Category: Books

Book Talk | Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing by Judy Blume 

Published on by Jeanie JoLeave a comment
5 Cup Rating

“My biggest problem is my brother, Farley Drexel Hatcher. He’s two-and-a-half years old. Everybody calls him Fudge.”

― Judy Blume, Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing

Author: Judy Blume
Published: May 01, 2007
Publisher: Puffin Books
Pages: 160
Genre: Realistic Fiction

From GoodReads: Life with his little brother, Fudge, makes Peter Hatcher feel like a fourth grade nothing. Whether Fudge is throwing a temper tantrum in a shoe store, smearing mashed potatoes on the walls at Hamburger Heaven, or trying to fly, he’s never far from trouble. He’s an almost three-year-old terror who gets away with everything, and Peter’s had it up to here! When Fudge walks off with Dribble, Peter’s pet turtle, it’s the last straw. Peter has put up with Fudge for too long. Way too long! How can he get his parents to pay attention to him for a change?

In this chapter book for fourth graders, we follow the day to day life of Peter Hatcher. Peter’s life seems pretty normal except he has a brother they call Fudge who has a case of the terrible two’s which causes chaos, leaving Peter feeling like he is a nobody at home.

If you enjoy comedy & humor then you may like Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing.

I chose to read this book because I am headed to Fourth Grade! I have been offered and I have accepted an ELA-R position at an Elementary School within the community of Galveston Island for the 2023-24 school year.

Do you teach fourth grade or ELA-R? Let’s connect.

Until next time,

I am a Bookshop.org Affiliate – I have said goodbye to Amazon & Large Book Retailers and am supporting local bookstores. All links will take you to my shop where I will receive a commission for the books that you buy!

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Book Review | The Scent Keeper by Erica Bauermeister

Published on by Jeanie JoLeave a comment
5 Cup Rating

“Her song was so beautiful that it could take people back to all the things they wished they had done, and all the things they wished they could be.”

― Erica Bauermeister, The Scent Keeper

Author: Erica Bauermeister
Published: May 21, 2019
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press
Pages: 311
Genre: Fiction

From GoodReads: Erica Bauermeister, the national bestselling author of The School of Essential Ingredients, presents a moving and evocative coming-of-age novel about childhood stories, families lost and found, and how a fragrance conjures memories capable of shaping the course of our lives.

Emmeline lives an enchanted childhood on a remote island with her father, who teaches her about the natural world through her senses. What he won’t explain are the mysterious scents stored in the drawers that line the walls of their cabin, or the origin of the machine that creates them. As Emmeline grows, however, so too does her curiosity, until one day the unforeseen happens, and Emmeline is vaulted out into the real world—a place of love, betrayal, ambition, and revenge. To understand her past, Emmeline must unlock the clues to her identity, a quest that challenges the limits of her heart and imagination.

Lyrical and immersive, The Scent Keeper explores the provocative beauty of scent, the way it can reveal hidden truths, lead us to the person we seek, and even help us find our way back home.

Emmeline is a girl who knows what she wants. Raised on a remote island by her father, Emmaline loves the life she has. As changes flow with the tides, I was thoroughly impressed by the way she chooses to remain firm to her heart and her nose, shunning conformity of family, peers, and society – even when it was difficult.

Have you read Reese’s Book Club February 2020 Pick, The Scent Keeper by Erica Bauermeister? What did you think?

Until next time,

I am a Bookshop.org Affiliate – I have said goodbye to Amazon & Large Book Retailers and am supporting local bookstores. All links will take you to my shop where I will receive a commission for the books that you buy!

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Reading 52 + Books in 2022

Published on by Jeanie JoLeave a comment

Every year, I challenge myself to read more books. This year I am reading 52 books, I am hoping to read one per week. Here’s how it’s going so far.

