Curl up with a good book…
I am picturing myself, cozy and warm, fire in the fireplace, snow outside, and a stack of good books on the table next to me. Here are a few I can recommend…
Travel Team
by Mike Lupica
Grades 5-9
This is a great story of family, adversity, and sports. Danny is a very short, but very talented basketball player who doesn’t make his town’s travel team because he is too short. Some great stuff in here about picking yourself up by your bootstraps, about families navigating the difficulties of divorce and alcoholism, and about kids growing and changing in those years between childhood and adulthood. Fun read!
Summer Ball
by Mike Lupica
Grades 5-9
This is the sequel to Travel Team, and it delivers on the sports drama and the learning to deal with failures, although the family drama is no longer an issue. This time Danny is at a camp where all the best kids in the country come to play ball, and he wonders if he’s really as good as everyone tells him. Lot’s of great messages about being true to yourself and not giving up on what matters to you.
Poppy
by Avi
Grades 3-6
This is a wonderful drama-filled story about a community of animals ruled by an imperious owl. When two mice who dance to their own drummers threaten that rule, events unfold in powerful ways. Great read-aloud with unforgettable characters.
Sitting Bull Remembers
by Ann Turner
Grades 4-6
This is a beautifully written fictionalized biography of Sitting Bull. He is telling his own story from captivity at the end of his life. The language and the illustrations are powerful and ring true. A great addition to a unit on Native Americans. Pair with A Boy Called Slow
Chowder
by Peter Brown
Grades 1-3
Chowder is not your typical dog, and therefore does not really fit in with the other dogs. (Check out his version of “digging for bones.”) But that can be lonely. A great lesson about being yourself and trusting that others will appreciate you for that.
Ain’t Gonna Paint No More
by Karen Baumont
Grades K-4
This play on the old song “Ain’t Gonna Rain No More” is a playful romp through the world of a creative and uninhibited young person. Fun, energetic language and hilarious illustrations by David Catrow.
