When I was your age, I wanted to go to first grade so much! I was already in kindergarten at Broad River Elementary School, but I wanted to be one of the big kids like my older brother and sister, Shep and Flip. Broad River was old and brick and had lots of windows. The principal, Miss Prendergast, was very strict. I never wanted to be sent to her office the way Shep was when he got sprayed by a skunk and went to school anyway. He smelled up the whole school.
When the first day of first grade arrived, I was nervous. I didn’t know anyone. I didn’t have a best friend yet. What if I didn’t learn to read and write?
I soon got over being scared. My teacher was Mrs. McNichols. She had gray hair and wore flowered dresses so she looked like a friendly grandmother. I made friends with a girl named Barbara and another girl named Donna because they had birthdays in September just like me. And you know what? They are still my best friends today and we still get together to celebrate our birthdays.
The funny thing is, I wasn’t good at writing. Me, an author! The problem was that I’m left-handed but Mrs. McNichols made me write with my right hand. My letters were crooked all through first grade. Luckily, when I got to second grade, my teacher let me write with my left hand. I practiced and practiced until I got better. Good thing, considering I wanted to be an author.
So if you’re at all like me, and you have trouble with something when you’re in the first grade, never fear! Work and practice and have fun. Before you know it, your problem will get better.
I loved writing about Posey and Miss Lee and Nikki and Ava and Luca – all of them! I hope you like Posey as much as I do.
Posey is nervous about starting school. She’ll have to get out of the car at the Kiss-and-Go Lane, and walk to her first grade classroom, past the “Monster of the Blue Hall,” all by herself. Worse, she’s not allowed to wear the pink tutu that turns her into Princess Posey, the Pink Princess, who can go anywhere, do anything.
We’re very excited about this first-in-a-brand-new-series-of-books for the transitional reader. Any first grade teacher knows there are usually one or two students each year who are timid/afraid/shy/worried about the transition from kindergarten to first grade.
Even though – for many kids – kindergarten is at the same school, with many of the same, familiar faces, first grade *is* different. And moving up to first grade is a big deal.
Princess Posey is charming, honest, and brave enough to share her own wonderful way of dealing with her fears – a parade! What could be better? Kids and teachers will get a kick out of this book. And the best news? More Posey adventures are on the way, with PRINCESS POSEY AND THE PERFECT PRESENT scheduled for release in March, 2011.
Enjoy working through the Discussion Questions. Then have fun with the Compare and Contrast activity, making and play the Word Bank Game, and completing a lesson reinforcing the concept of words created through the use of the Silent “e”.
Lastly, practice reading comprehension skills by creating and playing a Princess Posey Folder Game. To make the folder game all that is needed is a standard letter-sized manila folder, .pdf print outs and a friend to enjoy Posey’s capers over and over and over again.
Janet Fox’sGet Organized Without Losing Itis loaded with helpful hints to ensure that returning to the rigors of school life are as stress-free as possible. From packing a lunch to passing a test, Janet guides the parent and child through an easy step-by-step process, demystifying the fears associated with school life.
Access the following link to play a card game reinforcing the skills taught and attitudes presented inGet Organized Without Losing It! Going back to school has never been this much fun!
It’s almost Sophie’s double-digit birthday and things are off to a rocky start. Even though her dad had said, “Wonderful!” when Sophie told him she wanted a baby gorilla for her big day, deep down, Sophie knew it wasn’t going to be as easy as all that.
And now, older sister, Nora, has decided to move to the attic, leaving Sophie bereft and alone, with only a “tiny sliver of light under her door for company.”
Things are changing and readers will empathize with dear Sophie as she struggles to find her way along the sometimes bumpy road of a 9, almost 10, year old girl growing up as the middle child in a busy, but loving family.
With humor, poignancy, and deftly written and carefully composed subplots, HAPPY BIRTHDAY, SOPHIE HARTLEY is a book young readers will enjoy mightily, admiring both Sophie’s stick-to-itiveness and spunk, and the wonderful way the story comes full circle, leaving Sophie with a gift that’s far better than even she could have imagined.
In many parts of the country, August is Back-to-School month. Already! That being the case, ReaderKidz thought we’d kick off the school year with a few recommendations for the K- 5 crowd.
