Mrs. D’s Reads

The school year is rolling and fall is definitely moving in here in Spokane. Here are some books to distract yourself as summer wanes.

The Lightning Thief
Rick Riordan
Grades 4-8

This is a wonderful start to a series that poses the question “What if the Greek Gods were alive and well and had moved Mount Olympus to New York City? Percy Jackson is a great reluctant hero, and while on the surface it might sound like another series where the main character learns he is powerful and important and perhaps part of a prophecy, Riordan definitely creates his own story here. A fun read, as is the sequel, “Sea of Monsters”, just out last month. 6th grade might consider it for a read-aloud when you are doing Greece and Rome.

The Liberation of Gabriel King
K.L. Going
Grades 3-5

I loved this sweet story about a boy who is afraid of everything being coached by his friend who appears to be afraid of nothing. The fact that the story is set in the South, and that Gabriel is white, and his friend is black, and that the local racists are alive and well and giving Gabriel’s friend something to really fear, gives this story enough of an edge that you come away feeling empowered instead of just entertained.

Superhero ABC
Bob McLeod
Grades K-4

This is a unique ABC book full of brightly colored and unsusual superheroes. Each page’s text is almost entirely alliteration, so kids will have lots of vocabulary to figure out, and could have a lot of fun creating their own superheroes in the same vein. Not to be missed.

The school year is officially rolling, and I have many wonderful books stored up to tell you about, plus there are a whole bunch of new ones coming out.

Endymion Spring
Matthew Skelton
Grades 5-8

I flew through this one at the lake this summer. It is a wonderful novel, part mystery, part fantasy, and part historical fiction. Skelton tells two parallel stories, one of a modern day boy in Oxford and one of a printer’s devil (assistant) to Johannes Gutenberg in the 15th century. Both boys find the same mysterious, and possibly dangerous, book (or perhaps the book finds them) and have to decide what to do with it. An interesting, exciting read.

Fancy Nancy
Jane O’Connor
Grades K-3

Nancy loves to dress up. The fancier the better: sparkle, glimmer, and shine are not optional. She can’t understand how she ended up in such an ordinary family. One special night, her family lets her dress them up and they go out to dinner. But when things don’t go as planned, Nancy learns that her plain old family is pretty special. A great story about appreciating differences, and about not judging people for what they look like.

Amelia to Zora: Twenty-Six Women Who Changed the World
Cynthia Chin-Lee
Grades 4-8

This is a unique sort of alphabet book of amazing women. The author has chosen many women you would expect, but many more that you would not. Both the cultures and the achievements these women represent are diverse. The illustrations are wonderful, and although each woman is only given a couple paragraphs of text, it is enough to assure you that her place in this book is well-deserved. I have not yet seen the second volume, “Akira to Zoltan: Twenty-Six Men Who Changed the World”, but I expect it to be just as interesting.

And a couple other things to consider…

I recently watched the documentary “No Direction Home” about Bob Dylan. I am not a huge Dylan fan, but this was a fascinating look at the earliest part of his career, and the making of an icon.

Also, my daughter and I watched the movie “Akeelah and the Bee”, about a girl’s journey to the National Spelling Bee. I know there have been a lot of “Bee” movies out there, but this one was a pretty fun take on it. Akeelah is an unforgettable character, and her story is one worth a couple of hours.

Here is a mostly complete list of what I read this summer.

Since a few people have asked, my favorite book of the season was definitely “The Book Thief”.

Here it is…

Books for kids:

The Empty Mirror James Lincoln Collier
Fly By Night Frances Hardinge
Endymion Spring Matthew Skelton
Bound Donna Jo Napoli
Fairest Gail Carson Levine
Kiki Strike Kirsten Miller
The Lightning Thief Rick Riordan
Inkheart Cornelia Funke
Inkspell Cornelia Funke
Gossamer Lois Lowry
Single Shard Linda Sue Park

Books for Young Adults:

The Book Thief Markus Zusak
Looking for Alaska John Green
Monster Walter Dean Myers
The Astonishing Adventures of
Fan Boy and Goth Girl Barry Lyga
Small Steps Louis Sachar

Books for Adults

Pictures From an Expedition Diane Smith
The Keep Jennifer Egan
The Zero Jess Walter
Tales of a Female Nomad Rita Golden Gelman