Heather

Heather's Book Selections

Picture Books

1. //Not a Box,// by Antoinette Portis When a rabbit pulls out a box, what is it? A building on fire, a spaceship, a mountain? What is it? This is a very simple picture book that will keep kids entertained and laughing. As my daughter said, "This rabbit has a very good imagination!" The rabbit has a simple box, but with creativity he makes several things out of it in which he plays. The storyline is simple and the text is simple and repeating, but it becomes fun to try to guess what the rabbit will make the box into on the next page. I think this would be a great book for Kindergarteners or First Graders to help spur their imagination. I could see having them make a drawing and a journal entry of what they might make out of a cardboard box if they were given one.

2. //Lily Brown's Paintings,// by Angela Johnson, illustrated by E. B. Lewis When Lily Brown creates her paintings, what is this world like? The trees bow down on her. When she visits the park there is a surrounding of animals- antelope lounging on chairs and alligators are on the phone. She always remembers to give them a treat. The buildings dance and the people walk upside down. What world is she painting in her pictures? Lily Brown paints the world as she sees it and feels it. It is a world of wonder. It is a world she shares with her mama, daddy, and baby brother, and theirs is a wondrous world that she always enjoys returning to. This is a sweet book with beautiful illustrations about the wondrous things a little girl can see in her world- most of all, love. Everthything she paints comes from the love in her heart.

3//. Alexander and the Wind-Up Mouse//, by Leo Lionni Alexander is a mouse who continually gets chased from his crumb-seeking tasks in the kitchen. When he investigates a squeeking noise, he finds another mouse, only this one is a wind-up toy named Willy. Willy tells Alexander that he is the little girl's favorite toy, sleeping with her at night between the doll and the teddy bear. Alexander is understandably envious. He wants to be loved instead of chased away. Willy tells Alexander about a lizard who can change him into any animal he would like to be. Alexander finds the lizard, who tells him to find a purple pebble and bring it to him on a full moon night and he will change the mouse into a wind-up mouse. Although Alexander searches high and low, he cannot find the pebble and returns to the house only to find Willy in a box full of toys that will be gotten rid of. He also finds the purple pebble. Alexander returns to the lizard, and in an act of true friendship, asks the lizard to make Willy into a real mouse. When he returns to his home, he finds Willy is no longer a wind-up mouse, but a real live friend. This is a beautiful story about being a friend, being unselfish, and loving someone else.

4. //Silly Tilly,// by Eileen Spinelli Silly Tilly is silly!!! She is a silly goose! She tickles frogs, bathes in apple juice, soaks her feet in mayonaise, sails Pig's pail across the lake, and packs Piglet off to France, among other things. Finally, the other barnyard animals decide they have had ENOUGH!!! They tell Tilly to stop being so silly. And she does. But after a while, Hetta Hen says, "I haven't laughed since- when?" The animals remember some of the silly things Tilly used to do and realize that they want that Tilly back. They apologize and ask her to be the Silly Tilly that she was. She returns to being Silly Tilly and the barnyard returns to being fun. This book has hilarious illustrations and is written in rhyming text that will make children laugh out loud. It is also a good lesson in liking people for who they are. This could be used in a classroom to teach acceptance and friendship, as well as vocabulary and poetry with the rhyming words.

5. //Good Night, Good Knight,// Shelley Moore Thomas Three little dragons live in a deep, dark cave, in a dense forest, in a faraway kingdom. In the kingdom is a Good Knight who keeps watch over the kingdom. On watch one evening the knight hears a loud roar and climbs on his horse to investigate. Expecting a large, fearsome dragon, the knight instead finds a sleepy little dragon who needs a drink of water. Being a Good Knight, the night gets the dragon a drink of water and puts him to bed. The knight then returns to the castle to keep watch. He hears another loud roar. This book repeats the sequence of the knight climbing down the castle wall, climbing on his horse, "clippity-clomping" through the forest to find the dragons, each needing something before it can fall asleep. And being the Good Knight, he helps the little dragons get to sleep. This is a very sweet book about being kind to others and helping them. It has sweet pictures and the cyclical text that will keep kids interested and make them laugh as the knight "Clippity-Clops" and "thuds" his way through the story. It could also be an introduction to homophones.

