Sun Bread by Elisa Kleven

This is a beautiful book; one of my daughter’s and my all time favorites. The language is so vivid and flowing is wraps the reader in a fluffly cloud of gossimer. It is a perfect text to help your students learn to create mental images and learn to create them in thier own writing. It is a great book to illustrate the beauty of language. The captivating rhyming text makes it a great read aloud. The colorful water color/pen and ink portraits draw you into a fanciful world of animal characters. The story chronicles how a long cold winter effects them. Sound familiar? It tells of a baker, a dog, who misses the sun so much she decides tobake her own. The animal inhabitants of the town smell the bread and are drawn to come and eat. It is so delicious that it causes them to float up to the sky and when they come down again, they sing so beautifully that the real sun wakes up. They throw the sun offerings of the bread and the sun reciprocates by shining down on them and warm their souls. The baker then promises to bake more bread if the sun will return the next day. She stays up all night baking and to her and the other animals’ delight, the sun does return. They now know what to do when it turns cold and the grayness gets to them. The story depicts the joy we feel when the seasons turn from winter to spring or to stretch the analogy even farther when all our toils pay off, when we see the proverbial light at the end of the tunnel. It also alludes to learning benefits of learning strategies to help ourselves out of dark periods.The inside of the back cover sports a great recipe for making sun bread which is absolutely delicious. Great winter project!

Elisa Kleven has written and illustrated many books for children, including the best-selling book Abuela (by Arthur Dorris) and The Paper Princess.

Lois.Lowry.com

You may have read Lois Lowry's most famous book, The Giver, like I had, which is what initially attracted me to her homepage, http://lois.lowry.com, but I was surprised to find she has written books that are strikingly different from The Giver trilogy, such as the Goonybird series, the Anastasia Krupnik series, and the Tate series, beginning with the book, The One Hundredth Thing about Caroline. She also has many fine "stand-alone" books, (books that are not part of a series), such as another well-known title, Number the Stars.

Lois Lowry's website has all the basic features, including lists of her book titles, with some insight as to how the characters, plots, and themes were developed. She has included many of her lectures and interviews, some in PDF format, some on video. You can visit her blog and post questions or comments about her books or anything else you wish to discuss, although all messages must be approved by Lois before they are actually posted. (I'm waiting to see if two of mine will make the cut.) Also on the website is her bio, which is tragic and inspiring, (she has lost her sister and her son). She has FAQ, which was interesting to read and a list of her upcoming books and appearances. Unfortunately, there are no trips to Indiana or the surrounding area listed, but I've seen her speak at IPFW in 2003 and she was fascinating.

My favorite quote from Lois on her online bio was, "My books have varied content and style, yet it seems they all have the same essential general theme: the importance of the human connection." This humanness is certainly why her books resonate with such a wide audience.

When You Reach Me (posted by Margaret)

When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead

In this first person narrative, Miranda, a sixth grader faces a series of questions. Will her mother win as a contestant on the T.V. game show The $20,000 Pyramid? More confusing though, what happened to the spare apartment key that had been hidden in the fire hose in the hall? Where are these spooky notes coming from? Why won't Miranda's best friend talk to her anymore? As Miranda tells her story, she weaves in tantalizing bits from L'Engle's A Wrinkle in Time, her favorite book. At every turn, the reader is drawn ever more deeply into the fantastic and fantastical mystery.

I have heard both positive and mediocre reviews of this book - including the strong recommendation from the Newbery committee which award this book the highest honor for elementary literature! In part because the reviews were so different, and in part because it won the Newbery, I decided to read this novel. I found that the plot sucked me in, whirled me around, and then transported me somewhere I hadn't expected. While geared for upper elementary and middle school students, this would be an appropriate book for younger students who read well. Also, the plot turns and physics twists would lead to great conversations. Enjoy!

Mercy Watson to the Rescue by Kate DiCamillo

Mercy is a pig that lives with Mr. and Mrs. Watson. He is so loved by the Watsons that they sing him to sleep (yes, he sleeps in a bed). And if he gets scared, he climbs in with Mr. and Mrs. Watson in their bed (which eventually causes problems). They even fix his favorite food for him, buttered toast. In this first book of the series, he apparently "rescues" the Watsons when their bed falls through the ceiling because there was too much weight on the bed (Mercy was snuggling up with Mr. and Mrs. Watson). When in fact he is causing problems at the next door neighbor's house, the Lincoln sisters. They are the ones that call the fire department.....Mr. and Mrs. Watson are saved, thanks to Mercy?

