Dexter the Tough

Dexter the Tough
by Margaret Peterson Haddix


Let me start out by saying that Dexter the Tough is nothing like the other book I've read by Margaret Peterson Haddix, Among the Hidden.  While Among the Hidden is set in a dystopian future, Dexter the Tough could happen in any of our classrooms tomorrow. Dexter is a new kid at school.  He's been forced to move in with his grandmother.  His father is seriously ill and seeking medical treatment halfway across the country.  He's even gotten laughed at and beaten someone up before he's made it to class for the first time.

The writing process is an important aspect of this book.  We find out that Dexter beat a kid up when he writes a story for class. His original idea score would probably be a 2.  As his teacher asks him to add more details, we find out more about what really happened.

Dexter's writing leaves out details but Dexter also fails to take in details about what is going on around him.  He only notices half of the stuff that is going on.  If he noticed more, things would have gone a lot better for him. Dexter's life and his in-class story show how important details are.  

Dexter beat up Robin Bryce.  Robin is a former home school student who is in his first year of attending public school.  Dexter isn't the first student to bully Robin.  He's been getting bullied all year even though we discover that he is an all around great kid.

Dexter feels guilty for beating up Robin Bryce.  This book is about how Dexter deals with his guilt and what he does to make things better.  He's not real confident about being forgiven and his doubts makes things a lot harder for him than they had to be.

This book was a lot of fun to read because you're never given all of the information.  In order to figure out what really happens you have to keep reading.  For example, you're told Dexter's been sent to live with his grandmother but you're not told why.  I predicted his parents had died; I was wrong.  You also find out that he beat someone up but you're not told who it was or why he did it.  You have to keep reading to find out.

First Published: 2007


Genre: Realistic Fiction


Reading Level: 5th Grade


Locations: Class library, Amazon, and Barnes and Noble

The Golly-Whopper Games

The Golly-Whopper Games
by Jody Feldman


This book was great. I read it in under 24 hours.  I only put it down to  go to sleep and to work where I kept waiting for the day to end so I could finish.  I was so excited about the book that during the school day I tried to convince my students they needed to run to the library and check out the other copies. Only one took me up on it.

Everything centers around Gil, the son of a disgraced former employee of The Golly Toy and Game Company.  Since his father was accused of embezzlement and lost his job, Gil's friends have abandoned him and his acquaintances have become cruel.  All he wants to do is leave town to start a new life.  The only way his family can afford to move is if he wins the Golly Toy and Game Company's 50th anniversary super contest the "Golly-Whopper Games."

In order to win, Gil faces a number of challenges.  First he has to get into the games which is limited to 25,000 contestants.  Once he gets in he has to answer trivia questions, lead a group of mismatched souls, solve ridiculously hard puzzles, and complete monstrous stunts, all while dealing with cheating and brainy competitors.

Gil grew so much during the book.  He faced up to some of his former bullies, became a leader of his team, and gained tremendous confidence in himself.  It was neat to see him grow so much.

I think I loved The Golly-Whopper Games so much because it reminded me of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory with it's outlandish contest that took kids into the Golly Toy and Game Company, where the contestants had to solve puzzles like in The 39 Clues series and complete stunts like in "Survivor."  It was non-stop action as you waited to see if Gil could win.

First Published: 2008

Reading Level: Fifth Grade

Genre: Adventure Puzzle Solver

Locations: School library, Amazon, and Barnes and Noble

Fig Pudding

Fig Pudding

by Ralph Fletcher

Even though I had read and used a lot of Ralph Fletcher's teacher materials I had never been inspired to read his children's books until reading his Mentor Author, Mentor Texts, where he mentioned a lot of his books.  The one that stuck out to me was Fig Pudding, so I read it.

Cliff, the oldest of six siblings, five boys and one girl, tells us about his family.  Cliff lets us see the highs and lows, the laughs and the tears the Abernathy clan share over a one year period. All of the chapters could be read as stand alone short stories but reading the book as a whole allows the reader to see how each character changes over time. Despite the brevity of the book, 136 pages, all ten characters are developed fairly well.

While I'm going to reccomend the whole book to my students, I'm going to use parts of it during reading instruction and writing instruction.  "The Tackle Box" is a great story.  Cliff gets a new tackle box that he loves.  When he is asked to share it Cliff is forced to grow up and learn about life.  I can't wait to have my students make predictions and discuss Cliff's motives as I read this short story to them. 

