Children of the River

Bibliography: Crew, L. (1989). Children of the River. New York, NY: Delacorte Press.

Brief Annotation: When she was only 13, Sundara fled Cambodia with her aunts family to escape the Khumer Rouge Army. She was forced to leave her parents, her brother and sister, and a man she loved. Four years later she is still struggling at Oregon High school, and she isn't allowed to date, just wait for her marriage to be arranged. Though she misses her old life in Cambodia, Sundara begins to wonder if there are future possibilities for the life she has now.

Genre: Culturally Diverse

Grade Level: 5-8

Readers who will like this: Students who struggle in school and are looking for ways to fit in and have a positive look towards the future.

Response/Rating: I would give this book a 3 because I was able to connect well with the lesson of this story which is that just because you long for and miss your old life somewhere, it doesn't mean that there aren't possiblities for the future. In fact there may even be a better life awaiting in the future than what occured in the past.

Question to ask before a read aloud: How many of you have ever moved from a different state or country and had to start a new life somewhere else? How did you feel? What did you do to make the experience easier for yourself?

Trouble on The T-Ball Team

Bibliographic Information: Bunting, E. (2007). Trouble on The T-Ball Team. Illus. Irene Trivas. New York, NY: Clarion Books.

Brief Annotation: Linda is the only person on her t-ball team that hasn’t been ‘loosing it.’ Every other person on her team has been losing it, everywhere and all the time. Read the book to find out what everyone is loosing and if Linda will always feel like the odd one out on her team.

Genre: Fiction, Picture book

Grade Level: 4-6

Readers who will like this: Children who play on a team; Children who like t-ball; Children who have felt left out

Response/Rating 3: This is a funny book. The colors used in the illustrations make me feel like its warm outside and that I can smell the freshly cutgrass. I enjoyed the mystery of finding out what ‘It’ was.

One question you would ask before a read aloud: What do you know about t-ball, what do you think ‘it’ could be?

Life is Funny

Bibliographic Information: Frank, E.R. (2002). Life is Funny. New York, NY: Penguin Group.

Brief Annotation: Hardships and struggle are not always seen from simply looking at someone. While simply looking at a picture tells a thousand words the same is not true for looking at someone. This book follows 11 kids, who have had their own struggles in life. Each one of their stories ties in with the others. The book follows these individuals for seven years; it takes you through their fear, struggle, hurt, pain, joy, sadness and every other emotion. The book emphasizes not only trust in yourself, but trust in others.

Genre: Contemporary realistic fiction

Grade Level: 6+

Readers who will like this: Children who have dealt with pain and struggle and felt they had nowhere else to turn; Children who enjoy reading sad stories; Children who feel they cannot trust others or themselves

Response/Rating:4; I love sad books so my vote may be bias. As tough of a read as it was, this story taught the reader more than what the words on the page said. This book emphasizes on trust within not only yourself, but others as well. I like how it shows trust in others, even after others have given you no reason to trust. I especially like that the struggle the seven children faced did not define who they were and who they wanted to be.

One question you would ask before a read aloud: What can you tell about someone just by looking at them?

Hoot

Bibliographic Information: Hiaasen, C. (2002). Hoot. New York, New York: Alfred A. Knopf.

Brief Annotation: Roy is the new kid in town, moving from Montana to Florida. He spots a mysterious running boy while on the bus to school and ends up involved in that boy's attempt to save some burrowing owls at a proposed construction site. Roy starts to like Florida a lot more.

Genre: Fiction

Grade Level: 4-8

Readers who will like this: Readers who like mystery or adventure or environmental studies.

Response/Rating (1-4): 4. This was a great mystery and adventure book. The style of writing is easy to read and the story is easy to relate too. The book keeps you guessing throughout, with many twists and turns along the way. It would be fun to read to a class, or it would be a great book for young readers.

One question you would ask before a read aloud: Why do people protest? Have you ever had to stand up for yourself or for something you believe in?

And Tango Makes Three

Bibliographic Information: Richardson, J., & Parnell, P. (2011). And Tango Makes Three. New York, N.Y.: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers

Brief Annotation: Silo and Roy are two boy penguins that live at the zoo. Just like every other penguin, they want to start a family! When a zookeeper sees them mistaking a rock for an egg and sitting on it, he finds a special egg that will be just for them. When the egg hatches they have a new member to add to their family!

Genre: Nonfiction, Picture book

Grade Level: Prek-4

Readers who will like this: Children who enjoy time at the zoo; Children who have homosexual parents; Children who have families that are considered to be ‘abnormal’; children who like penguins

Response/Rating:4; LOVED this book. Such a great way to share the differences of families, especially with families of today! Homosexuality is a hard topic to cover, especially with children; the authors of this book did an excellent job of doing that!

One question you would ask before a read aloud: What is special about your family?

Heat

Bibliographic Information: Lupica, M. (2006). Heat. New York, NY: Scholastic.

Brief Annotation: Michael Arroyo's fast balls are clocked at 80 miles per hour! His dream is to make it to Little League World Series. One of the coaches doesn't believe that Michael is only twelve and demands a birth certificate be produced to prove his age. Michael, recently lost both his parents and is living with his older brother. He fears that they might end up in foster care or being sent back to Cuba. Baseball is is life. He runs the risk of those dreams being squashed forever.

Genre: Sports Fiction

Grade Level: Grades 4-8

Readers who will like this: Young readers who enjoy baseball and coming of age stories will enjoy this book.

One question you would ask before a read aloud: What is your dream or passion?

From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler

Bibliographic Information: Konigsburg, E.L. (1967). From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler. Illus. New York, NY: Yearling.

Brief Annotation: Claudia didn't like discomfort and so, she had to take her brother with her when she ran away, becuase, Jamie would have enough money for them to travel in comfort. They would live in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Their adventures began when Claudia became fascinated by a beautiful statue, owned by none other than Mrs. Basil E. Frankwieler.

Genre: Mystery; Newberry Medal 1968

Grade Level: Grades 4-7

Readers who will like this: Any young reader who enjoys the twists and turns of mystery, adventure, and tenacity will enjoy this story.

One question you would ask before a read aloud: What do you think are the parts that make a good mystery?