6. //Fanny and Annabelle,// by Holly Hobbie I //really// liked this book. Fanny is a sweet little girl who has a doll named Annabelle. On a rainy day, Fanny decides to write her very own picture book (a picture book within a picture book!) She begins her book titled "Annabelle's Adventure" with Annabelle and her Aunt Sally having tea. Aunt Sally's birthday is coming soon and Annabelle wants to get her something very special. She wants to get her a golden locket, but finds when she goes shopping that the three dollars she has is not going to be enough. Fanny wonders how she will continue her story about Annabelle and heads out to get some ice cream. On her way home, she finds on the sidewalk an envelope, a pink envelope, with $100 dollars in it! She takes it home with her and writes about Annabelle finding an envelope with $100 in it. In her life, Fanny tells her mother about the envelope with the money and they try to figure out what to do with it. In "Annabelle's Adventure", Annabelle cannot find the owner of the money, so she keeps it and buys the golden locket for Aunt Sally's birthday. The End. In Fanny's life, she heads out of her house where she finds a girl looking around on the sidewalk. This new girl, Stephanie, tells Fanny that she lost a pink envelope with $100 in it that her grandmother had given her for her birthday. Being a good girl, Fanny returns the envelope and money to Stephanie. On Sunday, Fanny and her mother go out to dinner to celebrate her mother's birthday. Fanny presents her with a gift. What do you think the gift is? This book has wonderful illustrations, including Fanny's illustrations of "Annabelle's Adventure", and a wonderful storyline of doing the morally right thing, as well as what love is. I love the picture book within a picture book!

7. //Sheila Rae, the Brave,// by Kevin Henkes I love Kevin Henkes so I was very excited to read this book, and I was not disappointed. Sheila Rae is a cute little mouse who is extremely brave. She is not afraid of spiders, or monsters, or thunder and lightning, or the dark. Sheila Rae is brave, and she knows it. So does her little sister, Louise. Sheils Rae calls Louise a "scaredy-cat". One day, Sheila Rae decides to walk home a different way. Along the way, she steps on every crack, growls at stray dogs, and pretends trees are scary creatures that she breaks fingers off of. Pretty soon, Sheila Rae looks around and realizes she does not know where she is. She starts to hear scary sounds and wishes for her mom, dad, and Louise. She does not feel so brave. But, if you have been really looking at the great illustrations through this book, and they are great, you will have seen that Louise has been following Sheila Rae, and she comes out from hiding to tell Sheila Rae that they are not lost. Louise knows the way home. So now Sheila Rae follows Louise as she walks backwards with her eyes closed and pulls the fingers off of tree creatures and leads them all the way home. Once home, Sheila Rae declares that both she and Louise are brave. This is a great story about the love of family and knowing when you need help. I think it would be fun to use this in a lesson that would involve students writing about how they help someone else or how someone helps them. It is a good lesson in the acceptance of needing someone else. No matter how brave and strong you are, everyone needs someone, and that is ok.

8//. Up and Down//, by Oliver Jeffers Once there were two friends, a boy and a penguin, who did everything together. They started their story in//"Lost and Found//" (also a GREAT book). Their favorite game was backgammon. But one day, the penguin decides he wants to learn to fly- he does, after all, have wings!! So, being his friend, the boy tries to help him learn, and when he can't learn to fly, they set off to try to find someone who can teach them. Along the way, the penguin sees a poster that intrigues him. It is for a circus looking for a new "Living Cannonball". The penguin goes off to apply for the job and gets it. But leaving so suddenly, the penguin and the boy lose each other. The penguin becomes scared of being the new "Living Cannonball". He wishes for his friend, and the boy wishes for his penguin friend. The boy heads out to look for him. He finally see a sign for the circus, and arrives just in time to actually catch his friend. The friends, happy to see each other, realize that penguins don't fly because they don't like to (not because they cannot!) and head home to play their favorite game, backgammon. It is a sweet story about friendship, being there for your friends to "catch" them and to support them in their dreams.

9. //There are Cats in This Book,// by Viviane Schwarz There are cats in this book! And yarn. And boxes. And pages to turn. And fish. And blankets. It is a really fun book that children will love. The cats talk to you as you read it and get you involved in their story. They ask for your help in turning pages and opening boxes and getting out of water and pillow fights and putting them to sleep. It is a simple and quick read, but very fun. It will have kids in stitches of laughter and begging to read it again. Pus, you can use lots of different voices for the cats!

10. //Charlie Cook's Favorite Book,// by Julia Donaldson Charlie cook sits down in a comfy chair to read his favorite book about.... a pirate on a pirate ship who finds a treasure chest with a book in it about.... a girl named Goldilocks who reads baby bear's favorite book about.... a knight who reads to a dragon his favorite book about.... a reading rabbit who jumped into a book.... and so continues Charlie Cook's favorite book until it comes full circle to Charlie Cook himself. This book has enchanting illustrations and is creative as it pulls fairy tale after fairy tale into one book. It could easily spark the imagination of children to create their own faity tales, whether it is their very own, or they follow the book's example and pull fairy tale after fairy tale into one story.

