• Skip to content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

High Shelf Esteem

Archives for March 2018

March 27, 2018

Amazing Chapter Books To Read To the Kids in Your Life, Part 2

In February, I shared the first half of my list of favorite chapter books to read aloud in the post Amazing Chapter Books To Read To the Kids in Your Life, Part 1. The time has come for Part 2! These are books I’ve read aloud over and over and still love. They have major kid appeal and are also enjoyable for adults to read.

I’ve summarized each book as well as included why my students have enjoyed them so much and which grades I usually read them to. These books can be read to many other ages, but these are the grade-levels that seem to enjoy them the most.

 

Escape from Mr. Lemoncello’s Library, by Chris Grabenstein
The town of Alexandriaville has a brand new library, and it’s no ordinary library. It’s a library created by the zany game maker Luigi Lemoncello. For its grand opening Mr. Lemoncello chooses 12 kids to stay overnight and have the most fun- and game-filled sleepover of their lives. They do have a blast, but when the group wakes up the next morning, the doors to the library are locked and they find out they’re actually part of a much bigger escape game. Using their wits to solve puzzles and analyze clues, the kids battle to be the first one out. Who will it be?

Why Kids Love It: Kids become very invested in the competitive aspect of the escape game. They are huge fans of the main character, Kyle Keeley, and his group of friends and desperately want them to be the first ones out of the library. The villain in the story, the snobby Charles Chiltington, is one they love to hate. They want to see him go down.
The puzzles are also a huge draw. Young readers enjoy solving them alongside the characters and feeling like they’re part of the action.

Grades I Read It To: 4th Grade

 

The Witches, by Roald Dahl
Witches have the following characteristics: no hair, no toes, inky spit, and claw-like fingernails. If you ever encounter one, especially if you’re a child, get as far away from them as you can!
When an unlucky boy accidentally ends up in the thick of one of the witches’ ghastly meetings (during which they plan the demise of children around the world), he realizes he needs to find a way to save all the kids across the globe. The only trouble is the Witches have turned him into a mouse!

Why Kids Love It: Scary stories are always enticing and this one is just scary enough without being terrifying (for most kids). Plus, this book has a plot-line that makes the young protagonist the hero, despite the majorly frightening odds of being captured by a witch. Note: If you read the Grand High Witch’s voice in chraracer (aka a weird amalgamation of a Russian accent mixed with lots of other eastern European-ness), you will make your listeners giggle big time.

Grades I Read It To: 3rd Grade

 

The World According To Humphrey, by Betty G. Birney
Everyone needs help in their life and sometimes it comes from the most unlikely places. For the kids in Room 26, their help comes from the class’ pet hamster, Humphrey. Unbeknownst to the human characters in the book, Humphrey can read, write, and even shoot a rubber band! Whether he’s in the classroom or at a student’s home for the weekend, he manages to solve the problems plaguing the humans around him. From getting a family to watch less TV to helping the janitor find love, Humphrey is the best class pet around.

Why Kids Love It: First of all, Humphrey is adorable. The picture of him on the cover elicits lots of “awws” right from the get-go. Then once story starts, Humphrey’s adventures and hilariously human observations get lots of laughs. No kid can resist this adorable hamster.

Grades I Read It To: 1st – 2nd Grade

 

Sideways Stories from Wayside School, by Louis Sachar
Wayside School is not a normal school. Instead of a being a one-story building with 30 classrooms, it is a 30-story building with one classroom on each floor! Wayside School is definitely weird, and the class on the 30th floor fits right in. One student can only read upside down, another is an ice-cream addict who even eats it in the classroom, and another wants to sell her toes! And that’s just a tiny taste of the wackiness at Wayside School. There are 30 chapters of off-the-wall tales to enjoy.

Why Kids Love It: Kids just go nuts for this book because the it’s so absurdly funny. Plus, it doesn’t hurt that the teacher of the 30th floor class, Ms. Jewls, says at one point, “Children are really smarter than their teachers.”

