Nightbird by Alice Hoffman*

I could have read this book in one sitting!
Intriguing plot that weaves the past with the present plus an appealing setting (I wanted to pack my bags and wander in Twig's orchard, taste her mom's pies and help Twig and Julia revive the herb garden!!).

In the 1770's two families lived side by side in Sidwell, Mass.  The one son from one family fell in love with the one daughter from the other family.  Then the Revolutionary War broke out-the boy's family was on the Colonist side while the girl's family sided with the British.  Their families forbade them to see each other.  Despite their families' demands, they decided to run away together.  On the night of their planned escape, the boy never shows . . . the girl waits all night, all day, a week, a month, a year.  She places a curse on the boy and  future male generations-they would grow wings.

Fast forward to the present-Twig's family has a secret.  No one knows she has an older brother James .  . .who has wings.  Twig and her mother keep to themselves on the family farm and orchard.  Twig has no friends; no father.  Then a family moves in next door to Twig and starts to remodel the "witch's" house who placed the curse on Twig's family.
Is this a summer of change-for Twig to finally have a friend, to break the curse and for a long-lost father to return?
Some reviewers did not like how everything is resolved neatly and perfectly but I did!  I like nice endings where everything works out!!
**Highly recommend.  Well-written.
Apple pie recipe included in the back.
Warnings/points to discuss: witch/curse; parent separation

The Secrets of Eastcliff-by-the Sea by Eileen Beha illustrated by Sarah Jane Wright*

"The Story of Annaliese Easterling and Throckmorton-Her Remarkable Sock Monkey"
Throckmorton, a sock monkey, was made lovingly by Annaliese's great grandmama and given to her the day she was born.
Throckmorton brings Annaliese much joy in an otherwise somber, joyless household.  Motherless, friendless, Annaliese confides in Throckmorton daily.  She longs to know more about her mother but her father, Judge Easterling, forbids the mention of her name.
Then Great-Grandmama Easterling invites all the sock monkeys she has ever made and their owners to her 90th birthday party.  At the party and days that follow many secrets are discovered and many hurts are forgiven.
All because a sock monkey is who is he suppose to be: loving, loyal, very good listener, and forever smiling!
**The story is told from the sock monkey's point of view.
Points to discuss: The punch at the party is supposedly spiked and the boys rather enjoy it!!  Divorce/parent abandonment.

By Mouse and Frog by Deborah Freedman*

Mouse begins her day wanting to write a story.  To her dismay, Frog keeps interrupting her ideas and creating havoc!
Great book to practice fluency (think Reader's Theater!).
Strategy: fluency (expression, punctuation)
We enjoyed the humor in this book!
*Highly recommend.

You Nest Here with Me by Jane Yolen and Heidi E. Y. Stemple illustrated by Melissa Sweet*

Ms. Yolen is Ms. Stemple's mother.
In this rhyming book, they share how various birds nest and constantly bring it back to the mother tucking in her daughter into bed with the refrain, "But you nest here with me.".
Although this book is simple enough for a toddler to enjoy, the listener can learn about birds.
I loved how in the back the authors and illustrator provided a two page spread with more information about the birds featured in the book.
*Highly recommend.

Sheep Go to Sleep by Nancy Shaw illustrated by Margot Apple*

The newest addition to Ms. Shaw's sheep books!
Sheep cannot fall asleep.  Who will help them?  A loyal collie, of course!
At the end Ms. Shaw references the nursery rhyme "Little Boy Blue" so an opportunity to make a text to text connection.
A great bedtime story.
Perfect to use when teaching "long e" and word families.
*Highly recommend.

Geronimo Stilton -The Search for Treasure -The Sixth Adventure in the Kingdom of Fantasy*

My second grader read this book and this is his review-
Geronimo competed in a sailboat race.  While he was competing, he fell into the sea and was carried to the Land of Fantasy.  (My son just informed me in order for Geronimo to enter the Land of Fantasy he must fall asleep.)  When  he went into the ocean, an evil witch (even more evil than Cackle) was chasing him.  His task was to find the red ruby and the sapphire gem and put them together so there would be peace forever in the Kingdom of Fantasy.
It was very exciting!

Guided Reading Level: S (4th grade)
Grade Level Equivalent: 4th

Wolfie the Bunny by Ame Dyckman illustrated by Zachariah OHora

When the Bunny family finds a baby wolf wrapped in a bundle on their doorstep, they immediately are smitten.  No one listens to the voice of reason-Dot, the daughter-who proclaims, "He's going to eat us all up!".  She perseveres with her warnings throughout the story until she and Wolfie are alone at the Carrot Patch (ie grocery store) and encounter a bear.
Some surprises which make the story fun to read/share as a read aloud!
Mr. OHora wrote and illustrated Stop Snoring, Bernard!  It is great to view his illustrations again.
*Highly recommend.
Strategies: predicting, character traits, word choice/expanding vocab.

