Children's Literature Assignment by Katherine Johnston https://padlet.com/kjohnston21/j7qkjamxndew Katherine Johnston en-us 2018-08-25 20:44:40 UTC 2023-10-07 15:51:05 UTC hello@padlet.com https://padlet-assets.s3.amazonaws.com/icons/Lovecoffee.png Because of Winn-Dixie by Kate DiCamillo. Date completed: 8/24/18. Newberry Award Winner. Chapter book #1 kjohnston21 https://padlet.com/kjohnston21/j7qkjamxndew/wish/275334514 Because of Winn-Dixie is about India Opal and her father. Her father is a preacher that moves him and India Opal to Naomi, Florida so he can be the new preacher of Open Arms Baptist Church of Naomi. While going to the grocery store for her dad, she adopts a dog that just so happened to get inside. She soon becomes best friends with the puppy. And with a little help from this puppy, she starts making friends for herself. 
This book would be appropriate for children between grades 3 through 6. This book would interest those who may have just moved to a new town, likes dogs, or would like to know how it feels like to be lonely. ]]> 2018-08-25 20:46:23 UTC https://padlet.com/kjohnston21/j7qkjamxndew/wish/275334514 The Magic Tree House: Pirates Past Noon by Mary Pope Osborne. Date Completed: 8/27/18. Early Chapter Book #1. kjohnston21 https://padlet.com/kjohnston21/j7qkjamxndew/wish/275747994 Jack and Annie are whisked away by the Magic Tree House to the time of pirates! What will they learn on this adventure? Will they figure out who the M person is before they walk the plank? Will they find buried treasure? 
This book is perfect for 1st through 4th grade. I would recommend this book for children who like mystery and historical fiction.]]> 2018-08-28 02:36:02 UTC https://padlet.com/kjohnston21/j7qkjamxndew/wish/275747994 Polar Animals by Susan Hayes and Tory Gordan-Harris. Date Completed: 8/29/18. Nonfiction picture book # 1. kjohnston21 https://padlet.com/kjohnston21/j7qkjamxndew/wish/276421654 This book is all about polar animals. It goes into detail about the life cycle, the seasons, how they sleep, and the different parts of the animals. It also describes what the hunters of these various animals do. I would suggest this book to those students who want to learn more about polar animals. This book is perfect for 2nd through 5th grade.]]> 2018-08-29 22:26:02 UTC https://padlet.com/kjohnston21/j7qkjamxndew/wish/276421654 The Report Card by Andrew Clements. Date Completed: 8/30/18. Chapter book #3. kjohnston21 https://padlet.com/kjohnston21/j7qkjamxndew/wish/276693610 Nora is a genius. She started reading at two and a half years old. She was doing 500 piece puzzles at 3 years old. She could write correctly before she entered kindergarten. The only thing was she’s didn’t want anyone to know about her genius, even her parents. So she started pretending that she was an average student. She was calculatig what she had to do to get average grades. She was even looking up the scoring process for a major progress assessment so she could get an average grade. She even made D’s on her report card. She didn’t like the way the teachers made grades important and competition like. She wanted to make a change. So she did. I would recommend this book to children who like to make differences. Also to those who want to see into the world of a child genius. I would recommend this book to 4th-6th graders.]]> 2018-08-30 18:01:02 UTC https://padlet.com/kjohnston21/j7qkjamxndew/wish/276693610 Henry and Mudge and the Best Day of All. Date Completed: 8/31/18. Series book #2. kjohnston21 https://padlet.com/kjohnston21/j7qkjamxndew/wish/276974423 It's Henry's birthday so his parents decided to celebrate! Henry and Mudge are super excited! Henry's friends come over for a really fun day with cake, ice cream, and games. I would recommend this book to those who love birthday parties and dogs. This book is perfect for 1st and 2nd grade.]]> 2018-08-31 17:45:09 UTC https://padlet.com/kjohnston21/j7qkjamxndew/wish/276974423 Dog Man and Cat Kid by Dav Pilkey. Date Completed: 8/31/18. Graphic Novel #1. kjohnston21 https://padlet.com/kjohnston21/j7qkjamxndew/wish/277161114 This book is about the nature of good and evil. Dog Man again must fight against Petey. Lil Petey must decide if he wants to be good like Dog Man or be evil like Petey. While trying to figure this out, Dog Man and Lil Petey have a mystery to solve. A movie star goes missing and Petey has another evil stunt. Will the mystery be solved? I would recommend this book to those who love crime solving, mystery, and animals. This is perfect for grades 3-5.]]> 2018-09-02 17:11:19 UTC https://padlet.com/kjohnston21/j7qkjamxndew/wish/277161114 In Her Hands: The Story of Sculptor Augusta Savage by Alan Schroeder. Date Completed: 9/2/18. Nonfiction Picture Book #2. Mirror Book. kjohnston21 https://padlet.com/kjohnston21/j7qkjamxndew/wish/277163154 This book goes into the life of sculptor Augusta Savage. It shows that she didn't have an easy way into the sculpting world and how she had to work hard to prove to her parents and the critics at the Cooper Union School of Art in New York City. It wasn't easy, but she managed to be one of the best sculptors in the 1920's and 1930's. I would recommend this book to those who are struggling in the art world and want to know that they aren't alone. I would also recommend this book to those who want to know that it's going to be okay if they choose to do something that their parents don't approve of. I would recommend this book for 3rd to 8th grade students.]]