TBR - August 22

Here is my latest to-be-read piles after a couple of trips to the public library:

Kids, post YOUR TBR pile as a comment, along with your initials and last year's homeroom, and you can pick from the prize box the next time I see you (and add another book to your pile).

What Ms. Moore is Reading - Vacation Weeks 7 & 8

Here are some of the most recent books I've read and recommend for my students. They're all available from the public library, but any donations towards getting them into our collection are most welcome! Cover images and descriptions are from Goodreads.

Picture Books

The Firefighter Duckies are brave and strong. They rescue:

Gorillas in chef hats!
Whales in trees!
Dinosaurs on bicycles!

But when the emergencies requiring their attention become a little overwhelming, the Firefighter Duckies realize that they don’t have to be brave and strong to be helpful and kind. 

This is my favorite cloud. . .because it's the one I am watching.
This is my favorite tree. . .because it's the one where I'm swinging.
This is my favorite tooth. . .because it's the one that is missing.

Follow a little girl as she takes you on a tour through all of her favorite things, from the holes she digs to the hugs she gives.

Middle Grade Novels

Binny Cornwallis has lost something. Something that wasn't really hers in the first place. With her best enemy Gareth and her beloved dog Max she turns detective to track it down, but the Cornwallis family are anything but helpful. Little brother James and his friend Dill are having an adventure of their own and big sister Clem is acting very strangely. And on top of all this, Binny suspects their next-door neighbour may be a witch ...

To Molly Nathans, perfect is: the number four; the tip of a newly sharpened number two pencil; a crisp, white pad of paper; her neatly aligned glass animal figurines. What’s not perfect is Molly’s mother leaving the family to take a faraway job with the promise to return in one year. Molly knows that promises are often broken, so she hatches a plan to bring her mother home: Win the Lakeville Middle School Slam Poetry Contest. But as time goes on, writing and reciting slam poetry become harder. Actually, everything becomes harder as new habits appear, and counting, cleaning, and organizing are not enough to keep Molly’s world from spinning out of control.

Nonfiction

Margaret Hamilton loved numbers as a young girl. She knew how many miles it was to the moon (and how many back). She loved studying algebra and geometry and calculus and using math to solve problems in the outside world. Soon math led her to MIT and then to helping NASA put a man on the moon! She handwrote code that would allow the spacecraft’s computer to solve any problems it might encounter. Apollo 8. Apollo 9. Apollo 10. Apollo 11. Without her code, none of those missions could have been completed. NOTE: I'll be reading to Grade 1 as part of our Hour of Code lessons in December.

Nadia Comaneci was a feisty and fearless little girl who went from climbing trees in the forests of Romania to swinging into history at the 1976 Olympic Games, where she received an unprecedented seven perfect scores in gymnastics. But as readers will see in this first-ever illustrated picture book about Nadia’s journey to Olympic gold, the road from small-town girl to world-class athlete was full of many imperfect moments.

New E-Books for August

Did you know that you can check out e-books from our school collection? I'll be adding new titles every month thanks to our membership in RILINK's BookLynx program.

TITLES NOW AVAILABLE

For fans of Mercy Watson
(although I haven't read,
so I can't confirm)

FICTION 

• Blume, Judy: Freckle Juice
• Buyea, Rob: Because of Mr. Terupt
• DiCamillo, Kate: Where Are You Going, Baby Lincoln? (Tales from Deckawoo Drive #3) 
• Gantos, Jack: Dead End in Norvelt
• Korman, Gordon: Framed (RICBA Nominee Framed! A T.O.A.S.T. Story by James Ponti is also available)
• Lupica, Mike: Fast Break
• McDonald, Megan: Judy Moody Saves the World!

NONFICTION

• Animal Myths, Busted! by Jodie Mangor
• Drones by Jodie Mangor
• Inventing the Cell Phone by Jodie Mangor

HOW TO ACCESS

Via computer

1. Click on this link and then log in: 

• User Name: CGN and your lunch code (school ID number)

Example: CGN12345

• Password: Your birthday in 6 digits (MMDDYY)

Example: If you were born on May 5, 2009, your password would be 050209

2. Search for the book

3. When you find it, click on the "Checkout" button to claim it.

Via a device

To check out the e-book to a device like a phone or tablet, download the Destiny Discover app. Once installed and open, it will ask you to find your library and then have you log in.

