Books in General

The Questioneers

Mrs. Eaves Realistic Fiction

I loved sharing The Questioneers series with my third graders.  These read alouds always inspired important conversations about following your own dreams, developing personal passions, embracing failures and finding ways to overcome negativity.

How do you handle judgement, prejudice, fear, wavering self-confidence and doubt?  With others, as part of a community seems to be the answer shared by this series.  I couldn’t agree more.  Reading this series again,  and again and again, I was reminded of the importance for patience and the need for close observation.  Kids need us to looks at situations through their eyes so we can begin to understand how to support them.

I have enjoyed the first four books in this series, but Aaron Slater, Illustrator holds a special place I’m my heart.  The blurb on the dust jacket shares its essence perfectly.  Here it is:

“Aaron Slater love nothing more than listening to stories with his family out in their garden.  Each summer day, he sits outside and draws, dreaming of one day creating a story of his own.  But when it comes time for him to learn to read, the letters just look like squiggles.  It soon becomes clear that reading is much harder for him than his peers.  When his teacher, Miss Greer, asks the class to write a story, Aaron can’t get a single word down.  He’s sure his dream of becoming a storyteller is out of reach… until inspiration strikes, and Aaron find a way to spin a tale that is uniquely his.”

I hope families and classrooms will find ways to share these books as a way to open doors to discussions about each person’s unique challenges.  These picture books are meaty and important.  The illustrations are full of details that are only discovered from multiple readings.  It’s also fun to see how the books connect to each other.

Which Questioneer are you?  Or is your story waiting to be told?  Can you tell it for yourself?  Have a go at it.  See what you cab do ~ you might surprise yourself.  How fun!

Happy Reading!📚

Some Suggestions

Mrs. Eaves Books in General, by Matt

Dear Mrs. Eaves,

This took a lot of thought. I couldn’t think of anything right away, but while reading your post, Poppy did come to mind. But after looking through the bookshelf, thinking very hard, and asking my twin sister, I came up with three books:

  1. Fantastic Mr. Fox by Roald Dahl
  2. My Side of the Mountain by Jean Craighead George
  3. The Magic Finger by Roald Dahl

I think My Side of the Mountain is one of the best woodland books out there. Sam, living in New York City is so unhappy that he goes out to live in the Catskill Mountains with nothing but a very small batch of supplies. In the wilderness, he learns how to survive by making meals out of dandelions, making a house out of a hollow tree and lots of other things. When I read this book in the summer after 3rd grade, I remember trying out some of the things that he did in the woods behind my house. I think 3rd graders will enjoy this read because it teaches them about the woods, but also they will connect with Sam because he is a character that you like reading about. When reading, they will be able to feel his triumphs and failures.

The next book that I think is fitting is Fantastic Mr. Fox by Roald Dahl. After reading Mrs. Eaves recommendation for Midnight Fox, I realized that this has a fox, a farm, but a totally different concept. It is about Mr. Fox’s life and the farmers who live in the farm next door. A chant from the book about the farmers Boggis Bunce and Bean is below:

Boggis, Bunce, and Bean
Boggis and Bunce and Bean
One fat, one short, one lean
Those horrible crooks
So different in looks
Were nonetheless equally mean

This Roald Dahl book is about the Fox family adventures, their encounters with the crooks without good looks, and lots of other things that capture the reader and make them connect to the characters. The way this is wilderness is that they talk about Mr. Fox’s fox hole and the also go through the barn, so that might be a good learning experience for 3rd graders as well.

The last book I recommend is The Magic Finger by Roald Dahl. This story has a little bit of wilderness and woodland theme, bit mostly it is a funny and enjoyable read. I think 3rd graders will like this book because it is a fantasy type book that will capture readers. It  is about a girl who apparently has supernatural powers. She only uses this power when she gets angry and she can’t control it. This time, she’s done something very bad. She’s turned the neighbors into a group of… read to find out! 3rd graders will LOVE this book. It is fantasy, but as with all these books, readers can connect to the character with ease.

I hope my suggestions will help your class!

