Frindle by: Andrew Clements

This past month, I had the opportunity to meet Andrew Clements and was very excited to read his book Frindle for a second time. I absolutely love this book and think it is great for kids read to hopefully inspire them. I think this book would be really great to read together as a class and then after have students create their own words. While I was reading this book, I felt all of the creative juices flowing in my own brain and would hope children would feel the same way. Nick is such a great and strong character in the book. I do not want to give away the ending but I really liked how Mrs. Granger and Nick's relationship developed. This book is very creative and I plan on using this book in my own classroom someday!

Clementine by: Sara Pennypacker

Clementine is one of my favorite children's books and I highly recommend it to anyone that needs a good laugh. Every chapter I caught myself laughing out loud to the funny things that this third grader does. Clementine cannot seem to stay out of trouble. I have to admit one of my favorite parts in the book is when Clementine helps cut her friends hair off after a mishap and then cuts off her own hair so that her friend Margaret does not feel alone. Readers just begin to love Clementine instantly because she really does try to do the right thing.

Officer Buckle and Gloria by: Peggy Rathmann (Caldecott)

Officer Buckle and Gloria is one of my favorite children's books because of its cute story line and bright pictures. Officer buckle is hard not to love because he does care so much about people and their safety. Gloria and how she brings a lot of humor to the story and helps Officer Buckle bring light to a dry topic. One of my favorite parts in the book is when Officer buckle receives a fan letter from a little girl named Claire saying that Officer Buckle and Gloria make a good team and that she wears a crash helmet. Overall, the climatic scene in the story really stands out to children reading the book and concludes with the best safety tip... "Always stick with your buddy!" This moral in the story is very important and hopefully this book can teach children that.

Yellow Star by: Jennifer Roy

I have to admit that this book was very hard for me because this past summer I took a Holocaust immersion to Germany, Poland, and the Czech Republic. During this trip, I visited several concentration and work camps along with many ghettos that were once settled by Jews. After this trip, I have had a hard time reading or even watching movies from that era. Because of this it was very hard for me to even start this book. However, I do think the book was very good and well written for the attended audience. Even though it was hard for me to read, I still very much respect the story and think that it is excellent that Sylvia's story was able to be captured. I have to admit that I read the book in two hours and wanted to continue to read to find out what happened to the family. I really enjoyed this true stories' ending when the family finds out that the Star of David is ironically the thing that actually saves them. I also love how 10-year-old Sylvia is praised so much for saving the family. This story needed to be told and it is really neat that the author's note explains what happens to the main characters after the story is over. Yellow Star is a great resource for students of upper elementary to read and help better understand the Holocaust.

Book Talk - A Crooked Kind of Perfect

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by: Sherman Alexie

I absolutely loved reading The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian! I thought the book was very funny and I really liked the small illustrations throughout the book. This book would be great for a classroom to show culture differences. It told readers to never be ashamed of your heritage but also not be afraid to reach out and become something that you want to be. I really think it is important to give students the taste of many different cultures and this one was great to show what reservation life for Native Americans is like. Junior, the main character, was very humorous and was determined to fit in and overcome many problems that arose in his life. After deciding to not attend school on the rez, Junior had to try and fit into an all white school. Of course he knew this was going to be very difficult but he knew what was best for him and that he would benefit more at the school in town. I think Junior did not know it, but really is such a strong character. I loved when he succeed in basketball and beat the rez team! During that scene, I really felt like I was there cheering him on! Overall, it was a really great book that I recommend.

Weedflower by: Cynthia Kadohata

Weedflower is an excellent book that I recommend to all. It is a great story in perspective of a twelve-year old Japanese-American before and after the events of Pearl Harbor. It is interesting to think that America put most all people of Japanese decent into internment camps. There is not a lot of literature and information about what these people went through, and even though we should be ashamed that America discriminated against these people, it is important to hear what really happened and what they went through. The main character Sumiko and her family's experience was horrible because they lost their home and flower business was not left with a lot. Their strength guided them through this rough time and they all worked together and really tried to make the best of the situation. I really liked that Sumiko and Mr. Moto decided to add some beauty to the camp and try and make it as "homey" as possible by planting a garden. The flowers were almost a sign of hope. One thing that I did not like was the ending... I really wanted to see what happened to the family after they had left the camp. I guess I can imagine what would have happened but I would have rather seen it printed.

Esperanza Rising by: Pam Munoz Ryan

Esperanza Rising is one of this books that makes you want to not put the book down. I really enjoyed this book and can see myself using this book in my own classroom someday. I think this book has a lot of strengths in that it shows the ability to overcome hardships and changes. The main character, Esperanza, really needed to make a lot of changes and acceptances in her life. After loosing her father, Esperanza and her family had to adapt to a completely different lifestyle. At first, Esperanza was very immature about the situation but learned that she had to grow up and understand her new life. Throughout the book, we the readers really got to see her grow up so much and understand people that were less fortunate than she was. The overall moral of the story is money cannot buy everything and especially happiness. The strong symbolism in the book really stood out to me. I very much enjoyed the importance of the crouched blanket, mama's hair, fiestas, and the roses. Each one really stood out to me and made the story even more enjoyable. I recommend this book!