Sunday Fun Read

Today's Sunday Fun Read is a wonderful read for girls.

Princess Academy by Shannon Hale is the story of a young lady who lives in a village on a mountain where her family works in a quarry.  She wants to work in the quarry too...but she is too little and too weak.

A strange visit from a prince looking for a bride has her attending the Princess Academy instead.

This is a very unusual book that has lots of exciting suspenseful moments.  You can't quiet figure out just what is going to happen next, which makes it a good book to read.

Sunday Fun Read

It's time for today's Sunday Fun Read.

Today's accelerated reading book recomendation is Hatchet by Gary Paulsen.

Hatchet is the story of a young boy named Brian, and his misfortune on an airplane.  The pilot has a heart attack, and the plane crash lands on an island.  Brian finds himself all alone on this island with nothing but a hatchet...hince the title of the book.

The book includes the adventures Brian goes through as he struggles to survive alone on this island.

This book is an awesome book, and it is one I often recommend for boys, although some girls enjoy it too.

If you read this book and like it, but you're not too happy with how it ends, Gary Paulsen has written another book called Brian's Winter that gives an alternate ending to Hatchet.

We have now been in school three days, and my students are already reading like crazy.  I hope some of you will enjoy this book recommendation.

Sunday Fun Read

Today's Sunday Fun Read is in honor of the celebration of our July 4th holiday.

We have had a great day filled with smoked pork, corn on the cob, baked beans, slaw, and homemade ice cream.  We also have enjoyed our share of fireworks this Fourth of July weekend.

The book I am recommending today would make a good summer read.  It is enjoyed more by girls than boys.

Journey to America by Sonia Levitin is the story of a teen girl named Lisa.  She and her family are Jews living in Germany at the start of the Holocaust.  When her father senses trouble, he journeys to America alone to find a new life for the family. 

The book is the story of Lisa and the rest of her family trying to make the trip.  Along the way, Lisa is separated from the rest of the family.

My Sixth Grade girls really enjoy this book.

Happy Reading and Happy 4th!

Have you ever heard of a Whangdoodle???

Only one and a half days of school remaining for us...whohoooooo.


We handed out over 20 tropheys at Awards Day on Friday to our Sixth Graders for Accelerated Reading.  Tomorrow we are having a "Buy to Build Your Own Sundae" Party.  Kids who got their AR points for the nine weeks get a bowl of ice cream.  Then, they buy the toppings for their ice cream with their AR points.  Chocolate syrup costs 2 points, m&m's cost 4 points and so on.


I really believe in Accelerated Reading...if you know good books to read.  That is the key.


And so...we have today's Sunday Fun Read.

The Last of the Really Great Whangdoodles was written by famous singer and actress Julie Andrews.  This book is a wonderful book of imaginative fiction.  It is one you cannot put down because you really want to find out what a Whangdoodle is....

Happy Reading!!!

SUNDAY FUN READ

Sooner or later, I know I will run out of books to recommend...but for now, my list just keeps going and going.  The book I am going to recommend for you today is at the top of my favorite list. 

I no longer get to share this book with my class, because it is a book that is read aloud  in Seventh Grade.  It is a book that kids cannot put down.  It is one of those books where you try to figure out the end, but you just can't seem to figure out the twist.

Bud Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis is about an orphan who is trying to find his father, except there is so much more to this book than just that.  Buddy believes that his father is a famous jazz musician, and he is determined to prove himself right.

This is a great book, and I highly recommend it for boys and girls.

Sunday Fun Read

When my children were little, the Easter Bunny would usually bring them a book in their Easter Baskets.  One of my all time favorite children's book has to be Guess How Much I Love You by Sam McBratney.

I read this book over and over to both of my children.

It also sparked many games coming up with things we loved each other more than...

For Easter Sunday, I just have to pick Guess How Much I Love You for my Sunday Fun Read Recommendation.

Sunday Fun Read

Which book should we choose to be our favorite for today?


Something funny?


A book for boys?


A romance?


