On the Wings of Heroes

On the Wings of Heroes is written by Richard Peck. I love Richard Peck!! Once again, he has perfectly captured a time period in this historic fiction. On the Wings of Heroes tells the story of Davy Bowman and how his young life changes during WWII. When Davy's older brother, Billy, leaves home to fly B-12 bombers over Europe, Davy does all he can to help with the war effort at home. He collects scrap metal, paper, and even milkweed for life vests. As always, Peck has filled this book with the right combination of humor, oddball characters, adventure, and heart-warming moments.

The Last Olympian

The Last Olympian came out on May 5th, but I just finished it this week. It is the 5th book in the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series by Rick Riordan. This school year I had my students read the first book in the series, The Lightning Thief. This was the best academic decision I have ever made as a teacher. My students loved the book. About 50 of my students finished the book ahead of schedule and went on to read another book in the series. Every copy of the series was checked out of the school library and a parent told me every copy of the series was checked out of the local library. As a class we talked about the novel and Greek Mythology (which the series is based on) constantly, even after we had finished the novel and moved on to read something else. My students even had a count down to the release of book five, The Last Olympian. After May 5th, I had a dozen students who had bought the book. They quickly finished it and passed it on to another student who couldn't afford to buy it themselves. It was great to see!! I loved it. It's what a reading class should be all about.

Anyway, so I finally read it. Although it was not my favorite in the series, it was a great way to wrap up the series. If you haven't started this FANTASTIC series, head to your local library NOW!!

Diary of a Wimpy Kid

This post is dedicated to the hilarious novel, Diary of a Wimpy Kid, by Jeff Kinney (who was recently voted one of Time Magazine's 100 most influential people). All school year long I had seen students (mostly boys) with this book. I had wanted to read it, but just hadn't gotten around to it. As a thank you present, a student gave me a copy of the book telling me, "I LOVE this book," so I knew it had to be one of the first books I read this summer. I'm sure glad I did. It was hilarious.

The novel tells the story of Greg Heffley's first year in middle school. The book is written in a fun font that makes it look like an actual diary. It also has drawings littered throughout it. In fact, the book is advertised as "a novel in cartoons." Kinney perfectly captures life as a middle school boy as Greg deals with his annoying brothers, bullies at school, and problems with teachers, family, and friends.

I highly recommend it for anyone who is currently a middle school student, has worked in a middle school, has children in a middle school, or was once themselves a child in middle school.

The River Between Us

I recently read The River Between Us by Richard Peck. This novel was a great example of historical fiction. It is set in the small town of Grand Tower, Illinois during 1861. The town is right off the Mississippi River, which is usually packed with boats traveling from the South to the North and back South again.

One day, two young women, Delphine and Calinda, arrive in Grand Tower on one of these boats. They are two mysterious young ladies from New Orleans, who have left to avoid any fighting that may come to the city because of the Civil War. Delphine is wealthy and glamorous, while it appears Calinda is her servant, maybe even her slave. These two young women rent out a room from the Pruitt family. The narrator in the story is Tilly Pruit. She lives with her mama, her twin brother, Noah, and her younger sister, Cass. Delphine and Calinda soon transform the lives of the Pruitts, bringing a Southern flair to their small country home.

As the war gets closer and closer to Grand Tower, Illinois, the lives of our characters change more and more. The traffic on the river slows, the town folks begin to believe that Delphine and Calinda (and possibly the Pruitts) are Southern spies, Noah leaves and joins the Union army, and finally Tilly and Delphine leave to aid him and the other Union solders.

This is a great book filled with mystery, love, and life from the Civil War.