Ms. Griffin's Virtual Bookshelf

Winter Candle By: Jeron Ashford (2014) The families at the diverse Juniper Count apartments need something to light up their dark winter.  The Winter candles provide a bright light that reveals the true spirit of the holidays.  It illuminates the joy of the season.  This candle brings the true meaning of the holiday season.  The candle gets passed around the apartments to celebrate all the tenants holidays and religions.   This picture book shows the good spirit of the community in the apartment community.  This shows the reader that even when you have little, and it may not be pretty, but you always have enough to share with others.  This picture book teaches the lesson that you should share what you have, and that good will come to you when you do.  I would love to have this book in my classroom library to show students what it is like being a good member of the community.  

Too Many Tamales By: Gary Soto (1996) Too Many Tamales is about a little girl named Maria during Christmas time.  Maria gets to make tamales with her favorite cousins for Christmas.  Maria gets to help her mother make the wonderful tamales with her cousins.  When her mother leaves the kitchen, and leaves her diamond ring, Maria thinks that it is a good idea to try the ring on.  Unfortunately, Maria looses the ring in a batch of the tamales.  Maria and her cousins try and eat their way out of trouble.  It is a wonderful family event that turns into a perfect Christmas.   I think that this is a great story about a family that comes together for the holidays.  I would love to read this book to my class at the holiday season.  I think it would be a good book to read to show what other families do during the holiday season.  I would also read books about other religions.  I think it would be a good book to read during this time,...

The Story About Ping By: Marjorie Flack (2000) The Story About Ping is a picture book about a little duck who lives on the Yangtze River.  Ping does not like being the last duck on the book everyday, that duck gets a loud spank.  So to avoid this, Ping sets off on the river on his own.  He leaves his large family and live on the riverboat to explore the river on his own.  His adventures on the river are just as delightful in this edition of the novel, as when it was first published in 1933.   This is a classic book that readers still enjoy today.  Although I enjoyed this book, I am not sure that I would have it in my classroom library.  I think that it is a fun book to read, and might consider having it for students to read in free time, but I would not read it to the class.  It is a good book, but I would not recommend this book to other teachers to necessarily have in their classrooms.  

Saki's Kimono By: Chieri Uegaki (2005) Saki's Kimono is a wonderful story about a little girl trying to be herself, no matter what anyone thinks or says about it.  Saki got her kimono from her grandmother the last time she visited her.  This is Saki's favorite possession, and she wants to wear it for her first day of school.  When she is in school, she shares what she did over the summer.  She gets so involved in the story that she starts singing and dancing about her summer.  This book shows us that you are who you are, and whoever that may be is a wonderful person.   I think that this is a wonderful book that shows students, and teacher, that whoever you are is a wonderful person.  This book shows the reader that they should embrace who they are, and share it with the world.  I would love to read this book to any grade level.  I would recommend this book to teachers to have in their classrooms for students to read.  

Before We Were Free Author: Julia Alvarez (2018) Before We Were Free is a story about a young girl named Anita.  Anita lives in a time period of political unrest in the Dominican Republic.  Her family members, father and uncle, plot an assassination of the dictator.  The story starts off with Anita being eleven years old, and follows her life as her family goes to America, or disappears.  The story follows her life after the dictator is killed, while she goes into hiding from a more real and powerful new dictator.  Anita has to go into hiding for several months, and then to a new country.  She and her mother have to adapt to new surroundings, while grieving the loss of their family.   I would highly recommend this book if the class is studying this era and different cultures.  This book is similar to Anne Frank's diary in the way it was written because it was written in a very similar way.  This book is a wonderful read, and will ha...

Junie B. Jones: BOO... and I MEAN It! Author: Barbara Park (2008) Junie B. Jones is a first grade student who is well loved by elementary school readers.  In this novel we follow how Junie B. Jones is afraid of trick or treating.  She is frightened of the costumes, and specially if any of them could be real.  She has a fear of the creatures that are out during trick or treating.  What is they are real?  How is she supposed to get through the holiday while enjoying it?  With the help of a friend, Junie B. Jones finds a way to enjoy the holiday.  She comes up with a costume that will scare the competition away.  The reader follows her through the struggle of dealing with the holiday, to her enjoying it.   I would recommend this book, along with the rest of the series, to any reader who wishes to have fun and enjoy reading.  This book is great for students who are starting to read chapter books.  The text is simple to read, w...

Wonder Author: R.J. Palacio (2012) Wonder is a wonderful novel about a little boy going into the fifth grade in a real school for the first time in his life.  Auggie, the main character of this book, is a little boy that has an unusual face.  He was born with a face deformity that makes him look very different than other boys, or people.  Auggie was home schooled for the first few years of his life because of surgeries, and as a way for his family to protect him from cruel people.  The novel follows Auggie throughout his first year of school, through his ups and downs, and the lessons he, and his friends and family, learns.  The story rotates through different narratives to show a range of perspectives so the reader truly understands the struggle that people who are bullied face.   I would highly recommend this book to any reader: student, parent, teacher, anyone.  I think that this book truly shows the reader, and makes them understand, what...