May 2014 | LRR Smith - Books for Me

Saturday, May 31, 2014

Bink & Gollie by Kate DiCamillo

Age Range: 6 - 9 years
Grade Level: 1 - 4
Series: Bink and Gollie
Paperback: 88 pages
Publisher: Candlewick; Reprint edition (April 10, 2012)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 9780763659547
ISBN-13: 978-0763659547

This is about two friends who are a bit quirky and seem to be complete opposites yet they are always the most marvelous of companions. They get into fights, they go on adventures and they test their friendship. It's mixed with plenty of humor and fun to keep students engaged.

The young reader who read this book really enjoyed it. He opened it up just to see what it was about. Soon, he was enthralled in the story and thirty minutes later he was finished. He laughed at himself because he hadn't meant to even read it. He just wanted to flip through the pages. This is a really cute book.

AR: grade level 2.5

Lexile: AD310L

This would be a great addition to any classroom. It's a fun read and something many of the students would enjoy and laugh about. It teaches important skills of friendship along with improving learning. There are a few words in it that are tricky and would be a wonderful opportunity for students' vocabulary to grow as they learn words like implore, compromise, outrageous, baffle, and several other larger words. The character Gollie likes to use larger words and quite often baffles Bink with her vernacular. A fun little book and great story for a classroom.

Friday, May 30, 2014

Winnie's Reviews: Tuck Everlasting

Summary: Have you ever met an unusual family who never ages because they own a youth fountain? I read a book called Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt. Winnie Foster loves adventure. She craves to see what’s in the woods, but she’s not brave enough to jump over the gate that blocks her adventurous spirit. One day she makes that little voice go away and decides to explore the woods. But who does she meet in these mysterious woods?

Opinion: This is an amazing book! I could read all day long if I could. My favorite character is Winnie because of what bravery she has. I rate this book 5 stars.

Author: If you want to learn about this author vist this site:

http://www.ipl.org/div/askauthor/babbitt.html

Saturday, May 24, 2014

Charlottes Web

Summary: I read a book called Charlotte’s Web written by E.B White. It’s about a girl that begged for her dad not to kill a runt out of a pig litter. She raises it until it’s time to sell it to her uncle. It gets raised on a farm and one day a miracle happens, but what? Read and find out!

Opinion: I like this book because it’s very funny and it’s a heart touching story. I didn’t like this book because one of Wilber’s closest friend dies at the end. My favorite character is Avery. (Fern’s brother) I like Avery because, well he is just one of those annoying big brothers. I rate this book 4 ½ stars!

Author: If you want to learn more about the author visit this site: http://www.biography.com/people/eb-white-9529308#awesm=~oF7Fdmea4vdfRc

How Do Apples Grow? by Betsy Maestro

How Do Apples Grow? by Betsy Maestro

This is non-fiction and science-y. ;) We've been doing a unit on plants and while he was focusing on flowers -- the pistils and ovaries and reproduction of flowers, we decided to read this book. It starts with winter of an apple tree's life and goes through the process all the way until the next winter. It includes the bees, parts of a flower and everything. It's the perfect book for a plant lesson. I wouldn't recommend it for preschool but it is great for elementary school!

Sunday, May 18, 2014

Winnie's Reviews: Anne of Green Gables

Remember that exciting news I was so excited about? Well, here it is!!!! My niece (9 years old) loves to read and write book reviews. So, I asked her if she'd like to write them on my blog. She said yes and was soooo excited about this too. YAY!!! :) She is going to try to get a review on here each week. I am super happy about this. I think it'll be fun. Her pen name, Winnie Foster, is from her favorite book.

Anyways, enjoy her review! :)

***

I read a book called Anne of Green Gables by L.M Montgomery. This is my favorite book and I love it because of how it inspired me. It’s about a little orphan girl who dreams about having her own family. One day she receives a message to go to the train stop because she has been adopted. She thought her dream came true until she hears there has been a mistake. She wasn’t the one who was suppost to have been adopted. My favorite part is when she makes her very first friend. There is an event that makes it hard to read. However, I do still recommend it to people who love heart touching stories like this one!

To learn more about the author vist this site:

http://www.lmmontgomery.ca/aboutlmm/herlife

Saturday, May 17, 2014

Exciting news....

I have exciting news for the blog!!! However, I can't tell you yet until it's official. Just know that I am excited for it and I think lots of people will like it. :) *keeping fingers crossed* that it all works out and this exciting news is able to happen! :) YAY!!! Anyways, stay posted. It will be revealed soon. :)

Hairy, Scary, Ordinary by Brian P Cleary

My sister introduced me to this author. You can see a list of his books on Amazon here. I'll focus on only one book but I think all of his books are probably amazing! :) I haven't read them all... only 2 of them but such a fun concept.

This is a very colorful book. The graphics are bright and fun to pull a student in and entertain them. Even the font is exciting. It begins by defining an adjective but then it goes on giving examples. It goes on with funny pictures and the text describes the pictures with lots of adjectives and rhyming words. Such a fun read and great way to show students what an adjective is.

I recommend these books and can think of so many uses for them. The author not only writes these for grammar but for math, science, and other language arts words like antonyms and such. Really cool. Below is a cute video some students created about the book. hehe! It's their own little adaptation.

I guess, overall, I'm saying I totally recommend these books. I think classrooms should use them, parents should get the ones needed, and home education families should have them. Luckily, our library has a lot of them and so does my sister so I have places to borrow it from. hehe! YAY!!! :)

Wednesday, May 14, 2014

Where Butterflies Grow by Joanne Ryder

I am so sorry it's been so long since I posted here. I will tell you that I virtual school two children (kindergarten and 2nd grade) through public school so that's intense. I am the cub master of the cub scout pack my son is in, my children are involved in scouting, dance, and taekwondo, and I am working on my teaching practicum. So, lately, all I've been reading are textbooks (mine and my children's) and children's literature (again, mine and my children's). So, I figured since I'm reading so much children's literature, I may as well review it on my blog. :) hehe! So, enjoy.

Where Butterflies Grow by Joanne Ryder

I actually got this book from Dolly Parton's Imagination Library. If you have a child under 5 then I absolutely recommend joining that... a free book every month. Woot! I love free books.

The last science unit of second grade is on life cycles. We read this while learning about insect life cycles. While it doesn't give the correct terms the students learn in the unit it brings the whole process to life with very descriptive words and beautiful illustrations. The reader is told to imagine they are an egg under a leaf. Throughout the book the reader is told to imagine what it's like as they go through the life of a caterpillar and then into a butterfly. It's very beautiful and detailed. My children love it. I absolutely recommend this book for all classrooms. Like I said, it doesn't use the vocabulary terms the students use so review those as you read but it's just too beautiful not to use when studying a butterfly life cycle.

Rating: 4 stars ****