Thursday, August 4, 2011

Emily's Fortune

I really like the author Phyllis Reynolds Naylor and I usually love stories that are set in the Wild West, so I was very excited to read the Rhode Island Children's Book Award nominee Emily's Fortune. I just finished it today and I was not disappointed!

This book is about an orphan named Emily who is trying to make it to her Aunt's house before either her greedy Uncle Victor or a group of orphan catchers can catch her first. Along the way she makes friends with another orphan named Jackson who helps her along the way. The story is filled with exciting twists and kept me eager to keep going at the end of every chapter.

My favorite thing about Emily's Fortune was the friendship between Emily and Jackson. Jackson was a very loyal and kind friend to Emily when she did not have any one else to count on. I particularly liked the part when he helped her learn to climb trees. I have always liked to climb trees, but I am very bad at it. I get very nervous, confused and clumsy, with lots of close calls just like Emily did at first. The difference between Emily and me is that she actually got better because Jackson helped her, and I'm still a terrible climber!

If you have read Emily's Fortune, post a comment and tell us: what in tumblin' tarnation did you like best about it?

Tuesday, July 26, 2011


Hi Everyone!
I just finished reading Savvy by Ingrid Law...finally! It was recommended to me months ago, first by Mrs. Mulligan, and then by Mr. Brochu. I started it, and got about 90 pages in, but it hadn't really hooked me, so I abandoned it for another book I really wanted to read...and then another...and then another... Anyway, I was going through the pile of books on my nightstand and I uncovered it, so I decided to give it a try. I'm glad I did - it's a great book, and it made me do a lot of thinking about what it is in each of us that makes us special, and how the things that happen in our lives that are bad can often lead to outcomes that are good. I highly recommend it - and I am looking forward to reading the follow-up, Scumble. I'll let you know how it goes!
Happy reading!
Mrs. Mayhew

Monday, July 25, 2011

Rainy Day Reading

Sometimes on a rainy day I like to go to the public library and bring home as many books as I can fit into a shopping bag, even though I know I probably won't have a chance to read them all before I have to bring them back. I walk around and pick up anything that catches my eye. As you can see from the picture to my right, that is exactly what I did today!

The only problem? I have to decide what to read first!

I think I might start with Mercy Watson #6: Something Wonky This Way Comes. I have loved all the other Mercy Watson books, so I think this is a good bet for something I will enjoy on a rainy day.

I also have Tales of Beedle the Bard, which is a made-up book that was important to the Harry Potter story that J.K. Rowling then actually wrote in real life. Maybe I'll read that one first since I just saw the final movie when it came out last week!

Wednesday, July 20, 2011

Old Favorites

Hi Everyone!
My mom cleaned out her attic a couple of weeks ago, and she found some old books of mine, including the entire Little House series...

I LOVED these books when I was young - and I have spent the last few days rediscovering them. I am so glad to find that they are just as interesting now as they were so many years ago! If you aren't familiar with them, they were written by Laura Ingalls Wilder, and they are the real-life story of Laura and her family in the late 1800's, starting when she was a little girl in the "Big Woods" of Wisconsin, and ending after she got married in what was then called the Dakota Territory.

I have many favorite stories from this series, and one I just finished reading is the story of The Long Winter. (It's kind of nice to get lost in a story about snow and freezing cold temperatures on days like this!) In this story, Laura is about 14 years old, and her family has just moved to the Dakota territory. They face an incredibly harsh winter - the first blizzard strikes early in October, and they continue straight through the winter, right into April, with no more than a day or two in between storms. No trains can get through, and the family runs out of food. Eventually, Almanzo Wilder (the man Laura ends up marrying!) and another young man make a dangerous trip across the prairie to find wheat so that the people in the town will be able to survive.

If you are looking for something new to read, I highly recommend them!

Hope you are all enjoying these warm summer days -

Mrs. Mayhew

Tuesday, July 12, 2011

From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler

I just got back from a trip to New York City, and while I was there I visited the Metropolitan Museum of Art or "The Met", which is a huge and amazing art museum.

While I was there, so many of the sights reminded me of one of my all-time favorite chapter books from when I was a kid: From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E.L. Konigsburg.

This book is about a brother and sister who run away from home, but decide to stay in the Met because it is much more comfortable than trying to live on the street. They spend time exploring the exhibits around the museum, and eventually they even solve a mystery about a piece of art. My favorite part when I was younger was how they would bathe in the fountain in the lobby and take the coins that people would throw in for wishes to pay for things!

