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Contemporary Realistic Fiction
316 pages
© 2012
Published by Alfred A. Knopf

This book tells the story of 10 year old August who has a facial deformity. Until he was 10, Auggie was homeschooled, but he decided to start 5th grade at a real school. This book shares Auggie's story of new beginnings, friendships and hardships as he enters into 5th grade and shows the reader that sometimes you have no idea how your situation is effecting others.

I thought this book did an outstanding job giving the reader a glimpse into the life of a 10 year old child that is struggling to fit in. It reminded me of how hard the upper elementary and middle school time is and made me think about my own experience in school when I was 10 and 11, and how hard it is for all kids during adolescence.

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Realistic Fiction
263 pages
© 2016
Published by Penguin Random House

Raymie Clarke is a young girl that is on a mission to reconnect with her dad after he left her and her mother with a younger woman. Raymie believes that if she enters a pageant competition and wins, then her picture will be put in the newspaper and her dad will call her.  She begins taking twirling lessons and meet two girls - Louisiana and Beverly. Louisiana is a poor orphan and has entered into the pageant to win the cash prize. Beverly is an extremely talented twirler who's father is also absent. Beverly has no passion or interest in continuing it and her mom is forcing her to enter into the pageant. After finding Raymie's misplaced book at a nursing home, Louisiana is inspired to find her lost cat. While looking for her lost cat, they crash into a pond and Raymie saves Louisiana's life, but then take her to a hospital. While at the hospital, a nurse overhears the story and soon the entire town finds out about the details of the pageant, Raymie's dad and Louisiana and Beverly. Reporters find out, and Raymie's story and picture end up in the newspaper. Soon enough, Raymie's dad calls her, but Raymie has nothing to say to him. She hangs up and decides to drop out of the pageant contest. Louisiana ends up winning the pageant and taking home the cash prize to her grandmother.

This book made me think about the impact of having no father figure present during childhood. I am not able to relate to this, but this book gave me insight on the toll it takes on kids. Raymie was so consumed in receiving the smallest bit of attention to her father before realizing that she didn't need him to make her happy.

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Goal #1: I want to read at least four times a week.

I will reach this goal but cutting     out 15-20 minutes before I go to bed each night. If I am too busy to too tired to read one night, I will read the following day. Instead of checking my phone before bed I will make it a priority to read a few pages of a book.
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Goal #2: I want to gain new appreciation of children's book and expand my knowledge of children's literature.

I will reach this goal by putting in the time and effort to read children's chapter books. I will analyze the plot, setting and theme of the books and begin to parallel my experience with the books now, and the experience I might of had with them when I was a child. I will use resources such as GoodReads and the New York Times Book Reviews to research critically acclaimed children's books that are relevant today.

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I will track the progress of my goals by counting the amount of times I read during the week each Sunday. This will allow me to see if I reached the goal or not. Every few weeks I will set out a few minutes to record the new children's books I've added to my inventory.

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I used the app Libib to track the books I read throughout the semester. This app was particularly helpful because it includes designated space for note taking. I enjoyed using this tool because it allowed me to see all of the books I've read visually.

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1. The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate

I want to read this book because my friend really enjoyed it and recommended it to me. Although this a chapter book, it also has illustrations incorporated into it. I am curious to see how the author and illustrator worked together to create a chapter book supported by  illustrations.

2. Fish in a Tree by Lynda Mullanly Hunt

Another friend recommended this book to me. I am eager to read it because it is a New York Times bestseller and it discusses learning disabilities and their prevalence in kids today.

3. Night on Fire by Ronald Kidd

I am excited to read this book because it introduces segregation during the civil rights movement in the south. I think that this will be a really interesting book to read because it is told from the perspective of a child in the south.

