To help you guys I am going to post here what the requirements are for each book you read. I am also going to post what I read this quarter because that is my goal!

This quarter (as you did last quarter), each post MUST have

• image of cover with citation
• emoji that summarizes the book or your feelings while reading
• genre

This quarter, you will also need to include:

• a blurb (a sentence or two describing the plot without any spoilers) that includes one of the words we have learned this year (protagonist, antagonist, setting, conflict, theme, point of view).

https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1468554741l/25753099.jpg

This was the first book I read in 2018 and I am so grateful for the Newbery Contenders list we use for our predictions because I NEVER would have heard of it otherwise. It is one of my favorite books for fifth graders I have ever read. I like it more than Maxi’s Secrets!!!!!! The protagonist is a boy named Obe who is in sixth grade and whose family used to have a lot of land but had to sell it off a few generations ago. The land is now being developed into a neighborhood, which makes Obe sad because the construction workers leave a lot of trash behind and keeping his land clean is a big thing for him. He is dealing with some friend drama (which is very realistic) and spends time out by the river because he doesn’t have his friend to hang out with any more when he discovers an animal a bit like a dog – but who eats plastic! Obe knows this animal needs to be protected but there are a lot of risks with that. This is a science fiction book but only because the animal Obe discovers doesn’t really exist. Otherwise, everything is very realistic and could be happening right here in Durham! I can’t imagine anyone who wouldn’t like this book. The chapters are short and I highly recommend it to all fifth and sixth graders!

PS Poop is a BIG part of the story but not in a gross way!

This quarter, you are expected to have the following for EVERY book you read this quarter.

• an image of the book that shows the author’s name using the “add media” button.
• The image should have a caption that shows the website where the image came from.
• A complete sentence that identifies the genre of the book;
• An emoji rating (please use no more than 10 emojis).

Keep adding to this post (do not make new posts for each book you read please). If you would like to write more to go with the genre and emojis, go for it!

https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Blended/Sharon-M-Draper/9781442495005

This amazing book is a realistic fiction book about a girl who is struggling with her identity because she is mixed race and she splits her time between her mom’s house and her dad’s house. It fits with my reading goal because I do not have either of those situations. I loved this book and was really surprised in the last 30 pages of the book because something very unexpected happens! If you read this, please let me know because I would love to talk to someone about how they felt about the events at the end of this book. 😟❤👀🎹

https://www.amazon.com/Merci-Su%C3%A1rez-Changes-Gears-Medina/dp/076369049X

This book is another realistic fiction story about a girl whose family is from Puerto Rico. She lives on a cul-de-sac in between her aunt and cousins and her grandparents. She and her older brother go to a private school that seems a lot like DA. The book is about Merci realizing that things change and having responsibilities has its pros and cons. ⚽️🌴❤

https://www.amazon.com/Parker-Inheritance-Varian-Johnson/dp/0545946174

This is my pick to win the Newbery! I loved this book- it was one of those books where you try to solve a mystery along with the main character. It is a realistic fiction book (and a little bit mystery) but there are changes in time that are historic fiction as well. People call this a multi-genre book! It was a little disturbing to read how unfair things were (and still are) for blacks in this country, but it is important to know the truth. There are some disturbing things mentioned, so if you are sensitive to violence you might not want to read this book. I didn’t mind because they were happening in the past, not directly to the main character.

👁🕵🏾‍♀️🕵🏽🚴🏾‍♀️

https://www.amazon.com/Truth-Told-Mason-Buttle/dp/0062491431

I COULD NOT STAND THIS REALISTIC FICTION BOOK!!!!! Read if you like books with protagonists that you feel terrible for and everything bad imaginable happens to them and their lives are horrible. I forced myself to finish this book and it was torture.

😭😨😰😓😪😢😥

https://www.amazon.com/Betty-Before-X-Ilyasah-Shabazz/dp/0374306109

This historic fiction/biography was really enjoyable. It is about the childhood of the woman who ended up marrying Malcom X and is written by her daughter. It was really interesting to read about how hard her life was. Let’s just say her mom was not really into being her mom, a lot like the mom in The War That Saved My Life. Nevertheless, she had a wonderful attitude and had a great habit of listing what she was grateful for at the end of every day, which is something I do.

👏👏👏👏

https://www.amazon.com/Cardboard-Kingdom-Chad-Sell/dp/1524719374

I know this is unpopular, but I really don’t like graphic novels AT ALL. This realistic fiction graphic novel was not for me, but it is full of a bunch of characters that all are very different and I am sure that there are kids reading it that are so happy that there is finally a character like them in a book. I was really confused and felt very old reading this.

👋this emoji is me waving goodbye to it because I never want to read it again

https://www.amazon.com/Small-Spaces-Katherine-Arden/dp/052551502X

THIS MYSTERY IS TERRIFYING!!!!!!! I had actual nightmares from reading it. It has really short chapters and if you like to feel scared by Halloweenish things, this is the book for you!

👻🍂🍁🔪⚰️

I learned to read when I was three. I remember that my dad taught me using these yellow sheets of paper and this black permanent marker that smelled super chemically. I loved it! I remember trying to be like him and “teaching” my dolls to read. I guess I never stopped wanting to spread my love of reading!

My favorite books growing up seemed to be in series. I loved The Boxcar Children, Anne of Green Gables and for some reason, even to this day, any book that has to do with boarding schools, especially in England. I remember LOVING my teachers that read out loud to me- even the smell of their breath and what kinds of shoes they wore because I sat as close as I could.

I read a lot of historical fiction. I do almost all of my Reading at night before I go to bed. My goal for this quarter is to read more nonfiction and books about people who are very different from me.