Reading Road Trip 2013 Themes and Destinations

Against the Odds: Stories about Courage and Character

Kehret, Peg.  Small Steps: The Year I Got Polio.

Konigsburg, E.L. The View from Saturday.

Palacio, R.J.  Wonder.

All Creatures Great and Small: Stories with Animals

Applegate, Kate.  The One and Only Ivan.

DiCamillo, Kate.  The Tale of Despereaux.

Martin, Ann M.  A Dog’s Life.

Ryan, Pam Munoz.  Riding Freedom.

Good Sports: Books about Sports and Sportsmanship

Avi.  S.O.R. Losers.

Gutman, Dan.  Shoeless Joe and Me: A Baseball Card Adventure.

Gutman, Dan.  The Shortstop Who Knew Too Much.

Herman, Gail.  Who Was Jackie Robinson?

Into the Wild: Kids Versus Nature

George, Jean Craighead.  My Side of the Mountain.

Kehret, Peg.  Escaping the Giant Wave.

Taylor, Theodore.  The Cay.

It Happened in the Garden State: Stories about New Jersey

Gutman, Dan.  Qwerty Stevens, Back in Time: The Edison Mystery.

Tarshis, Lauren.  I Survived… The Shark Attacks of 1916.

Willever, Lisa Funari.  Nicky Fifth’s Garden State Adventure.

Willever, Lisa Funari.  Nicky Fifth on 32 Dandelion Court.

Picture This: The World of Brian Selznick

Kerley, Barbara (ill. Brian Selznick).The Dinosaurs of Waterhouse Hawkins.

Selznick, The Invention of Hugo Cabret.

Selznick, Brian.  Wonderstruck.

Selznick, Brian.  The Boy of a Thousand Faces.

Selznick, Brian.  The Houdini Box.

There’s Music in the Air: Music and Musicians

Curtis, Christopher Paul.  Bud, Not Buddy.

Edgers, Geoff.  Who Were the Beatles?

McDonough, Yona Zeldis.  Who Was Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart?

Urban, Linda.  A Crooked Kind of Perfect.

Thrillers and Whodunits: Mystery and Detective Stories

Avi.  Who Stole the Wizard of Oz?

Hale, Bruce.  Farewell, My Lunchbag.

Marsh, Carole.  Carole Marsh Mysteries.

Various Authors.  The 39 Clues series.

A Visit with Gordon Korman

Korman, Gordon.  The 6^th Grade Nickname Game.

Korman, Gordon.  No More Dead Dogs.

Korman, Gordon.  Dive Book One: The Discovery.

Korman, Gordon.  Dive Book Two: The Deep.

Korman, Gordon.  Dive Book Three: The Danger.

Korman, Gordon.  Everest Book One: The Contest.

Korman, Gordon.  Everest Book Two: The Climb.

Korman, Gordon.  Everest Book Three: The Summit.

Korman, Gordon.  Island Book One: Shipwreck.

Korman, Gordon.  Island Book Two: Survival.

Korman, Gordon.  Island Book Three: Escape.

Korman, Gordon.  Titanic Book One: Unsinkable.

Korman, Gordon.  Titanic Book Two: Collision Course.

Korman, Gordon.  Titanic Book Three: S.O.S.

Wizards and Wonders: Stories with Magic

Colfer, Eoin.   Artemis Fowl.                                         

Oliver, Lauren.  Liesl & Po.

Rowling, J.K.  Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone.

Rowling, J.K.  Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.

Once Upon a Time: Reading Fables and Fairy Tales

Suitcases packed with fables!  Lunch bags filled with fairy tales!  Satchels stuffed with poetry!  Reading Road Trip is traveling through springtime, turning our attention to page-turning tales of Once upon a Time....

According to legend, on a Greek island in the sixth century B.C., a man named Aesop labored as a slave and created more than two hundred stories that have captured imaginations across the centuries and around the world.  While Aesop’s life remains shrouded in mystery, the Greek slave’s fables survive through traditional storytelling and books published in many languages.  

A fable is a short story that ends in a moral-- an important message to be learned from the story. 

Let’s start our Reading Road Trip with A Sip of Aesop by Jane Yolen.  The author and editor of folklore and fantasy presents Aesop’s fables—and morals—in clever rhyme. 


Why Aesop?

Aesop was an ancient Greek

And spoke no language I can speak.

So I have put his tales in verse

With hopes I haven’t made them worse.

Moral:

In prose or rhyme

There is a moral:

Aesop Aeppeals

In print—or oral.

--Jane Yolen

Fourth and fifth grade fable fans have been flocking to LMC shelves in search of two titles that Mrs. Cifrodella introduced to library classes: The Fabled Fourth Graders of Aesop Elementary School and The Fabled Fifth Graders of Aesop Elementary School, both by children's author Candace Fleming.  

In the first laugh-out-loud book, a teacher takes over an unruly fourth grade class-- with unexpected and highly entertaining results. 

