KVBA Summer 2006 Reading Outline
Summer is a great time to begin reading the KVBA books! It is important to keep track of the books you have read so you can pass this information back in to the school library in the fall. The easiest way to do this is to keep a spiral notebook and write your review as soon as you finish reading the book!
Here is the information I would like you to include in your review:
Book Title
Author
Illustrator (write No Illustrator if there isn’t. one)
Is the book fiction, non-fiction, poetry or biography?
Write a brief description of the book and tell me if you liked the book, why or why not
Here are some examples of a book review~
The End of the Beginning by AVI, illustrated by Tricia Tusa is the fiction fantasy story of a snail named Avon who decides to go on an adventure and see the world. Along the way he meets and makes friends with an Edward the ant. Edward thinks Avon takes way to long to get where he is going ~I liked the surprise ending of the book and when I realized where they were going it made me laugh out loud. My friend Ted would really like this book.
Science Verse
Author: Jon Scieszka
Illustrated by Lane Smith
This is a poetry book about science. My favorite poem was ‘Changes’. It was funny how the boy changed from a worm into a beetle.
I liked this book a lot because it was funny and I learned more about science too!
Have fun reading these books over the summer ~remember to turn your reviews in to the school library in September and begin to earn stars on the chart!!!
Anderson, M.T. Whales on Stilts. Harcourt. 208 pp. Gr.4+. Racing against the clock, shy middle-school student Lily and her best friends, Katie and Jasper, must foil the plot of her father’s conniving boss to conquer the world using an army of whales. SCIENCE FICTION.
Armstrong, Alan. Whittington. Random. 185 pp. Gr. 4+. Whittington, a feline descendant of Dick Whittington’s famous cat of English folklore, appears at a run-down barnyard plagued by rats and restores harmony while telling his ancestor’s story. FANTASY.
Birdsall, Jeanne. The Penderwicks: A Summer Tale of Four Sisters, Two Rabbits, and a Very Interesting Boy. Knopf. 262 pp. Gr. 4-5. While vacationing with their widowed father in the Berkshire Mountains, four lovable sisters, ages four through twelve, share adventures with a local boy, much to the dismay of his snobbish mother. REALISTIC FICTION.
Birney, Betty. The Seven Wonders of Sassafras Springs. Atheneum. 210 pp. Gr. 4-5. Eben McAllister searches his small town to see if he can find anything comparable to the real Seven Wonders of World. REALISTIC FICTION.
Borden, Louise. The Journey That Saved Curious George: The True Wartime Escape of Margret and H. A. Rey. Houghton Mifflin. 72 pp. Gr. 3-5. Curious George is known all over the world, but few know the exciting history of his creator. In 1940, Hans and Margret Rey flee Paris as the German army advanced. And so begins their journey on bicycles with their children’s book manuscripts among their few possessions. BIOGRAPHY.
Cheng, Andrea. Shanghai Messenger. Lee & Low. 40 pp. Gr. 3-5. A free-verse novel about 11-year-old Xiao Mei’s visit with her extended family in China, where the Chinese-American girl finds many differences, but also the similarities that bind a family together. REALISTIC FICTION.
Child, Lauren. Clarice Bean Spells Trouble. Candlewick Press. 189 pp. Gr. 3-5. Clarice Bean, aspiring actress and author, unsuccessfully tries to avoid getting into trouble as she attempts to help a friend in need by following the rules of the fictional spy, Ruby Redfort. REALISTIC FICTION.
Cooper, Susan. The Magician’s Boy. Margaret K. McElderry Books. 101 pp. Gr. 3-5. A boy is transported to the Land of Story in search of a missing puppet. FANTASY.
Creech, Sharon. Replay. Harper/Collins. 231 pp. Gr. 4+. When he is preparing for a role in the school play, 12-year-old Leo finds an autobiography that his father wrote as a teenager and reflects on the ways people change as they grow up. REALISTIC FICTION.