> 2018-09-02 17:43:06 UTC https://padlet.com/kjohnston21/j7qkjamxndew/wish/277163154 Who Was Theodore Roosevelt? By: Michael Burgan. Date Competed: 9/2/18 Early Series Book #3. kjohnston21 https://padlet.com/kjohnston21/j7qkjamxndew/wish/277690327 This book is about the life of Theodore Roosevelt. It goes into when and where he was born, how he grew up, and all of his accomplishments in his adult life. This book shows us that if we put our minds to it, we can do anything. I would recommend this book to those who love to learn about history and the different presidents' lives. I would place this book in the 3rd through 6th grade level. ]]> 2018-09-04 18:01:13 UTC https://padlet.com/kjohnston21/j7qkjamxndew/wish/277690327 Land Shark by Beth Ferry. Date Completed: 9/5/18. Picture Book #4. Hot New Book. kjohnston21 https://padlet.com/kjohnston21/j7qkjamxndew/wish/278569750 Have you ever wanted something so bad but you got something else instead? This is what happened to Bobby. It was his birthday, and he really wants a pet shark. Not just any shark; he wants a big one. One that you only find at the aquarium. Bobby comes up with an elaborate plan to convey this message to his mom and dad. However, they do not interpret it right. During the story, Bobby goes through the pain of not having his desired pet. You will see all the trouble that the pet gets into and what ultimately happens. This book is perfect to those who love animals and mischief. Its perfect for grades kindergarten through 3rd.]]> 2018-09-06 17:45:34 UTC https://padlet.com/kjohnston21/j7qkjamxndew/wish/278569750 Monster and Mouse Go Camping by Deborah Underwood. Date Completed: 9/5/18. Picture Book #2. Hot New Book. kjohnston21 https://padlet.com/kjohnston21/j7qkjamxndew/wish/278585291 Mouse wants to go camping but Monster is afraid to go. Mouse tells Monster all the fun things that they can do while camping. Once Monster is convinced, they have an awesome adventure but along the way they run into some trouble. At the end, everything works out and Monster and Mouse have a great time. This is for those who love adventure and comedy. This is perfect for kindergarten through 2nd grade.]]> 2018-09-06 18:10:53 UTC https://padlet.com/kjohnston21/j7qkjamxndew/wish/278585291 Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus by Mo Williams. Date Completed: 9/1/18. Picture Book #1. Caldecott Honor Book. kjohnston21 https://padlet.com/kjohnston21/j7qkjamxndew/wish/278591712 The bus driver has to take a quick break to get something done. He only has one rule, "Don't let the pigeon drive the bus!" But the pigeon wants to drive the bus! He tries to get you to let him ride the bus. But does the driver come back before the pigeon tries to drive?
This book is perfect for those who like comedy and it's perfect for kindergarten through 2nd grade.]]> 2018-09-06 18:22:12 UTC https://padlet.com/kjohnston21/j7qkjamxndew/wish/278591712 Mother Ghost by Rachel Kolar. Date Completed: 9/5/18. Picture Book #3. Hot New Book kjohnston21 https://padlet.com/kjohnston21/j7qkjamxndew/wish/278596527 Do you like nursery rhymes? Do you love Halloween related things? Then this book is for you! These are the nursery rhymes that you grew up on but they have been changed to Halloween themes! I recommend this book to those who love nursery rhymes and Halloween. This is perfect for kindergarten through 2nd grade.]]> 2018-09-06 18:30:11 UTC https://padlet.com/kjohnston21/j7qkjamxndew/wish/278596527 Fu Finds the Way by John Rocco. Date Completed: 9/6/18. Picture Book #5. Mirror Book. kjohnston21 https://padlet.com/kjohnston21/j7qkjamxndew/wish/279105863 Fu is a child in Asia helping his dad in the rice farm. He messes up his rows of rice and must do them over again. He then unknowingly challenges Chang, a leader in he army. Fu and Chang must duel the next morning. Fu freaks out and goes home to grab his father’s sword and finds the Master of Great Warriors. Maybe he can help Fu. So, he goes to Master but he initially turns Fu down. Fu pleads with him and even tries to give Master his pet duck. Master ends up agreeing but doesn’t train Fu in fighting, but tea making. Fu doesn’t understand but goes along anyway. They practice tea making all night and Master says that Fu has done well, and Fu takes off to the duel. Fu starts by making tea and Chang’s troops start laughing at Fu. Does Fu have to fight Chang? I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to learn a little bit about the Asian ways of life and learning about patience. I would say this book is perfect for kindergarten through 5th grade.]]> 2018-09-08 20:04:19 UTC https://padlet.com/kjohnston21/j7qkjamxndew/wish/279105863 Daisy Comes Home by Jan Brett. Date Completed: 9/6/18. Picture book #6. Mirror Book. kjohnston21 https://padlet.com/kjohnston21/j7qkjamxndew/wish/279105935 Mei Mei has the 6 happiest chickens in China. Mei Mei takes care of them well, giving them treats, putting fresh hay in their nests, and giving them baths when they get into the mud. She even has a special call that they all come running to. But one chicken didn’t feel all that happy. The other chickens picked on her all the time by pushing her off the perch. She had to sleep outside the hen house all the time. One night while sleeping outside in a basket close to the river, the river picked her basket up and took her away. She ends up going on all kinds of adventures trying to fight off various creatures along the way. Eventually somebody picks Daisy up and takes her to market to sell her. While all this is happening, Mei Mei can’t find her anywhere on her farm. She must give up soon to sell eggs at the market. While at the market, somebody tells Mei Mei that he’s seen one of her baskets at the fishing ward. She hurries off to see if she can find Daisy. Will she be able to find her? I would recommend this book to those who want to learn that standing up for yourself can pay off in the end. I would recommend this book to kindergarten through 5th grade.]]