Geronimo Stilton-The Dragon Prophecy -The 4th Adventure in the Kingdom of Fantasy*

My second grader read this book to himself-he loves this series.
Geronimo must find the last existing dragon egg which has been stolen.  If he does not, then the dragons would be become extinct.
My son says he really likes Scribblehopper (a frog) who is Geronimo's guide in the Kingdom of Fantasy.
Text features: font size and color, fact boxes, headings, diagrams, maps, cross section/cutaways
Grade Level Equivalent: 3.7
*Highly recommend.

Ava and Pip by Carol Weston

Fifth grader Ava is extroverted and loves to write.  Her older sister, Pip,  is in seventh grade so shy people think she is stuck up and often make fun of her.  When a new seventh grade girl Bea hosts a party on the same evening of Pip's birthday party (no one comes to Pip's birthday party), Ava decides to use this awful situation as an inspiration for a story which she enters in a contest.  She wins the contest but Bea figures out she is the villain in the story  . . . through a series of interesting and humorous events, new friendships are formed, lessons are learned and characters are transformed.
Ava is an admirable character.
The entire story is told via journal entries so perfect for older reluctant readers.
The Wren family loves words-especially palindromes.  Other word play is sprinkled throughout the book.

Points to discuss/warnings:  The "d" word is used twice in the book-one time as part of a palindrome and another time as part of a punch line of a joke -referring to the ones the beavers make but the punch line had double meaning.  Why do authors include swearing?  If these references would not be in the story, I would have highly recommended the book.  The slang for the word chest was mentioned a couple of times.

A second book featuring Ava was just published-Ava and Taco but the libraries where I live have not purchased it yet.

The People of Sparks #2 by Jeanne DuPrau*

Lina and Doon have led their people from their underground city, Ember, to an amazing world of color, sights and smells to a village called to Sparks.  At first the people of Sparks welcome them and assist them as they adjust to this new world and way of life.  But then fear takes hold of the Sparks people as they are on the brink of prosperity but with 400 extra mouths to feed . . .
Tick, an Emberite, desires power and will do anything to hold it-even causing friction between the two groups of people.
Lina and Doon's characters are tested but at the end, the reader admires these individuals all the more.
Strategies: inferring, character traits, cause/effect, predicting
*Highly recommend.
Guided Reading Level: U (5th grade)
Grade Level Equivalent: 5.1

Geronimo Stilton-The Journey Through Time-Dinosaur Disaster*

My second grade son read this book.
Geronimo, the mouse, travels in time to the prehistoric world.  By accident Geronimo's cousin activates chronometer and the Mouse Mover 3000 (the time machine) takes him to the land of dinosaurs where many adventures with dinosaurs take place.
Grade Level Equivalent: 4.4

The Amazing Voyage #3-in The Kingdom of Fantasy by Geronimo Stilton

My son is devouring the books in this Kingdom of Fantasy series.
He said-Geronimo received an armored suit from a talking boat named Horizon (who was made from the talking forest).  He traveled to the land of nightmares which use to be the land of dreams but when Crackle, the queen of witches took it over, she transformed it into nightmares.  Geronimo is to save the the queen of fairies-Blossom and destroy the black dragon.  With his sword of light, Geronimo destroys the black dragon, rescues Blossom and restores the kingdom to peace and goodness.
*Highly recommend.
Warnings/points to discuss: witches, nightmares
Guided Reading Level: S (4th grade)

A Nest is Noisy by Dianna Hutts Aston illustrated by Sylvia Long*

The latest book created by this team.
Lots of interesting facts (my sons and I measured  how big a dusky scrubfowl's nest is) with whimsical yet realistic illustrations.
Some of the featured nests are: fox squirrel, American alligator, flamingo, buff-breasted paradise kingfisher and Gourami.
Text features: diagrams, labels, different font, headings, cutaway/cross sections
**Highly, highly recommend.
Strategies: main idea/details, vocab. expansion/word choice

Warriors-Into the Wild #1 by Erin Hunter

Rusty is a kittypet (he lives in a house; eats bland cat food; has no adventures) who dreams of excitement.  One day as he ventures into the woods he encounters a breed of cat which he had no idea existed.  From the Thunderclan, these cats capture their own food and live in the elements plus defend their territory from other cat clans. Rusty realizes living like this is what he has been longing for so he leaves his pampered life and goes. . . into the wild.
Lots of excitement as trouble is brewing with the ShadowClan-cat fights, some blood and death.
Admirable characters-

