Realistic Fiction 1.MOV

This video is in response to the following letter:

Dear Next Great Book,

I am a fifth grade girl who loves realistic fiction.  I am almost finished reading a book right now and need a new one to read.  Please help me!

Sincerely,

Searching for Realistic Fiction

Adventure Wanted!

Above is a video response to the following letter:

Dear Next Great Book,

I am looking for an action packed and adventure book.  I have read the whole Maximum Ride series and the whole Alex Rider series.  Please help.

Sincerely,

Adventure Hunter

Wanting to Give Historical Fiction a Try

Dear Next Great Book,
I am a fifth grader.  I love realistic fiction but I need to read another genre.  I DO NOT want to read fantasy yet but I am willing to give historical fiction a try.
PLEASE -PLEASE help me!!!!
PS I am above grade level as a reader.
Sincerely,
Dying For a Book

Stay Tuned for VIDEO ADVICE - coming soon!

Need a Change in Genre

Dear Next Great Book,
I've just finished a realistic fiction book called Bird.  I've read lots of really good books in the past, many were realistic fiction.  I want to try a new genre.  I'm in fifth grade but I like a challenge for a book and I am above grade level.  I need a really good book that I can stick with, because I've ben having trouble sticking with a book lately.  I hope you can find a good book!  Thanks!
Sincerely,
Seeking a Good Book

Stay Tuned for VIDEO ADVICE - coming soon!

Kate D. Camillo Book-Lover

Dear Next Great Book,
I want to read a book by Kate D. Camillo or a book like the one I just read: The Magican's Elephant.  Please help me.  I love to read and I loved The Magican's Elephant.
Sincerely,
Kate D.Camillo Book-Lover

Dear Kate D. Camillo Book-Lover,

We have some great suggestions for you!  We thought of books by your favorite author and others that we thought you might enjoy.  We hope some or all are right up your alley!

• Edward Tulane: This one is by Kate D. Camillo and it is a beautiful story.  It is a book about a glass rabbit.  He goes on an adventure and meets different people everywhere he goes.  It is wonderful and the writing is outstanding!  We know you will love it!
• Moxy Maxwell series: Oh, how we love these books!!!! They are funny and wonderful.  They are all about a girl named Moxy Mawell and she is a bit of a trouble maker.  She gets herself into all sorts of funny situations and has to work hard to get out of them.  We know you will just love these books!!
• Amoung the Hidden series: These are wonderful books.  They are filled with mystery and adventure.  There are several of them and they tell of a world where families are only allowed to have 2 children each...3rd children have to go into hiding to escape the Population Police.  These books are definitely page turners!  Enjoy :)
• Breadcrumbs: This is a fantasy book about 11 year old Hazel and her friend Jack.  In the book Jack is taken by the White Witch and  and Hazel sets out to find him.  It is a great read with lots of adventure and excitement!  It is also an important book about friendship and persistence.
• Call Me Hope: This is an awesome story.  It is about a girl who is verbally abused by her mother.  It is a story of courage and relationships and growing up.  We think you will LOVE it!

We hope you enjoy one or all of these books!

Sincerely, 

Next Great Book - Happy Reading! 

Need a GREAT book

Dear Next Great Book,
I just finished a book and I need your help finding something new to read.  Help!!!!! I like action, fantasy and medieval times.  I need your help.
Sincerely
Book Lover

Stay Tuned for VIDEO ADVICE - coming soon!

Like Diary of a Wimpy Kid

Dear Next Great Book,
Hi, my name is Drew.  I would like a book like Diary of a Wimpy Kid.  Thanks - 
Searching for My Next Great Book


Dear Searching,
Many of us loved Diary of a Wimpy Kid too.  It seems like you might like funny and that you like at least part of the book to be graphic.  We think we have some good ideas for you.

• Nana Cracks the Case (This is a great book.  It is hilarious. It is a mystery.  And it has some of the funny graphics we think you like!)
• Middle School the Worst Years of My Life (Those of us who have started this book could not put it down... it is a page turned and just like "Wimpy Kid" it is full of funny things that happen in middle school.) 
• Charlie Joe Jackson's Guide to Not Reading (We have not read this book - we just ordered it.  However, everyone who has read it has told us it is hilarious - the story of a kid who HATES reading more than anyone or anything.  It looks great - we think you might find it a fun read.)
• My Life As a Book and My Life As a Stuntboy (So many of us have read these and LOVE them!  Both are funny and filled with mystery and about interesting characters.  Plus, each interesting vocabulary word is illustrated on the side of the story.  They are both great and we think you might even want to start with them - those of us who loved "Wimpy Kid" loved these!)

