Grandpa Green by Lane Smith is a great read aloud.  It  is a touching story for adults to share with kids.  Enjoy!

Here is the video trailer for this book.

Won Ton is one of my favorite picture books this summer.  The story of adoption is told from the point of the cat in haiku.  I’m not a cat lover but I love this book.  The story is wonderful and the illustrations are beautiful.  Check it out at your local library.

Enjoy!    ~ Mrs. Anderson

Could you ever imagine having to cook meals every day for your Mother?  How about never having to go to school?  Well let me introduce you to “Libby” Aimes who is ten years old and lives at 34 Gooch Street in a very crooked house.  She owns only one dress, a gray one, with big pockets to hold her cooking utensils and cleaning tools.

Now, I have not even told you about her dad.  His name was Mal, French for “bad” and he was one rotten apple.  He bathed only during months that had a Z in them, so he smells really rotten.  Libby has to wax his shoes, cut his toenails and mustache and even brush his teeth.  His breath smelled like a warthog.  Mal makes her clean the house too!

Libby never read books; her dad said that they were no good for her.  Secretly, she read all the labels on food boxes and jars that she could find.  She wondered what her father did in his locked basement every evening.  Libby had been informed that if she ever went down there, she would be poisoned by gases and punished by torture.

One day though, Libby heard her dad talking to her mother about all the great inventions that he designed that could make them rich.  However, none of the inventions worked according to Mal.  Mal told Libby that when he became rich he would send her away to a boarding school and then he would be rid of her.  This only made Libby want to go even more.  She had a collection of school brochures that had come in the mail.  Her favorite was the Sullivan School.  It had photos of children and teachers with kind faces.

Her dream was to live up to her real name, Liberty, and hope that with patience, she could escape from her home in order to make her future brighter.  To do this Liberty felt that the answer would be found in her father’s forbidden laboratory.

This is a wonderful story of adventure of laughs, disappointment, and love.  You will meet wacky characters like mutant animal and villainous scoundrels.  As you read the story, you will cheer for Liberty in all of her exciting exploits.  Liberty learns that you can not trust all people, but most people who come in contact with Liberty do provide her with help in her quest to follow her dream and make her destiny come true.   ~ Mrs. Zeller

Hi Boys and Girls:

Hope all of you are enjoying your summer vacation!  I am trying to enjoy my vacation also by taking some time out to read a good book. At the end of the school year, our reading specialists and Ms. Anderson, our librarian, provided students and teachers with  an extensive list of fun and easy readings for the summer.  I just completed reading two books from a funny mini- series,  entitled,  Rosco Riley Rules # 1: Never Gule Your Friends to Chairs and Rosco Riley Rules #2: Never Swipe a Bully’s Bear, By: Katherine Applegate. In both books, it seems like Roscoe, an elementary school student, is always getting himself in trouble for one thing or another.  You see Rocky tends to react to situations first instead of asking questions.  In both stories, Rosco learns a hard lesson about what can happen when one doesn’t understand or have enough information to adequately solve a problem.  All he knows is that the end result for him is always in the “punishment corner”. These books will make you smile at some of the problems Roscoe gets himself involved with and tickle your funny bone with some of the solutions he comes up with.  If you want to have a good laugh and learn some valuable lessons at the same time, I recommend reading these books.  See you in the fall!   ~ Mrs. Sewell

Here is an excellent picture book Mrs. Torrence wanted to share.  Here is her review:

Have you ever wondered what it is like to emerge as a butterfly from a cocoon?  This book in the series Butterfly Meadow by Olivia Moss takes you on a journey of Dazzle, a new butterfly, as she emerges out of her cocoon and experiences the world around her.  There are wonderful illustrations to help you visualize Dazzle’s world as she explores and discovers friends and dangers.  If you enjoy this adventure, continue with Dazzle and read the other books in the Butterfly Meadow Series.  ~Mrs. Torrence

Mrs. Zeller has read another excellent novel.  Here is her review.

I just finished reading The Secret of Sarah Revere by Ann Rinaldi.  This author loves to take the reader back into history with true facts and add a little spice of her own.  I have read other books by Ms. Rinaldi and they all come with a warning…”This is a historical novel.  Read at your own risk.  The writer feels it is necessary to alert you to the fact that you might enjoy it.” In the story of the Sarah Revere, we learn that her father, Paul actually knows whether the British or the Colonists actually fired the first shot that started the American Revolution on Breed’s Hill. All throughout the novel we are kept wondering if Paul Revere will reveal the secret to Sarah.  In addition, the readers are given the opportunity to understand the time period and the confusion of being a loyalist or colonist.