Good Luck,

Matt 🙂

Happy New Year – Happy Reading 2012

Mrs. Eaves Books in General, by Matt, by Mrs. Eaves

For the last couple of New Years we have found these words from Neil Gaiman on several blogs and websites.  They are from New Year’s Eve message shared in Boston some years ago and seems appropriate to share:

“May your coming year be filled with magic and dreams and good madness. I hope you read some fine books and kiss someone who thinks you’re wonderful, and don’t forget to make some art – write or draw or build or sing or live as only you can. May your coming year be a wonderful thing in which you dream both dangerously and outrageously.

I hope you will make something that didn’t exist before you made it, that you will be loved and you will be liked and you will have people to love and to like in return. And most importantly, because I think there should be more kindness and more wisdom in the world right now – I hope that you will, when you need to, be wise and that you will always be kind. And I hope that somewhere in the next year you surprise yourself.”

We appreciate his message.  We too hope you do wonderful things in this new year – things that excite you and bring you wonder and joy!  Especially… read GREAT books!

 

Odd and the Frost GiantsInstructions: Everything You Need to Know on Your JourneyCoraline

Vacation Reading

Mrs. Eaves Books in General, by Mrs. Eaves

Hi Matt,

I hope your holiday was wonderful (how did the bake-off go?).  We spent two wonderful days with family and now… we have lots of leftovers.  I do have some great books to share with you…  I have discovered that when I am wrapping gifts, riding in the car or cooking I can “read.”  Because there was a great deal of that kind of time during these last few days I have finished listening to The Incorrigible Children of Ashoton Place – the Mysterious Howling by Marywood Rose, The Search for Wondla by Tony DiTerlizzi, Operation Yes by Sara Lewis Holmes and The Weed that Strings the Hangman’s Purse by Alan Bradley.

The Mysterious Howling (The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place #1) Operation YesThe Search for WondLa (WondLa, #1)

I think you would like all of them.  The first two are the beginning to series.  There are two books about the Incorribible Children so far.  Have fun finding out about them  on the website.  The author also shares that there will be a third one soon.  The second Wondla book is due to be released in May.  That is planned to be a trilogy – think combination of The City of Ember and the-other-worldliness of Zorgamazoo.  I can’t wait to find out why Eva Nine was left in her underground Sanctuary and what fate remains for humankind.  You can find out more bout Tony DiTerrlizzi’s creation process here – it is very interesting. Operation Yes is a totally unique book. Set at the school of an airforce base where children often move in and out and life is in flux – family members are sent overseas and assigned to dangerous wartime missions, this story centers on the plan a sixth grade class develops to make a difference in the lives of veterans wounded in the war and their families.  Their beloved teacher, Miss Loupe, is among the first to benefit from their care and determination.  It is a book I am looking forward to reading again!  When you read about the author and the book you can understand more of how this book idea developed.  Check that out here.  The final book is from a murder mystery series written for adults but I am sure you will like them.  (It made me think of reading Agatha Christie books when I was your age.  My mom loved mysteries and they were always around the house.) The main character is Flavia de Luce.  She’s 11.  She lives in Buckshaw, a victorian manor, in England  in the 1950’s where she has access to a fully furnished, although dated, chemistry lab.   Flavia rides across the countryside on Gladys her faithful bicycle collecting clues and making observations the police aren’t even yet aware of.  She is a fun character . You’ll laugh at the amazing predicaments she gets herself into and out of – often solved because of her fascination with chemistry and her passion for potions.  I’ve read two in the collection  – I have two more to go and I hope there are more.

I know these are not on my list of books to review next, but I really think you would like them – others who read our blog too.  What are you reading this vacation?  Did you get any great new books?

I hope the rest of your vacation is wonderful.  I’m off to finish The Dragon’s Tooth today.

See you soon!

Mrs. Eaves

(Hi Jenny!  – Happy vacation!)

Books

Mrs. Eaves Books in General, by Matt, Poetry ,

We got a great comment from someone who said they would like us to post books about poetry. But none come too mind so instead we’re going to have to post poetry about books. Enjoy!

Books
Author Unknown

I like books
I really do.
Books with stories
And pictures, too.

Books of birds
And things that grow.
Books of people
We should know.

Books of animals
And places, too.
I like books
I really do!