House of Many Ways

by Dianna Wynne Jones


This is the last book in the Howl's Moving Castle series.  I think this one may have been my favorite.  Charmain Baker is asked to take care of her Great Uncle's house while he goes to recuperate from some disease.  She is a teenager from a well respected family, and as such has not done one practical thing in her life.  Along comes Peter, who was supposed to begin his apprenticeship with her uncle.  Having no where to stay, he takes up residence in the rather strange house.  Meanwhile, Charmain applies for and gets accepted to work in the royal library while Princess Matilda's good friend Sophie Hatter Pendragon is visiting.  It becomes apparent early on that for some reason the King and his daughter are searching for something.  Also, there might be much more to Sophie and her very odd child "Twinkle" than meets the eye.

Audience
I thought this one was written a little younger than the others.  I'd still go with 10 or 11 on the whole.  The story sticks to a single setting, and if you know the characters the action is not hard to follow

What I Loved About This Book
Twinkle and Sophie cracked me up.  Everything they said and did got a laugh from me.  I think I love this book so much because I relate to Charmain.  I love to read and I'm cranky when I'm interrupted.  I loved the way she managed, but still seemed real in her struggles.  Basically this book was entertaining and enjoyable from start to finish.

Cautions
This book is kind of slow.  I would recommend just enjoying the ride, not trying to figure it out.  I wanted to know what happened at the end-something the author leaves to the imagination.

Castle in the Air

by Dianna Wynne Jones


This is the second book in the Howl's Moving Castle "series." I put the word in quotes because you don't need any one book to understand the others.  I thought they were both fun reads.  They both focus on a mythical place similar to Arabia where magic is commonplace.  A young man named Abdullah gets a flying carpet and while using it finds a beautiful princess.  He falls instantly in love with her, but there are complications.  She is engaged to someone else.  On top of that Abdullah does not really know how to operate the carpet, it seems to move only when he is asleep or does not want to move.  When Abdullah goes back and sees his true love kidnapped by an evil djin, he rushes to save her.  The problem is he has no idea where she's been taken.  This adventure follows Abdullah as he makes some unlikely friends and has a hilarious adventure through an unfamiliar country called Ingary.  All of our friends from Howl's Moving Castle come back and spend time with us, but not until the very end.  The style of the dialogue and the story are all very rooted in the Arabian side of story and myth

Audience
The book says ages 9-12 but I would go closer to 12+.  There's nothing bad, it just seemed like a lot of setting change and jumping around that was loosely connected.  I have some 9 year olds that might enjoy it, but overall this book is complex enough that I would leave it to teens

What I Loved About This Book
Dianna Wynne Jones is incredible.  I love her work, her wit, and her world building.  This book is no exception.  The characters and there rules are well fleshed out.  I was laughing at the tongue in cheek way Abdullah narrates the story.  The characters are still outrageous and heartwarming.  The kind of outrageous that makes you think of someone you know.

Cautions
The whole style and feel of the book is very different from Howl's Moving Castle.  If you're reading to find out more about Howl and Sophie, you will be disappointed.  Even though they appear at the very end,  this is not their story.  I think I liked it a little less because I was expecting it to be a book like the first one and it's not.

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

Amber Brown is Not a Crayon

by Paula Danziger

Amber Brown, 3rd grade, has a problem.  Her best friend since pre-school, Justin, is moving away.  What will she do now?  To make it worse, Justin is really excited.  It doesn't even sound like he is going to miss her!  8 year old Amber learns about heartache, communication, and change as she adjusts to the idea of Justin leaving.

Audience

This is written for late 2nd grade.  I think kids from 1st grade to about 6th could relate to the emotions, though it's definitely geared to the 2-4 grade range

What I Love About This Book

1) Amber Brown's voice sounds like an authentic 3rd grader to me, and I'm teaching 3rd grade right now.

2) The idea of friends moving and parents divorcing is something children deal with every day.  I'm glad to see literature in the lower grades dealing with real issues in an age-appropriate way.

3) I love when teachers are portrayed as wise and loving.  The teacher was a minor character, but I liked him.

Cautions
Amber's parents are divorced, and while the book doesn't deal with that extensively, she will mention what has changed since the divorce.

Series

Amber Brown Is Not a Crayon
You Can't Eat Your Chicken Pox, Amber Brown
Amber Brown Goes Fourth
Amber Brown Wants Extra Credit
Forever Amber Brown
Amber Brown Sees Red
Amber Brown Is Feeling Blue
I, Amber Brown
Amber Brown Is Green With Envy

Group Reading

When we picture reading we picture someone alone with a book, probably in a silent room.  My experience has been that this is rarely the case.  Reading is meant to be shared.  When groups of kids are huddled over the same picture book ooohing and ahhhing over the same pictures and bringing observations and insight to each page, I see true reading.  This is not solitary and it is not quiet, but it is quality time with the literature.  When they progress to chapter books, I see them constantly get the same book as their friends, just to read it together.  I say more power to them.  When I read a good book, the first thing I want to do is share it with someone, so we can discuss it.  When I fall for each new character I want someone to feel that with me.  When my characters don't do so well, I want someone to share my grief.  If we want lifelong, passionate readers, we need to get rid of this idea that reading MUST be silent and solitary.  Don't get me wrong, there is a time and place for that kind of reading, but we need to see the place of the other, too.

The Tale of the Three Trees: A Traditional Folktale

by Angela Elwell Hunt

Three trees grow side by side, each with different dreams what they want to be when  they grow up.  The first wants to be a treasure chest and hold the riches of men.  The second wants to be a mighty sailing ship to carry mighty kings to far away places.  The final tree wants to stand ant point people heavenward all his life.

The first is cut down and made into a simple manger.  The second crafted into a meagre fishing boat.  The third tree is made into lumbar.  The years pass, until the night the manger has the privilege of holding, if not the riches of the earth, the Treasure of Heaven.  One stormy night on the Sea of Galilee our second tree witnesses the calming of a storm and understands he is bearing the King of Heaven.   The third tree has lived a miserable existence until now as a cross.  The day the Son of God is nailed into him may be the most difficult of his life, but this tree always invokes God to those who see him.

What I Love About This Book

I love the calm assurance that the desires of our hearts are answered in ways we never dreamed possible.  I love how everything points to Christ, and how He is the center of everything that happens, just as I feel He is for us in our lives.

Cautions

1) This book is very religious

2) The cross as defined as being the symbol of Christianity

Christmas Trolls

by Jan Brett

Christmas Trolls is about a Christmas when everything goes missing.  A little girl goes to investigate and finds something she didn't expect.

Audience
This is designed for someone to read to children, not for children to read.  My first grade teacher read it to me and we all loved it.

Why I Love This Book
1) Jan Brett is famous for her amazing illustrations, and this story is no different.  The incredible pictures and borders were breathtaking to me as a child and I think I love them even more as an adult.
2) It has a very nice message about getting along and the spirit of the season

Cautions
Again, children may need the help of an older reader on this one