Book Tastings- hook, chapter 1 reading, read aloud, circle time, picture books, YA Fiction, YA Books, classic books, relevant books

Hey there teachers, in the classroom and those at home, need someone to help you get the kids into reading? 

 

Join me in this week's episode while I read aloud the first three verses of "Before the Ever After" by: Jacqueline Woodson.

 

For as long as ZJ can remember, his dad has been everyone's hero. As a charming, talented pro football star, he's as beloved to the neighborhood kids he plays with as he is to his millions of adoring sports fans. But lately life at ZJ's house is anything but charming. His dad is having trouble remembering things and seems to be angry all the time. ZJ's mom explains it's because of all the head injuries his dad sustained during his career. ZJ can understand that--but it doesn't make the sting any less real when his own father forgets his name. As ZJ contemplates his new reality, he has to figure out how to hold on tight to family traditions and recollections of the glory days, all the while wondering what their past amounts to if his father can't remember it. And most importantly, can those happy feelings ever be reclaimed when they are all so busy aching for the past?

 

If you enjoyed this first chapter please screenshot today's episode and share it on your IG stories and tag me @booktastingspodcast.

 

Want to keep reading?? Here is a click to buy the book: Before the Ever After.

 

Loved this book and interested in seeing what else this author has written follow this link to their website, Jacqueline Woodson.

 

Enjoy,

Anne

Hey there teachers, in the classroom and those at home, need someone to help you get the kids into reading? 

 

Join me in this week's episode while I read aloud the first chapter of "A Place to Hang the Moon" by: Kate Albus.

 

It is 1940 and William, 12, Edmund, 11, and Anna, 9, aren't terribly upset by the death of the not-so-grandmotherly grandmother who has taken care of them since their parents died.

But the children do need a guardian, and in the dark days of World War II London, those are in short supply, especially if they hope to stay together. Could the mass wartime evacuation of children from London to the countryside be the answer?

It's a preposterous plan, but off they go-- keeping their predicament a secret, and hoping to be placed in a temporary home that ends up lasting forever. Moving from one billet to another, the children suffer the cruel trickery of foster brothers, the cold realities of outdoor toilets and the hollowness of empty stomachs.

But at least they find comfort in the village lending library-- a cozy shelter from the harshness of everyday life, filled with favorite stories and the quiet company of Nora Müller, the kind librarian. The children wonder if Nora could be the family they've been searching for. . . . But the shadow of the war, and the unknown whereaouts of Nora's German husband complicate matters.

 

If you enjoyed this first chapter please screenshot today's episode and share it on your IG stories and tag me @booktastingspodcast.

 

Want to keep reading?? Here is a click to buy the book: A Place to Hang the Moon.

 

Loved this book and interested in seeing what else this author has written follow this link to their website, Kate Albus.

 

Enjoy,

Anne

Hey there teachers, in the classroom and those at home, need someone to help you get the kids into reading? 

 

Join me in this week's episode while I read aloud the first chapter of "Glitch" by: Laura Martin.

 

 

If you enjoyed this first chapter please screenshot today's episode and share it on your IG stories and tag me @booktastingspodcast.

 

Want to keep reading?? Here is a click to buy the book: Glitch

 

Loved this book and interested in seeing what else this author has written follow this link to their website, Laura Martin.

 

Enjoy,

Anne

Hey there teachers, in the classroom and those at home, need someone to help you get the kids into reading? 

 

Join me in this week's episode while I read aloud the first chapter of "Finally Seen" by: Kelly Yang.

 

My sister got to grow up with my parents. Me? I grew up with postcards from my parents.

When ten-year-old Lina Gao steps off the plane in Los Angeles, it’s her first time in America and the first time seeing her parents and her little sister in five years! She’s been waiting for this moment every day while she lived with her grandmother in Beijing, getting teased by kids at school who called her “left behind girl.” Finally, her parents are ready for her to join their fabulous life in America! Except, it’s not exactly like in the postcards:

1. School’s a lot harder than she thought. When she mispronounces some words in English on the first day, she decides she simply won’t talk. Ever again.

2. Her chatty little sister has no problem with English. And seems to do everything better than Lina, including knowing exactly the way to her parents’ hearts.

3. They live in an apartment, not a house like in Mom’s letters, and they owe a lot of back rent from the pandemic. And Mom’s plan to pay it back sounds more like a hobby than a moneymaker.

As she reckons with her hurt, Lina tries to keep a lid on her feelings, both at home and at school. When her teacher starts facing challenges for her latest book selection, a book that deeply resonates with Lina, it will take all of Lina’s courage and resilience to get over her fear and choose a future where she’s finally seen.

 

If you enjoyed this first chapter please screenshot today's episode and share it on your IG stories and tag me Finally Seen

 

Loved this book and interested in seeing what else this author has written follow this link to their website. Kelly Yang.

 

Enjoy,

Anne

Hey there teachers, in the classroom and those at home, need someone to help you get the kids into reading? 

 

Join me in this week's episode while I read aloud the first chapter of "City Spies" by: James Ponti.

 

Sara Martinez is a hacker. She recently broke into the New York City foster care system to expose her foster parents as cheats and lawbreakers. However, instead of being hailed as a hero, Sara finds herself facing years in a juvenile detention facility and banned from using computers for the same stretch of time. Enter Mother, a British spy who not only gets Sara released from jail but also offers her a chance to make a home for herself within a secret MI6 agency.

Operating out of a base in Scotland, the City Spies are five kids from various parts of the world. When they’re not attending the local boarding school, they’re honing their unique skills, such as sleight of hand, breaking and entering, observation, and explosives. All of these allow them to go places in the world of espionage where adults can’t.

Before she knows what she’s doing, Sara is heading to Paris for an international youth summit, hacking into a rival school’s computer to prevent them from winning a million euros, dangling thirty feet off the side of a building, and trying to stop a villain…all while navigating the complex dynamics of her new team.

No one said saving the world was easy…

 

If you enjoyed this first chapter please screenshot today's episode and share it on your IG stories and tag me City Spies.

 

Loved this book and interested in seeing what else this author has written follow this link to their website, James Ponti.

 

Enjoy,

Anne

Hey there teachers, in the classroom and those at home, need someone to help you get the kids into reading? 

 

Join me in this week's episode while I read aloud the first chapter of "Brave Like That" by: Lindsey Stoddard.

 

 

If you enjoyed this first chapter please screenshot today's episode and share it on your IG stories and tag me Brave Like That.

 

Loved this book and interested in seeing what else this author has written follow this link to their website, Lindsey Stoddard.

 

Enjoy,

Anne