Last week I shared what was in my pile to read next.  I hoped that if I told you I would read those four books, I would make time to get them done, but school is starting and I didn’t find the time for all of them.

Here’s what I did read that I think you’d like too.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I really like Melonhead.  He makes me laugh.  When I am reading I know things aren’t going to work out – (I thought, “Oh, please make the deliveries first.  Just do it and then go watch.  Oh, you really have to.”  Knowing, of course, that he and Sam would not do that.) – and I can totally understand the reason for the choices they make.  Melonhead is all about doing and working really hard to keep out of trouble so his mom doesn’t have to worry about him.  His dad travels often an in Melonhead and the Undercover Operation he gives Adam a list called The Melon Family Guidelines for Life that he hopes will help Adam and his mom stay calm.  Its a list of 9 actions to consider and take like 2. plan ahead or 4. when in doubt, ask an adult or 8. remember the ways of ladies.  These G’s for L replace the Remind -o-rama with do’s rather than don’ts – and they sort of smooth things out.  Melonhead works very hard to follow them but that can be difficult when you take being a Junior Special Agent for the FBI seriously and you feel certain that the newly posted person on the 10 Most Wanted Criminals in the country lives in your neighborhood.

The characters are terrific – even if they only make a cameo appearance in this book.  The actions are laugh out loud, but not outrageous.  I don’t know which I like best: the human periscopes or the old lady disguises.  I like how Adam and Sam have friend that are girls like Jonique and Lucy Rose and friends that are old like Pops and Madam and Mrs. Wilkins.  And there is a serious side too.  I am glad there are four Melonhead books so far ( a new one is coming out on September 10), along with four Lucy Rose books because these are great characters to have around.

Billy Broccoli is moving into a new house with a new step family and going to a new middle school – the very same school where his mother is principal.  Billy is small for his age – usually the smallest in his class and while he totally loves baseball, he’s not that good.  You see he’s a bit of a klutz.  Right from the start you can tell that things are not going to go smoothly for Billy.  Then enters his neighbor, bully and football star Rod and his ghost, room resident from the early 1900’s, Hoove.  Billy is trying to figure out how to survive in all his new situations and Hoove is trying to receive passing grades from the ghost board so he’ll be able to travel and see the world.  He’s been trying to pass for 99 years and it hasn’t worked yet.  Time runs out when he hits the 100 year mark so Billy and Hoove work to help each other out.  I like how they do it.  At first I wasn’t sure, but the more I read the more I realized they are going to help each other out – one will gain a bit more confidence and the other humility.  I liked  Ghost Buddy – Zero to Hero and I’m looking forward to reading the other two books about these characters.  I am anxious to see how they change and grow.

The last book I read was the sequel to Emily’s Fortune.  In the author’s note at the end of the book Phyllis Reynolds Naylor wrote:  “sometimes after you finish writing a book, you feel as though there’s more to the story and so you write another.  That’s what happened after Emily’s Fortune was published.”  I’m glad she did.  When you read Emily and Jackson Hiding Out you get to find out what happens in Redbud.  Do Emily and Aunt Hilda get along?  Does Jackson join their family, or does he go on West?  Will Uncle Victor leave them alone?  What of the ladies and the prospectors from the stagecoach?  It’s fun to read and find out.  It won’t be what you expect.  Isn’t that one of the best things that can happen in a book!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I have a stack waiting to read:  Mason Dixon Basketball Disasters, Melonehead and the Vegalicious Disaster, Ghost Buddy – Zero to Hero and The Adventures of a South Pole Pig.  The first three are part of different series that I really think are great for third and fourth grade readers.  I hope you’ll read some or all if them.  I have read parts of these series already (see other Monday posts) and I like how real the characters are.  They are ordinary kids with the same kinds of questions worries and wonderings of kids in our classroom and school have.  They help you know you’re not alone.  I plan to take the time to finish them this week so I can tell you what my favorite is.  The last in that list is another “maybe” for first read aloud.  It looks totally different and that’s what is so appealing.  We’ll see.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The book that I finished and hope everyone who is a fantasy fan – and even those who think they are not – will read is, The Golden Door by Emily Rodda.  Her writing is exciting and suspenseful.  She writes so that even though you, as the reader of fantasy,  know some of the things that are bound to happen – the youngest brother is going to be the chosen one, the magic is going to help him at the last minute, some of the ancient ways have been lost or misunderstood – you are not going to know how they will unfold at all.  I love that!

