Mrs. Brown Loves Bookworms: What? You didn't read your book!!!

I had an unusual week. I barely read anything. GASP. This book lady didn't read. Much. Sometimes life happens. It all started over the holiday weekend when my sixteen year old got really sick. I thought it was just a nasty summer virus. YEAH. Well it was a BAD virus. We were the lucky winners of a two night stay at our local children's hospital! It could have been a lot worse. He's fine now. I've been teasing him about needing extra attention. In between hospital visits and trips back to the doctors office I did manage to read a few.

Smells Like Dog by Suzanne Selfors

I'll be honest. I wasn't too sure about this one when I got it. Then I started reading it. It was really a good read. Probably best in 3-6 grade range. In a nut shell twelve year old Homer Pudding inherits a dog and a mystery from his uncle, Drake. Uncle Drake was a treasure hunter and one of his maps is missing. Homer sets off for "the city" and has to find the missing map. Along the way meets some very odd people. Recommend this one! Accelerated Reading level - 4.3 Lexile level - 670

I did squeeze in some nonfiction books:
Swordfish by Deborah Coldiron
Sea Urchins by Simon Rose
Leeches: Waiting in the Water by Barbara A. Somervill
Kraits by Ellen Frazel
Death Adder by Lincoln James
Black Mamba by Angelo Gangemi
Fighting Dinosaurs by Monica Hughes
Diplodocus by Joanne Mattern
Snowy Owls by Roman Patrick
Hunting With Bald Eagles by Paige Thurnherr
Stock Cars by Lisa Bullard
Custer's Last Stand by Joeming Dunn

I was looking to add to some of the animal books and other topics missing in our library. I really wanted some that would make good centers to do an activity on text features. These were good beginner books, nothing really just stood out and shouted "make me into a center!" The kids will like them. That's what's really important.

Standouts include:
The Post Office Book: Mail and How It Moves by Gail Gibbons

I just love Gail Gibbons. Seriously! This one would make a great center activity. From the history of mail to how mail is currently sorted at the post office, it's just a great little book. This one is from 1982 but it's still great! (I just didn't have this one.)

My fourth grade ELA teacher requested some more books about mythology. It's a big deal with CCS in fourth. I already had several good mythology series in the library already. I found these to add to our school's collection:

Dragons in Mythology by Matt Doeden
The Epics of Greek Mythology by Don Nardo
Egyptian Mythology by Jim Ollhoff
European Mythology by Jim Ollhoff

Jim Ollhoff's series "World of Mythology" was the best of the bunch. I'll be adding his other titles this fall. This series is written at a higher reading level than the other series I have in the library that the kids enjoy. (AR levels 5.4 - 6.0) These will be a nice addition for more complex text!

Homes Around the World by Max Moore
This was just a great little book. The students will enjoy looking at the different kinds of homes from across our great planet. You won't find East Tennessee homes in this book. This one is a level one reader so perfect for my Kinders and 1st graders learning about different cultures.

I did find three books that I can use to teach text features. I do recommend these titles. They were just good informational/non-fiction reads.