Read On!

Mrs. Farquharson’s musings about books for children and young adults

MCBA

February27

This week, we celebrated reading with our annual Massachusetts Children’s Book Award voting party. Prior to choosing their top books, the participating students advocated for their personal preferences. Many of the children commented that they were introduced to new authors and series that have now become favorites.

The winner of the vote is Rain Reign by Ann Martin. Rose is thrilled that her name is a homonym (rows). She names her dog Rain because that also has homonyms (reign and rein). Rose’s autism is evident through the rules that she makes for herself. It is difficult for her father and her teachers to understand her. When Rain disappears in a flood, Rose must break her own rules and overcome her fears to search for him.

There were three books that came in very close in the voting.

Ghost by Jason Reynolds is about a track team from an elite middle school where the main character is not only running on the field but also running from his problems.

Framed by James Ponti is an entertaining mystery about middle schooler who has a knack for solving mysteries, even one that puzzles the FBI at the National Gallery.

Towers Falling by Jewell Parker Rhodes tells the story of three friends from very different cultures whose families are all affected by the event of 9/11 that happened before Déja, Ben, and Sabeen were born.

Victoria Jamieson

May3

Author Victoria Jamieson gained many fans with her graphic novel, Roller Girl (Dial). She garnered many awards, among them a Newbery Honor, for the story of a girl who is trying to navigate friendships while being true to herself. More accolades are coming her way with her newest graphic, All’s Faire in Middle School (Dial) which incorporates the same themes.

Imogene (Impy) is a feisty main character who has been homeschooled by her non-conformist parents. They work at the Florida Renaissance Faire where Impy and her younger brother, Felix help out. Life changes for Impy when she begins middle school with all of the unwritten social rules, the teachers, the “in” crowd, and the bullies. Even figuring out how to dress is problematic because Impy and her family have their own bohemian style.

As other students give her attention for her artistic talent, Impy goes too far by making fun of teachers and a student whom she respects. When her unkind drawings are pasted all over the school, she must face the consequences. Impy learns to become invisible at school as she strives to regain her parents’ trust at home.

She carries her confusion and problems at school to her home and faire life. When Impy is down-hearted and feeling guilty about some of her behaviors, she over-reacts and takes it out on her six-year-old brother. Felix always carries around his stuffed squirrel, and he is heartbroken when he loses it because Impy threw it into the lake.

Each chapter of All’s Faire in Middle School is cleverly introduced by inferences to the medieval tale of Sir George and the Dragon. By comparing one of the beginning chapter introductions to one towards the end, readers can understand the confusion and complexity of growing up.

Squires are not, of course, distracted by fears about popularity or other such poppycock. And so, our heroine puts these petty distractions behind her as she begins training in the Knight’s Code of Honesty, Chivalry, and Bravery…and swordplay. (Chapter Two)

Dearest fellow travelers, it saddens me to say we are nearing the end of our journey together. If thou believest in happily ever afters…you obviously have never attended Middle School, but perhaps our hero will come close enough. (Chapter Thirteen)

All’s Faire in Middle School is popular with readers in grades four, five, and six.

https://youtu.be/ZjxTjBaBK3A

 

 

Mustaches for Maddie

April20

A few months ago, I was sent a novel from Chris Schoebinger at Shadow Mountain Publishing. After I read it, I’ve shared it with some readers who have enjoyed it as much as I did. I now have a waiting list to read it. Mustaches for Maddie (2017) was written by Chad Morris and Shelly Brown. The authors tell the story of their daughter, Maddie, and her struggles with a serious medical condition. (No spoilers here!) Maddie loves mustaches, and she has many different ones that she puts on to brighten up her day or lighten up a situation.

Maddie faces navigating the social mores of sixth grade that so many children of her age encounter. She wants to be friends with Cassie, the social leader in her class, as do so many of the other girls. Cassie bullies the girls, tries to manipulate the boys, and determine who is “in” or out. Maddie feels bad for those who aren’t included, but she isn’t confident enough to challenge Cassie. When she begins to have medical problems, Maddie realizes how important friendships are. No matter how serious a situation, friends will support her and wear mustaches!