Grades I Read It To: 3rd Grade

 

Toys Go Out: Being the Adventures of a Knowledgeable Stingray, a Toughy Little Buffalo, and Someone Called Plastic, by Emily Jenkins
Lumphy, a stuffed buffalo, Stingray, a stuffed stingray, and Plastic, a rubber ball (though she doesn’t know that’s what she is) are great friends. When the Little Girl is away at school or asleep, they have the most fantastic adventures. While they don’t always get along, they help each other through dangerous trips to the beach (there are garbage sharks there!), treacherous visits to the washing machine, and disastrous bathtub experiences.

Why Kids Love It: Toys Go Out is in the same vein as the Toy Story movies and kids always respond positively to the idea that their toys come to life when they’re not in the room. The toys’ adventures are incredibly entertaining, but it’s their dialogue that really draws readers in. 

Grades I Read It To: 1st Grade

 

What are your favorite books to read aloud to the kiddos in your life? Please share in the comments below!

Filed Under: Reviews and Recommendations Kristen 6 Comments

March 25, 2018

Literary Linking: March 19 – 23

Literary Linking March 19 - 23

This week’s link topics include: the best books of 2018 so far, literary perfumes, what your bookshelf organization says about you, and more!

The best literary bookish the week of March 19 – 23:

 

The Best Books of 2018 (So Far)
Since I’m still trying to stick to my “No New Books for a Year” resolution, I haven’t read any of these, but come January 1, 2019, it looks like I’ll have a ton of great titles to dig into.

Younger’s Fictional Novel Marriage Vacation Being Made into Real Book
This book sounded great on the show. Hopefully the real one doesn’t disappoint!

What Your Bookshelf Organization Says about You
Not exactly accurate, but entertaining nonetheless (especially the spines-facing-the-wall organizational method 😄 ).

8 Literary Perfumes for Book-Lovers Who Want To Smell Good
Smelling like paper doesn’t sound too appealing, but some of the other less literal literary scents could be nice. If only computers had smell-o-vision.

What Exactly Does a Librarian Do? Everything.
And might I just add…librarians rock!

Filed Under: Literary Linking Kristen 2 Comments

March 17, 2018

Literary Linking: March 12 – 16

This week’s link topics include: book towns, a new book by Markus Zusak and more!

The best bookish links the week of March 12 – 16:

Book Towns Are Made for Book Lovers
I make it a personal goal to visit all “book towns” out there. This is a lovely interview with journalist Alex Johnson who has a book coming out on March 22nd called, Book Towns: Forty-five Paradises of the Printed Word. I trust what he has to say!

The Author of ‘The Book Thief’ Has a New Y.A. Novel Coming This Fall
The Book Thief is one of VERY few books that has ever made me cry. Can’t wait to see what Markus Zusak has in store for us.

Kareem Abdul Jabbar Reviews New Book ‘Bachelor Nation’ (and “Emotional Harassment” on a Hit Show)
I only watch “Bachelor Nation” shows because of The Popcast’s hilarious recaps, but I kinda wanna read this book because Kareem Abdul Jabbar makes it sound worth it. His biting humor about the most recent (awful) season of The Bachelor is entertaining as well.

The 10 Most Famous Bookstores in the World
Been to The Strand, only 9 to go. I think Honesty Bookshop in Hay-on-Wye, Wales might be next on the list…

Filed Under: Literary Linking Kristen Leave a Comment

March 15, 2018

What I’ve Been Reading: March 2018

Welcome to Quick Lit, where bloggers link up with Anne Bogel at Modern Mrs. Darcy and share short and sweet reviews of what we’ve been reading lately. My reading pace is still pretty slow post-surgery, so I’ve been reading more YA and kid lit, especially books in verse. Here’s a sampling of the books I read in February and so far in March:

The Joy Luck Club, by Amy Tan
In The Joy Luck Club, Amy Tan tells the story of four Chinese American women who immigrate to San Francisco in 1949 and band together as the Joy Luck Club. The group meets to play mah jong, eat fabulous Chinese food, and chat about their lives. Alongside the stories of this older generation of women, we also hear from their daughters. Their experiences as second-generation immigrants are wildly different, yet poignantly similar in some ways to their mothers.