11. //Ruthie and the (Not So) Teeny Tiny Lie//, by Laura Rankin Ruthie, a cute little fox, likes teeny tiny things. All her toys are teeny tiny, and she always carries something teeny tiny with her in her pocket. One day on the playground at school, she finds a teeny tiny camera. She has fun taking pictures with it, until Martin tells her that it is his camera. Can you guess what happens? Predictably, she says that the camera is hers. The teacher gets involved, and when both Ruthie and Martin still claim that the camers is theirs, the teacher takes it away from both of them. Ruthie finds that things just do not feel right for the rest of the day. She doesn't do well in math, she can't pay attention to the story Mrs. Olsen reads, and the bus ride home feels very long. She does not even enjoy dinner. That night she finally tells her Momma and Papa how she lied. They tell her she made a mistake and that tomorrow she can fix it. But, understandably, Ruthie is very nervous and scared to tell Mrs. Olsen the truth. However, Ruthie remains true and does tell her teacher the truth. Mrs. Olsen hugs and kisses her and forgives her, as does Martin when Ruthie tells him the truth. And wouldn't you know it? That day Ruthie remembers how to do her math problems and is able to listen to the story Mrs. Olsen reads and does not feel sick to her stomach. This is a good story of how easy it is to tell a lie, but how you can be forgiven if you try to fix your mistakes. It is a good lesson that everyone makes mistakes, and that we need to realize they are just mistakes, and love and forgive each other. It also shows how being scared does not mean you are not courageous. It takes courage to do what you are scared to do.

12//. G is for One Gzonk//, by Tony DiTerlizzi In the style of Dr. Suess, this book takes us through the alphabet, with numbers mixed in. Every letter of the alphabet has a creachling, such as an Angry Ack, or a Fly-Swatting Footzey-Foo, or a Pink Peepee-Weepkins, with fabulous funny illustrations and rhyming text. In the midst of the book come Onesie and Twosie, a pair of Teedle-weenie woos, who will be joined by three and more. The text changes color depending on if the boy or the Teedle-weenie woos are talking, and makes for some very humorous discussions. This really is a very fun book that teaches tha ABC's and numbers to ten, but in a tricky and goofy way, sure to make kids laugh and ask for more. It is a favorite!

13//. Hands: Growing up to be an artist//, by Lois Ehlert The voice of this book talks about how her (I picture the voice as a her) father uses his hands to build things, and how her mother uses her hands to make things.The voice then tells of her father putting up a table near her mother's sewing machine just for her, so that she may also create things. After creating some things, she goes outside to help her mother and father plant flowers and vegetables. She then talks about how when she grows up she will be an artist, with her mom and dad. What is fun with this book is that each page is a different size or shape, so it is a very tactile book. It also shows many different things, like paint, beads, buttons, lace, flower seeds, and gloves that the girl can use to create things. I think it would be an awesome book to use to show creativity. It could be used before a lesson on planting flower seeds and journaling their growth, or before an art lesson in which children get an enormous amount of materials to make anything their little creative hearts desire, or a lesson on what a family does together. For such a simple book, it has a lot of potential.

14//. Just in Time, Abraham Lincoln//, Patricia Polacco I chose this book from the library for a few reasons: I was looking for a historical fiction book, I was looking for a longer picture book, and my daughter's favorite president is Abraham Lincoln, so I thought she would enjoy reading it with me. And, boy, did we LOVE this book! This would be a fantastice book to use with really any elementary grade level to help bring alive a historical topic that many children might get bored with just hearing out of a textbook.

