Sam and Dave Dig a Hole by Mac Barnett

This week with my younger classes we read Sam and Dave Dig a Hole by Mac Barnett.  The story is about two boys who decide to dig a hole and they won't stop digging until they find something spectacular.  They dig up and down and side to side but never seem to find anything spectacular.  They boys take a short nap in their hole but the dog keeps on digging while they rest.  What happens next is truly spectacular.

The first class I read this with was a kindergarten class and I thought that I might have to explain it a bit to them.  Wrong.  They explained it to me.  I didn't notice that the first page has an apple tree and the last page has a pear tree.  When they wake from their nap they aren't in the same spot.  There's actually quite a few differences between the first and last pages.  

Sam and Dave Dig a Hole is a book of few words and really quite simple but the illustrations by Jon Klassen certainly make the story as good as it is.

The Secret Life of Squirrels by Nancy Rose

This week I read The Secret Life of Squirrels to grades kindergarten through to grade 3.  The younger grades thought it was hilarious and got a lot of laughter.  The older grades also loved the pictures and thought it was funny but we had some great conversation as well.  The pictures in the book are all photographs that the author has certainly put a great deal of work into.  Each photo involves a scene of a squirrel doing every day people tasks such as vacuuming and making the bed.  Nancy Rose has created miniature scenes in her backyard and spent countless hours waiting for the squirrels in her backyard to explore them so she can quickly snatch some amazing photos.  The kids absolutely loved this book.  The Secret Life of Squirrels is a great book to discuss fiction vs. non-fiction.

My Name is Blessing by Eric Walters

It is a coincidence that I find myself reading three Eric Walters books in one week but really with the number of books that he has out it's not that surprising.  This week I read My Name is Blessing to the grade 3 to 7 classes.  The story is the true story about a little boy named Muthini, which means suffering.  His mother left him to be raised by his Grandmother.  His Grandmother loved him very much but for many reasons she was not able to provide for him.  She brought Muthini to an orphanage and asked if they had room for Muthini.  There is no room for suffering at the orphanage for suffering but there is room for a blessing.  It's such a beautiful story and told so well.  If you ever get a chance to hear Eric Walters speak you really should.  He's a wonderful story teller.

What really was amazing was seeing the response that the students had to the story.  The Forest of Reading is having a contest where students can write letters to Blessing.  Eric Walters will judge and select five letters to share with Blessing.  Blessing will then respond to the letters and Eric Walters will mail the winners autographed copies of his book.  The letters that the students at my school have written are so beautiful and touching.  I loved reading how the kids related to the story.

Fight for Power by Eric Walters

I have been very anxious for the sequel to Rule of Three to come out.  The wait is over and it was worth the wait but again I'm left wanting more.  Rule of Three begins with the main character, Adam, sitting in his high school when the power goes out.  All the kids reach for their cell phones and are puzzled when they don't work either.  Neither do most cars but Adam's got an old clunker of a car and it still works.  Seems nothing with any sort of computer automation works.  As the days going on Adam and his neighbours struggle to survive.  In Fight for Power the struggle for survival continues.  The book is fast paced and action packed.  I did find Fight for Power to be a bit more violent then Rule of Three.  I am reading Rule of Three as a read aloud to Grade 6, 7 and 8 classes but I don't think I will read Fight for Power out loud.  Although I don't think I need to either.  The kids are all hooked on it and I know there will be a wait list for kids to start reading it.  I've been asked if it's appropriate for grade 7 and 8 since I said it was more violent.  I think it is but I will warn kids before they take it.  My son is in grade 7 and he loved the first book.  There's no way I could stop him from reading the second.    The Forest of Reading is holding a contest for readers to place themselves in the story of the Rule of Three.  Eric Walters will pick the winner and the prize is to have their name in the third book!!  Such a cool prize.  I wish I wasn't too old to participate.  I know many adults that enjoyed the first book as well.  It would make a good pick for father and son book club.

And now the long wait begins for the third and final book in the series.

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.

Love Anthony by Lisa Genova

I am a huge fan of Lisa Genova.  I love a book that makes me see life in someone else's point of view and Lisa Genova never disappoints.  In Love Anthony we get the perspective of a mother of a child with autism but we also get the perspective of the Anthony who is living with autism.  No one knows for certain what Anthony might be thinking and feeling since he is non-verbal but if anyone is going to have some insight it's likely that it would be Genova.  Lisa Genova is a neuroscientist so it's believable that she might have a good idea what she's talking about here.  

Olivia is Anthony's mom.  Anthony has passed away and Olivia is trying to make sense of why Anthony was the way he was and why he died so young.  She's tried talking to God but the answers just aren't coming.  She's trying to move on with life but that's tough too.  Her new neighbour Beth is also going through her own life crisis and looking for answers.  She doesn't have answers for her own problems either but she's found a renewed energy to write a novel which brings some healing in unexpected ways.

Lisa Genova's earlier novel Still Alice is set to be released as a movie in Canada January 23, 2015.  This is the story of a professor who begins to experience symptoms of alzheimers.  I loved this book and can't wait for the movie.  Left Neglected is another of Genova's novels that I loved.  Three great novels.  I will be eagerly watching for her next book.

The Woman Who Stole My Life by Marian Keyes

I mostly read Canadian authors.  Not just because I’m proudly Canadian but because I truly love Canadian literature.  However, I do have a soft spot for a group of Irish authors as well.  Marian Keyes is an Irish author that’s established herself as a popular fiction writer worldwide.  I would compare her writing style to Sophie Kinsella.  Marian Keyes novels are often quite funny in a similar fashion to the Shopaholic series, although they often have a darker side as well.

Stella Sweeney is the main character of The Woman Who Stole My Life.  She’s a mid-30’s woman dealing with life, family and work.  Suddenly life is halted when she awakes in a hospital unable to move a muscle or speak.  Her lovely husband, children and parents come visit her twice a day and attempt to keep up a one sided conversation.  When the handsome Neurologist appears at her bedside and develops a method for her to communicate through blinking, Stella’s feeling more than just grateful.  Even though hospital life is extremely difficult for Stella she blinks out words of inspiration to others while she lies in pain.  These words of wisdom and her handsome Neurologist might just be the key to true happiness when her muscles get moving again.

The Woman Who Stole My Life goes back and forth from past to present and at first it can be a bit difficult to follow the timeline but it all comes together quite nicely in the end.  With 530 pages this book is no light read but Keyes keeps you guessing on how things will turn out for Stella.  At no point does it feel like the book is dragging on and I felt surprised that I had reached the end so quickly.  Keyes fans won’t be disappointed and new readers will be looking for more.