Diary of a Wimpy Kid 4

Today was our first day back in school after a five day break. School was closed to due to the high number of flu-related illnesses. We re-opened today, but still had many gone. The halls seemed quieter and the mood was definitely mellow. I spent the morning reading reviews and tidying my shelves. This afternoon, UPS delivered my copy of Jeff Kinney's new book. I picked it up while I ate lunch and began to read. Confession time: (I read the whole thing. I tried to put it down, I really did, but I HAD to finish it.) I felt like a kid trying to text during class. I kept the book down low and read while it looked like I was busy on my computer. The fact that I kept laughing out loud was probably a dead-giveaway.

In this book, Greg is faced with summer vacation. His parents are cutting back on spending and not taking their annual vacation to the beach. When presented with the alternatives, Greg would rather spend the summer indoors watching TV and playing video games. His mother has other plans. . . I don't know if it is the fact that I have a middle school son that makes this book so hysterical, but I love this series. So do boys. . . order copies for all the boys on your Christmas list this year. It will be their favorite gift.

Love this author. . .

My first exposure to Sharon Creech was her Newberry winner, Walk Two Moons. I read it in two nights and wondered how I could not have read this author before. Quick Confession: I almost always read the end of a book in the beginning, but for some reason this time I didn't. I was so surprised by the ending that it nearly reformed me. I loved this book and as a result suggest it often. It is rarely on my shelves.

Two weeks ago, I picked up Love That Dog on a slow morning in the library. To be honest, I was looking for an excuse not to have to re-shelve books. . . I read the whole book. It is the story of a fifth grade boy, Jack, who is learning about poetry and begins to write letters in poetry form to his teacher. I brought the book home and read it to Tommi. Lance and Levi sat on the couch and listened in (that's a clue to the quality of this book). . . Spoiler warning: you may want tissues near at hand.

At the end of the book, I wanted to know more about the poetry that the fictitious Miss Stretchberry used (the poems are included in the back of the book) in her lessons. Heck, I wanted to become Miss Stretchberry. Sharon Creech has a new(ish) book: Hate That Cat. Jack opens the story like this. . .

Room 204 - Miss Stretchberry

September 12

I hate that cat
like a dog hates a rat
I said I hate that cat
like a doge hates a rat

Hate to see it in the morning
hate to see that
F A T black cat.

September 13

Sorry
I didn't know
you liked cats.
Didn't know
you have one.


I LOVE a book with a good hook. . . This one grabbed me from page one and I was sorry to leave Jack at the end. If you haven't read poetry in awhile, this is a gentle re-introduction and that will leave you wanting to read more. I love this author. . .

It finally arrived. . .

Yesterday afternoon, UPS delivered a lone book. As I unwrapped it, I hardly dared to hope. . . (Insert cheer here) It was Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Last Straw. I slapped a barcode on the book, stamped it and quickly cataloged it. Minutes later, as the fourth grade class filed in I handed it to Andy who had been daily asking for it. Ahh, the moment!! The look on his face when I finally came through with the long awaited book was worth, well, a thousand words. . . We headed over to the elementary section of the library and I wish I could say that Andy was riveted by my lesson, but he was not. He made a valiant effort to pretend to listen, and I in turn pretended not to notice that Jeff Kinney had just trumped me. I love it when a boy and book come together.

I LOVE this book. . .

We got two boxes of books in the library this week. In the words of my TA "it was like Christmas". New books seem to draw people in - one of my greatest joys is to watch students and teachers paw through the stacks of books. I love to eavesdrop on their conversations and try to gauge whether or not this order was a success. Due to today's response, it was. . . most of the new books were checked out as soon as they were catalogued and covered. The only book that was missing from the order was. . . you guessed it, Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Last Straw. I had one boy that was so disappointed, I finally had to pull out my order form to convince him it was back ordered (again) and that I really had ordered it in the first place.



The greatest gem of the box was a book by Mo Willems, my favorite ( I know I use that word A LOT) new children's author. He is not a new author, but I just discovered the joy of reading his books out loud. One of his books Knuffle Bunny Too: a case of mistaken identity is up for the Colorado Children's Book Award. I have been reading through the list in the library and our elementary students will vote next week on their favorite. Because this book was such a hit, I decided to order some more of his books and we got I Love my New Toy! It is an Elephant and Piggie book and if I try to describe it, I will begin to gush. . . Find a copy, buy a copy, reserve a copy at your local library. You must read this book. You will not regret it. I was reading this book to myself and giggling out loud. I don't typically giggle. I showed this book to students, parents and teachers (yes, I was gushing) and everyone I showed it to laughed out loud. My friend, Leslie, stopped by the library and I made her read it (embarrassing, I know). She immediately took it and read it to the third grade class to see if they would think it was as funny as we did. . . They reported back, it was a hit. Trust me, you need this book.