My Teacher is a Monster! (2016)

Brown, P.  My Teacher is a Monster!  New York, New York:  MacMillan Publishers.

Bobby thinks that his teacher is a monster.  She really isn't a monster he just thinks she is mean.  While at the park he sees his teacher.  They have fun together.  They both like to do some of the same things.  At school she will be the same teacher and redirect misbehavior.

Paperbag Princess (2016)

Munsch, R. (1980).  The Paper Bag Princess.  New York, New York: Scholastic Press.



I enjoyed reading the not so fairy tale ending.  The princess goes to save her to be princess who was taken by a dragon.  She follows the path of destruction that the dragon left.  She finds the dragon and
tricks him and makes him very tired.  She rescues the prince wearing only a paper bag.  After all that trouble she didn't even leave with him.  She runs away happy.

The Three Pigs (2016)

Wiesner, D.  (2001).  The Three Pigs.  New York, New York:Clarion Books.

The pigs in effort to get away from the wolf who wants to eat them they run.  They literally run through the pages of the book.  They end up in other stories.  Finally, they make it to the brick home of one of pigs.  The wolf cannot blow this home away.

Legend of the Bluebonnet (2016)

DePaola, T.  (1996). The Legend of the Bluebonnet.  London, England:Puffin Books. 

A young girl who has already lost her family helps her village.  While the people worry and pray for rain because drought threatens their way of life.  She offers her precious doll to the Great Spirits.  Her sacrifice was appreciated.  The land was blessed with beautiful blue flowers.  This was a good example of selflessness.

This is Not My Hat(2016)

Klassen, J.  (2012).  This is Not My Hat.  Somerville, Massachusetts: Candlewick Press.

Little fish stole a hat from a big fish.  He felt like it didn't fit the big fish and he wouldn't miss it.  He traveled through the water not knowing that the big fish was behind him.  The little crab along the way let big fish know which direction little fish went.  Little fish went to hide behind the tall flowers and big fish was right behind him to get his hat back.  It was a funny little book.

We are the Ship (2016)

Nelson, K.  (2008).  We Are Ship.  New York, New York: Jump at the Sun.

 Nelson tells the story of Negro baseball players.  He tells the life of baseball players from the 1920s into the late 1940s.  The author provides several sources to give the reader more information.

How They Croaked (2016)

Bragg, G.  (2011)  How They Croaked.  Walker Children's.

Olivia (2016)

Falconer, Ian.  (2007).  Olivia. New York, New York: Atheneum Books.

Olivia is a busy little pig.  She spends her day playing, dressing up, and writing on walls.  As she is sleep she dreams.  I wonder if she is dreaming about tomorrow's activities.  Olivia is her mom's busy little princess.

Where the Wild Things Are (2016)

Sendak, Maurice. (1964).  Where the Wild Things Are.  New York, New York: Harper & Row.

Max is sent to his room without eating dinner.  Max's room turns into a jungle or forest.  Max goes by boat to a place where there are monsters or wild things.  He is there king before he returns home.  This is a book with beautiful pictures with these wild things.

Martina the Beautiful Coakroach (2016)

Deedy, Carmen. (2014).  Martina the Beautiful Cockroach.  Atlanta, Georgia: Peachtree Publishers.

Martina is preparing for marriage.  She uses the "coffee test" to find her husband. After several test. She finds her husband who a Cuban grandmother too.  This was fun to read.  It's nice to find true romance.

El Deafo (2016)

Bell, C.  (2014).  El Deafo.  New York, New York: Amulet Books.

When CeCe was four years old she had meningitis.  The illness causes her to lose her hearing.  Throughout the book she explains her different experiences with the different hearing devices.  After attending a school for children she attends a regular school.  She makes new friends at this school and is invited for play dates and sleepovers.  She doesn't like to do sign language and has a difficult time reading lips.  She has a hearing device that allows her to hear what no one else can hear including hearing her teacher in the restroom.  She claims to have super powers and her friend Martha as a side kick.  CeCe runs into a tree branch while playing with Martha and hurts her eye.  Soon after she begins to wear glasses.  This is a story of a resilient young girl and her challenges she stands tall through.

Gregor the Overlander (2016)

Collins, S.  (2003). Gregor the Overlander.  New York, New York: Scholastic Press.

Gregor goes after his sister as she falls through a hole in the wall in the laundry room.  Boots and Gregor fall into a deep hole.  Boots is named a princess by the talking cockroaches.  Gregor becomes Gregor the Overlander and a warrior with the humans in the underland..  He is the missing part of the prophecy that will fight in the battle against the rats in the underland.  He travels through the underland to rescue his father who was taken from the rats and is held against his will.  His dad had been held captive for over two years. After the war many lives were lost and Gregor was able to help rescue his father.  Gregor, his dad, and sister return home to be reunited with their family.  This book is definitely a page turner.  It has interesting characters and was fun to read.

Love That Dog

Creech, S. (2001).  Love That Dog. New York, New York: Harper Collins.

Creech uses poems to tell the story of Jack who grows to enjoy writing.  Jack went from not wanting anyone to know of his writing to sharing it with his classmates.  He imitates poems that were written by others.  He tries different forms of poetry and he enjoys it the more he does even when he isn't sure how his classmates will respond.  He writes about his dog Sky who was hit by a car while he played ball with his friends in the street.  He is inspired by another writer.  He writes a letter to Walter Dean Myers who actually visits his school.

Wonder Struck (2016)

Selznick, B. (2011). Wonder Struck. New York, New York: Scholastic

Ben was born deaf in one ear.  He loses hearing in his other ear after his home was struck by lighting.  He leaves the hospital one day and leaves Minnesota for New York.  After losing his mother to a tragic car accident he wants to find his father. While in  New York he stays in an abandoned office that his new friend leads him to.  While in the museum he finds clues about his father in an old file and in the very room where he was staying.  He is lead to a bookstore where he meets Rose.  Rose is his paternal grandmother.  She is also deaf.  They use his notebook to communicate.  While Ben's story is being told.  The reader can see the story of Rose who leaves home as a young girl and is also deaf.  They come together for a heart felt ending.  This is a great story of lost, hope, and love.

Brown girl dreaming (2016)

Brown Girl Dreaming is a series of short stories/poems by Jacqueline Woodson.  Woodson tells about her life as a child growing up in the North and South.  She shares her family's journey from Ohio to South Carolina.  In the South she tells about the sit ins and other silent protests of African Americans in the 1960s and1970s.  Her family stays in their grandmother's home where her mother grew up.  When her mother travels to New York to find a home there Woodson's grandmother has Jacqueline and her siblings attend church with her. The two sisters and brother travel with their grandmother as Jehovah Witness knocking on doors spreading the good news.  The children move to New York with their mother and new baby brother.  Hope flourishes as a student who loves science.  Dell receives much praise for being so smart.  Jacqueline eventually finds enjoyment as a storyteller and finds writing stories as her way to shine.  The stories tell more than a family's history.  It provides insight from a child's perspective on how America was in the 1960s and 1970s.  This was a good read.  I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys history.

Woodson, J.  (2014).  Brown Girl Dreaming.  New York, New York: Penguin Group.