  1. The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller
  2. After the Fall by Dan Santat
  3. Reading Beauty by Deborah Underwood
  4. Before Morning by Joyce Sidman
  5. Avalanche by Michael J. Rosen
  6. The Mess That We Made by Michelle Lord
  7. One Plastic Bag by Miranda Paul
  8. Oil by Jonah Winter
  9. Saving American Beach by Heidi Tyline King
  10. Joni: The Lyrical Life of Joni Mitchell by Selina Aiko
  11. The Year We Learned to Fly by Jacqueline Woodson
  12. The Tattooist of Auschwitz by Heather Morris
  13. The Reading List by Sara Nisha Adams 
  14. The Snow Queen by Sarah Lowes
  15. A Thousand No’s: A Growth Mindset Story of Grit, Resilience, and Creativity by DJ Corchin
  16. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
  17. Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys
  18. A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle
  19. True Biz by Sara Nović
  20. Awakened: Change Your Mindset to Transform Your Teaching by Angela Watson
  21. I Guess I Haven’t Learned That Yet: Discovering New Ways of Living When the Old Ways Stop Working by Shauna Niequist
  22. The Dictionary of Lost Words by Pip Williams
  23. Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert
  24. The Book Whisperer by Donalyn Miller
  25. Reading in the Wild by Donalyn Miller
  26. Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens
  27. Get Out of Your Head: Stopping the Spiral of Toxic Thoughts by Jennie Allen
  28. Wrong Place Wrong Time by Gillian McAllister
  29. Waymaker: Finding Your Way to the Life You’ve Always Wanted by Ann Voskamp
  30. Little Ree by Ree Drummond
  31. #17 I Survived The Attack Of The Grizzlies, 1967 by Lauren Tarshis
  32. White Bird by R.J. Palacio
  33. The Lost Wonderland Diaries by J. Scott Savage
  34. My Friend Anna: The True Story of a Fake Heiress by Rachel DeLoache Williams
  35. Little Blog on the Prairie by Cathleen Davitt Bell
  36. The Scent Keeper by Erica Bauermeister
  37. On the Rooftop by Margaret Wilkerson Sexton
  38. Journey Into the Deep: Discovering New Ocean Creatures by Rebecca L. Johnson
  39. The Mostly True Adventures of Homer P. Figg by Rodman Philbrick
  40. #21 I Survived The Galveston Hurricane, 1900 by Lauren Tarshis
  41. The Christie Affair by Nina de Gramont
  42. Who’s That Stepping on Plymouth Rock? by Jean Fritz
  43. Two Degrees by Alan Gratz
  44. From Scratch: A Memoir of Love, Sicily, and Finding Home by Tembi Locke
  45. Our Missing Hearts by Celeste Ng
  46. Romeo and/ or Juliet: A Chooseable Path Adventure by Ryan North
  47. Living Fully: Dare to Step into Your Most Vibrant Life by Mallory Ervin
  48. Just Jones: Sometimes a Thing is Impossible … Until It is Actually Done by Andy Andrews
  49. Into the Volcano: A Volcano Researcher at Work by Donna Donovan – O”Meara
  50. Busy Betsy by Reese Witherspoon
  51. The Stories We Tell: Every Piece of Your Story Matters by Joanna Gaines
  52. The Technology of Mesopotamia by Graham Faiella
  53. Get Out of Your Head: Stopping the Spiral of Toxic Thoughts by Jennie Allen
  54. You Are Always Enough by Emily Ley
  55. Roman Diary: The Journal of Iliona of Mytilini by Richard Platt
  56. Uninvited: Living Loved When You Fell Less Than, Left Out, and Lonely by Lysa TerKeurst
  57. Ozymandias by Percy Bysshe Shelley
  58. Something From Tiffany’s by Melissa Hill
  59. OverDressed: The Shockingly High Cost of Cheap Fashion by Elizabeth Cline
  60. The Girl with the Louding Voice by Abi Dare

What are you reading? Tell me in the comments below.

Until next time,

(*) Currently Reading

I am a Bookshop.org Affiliate – I have said goodbye to Amazon & Large Book Retailers and am supporting local bookstores. All links will take you to my shop where I will receive a commission for the books that you buy!