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Wednesday, January 18, 2012

Top Ten Tuesday: Rec's



The Broke and The Bookish have a fantastic blog and one of their weekly features is "Top Ten Tuesday." This Tuesday's theme is:

Top Ten Book I'd Recommend to Someone Who Doesn't Read X

I'm choosing to fill in the X with children's chapter books. As a third grade teacher, I read so many chapter books to my class during read alouds. I don't test my children on these books, I just read to help them learn to enjoy books just for the pure pleasure they can brings.

Ashley's Top Ten Children's Books You Should Read (no matter how old you are!)

#1- Bunnicula by James Howe

Vampires and a bunnies, a classic mix! The story is told from the family dog's, Harold's,  point of view and it is presented as if Harold wrote this story and delivered it to his editor. I love Harold and I, of course adore Bunnicule but it is neurotic, conspiracy driven Chester that gives me the most laughs. The rest of the series is just as great but I read this one to my class every year and they also rush to the library to pick up the sequels.





by Lenore Look

Alvin Ho has to be my favorite find of the past two years. Alvin is afraid of everything from wasabi to school. He is completely unable to speak when he is at school but at home he swears in Shakespearean. His  dad is "da dad" and Alvin is learning the rules of how to be a gentleman.  If you read one book from this list, make it this one...





#3. 39 Clues #1- The Maze of Bones by Rick Riordan

A great adventure series with puzzles to solve, history to learn (the first book taught me that Ben Franklin wrote an essay on farts, who knew?) and adventures in far off countries to be had. Plus, it gives children a great example of a sibling relationship. Dan and Amy have their fights, but they stick by each other through it all!





#4. Mouse and the Motorcycle by Beverly Cleary

A classic book for a reason, the story is creative and encourages imagination and visualization.  My class always wants to try and get our class hamster to ride on toy motorcycles after we read this. Sadly, our hamster has yet to make the proper noises to get the motorcycle to go!




#5. Matilda by Roald Dahl

It's hard to pick one Roald Dahl book but Matilda's love for books is hard to overlook. Plus, I have yet to meet a villain that scares me as much as the Trunchbull! Also, this is a great book to read and the compare with its movie.





#6- Sideways Stories from Wayside School  by Louis Sachar

Each chapter is story about a different character, students and teachers, at Wayside School. Each story is fantastic, except for the 19th story because there is no 19th story and there is no Miss Zarves....






#7- Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo

I'll be honest, this was a difficult read aloud because there are a lot of difficult but beautiful concepts and words in this story, like chiaroscuro but stick it out and you will be amazed at how much a small mouse (even without a motorcycle) can teach you. (PS. This book, soooo much better than the movie)





#8- How To Train Your Dragon by Cressida Cowell

Be honest, you know you've seen this movie and it was amazing! This book is amazing too but other than names and vikings and dragons coexisting, it is nothing like the movie. Toothless is whiny, selfish and absolutely adorable. Hiccup is learning to be a hero "the hard way" and often, the hilarious way!






#9. The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick

Beautiful story, detailed pictures and mind-blowing connections. I am excited to see this movie but I don't think it will have anything on the book. I also am looking forward to getting my hands on the companion novel, Wonderstruck.


#10- Holes by Loius Sachar

We do this book as a read-in every year. We start reading at 6pm and usually finish around 5am the next morning. We watch the movie and go outside and dig holes. It's the connections across time and the growth we see in Stanley that make this book irresistible!  Also, a fantastic book for boys looking to get into reading. 

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