You’ll find a little of everything here. A couple of new books, along with several that have been favorites for years. There’s something for all types of readers, too. Early/chapter books, picture books for the primary grades, and an amazing novel for the older, confident reader.
Posey is nervous about starting school. She’ll have to get out of the car at the Kiss-and-Go Lane, and walk to her first grade classroom, past the “Monster of the Blue Hall,” all by herself. Worse, she’s not allowed to wear the pink tutu that turns her into Princess Posey, the Pink Princess, who can go anywhere, do anything.
We’re very excited about this first-in-a-brand-new-series-of-books for the transitional reader. Any first grade teacher knows there are usually one or two students each year who are timid/afraid/shy/worried about the transition from kindergarten to first grade.
Even though – for many kids – kindergarten is at the same school, with many of the same, familiar faces, first grade *is* different. And moving up to first grade is a big deal.
Princess Posey is charming, honest, and brave enough to share her own wonderful way of dealing with her fears – a parade! What could be better? Kids and teachers will get a kick out of this book. And the best news? More Posey adventures are on the way, with PRINCESS POSEY AND THE PERFECT PRESENT scheduled for release in March, 2011.
There’s a new student at Watertower Elementary School, and the school has never seen anyone like her. What other kid would come to school wearing the crazy outfits Gooney Bird does?
Gooney Bird Greene describes herself as “unique.” Indeed, Gooney Birdis one unusual second-grader. Who but Gooney Bird would arrive at school wearing cowboy boots and pajamas one day and a ruffled pinafore and high-top basketball shoes, another?
And, as her classmates quickly discover, Gooney Bird tells only “absolutely true stories” and she, like the main character in all her stories, likes to be “right smack in the middle of everything.”
In addition to the ingenious lesson on how-to write fiction embedded in the book’s plot, GOONEY BIRD GREENE is pure fun! There’s loads of teacher humor, like the time Gooney Bird is in the middle of telling one of her stories about Napoleon, a large black poodle. At the mention of the word, “dog,” every hand in the classroom shoots up and Gooney asks Mrs. Pidgeon, the teacher, for help.
Mrs. Pigeon: “Every child who has a poodle, put your hand down… Now every child whose grandmother has a poodle? Hands down… Every child who knows a poodle who does interesting tricks, or who gets into trouble, or who ran away once? Hands down.”
You get the idea. Lois Lowry captures the early primary grade classroom to a T! It’s almost as if a teacher had asked her to write a chapter book that would introduce the elements of narrative fiction in an entertaining way. Lowry does just that in GOONEY BIRD GREENE. And like so many books perfect for the emerging reader, there are more in the series. Check it out!
Dyamonde Daniel, third grader, may be new in town but that doesn’t stop her from quickly making a place for herself with her zippy attitude and awesome brain power…
There are many reasons to like Dyamonde Daniel. She’s friendly, self-confident. She takes matters into her own hands. On top of that, Dyamonde’s learning to deal with big-time changes in her 3rd grade life. Changes that lots of kids will recognize.
Not only has Dyamonde moved to a new apartment where she sleeps on a pullout sofa, but since her mom and dad’s divorce, life has seemed to be nothing but subtraction: “Two for breakfast instead of three. Monday night TV minus the football.”
She’s making the best of it, though, and learning how to deal, and when a new boy, Free, joins her class after his dad lost his job and his family moved in with relatives, she learns that she’s not the only one with problems. The kind of real-kid problems many of today’s students will recognize.
Tommy can hardly wait to get to kindergarten so he can draw with a real art teacher. Then he discovers he won’t get to have art until first grade. Even worse, the art teacher tells him to copy what she draws. Copy! What’s a six-year-old artist to do?
THE ART LESSON is one of those books that’s stood the test of time and even today, many years after its initial publication in 1989, it still reminds teachers to honor and respect the creative process and the individual strengths of each student.
On Ruby’s first day in Miss Hart’s class, she meets Angela with the red bow. Next thing you know, when Angela wears a sweater with daisies, so does Ruby. Will Ruby ever learn to be Ruby first?