We hope you love one or all of these books.  Please let us know!

Happy Reading,

Next Great Book

Dear Next Great Book,
I need your help.  I need to find a book that is funny and is fantastic.  I like all genres except biography and autobiography.  I am a boy in fifth grade.

Your help is WANTED!

Sincerely,

Searching for a Great Book

Dear Searching,

We know that we can help you.  It is great that you know so much about yourself as a reader and about your likes and dislikes of genres.  We are very impressed with that!  We think we have a list for you that could get you started.  See if you like any of them and then let us know and we will keep looking for great books just for you.

• The Secrets of Zoom (This looks like it might be right up your aisle.  It is adventurous and a mystery. It looks like it has twists and turns and that kids really seem to like it.)
• The Genius Files (This book might be just what you are looking for.  It is funny and filled with adventure, spies, kids running for their lives across the United States and a mystery to solve.  We think you should definitely check it out!)
• The Homework Machine  (Read this one to find out what happens when a group of friends create a "homework machine".  It is filled with adventure and excitement and humor.  You will LOVE it!)
• The Unwanteds (This one has been flying around our room because everyone wants to read it.  What would happen if there were some kids who were "unwanted" and what would happen if when they were 13 they were eliminated?  What would you do if you were one of these kids?  We just know you will LOVE this book - read it!)
• The Keepers of the School series (There are now 3 books in this exciting mystery series. It is by Andrew Clements one of our favorite authors.  We think you might like the mystery and the humor.)

We know you will love one or more of these and we would really like to know what you think.  So, please read and then tell us what you thought!

Happy Reading,

Next Great Book

Third Grade Teacher Looks for Book Help

Dear Next Great Book,

Hello everyone.  I am reading a book called Finnish Lesson.  It is about how Finland worked really hard to improve their schools.  I am always fascinated by books that deal with how schools work.  Can you tell me about other books like this?

PS And you thought I only wanted to read about golf!

Sincerely,

Mr. Kennedy

Dear Mr. K,

We are so happy that you wrote to us.  We hope we can help you.  We did have to do a little research on this one because none of the kids in our class have a similar taste in books.  None of us had ever read a book about how schools work but we do know how to research so here is our list so far to get you started:

• The Flat World and Education (This book looked very good.  None of us have read it but it looks from reviews and descriptions like it talked about the best ways to fix some of the problems with American schools.  It also looks like many people who read the book you are reading now, Finnish Lessons, read this book.)
• Schools the Work -Where All Children Read and Write (This book is written by one of Mrs. Scheele's heros: Richard Allington.  She says that anything he writes is amazing and right on so we think you might like it as well.)
• Holding On to Good Ideas in a Time of Bad Ones (This is also one that Mrs. Scheele liked and she thought you might as well.  It talks about what schools can do to help kids in reading and writing.)
• Readicide- How Schools are Killing Reading and What We Can Do About It (This is a book to help teachers make choices to help kids love reading not give them assignments that make them hate it.  Mrs. Scheele is always giving it to someone so we thought you might like it too!)

We also have a book for you that you might like, your kids might like and that you might want to do as a read aloud.  It is called My Life As a Book.  Many of us have read it and we LOVE it!  We think your class would too.  It is funny and a mystery and it even has really cool drawing on the sides of all the page that are connected to the vocabulary words in the book.

We hope that we have been helpful.

Happy Reading,

Next Great Book

Realistic Fiction Lover

Dear My Next Book,

I just finished "Because of Mr.Terupt" and I finished "Flying Solo" before that and they were both really awesome. I  think they are the same genre and I realy like that kind of genre.  I really need a new book and I'm stuck with one I don't really like but I have to read it during reading time.  I need a lot of help to find my next book because I don't know what genre it is because those books came in a new order of books and they were not labled what genre they where.  So I need some help!!!

From, 

Wondering

Dear Wondering,

We know we can help you.  Because of Mr. Terupt and Flying Solo are both great books!  It sounds from your description that you like realistic fiction books.  These are books that are about things that could actually happen in real life - however, they are made up stories.  There are often difficult decisions that people have to make or issues in life that are hard to deal with.  Many of us LOVE realistic fiction so we have some great recommendations for you!

