reving up for bookfair
The bookfairs at both my schools start in about a week, so I am thinking about titles I hope will be there…
The Akhenaten Adventure
by P. B. Kerr
Grade 5-8
I just read the first one in this series about two thirteen year-old twins who live a boring life until they discover that they are adolescent Djinn (the P.C. term for Genies) with amazing powers. So they fly off to London, reunite with a long-lost uncle, and, of course, save the day! It’s not perfect, but it’s a fun read, and there’s some interesting, and accurate, history of the middle east, particularly Egypt, in this first one.
There Is a Flower at the Tip of My Nose Smelling Me
by Alice Walker
Grade 2-5
This a simple but sumptious poem richly illustrated and expanded into a book. Walker’s use of personification (”There’s a road at the bottom of my feet walking me…” etc.) is surprising and effective. I could see a great lesson on figurative language starting with this book.
Skippyjon Jones
by Judy Schachner
Kindergarten-Grade 4
This is possibly one of my favorite read-alouds of all time. And, there will be a paperback edition for sale in the bookfair. And it was a Washington Children’s Choice Picture Book Award winner in 2005. And Skippyjon is possibly one of the most lovable characters I’ve ever “met”. Fabulous language, adventure, humour, illustrations. There are two newer ones as well, “Skippyjon Jones in the Dog House”, and the brand new “Skippyjon Jones and Mummy Trouble”. (Second grade teachers, I am sorry, but I already shared this book with your kids. However, they love it so much, that it would be a great one for your classroom libraries.)
Koala Lou
by Mem Fox
Grades K-2
OK, not new, but I realized this fall that we had lost our library’s copy, so I replaced it and if this is one of those books that has slipped your mind, you might want to rediscover it. A great one on being who you are and not getting caught up in what others think of you.
