With the beautiful weather reminding me of summer I felt the urge to share the incredible final contenders with the world.  So this weekend all finalists have been selected and put up for voting for the chapter book choices for Global Read Aloud 2015.  I cannot gush enough about the final books, they are those types of books that you will always remember reading.  Those types of books that become an experience.  Those types of books that will inspire us all.  So please vote, it will be open until April 20th or so.  And while you are at it, have your students vote as well, after all, it is the children that will listen to the incredible winners be read aloud.

To vote for our early readers choice, go here

To vote for our younger middle grade choice, go here

To vote for our upper middle grade choice, go here

And finally to vote for our YA (high school and up probably) choice, go here

This means that with our incredible picture book author study, this year will have 5 different choices again.  I hope that there is something here for everybody to love.

With April beckoning us all in it is time to think about the official selections for Global Read Aloud 2015.  While the picture book author has already been selected, (to see who it is, go here!), I now set my sights on the incredible chapter books that will be molding our connections as we kick off October 5th.  Please take a moment to read about the choices and then cast your vote.  If your favorite book is not on the list, please submit it under other, who know’s, it may just end up being a contender any way!

This is the final category to have its short list released.  I love this category because it tends to be one of the two choices I read to my own students, so a lot of thought goes into the incredible books that may become the official book.  Any of these books are worthy of the title, I hope you agree, so here they are in no particular order.

Twelve-year-old Fern feels invisible. It seems as though everyone in her family has better things to do than pay attention to her: Mom (when she’s not meditating) helps Dad run the family restaurant; Sarah is taking a gap year after high school; and Holden pretends that Mom and Dad and everyone else doesn’t know he’s gay, even as he fends off bullies at school. Then there’s Charlie: three years old, a “surprise” baby, the center of everyone’s world. He’s devoted to Fern, but he’s annoying, too, always getting his way, always dirty, always commanding attention. If it wasn’t for Ran, Fern’s calm and positive best friend, there’d be nowhere to turn. Ran’s mantra, “All will be well,” is soothing in a way that nothing else seems to be. And when Ran says it, Fern can almost believe it’s true. But then tragedy strikes- and Fern feels not only more alone than ever, but also responsible for the accident that has wrenched her family apart. All will not be well. Or at least all will never be the same.

“”With a bolt of lightning on my kicks . . .The court is SIZZLING. My sweat is DRIZZLING. Stop all that quivering. Cuz tonight I’m delivering, “” announces dread-locked, 12-year old Josh Bell. He and his twin brother Jordan are awesome on the court. But Josh has more than basketball in his blood, he’s got mad beats, too, that tell his family’s story in verse, in this fast and furious middle grade novel of family and brotherhood from Kwame Alexander (“He Said, She Said” 2013).

Josh and Jordan must come to grips with growing up on and off the court to realize breaking the rules comes at a terrible price, as their story’s heart-stopping climax proves a game-changer for the entire family.

“My story starts the day that my parents told me we must leave our adopted home forever. Because of the soldiers and the drought we barely had enough to eat and we could no longer stay to help the people in our village.
Right before we were leaving I saw a fish in a small brown puddle and I knew I had to take it with me. The journey would be hard to get across the mountains–to the safety of the border and the people there who could help” us.” Yet when I put the fish in the pot I never realized what we would have to face. It never occurred to me to leave Fish behind.

There you have them; 3 incredible books that are sure to make us think, discuss, and connect.  Vote for your favorite here.

With April beckoning us all in it is time to think about the official selections for Global Read Aloud 2015.  While the picture book author has already been selected, (to see who it is, go here!), I now set my sights on the incredible chapter books that will be molding our connections as we kick off October 5th.  Please take a moment to read about the choices and then cast your vote.  If your favorite book is not on the list, please submit it under other, who know’s, it may just end up being a contender any way!

This category is one of the larger categories every year and the choice is read in thousands of classrooms around the world.  It therefore never gets any easier to pick the book because there are such incredible books out there to be read and shared.  Once again they are presented in no particular order.

Albie has never been the smartest kid in his class. He has never been the tallest. Or the best at gym. Or the greatest artist. Or the most musical. In fact, Albie has a long list of the things he’s not very good at. But then Albie gets a new babysitter, Calista, who helps him figure out all of the things he is good at and how he can take pride in himself.

Do you believe in magic?
Micah Tuttle does.

Even though his awful Great-Aunt Gertrudis doesn’t approve, Micah believes in the stories his dying Grandpa Ephraim tells him of the magical Circus Mirandus: the invisible tiger guarding the gates, the beautiful flying birdwoman, and the magician more powerful than any other—the Man Who Bends Light. Finally, Grandpa Ephraim offers proof. The Circus is real. And the Lightbender owes Ephraim a miracle. With his friend Jenny Mendoza in tow, Micah sets out to find the Circus and the man he believes will save his grandfather.

The only problem is, the Lightbender doesn’t want to keep his promise. And now it’s up to Micah to get the miracle he came for.

Ally has been smart enough to fool a lot of smart people. Every time she lands in a new school, she is able to hide her inability to read by creating clever yet disruptive distractions.  She is afraid to ask for help; after all, how can you cure dumb? However, her newest teacher Mr. Daniels sees the bright, creative kid underneath the trouble maker. With his help, Ally learns not to be so hard on herself and that dyslexia is nothing to be ashamed of. As her confidence grows, Ally feels free to be herself and the world starts opening up with possibilities. She discovers that there’s a lot more to her—and to everyone—than a label, and that great minds don’t always think alike.

I hope you love these contenders as much as I have!  Happy voting.