Thursday, May 16, 2013

Booktalks for Juvenile Chapter Books

I've been working on some booktalks to do for local fourth grade classes, so I thought I'd share some of my favorites that I've written.  I won't be reading these word-for-word to the kids, but I like to write a paragraph to get my thoughts in an order that sounds good.

Book Jacket for: Geeks, girls, and secret identities


Geeks, Girls and Secret Identities
by Mike Jung
Vincent Wu is president of the Captain Stupendous Fan Club. It may not be the Official fan club - in fact, it may be the smallest fan club in history - but NOBODY knows more about the world's active superheroes and supervillains than Vincent, George, and Max. Like every kid in Copperplate City they show up every time they get a Stupendous Alert on their phones, hoping to see Stupendous take down a hostile space alien or giant radioactive spider. But Captain Stupendous has been acting strange lately, ever since he rescued Polly Winnicott-Lee (whom Vincent totally does NOT have a crush on, maybe) and failed to take down the giant robot creation of a brand new supervillian named Professor Mayhem. Can Vincent and his friends help Stupendous get his mojo back? And what does Polly have to do with all this? Find out in this high-powered adventure of friendship and kicking butt.

Book Jacket for: Dorko the magnificent

Dorko the Magnificent
by Andrea Beaty
Fifth grader Robbie Darko wants nothing more than to be a world-class magician.  Unfortunately, most of his previous tricks have either started a fire or sent an amphibian flying at the school principal’s face.  On top of these career setbacks, Robbie is being forced to share a room with the little brother he calls Ape Boy so that a crazy old lady he’s somehow related to can move in.  Grandma Melvyn never smiles, yells at the TV during Wheel of Fortune, calls everyone Trixie, and seems determined to make Robbie’s life miserable.  But Grandma Melvyn also has a secret, one that could change Robbie’s magic act – and his life – forever.

Book Jacket for: A long walk to water : a novel

A Long Walk to Water: Based on a True Story
by Linda Sue Park
Nya, an eleven-year-old girl living in southern Sudan in 2008, walks for hours each day to get water for her family to drink. Even then, the water they drink can be dirty and make them sick. But strangers have come to Nya's village with tools and trucks and a huge drill, ready to build something that will provide fresh, clean water right in the center of the village. Back in 1985, eleven-year-old Salva has fled from his school, also in southern Sudan. The war between the Sudanese government and the southern rebels has come to Salva's neighborhood, and people are scattering all over the country. Salva does not know what lies ahead of him - seemingly endless walking, near starvation, animal attacks, personal tragedy, packed refugee camps in Ethiopia and Kenya, a foster family in the United States - he can only move forward one step at a time. Eventually, Nya and Salva will meet in a future that is brighter for the people of southern Sudan.

Book Jacket for: Here where the sunbeams are green

Here Where the Sunbeams Are Green
by Helen Phillips
Sisters Mad (Madeline) and Roo (Ruby) haven't heard from their dad - a famous ornithologist called the "Bird Guy" - in months. He's been in Central America, searching for an almost-extinct species of bird called the Lava-Throated Volcano trogon at the famous La Lava Resort and Spa. Mad is worried because their dad's last letter was strange, a part of a series of strange happenings that she calls The Weirdness. The mystery only deepens when the sisters arrive at La Lava and discover that everyone, from the workers at the spa to their own dad, seems to be hiding something. Their only hope is the teenage Spanish tutor and jungle guide, Kyle, and his family's ancient story about a volcano goddess and the magnificent bird that was once her true love...





No comments:

Post a Comment