Junkyard Wonders

by Patricia Polacco

Trisha finds out that her special education class is known as "the junkyard" by the rest of the school.  Their quirky, unpredictable
teacher takes them on a trip to the junkyard to show them that's where real treasure is found.

Audience: 2nd grade to be read to, 5th grade to read independently

What I Love:
1. An excellent teacher
2. Positive portrayal of disabilities
3. Positive role models
4. Based on a true story

Cautions:
I'd recommend some discussion with this one on what it means to be disabled

Thank You Mr. Falker

by Patricia Pollaco

This story warms my teacher's heart.  It's about a girl who excitedly begins school, anxious for the learning and wonder she's been told books will bring her.  At first she struggles with reading, and eventually she falls behind completely.  By 5th grade she thinks of herself as stupid for not knowing what the others grasp so easily.  She doesn't want her new teacher to know she can't read, but Mr. Falker figures it out anyway.  He proves to her that she is smart, and with the proper help she can read just as well as anyone else.

Audience:
Can be read to someone as young as 3rd grade, written at 5th grade reading level.

What I Love:
1. The illustrations are beautiful
2. It's heartwarming
3. Positive view of disabilities
4. Based on a true story

Cautions:
I would hesitate to read this to struggling readers for fear they would think they have dyslexia too.  If the student does have dyslexia, this is one of the first stories I would share.

Chicken Sunday

by Patricia Polacco

This sweet story is about a young Jewish girl growing up in the South.  When her own grandmother dies she is initiated into a black family.  She goes to church each Sunday with her new grandmother and brothers, then they come home for "Chicken Sunday."  The kids decide they want to ask  Mr. Kozinski for the the hat, but are accused of vandalism.  The children work to earn the full price and learn more about life from Mr. Kozinski than they ever realized they didn't know, and watch his heart soften in the process.

Audience:Anyone around 7 should enjoy the story, and I used it with my 3rd graders for independent reading

What I Love:

This is a real life story.  Good intentions go awry, and sometimes people aren't nice.  This is a story of persevering in spite of that.  This is also a beautiful family story about self-less love.

Cautions:

Nazi death camps are alluded to, but never explicitly stated. The tatoo is visible on Mr. Kozinski's arm

Wonderstruck

by Brian Selznick

Wonderstruck starts out about a little boy in 1977 who has lost his mother.  Unsure how to cope living with relatives that seem to feel more obligation to take him in than actual love, he goes back to the house he and his mother shared.  He is on the phone when it is struck by lightning and becomes deaf.  As we are learning pieces of his story the prose (words) will stop and pictures will tell the story of a deaf girl in 1927 who feels very trapped, finding solace in following the career of actress Lilyan Mayhew.  I spent the whole book entranced by both characters and wondering how they could possibly be connected.  When I found out, I was delighted and touched.

Audience:
About 3rd grade.  It is a really thick book, but so much of the story is told with only pictures that reading it won't be a problem for younger children.

What I Love:
The title of this book is very fitting.  It comes in the text from Ben (the little boy) reading a book about how the purpose of museums is to leave someone 'wonderstruck' but expands to include the wonder of discovering the world and oneself.  It is about feeling lost and alone, then finding a friend and becoming part of something more than yourself.

I don't think I have any words for the pictures, they are gorgeous and they really are worth a thousand words each:

Cautions:
This story is meandering at best.  There are several ideas that aren't really tied together in the end-the idea of museums and the idea of reaching higher than oneself for instance.  I think the author purposely left out a few conclusions to allow the audience to decide what certain things mean.

Carry On, Mr. Bowditch

by Jean Lee Latham

Nat Bowditch is a little known American historical figure around the time of the Revolutionary War.  The book starts out with Nat as a child excited about school and especially about his best subject: Math.  Unfortunately Nat's career in school is short lived due to his family's poverty.  At 12 he is indentured to a Chandler (someone who sells everything a ship would need) and has to give up all dreams of further schooling.  In his job at the Chandlery Nat learns every thing he possibly can get his mind around on any and every subject.  Eventually Nat becomes a skilled navigator and spends most of his time teaching others the art.  Along the course of his teaching, Nat finds the charts they currently use are riddled with errors leading to the loss of ships and sets out to publish The New American Practical Navigator still known as the Sailor's Bible today.

