I love Junie B. Jones, so I obviously had to write my last reading blog post about her!

This particular book is about Junie’s infatuation with the new boy at school named Warren, also known as Handsome Warren. Junie meets Warren when she is at recess one day and he is chasing her friend, Lucille. Junie and her friend Grace chase Warren away from Lucille, thinking he is an “evil stranger boy” and they need to get rid of him. They soon find out that Lucille likes him, and they spend their time trying to win his attention, too. It is very comical to read about kindergarteners try to win a boy!

Junie B. Jones Loves Handsome Warren had me laughing out loud from the very beginning! Junie and Grace cannot find Lucille at recess, before they find out she is with Warren. Grace suggests something happened at Lucille’s house, like an emergency. What happens next is hilarious:

“Maybe her grampa bought a parrot to her house. And Lucille was getting dressed for school. And then the parrot flew into her room. And he got all tangled up in her hair. And so her grampa had to call 911. And a real live fireman came to her house. And he cut the parrot out of her hair with scissors. Only that left a teeny bald spot. But guess what? If you wear a big bow, nobody can even tell the difference.”

That Grace looked curious at my big bow.

I did a gulp.

“Yeah, only pretend I didn’t even tell you that,” I said very soft.

Every Junie B. Jones book is full of moments like these that are so realistic to how kids act. Barbara Park, the author, is amazing at developing Junie’s character as a real child. She is so comical and relatable. Junie B. Jones Loves Handsome Warren is so funny for kids who are experiencing their first-time crushes. It’s also fun to read as an adult and remember the days of trying to impress boys in the silliest ways! Out of all the books in the series, I think that this particular one is among my favorites.

I have enjoyed my journey through the 20 Book Challenge and I am going to continue challenging myself to read more books!

This book is fantastic. I cannot put it down! Teachers and students alike should read Fish in a Tree. It is a truly inspiring story of friendship and creativity.

Ally is a 6th grader that’s always getting into trouble. None of her teachers have enjoyed her presence. The principal’s office is a daily visiting place for Ally. She also has uncontrollable urges that are far from socially normal, so she is the target for the class bullies. The truth is that Ally does not want to be a troublemaker. She wants to do her work and she wants to do it right, but there’s a big issue that constantly stops her. Ally has a secret that she’s come this far without any teacher finding out: she can’t read. This year, Ally has a teacher that might change her life- Mr. Daniels. He makes a promise to never send her to the principal’s office. Ally can’t hide her secret from Mr. Daniels, but he is determined to help her learn instead of pushing her away like every other teacher has.

The author of Fish in a Tree so beautifully captures the mind of a student who has been labeled her entire life. Ally cannot read, yet she has a fiercely creative mind, she’s an outstanding artist, and she is amazing at math. On page 159, Mr. Daniels encourages Ally after the kids in her class make fun of her and she has a meltdown:

“Now, don’t be so hard on yourself, okay? You know, a wise person once said, ‘Everyone is smart in different ways. But if you judge a fish on its ability to climb a tree, you will spend its whole life thinking that it’s stupid.'”

I think hard about that. Could it be that simple?

A mind movie flickers in my brain of an angry fish at the bottom of a tree, banging on the trunk with its fins and complaining that it can’t climb it.

I think of a turtle making a sandwich.

A snake playing the violin.

An elephant knitting.

Penguins playing basketball.

An eagle scuba diving.

But mostly I hope with every tiny bit of myself that Mr. Daniels is right about all of this.

I love this part of the book, because it shows Mr. Daniels’ belief in Ally, and it shows Ally’s wild imagination. Throughout the story, Ally has “mind movies,” which she draws in her notebook. She is always imagining things, and if people could only see the way that her mind works, they would realize how intelligent she really is. She secretly knows the answers to many of the questions in class, but she does not raise her hand for fear of being wrong. She has been hiding her whole life. How has no one seen it?

Ally’s experience throughout school has unfortunately been what many students have to face- teachers that do not want to deal with a difficult student, and classmates that bully that student. However, she finally has a teacher that cares. She has never had friends, but she has befriended the two other misfits of the class. Together, they are ready to take down the bullies. I cannot wait to read what happens next! I think that Ally is going to be diagnosed with dyslexia, but I will have to keep reading.

