“And the winner is…”

I recently had the chance to host a grand “book tasting” at St. Patrick’s School in Bay Shore, Long Island.   Two hundred and fifty students (Grades 3-8), reviewed and rated the books that I brought to the party.  I was impressed with the ways they discussed their favorite authors and books, and expressed their interest in reading some of the new selections I provided.  Afterwards, students selected their favorite three.  Here are the winners by grade:

Third Grade:

1. The One and Only Ivan
2. We’re All Wonders
3. Sisters

Fourth Grade:

1. We’re All Wonders
2. The One and Only Ivan
3. Tiger Rising

Fifth Grade:

1. The One and Only Ivan
2. We’re All Wonders
3. Out of My Mind

Sixth Grade:

1. Out of My Mind – by a landslide!
2. Tuck Everlasting and anything written by Roald Dahl (tied)
3. The Girl Who Drank the Moon, Flipped, Ghosts, and Refugee (tied)

Seventh Grade:

1. The One and Only Ivan – by a landslide!
2. Out of My Mind
3. Slider

Eighth Grade:

1. Out of My Mind – by a landslide!
2. Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgar
3. Discovering Sharks and The Only Road (tied)

• You can clearly see the trend, and I was overjoyed that Katherine Applegate’s One and Only Ivan appealed to students across the grades.  Additional books the students rated in their top ten will become part of my summer reading list and appear in future posts.

Happy Reading!

Joanne