Read This Book! Recommended Reading for 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders 

There was once a boy named Milo who didn’t know what to do with himself — not just sometimes, but always.

The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster and Jules Feiffer is turning 50 this year. I know! Can you believe it? I remember loving this book in 1980 when I was in the sixth grade. (yeah, yeah, now everyone knows how old I am.) I reread it again in honor of its birthday and I loved it just as much as the first time. In fact, I probably enjoyed it a little more due to the fact that my years of knowledge and experience allowed me to read it with a different perspective.

It still has wonderful characters; it still sends a meaningful message to both children and adults about the way we should live our lives; and the unbelievably clever way that Juster uses figurative and literal language still made me chuckle in awe.

My favorite message from the book not only addresses my feelings about living but also about what kind of teacher I want to be and how I want my children and students to learn:

You must never feel badly about making mistakes, explained Reason quietly, as long as you take the trouble to learn from them. For you often learn more by being wrong for the right reasons than you do by being right for the wrong reasons.

Below is a wonderful interview with Norton Juster and Jules Feiffer and the story behind the making of this classic.

Did you know that has been turned into a musical? Watch below and maybe you can catch it when it comes to your city!

This book trailer is so well done that I had to share it! And it does NOT make me want to read it

The Candymakers by Wendy Mass

At first I thought, “Who would dare to write a story that takes place in a candy factory with four children who are competing to win the big candy prize? It’s already been done (and so well for that matter!) that no one could possibly write another good story with the same premise!”

But that’s exactly what Wendy Mass has done! And she is quickly becoming one of my new favorite authors. Think of this story as a little bit of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory mixed with a dose of The Mysterious Benedict Society and a whole lot of sweet surprises!

And here is a book trailer for my favorite Wendy Mass book, Every Soul a Star