a disfavored part of the Trump family. 

He needs psychological help. It's not totally his fault. It's generational. The USA will suffer because of him.

Goodreads says:

In this revelatory, authoritative portrait of Donald J. Trump and the toxic family that made him, Mary L. Trump, a trained clinical psychologist and Donald’s only niece, shines a bright light on the dark history of their family in order to explain how her uncle became the man who now threatens the world’s health, economic security, and social fabric.

Mary Trump spent much of her childhood in her grandparents’ large, imposing house in the heart of Queens, where Donald and his four siblings grew up. She describes a nightmare of traumas, destructive relationships, and a tragic combination of neglect and abuse. She explains how specific events and general family patterns created the damaged man who currently occupies the Oval Office, including the strange and harmful relationship between Fred Trump and his two oldest sons, Fred Jr. and Donald.

A first-hand witness to countless holiday meals and family interactions, Mary brings an incisive wit and unexpected humor to sometimes grim, often confounding family events. She recounts in unsparing detail everything from her uncle Donald’s place in the family spotlight and Ivana’s penchant for re-gifting to her grandmother’s frequent injuries and illnesses and the appalling way Donald, Fred Trump’s favorite son, dismissed and derided him when he began to succumb to Alzheimer’s.

Numerous pundits, armchair psychologists, and journalists have sought to parse Donald J. Trump’s lethal flaws. Mary L. Trump has the education, insight, and intimate familiarity needed to reveal what makes Donald, and the rest of her clan, tick. She alone can recount this fascinating, unnerving saga, not just because of her insider’s perspective but also because she is the only Trump willing to tell the truth about one of the world’s most powerful and dysfunctional families. 

White Bird (RJ Palacio)

Sometimes, when looking at all the follow up books after Wonder, I snubbed them. Too much of a good thing? This one is definitely worth the time. I loved the story. It's a great twist that Julian was named after someone so brave and kind. I hope he lives up to his name!


Goodreads says:

In Auggie & Me, which expands on characters in Wonder, readers were introduced to Julian's grandmother, Grandmère. Palacio makes her graphic novel debut with Grandmère's story as a young Jewish girl hidden away by a family in Nazi-occupied France during World War II. Her experience demonstrates the power of kindness to change hearts, build bridges, and even save lives.

The Storyteller (Jodi Picoult)

It took me a while to get into this book. Actually, I started it, then left it for a while, which caused me to not make some connections - but luckily this was a book club book so my book club friends cleared that up for me!

I seem to read a Jodi Picoult book every summer. This was a lot like the other ones I've read - some big topic (this one was forgiveness), multiple narratives and a twist at the end.

Last year, I read Small Great Things, which is about a white supremacist and a black nurse in a hospital. I was reading it at the same time as the stuff was happening in the USA in Charlottesville. It was surreal. There's a story in the news right now about a holocaust denier. The holocaust was terrible and this book has some incredibly descriptive accounts of it. You can't make that stuff up.

Goodreads says:

Some stories live forever . . .

Sage Singer is a baker. She works through the night, preparing the day’s breads and pastries, trying to escape a reality of loneliness, bad memories, and the shadow of her mother’s death. When Josef Weber, an elderly man in Sage’s grief support group, begins stopping by the bakery, they strike up an unlikely friendship. Despite their differences, they see in each other the hidden scars that others can’t, and they become companions.

Everything changes on the day that Josef confesses a long-buried and shameful secret—one that nobody else in town would ever suspect—and asks Sage for an extraordinary favor. If she says yes, she faces not only moral repercussions, but potentially legal ones as well. With her own identity suddenly challenged, and the integrity of the closest friend she’s ever had clouded, Sage begins to question the assumptions and expectations she’s made about her life and her family. When does a moral choice become a moral imperative? And where does one draw the line between punishment and justice, forgiveness and mercy?

In this searingly honest novel, Jodi Picoult gracefully explores the lengths we will go in order to protect our families and to keep the past from dictating the future

Pax (Sara Pennypacker)

I took a chance on this book. I have a policy that I always have to read a book before we do it for book club at school - but I really wanted to do this one and I hadn't read it. I have heard so many great things about it. I decided to give it a go.


I love this book because it touched my heart and it left many questions unanswered....great conversation starter!


At first I had some regret. We started reading it aloud in class and found the author doesn't mince at all on vocabulary. I was doing a lot of explaining...and eventually we quit reading it in class (not because we decided to abandon it, but just because book club is supposed to be books that kids read on their own or at home, not necessarily a class read aloud). However, kids kept coming to me telling me how much they were enjoying it. I got report after report about what chapter they were on and how they thought it was really great. I would ask, "Is it too tricky? Too many hard words?" and they were adamant that it wasn't. Okay!!


