Author: Pernille Ripp

I am a passionate teacher in Oregon, Wisconsin, USA, who has taught 4th, 5th, and 7th grade. Proud techy geek, and mass consumer of incredible books. Creator of the Global Read Aloud Project, Co-founder of EdCamp MadWI, and believer in all children. I have no awards or accolades except for the lightbulbs that go off in my students’ heads every day. First book “Passionate Learners – Giving Our Classrooms Back to Our Students” can be purchased now. Second book“Empowered Schools, Empowered Students – Creating Connected and Invested Learners” is out now from Corwin Press. Follow me on Twitter @PernilleRipp.

Picking my favorite gifting picture books is hard! After all, there are so many incredible ones to choose from. These are for any adult or child that needs a great read. Some are silly. Some are serious. All can be used in the classroom if you are a teacher like me who is obsessed with using picture books with your students. They are all gorgeous and will make your reading life better, guaranteed.

A sweet story about the power of an imaginary friend and how having someone no one else can see can become a problem. I love the book We Forgot Brock by Carter Goodrich because of the friendship it portrays.

From Amazon:
Phillip and Brock are best friends. Everyone can see Phillip, but only Phillip can see Brock.

A night at the Big Fair is all fun and games until Phillip gets sleepy, heads home, and forgets Brock!

Brock misses Phillip. And Phillip misses Brock. Will they reunite? With the help of another pair of pals, they just might. Because even imaginary friends get lost sometimes. Finding them is part of the adventure.

How can your imagination save the most boring story? I love the message of Battle Bunny written by Jon Sciezka and Mac Barnett, illustrated by Matthew Myers. This book is guaranteed to make people smile.

From Amazon:

When Alex gets a silly, sappy picture book called Birthday Bunny, he picks up a pencil and turns it into something he’d like to read: Battle Bunny. An adorable rabbit’s journey through the forest becomes a secret mission to unleash an evil plan–a plan that only Alex can stop. Featuring layered, original artwork, this dynamic picture book celebrates kids as storytellers.

I have been a loud fan of Bob Shea’s for a long time. After all, he is the genius that wrote Unicorn Thinks He’s Pretty Great so I had to get Ballet Cat The Totally Secret Secret. It is laugh out loud funny. And the best part is that I can completely relate to the story and so can most people.

From Amazon:

Ballet Cat and Sparkles the Pony are trying to decide what to play today. Nothing that Sparkles suggests–making crafts, playing checkers, and selling lemonade–goes well with the leaping, spinning, and twirling that Ballet Cat likes to do. When Sparkles’s leaps, spins, and twirls seem halfhearted, Ballet Cat asks him what’s wrong. Sparkles doesn’t want to say. He has a secret that Ballet Cat won’t want to hear. What Sparkles doesn’t know is that Ballet Cat has a secret of her own, a totally secret secret. Once their secrets are shared, will their friendship end, or be stronger than ever?

Wild About Us by Karen Beaumont is a beautiful book in many ways. The illustrations done by Janet Stevens pop off the page and catch your eye, but the message of the book is what really got me. We all have things that we can pick apart, but what we do with those things is what matters.

From Amazon:

Warty Warthog may have warts and tusks, but he likes himself that way! Join him as he celebrates all of his animal friends and the attributes that make each one unique. Whether it’s Crocodile’s toothy grin or Kangaroo’s huge feet or Leopard’s spottiness, each animal is different. Wouldn’t it be dull if all the animals at the zoo—and all the people in the world—looked alike? A joyful picture-book celebration of everything that makes us individuals!

It is a celebration in my life whenever the talented Ame Dyckman comes out with a new picture book and Wolfie the Bunny was definitely a cause for celebration. This book about assumptions and what they can lead to has not only made my students laugh out loud, but more importantly, has led us to question our own assumptions about others.

From Amazon:

The Bunny family has adopted a wolf son, and daughter Dot is the only one who realizes Wolfie can–and might–eat them all up! Dot tries to get through to her parents, but they are too smitten to listen. A new brother takes getting used to, and when (in a twist of fate) it’s Wolfie who’s threatened, can Dot save the day?