Mustaches for Maddie is a charming novel that entertains readers as it challenges them to be aware of their actions. Maddie faces serious medical challenges with bravery and humor. The authors’ daughter, the “real” Maddie, wrote a poignant letter that is included at the end of the book. I picture her wearing a mustache as she wrote it. Here is an excerpt from that letter:

I try really hard to be friends with everyone. We don’t always realize what trial other people are going through. Sometimes it takes courage to be kind to some people. But we need to always stick up for what’s right. You can do it. Anytime, anywhere, you can have compassion. Everybody needs a friend and that friend can be you So show them that you truly care.

Be kind. Smile more. Laugh more. Dream more.

 

Massachusetts Children’s Book Award 2018

April13

The winner and honor books for the 2018 Massachusetts Children’s Book Award were announced this month. Our readers at DCD chose the same book as the state winner, and they also voted for two of the state honor books.

This year’s most highly rated book is The War That Saved My Life by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley (Dial). The setting is Great Britain during WWII. The protagonist is Ava, a young girl who was born with a club foot. Her mother shows Ava no affection. Ava envies her brother who is able to run free and escape the loveless home. When children are being evacuated from London and welcomed into homes in the safer countryside, she sneaks off to join her brother whom her mother put on the transport. When the siblings are sheltered by a recluse who is forced to house them, Ava finally experiences something that she always longed for, kindness. Yet, she does not know how to accept it. The fourth, fifth, and sixth graders who read this novel all enjoyed this book. They have now moved on to the sequel, The War I Finally Won which was recently published.

The two honor books that DCD’s readers chose are Space Case by Stuart Gibbs (Simon & Schuster) and Fish in a Tree by Lynda Mullaly Hunt (Nancy Paulsen Books). There were a number of quality selections that were nominated for the award this year. Our readers were introduced to some authors and genres that were new to them. We look forward to Salem State University’s publication of the list of nominees for 2019. Those will be announced soon.

 

An Early Environmentalist

April5

There have been many engaging biographies published in recent years. One of the major units that I share with our Fourth Graders is entitled “People Who Make a Difference.” We read picture book biographies about athletes, artists, statesmen, activists, and others who forged the way for civil rights and human rights. I want to share this post that I originally wrote in 2012 because it is still so timely.

The students were especially interested to learn about Jacques Cousteau. While I grew up watching National Geographic specials that Cousteau had produced (and singing John Denver’s song, “Calypso”), few children today know about Cousteau and his work.

tlccontentManfish: a story of Jacques Cousteau by Jennifer Berne, illustrated by Eric Puybaret (Chronicle, 2008) introduces young readers to this icon by depicting him as a young boy with a love of the ocean and cameras. The author captivates young readers as she introduces Cousteau’s inventions and experiences like the aqualung and other scuba gear, the use of underwater cameras, the diving saucer, and the sea flea.

In The Fantastic Undersea Life of Jacques Cousteau by Dan Yaccarino (Knopf Books for Young Readers, 2009), the author/illustrator inserts short quotes by Cousteau as he chronicles the adventurer’s life. tlccontent-1

Here’s a video on Jacques Cousteau’s work with John Denver’s song “Calypso”.

MACBA Nominees

November7

If the name Ken Jennings sounds familiar to you, then you might be a fan of the television show, Jeopardy. Jennings holds the record for the longest winning streak on Jeopardy with 74 straight wins. Today’s intermediate readers know him for one of this year’s Massachusetts Children’s Book Award nominated books, Ken Jennings’ Junior Genius Guides: Maps and Geography, illustrated by Mike Lowery (Little Simon). It’s interesting to ask the students if they like this book because it’s difficult for some to read non-fiction, especially non-fiction that appears to be about disparate topics. Others enjoy the randomness of the facts that they learn from Jennings. Lowery’s illustrations that accompany the topics are similar to those of Jeff Kinney’s in his “Wimpy Kid” books.