DeFelice, Cynthia. The Missing Manatee. Farrar, Straus, and Giroux. 192 pp. Gr. 5+. While coping with his parents’ separation, 11-year-old Skeet spends most of spring break on his skiff on a Florida river. He finds a manatee shot to death and begins looking for the killer. MYSTERY.
Edwards, Michelle. Stinky Stern Forever. Harcourt. 49 pp. Gr. 3-4. Pa Lia and her classmates share memories of Stinky Stern, the second-grade bully, who died in a tragic accident. REALISTIC FICTION.
Feiffer, Jules. A Room with a Zoo. Hyperion. 183 pp. Gr. 4-5. Julie’s passion for animals takes over her life and her family’s life. But what she wants most of all, she can’t have - a dog. REALISTIC FICTION.
Fleming, Candace. Lowji Discovers America. Atheneum. 160 pp. Gr. 3-5. When 9-year-old Lowji moves from Bombay, India to a small town in Illinois at the beginning of summer, he faces two months with no friends and nothing to do. He persuades his grouchy landlady to adopt a succession of animals (a cat, a dog and finally a goat). REALISTIC FICTION.
Giovanni, Nikki. Rosa. Henry Holt. unpaged. Gr. 3-5. Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on a Montgomery, Alabama bus to a white man on December 1, 1955 - an act that sparked a revolution and became one of the most important events in the battle for civil rights. BIOGRAPHY.
Haas, Jessie. Jigsaw Pony. Greenwillow. 128 pp. Gr. 3-5. Twins, Kiera and Fran, have never agreed on anything. But when their dream comes true and their father surprises them with a pony, they must learn to work together to care for their new pet. REALISTIC FICTION.
Hansen, Rosanna. Panda. A Guide Horse for Ann. Boyds Mills Press. 48 pp. Gr. 3-5. Panda is one of the first miniature horses to be trained as a guide animal. Photos and lively text will help readers to understand the unique relationship between a guide animal and its owner. NONFICTION.
Jacques, Brian. High Rhulain. Philomel. 341 pp. Gr. 5+. Following a dream, the young ottermaid Tiria travels from Redwall to the Green Isle, where otters have long been enslaved by feral cats, but fight back as they await the High Rhulain who will save them. FANTASY.
Janeczko, Paul. A Kick in the Head: An Everyday Guide to Poetic Forms. Candlewick Press. Unpaged. Gr. 3-5. 29 different poetic forms from sonnets to double dactyls, odes to limericks. POETRY
Johnson-Davies, Denys. Goha the Wise Fool. Philomel. 40 pp. Gr. 3-5. A collection of 15 tales about the folk hero Goha, a man with a reputation for being able to answer difficult questions in a clever way. FOLK TALE.
Jurmain, Suzanne Tripp. George Did It. Dutton Children’s Books, Unpaged. Gr. 3-5. A humorous story of how our first president tried to avoid being just that - the first president of the United States! Filled with little-known and funny facts. BIOGRAPHY.
Kerrin, Jessica. Martin Bridge Ready for Takeoff! Kids Can Press. 120 pp. Gr. 3-5. Meet Martin Bridge, a boy whose plans for a brilliant rocket, a substitute bus driver and a very old hamster go terribly wrong. A lively trio of stories. REALISTIC FICTION.
Kraske, Robert. Marooned: The Strange but True Adventures of Alexander Selkirk, the Real Robinson Crusoe. Clarion. 109 pp. Gr. 5+ . Marooned on a South Pacific island, Scottish mariner, Alexander Selkirik lived for more than four years, providing food and shelter for himself and overcoming loneliness. NONFICTION.
Levine, Gail Carson. Fairy Dust and the Quest for the Egg. Disney Press. 189 pp. Gr. 3-5. Prilla, the newest fairy to arrive in Never Land, faces a hurricane, a selfish fairy, Captain Hook, snobby mermaids, a fierce golden hawk, and the evil dragon Kyto. FANTASY.
