children’s books

With school elections recently occurring in most schools and the presidential election quickly approaching in November, I have been reading lots of election and presidential themed children’s books.  I have read some picture books with my kids as well as getting them election themed chapter books for them to read on their own.  This is by no means an exhaustive list, we were just very limited on time!  Here is a round up of the children’s election themed books that we have read recently.

Picture Books:

Madam President by Lane Smith – A little girl spends the day imagining what it would be like to be President.  The reader learns a little bit about the Presidential duties while the illustrations add a humorous touch.  (Rating:  3/5 stars)  This book was borrowed from the library.

Presidential Pennybaker by Kate Feiffer – Tired of doing his chores and being told what to do, Luke Pennybaker decides to run for President.  As he travels the country, he campaigns for the “birthday party” and has the White House painted orange.  But Luke soon realizes that being President gives him even less time for watching TV, bike riding and playing.  (Rating: 3/5 stars)  This book was borrowed from the library.

Beginning Reader Books:

How Not to Run For Class President by Catherine A. Hapka  – Third grader Will decides to run for class president with the help of his little brother Steve.  Steve is in Kindergarten, so the whole storyline was hard to believe.  Running a successful campaign is touched upon.  This is a level four book in the Step Into Reading series.   (Rating:  2/5 Stars)  This book was borrowed from the library.

Pedro For President by Fran Manushkin – This beginning reader book is targeted towards readers in K-2nd grade.  Pedro decides to run for class president.  His teacher Miss Winkle guides him and his opponent Katie Woo through the election process including figuring out how they will help the class, to making posters and speeches.  The book has three short chapters with lots of colorful illustrations.  The end of the book includes several resources including a glossary, writing and discussion questions and some school-related jokes.  As seen on the cover and throughout the illustrations in the book, there is a multicultural class of students.  (Rating:  4/5 stars) This book was borrowed from the library.

Chapter Books:

Double Trouble (The Doodles of Sam Dibble #2) by J. Press – Third grader Sam Dibble has decided to run for class president.  The teacher makes reference to the presidential election that occurs during the class election.  While this book is the second in the series, it can be read as a stand-alone.  There are lots of fun illustrations (doodles) throughout with short chapters, which makes this a great book for the beginning chapter book reader.  (Rating:  3/5 stars)  This book was borrowed from the library.

Middle Grade Fiction Books:

Ellie for President (The Ellie McDoodle Diaries #6) by Ruth McNally Barshaw – As editor for the school newspaper, Ellie hears about the upcoming school election.  Her friends convince her to run for class President and help her run her campaign, which means she’s unfortunately running against her friend and crush, Jake.  Will she win the election?  Although this is book six in the Ellie McDoodle series, it reads like a stand-alone.  Through the story and fun illustrations/doodles readers learn a lot about the school election process.  (Rating:  4/5 stars)  This book was borrowed from the library.

What is your favorite election themed children’s book? 

I do a monthly post and join a link up each month sharing the books that I’ve read in the previous month.  My kids are voracious readers (I wonder where they got that from?!) and I thought that I’d write a monthly post sharing the books that they’ve been reading each month.  My son will be eight next month but is an advanced reader.  He reads a variety of books but especially enjoys graphic novels, the Jedi Academy and the Origami Yoda series and the Diary of a Wimpy Kids series.  To expand his reading, I often put a bunch of books that I think may interest on hold at the library.  He can then give the books a try and any he doesn’t like we send back.  Here are some of his June 2016 reads.

Cheesie Mack Is Not a Genius or Anything by Steve Cotler – This is the first book in a five book series.  Ronald “Cheesie” Mack is a soon-to-be sixth grader.  In this book, he tells stories about his graduation, his older sister, June (who he calls Goon), his best friend Georgie and more.   This series is targeted for readers ages 8-12.

The kid’s thoughts:  I liked this book because Cheesie makes up his own words like splenderful and invents sandwiches like the BLART (Bacon, Lettuce, Avocado, Ranch and Tomatoes).    This book is full of adventure so I recommend it if you like adventure.

*This book was borrowed from the library.

Galaxy Zack:  Journey to Juno by Ray O’Ryan – This is the second book in the Galaxy Zack series, which my son is enjoying.  In this book Zack goes on a trip to Juno with the Explorer’s Club.  Zack gets partnered with Seth Stevens, the class bully.  They are supposed to be taking photos and videos of the cool things that they find on Juno.  However, Seth leaves Zack to do all of the work.  Zack ends up discovering a galaxy gemmite, a powerful crystal, but doesn’t want Seth to get any credit for the discovery.  He of course ends up having a change of heart.  This series is recommended for readers ages 5-8.  It is filled with lots of illustrations and short chapters.

The Kid’s thoughts:  I liked this book.  I’ve already read the first book Hello, Nebulon and like this series since it’s about beautiful, make-believe planets .  There is cool technology in this like Zack’s house assistant, IRA (Indoor Robotic Assistant).  For dinner they don’t have to cook anything, they just say what they want and it magically comes out of the wall.  I am getting ready to read the next book in the series.

*This book was borrowed from the library.

Shark School:  Deep-Sea Disaster by Davy Ocean – My son received this book as an end-of-year gift from his second grade teacher.  This book is about Harry Hammer, a hammerhead shark that wants to be cool like famous sea wrestler Gregor the Gnasher.  On a class trip to a shipwreck, the class gets trapped and Harry ends up helping out.  This book is the first in a series of seven.  It is illustrated and is recommended for readers ages 6-9.

