Booklist

Realistic Fiction

            The Great Gilly Hopkins- Katherine Paterson:  This book is about a girl who bounces from foster home to foster home waiting for her mother to come back for her.  She is blinded by her desire to be with her real and makes a bad decision and in the end she has to accept the consequences for her actions.  I think the book teaches us to appreciate what we have or we might miss out.

            Anything but Typical- Nora Raleigh Baskin:  An autistic boy in middle school has a ton of issues on the outside but on the inside is as normal as everyone else.  He find s that the only way he can be himself is through writing and that is where he meets a friend who he connect with without them judging him for his outside  until he finds out that they will both be at a writing conference.  He is afraid that he will no longer have his online friend after they meet.  You can learn a lot about what people feel when they are trapped inside their own body.

            Anges Parker… Keeping Cool in Middle School- Kathleen O’Dell: A seventh grade girl tries to be invisible to deal with all the things that happen in middle school.   She has to deal with the eighth grade boys, a boy from art class, and her best friend who is much bolder than she.  This book teaches us to just be you. 

Diary of a Wimpy Kid- Jeff Kinney: I laughed throughout most of this book.  This is the journal of a middle school boy and everything he goes through during his school year.  He has trouble with his family, friends, and bullies just as all kids do.  The book is one blunder after another and his ideas about what he should do and what really happens in his life.

Dexter the Tough- Margaret Peterson Haddix: Dexter is a young boy who goes to live with his grandma because his dad is very sick.  Dexter is very angry for everything that is happening in his life so he takes it out on his first day of school.  He is assigned to write a story and all he can think to write about is how he beat up a kid on his first day of school.  He never tells anyone what is happening in his life so he is misunderstood and he misunderstands those around him until he takes a step back and sees what really happened at his school.

Double Fudge- Judy Blume: This is the last book in the series.  Fudge is a young boy who is obsessed with money.  His parents take him to the Bureau of Engraving and Printing in hope that he will get over his love for money.  The family runs into some long lost cousins who come to stay with them in their home.  The family has to overcome one obstacle after another but it brings them all closer together.

The Man Who Loved Clowns- June Rae Wood: Delrita is a young lady who lives with her parents and her uncle Punky.  Uncle Punky has Down syndrome and Delrita uses everything inside of herself to protect him from the outside world.  One day her parents were in a terrible accident and die leaving Delrita and Punky to live with her aunt.  Delrita is learning that her life cannot revolve around Punky anymore and they both begin to make new friends.  Delrita shortly learns that all families have secrets.

The Stepdaughter- Carol Ellis: Livvie’s mother gets remarried to a new man.  She can tell from the start that there is something fishy about this man.  One night while she is watching TV her stepfather’s picture appears on a police show.  He is wanted for murder of his last family.  Livvie tries to tell her friend and her mother but no one believes her.  Her stepfather learns that she is on to him and decides to handle the situation himself.

Hush Little Baby-Caroline B. Cooney: Kit is left standing on the door step when her ex-stepmother leaves a baby in her arms.  She assumes that she will be back, but as hours go by she becomes unsure.  Strangers come and try to take the baby away but Kit gets a bad feeling.  She is fighting for her life and the life of this baby.

Dear Lovey Hart, I am Desperate- Ellen Conford: The school newspaper needed something so that the students would start reading it again.  Carrie was in charge of writing an advice column but her identity was to be kept secret.  After she gives some bad advice to a friend she starts to question if this is truly something she should be doing.

Hoot-Carl Hiaasen: Roy is the new kid in his school and community.  He is bullied from day one but there is a girl who has protected him once or twice.  One day he sees a boy who sparks his interest so he follows him.  Come to find out this wild boy has been pulling pranks on a construction site to save the owls that live there.  The three children do what they can to try and save the owls from being killed.