> 2018-09-08 20:05:28 UTC https://padlet.com/kjohnston21/j7qkjamxndew/wish/279105935 My Heart Will Not Sit Down by Mara Rockliff. Date Completed: 9/6/18. Picture Book #7. Mirror Book. kjohnston21 https://padlet.com/kjohnston21/j7qkjamxndew/wish/279106005 This book is about a girl named Kedi who lives with her tribe in Africa. She ells us all about how she goes to school and learns many different things. Her teacher is from America. On one particular day, he was not happy. His tribe in America were going through a hard time. At this time, the Depression had hit America. His tribe was having trouble getting food and not having enough work. Kedi is having a hard time dealing with this news. She wants to help the people in America, so she decides to raise some money in her tribe. She asks her mother first, but her mother says that they don’t have enough money to spare because they must pay the head tax. So, she goes around to the other people in her tribe. No one had money to spare. She was sad they she couldn’t help the people in America. The next morning on her way to school, her mother had given Kedi a coin to give to her teacher. She was very excited, so she ran to school. While at school, one of her classmates had asked teacher if there were a lot of children in New York, where Teacher is from. He said that there were more children there than in the village. Kedi was discouraged by the small coin that she had because she knew that it wasn’t going to be enough to feed everybody. Then the class heard noises outside. The village had decided to start a fundraiser. Kedi and Teacher were so happy that they were able to raise a little bit of money for the people in New York.]]> 2018-09-08 20:06:30 UTC https://padlet.com/kjohnston21/j7qkjamxndew/wish/279106005 Mufaro’s Beautiful Daughters by John Steptoe. Date Completed: 9/6/18. Picture Book #8. Mirror Book. Caldecott Honor Book. kjohnston21 https://padlet.com/kjohnston21/j7qkjamxndew/wish/279106064 This book is an African tale of a man named Mufaro and his two daughters, Manyara and Nyasha. They lived in a small African village about a half a day’s journey to the city where the great king lived. Everyone agreed that Mufaro’s daughters were very beautiful. Manyara, despite being beautiful, had a bad temper. She wanted to be queen one day. Manyara even tells her sister that if she became queen, Nyasha will become Manyara’s servant. Nyasha doesn’t think much of it though. She just goes about her business. Nyasha just went about her chores. She kept a small plot where she kept her vegetables. She was always happy and always singing. One day, a small garden snake had come into her plot. She called him Nyoka and she welcomed the snake to her garden since he kept little creatures away from her garden. One day, a messenger arrived from the great city saying that the king was looking for the most beautiful women from the land to become queen. So Mufaro and his daughters were going to go out the next morning to see if the king would take one of the daughters as a wife. Manyara wanted to go right then but Mufaro didn’t want to send her alone. Manyara left that night anyways. She came across many things while she was on her journey. She came across a small child, an elderly woman, and a man with his head under his arm. She was mean to all of them because she thought they would have to respect her once she became queen. The next morning, no one could find Manyara so they took off on the journey anyways. Nyasha came across the same people that her sister did, but Nyasha was more kind to the people. Once the wedding party got to the city, Manyara came up to them saying there was a monster in the place. Nyasha went in anyways. The king welcomed her with open arms and said she was worthy. His family welcomed her to the kingdom and soon she became queen. This book has a message to always be kind to people. People learning virtues would enjoy this book. I would recommend kindergarten through 5th grade to read it. ]]> 2018-09-08 20:07:38 UTC https://padlet.com/kjohnston21/j7qkjamxndew/wish/279106064 Tar Beach by Faith Ringgold. Date Completed: 9/6/18. Picture book #9. Mirror Book. Caldecott Honor Book and Coretta Scott King Award. kjohnston21 https://padlet.com/kjohnston21/j7qkjamxndew/wish/279106138 Cassie grew up in New York during the 1930’s and 1940’s. She can fly! She likes to fly around the neighborhood she lives in and see all of the sights. She sees her parents, neighbors, and her little brother on the roof of their building, which she calls tar beach, while she flies by. She loves the George Washington Bridge the most. She loves it the most because her daddy helped build the bridge and that it was opened the day she was born. She likes to walk around New York with her dad. He shows her the new buildings that he works on. She wants him to be rich and have a consistent and stable job so he won’t have to leave mom during the winter to find jobs. She just wants her mom to be happy and not have to worry so much. All in all, she is happy. She just likes being able to fly at night and to claim her favorite buildings by flying over them. I would recommend this book to those who want to experience what it’s like to be able to be free and want to learn something about another family. I would recommend this book to kindergarten through 3rd grade.]]