NOTE: Any checkouts to your account will be available via all platforms.

What Ms. Moore is Reading - Vacation Week 6

Here are some of the most recent books I've read and recommend for my students. They're all available from the public library, but any donations towards getting them into our collection are most welcome! All cover images and descriptions are from Goodreads.

Picture Books

When Andrew gets hold of a pencil, anything can—and does—happen in this innovative and artistic book. The story literally unfolds step-by-step as readers are invited to follow Andrew through flaps and gatefolds. After sharpening his drawing implement on the first page, Andrew challenges the boundaries of each spread by beginning with a line that leads . . . and leads . . . to unexpected finishes. Staircases become dinosaurs, kites become rockets, and even the most unassuming squiggle morphs into a giant chicken!

Jabari is definitely ready to jump off the diving board. He's finished his swimming lessons and passed his swim test, and he's a great jumper, so he's not scared at all. "Looks easy," says Jabari, watching the other kids take their turns. But when his dad squeezes his hand, Jabari squeezes back. He needs to figure out what kind of special jump to do anyway, and he should probably do some stretches before climbing up onto the diving board ... NOTE: Gaia Cornwall will be at the RI Festival of Children's Books and Authors in October, and I'll be reading this to K-2 students beforehand. 

What can you do with two blobs of clay? Create something amazing! But don't leave them alone for too long. Things might get a little crazy. In this photographic friendship adventure, the claymates squish, smash, and sculpt themselves into the funniest shapes imaginable. But can they fix a giant mess before they're caught in the act? NOTE: I may or may not add this to our Mock Caldecott list. I love it, but the speech bubbles and details in the clay might not work as a large group readaloud.

Middle Grade Novel

Twelve-year-old Henry Hewitt has been living by his wits on the streets of London, dodging his parents, who are determined to sell him as an apprentice. Searching for a way out of the city, Henry lands a position as an assistant to Sir Richard Blackstone, an aristocratic scientist who performs unorthodox experiments in his country manor. ... One of Sir Richard’s experiments accidentally transforms a normal-sized tarantula into a colossal beast that escapes and roams the neighborhood. After a man goes missing and Sir Richard is accused of witchcraft, it is left to young Henry to find an antidote for the oversized arachnid. Things are not as they seem, and in saving Sir Richard from the gallows, Henry also unravels a mystery about his own identity.

Nonfiction

Award-winning author Grace Lin joins science writer Ranida T. McKneally to get kids talking about the science of food, the five food groups, and what a healthy meal looks like. Answering questions like "why are so many vegetables green?", "What's the difference between brown bread and white bread?", and "Why do beans make you gassy?", cheerful haiku poems and a simple Q&A format make this book a nutritious treat.

TBR - August 9

Here is my latest to-be-read pile after a trip to the public library:

Kids, post YOUR TBR pile as a comment, along with your initials and last year's homeroom, and you can pick from the prize box the next time I see you (and add another book to your pile).

RICBA Trailers, Online Form, eBooks Available

I finally finished reading all of the Rhode Island Children's Book Award nominees ... kids, how many have you made it through? As a reminder, here's the list of books. (Titles in blue have book trailers available.) All you need to do is read 3 of them to vote in February. You'll have to read more than 3 to participate in the Rooster Games ... but more on that later (we're meeting with Miss Emily at the public library later this month to figure out how they'll work).

If you've read any this RICBA nominees this summer, you can submit your forms online - fill out a new one for each book.

If you'd like to read a RICBA nominee online, I JUST figured out how to set that up for you using Destiny Discover. Here's what you need to do (12 are currently available):

Via computer

1. Click on this link and then log in: 

• User Name: CGN and your lunch code (school ID number)

Example: CGN12345

• Password: Your birthday in 6 digits (MMDDYY)

Example: If you were born on May 5, 2009, your password would be 050209

2. Search for the book

3. When you find it, click on the "Checkout" button to claim it.

Via a device

To check out the e-book to a device like a phone or tablet, download the Destiny Discover app. Once installed and open, it will ask you to find your library and then have you log in.

NOTE: Any checkouts to your account will be available via all platforms.