Folktales

            Italian-American Folklore- Frances M. Malpezzi, William M. Clements:  To find the folktales in this book one has to dig pretty deep.  You learn a lot about the Italian-American culture which is very interesting and helps you understand more about what their folktales are about.  I think this book is forgettable so I wouldn’t recommend unless you wanted to learn more about the culture.

            West Indian Folk-tales- by Philip Sherlock: These folktales are from the West Indies, they talk about the first people the animals of the area.  Anansi is one of the main characters within the book who is always getting into a silly situation.  The book focuses on animals and how they became the way they are.  One example was how the crab got a hard back. 

            The People Could Fly: American Black Folktales- Virginia Hamilton: This book is hard to read at times because the words are written how they would have been told aloud many years ago.  Many of the stories tell us how animals became the way they are but they also have an underlying meaning.  At the end of each story is a short description of where the tale came from and how it pertained to the people at the time.

            Ozark Tall Tales- Richard and Judy Dockrey Young: The book is a collection of oral stories told by the folks from the Ozarks.  The language that the story is fun because the book is written exactly how the people would tell them.  The book has jack tales, tall tales, true tales, jokes, and much more.

Picture Books

            The Alley Cat’s Meow-Kathi Appelt:  The story rhymes and moves very quickly.  It is about a cat that goes to a night club and meets another cat and they fall in love through dancing.  I also loved the pictures.

            Fledgling- Robert J. Blake: Fledgling is a book for very low grades.  There is limited text on each page.  This little bird is learning to fly when he gets chased by a hawk and then realizes he is lost from trying to hide from the hawk.

Frog’s Best Friend- Marion Dan Bauer: Frog gets jealous of his friend turtle having more friends than just himself.  Turtle gets attacked by a bear and the animals come together to help save turtle.  The story shows us that it’s okay to have more than one best friend.

Turkey Bowl-Phil Bildner: Every Thanksgiving the family and the neighborhood play a football game that they call the Turkey Bowl.  Each year the young kids stand on the sidelines and cheer for the players playing because they were too little to play.  This year the kids are big enough to play but it starts snowing and it looks like the family won’t be able to make.  The kids get sad that they are not going to get to play for the first time this year so they decide to have their own Turkey Bowl.

The Same Sun was in the Sky- Denise Webb: A boy and his grandfather talk about the Hohokam people.  They think about how they now live their lives in the same place that the Hohokams use to life before them.  It might be a different time but we all see the same sun and share the earth.

            Math for all Seasons- Greg Tang: This is a rhyming, counting book.  The book suggests different ways to count items.

            Gaston Goes to Nashville- James Rice: This is a rhyming book.  An alligator starts a band because he thinks it his calling.  When the band makes it big in the city they are tired of everything and miss their home.  Sometimes, home is the best place to be.

            The Gullywasher- Joyce Rossi: This book uses a few Spanish words in the story to help teach Spanish.  A grandpa is telling his granddaughter how he got wrinkles, gray hair, a pop belly, and a hunched back.

            Goldilocks and the Three Martians- Stu Smith: (rhymes) Goldilocks goes to space because her mom won’t stop telling her what to do.  She goes to a martian’s house on mars.  She eats their food, sits in their chairs, and falls asleep in their beds.  The Martians come home and find her and decide they want to have her as their dinner.  Thanks to her trusty pet he saves her from being eaten and decides that her mom telling her what to do wasn’t so bad.

            When the Chickens went on Strike- Erica Silverman: A Jewish boy has bad luck and needs a chicken for Kapores, but they have all gone on strike.  The people try different methods to get the chickens to come back but they won’t.  The boy talks to the chickens and decides that it is best to let them go.  The people learn that life will go on and that some customs do change over time.

            Mrs. Toggle’s Zipper- Robin Pulver: A teacher arrives to school with her huge winter coat on and she cannot get it unzipped.  Her “thingamajig” has come off and she is unable to get out of her coat.  She has different people throughout the school try and help her escape the coat.