> 2018-09-08 20:08:44 UTC https://padlet.com/kjohnston21/j7qkjamxndew/wish/279106138 Rosa by Nikki Giovanni. Date Completed: 9/2/18. Nonfiction Picture Book #3. Mirror Book. Caldecott Honor Book and Coretta Scott King Award. kjohnston21 https://padlet.com/kjohnston21/j7qkjamxndew/wish/279107003 This story is about the life of Rosa Parks. She had a good life. She had a husband and her mother lived with her. She had a job with an alterations department. She even was the best seamstress around. One day while coming home from  a long day from work, she decided to sit in the neutral section of the bus. She was thinking about the dinner she was going to make when she got home. She sat next to another black man and started having a nice conversation with him. Once she got comfortable she started daydreaming. Soon enough, some white people had gotten onto the bus. The black people around Rosa had started moving to make room for the white people. But Rosa refused to move, even when the bus driver had told her several times to move. Eventually the police were called to remove her from the bus. Rosa had been arrested. While in jail, the black community had saw the opportunity to get involved with a nonviolent civil rights movement. They told every black person to not ride the bus. They walked everywhere they went and even carpooled when they could. Even Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. got involved with the movement. The bus companies started losing money because half of their riders were not riding the buses. After a year, it was concluded that segregation on buses was illegal and wrong. The black community had won! I would recommend this book to those who love history and the civil rights movement. I would recommend this book to 4th-6th grade.]]> 2018-09-08 20:22:54 UTC https://padlet.com/kjohnston21/j7qkjamxndew/wish/279107003 Junie B. Jones: One-Man Band by Barbara Parks. Date Completed: 9/6/18. Early series book #4. kjohnston21 https://padlet.com/kjohnston21/j7qkjamxndew/wish/279107355 There was going to be a kickball tournament for the whole first grade and Junie B. was very excited! She couldn’t hold her excitement for very long. She practiced any time that she could. Soon enough, she kicks a full watering can and smashes her pinky toe. She could no longer participate in the tournament and she was bummed. Mr. Scary comes up with the idea that for those who didn’t want to be in the tournament could be cheerleaders. Her and one of her classmates do not want to be cheerleaders so they decide to put on a half time show, full of cymbals, a cowbell, and some singing. There was even going to be costumes. Junie was excited! On the day of the event, her friend chickens out and runs away. Does Junie B. save the show? Read the book to find out!  I would recommend this book to those children who love Junie B. and her antics of first grade. I would recommend this book to 1st through 3rd grade.]]> 2018-09-08 20:29:15 UTC https://padlet.com/kjohnston21/j7qkjamxndew/wish/279107355 Big Nate: Silent but Deadly by Lincoln Peirce. Date Completed: 9/8/18. Graphic Novel #2. kjohnston21 https://padlet.com/kjohnston21/j7qkjamxndew/wish/279108093 This graphic novel goes through Nate’s crazy antics. Nate is a young boy and does the typical boy things. He loves to hang out with friends, go to school, and do the typical boy stuff. While at school, Nate tries to get ahead by cheating and tries to win everyone over with his various antics. He tries to get his friends to do things for him when he needs to do them himself. His friends even try to get him to do things that he doesn’t want to do but does them anyways. I would recommend this book to anyone who wants a silly book. This book is perfect for 3rd through 8th grade. ]]> 2018-09-08 20:41:30 UTC https://padlet.com/kjohnston21/j7qkjamxndew/wish/279108093 Action Presidents: George Washington by Fred Van Lente and Ryan Dunlavey. Date Completed: 9/8/18. Graphic Novel #3. kjohnston21 https://padlet.com/kjohnston21/j7qkjamxndew/wish/279108136 George Washington was your ordinary guy. He lived in Virginia while growing up on a tobacco farm. He was raised to be a good British boy and wanted to be just like the British. As he grows up, he gets put into various positions that he doesn’t want to be put in. He doesn’t want to lead he army but on multiple occasions he does anyway. He doesn’t want to be put into important positions, but he does anyway. He even goes into being the first president of the newly formed United States. He eventually gets married and runs the country even though he doesn’t want to. He goes down in history as being a great guy for the country.]]> 2018-09-08 20:42:19 UTC https://padlet.com/kjohnston21/j7qkjamxndew/wish/279108136 Grow Up, David! By David Shannon. Date Completed: 9/9/18. Picture book #10. Hot New Book. kjohnston21 https://padlet.com/kjohnston21/j7qkjamxndew/wish/279225731 David likes to get under people’s feet. In this story, David follows around his older brother. His older brother does not like it at all. He thinks that David should mind his own business and go away. Throughout the story you see the typical sibling relationship of getting each other in trouble, daring the other to call mom, and eventual playing together. I would recommend this book to those who love David and his antics and want something funny. I would suggest this book to kindergarten and first grade.]]