The novel A Million Shades of Gray by Cynthia Kadohata is a thoughtful and compelling book, but I think it would work better with middle-school or high school students.  The book tells the story of Y’Tin, a boy who achieves his dream of becoming an elephant handler.  The story is set in Vietnam, mostly in 1975, after the US troops have left.

Some of the subject matter of this novel would captivate and charm students in the age range of 4^th and...

Robert B. Haas artfully and clearly explains how and why he uses aerial photography to capture his subjects in the wild.  Hass introduces some of the basic terminology of photography, and he makes clear just how dependent he is on the skills of the pilots he works with.

The photographs in this book are stunning.  Haas explains how he takes the photos and how often he is dependent on luck to get the best image.  The sidebar explanations about th...

True (. . . sort of) by Katherine Hannigan is both fun and serious. It is also an example of why I have learned to trust my instincts – some of my favorite books are the ones I happen to stumble upon.  This book falls squarely into that category.

The main character is Delly Pattison, a short, sassy spitfire of a girl who can’t seem to stay out of trouble.  Delly has enough of a reputation in her family, at school, and in her town that she is...

Owen Jester seems like a typical elementary school boy.  In Barbara O'Connor's The Fantastic Secret of Owen Jester, Owen feels stranded on the wrong side of town, away from his friends.  His family has moved in with his grandfather both to help out his grandfather, who is recovering from a stroke, and to help themselves out, since Owen's father has lost his job.  Viola, the nearby neighbor girl, is no substitute for Owen's friends--she suffers fr...