Once Upon a Balloon - Bree Galbraith

Once Upon a Balloon is the story of two young brothers, Theo and Zeke.  Theo receives a balloon from his cousin.  His mom offers to tie it around his wrist.  Everyone warns him not to let go of the balloon.  Theo tries really hard but his fingers just won't listen and sadly, he lets go of the balloon.  But where did it go?  Theo asks.  His mom and dad give answers that seem very unlikely.  But his big brother Zeke knows everything so when Theo tells him the balloon went to Chicago that just has to be true.  But what happens to all the balloons in Chicago?  Big brother Zeke has answers to all Theo's questions, after all, he is the older brother and he does know everything.

I had so much fun reading this book to the kids at school.  I read it with kids from kindergarten to grade 5.  They all enjoyed it.  While I read I asked the kids where they thought the balloon went.  Had any of the children been to Chicago?  Did they see lots of balloons there?

I was very surprised when I read that Once Upon a Balloon is Bree Galbraith's first book.  However, I was not surprised to read that she is Canadian.  So many great authors come from Canada!  Can't wait to see what Galbraith writes next.

Monkey Business by Wallace Edwards

Now that we`re all done reading the Forest of Reading books at school I went looking for some other books from some of our favourite Blue Spruce authors.  I found Monkey Business by Wallace Edwards.  Edwards was the author of Uncle Wally`s Old Brown Shoe which the kids just loved.  They really enjoyed the illustrations.  So yesterday I pulled out Monkey Business and read it to a grade 2 and 3 class.  They loved it!  The book starts with a definition of an idiom which none of them really understood.  After one or two pages there was a lot of shouts of "I get it!!"   They enjoyed the pictures and especially finding the magic page.  This is a fantastic book for grades 2 to 5.  Monkey Business is a fun way to teach idioms.

How To Make a Planet by Scott Forbes

How to Make a Planet is full of interesting facts about the earth and how it was made.  The book is presented and in a fun and engaging way with lots of great illustrations.  How To Make a Planet uses many large scientific terms but does a pretty good job explaining them.  I think for the most part the majority of this will be over most kids heads but little boys tend to love non-fiction and facts and they will certainly learn a few new things from How to Make a Planet.  I`m sure this book would appeal to many young boys probably between the age of 8 and 11.

Spud The Couch Potato by Sean Jackson

Spud is the ultimate couch potato.  He sits and watches television all day long.  The book shows all the fun things he is missing out on like flying a kite and fishing.  One day the television breaks and Spud heads outside to give baseball a try and surprises himself by having a great time.  The message is loud and clear in Spud The Couch Potato; get outside and move.

The Reluctant Journal of Henry K. Larsen by Susin Nielsen

Henry K. Larsen is trying to rebuild his life in a new town where no one knows his name or about IT.  His brother recently committed a murder/suicide at his high school.  His new psychologist wants him to try writing a journal.  In the journal Henry deals with why IT happened.  

In the journal Henry reflects on many situations of bullying that he saw his brother suffer.  Also, in his new school he sees a kid that reminds him a lot of his brother and sees the bullying that this poor boy suffers as well.

The Reluctant Journal of Henry K. Larsen is nominated for the Red Maple award in this years Forest of Reading program.  Susin Nielsen is a Canadian author that has also written the very popular Word Nerd  and Dear George Clooney, Please Marry My Mom. 

If It Rains Pancakes by Brian P. Cleary

In If It Rains Pancakes by Brian P. Cleary writes poems about anything and everything.  The poems are all very entertaining and silly.  The illustrations are perfectly suited to the poems.  Children will love the poems because they are fun but teachers will love them more when they're students are inspired to write their own.  If It Rains Pancakes explains the patterns of how to write a traditional Japanese haiku and lantern poem.  This book would be a fantastic addition to any school library or classroom!

The Storied Life of A. J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin

The Storied Life of A. J. Fikry is a story for book lovers.  A. J. Fikry is a young widowed man that owns a book store in a small island in Massachusetts.  He is a crabby, bitter man with little joy remaining in his life.  A. J. is slowly drinking his life away.  One day a baby is left in his book store with a note saying that the mother's last wish is for her young Maya to grow up to be a reader and to be raised by people who love books.  Maya quickly gives A. J. a new reason to live and soon he is welcoming other people into his life as well. 

The story has many twists and unexpected turns.  The characters are all very loveable; with the exception of one or two.  What will really endear avid readers to The Storied Life of A. J. Fikry is the many quotes and discussions of various books and authors.  Each chapter begins with a book review by A. J.  The reviews are written as a letter to his daughter and often reflect, not so much as what the book was about, but what the books meant to him and what Maya might learn from reading them herself.

Visitors to the Island Book Store come to connect.  They come because they are lonely.  They come to escape and they come to feel.  Author Neil Gaiman writes “A town isn't a town without a book store. It may call itself a town, but unless it's got a book store it knows it's not fooling a soul.”  This is so true for the residents and visitors of Alice Island.

The Storied Life of A. J. Fikry is written by Gabrielle Zevin.  She has published seven novels for adults and young adults.