Roller Girl

I've started working on reading the 2016 Newbery winners, and Roller Girl by Victoria Jamieson was one of the honor winners. It is a graphic novel about 12-year-old Astrid who goes to a roller derby bout with her mom and a friend and realizes that she has found something she will love. Roller derby camp ends up not being as easy as she expected, and things begin changing with her friends. The inside of the dust jacket reads, "There are bumps and bruises as Astrid learns who she is...and what it takes to be a strong, tough roller girl."

I really loved this book. I think it made it even better that a year or two ago, I went to a roller derby bout because my friend/neighbor plays roller derby. The story was engaging, the characters--especially Astrid--were real and believable, the pictures were descriptive and expressive, etc. I just loved the progression of the story as well as the life lessons Astrid learned about friendship and endurance. Normally I don't love graphic novels because they aren't long enough to engage me or they feel choppy, but this one was awesome. I'm a fan.

Rating: * * * (3/3 = Loved it)

Early Readers

I had a friend ask me yesterday about recommendations for early readers for her 4-year-old who is starting to read. I figured I'd do a post about that to share some of the best resources I've found. I know a lot of people use Bob books, and they work well for tons of people. I actually don't really like Bob books that much for me and Emmeline. (I feel like the character names and story lines revolve around their word/sound bank rather than making stories that are interesting or engaging.) After Emmeline became interested in basic reading, I started her on some leveled Guided Reading readers. I used these (click link). Those books are very repetitive, and the child can use the pictures to decipher the unknown words. It works on sight word recognition and helps your child gain confidence in reading. It doesn't work as much on sounding out words. To help Emmeline learn the principle of sounding out, I used Teach Your Child To Read in 100 Easy Lessons (click link). I never ended up finishing that book because I feel like she caught on super well and became more interested in just reading regular books on her own and kept improving that way.

Anyway, here are some great resources for early readers if your child is already starting to read and has some background. I really think every child learns differently, so it's good to scope out some different options (especially at the library) to see what engages your child best and go from there. I just did this post in one sitting, so I may add more to this later if I think of more. :)

• Elephant and Piggie books by Mo Williams: These are some of the best books ever. Emmeline loved them when she was a toddler and preschooler, and then when she started reading, I realized they were easy readers! They are great because Emmeline learned how to read with expression from these books because the characters have a lot of animation and emotion. Mo Willems's Pigeon books are also great and can be early readers--maybe after you've read it to your kid a time or two so they can use familiarity with the book to help them. I really like Mo Willems's books too because they are good literature. (As an author, he was won Caldecott Honors and Theodor Seuss Geisel awards.)
• Biscuit books by Alyssa Satin Capucilli: These books have lots of sight words, animals sounds, repetition, etc. Emmeline has always liked these books, so they were some of the first ones she tried out reading on her own. It's best to look for the ones that say "My First I Can Read Book" on the cover. They are simpler than some of the others.
• Starfall books: If you're looking for a free option just to see what your kid can do or is interested in, you can print/cut PDF books from Starfall's website (click link). (Scroll down to "Level-I: Cut-Up/Take-Home Books.") These aren't anything special, but they are simple and can help your child find success with reading.
• Phonic readers: We had given to us a Hello Kitty "phonics reading program" set. I don't know if these books are super great really, but Emmeline loves them. And sometimes, your kid loving an early reader set is more important than how "good" of literature it is or how well it teaches. There are lots of phonic reader sets on amazon (Star Wars, princesses, Little Critter, Fancy Nancy, Batman, Pinkalicious, etc.) So if you're trying to engage a child in reading who is maybe not super interested, I think these are a good way to go.
• Rookie Readers: I got a bunch of Rookie Readers from the thrift store. I think they are great early readers, but on Amazon, they cost like $4.95 each for a little paperback....which seems a little steep. But if you can find some kind of deal or get them from the library, these are fun because there are so many with different topics. We have ones called Car Wash Kid, Bugs, Firehouse Sal, etc.
• Pictureback Readers: These may be hard to come across. They say "A Pictureback Reader" at the top. I have a few (one from my childhood and two I got at thrift stores), and I love them. I have Wait for Us, Mud, and The Prince Has a Boo-Boo. I saw some are on amazon used, so maybe they're possible to find. But they are engaging and funny stories with a limited number of words used in each book. I found that some of the copies I have are now available in a newer version--Mud is a "Hello Reader" in Scholastic, and The Prince Has a Boo-Boo is available in the "I'm Going to Read" series. So these options (especially the "I'm Going to Read" books) may be good alternatives to "Pictureback Readers."
• Dr. Seuss and P.D. Eastman books: This is the obvious answer, but these are really good ones. Emmeline really loved Go, Dog, Go when she first started reading. She also liked Are You My Mother?, Ten Apples Up On Top, Green Eggs and Ham, and One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish. I never really got her into The Cat in the Hat or Hop on Pop, but those could be good ones as well. On these Dr. Seuss type books, you can look for the key words on the cover: "I Can Read it All By Myself." Some of these books say instead, "Bright and Early Books for Beginning Beginners." Some of those are great early readers (like 6 Sticks), but some are a little more complicated.
• Berenstain Bear books: The regular Berenstain bear books are quite long, but there are some stories that are short and are more of early readers. Some ones we have liked are The Spooky Old Tree, Bears in the Night, and Inside Outside Upside Down.

