Teachers’ Picks (Books and Websites)

These are recommendations from your teachers. Years of experience and thoughtful introspection have gone into these suggestions.

Ms. Conneely’s Picks:

“Hi!

Ok, I would recommend ANY Judy Blume book - I read every one of her books (especially Tiger Eyes and Are you there God?  It's me, Margaret) several times.  I've recommended her to my students and she still seems to be a hit!”

Some websites that I would recommend:

www.dosomething.org - great site for kids, with lots of ideas from getting involved in their community to changing the world.

www.yabookscentral.com - great site for middle school students who love (or hate) to read.  They have book reviews on current and classic books, chats sessions, etc.

www.puzzlemaker.com - fun website to make all kinds of puzzles.

www.eduplace.com - companion website for Houghton Mifflin books - has everything from grammar help, reading help, Mad-Libs, spelling - you name it.  Great if you love English and great if you need help too!

Hope this helps!

Ms. Conneely (Contact Ms. Connelly at cconneely@rpsd.org)

Mr. Glomb’s Picks:

As for books I loved..."The Little Prince," "Where the Red Fern Grows," and anything "Ripley's," especially books about facts...ANY KIND OF FACTS.  I also liked weather books and disaster books... seriously!

Also...look into the "Uncle John's Bathroom Readers" for kids.  Don't be afraid of the title...the books are GREAT! They're GREAT books...TONS of great stories and information.

Websites...there are some sites I check regardless of the what's going on everyday.  I'm not sure if this is what you're looking for, but this is what I check out.

http://www.almanac4kids.com/(Old Farmer's Almanac...good stuff)

http://www.weather.com/ (The Weather Channel)

http://www.drudgereport.com/ (Links to news stories...more for 7th/8th graders)

http://www.nascar.com/ (NASCAR)

http://www.gamefaqs.com/ (Video game cheats, walk-throughs, etc....I think kids who didn't know this site would LOVE this site)

Hope this helps.

Take care... Mr. G. (Contact Mr. Glomb at rglomb@rpsd.org)

Mr. Duncan’s Picks:

When I was in seventh grade I read The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien. I thought that it was the best book that I ever read. It opened me to the world of hobbits, dwarves, goblins, dragons and wizards. After reading it I went on to read all of The Lord of the Rings books. To this day they are still my favorite books of all time and I try to read them again every summer.

As for websites, I like to check out http://www.npr.org. It is the website for National Public Radio. It keeps me up on what is happening in the world and on the radio. I am a big radio fan and love to listen to local public radio stations like WNYC (93.9 FM, 820 AM) and a local public radio station in Middletown, NJ – Brookdale Community Radio (89.5 FM).

I also like to look at http://www.learnthat.com/. If you have ever wondered how to find information on how to do something, from fixing your bike, or building your own radio, this is a pretty cool website.

If you like history, museums, or just like reading about different cool stuff, then check out the Smithsonian Institution’s website at

http://www.si.edu/. Or check out the National Geographic for kids website at http://www.nationalgeographic.com/kids/

This is just a great website.

Hope that helps you.

Mr. Duncan. (Contact Mr. Duncan at rduncan@rpsd.org)

Mrs. Melo’s picks:

I was a big "Little House on the Prairie" fan, so my parents purchased the entire set of them.  I loved reading those books. 

I also enjoyed reading autobiographies.  My favorite website is http://www.rpsd.org !!

Hope that helps!

Mrs. Melo. (Contact Mrs. Melo at gmelo@rpsd.org )

Ms. Genovese’s Picks:

I believe reading in general is the best way to educate oneself.  In my view, Elie Wiesel's book, Night, should be mandatory reading for ALL humans.  I feel so strongly about this book.  I also recommend Agatha Christie's book, And Then There Were None.  It is a mystery that keeps the reader guessing the whole time!  In general, I like to revisit books from my youth whenever possible.  I think you are never too old to pick up a children's book for the sheer pleasure of reading it.  Shel Silverstein's The Giving Tree, Roald Dahl's, James and the Giant Peach, Katherine Paterson's, The Bridge to Terabithia, and Frances Hodgson Burnett's book, The Secret Garden, remain important to me since they "lit a fire" under me as a young reader. 

In terms of Web sites, I would recommend The Citation Machine.  This is an excellent Web site since it helps users format work cited entries.  The link is: http://citationmachine.net/index.php?mode=form&g=6&list=nonprint&cm=11

Hope this helps,

Ms. Genovese

And from our staff…

Mrs. Neill’s picks:

Hi,

I'm not a teacher, but when I was in the 6th grade, my favorite book was Mara, Daughter of the Nile by Eloise Jarvis McGraw.  At our school library, we were not allowed to renew a book more than once, because there was usually a waiting list.  So, I would get this book out, read it over & over, return it, then wait a week and do it again.  I *loved* this book.  I can remember reading it under the covers, with a flashlight.  In fact, when I first started working at the Cranford Book Store this was the first book I researched and ordered for myself, just so I would have it forever. It has a strong female lead character; it has romance, history, mystery and intrigue.  It did literally take me to another world, and with my love of history and ancient Egypt, that made it all the more compelling and exotic. 

Thanks for asking!

Mrs. Neill. Contact Mrs. Neill at (sneill@rpsd.org)

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