Michael and Derek are on a trip with their Grandmother to Washington, D.C. Their grandmother tells them that they may not use their electronics on this trip- "no music, no texting, no tweeting, no e-mailing". (This is something that would make any student groan and pay attention to the story, I think). Before getting to D.C., their grandmother tells them they will be stopping in Harper's Ferry. The boys are quite bored by the museum that their grandmother takes them into, even though it is full of old photographs, uniforms, and weapons used in the Civil War. One of the boys says that he has played a video game of the Civil War and that he killed 400 men in it. He was quite proud of himself. The man who runs the museum offers to let them play a game. They must put on the Union's uniforms and go through a door into another room, where they cannot tell anyone about who they are or where they are from. The boys walk through the door, straight into Antietem. A wonderful story ensues, in which the boys go with the photographer who had taken all the picture that were so boring to them before, to Antietem, where they take pictures of the battlefield, the dead soldiers, and President Lincoln. They meet and talk with President Lincoln, who talks about how devastating this battle was, how he is so worried about whether he is doing the right thing, and about whether the US will survive this. The boys realize that war is real, that every dead soldier they see on the field was a real person, with feelings and a family, and the devastation that comes from war, even if it was done for the right reasons. There is an amazing illustration on one page, void of any words, of dead soldiers, horses, and a battlefield filled with wreckage. It made my daughter whisper, "Oh, my gosh". The boys cried, and President Lincoln wrapped his arms around them. They encouraged him that he was doing the right thing, that the world would be a better place because of all of this, and let it slip that there would one day be a black president! The boys eventually made it back to their grandmother, who didn't quite believe their story, but who said "If whatever you experienced made history come to life for you, then that is all that counts!" Truly an amazing story that will help any child understand history!

15. //What to Do About Alice?,// by Barbara Kerley Although Theodore Roosevelt has herded cattle across the Dakota Badlands, has led the Rough Riders up Kettle Hill, has shot and killed a grizzly bear, and, oh, yeah, becomes the President of the United States, he cannot control his daughter Alice. Alice wants to "eat up the world". And she does. This story talks about all the rebel-rousing, unladylike (especially for the times!) things Alice does. She wears pants! She plays poker with the guys! She bets on horses at the track! She travels the world!! Instead of going to boarding school like all the other girls, she talks her father into letting her teach herself using the books in his library. She reads "voraciously" and teaches herself astronomy, geology, and reads Darwin as well as the entire Bible. Even though she wore braces on her legs, she learned to ride a bicycle after they were taken off. She never wants anyone to say "The poor little thing!" I love this story because it is about a woman who "should" have done certain things, especially since her father was the President, but she didn't. She did what she wanted, how she wanted. She went against the rules of what a "lady" should do. She was independent and strong, but loved her father, and didn't hurt anyone in her actions. She sought what she wanted and made herself happy instead of conforming. I can fully appreciate this story, having entered a man's world of flying, and not behaving as some thought I should. This was a fun story.

16. //Mississippi Morning,// by Ruth Vander Zee This is a hard story to read, but sometimes the truth hurts. It needs to be heard. This is a story about 12-year old James William in 1933, who has to come to terms with the fact that maybe his father isn't the great man he thinks he is. James William lives in the south, where colored folk have to wait for the white people to be waited on before they can buy their things at the market, where colored folk have to sit in the balcony of the movie theatre, where colored folk have to use a separate water fountain than white folk. But this is all normal to James William. It is just the way it is. Until he learns about the Klan. James William understands the way it is, but he doesn't believe that somebody would hang a colored person just because he spoke to a white woman. He doesn't believe that the colored man down the road had his house burned down by white folks. James William thought it burned down by accident. But two friends tell him about the Klan, and when he asks his father about it, he is told to get back to his work. Then one morning James William see somebody in a white hood and a white robe coming down the road toward his house. As he thinks about how to protect his mother and younger siblings, the hood comes off the man. And James William sees his father. It is understandably a heart-wrenching story on two levels- one, that the Klan even existed and people could do such atrocities to other people based on nothing more than the color of their skin, and two, that a son is forced to realize who his father is and lose the respect and good feelings he had toward him.

17. //Thunder Rose,// by Jerdine Nolen Rose is born free to her ma and pa on a thunderous night. The night she is born, she sits up and rolls the lightning into a ball around her head. When the doctor says he believes she will grow up to be good and strong, the newborn baby says "I reckon I will want to do more than that. Thank you very kindly!" She hears sweet music in her ears and says she is going to register it in her heart and see what she can do with it one day. Rose grows up to be a kind and strong and determined young gal. She can calm animals and bend iron with her hands and herd entire herds of cattle with her sweet humming. But when she tries to wrangle up some rain the clouds turn into rotating storms. Rose flashed lightning from her eyes and warned the tornados that they didn't know who they were messing with, but they kept coming. Rose opened her arms wide and opened her mouth even wider. From deep inside her heart she sang out her song. Her song from her heart touched the heart of the storms and calmed them into a gentle rain. She realized that she only needed to sing truthfully from her heart, the song that had been at the center of her heart since the day she was born. This is a nice story about being a kind, gentle soul, and is fun in the way that it bring a multicultural dimension to "the West."

