READ+WITH+ME+!

Hello.

I'm so glad you decided to read with me!

Here are all the books I've read so far. I've told you a little bit about each one and added some activities to go with each book. I hope you'll enjoy reading them and exploring the links as much as I have! Keep on checking back as I will add more books as I read them.

Ms. Vido

__[|A Note About Guided Reading Levels.doc]__

__1. //**Gotta Go! Gotta Go!**//__ by Sam Swope Guided Reading Level K What a great little book! A brand new caterpillar hatches from her egg and the only thing she knows is that she's "Gotta go to Mexico". The problem is that she doesn't know where Mexico is. She doesn't even know **//what//** Mexico is or how she is going to get there. I bet you can figure out how she finally gets there, but do you know **//why//** she had to go? Click on the following links to find out. [|The Life Cycle of a Monarch Butterfly] [|Monarch Butterflies at Enchanted Learning] [|Monarch Butterflies at Journey North for Kids] [|Watch a Video about Monarch Butterflies at Discovery Education]--You must type your first and last name in the box and press GO.

Do you have the urge to go to Mexico? If you can't really go, do the next best thing and visit [|Mexico For Kids]or watch this very good [|presentation on Mexico] by a 2nd grade class from the Pocantico Hills School. Here are two fun online puzzles--one is the [|map of Mexico], the other is [|Mexico's flag] . 2. **//__Fortunately__//** by Remy Charlip Guided Reading Level I This silly book made me laugh out loud in the library while I was reading it! Ned is the main character. Poor Ned. Every time something good (fortunate) happens to him, something bad (unfortunate) follows ! He is lucky to still be alive at the end of the book! I think I really liked it because I've had days when I've felt like Ned. How about you?

Don't you think it would be fun to create your own **//Fortunately//** adventure ? Print out the sheet below and get started. You can also use the **//[|Comic Creator Tool]//** from //Read* Write *Think// to create an adventure.

3. **//__Houndsley and Catina__//** Guided Reading Level F by James Howe Loving animals the way I do, I was bound to enjoy this book! Houndsley, the dog, and Catina, the cat, are best friends. But, they don't always agree. How do good friends treat each other when they have different ideas? And how do they help each other out when they have problems? Read this book to find out. The friendship and the stories may remind you of the **//George and Martha//** books by James Marshall.

[|CREATE YOUR OWN DIALOGUE AND PLAYS!] Create a little scenario, then act it out with a friend! [|MAD LIBS STORY WRITER]--Do you like to be silly? If so, you'll love this site. [|WRITING PROMPTS]--Like to write, but have run out of ideas? Don't worry, this site has plenty! [|INTERACTIVE POETRY FORM]--Click a template (a form) on the left, fill it in, and you'll have an instant poem! [|ONLINE LANGUAGE ARTS GAMES]--Good writer's know the language rules. Learn and practice language rules in a fun way at this site. There are many different games to choose from.
 * Catina** wanted to be a famous writer, but she didn't really like to write--how silly! Perhaps if she had visited some of the websites below, she might have felt differently about writing. Check them out!

[|SPATULATTA]**__-__**Remember, **DO NOT TRY ANYTHING WITHOUT YOUR PARENT'S PERMISSION AND SUPERVISION**--That means they have to say **YES** and they have to **BE THERE** while you are doing it. Agreed? Good ! Now you can visit the site.
 * Houndsley** loved to cook. But, when he entered the cooking contest nothing went right. He did not like to cook with everyone watching him. Do you like to cook? Would you like to learn? On the site below, you can learn all about food, how to cook, and find great recipes.

Here is another site with [|cooking videos]. The recipes are divided into 3 kinds: beginners, intermediate and expert. If you never cooked before, start with the beginners category. They are the easiest.

4. **__C D B !__** by William Steig Do you like to solve puzzles? If so, you'll have a good time with this book. See the cover. A boy and girl are looking at a bee. It says [|CDB riddle.doc].
 * //CDB//**-which you would read like this: **//see dee bee//** or **//See the bee//** ! Each page is a new and different puzzle. The pictures help you figure out the puzzles. I'm warning you though, some of them are very hard. I'm still having trouble with a few! If you can read the alphabet, and love a challenge, this book is for you! Here's one to try: Imagine you are standing in line and asking someone this question--**M I B-4 U** ? Click below for the answer.

If you like word games, try some of these from [|Education Place][|.] [|HighlightsKIds.com] has a lot of word puzzles and other kinds of puzzles to choose from, too.

