Love That Dog by Sharon Creech

I think everyone should read Love That Dog by Newbery Medal Sharon Creech. It’s a beautiful book, a marvelous teaching device, and a great way to learn to about choosing words, expressing yourself, and writing. Because I want people to read it I hesitate to tell them that this short children’s novel is written all in poems, and that it might make them cry. Maybe if I tell them it’s only 86 pages long? And that on some pages there are less than twenty words? The book is about a boy named Jack. His teacher, Miss Stretchberry, wants him to … Continue reading →

Trouble According to Humphrey – Betty G. Birney

We met Humphrey the golden hamster when I reviewed “The World According to Humphrey.” Today we’re checking in with everyone’s favorite classroom pet to see what he’s been up to in the book “Trouble According to Humphrey.” Mrs. Brisbane has a wonderful idea. She is going to turn classroom 26 into a community for social studies. The children will each create a building, and they’ll all have jobs. First, though, they need a name for their community, and they choose Humphreyville. Humphrey is so excited, he can’t stand it! A whole town, named just for him! And there’s a class … Continue reading →

The World According to Humphrey – Betty G. Birney

Have you ever wondered what it’s really like to be a classroom pet? If you read “The World According to Humphrey,” you’ll find out. Humphrey is a golden hamster and was purchased by an elementary school teacher named Ms. Mac. She made everything special, from the way she bought Humphrey his own notebook and pencil, to the way she took him home every night and weekend. She’d let him run around her apartment, she made him mazes on the floor – she was a perfect hamster owner. But as it turns out, she was just a substitute teacher, and Humphrey … Continue reading →

Emmy and the Incredible Shrinking Rat – Lynne Jonell

Appearing today in stores everywhere, “Emmy and the Incredible Shrinking Rat” is a must for your reading list for ages 9+. I read it in one sitting and came away entertained and enchanted. Emmy is a very good girl who does everything her nanny, Miss Barmy, tells her. She is a straight A student, she never gets in trouble, and she never talks back. You might think she’s this way because she’s impeccably well-mannered, and she is – but her underlying reason is this – she wants her parents to like her more. If she never gets in trouble, maybe … Continue reading →

The Magic Tree House Books – Mary Pope Osborne

I first discovered “The Magic Tree House Books” by Mary Pope Osborne when my daughter outgrew the beginning readers and wasn’t quite ready for the older reader books. My librarian was very helpful and pointed this series out to me. The series revolves around Jack and his little sister Annie, typical children from our time who have a tree house on their property. The first book in the series is called “Dinosaurs Before Dark.” In this book, Jack and Annie discover that the tree house is owned by Morgan le Fay, who is King Arthur’s sister and also a librarian. … Continue reading →

How to Be Cool in the Third Grade – Betsy Duffey

As the countdown toward the first day of school continues, I offer “How to Be Cool in the Third Grade” by intermediate author Betsy Duffey. Robbie is excited for the first day of school. Last year was awesome, but last year, he knew how to be cool. It was easy to figure out what was cool in second grade, but now he’s faced with a new challenge – what’s cool in third grade? It’s a whole new playing field now – the kids are older, the teacher is different, the trends have changed – how can he figure out what’s … Continue reading →

Rosie’s Big City Ballet – Patricia Reilly Giff

If you have an intermediate reader who is interested in ballet, “Rosie’s Big City Ballet” is for you. Rosie takes ballet once a week, and she thinks it would be nice to become a ballerina some day, but she sometimes forgets to practice, and there are times when she’d rather be outside playing than thinking about her assignments. She has an older neighbor named Amy who is in the chorus at a ballet in the city, and she invites Rosie to come see a performance of “Romeo and Juliet.” Rosie is delighted, and even more so when she gets to … Continue reading →

Meow Means Mischief – Ann Whitehead Nagda

In the intermediate book “Meow Means Mischief,” we meet Rana, a girl who has just moved to a new home with her little sister Tara and her parents. She’s insecure about her new school – the other children seem so confident and like they know what they’re doing all the time. Rana knows the move was good for her family – the house is bigger and they have room for the things they need, but she still feels like an outsider. One day Rana sees a cute little kitten outside the patio doors, and she falls in love with it. … Continue reading →

Ellen Tebbits – Beverly Cleary

In “Ellen Tebbits,” Beverly Cleary brings us another little girl who’s very ordinary, who has the same hopes, fears and dreams that nearly every little girl does. The first chapter in the book is my very favorite. Ellen is off to ballet class, but she’s determined to get there first. She races up to the changing room, only to find Austine, the new girl, already there. Needing her privacy, Ellen slips into the janitor’s closet and there reveals to the reader what she hopes no one in her dance class will ever know – she is wearing long woolen underwear … Continue reading →

Beezus and Ramona – Beverly Cleary

When Beverly Cleary began writing her Henry Huggins series, she included neighborhood children as characters to be friends for Henry. Among those children was Beezus Quimby, a little girl just Henry’s age. Cleary later decided to do a series of books specifically about Beezus and her younger sister Ramona. “Beezus and Ramona” is the first book in that series. Beezus is nine years old, and she’s very mature and practical. This is in direct opposition to her four-year-old sister Ramona, who’s imaginative and energetic, and, at times, completely out of control. She disrupts Beezus’s sense of order and causes quite … Continue reading →