Khristina's Book Blog

I read  Star Wars The Clone Wars: Watch out for Jabba the Hutt by Simon Beecroft. This book hasn't received any major awards, but just the fact of it being a Star Wars book means it's written to get kids engaged in reading. The book is about Anakin, a Jedi, and at the beginning he warns us to watch out for Jabba the Hutt. Through the book, the reader is introduced to Anakin's friends, and also his enemies. In the end, the reader officially meets Jabba the Hutt, and learns that he can never be trusted and, ultimately, to watch out him. The appropriate grade level for this book would be kindergarten to second grade. This book is a level 1: beginning to read book, but I think these type of books are super important because they incorporate children's interests at a level they are able to read and understand. I also think it would be great to introduce students to the concept of Star Wars being science fiction, and that there are other books that are similar that they mig...

I read  Star Wars The Clone Wars: The New Padawan adapted by Eric Stevens from the movie: Star Wars: The Clone Wars.  I think the appropriate grade level for this book would be first grade to fourth grade. The book is about a battle against the Separatist. The main characters are Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi. They are overwhelmed with the amount of droids the Separatists have. A Padawan, Ahsoka, is sent to be trained by Anakin who didn't want an apprentice. However, by the end of the book, Ahsoka has proved herself to Anakin by helping in the battle against the Separatists that Anakin agrees to train her. This book hasn't received any major awards, but Star Wars is super popular among boys. This book would become very useful in the classroom for encouraging those boys to read if they can read something they're interested in.

I read Among the Hidden by Margaret Peterson Haddix. Along with Haddix being a  New York Times  bestselling author, this book also received the California Young Readers medal along with many other recognitions and awards. This book's main character is a boy named Luke who lives with his mom, dad, and two older brothers, Matthew and Mark. However, the government has made a law that each family is only allowed two children. So, Luke lives every moment of his life in hiding. Luke is a shadow child. Luke's family live on a farm in the middle of the woods, so if Luke was cautious he was allowed to be outside and help in the barn. However, when Luke was twelve the government came in and cleared out the woods for new houses. Luke wasn't allowed to look out the window, let alone go outside. Luke stays in the attic, and discovers a vent that he can look out to observe the neighbors. Luke catches a glimpse of a third child in the window of the neighbor's house, so he decides to g...

I read The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. This book by Suzanne Collins was recognized by the New York Times as #1 Best Seller and Notable Children's Book of 2008 along with many other awards and recognitions. The book's main character is a teen girl named Katniss Everdeen. Katniss lives with her mom and younger sister in the country of Panem, which is ran by the Capitol, in the twelfth of twelve districts. Every year there is something called The Reaping which is where a boy and a girl are randomly picked from each district to participate in the Hunger Games. The Hunger Games, is a blood-thirsty, last man standing battle broadcasted for everyone to watch. The Gamemaker is over the hunger games, and his job is to make the games interesting for the audience. In district 12, Katniss' sister is chosen, but Katniss volunteers to take her place along with Peeta Mellark as the boy. The middle dives into all the pre-game traditions that Katniss and Peeta hate, but Peeta has fee...

I read the book Interrupting Chicken by David Ezra Stein. This book is a Caldecott Honor Book. This book is an animal fantasy because both of the main characters are chickens who talk. The story is about how Papa is reading Little Red Chicken a story to get him to fall asleep. However, Little Red Chicken keeps interrupting the bedtime stories with this creative, alternative ending. In the end, Little Red Chicken tells Papa a story that ends up making Papa fall asleep. This is a super cute book, and the repetitive nature of the book makes it interactive for kids. I think the appropriate grade level for this book would be pre-k to second grade. One way I would use this book in my classroom would be to introduce the idea of creating alternative endings. The assignment would be for each student to pick their favorite book, but to add their own creative ending. I would encourage them to be the authors and illustrators of their new book.