Heather+Stanely+Reviews

Course Reading Wiki for Heather Stanley

 * 1) ====The Hello, Goodbye Window====
 * 2) Kitten's First Full Moon
 * 3) The Invention of Hugo Cabret
 * 4) Kira-Kira
 * 5) Bad News for Outlaws: Th remarkable life of Bass Reeves, Deputy U.S. Marshal
 * 6) Amelia Earhart, the legend of the lost aviator
 * 7) Knuffle Bunny, a cautionary tale
 * 8) Here We Go To Budapest
 * 9) A Faraway Island
 * 10) Four Eyes
 * 11) My Pal, Victor/Mi Amigo, Victor
 * 12) The Deaf Musicians
 * 13) Mysterious Messages: A History of Codes and Ciphers
 * 14) Ish
 * 15) The Name of This book is Secret

[[image:hellogoodbyewindow.png align="right"]]**Summation**:
====Winner of the Caldecott medal, //The Hello, Goodbye Window// is the short tale of how a common kitchen window can become magical and special with the right amount of imagination. A young girl invites us into her world as she tells of her grandparent’s special window. Through this window they play games, explore the world, and imagine who or what will be seen next. The illustrations are done in water color lending to the illusion that the young narrator created them herself. Illustrations are used through out the book to further express and define the tale; as the young girl, who remains un-named, tells of spending the day and night with her grandparent and their activities.====

**Curriculum Connection**:
====This work can be used to integrate Reading information and reading literature standards RL.K.6, RL.K.7, RI.K.7, and RI.K.10. The instructor can actively engage a kindergarten class in naming the author and illustrator and defining each person’s purpose. The students will be able to actively engage in a discussion of the illustrations and the illustrations use in telling the story.====

**Promoting Literacy Activity 22**:
====Classroom teachers can use story retelling to promote literacy beginning in kindergarten. The teacher can introduce the book, explaining how illustrations are used to help tell the story. After reading the story to the group the teacher can use an empty picture frame as a window. The students will pass the “window” around the circle as they retell the story. The teacher can use the illustrations in the book to prompt recall.====

**Promotion Activity**:
====On the Library Bulletin board design two rectangles with silver paper behind. This is to make a “window” with a mirror effect. Above the window ask, “Who could be on the other side?” Support this question with thought bubbles showing a dragon, the principle, a princess, an elephant, and a cargo boat. Really you could put anything in the thought bubbles. Then below your thought bubbles ask, “What do you think?” You can have a post it note pad or pencil on a string available for the students to write their idea on the board.==== TOP

[[image:kittensfirstfullmoon.jpg align="right"]]**Summation**:
====This Caldecott medal book illustrates how we all see things differently. When Little Kitten sees a full moon for the first time, she thinks it is a bowl of milk. Little Kitten begins to chase after it, but the bowl of milk never gets any closer. Kitten’s First Full Moon is a gently written book that integrates the illustrations into the story as an integral manner. The book uses simple black and white drawings to compliment the simple text.====

**Curriculum Connection**:
====This book can be used as a read aloud book to introduce the phases of the moon and perspective. No matter how far the kitten travelled or how high she climbed the moon still appeared the same distance away. This would also be a book that can be used in an art class to aid in teaching perspective. The Kentucky Common Core standards are: S.P.2.2, S.P.2.4, A.P.2.22, and A.P.1.13.====

**Promoting Literacy Activity 21**:
====Kitten’s First Moon is a quality piece of literature that can be used with primary grades to introduce or continue working on story mapping. The tale is linear with specific scene changes to facilitate the identity of story elements. The students can work in small groups or as a class to identify the setting, plot, resolution, and characters.====

**Promotion Idea**:
====Look at the school curriculum calendar. Approximately one week before the students start studying about the universe lay out several non-fiction books and fiction books about the planets, rockets, asteroids, the moon, and the stars. Have this book showcased for the early grades.==== TOP