18. //Hot-Air Henry,// by Mary Calhoun The Man is preparing to fly his first solo in a hot-air balloon. While The Kid and The Instructor get the balloon ready, Henry, the cat, leaps into the balloon. One of Henry's claws snags the cord that fires the burner and the balloon takes off into the sky. Henry has to quickly learn how to fly the balloon. Through a lot of trial and error and some encounters with other animals in the air, Henry manages to figure out how the balloon is controlled. Henry must also rise above the powerlines on Colson Hill. Henry finally brings the balloon in for a landing, and The Kid and The Man arrive in the chase vehicle to welcome Henry. "Wow, some high-flying cat!"

19//. Mr. Gumpy's Outing//, by John Burningham Mr. Gumpy lives by the water and has a boat. One day he decides to go out on the boat. First, the children ask if they can come along. Mr. Gumpy says, "Yes, if you don't squabble." Next, the rabbit asks to come. Mr Gumpy says, "Yes, if you don't hop about." And so it goes with the cat, the dog, the pig, the sheep, the chickens, the calf, and the goat. They set out for a nice boat ride, until.....This is a very sweet story with beautiful, simple pictures. The ending has illustrations that are fun to look at and see what the animals are doing. The text is simple and repetitive, but funny and sweet. This will become a fast favorite.

20. //Thank You Bear,// by Greg Foley The dedication in the front of this book reads "For anyone who ever thought they had something great." That is such a great summation of this book. It is a very simple book with an even simpler and sweeter message, with beautiful, simple illustrations. A little bear finds a box, looks inside, and thinks that it is the greatest thing ever. He thinks Mouse will love it and sets out to find Mouse. Along the way he meets many other friends who do not think the box is so wonderful. Monkey thinks it is not so great, Elephant thinks it is too small, Fox thinks it is the wrong way, and Bear begins to doubt himself, thinking maybe it is not so great after all. Looking very sad when Mouse comes along, Bear shows him the box. Mouse looks at it every which way and delares "It's the greatest thing ever! Thank you Bear!" The last page shows Mouse curled up inside the box contently sleeping. The simple illustrations are fantastic in that they show the emotions of Bear. The story is such a sweet one of finding something someone might think is perfect for a friend and wanting to share it. This would be a great launch into a lesson on friendship and sharing and looking out for others.

21. //You Read to Me, I'll Read to You: Very Short Fairy Tales to Read Together,// by Mary Ann Hoberman This is a fun and funny twist on fairy tales. It has in it stories such as Cinderella, Little Red Riding Hood, The Princess and the Pea, and Goldilocks and the Three Bears, plus many others. It also has very entertaining pictures. It is set up for two people to read at the same time. One person reads a few lines, then the other person reads a few lines. Basically, one person is one character, such as Little Red Riding Hood, and the other person is the other character, such as the Big Bad Wolf. It has a lot of great stories in it, told in a different style as well as slightly different content then the original fairy tales. It makes for very entertaining reading (and was fun for my daughter and I to read together!)