The Kid’s thoughts:  I liked it because there were funny parts, like when Harry tries to beat Rick to the classroom and the door’s closed and he hits the door.  I agree with the sea creatures in Harry’s class that the Great White Shark is the coolest shark in the ocean.  I liked Harry because he’s serious and stands up for other people.  I liked this book and want to read more of the series.

*We own this book.

Timmy Failure:  Mistakes were Made by Stephan Pastis – When you’re perusing books at the library and the cover of this book has Diary of a Wimpy Kid author noting that Timmy Failure is a winner, you have to give it a try! This is the first in a five book series, targeted toward middle grade readers.  Although the book has 294 pages, it has very short chapters and many are filled with illustrations and cartoons.  Timmy has a detective agency, Total Failure, Inc. and a pet polar bear named Total.  Throughout the book, Timmy works on three different cases. I perused the first couple chapters of this book, which were humorous, but not such that I think my almost eight year old understands it.  I also noted a large number of words that my son probably doesn’t understand.

The kid’s thoughts: I liked this book because it’s funny.  Total the polar bear acts crazy and is funny.  He’s my favorite character.  I liked the illustrations in the book.  There were some words that I didn’t know but I could still understand what was going on in the book.  I would recommend this book to kids who like detective stories.

*This book was borrowed from the library.

Zac Power Mind Games by H.I. Larry – I had put this book on hold for my son, not realizing that it was the third book in the series.  This series features 12 year old Zac Power,  a spy for the Government Investigation Bureau (GIB).  In this book his mission is to locate hackers trying to access WorldEye, GIB’s satellite system.  A lot of cool technology and gadgets are featured in this book, which appealed to my son (see below).  This is a futuristic fantasy book with a focus on video games.  This series is targeted towards readers ages 8-11 and will appeal to those who enjoy action and adventure.  My son liked this book enough to request the first book in the series.

The kid’s thoughts:  In my son’s words, “this book was okay.” He likes that Zac Power is a spy and he likes the different gadgets that Zac uses during his mission, like the karaoke scooter and the stink bomb (the 10,000 dog farts setting definitely appealed to my son’s sense of humor!).

*This book was borrowed from the library.

My son is in second grade and loves to read!  He’s read some of the books in the Henry and Mudge series, some of the Ready Freddy! series as well as almost all of The Magic Treehouse series.  However, I am always on the lookout for new books and series that may interest him.  I thought I’d share some of the more recent chapter book series that we have read that might bring some reading enjoyment to a young reader in your family!  While he read all of these books on his own, I also read them all.  I would recommend the below series for children in 1st through 3rd grade, dependent on reading level.  All of the series have fairly short chapters and lots of illustrations.

If you like mystery books try:

West Meadows Detectives: The Case of the Snack Snatcher by Liam O’Donnell – This is the first book in the West Meadows Detectives series, published in October of 2015.  Main character Myron is a third grader on the autism spectrum.  As a former special education teacher, I appreciate the author having a diverse cast of characters, including students with special needs.  O’Donnell shows that they are very much like other children with a few quirks.  In this first book, Myron and his friend Hajrah use their detective skills to find out who has been stealing the snacks from the school kitchen.  As an adult, I was able to identify the culprit super early on, based on the clues.  It’s not a suspenseful mystery, but I think young readers will enjoy the story.

If you like adventure try:

Race the Wild:  Rain Forest Relay by Kristin Earhart – Back in September 2015 I wrote a full post on this book.  This book series is like the Amazing Race for kids!  You follow Russell and his friends as they race around the world (each book takes place in a different geographic location) in an attempt to win the prize money.  There are currently four books in the series, with the fifth book, Outback All-Stars, expected to be released this week.

If you like to travel and learn about other countries try:

Greetings from Somewhere #1: They Mystery of the Gold Coin by Harper Paris – This is the first book in the Greetings from Somewhere series that was published in January 2014.  There are currently 9, soon to be 10 books in this series, targeted for transitional readers who are readyin first and second grade.  Twins Ethan and Ella learn that their mother has accepted a job as a travel writer for The Brookeston Times.  This book sets the stage for future books, as the twins get ready to move and say goodbye to friends.  The two siblings must also find the gold coin that their grandfather gave Ethan as a going away present before they have to leave for the airport.  The mystery in this first story isn’t a big mystery, but they do become bigger in future books.  Each subsequent book also takes place in a different country.

If you like animals try:

Shelter Pet Squad #1:  Jelly Bean by Cynthia Lord – In the first book in this series, the reader is introduced to Suzannah.  She lives in an apartment building that does not allow pets, so her mom signs her up for a program in which she gets to help at the local animal shelter.  Suzannah is at the shelter when a young girl drops off her guinea pig, Jelly Bean.  Her family is moving to France and she can’t take the guinea pig with her.  Suzannah promises to find a good home for Jelly Bean, but discovers that doing so is harder than it appears.  There are currently three books in this series.

If you like food try:

Phoebe G. Green: Lunch Will Never Be the Same! by Veera Hiranandani – We first reviewed this book on the blog back in July.  Phoebe loves new and interesting food but her parents always make the same thing.  In this book, readers will be introduced to all kinds of new and different foods that Phoebe samples by befriending Camille, the new girl from France.  There are currently four books in this series.

If you like scary books try:

Eerie Elementary:  The School is Alive! by Jack Chabert – I’m not going to lie, this book will not be for all readers.  In this first book Sam Graves is chosen to be hall monitor and discovers that his school, Eerie Elementary, is alive.  Of course his friends don’t believe him at first…..but then they see how scary the school is.  For some readers, reading about a school that is evil may be a bit too much.  My son has read the first two books in the currently four book series and has enjoyed them with no problems.