Barbara O’Connor is one of my favorite contemporary middle-grade authors. Her stories focus on relatable, likable characters who work together to achieve a goal, and there is often an animal involved. What’s not to love about that? In Halfway to Harmony, grief-stricken Walter Tipple, his new neighbor, Posey, and her rescue dog, Porkchop, discover a…
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Independent Reading: The Year of Billy Miller by Kevin Henkes
The Year of Billy Miller is the first in a series about the Miller family, written by children’s picture-book author Kevin Henkes. Readers will follow Billy as he navigates second grade, with conflicts at school and at home that he must work through. Written for a young middle-grade audience, Billy’s day-to-day problems require him to…
Independent Reading: The Voyages of Doctor Dolittle by Hugh Lofting
Posted on Author Jill M SmithPosted in Care Givers, For Kids, Independent Reading, What I'm ReadingLeave a Reply
Looking for a fun adventure that would be also work for a book report? Try the Doctor Dolittle books by Hugh Lofting. In The Voyages of Doctor Dolittle, readers meet Stubbins, a boy who becomes the doctor’s apprentice, and is also the narrator of the story. Dolittle is the world’s first environmentalist, and first animal-advocate.…
Independent Reading: Three Strike Summer by Skyler Schrempp
Posted on Author Jill M SmithPosted in Care Givers, Independent Reading, Teacher Resources, What I'm ReadingLeave a Reply
Another great middle-grade novel to add to your classroom library or independent reading list is Skyler Schrempp’s Three Strike Summer. Set in Oklahoma and California during the Dust Bowl, this novel would also complement an American history class. Gloria, the protagonist, must leave her farm in Oklahoma and move to California where there is work…
On My Bookshelf: The Christmas Pig by J.K. Rowling
Posted on Author Jill M SmithPosted in Care Givers, Independent Reading, On My BookshelfLeave a Reply
Looking for a fun, seasonal, adventure story to read with your students, children, or grandchildren? Try JK Rowling’s The Christmas Pig for something different. Published in 2021, it’s not a new book, but it is a new take on a Christmas miracle story. It also touches a sensitive subject for many children: what happens when…
A Classic to Consider: The Birds’ Christmas Carol by Kate Douglas Wiggin
Posted on Author Jill M SmithPosted in A Classic to Consider, Care Givers, Independent ReadingLeave a Reply
While at the library looking for something else, I came across this thin Christmas novella. Kate Douglas Wiggin’s The Birds’ Christmas Carol is a charming and less popular holiday story that may be just what you are looking for. Wiggin, who also wrote the Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm series, tells the story of little Carol…
A Classic to Consider: The House of Dies Drear by Virginia Hamilton
Posted on Author Jill M SmithPosted in A Classic to Consider, For Kids, Independent ReadingLeave a Reply
Teachers and students who are looking for a creepy children’s mystery novel this time of year will find exactly that in Virginia Hamilton’s The House of Dies Drear, and its sequel The Mystery of Drear House. As the new resident of a mansion that was once part of the Underground Railroad, young Thomas learns of…