It's Monday, What Are You Reading?

Book clubs are school are in full swing and so I have two books to finish this week:

I haven't read Restart by Gordon Korman yet, but it looks like it will have a lot of interesting things to discuss! I'm quite looking forward to it. It is the first book we're reading for Grade 4 Battle of the Books.

Shiloh is an old Grade 3 Book Club favorite. I LOVE this book. I hope the kids this year love it too.

First, however, I've got to finish Land of Stories. Almost there! I'm quite enjoying it. I've just had a few interruptions.

The Stranger (Chris Van Allsburg)

We are in love with Chris Van Allsburg books in my class. This one is a great mystery. Who is this stranger? When I first read it, I had no idea that he was Jack Frost. There are a number of clues all through it though.  I found a great guide from Houghton Mifflin to help with a lesson on inferencing as well. We will do the work in our Reading Notebooks.We read it again and students wrote down the clues they noticed. At lunch time I showed them a video of Jack Frost. We'll see if anyone makes the connection. So far they say he is a "winter fairy". Close!


Goodreads says:

The enigmatic origins of the stranger that Farmer Bailey hits with his truck and brings home to recuperate seem to have a mysterious relation to the weather. Could he be Jack Frost?

Jumanji (Chris Van Allsburg)

One things leads to another with stories. This week we read How To Walk an Ant, which reminded some of us of Two Bad Ants, so we had to read that. Once I start reading Chris Van Allsburg, I just can't get enough so today we read Jumanji.

Some kids had seen a Jumanji movie, but not too many. It was a thrill to read this to my class. They gasped at just the right places. It was tense and exciting to watch the story unfold. In the end, everyone gave out a big sigh of relief when the game was finally over....then, those boys! Oh those boys! We hope they learn to follow instructions.

We will definitely read some more Chris Van Allsburg books!

Goodreads says:

Left on their own for an afternoon, two bored and restless children find more excitement than they bargained for in a mysterious and mystical jungle-adventure board game. "Mr. Van Allsburg's illustrations have a beautiful simplicity of de-sign, balance, texture, and a subtle intelligence beyond the call of illustration." -- New York Times Book Review

How to Walk an Ant (Cindy Derby)

We laughed a lot at this one. Funny story about doing the seeming impossible, walking ants!

When we were reading this, I said that it reminded me of a story called Two Bad Ants. One of the students said he owns that book so he will bring it and we will read it tomorrow. Yea! Text to text connections!

Goodreads says:

There are nine steps to becoming an ant walker, and Amariyah, the expert ant walker, is here to show you how it’s done.


This irreverent and quirky picture book follows a young girl as she goes through the process of walking ants, from polite introductions to tragic leash entanglements.


In the end, this unique book shows that as long as you’re doing what you’re best at, you may find a like-minded friend to tag along.

*Zero ants were harmed in the making of this book.
**Oops, 7 ants were harmed in the making of this book. 

It's Monday, What Are You Reading?

I'm having that dilemma. My book club book is due and there are 10 holds on it. Do I keep it and just pay the fines, or return it and hope I get it again before book club?? Argh! Stay tuned! My book club book I'm reading this week Kindred by Octavia Butler:

I've only read the first chapter, but I'm hooked. It seems like a great one! There's time travel involved, it seems. Not sure if I'd call it science fiction or historical fiction. Time will tell!

Also, one of my students gave me The Land of Stories to read and I'm finally deep into it. I'm loving it!

I also got this book from an inter-library loan. I learned about The Great Brain series and thought it might be fun to do as a family book club. I'm reading this one to find out if it would work well for something like that. I don't know if you have to read the first one to enjoy the rest. I could only find it at the library in Hill Spring, AB so my great librarian friends got it for me from there.

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. 

Alma and How She Got Her Name (Juana Martinez-Neal)

At the beginning of the school year, I love to ask the children in my class how they got their name. It is a nice way to get to know them a little better. This is a great way to introduce that activity.

Goodreads says:

What's in a name? For one little girl, her very long name tells the vibrant story of where she came from — and who she may one day be.

If you ask her, Alma Sofia Esperanza José Pura Candela has way too many names: six! How did such a small person wind up with such a large name? Alma turns to Daddy for an answer and learns of Sofia, the grandmother who loved books and flowers; Esperanza, the great-grandmother who longed to travel; José, the grandfather who was an artist; and other namesakes, too. As she hears the story of her name, Alma starts to think it might be a perfect fit after all — and realizes that she will one day have her own story to tell. In her author-illustrator debut, Juana Martinez-Neal opens a treasure box of discovery for children who may be curious about their own origin stories or names.