Orion and the Dark by Emma Yarlett is stunning. The story about a boy who is afraid of the dark is sure to elicit conversations about our fears and what we can do to conquer them. This is a book my students keep reaching for in the classroom and that I have used with my own children as they tell me they are afraid of the dark.

From Amazon:

Orion is scared of a lot of things, but most of all he’s scared of the dark. So one night the Dark decides to take Orion on an adventure. Emma Yarlett’s second picture book combines her incredible storytelling and artwork with die-cut pages that bring the Dark to life.

The beautiful story of Last Stop On Market Street by Matt De La Pena is one meant to spur conversation about our lives, our assumptions, and how we view the world. But the illustrations? They tell an even richer story, one that I cannot wait to discuss with my students and my own kids, many of whom have never ridden a bus or even been in an urban neighborhood.

From Amazon:

Every Sunday after church, CJ and his grandma ride the bus across town. But today, CJ wonders why they don’t own a car like his friend Colby. Why doesn’t he have an iPod like the boys on the bus? How come they always have to get off in the dirty part of town? Each question is met with an encouraging answer from grandma, who helps him see the beauty—and fun—in their routine and the world around them.

The North Star by Peter H. Reynolds is one of my favorite picture books ever written. This is the final book I read to my students every year as I hope it inspires them to take a risk and find their own path in life.

From Amazon:

It is often said that life is a journey, and it’s true. But sometimes it’s hard to know which path to follow when signs point in so many directions. In this beautifully illustrated book, Peter H. Reynolds once again encourages readers to observe, to wonder, and to consider diverging from the well-worn path — to pursue their dreams. Originally published more than ten years ago, THE NORTH STAR has had a profound effect on its many readers. This edition, featuring all new art, celebrates the book’s own voyage connecting people around the world. It has inspired classroom activities, a musical, and countless thoughtful journeys.

I love Billy’s Booger – A Memoir by William Joyce for many reasons; the narrative is great, it is great as a teaching book on story arc, and it has boogers in the title, which is sure to hook many readers.

From Amazon:

A young lad who would rather draw than do math, spell, or gargle finds the perfect outlet for his always-on imagination in this manifesto to creative joie de vivre, featuring a book within a book, from the brilliant minds that brought you The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore.

Billy loves to draw. He draws on books and on his homework and even on his math tests—he might not get the answer right, but doesn’t it look swell sitting in a boat at sea? His teacher doesn’t think so, and neither does the principal. But the librarian has an idea that just might help Billy better direct his illustrative energies: a book-making contest!

Billy gets right to work, reading everything he can about meteors, mythology, space travel, and…mucus? Yep, his book is going to be about the world’s smartest booger, who stays tucked away until needed—say, to solve multiplication problems, or answer questions from the President. Billy’s sure his story is a winner. But being a winner doesn’t mean you always win.

Boats for Papa is a picture book by Jessixa Bagley that I immediately fell in love with. The story does not tell us where papa is, nor why the mother does what she does, and yet every child (or adult) that reads it seems to come up with their own story. An inspired story that leaves us thinking.

From Amazon:

Buckley and his Mama live in a cozy cabin by the ocean. He loves to carve boats out of the driftwood he finds on the beach nearby.
He makes:

big boats
long boats
short boats and
tall boats,

each one more beautiful than the last, and sends them out to sea. If they don’t come back, he knows they’ve found their way to his papa, whom he misses very much.

This amusing story of what really happened to a sandwich creates pretty funny conversations with kids. The Bear Ate Your Sandwich by Julia Sarcone-Beach is one that makes me giggle every time I read it aloud and then leads to heated discussions of what exactly did happen to that sandwich?

From Amazon:

By now I think you know what happened to your sandwich.
But you may not know how it happened.
So let me tell you.
It all started with the bear . . .

So begins Julia Sarcone-Roach’s delicious tale of a bear, lost in the city, who happens upon an unattended sandwich in the park. The bear’s journey from forest to city and back home again is full of happy accidents, funny encounters, and sensory delights. The story is so engrossing, it’s not until the very end that we begin to suspect this is a TALL tale.