[[image:theinventionofhugocabret.png align="right"]]**Summation**:
====Winner of the Caldecott medal, //The Invention of Hugo Cabret// is a spellbinding tale of an orphan who finds an automaton in post-World War I Paris. This book has the feel of a movie, and even takes you on a trip to the film museum in Paris. The book utilizes 284 original drawings and 26,159 words to tell the tale in two parts. The first part is the introduction to the characters and the automaton. The second part is a continuation of the first story after a few questions have been answered and is the beginning of a new mystery.==== ====Hugo is an orphan who lives in the walls of the train station. Every day he moves through the walls winding and oiling the clocks to ensure that the proper time is always shown. He is only supposed to be the apprentice, but he has done the job alone ever since his uncle disappeared. With no money for food, Hugo steals from the bakery and the bins. He also steals from the toy maker, but that is for another reason.==== ====Hugo has an automaton, a mechanical man, which Hugo works hard to fix when he is not on the clocks. To do this he steals mechanical toys from the station toy shop and uses the gears. That is until he tries to steal a little mouse. The old man of the toy shop catches him and the reader is launched into the first part of the story.==== ====The story is told through etchings and brief snippets of prose. The pace of the story slows with the text, and quickly rushes at times through the pictures. Selznick uses the pen and ink etchings much like a movie director uses an actor when no words are needed. The size of the book may be a deterrent to the struggling reader, though the actual writing style and composition would lend itself to the both the practiced and practicing reader.====

**Curriculum Connection**:
====//The Invention of Hugo Cabret// can be looked at on three fronts for classroom inclusion. Front 1: Science: The objective here would be to use a construction set to create an automaton. The degree to which the automaton functions would be determined by the construction set and building supplies available. The Kentucky Common Core standards are: S.4.2.3, S.4.2.4, S.5.2.3, and S.5.2.4.==== ====Front 2: Writing: The class or students would be able to research an early artist or film producer and write a story that uses that person as a supporting character. The students would be required to keep to the facts of the person’s life. The Kentucky Common Core standards are: RL.3.7, RL.4.7, RL 5.7, W.3.4, W.4.4, and W.5.4.==== ====Front 3: Art: The class or students would be able to create a graphic novel using pictures to show the actions and words to tell only what the pictures could not. The book would have no prose descriptions. Place, time, setting, and movement would all be provided through the artwork. The Kentucky Common Core standards are: 4.1.13, 4.2.22, 5.1.13, 5.2.22, A.5.2.24====

**Promoting Literacy Activity 47:**
====Literacy Activities can be incorporated in multiple ways for this novel. A unique way to activate literate thinking is through the use of frames for writing biographies. Biographies are typically only written for actual people; however, when introducing biographical writing to a third grade class the instructor can use the frames for many of the characters in the books. The students would then create a time line of that character’s events in the story, providing page numbers for easy reference. Also the students would be able to provide a brief expository history on the character’s events prior to page one. By using a fictional work it allows students to write exposition from a subject that is familiar.====

**Promotion**:
====If the science or art class takes up the automaton/robot lesson you can display the best of each class or the best from those completed in the library with a copy of the book or a picture of the book and a sign stating, “They were inspired by Hugo. What will he inspire in you?”==== TOP

