In Halfway to Perfect, Dyamonde’s best friend Damaris starts losing weight when girls in their 3rd grade class make fun of her for being fat. When another classmate faints on the playground because of her diabetes, the kids ostracize her. In this, Nikki Grime’s 4th book in the award-winning Dyamonde Daniel chapter book series, she… Read more »
Book Room
Flying the Dragon by Natalie Dias Lorenzi
Debut novelist Natalie Dias Lorenzi crafts a beautiful multi-layered story told in the alternating points of view of fifth graders, Skye and Hiroshi. The two are cousins who’ve never met until Hiroshi’s family leaves Japan so Grandfather can receive a new innovative cancer treatment in the United States, where Skye’s family lives. Thrust together by… Read more »
The Thing About “Different”
For Teachers BULLYING HURTS:Teaching Kindness Through Read-Alouds and Guided Conversations by Lester L. Laminack and Reba M. Wadsworth (Heinemann, 2012) I’m starting today’s post with a book I’ve not actually read yet. It’s newly published and I only just received the flyer in the mail. But in my years of teaching, I’ve always found Heinemann… Read more »
Wonder by R.J. Palacio
The start of a new school year is ripe with opportunity and provide a chance to make new friends, learn new skills, and grow intellectually, socially, and emotionally. Books such as WONDER by R. J. Palacio can play a significant role as children navigate these important changes. Ten-year-old August Pullman was born with severe facial deformities…. Read more »
A Cowgirl and Her Horse
A COWGIRL AND HER HORSE, written and illustrated by Jean Ekman Adams, is a delightful picture book about a girl and her horse, their friendship and adventures. Young readers will have fun with this book while stretching their imaginations, especially if they like horses, dogs and outlandish, zany art. Taking care of a horse is… Read more »
Graphic Novels for Confident Readers
GIANTS BEWARE! by Rafael Rosado and Jorge Aguirre (First Second, 2012) Tales of a baby-feet eating giant, chased back to the tallest mountain in the territory, have kept the local citizens of Mont Petit Pierre living in fear. But one young citizen, Claudette, is different. Fearless and determined, Claudette is the only one of the… Read more »
Graphic Novels for Emerging and Transitional Readers
BENJAMIN BEAR in Fuzzy Thinking by Philippe Coudray BENJAMIN BEAR in Fuzzy Thinking is a book that was a satisfying match for one particular boy in my classroom this year. His reading skills were strong. He was able to read grade level material, but he was hard to please. Nothing that I came up with… Read more »
