Mel's Book Corner

Title: Lola Levine Drama Queen Genre: Bluebonnet Author: Monica Brown Major Awards: 2017-2018 Texas Bluebonnet Award Age Group: 2nd-4th grade This is the story of second grader, Lola. Lola has a very big personality, and her parents often call her dramatic. They also compare her to her grandmother, her Bubbe , who has a larger-than-life personality and makes herself known to everyone around her with her loud mouth and gaudy clothing. One day, Lola's teacher explains to the class that they have a new teacher, Ms. Tinkle, who will be their drama teacher. When the class gets to Ms. Tinkle's class the first day, she explains to them that they will be auditioning for parts in an upcoming school play. She teaches them how to improv, mirror one another, and all the important aspects of acting. This excites Lola because she is dramatic, after all. The day comes for the students to audition, and when it is Lola's turn to audition, she completely freezes onstage and has to...

Title: Diary of a Wimpy Kid Genre: Graphic Novel Author: Jeff Kinney Major Awards: #1  New York Times Bestseller, ALA Notable Book Age Group: 3rd-8th grade Diary of a Wimpy Kid chronicles the life of middle-schooler, Greg Heffley in comic form. The book is told from his point of view, as he is the one writing his daily life in his journal. Greg deals with his fair share of unfortunate circumstances throughout the story that many  middle schoolers deal with, as well. For one, he is one of the smallest boys in his class, so that alone is a big deal to a middle school boy. He also is struggling to fit in, and wants nothing more than to be popular (especially among the girls!). It doesn't help that his neighbor, Rowley always asks him if he wants to go "play" after school, which sets Greg off because what middle schooler asks to "play?" The correct term in middle school would be "hang out", according to Greg. In his desire to fit in, he has a fail...

Title: Junie B. Jones Has a Monster Under Her Bed Genre: Audiobook Author: Barbara Park Major Awards: None Age Group: Kindergarten-3rd grade This is the story of Junie B. Jones finding out that maybe monsters really do exist. On picture day, Junie B. wears a sweater with a dinosaur on it. She tells classmate, Paulie Allen Puffer that dinosaurs aren't even real anymore, but she still likes them. This prompts him to bring up the fact that dinosaurs may not be real, but monsters sure are. This stuns Junie B., and she argues that they aren't real, even her parents say so. Paulie Allen says that his seventh grade brother says that they are real, and this is why there is droll on your pillow when you wake up. Junie B. then goes on a mission to prove to herself that monsters, in fact, are not real. She questions her classmates, saying "Guess what, there's no such thing as monsters. There's really, really, not. So a monster doesn't even live under my bed pro...

Title: Joey Pigza Loses Control Genre: Newbery Author: Jack Gantos Major Awards: Newbery Honor Age Group: 4th-8th grade This is the story of middle schooler, Joey. Joey suffers from a very bad case of ADHD, which makes life difficult. He is newly medicated with a patch, which is the only reason he can keep sane most days. His parents are divorced, and he has always lived with his mother. One summer, Joey's mother decides it is time that Joey get to know his father, so she takes him to Pittsburg to spend the summer with his father. What Joey does not know is that his father is exactly like him without medication. His father talks a mile a minute, and is filled with a ton of energy. His father struggles with his own issues: he is an alcoholic, drug addict, and has spent a lot of his life in jail. Despite these challenges, Joey is excited to spend his summer with his father because he so desperately wants to have a relationship with him. His father coaches a baseball team, an...

Title: The War That Saved My Life Genre: Newbery Author: Kimberly Brubaker Bradley Major Awards: Newbery Honor Age Group: 5th-8th grade This is the story of siblings Ada and Jamie and their experience during World War II. Ada was born with a clubfoot, and was basically useless in the eyes of her mother. She was not allowed to go to school or outside of their apartment her whole life because her mother was ashamed of having a daughter with an "ugly foot." Her mother (Mam) malnourished her, locked her in cabinets, and verbally and physically abused her because of her foot. Her brother, Jamie, on the other hand could do no wrong. He went to school, was allowed to play with friends, and he lived a more normal childhood. One day, word got out that children were being sent away from London, where Ada and Jamie lived, because of a possible invasion by Hitler. Jamie would leave, but Mam said that Ada would be stuck at home, bombs or not, because nobody would want her. This p...