From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler is definitely a classic - it won the Newbery Medal in 1968, and rereading it now, I realized it is just as good as ever. If you happen to be traveling to NYC this summer this is a must-read!

But even if you can't make it to NYC to visit the Met this summer, click here to explore some of the Met's art - they have interactive pages where you can learn more about the art and artists from the museum.

Friday, July 1, 2011

Tell Us What You Are Reading in July!

This is the space where we want to hear about all of the exciting reading you are doing during the month of July!

Tell us the title and author of any books you read, and give them a rating between 1 and 5 stars and answers these questions:




  • What was your favorite part of the book and why?


  • What did you like least about the book?


Leave your answers as a comment on this post to share all the great books you have reading during the month of July.



Here are some important tips:





  • Be sure to leave your first name and last initial, your school and your grade so we know it was you.


  • Before you post your comment, be sure to have an adult read it over or proofread it yourself to be sure that your ideas make sense, and your spelling and punctuation is good.


  • Still not sure what to do? Check out the first comment on this post to see what a good comment looks like!

Sunday, June 26, 2011


Hi Everyone!

I am so excited to have some free time to read this new series I just discovered - they are murder mysteries set in a little town in Illinois - and the woman who solves them all is a school psychologist! I found them about a month ago when one of my other favorite authors recommended them. So far I have read six - and I just started the seventh today!



When I'm done, I may have to go back and re-read Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, in preparation for the final movie's release on July 15th...can't wait!



After that, the next book in the pile on my nightstand is Dying to Meet You by Kate Klise. It was on the RICBA list last year, but I never got to it. If anyone has read it and can give me a quick review, I'd love to hear it! Keep on Reading :)

Mrs. Mayhew

Monday, June 13, 2011

Book search online

Hi Everyone,
I know that sometimes when I'm trying to decide on a new book to read, it can be overwhelming with so many choices!  Here's a link that you can go to to look for books based on genre or area of interest.

http://bookwizard.scholastic.com/tbw/viewCustomSearchForm.do#top_of_page

I can't wait to hear about what you are reading this summer!

Ms. Howard

Friday, June 3, 2011

House Rules


Mrs. Brochu asked me to read this book over the summer because she read it and was not able to put it down. I'm not usually a fan of Jodi Picoult books, but so far this one is an intersting read. The book is about a boy named Jacob who has Asperger's Syndrome. Many children with Asperger's have a specific topic they like - Jacob likes forensic science (solving crimes). The cool thing about the book is each main character in the book is written in a different font so you know who is being written about at a particular time. I'll let you know how it goes.

Wednesday, June 1, 2011

Tell Us What You Are Reading in June!

This is the space where we want to hear about all the exciting reading you are doing this June!

Tell us the title and author of any books you read, then give them a rating between 1 and 5 stars and answer these questions:




  • What was your favorite part of the book and why?

  • What did you like the least about the book?

Leave your answers as a comment to this post to share all the books you have been reading during the month of June.


Here are some important tips:



  • Be sure to leave your first name and last initial, your school and your grade so know it was you.

  • Before you post your comment, make sure you have an adult look over your writing or proofread it yourself to be sure that your ideas make sense, and that your spelling and punctuation are good.

  • Look at the first comment of this post if you are still not sure what yours should look like.

Monday, May 16, 2011

Henry and Mudge and the Forever Sea

Summer is one of my favorite times of year, and even though vacation is still six weeks away, I think it is never too early to start reading books that make me excited for summer.


That is why I just read Henry and Mudge and the Forever Sea by Cynthia Rylant.


In this book, Henry and Mudge have a lot of great adventures when they go to the beach with Henry's dad. I like it because it made me daydream about all the adventures I plan on having when I go to the beach during my summer vacation.


What are you most looking forward to this summer?

Wednesday, May 11, 2011

Tell us what you are reading!

This is the space where we want to hear about all the exciting reading you are doing this summer!

Tell us the title and the author of any books you read, then give them a rating between 1 and 5 stars and answer these questions:








  • What was your favorite part?



  • What part of the book did you like the least?



Leave your answer as a comment on this post to share all the books you have read during the month of May. You can leave a separate comment for each of your books or you can write one comment about all the books you have read.

Here are some important tips:







  • Be sure to leave your first name and last initial, your school and your grade so we know it was you.



  • Before you post, have a grown-up read over your answer or proofread it yourself to be sure that your ideas make sense, and that your spelling and punctuation are good.



  • Check out the first comment on this post for a sample to see what yours should look like if you are still not sure.