Another non-fiction nominee this year is Coral Reefs: Cities of the Ocean (First Second) by Maris Wicks. The author/illustrator uses a graphic format to describe many of the fish and creatures that can be found in a coral reef.

Massachusetts Children’s Book Award

September15

Once again, we will be promoting the nominees for the Massachusetts Children’s Book Awards (MCBA) during the 2017-2018 school year at DCD. Even though I’ve written about this program before, I would like to explain it to parents who have never had a fourth, fifth, or sixth grader who is participating. This voluntary reading incentive program has become a popular event for many students. Started by Dr. Helen Constant in 1975, it is administered through Salem State University. Twenty-five books are nominated for the award, and our voting for the DCD favorites will take place in late winter.

There are many obvious benefits to reading along with us for the next few months. Students are often introduced to authors who are unknown to them before this, and they return looking for other books by them. Some of the authors, like Liesel Shurtliff and Tom Angleberger, are already favorites of many intermediate readers. An important benefit that may not be obvious is that our readers become critics. They learn how to evaluate literature through plot, characters, and interest, and they have fun doing so. Throughout the next few months, I’ll highlight some of the nominated titles. Links to the reading lists and our required journal pages can be found on our DCD Library page. From time to time, I’ll be reviewing some of the titles under consideration for the award. So…let me write about one today.

Fish in a Tree by Lynda Mullaly Hunt (2015) falls into the genre of realistic fiction. Readers can easily relate to the contemporary characters. Ally struggles in school, and her older brother is sorry that he can’t help her because academics aren’t his strength either. She doesn’t want to bother her mother because her father is on active duty overseas, and her mother has enough worries. A new teacher understands that Ally isn’t really a troublemaker, but she is a creative girl who learns differently. My favorite quote in the book is, “Everybody is genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.”

Graphic Nominees

October28

mcbaWhen those involved in nominating books for the Massachusetts Children’s Book Award (MCBA) at Salem State University choose titles, they look for representatives of different genres. There are selections that represent non-fiction, historical fiction, fantasy, and contemporary fiction. Recently, there have also been graphic novels as nominees. It’s important to understand that a “graphic novel” is not a genre, it is a format. A graphic uses art that is similar to comic books, with sequential panels and dialogue telling the story. Graphics are conceived in every genre: fiction, non-fiction, history, science fiction, or fantasy.

elTwo nominees for the 2017 MCBA are in graphic form. El Deafo by Cece Bell (Abrams) is a memoir. In this 2015 Newbery Honor Book, Bell uses humor to tell her unique story of growing up as a hearing impaired child. She was equipped with a bulky hearing aid that included a box like piece strapped to her chest. This made it difficult to make friends, so Bell imagined herself as a superhero.

zooOur other selection is The Stratford Zoo Midnight Revue Presents: Romeo and Juliet by author Ian Lendler and cartoonist Zack Giallongo (Roaring Brook Press). When the zoo closes at night, the animals come out of their cages. They are all actors, and they stage one of the world’s classic plays.

2017 Massachusetts Children’s Book Award (MCBA)

September23

mcbaOnce again, we will be promoting the nominees for the Massachusetts Children’s Book Awards (MCBA) during the 2015-2016 school year at DCD. Even though I’ve written about this program before, I would like to explain it to parents who have never had a fourth, fifth, or sixth grader before now. This voluntary reading incentive program has become a popular event for many students. Started by Dr. Helen Constant in 1975, it is administered through Salem State University. Twenty-five books are nominated for the award, and our voting for the DCD favorites will take place in late winter.

 
There are many obvious benefits to reading along with us for the next few months. Students are often introduced to authors who are unknown to them before this, and they return looking for other books by them. Some of the authors, like Jennifer Holm and Lauren Tarshis, are already favorites of many intermediate readers. An important benefit that may not be obvious is that our readers become critics. They learn how to evaluate literature through plot, characters, and interest, and they have fun doing so. Throughout the next few months, I’ll highlight some of the nominated titles. Links to the reading lists and our required journal pages can be found on our DCD Library page.

