Darth Paper Strikes Back by Tom Angleberger January 26, 2012
Posted by jcarlson in : Friendship Fiction, Humorous Fiction, Realistic Fiction, School Fiction , add a comment
I really enjoyed this book which is the sequel to The Strange Case of Origami Yoda. It combines humor, good advice, origami, and Star Wars.
Dwight and his finger puppet Origami Yoda are suspended from school … and may be expelled. Harvey and his finger puppet Darth Paper may be responsible for Dwight’s problems. Dwight’s friends try to build a case to present to the School Board. They want Dwight and Origami Yoda back. Harvey and Darth Paper fight them all the way to the School Board meeting.
Read this book to find out what happens to Dwight and Origami Yoda. May the force be with you!
~Mrs. Carlson~
Charlie Joe Jackson’s Guide to Not Reading by Tommy Greenwald January 8, 2012
Posted by jcarlson in : Books Fiction, Humorous Fiction, School Fiction , add a comment
If you like the Diary of a Wimpy Kid books, I think you’ll like this one. The main character is a middle school boy who hates reading. He gives the reader 25 tips on how to avoid reading. In between, he tells the story of his brilliant plan to NOT read any books for school. Unfortunately, the plan backfires.
Tommy Greenwald wrote this book for his three sons … who hate reading. Their names are Charlie, Joe, and Jack. Did you notice he combined their names to create the main character’s name? How clever! Actually the whole book is very clever, so give it a try!
~Mrs. Carlson~
Fame and Glory in Freedom, Georgia by Barbara O’Connor December 23, 2011
Posted by jcarlson in : Friendship Fiction, Realistic Fiction, School Fiction , 2comments
I think I have enjoyed every book I’ve read by Barbara O’Connor. I sure enjoyed this funny book. Burdette Weaver, known as Bird, only has one friend, Miss Delphine. At school, kids make fun of her. Bird has two goals in life. The first is to experience one day of fame and glory. The second is to go to Disney World. She finally has a chance to reach both goals because of the state spelling bee. She chooses Harlem Tate as her partner. He’s a lot like her. He doesn’t have any friends and doesn’t seem to fit in. It seems like they have a chance at winning the spelling bee, but Harlem has a secret that’s holding them back. Read this charming book to find out what happens.
~Mrs. Carlson~
The Year of Miss Agnes by Kirkpatrick Hill December 13, 2011
Posted by jcarlson in : Historical Fiction, School Fiction , add a comment
If you like historical fiction and are interested in Alaska, this is a perfect book for you. It takes place in a small Alaskan village in 1948. A whole string of teachers have worked in the one room school, and none of them were happy. Then Miss Agnes shows up. She’s different. She makes school interesting. She even helps the adults. Miss Agnes plans to go back to England when the school year ends. Who will replace this amazing teacher?
~Mrs. Carlson~
Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Rodrick Rules by Jeff Kinney October 13, 2011
Posted by jcarlson in : Humorous Fiction, School Fiction , 4comments
This book is about a kid who is wimpy and his brother is bossing him around a lot. This book is about a kid in middle school but he is very wimpy. You should read this book. It is very good. And it has many many comics in it. It’s a funny funny funny book. I love it. Get your own today. It has 338 pages. It is very good but on some pages it is a little bad. But it is very cool!!! I love it and so will you I hope!!!
~Evan, 3rd Grader at Gates Mills~
Judy Moody Saves the World by Megan MacDonald October 13, 2011
Posted by jcarlson in : Family Fiction, School Fiction , add a comment
In Judy Moody Saves the World by Megan McDonald the characters are Stink, Judy, Mom, Dad, Mouse, Toady, Rocky, Frank, Mr Todd, and Jessica. The setting of this story takes place where Judy lives. These places are in the kitchen, up in a tree in her back yard, and Judy’s room. Judy entered the crazy strip contest. She wanted to win roller blades. Read this book to find out if she wins the roller blades.
~Jack H., Gates Mills 3rd Grader~
The Teacher from the Black Lagoon by Mike Thaler October 7, 2011
Posted by jcarlson in : Picture Books, School Fiction , add a comment
It is a scary and funny book. The boy has nightmares of who his teacher is. The story takes place in a class room. A teacher named Miss Green is really green. Every time kids do something wrong they get destroyed. Why do kids keep getting in trouble? Read it and find out.
Isaiah, Gates Mills 3rd Grader
Word After Word After Word by Patricia MacLachlan April 10, 2011
Posted by jcarlson in : Poetry Fiction, Realistic Fiction, School Fiction , add a comment
Writing can be so difficult for some students. When Ms. Mirabel visits a fourth grade classroom, she teaches the students how to write. They learn to connect their stories and poems to their own lives. The book focuses on five of the students, Lucy, Henry, Evie, Russell, and May. Each one learns that writing can change his or her life … word after word after word. This is a powerful story with amazing language. I loved it!
~Mrs. Carlson~
The Talent Show by Dan Gutman October 12, 2010
Posted by jcarlson in : Friendship Fiction, Realistic Fiction, School Fiction , 1 comment so far
Dan Gutman is one of my favorite children’s authors. I have read all of his books, and my two favorites are Getting Air and The Million Dollar Putt. Kids seem to really like The Homework Machine and the My Weird School series.
When I saw that Mr. Gutman had published a new book called The Talent Show, I had to read it. It takes place in Cape Bluff, Kansas. After a tornado, the town decides to have a talent show to raise money to help rebuild the school. The winner will get a Hummer. There are a lot of talented kids in Cape Bluff. But there are also a lot of kids with no talent. Who will win? Will it be Paul and his band who love to play rock and roll? Or Julia, a lovely ballet dancer? Perhaps it will be Elke who can sing like an angel or Richard who can rap like Eminem. Is it possible that drumming gorillas could win? Or the kid who pretends to be sizzling bacon? You’ll have to read this book to find out the winner.
~Mrs. Carlson~
The Report Card by Andrew Clements May 13, 2010
Posted by jcarlson in : Realistic Fiction, School Fiction , 1 comment so far
Have you ever thought grades and tests were a bad way to measure how smart you are? Well, Nora the main character thinks so. To prove what she means she gets bad grades. Which makes her parents, the school and her teachers set out to find out why she is doing this. Nora tells the librarian and her friend about her plan but no one else.
To know the rest you should read this book and find out if people will realize what she is doing and if her plan worked!
I liked this book because it was interesting and showed the importance of standing up for yourself.
~Kasturi, Fourth Grader~