My son and I had fun picking out books for his teacher. He likes everything about his teacher (his direct words) and enjoys spending “quality time with his teacher”. My daughter preferred that I recommend and she approve. If you are one of their teachers, stop reading or you will ruin the surprise.
Moonshot: The Flight of Apollo 11

by Brian Floca
Atheneum, 2009
48 pages
New York Times named it one of the ten best illustrated books for 2009.
Simon and Schuster’s website says this:
“Simply told, grandly shown, here is the flight of Apollo 11. Here for a new generation of readers and explorers are the steady astronauts, clicking themselves into gloves and helmets, strapping themselves into sideways seats. Here are their great machines in all their detail and monumentality, the ROAR of rockets, and the silence of the Moon. Here is a story of adventure and discovery — a story of leaving and returning during the summer of 1969, and a story of home, seen whole, from far away.”
My son loves the detailed illustrations, as well as the story of Apollo 11.
by Jerry Pinkney
Little Brown Books, 2007
40 pages
My son’s second grade class has a unit of study in writing on fairy tales coming up after winter break. I love Pinkney’s work and my son loves this tale.
While this Little Red Riding Hood is true to the original and does have the wolf eats the grandmother and Little Red. The woodsman does kill the wolf with his ax and use grandmother’s sewing scissors to cut open the wolf, it’s not gory and shows no sign of the violence that is taking place. Jerry Pinkney’s beautiful illustrations help set off this fairy tale classic. Here’s hoping this will help some of his fellow students realize that Disney did not invent all the fairy tales, as several of his classmates believe.
Chester’s Back

by Melanie Watt
Kids Can Press, 2008
32 pages
“A long time ago, in a faraway land, lived a cat named Chester.” This is how the new Chester book starts out. A fun addition to a writing unit on fairy tales or another book by a favorite author. Either way, kids and adults love Chester.
Greg Mortenson’s newest Stones Into Schools: Promoting Peace with Books, Not Bombs in Afghanistan and Pakistan for my daughter’s language arts/science teacher
Sea Clocks by Louise Borden for her math teacher.
National Geographic’s Book Ain’t Nothin’ But a Man: My Quest to Find the Real John Henry by Scott Nelson and Marc Aronson for her social studies teacher. They did a great presentation at NCTE about their book. Loved them!





is a brilliant book by a new-to-me author Ann Leal (Talk about small world, the family I used to babysit before they moved to Connecticut are friends with the author!). Homelessness, poetry, friendship and family. This book has it all and is a book I couldn’t stop reading! Check out other, more detailed reviews at
Eighteen-year old Indigo Skye is happy with her job as a waitress and enjoys the quirky customers known as “The Irregulars”. The characters are well developed and interesting. Things take a twist when a new customer leaves an envelope for Indigo. That envelope happens to include a check for two and a half million dollars (reminds me of that Nicholas Cage and Bridget Fonda movie-but only the waitress/money part). It doesn’t seem like having all that money would be hard, but it brings with it a new set of problems. A little predictable, but overall a great read with great characters that make you wanting to read on.

The Beautiful Stories of Life: Six Greek Myths, Retold by Cynthia Rylant (I had bought it because I love Cynthia Rylant and worry that kids don’t know some the “older” myths, fables, and fairy tales. Thought it would be good to read-aloud to my own children. It was a great coincidence that I started reading The Lightning Thief- right after this book. I love that The Lightning Thief will get kids familiar with many of the Greek myths that otherwise might not be that interesting to some readers.)