**Summation**:
====//Kira-Kira// is a Newbery Award winning novel that brushes on prejudice as it deals with a young Japanese-American girl starting a new life in the 1950’s and an impending vote on unionization at the protagonist’s parents work. Katie is the narrator who tells of her joys with her family, and the tribulations of moving from Iowa to Georgia. Her family moves to a town with only 31 Japanese-American’s and young Katie is exposed to prejudice in a way that she had never realized before as she starts school.==== ====Shortly after she starts first grade Katie’s sister, Lynn, becomes sick. Her parents, who have been working long hours, begin working longer to purchase a house. Katie begins to take on more responsibility by caring for her new brother and for her sister as Lynn gets sicker. Finally, Katie’s father informs her that Lynn has cancer.==== ====The novel details the family’s dysfunction as Lynn’s sickness intensifies. Katie expresses her desire to make every one happy, causing herself to be bereft of happiness. When Lynn passes, each of the family members deals differently with the death. The parents bottle up their thoughts and do not share their thoughts with Katie. Katie begins taking over the job of cleaning the house for her mother and bringing home the “A” grades her sister had brought home. Finally, the family goes on a vacation for the first time in years to a place that Lynn had always wanted to visit.==== ====This book is not a dark book, but it is depressing. It makes the reader cry. Personally, I was very disappointed in the ending. The author spent 200 pages getting the reader to feel as the protagonist feels, 24 pages dealing with the funeral, and 19 pages on the coping. The back cover of the book leads the reader to believe that the book is about finding a future that is “glittering.” At the end of the book I was left more with weighted down heart due to the loss and confusion as to if the family I invested in for 200 pages was going to recover. This book would best fit the reading needs of a student dealing with a recent loss, or a melancholy seventh grader. The ending leaves open room for discussion regarding the future of this family.====

**Curriculum Connection**:
====This would be a good novel to include as an independent reader to supplement a social studies unit on the civil right or unionization. Questions for thought: How would Katie’s life be different if she had been black/white? How would you have voted on the poultry factories unionization? Why? The Kentucky Common Core standards are: SS.P.2.16, and SS.P.2.20====

**Promoting Literacy Activity 38**:
====A discussion web strategy can be employed to aid learners in comprehending the text at a deeper level. This prose lends itself to multiple question/conclusion webs. The students can discuss issues involving the union vote, the parent’s choice in purchasing a home, the final vacation, and if they would react the same way Katie does to her sister’s cancer.====

During a cancer awareness week have this title on display or picture of this title on a bulletin board.
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[[image:badnewsforoutlaws.png align="right"]]**Summation**:
====A Corretta Scott King award winner, //Bad News for Outlaws// is a biographical story of a Deputy U.S. Marshal in the Indian Territory. The story is told in vignettes. The first vignette introduces Bass Reeves to the reader with the capture of one of the territory outlaws. The vignettes then tell the story of Reeves as he grows from being a slave, his part in the civil war, is escape to freedom, and his eventual career in law enforcement.==== ====The story is well written and is intended for students age eight to twelve. The usage of vignettes keeps the reading level down and the interest level up. The illustrations are done in oil and accentuate the text. The author uses appendix at the end of the book to provide further information. A dictionary of western jargon used in the vignettes is provided. Also a time line and resources for further reading into both the Trail of Tears and African Americans’ in the western frontier are provided.====

**Curriculum Connection**:
====The text is short enough that it can be utilized in class. It is a cultural connector to history lessons regarding the Trail of Tears and the old west. It can also be utilized in February to celebrate important African-Americans. A list of primary sources used in the writing of the story is a part of the biography and can be utilized to instruct students on proper usage and citation. The Kentucky Common Core standards are: SS.P.2.14, SS.P.2.15, SS.P.2.16, SS.P.2.19, and SS.P.2.20====

**Promoting Literacy Activity 20:**
====//Bad News for Outlaws// introduces western jargon into the text. This supports the literacy activity of Vocabulary Journals. The students would be able respond and interact with the new words. This story is filled with new and interesting words to entice word curiosity. The author includes a definition list for the more stubborn words.====

**Promotion:**
====This would be a great title to use for in class reading. The PTO can be asked if a community volunteer would be willing to dress up like Bass Reeves. The volunteer would then be able answer questions regarding the Indian Territory, Trail of Tears, and the Wild West. It would be best to work with the local museum curator or high school history teacher to ensure the accuracy of the answers. Another option is to invite a U.S. Marshall or [|NOBLE] member to the school to read the book and answer questions.==== TOP