Intermediate Books

1. //Keeper of the Doves,// by Betsy Byars Amen McBee is the fifth daughter born to her mother and father in 1891. This story takes place over the next several years as Amen grows into a wonderful, sweet, curious girl. Her father often tells her to stop asking so many questions, to which she replies, "How will I learn then?" Amen loves words and loves writing poems. My favorite poem that she wrote is a simple one: " A poem is a garden of words." It is a simple time for Amen at the turn of the century. The story is a sweet reflection of bygone times, yet leads the reader to make some of their own realizations about what goes on in Amen's home. It is a differnet time, but people still have the same feelings of love and hurt. Amen's father allows a man to live on his land and assures that this man has food and if taken care of. Her older twin sisters believe he is mean and evil and try to instill that belief in Amen. She wanders to his living space, the chapel, with her Grandmama and two other sisters one day, and finds a sweet, gentle, old man who is taking care of doves. They leave before disturbing him, but Amen starts to learn about Mr. Tom and makes her own mind up about him. Unfortunately, before she gets to know him very well, he is killed. This brings her father to his knees, and Amen learns how tragic and heartwrenching death is. One of my favorite things that Amen says to her father is "How many things can one man be?" Although very sad, this story finishes on an uplifting note, with Amen doing what her Grandmama always says and "turning her face to the future." She realizes that although people die, they may live on forever in words, Amen's own personal gift. I read this story in one sitting, not wanting to put the book down. It is both sad and happy, full of innocence and curiosity. It made me smile and laugh out loud several times, nd even though I almost cried, when I read the last words I was smiling and felt full in my heart and knew that Amen would go on to do great things and be a great person. It is reminiscent in feeling of //"To Kill a Mockingbird".// 2. //Sixth-Grade Glommers, Norks, and Me,// by Lisa Papademetriou Sixth grade can be an angst ridden time//,// a difficult time in trying to find one's self, a time full of changes, especially if it means the start of middle school. That is the case for Allie Kimball and her best friend since the beginning of time, Tamara. Allie likes soccer, her family, and her best friend. But she soon learns that middle school can make people change, and life does not always stay just as you want it to. Tamara starts to drift away from Allie, and worse, starts to judge Allie and make fun of her. Tamara becomes friends with Renee, a girl who is definately more concerned with how others view her, and anyone who hangs around her, than anything else. Allie watches as Tam falls under Renee's spell and turns into a person who will not stand up for herself or for her friend, Allie. Allie feels alone and confused and heartbroken. She makes new friends on the soccer team who actually turn out to be great friends. They judge her for the person she is, accepting her just as she is, and unwittingly helping her realize that she is the person she wants to be. Allie regretfully watches her friendship with Tam dissolve, but finds her true self. As Allie says, "But, for now, I was happy just to be Allie Kimball. My own me. Unique, but not alone. No. Not alone at all." (pg. 217) It was a very sweet book that made me proud of Allie. She showed great qualities that all people should strive for- being confident in being oneself, standing up for friends, liking people for who they are even if others do not think they are "cool", keeping your word, knowing that you might hurt someone's feelings with your words or actions and choosing not to for the simple reason that they ARE a human being with feelings, and not "dropping" a friend because someone else thinks you should. I think it also accurately portrayed just how difficult it can be to watch a relationship change and the hurt and disappointment that can happen from that. I believe this would be a realistic story for any middle schooler.

3. //The Willoughbys,// by Lois Lowry This was an amazing book! I so loved this! It was so much fun to read and so entertaining. The author used a very creative style of intertwining well known fables and fairy tales, using large, descriptive words that would make me turn to the included glossary to find the meaning, and had some real tongue-in-cheek humor. This would be a great story for middle school students, but honestly, I read it to my seven year old and she adored it. She could not wait to read more of it each night, and she understood it.

The story is of four children with despicable parents. The parents really want nothing to do with the children and decide that they will get rid of the children in a twist on //Hansel and Gretel.// The parents decide that instead of sending the children into the woods, the parents will leave on a trip and never come back. At the same time, the children decide they would rather be without their parents and devise a plan to send them off on a vacation from which they will not return. After leaving, the parents send the children mulitple postcards letting them know that they keep survivng and that the house is now for sale and the children will need to vacate it. The children and the new nanny hatch additional plans to keep the house from selling, but it eventually does. Also, in the beginning of the story, the children find a baby on their porch, and deliver it to the rich man down the strret. Through a funny plot, the children and nanny end up moving in with the Commander, and the baby that they had deposited on his doorstep. In the end, they are one big happy family, and it is a fun journey with them. A wonderful story!

4. //Miss Spitfire: Reaching Helen Keller,// by Sarah Miller Helen Keller is a 6 year old deaf, dumb, and blind girl in the late 1800's. Annie Sullivan, who grew up blind herself before having an eye operation, is hired to teach Helen. Helen was used to getting her way at home, and throwing remarkably fierce tantrums if she did not. Her parents loved her dearly but were at a loss as to how to reach her mind. They found it easier and, they thought more humane, to let Helen do what ever she pleased. This included not bathing or brushing her hair, and walking around the dinner table eating from everyone's plate with her dirty, grimy hands. This was the way they did things. When Annie came, there were many struggles. There were tantrums of great intensity. Helen's parents tried to step in when they felt she should not be disciplined and should be allowed to roam around the table. Miss Annie finally convinced them that Helen needed some discipline and routine and that she could be so much more than an animal. Annie and Helen moved into a small house on the family's grounds where thye lived in seclusion for several weeks. It took time, but Miss Annie taught Helen how to behave at the table and how to clean and dress herself. From there, they took on the seemingly insurmountable task of learning to put names with objects. This is a heartfelt story of unrelenquishing determination and love on the part of Annie, and the uncovering of Helen's soul. In the end, Helen showers Annie with the love she has so desperately been wanting and needing, and Helen realizes there is a whole world out there available to her. This story is written from Annie's perspective, fictionally, but based on letters she had written and factual information the author studied. It is painful yet amazing and loveable. It is easy to see how Annie was so incredibly frustrated, yet kept trying. She was close to giving up several times, and wanted to hurt Helen but didn't, especially when Helen punched out Annie's tooth in a rage. My heart ached for both of them. This book allowed me to get into Helen's mind and think about how difficult it would be to not be able to communicate anything to anyone. It is understandable why she lashed out so much. And it is truly amazing that she ever learned all that she did. Many of us know of Helen Keller. I chose this book because I remember reading a book about Helen Keller when I was young and loving the story. This book was interesting to read from the side of the Teacher. It also helped me realize that as teachers, we will probably never be up against what Annie Sullivan was. "How am I to teach Helen what language is, when words themselves have no scent, taste, or texture?" (pg. 7) "But words, Mrs. Keller, words bridge the gaps between two minds. Words are a miracle." (pg. 40) It is easy to think about teaching a blind or a deaf person to read or speak. But I kept finding myself wondering how in the world Annie helped Helen find meaning in the letters she was shaping and in the words she was spelling. If you have never heard or seen a letter, then how do you learn the sound it makes and then put it together with other letters to form words? How does all that tracing of letters become anything? That is truly amazing to me.