Audience
5th and 6th grad boys will love it best.  This book will be perfect for anyone who loves Johnny Tremaine.

What I Love:
1) I love this book's view of education.  Nat was heartbroken about not returning to school, but educated himself to the extent that he was awarded an honorary Harvard degree.
2)I like that Nat took accountability for everything in his life and bettered his circumstance instead of complaining,
3) The title is taken from an oft repeated line by Nat's captain, Captain Price.  I love when adults are shown as wise and caring.  His support enabled Nat's legacy.

The Tale of Desperaux

by Kate DiCamillo



Desperaux is a very small mouse with very large ears.  He lives in the castle and is a complete failure at being a mouse.  He doesn't like hunting or eating books-he likes reading books.  His favorites are about the knights that save the princess.  Shortly thereafter he falls in love with Princess Pea and learns the truth of how powerful love really is.  Along the way he learns love for many others, including a serving girl, a prison guard, a rat, a brokenhearted king, and his own family.

Audience: 2nd Grade, Vocabulary 4th Grade

What I Love:
This story is about real love.  The characters are flawed and sometimes absurd.  They hurt each other and make mistakes, but they forgive and move forward.  I found countless priceless lines throughout the story.  The theme has to do with Light v. Dark and how we choose which one we will keep.  I feel every child and most adults need to read this book.

Caution:
Every single character comes from a broken family.

Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs

by Judi Barrett

Can you imagine a place where ready to eat food falls from the sky?  All the houses have open roofs to let in the food, and it rains/snows three times a day.  It's a pretty great setup until the whether goes haywire and destroys the town (school was canceled when a ginormous pancake covered it).

Audience:
I loved it in 1st grade and I could picture some kids in kindergarten loving it.

Why I Love It:
I think the setting and the artwork are enchanting.  You can feel the differences in the season and time of day though the pictures.
I like the idea of ready-made food falling from the sky.

Cautions:
I liked the movie, but this is nothing like it.  We don't get to know anyone in Chewandswallow and there is no machine making it happen.  The book has a much more fairy tale feel to it.

Wayside School

by Louis Sachar

Wayside School was supposed to be 30 classrooms straight acorss, but someone messed up and made it 30 stories high with one classroom on each story.  This is about the kids on the top floor and their zany teacher. Everything in this book doesn't make sense, except it does.  There's really no way to describe it.  If you enjoy heartwarming outrageousness, this is for you

Audience:
Third on up are completely captivated.  When I did the motions in one chapter, every last one was moving with me.

What I Love:
This book has relevance to the kids.  Every issue addressed, identity, kindness, etc, are very real to students.
Every chapter is its' own story, so kids that were absent didn't loose the thread.
All the 27 students are distinct and memorable

Cautions:
This is a crazy story, suspend all disbelief at the door.
There are lots of characters

Series:
Sideways Stories From Wayside School
Wayside School is Falling Down
Wayside School Gets a Little Stranger

Bonus:
Sideways Arithmetic from Wayside School
More Sideways Arithmetic from Wayside School

Draw Me a Star

by Eric Carle

This book just makes me feel happy.  A daughter asks her artist father to draw her a star and a world, which he does.  It's the perfect for a parent to read at bedtime

Audience:
This one's a little older.  I'd go about 4-8

What I Love:
This book just makes me feel happy inside.  It's all about a father's love for his daughter.  Plus, Eric Carle did the illustrations

Cautions:
Eric Carle's books are for young children, but this one is a bit older than the others

I'm in Charge of the Celebrations

by Byrd Baylor

The youngest member of a family has an important job-he decides which days are worth celebrating.  There are always birthdays of course, but don't forget to celebrate the first day of spring, or the first monsoon storm.