Finding Winnie by Lindsay Mattick and illustrated by Sophie Blackall made me cry, which even surprised me. I grew up aware of Winnie the Pooh but not immersed in the world as many others, and the tale of the inspiration behind the stories really struck a chord with me, as I suspect it will for many others.

From Amazon:
In 1914, Harry Colebourn, a veterinarian on his way to tend horses in World War I, followed his heart and rescued a baby bear. He named her Winnie, after his hometown of Winnipeg, and he took the bear to war.

Harry Colebourn’s real-life great-granddaughter tells the true story of a remarkable friendship and an even more remarkable journey–from the fields of Canada to a convoy across the ocean to an army base in England…

And finally to the London Zoo, where Winnie made another new friend: a real boy named Christopher Robin.

Another book that is great for deeper level conversations as students try to decide why that skunk keeps following the main character. My own kids were mesmerized by the story, which says a lot considering they are hardly ever sit still. I have many of Mac Barnett’s and Patrick McDonnell’s book and love having The Skunk as well.

From Amazon:

When a skunk first appears in the tuxedoed man’s doorway, it’s a strange but possibly harmless occurrence. But then the man finds the skunk following him, and the unlikely pair embark on an increasingly frantic chase through the city, from the streets to the opera house to the fairground. What does the skunk want? It’s not clear―but soon the man has bought a new house in a new neighborhood to escape the little creature’s attention, only to find himself missing something. . .

Shhh! We Have a Plan by Chris Haughton has been read in my house countless times, preferably repeatedly. Every time my kids laugh out loud and then tell me what is going to happen. The funny thing is the same thing happened in my classroom.

From Amazon:
Four friends creep through the woods, and what do they spot? An exquisite bird high in a tree! “Hello birdie,” waves one. “Shh! We have a plan,” hush the others. They stealthily make their advance, nets in the air. Ready one, ready two, ready three, and go! But as one comically foiled plan follows another, it soon becomes clear that their quiet, observant companion, hand outstretched, has a far better idea.

Just seeing the image of the cover of I’m Trying to Love Spiders by Bethany Barton makes me laugh. This incredible non-fiction picture book that doesn’t scream non-fiction (not that there is anything wrong with non-fiction) is the perfect gift for the person who hates spiders.

From Amazon:
The Official Spider Test.
What do you do when you see a spider?

a. Lay on a BIG spidey smoocheroo.

b. Smile, but back away slowly.

c. Grab the closest object, wind up, and let it fly.

d. Run away screaming.

If you chose b, c, or d, then this book is for you! (If you chose a, you might be crazy.)

For all you history lovers Tricky Vic – the Man Who Sold the Eiffel Tower by Greg Pizzoli is a masterpiece. A page-turning read that makes you shake your head in wonder. This is a picture book for all ages.

From Amazon:
In the early 1900s, Robert Miller, a.k.a. “Count Victor Lustig,” moved to Paris hoping to be an artist. A con artist, that is. He used his ingenious scams on unsuspecting marks all over the world, from the Czech Republic, to Atlantic ocean liners, and across America. Tricky Vic pulled off his most daring con in 1925, when he managed to “sell” the Eiffel Tower to one of the city’s most successful scrap metal dealers! Six weeks later, he tried to sell the Eiffel Tower all over again. Vic was never caught. For that particular scam, anyway. . . .

I Yam A Donkey by the incredible CeCe Bell. Why this book? Because it is laugh out loud funny while teaching grammar. My 23 month old picks this book up every day asking us to read about the donkey.

From Amazon:
Even frustrated grammarians will giggle at the who’s-on-first routine that begins with a donkey’s excited announcement, “I yam a donkey!” Unfortunately the donkey’s audience happens to be a yam, and one who is particular about sloppy pronunciation and poor grammar. An escalating series of misunderstandings leaves the yam furious and the clueless donkey bewildered by the yam’s growing (and amusing) frustration. The yam finally gets his point across, but regrettably, he’s made the situation a little bit too clear . . . and the story ends with a dark and outrageously funny twist.