5. //Bird Lake Moon,// by Kevin Henkes I chose this book because I am a huge fan of Kevin Henkes' picture books for young children. When I realized that he has written many older children books, I wanted to try one and see if I liked him in that genre. I was not disappointed. Henkes is a great narrator, easily painting a picture for the mind, and using vocabulary that tells this story in a calm manner. The story seems very peaceful amd thoughtful, even though it is dealing with troublesome issues. It is told from two different perspectives, one from Mitch's view and one from Spencer's view. It is a story of two boys around the ages of 10 to 12, each dealing with their own troubles. Mitch's dad has just walked out on he and his mom, throwing his world into complete disarray. He feels lost, angry, hurt, all kinds of emotions any kid who has gone through divorce feels. And Spencer is a ten year old whose older brother died when Spencer was two. Spencer does not really remember his brother, but has to deal with the loss everyday because his parents have obviously never "gotten over it". Whether you have lost a sibling or not, you can imagine the damage that can be done and the emotional toll on any child whose parent has faced the death of another child. At Bird Lake, Mitch and Spencer find each other and find dear friends in each other, helping one another to deal with their respective issues. It was a tough story for me to read for a few reasons, but it was well worth it and a very good story. Many children would be able to relate to this story, even if they have not gone through these troubling issues themselves. I was quite impressed with the level of thoughts that Henkes evoked from both boys' minds. I remeber having some of those exact same thoughts and feelings. This is a great book!

6. //On the Wings of Heroes,// by Richard Peck I am a sucker for books about flying and airplanes, especially World War II flying. Those airplanes were amazing! The cover of this book grabbed my attention, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. It is during and somewhat about World War II, but told from the perspective of a boy named Davy. Davy never does tell his age, but I would guess him to be about 9 or 10 at the beginning of the book. When the story ends, Davy is in seventh grade. It is a sweet story, told with the innocence of a young boy in a bygone time. He tells of the block-long hide-and-seek games that kids of all ages, from toddlers to his father, play until they can no longer see in the dark. He talks of the tire and gas and sugar rationing, and how he and his friend Scooter go looking for milkweed to help the war effort. Davy's brother goes to war as a crewmwmber on a B-17, and the reader gets Davy's perspective and understanding and vision of what it is like to wait at home and hope his brother returns. We also get a little perspective from Davy's father that brought me to tears. Anyone who has seen their father, their idol and source of strength, brought to tears with fear or grief, can really understand this. Luckily, Bill comes home. I loved this book! It brought back many memories for me of stories I heard from my Grandma, of things my Grandma said, and my own childhood of playing hide-and-seek and riding in the arms of the older neighbor kid who would help me reach base.