[[image:ameliaearhart.jpg width="269" height="291" align="right"]]**Summation**:
====This Orbis pictures award winning book tells the life of the first woman pilot to cross the Atlantic Ocean solo. Amelia Earhart is a famous pilot who is known for not only her last flight, but for her pioneering work in the field of aviation. This story starts with her childhood, early introduction to flying, and completes with her last flight. Young Aviation buffs would enjoy the descriptions and pictures of older airplanes and the rigors of air travel.==== ====This book uses young reader friendly wording. However, the aviation specific terminology that is required to communicate the story makes this book more suitable for grades fourth and up. The Inclusion of actual historical photographs brings the historical Earhart to life. This book may be daunting to a child who is neither interested in aviation nor historical women.====

**Curriculum Connection**:
====This book would be too long to read as a class. However it would be a good book to include as individual reading during a women’s rights social studies class or as part of a science or geography course. The science class would be able to make decisions about what to leave behind to make weight for take-off. Would they leave the lift rafts as Amelia did when she crossed the Atlantic the first time? The geography inclusion would use maps to plan a flight and hypothesize alternative flight plans. Would you have gone from east to west or west to east to circle the globe? Where would you have landed for refueling? The Kentucky Common Core standards are: SS.P.2.20, SS.P.2.20, VS.P.5.4, S.P.2.1, and M.4.MD.4.====

**Promoting Literacy Activity 30:**
====To promote literacy with Amelia Earhart, Keys to Understanding can be utilized. This strategy focuses on the integration of prior knowledge to new concepts in an expository text. Students are able to connect prior knowledge of geography, aviation, and history as they delve deeper into the life of Earhart.====

**Promotion:**
====This book could be showcased on a Famous Women Board, Famous Adventures Board, or Aviation board. These different bulletin boards can be designed based upon the current curriculum or other school activities.==== TOP

[[image:knufflebunnycaustionarytale.jpg align="right"]]**Summation**:
====In this Kentucky Bluegrass Award winning title, Knuffle Bunny is the name of a stuffed rabbit that Trixie takes everywhere. On the day of the story Trixie and her dad take a trip to the neighborhood Laundromat. Trixie helps her dad to load the clothes. On the way home Trixie realizes something is wrong. How does she tell her father when she can’t talk yet? When they arrive home both are exhausted from the failed communication attempt. Mom opens the door and solves the problem, “Where is Knuffle Bunny?” This sets the whole family off on a frantic search.==== ====This is a humorous story set around a preverbal toddler. The illustrations are done in mixed medium with black and white photographs providing the background. Knuffle Bunny is easily written and would be a good recommendation for an early reader.====

**Curriculum Connection:**
====This would be a good introduction to sign language and special needs. Trixie hasn’t learned to talk yet, so she throws a fit. What are other ways to communicate without talking? When do you think these other methods would be required? The Kentucky Common Core standards are: PL.P.4.1 and PL.P.2.23.====

**Promoting Literacy Activity 37:**
====Dialogic Reading of Knuffle Bunny promotes literacy by having the children participate in the story. The learners become the story tellers and are able to answer and respond to adult’s questions regarding the story. The students are actively listening to the story and are prompted to discuss varied aspects of the story during the reading.====

Promotion:
====To promote this story and to tie it into the literacy activity, the kindergarten classes can have a pajama day where they bring their favorite cuddly. The cuddly would have to stay in the backpack till story time, but then it could come out to hear the story too.==== TOP

**Citation and ISBN:**
====Nyulász, P. (2008). //Come with us to budapest!//. Budapest, Hungary: Color Plus Kft. Retrieved from http://www.childrenslibrary.org/icdl/BookPreview?bookid=nyucome_00740023&route=europe&lang=English&msg=&ilang=English. ISBN: 978-963-06-5046-5 ====

[[image:comewithustobudapest.jpg width="310" height="252" align="right"]]**Summation:**
==== This e-book was originally written in Hungarian. It follows the path of a young traveler through Budapest, Hungary. The illustrations provide additional context to the simple text. The story touches on major landmarks to entice further investigation and visitation. The format is short and can easily be used in a classroom. ====