            Jessie’s Journey- Angela McAllister: This story is about a young girl’s journey on a train to visit her grandfather.  I love this book for the pictures.

The Little Mouse, the Red Ripe Strawberry, and the Big Hungry Bear-Don Wood:  A Mouse is picking a big strawberry and another mouse would like to have some.  This other mouse makes up a story about a big bear to trick the mouse into sharing the strawberry so the bear doesn’t eat it.

The Doorbell Rang- Pat Hutchins: Two children are sitting at the table getting ready to eat some cookies that their mom made when the doorbell rings.  More and more people keep joining until there are only enough cookies for everyone to have one.  The doorbell rings again but it’s grandma with more cookies.

Dinorella- Pamela Duncan Edwards: This is a fun twist of Cinderella but it’s about a dinosaur. 

Click, Clack, Moo-Doreen Cronin: The cows find a typewriter and they write letters to the farmer demanding things they want or they are not going to provide milk.  The farmer and the cows try to negotiate and it seems like an endless cycle with the animals.

Little Quack- Lauren Thompson: Baby ducks are born and they are scared to learn how to swim.  One by one they get brave enough to get in the water until they are all eventually in the water. 

The Diary of a Spider-Doreen Cronin: A spider writes about the things he does in his daily life.  He goes to school to learn about being a spider and he plays with his friend who is a worm.  The book gives some facts about spider and then some fiction.  I find this book very amusing.

Pablo’s Christmas-Hugo C. Martin: Pablo faces a variety of problems during Christmas time.  Pablo’s father leaves to make money for the family and Pablo is now the man of the house.  Despite all their hardships Pablo tries to make Christmas as merry as possible.

The Magic Saddle- Christobel Mattingley: Jonni wants a rocking horse for Christmas and he gets one but not one that is big enough to ride.  He leaves his rocking horse ornament for Christ Child and he gets a gingerbread rocking horse.  This horse is special and takes him on a journey.

What’s the Time Mr. Wolf? - Carol Jones:  Mr. Wolf’s friends ask him what time it is and he sends them on errands to get him supplies for dinner.  Are these “friends” or are they dinner?

Sheep in Wolves’ Clothing- Satoshi Kitamura: The sheep were on the beach and the wolves told them to take off their coats so they didn’t get saltwater in them.  When the sheep came back those wolves stole their coats to make sweaters.  The sheep hired a detective to help them find their coats.

Dashing Dog!- Margaret Mahy: The owners of Dashing dog were so obsessed with their dog not getting dirty that they weren’t paying attention to their baby.  Their child fell off the dock and guess who goes in to save her?

Bear’s All-Night Party- Bill Harley: Bear wanted to have an all-night party with his friends but they just wanted to sleep.  Bear started his party because no one came.  He danced and sang and then the next thing he knew people were showing up because they wanted to have as much fun as Bear was having.

Across the Alley- Richard Michelson: Two boys are neighbors but one is black and one is Jewish which prevents them from being friends in the daylight. The boys teach each other how to do different talents and one night they get caught.  The adult makes the decision that the boys will be friends in the daylight as well.

Going West- Jean Van Leeuwen: A young girl and her family are traveling west in a covered wagon.  She tells the story of her family and the experiences that they have to face while on their long journey.

Plowie A Story from the Prairie- Patricia Kirkpatrick: A girl comes across a doll while plowing in the Midwest.  This doll is very old at the time that she found it.  She kept it her whole life and shared the story of the doll with her family.  As long as they have the doll the story can be pasted down from generation to generation.

Fantasy

            Midnight for Charlie Bone- Jenny Nimmo: This book is about a boy who seems fairly normal until he finds out that he has a special magical talent.  He has to go to a special school and it seems like everyone is out to get him for one reason or another.  He comes across some interesting information and characters that lead him to try and save a young girl from being trapped by the people her dad sold her dad sold her to. (This book was kind of boring but I think the others might be better)

            Charlie Bone and the Time Twister-Jenny Nimmo: Charlie is back to school for another set of adventures.  One of his relatives that has been lost in time has appeared.  Charlie has to do what he can to help Henry.  Is it best to change the past or to help Henry adjust to today?