I do agree that this is a great story. It doesn't have the expected happy ending - something that isn't common in J fiction. I had a student come to me after only having the book for a couple days. She had finished it and wanted to talk about it, but I wasn't finished so I couldn't say much. She just kept saying to me, "I can't believe it....after all that work...." I would just shrug....I couldn't really answer. Finally, she walked away, shaking her head. I am really looking forward to chatting with her now about this book!
Peter's persistence was inspiring. There were many things that seemed just not fair to him. Losing his mother is one bad blow. Why would a dad decide to go off to war and leave his son?? That is never answered. And what is up with grandparents not finding him once he runs off? It does follow a common theme of J fiction though - of kids just looking after themselves. Adults are kind of useless - except for Vola. She's helpful - but quite mysterious and hard to understand. Maybe many adults are that way for kids. I liked Pax's faith in Peter. Even though he continues on and thrives in his natural environment, he never loses faith in Peter - unlike the adults in Peter's life.


Other questions:


Why are they living so near a war-zone anyway? It seems to be set in North America - but we have not had wars here for so many years - that seemed a little disconnected for me.


And in the end, when he says: The apple does fall far from the tree....wasn't he actually relenting by not having Pax come with him? He gives in to everything his father has done.


Goodreads summary:


Pax was only a kit when his family was killed, and “his boy” Peter rescued him from abandonment and certain death. Now the war front approaches, and when Peter’s father enlists, Peter has to move in with his grandpa. Far worse than being forced to leave home is the fact that Pax can’t go. Peter listens to his stern father—as he usually does—and throws Pax’s favorite toy soldier into the woods. When the fox runs to retrieve it, Peter and his dad get back in the car and leave him there—alone. But before Peter makes it through even one night under his grandfather’s roof, regret and duty spur him to action; he packs for a trek to get his best friend back and sneaks into the night. This is the story of Peter, Pax, and their independent struggles to return to one another against all odds. Told from the alternating viewpoints of Peter and Pax.

Jacob Have I Loved (Katherine Paterson)

I got this book out after reading Bridge to Terabithia (again) for my grade three book club. Katherine Paterson is quite a renound author, but I haven't really read anything else of hers. I decided I should. I was interested in seeing what she did with the Jacob and Esau reference. 

Is the Jacob and Esau story a foundation for a meta narrative? I had no idea. Seemed intriguing though. She certainly does weave plenty of biblical reference through this entire story. 

As I read, I wondered if this would be a good story to do for grade three book club. There were enough odd moments (huge crush on someone who could be her grandpa? Her senile grandmother accusing her mother endlessly of being a harlot?!) that made me realize it wouldn't be appropriate. As a matter of fact, as I read I started to hate the main character. I wondered how in the world the book became a Caldecott winner. However, as I kept on, I realized there really is beauty in the story. She touches on some themes in an amazing way.

Main themes seem to be finding yourself and sibling rivalry. Sara Louise hates her twin sister. She seems justified. Her sister smart quite unaware of the rivalry. She just goes about doing what she does...totally irritating Sarah Louise, who never resolves the problems with her sister. It makes it so that their sisterhood isn't at all one of those wonderful friendships. Not at all. Actually, Sarah Louise's negativity and loathing really began to wear on me. At the part where she is complaining to her mother about her mother's choices in life, I realized that she  really needed to quit projecting her unhappiness on to everyone else! Happily, she does seem to figure this out for herself. She finally realizes that she needs to do what makes her happy and goes away to school. She's wants to become a doctor, but it is a time when women are really only expected to be nurses. She ends up in a small mountainous community, being the only medical professional, and ends up marrying. In her new life, she leaves her family behind, even unable to return fo funerals. Frankly, I knew if she did go back, she would go straight back to her miserableness.....so I understood her not going.

The story comes full circle when she delivers twins, spending her energy saving the life of one while the other waits in a basket.....just like when she was born. I feel like she would have made the connection and perhaps had some healing as a result of the experience.

There is magic and wisdom in this story. It would be great to read it with middle school students or even with adults....especially my church friends.

Goodreads summary:

Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated . . . With her grandmother's taunt, Louise knew that she, like the biblical Esau, was the despised elder twin. Caroline, her selfish younger sister, was the one everyone loved.Growing up on a tiny Chesapeake Bay island in the early 1940s, angry Louise reveals how Caroline robbed her of everything: her hopes for schooling, her friends, her mother, even her name. While everyone pampered Caroline, Wheeze (her sister's name for her) began to learn the ways of the watermen and the secrets of the island, especially of old Captain Wallace, who had mysteriously returned after fifty years. The war unexpectedly gave this independent girl a chance to fulfill her childish dream to work as a watermen alongside her father. But the dream did not satisfy the woman she was becoming. Alone and unsure, Louise began to fight her way to a place where Caroline could not reach.Renowned author Katherine Paterson here chooses a little-known area off the Maryland shore as her setting for a fresh telling of the ancient story of an elder twin's lost birthright.

The Great Granny Gang (Judith Kerr)

Really cute story. It made us laugh to think of an actually granny gang. Some of the words/phrases were a little tricky and the rhymes a little awkward...but easily overlooked. We really enjoyed this story.

On Goodreads there were many glowing reviews about Judith Kerr. I wasn't aware of any of her other books. Must check them out.

