At home resources #18

Book Suggestions

Younger readers

The Year of Billy Miller by Kevin Henkes

This would be a great family read aloud. Billy is entering second grade this year and his Dad tells him this will be his year. In the Chinese zodiac there's the Year of the Horse, the Year of the Monkey, well, this year will be the Year of Billy Miller! As the year goes by, Billy figures out how to navigate elementary school, how to appreciate his little sister, and how to be a more grown up and responsible member of the family and a help to his busy working mom and stay-at-home dad. 

Middle Grade readers

Wishtree by Katherine Applegate

You might say Red the oak tree has seen it all. He has stood over one neighborhood for many years--too many to count. He's called a "wishtree" because the people in the neighborhood tie their wishes written on cloth to his branches. When a new family moves in he notices that not everyone is welcoming, and Red's experiences as a wishtree are more important than ever. Really excellent writing from an excellent author, Katherine Applegate, who also wrote The One and Only Ivan. 

The Lemonade War by Jacqueline Davies

Brother and sister Evan and Jessie are bored at the end of a long summer together. Each starts a lemonade stand and challenge each other to a competetion: whoever makes the most money wins. There are now four sequels to this realistic fiction story. 

Upper grade readers

Marcus Vega Doesn't Speak Spanish by Pablo Cartaya

Marcus Vega is six feet tall, 180 pounds, and the owner of a premature mustache. When you look like this and you're only in the eighth grade, you're both a threat and a target. After a fight at school leaves Marcus facing suspension, Marcus's mom decides it's time for a change of environment. She takes Marcus and his younger brother to Puerto Rico to spend a week with relatives they don't remember or have never met. But Marcus can't focus knowing that his father—who walked out of their lives ten years ago—is somewhere on the island.

Weird But True

This is a very popular series of books in our library! Go to the National Geographic Kids website and see some more weird but true facts. There's a slideshow of unusual facts about space and some short video clips (30 seconds each) each demonstrating one weird fact. 

Write a story

Here are some ideas to get you started! Scholastic Story Starter

Spin the wheel and get and idea for a character and setting you might write about.