How about a book that includes a little bit of history???


Letters From Rifka by Karen Hesse is one of my all time favorite books.  It is the story of a girl trying to get to America  from a Jewish community in Russia. At one point in her trip, she cannot travel with her family because she has ring worm on her head. 


I remember one year, our school had a contest where the students were to dress like a character from their favorite book.  One of my Sixth Grade girls dressed like Rifka.  Nobody else knew who she was, but I knew her as soon as she walked through the door.

Older girls will especially like this book about the struggles that Rifka has trying to find freedom in America.

SUNDAY FUN READ

                                 
                                   Have you seen the movie Holes???

In my opinion, the movie is no where near as good as the book.

I read the book before the movie came out. 

It was good to read it with no idea of what was about to happen next. 

Sixth Grade students really enjoy this book.

Who would have thought a book about digging Holes could be so intriguing???

Today's Sunday Fun Read is Holes by Louis Sachar.

If you would like to see other book recommendations, just click on the label "accelerated reading" at the right of this blog.

Sunday Fun Read

Drum Roll Please...

Announcing today's pick for the Sunday Fun Read...

Wringer by Jerry Spinelli.                                                                         

This is a book that Sixth Grade boys really like, but girls like it, also.  This book was requested by a student I had in my classroom several years ago.  He had seen the story on television, and he wanted to read the book. 

I ordered it...let him read it first...then, I read it....and the rest is history.  It has been a very popular book in my classroom ever since. 

The jist of the story is...
a small town where cages of pigeons are released on a particular day every year.

The men of the town stand around the field and shoot the pigeons.

It is a tradition for all of the ten year old boys in the town to go out into the field and wring the necks of all the pigeons that have not died.

The story is about a boy who is about to turn ten, and he does not want to be a

wringer.

I hope you enjoy the story of Wringer, by Jerry Spinelli!

SUNDAY FUN READ

Today's recommended Accelerated Reading book is written by one of my favorite author's, Roald Dahl.  It is a small book that can be read in one to two days.  I always try to make sure that I give it to a student that may not like to read on the first day of school.  When they see it is a good book, they will trust me to pick out another one for them.

Esio Trot is a funny, fun book for any age to read.  If you look closely, you will see that Esio Trot is Tortoise spelled backwards. 

I would highly recommend other Roald Dahl books.  The Magic Finger is another short book by Roald Dahl that is fun.  Danny the Champion of the World is another of his books that is fun.  Of course, Roald Dahl is most known for his book Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.
Read a book by Roald Dahl, and you can't go wrong.

Sunday Fun Read

Janie is eating lunch at school one day when she recognizes the face that is on the back of her milk carton.  You know...the missing children pictures that they sometime put on school milk cartons.  The picture she is seeing is a picture of herself.  So the story begins.  How can she be missing when she lives with her parents?  Or are they really her parents? 
The Face on the Milk Cartoon by Caroline B. Cooney is one of my Sixth Grade girls' favorite books.  It is the first in a series that most girls will continue to read after they have finished the first one.

Whatever Happened to Janie
The Voice on the Radio
What Janie Found

My daughter enjoyed reading these books so much, she picked Caroline B. Cooney this year for her author study for Sixth Grade.  After writing a letter to Mrs. Cooney as part of the project, she was thrilled to get a letter back.  It is now one of her prized possessions.  How special.

All of these are reasons that I have selected The Face on the Milk Cartoon by Caroline B. Cooney as our Sunday Fun Read.

When You Reach Me

SUNDAY FUN READ
My daughter requested hard-back books for Christmas.  One of the books she received was When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead. 

I chose this book for her on a whim.  One reason I chose it was that the reviews mentioned that a lot of references are made throughout the book to one of my daughter's favorite books, A Wrinkle In Time.

My daughter read the book in one day.  She gave it to me with the instructions that I should not read it until I had three hours straight, because I would not be able to put it down.  Do Mothers ever have three hours straight?