About Judith Kerr, Wikipedia says:

Judith Kerr is a German-born British writer and illustrator who has created both enduring picture books such as the Mog series and The Tiger Who Came To Tea and acclaimed novels for older children such as the autobiographical When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit which give a child's-eye view of the Second World War.

Kerr was born in Berlin but left Germany with her parents and her brother, Michael Kerr, in 1933, soon after the Nazis first came to power. They were forced to leave as her father, noted drama critic, journalist and screenwriter Alfred Kerr, had openly criticised the Nazis. His books were burned by the Nazis shortly after the family fled Germany. They travelled first to Switzerland and then on into France, before finally settling in Britain, where she has lived ever since. She subsequently became a naturalised British citizen. 

Life of Zarf (Rob Harrell)

As I read this, I could imagine my son chuckling away at the humour. I can't wait to share it with him! This book makes me think teaching middle school would be really fun :) They would really get a kick out of this humour.

This is kind of a mix of Diary of a Wimpy Kid and classic fairy tales. There is a troll (lowest in the middle school totem pole) named Zarf who gets teased because his names rhymes with barf. He has a bad temper and ends up beating up one of his classmates - the not so charming prince. The lunch lady at school is Goldilocks (yup, school lunches always involve porridge). Zarf's two best friends are a pig named Kevin (get it? Kevin Bacon??) who is a huge worrier and the Jester's son, Chester, whose jokes are just terrible. Their adventures together are hilarious. I hope there are more of these books to come!

Some of my favourite funny moments:

- Their cell phone provider is Grimm. "They are the worst!"

- The troll, the pig and the jester all go on an adventure. One night they end up staying with a family whose son has a nervous tic. Every twenty or so minutes he yells, "Wolf!" Of course, this doesn't go over well with Kevin the pig.

- Along the way they find a candy house!! They start indulging until suddenly it strikes them....Hansel and Gretl made this same mistake! In the end it turns out the lunch lady goldilocks bought the house from the original owner. The owner has. Now moved to Cabo and opened a tiki bar.m

One question I had:

Why does TrollPower always have a copyright symbol after the words? (I.e. P. 252)

Goodreads Summary: 

Shrek meets Wimpy Kid in this epically funny tale of a troll trying to figure out how to be more popular

It’s not easy being Zarf. As a troll, he's stuck at the bottom of the middle school hierarchy, way below
the prince and knights (populars), ogres and giants (jocks), and even the lowly minstrels (band geeks). Plus, trolls aren't exactly known for their brain power or cool demeanor. But it gets worse. When the king disappears and Zarf's archenemy, the prince, ascends the throne, he makes Zarf's life even more miserable. And so it is that Zarf and his two sidekicks (a neurotic, mutton-obsessed pig and the not-funny son of the court jester) set out to find the missing king as well as their way to middle school heroism. (Okay, the heroism part might be wishful thinking.)

The first book in this brilliant new illustrated series from comics creator Rob Harrell has the perfect mix of real world and fairy tale.

Wonderstruck (Brian Selznick)

I read this book years ago with my class. We did it again as an end of year novel study. Once again, it did not disappoint. This is a fantastic story. Brian Selznick seems to have a keen interest in theatre. Both this book and The Invention of Hugo Cabret involve cinema. Apparently his third book, The Marvels, does as well.

Goodreads Summary:


Reading it with my class this year was a really great experience. I got 9 copies of the book from the public library (thank you Calgary Public Library!) and we shared. I was so impressed with all the details we got this time around thanks to very observant students. Brian Selznick says that everything in his pictures is purposeful. I believe it!



Traditionally, when we do novel studies, it is paired with a workbook full of all sorts of comprehension questions, crossword puzzles, games and activities. I really simplified for this novel, and instead of a big booklet like that I usually use, we had a page where we wrote down cool vocabulary, some pages where we wrote summaries for each part of the book (it is divided into three parts) and then a page with finger spelling. At first, we'd stop when we came across cool words and write them down, but there was a lot of moaning and groaning. Eventually, I decided that isn't what real readers do. Instead, I gave them some sticky notes and had them put a sticky when they came across a word they thought was cool or didn't understand. The next day we'd start off our reading time by writing down 4 or 5 of these cool words and their definitions. Usually, we could get the meaning from the context. I encouraged kids, when they're reading other books, to use stickies to mark spots they want to remember to tell someone about or write about or have questions about.


Activity ideas:

• Pair this book with Matchbox Diary and make our own boxes of wonder
• Make a diorama about something we have been studying (pair with life cycle unit?)

Nana in the City (Laurel Castillo)

Lovely story. My kids thought it was kind of old fashioned because of the pictures and said they weren't that interested. We had a good discussion about how you can be happy anywhere if you look at things the right way. Good lessons on fears and perceptions.


Goodreads Summary:

A 2015 Caldecott Honor Book
In this magical picture book, a young boy spends an overnight visit with his nana and is frightened to find that the city where she lives is filled with noise and crowds and scary things. But then Nana makes him a special cape to help him be brave, and soon the everyday sights, sounds, and smells of the city are not scary—but wonderful. The succinct text is paired with watercolor illustrations that capture all the vitality, energy, and beauty of the city.