Audience
Again, I read this to a kindergarten class.  Afterward, we had a touching discussion about our "special days."  It has the all ages tag because I enjoy it more from an adult perspective than the children did from their side.

What I Love:
1) Again, I live not far from Byrd Baylor.  When she talks about the first monsoon storm I know exactly what she means
2) The message-life is worth celebrating
3) The simplicity in both artwork and writing

Cautions:
1) Some of the descriptions are kind of specific to the Sonoran Desert

Where the Sidewalk Ends

by Shel Silverstien

This isn't a story, it's a collection of poems.  I grew up reading his books and I love them to this day.  The longest poems cover two pages, but that's including the illustrations, but many are only 10 lines long.

Audience
As soon as children know what poetry is.

What I Love:
1) The pencil illustrations are so funny and charming
2) Most of the poems are funny and relateable to children (ie Sister for Sale)
3) There are quite a few serious poems, like the one posted at the bottom.

Cautions:
1) All the poems are stand-alone, they don't relate to anything else in the book
2) There is implied nudity in one or two of the drawings (always from the back, not showing anything)
3) Silverstien has an irreverent sense of humor about teachers and parents.  Sometimes (not often) the joke is at their expense.

Series
Where the Sidewalk Ends
A Light in the Attic
Falling Up
Everything On It
Don't be a Bump in the Glump

The Table Where Rich People Sit

by Byrd Baylor

A young girl notices that her family doesn't have as many things as some other families.  She calls a meeting to get her parents to get better (higher paying) jobs, explaining that this is not a table where rich people would sit.  Her family begins listing off the riches they have that money can't buy.

Audience
I read it to a kindergarten class and they got it.  I think I would have enjoyed this story even through high school.

Why I Love This Book:
1) The message is needed in this ever more commercial world
2) Byrd Baylor lives pretty close to me, so all the feels like my backyard
3) The voice and illustrations are so simple, yet powerful in only a few lines

Cautions:
1) This is a Native American family, and the story is told through the lens of their connection with the land

Where the Red Fern Grows

by Wilson Rawls

This is one of those classics that never gets old.  A young boy (10) decides he needs a dog.  Or, more specifically, two coon hounds.  He earns the money by doing odd jobs.  It takes him a year, but he keeps at it.  At last he gets the long awaited dogs.  Learning to love and care for his dogs helps Billy Coleman learn who he is and who he wants to be.

Audience

Age 12 or so should be fine.  This is for people who love animals and or tear jerkers in a modernish (1960's) context.

What I Love:

I love that the story is all about love.  Billy comes from a loving family, and he is excited to take care of his dogs. The crux of the story is about how the two dogs take care of each other.  And once again, we have smart adults.

Cautions:

It's a slow story, not action packed at all.  SPOILER!!!  It's a very sad story.  One of the dogs is attacked and the other dies trying to save his companion.  It's a sob story that will probably leave you wrung out.

Encounter

Jane Yolen

This is the story of a Native American (Taino) boy whose tribe encounters the White Man-specifically Columbus and his crew.  His people are excited about the new people and new things, but the boy has a horrible feeling about them.

Audience
I read this to 3rd graders and they understood.  I think anyone up through adults could enjoy it.

Why I Love This Book
1) The pictures.  They are beautiful and captivating.  They are also important to story telling.
2) The narrator's voice is amazing.  I can believe it's a child, but he is a reliable narrator
3) Every detail is completely believable, and the story is as historically accurate as possible

Caution
1) This is about the harm of the Columbian exchange
2) Though discrete, it does mention war crimes

Avatar: The Last Airbender and Avatar: The Promise

by Michael DiMartino and Brian Koneitzko

Okay, okay, I confess, I'm cheating!!!! But I can't help it!  Avatar: The Last Airbender is a television show that ran from 2005-2008.  The title of the blog says Jana's Books but this is good enough I'd be remiss not to recommend it here.

The world of Avatar draws heavily on Asian/Eastern culture.  It has 4 different societies or cultures, each growing up around one of the four elements-air, water, earth, and fire.  Those with a particular talent may be able to 'bend' their native element.  There should always be one Avatar living at a time who is an exception to this rule he (or she) has the ability to master all four elements.

