The Parker Inheritance

Now this was a book I REALLY enjoyed! There were so many different layers to this one for a middle grade reader. I did have a couple of concerns as well, but the overall effect of the book was great. This is a mystery, which I honestly didn't realize when I started it. It is told both in the present and with flashbacks to the past... very well done. I even liked the little detail of making the pages of the book with those parts different colours with the flashback pages being a sort of grey colour. The flashbacks not only give us insight into the mystery, but also into a period in the southern US (a lot of it in the 1950s) when relations between blacks and white was even more divided and strained than it is currently... or at least different for sure. 

Yes, this is a mystery and it does get solved, but it's so much more than that! There are discussions to be had on friendship, family, secrets, identity, sexuality, race and racism, and so much more. There is a lot packed into this book for sure and so many great discussions that I think would come out of this story!

My concerns were that there are a lot of characters to keep track of and some kids might lose interest because of that. When the flashbacks first started in the book and more people were being introduced, I felt like I needed to start a sociogram to keep track of them all for myself even! The other thing was that there were times were the mystery itself seemed to be "solved" through the flashbacks themselves (where the 2 main characters aren't even there) or that there were leaps in conclusion with the problem solving of the mystery. Now, I totally get it, but there were a few points where I went back and reread bits to see if I missed how they got from one point to another, but I hadn't; it just wasn't clearly explained. I don't think this will bother kids at all and they'll just keep reading. 

Overall... 

Happy Reading,

Mrs. Heidrich

Morning book lovers!

OK, so yesterday, I mentioned I had read a couple of books, so here they are...

This is a graphic novel and not something I would typically read honestly. I'm trying to expand my horizons both by reading more graphic novels and with topic content that I might not normally read. I didn't know a lot about this other than it came recommended to me. I have to admit that it was pretty darn good! I felt like I had more and more questions as the book went on and then, at the end, I was left hanging! Ahhhhh... now I have to try and get the second book. I just saw there is another book in the series that actually takes place before the first book that will fill in more background I guess. Looks like maybe that one is only available online though. I will say this is more in the YOUNG ADULT category though for reading!

This is the other book I read and it was AMAZING! It's actually a poem written by Kwame Alexander and then combined with amazing illustrations by Kadir Nelson. There is a lot of additional information in the back of the book as well to fill in some of what readers may not know about people in the book. So powerful. Highly recommend!

Happy Reading,

Mrs. Heidrich

What I'm reading...

Good morning,

It has been a few days since I posted about anything I've been reading, so I thought I'd better pop in and share. I'm actually reading 3 books right now: a middle grade reader, a young adult and a professional development book for teachers!

This is the middle grade novel.

This is the young adult (though would probably be fine for Grade 7s as well!).

And this is the professional development book about creating equality in education. 

I did actually finish a couple of books as well, but I need to get a few things done here on a timeline, so I'll be back let you know about those!

Happy Reading,

Mrs. Heidrich

Two more books read!

This is a really sweet story of a boy and a donkey named Winslow. I'm not going to give too much detail about the story, but it was a fairly quick and easy read and had a lot of "feels". Honestly, I tend to like my stories with a bit of grit, for a lack of a better word, but this isn't that type of story. I know a ton of students who will fall in love with this one! Can't wait to share it in the new year!

The second book I just finished is a middle grade reader called "One Speck of Truth" be Caela Carter. She also wrote "Forever, or a Long, Long Time " which some of you may have read. This is about a girl going into Grade 6 that lives with her mum and was told her Dad passed away when she was very young, so she has no memories of him. It's a story of friendship, growth, truth, love and its complications on many levels, family, and figuring out who you are. I really enjoyed this one and it has more of the "grit" factor that I personally like. I also felt like there was a bit of a mystery throughout, but I won't say any more about that... a great read!

Happy Reading,

Mrs. Heidrich

"Potato Pants" by Laurie Keller

This is a totally fun book about making mistakes and asking for forgiveness that everyone will love! Here's a trailer for you to check out:

This is a book talk for you on this book too!

Happy Reading,

Mrs. Heidrich

"Piranhas Don't Eat Bananas" by Aaron Blabey

Some of you might remember "Pig the Pug" or know "The Bad Guys" series and this book was written by the same author. It's a fun rhyming book about a piranha trying to convince his friends to try some fruit and veggies! Full of great pictures and fun language that you'll love!

If you want to see Aaron Blabey, watch the video below where he reads his own book "Thelma the Unicorn" that I know some of you also know!

Happy Reading,

Mrs. Heidrich

"Alma and How She Got Her Name"

I loved this picture book! Someone recommended it to me a while ago and I hadn't had time to read it, but I'm so glad I did. This really is the story of how this little girl named Alma got her name. Many of us have stories about our names, but not everyone actually knows their story. I think this would really hit home with a lot of students, especially those whose names are maybe a little "different". Regardless of your name and how common or uncommon it is, I bet there's a story to it! Do you know the story of your name?

Here is an interview with the author: 

You can watch her draw Alma!

Happy Reading!

Mrs. Heidrich

Another Mo Willems book!

The following video is about the creation of the story in the words of both the author and the illustrator.

Happy Reading!

Mrs. Heidrich

A NEW Pigeon book!!

Yes, Mo Willems has done it again and written another wonderfully fun Pigeon book about going back to school. I can't wait to be able to share this with all my students this coming September as it's about all the worries kids have about going to school and is a fun way of talking about some of those feelings. I'll be sure to have this one for the first week back!!

Happy Reading!

Mrs. Heidrich

What are you reading?

OK, so I started another book and have read about 60% of that, but it's an adult book, so I won't post it here. I'd love to hear about what you're reading these days though!