Hey, Kiddo is a graphic novel written by Jarrett J. Krosoczka about his life. His mother was an addict and he never knew his father, so he was raised by his grandparents. Art was his passion and what helped him cope through difficult times.

I have never read a graphic novel before, but I had to read this book for another class. To my surprise, I absolutely love this book! Some of Jarrett’s experiences are very similar to my own, because I was raised by my grandparents and there was addiction in my family. I think that every person should read this book to understand how addiction affects children. It is definitely a great read for teachers, as we are sadly living in a society with an opioid epidemic. We have to face the fact that our students will come from homes like Jarrett’s, and we must know how to connect with him. As for use in the classroom, Hey, Kiddo is probably best for upper elementary and middle school grade levels.

Hey, Kiddo could be used to teach a skill that many students would be interested in- writing in comics! Krosoczka mentions many times in the book how art helped him survive during his life. There will be students in my classroom that use art to express their feelings and to deal with life. Teaching passionate artists how to incorporate art into writing could motivate them to write and excite them.

I have been analyzing Krosoczka’s techniques and how the illustrations add to the story. The pictures give clues to the reader as to what is really happening. Young Jarrett does not understand that his mother is an addict, but there are many instances where the reader can assume this by looking at the pictures. One of the scenes that is an example of the pictures giving the reader a deeper understanding is attached below:

In the pictured scene, the family is going to their mother’s, which is Jarrett’s grandmother’s, house for Mother’s Day. Jarrett’s mother is not coming because she has “a few things to take care of.” If we were reading only the words on the page, we would be led to believe his mother was too busy to attend. However, the illustrations give us a hint that something is not quite right with the mother. She is most likely high in this scene. There are some moments that words cannot describe in the way that pictures can… this novel is full of those moments. I want my students to be strong writers, but I also want them to understand that words sometimes cannot describe a situation, especially one that is so emotionally heavy. It is completely okay to represent things visually when needed!

There is also a scene where Jarrett and his mother are shopping, and his mother is looking around the store for gifts to buy her sisters. The illustrations show her stealing a couple of scarves by hiding them in her purse, but the words on the page do not mention it. Writers can use illustration to add “secrecy” to their text! It creates dramatic irony, providing the reader with more knowledge than the narrator. This is a skill students can be taught to make their writing more interesting.

I think that introducing this concept would be perfect for 3rd grade because of the following standard- 3.RL.4.1: Explain how specific aspects of a text’s illustrations contribute to what is conveyed by the words in a story (e.g., create mood, emphasize aspects of a character or setting). To teach a mini-lesson on this concept, I would read students examples of comics from the newspaper, scenes from graphic novels (such as Krosoczka’s), and comic books. I would first read the comics without showing the pictures, and I would then read the comics while showing the students the pictures. This would start conversation on how big of a difference illustrations can make in adding a deeper meaning to a story. The reader learns more details about what is happening and can tell what the characters are feeling by seeing the illustrations. The resources would be available in the classroom for students to refer to if they choose to write a graphic piece.

Hey, Kiddo is a great novel to teach this writing skill, but as I stated earlier, it is important to be aware of the age group! There are many graphic novels out there that can do the same.

Bud, Not Buddy takes place in the 1930s during the Great Depression. Bud is ten years old and lost his mom at the age of six. He has never known his father or any other family members, so he has lived in an orphanage for the past four years. After a bad experience at one of the foster homes he is placed in, he starts living on the streets. All Bud has is a suitcase full of the things his mother passed down to him. Inside of that suitcase, there are some fliers featuring a man named Herman E. Calloway, playing a fiddle. Bud’s mother never told him who his father was, but he just knows by the way she used to stare at those fliers that Herman is his father. Bud starts walking from Flint, MI to Grand Rapids, MI on a quest to meet his father for the first time.

