The Wild Robot by Peter Brown

The Wild Robot by Peter Brown.  Published (2016) 277 pgs. L.740 R.L. 5.8 Level 3-6. What would happen if a robot awoke for the first time on an island inhabited by only wild animals? In this delightful read aloud, students explore some interesting questions.

Kirkus Reviews starred (February 1, 2016)

A sophisticated robot--with the capacity to use senses of sight, hearing, and smell--is washed to shore on an island, the only robot survivor of a cargo of 500. When otters play with her protective packaging, the robot is accidently activated. Roz, though without emotions, is intelligent and versatile. She can observe and learn in service of both her survival and her principle function: to help. Brown links these basic functions to the kind of evolution Roz undergoes as she figures out how to stay dry and intact in her wild environment--not easy, with pine cones and poop dropping from above, stormy weather, and a family of cranky bears. She learns to understand and eventually speak the language of the wild creatures (each species with its different "accent"). An accident leaves her the sole protector of a baby goose, and Roz must ask other creatures for help to shelter and feed the gosling. Roz's growing connection with her environment is sweetly funny, reminiscent of Randall Jarrell's The Animal Family. At every moment Roz's actions seem plausible and logical yet surprisingly full of something like feeling. Robot hunters with guns figure into the climax of the story as the outside world intrudes. While the end to Roz's benign and wild life is startling and violent, Brown leaves Roz and her companions--and readers--with hope. Thought-provoking and charming. (Science fiction/fantasy. 7-11)

With it's short but action packed chapters, The Wild Robot is a fast-paced read aloud.  Unlike other books I have read aloud, I found myself stopping and asking my students to imagine what might happen next and then discussing the event.  My students loved discussing how they imagined a robot might react to the way Roz reacted.  

Posted by Kellie Hale

Night Tree by Eve Bunting

Night Tree by Eve Bunting (Published 1991)  28 unnumbered pages.  AD 620. R.L. 3.3 Grades 1 - 2.  Not every gift worth giving is wrapped with colored paper and purchased at the store.

Booklist (Vol. 88, No. 2 (September 15, 1991))

Ages 4-8. A warm family story extends the spirit of Christmas to the dark, quiet woods and the creatures that live there. On the night before Christmas, a boy, his little sister, and their parents always drive in their father's pickup from their house with its tree and bright holiday lights to the "nice forgotten place where our town ends." Then they walk in the moonlight to their special tree. They find that it's grown, just as they have. They decorate it with all kinds of natural foods and sing carols as they huddle in the cold. Then they pack up and drive home squashed together in the front of the truck. Rand's double-spread watercolor paintings capture the family intimacy in the shadowy, secret wilderness. Together they glimpse a deer, then they hear an owl (a dramatic painting shifts perspective to show a huge owl looking down from a branch at the small family far below). There is mystery all around, and they are part of it. The next day in the midst of the boisterous human festivities, the boy imagines the wilderness animals at the tree, and the final picture shows bears and raccoons, doves and deer, feasting together.

Night Tree is a wonderful way to pause for just a moment during this hectic time of year to consider all the many different ways there are to spread kindness and joy through family traditions.  When I read this book to second graders, I always try to add a little humor by telling them about myown family traditions from when I was a child. This opens up an avalanche of text to self comments.  After we have finished sharing I like to encourage the children to imagine themselves out in the middle of Luke's forest and then we try to think of all the different senses you might use. I use a graphic organizer found at TPT on the smart board as we look for different sense experiences in the book. I am often surprised at how many different things they can pull from the text.

by Margo Irving

Pax by Sara Pennypacker

Pax by Sara Pennypacker (published 2016.) 276 pages. 760L. R.L. 5.7 Level 3-6. This new novel tells the adventurous, if not heroic, journey a boy takes to find his abandoned pet.

