Christopher Rose's Classroom: Classroom Connections

​A Girl Like You by Frank & Carla Murphy.  Illustrated by Kayla Harren. So many readers have loved - and been inspired - by last year's A Boy Like You. The wait is over.  This is a joyous and affirming celebration of being a girl. Vibrant, inclusive illustrations are also a highlight. Together, these books offer a powerful, important message to kids. (Sleeping Bear Press, July 2020)

We Will ROCK Our Classmates by Ryan Higgins. Penelope, everyone's favorite T-Rex, is back! We met her in We Don't Eat Our Classmates, and since then she's learned a lot about being a good friend. Now, she wants to be a musician. And, the school talent show is coming...  Sometimes it is a journey to discover where we belong. This journey, like ponies, is fun! (Disney Hyperion, July 2020).

You Matter by Christian Robinson.  Every one of us needs to know that others care.  Everyone needs a boost now and then.  That's what You Matter is.  It is a pat on the back, an arm around the shoulder.  It is a warm hug.  The art is delightful (and amusing.  The message is subtle yet perfect. You think you don't need to, but go ahead...read it.  You'll feel good.  Then you can spread that feeling around. (Simon & Schuster, June 2020)

How to Write a Story by Kate Messner, illustrated by M. Siegal.  In ten engaging and wonderful steps, Kate Messner fully captures the experience of a writer .  Her book offers a clear, sequenced, and thorough plan, from prewriting to sharing, for writing a narrative story.  Even better, she demonstrates that while writing requires effort and discipline, the rewards are huge.  Messner knows her stuff, and she makes her valuable, sophisticated topic accessible to young readers.  Who knows what stories may come asa result of this encouraging guide? (Chronicle, July 2020) 

"At some point, the clouds had begun fading from the sky.  Only a few white wisps remain, like someone had swiped a paintbrush across the blue that had some white left on it from something else." from A Possibility of Whales by Karen Rivers.  Algonquin,  3/18.   

When you read those words, did you envision clouds in the sky, or did you picture a paintbrush with wet, white bristles?  Both?

"'Look it up! Learn it! Learn as much as you can, for learning is the opposite of death! Wonderful!' Grandpa was the only person Vita knew who seemed to spark electricity when he talked..." (13)

After spinning off a trapeze: "Samuel's jaw was set, and he did not smile, but there was something strange and prodigious and ferocious on his countenance.  It was the joy of seeing someone doing the thing they were born to do. (74)

Coffee "...tasted, to her, like angry mud, but she was aware that others felt differently". (17)  from The Good Thieves by Katherine Rundell. Simon & Schuster, 10/19.