Monday, March 28, 2011

No Passengers beyond this point


by Gennifer Choldenko
Summary “With their house in foreclosure, sisters India and Mouse and brother Finn are sent to stay with an uncle in Colorado until their mother can join them, but when the plane lands, the children are welcomed by cheering crowds to a strange place where each of them has a perfect house and a clock that is ticking down the time.” This is one amazing book. I had trouble putting it down and couldn't get enough of it. Each of the characters is well written and has a distinct voice in the story. Choldenko switches narrators every few chapters, so you really get to see what each kid thinks and feel about what's going on. Mouse is both the most interesting and the most complex, in my opinion. She's the kind of kid that teachers love to have in their class, but sometimes makes you want to pull your hair out. The ending clears up most of the questions (and if you are like me you had TONS of questions) readers might have had though out the book. That's one thing that makes this book so great. It doesn't explain all the act, the reader is expected to get it or just keep reading. I like books like this that make the reader think about the event and draw their own conclusions. Of course, it's even better when the author eventually does fill you in on the secret!

Friday, March 4, 2011

Tiny Little Fly


by Michael Rosen

The cover first caught my eye of this new favorite title. I love the image of the tiger staring at the fly with one eye closed. (I'm partial to one eyed cats, since I own one.) The story kept my attention with simple rhyming text and artistic illistrations. While the story is enjoyable, the pictures are the real star here. Each brush stroke comes to life and readers will want to soak in all the details.


After seeing this story, I started thinking about if there were other stories about flies. What I found has inspired me to create a storytime all about flies! A good title for the sotrytime might be Shoo Fly! or Time FLIES...we'll see what sticks.


Some of the other titles I might use are:

Diary of a fly by Doreen Cronin

The jazz fly by Matthew Gollub

Old black fly by jim Aylesworth

Thelonius Monster's sky-high fly pie by Judy Sierra

and of course, There was an old women who swallowed a Fly!