Martin, Ann. A Dog’s Life. The Autobiography of a Stray. Scholastic Press. 182 pp. Gr. 4-5. Squirrel, a stray puppy, tells her life story, from her nurturing mother and brother to making her own way in the world, facing busy highways, changing seasons, and humans both gentle and brutal. ANIMAL STORY.
O’Meara, Donna. Into the Volcano. A Volcano Researcher at Work. Kids Can Press. 56 pp. Gr. 4-5. Donna O’Meara’s photographs and accounts of treacherous journeys get readers up close and personal with some of the world’s most dangerous volcanoes. NONFICTION.
Poole, Josephine. Anne Frank. Knopf. unpaged. Gr. 3-5. What was Anne Frank like as a small girl at home with her family and friends, at play and at school? An introduction to Anne’s story for younger readers. BIOGRAPHY.
Pullman, Philip. The Scarecrow and his Servant. Knopf. 229 pp. Gr.4+. A scarecrow and his boy servant, Jack, set off on a dangerous adventure as they try to outwit the crooked Buffaloni family and stake their claim to valuable Spring Valley. FANTASY.
Rodowsky, Colby. The Next-Door Dogs. Farrar Straus Giroux. 103 pp. Gr. 3-4. Although terrified of dogs, 9-year-old Sara forces herself to face a Labrador retriever and a Dalmatian when she must help her next door neighbor, who has fallen and broken her leg. REALISTIC FICTION.
Scieszka, Jon. Oh Say, I Can’t See. Viking. 72 pp. Gr. 3-5. After arriving in Pennsylvania during the winter of 1776, time travelers Joe, Fred, and Samantha inspire George Washington to carry out a surprise attack on Hessian troops that will change the course of the Revolutionary War. SCIENCE FICTION.
Sidman, Joyce. Song of the Water Boatman & Other Pond Poems. Houghton Mifflin. unpaged. Gr. 3-5. A collection of poems that provide a look at some of the animals, insects, and plants that are found in ponds. POETRY
Tanaka, Shelley. Mummies. The Newest, Coolest & Creepiest from Around the World. Abrams. 48 pp. Gr. 4-5. Junior paleopathologists will get the latest information about mummy finds from cultures around the world. Extraordinary photos. NONFICTION.
Turner, Pamela. Gorilla Doctors: Saving Endangered Great Apes. Houghton Mifflin. 63 pp. Gr. 3+. The Mountain Gorilla Veterinary Project include scientists working to save the gorillas of Rwanda and Uganda. Photographs take readers on an exploration like no other! NONFICTION.
Umansky, Kaye. The Silver Spoon of Solomon Snow. Candlewick. 304 pp. Gr. 4+. When 10-year-old Solly Snow learns that he was left on the doorstep as a baby, he immediately sets off to find his true parents with only a silver spoon as a clue. ADVENTURE.
Vande Velde, Vivian. Three Good Deeds. Harcourt. 147 pp. Gr. 3-5. Caught stealing goose eggs from a witch, Howard is cursed for his heartlessness and turned into a goose himself. He can only become human again by performing three good deeds. FANTASY.
Voight, Cynthia. Angus and Sadie. HarperCollins. 194 pp. Gr. 3-5. Angus and Sadie, two siblings that are mostly border collie, are adopted by a young couple and live on a Maine farm, where they learn sheep herding and come to appreciate how they are different from each other. ANIMAL STORY.
Wersba, Barbara. Walter. The Story of a Rat. Front Street. 60 pp. Gr. 3-5. Walter, a rat who can read, lives in the home of Miss Amanda Pomeroy, a celebrated writer of children’s books. FANTASY.
Winter, Jonah. Roberto Clemente. Pride of the Pittsburgh Pirates. Atheneum. unpaged. Gr. 3-5. The story of a great athlete and even greater man who rose through the ranks of baseball to become one of the most admired players of all time. BIOGRAPHY.
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