Why I Picked It Up: During our back-to-school meetings, an administrator said to us that we had 2nd graders who had never known school before COVID! It really painted a picture that had eluded me. I am coaching teachers in a hybrid model that seemed tough on its own, but I realized that their kids […]
character analysis
Book Review: Fergal and the Bad Temper by Robert Starling
Why I Picked It Up: This adorable picture book is on the Texas Library Association’s 2X2 Book List for 2019. I have to tell you, the TLA usually gets it right, and I always enjoy books about characters with bad tempers (we can analyze that later…) Why I Finished It: Fergal really is a sweet […]
Book Review: Julián Is A Mermaid, by Jessica Love
Why I Picked It Up: Definitely the cover and title curiosity on this one. Since this is a delicate topic for our culture, I wanted to see how this story would be handled. Why I Finished It: The story was handled beautifully – beyond all expectations. Jessica Love tells a story of a little boy […]
Book Review: The Last Fifth Grade of Emerson Elementary, by Laura Shovan
Why I Picked It Up: This novel-in-verse was part of our Newer Choices in Young Adult Lit session and I think I can blame it on Jessica! Why I Finished It: Poetry is definitely not one of my favorite things to read, but I do love novels-in-verse for a few reasons: 1) they’re a quick read. […]
Book Review: Look Both Ways, by Jason Reynolds
Why I Picked It Up: This book had been discussed on so many of the blogs I follow, so I already had it in my mind that it would be a summer read. However, as I started planning a thematic book club for a class of eighth-graders, I quickly put it on my “sooner-than-later” list […]
Book Review: A Boy Called BAT, by Elana K. Arnold
Diversity, relationships, animal research – all this and more in one great elementary read!