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© 2016
309 pages
Historical Realistic Fiction
Published by Puffin Books

The Gallery tells the story of 12 year old Martha that takes a job with her mother at Sewell's enormous mansion during the late 1920's. She meets Rose, the wife of Mr. Sewell, who rarely ever leaves the house due to what seems to be anxiety and an obsessive compulsive disorder. Martha is initially skeptical of Mr. Sewell since he is so tied up in his job, and has staff watching his wife. As Martha gets to know the Sewell's and their door man Alphonse, she discovers an abundance of artwork that Mrs. Sewell is hiding. Within stacks and piles of paintings, she finds magnificent work from Gustave Courbet, William Kalf and Pablo Picasso. Martha takes a trip to the Metropolitan Museum of Art and begins to understand what is happening behind closed doors at the Sewell mansion. It becomes evident that Mr. Sewell is controlling and hiding a lot more than Martha realized.

I was not the biggest fan of this book. I do not think that all readers would be able to grasp an understanding of the true theme behind the novel and frankly, I think it is more of an adult read than a children's novel. Although, I did enjoy the language and vocabulary usage within the book. While reading, I found that Marx Fitzgerald painted vivid images of the characters, setting and emotions portrayed.

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Where Are You Going, Baby Lincoln? by Kate DiCamillo 

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Where Are You Going, Baby Lincoln? by Kate DiCamillo 

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113 pages
© 2016
Published by Candlewick Press
Fiction

This book tells the story of two older women that are sisters, Baby and Eugenia. Eugenia is controlling and likes to tell Baby what to do. For most of baby's life, she has been bossed around by Eugenia, but one day after her sister was too controlling and manipulative, Baby decides that she's had enough. Baby thinks about a dream she had once, where she was on a train, traveling. She is inspired and decides to go on her own journey. She hops on a train and is suddenly looking after a young boy named George who was found alone on the train. Baby and George become friends and Baby finally muddles up the courage to introduce herself with her real name, Lucille. George teaches her to be strong and to stand up for herself. Baby is eventually reunited with her sister and continues to uphold the values George taught her.

I thought this book was interesting because it shows the reader that despite age an difference, we all have something to teach each other. It was inspiring to see Lucille come out of her shell after becoming friends with George. I love Kate DiCamello and think this book teaches young readers an important lesson.

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Realistic Fiction
272 pages
© 2005
Published by Alfred A. Knopf

Four sisters, Jane, Skye, Rosalind and Batty, and their father rent a summer home in Arundel. The small cottage is located on a large estate that belongs to Mrs. Tifton. Mrs. Tifton is known for her beautiful gardens and being snotty, intimidating and opinionated. A few days after the settle into their cottage, the girls meet Jeffery who is Mrs. Tifton's son. Jeffery is kind boy, but his mother is pushing him to follow in his grandfather's steps and work in the military. Jeffery has no desire to follow his grandfather's steps, but doesn't have the courage to stand up to his mother. The four sisters become great friends with Jeffery and eventually Jeffery invited the Penderwick sisters to his birthday dinner. The dinner goes horribly and Jeffery is embarrassed and upset with his mother, so he devises a plan to run away from home. The Penderwick sisters stop him, but encourage him to confront his mother. Right before the Penderwicks leave to go back home, Jeffery talks with his mom and tells her that he wants to start his own path and study music.

This has always been one of my favorite books. I read it multiple times when I was in elementary school, and decided to read it again as an adult. Re-reading made me realize how complex the story really is. It empowers kids, especially girls, to stand up for what they believe in.

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I really enjoyed participating in this reader's workshop. This experience has encouraged me to become a more frequent reader and given me perspective on children's literature that I didn't have before. It was refreshing to set aside time for myself to read and set my own personal reading goals. I thought that setting these reading goals was beneficial because it gave me time to think about my strengths and weaknesses as a reader. I especially enjoyed the reader's workshop portion of our class time because I thought it was useful and I was able to collaborate and bounce ideas off of my classmates.  Using Libib to track the books I read and the notes I took while reading made me realize how much more I was actually reading and retaining.

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As a reader, I want to continue to expand my elementary grade reading inventory, so that I am able to connect with my students. I also want to push myself to think beyond the text and understand the underlying themes and meaning behind the books that I read.

As a reading teacher, I want to stay up to date with newly released books so that I can have the most recent and contemporary books available to my students. I believe that giving them a range of books to explore is extremely important. I want them to see how literature is constantly evolving, but I also want them to appreciate timeless classics.