Archive for November 23, 2016

The Last Fifth Grade of Emerson Elementary

Written by Laura Shovan

The accolades just keep coming for Shovan’s debut novel, and it’s easy to see why. She combines a compelling story with the novel-in-verse form skillfully and with a lot of feeling. Each of the eighteen classmates tells a view of the impending school closing and what the school means to them. They do this through assigned poems written during the fictional school year. From the boy suffering with the looming loss of his beloved grandfather to the girl who prefers to write in Spanish, each kid has a personal story to tell. Katie likes green toenails. Norah likes her blue hijab. But not all of the kids want the school to stay open. And all express themselves eloquently in their poems.

As an educator, Shovan outlines all the poetic forms used by the students and gives a brief look at how to use poetry. She also gives lots of advice on how to write your own poetry. A valuable resource for exploring the forms, this book should have an honored place in classrooms. While this is certainly not the first novel-in-verse, it does a lot to promote the form and show its flexibility. Kids will want to see how the story plays out and whether they can save the school. 

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  • fifth-gradeTitle: The Last Fifth Grade of Emerson Elementary  
  • Author: Laura Shovan
  • Published: Wendy Lamb Books, 2016
  • Reviewer: Sue Poduska
  • Format: Hardcover, 256 pages
  • Grade Level: 3 to 7
  • Genre: Middle grade, Fiction, Poetry
  • ISBN: 978-0-553-52137-5
  • Extras: A Closer Look at the Poems in this Book, From the Fifth Grade Prompt Jar, Glossary

The Tudors: Kings, Queens, Scribes, and Ferrets!

Written by Marcia Williams

England in the fifteenth century was a turbulent world, with many people feeling they needed to rule the country. During the Wars of the Roses, the Lancasters, under Richard III, were fighting the Yorks, under Henry Tudor, to keep the throne of England. Even Richard’s soldiers weren’t thrilled with him, so he was defeated and killed at Bosworth Field. Henry assumed the throne and called himself Henry VII. He and his wife had eight children. Only two sons and two daughters survived to adulthood. The older son, Arthur, died before he could assume the throne. So, Henry, the younger son became king and also inherited his sister-in-law as wife. Williams walks the reader through each of Henry’s six wives, then through the reigns of Edward VI, Lady Jane Grey, and Mary Tudor. She devotes many pages to Elizabeth I, with Mary Queen of Scots, the Spanish Armada, Sir Francis Drake, Sir Walter Raleigh, and William Shakespeare.

Formatted like a picture book, but more like a graphic novel, the pages of this book are packed with information for kids just beginning to learn about this era. Richly illustrated and detailed with the quality of life in that era, this is a fun way to learn about history. Given the perpetual stories about the Tudors, this is a great opportunity to clue the kids in.   

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  • the-tudorsTitle: The Tudors: Kings, Queens, Scribes, and Ferrets!
  • Author: Marcia Williams
  • Published: Candlewick Press, 2016
  • Reviewer: Sue Poduska
  • Format: Hardcover, 48 pages
  • Grade Level: 3 to 7
  • Genre: Nonfiction, Picture book, History
  • ISBN: 978-0-7636-8122-7