OFF THE SHELF -- Seussville.com

http://www.seussville.com/

Perhaps I should call this installment  "Off the 'Net".  Seussville.com is a delightful site for children and adult Dr. Seuss fans of all ages.  Video clips, music, games, activities, and character sketches provide countless hours of fun on the website.  There is an author study and teacher lesson area, along with a tab for parents.  A visit to Seussville is a jog down memory lane!!!

Level:  all ages.

OFF THE SHELF -- An Egg is Quiet

An Egg is Quiet

by Dianna Hutts Aston , Sylvia Long (Illustrator) 

Chronicle Books Llc, 2006

 The teacher had procured an egg and space heater so the kindergartners could watch the egg hatch a baby chick.  I suggested this book to her to help the children understand what was happening inside the egg.  Beautifully illustrated by Sylvia Long, a variety of eggs are described from birds to salmon. Children learn that eggs come in all colors and sizes. An X-ray perspective shows what is happening in the stages inside the eggs of several animals.  It's sister book, A Seed is Sleepy, likewise shows the many type of seeds and how they grow into plants and trees. 

level:  K - 5th

OFF THE SHELF--Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

by JK Rowling

Scholastic, 1997

A student teacher asked me for a book written on a 5th grade reading level.  Most 5th graders are about 11 years old.  I recommended the first book of the Harry Potter series.  It is the book that Harry turns 11 years old, and it is written on that level.  Each of the books becomes more complex, as Harry ages, and so as the reader ages, the reading level becomes more complex, too.  The book speaks to many of the concerns of a 5th grader, also.  The fear of leaving what you've always known as you go off to a new school (in the US, that would be middle school).  Making friends and creating enemies as cliques start to form on the playground.  Starting that adolescent trek of learning who you are as an individual.  It hits the 11 year old reader on all levels.

Level:  4th-8th

OFF THE SHELF -- Where the Red Fern Grows

Where the Red Fern Grows

by Wilson Rawls

Curtis Publishing, 1961

Throughout the year, several boys came to me looking for dog books.  They were aware of Sounder and Old Yeller, but not Where the Red Fern Grows.  I remember crying harder at this book than any I have ever cried through (but of course, I didn't tell the guys that).  I then noticed it was being checked out by word of mouth. It is the story of the bond that form between a boy and his two hunting dogs. So consider reading it, or re-reading it. 

Level:  4th - 12th

OFF THE SHELF -- Game Day

Game Day
by Tiki Barber , Ronde Barber , Barry Root (Illustrator)

Simon & Schuster, 2005

My recommendation today was to a mother of two boys (a year apart) who were athletically-minded.  I suggested the books written by Tiki and Ronde Barber, which reminisce their childhood playing football together as twins. The dynamics of good sportsmanship and family unity are stressed. There are multiple stories, which are available in picture book and chapter book format.