Tag Archive for comprehension

The Last Fifth Grade of Emerson Elementary

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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
Posted in 2016, Fiction, Loss, Poetry tagged with , , ,

The Terrible Two

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Written by Mac Barnett and Jory John
Illustrated by Kevin Cornell

When Miles Murphy has to move from his home to an area with a lot of cows, it almost seems like the end of the world. If it weren’t for his pranks, it would be even worse. Then he finds out his new school already has a resident prankster, Niles. Let the prank war begin! Of course, Miles needs to figure out who the other prankster is. And he needs to come to terms with the idea that he might have to work with someone else. Miles invents a whole person, Cody, and has the entire school convinced of his existence. Cody figures prominently in the biggest prank of all. As do cows. The principal and his son are just terrible enough to deserve whatever they get.

This fun and frolicking book will hold the attention of fourth graders, especially boys. The occasional cow facts should help increase comprehension and literacy. The clever pranks will have readers guessing what comes next and challenge them to make up their own endings. The book comes complete with a certificate from the International Order of Disorder and a Terrible Two mug in an oversized milk carton.

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  • Terrible TwoTitle: The Terrible Two
  • Author: Mac Barnett and Jory John
  • Illustrator: Kevin Cornell
  • Publisher: Amulet Books/Abrams, 2015
  • Reviewer: Sue Poduska
  • Format: Hardcover, 224 pages
  • Genre: Humor, friendship, pranks, cows
  • ISBN: 978-1-4197-1491-7
  • Extras: Website at www.abramsbooks.com/theterribletwo
  • Release date: January 13, 2015
Posted in 2015, Fiction, Humor tagged with , ,

A Hitch at the Fairmont

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Written by Jim Averbeck
Illustrated by Nick Bertozzi

Combining a lot of conjecture with a lot of historical accuracy, author Jim Averbeck takes the reader on a romp around San Francisco of the 1950’s. When eleven-year-old Jack Fair is orphaned, he moves to the Fairmont Hotel with his Aunt Edith. Shortly after Jack encounters Alfred Hitchcock, in town to check out filming locations, his aunt disappears. The last thing Jack wants is for the police to get involved. He knows his life is better outside the system, even with a mean aunt. So he enlists Mr. Hitchcock’s help to find his aunt. Communication with the kidnappers takes place with carefully arranged chocolates, on laundry lists, and by words circled on a newspaper article. The search leads them to an old mission, to Chinatown, and to the docks. We get to see Hitch as a beatnik poet and as an Aunt Edith facsimile.

Averbeck follows the smoking gun rule carefully, where anything mentioned more than a couple of times has more significance to the story than suspected at first. Each chapter is tied to and titled after one of Hitchcock’s films. And each chapter begins with a short graphic depiction of what happens in that chapter, helping to increase comprehension.

Readers will learn about film history, as well as about the books that inspired many of Hitch’s films. They will also learn about the history of San Francisco and some of its most famous landmarks.

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  • HitchAuthor: Jim Averbeck
  • Illustrator: Nick Bertozzi
  • Publisher: Atheneum Books for Young Readers/Simon & Schuster, 2014
  • Reviewer: Sue Poduska
  • Format: Hardcover, 416 pages
  • ISBN: 978-1-4424-9447-3
  • Genre: Historical fiction, mystery
  • Grade level: 3 to 7
  • Extras: Author’s note setting historical perspective, extensive appendix describing many Hitchcock films, fun video on Amazon and Simon and Schuster Kids modeled on the famous scene from The Birds
Posted in 2014, Fiction, History, Mystery tagged with ,

Dead End in Norvelt

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Written by Jack Gantos

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There’s a reason the Gantos boy won the Newbery Medal. He also won the Scott O’Dell Award for Historical Ficiton. The first book in the Norvelt series based on the author’s childhood is engaging and laugh out loud funny, though darkly funny in places. Miss Volker, Jack’s neighbor, is the elderly medical examiner and obituary writer for the town of Norvelt, established and named for EleaNOR RooseVELT. Miss Volker’s arthritis has gotten so bad, she must soak her hands in melted paraffin before they are of any use at all, so she enlists Jack’s help at every opportunity. Meanwhile Jack is in an extended grounding for accidentally shooting off his father’s Japanese rifle and for mowing down his mother’s corn at his father’s urging. His excitement grows as the old ladies of Norvelt start dropping like flies. After several deaths, the town newspaper publisher and the police begin to get suspicious. Is Miss Volker the culprit or is it the lone surviving original male Norvelter, adult tricycle rider Mr. Spizz? All the while, Jack is fighting constant nose bleeds, and Miss Volker is determined to help him with that.