• Have you read Fig Pudding by Ralph Fletcher?  He wrote Flying Solo and we think you might enjoy this great story of an important year in a family's life.  Parts are super funny and parts are very sad.  It is a great book.
• Out of My Mind is a wonderful book about a girl who cannot walk and cannot talk and at the same time is very smart.  It is the story of her complicated life.  Many of us could not put this one down and have read it again and again. 
• True - Sort Of is a book that many of us have just read or are reading.  It is a wonderful story about a little girl who begins to learn about life.  There are parts that are hilarious and parts that will bring tears to your eyes.  It is a wonderful story that we think will win lots of awards this year!
• We think you might be a fan of any books written by Andrew Clements - these are books that often are set in schools and are about real people and the real problems they encounter.  He has written loads of books and we know that if you check out his section in your library you will find something there you enjoy.
• Wendy Mass is another author who writes great realistic fiction.  Her stories are always interesting and filled with emotion, heart, self-discovery and important issues.  She is also a beautiful writer, many of us are hooked on Wendy Mass books right now.  If you like how both Because of Mr. Terupt and Flying Solo are both  written by different points of view you might really like Every Soul a Star.  A group of us just read that one and LOVED it!

We hope that at least one of these books speaks to you!  We know how hard it is to find that perfect book.  Please let us know how it goes and if we can be of any help in the future.

Happy Reading, 

Next Great Book

Mystery Hunter

Dear Next Great Book,
I would like a book that has a mystery in it. I am in 4th grade and I like a little bit of a challenge when I read. I like EB White, Lauren Tarshis and Jeff Kinney. I hope you find me a book.
Sincerely,
In Need of a Book

Dear In Need of a Book,
We hope we can help you find a great book that is a mystery. We love mystery too and think you might enjoy some of these:

• Among the Hidden series (Very cool books about a world where people are only allowed to have 2 children and any 3rd children born have to hide to survive. This is a great series and fun to read.)


• Found series (These are by the same author as Among the Hidden. This series is a great mystery with lots of history woven in. It is a little harder to read than Among the Hidden to read.)


• True ... Sort Of (We LOVE this book. It is realistic fiction but has a mysterious story running through it and you read to figure out what has happen and what will happen. We have not met anyone who has not LOVED this book!


• Owl Keeper (This is a page turner! It is very mysterious and definitely action packed. There are parts that are a little gross but it is a wonderful story!)


• Because of Mr. Terupt (We have all read this book and LOVE it! Definitely 5 stars!!! It is the story of a year in the classroom of a wonderful teacher and you read the whole thing just to find out what might happen!)


• The Mostly True Story of Jack (This is a great mystery! This is definitely a fantasy but has a great mystery that you will be dieing to figure out. It also has great characters and friendships that you will LOVE.)


• Peter Nimble and His Fantastic Eyes (This is a new book to us and only one of us has read it but he LOVES it. It is a fantasy, an adventure, it is filled with magic and mystery. We think you will like it too!)


• Tale of Dark and Grimm (This is a funny one that is based on fairly tales. It is a little gross but really funny! You will really like it we think!


• Ohhhh... and we think you will also like The Sisters Grimm series if you have not read them yet. They are really well written and they are about 2 girls who are detectives - and all the fairly tale creatures are involved. You will LOVE them!

Please let us know it goes and if you like any of these books.

Happy Reading, Next Great Book

Fantasies Found!!

Dear Next Great Book,

I would like to know some fantasy books that are good. If you could help me find a good book I would be happy. Please - please! Thank you!
Sincerely,
Fantasy Lover

Dear Fantasies Lover,
We have some great ideas for you. We know you are a fourth grader so we tried to find books that would be good to get you into fantasy reading. We hope you enjoy them.

• Moxy Maxwell (OK so this is NOT a fantasy but WE KNOW you will love it so we had to recommend it to you. There are 3 books right now in the series and many of us have read them. They are hilarious about a girl who you will just LOVE. Read it - please!


• Spiderwick Chronicles (This is a great fantasy to start off with. There is magic, great characters and lots of adventure.)


• Beastologist series (This is a great series - there are 4 books so far. They are funny, full of action and mystical creatures. We know you will love them!)


• First Day of School Forever (This is funny and a great story. We think you will love all the twists and turns.)


• Dragon Slayer's Academy (This is a great series. At our school we have some in the Lit. Lab. There are lots of them and they are full of adventure and really fun to read. Lots of us read them last year. We think you should check them out!)


• Magician's Boy (This is a fun read about a boy who is learning to become a magician. It is wonderful! If you like magic and dragons you will love this!)


• Katie Kazoo (This is a series about a girl who switches places with other people/things and gets to "walk in their shoes". It is very fun and she always learns something. We think you will love it!)

Good luck reading and we hope you find one here you like. Let us know!

Yours, Next Great Book

Need a Book In 6th Grade!