I enjoyed this book very much! I thought that it gave a great perspective on the Great Depression time period, being told from the viewpoint of a black orphaned child. It had unexpected plot twists that made it so much more interesting. There were minor details throughout the book that all connect in the end. When I finished Bud, Not Buddy, I found myself upset that the book was already over. I wanted to see more of Bud’s life! I love the voice of the author and how he so accurately describes the mind of a child. If you choose to read it, you will learn many wise, important life lessons from Bud Caldwell’s Rules and Things for Having a Funner Life and Making a Better Liar Out of Yourself:

RULES AND THINGS NUMBER 63- Never, Ever Say Something Bad About Someone You Don’t Know- Especially When You’re Around a Bunch of Strangers. You Never Can Tell Who Might Be Kin to That Person or Who Might Be a Lip-Flapping, Big-Mouth Spy.

There are so many funny fears that Bud has. It shows that even a child who has experienced more hardship than most people have in their entire life still has irrational and silly fears. For example, on the way to Grand Rapids, he runs into a man that offers to give him a ride. Bud gets into the car and sees a box that says, “URGENT: CONTAINS HUMAN BLOOD,” which was being transported for an emergency operation. However, Bud believes this could only mean one thing: the man is a vampire…

Oh, man, here we go again!
My heart started jumping around in my stomach. The only kind of people who would carry human blood around in a car were vampires! They must drink it if they were taking a long trip and couldn’t find any people to get blood from. This guy figured he’d rather have my fresh blood than blood out of a bottle!

Page 106

With all that he’s been through, Bud puts on a tough act, never allowing himself to cry or show fear. The reader comes to find that, on the inside, he is a scared, lonely little boy who wants to feel loved- and the reader will fall in love with him. You will have to read it to find out if Bud makes it to Grand Rapids before the vampires have sucked out all of his blood!

I have just started reading Where Have All the Flowers Gone?: The Diary of Molly MacKenzie Flaherty, which is part of the Scholastic series “Dear America.” These books are historical fiction “diaries” of kids and teenagers experiencing major events. I read a lot of the books from the series when I was a young student, but I never finished this one. I found it in my bookcase and decided to give it a try!

MacKenzie is a fifteen-year-old girl living in Boston during the middle of the Vietnam War. Her brother, Patrick, is 18 and volunteered for the war. The family is constantly watching the news and waiting for letters to confirm he is alive. Patrick was popular in high school and he turned down football scholarships after graduation to go into the war.

MacKenzie has to figure out what she believes about the war. She sees hippies talking about peace and protesting the war every time she leaves her house, but her history teachers say the war is a good thing, to “fight evil Communism.” The media shows pictures of explosions and innocent deaths. As a young girl, she has to decide for herself what to believe. On page 34, MacKenzie is at a party with seniors and college kids. She overhears a group of boys that graduated with Patrick talking about him, referring to him as a “baby killer.” She jumps into their conversation:

“The war is wrong,” Keith said to me. “And if it weren’t for Patrick, you’d think so, too.”

Would I? I don’t even know. It’s all so- complicated, and I’m not sure what’s right. I’m not sure there is a right answer.

“I don’t like wars, period.” I said. “But I can think this war is wrong, and still support my brother. He’s just trying to help.”

“Oh, yeah,” Jeff said. “Killing people helps a lot. That would make my family proud of me.”

I thought that this part was really powerful. With every war, there is so much controversy surrounding it, and this was especially true with the Vietnam War. I cannot imagine the comments and the harassment that families of servicemen/women had to experience, and still possibly experience today. It would be difficult to be a young person trying to form their own beliefs, wanting to support your loved one, but wondering if you would be protesting the war if they were not fighting in it. This book gives a deep perspective into the mind of a family member of a person in the military. It also references moments that I would never even think about. MacKenzie talks about how she used to wake up to Patrick loudly doing push-ups every morning, and now she misses the sound. She watches the Super Bowl with her family, but the house feels lifeless without her football-fanatic brother there. I had never thought about how hard it would be to do any day-to-day activity without worrying about a family member in war. I am thankful I have never had to experience that anxiety, but this book gives me more appreciation for the people fighting for my freedom, and the families willing to let them go!

The author does an amazing job at describing little things that are markers of that time period to make it seem realistic. For example, MacKenzie complains about how her school forces girls to wear skirts to school, but she changes into bellbottoms as soon as she gets home. She mentions Paul McCartney, Jim Morrison, and other stars from that time. (I was excited about the Paul McCartney reference- I’m a huge Beatles fan and I saw Paul in concert a few years ago!) If I had not read the note that stated the book was based upon historical events, I would have believed it were a real diary. This book, and the whole series, is great for any student who loves history! I love this one in particular because I have always been fascinated by the 1960s, and if you’re like me, you should read it, too!

