Book Share Wednesday: Missing May

Missing Mayis the book I chose for our listening station this rotation to support our literature circles in our current Realistic Fiction focus.  It's a Newberry Award Winner by author Cynthia Rylant.  This book was a new one to me, but has been available in our school resource library for a while.  I wanted a book that was an easier read for my students, but also had some good meat to it.  This was just perfect.  In a very matter of fact, yet positive way, the author presents this story of a young girl orphaned early in her life and bounced from home to home among distant relatives.  When May and Ob come to visit, they just know they have to take Summer with them.  Summer continues to have tragedy in her life when May dies and leaves her and Ob to figure things out together.  With the help of a classmate, Summer gets through the sadness and together they help Ob.

A click on the cover will take you to the book on Amazon.

I purchased this novel unit to help me out.  I just choose a few of the questions that correlate with the chapters I've assigned to help my students practice answering in complete sentences.  Since it a listening station book, I want my students to focus on the enjoyment of listening to the story.

You can see a preview of this product here.  

(I'm getting no benefit for sharing this product with you)

I'd love for you to share a book as well!  Please link up below or share your book in the comments.  If linking up, please be sure to grab the button and link it back to this post.  

Meeting Shannon Hale and Dean Hale Book Share Wednesday

Me on the left with three of my fabulous colleagues surrounding Shannon and Dean Hale

I had the opportunity to attend the UCIRA conference over the last weekend.  It's the Utah chapters IRA conference.  I had the pleasure of meeting and hearing from Shannon Hale, a local author with a big reach.  Shannon lives in Utah and has written many books, including a few you might be very familiar with.  Her husband, Dean, has co-authored several books with her as well.  This is the case with her newest book to be released next week on October 14,The Princess in Black.  This is the book they presented to us on Friday.

From the excerpt they read to us, I can tell this is a darling book.  It's going to be perfect for the lower-mid grades of K-3.  I'm thinking my fifth graders will even find it comical and a fun read.  An easier read chapter book, The Princess in Black is all about the adventures that this young princess has.  No-one identifies her because "princesses don't wear black."  Shannon discussed the wide appeal her books have to both boys and girls, despite them often having female protagonists.  She expressed the importance of offering all books to all children without caveats like, "I know there's a princess on the cover, but I really think you'll like it."

Here are some of her books you might already be familiar with:

Her Newberry Honor Book Princess Academy, the first in a 3 book series.

This is the first in a 4 book series. 

This one is now a movie and more for you, the adult.

Reading to grab your reluctant readers, a twisted tale graphic novel. I picked a copy of this one up at the conference and got it signed by Shannon and Dean.

Have you read any of Shannon's books?  Share your experiences with her books in the comments below.  Have a post about a book you'd like to share?  Be sure to join our Book Share Wednesday link up below.  Just grab the image to add to your post and link it back to this post.  

*Note, I have previously make only my posts on the third Wednesday of the month links.  I thought I'd try making every Wednesday Book Share post a link up and see how it goes.   

Book Share Wednesday: How to Steal a Dog

We started literature circles this week and I decided to choose realistic fiction books for our first round. One of the books I chose for students is How to Steal a Dog by Barbara O'Connor.  It's a great realistic fiction book that discusses the issues that this family is dealing with as a result of their father/husband abandoning them suddenly.  They are living in their car, Mom's working two jobs and the kids are fending for themselves.  Georgina sees an ad for a reward in exchange for the return of a lost dog and she gets the idea to steal a dog to earn the money her family needs to get an apartment.

Although the book deals with some heavy and sensitive topics, the author keeps it light and focuses on the plans Georgina writes in her journal and the adventures she and her brother have, rather than bringing down the tone of the book with constant negative dwelling on the family's situation.

Readers will learn along with Georgina that bad times don't last forever and that everyone makes mistakes.  Those mistakes can have happy endings when you work to rectify them.

Amazon lists the lexile at 700L.  With the topics the book discusses, I would recommend it for 4th grade and up.  It has been a perfect read for my low fifth graders.  The storyline is engaging and they are able to access and comprehend the text.  A caution to consider student situations and emotions before using this book.  Though the author does a great job, some students may be sensitive to the family's situation.

Have a book you'd like to share?  It's the third Wednesday of the month and that means Book Share Wednesday is a link up!!  Be sure to link up your book share post sometime in the next week.  The linky will be open through next Wednesday.  Please grab the button to add to your post and link it back to this post. Don't have a post? Please share your book in the comments.

Book Share Wednesday: The City of Ember

How did I miss this book? I hadn't heard of it until last spring with my teammate said she was reading it for her read aloud book.  I really enjoy the distopia sort of stories and this one sounded right up my ally.  I added it to one of my Amazon orders this summer when I needed a little bit more to push me to be able to include an add on item.  My mistake was starting to read it the day before the first day of school.  I couldn't put it down!  My dear husband was so sweet to let me read and to do some of the house tidying.  I got to the end of the book and ran to see if the next book was on Amazon kindle because I was left hanging so dramatically off a cliff at the end.  I pulled myself together enough to not order the book so I could at least get through the first week of school.  That gave me the time to borrow the second book from another teacher.  I'm now ready to read book three.

So, I highly recommend The City of Ember (The First Book of Ember) and the rest of the series.  It's especially well suited for upper elementary students and maybe even 7-8th grade students.  I'm definitely going to need to add the 4 book series to my classroom library.  A few of my students have read the book and it's been fun to have some book conversations with them about it.

