Looking for books your child might enjoy this summer? Here are some of the books we read aloud this year and the books we read during our book clubs at the end of the year.

Listed next to books are the authors. If your students enjoyed any of these books, have them check out books by the same authors or read any of the club books they didn’t already get to read.

Read Alouds
The Last of the Really Great Whangdoodles by Julie Andrews
The Candy Shop War by Brandon Mull
Snow Treasure by Marie McSwigan (takes place during WWII)
Number the Stars by Lois Lowry (takes place during WWII)
Postcard by Tony Abbott (a fun mystery within a mystery- unfortunately we didn’t get to finish it before the year ended)

Survival Books
My Side of the Mountain by Jean Craighead George (She writes more awesome books about wildlife.)
Escaping the Giant Wave by Peg Kehret (She writes tons of books about natural disasters that take place in the Pacific Northwest.)
Island Series, Book One: Shipwreck by Gordon Korman (This is a trilogy. Actually Gordon Korman writes lots of adventure trilogies that the kids will find interesting.)
Stone Fox by John Reynolds Gardiner (Gary Paulsen also writes more great dog sledding books.)
A Week in the Woods by Andrew Clements (Great author with really humorous books.)
Hatchet by Gary Paulsen (This is the first of the “Brian series” with four more books.)


Mystery Books
Encyclopedia Brown Finds the Clues #3 by Donald Sobol (Each Encyclopedia Brown book (there are tons of them) are made up of mini- stories. These are fun to listen to on CD and have the whole family try to solve each case.)
When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead
Eleven by Patricia Reilly Giff
39 Clues #1- Maze of Bones by Rick Riordan (The first of 11 books in the series- once you read the first, you have to keep going!)
The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin
Chasing Vermeer by Blue Balliett (has two sequels following it)



*Planning a road trip this summer? Books on CD are fun for the whole family and help time pass much faster! King County Library has TONS of youth books on CD, they loan out for 4 weeks at a time, like a normal library book. Or you could download them to your mp3 player.

I have fond memories of my family arriving at our destination and my brother and I (when we were in middle school) begging my dad to keep driving until the book ended.

We had so much fun at our BBQ at the park. Almost every family was able to make it! Parents thanks for bringing the food, the gear, and the kiddos. What a special memory!

We spent most of the year doing a poem every couple of weeks. Last week we finally finished compiling all of them into a complete poetry portfolio with 10 poems in them. Students chose their favorite three poems and shared them last week at our Poetry Cafe. Here are some of the students sharing their works.

Students are getting close to earning their class BBQ! Here are the details:

Who: Families of Mrs. Ness 4th grade class
What: A fun, end of the year BBQ where we can play games, swim in the lake, and eat great food
When: Sunday, June 12th from 2:30-5pm
Where: Greenwood Point Park (near the South Cove neighborhood on Lake Sammamish)- directions coming soon.
Why: Because our kids have worked hard all year and it's time to celebrate!

I will be sending out an email tomorrow for you to RSVP for your family and sign up for something to bring and share.

We will be having a class “auction” at the end of the year for students to be able to spend the rest of their “Nessy Bucks”. I would like to ask each family to donate one or two $5-10 items. This could be fun toys, games, things related to summer fun, etc. Take your child shopping with you and I’m sure they’ll help you decide. One family donated X-box games that were free for them (since the father works for X-box). Is there anything that is free for you and valuable to other people? Just trying to give you ideas.

Please send the item in by Monday, June 13th. Thanks!