First Day Around the World (Ibi Zoboi)

 

This book is beautiful! There is a ton of information. It isn't so much about the first day of school, but about school and children around the world. 

Topics/activities that could emerge:

• non-fiction texts don't have a beginning, middle and end. You could jump around and read stories from countries that the children were interested in
• We could do a writing assignment about their first day of school or maybe even what their parents remember from school when they were growing up, especially if many of the children are from another country.
• Mapping activity - break the story apart and make a big map that shows all their experiences on an annotated map

Goodreads says:

From award-winning, New York Times bestselling author Ibi Zoboi and artist Juanita Londoño, this lyrical celebration of the first day of school across every continent explores what going back to school looks like for children in countries around the world!

How do children around the world spend their first day of school?

Some eat warm akara for breakfast in Nigeria, while others unwrap lunches of kluski in Poland. In China, they practice intricate characters in special notebooks, and in Argentina, they learn each other's names in a sing-song memory game. No matter where in the world, every student has something new to look forward to on their first day!

From Ethiopia to Germany to India to Brazil, this lyrical text introduces young listeners to the breakfast-to-bedtime routines, cultures, and landscapes that connect people across all continents.

The Fairy Tale Fan Club (Richard Ayoade)

 

This is a very clever book. There are letters written to different fairy tale characters to ask about their experiences...and the responses are matter of fact, clever and cheeky. I loved it! 

You could use this book as an example and have students write letters to characters in a book.

Goodreads says:
What if you could send fan mail to your fairy tale idols? And what if they wrote back? “Happily ever after” takes on a new meaning in this book from actor-comedian-author Richard Ayoade and best-selling illustrator David Roberts.

It’s once upon a time . . . as only the irreverently witty Richard Ayoade can tell it. In this series of letters organized by C. C. Cecily, Senior Secretary of the Fairy Tale Fan Club, the fairest of them all (and a few bitter foes) correspond with curious—and opinionated—fans. So if you’ve ever wondered how a less-than-genius (and less-than-clothed) emperor fell for a certain con, how the Big Bad Wolf is handling meatless Mondays, or whether Rapunzel recommends going for the big chop, no need to look far, far away. Multihyphenate Richard Ayoade, author of The Book That No One Wanted to Read, hilariously imagines what questions modern children would have for characters such as Sleeping Beauty, Prince Charming, and Little Red Riding Hood—and what they might have to say in return. Complete with clever, spoof-gothic illustrations from David Roberts, this wry storybook may have even the Brothers Grimm cackling in their graves.

Train to Somewhere (Eve Bunting)

Oh my gosh. This is so heartbreaking! We read this, hoping all along the way that Marianne would meet her at one of the stops.

She never did.

And it ends like that.

My class sat and stared at me. Then someone said, "That's it?"

Interesting to read a story that doesn't end happily! We thought maybe we could write an ending so that it actually feels like it ends.

I don't think it's a bad thing for kids to read books like this though. It certainly brought out some emotions. It started a great discussion about adoption and orphans and appreciating our parents. And it sounds like we will have a good writing project! We also had a good discussion about historical fiction.

Goodreads says:

Marianne, heading west with fourteen other children on an Orphan Train, is sure her mother will show up at one of the stations along the way. When her mother left Marianne at the orphanage, hadn't she promised she'd come for her after making a new life in the West? Stop after stop goes by, and there's no sign of her mother in the crowds that come to look over the children. No one shows any interest in adopting shy, plain Marianne, either. But that's all right: She has to be free for her mother to claim her. Then the train pulls into its final stop, a town called Somewhere . . . 

Ralph Tells a Story (Abby Hanlon)

I keep running into Abby Hanlon lately. I heard about this book from Travis Jonker at:

http://100scopenotes.com/2015/06/23/review-dory-and-the-real-true-friend-by-abby-hanlon/

Then, soon after that, Abby Hanlon wrote a blog post for Nerdy Book Club, a blog I read pretty much every day:

https://nerdybookclub.wordpress.com/2015/07/07/from-survival-to-joy-by-abby-hanlon/

It is amazing to me that she both wrote and illustrated the book. Talk about talent!

I love this story! I have been thinking that I should have my students do more free writing. I would like to start each day by letting them write whatever they would like to write. This book will be a great one for introducing students to this idea.

The book jacket says:

Nothing ever happens to Ralph. So every day when it's time to write stori s, Ralph think really hard. He stares at his paper. He stares at the ceiling.

But he had no stories!

With the help of his classmates, Ralph realizes that a great story can be about something very small...and that maybe he does have some stories to tell.

This book will be great for those kids who just get stuck with writer's block.

I so relate to his feeling about sharing his writing. Nerve racking!!

Not sure these tips will work in my classroom, but they are cute! Perhaps we could write our own tips!

The Reindeer Christmas (Moe Price)

I suppose it all had to start somewhere. It would be fun to read this to students and make up stories about different animals pulling Santa's sleigh. Crocodiles? Elephants?

Goodreads summary:

In this delightful original story, readers learn how Santa chose reindeer as the animals that would pull his sleigh. “Morozumi’s sumptuous, textured watercolors feature earthy winter tones with splashes of holiday reds and greens. Her scenes depicting the flying animals’ mishaps portray just the right touch of humor without becoming slapstick.”--Publishers Weekly