Eats, Shoots & Leaves Why, Commas Really DO Make A Difference.

Eats, Shoots and Leaves Why, Commas Really Do Make A Difference by Lynne Truss and illustrated by Bonnie Timmons. (Published 2006). L380. RL 2.1 Int Lvl. 3-6.  The only thing less exciting than grammar is teaching grammar.  This book changes that by making learning commas fun

Booklist (September 1, 2006 (Vol. 103, No. 1))

Among popular nonfiction titles for adults adapted for younger audiences, this picture book based on Truss'2004 best-seller about punctuation may be a surprise, considering most kids'indifference to the topic. Yet it proves very effective, thanks to entertaining repackaging that narrows the original's broad purview to the comma, and focuses on cartoonist Timmons'interpretations of humorous comma-related goofs akin to the one referenced by the title (the punchline of an old joke about a panda, here set in a library rather than a bar). While dissolving into giggles over the change in meaning between "Eat here, and get gas,"or "Eat here and get gas"(likely to be the most popular of the 14 sentence pairs given), children will find themselves gaining an instinctive understanding of the "traffic signals of language,"even without the concluding spread explaining the whys and wherefores. This is a no-brainer for language arts class, but also recommend it to fans of Jon Agee's books of palindromes, William Steig's delightful alphabet rebuses, or introductory grammar books by Brian Cleary.

Let's be real honest.  For people who get grammar, grammar is easy.  For those that struggle with grammar, it's not just hard.  It's torture.  I found Eats, Shoots and Leaves Why, Commas Really Do Make A Difference by Lynne Truss grabbed both my grammar experts and my novices.  It's a quick fun read aloud that reinforces the use of commas  The great thing is that the back includes an explanation of the meaning of the sentence changes based on how you use the comma.   The author also published a book about apostrophes called The Girl's Like Spaghetti.

Posted by Kellie Hale

Fuzzy by Tom Angleberger and Paul Dellinger

Fuzzy written by Tom Angleberger and Paul Dellinger. (Published 2016). 263  pgs. L700. RL 5.2 Int Lvl 3-6. This easy to read, quick-moving science fiction story combines the worlds of humans and robots in a middle school where one spunky human seventh grader befriends the newest robot student, and together they work to uncover the plot behind the Robot Integration Program. 

Kirkus Reviews starred (June 15, 2016)

Vanguard Middle School's no place for breaking rules; computerized Vice Principal Barbara sees to that.Sixth-grader Maxine "Max" Zelaster and her friends struggle to pass the Federal School Board's nonstop tests in the newly instituted Constant UpGrade program. The kids think they are doing well, but their grades don't reflect their work. Their cumulative scores are dragged even lower by discipline tags and citizenship infractions, all noted by Barbara's all-seeing electronic eyes. Enter Fuzzy, the government's attempt to create a robot that will program itself. Scientists in the Robot Integration Program ask Max to show Fuzzy around because of her interest in robots, but this leads to further trouble for Max at school and at home; Barbara just seems to have it in for her. Fuzzy uncovers irregularities with test scoring and begins to suspect something's wrong with the vice principal, but can he save his new friend Max while evading corporate spies and his creators' plans for his future? Origami Yoda creator Angleberger teams up with science-fiction writer Dellinger for this funny, thrilling, and thought-provoking page-turner. Riffing on some of the same issues as Origami Yoda's second trilogy--individuality and the dangers of standardized testing--the duo have crafted a day-after-tomorrow cautionary tale of friendship with a fuzzy, robotic heart. Provocative issues that never overwhelm storytelling make this a winner. (Science fiction. 8-12)

This book has been a great change of pace for my 4th graders. The plot is fresh and new -combining the idea of robots who run the school and think for themselves.  It is loaded with humor and kids pulling together to work to uncover devious plots. The fact that it deals with questionable standardized tests sucks my students into the plot as they are all working on them as well. It is a great book for this time of year.

~Posted by Liz Stafford

Are We There Yet? by Dan Santat

Are We There Yet? by Dan Santat.  Published (2016).  unnumbered pages.   R.L. 2.0  K-2. Riding in the care for hours on end can be really boring.  What if you changed things up just a bit and literally turned everything upside down?