I read The Joy Luck Club in high school, but wanted to revisit it after deciding to throw a Joy-Luck-Club-themed dinner & movie party with my sister later in March. She’s reading it too, so we can compare notes. Seeing as the book was was published in 1989, I found some of the “present-day” portions of the story told by the American-born daughters a bit dated, but Tan’s treatment of the complicated nature of mother-daughter relationships is timeless. Also, as an Asian-American myself, I have to say that Tan nails her depiction of older Asian women perfectly!

 

Rebound, by Kwame Alexander
Rebound is a prequel to Kwame Alexander’s Newbery-medal winning book, The Crossover, and tells the story of The Crossover’s main characters’ father, Chuck Bell. The book is in verse and follows Chuck, a comic-book-loving teen, who gets sent to live with his grandparents after school lets out for the year. At first he thinks it’s going to be a complete drag, but over the summer months he learns the beauty of jazz, the thrill of basketball, and how to live with the consequences of his decisions.

I was over the moon when I got an advanced reader copy of this book at the American Library Association Midwinter Meeting last month. It doesn’t come out until April 2, but you should pre-order it from your favorite bookstore or get yourself on the hold list at the library ASAP because it is fantastic.

 

When: The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing, by Daniel Pink
In When: The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing, Daniel Pink explores how when you do something might just be the most important factor in determining outcomes. It’s quite data-driven, which I appreciated (as a librarian, I’m quite the fact fiend 🙂 ), but I liked the self-help side of the book even more. After each chapter, Pink includes a section of what he calls “The Time-Hackers Handbook,” which gives actionable steps to improve the timing in your life based on the data he’s collected. One of my major takeaways: don’t ever hold important meetings in the afternoon!

If you’re looking for a well-researched and helpful non-fiction book, you’ll want to give When: The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing a read.

 

The Power, by Naomi Alderman
Set in an alternative present-day, The Power puts forth the question: what would happen if women held all the power? And we’re not talking about power figuratively. This is electrical power; painful, potentially life-ending, electrical power that emanates from women’s bodies into the vessel of their choosing. When traditional gender roles are switched, how will women handle themselves? How will the men react? The stage is set for major drama.

I’m not done with The Power yet, but the premise drew me in from the beginning, and Alderman does a good job throwing moral quandaries at the reader throughout the book. It seems a bit longer than it needs to be, but I might change my mind about that once I finish it.

 

Long Way Down, by Jason Reynolds
I read Long Way Down as part of my Worth the Read? series. Actually, I listened to it as an audiobook. Jason Reynolds narrated and did a wonderful job. Since the story is told in verse, it was especially meaningful to hear the author read it. Check out the rest of my thoughts here.

 

 

 

What have you been reading lately? Please share in the comments below!

Filed Under: Reviews and Recommendations Kristen 7 Comments

March 13, 2018

Worth the Read? — Long Way Down, by Jason Reynolds

Welcome to “Worth the Read?” where I give you my honest opinion on whether you should spend your precious time reading a super-hyped New York Times Bestseller.

Today’s book is:
Long Way Down, by Jason Reynolds

On New York Times Best Sellers list (Young Adult Hardcover) for 10 weeks

The Hype:
Long Way Down was a 2017 National Book Award Finalist and recently won a Newbery Honor form the American Library Association’s Association for Library Services To Children. Jason Reynolds is a very highly revered author for young adults. In addition to the aforementioned achievements, he is a Printz Honoree, a Kirkus Award winner, a two time Walter Dean Myers Award winner, an NAACP Image Award Winner, and the recipient of multiple Coretta Scott King honors. So, yeah, Jason Reynolds a big deal!
Throw in the fact that gun violence has been in the news so much recently, it’s no surprise that Long Way Down is a must-read right now.

