Summer, this summer especially, is a busy time for me. I am attending 5 professional development conferences, presenting at one conference, taking two continuing ed classes, participating in countless Webinars, redesigning my library curriculum to allow for individual learning in a game-based, badge system, installing the digital diner, and looking for funding. That's just my professional life! And, I do have a lot going on with my family, including trips to Washington, D.C., San Antonio, Atlanta, and the beach. Plus, we are experimenting with gardening and farming again this year. Still, I know there is time for a reading challenge. So, here it is. I am going to read at least 7 books a week and write about them here. My son is participating in the challenge. He's going to read at least 20 books this summer and prepare a digital project for 10 of those. I hope I'll be able to post his progress here, too.
So, last week was the first official week of summer. I made it! I read 7 books.
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| goodreads.com |
Walk Two Moons
by Sharon Creech
AR 5.4/Realistic Fiction
Newbery Medal Winner
Salamanca (Sal) Tree Hiddle is going on a roadtrip from Ohio to Idaho with her grandparents, hoping to find her missing mother and bring her back home. Along the way, she entertains them with the story of her friend, Phoebe Winterbottom, whose mother has also gone missing. Sal's mother left by her own choice, but Phoebe is convinced her mother was kidnapped. Perhaps by "the lunatic" that visited the house just days before, or maybe by Mrs. Cadaver across the street because Phoebe is certain that she killed her own husband years earlier. There are mysteries, sadness, and challenges for both girls along the way. Their unlikely friendship provides the framework for hope and the power of relationships that bind and define us.
The Westing Game
by Ellen Raskin
AR 6.3/Mystery
Samuel Westing has been murdered and 16 of his heirs, all hand selected to reside in his latest apartment building, have been called together for the reading of the will. One of them is the murderer, and it is up to the rest of them to decipher the riddles of his will to discover the guilty heir. The first one with the answer inherits the $200 million estate, but it's a dangerous and confounding adventure filled with suspicion, explosions, and dubious partnerships to the end.
Dave the Potter: Artist, Poet, Slave
by Laban Carrick Hill
AR 6.0/Biography
Caldecott Honor
Dave was a slave that lived in the 1800s near Edgefield, South Carolina. His pottery was a remarkable accomplishment on its own, further enhanced by the beautiful poetry he etched into it. Not much is known about his life, so the pots and poetry are the focus of this picture book biography. His haiku-like poetry will surely inspire you while giving a glimpse into the thoughts of the man.
I wonder where is all my relation
friendship to all-and, every nation
----August 16, 1857
put every bit all between
surely this Jar will hold 14
----July 12, 1834
I, made this Jar, all of cross
If, you don't repent, you will be lost===
----no date
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| goodreads.com |
They Dance in the Sky: Native American Star Myths
by Jean Guard Monroe and Ray A. Williamson
AR 6.4/Non-fiction, Mythology/808.83
Fifth grade students become intrigued with mythology every year after hearing their teacher, Mr. Brandon, tell the famous Greek and Roman myths about constellations. They clamor for more, so I was delighted to find this collection of Native American Star Myths, which also happens to be a Common Core recommended text. I can definitely see using this in library lessons to compare and contrast the stories from their class and those in the book. The authors have done a nice job connecting the Native American myths to classic Greek and Roman myths while leaving plenty of room for analysis and interpretation. Only the most interested students would read this book cover to cover, but the arrangement by region and ample index make this an accessible book for all. My favorite: the Cherokee explanation of the Milky Way as a trail of cornmeal spread across the sky due to its more visible appearance in the summer when the corn is ready to harvest.
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| goodreads.com |
Brave Girl: Clara and the Shirtwaist Makers' Strike of 1909
by Michell Markel
AR 5.0/Nonfiction
Clara Lemich was a young girl when her family immigrated to the United States around the turn of the century. Once arriving in New York, her father was unable to find work, but Clara was hired along with other young girls to work as a seamstress in a garment factory. Working conditions were inhumane and unsafe, but how could the workers convince the owners to provide better working conditions when they were so easily replaced by other desperate young girls trying to support their families? With the leadership of brave Clara, the workers across the garment industry joined together to strike for fair treatment. Assisted by the powerful Women's Trade Union League made up of wealthy and middle-class women, the strike finally succeeded in providing fair wages and safe working conditions for most. This is an inspiring account of the good things we can accomplish when we stick together and how anyone, even if they seem small or weak, can make a positive change.
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| goodreads.com |
Homes on the Move
by Nicola Barber
AR 4.3/Nonfiction - 643
Homes Around the World Series
Take a look inside these moveable homes from yurts to houseboats to RVs. People who live a mobile lifestyle have a lot more options for housing than you might think. Some of the moveable homes seem more temporary than moveable, like the igloos built by the Inuit for hunting trips. I don't think they are really taking these things with them. Others like the Turkish huts made from wooden poles, goat skins, and woven mats are definitely built for traveling and reassembling where needed. This book not only describes the variety of mobile homes, there is information about how homes are transported, by camel for instance, and the kinds of cultures that either require or generate from the nomad lifestyle. Interesting and informative, the text also includes directions for making your own model igloo.
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| goodreads.com |
Trash
by Andy Mulligan
AR 5.1/Realistic Fiction
Two confessions: First, I didn't read this one, but listened to the unabridged version on tape on the way to Washington, D.C. It is beautifully performed by multiple readers who capture the voices of the multiple narrators of the story and is available at the Huntsville-Madison County Public Library. Second, even though it's AR level is 5.1, there are some tough thematic elements that makes it more appropriate for middle schoolers, but it really depends on the reader. We do not have this book in the Walnut Grove school library. Though I enjoyed it very much, I probably won't add it to the collection.
Raphael, Gardo, and Rat are preteen boys in an unnamed 3rd World Country. They make their living sifting and sorting through the mountains of garbage. In fact, the garbage site is a community of its own called Behala. The description of poverty and deprivation are starkly drawn as is the picture of waste by the affluent. On one "unlucky-lucky day," Raphael finds a mysterious bag containing a key, a wallet, and photos of a man and his daughter. When the police arrive the next day desperate to recover the missing bag, Raphael and Gardo know they must uncover the secrets even though it means facing danger and forfeiting a handsome reward. With their friend, Rat, the boys rely on their ingenuity, resourcefulness, courage, and loyalty to each other to stay one step ahead of the authorities.
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