Restart by Gordon Korman

Gordon Korman is an amazing Canadian author.  He published his first book when he was just 14 years old and went on to publish four more novels before he graduated high school.  I remember reading his books when I was in school.  Today Gordon Korman knows his audience just as well as he did back then.  Restart is a hilarious novel that I read aloud to a grade 4/5 class this year.  The characters were funny and students could relate to them.  

Chase Ambrose is the biggest bully in school.  No one is out of Chase's target zone.  He picks on everyone.  Until one day he falls off the roof of his house and gets amnesia.  What's more shocking is that Chase that fell of the roof is actually a nice guy and has no memory of being the school bully.  Many students wonder if it can really be true.  Chase wonders if he really could have been that bad.  If Chase's memory comes back will he still be the nice guy or go back to his old ways?

This would be a great book to pick up for a junior grade student to read this summer.  I wonder if we might see it on the Forest of Reading list in November.  He also has a new book called Whatshisface that just came out and looks to be just as funny.

Every Day is Malala Day by Rosemary McCarney

Every Day is Malala Day is one of the Silver Birch Express nominees for 2015.  It's the first in the series that I read aloud at school.  This week I read it to grade's 3 to 7.  The Silver Birch Express is geared for grade's 3/4 but in an effort to get the majority of the school voting I try to read as many of the books as I can to the kids when they come for their weekly library period.

The book is written as an open letter to Malala.  Unfortunately I started the week off with the grade 3 class and that conversation got a bit derailed talking about getting shot in the head.  I think if I read with that class again I'd be better armed to sway the discussion but the other classes had some great discussion about Malala afterwards.

Because of Mr. Terupt by Rob Buyea

I had never even heard of Because of Mr. Terupt when my son came home from school and told me that his grade 4/5 teacher was reading it out loud.  He loved it and wanted us to also read it together at home in the night at the same time she was reading it.  So of course, I went along with his plan!

It is amazing!!  I loved it!  The book is about a grade 5 class that gets a brand new teacher, Mr. Terupt.  The book focuses on 7 students in the class which each chapter written from a different student's perspective (which I believe is part of grade 4/5 curriculum!).  Mr. Terupt has so many fun ways of teaching that gets his class (and readers!) so excited and having fun while learning.  A great example is his lesson on dollar words - Google it!  

The students have to deal with many life issues in the class in the same way a regular class might have students dealing with issues such as weight, divorce, death, etc.

I would highly recommend this as a read aloud for any grade 4/5 classes.  My son loved it and so did I!  There is a sequel to the book Mr. Terupt Falls Again.  From the reviews I've read this book is good but not suitable as a read aloud and is best read by a mature grade 6/7.

The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate

I absolutely love the story of The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate.  I've just finished reading it for the second time.  The story is about a silver back named Ivan.  Ivan lives in a cage at the mall where he is a main attraction.  He spends his days watching tv and painting.  Mack, the owner of the mall, sells his paintings in the gift shop.  Ivan can barely remember life before the mall became his domain until a baby elephant, Ruby, is brought to live at the mall.  Ivan doesn't want to see Ruby live her entire life in a cage in the mall.  But what can a might silver back stuck in a cage do to save an elephant?

The One and Only Ivan is based on a true story of a gorilla named Ivan living in Atlanta.  There is also a picture book that outlines his life.

For grade 4 teachers this book is a perfect connection to studies on habitats.

The Book with no Pictures by B. J. Novak

This week I've been reading The Book With No Pictures to all my primary classes.  They love it!!  Today I even read with a grade 5 class and they begged me to read it again.  I'm sure anyone walking by the library would have wondered what we were up to because they kids were so loud!

I start off by apologizing for picking such a boring book.  Some of the kids buy into this but most of them don't believe me because I always read the best books.  I start reading and I hear some mumblings.  Well as the rules of reading state, the person reading the book must read every word, no matter what.  BLORK!!!  Totally ridiculous!!  This books gets the grown up readers to say silly words and the kids are laughing hysterically.  So much fun.  So simple.  It's a must read.  Now all the kids at school are dying to take it home and trick their parents with it.

Got the kids loving books.  Got them all worked up shouting and laughing.  Sent them back to their teachers.  Love my job!  Love this book!

Flora & Ulysses by Kate DiCamillo

I read Flora & Ulysses out loud to my son (starting grade 4) as our bedtime book.  This book had both of us eager to make sure story time happened every night.  We both equally enjoyed Flora & Ulysses.

The story is about a little girl named Flora.  She unexpectedly becomes friends with a squirrel that has some unique capabilities.  Great silliness and adventures begin.  It was a great story that we both enjoyed.  I think I might tackle it as a read aloud to a grade 4 class.  My only hesitation is that there are many big words that the kids probably won't know the meaning of.  But I think they are mostly used in a manner that the kids understand the meaning even if they aren't familiar with the word.  My son didn't interrupt to ask what words meant and I know he doesn't know many of these words.  I think he would have struggled to read the book on his own though.

The only other part I found slightly weird is that Flora's mother is a smoker.  It seemed unnecessary to the story.  Also, at one point it seemed that the smoking was almost romanticized when it is described how Flora's mother was blowing perfect O's.  It just seemed an odd addition to the book.

When I asked my son what he thought we should read next he told me he wanted to read book two next.  He was shocked when I told him there wasn't a next book.  It's up to you to create the next parts in your dreams.