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?

Wink (Rob Harrell)

 

Funny thing. This was one of the choices for our book club but it wasn't the book picked. Somehow I still bought it and read it thinking that it was....and I'm so glad I did read it. It's a great book. I've been through the cancer rollercoaster with family and I thought the author did a great job of portraying how hard it is to roll with the good news and the bad news that wrecks your mind and heart. I've never had cancer myself, but it seemed like a legit response, especially for a middle school kid. The different responses of his friends and family also seemed very real. Might be a little mature for grade 3....but if a kid were going through this kind of thing, I'd definitely do a book talk on this one to encourage them to read it. I'll look for more Rob Harrell books!

Now....to go get the RIGHT book before our meeting. LOL

Goodreads says:

A wrenching and hilarious story about embracing life's weirdness and surviving an unthinkable diagnosis, based on the author's own experience with a rare eye cancer.

Twelve-year-old Ross Maloy just wants to be normal. Not to have a rare eye cancer, not to lose his hair, not to have to wear a weird hat or have a goopy eye full of ointment. Just normal. But with a sudden and horrifying diagnosis, Ross can't help standing out. His new life is medical treatments that feel straight out of a video game, vision loss in one eye, disappearing friends who don't know what to say to "the cancer kid," cruel bullying, and ultimately, friendships new and old that rise above everything.

Just when Ross starts to feel like he's losing his footing, he discovers how music, art, and true friends can change everything. Filled with Rob Harrell's comic panels (Batpig for the win!) and spot art, this novel brings effortless humor and hope to an unforgettable, uplifting story of survival.

Reclaiming Our Students (Hannah Beach and Tamara Neufeld Strijack)

 I needed this book. This year, more than ever, I was coming home physically exhausted from problems at school. The authors say: What has changed is the culture in which children are being raised, a culture in which children no longer automatically seek the wisdom and leadership of the adults in their life. This cultural shift has disconnected children from the adults who care for them and it has taken away the cultural context that supports children in naturally being open to the guidance of adults. (p. 18)

As I read, I thought of many things I could have been doing differently this year. My plan is to start right away....and continue next year.

Goodreads says:

Children are more anxious, aggressive, and shut down than ever.

Faced with this epidemic of emotional health crises and behavioural problems, teachers are asking themselves what went wrong. Why have we lost our students? More importantly: How can we get them back? Hannah Beach, a celebrated educator and specialist in the field of emotional health, and Tamara Neufeld Strijack, clinical counsellor and academic dean of the acclaimed Neufeld Institute, provide a thoughtful guide to restoring the student-teacher relationship and creating the conditions for change. Reclaiming Our Students empowers teachers with relationship-based strategies to restore their leadership role and build emotional safety in the classroom.

You’ll learn:
• How to build, feed, and protect the student-teacher relationship
• Why children are anxious or bossy, aggressive or checked out, and what you can do to address these behavioural issues at their root
• How you can help students and classes shift their identity as the “problem student” or “bad class”
• Experiential activities for students of all ages that preserve and restore emotional health and well-being

Plus, you’ll find special considerations and information for parents, principals, counsellors, and home educators for building safety and support in the learning environment.

Combining Hannah’s groundbreaking experiential approach to creating emotional health and community in the classroom with the Neufeld Institute’s insightful approach to building relationships and making sense of children, Reclaiming Our Students is required reading for teachers who not only want to understand and overcome daily challenges, but also re-connect to their calling as educators.

Bats in the Band (Brian Lies)

 

I came across Bats In Night School and thought I should check out more of Brian Lies books. 

Goodreads says:

The look on our faces is easy to read:
a little night music is just what we need!

A late-spring night sky fills with bats flocking to a theater, already echoing and booming with delightful sounds of music. Bat music—plunky banjoes, bat-a-tat drums, improvised instruments, country ballads, and the sweet cries of a bat with the blues. Join this one-of-a-kind music festival as the bats celebrate the rhythm of the night, and the positive power of music. Brian Lies’s newest celebration of bats and their dazzling, dizzying world will lift everyone’s spirits with joyous noise and cheer!

Ada's Violin (Susan Hood)

 

This would be a great story to read during our Hearing and Sound unit when we make instruments. It is about children in Uruguay, but it would be interesting to read when we learn about the children in Peru that live in ghettos as well. It's a great perspective on great things that can be accomplished even though people live in difficult situations. The info at the back talks about some of the challenges they've had to being able to share their music (people who live in slums don't even always have ID papers that allow them to travel). Amazing story!

The video below is super inspiring too!

Goodreads says:

From award-winning author Susan Hood and illustrator Sally Wern Comport comes the extraordinary true tale of the Recycled Orchestra of Paraguay, an orchestra made up of children playing instruments built from recycled trash.

Ada Ríos grew up in Cateura, a small town in Paraguay built on a landfill. She dreamed of playing the violin, but with little money for anything but the bare essentials, it was never an option...until a music teacher named Favio Chávez arrived. He wanted to give the children of Cateura something special, so he made them instruments out of materials found in the trash. It was a crazy idea, but one that would leave Ada—and her town—forever changed. Now, the Recycled Orchestra plays venues around the world, spreading their message of hope and innovation.