I'm going to continue on with "One Speck of Truth" today hopefully! I keep thinking about it!

Happy Reading!

Mrs. Heidrich

Finished one... started one!

I'll start with the one I finished first and I'm sad to say that I didn't like it as much as I was hoping to. Maybe my hopes we too high because of how much I loved "Fish in a Tree", but this book didn't come together for me like Fish did. I found it slow at points and it took me a while to even get into it. I loved some parts of it, but could have done without as much of the detailed fishing/clamming explanations. I know those things are part of where they're living, but it was a bit too much for me. 

I think it took me a long time to care about the main character... too long. I loved all the connections she had with people, but at times, maybe it seemed like there were too many people? I think I grew to really like the Ronan character before I did Delsie. I will say that the author's notes as the end of the book brought some things together for me that even the ending of the book didn't. 

This is the post she made with some hints if you want to see as well:  https://lyndamullalyhunt.wordpress.com/2019/05/07/anagram-hints-for-shouting-at-the-rain-and-some-other-cool-name-stuff/

I ended up giving this a 3.5 out of 5 as far as stars go!

Now, I mentioned that I also started one yesterday! I'm already about a third through this one and I'm really enjoying it. The girl in the story is being raised by a single mum because her dad passed away when she was young. Her mum was remarried for a while, but he's now gone too and the thing is that her mum won't seem to answer any of her questions... and she has lots of questions. And now, about a third of the way through the book, they're suddenly moving. A lot going on in this one for sure and I found that I cared and connected almost immediately to the girl in this story: Alma.

Will let you know what I think!
Happy Reading!
Mrs. Heidrich

Reading, reading and so many book to read!

Good morning!

I sure am enjoying the first week of my summer holidays and I have definitely been busy reading! I'm really savouring the time I have to slow down a bit and enjoy the stories I'm reading. I started and finished a book yesterday

Though I didn't read this in one sitting, I think I did read it over 2 days and it was really, really good! I love that it's based on a true story and there is information about the real wolf at the end of the story along with some general information about wolves and resources for further information as well. 

The story is about a wolf called Swift that is part of a pack, but get separated from them and has to try to survive on his own. He deals with all kinds of adventure and faces all kinds of challenges. Through the story, you end up learning a lot about wolves, their habitat and way of life just from the way the story is written! So enjoyable! Read it!

Now, I am adding this here as I read it in one sitting last night and it was excellent (for me), but it's a YOUNG ADULT novel and not for younger kids. It's possible that some students going into high school might be ready for this this, so I'd adding it here as an option too. 

This was written by Australian siblings and while I know this won't be for everyone, I LOVED it! It's told from the point of view of a couple of characters and one of them writes in verse, so that will put some people off I'd imagine. This was simply a story I couldn't put down and was just wanting to see what happened and how it would all come together. Amazing! It's a book I'd like to go back and reread now that I know what happened because I'm pretty sure some thing would make more sense or I would see them differently reading and knowing the ending of the story.

And if you're ever looking for a place to check out book reviews if you're not sure something is right for you, you might want to check out Common Sense Media. They do book reviews as well as movie reviews! They give you information about all kinds of things related to books you might want to read) like...

There are also written reviews from the people on the site as well as parents and kids themselves. This is a great resource!

Happy Reading!

Mrs. Heidrich

Reading 2 right now... not finished!

Morning everyone! I'm reading two books right now that I'm really enjoying, so I'll let you know what they are and then tell you a little more about them once I'm finished!

As it says right on the cover, this is by the same author that wrote a book that I know many of us love already, "Fish in a Tree". I'm about half way finished this one and it's equally as enjoyable so far!

LOVE that this one is set in the Pacific Northwest and it's based on a real wolf that there is information about at the end of the book... though I'm not there yet!

Happy Reading,

Mrs. Heidrich

Extraordinary Birds

This is another middle grade reader that I really enjoyed. It's about an 11 year old girl who is in foster care. She thinks she is going to become a bird and really be able to fly away at some point. The story is about her learning about herself as well as family and friendship. 

The line on the front of the book is lovely and does a good job of describing this...

"Take flight. Find hope."

I hope you're reading a lot and please comment and let me know what you're reading! Anyone have a recommendation for me?

Happy reading,

Mrs. Heidrich

My first middle grade novel of the summer!

OK, I'm going to recommend 2 actually!

The first is this book called "Wundersmith" by Jessica Townsend and this is the second in a series. The first one was one of the Surrey Schools Books of the Year for this past school year ("Nevermoor: The Trials of Morrigan Crow"). I love the first one and I think the second one might have been better. The hard part is that I now have to wait for another year to read the next one!

The second book I'm going to recommend is "The Miscalculations of Lightening Girl"! I absoltely loved this book about a girl that has a special power (not telling what is is though) and feels like she just doesn't fit in. It's about her learning about who she is and learning about family and friendship along the way. Oh, and if you like animals, there's that added bonus as well! This is a must read!

Happy Reading! I know I'm enjoying mine and have about 4 more books on the go currently! Be back soon to let you know what I thought about them!

Mrs. Heidrich

My first book of summer!

... and it was a great one!

This is called "The Wall in the Middle of the Book" and the author is Jon Agee. It's a fun book with great pictures that provides a lot to talk about in this day and age. This would be a great book to read to older students as well as see what discussion come out of it. I can only imagine! 

What are you reading right now? 

I have a few other books I'm reading right now, but they're middle grade books and taking a little longer. I'm devouring the one right now... 

This is the sequel to "Nevermoor: The Trials of Morrigan Crow" and there will be a third book in the series coming in March 2020! I'll have to wait!

Happy Reading!

Mrs. Heidrich