Kids Blog : school stories

A Sparkling Story

kiya@evpl — Sat, 02 May 2009 17:50:00 GMT

Sharon Draper writes some of the best books for teens, so I was excited to see her new book for younger kids. Sassy: Little Sister is NOT my Name! is about Sassy Simone Sanford, a fourth grader who loves her name. Unfortunately, no one at home calls her that. They all call her Little Sister, and she is tired of being reminded that she is the smallest, youngest member of the family. You'll enjoy Sassy, her friends, and her family as she learns to let her inner sparkle shine - even when she's wearing her "boring" school uniform.

Other things to know:

This is the first book in a series all about Sassy.
Draper has also written a series called Ziggy and the Black Dinosaurs, also geared to 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders.
Draper used to be a teacher.
If they act quickly, teachers can get a FREE media kit to use with Sharon Draper's books in the classrooms. See the link below.
Draper has also written books for teachers, including Not Quite Burned Out but Crispy Around the Edges

Links:

10 lucky things that have happened to me since I nearly got hit by lightning

kiya@evpl — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 19:52:00 GMT

Effie Maloney's family has had a rough few years, but lately, things have turned around. Effie is now keeping a list of all the good luck she has had in recent months. The only black cloud is her bossy older sister, Maxie. Then Valentine's Day arrives, and Effie's luck starts to turn. I laughed a lot as I read of Effie's attempts to reclaim her good luck, and felt bad for Effie remembering how hard 4th grade can be.

I was a little puzzled about why the book didn't have the story about Effie being almost struck by lightning mentioned in the title. Finally, I realized that story is told in an earlier book called My big sister is so bossy she says you can't read this book.

the author's webpage

EVPL titles by Mary Hershey

Did Fleming Rescue Churchill? Research, Anyone?

UndergroundLibrarian@evpl — Sat, 22 Nov 2008 15:57:00 GMT

James Cross Giblin has written about fifth-grader Jason and how he proceeded with his assignment, a three-page report on Sir Alexander Fleming. Trouble was, Jason didn't think Fleming was all that exciting, even if he did discover penicillin. His teacher suggested Jason look for an interesting story about Fleming and include that. But she stressed that it would have to be true. In this fiction book, Did Fleming Rescue Churchill?, James Cross Giblin puts Jason through the steps in doing research with encyclopedias, biographies, and the internet. And if anyone should know how to do research, it would be James Cross Giblin --he's written lots of great nonfiction books for kids, and he's bound to have done plenty of research in the process.

This book would make a great introduction to doing research for middle-graders.

And in reading it, you'll find out what Jason did --Did Fleming rescue Winston Churchill?

Click here to see books by James Cross Giblin in our library system.

More Pilgrims?

UndergroundLibrarian@evpl — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 20:57:00 GMT

With Thanksgiving on the way, it's a good time to consider the definition of a Pilgrim. Molly's Pilgrim by Barbara Cohen does just that. When Molly explains to her mother what her teacher told her about why the Pilgrims came to America, Molly's mother thinks it describes why their family came from Russia less than a year ago, too.

Molly's English isn't really good yet, and she suffers a lot from the teasing she gets for being different. Written in 1983, this book provides a good jumping off spot for discussions of tolerance and differences and how it feels to be the odd one out. Along with what IS a pilgrim, anyway?

Jack and Miss Stretchberry are back.

kiya@evpl — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 20:54:00 GMT

Miss Stretchberry loves poetry, and makes it part of her classroom every day. In Love That Dog, we meet Jack, who thinks poetry isn't for boys, and that he can't understand it. The story is told through Jack's poetry assignments. As the year unfolds, he finds that poems do have something to say to him. Meanwhile, the reader learns a lot about Jack.

Now, we have Hate That Cat, and find out that both Jack and Miss Stretchberry have been promoted to the next grade. Once again, a story develops as we read Jack's assignments, and learn about his family.

Sharon Creech includes the text of some of the poems Jack and his classmates study in school. Both books are touching, funny stories, even as they arouse the reader's interest in poets and poetry.

Love That Sharon Creech.

How Long Could YOU Keep From Talking?

UndergroundLibrarian@evpl — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 23:12:00 GMT

Dave was normally a pretty noisy 5th-grader. In fact, maybe he was a loudmouth. But after reading about Gandhi, and how for many years he spent one day a week not talking at all, Dave thought it was worth finding out what it would be like to keep silent. After about a half day of trying silence on his own, he and Lynsey took up a dare to make silence a contest between the 5th grade boys and the 5th grade girls. They set the time limit of 2 entire days. Exceptions were only that they were allowed to respond to a teacher with a 3-word answer. Any more words counted as points for the other side.

What happened to the teachers when the lunch room was entirely silent? How did they manage in their classes?
Who won? And how DID it feel to keep mostly silent for all that time?

Andrew Clements has come up with another unique situation for his characters in No Talking.

Do you think you could keep silent for even one entire day?

What if your MOTHER were running for President?

kiya@evpl — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 00:15:00 GMT

Vanessa kind of likes living in the Governor's Mansion with her mother, the governor of Florida. The food is really good, and you never know when you'll run into somebody famous, like Governer Schwarzenegger! But Vanessa is not happy that her mom is running for President - she's off campaigning A LOT, and can't always come to Vanessa's school events. Worst of all, Vanessa is afraid that somebody might try to hurt her mom. Then, some creepy notes start showing up in Vanessa's locker! The book is suspenseful, but it is also funny. My daughter and I laughed out loud at some of the embarrassing things that happen to Vanessa.

Pick up a copy of as if being 12¾ isn't bad enough, my mother is running for president! by Donna Gephardt. You'll be glad you did.

Have you read other books about elections or children of politicians that you liked?

Link to Donna Gephart's website

some other stories of politics and elections at EVPL

The Bus for Us

UndergroundLibrarian@evpl — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 21:31:00 GMT

"Is this the bus for us, Gus?" That's the question Tess asks on every other page of this book, while they wait to go to school. Big brother Gus answers with varying degrees of patience. Meanwhile more kids keep lining up to ride too, and their wordless activities are worth watching. And check out the Bus Stop sign. What does it say on different pages? Prereaders will enjoy guessing what vehicle is pulling up now, after getting a view of its front bumper. Those who can "read" Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? and its companions will soon be doing the same with The Bus for Us.