Ada Twist, Scientist                                                  
Written by Andrea Beauty
Illustrated by David Roberts
Ages:  5 - 7
Grade level:  K – 2

If you love reading Dr. Suess out-loud, then you’ll love this book!  Plus, it’s a beauty of a story!  Ada doesn’t talk until she’s 3, but her parents remain calm.They read, find answers, and wait…till Ada scales a clock and speaks her first words: why, what, how, and when?  A scientist is born!  By 2nd grade, she tries to find and eliminate a stinky smell, but her solution only leads to time-out and the thinking chair.  Ada Twist, scientist, doesn’t pout…she thinks of questions, then  more questions, and she writes them all over the wall.  Her parents don’t explode.  They research, then remake their home to help Ada separate fiction from fact.  If you like stories in verse, with girl power and wise parents, check out Iggy Peck, Architect, and Rosie Revere, Engineer, also by Andrea Beauty. ​

A Letter to my Teacher                                                    
Written by Deborah Hopkinson
Illustrated by Nancy Carpenter
Ages:  4 - 8
Grade level:  P – 3
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Love, love, love this book!  A girl who writes a letter to her 2nd grade teacher.  She tells Miss Mitchell how she made school and learning special.  It ends as the girl prepares for her first classroom, hoping to be just like her favorite teacher.  This book struck a chord!  I loved 2nd grade and Mrs. Metzger, and I grew up to be a 2nd grade teacher.  I hope I made Mrs. M proud.  My daughter loved 2nd grade too.  Now she’s a teacher like Mrs. Puthoff, and her mom.  She’s in 3rd grade this year.  Maybe someday she’ll make it to 2nd.  I hope so!  There’s no place like 2nd grade!  This year as you meet new teachers, don’t forget the old ones.  You’ll make their day!


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Sleepers
Written by Darcy Pattison
Ages:  10 - 18                                               
​ Grade level:  4 - 12

This book is no sleeper!  That was my Amazon review, and now it’s my review for My Reads.  Sleepers hooked me on the first page! Imagine a teenage boy, Jake, going for a night-time swim. Problem…a great white shark is circling him. This isn’t the usual Jaws adventure, Jake is a shark-whisperer, literally! The two swim the night away in the Gulf of Mexico, and that’s just the first chapter.

Kids have no sense of time. When Jake returns home early the next morning, he doesn’t get an earful about curfew. It’s all about the swim. That’s because Jake is half-human, half alien, and no one can learn of his identity. His home planet, Rison is ready to explode from volcanic forces, and they’re hoping to evacuate. Earth is the only option. Add into the plot, a revenge-seeking volcanologist, Rison-hating humans, and of course a cute girl. This is a great adventure story. I loved it so much I’m rereading it.

For teacher/parents, this book is also a treasure-trove of nonfiction connections: volcanology, anatomy (Risonians are able to live on both land and water), refugees vs the home population, World War II and the Japanese internment camp, and politicians/statesmen. Darcy explained the difference. But most of all, it’s a great story. That’s why I’m rereading it, and recommending it. Oh, I can’t wait for the next book in the series. There’s a mermaid in the mix…
 
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