Unidentified Suburban Object

by Mike Jung

Jung, M. (2016). Unidentified suburban object.  New York, NY: Arthur A. Levine Books.

Soon to be seventh grader Chloe Cho and her family are the only Koreans in her entire town.  In fact they're the only Asians in her whole town, and she's getting really tired of people who think all Asians are only either Chinese or Japanese and they can't even tell the difference. And don't even get her started on Asian stereotypes or compare her to world famous violinist Abigail Yang!  Luckily she has her best friend Shelly who is also a super smart teacher's pet, in the band, and loves the fact that Chloe is Korean, to keep her sane.  But, this year could be different.  This year Chloe has a new teacher, Ms. Lee, who is new to the area and is also Korean.  This is just fantastic.  You see, anytime Chloe broaches the subject of her family's history or being from Korea, her parents ALWAYS change the subject.  Whether it's something deep like about family members or their past, or something more fun like food or clothing, Chloe can never get a straight answer from them and it is infuriating.  Perhaps this new teacher will provide Chloe with some of the information she so desperately seeks.  Of course it's also possible that her search for answers will lead her to a family history that she never could have expected!  After Ms. Lee accuses Chloe of plagiarism on a story about their family history, an angry Chloe confronts her father about the story he told her.  Together, Chloe's parents explain to her that they are in fact NOT from Korea, but are aliens from the planet Tau Ceti.  This revelation leads Chloe down a path of denial, self destruction, and a lot more questions than answers.  Can Chloe and Shelly's friendship survive?  Will Chloe finally find self acceptance?  Read 2017-2018 Texas Bluebonnet Nominee Unidentified Suburban Object to find out.  Recommended for grades 4-8.

Book Trailer for Unidentified Suburban Object

Discussion Guide for Unidentified Suburban Object

Interview with Author Mike Jung

The Best Man

by Richard Peck

Peck. R. (2016).  The best man.  New York, NY: Dial Books for Young Readers.

     Archer is the best man in his uncle's wedding, who just happens to be marrying his new student teacher; another man. Of course before he can tell this story, he has to take you back to the first wedding he was in... where he ripped his pants, had to walk down the aisle exposing his bottom, and met his very best friend Lynette.  Archer recounts his years in elementary school through a humorous narrative that all students will be able to relate to.  There are the bullies, the teachers (both the great and not so much), the student from another country, oh, and the incident that brought out the SWAT team and local news media.  The story progresses through the sixth grade, which used to be part of the elementary school, but has now been moved into the high school.  We see much of the expected; growth spurts, attitude changes, and questioning of the kind of person they want to be.  This Texas Bluebonnet Award Nominee would be most enjoyed by students in grades 4-6.

The Best Man Book Trailer

TBA Activities and Resources for The Best Man

Rodeo Red 

by Maripat Perkins

Perkins, M. (2015). Rodeo Red. Atlanta, GA: Peachtree.

Rodeo Red and her best friend Rusty, a stuffed hound dog, are living the good life until the arrival of Sideswiping Slim, a new baby brother.  Despite the fact that this "scallywag" does nothing but holler, destroy her things and even steals her beloved Rusty, her parents (the Sheriff and her Deputy) seem "smitten."  When her "city slicker" of an aunt sends her a belated birthday gift, "some sort of varnished varmint" (stuffed cat), she comes up with a plan to outwit her new brother and get her best friend back.

The highlight of this text describing the age old issue of sibling rivalry has to be Perkins’ extensive use of language that seems to come from straight out of the old west.  When punished for trying to retrieve her toy from her baby brother, her mother, “dropped me into a holding cell quicker than you could say lickety-split.  I was madder than a bee in a Sunday bonnet.”

Molly Idle does a great job of combining all the visual elements to convey an image that blends reality with Red’s imagination.  She uses soft, rounded lines and muted pastel colors to add some old west flavor, such as Red’s cowgirl hat, the saloon style doors in the home and even small touches like the sheriff’s badge adorning the mother’s neckline and father’s cuffs. 

Podcast Interview with Maripat Perkins

This is Not My Hat 
by Jon Klassen

Klassen, J. (2012). This is Not My Hat. Boston, MA: Candlewick Press.

Little fish is excited because he has a hat and it fits just right. Unfortunately the hat does not belong to him. It belongs to a much bigger fish who had it stolen right off his head! Unbeknownst to little fish who thinks he is getting away unnoticed, the hat's owner is on his trail. When the witness who said he wouldn't tell spills the beans, things don't turn out quite the way little fish had hoped.

With very basic and minimal text, much of the humor of the story is told through the illustrations, such as in the big fish’s eyes and the crab pointing the way to the culprit.  Though the ending is not specifically stated in the text, the reader is left to infer the outcome based on the pictures.  

