Grades 3-5 novels

Don't teach poetry this year to grades 4 - 8 without using Laura Shovan's new verse novel about a 5th grade class that tries to save their school from closing.  Separated into four school quarters, with poems in various style formats, each student shares their voice about their school and 5th grade.  4 stars for identifying what many 5th grade students may be thinking as they consider entering middle school, and 4 stars for creativity.  A quick read, and a good discussion book about speaking up for what we believe.  I received an advance readers' copy....will be published in 2016.

This year's Newbery winner had me laughing out loud! Ulysses, a feisty squirrel, gets sucked up into a vacuum cleaner and ends up writing poetic messages.  Flora, quite the intelligent but precocious young lady, can't get anyone to believe that Ulysses is, indeed, a gifted squirrel.  With a unique style that blends full narrative with graphic-novel-style elements, you will not be able to put this novel down until you reach the last page.  A great read-aloud for making predictions and character analysis.  The mother in this story has her own unique set of troubles and does not respond as we would expect to Flora.  How should we handle life when we feel rejected?  5 stars for making us laugh and cry at the same time. 

Mr. Jupiter takes on the raucous fourth grade class of Aesop Elementary School through his creativity and wit.  Each chapter is a fun life lesson for his students that illustrates a moral from Aesop's fables.  A fabulous novel to introduce idioms and a unique writing style.  Use for comparison and contrast to Aesop's original fables as well.  5 stars for a great new spin on a classic from the 1300's - Aesop.

Lowji and his family move from bustling Bombay, India to a small town in Illinois where his dad has a new job.  America is not at all what he expected, and he longs for Bombay.  This novel will not only teach your students about Indian culture, but it will also help them identify with understanding what it is like to move and establish a new home and friendships.  5 stars for multi-cultural learning.