Booklist starred (November 1, 2015 (Vol. 112, No. 5))

Grades 4-7. Peter and Pax, his pet fox he found as a kit on the day of his mother’s funeral, are inseparable. That is, until Peter’s dad enlists in the military and Peter is forced to abandon Pax before moving to his grandfather’s house. Almost as soon as he gets there, however, he slips out, determined to hike the hundreds of miles back to where he left his pet. Not long into his journey, he is injured and reluctantly taken in by Vola, a war veteran and amputee who stubbornly lives on her own. In chapters from the fox’s point of view, Pax struggles in the wild until a grizzled old fox agrees to help him get home. Pennypacker alternates between Pax’s and Peter’s perspectives, while the simmering war between unnamed countries grows dangerously close to home. As she slowly reveals secrets about Peter’s and Vola’s pasts, she sensitively and engagingly explores questions about anger, wildness, isolation, and family. Meanwhile, both fox and boy grow in unexpected ways. While there’s a lot of emotional complexity here, the focus is solidly on the earthy, tense wilderness adventure, which is likely what will draw young readers most. Pennypacker’s expert, evenhanded storytelling reveals stunning depth in a relatively small package. Final illustrations by Caldecott Medal winner Klassen not seen.HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: Pennypacker is no stranger to the New York Times best-seller list, and with award-winning Klassen in the mix, this adventure story should easily find a wildly enthusiastic audience.

For as many books as I've read aloud to my class, none has created such excitement as Pax is creating right now as it captures the attention of every single one of my fourth graders every day. They beg me to begin early and finish late to see what is going to happen next to the characters that have become so believable and lovable. The suspense and anticipation keeps the kids engrossed completely. When I do have to reluctantly close the book for the day, the kids instantly start rattling off connections they have with their own pets and/or family in life. I couldn't have chosen a more perfect book to inspire children to love the magic that comes to life from the pages of a book.

Posted by Liz Stafford

Before the world was ready : stories of daring genius in science by Claire Eamer

Before the World was Ready: Stories of Daring Genius in Science by Claire Eamer, (published 2013).113 pages. 6.5 RL Grades 5-8.  An entertaining, informational read-aloud that teaches students about people that have blazed trails and inspires them to blaze their own trail.

Booklist (December 1, 2013 (Vol. 110, No. 7))

Grades 5-8. Eamer explores what it means to defy popular wisdom and become a trailbreaker in the forest of ideas” in this fun collective biography. Detailed stories about eight scientists explain how they endured rejection and ridicule for their work on both personal and professional levels. Included are Nicolaus Copernicus, who insisted that the Earth was not the center of the universe; Ignaz Philipp Semmelweis, who encouraged doctors to wash their hands to reduce death rates in hospitals; and Rachel Carson, who was the first to warn of the dangers of DDT. Each person’s process of inquiry, experimentation, and discovery typifies the scientific method. Squiggly cartoon illustrations provide comical sidebars in concert with the text. The book’s epilogue reinforces its thesis, explaining common obstacles to each of the scientists and discussing potential trailbreakers of the near future in the field of climate change. Aside from providing interesting biographical reading, this book is replete with life lessons for adolescents and tweens about flouting popularity in the name of what is right.

Do nonfiction books make good read-alouds?  There are some that don't, but Before the Word Was Ready does.  The scientists in this book all have one thing in common, their work was doubted or questioned during their life time, but they were determined and laid the foundation for the work of future scientists.  The book references other scientists and the work that motivated them.  The unique details that accompany these stories are such that students ask, "Is that true?"  The connections that the students make to today's world of science cultivates their curiosity.


Posted by Kellie Hale

Guinea Dog by Patrick Jennings

Guinea Dog written by Patrick Jennings, (published 2010). 510L  3.2RL Grades 3-6.  This book is a light-hearted story of a how a boy overcomes his disappointment and frustration when his parents do not give him the pet he wants.

Kirkus Reviews (March 15, 2010)

A humorous story about an unusual pet. Rufus has but one wish--a dog. His stay-at-home Dad does not agree. His list of reasons not to get a dog extends over two pages. Rufus's sympathetic mom brings home a guinea pig, which Rufus has expressly said he does not want. To his surprise, though, the guinea pig (which he sullenly names Fido) behaves like a dog! She obeys every command Rufus gives her, plays tug-o'-war and even chews shoes. His best friend wishes she were his when, during a Frisbee game, out of nowhere, she retrieves the disc and brings it to Rufus. The family decides to return Fido to the pet store, but a classmate is willing to buy her to replace her hamster--and it's then that Rufus begins to have second thoughts. Jennings provides no explanation as to why Fido acts like a dog, asking readers to accept the absurdity along with Rufus. The school characters are fairly one dimensional, but the undeniably funny plot moves along, and readers into beginning chapter books should enjoy this wry story of wish fulfillment. (Animal fantasy. 7-9)

This book has been a hit with every group of students of mine. Its funny, it has a meaningful problem to many children, and its a quick read. It is always a bonus when my students think they are just listening to a funny, light-hearted story about another's person's problems, and they come to realize that they themselves have acted in a similar manner sometime in their own life when things aren't going their way. My students empathize with Rufus as he struggles to accept this little guinea pig that he didn't want. It is nice that Rufus redeems himself in the end and realizes that Fido is everything he could ever want in a pet. 

by Liz Stafford

Piggie Pie by Margie Palatini

Piggie Pie by Margie Palatini  (Published in 1995).   32 Unnumbered pages. 420L.  R.L. 2.5 Grades 2-3.  Piggie Pie I must have Piggie Pie, but where can I find 8 plump piggies?