And Jack’s father is building a runway for an airplane of questionable safety while Jack digs a bomb shelter by hand.

Fourth graders and up will enjoy the dry humor. The story will hold their attention to strengthen literacy and comprehension. Teachers, librarians, and parents will enjoy the fact that with each obituary comes a history lesson. A quick check of facts may be in order, though.

 

  • Dead End in NorveltTitle: Dead End in Norvelt
  • Author: Jack Gantor
  • Publisher: Square Fish/Farrar Strauss Giroux, 2011
  • Reviewer: Sue Poduska
  • Format: Paperback, 384 pages
  • Genre: Middle grade historical fiction, humor
  • ISBN: 978-1-250-01023-0

 

Posted in 2011, Fiction, History, Humor tagged with , ,

Out of My Mind

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Written by Sharon M. Draper

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Melody is incredibly smart, but no one knows it. She’s locked inside her brilliant mind because she has cerebral palsy. She can’t talk or walk. She attends special education classes at school. Her mother and her neighbor always knew there was more going on in there than met the eye. Eventually, she finds a teacher who tries to help her and an aide who knows what she needs. They find an electronic device that allows Melody to show what has been going on in her head for the past eleven years. One of the first statements she programs into her machine is, “We all have disabilities. What’s yours?” She reserves this for particularly confrontational people. She enters an academic competition and shines, in spite of all the missteps and issues surrounding it.

Draper does an incredible job of getting inside Melody’s mind. People, even the people who know her well, often speak over Melody like she isn’t even there. Melody always points this out to the reader. Thus, the author shows how important it is to treat everyone with the same consideration and respect the reader would expect. Life is never easy for Melody, but she able to do what she can do.

This is an excellent resource to teach fourth grade readers about the spectrum of abilities and disabilities without being preachy. Melody loves words, so this is a great resource for increasing comprehension and literacy skills.

The author’s website, http://www.sharondraper.com offers an excellent study guide, complete with reading activities.

  • Out of My MindTITLE: Out of My Mind
  • AUTHOR: Sharon M. Draper
  • PUBLISHER: Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2010
  • REVIEWER: Sue Poduska
  • ISBN: 978-1-4169-7170-2
  • FORMAT: Hard cover, 295 pages
  • GENRE: Contemporary Fiction, Physical disability
Posted in 2010, Contemporary, Fiction, Physical challenges tagged with , , ,

Darling: Mercy Dog of World War I

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Written by Alison Hart
Illustrated by Michael G. Montgomery

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In this exciting story, written from the dog’s point of view, the fourth grade reader will learn about the life of a canine working at the war’s front line.

Darling lives the good life in England with his human family until World War I interferes. She is an escape artist who spends time digging under fences and worrying the local sheep along with her stray rat terrier friend, Rags. After the man of the house goes to war, the mother is about to send her away as too much trouble and too expensive. The government appeals for dogs to help in the war effort, so she is recruited as a messenger dog. Darling is nearly destroyed when the army discovers she’s not suited to be a messenger. Luckily, her sergeant believes in her and gets her a job as a mercy dog, a job to which she is well-suited. Mercy dogs, sometimes called Red Cross dogs, were sent into the no man’s land of a battlefield to locate wounded soldiers. When she is severely wounded, Darling once again needs a reprieve, as all useless animals were destroyed. And, once again, her sergeant comes to her rescue and gets her declared a war hero. Will she see her family again?

This tale of redemption and loyalty contains a lot of information about how animals are used in war and what the rigors of war are like for soldiers. The reader will also learn a little about World War I and the Belgian campaign. Part of the “Dog Chronicles” series, this volume combines history and love of animals in a unique way. It will hold kids’ attention and increase their reading comprehension. The content is well-researched and contains a table of contents, further facts, map, bibliography, for further reading section, and websites. The author’s website (http://www.alisonhartbooks.com/) and the illustrator’s (http://www.michaelgmontgomery.com/) provide more information about the creative team.