The Man With The Violin (Kathy Stinson)

My class was familiar with this one as there is a tumble book about this story. They were amazed that it is a real story and proud when I told them that kids often notice things that adults don't because they haven't lost their sense of curiosity.

Wonderful story!

Goodreads says:

Who is playing that beautiful music in the subway? And why is nobody listening? This gorgeous picture book is based on the true story of Joshua Bell, the renowned American violinist who famously took his instrument down into the Washington D.C. subway for a free concert. More than a thousand commuters rushed by him, but only seven stopped to listen for more than a minute. In The Man with the Violin, bestselling author Kathy Stinson has woven a heart-warming story that reminds us all to stop and appreciate the beauty that surrounds us. Dylan is someone who notices things. His mom is someone who doesn’t. So try as he might, Dylan can’t get his mom to listen to the man playing the violin in the subway station. With the beautiful music in his head all day long, Dylan can’t forget the violinist, and finally succeeds in making his mother stop and listen, too. Vividly imagined text combined with illustrations that pulse with energy expertly demonstrate the transformative power of music. With a postscript explaining Joshua Bell’s story, and afterword by Joshua Bell himself. 

Papa Gave Me a Stick (Janice Levy)

This story reminds me of the story, What Mary Did. It's about the domino effect of kind acts.

Goodreads says:
When Antonio sees the members of the Mariachi band play, he wants nothing more than a guitar of his own. But guitars cost money, explains his father, who hands Antonio a stick instead. Confused and upset, Antonio resentfully accepts his father’s gift. He heads off, unknowingly starting a chain of exchanges that may, miraculously, earn him what he wants most. Filled with plenty of Spanish vocabulary for young readers, Papa Gave Me a Stick is a vibrant story about the virtues and rewards of kindness. 

Banjo of Destiny (Cary Fagan)

Great little story about following your passions. If you ever were forced to play an instrument you didn't love, you'll relate to Jeremiah. Jeremiah has a good friend, Luella, who encourages him on in his pursuit to play the banjo. Jeremiah isn't the cool kid. He's picked last for sports. He messes up at the piano recital. Other boys like to pick on him and tease him. However, he continues on doing what he loves.

Goodreads summary:

Jeremiah Birnbaum is stinking rich. He lives in a house with nine bathrooms, a games room, an exercise room, an indoor pool, a hot tub, a movie theater, a bowling alley and a tennis court. His parents, a former hotdog vendor and window cleaner who made it big in dental floss, make sure Jeremiah goes to the very best private school, and that he takes lessons in all the things he will need to know how to do as an accomplished and impressive young man: etiquette lessons, ballroom dancing, watercolor painting. And, of course, classical piano.


Jeremiah complies, because he wants to please his parents. But one day, by chance, he hears the captivating strains of a different kind of music -- the strums, plucks and rhythms of a banjo. It is music that stirs something in Jeremiah's dutiful little soul, and he is suddenly obsessed. And when his parents forbid him to play one, he decides to learn anyway -- even if he has to make the instrument himself. 

Floating on Mama's Song (Laura Lacamara)

Fascinating story. I have to wonder what the floating while singing is all about? Is it that when we do what is right for us, it is like we're floating? We are free and the powers of earth that tie us down no longer have power.

Mama's neighbors come and complain about her singing. It reminded me of the crabs in the bucket theory: If there are a bunch of crabs in a bucket, if one tries to get out, the others will pull it back down so it cannot escape the bucket.

Great story for students who know or are learning Spanish as it is bilingual.

Goodreads summary:

Anita's mama loves to sing. She sings such beautiful, happy songs that something magical happens: Everyone who hears her music floats high above the ground. But then Mama stops singing. Can Anita find a way to bring back happy times and magical moments for her family?

Debut author Laura Lacamara's lyrical, uplifting tale is paired with Yuyi Morales's stunning art for a magical celebration of family, music, and happiness.

And Two Boys Booed (Judith Viorst)

Our class has enjoyed a number of Judith Viorst books lately: Alexander, Who Used to Be Rich Last Sunday, and Alexander and the Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day. There are a few more in our TBR pile too! We especially loved the flaps in this book.

I thought this one was perfect because we are just about to embark on a couple days of performances for the talent show in music class (even I am going to perform!)

We liked how the boy who is about to perform showed that he was more and more nervous by his shirt going further and further over his face. Kids notice the greatest things in illustrations!

Goodreads summary:

On the day of the talent show, a boy is ready to sing his song, and he isn't one bit scared because he has practiced a billion times, plus he's wearing his lucky blue boots and his pants with all ten pockets. But as all of the other kids perform before him, he gets more and more nervous. How the boy overcomes his fear of performing in front of the class makes a charming and funny read-aloud, complete with ten novelty flaps to lift.