The Thing About Georgie

This was an upbeat and informational book for kids about a character who is a dwarf. I was unsure about the book at first, but ended up loving Georgie so much!! At only 42 inches tall, Georgie probably won't grow much taller. He will soon have a little brother and can't cope with the fact that his little baby brother will someday be bigger than him and be able to do things that he can't do. In the end, the book shows the reader that the things you can't do are not important... you should focus on the things you can do and use your talents rather than focus on your limitations.  Although Georgie will never be a guitar player, he sure can act!! It's a feel good book that can make you feel special no matter what!

**One of my students, who is a dwarf, had never heard of this book. She read it, loved it, and is not sharing it with others**

Love That Dog

This book really hit close to home because I recently taught a poetry unit in my 5th grade class. The girls were thrilled and the boys hated it (at first)! My boys said the exact same thing as the boys in the novel, "Boys don't write poetry, girls do." After Jack, the main character, hears the works of great male poets, he is inspired to write in a voice he never knew he had. This is a cleverly written book that I will share next time I have a unit on poetry. I'm sure my kids will love it as much as I did :)

How to Steal a Dog

It's hard to imagine having a home one day and being homeless the next. When Georgina's father leaves their family, they are forced to live out of their car. Mom is working two jobs to make enough money to rent a place but it just isn't that easy. One day after seeing a poster for a reward for a lost dog, Georgina gets an idea... She decides to steal a dog in order to collect the "reward" to help her family out. When the plan doesn't quite work out, she realizes that is isn't the "right" thing to do.

The book made me really sad when I started thinking about all the people out in the world who really are homeless and living in their cars. It was sad to think of Georgina and her brother washing up in public places or gas stations, and doing their homework in the car with a flashlight. The story was very real and brought both smiles and tears to my face as I read.

The Wednesday Wars

Wednesdays were really bad for poor Holling Hoodhood. While everyone in his entire class is either Jewish or Catholic, he is the only Protestant. So, while everyone else attends religious classes on Wednesday afternoons, he is stuck with Mrs. Baker who he thinks HATES him!! Together, they study Shakespeare and he'd rather be dead. The book is full of laughs and pranks and left me wanting more!! It was very enjoyable and wonderful to see how a great writer of the past, Shakespeare, could shape Holling into someone he never thought he could be.

Penny from Heaven

This wasn't at all what I expected. From the cover, It looked like it was going to be set in the past and that it was. Set in the 1950's, it is a wonderful story about family. Poor Penny is the main character who is torn between her very American mother and her deceased father's Italian-American family. I would say that this is a coming of age story where the character is finding out who she really is.  The Italian family made me laugh with all their quirks. Overall, a great book.

Rules

Having worked with Autistic children in my own classroom, this book was extremely interesting to me. Catherine is a 12 year old girl who struggles with her 8 year old autistic brother, David. She is at an age where she cares sooooo much about what other people think about her and is especially embarrassed by the actions of her brother David. She makes so many rules for him to follow (each chapter opens up with a new rule from Catherine to David) and this causes even more confusion for David. This is a great story that teaches the acceptance of others, regardless of disabilities. It also shows how other people can have an influence on who we are as people. I have already shared this book with many of my special education teacher friends. It is definitely a must read!!

Almost to Freedom

Slavery is a very hard topic to understand as a young child. This book does a great job of showing young children what slave life was like and gives insight into the thoughts and feelings of those who were forced to work on plantations. This story is about a family who escapes one night on the Underground railroad to find freedom in the north. The adventure is exciting and also very sad! The illustrations are solemn in tones of browns and purples that goes very well with the feelings in the book.