            Fablehaven- Brandon Mull: Two kids have to go stay with their grandparents while their parents are on a two week cruise.  They are given rules to follow while they are staying and the brother can’t seem to follow them.  They find out that the house is a secret place that holds all kinds of magical creatures.  The family ends up getting captured and everything seems like there is no hope except to accept their fate. (series)

            Erec Rex The Dragon’s Eye- Kaza Kingsley:  This book is about a boy who was a part of a very unique family that moved all the time.  He never thought he was that special until he learns about his own history and destiny.  His mother is kidnapped and his power forces him to find her.  On his journey he discovers a whole new magical world.  Along the way he makes friends and enemies as he enters a competition to help free his mother. (series)

            Erec Rex The Monster of Otherness- Kaza Kingsley:  Erec is back to the castle after an eventful year.  He must complete twelve tasks to become king.  In this book he does two of the tasks.  The town is against him because they have been brainwashed to believe that the evil guy is actually the good guy.  Erec has to fight for his own life and decide who the true monsters are.

            The Cricket in Times Square- George Selden: A cricket from the country finds himself in New York.  A little boy finds him and keeps him as a pet at his family newsstand.  While in the newsstand the cricket, Chester meets Tucker the mouse and Harry the Cat.  They keep Chester company while he is alone at the newsstand.  Chester can play the most beautiful music and makes the family newsstand very popular and famous.  After a while Chester realizes that he is unhappy because he misses his home in the country.

Beyond the Spiderwick Chronicles-Tony DiTerlizzi and Holly Black: At first I thought this book was the original Spiderwick Chronicles but it’s a spin off with a time in to the original.  Two families move in together because their dad and mom get married.  Nick is an angry mixed up boy who thinks his new sister Laurie is crazy.  She believes in fairies and dresses funny.  Nick spends time with her because it gives him something to do and one day he finds a four leaf clover that lets him see a whole new world.  The kids come into contact with creatures that they never would have imagined.  The worst of them all was a giant.  They have to find a way to get rid of him so that they are safe again.

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe-C.S. Lewis:  I did not realize that this is not the first book in the series when I began to read it.  Four children are sent to live with a professor so that they are safe from the destruction of WWII.  The children find a world beyond their own when they enter the wardrobe.  In this world called Narnia the children are destined to be Kings and Queens to save it from the White Witch. 

The Witches-Roald Dahl: A young boy lives with his grandmother after his parents are killed in an automobile accident.  His grandma teaches him about witches and how to protect himself from them by knowing the signs of a witch.  While on vacation they stay in a hotel and the boy finds himself in the middle of a witch convention.  They capture him and turn him into a mouse but he is a talking mouse who has heard the witches’ big plan to eliminate all the children in England.  Now he must come up with a way to stop them.

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory-Ronald Dahl: Charlie is a young boy who comes from a very poor family.  Mr. Wonka, who owns the chocolate factory in the town that Charlie lives, decides to allow five children into his factory.  The children must find the five golden tickets that he has hidden in various chocolate bars across the country.  At the last second Charlie finds a ticket and gets to go to the factory.  The factory is a magical place with a new adventure around every corner.  All of Charlie’s wildest dreams come true.

A Series of Unfortunate Events-The Bad Beginning-Lemony Snicket: Three children’s parents die and they become orphans.  Their parents wanted them to stay in the same area if they died so the kids go to live with one of their relatives.  This man is a horrible man and makes the life of the children the same.  The parents were wealthy and left all the money to their children but they are too young to use it.  Their new guardian is obsessed with the money and will do anything to get his selfish little hands on it.