Booklist starred (February 1, 2016 (Vol. 112, No. 11))

Grades K-2. Following his Caldecott win for The Adventures of Beekle (2014), Santat offers an imaginative account of a boy’s car trip to his grandmother’s birthday party. What begins in excitement quickly devolves into boredom as minutes stretch into an hour. But then, readers are invited to consider what happens when their brain grows “too bored.” Let the interactive reading begin! The words begin to spiral around a spread featuring the boy’s glazed expression, forcing the book to be rotated and read upside down. Suddenly, the slow-moving time transports the car back in history, placing it alongside a steam locomotive, a pirate ship, a jousting knight, and the newly built Sphinx in Cairo. The whole time, the parents appear startled by the changing scenery, but the boy’s complaints (“My butt hurts”) continue until time stretches all the way back to the dinosaur-filled Jurassic period. Finally, he starts having fun, and time starts to fly; back around the book goes, sending the family to Grandma’s at last. The gambit to get kids involved in the story works, and Santat’s rich illustrations—ranging from double-page spreads to comic-style panels—carry it home. The text, on the other hand, reads a bit like greeting-card advice, but the inventive format and engrossing artwork will make kids happy to go along for the ride.

Reading this book to 2nd graders is really a fun experience.  I tell them that the author is Dan Santat,,,,,who is that?  they ask.  Next I hold up Beekle and they explode with interest.  I tell them that just like Beekle, this book is not just a surface story.  I read it through once and then we go back and look at all the clues in the illustrations about what is really happening. We then share ways to travel and pass the time.  This is a great book to share when vacation time and car trips are just around the corner!

Posted by Margo Irving

Horten's Miraculous Mechanisms: Magic, Mystery, & a Very Strange Adventure by Lissa Evans

Horten's Miraculous Mechanisms: Magic, Mystery, & a Very Strange Adventure by Lissa Evans. (Published 2012). 207 pgs. L810. RL 5.9.  A lively mystery awaits your students in this engaging read aloud.

Booklist (April 1, 2012 (Vol. 108, No. 15))

Grades 4-7. Stuart Horten, 10, is sure he is in for the dullest summer ever when he moves with his working-all-the-time mom and dork-supreme dad, who is excited to return to the town he grew up in. Stuart’s lack of enthusiasm is compounded by a set of nosy triplet girls next door, but things start looking up when he learns about how his great-uncle Tony—who was a magician of some renown and an inventor of fabulous contraptions—disappeared years ago. And then things get downright exciting when he discovers a handful of old coins that unlock a series of clues scattered about town that promise to reveal the location of Tony’s long-hidden workshop. Stuart is a likable, plucky little guy, the Charlie Bucket to great-uncle Tony’s Willy Wonka. While the mystery is tempered by the fact that solutions to the clues often come about more by happenstance than any cunning on Stuart’s part, the elements of magical realism that waft through the narrative keep things humming along nicely. This British import, longlisted for the Guardian Children’s Fiction Prize, leaves the door ajar for more adventures.

My fifth graders loved Horten's Miraculous Mechanisms: Magic, Mystery, & a Very Strange Adventure by Lissa Evans.  Although it speaks to all ability levels, my gifted and talented students loved it.  I am not sure if  it was the humor, the challenging words used by his cross-word-building father, or that they would, like Stuart, be just the sort of student to go looking for such clues.  Using the map in the book, which is the map Stuart uses in the story, the students were able to track clue after clue helping them identify the location of the hidden workshop.

Posted by Kellie Hale

Fox by Margaret Wild and Ron Brooks

Fox written by Margaret Wild. (Published 2008). 27 unnumbered pgs. L500. RL 3.6 Int Lvl k-3. This story of friendship tells about a magpie who becomes friends with a dog until their relationship is pulled apart by a duplicitous fox.

KIRKUS REVIEW
Ambiguities and rawly expressionistic art turn this tale of friendship and temptation from the creators of Rosie and the Tortoise (1999) into a strongly atmospheric psycho-fable. Though permanently grounded by a burnt wing, Magpie discovers that riding atop her friend, one-eyed Dog, as he runs through the bush feels—almost—the same: “ ‘FLY, DOG, FLY! I will be your missing eye, and you will be my wings.’ ” When a fox comes into the picture, offering Magpie more speed, desire overcomes loyalty—but after an exhilarating ride the fox leaves her far out in the desert, saying, “ ‘Now you and Dog will know what it is like to be truly alone.’ ” Brooks hand-lettered the text in large, irregular lines that sometimes change direction, and creates semi-abstract, strongly colored scenes of scored, combed, thickly applied paint. It’s visually striking, but closing with Magpie just beginning to “jiggety-hop” her way back to Dog after hearing an ominous, distant scream, it’s really more of an open-ended discussion starter than a conventionally constructed story. (Australian Children’s Book Council’s Picture Book of the Year) (Picture book. 9-12)

I came across this book quite by accident for a writing project in my classroom. What a hidden treasure! We read and reread it several times as my students created their literary essays emulating from the three distinctly different characters. What was amazing though, was my students conversations about their own friendships in life and how they all need to be careful when temptation presents itself. This book relates to so many areas in kids' lives today: friendship, temptation, motivation, struggles, and perseverance. This treasure is worth its weight in gold.

