My Hometown, Fairy trees, and a touch of Charisma. It's Monday, What Are You Reading? July 6, 2015

It's Monday! What are you Reading is a meme began by Sheila at Book Journeys as a way to share what you read and/or reviewed the previous week and what is in store for the upcoming week. It's also a great chance to see what others are reading. I first learned about it from Jen at Teach Mentor Texts and Kellee and Ricki of Unleashing Readers and have become a regular linked up blog. Thanks #PLN



My Hometown by Russell Griesmer

A nearly wordless tale of a boy who finds a magical newspaper that transports him through the 150 years of his town's history. The story is told through changing images and colors beginning in antique sepia tones and slowly evolving into bright colorful fall colors. I have a sneaking suspicion that the statue of the apparent town's founder may be behind the time travel newspaper. Wordless picture books are excellent tools in the classroom as they prompt rich discussion among students offering their own interpretations.

 

See my review of Piper Green and the Fairy Tree by Ellen Potter here
I really like this new early chapter book series. Imagine riding a school boat instead of a school bus. How cool!

 

My YA read this week in preparation of our 2016 Teen Bookfest by the Bay 
I had to postpone reading Charisma but have picked it up again. I really hope Jeanne Ryan is included in our author line up.  Charisma is intriguing and thought provoking.

I am reading many more books here and there as I catalog books for my library but these are the highlights this week.

Piper Green and the Fairy Tree

Author, Ellen Potter, has a new early chapter book series coming out in August 2015 based on a young girl named Piper who lives on the remote island of Peek-a-Boo where she has discovered a magical fairy tree. Below are reviews of the first two books in the series.

Visit Ellen Potter's author web site

Piper Green and the Fairy Tree by Ellen Potter

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Piper Green lives with most of her family on a remote island called Peek-a-Boo where she has to travel to school by lobster boat with her bug eating little brother, Leo. Piper desperately misses her older brother, Eric, who is off living at school on the mainland so she has taken to wearing his old earmuffs to comfort herself. When Piper's new teacher insists she remove the earmuffs, Piper rebels by skipping school the next day. While hiding from her mom, Piper discovers two tiny kittens inside a mysterious fairy tree. Piper's luck takes a good turn when she begins to explore the magic of the fairy tree.

Piper Green and the Fairy Tree is just the right sort of book series for kids moving into early chapter books. The chapters are short which will thrill kids who like to tell everyone how quickly they are reading a book.



View all my reviews

Piper Green and the Fairy Tree: Too Much Good Luck by Ellen Potter

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Piper Green continues to get herself into mischief in this absolutely charming sequel to Piper Green and the Fairy Tree. In Too Much Good Luck, Piper is having a great day with three very lucky things happening to her. While three's a charm, a fourth lucky event shifts her luck into bad and life for Piper begins to sour. Is Piper doomed to bad luck or will the fairy tree come to her rescue once again?

I really enjoyed the first Piper Green book but I loved this one even more. The characters were more fully developed and Potter provided us chances to get to know each family member a bit better. Piper is a mix of many mischievous kids I know and even when she was behaving naughty, I still understood her motives and reasoning for doing so.