A Piglet Named Mercy by Kate DiCamillo

Mercy Watson Goes for a Ride Chapters 9-14

I Broke My Trunk! - Partner Read

The Ickabog by J. K. Rowling

Are you a fan of Harry Potter? Author J. K. Rowling is publishing her first non-Harry Potter children's book called The Ickabog! She wrote the book over 10 years ago and has just now decided to share it with us!

The Ickabog is being published for free on J. K. Rowling's website as a serial. (A serial is when a larger story is published piece by piece over time, like a chapter a day.) According to J. K. Rowling's website, the book will be published over seven weeks starting on May 26 and ending on July 10. That means that once you start reading, you'll have to wait for the next chapters to come out before you get to read more! This could be really hard!

There is also a contest to create the illustrations for when the book is published in print. Each day when chapters are uploaded, J. K. Rowling will give suggestions for what you can draw or paint to illustrate the story. Then your parents can enter your drawings at the publisher's website for a chance to be the actual illustrations used in the book when it is published in November.

I haven't read the story yet, but I'm just as excited as many of you will be to read more from the author of Harry Potter!

Read The Ickabog

The Illustration Contest

More Information about The Ickabog

The Incredible Book Eating Boy by Oliver Jeffers

Over in the Grasslands - Partner Read

Mercy Watson Goes for a Ride Chapters 1-8

We Are In a Book! - Partner Read

Get your elephant voice ready! Today you get to be Gerald the Elephant and I will read Piggie's part. Let's get started on We Are In a Book! by Mo Willems.

I Am a Story by Dan Yaccarino

Mercy Watson to the Rescue Chapters 7-12

Mercy Watson to the Rescue Chapters 1-6

The Day the Crayons Came Home by Drew Daywalt

Today's book is the follow to a book we read a few weeks ago called The Day the Crayons Quit. Find out today what happens when the crayons come home from vacation.

Guess Again! - Partner Read

For today's partner read you need to guess the end of each line. What word would make sense to finish each page? 

Then you need to guess again! Happy reading, and happy guessing! 

The Duckling Gets a Cookie!? - Partner Read

It's another Mo Willems book, but this time it's the Pigeon and the Duckling. You get to read the part of the Duckling so get your sweet and nice voice ready to go. I'll be the Pigeon.

The One and Only Bob Pages 291-335, The End

The Legend of Rock, Paper, and Scissors by Drew Daywalt

What About Worms!? by Ryan T. Higgins

HIGH FIVE by Adam Rubin

Get your hands ready. This book is about high fives, and the book gives you a chance to actually do high fives. Every time the book asks you to high five, clap as loud as you can with the high-fiver in the video.

In the book the narrator says that you can't high five yourself because that's just clapping. But for our situation, you can clap to make a nice, loud SLAP for the high five sound. Here we go!

The One and Only Bob Pages 248-290

Today's video is longer than normal, but I want to finish the book this week and not make you wait over Memorial Day Weekend for the ending. Tomorrow will be the end of the book! Feel free to pause the video and come back if you need a break.

President Taft is Stuck in the Bath by Mac Barnett

Lift - Partner Read

The One and Only Bob Pages 216-247

Drawn Together - Partner Read

Your part today is to study the pictures carefully. There are many pages without any words at all, and it's up to you to follow the story through the pictures. You can pause the video or go back any time you want to take a second or third look at the pictures.

The One and Only Bob Pages 188-215

Kel Gilligan's Daredevil Stunt Show by Michael Buckley

Stuck by Oliver Jeffers

Waiting Is Not Easy! - Partner Read

For today's Elephant and Piggie book, I will read Gerald the Elephant's part and you get to read Piggie's part.

Enough waiting! Let's get started!

The One and Only Bob Pages 161-187

The One and Only Bob Pages 131-160

My Teacher is a Monster! by Peter Brown

Is Bobby's teacher really a monster? Can you explain what's happening in this book? Pay close attention to the illustrations. That might be a clue as to what's really happening with Bobby and Ms. Kirby.

I Am Going! - Partner Read

Elephant and Piggie are two of my favorite characters, and I'm sure you like them too. Maybe they are some of your favorite characters too! That's why I"m sure you won't mind another Elephant and Piggie book for today's partner read. You read the part of Piggie, and I will be Elephant.

We're All Wonders by R. J. Palacio

The Julian Chapter BONUS READ ALOUD

Today's video tells more about the other Wonder books by R. J. Palacio and features a BONUS READ ALOUD from the book 365 Days of Wonder. The read aloud is emails between Auggie and Mr. Browne during the summer after fifth grade. Auggie's email tells Mr. Browne how he feels after getting the note from Julian that we read about in The Julian Chapter.

Time to Sleep Sheep the Sheep - Partner Read

For today's partner read, you get to read the main part of the book. I will read the speech bubbles of all the different animals. This might be a challenge, so I'll help you get started by pointing at the words at the beginning.

The One and Only Bob Pages 100-130

I Ain't Gonna Paint No More - Partner Read

Today your job as reading partner is to guess what body part is coming next. As you can see on the cover, this boy likes to paint. Even though he says, "I ain't gonna paint no more," he can't help it. He starts to paint himself! Look closely at the pictures and listen carefully for the rhyming clues that will help you guess what body part is coming next. Here we go!

The Library by Sarah Stewart

What a gift! Imagine over your entire life you built up a wonderful collection of something you loved. What would you collect? If you were to give that collection as a gift, who would it be for? How could you make your gift like Elizabeth's and be for a large group of people? 

The One and Only Bob Pages 67-99

The Julian Chapter Pages 85-96, The End

The Stinky Cheese Man by Jon Scieszka Part Two

And now, on to the second half of The Stinky Cheese Man. Pay attention for some of the characters from yesterday's reading, the first half of the story.