Plot Summary:
Will’s brother, Shawn, was murdered, and Will knows who did it — at least he’s pretty sure he knows who did it… According to the rules, Will must exact revenge, and that’s what he’s going to do. He finds Shawn’s gun and gets on his apartment’s elevator, ready to gun down Shawn’s killer. But when the elevator stops on the sixth floor, Shawn’s friend Buck gets on. Buck is dead. This is Buck’s ghost and he’s asking rather important questions like, “Is the gun even loaded?”
For each floor Will travels down, a new ghost joins him on the elevator and reveals more about Shawn and the streets they live on. What will Will do when he gets to the lobby?

Thoughts:
Jason Reynolds packs so much punch in such a short book. His decision to use verse to tell the story works impeccably. The language is raw and real, but also incredibly beautiful. But it’s the concept and execution of the concept of the book that really blew my mind. A plot centered around an angry teen visited by ghosts could have been really cheesy, but Reynolds pulls it off effortlessly. Each of the ghosts is incredibly compelling and the interactions they have with Shawn are so human and real.
Every book I’ve read by Jason Reynolds has been fantastic, but I think Long Way Down is his best. The emotional heft in the spare text hit me like a mack truck (in the best possible way), and I think everyone should read this important book.

Rating: 100% worth it

Rating Key
80% – 100% – the book lives up to the hype. Go read it now!
60% – 79% – the book is good, but there’s no rush to read it
40% – 59% – the book has some degree of merit, but has flaws and probably isn’t worth your time
0% – 39% – the book stinks and isn’t worth the read

 

Have you read Long Way Down?  What were your thoughts? Share in the comments below!

Filed Under: Worth the Read? Kristen 4 Comments

March 10, 2018

Literary Linking: March 5 – 9

This week’s link topics include: arming school librarians, book recommendations based on tattoos, writers’ super cute pets and more!

The best bookish links the week of March 5- 9

Women’s Prize for Fiction 2018
More excellent books to add to your TBR!

Who Should Be Armed in Florida Schools? Not Teachers, Lawmakers Say. But Maybe Librarians.
I don’t like to get political on this blog, but I do have to express that I am NOT okay with this idea.

Here Are the Most Popular Books By State
Rather proud of Maryland for our most popular book: The Handmaid’s Tale, by Margaret Atwood. 

Libraries Recommend Books Based on Patron Tattoos
I wonder what librarians would recommend for someone with the stereotypical “mom” tattoo…

13 of the Most Adorable Pets Owned by Famous Writers
Your feel-good click of the week 🙂

Filed Under: Literary Linking Kristen Leave a Comment

March 6, 2018

Top 10 Favorite Quotes for Book Lovers

Top Ten Tuesday is an original blog meme hosted by The Artsy Reader Girl and this week’s topic is: Favorite Book Quotes

It might be a bit silly, but I love reading about reading. Quotes about books, reading, and the literary life are my jam. And if you’re reading this blog, I’m guessing you might feel the same.

I hope you enjoy these 10 bookish quotes!

 

“I declare after all there is no enjoyment like reading! How much sooner one tires of any thing than of a book! — When I have a house of my own, I shall be miserable if I have not an excellent library.”
~ Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice

 

 

 

 

“If you only read the books that everyone else is reading, you can only think what everyone else is thinking.”
~Haruki Murakami, Norwegian Wood

 

 

 

 

“What really knocks me out is a book that, when you’re all done reading it, you wish the author that wrote it was a terrific friend of yours and you could call him up on the phone whenever you felt like it. That doesn’t happen much, though.”
~J.D. Salinger, The Catcher in the Rye

 

 

 

 

“The problem with books is that they end.”
~ Caroline Kepnes, You

 

 

 

 

“That’s what I love about reading: one tiny thing will interest you in a book, and that tiny thing will lead you onto another book, and another bit there will lead you onto a third book. It’s geometrically progressive—all with no end in sight, and for no other reason than sheer enjoyment.” 
~ Annie Barrows,
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