Title: Last Stop On Market Street Genre: Multicultural Author: Matt de la Pena Major Awards: Newbery Medal, Caldecott Medal Age Group: 1st-3rd grade This is the story of CJ and his nana who ride a bus to Market Street each Sunday. Though this is their weekly routine, CJ starts to feel different about it this day. He asks why they have to wait in the rain for the bus. His nana replies, "Trees get thirsty, too." He asks why they don't have a car. His nana replies, "What do we need a car for? We got a bus that breathes fire, and old Mr. Dennis, who always has a trick for you." He asks why a man on the bus can't see. His nana replies, "Some people watch the world with their ears." He asks why it is so dirty in their part of town. His nana replies, "Sometimes when you're surrounded by dirt, you're a better witness for what's beautiful." This statement completely shifts CJ's mood, making him see the world in a new way. ...

Title: Same, Same but Different Genre: Multicultural Author: Jenny Sue Kostecki-Shaw Major Awards: None Age Group: Kindergarten-2nd grade This is a sweet story of two pen pals living on different sides of the world. Elliot lives in America, and Kailash lives in India. Elliott started the pen pal process by mailing a picture of his world to Kailash in India. Kailash mailed back a picture of his world in India, and while they looked a bit different, they were both still the world. Elliot mailed a picture of himself in his tree house and said "I love to climb trees." Kailash also mailed a picture of himself in a tree, but with monkeys and exotic animals in the tree with him. He said "I love to climb trees too. Same, same but different!" Elliott then mailed a picture of him and his family in front of their house and said, "I live in a red brick building with my mom, dad, and sister." Kailash mailed a picture back and said, "I live with my family ...

Title: Sumo Joe Genre: Multicultural Author: Mia Wenjen Major Awards: None Age Group: Pre-K-1st grade This is the story of Sumo wrestler, Joe and his little sister. Sumo Joe spends Saturday afternoons Sumo wrestling with his friends. They build a "ring" out of pillows and wrestle in the living room. As they put their wrestling gear on, they state in Japanese what each object they are putting on is called. First they stretch, shiko, and then do a drill called teppo. As they are getting into their wrestling, Joe's little sister comes in the room and wants to join. Well, this is a "boys only zone", so Joe isn't keen on her joining. She keeps on asking, so he agrees to at least let her try. In the end, his little sister rises to the occasion and takes Joe down! I am not sure that I would want this in my classroom. It didn't have much of a plot to me; it was mostly just about a bunch of boys wrestling and shouting Japanese words. It just didn't...

Title: Home at Last Genre: Multicultural Author: Susan Middleton Elya Major Awards: None Age Group: 3rd-5th grade This is the story of Ana Patino and her family, who have recently moved to the United States from Mexico because of her Papa's job. Ana was excited for this new time in her life, despite knowing no English upon entering school the first day. Though she could not speak any English that first day, by the end of the school day, she had already learned a ton. Her parents did not know any English, so as she gets home, they ask her in Spanish how school was, and she states that she likes it. Although Ana is loving this change, she knows that her Mama is struggling. Ana and her father are starting to learn English, but her mother will have no part in it. This makes it difficult, especially as she goes to the grocery store and gets overcharged for meat, but cannot do anything about it since she knows no English. It is also difficult as Ana gets important letters sent h...

Title: Too Many Tamales Genre: Multicultural Author: Gary Soto Major Awards: None Age Group: 2nd-4th grade This is a story of a Hispanic family gathering together on Christmas Eve to celebrate. They have a tradition of making tamales, and Maria decides to help her parents make them this year. This year more than ever, Maria feels grown up: her mother lets her wear lipstick, perfume, and she even gets to help make tamales. As she helps her mother, she thinks to herself that she wishes she could wear her mother's wedding ring. Her mother places the ring on the counter as she prepares the food, and as her mother leaves the kitchen, Maria picks it up and puts it on her thumb to admire it. As her mother comes back into the kitchen, Maria notices that the ring is gone. She assumes it went into the tamale dough, but she cannot not tell her mother yet. As her cousins start to arrive at her house, she takes them upstairs, explaining the situation she has herself in. Maria and her c...

