#VickPicks: August 2020
Time for some book love once again! Here are my PB/MG/YA/adult #VickPicks for August! Picture Book: The very best book for the end of summer or a new school year or anytime you have to do something a little scary: JABARI JUMPS by Gaia Cornwall. (The illustrations are a master class in perspective!) Middle Grade: […]
See more
#VickPicks: July 2020
Time for some book love! Here are my PB/MG/YA/adult #VickPicks (yes, I just made that up) for July! Picture Book: We adore THE SECRET RHINO SOCIETY by Jonathan E. Jacobs and Samantha Cotterill — and check out this darling printable craft to go with it! Middle Grade: A WISH IN THE DARK, a gorgeous Les […]
See more
Fortunately, the Milk
About the Book: “I bought the milk,” said my father. “I walked out of the corner shop, and heard a noise like this: T h u m m t h u m m. I looked up and saw a huge silver disc hovering in the air above Marshall Road.”“Hullo,” I said to myself. “That’s not something you see […]
See more
Backyard Book Club: James and the Giant Peach Overview
The Backyard Book Club is back in action! For this month’s meeting, the kids read James and the Giant Peach, thanks to a request by one of our members. (Click here for the book spotlight with online resources and other ideas.) We started with a quick talk about what the kids loved best in the book, then went straight […]
See more
James and the Giant Peach
About the Book: When James accidentally drops some magic crystals by the old peach tree, strange things start to happen. The peach at the top of the tree begins to grow, and before long it’s as big as a house. When James discovers a secret entranceway into the fruit and crawls inside, he meets wonderful new […]
See more
Ivy + Bean Break the Fossil Record
About the Book: World record fever grips the second grade, and soon Ivy and Bean are trying to set their own record by becoming the youngest people to have ever discovered a dinosaur. But how hard is it to find one? My Two Cents: Ivy and Bean are spunky and clever and appeal to both boys and […]
See more
Horten’s Miraculous Mechanisms
About the Book: As if being small for his age and also having “S. Horten” as his name isn’t bad enough, now 10-year-old Stuart is forced to move far away from all his friends. But on his very first day in his new home, Stuart’s swept up in an extraordinary adventure: the quest to find his great-uncle […]
See more
The Brilliant Fall of Gianna Z.
About the Book: Gianna Z has less than one week to collect, identify, and creatively display 25 leaves for her science project—or else she won’t be able to compete in the upcoming cross-country race. As the deadline for her leaf project draws near, life keeps getting in the way. Some things are within Gee’s control, like […]
See more
Alvin Ho: Allergic to Girls, School, and Other Scary Things
About the Book: ALVIN HO is an Asian American second grader who is afraid of everything—elevators, tunnels, girls, and, most of all, school. He’s so afraid of school that, while he’s there, he never, ever, says a word. But at home he’s a very loud superhero named Firecracker Man, a brother to Calvin and Anibelly, and a […]
See more
Zero Tolerance
About the Book: Seventh-grader Sierra Shepard has always been the perfect student, so when she sees that she accidentally brought her mother’s lunch bag to school, including a paring knife, she immediately turns in the knife at the school office. Much to her surprise, her beloved principal places her in in-school suspension and sets a hearing for her expulsion, citing the […]