"Headless Chick" does a great job of exploding a moment.  In one section, student writers will be able to see the difference between writing and great writing Ralph Fletcher doesn't write: "We checked to see if Uncle Billy was dead." Instead he gives very specific details about what the children do and spices it up with great dialogue.

Finally, in "Traded Away" which is about Cliff's sister Cyn wanting a new family, a the resoltuion that brings her back into the family is also a perfectly written story about a missing cat.   Instead of writing the basics: "We lost the cat." We looked for the cat. We found the cat. We celebrated," Ralph Fletcher stretched out each moment and showed the reader how the cat was lost, how the children searched, how the cat was found, how they celebrated while allowing the reader to see how the characters were feeling throughout the ordeal.

First Published: 1995

Reading Level: Fifth Grade

Genre: Realistic fiction

Locations: School library, Amazon, and Barnes and Noble

Mentor Author, Mentor Texts

Mentor Author, Mentor Texts
by Ralph Fletcher


I've read and used other teacher books by Ralph Fletcher so I was excited to read this book. Mentor Author, Mentor Texts was a quick read that I will soon be using with my fifth grade students. It contains 24 different short stories, essays, non-fiction pieces, or poems.  Each piece is printed neatly and teachers are allowed to photocopy them for student use.  Each piece also comes with an explanation of the craft choices Mr. Fletcher used when creating the piece.  Three of the pieces have multiple drafts so students can see the revisions Mr. Fletcher made.

This book provides excellent writing samples to share with your children.  Mr. Fletcher makes some keys points about how to use the samples. First read each piece multiple times. Second, instead of telling students what to notice, ask them what they notice happening in the piece.  (I was first exposed to this idea of noticing after reading Jeff Anderson's Mechanically Inclined.) I think it is a great idea because it allows each student to learn from where they are at.  Third, use Mr. Fletcher's explanation of craft choices to show how authors make many deliberate decisions when writing.

While I haven't used the book yet because I wanted to finish it before taking it into school, it has already  inspired a great writing lesson.  My students are currently working on writing mini-mysteries.  After reading "The Old Baseball", where Mr. Fletcher writes the same story from multiple points of view, I decided I needed to do a mini-lesson on point of view.  Each of my students wrote a story about playing catch with a football with me.  The first story was from their point of view.  The second story was from my point of view.  The third story was from the football's point of view.  The students had fun and did some great writing.  I then asked each child to consider whose point of view they wanted to tell their mystery from. At least one student is going to tell the story from the missing object's point of view and another is going to tell the story from a dog's point of view.

If you purchase the hard copy of the book you also get access to a digital copy of the book online.  It appears to be an exact copy that would be great for projecting onto a whiteboard.  Sixteen of the stories are also read aloud by Mr. Fletcher on the online version.  I don't believe you can download the materials, but once you register with Heinemann, using the resource is very simple.

First Published: 2011


Genre: Teaching Writing


Available at: Amazon and Barnes and Noble

The Boxcar Children # 1

The Boxcar Children #1

by Getrude Chandler Warner

So far the best thing about doing this blog is I'm discovering all sorts of books where I ask, "Why haven't I read this one before?"  I asked that question after the reading my first Nancy Drew book, after my first Hardy Boys book, and now after reading my first Boxcar Children book.  While I anticipate reading more from all three series, I think I liked the Boxcar Children the best.  The four Alden orphans are amazingly hardworking, resourceful, and fun.


Henry, Jessie, Violet, and Benny are orphans on the run from their wicked grandfather whom they've never met.  They decide their best bet to remain a family is to set up house in an abandoned boxcar.  They use a brook to wash,  a waterfall as a refrigerator, a public fountain for water, empty milk bottles to store water, and eating utensils they found at the dump to create the necessities of home. In addition they create their own broom to clean with, a cart for Benny to play with, and a book to teach Benny to read.  I just loved to see what they would come up with next. The way they took advantage of every little item reminded me of two series I did read as a child, The Borrowers and The Littles and a newer book I've recently read, Masterpiece.


While this book was mainly about the hardworking and resourceful nature of the four Alden children which kept wondering if they could make it on their own,  there was also the mystery of their grandfather.  Why was he considered so evil? Why exactly were the Alden children hiding from him?  Would their grandfather ever track them done? If he did what would happen?  Was he like Count Olaf in the Series of Unfortunate Events.