I am not one who enjoys re-reading books, but To Kill A Mockingbird is one that I could read over and over. I had to read this book in high school and had no idea that it would become my favorite book forever. There is so much meaning and symbolism in this book, and I discover something new each time I read it. It’s a classic, but to anyone who has not read it, To Kill A Mockingbird is about a black man in the South during the 1930s who is wrongfully convicted of raping a white girl. It is told from the viewpoint of Scout, the daughter of the man’s lawyer.

I have not read this book since I started studying Education last year, and I thought it was interesting to read it from the eyes of a teacher. The story begins when Scout starts school for the first year, so she has a lot of interactions with her teacher, Miss Caroline. She begins school at 6 years old, already knowing how to read and write. Her father and her brother, Jem, say she was “born reading.” On page 19, Miss Caroline is upset that Scout already can read. This messes up her teaching system. She tells Scout, “Now you tell your father not to teach you any more. It’s best to begin reading with a fresh mind. You tell him I’ll take over from here and try to undo the damage.” The teacher later spanks Scout. Jem tells Scout that he heard Miss Caroline was doing a “new way of teaching, she learned it in college.” It is so sad to me how Miss Caroline treats Scout, but I think she got so caught up in teaching the same curriculum to all of her students and using all of her perfect “methods” that she could not handle a gifted student. This is something that probably happens to a lot of teachers!

To Kill A Mockingbird is so powerful because it examines issues such as racism and poverty from the eyes of a child. Scout and Jem have to experience name-calling from their school friends and their own family because their father was defending a black man. They and their friend Dill have to find out the truth about the rape accusation and other rumors spreading around the town, and they have trouble figuring out who to listen to and trust. Scout and Jem can always count on their dad, Atticus, to speak wisdom into them. Atticus not only has empathy for victims of racism, but those living in poverty. The family invites Walter Cunningham over for dinner, a boy who has a reputation for coming from an impoverished family. Scout embarrasses Walter, afraid of his “cooties.” On page 33, Atticus says, “You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view . . . until you climb into his skin and walk around in it.” That is exactly what To Kill A Mockingbird is about- considering things from another’s point of view. The uniqueness is that it so realistically shows the process of children learning to do that.

I am so excited to finish reading this book once again! If there are mature readers in my future classroom, I will definitely recommend this book to them. It would have been helpful for me when I was younger, trying to figure out what was right and wrong and wanting to feel like I was not the only one confused. This is a normal process for kids and adolescents to experience! I believe every person should read To Kill A Mockingbird in their lifetime.

For my third book in the 20 Book Challenge, I chose to read Winnie the Pooh by A. A. Milne, another book recommended by my aunt. It has been so much fun reading this book; it is like stepping into a Disney fairytale! The story is much like what you have probably all seen in the movies. A father is telling a story to his son, Christopher Robin, about the adventures of his stuffed animals- Pooh (a bear), Piglet, Eeyore, Owl, Rabbit, and Kanga and Roo. (Sadly, Tigger does not make an appearance in the stories of Pooh until the books later in the series, but this is definitely an encouragement for me to keep reading them!) The animals do many silly things in the Hundred Acre Woods with Christopher Robin. They search for honey, they go on an expedition to discover the North Pole, and they even hunt “heffalumps” (elephants). The book is a little different from others, because each chapter is a new story. One could start reading at any chapter instead of the beginning. Each chapter is about a new adventure in the Woods, and each one has a funny ending that leaves the reader smiling!

I genuinely smile while reading this story because I feel like a little kid again. I can hear each character’s voice and each is unique, with Eeyore’s gloomy complaints and Piglet’s timid whine. Each animal has a personality that is their own that keeps the story interesting. I think that one of the themes of this book is imagination, because the father is telling stories to his son about his animals to help him learn to play. Another theme in the book is friendship, because all of the animals stick up for each other and support each other, despite their many differences. Winnie the Pooh is truly an exciting tale that will open up a child’s imagination and teach them about true friendship, but it is just as exciting to read as an adult!