Rye, pure of heart, is the youngest brother living in a land plagued with skimmers.  They come to Weld by night in search of prey – they eat any living thing they can find, human or beast.  Recently the attacks have been more severe and the Warden needs to take action.  He issues a proclamation.  It is a quest. Any man 18 or older who accepts the terms of the quest will leave Dorn by a secret way.  While outside the city they must find and destroy the source of the skimmers.  Upon returning he will become the future leader of Weld.  Rye’s oldest brother, Dirk, is strong, steadfast and a determined leader.  He is 18 and among the first to accept the challenge.  A year later he has not returned.  Sholto, the middle brother, is studious and scientific. Different, but determined as well.    By that time he has turned 18 and is among the second group to go.  Two years later when neither has returned, Rye and his mother move to the Keep because they need the Warden’s protection and support to survive.

Rye can’t bear this life and determines to find his brothers and bring them home.  He also accepts the terms of the quest and is off alone – others no longer believe the quest is possible.  Readers quickly know that though Rye has deceived the Warden by saying he is 18, he has not broken any of the terms of the quest. He has not going to destroy the skimmers and has no desire to become leader.  He has gone to make his family whole again.  Readers also know that Rye is part of something much larger than he realizes.  It seems that he is “the one” who will be able to set things right, but what they are and how that will be done is a mystery.    You’ll be eagerly turning page after page to find out why Rye has been chosen and what he will do to fulfill his destiny.

This is the first in a trilogy.  What is exciting as a reader is knowing I will have to wait to the very last page of the last book in order to find the complete answer to my questions and fully understand the magic and mystery that surrounds Rye.

I did read the Captain Awesome books.  Eugene McGillicudy is definitely “Super Dude’s” biggest fan.  He has all 429 issues of the comic book.  He has formed the Sunnyview Superhero Squad with his best friend Charlie and the class hamster, Turbo.  He’s an ordinary boy, but he knows that evil is always close by.  It is his job to stop evil from doing it evilness and Eugene does a pretty good job.  On Friday I said I’d let you know which was my favorite.  I think Captain Awesome Save the Winter Wonderland might be, but I am glad I read them all.  You don’t have to read them in order, or even all of them, but there are little bits and pieces from each of the books that keep adding up.  I wonder what would happen in our class or in our school if we had a Captain Awesome.  What would you do if there were a person who dressed as a super hero because it made him feel confident and capable of doing the things he felt he needed to do?  Things like winning the spelling bee to defeat the braggy girl who put classmates down and embarrassed them in front of everyone or like diving into the deep end of the pool for the first time.

Check out the Captain Awesome website –  Don’t miss the trailer.  It is fun.

I’m also looking for the first read aloud for our class.  I think I may have found it in 8 Class Pets + 1 Squirrel ÷ 1 Dog = Chaos.  Twitch, the Squirrel lives in the trees outsider a school.  He begins the story be explaining how much fun he has on the jungle gyms people leave in their yards for him often centered around a snack bar.  While he’s telling about this new “spinney disc” he loses track of time and gets chased away by a swooping owl.  Twitch runs to escape the owl, but unfortunately scampers across a dog’s nose.  The dog takes up the chase and, desperate to escape, Twitch runs through the open door of a school.  The dog runs in too, but being evening the custodian puts the ladder away, shuts the door and leaves for the night.  Twitch and the dog are shut in and the chase is still on.  The classroom pet of the room where the action of the chase is taking place tells each chapter – there are eight.  You’ll be eagerly reading to the end to find out how it all works out.  You’ll be laughing and shaking your head in surprise.

I also may have found the first read aloud in Emily’s Fortune.  I am still in the middle of this suspenseful, funny adventure so I’m not sure.  Emily’s just trying to make it to Aunt Hilda’s in Redbud.  She is trying to stay out of the clutches of Miss Catchum of Catchum Child Services and I’m happily reading to find out if she does.  All the while wondering how Jackson might help, why having a turtle named Rufus is important and bad things what Uncle Victor is up to.  If you have a chance to read either of these books let me know what you think – is it a good book to begin the year with?  Let me know.  In the meantime, what are you reading?