Ben Clanton’s Something Extraordinary is just that – extraordinary. Once again a simple story unfolds leading us to rich conversations about imagination and how it can color our world.

From Amazon:

Amazing things are happening all around you. You just need to know where to look—and this whimsical picture book is the perfect place to start.

Have you ever wished for something extraordinary? Like the ability to fly? Or to breathe underwater? What if you could talk to animals?

It’s fun to wish for amazing things. But take a look around, and you just might find that the most “ordinary” things…can be extraordinary.

Waiting by Kevin Henkes is a quiet masterpiece that kids of all ages can realte to. What I loved the most were the different reactions my children had to the book and how they kept reaching for it over and over.

From Amazon:

Five friends sit happily on a windowsill, waiting for something amazing to happen. The owl is waiting for the moon. The pig is waiting for the rain. The bear is waiting for the wind. The puppy is waiting for the snow. And the rabbit is just looking out the window because he likes to wait! What will happen? Will patience win in the end? Or someday will the friends stop waiting and do something unexpected?

The incredible story of the first enslaved poet, George Moses Horton, unfolds in this picture book by Don Tate. Illustrating a piece of history I had never encountered Poet: The Remarkable Story of George Moses Horton is a must add for anyone that loves poetry.

From Amazon:

In the nineteenth century, North Carolina slave George Moses Horton taught himself to read and earned money to purchase his time though not his freedom. Horton became the first African American to be published in the South, protesting slavery in the form of verse.

The Only Child by Guojing is a wordless picture book that will leave you speechless. Beautiful. Mesmerizing and one that you want to read multiple times.

From Amazon:
A little girl—lost and alone—follows a mysterious stag deep into the woods, and, like Alice down the rabbit hole, she finds herself in a strange and wondrous world. But… home and family are very far away. How will she get back there?

If you have not discovered the brilliance of the Crayons series then this is a great way to start. The Day the Crayons Came Home by Drew Daywalt and illustrated by Oliver Jeffers is great for home and the classroom, with its beautiful illustrations and laugh out loud crayon stories, this will surely be read many times.

From Amazon:
I’m not sure what it is about this kid Duncan, but his crayons sure are a colorful bunch of characters! Having soothed the hurt feelings of one group who threatened to quit, Duncan now faces a whole new group of crayons asking to be rescued. From Maroon Crayon, who was lost beneath the sofa cushions and then broken in two after Dad sat on him; to poor Turquoise, whose head is now stuck to one of Duncan’s stinky socks after they both ended up in the dryer together; to Pea Green, who knows darn well that no kid likes peas and who ran away—each and every crayon has a woeful tale to tell and a plea to be brought home to the crayon box.

To the Sea by Cale Atkinson is a beautiful tale of a young boy who feels lonely. When he meets a lost whale his life changes. Simple, deep, and powerful.

From Amazon:

Sometimes Tim feels invisible at school—until one day, when Tim meets Sam. But Sam isn’t just any new friend: he’s a blue whale, and he can’t find his way home!

Returning Sam to the sea is hard work, but Tim is determined to help. After all, it’s not every day you meet a new friend!

Awake Beautiful Child by Amy Krouse Rosenthal and illustrated by Gracia Lam should be a mandatory baby gift. As the mother of 4 myself, this left me thinking just how lucky I am.

From Amazon:

New York Times best-selling picture-book author Amy Krouse Rosenthal teams with award-winning artist Gracia Lam to tell the sweet, simple story of a young child’s typical day—from morning to bedtime. Like the title, each scene is described in three-word “ABC” phrases, such as “All Begins Cheerily” and “Always Be Curious.” Secret “ABC” scenes hidden throughout the artwork—as a secondary “seek and find” game of sorts—encourage multiple readings and reward close-looking.

So which books did I miss? Which picture books will you be giving to the picture book lovers in your life?

