George's Marvelous Medicine

George's Marvelous Medicine by Roald Dahl is about a young boy who is left home with his grandmother. The only responsibility the boy has is to give his grandmother her medicine at eleven o'clock. Before he has to give his grandmother her medicine George brings her tea. This is the turning point in the story. George's grandmother is very rude to him and calls him all sorts of names. She also scares him stiff. He decides that she needs a test of her own medicine so George takes everything he can find in the house, barn, and garage and boils it together to make a new medicine. At eleven George gives the medicine to his grandmother and something very interesting happens. George decides to give it to one of the farm animals and something marvelous happens to the chicken. When George's dad sees what has happened he is very excited and they make more medicine. However, it doesn't turn out the way they thought it would.
    I thought this was a very fun book. The vocabulary that is used brings the story to life and the humor makes the book very silly and enjoyable. I thought George and his grandmother were very interesting characters and they made the story come to life. This is the second book I have read by Roald Dahl and I think he is a great author. His books are great for students who may not be able to find something that interests them.
    This would be a great book to use as a read aloud in grades 3 and up. Students will find this book funny and it may get their scientific wheels turning. You could do many vocabulary lessons with all the great words in this book. Reading this book to students will get them excited about reading and may even motivate some students because these books interest them. This book could be read to students right before a science experiment where you have students create their own mixtures and see what the results are. This is a great book to have in a classroom library. There are many students who would enjoy reading this book.

Love That Dog

Love That Dog by Sharon Creech is a novel about a boy, his feelings toward poetry, and the relationship he has with his dog. This novel in written in poems, starting at the beginning of the school year and continues through the end of the school year. The boy informs his teacher that he doesn't like poetry and doesn't understand it. Throughout the school year they continue to read poetry and Jack even has to write some poetry. At first he is not pleased with his poetry and doesn't want anyone to know it is his. As the school year goes on Jack becomes more confident with his poetry skills and even finds a few poems he really likes. The book ends on a very exciting note for Jack and his entire class.
    I had heard about this book from other people in our cohort and other books that were written in verse so I decided that I needed to read it to see what it was all about. I really enjoyed this book. I loved seeing Jack's confidence and interest in poetry grow throughout the book. I thought it was great that he was so fond of his dog and found many inspirational ways to write about his dog. I thought the way this book was written was very fun and kept me intrigued.
    I think this would be a great read aloud book for any class third grade and above. I think this book could get students excited and interested in poetry. It is also something many of them will be able to relate to because the main character is a young boy (I am assuming between 8 and 12 years old) and doesn't like poetry because he hasn't been exposed to it much. This may be something they are going through and feeling. This book may boost their confidence a little because they can see Jack's growth throughout the book. This would also be a book I would have in my classroom library for my students to read on their own. The text is simple enough that students in the third grade and up will be able to read it on their own and understand it. Students could refer to this book when they are creating poems of their own and need a little help or inspiration.  

Karen's Two Families

Karen's Two Families by Ann M. Martin is a book in the Baby-Sitters series. In this book Karen is dealing with having two families. She has loved have two of everything but in this book she is having a hard time dealing with only seeing her father and being at the "big house" four days out of each month. Karen and her brother are very sad every time they have to leave the "big house" so they decide to take action and talk to their parents about spending equal time at each house.
    I thought this was a good book. I liked how it dealt with real life situations. I also liked how Karen handled the situation. She was very mature and patient when talking to her parents about what she wanted. I think these books are very real and will interest many girls who are going through the same situations. I also think this book gives children a good idea of how to deal with problems.
    I think this would be a great book to have in a classroom library, along with the rest of the books in this series. Girls who are interested in this series will have 49 different books to read that will keep them interested and motivated to read. The books in this series deal with real life situations that children can relate to and learn how to deal with. The reading level for this book is third grade but I think advanced readers in second grade would be able to read and enjoy these books. The content of the book is not too difficult to understand and much of the book is very straight forward. Readers will not have to do a lot of inferencing so this book would be great for struggling readers to read and improve their reading skills.  

You Can't Eat Your Chicken Pox, Amber Brown

You Can't Eat Your Chicken Pox, Amber Brown by Paula Danziger is from a series of books about a third grade girl. In the book I read from the series Amber Brown has just finished her third grade year and is going to spend two weeks out of her summer in London and Paris, one week with her aunt and the other with her dad. Amber is very excited for both because she has never been out of the country and she hasn't seen her dad since her parents got separated. Unfortunately her plans change when she gets the chicken pox. Will Amber be able to enjoy her vacation and spend time with her father?
    I thought this was a very fun book. I love Amber Brown's character and honesty. She is very vocal about the way she is feeling and I like that about her. Her honesty also makes the books more intersting and unique. I haven't read other books in this series but I am guessing that her being so detailed about what she is thinking and feeling is something that happens in all the books.
    This book would be great for third grade students. The content of the book and level is suited for third grade students and older students as well. This book would be a fun one to use as a read aloud. There are many things in the book that students can relate to and the humor that Amber Brown has will make students laugh. These books would interest girls more than boys because the main character is a girl. This is a great book to interest unmotivated students to read. These are books that I will definitely have in my classroom library. Students will be able to relate to the things that Amber Brown is going through and will motivate them to read more if they like the series.