I love the humor throughout the story that is clean and funny for all ages! In one part of the book, it is Eeyore’s birthday, and Pooh is the first character to find out. Because Eeyore is sad, he wants to bring him a present, and he tells Piglet he should do the same. He reminds Piglet of the balloon at his house and suggests giving that to Eeyore. Piglet rushes home to get the balloon. On page 83, as Piglet is carrying the balloon, the story says, “He held it very tightly against himself, so that it shouldn’t blow away, and he ran as fast as he could so as to get to Eeyore before Pooh did; for he thought that he would like to be the first one to give a present, just as if he had thought of it without being told by anybody.” This part made me laugh because there are situations like this that happen to all of us, but we do not admit it out loud. We want to be the first to do something, or the first to think of something, but we would never tell anyone about those feelings. Winnie the Pooh examines the raw thoughts that everyone has, and it is hilarious to read them!

If you would like to read something humorous and heartwarming that will take you back to your childhood, Winnie the Pooh is the book for you! This is definitely a book that I would consider as a read-aloud for my future students, because it is entertaining and also full of discussion points. I will definitely read more of A. A. Milne’s books about Pooh.

I decided to read an adapted version of Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson for the next book in my 20 Book Challenge. This book was recommended to me by my aunt, who has read more books than anyone that I know, so I always go to her for advice. I am glad that I listened to her because I am enjoying this book so far!

Treasure Island is told from the point of view of Jim, a young boy who is the son of the town innkeepers. One day, a man carrying a large sea chest checks into the inn, calling himself “Captain.” He stays at the inn for many weeks, telling other guests stories of his great adventures on the seas, some of which are very gruesome. His stay at the inn ends when a group of pirates comes after him and kills him. Before his death, Captain tells Jim to protect what is inside his sea chest at all costs. Inside of the sea chest, Jim discovers a treasure map. Jim and some other men from the town sail across the sea to Treasure Island on a mission to find the buried treasure before the evil pirates do.

Jim is brave, yet unsure of himself. He embarks on a ship with a group of people who are probably much more experienced in sailing and dealing with pirates than he is, yet he says yes. He seeks adventure, but he also knows he is unqualified. As the plot thickens, while the crew is sailing toward Treasure Island, Jim overhears a group of men on the ship talking about rebelling, stealing all of the treasure for themselves, and killing the rest of the crew. The next day, Jim tells the captain of the ship and his trusted friends what he overheard. They develop a plan to stop the rebellion. On page 48, the doctor says, “Keep in mind that we have Jim. He’s the best weapon we have, as the men don’t suspect him.” A few lines later, it says, “I decided that we must be in a bad situation if I was our best hope.” Jim is the reason the treasure hunt is happening in the first place, because he is the one who found the map. He is also the reason anyone was warned of the rebellion, because he overheard the conversation and was humble enough to try and stop it instead of joining in the rebellion to get more treasure for himself. I am looking forward to seeing the character development in Jim as the story progresses. I would like to see him become more confident in his abilities and the story end with Jim as the hero.

Although I am not very far into the book yet, I am already seeing the underlying themes of the book. One of those themes is trust. The man who starts the rebellion, Long John Silver, is a man hired by the squire to go on the trip. The squire trusted him and vouched for him as a good man. Jim shared many laughs with him and grew to like his company. On the first day of the trip, however, the captain said he did not trust the man, or many of the others on the crew that are later revealed as rebels. The story teaches that you should never trust someone that you barely know. The people you think you are the closest to could be the ones that try to destroy you. Another theme that I am seeing in the book is loyalty. Jim is remaining loyal to his friends, while he has the opportunity to be rich with the rebels. Loyalty may be a difficult decision to make, but it is an honorable thing to do and is worth the risks that may come with it.

The author’s writing style is a nice change to what I am used to reading. The language used is very old-fashioned, because it was written in 1881. There have been a few words I have had to either search the dictionary for or use context clues to understand. The book is considered an “adventure novel,” but it reminds me of a mystery, because there are so many unanswered questions that the reader must keep reading to find out the answers to. I would recommend Treasure Island to anyone that wants an adventurous, funny, and mysterious book to read! I am looking forward to finding out what will happen next. Will Jim and his crew win the treasure, or will they die at the hands of the rebels? I am rooting for Jim!