 

 

 

“From that time on, the world was hers for the reading. She would never be lonely again, never miss the lack of intimate friends. Books became her friends and there was one for every mood.”
~ Betty Smith, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn

 

 

 

 

“Books are the ultimate Dumpees: put them down and they’ll wait for you forever; pay attention to them and they always love you back.”
~ John Green, An Abundance of Katherines

 

 

 

 

“A precious, mouldering pleasure ’t is
To meet an antique book,
In just the dress his century wore;
A privilege, I think.”
~Emily Dickinson, The Complete Poems of Emily Dickinson

 

 

 

“The problem in our country isn’t with books being banned, but with people no longer reading. You don’t have to burn books to destroy a culture. Just get people to stop reading them.”
~ Ray Bradbury, Fahrenheit 451

 

 

 

 

“When in doubt, go to the library.”
~ J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

 

 

 

What are your favorite book quotes about books and reading? Please share in the comments below!

Filed Under: Bookish Musings Kristen 1 Comment

March 3, 2018

Literary Linking: February 26 – March 2

This week’s link topics include: a TV adaptation of Little Fires Everywhere, literary characters’ last meals, sad books, and more!

The best bookish links the week of February 26 – March 2

Last Meals of Famous Literary Characters
These crimes and last meals are all made up (I can’t see Hermione Granger EVER committing a crime), but they’re entertaining nonetheless.

Sad Books that GIve Fourth and Fifth Graders All the Feels
I’ve read all these books and they are fantastic for middle grade readers and adults alike. If you loved Wonder, you’ll love these titles too.

Five Libraries around the World that Are Open Despite the Odds
It’s uplifting to see that these libraries have made it through conflict and natural disasters. Libraries will prevail!

Reese Witherspoon To Adapt Little Fires Everywhere for TV with Kerry Washington
Love Reese. Love Kerry. Love Little Fires Everywhere. Love this news item!

Children’s Publishing House Takes Food Literacy Literally
I’ve always said food and books go together well 🙂

Stop Reading Books You Don’t Actually Enjoy
Such great advice. I’ll be writing about this topic soon – stay tuned.

 

Filed Under: Literary Linking Kristen Leave a Comment

Primary Sidebar

Recent Posts

  • Beat the Last Weeks of Winter by Forest Bathing through Books
  • Thank You for Reading High Shelf Esteem!
  • Literary Linking: January 28 – February 1
  • Literary Linking: January 14 – 18
  • What I’ve Been Reading: January 2019

Recent Comments

  • Kevin on Thank You for Reading High Shelf Esteem!
  • Jenny on Thank You for Reading High Shelf Esteem!
  • Allison | Mind Joggle on Thank You for Reading High Shelf Esteem!
  • crystal tracy on Thank You for Reading High Shelf Esteem!
  • Lory @ Emerald City Book Review on What I’ve Been Reading: January 2019

Archives

  • March 2019
  • February 2019
  • January 2019
  • December 2018
  • November 2018
  • October 2018
  • September 2018
  • August 2018
  • July 2018
  • June 2018
  • May 2018
  • April 2018
  • March 2018
  • February 2018
  • January 2018
  • December 2017
  • November 2017
  • October 2017
  • September 2017
  • August 2017
  • July 2017
  • June 2017
  • May 2017
  • April 2017
  • March 2017
  • February 2017
  • January 2017
  • December 2016
  • November 2016
  • October 2016
  • September 2016
  • August 2016

Categories

  • Bookish Musings
  • DIY
  • Interviews
  • Literary Linking
  • Recipes
  • Reviews and Recommendations
  • TBR
  • What's Making Me Happy
  • Worth the Read?

Meta

  • Log in
  • Entries RSS
  • Comments RSS
  • WordPress.org

© 2015 Pretty Happy WordPress Theme · By: Pretty Darn Cute Design