In the fifth grade sequel, boisterous students spend a zany school year learning fable-like lessons from unforgettable activities and unconventional teachers.

In the 1987 Newbery Medal-winner The Whipping Boy by Sid Fleischman, a bratty prince and his whipping boy find outrageous adventure when they inadvertently trade places after becoming involved with dangerous outlaws.

Cinderella Slipper by Molly H.

In Cinderella-inspired, 1998 Newbery Honor Book Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine, Ella struggles against a childhood curse that forces her to obey any order given to her.

Cinderella Diorama by Caroline Q. and Carlin C.

When thirsting for laughter and lessons and rhyme...

Just turn the pages and take a sip

of fables and tales from a different time
in the LMC via Reading Road Trip!

Extreme Reading: Exploring Adventure and Survival Stories

We’re standing on top of Earth’s highest mountain!  We're 29,029 feet above sea level,  perched on the border of China and Nepal, braving the wind, the weather, and the harsh elements of a hostile and breathtaking land. This spring, Reading Road Trippers will be taking our reading to new heights, exploring adventure and survival stories guaranteed to have us sitting on the edges of our seats!

Let's get this Reading Road Trip started with a poem sharing an adventurous attitude at a very high altitude: On Top of the World, written by J. Patrick Lewis and performed at the Green Screen summit of Mt. Everest by RRT alumni Duncan C.

Far from the summit of Mt. Everest, Lafayette readers are washing ashore with Kensuke’s Kingdom by Michael Morpurgo. We’re following the page-turning adventure of Michael, swept off his family’s yacht and struggling to survive on a deserted Pacific island… until he finds he is not alone.

Reading Road Trippers are taking a walk on the wild side, exploring 1988 Newbery Honor winner Hatchet and other books in the Brian series by Gary Paulsen.

As winter melts into spring, we’re breezing through books from the I Survived… series. Each one of these wildly popular Reading Road Trip titles tells a thrilling story from history through the eyes of a young person who lived to tell the tale.

I Survived… The Battle of Gettysburg, 1863: Child slave Thomas and his sister Birdie journey north and meet Union soldiers who have orders to fight at Gettysburg.

I Survived… The San Francisco Earthquake, 1906: Ten-year-old Leo, a newsboy in 1906 San Francisco, finds himself stranded in the aftermath of disaster as the city crumbles and burns to the ground.

I Survived... The San Francisco Earthquake, 1906 Informational Model by Sara P.

I Survived… The Sinking of the Titanic, 1912: Ten-year-old George Calder's life changes forever as he, little sister Phoebe, and Aunt Daisy set out across the ocean on the Titanic in 1912.

I Survived... The Sinking of the Titanic, 1912 by Casey and Andrew

I Survived... The Sinking of the Titanic, 1912 Fact Poster by Kayla D. and Lilly M.

I Survived... The Sinking of the Titanic, 1912 Diorama by Zachary, Holden, and Eve

I Survived... The Sinking of the Titanic, 1912 Green Screen Performance

by Jordan, Izzy, Ella, and Gianna

I Survived… The Shark Attacks of 1916: Chet Roscow, thrilled by stories of a great white shark lurking along the Atlantic coast, wonders if he sees the beast in the waters of Springfield, New Jersey.

I Survived... The Shark Attacks of 1916 Poster by Jhon and Rory

I Survived… The Bombing of Pearl Harbor, 1941: Eleven-year-old Danny Crane witnesses the bombing of Pearl Harbor and must find his way home amidst the terror and chaos of the attack.

I Survived… The Attacks of September, 11, 2001: Lucas takes a train to New York City to talk to his dad's friend, a firefighter and former football player, on the day the Twin Towers are attacked.

I Survived... The Attacks of September 11, 2001 Model by Lea C-B.

I Survived... The Attacks of September 11, 2001 Poster by Caity B.

I Survived… Hurricane Katrina, 2005: Barry’s family prepares to evacuate before Hurricane Katrina hits, but when a little sister gets very sick, they are forced to stay home and face the storm.

I Survived... Hurricane Sandy

original poem by Eesha N.

I cried

Scared and sad, freaky and mad

Ugly sights all around

Ruined homes

Violence abounds

Intense force

Violent and ghoulish winds

Endless falling trees

Dark and eerie nights

Happy days were not in sight

Until we got our lights

Running around to a charging station

Running around to find gas

Ice was scarce, none in our freezer

Connections lost, flaring tempers

A generator in sight brought some smiles

Nice and warm showers

Ended cold nights

Stars were shining

All through the night

None seem bothered by our plight

Dancing and shimmering

Yellow and bright

Reading Road Trippers are checking out Soul Surfer: A True Story of Faith, Family, and Fighting to Get Back on the Board. In this contemporary autobiography, Bethany Hamilton shares the story of her love of surfing and how—with the help of family, friends, and faith—she recovered and returned to competition after losing her arm in a shark attack when she was thirteen years old.  Check out this exclusive RRT interview with Bethany Hamilton, written and performed by Anna B. and Olivia H.