Grades K-2
Ballet Cat wants Butter Bear to practice leaping for her big ballet debut. But Butter Bear refuses - giving all kinds of excuses. In the end, the reader discovers the real reason why Butter Bear won't leap. (No spoilers here. Check out the book!)
Grades 1-5
Animal and word lovers alike will enjoy this clever take on homographs, in this case, verbs that are spelled the same and pronounced like animal names. Yaks Yak is an original and fun way to build vocabulary. I will be purchasing this book!
Grades K and up
This picture book is a great mentor text for letting our young writers know that sometimes it's hard to come up with ideas for our writing. Even professional writers have this problem, and Philip Stead shows us what to do when it happens. He takes his dog for a walk in his neighborhood and soon discovers that ideas are all around us if we take the time to look and notice. Gorgeous illustrations, mixed with the author's photographs he takes during his walk, make this book such an interesting read. Five stars!
Grades K and up
This is a beautiful, sensitive, gentle picture book about loss and grief. Inspired by two polar bears that lived in New York City's Central Park Zoo several years ago, the author helps us explore the emotional journey of friendship, love, and loss. I read this at school and had to take a few moments alone afterwards to dry my eyes. What a touching story.
Grades 4-7
This book, written in verse, is brilliant. Each poem, authored by one of the students in Emerson Elementary's fifth grade class, is actually written in a form taught by Mrs. Hill. (Which I did not realize until I finished the book.) The numerous types of poems are shared by the author at the back of the book, along with where to find the model poem for each type in the text. In Mrs. Hill's class, the students can visit the prompt jar if they are struggling with an idea, and the author graciously shares Mrs. Hill's prompts at the back of the book. A perfect mentor text for teaching poetry in the upper elementary grades. Five stars.
Grades 8 to adult
This is one of those YA books that would be enjoyed by adults too. I highly recommend it if you like survival stories set during WW2. The characters will stay with you long after you're finished reading. I can't stop thinking about them.
I have so many great books lined up that just came in for me at the library: Hour of the Bees, and Wolf's Hollow will be this week's reads! I hope everyone reads something awesome this week!