In the Swim of Things: Sunshine Series, Jerry Spinelli, and Shark Week!

The calendar has flipped to August, and we’re in the swim of summer reading, diving into popular series that bring sunshine and smiles to the Book Beach...
 

Clementine by Sara Pennypacker (RL 4.5).  While she's sorting through friendship difficulties with her neighbor Margaret, eight-year-old Clementine finds lots of topsy turvy trouble and winds up with several unique hairstyles.  She also helps her father in his quest to banish pigeons from the front of the family’s apartment building.

Clementine by Kelly G.

Fourth grade Language Arts teacher Mr. Cleary appreciates the honesty and humor of the Clementine series.  “A kid should be a kid,” he observes, “and Clementine is exactly how I felt as a kid!"  Mr. Cleary will be taking his reading to Virginia Beach this summer.  He believes that once you read the first Clementine book, you’ll be hooked: you’ll want to read the series. 

Clementine by Charlotte P.

Naila I. agrees. “Clementine is a book that any reader will enjoy.  Check it out from the library.  Read the entire series!"  Another enthusiastic Lafayette reader composed a Reading Road Trip letter to the author: 

Dear Sara Pennypacker,

I really enjoyed your book Clementine... the book made me smile.  I could visualize everything that was going on.  My favorite part of the book was when Margaret got her hair cut off.  My best friend and I acted out that scene!  I hope you write many more books!

Love, Amy G. 

Clementine by Ally F.

Let's learn more about the Clementine series and author Sara Pennypacker.  Click on the orange-highlighted words to get started!

Calvin Coconut: Trouble Magnet by Graham Salisbury (RL 3.3).  Talk about trouble!  On the day before he starts fourth grade, nine-year-old Calvin catches the attention of the school bully. Meanwhile, on the home front, the unfriendly fifteen-year-old daughter of his mother's best friend has taken over his room.

Calvin Coconut by Farrell P.

We can check out all the books in the Calvin Coconut series when Lafayette School takes a Reading Road Trip to Hawaii.  Click on the red-highlighted words to get started.

Reading Road Trip Postcard from Hawaii by Ellie G.

Reading Road Trip Postcard from Hawaii by Amy G.

Next, let’s visit with Jerry Spinelli, an author who never fails to make a splash at Lafayette School:

First punch, first kiss, first sports humiliation: in Knots in My Yo-Yo String: The Autobiography of a Kid by Jerry Spinelli (RL 5.4), the Newbery Medal-winning author shares memories of his youth in Norristown, Pennsylvania.  Filled with humor, drama, warmth, and wonder, Jerry Spinelli's story is entertaining and fast-paced... a smooth summer read!

Lafayette reader Ryan recommends Who Ran My Underwear up the Flagpole? by Jerry Spinelli (RL 4.5), fun summer fiction about friendship and football season from the author's School Daze series.  We can learn more about Jerry Spinelli and his many popular books.  Click on the red-highlighted words to get started.

It’s Shark Week!  

Sketch-a-Scene

Since 1987, The  Discovery Channel has celebrated Shark Week, a week-long series of television programs dedicated to... sharks, of course!  Broadcast in over seventy countries, Shark Week raises awareness and respect for the fascinating, fearsome creatures of the ocean.

Let's celebrate Shark Week with games, puzzles, and activities.  Click on the red-highlighted words to get started.

Dive into Shark Week-- and New Jersey history-- with a book from one of Lafayette School’s favorite fiction series: I Survived... The Shark Attacks of 1916 by Lauren Tarshis (RL 4).  Ten-year-old Chet Roscow, thrilled by stories of a great white shark terrorizing swimmers along the Atlantic coast, wonders if he sees the beast in the waters of Springfield, New Jersey!

Sharks in the sky: in The 13-Story Treehouse by Andy Griffiths (RL 5.0), Andy and Terry are trying to write their next book, but they are distracted by the unusual animals and amazing rooms in their unusual, amazing home!  There’s the shark tank... an awesome game room, a bowling alley, a secret laboratory, a comic book library, and self-making beds.

Don’t get out of the water!  In The Missing Manatee by Cynthia DeFelice  (RL 5.1), eleven-year-old Skeeter, coping with his parents' separation, spends most of Spring Break in his boat on a Florida river.  He finds a manatee shot to death and begins searching for the killer.  Natalie H. shares a video book commercial for this suspenseful story:

Swim on, Lafayette Readers, through Sunshine Series, Stories by Jerry Spinelli, and Shark Week.  And remember: your bookmark makes an excellent imaginary flotation device!