The BFG- Ronald Dahl: A little orphan girl is up late one night and sees a giant.  The giant snatches her up and takes her home to keep her forever.  Lucky for her, this giant does not eat “human beans”.  They decide to make a plan to keep the other giants from eating people.

Holes- Louis Sachar: Stanley Yelnats and his family have had a curse on them for a very long time.  The curse has been the root to all their trouble throughout the years.  Stanley is accused of a crime that he does not commit and is sent to a camp for boys.  At this camp the boys are required to a hole every day.  The camp reunites Stanley with Hector so that he can break his families curse.

When the Wind Blows-James Patterson: Frannie is a veterinarian who lives in Colorado.  One day she comes across a magnificent creature a girl named Max who has ultra sensitive sense and the ability to fly.  Finding Max will become her worse nightmare as she finds out the truth behind her husband’s death and the death of many others that she once knew.

The Library Card-Jerry Spinelli: A magical library card would appear out of nowhere when children needed it the most.  The card would distract many children from doing delinquent type acts.  Library cards give us a ticket to experience new worlds and things that we couldn’t without the help of books.

Twilight- Stephanie Meyer: A girl moves to Forks, Washington to live with her father.  She is the new girl in a small town so she now has the attention of all of her peers.  She soon becomes interested in a boy who seems a bit unusual.  He keeps appearing just in the nick of time when she is in trouble.  She becomes more interested in the boy and figures out that he is a vampire who only feeds on animals.  How can a human be in love with a vampire?

Twilight New Moon- Stephanie Meyer: Bella is injured at her birthday party with a bunch of vampires and one of them tries to eat her.  The vampires are a bit embarrassed for their behavior and decide that it is time to flee town.  Bella is heartbroken and spends a majority of her time with her friend Jacob in dangerous situations.  Edward thinks that Bella has died and decides that he deserves to die as well.  Bella must go to him and save him from making a huge mistake.

Twilight Eclipse- Stephanie Meyer: Bella wants to become a vampire so that she can spend her life with Edward out of harm’s way but he has other plans for her.  Edward wants to marry Bella and keep her alive as long as possible.   The vampires and the wolves must work together to protect Bella from a pack of angry blood thirsty vampires.

Twilight Breaking Dawn-Stephanie Meyer: Bella and Edward finally get married and now Bella is pregnant.  The baby is killing her from the inside out which means it’s about time for Bella to become a vampire.  The child is typically looked upon as uncontrollable and others thing the child must be destroyed.  This leads the big battle.

Poems

            There’s a Zoo in Room 22- Judy Sierra: This book is a set of poems about a class that gets an animal for each letter of the alphabet. 

            Pocket Poems- Bobbi Katz: A book with short poems that encourage people to keep a poem in your pocket or in your head.  The poems are not abstract but straight forward.  Most rhyme and some are silly but they are all very cute.

            Corn Chowder- James Sevenson: This book of poems would be a good tool to use to show students that not all pomes rhyme or are written in straight lines.  This book is very different than a lot of other poem books.  The poems are short and seem random but that is the beauty of poetry.

            The New Kid on the Block- Jack Prelutsky and James Stevenson: a collection of poems that are fun and spunky.

            Ride a Purple Pelican- Jack Prelutsky: a collection of poems that are silly and easy to read. 

            A Light in the Attic- Shel Silverstein: these poems are truly entertaining and are a quick read. 

Historical Fiction

            A Dear America Book “My Name is America the Journal of Augustus Pelletier- The Lewis and Clark Expedition 1804”- Kathryn Lasky: An orphan sets out to follow Lewis and Clark on their expedition.  While he is following them he is seen and then invited to join the expedition because he can read and write.  This book is the boy’s diary and he writes about his experiences along the way.  They interact with Natives, name rivers, catch specimens, and meet Sacagawea.