Eats, Shoots and Leaves

Eats, Shoots and Leaves by Lynne Truss and Bonnie Timmons is a very short book with only one sentence on each page. The sentences are silly and show you how the context of the sentence is changed by jut the placement of a comma. One sentence will have a comma in once place and then the same sentence will be written on the next page with the comma in a different place. The two sentences are totally different and all because of the placement of a comma.
    I loved this book. It is a great teaching tool to use when students are learning about commas and showing them how important their proper placement is to the meaning of the sentence. This is a book that could be used as a read aloud with great discussion about comma placement. It would also be  a great book to have laying around your classroom for students to refer to when they are writing.
    I would not use this book with students younger than third grade because younger students may not developmentally ready for this kind of thinking and may have trouble understanding the difference between the sentences.  This book would be great to use with ESL students because it is so simple yet teaches a great concept and the pictures help illustrate what the author wants to convey through each sentence. I just really enjoyed this book and think it would be a great way to incorporate literature into multiple subjects. This book could be a great introduction into a lesson where students are required to create their own sentences where the placement of the comma changes the meaning of the sentence.

Girl of Kosovo

Girl of Kosovo by Alice Mead is about the life of an eleven year old Albanian living in Serbia during the late 1990s. During this time the Serbians are persecuting Albanians in their country because they think they are terrorists. The young girl faces many trials and ends up losing many people she loves from Serbian attacks on their village. One night her life is changed forever. Her family wakes up to bombs exploding near their house and gun fire. Her family quickly gets their shoes on and tries to run away from the attacks. Unfortunately they do not leave in time and a bomb explodes leaving three of her family members dead and her leg severely damaged. Zana (little girl) now must face Serbian hospitals by herself along with the death of her family. Her best friend is Serbian and this war against their two countries has caused a great void between the two girls. Will Zana be able to recover from the loss of her family and her damaged leg? Will she be able to mend the friendship with her Serbian friend?
    I thought this was a very sad but interesting book. I have heard about the Albanian war against the Serbians from people who lived it so I read this book to gain more perspective on the issue. It was a very insightful book into the lives of people from a different country that are being persecuted. As I was reading this book I thought about the history of the United States and how poorly we treated African Americans. It was not nearly to the extreme as in the book but the situations are very similar. It broke my heart to see how cruel human beings can be to each other.
    This book was a little graphic so I wouldn't recommend it to children younger than fifth grade. The text is easy to read but the content and issues in the book are not for really young children. I am still unsure as to whether or not I would use this book as a read aloud because of the content of the book but it is one that I would have in my classroom library. I would also make a point of telling my students about the book in case it may be something to motivate one of my readers to read because it is something they are interested in. If I were to use this book as a read aloud I would make sure to talk to my students about how cruel humans can be to each and what the effect it has on the whole world. I would incorporate some of the history of the U.S. into our discussions about people being treated poorly. I would then connect it to the students' lives today with bullying. I think making students aware of the devastation we can cause to each other by our cruel acts will make children think a little differently before they act.  

A Long Way from Chicago

A Long Way from Chicago by Richard Peck is about a young brother and sister from Chicago who go to a small town in Illinois to visit their grandma. The story is set during the depression in the years 1929-1935 and 1942. During their visits each summer with Grandma the children find out that there is more to her than they think and she isn't your typical grandparent. On many occasions their grandma lies (stretches the truth) to get what she wants or to make people believe she is tougher than she it. The children witness their grandma tells lies about people that others look down on to make people respect them a little more. Her lying always turns into something good and gets the children even more interested in their kooky grandmother.
    I really enjoyed reading this book. There are so many great historical references and topics that open your eyes to life in the 1920s. I also loved Grandma and the things she did to keep life interesting. She was such a mysterious person and always kept you guessing. I thought the things she did to change peoples' perspectives about lower class people was a noble thing to do. She was true to herself and her friends. She also had very many dimensions that made her even more interesting.
    This book could be used for so many things in a classroom read aloud. You could do many research projects with the historical topics that are talked about in the book. There will also be many opportunities to talk about different things that they had in the 20s and 30s like a privy. You could also have a good conversation with students about morals and lying. This book could be used as a read aloud in fourth and fifth grade but the text in this book could be a little challenging for them to read on their own. Some of the words are challenging and the content may be a little confusing to those students who don't know much about the 20s and 30s. Advanced fifth graders and older would enjoy reading this book on their own. I would definitely have this book in my classroom library and use it as a read aloud. There is great historical information in this book that would make for great discussions and projects.

