The Homework Machine, by Dan Gutman

The book jacket shows a police file with photos of the four protagonists, a group of students who never would have chosen to be friends but who find themselves seated at the same table in Miss Rasmussen's fifth grade class. Readers are hooked from the beginning by the involvement of the police as the story unravels from interviews with the students, their parents, and teacher. One student, Brenton has found a way to harness the Internet to do his homework and soon all four gather daily at his house to use the homework machine despite their individual differences and the tensions among the four. Fun and fast to read, this one should hold lots of kid appeal.

Grades 4-6

The Man Who Named Clouds, by Julie Hannah and Joan Holub

As a boy, Luke Howard began keeping a weather journal. At the time, the 1700s very little was known about weather and how clouds formed. Fascinated by weather, Luke added paintings of the clouds to his weather records and soon developed a system for classifying and naming the types of clouds. His classification system was influenced by Linnaeus' scientific classification of plants and animals. A modern day student's weather journal including miscellaneous weather facts is interspersed throughout this interesting history of meterology and introduction to types of clouds. A good accompaniment to the fifth grade weather unit.

Grades 3-5

Not a Box, by Antoinette Portis

As any young child knows, a box is not a box but a racecar, a mountain, or a robot. A simple, repetitive text is paired with simple line drawings of a rabbit pretending that a box is anything but a cardboard box. This book has a classic, timeless feel and the question and answer exchange between the rabbit and the narrator will engage young listeners. This might be a fun writing model for older primary students.

PreK - K

A Million Dots by Andrew Clements

Did you know it would take 11.5 days to count a million dots? Clements' book has a million dots and gives students a concept of just how many a million is. Each page marks numerical milestones on the way to a million. The 600th dot is circled indicating the number of times a mosquito's wings beats 600 per minute. The adult sperm whale weighs 87,600 pounds and there are 615,000 different words in the Oxford Dictionary are among the facts in the text. Don't go cross-eyed counting the dots!


Illustrated by Mike Reed

What Do Wheels Do All Day, by April Jones Prince

Illus. by Giles Laroche

Wheels move us in many ways: skateboards, motorcycles, and ferris wheels. A simple text employs vivid verbs to introduce a variety of wheels shown in attractive paper collage illustrations. Useful for primary units on motion as well as language arts lessons about action words.

Grades K-2

The Last Dragon, by Silvana Di Mari

Yorsh is a young elf who encounters two humans whose differences lead to several humorous situations. Encountering an old prophecy that the last elf and last dragon will create a new beginning for a land engulfed in darkness, Yorsh journeys to find the dragon. His fate is also tied to the fate of a young orphan girl whose parentage the reader will predict. This was a very satisfying fantasy with humor, danger, and characters the reader quickly cares about.

Ruby Lu, Empress of Everything

In this sequel to Ruby Lu, Brave and True, feisty, Asian-American Ruby Lu jumps from one hilarious episode to another with her cousin, Flying Duck who has just emigrated from China to live with her. Children will relate to her thoughts and feelings about notes (to parents) pinned to her shirt; and her absolutely hilarious reaction to the Basic Lifesaving video she manages to check out from the library (because her dad doesn’t check her selections like her mom does).

Included at the end is, “Ruby’s Amazing Glossary and Guide to Important Words.” Another fun feature is the flip book of Chinese (?) sign language on the bottom of each page.

Interest level: Grades 1-3

Looking for a Moose by Phyllis Root

Four kids go into the woods in search of a "long-leggy, branchy-antlered, dinner-diving, bulgy-nose moose." Although they've never seen one, they're sure they'll know it when they do!
Amusingly, there are little leggy, branchy, bulgy moose parts sneaking out of the illustrations throughout the double pages spreads. Kids will probably need a little encouragement to spot the clues but with the repeated phrases and simple rhyme, it'll be fun to try!

Fun to pair with Going on a Bear Hunt

Aliens are Coming: the True Account of the 1938 War of the Worlds Radio Broadcast, by Meghan McCarthy

The true story of the broadcast that frightened a nation is introduced with a reminder that radio reigned before television. The illustrations alternate black and white to show people in the 1930s and their reactions while imaginative visions of aliens and their spaceships are full color and bound to attract youngsters to this book. An author's note gives more in depth history including other similar radio hoaxes and could extend the interest and usefulness of this book to middle schoolers. This would be a fun addition to technology history and to discussions of modern Internet hoaxes and the need to verify sources.

Grades 2 - up

The Year of the Dog, by Grace Lin

The "Year of the Dog" is for friends and family and finding yourself particularly for the Taiwanese, young girl named Grace for whom the year includes making a new friend when another girl from Taiwan enrolls in her school, writing and illustrating a book that wins a contest, and performing as a "Chinese" munchkin in a school production. Largely autobiographical, Lin says she wrote the book she wished she had growing up: one that mirrored her experience bridging two cultures. Small black and white decorations provide illustration of some of the Taiwanese cultural traditions. Family stories are also woven throughout.

Once I Ate a Pie, by Patricia MacLachlan & Emily MacLachlan Charest

Illus. by Katy Schneider

"13 Dogs Tell All!" in humorous poems accompanied by doggie paintings. The use of different font sizes and text placement are part of the visual delight of these poetic offerings. With names like "Mr. Beefy" and "Wupsie", the dogs have distinct personalities captured in text and illustration.

