because of mr. terupt by Rob Buyea

I will have to get this book for our library. So many of us like Andrew Clemens' books and this has the same feel of his books. School situations. The story is told from the point of view of seven students in Mr. Terupt's 5th grade. It is his first year of teaching and he has a different way about him. The students all have unique personalities, family situations and relationships with each other. One of the interesting things Mr Terupt does is have his students go in small groups to the Collaborative Classroom to hang out with the special needs students. Mr. Terupt understands his students and what they need and they become better people because of him. I would like you to read this book so we can talk about the characters. Look for this book at the South St Paul public library.

Out of My Mind by Sharon Draper

It is so easy to read a good book, the pages just fly by. I didn't want this one to end. Melody, the narrator is a fifth grade girl with celebral palsy, her brain is fine but her body isn't. Sharon Draper has accurately described the life of the classroom and the pettiness that students sometimes have toward each other. The life of a person with disabilities is hard to imagine but listening to Melody gave me new understanding into her life. She is quite the smart girl, but can she compete with the "normal" kids to be part of the Whiz Kids Team?

A Tale Dark and Grimm

Do you know the children, Hansel and Gretel? Do you know their whole story? If you think you aren't old enough for these Fractured Grimm fairy tales then stay away—they may be too gruesome for you. The narrator starts out with Once Upon a Time and we meet many characters in a variety of interesting stories. Hansel and Gretel take you through all the stories and despite the blood and poor parenting skills, you will occasionally crack up. This tale, very dark and very grim held my interest page after page. After reading this book you'll want to look up the Brothers Grimm and compare stories.

Hereville: How Mirka Got Her Sword

This graphic novel by Barry Deutsch is probably the best graphic novel I have read. The colors, the expressions, the flow of the words, dialogue and illustrations are wonderful. It all works well together.
Eleven year-old Mirka is an Orthodox Jewish girl who is one spunky, clever, independent and courageous girl! She yearns to fight a dragon and is constantly going through her Big Book of MONSTERS. She encounters many conflicts including one with a Pig!
(Jews don't have pigs.) You will learn about being Jewish in this book, though not in a preachy way, just incidentally as the story moves along. 
This graphic novel has some fantasy and mythological elements to it and readers ages nine and up will enjoy following Mirka on her quest.

A Million Shades of Gray

What if you had your own elephant? Your special friend, someone who would comfort you when you feel lonely or needed time to think.  Y'Tin has Lady, his own elephant. Y'Tin lives in Vietnam and this story takes place during the 1970s. The American Special Forces have just left his country and Y'Tin's Rhade village is under attack from the North Vietnamese. This historical novel by the author of Kira-Kira gives you a little taste for what it must have been like in Vietnam and the few scenes of violence in the book are written with care but the main story is the relationships Y'Tin has with his elephant, the other elephant handlers and his family and members of his village. "The jungle changes a man."