**Curriculum Connection:**
====This book can be used as an example for a geography lesson. The students would be able to recreate this book as a digital storybook for their local community or location assigned by the instructor. The Kentucky Common Core standards are: SS.P.2.19====

This book e-book can be linked to the librarian web page as a book of the month, or book of the week for the early grades.
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**Summation**:
====Winner of the Batchelder Award, //A Faraway Island// tells the story of two Jewish sisters that are sent out of Austria after the German occupation began in World War II. The sisters find themselves on a remote Island in Sweden. Neither of the girls can speak Swedish, but Nellie, the younger sister adapts readily to her foster family. Stephie, the older sister, has a harder time. The home that Stephie goes to stay in is very strict and she has issues with the other girls at school. This is a coming of age story that centers on Stephie and how she changes and adapts to her faraway island.==== ====This book was originally written in Swedish and has been translated into English. The translation does not hamper the storytelling. The book is slow to start and continues with a slow pace throughout. This book would not keep the attention of a younger reader. The best age group for reading of this novel would be ten years of age and higher.====

**Curriculum Connection**:
====//A Faraway Island// can be incorporated into the class by reading a passage to the class and asking how the students would respond if they were forced to live in a country where they did not speak the language and had no family. The novel can also be used as an independent reader to supplement a social studies class on World War II. The Kentucky Common Core standards are: SS.P.2.16, and SS.P.2.20====

**Promoting Literacy Activity 23:**
====//A Faraway Island// lends itself best to inclusion in a book talk literacy promotion. The student would be able to read the book and share what he/she learned. The student would then be able to use a short passage from the book to entice other students to read the same book. This process allows the student to provide their own interpretation of the tale.====

**Promotion:**
====This book should be showcased with other foreign written titles. //A Faraway Island// will appeal to the older readers, and can complement a selection that also includes //Stone Soup// for the younger readers.==== TOP

**Citation and ISBN:**
====Lim, M. H. L. (2006). //Four eyes//. Sarawak, Malaysia: Fairy Bird Children's Books. Retrieved from []. ISBN: 983-42638-1-3 ====

[[image:foureyes.jpg align="right"]]**Summation:**
====In this Malaysian e-book, a young girl named Payah in Borneo is concerned when food starts to go missing. One night she hears a noise outside her longhouse. What she finds is a lost little boy. His name is Four Eyes. She takes him under her wing and hides him so the police don’t take him for stealing. Then one night a fierce storm hits the long house. Payah goes out the next morning to check on Four Eyes. He needs help. Payah must choose whether or not to tell the park ranger.==== ====This medium length novel is captivating. This book is one of a series, but the reader won’t be lost by reading the story out of order. The story assumes the reader is familiar with the living conditions. The terminology, unique to culture is used, but easily understood in context.====

**Curriculum Connection:**
====//Four Eyes// can be used for a science class on rainforests. It can also be used to instigate a social studies discussion on why tribes on rainforests would live in a longhouse instead of a house like the students live in. The Kentucky Common Core standards are: SS.P.2.16, SS.P.2.19, S.P.2.2 and S.P.2.3.====

This e-book should be showcased on the library website as a book of the month or book of the month.
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[[image:mypalvictor.png width="246" height="336" align="right"]]**Summation:**
====A Schneider Family Book Award Winner, My Pal Victor tells the tale of friendship in both English and Spanish. The two friends cloud watch, tell jokes and stories, swim, and enjoy baseball. What the main character is happiest about is that he is accepted for who he is.==== ====This story is well written and the illustrations will help the beginning reader to decode the text. The story is about two young boys one of whom is wheelchair bound. It is only on the last page through the illustration that the reader is informed that Victor is unable to walk.====

**Curriculum Connection:**
====This is a bilingual book and would assist the English language learners from a Spanish speaking background. The story is about friendship and how it doesn’t matter if you are physically disabled or not. It would be a good illustration to begin and anti-bullying discussion. The Kentucky Common Core standards are: PL.P.4.1, and PL.P.2.23====