This book is a beginning chapter book that is enjoyed by students ages 6-9. Even reluctant, older readers would enjoy this colorful, humorous book. It has 12 chapters but is an easy read especially with the supportive illustrations by Chris Van Dusen. As of last check, there are 5 books in the series. Visit amazon.com to read more about the series! http://www.amazon.com/Mercy-Watson-Rescue-Kate-DiCamillo/dp/0763645044/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1266259569&sr=1-1

The Children's Book Council - http://www.cbcbooks.org/

Since I am not an avid reader of children's books, I don't have much of a clue about what books are good for kids or what they will enjoy, which is exactly why I love book lists. Although The Children's Book Council charges membership dues for access to certain resources, lists of books are free. And The CBC has a plethora of lists. The one I particularly enjoy is the Children's Choice Project list. This list is the result of what children actually think about the books they have read. Every year about 12,500 school children read newly published books and vote on what books they liked the best. I like this list because it is created by kids, but the CBC also has lists created by experts for kids. These 'expert' lists are are notable social studies books, outstanding science books, and seasonal books. The lists are massive and date back over ten years. For someone like me, the website is great. I am sure that it will also be useful for anyone looking to find quality children's or young adult books.

This story make me laugh out loud! Thomas outsmarts and outmaneuvers his mother, his teacher, and his principal as they attempt to make him get into his snowsuit. Anyone who has ever been charged with clothing an unwilling child, or has been an unwilling child, can relate to this story. The visual images Robert Munsch creates in the mind of the reader are hilarious. “So the principal picked up Thomas in one hand and he picked up the teacher in the other hand, and he tried to get them back into their clothes. When he was done, the principal was wearing the teacher’s dress, the teacher was wearing the principal’s suit, and Thomas was still in his underwear.” Thomas' Snowsuit reminds me that sometimes adults try to make things too difficult and the best solution might be to simply think like a child!

Check out two more of my Robert Munsch favorites, Stephanie's Ponytail and The Paperbag Princess. As you begin to read his books, you will start to notice his subtle, yet identifyable writing style, which includes a creative use of repetition and lots of dry humor!

Resource : Usborne Books

www.usbornebooks.com
I tried to get a good picture or more contact info but the page is copy righted and will not let me. I was able to post the web address.
Our school did a fund raiser with Usborne Books this past Fall. It was a wonderful experience!! One of the few reading incentive programs that rewarded reading with reading. The children got sponsors and then read. They were able to read at home and school and count it towards their self determined goals. They raised funds and were able to spend 1/2 on books for themselves, a % went to the individual classroom, and % went to the school library. I looked a bit at the web site before we signed up to participate and learned that you can purchase books through their web site, earn money and books as a sales rep, or earn educational materials as a school or library. My children very much enjoyed this experience (also should add that they no longer are interested in participating in the pizza Book-IT Program). They carry a wide variety of books ranging from "board books to internet linked materials to encyclopedias. They also carry an array of Spanish titles." This was a very positive experience at our school and we look forward to participating again next year.

Esperanza Rising - Pam Munoz Ryan

Pam Munoz Ryan has written a high accessible, yet remarkably layered, deep novel about the riches to rags life of Esperanza. Born the daughter of a wealthy Mexican ranch owner, Esperanza is forced to grow up a Mexican farm laborer in California after a serious of tragic events. The mexican proverb that opens the book explains what is learned throughout her journey: "the rich person is richer when he becomes poor, than the poor person when he becomes rich." Esperanza grows through a variety of struggles and hard luck and eventually rises about her situation. More than just a tale of one girl, Esperanza Rising wonderfully depicts the lives of farm workers during the great depression. As a son of a union organizer I particularly interested in the authors depiction of the difficult decision, to strike or continue struggling for meager conditions, that laborers faced. Esperanza Rising is an excellent book that can be read for individual pleasure, but more, it is an exceptional book to use in a classroom setting. A variety of important, pertinent discussion topics can be covered throughout the reading of this quality novel. I recommend it to any elementary teacher.

Punished! by David Lubar

I thought that Punished! by David Lubar was a hysterically funny book. Two boys go running into the library to do some research for a social studies project. While they are chasing each other, Logan runs head-on into a strange, old man in the basement of the library. The man says that Logan needs to be punished. At first, Logan doesn’t think anything happened. Then, when he starts talking to his friend, odd words and phrases start coming out of his mouth. The first thing he says to his rambunctious friend is “Will you please try to behave your shelf?” Later, he tells the librarian, “Eyebrows the books all the time.” Soon, Logan realizes that being PUNished means that he has been cursed to speak in puns. Imagine the scene in class the next day when he gets in trouble because his teacher thinks he’s being a smart aleck! Read this book to find out how Logan breaks the curse and begins to speak normally again.

Indiana students might also enjoy Punished! because it is one of the nominees for the 2009-2010 Young Hoosier Book Award Competition. Students who read at least five of the twenty nominees are eligible to vote for the award-winning book in May 2010. The book, written in a chapter book format, is quite short with fairly large print; many 2^nd graders would probably understand the book, while even middle school students would groan at the puns.

For a link to the Indiana Library Federation, which sponsors the Young Hoosier Book Award, go to http://www.ilfonline.org/index.php?submenu=yhba&src=gendocs&ref=YoungHoosierBookAward&category=Programs_Awards .