At the opening of the story, the Fire Nation started their conquest for world domination 100 years ago.  No one has seen or heard of the Avatar in all this time.  Katara, a waterbender from the Southern Water Tribe is fishing with her brother Sokka when she comes across an iceberg with someone trapped inside.  She frees him and the pair learn quickly that this kid is the Avatar.  Aang is a flighty, goofy 12 year old boy who wants to have fun and prefers to flee responsibility when he can.

Unfortunately Aang's reappearance is noted by Prince Zuko of the Fire Nation.  Prince Zuko's single minded purpose in life is to capture the Avatar for his nation in order to regain his honor.  He is angry and overly dramatic, but somehow vulnerable and endearing even from the first episode.  Aang and his new friends travel the world helping Aang learn to become the Avatar, while Zuko stalks a step behind.

After the series ends the graphic novels pick up.  I love the post-war stories where the Gaang (Aang's group, it's funny dangit, laugh!) finds waging peace is so much harder than ending a war.  They return with all their vivacity and stumbling wisdom. I strongly recommend The Promise to everyone who loves Avatar-I got choked up in that one too.

What I Love:  This list will be very long
1) None of the characters are flat.  Katara seems at the beginning to be your stereotypical heroine, but you start to see that she is so much more complex than that.  Iroh is Zuko's goofy, lazy uncle.  But when things get tough he shows his true colors.  I want to be Iroh when I grow up.  Sokka may provide comic relief but we see him grow from cocky teenage boy into a true leader.  There are 5 main protagonists  and we see each of them go through a coming of age journey
2) Again, the adults are not stupid.  There's a legitimate reason the children and not the adults are responsible for saving the world.  Come to think of it, not all the adults are that intelligent in this show.  Not all the kids are either.  All the characters are individual with their own strengths and weaknesses.
3) Cultural Diversity.  There are four main cultures and they are all very different.  Sometimes they're at conflict and sometimes they work together.  Either way they have to work at understanding each other.  I love that each culture has different values.  The Water Tribe values community above all else, whereas the Earth Kingdom values individuality.  Not necessarily opposites, but incorporating both is hard.
4) The love stories made me happy.  Not sayin' more than that.
5) My friend said the ending was more perfect than it possibly could have been.  I agree.  I'm not telling you a single thing that happens, but the ending was a perfectly happy moment in my life.
6) Relationships.  This includes more than romance.  I love the brother/sister relationships in this show.  I love the way families are portrayed.  Not all families are strong/stable in this story.  Even the ones that are have their struggles.  I like that it doesn't resolve family problems for the characters.  It merely presents what families are like.  One of the themes is that you are never indifferent about your family.  Love them or hate them, they will always be part of you.
7) The Issues.  I think this show stays child safe, but it tackles a lot in a child safe way.  We see repressive government, child abuse, treachery, hatred, grief, war crimes, war, and myriad other dilemmas.  This waters nothing down.  It also doesn't explore the darker side of these themes and is never graphic in what they show.  But do we really protect children by showing them only the good side of life?  I love this for the truth that goodness can be at it's strongest in these trying circumstances.  In reality the portrayal of social issues is optimistic because no matter how bad the bad is, good still has a chance to win.
8) The good guys don't win every single fight.  Sometimes they do everything right, but it still doesn't work out.  We love the characters more when we can relate, and there is genuine suspense.  They don't even win all the important fights.  The characters suffer devastating losses and then they put themselves back together and keep up the good fight.  I cried some big tears in this show.

9) Disability.  This is the one and only time I have fully loved the portrayal of a disabled character.  She is independent and able to manage for herself.  Managing her disability is something she doesn't think about day to day.  She just lives her life.  But she also has limitations.  I hate the Professor X from X-Men doesn't have any problems from not being able to walk.  Toph may have some special abilities because she's blind, but she also can't read and needs help from sighted people from time to time.  She is also comfortable with who she is.  I see a lot of myself in her and I love having a strong, but real, disabled character.

