Our Favorite Shared Books

We spent 2 years in the classroom together (2nd and 3rd grade). To get to know us a little bit, here are some of our favorite shared books – you should read them too!

  1. The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart.DSC01431

    Constance and Sticky
    Constance and Sticky
  2. Peter and the Starcatchers by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson.
  3. Chester by Melanie Watt (all three)
  4. The Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum

    Our Combined Oz Drawings
    Our Combined Oz Drawings
  5. Strega Nona by Tomie DePaola (and all of his books)
    DSC06810
    Strega Nona House & Pasta Party

    Make a comment or tell us a book we should post about!! Please leave your name.

9 thoughts on “Our Favorite Shared Books

  1. Well, what made the shared books stick with me was…. 1. They were shared between me and Mrs. Eaves. 2. They were such wonderful books and they were captivating. Like the Mysterious Benedict Society, the characters were so captivating that it made you want to read more. (And it was pretty funny!)

  2. I think they are favorites because of the time we took to savor them as a whole class. We spent time getting into the story and celebrating the booksand stories. I bet though, if we asked our classmates, they’d list lots of the other books too. We had fun with Kenny and the Dragon, The Tales of Despereaux, and The Dragon’s Eye. We read other genre too, but we were a definite fantasy, adventure class as a whole.

  3. So wonderful to see some favorites. You guys did a lot with your group books in grades 2 -3. I love that about Mrs. Eaves’ classroom! I was wondering if you think these books will stay your favorites, mostly to the student here – what made these stick with you so much more than the others you have read?

  4. You’re welcome! The second one, as we stated, was not as great as the first. It was a lot more stressful than the first one and the first one alone was pretty stressful. The time you read MBS on a plane would help because it does make time fly. But when you read because you want to read, it doesn’t make it go as fast as when you have nothing to do like when you read on that plane ride. And yes, it does help if you read them not so far apart. It gets you disconected and if there isn’t enough character description, then it makes it even harder. Go to http://www.mysteriousbenedictsociety.com. It’s not the address but it goes to that page.

    I have not read “Beneath My Mother’s Feet”, but if you want to read it, you probably have a good reason. I look into it for the next time I see you. I will ask my blogging partner if she has read it and she will give you the update if she has. Thanks for giving me the suggestion!

  5. Thanks for responding. I was asking about the Mysterious Benedict Society (MBS) Books and your experience with them because I have only read the first MBS book. I’ve tried reading the second one and it did not pull me in quite as quickly as when I read the first one. Perhaps that is because I was on a long airplane flight while reading the first one and that was a good way to pass the time? Perhaps it was because I waited a long time in between reading the first book and attempting to read the second book? Maybe I was not as connected to the characters. From what I remember the author just jumped right in and didn’t necessarily give as much as a recap as to who the characters were. I remember that (the repetitive character descriptions/introductions from book to book) used to drive me crazy as a reader in the “Harry Potter” books, but perhaps I needed more of that from the second MBS book. Not sure. Might just need to start over again…maybe over the summer.

    Another book I have on my list of “to read” over the summer is “Beneath My Mother’s Feet” http://www.amazon.com/Beneath-Mothers-Feet-Amjed-Qamar/dp/1416947280 . Have either of you read it?

  6. Hi! We read the next 2 not in class but on our own. We still think that the first book was the best out of all of them. It was enjoyable because it was new and different. The characters were so believable and easy to relate to. They were quirky and fun throughout the whole series. Even though we liked the first best, we are looking forward to reading another if he writes one more. Your questions are making us want to reread them over again. Maybe we’ll review them when we do. Thank You!

  7. Great blog! Thank you for the book suggestions. I will share them with my fifth graders. I am currently reading “The Mysterious Benedict Society” by Trenton Lee Stewart to my students right now. We love it! Our favorite book that we’ve this year has been “Walk Two Moons” by Sharon Creech.

  8. Strega Nona is a great book, clever and it teaches a real lesson. Several students here like the Courage the Cowardly Dog series, maybe you can try one of those.

    Mr. C

  9. Hi! I would love to know more about your thoughts on The Mysterious Benedict Society. Did you read the sequels? If so, was there one that you enjoyed more?

    What are you reading now? Anything you are saving to read over the summer?

    🙂

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