Magic Windows

Garza, C. L., Rohmer, H., & Schecter, D. (1999). Magic windows. San Francisco, Calif.: Children's Book Press.

Magic Windows celebrate Hispanic heritage though paper cut art.  Written in both Spanish and English, each page is beautifully ornate and gives a taste of the Hispanic culture and beauty seen in a different way.

If you liked Magic Windows, you may also like:

In My Family (En mi familia)
Garza, C. L., Rohmer, H., & Schecter, D. (1996). In my family. San Francisco, Calif.: Children's Book Press/Libros Para Niños.

Skulduggery Pleasant

Landy, D. (2007). Skulduggery Pleasant. New York: HarperCollins.

When Stephanie is left her uncle's estate, she has no idea of the world she will soon be thrown into.  She meets Skulduggery Pleasant, a skeleton detective, who takes her in as an apprentice and they race to save the world from the evil Serpine.  If Serpine gets the Scepter of the Ancients, he will be invincible and destroy all of human kind.  Will Stephanie and Skulduggery stop Serpine in time?

Book Trailer: http://youtu.be/PvFtUp03mTg

The Underneath

Appelt, K., & Small, D. (2008). The underneath. New York: Atheneum Books for Young Readers. (Newbery Honor 2009)

Abandoned by her human family, a Calico cat seeks refuge and finds a home for her and her kittens underneath a dilapidated house with a hound dog named Ranger.   A unique and loving family is born.  In the house above, a man filled with anger and a thirst for blood waits for the right time to catch a 100 foot alligator and needs the perfect bait.  A snake as old as time itself, turned bitter from abandonment, seeks release and revenge.  All three stories come together in this beautiful story of love, friendship, and redemption.

T.E.K.S: Organisms and environments.  In studies of living systems, students explore the interdependence between these systems: predator/prey in aquatic and terrestrial systems.  In addition, students explore how organisms and their populations respond to short and long term environmental changes, including those caused by human activities

Lesson: Using direct statements from the book, compare and contrast the setting and descriptions used in The Underneath with actual documented scientific studies of the area mentioned.  (The southern area of the Sabine River)

Rapunzel's Revenge

Hale, S., Hale, D., & Hale, N. (2008). Rapunzel's revenge. New York, N.Y.: Bloomsbury.

Rapunzel's Revenge is a western take off the classic Rapunzel fairy tale.  Rapunzel is stolen from her mother and raised by Gothel, a woman who rules with an iron fist.  When Rapunzel finds her true mother, Gothel locks her away in a tree tower. Rapunzel spends years planning her escape as her hair continually grows.  She is finally able escape and with the help of a new friend, seeks to save her biological mother and revenge of Gothel while facing one obstacle after another.

T.E.K.S.: Recognize recurring phrases and characters in traditional fairy tales, lullabies, and folktales from various cultures.

Lesson  Idea:  Have students take other traditional fairy tales and adapt the characters and story to another genre.

Lunch Lady and the Cyborg Substitute

Krosoczka, J. (2009). Lunch lady and the cyborg substitute. New York: Alfred A. Knopf.

In this first book in this graphic novel series,  the Lunch Lady is suspicious of the new substitute teacher.  Along with her colleague Betty, they discover that the science teacher has created an army of cyborg robots to replace the school faculty with so he can win the coveted Teacher of the Year title.  A parallel story follows along as the children of the school want to know what the Lunch Lady does outside of school and their path ultimately cross with devastating consequences for one character.

Book Trailer: http://youtu.be/e-_fAyoWQTc

Extreme Babymouse

Holm, J. L., & Holm, M. (2013). Babymouse. New York: Random House.

Everyone at Babymouse's school is going snowboarding for the weekend.  When Babymouse's family if offered a cabin on Snowy Mountain for the weekend, the "extreme" snowboarding is on.  Follow along with Babymouse through her first experience learning how to balance and snowboarding down her first hill.  Does she listen to her inner voice and take it slow?








If you liked Extreme Babymouse, check out these other titles:

Lunch Lady and the Cyborg Substitute: Lunch Lady :1 by Jarrett J. Krosoczka
Holm, J. L., & Holm, M. (2013). Babymouse. New York: Random House.

 Fashion Kitty and the Unlikely Hero by Charise Mercle Harper
Harper, C. M. (2008). Fashion Kitty and the unlikely hero. New York: Disney-Hyperion.

The Invention of Hugo Cabret

Selznick, B. (2007). The invention of Hugo Cabret: a novel in words and pictures. New York: Scholastic Press.

 Hugo Cabret is an orphan and is taken in by his drunk uncle who is a timekeeper at the Paris train station.  When Hugo's uncle dies, Hugo strives to balance survival with his love of making and fixing gadgets without being noticed.  When he is caught stealing from the toy booth in the train station,  Hugo life and dreams will change forever as mysterious findings connect all the unknowns in Hugo's life. Told through narrative and illustrations, Hugo is a unique novel that will make you seek another like it.

Book Trailer: http://youtu.be/vUnzS9Tguf8