I’m been
fortunate to be part of the CYBILS award this year. I’m reading for round one –
easy readers and early chapter books. While being on this committee means even
more reading, I love that it has exposed me to books I hadn’t read before. An
added bonus is that my son, Liam, is seven and the perfect age for many of the
books. Here’s a few that have been great reads for us:
Iva
Honeysuckle Discovers the World by Candace F. Ransom
Iva
Honeycutt is eight years old. She lives next door to her cousins, her double-first
cousins. (Her mom and her mom’s sister married two brothers.) There are three
kids in Iva’s family and three kids in the other family. The two sisters
planned on having kids at exactly the same time so they could be best friends.
That worked out great for the oldest two, and great for the youngest two, not
so great for Iva and Heaven. Heaven is bossy and doesn’t like to go on
adventures like Iva. Iva dreams of being great – of exploring and discovering
things just like her Great-Grandpa. But things start to go awry and Iva has to
rethink her choices.
I thoroughly
enjoyed Iva and think many of my students will as well. Her independent spirit
and her sense that she is being wronged (when often she’s not) is going to fit
right in with some of my kids. J
Wedgieman:
A Hero is Born by
Charise Mericle Harper
This book
cracked me up. We start out with Veggieman as a baby. He loves to eat healthy,
fight crime, and help others. This all goes well as he grows into an adult
until one day he helps a boy down from a tree. A branch makes his V on his
shirt look like a W and the kids mistake him for Wedgieman. Wedgies are more
fun than Veggies, after all. What is a super hero to do?I should note that the book was fun and I gave it four stars. My son, Liam, is on at least his third or fourth reading of this one and is adamant that it is a five star book. J
Stella
Batts Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow by Courtney Sheinmel
I’ve now
read two in the Stella Batts series for Cybils – both adorable. In this book
Stella is trying out her dad’s new magic gum at night. (It glows in the dark.)
Unfortunately, she falls asleep with the gum still in her mouth. Even worse, it
migrates to her hair as she sleeps. And Stella’s bad luck begins. She can’t
blow a bubble, her hair gets chopped off, and worst of all, her best friend
delivers horrible news. Poor Stella!
I loved
this one. I think my students who enjoy Clementine, Marty McGuire, Ivy and
Bean, and Ramona will find a new friend with Stella Batts.
These
four books are on my list to read today. Can’t wait to see if I find a new
favorite in there!