10) There is an array of diverse, strong female characters

Cautions
1) In season three the 15/16 year old characters are sexually active.  I'm almost positive kids couldn't pick up on that, but it's there.
2) Goofiness.  Yes, my cautions are still things I love.  I love that our 12-16 year old ensemble acts their ages.  Do you remember how suave you were in middle school?  Yeah, it's like that.  The romance especially is awkward, as it should be.  Also, the kids mess around a lot.  My favorite episode-"Ember Island Players" is almost nothing but awkwardness.  It makes me laugh and it makes me happy I'm not still there.
3) As mentioned above, the hard issues are here.  Abusive families, war crimes, bereavement, genocide, oppression, we've got it.  That said, I'm excited to show it to my 6 year old nephew because it's handled with such a light touch I don't think he'll notice those issues without knowing what to look for.

I'm excited to have these on dvd because when I have children, I want them to grow up with this story.
   

Because of Winn-Dixie

Because of Winn-Dixie

by Kate DiCamillo

When I started doing literature circles with my students, I thought they wanted action packed, exciting books.  This book is not action packed or exciting, yet it is my students' favorite.  It is the story of a ten year old girl and her single father moving to a new town.  The father is burried in work, and one day sends Opal to get groceries for him.  While she is in Winn-Dixie grocery store, she finds a dog she names Winn-Dixie.  With a dog for a constant companion Opal feels a little less lonely.  Soon she gets to know the people of the town.  She learns that Miss Franny Block has the best stories and she is lonely too.  She learns that Amanda Wilkerson has a reason she always looks sad.  Most of all, she learns that she can heal from her own heartache.

Audience
I loved this book.  My third graders cannot get enough of it.  The reading level is probably closer to 4th grade, but I think this is the perfect age to start with it.

What I Love About This Book
I was crying when I read it.  What a beautiful story.  I loved that in the end Opal learned that her dad needs her just as much as she needs him.  This book focuses a lot on how we all have burdens, and the joy that comes from sharing them with good friends.  All the characters and relationships are different, but there is a sweetness and innocence to the whole story.

Cautions
Abandonment is a major theme, and alcoholism is mentioned a few times

The Best Christmas Pagent Ever

by Barbara Robinson

"The Herdmans were the worst kids in the history of the world.  They lied and stole things and burned down farmer John's shed."  And one day these children, who do everything wrong, end up at church.  Having nothing better to do they sign up for the main roles in the Christmas Pageant.  The biggest problem with that is they have never heard the story before.  When they are told the Herdmans are outraged that anyone would have to have a baby in a barn.  Also, why didn't anyone get back at Herod?  As they go through the story Mary, Joseph, the Wise Men, and the Angel suddenly become more human.  Many are horrified by the simple human touches the Herdmans give, but the narrator of the story sees Mary and Joseph as real people for the first time.  Christmas happened, people saw it, and this year the Herdmans are telling their story.

Audience

Upper elementary and middle school.  It is not geared toward adults or young adults, but I find it delightful.

What I Love About This Book

This book is hilarious!  I laughed all the way through, except the touching parts.  I love the way the book shows small towns and the way they are interconnected.  I love seeing the Christmas story through innocent eyes again.

Cautions

The Herdman's antics are winked at, rather than chastised, in the tone of the book.

Heros of Olympus

by Rick Riordan

After going through the Titan War, Percy was ready to relax and settle into a teenagers life.  He tries to be convinced that the "Prophesy of Seven will not come about in his lifetime.  The first book of this series doesn't even have Percy in it, except for some mentions.  It is about Jason who wakes up to find himself holding hands with a girl he's never seen before.  Because of the Mist, he has two best friends (Piper and Leo) that mean nothing to him, but they seem to care a lot about him.  When things go south and monsters attack Jason realizes that he is a trained warrior.  He doesn't remember any training or battles, but he does know exactly how to handle the situation.  When the faun (I mean saytar) helps him get back to Camp Halfblood Jason remembers that he is a son of Jupiter (Zeus?) and for some reason he's been put in this position by Juno/Hera.  The situation is complicated by the fact that they need to deal with the Roman gods as well as the Greek.  All the same people are in both sets, but what you can be sure to expect from Ares is foreign to Mars.  Where Hephaestus may be a sideline character, Vulcan has a temper and then some.  Jason, Piper and Leo set off.  It's obvious that Hera is using both Jason and the others at Camp Half-Blood as pawns in some game, but what's the game? 