5. **__Three Stories You Can Read To Your Cat__** Guided Reading Level K by Sara Swan Miller I can't believe someone wrote this book before me! I always read aloud to my cats--really. You see, every time I sit down with a good book and get ready to read, a cat jumps on my lap. So, I figure they want to hear the story, too, and I read it out loud to them. It's good out loud reading practice for me and my cats seem to like it! The author of this book wrote 3 separate stories from a cat's point of view to read to a cat. But you don't have to have a cat to read this book. Read the stories to any pet, or a brother or sister, mother or father, or friend. You can even read them to your dolls or stuffed animals. Just read them! They're very good.

Reading aloud helps us become better readers. When we can read out loud without mistakes we say that we are **//fluent//** readers. Being a fluent reader is important because when you read without mistakes, you have a much better chance of understanding what you read. While you are home this summer, why not practice reading out loud and improving your fluency? I've attached some short passages that you can practice with. When you've mastered a passage--when you've gotten so good at it that you don't make any mistakes--try the next one. [|Fluency F What Day is it.pdf] [|Fluency G Ants.pdf] [|Fluency H The Sea.pdf] [|Fluency I Mexican Jumping Bean.pdf] [|Fluency J Basketball.pdf] [|Fluency K A Trip to the Zoo.pdf] [|Fluency L Tornadoes.pdf] [|Fluency M Five Star News.pdf] [|Fluency N Trees.pdf] [|Fluency O Seeing Stars.pdf]

6. __**You Read to Me, I'll Read to You**__ by Mary Ann Hoberman First graders, listen up. If you loved **//__Yo! Yes!__//** by Chris Raschka, //**and I know you did**//, you are going to like this book, too. There are several different stories to read and they are meant to be read with a friend. One person reads the words on the left side, another person reads the words on the right side, and both read the words in the middle. You'll see........when you open the book. So, find a buddy and read together. You'll be glad you did!

If you enjoy reading with other people, you might enjoy reading scripts. Scripts are stories written for people to act out. Click on the links below for some fun scripts that you can read and act out with your friends and family. [|The Three Wishes.mht] [|Who Was King.mht] [|City Mouse, Town Mouse.mht]



7. **__Animals in Flight__** by Steve Jenkins and Robin Page Did you ever wonder how a fly can land on the ceiling or want to know if a //flying fish// can really fly ? You'll find the answers inside this book! There is plenty of information about flying animals of all kinds--birds, bugs, mammals and even dinosaurs! The illustrations are beautiful, too. Jenkins makes them out of bits of paper glued together. This form of art is called collage. Another unique thing about this book is that the text--the writing--is in 3 sizes--small, medium and large. The large text is the main text.The medium text is used to write the captions--the words under the pictures that explain them. The small text gives us even more information about animals and the science of flight--flying. I thought this was really clever. You can choose how much information you want. You can read just the big text, or the big and medium, or all 3 for the most information. If you are interested in flying or just want to look at some beautiful illustrations of flying animals, I think you will like reading **//Animals in Flight//**.

I think the first animal most people think of when they think about flying is the bird. If you like birds, you might want to explore these sites: [|Enchanted Learning's All About Birds] [|State Birds of America] [|Birds in Art]

If you came to the library at PS 131 this year, you already know what the only flying mammal is--yes, bats! If you want to learn even more about them, visit these sites: [|Bats for Kids] [|How Bats Fly] [|Watch Videos About Bats @ Discovery Education]--you will have to type in your first and last name in the box and press GO.

Did you like the collages in **//Animals in Flight?//** They may remind you of the art work of another famous author-illustrator, Eric Carle. Eric Carle is a master of collage. Click [|here] to watch a video of Eric Carle creating a collage.

Would you like to create your own collage on line? [|Click here].

8. **__The Life and Times of the Ant__** by Charles Micucci Oh, what amazing creatures these tiny insects are! They're strong. They're smart. They work together in groups to solve problems. In many ways, they are just like us. I **//ant//**icipate that you will learn many amazing ant facts by reading this book! It is packed full of information. Do you want to explore ants a bit further? Click on the links below: [|Ants at Enchanted Learning] [|Watch Videos about Ants at Discovery Education]--You will have to type in your first and last name and press GO.

