The Many Hats of a School Librarian

Mike Stellar: Nerves of Steel by K.A. Holt My rating: 3 of 5 stars At the beginning, this book seemed totally crazy to me. A trip to Mars? Moving there? What? Really? But then, as I kept reading, this new future environment began to be totally believable to me. I then could really care about the characters and enjoy the action in the story. View all my reviews

The Trouble With Chickens by Doreen Cronin My rating: 3 of 5 stars This book would be so fun to read aloud to a 1st-3rd grade class. I know students would love to read them to themselves as well. The characters are really animated and the visualization is really funny to imagine. I think it is a series and I hope to get more of these books in the library. View all my reviews

The Adoration of Jenna Fox by Mary E. Pearson My rating: 3 of 5 stars I thought this book was really complex. It took me (as a very advanced reader)a little while to really understand what was going on. I also never really identified with the character or cared about her the way that I sometimes really care about the characters in a book. However, It was a cool story idea and a very interesting concept to think about. How are we made? What makes us who we are? View all my reviews

Because of Mr. Terupt by Rob Buyea My rating: 4 of 5 stars This would be a great read-aloud in any of my intermediate classrooms. There are so many lessons to be learned from Mr. Terupt! The obvious ones are to be nice, forgive, and be there for your friends. Maybe a less obvious one is because I am a teacher. The thing that struck me was that in the few instances where Mr. Terupt gave lessons, redirected behavior, or spoke to his students, it didn't seem that important. However, the reaction of the students after the accident, made me really stop and think about how much I influence my students by the little things. Even though our students test us, I know they care about us just as much as we care about them. View all my reviews

The Night Fairy by Laura Amy Schlitz My rating: 4 of 5 stars Oh the girls in my school who like fairies will love this story of a real fairy, Flora, as she is forced to take an adventure she didn't plan to because of an accident with a bat. This fairy learns how to love the creatures she ends up to live around. View all my reviews

Out of My Mind by Sharon M. Draper My rating: 4 of 5 stars Wow! This one was so great! I don't know how the MN students are going to choose for the Maud Hart Lovelace award this year! It was so interesting to get a glimpse inside the thoughts of someone who can't speak like I can. This was written a few years ago, so myspace was the web presence of choice and for the first few chapters, I was thinking about how iPads are probably now being used for communication much less expensively than before. I was so happy to follow along with Melody's journey in 5th grade. View all my reviews

Alibi Junior High by Greg Logsted My rating: 4 of 5 stars This one kept me turning the pages quickly! I love anything having to do with spies and the CIA so I was so excited when I read the description for this one. It was kind of cool to see what it must be like to be a kid with so many powerful skills, and it made me thankful for my boring life in MN. View all my reviews

Quarterback Season by Fred Bowen My rating: 3 of 5 stars If you like sports books, this is a good one. it it written in journal format and has lots of technical descriptions of football. It helped me understand a bit more of the game, but I would have liked it better if it was about dance :) View all my reviews

The Running Dream by Wendelin Van Draanen My rating: 5 of 5 stars I loved this! I had to keep Kleenex near by the entire time, not because it was sad, but because it was so inspiring! I have run in races before, so it was easy for me to identify with some of the settings and how she feels about running sometimes. I definitely recommend it! View all my reviews