Thursday, May 26, 2011

Cool Finds In Chapter Books

I have been trying to brush up on my chapter book knowledge in preparation for the summer reading program and I have come across a few good ones. I liked reading Angie Sage's first Araminta Spookie book, called My Haunted House. It's a fairly basic story about a kid who doesn't want to move away from her comfortable home, but the twist is that the house is really haunted, and the people who want to buy it are really into that sort of thing. Araminta is a winning main character whose inventive, messy plans to keep people from wanting to buy the house will have kids laughing and cheering.

I also liked Super Chicken Nugget Boy and the Furious Fry. This is a promising new series by Josh Lewis that incorporates comics with the classic fight-against-bullies story. Anyone who likes the Shredderman books by Wendelin Van Draan will also really like this series, although the Chicken Nugget books have quite a bit more silliness and humor in them.

Thursday, May 12, 2011

Award Lists & School Visits

I've finished all the Rebecca Caudills and most of the Bluestems from the 2012 lists! Overall, I enjoyed them. There weren't too many depressing titles on this years' lists. I was pleasantly surprised by Wild Things and loved that Peak made the list (another Roland Smith adventure!) but my money is on The Magic Thief to win the award in the end. Speaking of winning the award, the winner from the 2011 list is The Hunger Games, which I also expected.

Next week I will be starting school visits to Monticello Christian Academy, Lincoln, Washington, White Heath, and the middle school. Watch for me, and watch for a handout I will be dropping off in the school offices. You can bring back the handout after the summer reading program starts and get a jump on your reading points, and that much closer to getting your prizes.