Teacher Resource: All Thirteen by Christina Soontornvat

Teachers, looking for something different for the end of the school year? Immerse your classes in the incredible true account of the Thai boys’ soccer team that was trapped in a flooded cave six years ago with Christina Soontornvat’s All Thirteen. Their dramatic and risky (understatement) rescue is truly a miracle of people working together…

Independent Reading: The Voyages of Doctor Dolittle by Hugh Lofting

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.…

On My Bookshelf: A Charlie Brown Christmas by Charles M. Schulz

When decorating for the holidays, I savor the memories that each ornament or decoration holds. This slim paperback edition of Charlie Brown was a gift from my Aunt, who always made Christmas, and especially Christmas Eve, that much more exciting. The book is worn, and has a few scribbles in it, but it’s a word-for-word…

On My Bookshelf: The Christmas Pig by J.K. Rowling

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…

August Reads (a little late)

Still catching up from a fast-ending summer…In August I read two middle-grade novels and two adult novels. Ashes to Asheville by Sarah Dooley is a book I picked off the shelf at a bookshop/toy store in Waynesville, North Carolina, while on vacation, and I’m so glad I did. The story takes place in about 24…