According to my bookshelf on Goodreads, I read 143 books in 2009. It’s actually more than that because I didn’t start adding to Goodreads until partway through the year. The rest of my list is here. But anyway… I gave 18 of them 5 stars. They are:
So you’d think these would be my favorites of [...]
There were 4 things about Pamela Turner’s The Frog Scientist that made me want to interview her about her book. 1) I loved how the whole story is an example of the scientific process in action. 2) It’s is a great example of how nonfiction books can be used with different reading abilities–Mr. E (10) [...]
Chris Gall talks about his new picture book, Dinotrux–just named a Publisher’s Weekly Best Children’s Book for 2009!
Describe your book:
Dinotrux is about an ancient race of primitive trucks that apparently existed millions of years ago. It turns out that they had not yet evolved into the kind, helpful trucks we have today.
How did you get [...]
Looking for a non-scary Halloween book to read? Go find Fran Cannon Slayton’s When the Whistle Blows. Each chapter features a different All Hallow’s Eve adventure as Jimmy Cannon grows up in his West Virginian railroad town.
Recently, Fran answered a few questions about her book…
Tell us about your book.
When the Whistle Blows is a coming of [...]
Trying to get back in the swing of things with my author and illustrator interviews…. Man, you get behind in one thing and it’s impossible to catch up in everything else. How are you doing with the flu where you are? Our poor little school is swimming in germs right now. 1/3 of the fifth [...]
Take the Mummy and Run: The Riot Brothers Are on a Roll by Mary Amato
Orville and Wilbur Riot are two brothers who never stop. Never stop talking, stop joking, stop hatching plans. Whether it’s Pufferbelly Point Punt (popcorn table hockey) for breakfast or leading a lost mummy to the Egypt room at the museum, [...]
So, when I get super busy (i.e. during the school week) I tend to read nonfiction. It’s perfect for my drained mind and snippets of time. Not that nonfiction is light reading. But I do read it differently than fiction. I begin with a quick flip through the illustrations and their captions. Then a scan of chapter titles [...]
Cracker!: The Best Dog in Vietnam by Cynthia Kadohata
Cracker starts out life as a championship show dog, but then a broken leg sends her to twelve-year-old Willie and his family as a pet. But when Willie can’t keep her, she becomes a U. S. Army dog, assigned to newly-enlisted teenager, Rick Hanski. And there, [...]
With its moody, atmospheric cover, When the Whistle Blows may not be the first book boys and kids will reach for. Mr. E was skeptical when I first brought it home as our next read-together. But it didn’t take much convincing. As soon as I mentioned football championships, tricking the nasty school principal, and Halloween [...]
Who was the worst, the meanest, teacher you ever had? I once knew one that made a girl clean up her own mess when she got sick in class. A first grader! And another mountain of a man who’d bellow from the front table anytime he thought someone wasn’t paying attention. “Paul! Get up here! Bring [...]
The Curse of the Ancient Mask and Other Case Files: Saxby Smart, Private Detective: Book 1 by Simon Cheshire
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Saxby Smart is a grade-school detective with an office in the garden shed. As he solves puzzles around his neighborhood, readers get to play along and see if they spot the [...]
You Are the First Kid on Mars by Patrick O’Brien
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Very cool space book about traveling to Mars. Now I want to go look up how much of it is based on science and what is fiction!
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