5 Middle Grade Books I'm Excited to Read this Summer

Everyone loves summer reading, but diving right in can be daunting when there's so much out there.  In the name of prioritizing, I've decided to focus my summer reading efforts based off what my students are reading, what's getting great reviews, and what I'm really interested in.  Here are five middle grade books that I'm excited to crack open this summer.

1. The Remarkable Journey of Coyote Sunrise by Dan Gemeinhart
Coyote and her dad have spent the last five years living on the road, ever since her mother and sisters died in a car crash.  But when she finds out that her old neighborhood park, where she and her family buried a treasure box, is being demolished, she comes up with a plan to get her dad to drive her all the way back home--all 3,600 miles.  On their journey, they pick up several misfit travelers, all searching for things of their own.  A couple of my students already read this and loved it, and it tackles themes such as resilience, loss, and finding home.

2. Nikki Tesla and the Ferret-Proof Death Ray by Jess Keating and Lissy Marlin
After an incident with her homemade death ray, Nikki Tesla is sent to Genius Academy, where she'll learn how to channel her genius powers without blowing up her bedroom.  But Nikki doesn't want to be there, and refuses to make friends . . . until her death ray is stolen.  Then she must team up with her classmates on a globetrotting adventure to retrieve the death ray, dodge the authorities, and get home safely.  Nikki and her classmates are all based off of famous scientists, and her friends include Charlotte Darwin and Leo da Vinci.  There's information at the back about the real-life Tesla, and according to reviews, the book does a fantastic job integrating art and geography. (coming July 9, 2019)

3. To Night Owl from Dogfish by Holly Goldberg Sloan and Meg Wolitzer
Bett and Avery are very different people, but they have one big thing in common: their single dads have fallen in love with each other, and the girls are being shipped off to sleepaway camp so that they can bond.  Their initial plans to sabotage the whole thing are put on hold when they start to realize that they might be more alike than they thought . . . and they find themselves, along with their dads, on a whole new summer adventure.  This one is full of great plot twists and surprises, and is said to deal with big topics in a lighthearted, sensitive way.  And who doesn't want to read a book set during the summer right now?

4. Front Desk by Kelly Yang
Mia's family is struggling to succeed in the United States since they immigrated from China two years ago.  They think they've gotten their lucky break when they get offered jobs--and a place to live--running a motel in California.  But the motel owner is a nasty man who finds any excuse to dock their pay, and her parents are letting immigrants hide in empty rooms for free.  If they get caught, they're worse than fired.  Meanwhile, Mia decides she wants nothing more than to be a writer . . . but how can she be when English isn't even her first language?

Front Desk has won several awards, including the Asian / Pacific American Award for Children's Literature.  Another cool fact?  The author--who based the book on her own life--went to UC Berkeley at 13 and Harvard Law School at 17.

5. Dragon Pearl by Yoon Ha Lee
13-year-old Min is descended from a line of fox spirits, but she's learned to never use her magic, because the rest of her community doesn't trust fox-magic.  She wants nothing more than to escape her planet, and when news comes that her brother has abandoned his post in the Space Forces to look for the mythical Dragon Pearl, Min is instantly suspicious.  She knows Jun would never leave his team, and so she runs away from home to try to find him.  She learns more about her world and her magic than ever before, and she will have to be braver than she's ever been.  This story has sci fi, magic, roots in Korean mythology, and looks sure to take you on an epic adventure this summer.

10 Great Read Alouds for Pre-K

Ahh, preschool.  Those small children who are equal parts excited and wiggly, and will start wandering around as soon as they're bored.  I have one pre-k class, and I realized fast that what works for kindergarten doesn't always work for pre-k.  Preschool is its own developmental level, and they need to respected as such!  Little kids have short attention spans.  The challenge isn't to figure out how to change that, but to look at how to shape our teaching and resources to fit that.   

When I'm choosing a read aloud for pre-k, I look for three things: 
1. High Engagement 
2. Not too many words 
3. Opportunities to stop and talk 

Here are 10 picture books I feel fit those criteria for our four + under friends!

1. Heads and Tails by John Canty
This guessing book gives a few clues and a simple watercolor of the back half of an animal on one page, revealing the answer and a more detailed painting of the rest of the animal on the next.  Kids will love guessing based off the clues and what they see.  They'll recognize some of their favorite animals and see some new ones, too--and they're guaranteed to want to turn the page. 

2. They All Saw a Cat by Brendan Wenzel

Creative illustrations show what different animals see when they look at the same cat.  Think how different a flea's view is from a fish's or a human's!  Great for teaching perspective and seeing things from another's point of view.

3. Ducks Away! by Mem Fox And Judy Horacek

This is an adorable book about a mama duck crossing a bridge with her five little ducklings--but then one duck gets blown away by the wind and lands in the river!  Count the ducks as they cross the bridge, join their sibling in the river, and finally reunite.  Not only are the illustrations cute and simple, Fox and Horacek's book is perfect for basic counting and very basic addition and subtraction practice.  My pre-k'ers loved shouting DUCKS AWAY! while we read this, too.

4. A Parade of Elephants by Kevin Henkes

This story has the sweetest illustrations.  Count the elephants and practice directions with them as they march back and forth, to and fro, morning to night.  The soft colors and lovely ending make for a perfect bedtime read.

5. Press Here by Hervé Tullet

What child doesn't love an interactive book?  They get to press, shake, clap, and more to make things happen to the dots on the page.  Extra fun if you have the big book version.

6. Beautiful Oops by Barney Salzberg

All about creativity, and the joys of making mistakes, Beautiful Oops lends itself to talking about trying new things, making mistakes, and not giving up.  It's also a jumping off point for about ten different craft projects.

7. The Girl Who Never Made Mistakes by Mark Pett and Gary Rubinstein

My pre-k class loved talking about the story of Beatrice Bottomwell, who has never, ever made a mistake.  But one day she does make one--in front of EVERYONE! What will she do?  Can she move on?  Is a mistake the end?

8. Not a Box by Antoinette Portis

A rabbit is playing with box, but it's NOT a box.  It's a race car, a burning building, a rocketship--whatever she wants it to be!  All about the power of imagination and a reminder to see the potential in the mundane.  Keep a few boxes on hand to let the kids play after.

9. Hey, Water! by Antoinette Portis

A little girl starts looking for water in all its forms, making this story an excellent way to introduce the water cycle and scientific process to very young readers.  Portis' illustrations feature bright brushstrokes and will help students recognize new things in their world.

10. Earth! My First 4.54 Billion Years by Stacy McAnulty and David Litchfield

Another one for the science lovers, or anyone wanting to know how the world works (which is just about every kid, right?).  The drawings are adorable, but every planet and other object featured are recognizable and accurate.  The book also shows the planets' sizes in comparison to each other, their distance from the sun, and how they move.  Students will be able to learn a lot about the universe by looking at the pictures, and the simple text is also fabulous.

These are ten of my favorites--what would you add?