            Out of the Dust-Karen Hesse: A family lives in Oklahoma in the middle of the dust storm.  The mother catches on fire and Billie Jo reaches for the water pail and accidentally pours kerosene on her.  Her mother dies and she is badly burned.  Billie Jo cannot bring herself to play piano anymore and her father and her grow further and further apart. Everything seems to be falling apart as more and more time goes by.

            The Watsons go to Burmingham-1963- Christopher Paul Curtis: The Watson family lives in Michigan.  The middle child Kenny is a nerdy child with few friends.  The older brother Byron is the head bully and a trouble maker.  Byron causes so much trouble that the family decides to leave him with grandma in Alabama until he straightens up. 

                        The Last Silk Dress- Ann Rinaldi: Susan is a girl transitioning into a woman during the Civil War.  She learns about her brother who has been shunned from the family and decides that it is time she did her part in the war.  She gathers silk dresses so that a hot air balloon can be made to spy on the Yankees.  She faces many hard issues and she must choose between what is right and her family.

            Treasures in the Dust- Tracey Porter: Two girls are best friends and they live in Oklahoma during the Depression and the dust storms.  One girl and her family must choose to move to California and look for work or lose their entire farm.  They leave to California and find that is no easier there than back in Oklahoma because there are too many workers.  The girls write letters to each other in hope that they will see each other once again.

            Saturday Heroes- Curtis Bishop: A football story when it was life or death to be in the college football bowls.  The teams and coaches were picked very carefully to reassure a win.  The coaches would sacrifice anything for a win.  Was it worth the injury to the players?  Will the assistant coach stand up for what’s right?

            The Catcher in the Rye-J.D. Salinger: This is a coming of age book that was clearly considered vulgar in the time that it was written.  A boy is kicked out of prep school and wanders the streets for a few days searching for truth.  He is clearly not right in his head as he has his adventures through the city.

            Manga

The Wonderful Adventure of Toto! - Yuko Osada: This book is about a boy who wants to go on an adventure.  He stows away on an air boat and trouble seems to follow.  The boat gets hijacked and then shot down.  The story makes multiple references to the Wizard of Oz.

Hyaate the Combat Butler- Kenjiro Hata: A boy works hard for everything that he has but never seems to have good luck.  His parents are bad people with a debt problem and they sell their son to repay all their debt.  The boy decides to become bad and kidnap a girl but he has a good heart and can’t follow through with it and saves her life.  The boy becomes her butler because the girl feels that she needs to repay him for his good deed.

Yu-Gi-h! (7) -Kazuki Takahashi: This book is about a boy and his friends who have been challenged to play a game.  They are tricked and their opponent cheats and is virtually unbeatable.  The characters use their hearts and souls to prove that if they believe anything enough that they can do anything.

Science Fiction

The Giver- Lois Lowry: A boy has grown up in a “perfect world” when everything he has ever known is changing.  He has been chosen to be the receiver of memories and learns about the hypocrisy that his world truly has.  He decides that he cannot go on living in this world when he knows the truth.

When the Tripods Came- John Christopher: Tripods invade the earth and change everything.  The people of the world begin to be hypnotized by a TV show about the tripods.  Eventually these people start wearing caps that program their minds to believe whatever the tripods are telling them.  They are to obey and believe that the tripods are the best.  One family does not believe this and must find a way to stay alive without being brainwashed.

Heartlight- T.A. Barron: Kate and her grandfather were the best of friends.  Grandfather was working on a new experiment when he discovers the sun is going to burn out.  It is up to Grandfather to fix it and in a flash disappears.  Kate finds out how he disappears and follows after him.  In search for Grandfather, Kate leaves the planet and uses her “heartlight” to travel to another galaxy.  They discover new worlds and new creatures along the way.  They also learn to follow the natural pattern of life and death.

The Hunger Games- Suzanne Collins: The future in North America is anything but fancy.  The government has taken over and to show they are in charge they create “The Hunger Games”.  Katniss is a young lady who takes her younger sisters place in the games that are a battle to the death.  She is a hunter and uses her skills, her heart, and her brain to make it through the games.

