Chapter Book 14

Clementine by: Sara Pennypacker

Title: Clementine

Author: Sara Pennypacker
Illustrator:Marla Frazee
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
Subgenre: People & Places
Theme: Humorous, Friendship, Family
Primary & Secondary Characters: Clementine,Margaret, classmates, kitten
Award(s):
Date of Publication: 2011
Publishing Company: Hyperion Book

Summary of Book:


This is a very cute and humorous book! I loved it! It is about a little girl named Clementine who finally gets her turn at being "Friend of the Week" in her classroom at school. Each time someone is friend of the week, they get a book at the end of the week full of compliments from their classmates. Clementine wants to get the best compliments. This book illustrates how far she will go to get the best book at the end of the week. This is a book I want to add to my collection for my future classroom. I would read this aloud for entertainment to my classroom. Then, I think it would be a great idea to carry out the "friend of the week" idea in my class along with the compliment book at the end of each week. Every student deserves compliments and the feeling of being needed!

Chapter Book 13

My Havana: Memories of a Cuban Boyhood by: Rosemary Wells

Title: My Havana: Memories of a Cuban Boyhood 

Author: Rosemary Wells, Secundino Fernandez, Peter Ferguson
Illustrator: Peter Ferguson
Genre: Juvenile Nonfiction
Subgenre: Biography and Autobiography
Theme: Cuba, History, Architecture
Primary & Secondary Characters: Secundino Fernandez, uncle, father 
Award(s):
Date of Publication: 2010
Publishing Company: Candlewick Press

Summary of Book:


Rosemary Wells wrote this book after hearing Secundino's story and talking with him. It is the true story of Secundino Fernandez and his childhood. It illustrates the history of when Fidel Castro took over Cuba. In the classroom, I would do a whole history lesson over this. Because this is a biography, I would give tests and have discussions over the content. It is a great book and very heart touching. 

Chapter Book 12

Love That Dog by: Sharon Creech

Title: Love That Dog

Author: Sharon Creech
Genre: Poetry
Subgenre: American Poetry, dog, friendship
Theme: Poetry
Primary & Secondary Characters: Jack
Award(s):
Date of Publication: 2001
Publishing Company: HarperCollins

Summary of Book:


This is a good book. It is about a little boy named Jack who starts off slow writing poetry, but becomes very good at it. He writes about his dog and is inspired by his favorite poet. However, he originally thought that boys shouldn't write poetry. This is a book that I will definitely read to my classroom when introducing poetry. I can relate to the little boy in this book because I used to think that only certain people were talented enough to write poetry. This is not true, and this book illustrates that. This is a book that is easy to relate to for beginning poets or students who are just beginning to learn about poetry. 

Chapter Book 11

From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs Basil E. Frankweiler by: E. L. Konigsburg

Title: From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs Basil E. Frankweiler

Author: E. L. Konigsburg
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
Subgenre: Family, Siblings
Theme: Mysteries, Art, Runaway
Primary & Secondary Characters: Claudia Kincaid,  Mrs. Frankweiler, little brother
Award(s): Newbery medal
Date of Publication: 2007
Publishing Company: Simon and Schuster

Summary of Book:


This book is about a little girl named Claudia who decides to run away from home with her little brother. They end up staying at the Metropolitan Museum of Art where they become obsessed in uncovering mysteries and facts about the pieces of art there. They discover so much about art that they didn't previously know. I would love to read this book to my class before a trip to the museum. It would be fun to come up with a scavenger hunt that would allow them to feel like the kids in the book that discovered more every day that they were at the museum. This book is fiction, but it is very informative. 

Chapter Book 10

Someone Named Eva by: Joan M. Wolf

Title: Someone Named Eva

Author: Joan M. Wolf
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
Subgenre: Realistic Fiction
Theme: Boarding Schools, Holocaust, History
Primary & Secondary Characters: Milada, grandmother, Nazi soldiers, mama, papa, brother, sister
Award(s):
Date of Publication: 2009
Publishing Company: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

Summary of Book:


This is a very touching story of a fictional character in a realistic situation named Milada who was sent to a Lebensborn center and adopted by the commandant of Ravensbruck when the Nazis took over. The whole book is about her experience and how she tries not to forget who she is and where she comes from. It is a realistic and touching story. In the classroom, I would use this book to spark interest in this terrible time in history. I feel that the students would be able to relate to the little girl in this story because of the age. This would be a great book to read aloud daily after our history lesson over this time of the past. 

Chapter Book 9

11 Birthdays by: Wendy Mass

Title: 11 Birthdays
Author: Wendy Mass

Genre: Juvenile Fiction
Subgenre: Family & Relations
Theme: Friendship, birthdays, time, social issues
Primary & Secondary Characters: Amanda, Leo
Award(s):
Date of Publication: 2010
Publishing Company: Scholastic Inc

Summary of Book:


This a very cute book about a girl named Amanda. It is her 11th birthday, but her and her best friend, Leo, are in an argument. Therefore, for the first time ever they do not spend it together. When she goes to bed the night of her birthday, she is relieved that the day is finally over. However, when she wakes up the next morning, it is her birthday all over again! I loved this book, and I feel like students would also enjoy it. It is a great book to have in the classroom for entertainment. This is a book that I would read aloud to my classroom and have discussions about it afterwards. 

Picture Book 26

Andy and The Lion by: James Henry Daugherty

Title: Andy and The Lion
Author: James Daugherty
Illustrator: James Daugherty
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
Subgenre: Folklore and Mythology
Theme: Animals, Friendship

Primary & Secondary Characters: Andy, Lion

Award(s): Caldecott
Date of Publication: 1989
Publishing Company: Puffin Books

Summary of Book:

This a story of a little boy named Andy who becomes a forever long friend to a lion because he pulls a thorn out of his foot. It is a very good story. The illustrations are very different, but that makes me like them even more. In the classroom I would use this book when my class was learning about Folklore and Mythology. It would also start a discussion to see if the students thought it was real or not. Then, I would get them to start their own myth or folklore that they would like to be read years and years from now.