(P) Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day by Judith Viorst

- Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day is about Alexanders day that is
full of unfortunate events. His bad day starts about when he wakes up with gum in his hair, and
has to eat lima beans for dinner. He goes through a series of misadventures throughout the day
and wonders if it only happens to him or other people too such as his family. By the end of the
book he realizes that its okay to have a bad day and that it happens to everybody, even his own
family members.

(P) Blue on Blue by Dianne White

- Blue on Blue is story that starts off as a bright, beautiful sunny day, that is described as a blue
on blue day. A storm is soon to come with roaring thunder, and raging lightning along with the
drip drops of rain. The author describes it as rain on rain is pouring. The child in the story
wonders if the sun will ever be back, and as the book goes on weather changes are described and
the different periods of the storm.

(C ) Chocolate Fever by Robert Kimmel Smith

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Chocolate Fever is about a boy Henry Green. Henry loved chocolate he ate it with
everything including chocolate syrup, chocolate mashed potatoes, cookies, milk, and
cake. One day while Henry was at school he noticed he was breaking out in an unusual
rash except they were large brown spots that smelled like chocolate. The nurse took
Henry to the hospital because she had never seen something like this before. The doctor
diagnosed him with Chocolate Fever. Henry became so afraid and upset that he ran
away. Luckily for Henry a nice truck driver picked him up and had Henry call home.
This was a great book to read it can teach children what an obsession is and how it can be
controlled while not being ashamed by it.

(C ) 100 Days and 99 Nights by Alan Madison

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100 Days and 99 Nights is about a little girl Esme whose father is away on military duty
for a tour. She feels like it is her job to be in charge and to watch over her little brother
just like her dad would want, but her brother can be a lot to handle sometimes. Every day
Esme counts down the days until her dad gets home safely. This is a great book for
children to read who are coping with a family member being on tour in the military. It

shows children the heroism and responsibility it takes, but allows them to know that
everything will be okay.

(C ) Freak the Mighty by Rodman Philbrick

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Freak the Mighty is about 2 boys Max and Kevin. Max refers to Kevin as Freak the Mighty.
The 2 boys went to pre-school together, but never really got along. Freak has a normal sized
head but the rest of his body is small and he acts like he owns the pre-school. After Preschool Max and Freak go their separate ways but reunite with eachother in 8th grade and
become neighbors. Max and Freak form a unique friendship at the 4th of July fireworks when
Freak is too short to see them so Max puts him on his shoulders. Since then the boys became
great friends and went on quests and adventures together. Freak did not make it past their 1
year of friendship, but he had Max promise him that he would write of their adventures
together as part of their memories together.

(C ) Freckle Juice by Judy Blume

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Freckle Juice is about a boy name Andrew Marcus who wants Freckles just like his
classmate Nicky Lane. He wonders how he can get freckles like Nicky. His other

classmate Sharon tells Andrew that she has the perfect secret recipe for freckle juice for
50 cents. Andrew makes this secret recipe, but it ends up making him really sick and he
still didnt have freckles so he ended up drawing them on with blue marker. The teacher
notices and tells Andrew she has a secret recipe for removing freckles, which was just a
bar of soap. After he washed off his freckles Nicky Lane wanted to get rid of his freckles
too. Of course Sharon says she has a secret recipe for removing freckles too. This was a
great story to teach a self-esteem lesson to students to be comfortable in their own skin.

(C ) Frindle by Andrew Clements

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Frindle is about a boy Nick Allen and his strict fifth grade teacher Mrs. Granger. Nick
tries to trick his teacher to waste time during the school day and has to do a book report
about the dictionary. This gives Nick the idea to create a new word such as, Frindle,
meaning pen. His classmates really liked his idea and soon the whole school and the
world was using this word frindle to refer to a ballpoint pen. Mrs. Granger did not like
this idea at all, but years later frindle became part of the dictionary and now Nick is all
grown up and his old fifth grade teacher rewards him with a surprise.

(P) Hooway for Wodney Wat by Helen Lester

- Hooway for Wodney Wat is about a rodent name Rodney Rat who could not pronounce his rs.
All of his friends at school made fun of him and would tease him constantly because he could not
pronounce words correctly. Then they got a new classmate named Camilla Capybara who

claimed she was the biggest, meanest, and smartest of them all. Wodney Wat then became leader
at recess and when the classmates were playing a game Camilla could not understand what
Wodney was saying. All of the classmates began to giggle and bully her instead of Wodney.
Camilla ended up going west at the end of the book and all the classmates never teased Wodney
again.

(P) Hug Me by Simona Ciraolo

- Hug Me is about Felipe the Cactus who just wants to be loved. Felipe knows that it is prickly
and pointy to touch a cactus. Felipe goes on his way to find a friend that would give her some
attention even if its just a hug. Felipe found a crying rock that he became friends with. This
book showed the meaning of a simple hug and how it can make somebodys day and make them
realize they are loved and appreciated.

(C ) Junie B. Jones and the Stupid Smelly Bus by Barbara Park

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Junie B. Jones and the Stupid Smelly Bus is about Junie B. Jones refusing to ride the bus
because of it smells after the first day of Kindergarten. Junie B. Jones ends up hiding in
her classroom at the end of the day. This has the teachers and parents thinking she has
gone missing. Meanwhile Junie B. Jones goes to different rooms trying out different
school supplies and equipment in the nurses offices. Finally her mom finds her and tells
her how much trouble she could have gotten in. The next day Junie B. Jones mom

arranges for her to sit next to a girl on the bus and she realizes that the bus really isnt a
bad place at all.

(P) Love You Forever by Robert Munsch

- Love You Forever is about a moms love for her son from the time he is a baby through
adolescence. Every night she sings him a song to sleep about how much she loves him and rocks
him to sleep. Even as he approaches adolescence years and becomes a stubborn teenager his
mom still drives across town to sing this song to him. At the end of the book his mother
becomes very ill and now her son drives across down to sing the Ill love you forever song to her.
When his mom passes he keeps the tradition by singing this song to his daughter.

(P) Wilfred Gordon McDonald Partridge by Mem Fox

- Wilfred Gordon McDonald Partridge is about a little boy who lives near a nursing home and
goes there often to hang out and talk with all of the old people. Miss Nancy was his favorite and
when he found out that she lost her memory he became confused. He went around the nursing
home asking what a memory is from everybody and they each gave him a different answer.
Finally he went back to his home and found items that he brought to Miss Nancy hoping to bring
her memory back. Wilfred did succeed and Miss Nancy starting remembering everything again.
This is a great book to read. It is a very touching story and can mean a lot to a person who has
gone through something like this in their life.