One aspect that I think today's readers will find interesting is how the Alden orphans took advantage of every little thing they came across.  They found four wheels in the dump and turned it into a cart.  They treated slightly broken cups like little treasures.  Recently my son bought a cup at a rummage sale.  He dropped it on the floor when we got home and it shattered.  We threw it out.  I can't imagine the Alden orphans throwing anything out.  


I'm extremely excited about this book and was thrilled to see one of my students reading a book from the series this past week.  I hope to find time to read book 2 soon.  I want to see how the conclusion of book 1 leads them into new adventures.  


First published in 1942

Reading Level: Slightly Easier Than Fifth Grade Level

Genre: Mystery

Locations: classroom library, school library, Grace A. Dow, Amazon, and Barnes and Noble.

Esio Trot

Esio Trot 
by Roald Dahl


Esio Trot is a humorous romance novel.  Mr. Hoppy loves his neighbor Mrs. Silver.  But instead of loving Mr. Hoppy, Mrs. Silver loves her pet tortoise Alfie.  When Mr. Hoppy discovers that Mrs. Silver would reward anyone whom could get her dear little Alfie to grow, he goes into action. Dishonest action.


Mr. Hoppy devises a devious plan to convince Mrs. Silver that Alfie is growing.  His plan is ingenious, a fake chant and a slight of hand, but will he be able to pull it off without getting caught?  If he is successful, will Mrs. Silver reward Mr. Hoppy with what he truly desires, her love?  And what will become of little Alife?  Esio Trot is filled with moments that entice you to predict what will happen next. Read it to see what happens.


First published in 1990

Reading Level: Slightly below fifth grade

Genre: Romance/realistic fiction (everything could technically happen)

Locations: classroom library, school library, Grace A. Dow, Amazon, and Barnes and Noble.

Racing in the Rain

Racing in the Rain: My Life as a Dog 
by Garth Stein

Enzo is a dog that longs to be a human.   He tells the story of his life with his owner Denny.   In the first chapter, Enzo is an old dog suffering through life.  He then takes us back to the day he met Denny and walks us back to the present many years after they met.


While reading we discover that Enzo loves to watch TV and that Denny is an aspiring race car driver. We meet Denny's wife Eve and their daughter Zoe.  We watch Eve die and Denny battle Eve's parents for custody of Zoe. Throughout it all, Enzo offers his insights on life and tries to help Denny, Eve, and Zoe as much as a dog who lacks the ability to speak can.


I couldn't put the book down and read it's 278 pages over the course of three work nights after putting my children to bed.  I had to find out what happened to Enzo, to Denny, and to little Zoe.  I'm glad I finished because the last chapter, which is really an epilogue, is quite touching and turns the story's semi-sad ending into a magical/mystical moment.


Since the content is so heavy and the reading level is high I would only recommend this book to mature and competent fifth grade readers. When I first picked up the book I noticed the cute puppy on the cover and the age recommendation of 8-12 on the back so I figured it was a cute kids' story.  But as I read this book, and discovered the heavy duty topics covered, like: parental death, custody battles, and child neglect,  I kept wondering why this was published as a children's book and not for adults.  Then three quarters of the way through I final noticed a note on the front cover, "A Special Adaptation for Young Readers."  


While it is very deep, it is also a beautiful story and would make a great book for a parent and child to read together.  A teacher that I work with and admire, often says deep books "are a way for children to deal with the difficulties of life in the safety of a book."  Racing in the Rain does that.

First Published: 2011

Reading Level: Above average fifth grader - reading level and content

Genre: Realistic Fiction (Even though Enzo, the dog, tells the story everything that happened could have happened))

Locations: classroom library, Grace A. Dow, Amazon, and Barnes and Noble

Freddie Fernortner Book 1

Freddie Fernortner, Fearless First Grader Book 1: The Fantastic Flying Bicycle by Johnathan Rand was an interesting story.  I wouldn't say it was the best written story of all time but it kept me entertained up until the last chapter. 

Freddie is an extremely smart little dude and he hangs out with his best friends Darla and Chipper, and his cat, Mr. Chewy.  Darla and Chipper add to the story but Mr. Chewy is an unnecessary character. 


After Chipper said, "I can pedal so fast I can almost fly," Freddie is inspired to invent a flying bicycle.  He's so smart he does it on the first try.  I was really disappointed that he didn't have to work a little bit harder to make a flying bike.  I guess Mr. Rand wanted the problems to occur on the bike, which they did.


Once it was established that the bike could fly, the bicycle creates non-stop problems for the three kids and cat .  After each problem was solved, another started throughout the book.  The format reminded me of the picture book That's Good, That's Bad by Margery Cuyler.  


