#IMWAYR - What a busy week!

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This week's post is brought to you by the first week of school, my daughter's first week of kindergarten and the public library. It was amazing to be back in the classroom last week, but man, was it busy! On top of the first week of school, our district hosted the Canadian Student Leadership Conference (CSLC) so we had almost 1000 high school students from all over the country descend just as we were trying to get up and rolling. To add to the fun, my principal, who is brand new to our school, was one of the organizers of the conference and Kristi and I both hosted 5-6 students in our homes; pretty sure none of us got much sleep at all last week!

The books for this week are an assortment that have popped up throughout the week; they come from our first assembly (thanks Karen!), my daughter's recommendations and books that we took out of the public library in a moment of quiet just before the storm hit. Enjoy!

Walter the Farting Dog (William Kotzwinkle & Glenn Murray) - Our new principal decided that a great theme for this particular start up was Happiness and in that vein she chose Walter the Farting Dog to read to the entire school. Well, the giggles and guffaws coming from 350 kids were definitely enough to inspire even the most curmudgeonly to smile. While I don't think that these books are particulary well-written (the story line meanders a bit aimlessly in an effort to maintain the joke), they certainly do make kids grin and giggle. A great choice for a just for fun read-aloud, a personal book bin book or perhaps even as a mentor text for older students who just don't know what to write about (after all, if you can write multiple books about a farting dog, you can write a book about just about anything).

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Tickle Monster (Josie Bissett) - This is my 5 year old daughter Maryn's pick. Without prompting she explained that she suggested it because after you read it you would probably want to tickle someone and that's fun. It is a very cute book that comes in a gift pack with furry blue monster hands with cut outs so you can stick your fingers through to tickle - fun! The rhyme in this book just rolls off your tongue as the Tickle Monster goes through all of the body parts he is going to tickle. A great one for working on prediction and rhyme with young students, as there are strategic pauses just before the monster announces which body part he is going to tickle. Beware though, you may have a giant tickle fight erupt in your room after reading this one!

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Silas' Seven Grandparents (Anita Horrocks & Helen Flook)- This was a random choice off of the bookshelf at the public library but wow, is it fabulous! My father puzzled for quite awhile over the logistics of having seven grandparents and my two daughters love all of the adventures the seven grandparents take Silas on. I love the fact that Silas' family will resonate in some way with almost every student in your class, as he has a truly multicultural set of grandparents who do such a wide variety of activities. The message is lovely too - while many blended families struggle over who gets to see whom when, Silas knows he is loved ("times seven") and figures out the perfect way to ensure that he gets to share that love equally. A great book for making connections about family and lifestyle and it's Canadian to boot!

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Clancy & Millie and the Very Fine House (Libby Gleeson) - This is another great book for connection, but also for transformation. It follows Clancy as he adjusts to moving to a new house; one that his parents love but that just doesn't feel like home to him. But when Clancy makes a friend, he discovers that his new house might just be ok after all. The illustrations are beautiful, with whimsical clouds that just beg for kids to notice them and laugh. Definitely a good choice for discussions about change, love and the important things in life.

As an aside, in searching for the picture for this one, I noticed that Carrie Gelson, from There Is A Book For That, featured this one in Jan 2013. Great minds think alike! You can read her post here.

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