Young Adult Books

1. //The Light in the Forest,// by Conrad Richter This is an amazing story. It is heart-wrenching and left me feeling like my heart was going to break in two. It is the story of a boy, True Son, who was taken from his white Pennsylvania family by Indians when he was four years old. He was raised for eleven years with them. He knew himself as an Indian, acted as an Indian, was loved by his Indian family as their own. When he was fifteen, in a treaty-like action, the white people came for him and made his Indian father drag him away from his known family to be returned to his white family. He felt like he was living through death. He did not know, even remember his white family. He belonged with the Indians. This story tells of his reuniting with his white people, and his struggles there. Understandably, he did not fit in. He was not what his white mother and father thought he would be. He did not hop right back into being their white boy. He eventually left this white home, returning to his Indian people. But during his leaving was the death of an Indian friend by his white uncle, and True Son and his cousin ended up causing the death of a white person. When he returns to his Indian people, they want revenge for the death of one of their own. True Son heads out with them in the war party, but when he is placed in the position of luring a boatful of white people to their death, True Son finds that he cannot. He sees on the boat a young child that reminds him of his young white brother. He cannot bring them to death and yells for them to leave. Needless to say, his Indian people are not happy about this. They want him killed. His Indian father manages to keep him alive, but tells true Son that he must leave them forever. He has disgraced them. True Son is left with no home.

I read this story as a girl and remember loving it. I could not wait to read it again and read it in nearly one sitting. I would still say it is amazing. I felt so much pain for True Son. How is he supposed to know who to be? It ends up being that no one wants him, and this is not his fault. How anyone could think he could seemlessly return to being a white boy is simply amazing. And how his Indian people could think he could kill some of the very white people he ended up living with is also amazing. The poor boy is pulled in different directions, being asked to make choices no one should have to make. I sat for a while after finshing it, wanting to cry, trying to decide for myself what True Son ends up doing with his life. Does he go back and try to live with the white people? Does he, at fifteen or sixteen years old, live by himself in the forest for the rest of his days? What does the poor kid do?

This would be a great story to be read by an entire class. It obviously could be used for history, telling the Indian side of the story, which never did get told when I was in school. It would also be good to be used to talk about cultural differences, and how difficult it once was and probably still is, to be part of two different races, and how unfair it is to ask a person to choose between two ways of life or two families. It would be a chance to show how there are always two sides to a story, and to show that what one person does to another can affect what entire populations might do to others. It could really be used in so many ways.

2.//Reasons to Be Happy,// by Katrina Kittle This is the story of Hannah, an eigth grader going through an immensely hard time in life. That is an understatement. It is brutally honest and raw, riveting, a heartbreaking and gut-wrenching read, yet an amazing story of survival, triumph, and the strong human spirit. It is about love, first love, family love, friend love, and the long trip back to self-love, the most important of all. It is a story that probably most young adults could relate to in some way, even if they don't have the disorder that Hannah does, even if they don't have the same family and life struggles that Hannah does, almost everyone has felt lost and alone at some time in their life, especially as a teenager when things in life are so incredibly dramatic anyway. I believe there is something in this story for everyone. It had me in tears several times, begging Hannah to not hurt herself anymore, wondering why the adults in her life weren't saving her, and rooting for her when she was finding her strength again. Knowing the troubles that so many young adults, kids, face these days, especially the extra pressures put on girls, I think this book could be used in schools to open conversations and to shed light on some ugly diseases. It opened my eyes. Hannah's dad made a comment to her that I am sure many people would say or think: "Why don't you just stop? It's about willpower." It's not about willpower. There are diseases out there, as bad as cancer, that need treatment, not sheer willpower. It would be a good story for teachers to read on their own just to give then some insight into what a girl or boy might be going through and possibly how to help. Although the story has an obvious thred, the bigger story really is the return to health and Hannah's strength in finding herself again and being a survivor. It also deppicts well that a person is not all that they seem or all that is shown. Just because bulimia is ugly, does not mean the person who has it is. This was an incredibly moving story, and I left it feeling actually very motivated and uplifted. I want to create my own list of Reasons to Be Happy and think about them every day.

3. //The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian,// by Sherman Alexie Thie is the story of "Junior" Arnold Spirit, a 14 year old Indian boy who lives on the Spokane Reservation. He has already faced many battles in his young life, being born with water on the brain, picked on through his entire childhood, living with alcoholic parents, and being very poor. His best friend is the toughest guy on the reservation, but gets beat up by his dad almost daily. Junior's sister just squirrels her life away in the basement, and most of the people he knows are destined to be drunks or dead. Junior decides to make a change in his life and go to the school in the all-white town 22 miles away. By leaving the reservation, even thought it's just during the day, his tribe feels that he is turning his back on them and trying to "be white". And initially, the white kids and teachers don't want him in their school either. It is a very good story of a young man wanting to be more in his life than a poor drunk, wanting to strike out and see more of the world and accomplish something. Although very controversial, for a lot of bad language mostly, it tells a very good message. It tells of the struggle someone has to face to become his own person, the racism he faces, and the disdain from both sides of the fence. There is a lot to be learned from Junior's story.