Pictures of Hollis Woods

Pictures of Hollis Woods by Patricia Reilly Giff is about a young girl in foster care. She was dropped off by her mother in the woods hours after she was born and has been running from every home she has ever lived in since. Her life is changed greatly when she moves in with the Regan family. Through drawing she is able to see her life and remember all the things that have happened to her. On her journey to find herself she also meets and rescues an elderly lady who Hollis bonds with immediately. This story is about a young girl finding herself and what she wants in life. She faces many trials that lead her to the place she wants to be the most.
    This book was very slow at first and hard for me to get into but after I got the feel for the format of the book I was hooked! The descriptions in the book about Hollis, her friends, and the places she draws gets you captivated and brings her world to life. I loved reading about the experiences Hollis went through and seeing her growth from those experiences. As a future educator it really opened my eyes to why some students act the way they do. Sometimes we need to step back and look at the life our students have had and let them know we care about them instead of ridiculing and punishing them. We need to embrace their strengths and find a way to let their talents shine through their school work.
    I think this would be a great book to use as a read aloud for third grade and up. The experiences and feelings in the story will prompt great discussions and get children thinking. This book will also open students' eyes to understand some of their peers a little more clearly. There are many great passages in the book that teachers can use to demonstrate visualizing to their students as a comprehension strategy and then have the students do on their own. Third graders and older students will be able to read this story on their own. The content and text is developmentally appropriate for those age levels and either gender will enjoy reading this book. I would definitely have this book in my classroom library and I would even make a special point to talk about it with my students to spark their interest in the book to read on their own if I was unable to use it as a read aloud.

Science Verse

Science Verse by Jon Scieszka is book of poems about different topics in science. A young boy is in science class when his teacher gives him a curse called the science verse. This curse causes the boy to hear everything about science in a poem style. The poems in the story are about just about every topic in science from evolution to the water cycle, the human body, dinosaurs, the food chain, scientific method and many more.
    This is the first book I have ever read in verse and I kind of liked it. I thought the way the poems were presented and written gave the story humor and made science topics kind of fun. The terms in this book may be hard to for some students to pronounce and many may be new to students so I would use this book as a read aloud.
     This book would be great to use during different science units. You could read the poems that are related to the unit you are doing. The only problem is that students wouldn't want to stop at just one or two poems about that certain unit; they would want to continue reading the whole book. Many of the poems are silly but educational at the same time. Students would really enjoy having this book read aloud to them. This book is great to read to third graders and older but any younger may be a little confused. You could even use this book to introduce and talk about poetry with your students. Using this book is a great way to weave literature and poetry into science. You could have your students create their own poems about different science topics.

America's Most Wanted Fifth Graders

America's Most Wanted Fifth Grader by Jan Lawrence and Linda Raskin is about two fifth graders. A boy named Robert and a girl named Max who are best friends. These two really want to earn money to buy a Super Soaker 2000 so they start pet sitting for people and shoveling horse manure until they see a great opportunity in the newspaper where they can make $5,000 in one month! They go meet with the two men who tells them that they just need to sell some Cash-In-Advance Cookies and ask the people buying a few questions. The two are very excited about their new job but soon realize that it isn't quite what they expected. While at one of their biggest customer's house someone breaks in and starts taking the dear old lady's most prized possessions. Robert and Max notice something familiar about the robbers...
    I thought this was a good book. I liked the storyline of the book but I found the end to be a little unrealistic. However, I think many children starting at third grade would enjoy reading this book. I am currently reading this book with my reading buddy who needs some motivation to read and I think he is finally interested in reading because of this book. He is captivated by the circumstances these two kids are getting themselves into. This book has allowed us to have many great discussions to predict what is going to happen next and what we think about the two men that hired Robert and Max.
    This would be a great book to have in a classroom library and use as a read aloud. There are many activities that could be used with this book to increase student comprehension and get them talking about the book. Students as young as third grade will be able to enjoy this book on their own. Since the main characters are a boy and a girl many boys and girls will enjoy reading this book. The students will be able to relate to the book but also be able to imagine what it would be like to be in Robert and Max's shoes at certain points in the story. This would be a great book to read and talk to your students about lying and its effect on everyone who is involved in that lie. This is a great book that students will enjoy reading on their own or as a class and discussing many ideas from the book.