Willow Springs

Title: Not Norman
Author : Kelly Bennett
Topic: As a boy attempts to convince someone else to take his disappointing pet, he learns to love Norman the goldfish himself.
Grades: 1-3

Comments: Classes enjoyed the book because of the subject and we opened it up to discuss their pets, and it teaches that sometimes we can change our minds after a first impression. Cute book and good illustrations also.

Title: The Wall
Author: Eve Bunting
Topic: Viet Nam Memorial
Grades: All

Comments: We read this book to help students understand the reason we have Memorial Day. We explained the difference between Veteran’s day and Memorial day. Many students shared stories of relatives that were veterans. We told them this was not a happy book but one worth hearing to make them understand the holiday and its meaning.


Pair and Share Topic:

We chose 3 new books to highlight: The War Horse by Michael Murpurgo, My Last Skirt by Lynda Durrant and Someone Named Eva by Joan Wolf. We read a synopsis of the books and discussed historical fiction and the setting for each book. Many inquired if they could check these out and we still have students asking for these books weeks after we discussed them!