Early Readers? Transitional Books? Early Chapter Books? - Books for 1st to 3rd Graders

One of my goals this year was to read more books directed towards young readers grades 1st to 3rd.  The challenge is to find books that appeal to an audience that is very diverse in their reading abilities.  In a first grade, a teacher may have children that are barely reading common sight words to others who are reading sizeable chapter books.  Parents and teachers will always need to match the right book to the right reader, but here are some of the books that I have been reading lately that might engage a child in this transitional period.

 Cowgirl Kate and Cocoa Series by Erica Silverman

This first chapter book series is centered around a friendship between a small girl named Kate and her best horse, Cocoa.  Divided into a small chapters with limited vocabulary, Silverman develops stories with humor and lessons that teach without feeling preachy.  Each book has about 44 pages and pictures every few pages.  If I counted correctly, there are currently 6 books in the series. 

Fly Guy Series by Tedd Arnold

At this age, girls and boys tend to prefer reading about characters that are the same gender as they are.  So if your developing reader is a boy and not interested in being a Cowgirl, then Fly Guy might be the way to go.  Buzz has a buggy best pal - Fly Guy.  Similar to Cowgirl Kate, the books have small chapters, fixed vocabulary, and about 32 pages.  There are lots of books in this series. 

Down Girl and Sit by Lucy Nolan

Perfect for boys or girls, the Down Girl And Sit Series by Lucy Nolan is a step up from the previous two series.  Each chapter book is about 60 pages long and have more text and less pictures.  Stories are more developed and vocabulary more diverse.  I am not a huge dog or cat fan, but these books made me chuckle.  They are centered around two dog pals and seeing the world from their perspective can be really funny.  The series has about 4 books in it and they are quite enjoyable. 

Franny K. Stein by Jim Benton

Franny is not your usual little girl.  She is a mad scientist and has a pet dog named Igor.  She lives in this typical suburban home with very normal appearing parents; however, she is definitely her own person.  Each book features Franny in some stage of experimentation which is usually applied to some issue she is facing at school.  I love Franny.  And I have quite a few 1st grade boys who like Franny as well. 

This series is by far the longest of the four listed in this post clocking in around 100 pages. 




If you are looking for a replacement for all those Junie B. Jones or Magic Treehouse books, check out one of the series above. 

Marvelous Middle Grade Monday - Zita The Spacegirl

Author/Illustrator:  Ben Hatke
Publisher: First Second (February 1, 2011)
Pages: 192
Ages: 9 to 12 years
Source: Personal Copy
Rating: Buy multiple copies - This one won't stay on the shelf for long.

Description from GoodReads:

Zita’s life took a cosmic left turn in the blink of  an eye.

When her best friend is abducted by an alien doomsday cult, Zita leaps to the rescue and finds herself a stranger on a strange planet. Humanoid chickens and neurotic robots are shocking enough as new experiences go, but Zita is even more surprised to find herself taking on the role of intergalactic hero. Before long, aliens in all shapes and sizes don’t even phase her. Neither do ancient prophecies, doomed planets, or even a friendly con man who takes a mysterious interest in Zita’s quest.

Zita the Spacegirl is a fun, captivating tale of friendship and redemption from Flight veteran Ben Hatke. It also has more whimsical, eye-catching, Miyazaki-esque monsters than you can shake a stick at.


When I first heard about Zita The Spacegirl, I knew I wanted to read it.  Then I made the connection that Ben Hatke had contributed to the Flight series, and I really wanted to read it.  Fortunately for me, my 10 year old niece wasn't home when it arrived or we would have had a tug of war over who got to read it first.  (Yeah, I know an adult fighting with a child about who gets to read a book first is kind of childish.  I assure you that I do let her win.) Once the book was in my hands, I sat down and devoured it immediately.  

Hatke's first foray into the world of full-length middle grade graphic novels is quite a success.  The story follows Zita and her friend, Joseph.  After an meteoroid hits the earth, Joseph is abducted into space and Zita follows to rescue him.  Confused and alone, Zita encounters a myriad of space creatures - some friendly and some not so friendly.  With the help of her new friends and some quick thinking, Zita finds herself in the role of hero.  However, being a hero usually means that a lot goes wrong first. 

