Haylee and Mac both have had tragic pasts. This book covered so much- there was death of a child and parents, teenage pregnancy, adoption, the adoptive parents are horrible trope, animals are healing. There was so much going on. There were so many characters too. I had a hard time connecting with both leads. I probably would have given this a 3*, but then something happened that I really didn't like.

I read this for Romance-opoly Emergency Services Sun track square

There's a little pigeon that wants to drive the bus, but the bus driver doesn't want the pageant drive the bus. Everyone keeps telling the pigeon "No" each time the pigeon asked to drive the bus. Will the pigeon ever get his chance to drive the bus? Let's all talk with our shoulder partner about a time that you didn't get to do anything no matter how many times you asked. Write a short story about what happened after you didn't get to do something that you really wanted to. Write about what you ended up doing instead. We will all share our stories in the end.

Lexile Level: 280L  

Review:

When Piggie makes Elephant wait for his surprise instead of just giving it to him, Elephant struggles with waiting.This is a good book to teach your students about patience. This is a such a sweet book to encourage students that waiting may not be easy but it is worth it in the end.

Leveling System:

 Lexile- 250L

Classroom Activity:

One activity that I would use in my classroom is that when students are having to wait their turn, such as if they are waiting their turn to speak, we will discuss how important it is to wait and how it sometimes it might hurt their friends feelings if they are not patient enough to wait their turn. This is a great activity to do at the beginning of the year when you are introducing your classroom rules.  

Review:

Walt is worried about how he is not growing as tall or he is not the curliest. This book is a great book for a first grade classroom to help the students understand that it is ok to not be the tallest or the smallest in the class. This book explains that everyone is special in their own way and that is how I would use it in my classroom. This book is also a fun way to teach your students about plant growth and how things grow.  

Leveling System:

Lexile- 270L

Classroom Activity:

I would use this to incorporate a science lesson. I would create a classroom garden and the students would get to watch and document, in their science notebooks, about the growth of each plant and the length over time it took it to grow.

When a bus driver takes a break from his route, a very unlikely volunteer springs up to take his place-a pigeon! But you've never met one like this before. As he pleads, whines, and begs his way through the book, children will think this book is super silly.

Lexile Measure: 280L

I would use the Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus activity from Teachers pay Teachers. You choose if you would let the pigeon drive the bus and list 2 reasons why (or why not). You then put it in sentence form.