**Promoting Literacy Activity 13:**
====My Pal Victor is an introductory read aloud text. Paired-Assisted Reading would correspond to the intricacy of this text. Being a bi-lingual book it allows the students from Spanish speaking homes to utilize the book with a parent and still work on reading fluency. Working with a partner the less fluent reader is able to use phonic strategy to decode the story.====

**Promotion:**
====During the first week of school this book can be showcased on the library bulletin board. The context of the book is a friendship. The librarian can use this book on the bulletin board stating, “The person beside you may be the friend you don’t know yet.”==== TOP

**Summation:**
====In this Schneider Family Book Award Winner, Lee is an improvisational jazz musician. On day his band asks him why he didn’t respond to their notes. Lee is losing his hearing. After leaving his band he asks, “Who will listen to a deaf musician.” Lee begins to attend a school for the deaf to learn sign language. There he meets Max. Together they sign their music and are joined by other musicians. This story shows that even though things change you can still adapt and do the things that you love.====

**Curriculum Connection:**
====This would be a good book for full inclusion classes or a music class. The readers would be able to find out more about other deaf musicians. The Kentucky Common Core standards are: PL.P.4.1, PL.P.2.23, A.P.1.14, and A.P.2.26.====

**Promoting Literacy Activity 36:**
====The literacy activity of Anticipation Guides is effective with this tale. The story lends itself well to pausing between Lee’s transitions from stage to school to after school activity. The story also has the added benefit of showing an adult learner. This aspect can be emphasized to remind students that learning is life-long.====

**Promotion:**
====The LMS can invite a sign-language interpreter to sign the story as the LMS reads it over the closed circuit TV on a school wide multicultural day. The LMS would need to introduce the interpreter and explain how she represents the story. The day can be used to showcase books in other languages or from other countries.==== TOP

[[image:mysteriousmessages.jpg align="right"]]**Summation**:
====//Mysterious Messages// tells the history of codes and ciphers in terms that are compatible with the reading level of an elementary student. The history is told in a series of vignettes that highlight the changes in codes and ciphers without overloading the reader with excessive details. Each chapter includes a cipher that the reader is able to practice the skills they have just learned.==== ====The writing is dry in sections. The interspersion of ciphers to be decoded keeps the reader interested. The multiple side bars interrupt the historic prose with anecdotes and copy and try it at home. A budding cryptographer, scientist, or soldier would truly enjoy the text. Cyphers are seen in many of the popular intermediate reader series. After reading this text the reader will recognize different codes as they appear in future reading.====

**Curriculum Connection:**
====The history of codes and ciphers can be incorporated in a social studies class. One way to do this would be to have a cipher treasure hunt. The treasure hunt would start with scytal cipher at the location directed by the scytal a key would be located for a substitution cipher and the location of the cipher. In this manner cipher key and clue will lead to the next cipher. The students will have to identify, analyze, and use the different cypher patterns. The clues themselves can be from multiple disciplines when used with a vigenere cipher. At the end of the hunt the teacher would put a “surprise” as a reward. The surprise can vary from a pencil, bookmark, good behavior reward (based on the school), or a grade level appropriate book that has a cypher. The Kentucky Common Core standards are: S.P.2.1 and additional standards to support the current curriculum through the clues of the treasure hunt.====

**Promoting Literacy Activity 46:**
====On a class level //Mysterious Messages// can be integrated into an All-About book. The students can each choose an informational text and create a short book to briefly share what the student learned. The students would then be able to supplement additional researched information, such as novels, movies, or games that use cyphers.====

**Promotion activity:**
====For this book the promotion activity is wrapped up in the curriculum content. Elementary students love to play and a treasure hunt feels more like play to them even if they are solving math equations, answering science questions, or picking the subject out in a sentence.==== TOP