Though the transitions felt a little clunky in the beginning, Hatke finds his groove and leaves the reader wanting more by the end.  Zita and her friends will delight middle grade readers and fans of Flight, Flight Explorer, or The Amulet Series will have a new series to clamor after.  Now if Ben Hatke and Kazu Kibuishi (The Amulet Series) can just keep alternating release dates of their graphic novels, I (and my niece and students) might just be able to wait for the next book.   

For more information about Zita and her creator, Ben Hatke, check out his website here. 

To read an excerpt from Zita The Spacegirl, click here.

Check out the Official Book Trailer below:

* Marvelous Middle Grade Mondays were started by Shannon over at Ramblings of a Wannabe Scribe. You can check out her Marvelous Middle Grade Monday choice and Giveaway Post here.

Hot Off The Press! New Picture Books

On Sundays, I have been heading over to Vroman's Bookstore and checking out their wall of new picture books. I started doing this the day after Christmas when my flight back east was canceled and I needed something to cheer me up. Now my weekly treks have become something that I look forward to and hate when I have to miss them. It hit me today that I should blog about my favorite new picture book releases. Here are 5 from today that stood out from the pile:

A Pet For Petunia
Author/Illustrator: Paul Schmid
Publisher: Harper Collins (January 25, 2011)
Audience: Ages 3 to 7 years

Out of all of the books, this was probably my favorite book in the stack.  Petunia has a stuffed skunk and wants a real skunk for a pet.  She does her best to convince her parents that she should have one.  What happens when Petunia encounters a real skunk?

This is a perfect read aloud for young children.  Simple illustrations beautifully support the text.  If I was giving a starred review, then this would be one of them.

To watch the book trailer, click here.

Giant Steps to Change the World
Authors: Spike Lee & Tonya Lewis Lee
Illustrators: Sean Qualls
Publisher: Simon & Schuster (January 4, 2011)
Audience: 2nd to 5th grade

I was a little skeptical when I saw that this book was written by husband and wife team Spike and Tonya Lee.  Celebrity picture books may sell because of a name, but what about quality?  The book starts off with the narrator encouraging a boy to "Listen to the voices of those who came before..."  There follows quotes from famous people but minus their names or images.  Qualls mixed media illustrations provide just enough to help make a guess at where the quotes come from.  I had fun trying to guess who said each quote but a child will need much more instruction to make the connection.  On the inside covers, each quote is listed with who said it.  This would be a fun discussion starter with older children. 

To watch Spike Lee & Tonya Lewis Lee speak about the book, click here.

Look! A Book!
Author/Creator: Bob Staake
Publisher: Little Brown Book For Young Readers (February 1, 2011)
Audience: Ages 4 to 8 years old

Children will enjoy searching for a special item on each two page spread.  The sparse text uses rhyming clues to direct children to the item that they will search for.  Die-cuts on each page provide sneak peaks to upcoming pages.  At the end, the page flips up and encourages children to return and search for more items beginning with 1 cow, and ending with 12 red books.  The colorful sturdy pages will likely hold up in a home but frequent check outs from a school library and serious handling from small sticky hands may provide a challenge in a school setting.

To watch the book trailer for Look! A Book!, click here.

When I Grow Up
Author: Al Yankovic
Illustrator: Wes Hargis
Publisher: HarperCollins (February 1, 2011)
Audience: Ages 4 to 7 years

This one made my top picks for the week partially because it made me chuckle, and partially because I really wasn't sure what to expect from Weird Al.  A little boy is eager to share about what he wants to be when he grows up.  However, his list is quite creative.  I liked the tie in to the child's grandfather, and the tribute to the teacher.  Hargis' watercolor illustrations are lovely and young children will also get a chuckle out of some of the career choices.

To watch the book trailer for When I Grow Up, click here.

Dear Tabby
Author: Carolyn Crimi
Illustrator: David Roberts
Publisher: HarperCollins (February 8, 2011)

Tabby D. Cat is an alley cat.  The various animals of Critterville send him letters seeking advice.  Each letter was formatted in a variety of styles/fonts.  Tabby in his own way provides just the right creative solutions to everyone's concerns.  Boots Whitepaw, a house cat, sends multiple letters about an over attentive owner.  Tabby dishes back a great response.  The twist at the end is cute.