The dominant shape in This is Not My Hat is the oval.  Used to not only represent the main characters of big and little fish, ovals are also used to illustrate the underwater setting’s plants throughout the story.  This is significant in that little fish believes he can hide and will be safe in the tall plants.  The shape of the larger fishes’ eye is very telling as well, as you really gain a sense of his thoughts and emotions through even the slightest change in its shape and direction.

Book Trailer for This is Not My Hat

My Teacher is a Monster! 

by Peter Brown

Brown, P. (2014). My Teacher is a Monster! New York, NY: Little, Brown and Company. 

She roars, she stomps, she keeps children in from recess; Bobby's teacher is a real monster.  One Saturday as Bobby is happily going along to his favorite spot in the park, he finds a terrible surprise... Ms. Kirby is at the park!  He feels trapped, what should he do?  He can't run away.  As Bobby forces himself to sit down and make small talk with his teacher, a gust of wind carries off Ms. Kirby's hat and he comes to the rescue.  What happens next is beautiful as teacher and student spend a bit of time together, and Bobby comes to see his teacher as a real person and not necessarily the monster he thought she was.  But honestly, don't we all have a little monster in us?

A student thinking their teacher is a monster is not exactly a new idea.  Teachers have to raise their voices and correct misbehavior and sometimes to children that can come across as “monstrous.”  However, when Bobby accidentally runs into his teacher, Ms. Kirby, in the park and they spend some real time together outside of class, he begins to see her more than just a disciplinarian and “monster”.  The theme of getting to know a person before passing judgment on them is strong and Brown does a terrific job of illustrating how Bobby’s perception of his teacher changes when she goes from an actual green monster to a real person.  

In My Teacher is a Monster, Brown creatively uses shapes to illustrate Bobby’s view of his teacher.  As the story begins Ms. Kirby is depicted as the monster Bobby sees her as, with a large awkwardly shaped green head, big circular nostrils, and sharp, pointy triangular shaped teeth and claws.  As the story progresses and Bobby comes to know his teacher on a more personal level, we see her features begin to soften and round out until eventually she takes on the same shapes and coloring as the children in the story.

Lesson Plans for Use with My Teacher is a Monster!

My Teacher is a Monster! Read Aloud

Princess Labelmaker to the Rescue:

An Oragami Yoda Book

by Tom Angleberger

Angleberger, T. (2014). Princess Labelmaker to the rescue: An oragami Yoda book. New York, NY: Amulet Books.

The perfect book to go along with the recent hot topic discussion about standardized testing and “teaching to the test”.  Forced to participate in ‘FunTime’, a test prep video series with “cool” (lame) songs such as Oppa Funtime Style, a take on Gangam Style with Professor FunTime and his talking calculator, Gizmo, the students at McQuarrie Middle School are fed up. They have had all their fun extracurriculars taken away as the district shells out thousands on this FunTime program that the students hate.  The Rebel alliance has decided that as a whole they will do poorly on the test, actually they will barely pass so as not to be retained, to bring down the scores of the school to protest this new program.  The students are in for a surprise when the principal, Mrs. Rabbski, receives the case files and while they fear they will be in trouble, she actually sides with the students and backs them against the school board refusing to utilize the program at the school any longer.  Using origami Star Wars characters and phrases straight out of the movie, this book is sure to be a big hit with middle grade Star Wars fans.  

Tom Angleberger's Oragami Yoda Website

The Crossover by Kwame Alexander

Alexander, K. (2014). The crossover. New York, NY: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

Twelve-year-old Josh Bell, aka Filthy McNasty, is a basketball phenom.  He aims to be the next Kevin Durant or LeBron James.  His twin brother Jordan is just as good and idolizes another great, Michael Jordan.  The boys inherited their love of the game from the father, a former professional basketball player, Chuck “Da Man” Bell.  Everything is going great, the team is on their way to the championship and it seems that these boys just cannot be stopped.  Then a new girl in school catches Jordan’s attention and leaves Josh feeling more alone than ever.  As if that wasn’t enough, mom seems very concerned about their father’s health and the boys are starting to wonder if maybe they should be worried.  This story of family relationships, sibling dynamics and middle school drama is brilliantly told in a poetic form that upper elementary students and middle schoolers will not want to put down.  A great recommendation for reluctant readers!

In addition to family relationships the overriding theme of this story is basketball.  It’s what the men in this family live for.  If they’re not out on the court destroying other middle school teams, they’re shooting free throws in the driveway or hanging out at the rec center organizing games.  Alexander even uses the structure of basketball to divide the story into “quarters” rather than chapters and delivers life lessons in the form of “basketball rules.”  Novel-in-verse is the style of this book and Alexander does an amazing job of weaving in all the excitement of game play-by-plays to Josh’s inner struggles with his life and family in a form that is pure poetry in motion.

Lesson Plans for Use with The Crossover

Time for Kids Interview with Kwame Alexander