[[image:ish.jpg align="right"]]**Summation:**
====In this sequel to the award winning book //The Dot//, Raymond loves to draw, but when his brother looks at the drawings and asks, “What’s that?” Raymond told his brother it is supposed to be a vase. His brother does not see the vase. From this point the story turns and Raymond stops drawing. He stops until little sister calls the drawing vase-ish. Raymond uses her description to find a new way to describe his pictures and re-embraces drawing.====

**Curriculum Connection:**
====This would be a good read aloud for the first week of classes to encourage the students to always try new things. The students may not be perfect, but we can’t improve on perfection. “Ish” is a great place to start. The Kentucky Common Core standards are: A.P.1.13, A.P.2.22, PL.P.4.1 and PL.P.2.23.====

**Promoting Literacy Activity:**
====//Ish// is a book that once read will spark with the teachers. This book and its prequel should be kept on hand for the beginning of a research project or a scholastic challenge. This book can be used to promote self-assurance and confidence. The LMS or teacher can use the book to exemplify that for everything there is a beginning. Raymond’s vase was not perfect, but it was vase-ish and that is a great place to start.==== TOP

[[image:thenameofthisbookissecret.png align="right"]]**Summation**:
====In this Edgar Award Nominee, Cass is at her grandfather’s shop when they receive a delivery that contains the symphony of smells and a story about a mysterious magician. Max-Ernest can’t seem to tell a joke, but he tries. One day he tries to tell a joke to the “survivalist” and begins an unexpected friendship and partnership. Together they go to the magician’s underground house to search for clues to what really happened to him. While there Max-Ernest finds a hidden room.==== ====They take refuge in the room as the realtor appears to show the house. There is something about Ms. Mauvais and Dr. L that the kids don’t like. The “couple” begins asking about a notebook that belonged to the magician. When Cass and Max-Ernest are uncovered they run, notebook in hand. Ms. Mauvais and Dr. L chase after them. The kids lose their pursuers at last and head home. Then the unthinkable happens, Ms. Mauvais and Dr. L show up at the school!==== ====This book is written by a conversational narrator. He begins by telling us that he can’t tell us where the book is or describe the characters for our own safety. The first chapter is nothing but Xs. Throughout the book are occasional foot notes. The first of which is on the front plate of chapter one and a half to explain the word apologia. The story is deep, but written carefully as to not overwhelm the young reader.==== ====Bosch seamlessly incorporates an eclectic set of characters. Cass is the only child of a single mother and has two Grandfathers that run an antique store from their home. It is never explicitly stated, but is implied that the grandfathers are a couple. Max-Ernest has two parents that are divorced and living in the same house. They split everything down the middle and pretend the other does not exist. Mom will serve him breakfast and so will Dad. Dr. L and Ms. Mauvais are unique in their own way, but that is at the heart of the story so I won’t say. Gloria, the flighty realtor, and Benjamin, a boy who sees the world differently, complete the cast.====

**Curriculum Connection**:
====The students would be able to make their own scent symphony. To do this they would need 26 vials with stoppers. The students would each be assigned one letter, and would be responsible for bringing in an item that has a smell to represent the letter. The student can bring in an apple. The class (if less than 26 students) can decide on harder letters like X and Z. After the symphony has been collected the students can then experiment with identifying the smells eyes open and blindfolded. The class can also have a piece of food to compare the taste without a vial and with a vial of a different smell. The Kentucky Common Core standards are: S.P.2.1, S.P.2.3, and S.P.2.4.====

**Promoting Literacy Activity 40**:
====The author built the literacy activity of Save the Last Word for Me into the story. Chapter 32 is nothing but lines and is entitled “Now it is your turn.” In Chapter 31 the author gives the reader some basic information regarding what happens to each of the named characters and he encourages the reader to write the final chapter.====

**Promotion:**
====The LMS can sponsor a mystery day. During this day certain mysteries will be solved in the classes. One mystery could be “How can a snowflake, rain, ice, and air all be water?” Another mystery could be, “The case of the bully letter; which letter keeps making the vowels say their name?” Leading up to mystery day the LMS can showcase mystery titles from the collection for all grades.==== TOP