Title: Bebe Goes Shopping Genre: Multicultural Author: Susan Middleton Elya Major Awards: None Age Group: Preschool-Kindergarten This is a story about a little baby taking a trip to the supermercado - the grocery store, with his mother. On each page, there are words in Spanish and in English, describing things they encounter while shopping. The little baby wants to help his mother grocery shop, but instead he wrecks havoc and causes stress for his mother. He gets annoyed that he cannot help, so he starts kicking, knocking over displays of food, throwing things from the cart onto the floor, and tries to escape from the grocery cart. His mother becomes infuriated, but then sees a display for animal crackers. She gives them to the baby, and this distracts him for the rest of the shopping time. In the end, the baby starts to act better and even gets a balloon as he leaves.  I would like this book in my classroom because it is a great introduction to the Spanish language for ...

Title: Beautiful Oops! Genre: Paper Engineered Author: Barney Saltzberg Major Awards: None Age Group: Pre-K-1st grade This is a paper engineered, pop-up heavy book about seeing the magic in making mistakes. With each page, there is a statement about a mistake being made in school, and how you should see the beauty in it. For example, one page states, "Every spill has lots and lots of possibilities!" Here, a juice spill transforms from a spill to a spill that is shaped like an elephant, using pop-up features. Another page states, "Bent paper is something to celebrate." Here, the actual page of the book is bent and the illustrator made the bent paper into a penguin head, and drew the rest of the body below it. There is also a page that says, "A scrap of paper can be fun to play with." Here, a piece of newspaper is painted to look like a dog. At the end, it states, "When you think you have made a mistake, think of it as an opportunity to make so...

Title: Nope. Never. Not for Me! Genre: Special Needs Author: Samantha Cotterill Major Awards: None Age Group: Preschool-Kindergarten This is a story of a little girl with autism having to try broccoli for the first time. Her mother places it in front of her, and the girl states that it is too bumpy, too lumpy, and very jumpy. She states, "Nope. Never. Not for me!" Her mom asks her if she will at least touch it. She does, but says it feels too pokey, too scratchy, and too ouchy. She again states, "Nope. Never. Not for me!" The little girl has a fascination with dinosaurs, so her mom tells her that she guesses not every dinosaur likes trees, after all. This causes the girl to place her toy dinosaur in front of the broccoli, and then the girl gets the courage to try it on her own. She tries it, but is not a fan. Her mom calls her a brave "Try"ceratops for trying something new. In the end, she gains more courage to try other foods and ends up liking s...

Title:  What You Never Knew About Beds, Bedrooms, and Pajamas Genre: Bluebonnet Author: Patricia Lauber Major Awards: Texas Bluebonnet Master List Age Group: 7th-8th grade This is a story about how beds, bedrooms, and pajamas came to be. The book starts out by stating that humans like to sleep lying down with pillows and blankets, but it has not always been this way. In the Stone Age, it is assumed that people cut boughs from trees, spread hides of furs over them, and used furs as blankets. The Egyptians were the first to use beds, made out of wicker. They later traded grain for wood, and this is how wooden beds came to be. The footboards they made kept the person from sliding off. Greeks had day beds in their homes, and their bedrooms were more like closets than rooms. In the Middle Ages, everyone lived together under one roof, and each person was given a sack and some straw to make a bed. Houses were used as shops during the day, and then were transformed into real house...

Title: The Polar Express Genre: Caldecott Author: Chris Van Allsburg Major Awards: Caldecott Medal Age Group: Kindergarten-2nd grade This is a sweet story of a young boy and his journey to the North Pole. He was unsure if he believed in Santa, as his friends all told him Santa was not real. On Christmas Eve, as he was laying in bed, he heard the sounds of 'hissing steam and squeaking metal', and he looked outside to find a large train in front of his home. He went outside, and the conductor explained that the train was on its way to the North Pole. The boy was given a ticket and hopped on the train. Here, he was met with many other children and lots of sweet treats and hot cocoa. They traveled through dark forests, mountains, hills, and plains, until finally arriving at the North Pole. The conductor explained that they would get off the train, and one lucky child would be selected by Santa to receive the first gift of Christmas. To the young boy's surprise, Santa p...

Title: Snow Genre: Caldecott Author: Uri Shulevitz Major Awards: Caldecott Honor Age Group: Pre-K-1st grade This is the story of a little boy encountering snow for the first time. He spies one snowflake, and says "It's snowing!" His grandfather replies, "It's only a snowflake." He spies two snowflakes and says again, "It's snowing!" A man then replied, "It's nothing." He spots three snowflakes, restating, "It's snowing!" A woman walking by says, "It'll melt." The young boy becomes annoyed that everyone, from his grandfather to the television, is not believing that a snowstorm is occurring. In the end, the snow does stick, and a full-on snowstorm covers the town.  I am undecided if I would want this in my classroom or not. It teaches a great lesson on persistence, and not letting other's opinions bring you down, but it was a bit boring. It did have pretty illustrations of the town being co...

