A Night at Barnes and Noble

So last night, I took my boys to Barnes and Noble to purchase new reading material for our upcoming vacation.  It has become a nice tradition, and hopefully, it encourages my boys to recognize the beauty of reading.

I had some gift cards that I had received as gifts to end the school year, so I had to use them!  Here is what I purchased:

I am going to read When You Reach Me by Rebecca Steadwhile we travel.  I had not heard of it before, and it is one that my sons would not be drawn to. (That is how I often find new books.)  I'll let you know what I think.

I picked up the Scaffolding Young Writers because I am just never satisfied with my writing instruction, and I like Linda Dorn and Carla Soffos.  I am hoping that this will help me continue to tweak my writing workshop and make it stronger.

Finally, I read and then purchased The Gardener by Sarah Stewart.  I have quite an extensive picture book library, but I am always looking for new additions.  This sweet book will work well for many of my CAFE skills like:  using pictures to gain understanding, inferencing, and understanding characters.  I like the fact that it is set in the Depression and the positive story line it has.  I was really drawn to the strong female character of the little girl and her love of her family and others.  The illustrations by David Small were also lovely.  What a sweet, beautiful picture book!