The One and Only Bob Pages 33-66

The Julian Chapter Pages 72-84

The Stinky Cheese Man by Jon Scieszka Part One

Don't be fooled. This is not about the Gingerbread Man, and these stories are not Fairy Tales. This is The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales, just like it says in the title. It's a very odd book, but I think it's fun. Enjoy! 

The One and Only Bob Introduction and Canine Glossary

Below is the introduction to The One and Only Bob and the glossary that starts the book. The glossary is posted below this video. Continue to the next video on the Novels page to listen to the first chapters of The One and Only Bob.

Canine Glossary: You may need to check back with Bob's definitions as you listen to the story.

The One and Only Bob Pages 1-32

The Julian Chapter Pages 63-71

Make Way for Ducklings by Robert McCloskey

Make Way for Ducklings takes place in the city of Boston, and many of the places Mr. and Mrs. Mallard and their ducklings visit are still there today. Even though the book was written in 1941, many of these places look very close to what they looked like when Robert McCloskey drew them for the book. Here are some pictures from today of those places: 

Boston Public Garden Footbridge (pause the video at 1:21)

Swan Boat at the Public Garden (pause the video at 2:10)

Boston State House (pause the video at 3:25)

This is the highway, now called Storrow Drive. The gap between buildings across the street is Mt. Vernon Street, the road the family traveled down next. (pause the video at 8:00)

Mrs. Mallard with Jack, Kack, Lack, Mack, Nack, Ouack, Pack, and Quack inside Boston Public Garden. (pause the video at 11:41)

The Julian Chapter Pages 45-61

Number the Stars - Afterword

Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day by Judith Viorst

Go, Dog. Go! - Partner Read

Today's partner read doesn't have two different parts, but use the clues in the reading and pictures to help me finish the sentences where I pause. I know you can do it! 

Number the Stars Chapters 16-17

As you listen to the end of Number the Stars, think about a couple things. First, how would this story be different if it was told by another character? What if Ellen told the story? Or Uncle Henrik? Or Annemarie's mother? What if a German soldier was telling this story?

Next, think about who had the power in this story. Who is in charge? Who makes the rules? Are the people who make the rules always the ones in power? Hmmm... interesting questions to think about as you listen to the last two chapters of Number the Stars.

Chapter 16:

Chapter 17:

The Julian Chapter Pages 28-44

The Little Mermaid read by Jodi Benson

Jodi Benson is the actress who played Ariel in the original Disney movie The Little Mermaid. Now you can hear Ariel read about Ariel! Enjoy the story, everyone! 

The Grouchy Ladybug by Eric Carle

The Julian Chapter Pages 15-27

Number the Stars Chapter 14-15

Historical fiction books are made up stories (fiction) that take place in a real time in history (historical). These times in history really did happen, even if the characters and the story events are made up. That leads to some questions. What is real? What did the author make up? Even if you know which parts are based on history, you still might have questions about the details that really happened.

Historical fiction can teach us a lot about history, but it can also raise more questions. As readers, it is up to us to do further research to answer those questions. As you listen to chapters 14 and 15, and the rest of the book, actually, keep track of the questions you have about this time in history. We'll see which questions get answered and which ones require more research on our own.

Chapter 14:

Chapter 15:

Q is for Duck - Partner Read

Today's book isn't really for partners, where I read one part and you read another. Instead, I will read a part and then ask, "Why?" Your job is to try and answer the question. If you want to, you can pause the video each time I ask, "Why?" to give yourself more time to think about the answer.

Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak

The Julian Chapter Pages 1-14

The Julian Chapter - Introduction

An introduction to The Julian Chapter from Mr. Wilhorn:

An introduction to The Julian Chapter from author, R. J. Palacio:

Number the Stars Chapter 12-13

We are getting closer to the climax, or the most important part, of the story. The excitement and drama has been building up and continues to do so in chapters 12 and 13. Keep listening for evidence of the themes we have listed on our "Seeing BIG Ideas (Themes)" document.

Chapter 12:

Chapter 13:

What's Your Sound Hound the Hound? - Partner Read

You have a fun job for today's partner read. You get to make all the animal noises in the book! Cat the Cat asks each animal what their sound is, and YOU get to make their sounds. Ready? Let's read!

Strega Nona by Tomie dePaola

This week we are going to read five classic picture books. Books that are classics have been around for a long time and kids have read them for years and years. Kids who enjoyed these books a long time ago (like me) are now grown-ups and sharing them with kids today. I hope you enjoy Strega Nona and the other classic books this week just as much I did then and still do today.

Number the Stars Chapter 10-11

There is even more to think about in chapters ten and eleven about themes in Number the Stars. Two important themes to consider in these chapters have to do with being brave and what friends do for friends. Enjoy chapters ten and eleven, and listen for how those lessons appear in the story.

Chapter 10:

Chapter 11: 

The Z Was Zapped by Chris Van Allsburg

After reading The Z Was Zapped, can you make your own alphabet book like this one? Can you think of things that could happen to each letter that start with that letter? Maybe your book could be things that happen at school or at home or while playing sports.

Number the Stars Chapter 8-9

Keep looking for evidence of themes in what the characters say and do in these chapters. Especially pay attention to what we learn about bravery in chapter nine.

Also in chapter nine, Uncle Henrik is pretty important. Number the Stars is not Uncle Henrik's story, so he is not a main character. He is a supporting character. As you listen to chapter nine, think about how important his role is even though he is only a supporting character. Think about what is going through Uncle Henrik's mind when Annemarie asks him some tough questions and as he shares with her some tough answers.

Chapter 8:

Chapter 9:

One Duck Stuck - Partner Read