Ruby’s a great character. Endearing, exuberant, full-of-spunk. One terrific thing about Ruby is the way that students who are listening to her story for the first time begin, little by little, to realize what she’s up to.
RUBY THE COPYCAT is an excellent read-aloud and another fine book about discovering one’s strengths and the wonder that lies within our everyday lives. Even when, as in Ruby’s case, a pleasant weekend involved nothing more than hopping forward… hopping backward.. and hopping sideways with both eyes shut!
After 9-year old Gregory’s father loses his job and starts another in a different part of the city, Gregory finds himself beginning again in a new school, in a new neighborhood.
The change is hard for Gregory. One of the boys in his class accuses him of bragging and it seems Gregory’s chances of making any real friends are slim. Worse, when he gets home, he finds his young Uncle Max has moved into his bedroom and taken over, hanging *his* posters over Gregory’s carefully drawn pictures.
This tightly-written story is both poignant and full of Gregory’s longing to find a place of his own, a way to fit in, and the gentle stirrings of new friendships in the making.
THE CHALK BOX KID is a perfect springboard into a discussion of new beginnings,what it’s like to feel alone at school, and how students might help one another learn empathy and acceptance of individual differences.
Stargirl. Magical, mysterious, strange, odd. She arrives at Mica High with a ukulele on her back, a large sunflower-painted canvas bag slung over her shoulder, and huge, expressive eyes. Leo Borlock is smitten.
But Stargirl’s one-of-a-kind magic pales quickly and the students of Mica High turn on her. Leo’s attempts at remaking Stargirl into Susan, a normal, like-everybody-else girl, eventually fail, and Stargirl returns to share one, last, magical evening with the students of Mica High.
Readerkidz read STARGIRL some years ago, and came back to reread it again recently. It’s no wonder it’s still on bookstore shelves and summer reading lists. STARGIRL is a celebration of individuality that raises important questions about who we each are, how we perceive others, and how willing we are to accept those who are different from us. A MUST READ!!
Books described here show children in a variety of places facing tough situations. The theme of each book echoes the theme of this month, “New Beginnings.” Each story shows a child who “looks through a different window” with a different perspective.
School is starting. But what if you have no school? What if you are a girl and – girls are not allowed? What if you are a newly relocated refugee coming from a country that no one has heard of and nobody knows how to pronounce your name? Or what if you must go to a school that is far away from home and you have to leave “home” behind – your friends, your clothes, your language, even your name?
Starting something new – being the new kid – is scary no matter where you live or who you are. Sharing a good book helps.
María Isabel is a new student in a classroom that already has several “María’s.” Her teacher suggests that, to avoid confusion, this new María will be called Mary.
But one’s name is who one is – within family, at school, and within one’s culture. And that should not ever be taken away.
María Isabel learns that keeping her name is part of honoring and celebrating who she is.
A refugee from Sudan, Sangoel arrives in the United States with almost nothing except his mother, sister, and his name. How important is his name and how frustrating that no one pronounces it correctly nor understands that a name is a heritage. Sangoel creates a clever solution which becomes an important first step in creating a community of friends in his classroom.
** MY NAME IS SANGOEL was one of five books recently nominated for the Carolyn W. Field Award by Pennsylvania librarians.
Her name, Yoon, means “Shining Wisdom” and in Korean, “The symbols dance together.” In Korean letters – her name, Yoon, looks happy. Looking at the letters makes her feel happy.
When her teacher asks her to practice writing her name in English, Yoon, practices different names: cat, bird, cupcake.
As Yoon begins to settle into her new class and make a friend, that makes her feel happy too. Yoon learns that in English or Korean, her name will always mean Shining Wisdom.
SUGGESTION: Share the story about each child’s name. Children can “research” the history of their name by interviewing family members, then write or draw about what their names mean. Information about each individual child’s name is shared. Awareness and appreciation – and accurate pronunciation – of each other’s names is created. Community within a classroom develops.
Mission Statement
To provide teachers, librarians, and parents with the resources and inspiration to foster a love of reading in kids, K-5.
whole school.
until I got better. Good thing, considering I wanted to be an author.
MAKE WAY FOR DIAMONDE DANIEL
RUBY THE COPYCAT