Wait, there's more! It's a movie too!  That's right, there's a City of Ember movie.  I haven't watched it, but that's on my to do list.  It's rated PG, so likely not an option for most to show to students, but it might be fun for you to watch or recommend to students after they read the books.

Be sure to tell us what you're currently reading in the comments below and join the monthly Book Share Wednesday link up every 3rd Wednesday of the month.

Book Share Wednesday: The Hundred Dresses

Today is the very first Book Share Wednesday link up!! I'm so excited to have a place for you to come together and share the great books you use in your classroom in any way.  Today I'm sharing about the book I like to use as my first read aloud.  Yesterday was my first day with my new class of students.  It was a great day and I'm so excited for this group.  Based on first impresssions, we have a great dynamic and we're going to have a lot of fun.  I started reading aloud to them the book The Hundred Dresses.  It's one of my favorites that really illustrates the need to be kind and aware of others.  It's a great medium through which to have some conversations about how your class should build a community that is caring and supportive of all class members.  I highly recommend reading this one if you haven't.  I've used this book in all three levels that I've taught, first grade, third grade and fifth grade.  Every class has been attentive and had good conversation about the story and relating it to us.  It's also a bit of a classic, so it's not expensive at all.

Now it's your turn!  Once a month on the third Wednesday, I open up my Book Share post to all of you to link up to.  If you have a blog, feel free to link up your post about a book below.  It can be a novel, picture book, professional development book, etc.  If you'd rather, you're also always welcome to respond to my post or share your book in the comments section below.  Happy reading!!

The link will be open for one week. 

An InLinkz Link-up

Draw-a-Saurus: Book Share Wednesday

Welcome to Book Share Wednesday, a weekly post that I introduced last week.  Each Wednesday, I'll share with you a book, most likely new to the market.  It could be a picture book, novel, or professional development book.  Besides learning about a new book each week, you can join the fun in sharing a book on the third Wednesday of each month when my post will be a linky that you can link up to.  That's next week, if you're wondering, so be sure to plan a post and link up next Wednesday beginning at 5:00 am MST.

Today's book is a fun how-to book.

Draw-a-Saurus will be released on Septebmer 9.  I really appreciate the front matter in this book that is humorous and gives the reader some background information about dinosaurs and drawing tools and techniques.  The reader really gets a lot of information before the drawing lessons even officially start. 

Then, you are taken through step-by-step lessons in drawing several different dinosaurs or groups of related dinosaurs.  Along with the drawing steps, the author includes information about each of the dinosaurs through each step of the drawing.  Students will have fun drawing and learning about these mysterious creatures. 

I think this would be a great book to add to your classroom library.  It would be especially appealing to your science kiddos, and likely your reluctant readers.  There's so much text and information along with the drawing that reluctant readers will be sucked right into reading about the dinosaurs as they draw. 

It is a jam-packed book at 160 pages.  I was able to take a look and read through the Kindle version of the book.  I would highly recommend getting the paper copy of the book.  The Kindle version would do, but I have a feeling that the paper version would be easier to navigate and more user friendly for the type of book it is.  

You can preorder Draw-A-Saurus: Everything You Need to Know to Draw Your Favorite Dinosaurs now and have it delivered either to your Kindle or to your door on September 9, 2014.  Be sure to come back next Wednesday and link up your Book Share posts. 

What are some of the books you find that your reluctant readers or "science smart" kiddos enjoy?

Book Share: The Fourteenth Goldfish

I am so excited to introduce to you a new weekly post.  Book Share Wednesday!  I'll post a book review or a lesson idea correlated with a specific book each Wednesday.  Some of the books will even be for newly or pre-published books!  Even better, on the third Wednesday of each month, Book Share Wednesday will be an open linky for anyone to link up their posts about a book or lesson idea for a book.  You can share picture books, novels or even professional development books.  

This first Book Share Wednesday post is all about a book that will be released on August 26, 2014.  It's one of the books for the Global Read Aloud this fall.  You can get more information about the Global Read Aloud here.  

The Fourteenth Goldfish by Jennifer L. Holm is a light-hearted novel about discovering that anything is possible.  As Ellie works through the changes that come with moving from being a child to a teen, she realizes the joy in discovery and the possibility that lies within trying.  

The book has several themes and a couple of story lines that weave between each other.  It is very thought provoking and leaves the reader wondering a bit as Ellie thinks about the damaging side of some inventions that have changed our world for the better.  

The Fourteenth Goldfish will be a great independent, group or class read for grades 4-6 and some third grade students.  It would be a great teacher read aloud and lend to some good conversation.  I appreciated that I didn't have to worry about questionable language, themes, or scenes at any point in this novel.  It reflects reality with an element of fantasy that many students will be able to relate to without a depressive nature.  

I'll be reading this book to my 5th grade class starting October 6th during the Global Read Aloud and would love for any of you to join us.  Pre-order your copy now by clicking the book cover above.  We will be chatting about the book on twitter using #GRA14 from the @dillydabbles twitter account.  My class will also be blogging about classroom happenings from the same account using #sierrabonita5, we'd love to connect and join with you in sharing classroom experiences!

Please join us each Wednesday for a new book share, especially on Wednesday, August 20 for the inaugural monthly Book Share link-up.