Title: Joseph Had a Little Overcoat Genre: Caldecott Author: Simms Taback Major Awards: Caldecott Medal Age Group: Preschool-Kindergarten This is the story of Joseph and how his overcoat goes from being an overcoat to a button. He had an overcoat, but it got old, so he made it into a jacket. The jacket got old, so he made it into a vest. The vest got old, so he made it into a scarf. The scarf got old, so he made it into a necktie. The necktie got old, so he made it into a handkerchief. The handkerchief got old, so he made it into a button. Well,  the button ended up getting lost, so Joseph was left with nothing. In the end, the author explains that he chose to make a book out of this event that occurred in his life, and wants readers to know that you can always make something out of nothing.  This book is incredibly illustrated, so it's no wonder it won a Caldecott Medal. With that said, I do not think the story compares to its illustrations. The story does not have...

Title: Christmas Is... Genre: Nonfiction (Informational) Author: Gail Gibbons Major Awards: None Age Group: Pre-K-1st grade This is a sweet story that highlights what Christmas is. It states that Christmas Is...The Christ Child. It goes on to tell the story of Christ's birth. The book then states different things that Christmas is. Christmas Is...Saint Nicholas who loved giving gifts and helping, and later became known as Santa Claus. It states that Saint Nicholas threw three bags of coal down a chimney where three poor girls lived, landing in a stocking hung by a chimney to dry. This is why stockings are now hung above the chimney, and why people think Santa slides down chimneys to get into homes. The author also states that Christmas Is... the Christmas tree that people bring home to decorate. It also states that Christmas Is...Christmas lights that are used to decorate trees and homes with, reminding people of the light that Christ brought into the world when he was bor...

  Title: Airport Genre: Nonfiction (Informational) Author: Byron Barton Major Awards: None Age Group: Preschool-Kindergarten This is a book explaining the flying process, from the moment people arrive at the airport to the moment their plane takes off. It explains that people arrive in buses and in cars, and they are at the airport because they want to go to a new place. It explains that they sit and wait to board the airplane at a gate. While they are waiting, their plane is loading their luggage in the cargo hold and fuel is going inside the wings. It also says that when people go inside the plane, they find their correct seat. While they do this, the pilot is in the cockpit getting ready for take-0ff. The control tower signals to the pilot when it is clear for take-off. People buckle their seat belts, and the plane rolls to the runway. The plane races down the runway, and in the end, they zoom into the sky.  This is a cute story that I would enjoy havin...

Title: The Reasons for Seasons Genre: Nonfiction (Informational) Author: Gail Gibbons Major Awards: None Age Group: Pre-K-2nd grade This book is about the four seasons of the year: winter, spring, summer, and autumn. It talks about how the tilt of the earth in relation to the sun changes throughout the year, creating seasons. It also talks about how the four seasons take up the amount of time it takes for the Earth to revolve around the sun. Also, different parts of the Earth are closer to the sun than others, affecting how much light and heat they receive. The author also writes about how different parts of the Earth are in different seasons, based on where the Earth is in relation to the sun at that point in time. The book then goes into the four seasons and explains what is happening with the Earth at that point in time. In spring, more sunshine causes the cool air to be replaced by warmer air. In summer, more direct sunlight reaches the ground for longer periods of time, ...

Title: Superheroes Are Everywhere Genre: Nonfiction (Biography) Author: Kamala Harris Major Awards: None Age Group: Pre-K-1st grade This is the story of Kamala Harris' life, told by her. When she was a young girl, she knew that superheroes were just regular people who did good for others. She started finding superheroes as she looked at qualities her family, friends, and others in her community displayed. She stated that her mother was a hero because she made her feel special, her hugs made her feel warm and safe, and she always had encouraging words. Her sister was a hero because she could always count on her to be there. Her father was a hero because he taught her to be fearless and take chances. Her teacher was a hero because she showed her the world, and helped her chase her dreams. Her neighbor was a hero because she was a second mom to her- watching her when her parents were gone and taking her to church on Sunday's. Some heroes she knew were lawyers, and they in...