> 2018-09-10 00:58:02 UTC https://padlet.com/kjohnston21/j7qkjamxndew/wish/279225731 Labracadabra by Jessi Nelson and Karen Leigh Hopkins. Date Completed: 9/10/18. Early Chapter Book #5. kjohnston21 https://padlet.com/kjohnston21/j7qkjamxndew/wish/280161067 Zach’s parents had a surprise for him. He was wondering what he had doens to deserve a surprise. He couldn’t think of anything that he had done but his mom said that he didn’t always have to do something special to deserve a surprise. All he had to do was clean up his room while his mom and dad went off the get the surprise. His neighbor who was babysitting was helping. Soon enough his dad yelled at him to close his eyes and he did. He heard a dog run in the house. He had always wanted a dog! But he didn’t want a mutt like the one that his parents got. He wanted a pure bred. But his mom and dad wanted Zach to give the dog a chance. Larry, the dog, had had a hard life. Larry was interesting. He even had a funny tail that would do figure eights when he was excited. Then one day his cousin Seymour came over. Seymore was allergic to a lot of things but fortunately not Larry. The family was going to the beach for the weekend. Once they got in the car and drove off, Zach rolled down his window because Seymour had gotten car sick. Soon enough, a bee came flying in and Seymour is allergic to bees. After much excitement of trying to get the bee out of the car, Larry bats the bee out of the car with his tail. Instantly Larry became the greatest dog ever. When they had gotten back to the beach and Seymour had gone home, Zach’s neighbor came over to play. He was bored but Larry came out to save the day! I would recommend this book to kids who love dogs. This book is perfect for 1st and 2nd grade. ]]> 2018-09-12 01:40:37 UTC https://padlet.com/kjohnston21/j7qkjamxndew/wish/280161067 Marie Curie by Elizabeth Macleod and John Mantha. Date Completed: 9/10/18. Nonfiction Picture Book #4. kjohnston21 https://padlet.com/kjohnston21/j7qkjamxndew/wish/280161221 Elizabeth Macleod and John Mantha write about the life of Marie Curie. She grows up in Poland and is great at school. After finishing high school with top marks, Marie decides to get a job to help her go to college. Although women are not allowed to attend college in Poland, she dreams of going to Paris to attend school. She studied science and continued to receive top marks. She does a lot of things to save money by finding the cheapest place to live and not having heating. Once she finished school, she met Pierre Curie. He was a scientist and they instantly fell in love. They got married and had a child. They worked together in the science lab. Together they discover other metals that give off radiation. They have another child a couple of years later and Pierre goes to teach at the local university. Soon after their second child is born, Pierre dies in a horse and wagon accident. The university had asked Marie if she wanted to take Pierre’s job and she accepted. Before she had passed away, she had won two Nobel Prizes, the first woman to do so. In 1934, Marie dies from a blood disease that was caused by radiation.]]> 2018-09-12 01:41:36 UTC https://padlet.com/kjohnston21/j7qkjamxndew/wish/280161221 The Stars Beneath Our Feet by David Barclay Moore. Date Completed 9/11/18. Mirror Book. Hot New Book. Chapter Book #3. kjohnston21 https://padlet.com/kjohnston21/j7qkjamxndew/wish/280161368 The Stars Beneath Our Feet follows Wallace, also known as Lolly, in his 13th year. It’s been a rough year for him. His brother had gotten shot in gang violence. His mom and dad divorced, and his mom was dating a woman, named Yvonne. He is living in Harlem, New York in the middle of all the crime and gang violence. He is a good kid and goes to school and after school. He has friends, but he is spiraling into deep depression. The only thing that helps him is building various structures with Legos. His Lego creations help him cope with the lose of his brother and helps him distance himself from the world. Yvonne notices this. Luckily, she works at the toy store that Lolly loves so much. She starts bringing him lost Legos that were going to end up in the trash. Lolly is excited! So, he starts building a city with them in his bedroom. Soon enough it starts overflowing into the apartment. His mom is not too happy with it and starts nagging him to take it down. As he is hanging out in after school, the director, Mr. Ali, tries to talk with Lolly to see if everything is alright. Although Mr. Ali is trying to help, Lolly doesn’t want the help. Then Lolly comes up with an idea and runs it by Mr. Ali. Lolly wants to use a spare storage room, which is huge, for his Lego creations. Mr. Ali agrees if Lolly gets his school work done first. Lolly starts bringing the Legos that Yvonne gives him to after school so that he can build his city. Not long after that, Mr. Ali lets another after schooler, Rosamund, in to the storage room to build Legos. Lolly notices from the beginning that there isn’t something quite right with Rose, but he doesn’t mind, only if he gets to build. Soon enough Lolly and Rose start to form a relationship while building Legos. They start hanging out and walking all over New York to see the sights and to draw them. On another occasion, while hanging out with his friend Vega, they start running into trouble with some gangs. Two members from a random gang start to harass Lolly and Vega. These gang members steal things from Lolly and Vega. They get upset and lie to their parents about how the stuff went missing. Vega soon comes up with a plan. He gets a gun from his cousin who is in a gang. Vega wants to fight the two gang members but Lolly ends up talking Vega out