Awhile Back

I was asked for series books for ten-year-olds. I posted a short list of here

And I started think about genre, and then I got distracted (not an unusual thing) and then I was on the radio with Holly from the Red Balloon Bookshop and started thinking about it again and here are some titles that I love for this age group.

When the Mountain Meets the Moon– Grace Lin

“In the valley of Fruitless Mountain, a young girl named Minli lives in a ramshackle hut with her parents. In the evenings, her father regales her with old folktales of the Jade Dragon and the Old Man on the Moon, who knows the answers to all of life’s questions. Inspired by these stories, Minli sets off on an extraordinary journey to find the Old Man on the Moon to ask him how she can change her family’s fortune. She encounters an assorted cast of characters and magical creatures along the way, including a dragon who accompanies her on her quest for the ultimate answer.” (Grace Lin)

My Teaching Practice

I can never think of this title without thinking of students at Bank Street College of Education School for Children.

In September 2009, I wrote on EarlyWord.com

“Today, I go back to school.

I am always surprised how excited I am for the first day of school. I have sixteen classes a week for three-year-olds through 4th grade. Around those classes, I schedule 5th through 8th grade book talks, information literacy, research skills and the classic, “scared straight” plagiarism lecture.

The first week, I go into the 5th and 6th grade classes to book talk for our Mock Newbery curriculum. The kids read from September to the January break. Then we have a critical discussion and vote right before ALA midwinter (I will post their comments here).

The teachers provide reading response activities, like asking students to create an advertisement for their favorite book, produce an alternative cover with a different title, write a letter as a character, create a mobile with symbols from the the book, and of course book discussions.”

I remember reading aloud Where the Mountain Meets the Moon to two classes of 4th graders. I remember the amazing discussions in with the 5th and 6th graders. What is quest tale? What is a retelling? And I remember the passionate advocacy that “This Was The Best Book of the Year!”