I'm Dead At Recess

Please visit the following link to view the book on the Tumblebooks Library Website:
http://www.tumblebooks.com/library/asp/full_book.asp?ProductID=2

Tumblebooks are online interactive storybooks. They feature narrated read alouds, an interactive story pad where you can follow along as the words are being read, as well as animated graphics and illustrations which bring your favorite characters to life.

If your kids act up like mine do, then here's the perfect story for them. Told in poetic verse, it's a terror-filled rhyme of how one boy's antics cause him to live in fear as he counts down the hours to his demise. Once your kids get a load of this, they may think twice about getting out of line.

The Pendragon Series

"I hope you're reading this Mark. Heck, I hope anybody's reading this because the only thing that's keeping me from going off my nut right now is getting this all down on paper so that someday when it's all over, it'll help prove that I'm not a total whack job."

I, Bobby Pendrake, just got ripped out of my earthly existance to travel to this place called Denduron. All so I can save a society of people that I don't even know. Now my house is gone. The house I grew up in for 15 years of my life. isAnd the only family I have left my Uncle Press...the one who started this whole mess in the first place. But I can't really blame him since we were chased to Denduron by his archnemesis, Saint Dane. Besides, I've met a lot of cool people along the way. People like Loor, a powerful female warrior whose around my age. She taught me to believe in myself and my abilities. I could never have stood up to Saint Dane if it weren't for her.

But that's not important now. The important thing is that I'm a traveler. Jumping between worlds. The only people who know are my best friend Mark and Courtney Chetwine. THE Courtney Chetwine who kissed me for the first time on the same day this whole thing started. They read my journals whenever I can send them through the porthole.

I want you to read my journals too. Spread them around to as many people as you can. Let people know that there are other worlds out there. Worlds outside of the small box that most people stuff themselves in!

MacHale, D.J. (2002). New York, NY: Simon and Schuster Books for Young Readers.

The Composition

Pedro has to write a composition during class about what his family does from the time he gets home to the time he goes to sleep. What a strange topic. It's even stranger that his regular teacher has been replaced by Captain Romo, a government soldier. When Pedro gets home, his parents react very strangely.
Will they get in trouble with the government and disappear just like Don Daniel, Pedro's best friend's dad?

Welcome to life in a dictatorship. What would your students do if they were in Pedro's place? How would their lives change if the government took over your school? Have your students write a composition like Pedro's, but don't tell them why until the end of class. Would they change what they wrote if they knew?

Teach your students about different types of governments by having them live through it. It's sure to be a lesson they won't forget!

Skarmata, A. & Ruano, A. (2000). The Composition. Berkeley, CA: Groundwood Books.

Fever 1793

Philidelphia, 1793.

It's the middle of summer and the heat is unbearable. The once thriving city is deserted. Our coffeeshop, my only home, been ransacked by thieves. Yellow ribbons flutter about on doors and gates signaling certain death for those inside. Corpses have been flung outside of doors and windows. All because the families had to wait for the ominous bell ringer yelling "bring out your dead!" before they could be carted away without even being given a proper burial. All we can hope to do is wait until the frost when the sickness goes away and the people come back to the city. But will we survive until then?

Fever 1793 is a poignant historical account of the yellow fever epidemic during the Revolutionary period in American history. Each chapter takes an excerpt from famous documents of the 1700s and explores them at length through the eyes of Matilda. This book could be used for any subject in the curriculum. Perhaps a scientific study on how plagues are spread? Or a literary study on the multiple perspectives offered from the various tracts?

Whatever you decide, this book is sure to capture the attention and emotions of your students as it puts them in the shoes of someone who has lived through it all and lived to tell about it.

Anderson, L.H. (2000). Fever 1793. New York: Aladdin Paperbacks.

Manga Shakespeare Series: Hamlet

To be or not to be?

Can Shakespeare survive the modern era?

"The year is 2107. Global climate change has devastated the earth. This is now a cyberworld in constant dread of war. Prince Hamlet of Denmark has come home to face an uncertain future...."


Believe it or not, it's the classic story of Hamlet that remains true to Shakespearean literature. However, this is one adaption that you'll have to see to believe. Indeed, seeing is the key factor here. The manga Shakespeare series puts the plots of Shakespeare's most famous plays in plain sight using classic japanese animation to hook the reader in like never before. Just flipping through these books is more than enough to pique your curiousity.

While these books hardly do justice to the original plays of this famous bard, this series is still incredibly useful for students who struggle with his work.
I would recommend keeping them on hand in the classroom for students as a reference tool. Perhaps older students would be interested in a comparison critique between the original play and adapted manga version!

However you chose to use it, it is still one of the best ways to give our apathetic students an exciting look into the underbelly of the beast that is Shakespeare.

Emma Vieceli (Illus.). (2007). Manga Shakespeare: Hamlet. New York, NY: Amulet Books.

Love and Roast Chicken

Meet Cuy the Guinea Pig. All he wants to do is eat his alfafa in peace. But who can do that with Tio Antonio the fox lurking around? Cuy will stop at nothing to trick Tio Antonio out of eating him. Whether it's convincing him the sky is falling or getting him to believe he's in love with the farmer's daughter, Tio Antonio always comes out on the losing end.

Love and Roast Chicken is a tale that will charm students with its wit and poignancy. It's the perfect way to introduce your students to trickster tales from around the world. Just between you and me, it's also a good book to read to your students about bullying. They might just learn that a little wit goes a long way. After all, how else could a guinea pig triumph over a fox?

Knutson, B. (2004). Love and Roast Chicken: A Trickster Tale From the Andes Mountains. Minneapolis, MN: Carolrhoda Books Inc.