Rusty who is not quick to judge and will do the right thing even if it puts him in danger

 Bluestar is the Thunderclan's fearless leader who must make tough decisions on behalf of her declining clan
Readers who enjoy the Guardians of Ga' Hoole series will love this series too.
Ms. Hunter must have spent hours observing cats and imagining how they would interact in the wild to create such a detailed story!
**At first, I found all of the characters confusing.  Ms. Hunter has provided a list of characters and to which clan they belong.
Guided Reading Level: U (5th grade)
Grade Level Equivalency: 5.2
Points to discuss/warning:  The many characters could make the reading challenging and frustrating at first; violent at times; description of fights; several cats die because other cats killed them; the "cutter" is mentioned-meaning the house cats are neutered.
For some reason our library has this book labeled "young adult"?  Maybe because of the violence.

Olive and the Big Secret by Tor Freeman*

Olive's friend Molly shares a secret with her.  Olive promises not to tell the secret to anyone.  Readers will relate with Olive's struggle to keep a very juicy secret.
Humorous because we can all think of a time when we were just like Olive and experience the consequences of sharing a secret.
I love how the story begins via the illustrations even before the title page and continues beyond the last page.
**Highly, highly recommend all Olive books!
Strategies: cause/effect, inferring

I Wish You More by Amy Krouse Rosenthal illustrated by Tom Lichtenheld*

This team has produced several clever books.
Simplistic but powerful text wishing the reader an abundant life.  For example, "I wish you more hugs than ughs."  or "I wish you more snowflakes than tongue."
Great book to use to discuss and infer.
*Highly recommend.

The Growly Books #2-Widewater by Philip and Erin Ulrich*

Growly, a bear, and Chippy, a monkey along with their bird friend Tully continue their search for C.J., a long lost elderly bear.
In this adventure they encounter friendly dolphins, fearsome storms, a city of monkeys, and a mysterious abandoned city situated on a desolate land with ash, earthquakes and a lava.
A wonderful fantasy for the middle grades without the magic and evil villains.  Perfect for younger elementary children who are more advanced readers.
Strategy: inferring 
I found a couple of typos- "she" when it should have "he", "they" when it should have "the", and "pieced" when it should have been "pierced".  Those kind of mistakes bother when they are found in a published book.

A to Z Mysteries The Lucy Lottery by Ron Roy*

My preschooler loves hearing these read aloud to him and my second grader enjoys reading them to himself.
Dink, Josh and Ruth Rose help out their college friend Lucy find his missing lottery ticket (which just happens to be a winner-seven million dollars!) before the thief can cash it in and claim it as his/her own ticket.  They come to a conclusion but need proof.  Together they come up with an exciting solution.
*Highly recommend.
I tire of reading these aloud because they are written for developing readers to read to themselves but I persevere for the sake of my son! :-)
Guided Reading Level: N (3rd grade)
Grade Level Equivalent: 2.5
A series I would definitely add to any 1st-3rd grade library.

Geronimo Stilton The Quest for Paradise-The Return to the Kingdom of Fantasy #2*

My second grader loves this series.
He told me that Geronimo must find the "heart of happiness".  He enjoyed the little puzzles throughout the story-he said they were easy enough that you were able to find hidden objects and return to the story quickly.
As Geronimo travels to different fantasy lands (fairies, ogres, land of sweets, land of toys, kingdom of comfort, land of gold, land of fairy tales), he hears various tales from the featured creatures.
Fact boxes, maps, onomatopoeia words abound!
*Highly recommend.
Guided Reading Level: T (4th grade)
Grade Level Equivalent: 4

Geronimo Stilton-The Kingdom of Fantasy *

My second grader read this book in two days!  I could not pull him away from it.
He liked how Geronimo traveled to different lands.  He also enjoyed all of the maps.
Geronimo Stilton runs a newspaper.  On the evening of June 21st he finds a mysterious music box, golden staircase in his attic which lead to a golden door.   Then his adventure begins and he encounters giant scorpions, sea serpents, pixies etc.
*Highly recommend.
Lots of onomatopoeia and hyperbole, different font sizes/color, maps, codes, charts.
Guided Reading Level: T (4th grade)
Grade Level Equivalent: 2.4 (**Don't agree with this level.)