9. **__Phineas L. MacGuire ERUPTS !__** by Frances O'Roark Dowell Guided Reading Level T There is a note on the back of this book that says //"Read This Book If You Want to Find Out How to **EXPLODE VOLCANOES** and **IMPLODE MARSHMALLOWS**// !" and they weren't kidding. All you need to know is in there--and there is a good story, too! Phineas L. MacGuire, called Mac by most everyone, is a scientific thinking boy. He's also a lonely boy because his best friend has just moved away. To make matters worse, a new boy, a very unscientific and seemingly rotten boy, has just joined the class and Mac has to do his Science Project with this kid. Read //**Phineas L. MacGuire ERUPTS**// to find out how it all works out--and learn to do think like a scientist and do a few cool experiments along the way.

Mac loved thinking scientifically and thinking of new science projects excited him. If you love science, explore the site below for some amazing projects. Just remember: **DO NOT DO ANY OF THESE PROJECTS WITHOUT THE PERMISSION AND SUPERVISION OF YOUR PARENTS.** That means they have to say **YES** and they have to **BE THERE** while you are doing it. Agreed? Good ! Now you can visit the site. [|PBS Kids ZOOM Science Projects]

Scientists have to think logically. Do you want to try thinking logically? Click on the link below and try to solve the puzzle. To fill in the spaces, click your mouse once for a dot (which means true) and twice for an X (which means false). To change a dot to an X or an X to a dot, just click once. Good Luck--I got it wrong the first time! [|Logic Puzzle]

Mac and his Science Fair partner researched and built a volcano for their project. If you are fascinated by volcanoes and would like to learn more about them, follow the links below: Watch videos about volcanoes at [|Discovery Education]--You will have to enter your first and last name and press GO. Would you like to have something unique for dinner tonight? Ask Mom or Dad to try this [|recipe!]

10. **__Clementine__** by Sara Pennypacker Guided Reading Level Q Clementine is a not-so-perfect third grader with a wonderful way of noticing things everyone else misses and a unique ability to end up in trouble. She's constantly in the principal's office and whenever she's alone with her friend Margaret, something happens to Margaret--like her hair gets chopped off or her forehead turns orange. But Clementine has a big heart and friendly ways and manages to get herself out of trouble as much as she gets herself into it. If you want to laugh out loud, read __Clementine__ this summer. I'm sure you'll love her!

One of the things that gets Clementine into a lot of trouble is that she is always paying attention to the "wrong" things. But, Clementine is an artist and she uses her powers of observation differently than the average non-artist person. Do you like art? If so, try these online art activities from the National Gallery of Art: [|The Swatchbox] [|The Paintbox] [|The Brushster] [|The Jungle] Here is a site that contains [|Art Games].

11. by Doug Cushman Guided Reading Level: E Join Inspector Hopper, a grasshopper detective, and his assistant McBugg, as they solve three separate mysteries. The first involves a missing ladybug, the second involves a stolen leaf and the third one is about a shady moon. You will like these clever detectives and solving the mysteries along with them is lots of fun.
 * __Inspector Hopper__**

Do you like bugs? Here are some websites where you can learn more about them: You can learn about everyone's least favorite bug--the cockroach--at the [|World's Yuckiest Site]! Go on an insect tour with the [|Magic School Bus]. Explore insects at the [|Brooklyn Children's Museum]. [|Build-a-Bug] for fun!

12. by Ralph Fletcher Guided Reading Level: O Don't read this book if you are afraid of spiders! You'll be grossed out by all the gory, but interesting, facts about them that Bobby records in his journal. Bobby has just moved from the mid-West to upstate New York and he is lonely. He can't seem to make any friends at his new school--and his pet tarantula won't eat. Bobby spends a lot of time brooding over his situation, worrying about his spider and making up some far-fetched spider stories. In the process, he makes an enemy at school who begins to tease and taunt him by calling him Spider Boy. Read __Spider Boy__ to find out how Bobby manages to change and improve his situation--and to find out a lot about spiders!
 * __Spider Boy__**

Whether you love them or hate them, you have to admit that spiders are pretty fascinating creatures. To learn more about them, visit these websites: [|How Spiders Build Webs] [|Spiders at Tooter4Kids] [|Spider Website by kids at the Pocantico Hills School]

13. by Margaret Read McDonald A whole village of mice are delighted when the cat asks them to join its Secret Society. So they follow the cat and follow its rule--to never look back--as they follow. Unfortunately for the mice, cat keeps eating the last mouse on line and because they never look back, they don't have a clue. But Mabela, the smallest mouse is clever. Her father has taught her to use her senses and move fast when she must. Read **__Mabela the Clever__** to discover how she outsmarts cat at his own game using her senses. This is a charming retelling of a West African folktale.
 * __Mabela the Clever__**