of it. They end up not joining the gang and vow to only do good things with their lives. When the year is over, Lolly realizes that he has grown up quite a bit. He realizes that through his friends, he was able to overcome his grief over his brother and to realize that he doesn’t have to end up like him. I would recommend this book to those who want to learn a little bit of what it’s like to grow up in Harlem. I would also suggest this book to those who want to see how people can change over a year’s time. This book is perfect for middle and high schoolers. ]]> 2018-09-12 01:42:31 UTC https://padlet.com/kjohnston21/j7qkjamxndew/wish/280161368 Look Inside a Tepee by Mari Schuh. Date Completed: 9/10/18. Nonfiction Picture Book #5. kjohnston21 https://padlet.com/kjohnston21/j7qkjamxndew/wish/280165429 Mari tells us the history and purpose of a tepee. The Native Americans built tepees out of wood poles and buffalo hides. Native Americans used to live in these. Tepees were common with the Native Americans because they are easy to travel with. They are easy to build too. The women of the tribe put the cones in a cone shape and tied them together. Then they fit buffalo hide around the sticks. They used logs or stones to anchor the tepee into the ground. The door faced east to greet the morning sun. The Indians built fires on the inside of the tepees so there was a hole at the top to let the smoke out. In the winter, the hide was lined with more hide in to keep the Indians warm. In the summer the bottom of the tepee is rolled up to let heat out. They slept on furs and blankets. Today, the tepee is used for ceremonies and to learn about the past. ]]> 2018-09-12 02:06:28 UTC https://padlet.com/kjohnston21/j7qkjamxndew/wish/280165429 Cute as an Axolotl by Jess Keating. Date Completed: 9/14/18. Nonfiction Picture Book #6. kjohnston21 https://padlet.com/kjohnston21/j7qkjamxndew/wish/281560998 This book is all about cute animals like the axolotl. This book gives us information about the animals. They tell us a quick summary of what the animal is and what cool facts there are. The give us the name, species name, size, diet, habitat, and predators and threats. There are 17 different animals in the book. They even give us the science behind being cute at the end of the book. ]]> 2018-09-14 23:52:00 UTC https://padlet.com/kjohnston21/j7qkjamxndew/wish/281560998 Desert Elephants by Helen Cowcher. Date Completed: 9/12/18. Nonfiction Picture book #7. kjohnston21 https://padlet.com/kjohnston21/j7qkjamxndew/wish/281561100 Helen gives us a lot of information about the elephants of West Africa. She tells us that these elephants are the last remaining ones that have the longest migration route of any elephant. The migration route is circular and 300 miles long. They live in the desert and following the water is super important to them. The people in this area are friends of the elephants. They make sure to stay out of their way, so they can eat and drink. Even though they have trouble sometimes finding water, the matriarch of the group knows where to go. When tourists come, they sometimes get too close to the elephants and the elephants get scared. When the tourists realize this, they go away. When new people come into the area, they build their houses on the migration route of the elephants. The people of the area tell them that they will get hut if they stay there. The people help the newcomers move to a safer area. Soon enough, the elephants reach the Elephant’s Doorway. That’s where the most water and food is. They are happy, and they go and cool themselves in the mud. ]]> 2018-09-14 23:53:03 UTC https://padlet.com/kjohnston21/j7qkjamxndew/wish/281561100 Archaeologist’s Tools by Anders Hanson. Date Completed: 9/13/18. Nonfiction Picture book #8. kjohnston21 https://padlet.com/kjohnston21/j7qkjamxndew/wish/281561202 Anders tells us all about the archaeologist tools. He tells us about the backhoe, total station, trowel, and sifter. He even tells us what archaeologists do. When he tells us about the tools, he tells them what they do and why they are important for the archaeologists. He includes pictures as well. This is perfect for those who want to learn about archaeologists and their tools. This is perfect for kindergarten through second grade. ]]> 2018-09-14 23:54:07 UTC https://padlet.com/kjohnston21/j7qkjamxndew/wish/281561202 El Deafo by Cece Bell. Date Completed: 9/13/18. Graphic Novel #4. Mirror Book and Newberry Honor Book. kjohnston21 https://padlet.com/kjohnston21/j7qkjamxndew/wish/281561317 El Deafo is all about Cece. She is the youngest of three children. She lives with her brother, sister, mom, and dad. She contracted meningitis at four years old. She ended up surviving the illness but not without the consequences. She doesn’t realize it right away, but she knows that something isn’t right. She can’t hear anything. Her mom gets in contact with an audiologist. He runs some tests and figures out that she is deaf. He makes some molds of her ears, so he can set her up with some hearing aids. At first, she doesn’t like them. It sounds like the people around her are underwater. Her parents send her to a special school, so she can learn how to communicate with people around her. She learns fast. By the end of the summer after her first year of school, her family moves to a different district. It’s hard for Cece to move because she doesn’t want to leave her friends behind.  