Story Rug by Sophie Blackall illustrated by Phoebe Wahl

This book is sure to create a craze in your library or classroom for braiding and for making braided rugs - even small ones. I really enjoyed the repeated refrain used in this story as Noah and his friends approach each problem:

"I want to braid. Noah knows Mrs Morena will have an idea. She always has an idea."

"But how to join the strips? Noah knows his Dad will have an idea. He always has an idea."

"It's too much braid to fit in Noah's backpack. But what to do with it? Everyone knows Noah will have an idea. He always has an idea."

There is one small plot jump in this story - I am sure your class will have ideas when you discuss this. The kids braid many different cloths. The braid is so long. Noah has a terrific idea and he tells everyone to meet him at the library which I assume is the local town or city public library. The kids coil the braiding and form a huge rug - a story rug. Turn the page and the next scene is back in the classroom. 

Do make time to linger over the end papers and notice the extra details in the classroom. This might seem obvious, but this book takes place over a few days and on each new day at school the kids are wearing different clothes. The way the kids also weave in their stories made me think about the stories people share over quilts. Here is a Pinterest of quilt books from my friend at Kinderbookswitheverything.

Blurb from Illustrator webpage: The children of Class 203 are learning to braid. They started with hair and shoelaces, and now the children have brought rags from home. Their braid gets longer and longer until one idea transforms it into an extraordinary surprise for their teacher. Here is the story of a rag rug, woven through with the stories of the scraps used to create it and those told during its making. The result is a special handmade spot where the whole class can gather, ready for more stories.

Braids together the personal and the communal—and will hopefully inspire real classrooms to follow suit. Kirkus

You can hear Sophie Blackall talking about her book here to NPR with Phoebe Wahl.

You can see a video about braided rugs in this review by The Bottom Shelf (Barbara Braxton).

It is such a celebration of kids working together to create the most amazing thing, interweaving not just the fabrics but their own lives and their stories, sharing snippets of their diverse out-of-school time.

You will know Sophie Blackall from all her fabulous books - take a look at this post. The difference with Story Rug is that Sophie penned the text and did not do the illustrations - instead we have vibrant pictures by Phoebe Wahl. I previously talked about her book Sophie's Chickens.

The Unteachables by Gordon Korman

Room 117 is the last classroom in the building. It is the classroom for the left-over students and the place the superintendent sends Mr Zachary Kermit. Mr Kermit is close to retirement after 30 years of teaching. The superintendent is keen to get rid of Mr Kermit because if he retires the school district will have to pay him a pension long into the future - Mr Kermit comes from a family of long livers. Mr Kermit is also haunted by the past when he was accused (wrongly) of aiding a kid - Jake Terramova - with cheating on the National Aptitude Test. The Superintendent will NEVER forgive Zachary Kermit.

Class SCS-8 (Self-Contained Special Grade 8) is a dumping ground for failures plus Kiana.

"They're kids you've given up on. They had their chance in sixth and seventh grade and now you're just warehouseing them until they can be the high school's problem."

"How bad can these Unteachables be? Behaviour issues, learning problems, juvenile delinquents? ... Bad attitudes? The kid hasn't been born with an attitude that's half as bad as mine at this point. Face it, the Unteachables can only hurt you if you try to teach them. I have up on teaching anybody anything decades ago."

Characters:

• Mr Kermit - the teacher, nickname Ribbit
• Kiana - who is a bright and compassionate girl in the wrong class or is she?
• Parker - a boy with a heart of gold and a driving licence (provisional). He also has dyslexia and so far no one has helped him with this
• Aldo and Elaine - kids with serious anger issues
• Rahim - great at art but sleeps all day in class
• Mateo - a boy with an obsession for tv and movie characters
• Barnstorn - talented football player now on the bench with a broken leg
• Emma Fontain - the teacher in the room next door. She is enthusiastic, kind and wise beyond her years
• Jake Terramova - now owns a successful car dealership. Jake truly wants to repair his past errors and help Mr Kermit find forgiveness
• Dr Thaddeus - school district superintendent
• Mrs Vargas - school principal

Read these reviews for more plot details:

Writing in the alternating voices of Mr. Kermit, most of his students, and two administrators, Korman spins a narrative of redemption and belief in exceeding self-expectations. Kirkus

The students are lovable, and their reasons for their own issues become clear as they narrate their parts of the plot. The love, respect,and care which come to light in the story are real, and it’s easy to root for this group of misfits. NY Journal of Books

A solid, funny novel with deeper issues. Ms Yingling

Why did I pick up this book? Why did I thoroughly enjoy this book?
I have read books by Gordon Korman (Canadian author) in the past.
I really enjoy books which use multiple voices which change with each chapter and give the reader different views of the same incident.
The bright cover caught my eye.
I have been reading Middle Grade books with recent publication dates - this one is 2019.