This is a fairly easy chapter book but fifth graders will enjoy this humorous adventure. This book is available in our classroom library, our school library, and at Amazon.com.


Reading Level: Easy fifth grade book


Genre: Science Fiction (because of the flying bicycle but I feel that categorization is a stretch)

The Tower Treasure

The Tower Treasure by Franklin W. Dixon is the first Hardy Boys mystery.  The brothers, Joe and Frank, set off to find the Applegate's, a really rich eccentric Bayport family, stolen jewels and securities in order to clear their good friend Slim's dad from being arrested for the crime. The Hardy boys are tenacious and never give up even though many of their efforts to find the thief prove fruitless.

One thing I found very surprising was how involved their father was in helping attempt to solve the mystery.  I say attempt to solve the mystery, but this is book one of the Hardy Boys series, so you can probably guess the eventually outcome, even though I won't say what the actual outcome is. Now back to Joe and Frank's dad, Fenton Hardy is a world class detective.  He actually does a lot of the leg work involved in finding  the missing treasure.  With out his help, the outcome of the story would have been much different than it was.

While reading this book, you can't help but like the Hardy boys. Not only do they never give up but they are also extremely nice to their friends and respectful of their parents and other elders, except for Detective Smuff, whom they tend to mock a little bit. I would too because his name reminds me of Smurf and I kept picturing him as a little blue guy, but that isn't why Joe and Frank mocked him.  Smurfs didn't exist back in 1927, the Hardys just didn't respect Smuff.

In order to solve the mystery of the missing jewels and securities, (Oops I said I wasn't going to spoil the outcome, but come on it is the Hardy Boys and you know what's going to happen.) Joe and Frank did some top notch detective work.  I had closely predicted the eventual solution, but the way it was actually solved surprised even me.  The Hardy Boys and their dogged determination allowed them to solve the case and clear their good friend Slim's dad name.

Once again I would recommend the book.  It is a great mystery and with it's all ages story line perfect for young readers.  It can be found in our school library under the title: The Best of the Hardy Boys.  It is available for purchase at amazon.com.

Reading Level: Slightly above average fifth grade reader

Genre: Mystery

The Secret of the Old Clock

Since this is my first blog posting about a book, I decided to write about one of the newest books on the market, The Secret of the Old Clock by Carolyn Keene.  I'm just joking, it's not a new book but it is the book I'm writing about today.

The Secret of the Old Clock is the first book in the Nancy Drew Mystery Stories series.  Surprisingly, I had never read a Nancy Drew or a Hardy Boys book before.  My dad had encouraged me to read them when I was a kid and his approval was their kiss of death. I love my dad, but his book ideas weren't impressive.  My mom took me to book shops and libraries.  In all honesty, if my mother had recommended them I probably would have read them.  With that said, I need to apologize to my dad.  "Dad, I should have read these books sooner."

Now back to the point, The Secret of the Old Clock starring Nancy Drew is a good book.  Even though the book is 80 + years old, with somewhat hokey dialogue, this mystery seemed timeless. There were characters you rooted for: Nancy, her dad, little Judy, and the Hoover sisters; and characters you rooted against: the whole Topham family. The mystery kept you wondering, was there a second will that spread
Josiah Crowley's wealth out among multiple families, or was the will that gave everything to the Tophams the only will?  Nancy's determination to find the second will and help the needy families connected to Josiah Crowley that she met throughout the book made you root for and like her.  Finally, Nancy faced down danger on multiple occasions. With all that, my one year old daughter will be reading this book in 10 years and her children will be reading it once they exist.

I would recommend this book.  It is a fun mystery.   It is available in my school library and can be purchased from Amazon.com.

Reading level: Slightly above average fifth grade reader

Genre: Mystery

Goal

Hello,

Mr. Markey Reads is my new blog. I am a fifth grade teacher.  My goals are to read for an hour a day and complete one children's chapter book a week.  They vary from early chapter books to young teen chapter books.  I also read all ages graphic novels, picture books, children's non-fiction and books for teachers.

I hope to use this blog to share books I have recently read with current students in order to facilitate their selection of books.  Former and future students are also welcome to view this blog.  Parents and teachers can use this blog to help determine what books to purchase for or share with their students.

Each post will contain my thoughts on the book, I haven't figured out a format that I want to use yet, so my posts will vary in style.  I do plan to attach a link to the book at Amazon at the end of each post.

No matter what, have fun reading.

Mr. Markey