But she watches it anyway. When they move to their new house, Cece and her siblings are watching tv. She can’t hear the tv very well. She notices that there is a kid just like her and wears a hearing aid just like her. She sees that her siblings hear the deaf kid something bad. She wants to know but her siblings don’t want to tell her. They end up telling her that the other people had called the deaf child El Deafo. Cece kind of likes the name but not the way the other people say it. She ends up calling her superhero self El Deafo. When she gets to her new school, she gets a new type of hearing aid, called the Phonic Ear, to help her to hear her teachers during school. She doesn’t like it because it’s big and she must strap it onto her body, but she soon gets used to it. Even though she must wear her hearing device to school, she makes new friends. One of them is named Laura. Laura isn’t very nice to Cece but Cece goes along with it because Laura is her only friend. Cece makes some more friends and Laura gets jealous. Cece decides she doesn’t want to be friends with Laura anymore. As the years go by, she gets more comfortable with her hearing aid. Friends come and go. By the time she’s in fourth grade, she ends up having enough friends to go to a sleep over. She doesn’t like it and calls her mom to come get her. She gets through fourth grade and during the summer, her mom makes her go to a sign language class at her church. She hates it so much that she makes her mom let her stop going. She makes a new friend in her neighborhood and plays with her all the time. One time while they’re playing, Cece hurts one of her eyes. She doesn’t go blind but her friend gets very scared and starts to avoid Cece. Cece is sad and tries to get her friend to play again. It almost takes the whole summer. To know how the story ends, pick it up at your local library. This book is perfect for those who want to know about what it’s like to be deaf. I would recommend this book for middle and high school students. ]]> 2018-09-14 23:55:25 UTC https://padlet.com/kjohnston21/j7qkjamxndew/wish/281561317 Rain Reign by Ann M. Martin. Date Completed: 9/13/18. Mirror Book. Chapter book #4. kjohnston21 https://padlet.com/kjohnston21/j7qkjamxndew/wish/281561452 Rain Reign is about Rose. She tells us that this story is a nonfiction story about her. She has high-functioning Autism and she loves homonyms, rules, and prime numbers. She is a fifth grader at Hatford Elementary. She often has problems with bursting out in class at inappropriate times and her father doesn’t like getting the notes from school every week about her behavior. She can’t help it though. She does have a teacher aide that sits with her in class to help her whenever she needs to calm down. At home, she lives with her single father named Wesley. They live close to his brother named Weldon. Weldon and Rose have a special relationship. He accepts her quarks and allows her to talk about homonyms, rules, and prime numbers. She feels more comfortable around Weldon than her father because her father won’t let her talk about the things she likes the most. She had a mother for the first two years of her life. Her dad told Rose that her mother had left them. Rose doesn’t know what to do with the information, so she just accepts it. One day, her dad comes home with a dog that he found behind the Luck of the Irish, the bar he likes to go to and drink. Rose says that if she’s a stray, then they should find her owners, but her father told her if they didn’t even put a collar on her, then they don’t care enough about her. She accepts the answer and names the dog Rain, which has two homonyms, reign and rein. She loves this dog. It gives her a friend while she’s not in school. Rain soon becomes apart of a new routine for Rose, which she also enjoys. She then tells us why she can’t ride the bus. She constantly tells the bus driver about all the people who have broken the rules of the road. The bus driver gets so annoyed with her that the school ends up telling her father that he must drive Rose to school. While at school, she is almost constantly bothered by the everyday sounds of her teacher’s computer and the whispers of her classmates. She also gets very bothered when her fellow classmates don’t follow the rules. She also tells us about the time that Rain followed her to school. While her uncle drives her to school, he decides that Rain should come along too. While she gets out of the car, Uncle Weldon holds Rain’s collar as he closes the door, but he lets go by accident and Rain runs in! She eventually finds Rose and her classmates laugh. Her classmates think it’s the best day ever. Soon enough, there is a hurricane that’s making its way towards America. Rose starts to get worried about the storm. She constantly tells her father and he ends up going to get supplies anyways. As they wait for the storm, Rain and Rose are constantly finding new homonyms and following their routines. One morning, her father lets Rain out to go to the bathroom, but the storm comes. Rain doesn’t come home, and Rose is worried. Rose finds that Rain doesn’t have her collar on and Rose gets mad at her father about not putting the collar on the dog. His explanation is that she always comes back, and she will come back eventually. The school is closed due to the hurricane and Rose takes this time to look for Rose. She ends up finding Rain at a shelter about 60 miles from her house. Her and Uncle Weldon drive out there to get her, but they come into a problem. Read the book to find out what the problem is! I would recommend this book who loves adventures. This is also a good book for those who want a look on what its like to have a form of Autism. This book is perfect for 4th-8th grades. 

