Book Suggestions: If you liked HARRY POTTER

I told you last week I would make suggestions for all you Harry Potter fans out there, or Potterheads! I know there are a lot of you, because these books were never on the shelves. In fact, when all books were due, I had trouble fitting them back on the shelves.

If you have not read the Harry Potter series, I have to say it is a MUST READ!! The books are fantastic, magical, and some of my absolute favorite books ever. Watching the movies don't count, by the way.... 

So, if you are a Potterhead and have already read all the Harry Potter books more than once, here are some suggestions for you:

WINTERLING by Sarah Prineas is the first in a trilogy. This book is a fantasy, filled with magic, shape-shifters, and fairy-like creatures. Fer is an orphan, similar to Harry Potter, and is a bit of an odd-ball. She has always felt like she doesn't belong in her world. She then rescues a creature who knows who Fer really is, and invites her to a realm where magic is real. Fer must battle evil, unlock the secrets about her missing parents, and find her true self.

I highly recommend this book to Potter fans. I can't wait to finish the trilogy, so if you have already read the books, don't spoil it for me!

FABLEHAVEN by Brandon Mull is another great read for Potterheads, especially if you were intrigued by all the magical creatures. FABLEHAVEN is the first in a series of books about Kendra and Seth. Their parents are going on a cruise for 17 days, so Kendra and Seth are dropped off at the grandfather's place. At first, they are grumpy about the arrangement, but then they find out that their grandfather is the caretaker of Fablehaven, a sanctuary for magical creatures. But Seth is a bit more curious then he should be, and rules of Fablehaven are broken! You have to read to find out what happens next.

THE FAMILIARS by Adam Jay Epstein and Andrew Jacobson is a book with wizards and magical animals. Jack is a wizard in training, and must choose his magical animal, or familiar. He chooses an orphan cat, Aldwyn, that happened upon the magical pet shop by accident. Aldwyn must convince the other familiars that he is a powerful cat. But then, Jack and the other wizards in training are captured by the evil queen. Can an alley cat, a blue -jay, and a frog with magical powers save them?

THE FAMILIARS remind me of Hedwig and Crookshanks from the Harry Potter series. If you like this book, you can read more of the story in the series.

SAVVY by Ingrid Law is about the Beaumont family and their magical secrets. Mibs is about to turn thirteen, which means she will find out her savvy, or supernatural power. Her brother can cause hurricanes, her grandpa can move mountains, and now she will find out her power. Is Mibs ready, will her power save her Poppa, who doesn't have a savvy? Ingrid Law is an amazing storyteller, and the characters in this book are all delightful.

SAVVY is the first book in the trilogy by Ingrid Law.




Don't forget to post the pics of you and your family reading on Twitter, use #gisdreads. If you need suggestions that I have not posted yet, feel free to email me this summer.

Book Suggestions: If You Liked DIARY OF A WIMPY KID

As I promised, here are book suggestions for your summer reading. I know many of my readers love the DIARY OF A WIMPY KID series, and have read them more than once.  So, my first book suggestions will be for you readers that love this series.

If you like Diary of a Wimpy Kid you should also read:

  Middle School: The Worst Years of My Life by James Patterson

This is the first book in the Middle School series, and a movie is coming out this summer based on this book.  The main character, Rafe, is starting middle school and has a handful of problems at home. Rafe and his friends make up a game where they earn points by breaking the rules of their very strict principal. Along the way, Rafe meets up with the school bully and has his first crush.

Inside the book are lots of cartoon drawings to tell the story, similar to the drawings in Diary of a Wimpy Kid. 

 My Life as a Book by Janet Tashjian

This is the first book in the My Life series. Derek is excited that summer is starting and is planning lots of mischief and silly investigations. Unfortunately, his mom has other plans and is sending him to Learning Camp. His mom wants him to read books other than his comics and graphic novels. He reluctantly goes off to summer camp and makes some unexpected friendships.

Spy School by Stuart Gibbs

Another first in a series, the Spy School series. Ben is an average middle school student, but is very clumsy. His dream job is to be a CIA agent. He is picked to attend a math magnet school, but due to mistaken identify is sent to Spy School. Does Ben, with all his clumsiness and mishaps, have what it takes to be a secret agent?

**This book does use minor curse words, so this book is for my older readers.




Stay tuned this summer for more book suggestions. Next week, I will have book suggestions for you Harry Potter lovers!

What are you reading this summer?

Don't forget, you can read books from your computer and tablets this summer by downloading eBooks.  The Big Nate and the Alvin Ho books are all available as eBooks. These two series are also great reads if you enjoyed the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series. Your login is your student id # and password is gisd.

Super Summer Readers

Last week, I said goodbye to an amazing group of 5th graders. I also completed my first year as a librarian. I enjoyed every minute, and I know that I made the right move in my profession.

The last week I saw classes in the library, we discussed summer reading. This summer, students will not log minutes read. Instead, we will log days that we read and take pictures of ourselves reading with our family. Students are encouraged to post the pictures of themselves reading on Twitter with the hashtag #gisdreads. I will be looking for Hillside students this summer. And I will be posting my pictures as well.

Outgoing 5th graders were given the Lone Star Reading List to begin reading this summer. There are quite a few titles on this list that I cannot wait to read either. 3rd and 4th graders were reminded about the Bluebonnet List to read over the summer. Don't forget to fill out a Bluebonnet Book Response Form.