Grades 1-4

All of the Above, by Shelley Pearsall

Mr. Collins challenges his seventh grade math students to stay after school to build the world's largest tetrahedron and earn a world record. Four students alternate voices to tell what happens next and through the telling their individual stories emerge as well as their growing sense of teamwork and purpose. When vandals wreck their first attempt, the community rallies to help them. Mr. Collins sprinkles math facts and questions throughout like, "Each level of a tetrahedron increases by a factor of four." In order to beat the existing record, they must make four times as many pieces. Marcel's dad owns a barbecue place, and recipes for spicy barbecue sauce are also interspersed throughout the story. I expected to enjoy this book because it had a math theme, but was delighted to find it was a story with much greater depth because of the characters and their interactions.

Grades 5-8

A Dog for Life

John Hawkins and his older brother Tom come up with a scheme to save their dog, Mouse from being sent to a shelter after Tom was diagnosed with a life-threatening disease. Their mother was afraid that Mouse would bring in germs. However, Tom felt that he couldn’t survive without this special dog who shared the brothers’ gift of communicating with each other by reading each other’s thoughts. That’s how John and Mouse’s adventure begins. In spite of a naively created plan and a few unexpected, strange, and sometimes disturbing challenges, John and Mouse remain determined to reach their destination. Recommend this one to students who request adventure or family stories. Booklist starred review.

Grade 4-8

Wildfire, by Taylor Morrison

This is not a read aloud. It provides a great deal of details about the business of fighting wildfires. The page layout is sometimes confusing, but there is a wealth of information on each page. The paintings are perfect for conveying the heat of the fires. A central theme in the book is how our forests actually need fires and how fires are a part of nature's plan for healthy growth. Overdevelopment and people's general aversion to fire are putting our western forests in an ever more volatile and dangerous situation. This will be very popular with students interested in fires, disasters, and how things work.

Grades 4 - 8

Solomon and the Ant, retold by Sheldon Oberman

Here are forty-three clever, witty, and illustrative stories sure to delight students of all ages. This collection is a goldmine for storytellers. Oberman has gathered stories from many Jewish traditions - trickster tales, riddles, King Solomon, and the prophet Elijah. Each is short and told so clearly that the jewel at the heart of the story shines through every time. It is recommended for grades 5 and up....but many of the stories have delighted younger audiences at my school. The seven page introduction was a little long. Surely the material before and after each story would have sufficed. A simple "Sheldon Oberman did not live to actually hold this book in his hands; nevertheless, he held the stories in his heart" would have been more in keeping with the spirit of these fabulous folktales.

Grades 5 - 8

Counting on Grace, by Elizabeth Winthrop

A story just like this one could have taken place in any mill town in North Carolina. It is a gripping narrative of a spunky heroine named Grace Forcier. She lives in a textile mill town in Vermont and works with her mom as a doffer in the spinning room. The author describes the many hardships of the textile workers while weaving Grace's story of self-discovery and growth all the while. She and her friend Arthur are the best readers in school and Miss Lesley their teacher wants to keep them out of the dangerous mill. She is fired for her meddling and Grace is given the substitute teaching position. The Lewis Hine photo on the dusk jacket is of a real mill rat from 1910 - an "anemic little spinner in North Pownal Cotton Mill." In this book Grace writes a letter to Mr. Hine about working conditions for children in the mill and he arrives and takes pictures to document the terrible conditions . You will remember Grace long after you put this book down - she is the star among many wonderfully drawn characters. This book will be an excellent companion to Bread and Roses by Katherine Paterson and of course, Kids at Work: Lewis Hine and the Crusade Against Child Labor. SLJ starred review.

Grades 5 - 8

Andy Warhol: Pop Art Painter, by Susan Goldman Rubin

In a format befitting his pop-art style, the early life and work of Andy Warhol is presented against large blocks of bright color. Photographs and reproductions of his work fill the pages along with numerous quotes many from this nephew, James Warhol who authored Uncle Andy's (2003) a great companion to this work. The timeline is a particularly creative example of the form employing bold patterns and colors and filling in the later years of his life and work. The "back" material in this book: glossary, source notes, bibliography, illustration credits, and a list of museums where one can view his work including the Ackland in Chapel Hill are particularly strong. While this book is suitable for elementary school readers, it's hard to put an upper limit on its appeal.

Grades 4 - up.

Sister Trickster: rollicking tales of clever females by Robert San Souci

Eight amusing and lively trickster tales with females as the central figure are retold from Anne Virginia Culbertson's out-of-print book At the Big House. Featured characters are Molly Cottontail, Mistah Slickery Sly-Fox, Mistah Rooster and Mistah Bear, Mis Grasshopper, Mis Duck and Mis Goose. Using dialet these tales show that females are more adept at thinking than the male counterparts. Reminiscent of Joel Harris' Uncle Remus tales.
The San Soucis have recaptured these tales for our modern day students.

illustrated by Daniel San Souci, Recommended grade levels:3-6.

London Calling by Edward Bloor

The odd but compelling novel teeters somewhere between fantasy and historical fiction, SLJ calls it "magical realism". Martin time travels through his dreams to the blitz era of London to assist another boy in finding the truth to a personal mystery. The mystery reveals delicate secrets in England's war efforts and makes Martin question how history is written.

In the present, Martin is a student at fancy private school but after a bullying incident, he has been granted a semester off to do an extensive research project. His research is intertwined with the events in his dreams but is all pulled together in a fascinating conclusion for the present time conflicts as well as the events he is involved with in the war dreams.

Could be used as classroom discussion for WWII as well as more general discussion about how historical events are recorded and remembered.