Global Read Aloud
2015-2016
The Global Read Aloud founded by Pernille Ripp
Peruse the book selections below. If you would like to be involved in the Global Read Aloud, please fill out the form that corresponds with the book you want to connect with in your classroom and I will find the book for you.
Please submit your request by August 28, 2015.
Picture Book Author Study: Amy Krouse Rosenthal
Amy Krouse Rosenthal is a person who likes to make things.
Some things she likes to make:
Children's books.
Grown-up books.
Short films.
Salads.
Connections with the universe.
Something out of nothing.
Wishes.
According to The New York Times, Amy's award-winning children's books "radiate fun the way tulips radiate spring: they are elegant and spirit-lifting." Her 20+ books for children include Little Pea, Exclamation Mark, Spoon, Chopsticks, Duck! Rabbit!, Yes Day, Uni the Unicorn, The Wonder Book, Cookies: Bite-Size Life Lessons, Plant a Kiss, and Wumbers.
As for her adult work, Amazon named Encyclopedia of an Ordinary Life one of the top 10 memoirs of the decade. A guided journal based on this book was recently released, titled Encyclopedia of Me: My Life from A-Z. Some of her other bestselling guided journals include The Belly Book, The Bride-to-be-Book, My Birthday Book and The Big Sibling Book.
She is a contributor to the TED conference and NPR.
Her viral videos include The Beckoning of Lovely, The Money Tree,The Kindness Thought Bubble, and Life is a Marathon.
The Year of Billy Miller by Kevin Henkes
The Year of Billy Miller
Written and illustrated by Kevin Henkes
When Billy Miller visits the statue of the Jolly Green Giant at the end of summer vacation, he has an unlucky fall and ends up with a small lump on his head. What a way to start second grade, with a lump on your head! As the year goes by, though, Billy figures out how to navigate elementary school, how to appreciate his little sister, and how to be a more grown up and responsible member of the family and a help to his high school teacher mom and work-at-home artist dad. Newbery Honor author and Caldecott Medalist Kevin Henkes delivers a short, satisfying, laugh-out-loud-funny school and family story that features a diorama homework assignment, a school poetry slam, cancelled sleepovers, and epic sibling temper tantrums. Illustrated throughout with black-and-white spot art by the author, this is a perfect short novel for the early elementary grades.
A 2014 Newbery Honor Winner!
Visit Kevin Henkes' website for more information!
Fish in a Tree by Lynda Mullaly Hunt
KIRKUS REVIEW
Hunt draws a portrait of dyslexia and getting along.
Ally Nickerson, who’s passed through seven schools in seven years, maintains a Sketchbook of Impossible Things. A snowman in a furnace factory is more plausible than imagining herself doing something right—like reading. She doesn't know why, but letters dance and give her headaches. Her acting out to disguise her difficulty causes headaches for her teachers, who, oddly, never consider dyslexia, even though each notices signs like inconsistent spellings of the same word. Ally's confusion is poignant when misunderstandings like an unintentional sympathy card for a pregnant teacher make her good intentions backfire, and readers will sympathize as she copes with the class "mean girls." When a creative new teacher, Mr. Daniels, steps in, the plot turns more uplifting but also metaphor-heavy; a coin with a valuable flaw, cupcakes with hidden letters, mystery boxes and references to the Island of Misfit Toys somewhat belabor the messages that things aren't always what they seem and everyone is smart in their own ways. Despite emphasis on "thinking outside the box," characters are occasionally stereotypical—a snob, a brainiac, an unorthodox teacher—but Ally's new friendships are satisfying, as are the recognition of her dyslexia and her renewed determination to read.
Fans of R.J. Palacio's Wonder (2012) will appreciate this feel-good story of friendship and unconventional smarts. (Fiction. 10-12)
Fish by L.S .Matthews
Right before we were leaving I saw a fish in a small brown puddle and I knew I had to take it with me. The journey would be hard to get across the mountains—to the safety of the border and the people there who could help us. Yet when I put the fish in the pot I never realized what we would have to face. It never occurred to me to leave Fish behind.
A subtle and sophisticated exploration of life, the strength of humanity, and survival in an unforgiving world, Fish is a story that will teach those who doubt that, when hope is almost extinguished, miracles can happen.
Find out more about L.S. Matthews here.
Yaqui Delgado Wants to Kick Your ... by Meg Medina
BOOK SUMMARY taken from Teaching Latin America Through Literature
One morning before school, some girl tells Piddy Sanchez that Yaqui Delgado hates her and wants to kick her ass. Piddy doesn’t even know who Yaqui is, never mind what she’s done to piss her off. Word is that Yaqui thinks Piddy is stuck-up, shakes her stuff when she walks, and isn’t Latin enough with her white skin, good grades, and no accent. And Yaqui isn’t kidding around, so Piddy better watch her back. At first Piddy is more concerned with trying to find out more about the father she’s never met and how to balance honors courses with her weekend job at the neighborhood hair salon. But as the harassment escalates, avoiding Yaqui and her gang starts to take over Piddy’s life. Is there any way for Piddy to survive without closing herself off or running away? In an all-too-realistic novel, Meg Medina portrays a sympathetic heroine who is forced to decide who she really is.
AWARDS & RECOGNITIONS
- 2014 Pura Belpré Award
- 2014 International Latino Book Award, Best Young Adult Fiction/English
- 2014 Américas Award Commended Title
- 2013 Junior Library Guild 2013 Selection
- 2013 YALSA Best Fiction for Young Adults
- 2013 Kirkus Best Books for Teens
- 2013 School Library Journal Best Books