Shiloh, by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor

Shiloh, by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor, is a Newberry Award winning classic novel about a boy and his dog. Marty Travers lives in rural West Virginia with his parents and two sisters. The family is close-knit, but struggle financially. Marty longs for a dog of his own, but his parents won't allow it, due to the cost involved. Shiloh is a hunting dog owned by cruel Judd Travers, who has a pack of dogs that he treats very poorly. Marty and Shiloh find each other, and Marty becomes committed to protecting Shiloh from Judd Travers, even if it means deceiving those he loves and respects most: his family and friends.

Shiloh raises a lot of great talking points with students regarding honesty, poverty, family relationships, and bravery. The book is rich with the opportunity to discuss setting, plot, vocabulary, metaphors, and characterization, and is laid out in a way that is very accessible to both teachers creating a lesson plan and to students. There are plenty of great "cliff-hangers" at the end of each chapter, which will keep your students excited about coming back for more. I highly recommend this book for your 3rd and 4th grade students. Many of them will be able to read it on their own, but they will get much benefit from reading and discussing as a class. Lesson plans can be found here. The book is also available to students at RIF. 

Summer Book Pick: My Side of the Mountain

One of my favorite books as a Fifth Grader was My Side of the Mountain by Jean Craighead George. Although it was published in 1959, it remains a timeless adventure.  This book is also a Newbery Medal Honor book.

Sam lives in a crowded New York City apartment with his eight brothers and sisters.  Sick of cramped living quarters, he decides to run away to his Grandfather's cabin in a remote forest area in the Catskill Mountains.  He becomes very self sufficient, learning to find food and shelter and training a falcon to help him hunt.  He realizes over many months, that although he loves living off the land, he also misses the companionship of his family and friends.

Wonder: My Top Summer Book Pick

Wonder, by R.J. Palacio is my top book pick for this summer.  

August Pullman was born with a facial difference that, up until now, has prevented him from going to a mainstream school. Starting 5th grade at Beecher Prep, he wants nothing more than to be treated as an ordinary kid—but his new classmates can’t get past Auggie’s extraordinary face.

 I highly recommend reading this book with your child!  It has amazing life lessons of kindness and courage.  I will be reading this book with my own incoming fifth grader because I think the discussions we will have about August and his classmates will be invaluable to my son.  I think he will gain more from reading this book if he has a chance to talk about it rather than just reading it on his own.