Charming Books is handling a book signing at Morton Vineyards with a famous wine reviewer and author. A murder happens and Violet stumbles upon the body. Mrs. Morton, of course, blames Violet for the bad publicity at the winery. So Vi does as she always does. She investigates especially when one of the suspects is her best friend, Lacey.

This book was really good. The story was realistic. I had a hard time putting it down. Things happen in the bookstore when David is there and Violet needs to decide to trust him or not. She also learns much about Nathan that she can use to help her close her past. I did not figure out who the murderer was until the murderer comes out at the end of the book. This is the best book of the series so far. I cannot wait to read the next book and I hope more are coming.

I really enjoyed reading I Love My Hair by Natasha Tarpley. This book serves a greater purpose than just a good story. It teaches young girls (and even boys) to love their hair (or any other characteristic) and its uniqueness. Specifically, this book tackles the long history of young, black girls disliking their hair because it is "different" from everyone else hair. This book highlights all the great things her hair can do and all the different ways she can wear it as well as the heritage and culture of her hair. I also love the use of positive similes and metaphors when comparing the main character's hair to objects. 

I would read this book to the class, pausing to discuss with students the ways her mom does her hair, the different styles she wears her hair in (and ask the student what their favorite hairstyles are), and feelings towards her hair (compared to the student's feeling towards their own hair), etc. After reading I would ask students to write a paragraph that connects the book to themselves or their own hair. I would ask them to use evidence from the text to support their connection.

I love this book and movie! It definitely gets everyone in the holiday spirit so I would use it around the Christmas season. The Lexile level is 510L. I would use this in a 2nd or 3rd grade classroom. I would first read the book aloud to the class so that they know the story. Then we would sing the song together while they all have copies of the lyrics. Then we would go through the lyrics and find the similes and metaphors and write them on a T chart. There are so many fun things to do with How the Grinch Stole Christmas!

NR: Lakoff & Johnson - Metaphors We Live By