Before After by Anne-Margot Ramstein illustrated by Matthias Aregui**

This thick wordless book provides opportunity to infer, discuss and wonder.
The first illustration depicts the "before" and the second illustration reveals the "after".  For example, an acorn and then a majestic oak tree (a very simplistic example).
The illustrations may seem separate from each other but if one looks carefully one can see how they are interconnected.
I could see using this book to stimulate creative writing-have students write a story about a picture.
Strategies: inferring, cause/effect, thinking!
**Highly, highly recommend.

Olive and the Bad Mood by Tor Freeman*

One incident made Olive in a bad mood.  As she encounters her friends, her bad mood spreads to each person.
This book provides an opportunity to talk with children how their words and actions have an affect on people and how we have a choice about our moods.  Also, how what we mediate on eventually comes out in our actions
*Highly recommend.
Strategies: cause/effect, connections, sequencing
Look for -Olive and the Big Secret  and also-Olive and the Embarrassing Gift.

The Secret Life of Squirrels by Nancy Rose

Mr. Peanuts, a squirrel, is lonely so he invites Cousin Squirrel to his home.
Ms. Rose creates miniature props and photographs actual squirrels investigating her props.  Through the various photographs she created this story!
Amazing!

Calendar Mysteries -June Jam by Ron Roy*

Bradley, Brian, Nate, and Lucy are siblings/cousins to Dink, Josh and Ruth Rose from A-Z Mysteries.  In this twelve book series, the foursome solve little mysteries together.
In this book, the children try to figure out who/what is taking bites out of the strawberries in the Pinto's garden.  Will they discover the culprit in time to save enough strawberries to make Mr. Pinto strawberry jam for Father's Day?
Parts of this book had my preschooler laughing!
These mysteries are not as scary as the A-Z Mysteries.
*Highly recommend.
Guided Reading Level: N (Third grade)
Grade Level Equivalent: 2.6

The Island of Dr. Libris by Chris Grabenstein*

Billy is spending the summer with his mom at a lakeside cabin.  The cabin belongs to Dr. Libris, a professor who works at the same university as Billy's mother.
Billy is not thrilled about the lack of electronics at the cabin but soon discovers shelves of books.  As he reads, something strange happens . . . on the island in the middle of the lake the characters are coming alive!
As Billy befriends a neighbor, contends with another obnoxious neighbor and worries about his parents' marriage, he discovers a gift-the gift of imagination.
At the back of the book, Mr. Grabenstein includes a list of all the books he mentions throughout the story.  This book may be one that compels a reader to read some of the classics.
*Highly recommend.
Points to discuss: Billy's parents are having martial problems.  His dad comes to the cabin to announce they are divorcing.  Characters from various classic stories are incorporated throughout the story.  If the reader is unfamiliar with the full length story, they might not fully appreciate this sampling of the characters and the plot references.  Also, Mr. Grabenstein does a superb job of utilizing the character's authentic dialect and speech so that too may be challenging for some readers (Tom Sawyer, 3 Musketeers etc.)

Huggapotamus by Steve Metzger illustrated by Gabriele Antonini

Albert, a young hippo, comes from a loving home where his parents bestow him with lots of hugs and love.  Since he loves his friends, he ventures out one day to share hugs.  A couple of problems-he is a hippo so he is huge and rough plus his timing is not the best.  As a result, his friends do not want to play with him.
A great book to read with your child about "thinking before acting."

This book is recommended on the Daily CAFE website.
Strategies they suggest utilizing with this book: parts of a story, cause/effect, chunking letters (ing), using punctuation to help read with expression, read text as author would say it, tune into interesting words

Such a Little Mouse by Alice Schertle illustrated by Stephanie Yue**

"Such" a sweet "little" story!
My sister in law loves this author so I had to check out Ms. Schertle's newest book.
The reader experiences the four seasons through the eyes of a "little mouse".
I love the repetitive refrain "Every morning in_____(fill in with season), one, two, three! He pops out of his hole."  Children will be counting with you by the time you come to summer.
Love the word choice-clump, "ears pink as petals",  "twitchety whiskers", prickly,sprig-just a sampling!  Great word exposure for little ones.
Perfect story for a 9 month old-preschool years.
The illustrations are sweet and interesting-a few cutaways (mouse's home, inside toad's flower pot).
**Highly, highly recommend.

Geronimo Stilton Heromice-Mice to the Rescue -#1

This series has been around for a long time-they keep publishing different spins with the character.
My second grader read this book to himself.  He said it was cool because the mice save the city and are heroes.
Geronimo Superstilton and the Heromice save Muskrat City from a blackout instigated by the Sewer Rats.
Colorful comic-like illustrations.
Various words within the text are in different colors and fonts.