Though I got a chuckle out this book and loved the ending, I imagine that this will be a tough book to do as a read aloud.  There is a lot on the pages that is essential to the story and the illustrations support the text well.  Recommend reading this in smaller groups.

Valentine's Week Guest Post: The Men of Maud Hart Lovelace

For those of you not familiar with Maud Hart Lovelace, what’s the matter with you? I mean…she is the wonderful author of the Deep Valley books – which include the ten-book Betsy-Tacy series, Carney’s House Party, Winona’s Pony Cart, and the stand-alone book Emily of Deep Valley.

The early Betsy books tell of a picnic filled childhood, friendships, and frolics on the Big Hill. Once the books reach the high school years, we get to pretty dresses, the dances and above all else, the beaus. Right there you know this is not your typical YA because boys are called beaus. So romantic! These books take place circa 1905-1917 and the men of Deep Valley, the fictional town where the books are mostly set, are well-dressed (think: suits), well-coifed (think: shining pompadours), and well-mannered (think: they’re as likely to bring flowers to the mothers as to the daughters).

Here’s a rundown of some of the men of Deep Valley (and beyond). Don’t tell my husband, but I’m in love with one or two of them myself.

The Betsy-Tacy books:
Tony Markham – The Tall Dark and Handsome one
Tony might possibly have been my first book crush. He’s good looking, funny, can sing, and is just a little bit bad (he smokes cigarettes and hops trains to the Twin Cities to watch baseball games). He’s the one your mother warned you about, but can’t help liking herself.

Joe Willard – The Elusive
Joe is gorgeous, independent and too stubborn for his own good. It’s too easy to hurt Joe’s feelings, which is why Betsy can never land him. Never say never though. The fourth high school book is called Betsy and Joe, and the blond man on the cover of Betsy’s Wedding looks awfully familiar.

Phil Brandish – The Snob
He's rich, drives a car in 1908 when many people have never even seen one, and thinks a lot of himself. But he’s polite, refined and if he could just find where he left his sense of humour, he might be all right.

Uncle Rudy & Mr. Ray – The Debonairs
When Betsy spends Christmas with her best friend Tib in Milwaukee, Tib’s Uncle Rudy steals her heart with his waxed mustaches, dancing, and tickets to the theater on a Sunday!

Mr. Ray is Betsy’s father and if you’re looking for upstanding, loyal, and someone who loves his family, look no further. Even as his circumference grows in middle age, he still cleans up nicely and is the most debonair man at the Melborn Hotel dances.

Marco Regali – The Romantic
Marco is the Italian young man who falls in love with Betsy in Venice. He calls her Bette, throws roses through her bedroom window, and takes her on ferry rides to islands where they picnic until sunset. Yeah, Marco is as good as he sounds.

Sam Hutchinson – The Loveable one
Sam is the romantic lead in Carney’s House Party, a book told from the point of view of Betsy’s friend, Caroline Sibley (Carney). He’s the jolly, loveable, nice to kids, kind of guy and while I didn’t fall in love with him myself, I can see why others might. To me, he makes the perfect friend though.

Emily of Deep Valley is a stand-alone book and while Betsy and some of her friends make brief appearances, they’re not really part of the story.

Don Walker – The Cad
Oh, don’t get me started. Emily likes him…a lot. But why? Oh, sure, she can really talk to him. But only when it suits him. And only when her beautiful cousin isn’t around. Run, Em, run! And I’m not giving anything away, as the reader can tell this from the very beginning, even if Emily can’t!

Jed Wakefield – The Forward Thinker
Jed is all for a social cause and he’s thinking about America’s future. He’s got his own thoughts and opinions, but he also takes into account Emily’s beliefs, circumstances, and desires. He’s one you can count on. In a way, he’s a young Mr. Ray.