 
From time to time, I’ll be reviewing some of the titles under consideration for the award. So…let me write about two today. Both of the books fall into the same genre, which I term realistic fantasy or magic realism. The (often) contemporary characters live in a world or society that we recognize, but magic happens. When this is portrayed to a reader by a talented author, one accepts this different reality and enjoys the story.

 
blissBliss, by Kathryn Littlewood (HarperCollins), introduces a delightful family who own a bakery that is beloved in their town. The protagonist, Rose, suspects that her parents employ magic when baking some of their special foods. When her parents go out of town, Rose and her siblings are supposed to protect the family’s Cookery Booke, that is kept under lock and key. They are surprised when a flashy and an unknown aunt rides into town on her motorcycle. Rose is drawn in by her new-found aunt, and she begins playing with powerful magic. This is the first book in the Bliss Bakery Trilogy. The other books are A Dash of Magic and Bite-Sized Magic.

 
14thJennifer Holm’s book, The Fourteenth Goldfish (Random House for Young Readers), is a humorous book that tackles the subject of immortality. Humor and immortality? Yes, the main character, Ellie, is a sixth grader who is struggling to navigate middle school. She misses her best friend, and she learns that her mother had been replacing her goldfish every time it died without her knowledge. When a new, weird boy approaches her, he reminds Ellie a lot of her grandfather who is a scientist obsessed with immortality. Many readers may know Holm from her graphic novels featuring Babymouse.

The Beatles

May6

…But tomorrow may rain, so I’ll follow the sun.   – The Beatles

As a baby boomer, I enjoy sharing my memories of growing up and the music that I enjoyed and still enjoy with children. They have a vague concept of a band named The Beatles, but few know anything about the “Fab Four” or their songs.

fabTwo recent additions to our collection should intrigue intermediate and middle school readers. Fab Four Friends: The Boys Who Became the Beatles by Susanna Reich, illustrated by Adam Gustavson (Henry Holt) is a picture book biography and a fine introduction to the early lives of John, Paul, George, and Ringo. The young men had much in common, growing up in Liverpool, England and finding escape in music.

beatlesA more sophisticated and more comprehensive title is How the Beatles Changed the World by Martin W. Sandler (Bloomsbury). There are many black and white and color photographs throughout the book that chronicles the rise of one of the most influential musical groups in history.

« Older Entries


Skip to toolbar
http://dcdlibrary.edublogs.org/category/4th-grade/
dcdlibrary.edublogs.org
crawl=CC-MAIN-2019-13
64109
application/http; msgtype=response
sha1:FJ2GSY5N5ML7D4V7BYENVA7MQO25FROD
<urn:uuid:393d39a9-2a2e-4efe-a95f-00f3dab6f9b7>
2019-03-20T09:49:41Z
104.16.1.23
application/xhtml+xml
sha1:YT7YCZCZYGNEAFDNAXNT6O7BKE3BHYUE
<urn:uuid:9f09591e-c255-4a04-a626-f056a5839d9f>
http://dcdlibrary.edublogs.org/category/4th-grade/
response
<urn:uuid:2e6a8267-8b05-4d29-b89a-1a148ccb0f17>
isPartOf: CC-MAIN-2019-13
publisher: Common Crawl
description: Wide crawl of the web for March 2019
operator: Common Crawl Admin (info@commoncrawl.org)
hostname: ip-10-186-104-161.ec2.internal
software: Apache Nutch 1.15 (modified, https://github.com/commoncrawl/nutch/)
robots: checked via crawler-commons 0.11-SNAPSHOT (https://github.com/crawler-commons/crawler-commons)
format: WARC File Format 1.1
conformsTo: http://iipc.github.io/warc-specifications/specifications/warc-format/warc-1.1/