Paul Bunyan retold and illustrated by Steven Kellogg*

My second grader brought this book home from his school library and read it.
"A tall tale" which shares the amazing life of Paul Bunyan and his ox Babe.
Great genre to use when teaching hyperbole.
Strategies: word choice, expanding vocab, figurative language
*Highly recommend.
Guided Reading Level: O (3rd grade)
Grade Level Equivalent: 3.8

The Penderwicks in Spring by Jeanne Birdsall**

I recommend this series to all girls I know and even adults!
This book focuses mainly on fifth grader Batty with some chapters devoted to her step brother Ben.  Ms. Birdsall captures the pull a fifth grader feels between childhood and  growing up and unrelenting emotions.
Batty discovers several things about herself-that she can earn money, that she can sing, that Nick is good at rescuing her and bringing her home and that her mother sacrificed her own life so Batty can live. . . .and that secrets and misunderstandings rot at one's soul and dissipate joy but family, honesty and clarification can revive one again.
Although this series will naturally appeal to girls, Ms. Birdsall includes a boy character in each book that just might do the trick in enticing boys.  I want to read the series to my two boys.
***Highly, highly recommend.
Already looking forward to Book #5-the final one!

Hello, Ocean by Pam Munoz Ryan illustrated by Mark Astrella translated by Yanitzia Canetti*

I was at an used bookstore this weekend and spied this title-it is one I have been wanting to purchase.  This copy included both Spanish and English texts on each page.
A girl describes her day at the ocean using her five senses.
When my preschooler and I read the line "I'm here, with five of me, again!", we had fun trying to infer what that line meant.
What I love mostly about this book is its word choice and beautiful illustrations.
Strategies: inferring, ***a top pick for modeling/introducing visualizing
**Highly recommend.
http://www.amazon.com/Hello-Ocean-Pam-Munoz-Ryan/dp/0881069884

A Butterfly is Patient by Dianna Hutts Aston illustrated by Sylvia Long*

I love, love books created by this team!
The illustrations are soft, realistic and just plain gorgeous.
Each page has a descriptive sentence and then supports that main idea sentence with facts about butterflies.
Lots of ways to use this book in the classroom:

• word choice/expanding vocab.
• text features
• main idea/details
• for any butterfly unit

I love the end pages-in the beginning the illustrations are of unique caterpillars and then the back end pages Ms. Long has drawn to what butterflies they have transformed!
http://www.amazon.com/Butterfly-Patient-Dianna-Hutts-Aston/dp/0811864790

Check out all the books created by this team:
An Egg is Quiet
A Seed is Sleepy
A Rock is Lively
most recent: A Nest is Noisy
Highly recommend adding them to a classroom or home library!

Yard Sale by Eve Bunting illustrated by Lauren Castillo*

Callie's family is moving to a small apartment so they must sell most of their possessions at a yard sale.  Told from Callie's perspective, Ms. Bunting portrays how a child may feel as a family endures unwelcome change.  She really captures a child's feelings and fears well.
This book has the potential to spark a lot of discussion with inferences.
Strategies: connections, inferring
**Highly recommend.

George in the Dark by Madeline Valentine*

George is very brave-mean dogs, intimidating bullies, towering trees-are not a problem.  Bedtime, in the dark, was a different story!
Read how George discovers how to overcome his fear to save a beloved teddy bear.
The dark illustrations reinforce George's fear from his point of view.
*Highly recommend.
Strategy: connections

The Bad Birthday Idea by Madeline Valentine*

Although the text is sparse, Ms. Valentine creates a story that will provoke a lot of discussion.
Ben never lets his sister Alice play with him.  He plays with his toy robot and nothing else.  When Alice's birthday approaches, to Ben's horror, she ask for the newest robot toy-Roboy 2000.  To say Ben is slightly envious is an understatement!
On Alice's birthday, Ben makes two choices that have an impact on Alice's birthday and his relationship with her.
*Highly recommend.
Strategies: inferring, predicting, sequencing/retelling, connections (T-S)

Spectacular Spots by Susan Stockdale

With very simple text format, Ms. Stockdale focuses on animals who possess spots.  The animal noun is always proceeded by a descriptive adjective (charging cheetahs, creeping slugs, scouting fish) so this book would be a good one to use as a mentor text for descriptive writing.

In the back, Ms. Stockdale provides more details about each of the featured animals-including their real name and on which continent you would find the them.  Another fun activity  is a spot identification "game" where she has rectangles full of spots where the reader must identify to which creature it belongs.