There are many more beaus and male friends in all of these books, but these are the main ones. The nice thing I’m always reminded of when I revisit Lovelace’s books is that while Betsy and her friends are often similar to boy-crazy girls a hundred years later, there is always an underlying theme of girl-power too. The books ring with these messages: be true to yourself, study hard, go to college, be loyal to your friends, don’t compromise your beliefs, make something of yourself, be socially, spiritually, and politically aware, don’t settle, and follow your dreams. And all those messages are mixed in with pretty dresses, dances, and beaus.

Joëlle Anthony is the author of the young adult novel, Restoring Harmony, and her second book, The Right & the Real will be released in April 2012. Visit her website at 

http://joelleanthony.com/

You can also find her on twitter: @joellewrites

Valentine's Week: Fictional Crushes

On Monday, we heard about some fictional YA heroes - thanks Sophie.  Miss Tammy stopped by on Tuesday to share with us her favorite hot boys with accents.  Wednesday brought us "bad boys with heart" thanks to Janelle.  So today, I am sharing my top five YA fictional crushes (boy was this hard...I had to leave off Sam from Shiver, Pietr from 13 to Life, Zach from Shadow Hills, Spill from Restoring Harmony, and Max from 13 to Life).

About a year ago, I remember having a conversation with one of my students after she finished reading Beautiful Creatures by Garcia & Stohl.  I admitted to her that I had a crush on Ethan.  Her shocked and confused look made me nearly choke on my laughter.  She just couldn't imagine how or why her principal would be having a crush on some character in a book, but really if you spend any time on Twitter the topic of fictional crushes will come up.  I'm in good company. (Please note -all my real life crushes have been age appropriate.) 

There is something fun when an author can write a character that makes your heart skip a beat when he enters a scene or when you want to be the female main character so that it will be you that he is looking at with those smoldering eyes.

So what is it that attracts a girl to her fictional crush...well, I can't speak for anyone else but here is what makes me swoon for a guy (and to have all these qualities - well let me just say - I need a minute to catch my breath)....

He's not necessarily the most popular guy in high school.

# 5 Cabel from Wake/Fade/Gone by Lisa McMann - Cabel was certainly not the most popular guy in Janie's High School.  You might actually say he is an outcast.  However, there was something about Cablel that made me fall for him completely.  It might be the way that he was always looking out for Janie and would even have a snack for her for after one of her dream experiences.  Yep, my guy knows what a girl needs even if she doesn't.

He isn't who you think he is. 

# 4 Carter from Bad Girls Don't Die by Katie Alender - I expected Carter to be a bit of a jerk.  I really wasn't planning on falling for him at all.  However, he turns out to be nothing like I expected and he really cares about Alexis and wants to help her.  So much so that he can't be detoured.  There was so not enough of Carter in book 1.  Dear Katie Alender: Please make sure there is more of Carter in book 2.  Thanks, Me.

He's smart and likes books.  

# 3 Ethan from Beautiful Creatures/Beautiful Darkness by Kami Garcia & Margie Stohl - Right from the start one of the things that caught my eye about Ethan Waite (yah, aside from good looks and an accent and ability to meld thoughts with Lena) was the fact that he loved reading and books - even if he didn't want to let the others know.  Plus his mother had been a librarian. 

He's strong yet sensitive and equally matched. 

# 2 Po from Graceling by Kristen Cashore - Katsa is one tough heroine but I want to say to her "Step aside if you don't want to marry him, I will." ;-)  Katsa would never have been able to be in a relationship with a man that she could completely boss around.  Po was a great match for her.  He was strong, a great fighter, and very much her equal.  Yet, despite his practice/training fights with Katsa, he also knew how to be gentle with her and bring out different sides to her.

He is devoted and protective (in a good way). 

# 1 Chen Yong from Silver Phoenix/Fury of the Phoenix by Cindy Pon - I am crazy about Chen Yong.  If I had a check list for things I am looking for in a guy, he would probably get a 100% rating.  How can he not...he is smart, good looking, strong, sensitive, and always coming to Ai Ling's rescue. Heck, even the most independent girl still likes it when a guy is looking out for her and comes to her rescue.  Ai Ling isn't easy to protect.  She is very spirited and determined.  However, Chen Yong was really always there for her. 

Now that I shared with you my top 5 crushes...why don't you tell me yours?