The Boy on the Porch by Sharon Creech

A Sneak Peak from Newbery Medalist, Author Sharon Creech of

The Boy on the Porch by Sharon Creech

jacket design by Kate Engbring

Copyright 2013

ISBN 978-0061892387

Ages 8-12

Teaching Resources:  Teach Creech

Amazon Review: 2013

Richie Partington rated it 5 of 5 stars

Richie's Picks: THE BOY ON THE PORCH by Sharon Creech, Joanna Cotler/HarperCollins, September 2013, 160p.

"People talking without speaking
People hearing without listening
People writing songs that voices never share
And no one dared
Disturb the sound of silence"
-- Paul Simon (1964)

Jacob was not like other boys John and Marta had know.  He did not speak, not to them and not to others, but communicate, he did.  Jacob's music and artwork opened a door into his soul and John and Marta peered inside.  They encouraged his creativity, fostered his enthusiasm for finding happiness in the simplest of things, and they grew to love-- the boy on the porch.  This book will warm your heart.  

Mrs. Flores 

Love That Dog and Hate That Cat by Sharon Creech

Author Spotlight Page

Sharon Creech-- two novels in verse:  

These two novels take readers through two beautifully written stories about the connection of a boy named Jack to his dog Sky (and even a cat). It also illustrates a teacher's passion for teaching students about poetry and themselves, and a child learning to become something more than he first realized. Jack's exposure to Poetry-- reading, writing and appreciating this art form, is what binds the stories and the characters together.  The stories flow beautifully.  Whether you love or hate cats or dogs, love or hate poetry, you will love Jack's two stories about them them all.  I read each book in one sitting. 

Mrs. Flores  

Love That Dog

by Sharon Creech

Cover Art by William Steig

Copyright 2001

ISBN 978-1-404-66655-9

Ages 11-13

Teaching Resources: Love That Dog and Hate That Cat

Hate That Cat

by Sharon Creech

Cover Art by William Steig

Copyright 2001

ISBN 978-0061430947 

Grades 4-8

Teaching Resources: Teach Creech

Excerpt of a review from the School Library Journal about Hate That Cat:  

Jack is once again in Miss Stretchberry's class, developing his poetry composition skills and learning from the masters. Jack works his way into these concepts by means of Miss S's introduction to the work of Edgar Allan Poe, T. S. Eliot, William Carlos Williams, Valerie Worth, and Walter Dean and Chris Myers, and her constant encouragement of his own attempts. He also learns the poetry of silence as he and his mother communicate through sign language and tender gestures. It is a worthy sequel to Love That Dog.

Counting by 7's by Holly Goldberg Sloan

Book Trailer 01:

Counting by 7's
Author Holly Goldberg Sloan
Cover Design by Mina Chung
Copyright 2013
ISBN 978-0-8037-3855-3
[Fic]--dc23
Reading Level 5.6 ATOS
Lexile Value 770L
Teaching/Learning Tools: http://www.teachingbooks.net/tb.cgi?tid=35892&a=1

Being orphaned as a baby is something Willow doesn't remember; being orphaned again at twelve, is something she will never forget.

Willow Chance is someone I would want to know, to have as my friend.  She is a genius-- really, she is.  She is intelligent beyond her years, but she is also forced to grow beyond her years and learn to choose her own path.  She has faced disappointment, loneliness and immeasurable grief.

Willow had been adopted by amazing and loving parents and her life was full. . . until a medical supply truck, ran a red light, and took everything away from her.  This is a story of courage, endings and new beginnings.  It is about the love of family-- the family we choose to call our own and those who choose to love us.
Mrs. Flores

Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor

Daughter of Smoke and Bone
Author Laini Taylor
Cover Design by Alison Imprey
Copyright 2011
ISBN 978-0-316-13402-6
[Fic]--dc22
Reading Level 5.8 UG
Lexile Value 850L
Teaching/Learning Tools on Author's Blog:  http://www.lainitaylor.com/p/books.html
California Young Reader Medal Nominee for 2014-2015

Author's BookTrailer 01

Author's BookTrailer 02

Critique:
"Once upon a time, an angel and a devil fell in love.  It did not end well (Taylor, introduction page)."
Seventeen year old Karou will draw you in with her numerous adventures and internal emptiness. She will impress you as a heroine and have you reading into the night to find out where her next travels will take her.  As a reader you will "see" the pages of Karou's sketchbook come alive and you will climb into them to follow her to the underworld and beyond.
Mrs. Flores  

"It's to Taylor's great credit that evil incarnate and its love match in Daughter of Smoke and Bone are such imaginative interpretations and that the worlds in which this romance unfolds are likewise so unique: Telling a tale this apocryphal requires serious outside-the-box plot work to pull off. Taylor manages her self-imposed challenge with aplomb."
-The Los Angeles Times