Book of the Week #5 (June 26, 2017)

A few weeks ago, there was a recommended children's book list in a magazine.  On that list was the book, This Is How We Do It by Matt LaMothe.  Interestingly enough, a group of Marlin educators attended a reading conference last week.  There were many children's book authors at the conference.  Matt LaMothe just happened to be there!  How exciting to be in the same place as the author of this suggested book!

This Is How We Do It: One Day in the Lives of Seven Kids from around the World compares the lives of children all over the world.  The children live in Italy, Japan, Uganda, Russia, Peru, India, and Iran.  The book takes a peek into their lives during one day, from morning to night.  We get to meet the children and their families.  We see their homes, schools, and cities.  We learn what they do at school, what they enjoy playing, and what they wear.  We are taught how they spell their names.  We also view what foods they eat throughout the day.  At the end, we watch their night skies.

The book has a glossary in the back to assist as we read words that may be unknown.  Be sure not to skip over the glossary as you read the book.  You might even learn a few new words.

Although the world is large place, this book reminds us that it is actually small.  People can be different in some ways, but usually we find they are similar in other ways.  Just like in the book Baseball Saved Us, similarities help us relate and differences help us learn!

Book of the Week #4 (June 19, 2017)

A Japanese-American boy lives in a camp during World War II.  With nothing to do and trouble mounting, the families in the camp build a baseball field.  The boy isn't very good at playing baseball, so he decides he wants to show the guard what he can do.  Two strikes.  Then, the boy hits the ball far into the field and his team wins the camp's championship!  Upon return home from the camps, the boy plays baseball with his team.  He isn't as big as the others, but he is a better player with more confidence.  The same scenario occurs.  One, two strikes.  Will he hit the ball and be a hero again?  Find out by reading Baseball Saved Us by Ken Mochizuki.

Have you played or watched baseball this summer?  Book of the Week #3 and #4 were both about baseball.  Both are historical fiction.  What other historical fiction baseball books have you read?  Remember future 5th and 6th graders, record the books you have read this summer on The Reading Road Trip Log.

Book of the Week #3 (June 12, 2017)

It's 1932.  It's the Great Depression.  Money is sparse.  In The Babe & I by David A. Adler, a boy helps his friend, Jacob, sell newspapers in order to make a little cash.  Jacob knows the best spot to sell papers, too.  It is Yankee Stadium.  There, no one cares about the front page headlines.  They care about Babe Ruth.  The boys yells out the headlines about Babe.  They sell many newspapers!  One day, on their way to pick up papers, they see the boy's father.  He is selling apples on a corner.  However, the boy believes his father to be going to the office to work each day.  His father, like many others, has also lost his job.  The boy keeps his father's secret.  He knows his father is embarrassed.  So, he continues to sell papers with Jacob.  On a special day, the boy sells a paper to a man who pays with a $5.00 bill!  The boy doesn't have change, but the man says to keep the money.  That man happens to be Babe Ruth!  The boys are able to watch the Yankee game that day.  They watch Babe in the game.  Babe helps his team win.  The boy and his father are also a team and help their family.

Here's to baseball, summer sun, and lots of reading!  Remember to return to Marlin Literacy every Monday for the Book of the Week.  

So far, we've read books that are connected.  

Week 1 and 2, both books were about reading.  

Week 2 and 3, the stories both contained a character who is a real person.  

Stay tuned for more book connections...

Book of the Week #2 (June 5, 2017)

More Than Anything Else by Marie Bradby tells a story about Booker T. Washington and his desire to read when he was younger.  As he labors at the saltworks with his father and brother, he wishes he had the ability to read.  If he could read, everyone would listen to him as they did to the newspaper man.  He was determined to become the "best reader in the county" and teach others to read.  He tells his mother about his dream.  She supports him and gives him a book.  Booker seeks the newspaper man, who helps Booker learn to read.

We are so lucky to have the opportunity to learn to read in school.  Reading is not easy for everyone, but it is so critical.  For those children who do not enjoy reading, share your reading experiences with them.  Tell them about books you enjoyed reading or were read aloud when you were a child.  Connecting with children on a reading level can inspire lifelong reading!