 

  • DarlingTitle: Darling: Mercy Dog of World War I
  • Author: Alison Hart
  • Illustrator: Michael G. Montgomery
  • Publisher: Peachtree Publishers, 2013
  • Reviewer: Sue Poduska
  • Format: Hardcover, 163 pages
  • ISBN: 978-1-56145-705-2
  • Genre: Fiction, Middle Reader, History, Animals
Posted in 2013, Animals, Fiction, History tagged with ,

The Enchanted Attic: Wrestling with Tom Sawyer

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Written by L.L. Samson

Illustrated by Kris Nelson, Ben Fetterly, and Antonio Caparo

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We have learned not to judge a book by its cover.  Now we will learn not to judge a book by it style.  When I began reading this book it was difficult to “get into”.  The word choices and usage were odd.  No, they were just different.  I was ready to write it off as something that could not be used in a typical fourth grade classroom until I realized the brain pathway building potential of this little gem.  While the above average reader may find this book intriguing, even an average student might struggle with comprehension without some scaffolding.  But with any reader, new ideas and thought patterns will be created.

The storyline is actually quite interesting.  Walter has recently moved from London to the United States where he now attends a boarding school for “the once well-heeled (wealthy) who’d fallen on harder times, or for those who had recently accumulated their wealth and were snubbed by the well-heeled.  Walter and his friends have an amazing adventure with Tom Sawyer after Walter and his friends conjure up Tom in the enchanted circle in the “not so secret attic”.  It was an amazing adventure sprinkled with a mad scientist, a hidden tunnel and plenty of mystery and drama.

Because the word style/choices are different, this book would make an excellent choice as a read aloud.  Being able to hear the words should help students read them more easily as well as increase comprehension.  One of my favorite things about the book is the generous sprinkling of vocabulary words throughout.  After each potentially new word there is an easy to understand definition.  Ascertain (figure out).  There are also explanations about things such as a land grant (“A royal land grant is a big deal and normally includes more acreage than even the wealthiest of people own nowadays.”)

This book might possibly make an interesting choice for a literature circle choice.  Even if the typical structure has to be modified to account for the more difficult comprehension issues, this book lends itself to discussion and out of the box thinking.

  •  Enchanted AtticTitle:  The Enchanted Attic: Wrestling with Tom Sawyer
  • Author:  L.L. Samson
  • Illustrators:  Kris Nelson, Ben Fetterly, and Antonio Caparo
  • Publisher:  Zonderkidz
  • Reviewer:  Sandi Waymire
  • Format: Paperback, 180 pages
  • ISBN: 978-0-310-74057-5
  • Genre:  Contemporary fiction (historical context)
  • Lexile score:  NA
Posted in 2013, Contemporary, Fantasy, History tagged with , ,

Choosing a Hamster, Gerbil, Guinea Pig, Rabbit, Ferret, Mouse, or Rat: How to Choose and Care for a Small Mammal

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Written by Laura S. Jeffrey

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Which pet is right for you? Choosing a pet can be tricky, especially when there are so many choices. With help from the American Humane Association, this book guides young readers through what small mammals are like and what they can expect from them as pets. It’s a straightforward overview, easy for elementary comprehension.

Did you know that rabbits are third in popularity behind dogs and cats? Within the last 75 years, small mammals have become a common pet choice in the U.S. because they are low maintenance and can thrive in any sized home. The author methodically reviews the characteristics of each animal listed in the title. Mice and rats are very smart; rabbits are playful; gerbils are gentle, but don’t like living alone; hamsters are odorless, but could nip if upset; guinea pigs can be noisy; and ferrets need a lot of attention. The most in-depth section, Taking Care of Your New Pet, offers tips for housing and diet and touches upon small mammal health, veterinary care, and the proper way to hold and handle the animals.

Designed for third and fourth grade readers, basic information gets jazzed up with colorful fonts, text boxes, and fun facts. But the part young readers will like best is the photographs – plenty of awww factor here, as little furry creatures with their twitchy noses, alert ears, and tiny paws appear on every page. As part of a pet care series, parents and children may want to visit the publisher’s website to browse other titles: www.enslow.com. They can also learn more about the American Humane Association by visiting www.americanhumane.org.

  • Choosing a HamsterTITLE: Choosing a Hamster, Gerbil, Guinea Pig, Rabbit, Ferret, Mouse, or Rat: How to Choose and Care for a Small Mammal
  • AUTHOR: Laura S. Jeffrey
  • PUBLISHER: Enslow Elementary / Enslow Publishers, Inc.
  • REVIEWER: Lauren Abbey Greenberg
  • FORMAT: Paperback, 48 pages
  • ISBN: 978-1-4644-0217-3
  • GENRE: Nonfiction, Science, Nature
  • LEXILE: 850
Posted in 2013, Contemporary, Nature, Nonfiction, Science tagged with ,