This summer, I will be posting my book reviews, as well as book recommendations. STAY TUNED!


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RAYMIE NIGHTINGALE by Kate DiCamillo

Raymie Nightingale by Kate DiCamillo
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Honestly, I expected more from this book after all the raving reviews I saw on Twitter from other librarians. I think if I had not seen previous reviews I would have liked the book better, and not had different expectations.

The beginning is very slow, and hard to really grasp. Especially the character of Louisiana Elefante. She is almost unbelievable at times in the beginning. But then, without even realizing it, you are sucked into this book and find yourself anxiously waiting to find out the outcome for the three main characters. I wanted to pluck Beverly from the book and bring her home to raise as my own child!

I have not decided my feelings about the ending of this book just yet. Is it even real, or is Raymie dreaming. I won't say anything because I don't want to give away spoilers, but some of the ending was strange, but beautifully written.



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Giggles and Eggs

We just had a four day week, which usually seems to creep by when we have a short week. However, things are a little different in the library. I saw 5 days worth of classes in only 4 days, and the day before a holiday is always BUSY! Everyone seems to want a brand new book before the long weekend. That's fine though, it makes the days go by fast, and I love that my students love to read so much.

Willems, Mo. NAKED MOLE RAT GETS
DRESSED. Disney-Hyperion, January 2009.

Lots of fun was had this past week, and lots of giggles in first grade and kindergarten! In my kinder classes, we have been doing an author study over Mo Willems. The students were very familiar with Piggy & Elephant, and the Pigeon. I decided I would introduce them to two other Mo Willems characters. Last week, I read KNUFFLE BUNNY FREE, and this week I introduced them to the hilarious NAKED MOLE RAT GETS DRESSED. We learned that there are three things you must know about naked mole rats:

1. They are a little bit rat.
2. They are a little bit mole.
3. They are all naked. 

My sweet kindergarteners nearly fell over laughing so hard. Next week, they will vote on their favorite Mo Willems book that we have read this year. 

First graders were introduced to the Texas 2x2 Reading List. We read MOTHER BRUCE by Ryan T. Higgins, which is about a grumpy bear that hates cute little animals, but loves eggs. Unfortunately some of his eggs hatch and he is mistaken for their mother. What is a bear to do? This is a silly, delightful story, with illustrations that complement the story. We laughed and laughed at the funny antics in this fun new book. 

Second grade made text-to-text connections with a poem and a nonfiction book. I chose a poem from THE POETRY FRIDAY ANTHOLOGY FOR CELEBRATIONS compiled by Sylvia Vardell & Janet Wong. Just two years ago, I was a student in Sylvia Vardell's poetry class where I learned about pairing poetry with books in the classroom and the library. If you do not have this book in your library, I highly recommend it! It contains fabulous poems, along with activities and picture books to pair with the poems.

The poem I chose was titled BREAK AN EGG by Stephanie Hemphill. I paired the poem with the nonfiction book, CHICKENS AREN'T THE ONLY ONES by Ruth Heller. It teaches about animals, besides chickens that lay eggs. The students made connections between the poem and the book, then they made text-to-self connections and discussed ways that they use eggs for their Easter celebrations.

I cannot believe that we are already to the end of March! Where did this year go? Next week, I will be assisting in monitoring the STAAR test for our 4th and 5th graders. Before we know it, this school year will have ended and I will have survived my first year as a librarian! 

ECHO by Pam Muñoz Ryan

This book! It is hard to put in words how I feel about ECHO by Pam Muñoz Ryan. This book is why I love reading! Winner of the 2016 Newbery honor, ECHO will make you feel every emotion and you will fall in love with each character you meet in this novel, and they will live in your heart forever.

I hope I can do justice to this book in my summary and book review, but here goes.....

First, let me say that I love books, REALLY love books. However, rarely do I just really rave about a book the way that I have raved about ECHO. When I first held this book in my hand knowing it is a 2016-2017 Texas Bluebonnet book, I was not sure of how I felt. First of all, rarely do the larger books ever win the Bluebonnet award because so many 3rd - 6th graders don't want to read a book this size. So, typically the smaller books win the award. My hope is that with enough book talks I can encourage my students to read this book.

ECHO is divided into four parts. The first 3 parts introduce you to characters that each come across a harmonica with a magical background. We meet Freidrich, who lives in Germany and is witnessing the rise of Hitler's power. He witnesses cruel injustices happening to his friends and his father and must escape to survive and save his father. Next we meet Mike and Frankie, orphans living in America just before World War II. Mike, only 11 years old, must take care of his younger brother, Frankie and ensure that they not be separated.  The final main character that we meet is Ivy, who is the daughter of a migrant farmer in California. Ivy has to deal with moving to new places, as well as injustices at a new school because of the color of her skin. 

All three main characters are linked by the great musical talent, and in part four we see how their lives are connected by the simple harmonica that they have each come in contact with. 

”Your fate is not yet sealed.
Even in the darkest night, a star will shine,
A bell will chime, a path will be revealed.”

From the very beginning of this book to the last page, ECHO was inspiring, heartbreaking, and enchanting.  The historical content is well told and detailed, and while the book does not contain a lot of historical detail, the historical setting is very important. Each character lives in a time of great historical struggle and some of the darker eras in our history. The reader will be inspired by Ryan's strong characters and the way they overcome the struggles of their time.