The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane by Kate DiCamillo

This book reminds me of The Velveteen Rabbit. It has the same kind of gentle sensibility to it.  Edward Tulane is a ceramic rabbit that thinks very, very highly of himself. He goes through a series of adventures that teach him humility and love.  A wonderful, quick read. DiCamillo is an excellent author. She made me get all emotional more than once during the reading of this novel.

To This Day: For the Bullied and Beautiful by Shane Koyczan

I don’t talk much about it anymore, but I was bullied a lot as a kid. The biggest, baddest kid in the school didn’t like me. A small Catholic school where most of the other students had been in the same class since kindergarten and I was the new kid in sixth grade. It hurt. It still hurts.

That is the message behind this short book by Shane Koyczan. The wounds from being bullied never go away completely. They affect us “to this day.” In reading the poem I had flashbacks to what it was like for me. In reading his experiences I saw my own.
This is an amazingly poignant and heartfelt piece of spoken word poetry. It was illustrated by around thirty different artists who took turns making visual images to go with the words. This is similar to the video that was animated by many artists, but not identical.

I will find a copy or two or three of this and add them to my personal and classroom libraries. I urge you to read it as soon as you can.

Big Nate: Say Good-Bye to Dork City by Lincoln Peirce

My daughter turned me on to the Big Nate books. She loves them. I had seen some of the kids in my classes reading them, too. So I tried some of them. And I got a lot of good laughs. The Big Nate books seem to come in two types: long-form graphic novels and series of shorter comic strips. This one is the shorter comic strips.

From sadistic soccer coaches to health food Halloweens, Nate and his friends rock the sixth grade life. In the central set of strips, Nate works his way into the posse of the coolest kid in school. There he learns that getting what you want is sometimes a double-edged sword.

It is a quick, light read. It is fun and enjoyable. If you have read Big Nate before, there won’t be any bad surprises. If you haven’t read Big Nate yet, it is a good introduction. This one goes into my classroom library.

The Misadventures of Salem Hyde: Spelling Trouble by Frank Cammuso

This was a cute little graphic novel. I read it because my daughter had it and I wanted to see what she was reading for fun. Frankly, for me, it was very reminiscent of Sabrina, the Teen-Aged Witch, but with a younger title character.

Salem is not too popular at school. She wants to show what she can do. When she hears of a spelling contest, she immediately wants to participate. It is only after signing up that she realizes that is for spelling words, not casting magic spells.

Highjinks ensue as misspelled words cause teachers to transform. With Salem trying her best to reverse the curse.

Not recommended for adults or older teens. A toss-up for kids and younger teens. I found it a bit predictible.