Graphic Novels

            Superman-The Greatest Stories Ever Told- Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster: This is a collection of Superman comics.  They are not in order and are for people who already know something about Superman.

            Garfield-hits the big time- Jim Davis: Garfield is so funny.  I have always loved him since I was a kid and I still do.

            Garfield-pulls his weight-Jim Davis: Garfield is the head of the house hold and he keeps me laughing.

            Garfield-dishes it out-Jim Davis: My favorite is the ones where Garfield is trying to catch the mice.

Biography/Autobiography

            Betsy Ross and the American Flag- Kay Melchisedech Olson: This is the story of what they believe to know about Betsy Ross and her life.  Some believe that she made the first American Flag but some don’t believe this to be true.

            Discover the Life of an Explorer James Cook- Trish Kline: James was a normal boy who started his journey as a deckhand and eventually led his own voyages.  He was said to have discovered the Hawaiian Islands.

            Benjamin Franklin an American Genius: Benjamin Franklin was a writer, an inventor, a patriot, and a statesman.  He has been a part of many historical events.  He was a man who put his mind to things and accomplished all that he ever wanted.

            Elizabeth- J. Randy Taraborrelli: Elizabeth Taylor has been someone who has always fascinated me and the book gives some insight into the kind of life she lived.  She had an overbearing mother and many men to fill her emptiness.  It’s always interesting to know how people end up where they are today.

            Was God on Vacation? - Jack van der Geest:  Jack was a boy who lived in the Netherlands during World War II.  Jack gives his testament of the horrors that he faced while Germany tried to rule the world.  The things that Jack went through to escape the concentration camp was something that I could never imagine. I heard Jack speak when I was about fourteen years old and this man has an incredible story that he tells with his words both verbally and written.

Nonfiction/ Informational

The True Story of the American Flag: Amelie von Zumbusch: Many people believed that Betsy Ross was the first to make an American Flag, but many people believe this to be untrue.  The book gives us the history of the flag and how we had originally had a different type.  “The flag’s unknown past shows us that history is never as simple as it seems” (p.22).

            Dust Storms- Jim Mezzanotte: Dust storms are not something that people think of when they think of storms.  Dust storms can be very dangerous to those who must live with them.   Some people must wear protective clothing and facial gear to protect them from the dust.

            Lightning- Gail Saunders-Smith: The book teaches about lightning.  Clouds have ice in them and during a storm they start to move very quickly and this makes electricity.  As the electricity gets stronger and stronger it eventually becomes lightning getting rid of the electricity within the cloud.

            Lazily, Crazily, just a bit Nasally More about Adverbs- Brian P. Cleary: This book is a fun way for people to remember and learn what Adverbs are.

            A Mink, a Fink, a Skating Rink What is a Noun? - Brian P. Cleary: The book puts the nouns in a different color so that while reading one knows what a noun is.

            Hairy, Scary, Ordinary What is an Adjective?- Brian P. Cleary: The story is trying to teach what adjectives are.  The story rhymes and has funny pictures and words to make learning adjectives fun.

            Children’s Guide to Insects and Spiders-Jinny Johnson: There are many insects that a child would see around their own community and some that are not as common. The text tells about the bugs and how big they get and the number of species.  They do not go into great detail but there is enough information to see what makes a bug different from another.

            Easy Science Experiments- Diane Molleson and Sarah Savage: A variety of experiments that are family and home friendly fill this book.  Many of the items can be found around the house and do not take much preparation.  This book ahs some great ideas that kids will love.

            Postsecrets-Frank Warren: This book is a collection of postcards that people have illustrated their secrets on.  I find it heart breaking and beautiful at the same time.

            Ellen Degeneres The funny thing is…: If you love Ellen’s stand up you will love this book.  This book kept me laughing at all of her jokes about things in everyday life.