Young Chapter Books

This is kind of a random post for this blog, but I wanted to write this down to share with others. Starting when Emmeline was 3 and 4, she became interested in longer picture books. I started coming across some simple chapter books that included pictures on every page, and our lives changed. :) We now read lots of books like that, and it's just a great hit for this age range. I feel like a lot of people don't know about these type of books, but it's perfect for kids ages 4-5 and beyond. Here are some of our favorite books and series that fit into this category. Read and enjoy!

• Penny books by Kevin Henkes
• Mercy Watson books by Kate DiCamillo
• Princess in Black books by Shannon Hale
• Mr. and Mrs. Green books by Keith Baker
• Mr. Putter and Tabby books by Cynthia Rylant
• Boris books by Andrew Joyner
• Annie and Snowball books by Cynthia Rylant
• Henry and Mudge books by Cynthia Rylant
• Fly Guy books by Tedd Arnold
• Katie Woo books by Fran Manushkin
• Bink and Gollie books by Kate DiCamillo and Alison McGhee
• Cowgirl Kate and Cocoa books by Erica Silverman
• Cornelia and the Great Snake Escape by Pam Munoz Ryan
• Ling and Ting books by Grace Lin
• Monkey and Elephant books by Carole Lexa Shaefer

A lot of these are also great early readers. Now that Emmeline is learning to read, she likes to read some of these series independently. Scholastic has also started a group of books they call "Branches" that are transitional chapter books for new readers. The Boris books we've read for years is part of this. We've also read some of the Owl Diaries books, and Emmeline really likes them. I plan to try out more of these book series as well. http://www.scholastic.com/branches/about.htm

Fractured

I got Fractured, book 2 in the Slated series by Teri Terry, from the library. This book follows Kyla as she is caught between two dangerous adversaries and must decide where she stands. I won't elaborate further as to not give away more of the story, but you can look at the post below for my summary of the first book.

This was another super addicting book. Once I got into it, it was hard to stop reading. This was one of those books I should never read alone--I was completely freaked out by the end and was glad I wasn't home alone. I love Kyla as a character and felt so involved in her life and confused alongside her as she tried to figure out who to trust. I like how the book slowly uncovers more and more unanswered questions, but it has still left much to be discovered in book 3. Sidenote: I also really like this series because the books are pretty clean, though this one did have two swear words as well as a lot of bloodiness. Not for the faint of heart. :)

Rating: * * * (3/3 = Loved it)

Slated

I had a friend recommend Slated by Teri Terry, so I got it from the library. This book is about 16-year-old Kyla who is re-entering society after being slated--having her memory and personality wiped blank. (The government in this futuristic society takes care of young criminals by slating them.) But as Kyla starts getting used to life with her new family and new school, she finds herself with some memories she shouldn't have and realizes there is another side to everything--and she has to decide whether it's safe to get involved.

This was a super good book. It was extremely addicting and suspenseful, so I was kind of freaking out at times while reading it. I just thought the plot was very unique and clever, and I really loved the main characters, Kyla and Ben. It was fun to follow all of the side characters in the book and to figure out how things were going to play out. The book didn't have a satisfying ending, so I am anxiously awaiting books 2 and 3, which I have on hold at the library. Looking forward to reading the rest of the series!

Rating: * * * (3/3 = Loved it)

Theodore Boone: The Fugitive

I found Theodore Boone: The Fugitive by John Grisham at the library and was happy to see there was another book in this series. These books follow 13-year-old Theo, the son of lawyer parents who wants to be a lawyer or judge himself one day. This book follows the case from the previous book, that of Pete Duffy, a local man accused of murder. When Theo finds himself face-to-face with Pete while on a school trip to DC, suddenly Theo is more involved in the case than he intended.

I enjoyed the book--I just think this series is fun. The story is definitely not very believable at times, but I can look past that and just have fun with it. I think Theo is an interesting character, and I think these books would also be really educational for kids in terms of how the justice system works.

Rating: * * (2/3 = Liked it)

Echo

I saw Pam Munoz Ryan had written a new book called Echo, so I put it on hold at the library. (I really like this author.) I couldn't figure out a good way to explain a summary of the book, so here is the summary from the School Library Journal: "A mouth harp (aka harmonica) becomes the tangible thread that connects the stories of three children: Friedrich, a disfigured outcast; Mike, an impoverished orphan; and Ivy, an itinerant farmer's child. Their personal struggles are set against some of the darkest eras in human history: Friedrich, the rise of Nazi Germany; Mike, the Great Depression; Ivy, World War II. The children are linked by musical talent and the hand of fate that brings [the] harmonica into their lives. Each recognizes something unusual about the instrument, not only its sound but its power to fill them with courage and hope. Friedrich, Mike, and Ivy are brought together by music and destiny in an emotionally triumphant conclusion at New York's Carnegie Hall."

This was a well-written and engaging book. I feel like I really liked each separate story of the three kids and maybe would have preferred to hear each child's full story rather than the partial stories that were then interconnected in the book. I read this book a month ago so have already forgotten anything else to chime in, but it was a good one. :)

Rating: * * (2/3 = Liked it)