Thanks to my book clubs, I read so many chapter books and early middle grade books in 2021! Of the 30-40 I read, here are nine books that stood out to me. I've shared most of them with my enthusiastic young book clubbers, and the review link will take you to activities that you can do with the book. As there are so many books, I decided not to include those I reread last year, sticking only to those I read for the first time in 2021. Muggie Maggie This one is such a delight that I've held on to my copy of it, in the hope that one day soon, bookstores will let me know that it is back in stock and I can introduce it to my book clubbers.Maggie is determined not to learn cursive. Unfortunately, her teacher has other plans: sneaky, ingenious plans. I love fictional teachers like her! In some ways, Maggie reminds me of Dick King-Smith's Sophie. She has … [Read more...]
Amelia Bedelia Means Business
Amelia Bedelia. The name just asks you to read it aloud. And what a character Amelia is! As with the very best fictional characters (I'm thinking of Anne Shirley, Pippi Longstocking and the like), Amelia's personality leaps out of the pages. She makes you chuckle at her sheer optimism, at her zest and her drive. Obstacles? What are those?Amelia sees Suzanne's new bike and knows she has to get one for herself. But her parents are unwilling to give her an advance Christmas-cum-birthday present. What they are willing to do, however, is meet her halfway. If she can find a way to pay half the price, they'll pay the other half. Amelia and her father shake hands, and they have a deal.The problem, though, is Amelia's tendency to take things literally. Idioms are puzzling. Ways of speaking make no sense. So, when she's working at a restaurant and a customer asks her for 'a pie - and step … [Read more...]
Online Reading Programme – Second Edition!
Registrations are now closed for this reading programme. I was just about halfway through my first reading programme when parents started reaching out to me to check if there will be other batches. Even when I launched the first one, I knew I would continue the programme if enough people expressed interest. And so, here it is - the second edition of my online reading programme! What does a reading programme involve? Essentially, reading. As there are four books spread across 12 sessions, we take roughly three sessions per book. Naturally, this means that we do not read the entire book together. We read excerpts from the books together during each session, and then the children read in their own time before the following class. During each online interaction, we do not just read; we also imagine, create, play and talk. We do activities around the books and try … [Read more...]