After reading The Unteachables you might want to pick up Where the Red Fern grows so that you can understand when Aldo says: "It was Ribbit who showed me that teachers aren't always the enemy, even when they make you do work, or yell, ... If it wasn't for Ribbit, I never would have heard of Where the Red Fern grows, which I'd be done with by now if we didn't drop everything to work on the science fair. I can barely picture my life before I knew about Billy, Old Dan, and Little Ann, who feel like real people to me - except Old Dan and Little Ann, who are dogs."

I would follow this book with these:

Ms Bixby's Last Day

Because of Mr Terupt

The Fabled Fourth graders of Aesop elementary

The Junkyard wonders

Hark, it's me, Ruby Lee! by Lisa Shanahan and Binny

By the end of the book, you’ll feel as if Ruby Lee is a real person — that you know her personally. Her hopes, dreams, disappointments and flaws are all exposed, pulling you into the story so you experience the same sadness, joy and pride as Ruby Lee does through the book. Kids Book Review

Children love to take on class 'jobs' such as lunch monitor, line leader or messenger.  Ruby Lee is desperate to be the messenger. She is the best in her class at announcing :

Hark, it's me, Ruby Lee

Fear not I am the bearer of good news

For some reason Mrs Majestic-Jones never seems to pick Ruby Lee. Her friend, with the delightful name George Papadopoulos, tries to help but on Monday Siena is chosen again and Ruby Lee is made litter patrol officer. At least the birds love her because she shares the lunch scraps. On Tuesday Siena is absent. George suggests Ruby Lee try sitting quietly as still as a mouse. It works and she is now the class messenger but her excitement and exuberance means things do not quite go to plan.

This little cautionary tale is a delight to read aloud.  It is filled with delicious invented words like:

Spockled Frocklewockle!
Squinker
Shlurgle

I especially enjoyed the opening sentences :
Ruby Lee loves pockets, peaches, puddles and polka dots.
She loves humming and hopping and handstands at dusk.

It would be fun to read this book with a class at the start of the school year or term when you are deciding on your class roles and responsibilities. Perhaps you could make a chart with the jobs and then add the personal qualities required for each task and compare these with Ruby Lee and her classmates.

I wonder if this book might be short listed for our CBCA awards which will be announced in a few weeks - it certainly deserves to be. You can see some of the illustrations here. You might also take a look at the illustrator web site.  Lisa Shanahan is the author of one of my favourite read aloud titles Bear and Chook by the sea.

After reading Hark, it's me, Ruby Lee try to find Jennie's hat by Ezra Jack Keats.

This book belongs to Aye-Aye by Richard Bryne

Last week we bought forty new picture books for our library and over several days I have been reading this set.  While all of them will appeal to our students only one or two had that extra little something.   These are the ones I will add to my own pile of terrific read-aloud books to share with my Kindergarten students.

This book belongs to Aye-Aye has the ingredients of an excellent picture book for a very young child :

1. A young hero that readers can identify with
2. Repeated story elements that allow for the satisfaction of knowing more than the main character
3. Terrific illustrations which go beyond the words
4. A very satisfying ending (although I did not believe these rabbits were completely reformed) 
5. A bonus - in this case a little craft project to try yourself

Aye-Aye loves picture books, he would love to star in a picture book and to this end he attends the most perfect school "Miss Deer's academy for aspiring picture book animals".   One day his teacher announces she plans to give a special award to the most helpful animal this week.  Aye-Aye hopes the prize will be the one thing he wants most in the whole world.  Sadly his plans are constantly thwarted by the cunning rabbit twins.  Happily he has special support from his classmates.

Here is the web site for Richard Byrne.  Take a look at my review of Millicent and Meer also by Richard Byrne.  Here is an instruction sheet showing you how to draw Aye-Aye.  After reading this book you might like to read about the aye-aye which is a threatened species found only on the island of Madagascar.  I was interested to read the aye-aye is nocturnal.  You could make a fact and fiction table with a class comparing the story version of the aye-aye with our little hero Aye-Aye from the picture book by Richard Bryne.