Friday, May 21, 2010

Falling in by Frances O'Roark Dowell


What is that buzzing sound? Isabelle Bean hears the buzzing, it sounds like it is coming through the floor. No one else hears it! Isabelle can't figure out what makes her different from the other kids at her school. She also has a way of irritating her teachers - but she is not sure why. As Isabelle tells us in her story Falling In "Teacher's colleges had equipped them to handle nose pickers, fire starters, back talkers, hitters, biters, and whiners. But quiet girls who weren't shy, girls who talked in riddles but were never actually rude, girls who simply refused to comb those confounded bangs out of their eyes, well, girls like that were beyond them." So Isabelle heard, "Isabelle Bean! To the principal's office!" more than she liked. On this particular day when Isabelle was sent to the principal's office she found herself hearing the buzzing sound and then voices in her head. She thought it was coming from the nurse's office. When she entered the nurse's office she found a girl standing on a chair, because there was a mouse! Isabelle tried to find a broom to swish the mouse and when she opened the custodian's closet ... Isabelle Bean FELL IN! What is this mysterious place she has entered? The people all seem normal ... but she soon finds out there is a witch in this world, one that kills children!! Yikes, what will happen to Isabelle? Read this captivating story, Isabelle's story, and find out.
Check out the author's website.

Saturday, May 15, 2010

Roscoe Riley Rules #1: Never Glue Your Friends to Chairs by Katherine Applegate


Poor Roscoe Riley, as we begin this story he is in the time-out corner. He will explain everything! Roscoe Riley is a first grader who gets into situations, in his words he is "just a normal, everyday kid who sometimes gets in trouble." In book #1 - the kids in Roscoe's class are getting ready for a performance at school, but they cannot sit still. Roscoe's teacher is worried about all the squirming and Roscoe comes up with a plan. From the title we can tell Roscoe may be in a bit of trouble for his plan...Never Glue Your Friends to Chairs. Check out Roscoe and his classmates in this easy chapter book series for our independent readers. So far there are 7 books in the series, with more to come...what are Roscoe's Rules?