Posted by Liz Stafford

A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness

A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness. (Published 2013). 204 pgs. L730. RL 4.8.  A Monster Calls is the perfect middle school read aloud.  Although it fits into the horror genre, the story draws middle school readers in as it delves into what is right and what is wrong, what is fair and what is unfair.

Kirkus Reviews starred (July 15, 2011)

From a premise left by author Siobhan Dowd before her untimely death, Ness has crafted a nuanced tale that draws on elements of classic horror stories to delve into the terrifying terrain of loss. When a monster in the form of an ancient yew tree crashes through his bedroom walls after midnight, calling his name, Conor is remarkably unperturbed-"Shout all you want," he says. "I've seen worse." Indeed he has, in a recurring nightmare of someone slipping from his grasp, a nightmare whose horror he keeps to himself. Daily life is intolerable, as everyone from teachers to bullies treats him as though he were invisible since his mother began chemotherapy. The monster tells Conor three stories before insisting that Conor tell one himself. Asserting that "stories are the wildest things of all," the monster opens the door for Conor to face the guilty truth behind his subconscious fears. Ness brilliantly captures Conor's horrifying emotional ride as his mother's inevitable death approaches. In an ideal pairing of text and illustration, the novel is liberally laced with Kay's evocatively textured pen-and-ink artwork, which surrounds the text, softly caressing it in quiet moments and in others rushing toward the viewer with a nightmarish intensity. A poignant tribute to the life and talent of Siobhan Dowd and an astonishing exploration of fear.(Fiction. 11-14)

I discovered A Monster Calls from a fellow fifth grade teacher who had just finished reading it aloud to his class.  He loved the discussion that took place after each read aloud as well as the idea that the story's ending reflected real life.  Although I didn't find it scary, it is important that teachers read it first as there are a few places that might require the teacher to skip certain sections.

Posted by Kellie Hale

Mother Goose Bruce by Ryan T. Higgins

Mother Goose Bruce by Ryan T. Higgins.  Published (2015).     unnumbered pages.  570 L AD. R.L.  2.5   K-3.  Here is a new story about grumpy Bruce who just wants eggs to eat.

Booklist (December 1, 2015 (Online))

Preschool-Kindergarten. Bruce the bear is a grump. He doesn’t like company. Or sunshine. Or rain. What he does like is eggs and finding new fancy ways of preparing them—yes, Bruce has the Internet and a stove. He is a very modern bear. Readers will no doubt start giggling as they see Bruce push his shopping cart through the forest to collect the necessary ingredients—honey straight from the hive (“He liked to support local business”), salmon, and, of course, goose eggs. Having obtained everything he needs, he heads home and gets ready to cook. But, then, wouldn’t you know it? The eggs hatch! This results in the grumpiest Bruce yet, and hilarity ensues as he attempts to get the baby geese, who are convinced he is their mother, to leave him alone. Comic illustrations range from full-page paintings to spot illustrations and panels that combine to show Bruce’s schemes to rid himself of the geese, culminating in a silly but sweet conclusion. This case of mistaken identity will lend itself to a fun-filled storytime.

How frustrating life can be.  Who would think that your desire for a delectable egg breakfast could lead to your entire life changing?  When I read this book to first graders they all thought it was very sweet that the goslings thought Bruce was their mama. They really like the "Happily Ever After" ending.  However, I read the book to fifth graders and their take was quite different. They immediately sided with Bruce and how his entire future plans had been altered.  They wanted to try and find a way out for Bruce.  The discussions we had about different reactions to this book were very interesting.  There were so many different solutions to Bruce's dilemma that I turned it into a writing opportunity....."How can Bruce get his old way of life back, or should he even try?"  Wow, what a diverse set of solutions were presented.

Posted by Margo Irving