You can choose to read more about the Colonial time period through more of her books.   Or you can choose a different time period as Ms. Rinaldi has written a few novelsl during the Civil War as well as the Puritan time. Enjoy!  ~Mrs. Zeller

Here is another great book suggested by our very own Mrs. Horst.

Hi! Fly Guy, the first in the popular chapter book series written and illustrated by Tedd Arnold, is the story of a friendship between a boy named Buzz and a tiny insect with a giant heart. While he may not win the title of “Cutest Pet”, or “Tallest Pet”, or even the “Pet With the Most Legs”, Fly Guy wins over the judges at the show with his amazing high flying trick. Hi Fly Guy is a Theodore Seuss Geisel (Dr. Seuss) Honor Book. Easy-to-read with hilarious illustrations, this book would be enjoyable for both boys and girls.  If you like this, check out the rest of the series!  ~Mrs. Horst

I’m starting this book today.  Masterpiece is on the 2010 – 2011 Black-Eyed Susan list and it appears to be a great one.  My book group is starting it today.  Go to your local public library  to check it out or you can purchase it at Barnes and Noble.  Recommended for Grades 4-8  Enjoy!

School Library Journal Starred Review

Starred Review. Grade 4–8—Broach combines discussion about the art of Albrecht Dürer with a powerful tale of friendship in a novel that is entertaining and full of adventure. Marvin is a beetle, and he and his family live in the Manhattan kitchen that belongs to the Pompaday family. When James receives a pen-and-ink drawing set for his 11th birthday, Marvin discovers that he is a bug with artistic talent. Although he can’t speak to James, they soon bond in a true interspecies friendship, and their escapades begin. Because of Marvin’s wonderful drawing, presumed to be James’s work, the boy is recruited to create a fake Dürer for the Metropolitan Museum of Art to help trap an art thief. Marvin produces the forgery, but he soon realizes that the original artwork is in danger. Only by placing his life on the line and relying on James’s help can he save the masterpiece. Broach’s projection of beetle life, complete with field trips to the family’s solarium and complex uses of human discards for furniture and meals, is in the best tradition of Mary Norton’s The Borrowers (Harcourt, 1953) and similar classic looks at miniature life. Murphy’s illustrations add perspective and humor, supporting the detailed narrative. A masterpiece of storytelling.—Beth L. Meister, Milwaukee Jewish Day School, WI

Alvin Ho is a great book and I loved it.  This book is recommended for Grades 2-4.  If you like Judy Moody you will love Alvin Ho.  Here is a review by Kirkus.

Bright, energetic Alvin Ho is about to enter the second grade. The middle child in his close family, he idolizes his devoted, patient dad. He’s a big superhero fan and he loves all things that explode. His enthusiasm, however, doesn’t carry over to school–he’s so petrified while there that he can’t utter a single word: “But as soon as I get to school…I am as silent as a side of beef,” he explains. In the vignettes that make up this exuberantly funny slice of Alvin’s life, Look portrays the world as it would be viewed through the eyes of a wildly creative but undeniably neurotic kid. In his hometown of Concord, Mass., Alvin searches for friends, meets with a psychotherapist (who he supposes must be a “very smart crazy person” based on her job title) and gets himself into a variety of jams. A witty glossary and Pham’s simple yet expressive line drawings perfectly complement this appealing story about the refreshingly original, endearing Alvin.  ~Kirkus Starred Review 2008

Another great series Mrs. Zeller is reading is by Blue Balliett.  These are awesome books that won’t disappoint the reader.  Here is Mrs. Zeller’s review.

Blue Balliett weaves a tale in each of her books by teaching us about famous artists in history and presents us with a mystery that we must solve.  The main characters, who are our age, are Petra, Calder, and Tommy. In the first book, Chasing Vermeer, we meet the artist Vermeer, and learn about his style of painting. We begin the friendship of the trio.   In the second book, The Wright 3, Frank Lloyd Wright shows us how he designed houses and the trio works to save a building nearby their school. In the final book of the series, Calder Game, it is revealed how Calder got his name and how others think of the artist, Calder’s work.  Also, the friendship strengthens between the trio as one of them runs into trouble.  The author writes well and story flows, so you do not want to put the book down!   ~Mrs. Zeller