The Many Hats of a School Librarian

The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind by William Kamkwamba My rating: 4 of 5 stars This is so inspiring to read! It's about a boy who had the idea to build a windmill for electricity. He works hard and becomes a hero! Hopes and Dreams are realized! View all my reviews

Mooshka, A Quilt Story by Julie Paschkis My rating: 4 of 5 stars This is such a sweet book. Imagine what it would be like to have something so special that it spoke to you. View all my reviews

Jangles: A Big Fish Story by David Shannon My rating: 3 of 5 stars A good introduction to a tall tale. View all my reviews

The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart My rating: 4 of 5 stars We read this with my first 6th grade book club. It was really fun. It's about a group of kids who are super smart and find themselves on a weird journey. View all my reviews

Son by Lois Lowry My rating: 0 of 5 stars I really enjoyed this series and am so glad that I finished reading them. There are a couple of questions that I still have unanswered that I would like to know, but most everything is wrapped up by the end of this 4th book. I am excited to recommend this to students. View all my reviews

Messenger by Lois Lowry My rating: 5 of 5 stars The 3rd book in the Giver Quartet does not disappoint. The story of Matty, Seer, and Kira is captivating. Lowry's words paint such a haunting image of the Forest. If they ever make this into a movie, there is no way the film can be better than the mind. The focus on greed and the cost kept me tuned into the emotions of the entire story. View all my reviews

The Giver by Lois Lowry My rating: 4 of 5 stars I didn't love this when I read it the first time many years ago. The questions may have been too complex for me at the time. I re-read it last week and it had a much bigger appeal to me with the recent dystopian novels I have been reading. It's nice to know that there is a sequel - or series of companion books - so instead of an open questions, we can find out how the author intended it to end. View all my reviews

Bad Bye, Good Bye by Deborah Underwood My rating: 5 of 5 stars This is a great story to help kids who may be facing a big move or their friends to understand the feelings that go along with moving to a new home. 2 words or so per page and lovely illustrations. View all my reviews

Where's Mommy? by Beverly Donofrio My rating: 4 of 5 stars A fun little story about how a mouse and a girl who are friends and on the same night they can't find their mommies to read them a bedtime story. View all my reviews

Winston & George by John Miller My rating: 4 of 5 stars A fun book about friendship and what happens when harmless pranks sometimes go very wrong. View all my reviews

The Bad Birthday Idea by Madeline Valentine My rating: 5 of 5 stars My students loved hearing about how Ben made a mistake and fixed it. View all my reviews

Chris P. Bacon: My Life So Far... by Chris P. Bacon My rating: 4 of 5 stars From Jasmine and Alese, 5th graders: It was a fun book because the pig got to walk and he did a good job of bringing the animals home and sharing. View all my reviews

Bogart and Vinnie: A Completely Made-up Story of True Friendship by Audrey Vernick My rating: 4 of 5 stars Oh boy. I am kind of excited and kind of scared to read this one outloud. I need to practice having tons of energy. The author did such a great job of mimicking a super happy (annoying?) dog in his words. It's a silly story that I know my students will love. View all my reviews

Faraway Home by Jane Kurtz My rating: 3 of 5 stars Anyone who has a parent who lives far away or came from another country can identify with this book. It's about a young family from Ethiopia and how to imagine you are there with your family. View all my reviews

Grandma and the Great Gourd: A Bengali Folktale by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni My rating: 4 of 5 stars I love fairy tales from cultures other than mine. This one is about a grandmother in Africa trying to get through the jungle to visit her daughter without getting eaten. See if she outsmarts the animals or if she dies a tasty death. View all my reviews

Mitchell Goes Bowling by Hallie Durand My rating: 4 of 5 stars My parents own a bowling alley and I have been bowling in leagues since elementary school. I also worked there, so I know quite a bit more than the average bowler about how bowling alleys work. I definitely think I will want to read this to my daughter about the time she starts bowling. View all my reviews

The Loopy Coop Hens: Letting Go by Janet Morgan Stoeke My rating: 3 of 5 stars Beginning readers will love reading this on their own. It even feels like a big chapter book even though it looks like an Everybody book. This is a nice story is about some chicken who are trying to figure out who is throwing apples out of the tree. It's set in the fall so maybe we can guess why the apples are falling. View all my reviews

Nurse Clementine by Simon James My rating: 3 of 5 stars This story is cute. Nothing fancy, but my students will like it. View all my reviews

Ol' Mama Squirrel by David Ezra Stein My rating: 4 of 5 stars The K kids will love this cute story about the little animals they see all over their streets and in their trees. They will totally love that the mama is protecting her babies. I also think - with a little bit of a stretch this could illustrate the idea of bystanders in the bullying conversation. Mama enlists the help of other squirrels to chase away the big bad bear bully. By herself, her family would have been eaten. But with all of the other squirrel mamas beside here, they defeated the bear. View all my reviews

Ball by Mary Sullivan My rating: 4 of 5 stars Well, this isn't exactly a wordless book, but it only has one word. BALL! (ball? - ball. - Ball.) It gives us an idea of what a doggie day is like. View all my reviews