Booklist starred (Vol. 92, No. 1 (September 1, 1995))

Ages 5-8. This is definitely not your run-of-the-mill Halloween picture book, even though Gritch the Witch certainly looks her part (though a bit more trendy), with a pointy hat, a gap-toothed grin, vicious green fingernails, and two beauteous moles on her face. She acts her part, too, swaggering, greedy, and just plain impatient, as she brooms off to Old MacDonald's Farm in search of eight plump porkers for her favorite pie. But Palatini deftly turns the tables on Gritch, whose own sense of importance (and the skywritten warning "Surrender Piggies!" ) gives her victims time to implement a plan to save their bacon. When hungry Gritch arrives at the farm, she can't find a single pig. Instead, she finds a wolf, whom she slyly invites home: "I always enjoy having a wolf for lunch." The wry, peppery dialogue is simply great ("Look, Shorty, I've been quack-quacked here, moo-mooed there, and clucked-clucked everywhere all over this farm" ), and Palatini's allusions to popular children's stories from The Wizard of Oz to the "Three Little Pigs" will delight kids. So will Fine's bold, expressive artwork, which gives wicked Gritch a comic audacity that makes her trouncing all the better. A sardonically humorous, rip-roaring yarn that can be enjoyed all year round.

Piggie Pie is a read aloud that I am anxious to start every year.  Poor Gritch the Witch, more than anything else she is craving Piggie Pie.  She checks her recipe and pantry and she has everything she needs to make Piggie Pie except for 8 Plump Piggies.  This story is delightfully written as she scours the local farm for her piggies, but can find only suspicious looking ducks, chickens, lumpy cows and an Old McDonald who really doesn't look much like his picture.  I read this book with 2nd graders every year, then I assign parts to students and we enjoy a Reader's Theater activity the next day with everyone in the class having a part in the play.  On the author's website, www.margiepalatini.com,  you can download the reader's theater for duplication.  It is always a fun day on the farm with Piggie Pie

by Margo Irving

Rain Reign by Ann M. Martin

Rain Reign by Ann M. Martin (published in 2014). 234 pages. 720L. R.L 4.3. Grades 3-6.  Yes, that's dog on the cover.  Yes, it is another dog book.  Yes, it is totally worth the read.

Kirkus Reviews starred (September 1, 2014)

A story about honorable living in the autistic-narrator genre that sets the bar high. Rose has a diagnosis of Asperger's, and her world of comforting homonyms, rules and prime numbers is repeatedly challenged by social interactions of which she has no innate understanding. Newbery Honor author Martin crafts a skillful tale that engages readers' sympathy for everyone portrayed in the story, even Rose's garage-mechanic, hard-drinking single father. He has given Rose a stray dog he found after an evening of drinking at the local bar, and Rose names her Rain. Through touching and funny scenes at school--where Rose has an aide but is in a regular classroom--and discomfiting scenes at home, readers come to understand how Rose's close relationship to Rain anchors her. But Rain goes missing during a storm, and when, with the help of her sympathetic uncle, Rose finds her dog weeks later, she is told that Rain was microchipped and actually belongs to someone else. Since following rules is vital to Rose, she must find Rain's original owners and give her dog back. Martin has penned a riveting, seamless narrative in which each word sings and each scene counts. There is no fluff here, just sophisticated, emotionally honest storytelling. (Fiction. 8-12)

Deciding what makes this book such a great read aloud is difficult.  When I think about the powerful story, I lean toward the characters.  They are more than they first appear to be.  Rose frustrates her father, classmates, and even the reader by her choices, but, in the end, her choices are what endear her to the reader.  When I think about the way Martin weaves homonyms into the story, I lean toward the word play.  Either way, the students in my fifth grade class loved it, it and inspired many to keep their own lists of homonyms.

by Kellie Hale