I started the book last Thursday.  I finished it just now.  Wow.  Now I understand why this book was chosen as the 2010 Newberry Winner...just announced on January 18,2010.    http://www.imcpl.org/kids/blog/?p=5690

I could not figure out the mystery of this book as I was reading.  I love books that surprise you with their ending and leave you thinking.  Not only that, I keep looking back at things in the book and slowly putting everything together.  I could easily read the book again to help it all make sense.

All of this is the reason I had to choose Rebecca Stead's When You Reach Me for our Sunday Fun Read. 

SUNDAY FUN READ

IT'S TIME IT'S TIME IT'S TIME

Here comes another SUNDAY FUN READ accelerated reading book recommendation.

This book is a little harder to read than the others I have recommended.  It takes a little while to recognize that every other chapter is written in either the past or the present.

It is about a family that moves into an older house and decide to knock out a wall in one of the rooms.  When they do so, they discover a hidden room with a skeleton lying on a table.  The book is a mystery as the characters try to figure out who the skeleton is and why that person would have been hidden in that room.

The kids really like this book.  It takes some of them a few chapters before they realize the past/present thing that is going on in the book.  Steal Away Home is written by Lois Ruby.  It is a 5.5 grade level book; worth 7 points.  This book is a great piece of historical fiction.

I hope you enjoy today's book recommendation.

SUNDAY FUN READ

Today's Sunday Fun Read is another great book to read aloud.  I usually read this one to my class at the end of the school year.

Andrew Clements is the author of a lot of great books.  Most of his books have something to do with school, and they usually depict someone holding a large object on the front cover of the book.

Today's Sunday Fun Read book pick is Frindle by Andrew Clements.  The large object he is holding on the cover of this book is an ink pen.  I usually give everyone in my class an ink pen ( a Frindle) that they can use to write with as long as I am reading the book.  We usually write with pencils, so this is a treat.

I think I like this book because it is about a teacher's influence on a student.  Kids who really like this book will usually end up reading other books written by Andrew Clements.  They are quick reads and easy to understand.

Enjoy!

SUNDAY FUN READ

Each Sunday I will be recommending an accelerated reading book that my Sixth Graders and I really enjoy.

Today's book recommendation is a really good book for kids who do not like to read.  I have had so many students read this book who would not read anything else.  Kids who are good readers will read it in one to two nights, because they cannot put it down.


It is a little scary, so it should not be read by kids who are easily frightened or who have trouble sleeping at night.


My Sunday Fun Read recommendation is Wait Til Helen Comes by Mary Downing Hahn.

Happy Reading!!!

SUNDAY FUN READ

It's time for...
SUNDAY FUN READ



Each Sunday, I will recommend a book that my Sixth Graders and I have really enjoyed.

Today's book pick is The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane by Kate DiCamillo.  I love this book!  It is a wonderful book to read aloud to your classroom or your child.  I just finished reading it to my class before the Christmas break.  We read 2 or 3 chapters each day, and I would dramatically close the book with them begging for more. 

Kate Dicamillo also wrote The Tale of Despereaux which most of you are probably familiar with as the movie.  It is also a great book to read.  It reads really fast.

I have purchased for my 11 year old daughter a new Kate Dicamillo book called The Magician's Elephant .  We are reading a chapter each night together, and I believe it is going to be another good book.

We hope you enjoy today's Sunday Fun Read!!!

SUNDAY FUN READ

I happen to be one of the few teachers who still believes strongly in Accelerated Reading. We encourage our students to read for rewards rather than grades...so they learn to love reading. Picking out a book is like choosing a movie at the video store. You'll get a better movie if you choose one a friend has already seen and recommended to you.

And so

We begin

SUNDAY FUN READ

Each Sunday, I will recommend a book that my Sixth Graders and I have really enjoyed.

We will begin today with one of my very favorites...

Chasing Redbird by Sharon Creech

This is a book you cannot put down because each chapter leaves you wanting to read the next. And, you won't be able to figure out the ending...it is nothing you would ever think of.

I hope you enjoy my first book recommendation!!!!!