Happy Thanksgiving to any Canadian reading this! I feel I have much to celebrate and a large TBR list is one of them. I managed to remove a few from that list this week, but I am sure more will be added when I link this post up to teachmentortexts.com (thanks to Jen for hosting) and unleashingreaders.com (thanks to Kellee and Ricki for hosting).
Books I finished this week:
Third or fourth time I have read this one and it is still fantastic. It was a terrific class read aloud with characters that compelled my students to urge me to read through break and PE. Like many educators, I have kids now asking what they should read now that we are finished Wonder. I usually answer with something like Out of My Mind, Mockingbird, or Auggie and Me. I Wonder what other people use for readers who want something like Wonder.
This was a book that lived up to the hype for me. I have reading about this book for months and months and eagerly anticipated the pre-order that I had made. The cover gives you the premise that it is really about what happens after the more famous events in the life of Humpty Dumpty and it is a beautiful story of perseverance, courage and growth. The pictures are stunning and the ending will stay with you for a while. I will be reading this to pretty much every class I can find next week. It is not only entertaining but hits on so many themes that teachers want to talk about. If you have a chance to listen to Dan Santat talk about the inspiration for this book, it is also a memorable experience, but maybe not for all students.
By the way, I am not liking some of my pre-order decisions as they seem to come well after release date. I have no book store where I live so I order online a lot. Curious if other people are happy with pre-ordering a book they are anxious to get. I have a theory to test.
Greetings from Witness Protection is from debut author Jake Burt. This book had a neat premise, as an orphan girl who had many experiences with the foster care system becomes a key cog in a plan to disguise a family who is in the witness protection program by adding a child to it. The dynamics of adding a child to an existing family were told with humour and heart. The events seemed authentic both within the family and within the school. All of the characters were well developed, and I could read more with these people and/or more from this writer.
The latest of my read alouds with my seven year old, and another series we always head back to having gone through the six Mercy Watson stories and now a third in the spin-off Tales from Deckawoo Drive. Kate DiCamillo is one of the only writers who can hold my youngest’s attention without any magic, or action scenes. I think she just really likes the characters even when they act in ways she would not (Eugenia Lincoln). I loved to see her thinking about what it would be like to be Baby Lincoln, a secondary character whose world kind of expands in our eyes. We waited for the paperback to come out and had some regrets about that at times, but if you are a fan of the series and have not found your way to this book, it is a necessary journey. We may not wait for the fourth installment to go to paperback, the hardcover is out on Tuesday.
Currently Reading:
A Long Walk to Water is my current class read aloud. We have two classes in our school participating in the Global Read Aloud. We are connecting with schools in California, Argentina, and hopefully this week with Texas and New Zealand the week after (they are on break). I have previously read this book and it is amazing and gut wrenching. This is the first time I am reading it to students. The first three chapters have been eye opening for students. I am reading the second installment of Rick Riordan’s Magnus Chase series, and it is very much vintage Riordan, I am a fan. My family is reading Inkspell, the second in the Inkworld series by Cornelia Funke. This will take us a while, but we really enjoyed the first book.
Happy Thanksgiving to my Canadian reading friends, and happy reading to everyone! Have a great week, the alternative is not nearly as enjoyable.
Wriggling Bookworms 
After the Fall was a big hit with my third graders. They loved the ending and hopefully learned a lesson about overcoming fear and the importance of trying. I loved Greetings From Witness Protection. Nicki was an unexpected main character.
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Can’t wait to read After The Fall. So many of you are praising it and also the Witness Protection book! As for another book like Wonder. I just read Insignificant Events In The Life of a Cactus. That may fit for your students! Thanks, Aaron!
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I have read so much praise for The Life of a Cactus. I plan to grab it soon.
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After the Fall was also such a WOW book for me. Like Wonder is a challenging one – is it the strong emotional experience they are after? I would recommend Counting Thyme.
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I also loved Counting Thyme, good call.
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I love hearing how new classes respond to Wonder. May it continue students and teachers, kids and adults, for years to come!
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Happy Thanksgiving Day! I really really need to get a copy of After the Fall. I wonder if it is both who you are ordering your books from, and if you ask to have them delivered as soon as they are ready. I used to order from ULS, and they were pretty good at sending me stuff as soon as it was ready.
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Cornelia Funke is an absolute favourite. She is timeless. The Baby Linc also looks really nice. 🙂
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