The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate

    I loved this story!  It was a little sad at times.  My favorite part of the story was when Ruby was  introduced into  the story.  Through her innocence she made Ivan think about his past life and current living conditions.  She helped him see his life at the zoo and his art in a new way.  With Ruby's arrival comes change and Ivan realizes he can change things for all of the animals for the better!

Here be dragons!

If there is one thing I love (and have loved ever since I was a little kid) it is dragons.

Another thing I love?  Tacos.  Yummy, am I right?

Well, today I stumbled upon a picture book in the bookstore called Dragons Love Tacos.  I would recommend it to anyone, even adults because it was funny and the illustrations were great!

Who doesn't love tacos?

This book got me thinking about other great books- chapter books in particular- with dragons.  Here are just a few of my favorites for kids who love dragons:

•  A Friend For Dragon (and other Dragon Tales) by Dav Pilkey are silly and fun easy readers. 
•  Good Night, Good Knight (and the other Good Knight books) by Shelley Moore Thomas are also easy readers featuring three very cute dragons and one very good knight.
• Three Tales of My Father's Dragon by Ruth Stiles Gannett is a classic series, great for kids just starting to read longer chapter books

• Jeremy Thatcher, Dragon Hatcher by Bruce Coville is a book I read when I was a kid and absolutely loved.  
• Kenny and the Dragon by Tony D'Iterlizzi is a chapter book from the RICBA list two years ago, with a surprising dragon named Grahame and excellent illustrations
• The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien has one of the most famous dragons in the history of dragons.  It's quite a challenging book, but try to read it before the movie comes out in December!

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.