]]> 2018-09-14 23:56:51 UTC https://padlet.com/kjohnston21/j7qkjamxndew/wish/281561452 Dave the Potter: Artist, Poet, Slave by Laban Carrick Hill. Date Completed: 9/15/18. Nonfiction Picture Book #9. Mirror Book. Coretta Scott King Award. kjohnston21 https://padlet.com/kjohnston21/j7qkjamxndew/wish/281726581  
Laban tells us of a period during slavery where Dave, who was literate, would make pottery. He tells us that Dave would make pottery pots that would hold grain, meat, or even memories. Laban also tells us that the other slaves would help Dave gather up clumps of clay and bring it to him to mold into things that they needed. Laban also tells us of Dave’s process of making the clay, using a flat wooden paddle would mix the clay with water until it was ready for him to work with. Dave would then throw the clay on his wheel and begin to work with it, molding it to become pots and water jugs. Once he was done with his work, he would let it dry for a little bit while he would make a glaze. He would then write a message on the pot and glaze it. This book is perfect for those who want to learn about history and learn a little about Dave’s life. This book is perfect for 2nd through 6th grade. 
]]> 2018-09-15 16:46:27 UTC https://padlet.com/kjohnston21/j7qkjamxndew/wish/281726581 Avalanches by Mari Schuh. Date Completed: 9/15/18. Nonfiction Picture Book #10. kjohnston21 https://padlet.com/kjohnston21/j7qkjamxndew/wish/281726831 Mari tells us all avalanches. The most often occur on snowy mountains like the Alps in Europe and the Rocky Mountains in the United States. Avalanches are caused by unstable snow, earthquakes, warm weather, wind, skiers, and loud noises. During an avalanche, huge piles of snow breaks loose and speeds down the mountain with great amounts of power. They can take ice, rocks, and trees and bury everything in its path. Staying safe is very important. There will be signs that let you know if avalanches are more common or not. Experts can help prevent large avalanches by setting off smaller ones away from people. Scientists measure avalanches by using the destructive force scale. Rescue teams are always on call to help find avalanche survivors. ]]> 2018-09-15 16:47:18 UTC https://padlet.com/kjohnston21/j7qkjamxndew/wish/281726831 Piecing Me Together by Renee Watson. Date Completed: 9/21/18. Mirror Book. Newberry Honor Book and Coretta Scott King Award. Chapter Book #5. kjohnston21 https://padlet.com/kjohnston21/j7qkjamxndew/wish/284746959 Jade is smart African American girl. She is an artist and loves to learn about anything around her. She a high school student at St. Francis High School, a private school in her area of Portland, Oregon. She is on scholarship there to help get her more opportunities than at the public school. She doesn’t have many friends there but she does try hard to get ahead. She takes every opportunity that’s given to her. She even goes to Woman to Woman, a program that pairs younger students with mentors. This program is to help struggling students better themselves with the help of the older girls. Jade doesn’t want to do it at first, but her mom insists that she does because it gives Jade a scholarship to any college within the state of Oregon. Soon enough, while riding the city bus to school, she makes a new friend, Sam, that also goes to St. Francis. They soon become close but they do struggle at times. Sam is white, so she doesn’t quite understand what Jade goes through daily. But life goes on. Jade gets to go to many different places around Portland with Woman to Woman, which Jade enjoys. Her mentor, Maxine, really helps Jade to speak up when things are going rough and need to be talked about. Jade soon realizes that she can do things that she never thought of doing before. With the help of others, she can help others who are going through things that she can’t even imagine going through herself. I would recommend this book to those who want to see what it’s like to be an African American living in poorer part of town. I would recommend this book to 8th-12th grades.

]]> 2018-09-23 14:12:47 UTC https://padlet.com/kjohnston21/j7qkjamxndew/wish/284746959 Lunch Lady and the Cyborg Substitute by Jarrett J. Krosoczka. Date Completed: 9/27/18. Graphic Novel #5. kjohnston21 https://padlet.com/kjohnston21/j7qkjamxndew/wish/288414173 The lunch lady serves lunch by day and fights for justice by night. She and her lunch lady friend in this novel figure that something is fishy in the school. One teacher is home sick and the substitute is acting weird, giving more work than necessary. So, the lunch ladies decide that they need to figure this out. One lunch lady makes a diversion in the staff lounge while the other snoops around in the substitute’s classroom. The one in the classroom figures out that this teacher needs to be followed. After school, the lunch lady follows him to an abandoned building. This substitute teacher ends up being a cyborg! He was created by another teacher at the school to improve the other teacher’s ratings among the students. The lunch lady fights the cyborg and his army, defeats him, and brings the creator to justice! This book is perfect for crime fighting junkies and wants a laugh. I would recommend this book to 3rd-6th graders.]]> 2018-10-03 00:13:06 UTC https://padlet.com/kjohnston21/j7qkjamxndew/wish/288414173