Dear Next Great Book,
I need your help. I am in the 6th grade and I have some trouble reading. I can read the Magic Tree House books, but I would like to have some ideas of something new. I read Summer of the Serpents over vacation. It was a good level for me. I don't want a baby book. It embarrasses me when my book looks so babyish. Can you help me?
Signed,
Embarrassed

Dear Embarrassed,
You should never feel embarrassed because lots of people have a hard time reading. It is brave of you to write to us and we want to help. Read what you like and what is good for you - don't worry about what other people think. But we know some people can be jerky about stuff - try hard to not let it bother you. The more you read books that are right for you the better reader you will be! Here is a list of books we think you might enjoy. Let us know if any are good. Good luck and Happy Reading!
Sincerely, Next Great Book

• Beastologist Series (There are 4 of these books right now and they are great. We think you might like a series because once you know the characters that helps a lot with understanding the book. Lots of us like series books and we love this one!


• Strange Case of Origami Yoda and Darth Paper Strikes Back (These are both a big hit here. If you like Star Wars you will love these. They are fun, interesting and not too hard. We think you should give them a try. Every kid in our room who as read them has LOVED them!)


• The Battle Begins (This is the first book in a series by Tony Abbott. It is great if you want to read Percy Jackson, but Percy is a little hard for you. It is a fantasy and full of action! We love it!)


• The Secrets of Droon (Great series - we think you will like. It is fantasy and not too hard!)


• Jake Drake books (This is a series too. It is about a kid in school and all the trouble he gets into. It is funny and a quick read.)


• Dragon Slayers Academy series (This is a great series - there are lots of them and they are funny and fantasy. There is a hero who is great, that people pick on at first and then ends up doing great things.)


• Knucklehead (We think you will like this. It is funny and about Jon Scieszka's real life and all the trouble he gets into. Each chapter is short and it's one story so we think you will really like it.)


• The First Day of School Forever (This is a fun book that lots of us LOVED. It is fast pasted and really fun to read. Plus it does not look babyish at all!)


• Liar Liar and Trouble Maker (These are 2 books by Andrew Clements that are great to read. They are fun to read and great stories of kids who tend to be naughty!)


• The Spiderwick (This would be great if you like fantasy. They are quick to read, don't look babyish and there is a whole series! Enjoy)

PS Have fun reading and let us know how it goes!

Happy Teacher!

Dear Next Great Bookers,
I want you to know how helpful you have been to me when ordering books for my class at school. I had book supply money that I could use any way I wanted for my 6th grade students... I decided to look at all your recommendations and order them if I didn't already have them. In a few days boxes will arrive with my order of books--all recommended by you. I know that I have many different levels now, since your responses were to students with different needs and abilities. Your new blog is so helpful! I hope that many teachers will learn about it so that their students can write and ask for help. Finding the right book is the hardest part of reading, I think, and the service you offer is fantastic! Thanks so much.
Sincerely,
Teacher of Students Who Love to Read

Need Something Funny!

Hi Next Book,
I am a boy in fifth grade! I like to read but I have a problem finding good books! I like chapter books that are funny!
Please help!
Sincerely,
Funny Book Guy

Hi Funny Book Guy,
We think we have some good books for you to check out! We suggest you start with some short, funny books to help build your reading stamina. We also think you might want to read a couple books in the same series or by the same author - we think you might enjoy that. Here are some of the books that we are thinking about for you:

• Nana Cracked the Case - This is a great book. It is very funny and a fun mystery to read.


• Big Nate books - This is a great series that we think you will just love. The books are funny and filled with great stories. This series is a comic-strip series. Many of us even like it better than the Diary of a Whimpy Kid series.


• Roald Dahl books - We think you will really like books by a great author - Raul Daul. He is an excellent author and his books are fun to read and are often very funny. Some are short and easy to read others are longer and more complicated - so there is a little something for everyone!


• Gary Paulsen books - Paulsen writes a lot about nature and survival but he also has some very fun/funny books. Give Liar Liar and Flat Broke a try. We think you will like the fun stories and the humor you will find.


• Knuckleheads - This is the fun autobiography of Jon Scieszka. It is filled with great and often funny stories from Jon's life. Many of us have read this book and loved it.


• The Dragon Slayer's Academy series - This is a great series that many of us have read and LOVED. Each book is a fun, quick read filled with interesting stories and characters.

We hope that at least one of these books looks interesting to you. We will keep thinking and let you know if think of any others.

Happy Reading - Enjoy,

Next Book


Dear Next Great Book,
Thank you for making all those book suggestions.  I htnk I am going to read Dragon Slayer's Academy.  Thank you again.
Signed,
Funny Book Guy