Audience
Same as Percy Jackson, maybe a year higher in reading level

What I Love About These Books
1) Riordan's character development is superb.  I was invested in each character and they all have their own story.
2) I love the nuance of difference between the Greek and Roman gods, and the difference between the Greek and Roman way of life.  It was exciting to see that two things I thought were exactly the same are really kind of opposite.
3) I'm gonna say it again, I am invested in each character.  I love the title characters, and I dearly love a certain goddess that only gets a single chapter.  They all have a part to play and they are all just doing their best.
4) I was impressed that certain characters from the original series were brought back and developed

Cautions
1) The first book is all about Jason with only passing mention of Percy.  The second book is Percy's story with Jason's name cropping up here and there.  I missed the characters of the first book in the second.  As of yet their has been no crossover between the two
2) This series will not be finished for another year.  That means we will be waiting for everyone to live happily ever after (or just live period) and not know for quite a while.

Series
The Lost Hero
The Son of Neptune
The Mark of Athena
The Doors of Death (To be released fall of 2013)
1 Undisclosed Title 

Somebody Loves You Mr. Hatch

by Eileen Spinelli

Mr. Hatch is a very unpleasent person.  No one likes him because he doesn't like any of them.  Then on Valentines day he gets a package delivered to him.  It is a box of chocolates and a HUGE paper heart saying "somebody loves you."  Mr. Hatch can't believe it, somebody loves him!  He walks on the street and makes sure to smile at everyone. He wants to thank the person who loves him.  He goes to work and talks to all his coworkers.  After all, one of them might love him.  He starts coming out on the porch with lemonade and brownies for the neigbors, because one of his neighbors might love him.  After a while he becomes an important part of the community.  Everyone knows how great Mr. Hatch is.  He does nothing but help and lift others.  Then the postman comes back and apologizes for the mistake.  The note and chocolates were ment for someone else.  Mr. Hatch says the cocolates are gone, but he still has the note.  After giving the note back, he withdraws into himself again, because he thinks that nobody really loves him.  The neighborhood notices.  They get togeher and ask him to come out of the house for a minute.  The town has gathered for a party and hoisted a banner over the town square saying "Everybody Love You Mr. Hatch"  Mr. Hatch unobtrusively wipes away a tear and vounteers to bring the lemonade.

Audience
1st on up.  It's geared 1st through 5th-the reading level is late 1st early 2nd

What I Love About This Book
I love the idea of the influence of a single person.  I also love the idea that attitude changes everything.  This book could easily be used to teach the ripple effect of positive actions.  If you are looking for positive books for a child's repitoire, this one teaches so many good things without ever being preachy.

Daughter of a King

by Rachel Ann Nunes

I gave this book to all my nieces one year.  It is a poweful allegory of a couple who have a little girl.  They teach her that she is the daughter of the King, and one day it will be time to return home to him.  We follow this little girl through her life as she learns how to be a princess to the king, in being honest, kind, and hardworking.  She learns that not everyone does know of the king.  She marries a man that wants to return home to the palace and they are very happy together as they raise their son.  When the time comes, they do begin the trek to the palace of the king and find it difficult.  Just when they are sure they can go no further, they find themselves at the gates.  Our princess finds herself hesitant to go inside because she is ragged and does not feel like a princess.  The king steps forward and embraces her, welcoming his daughter home.

Audience
4 on up.  I love it and I reread it when life gets a little harder

What I Love About This Book
The illustrations are wonderful, and the storytelling is sensitive and beautiful.  I love this child-friendly outline to the purpose of life.

Cautions
This book is unashamedly religious.  If you don't want that, look elsewhere