The Night Gardener by Terry Fan

The Night Gardener by Terry Fan and illlustrated by Eric Fan (Published in 2016).  Picture Book.  390L.  R.L. 3.2.  Grimlock Lane is a street with no interest, color, or joy.  This is a story about how just one person can change the outlook of many people.

Booklist (January 1, 2016 (Vol. 112, No. 9))

Grades K-3. Life on Grimloch Lane is, well, pretty grim until the morning William awakens in his home at the Grimloch Orphanage to discover that something marvelous has happened overnight: through topiary art, the tree on the street has been transformed into a giant owl! And that’s just the beginning. Each morning thereafter, a new topiary work appears: first, a cat, then a rabbit, then a parakeet, and finally the most magnificent masterpiece yet appears: a majestic griffin. Who is responsible for these marvels? That night, as William is about to head home, he spots a stranger and follows him. Could it be? Yes, it is the Night Gardener, and he asks William to help him. The next morning, the gardener is gone, but he has left William a life-changing gift. Though not quite life-changing itself, the Fan brothers’ quiet story is nevertheless invested with an element of agreeable magic which is underscored by their use of muted colors to evoke the mysteries of the night. It is a pleasing collaboration with art bound to both haunt and delight.

As students listen and carefully watch the illustrations in this book, they become very much aware of the subtle changes happening on Grimloch Lane.   The opportunities this book brings for predicting, text to self, and text to text comparisons can be very enriching.  Children love to see just what changes will occur during the night and what they might be able to find the next morning.  Just as one child in the story is moved and affected by the actions of the "Night Gardener," students in my class were also intrigued by this picture book.

Posted by Margo Irving

A Week in the Woods by Andrew Clements

A Week in the Woods by Andrew Clements. (published 2002). 190 pages. 820L. R.L. 5.3. Grades 4-6.  The power in this realistic, adventure story is that students can relate to the feeling of lack of control experienced by the main character, Mark, and learn from him as he seeks to change those things that are within this control to make his life better. 

Kirkus Reviews (August 1, 2002)

Playing on his customary theme that children have more on the ball than adults give them credit for, Clements (Big Al and Shrimpy, p. 951, etc.) pairs a smart, unhappy, rich kid and a small-town teacher too quick to judge on appearances. Knowing that he'll only be finishing up the term at the local public school near his new country home before hieing off to an exclusive academy, Mark makes no special effort to fit in, just sitting in class and staring moodily out the window. This rubs veteran science teacher Bill Maxwell the wrong way, big time, so that even after Mark realizes that he's being a snot and tries to make amends, all he gets from Mr. Maxwell is the cold shoulder. Matters come to a head during a long-anticipated class camping trip; after Maxwell catches Mark with a forbidden knife (a camp mate's, as it turns out) and lowers the boom, Mark storms off into the woods. Unaware that Mark is a well-prepared, enthusiastic (if inexperienced) hiker, Maxwell follows carelessly, sure that the "slacker" will be waiting for rescue around the next bend-and breaks his ankle running down a slope. Reconciliation ensues once he hobbles painfully into Mark's neatly organized camp, and the two make their way back together. This might have some appeal to fans of Gary Paulsen's or Will Hobbs's more catastrophic survival tales, but because Clements pauses to explain-at length-everyone's history, motives, feelings, and mindset, it reads more like a scenario (albeit an empowering one, at least for children) than a story. Worthy-but just as Maxwell underestimates his new student, so too does Clement underestimate his readers' ability to figure out for themselves what's going on in each character's life and head. (Fiction. 10-12)

With so many good read aloud options, it is sometimes hard to choose.  My fifth graders always enjoy A Week in the Woods.  For me, it fits one of the most important qualities for a good read aloud.  It is less than 200 pages which means it won't take me the whole semester to read it.  Perhaps most importantly the character is a fifth grader which I find helps my students connect to the characters. I also appreciate that like most Clements books, the main character is a boy. I don't often find this to be the case.  At our school, like many schools in Colorado, the fifth grade is the year where students go up into the mountains for outdoor education to spend a few nights.  

Timmy Failure - Mistakes Were made by Stephan Pastis

Timmy Failure  - Mistakes Were Made by Stephan Pastis. (published 2013). 294 pages. RL 3.8. Grades 3-6. This lighthearted tale is of a boy who humorously attempts to solve cases as a detective without paying a great deal of attention to details all around him.

                                             

Booklist (December 15, 2013 (Online))

Grades 4-7. Eleven-year-old Timmy Failure would have you believe that he is the best detective in town, destined to head a multibillion-dollar agency. But he is no Encyclopedia Brown. The fact that his partner is an imaginary 1,200-pound polar bear named Total—hence the agency’s moniker “Total Failure”—is an indication of Timmy’s rich inner life. In reality, Timmy is bored at school by teachers who don’t get him and is in a whole heap of trouble for using his mother’s Segway, which was then stolen. Cartoonist Pastis’ book is in the same vein as Diary of a Wimpy Kid (2007), but his brand of humor is less slapstick and much darker. Timmy’s delusional self-confidence seems almost pathetic at times, as the reader realizes that he is very socially inept. Fortunately for Timmy, there are some adults in his life who really do care for him, and with the right balance of indulgence and firmness, they keep him on track. Younger readers attracted by the cartoons might not connect with Timmy’s offbeat humor, but older readers should be simultaneously amused and touched by this quirky antihero. HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: This may be Pastis’ first book for young people, but he is a New York Times best-selling adult author. Impressive promotional plans include an author tour, promotional items, and extensive consumer advertising.

This book has sparked lots of lively conversation in my class about how Timmy is missing the obvious again and again in the story. Consequently, my students are looking at their own behaviors and how sometimes if they stop and think, they can make better or deeper connections as they begin their 4th grade year. Coupled with this collective feeling of knowing more than the main character, and even feeling sorry for him that he can't make connections, this story has many cartoon illustrations that delight my new 4th graders. I decided to present the book on the document camera as I read aloud so kids can easily see the pictures as I read. So far, it has been a real hit to start off the year with this humorous book. Many students have been intrigued that it is part of a series, so they've chosen others to read on their own.

Posted by Liz Stafford