Don’t miss the post on which YA books to give this year as well.

being a student, being me, books, Literacy, Reading

The Best Gifts Are Books – Some Ideas for the YA Lovers

November 28, 2015 Pernille Ripp

I do not think I have ever hidden the fact that I love books. Anyone who knows me (or my children) picks up on it rather quickly. So books as gifts is only a natural extension of my love for them. Finding the perfect book to give to someone is a bit of an obsession of mine. So this year I thought why not share some of those books that I will be giving to others. I am sure I am not the only one searching for that perfect book to give.

I thought I would do one large post with all of my ideas but realized that it would be much too large, so this is simply the first post. Here are my favorite picks for the YA lover in your life.

A great new series starts with An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir. Love, action, destiny and a story that makes you want to read just one more page. I only have one copy in my classroom, it has a huge wait list.

From Amazon:
Laia is a slave. Elias is a soldier. Neither is free.

Under the Martial Empire, defiance is met with death. Those who do not vow their blood and bodies to the Emperor risk the execution of their loved ones and the destruction of all they hold dear.

It is in this brutal world, inspired by ancient Rome, that Laia lives with her grandparents and older brother. The family ekes out an existence in the Empire’s impoverished backstreets. They do not challenge the Empire. They’ve seen what happens to those who do.

But when Laia’s brother is arrested for treason, Laia is forced to make a decision. In exchange for help from rebels who promise to rescue her brother, she will risk her life to spy for them from within the Empire’s greatest military academy.

There, Laia meets Elias, the school’s finest soldier—and secretly, its most unwilling. Elias wants only to be free of the tyranny he’s being trained to enforce. He and Laia will soon realize that their destinies are intertwined—and that their choices will change the fate of the Empire itself.

This is the book every person over the age of 12 should read in America. All American Boys by Brendan Kiely and Jason Reynolds is the book that we need to have some of the toughest conversations, but those conversations are the ones we need to have.

From Amazon:
A bag of chips. That’s all sixteen-year-old Rashad is looking for at the corner bodega. What he finds instead is a fist-happy cop, Paul Galluzzo, who mistakes Rashad for a shoplifter, mistakes Rashad’s pleadings that he’s stolen nothing for belligerence, mistakes Rashad’s resistance to leave the bodega as resisting arrest, mistakes Rashad’s every flinch at every punch the cop throws as further resistance and refusal to STAY STILL as ordered. But how can you stay still when someone is pounding your face into the concrete pavement?

But there were witnesses: Quinn Collins—a varsity basketball player and Rashad’s classmate who has been raised by Paul since his own father died in Afghanistan—and a video camera. Soon the beating is all over the news and Paul is getting threatened with accusations of prejudice and racial brutality. Quinn refuses to believe that the man who has basically been his savior could possibly be guilty. But then Rashad is absent. And absent again. And again. And the basketball team—half of whom are Rashad’s best friends—start to take sides. As does the school. And the town. Simmering tensions threaten to explode as Rashad and Quinn are forced to face decisions and consequences they had never considered before.

Another first book in a new series, A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas kept me up way too late needing to read just one more page. It has all the ingredients needed for a great fantasy YA.

From Amazon:

When nineteen-year-old huntress Feyre kills a wolf in the woods, a beast-like creature arrives to demand retribution for it. Dragged to a treacherous magical land she only knows about from legends, Feyre discovers that her captor is not an animal, but Tamlin–one of the lethal, immortal faeries who once ruled their world.

As she dwells on his estate, her feelings for Tamlin transform from icy hostility into a fiery passion that burns through every lie and warning she’s been told about the beautiful, dangerous world of the Fae. But an ancient, wicked shadow over the faerie lands is growing, and Feyre must find a way to stop it . . . or doom Tamlin–and his world–forever.

Challenger Deep by Neal Shusterman is for the serious reader that has patience to stick with a deep book. For those that do, they will find an incredible story that will haunt their thoughts many days after the last page was read.

From Amazon:

Caden Bosch is on a ship that’s headed for the deepest point on Earth: Challenger Deep, the southern part of the Marianas Trench.
Caden Bosch is a brilliant high school student whose friends are starting to notice his odd behavior.
Caden Bosch is designated the ship’s artist in residence to document the journey with images.
Caden Bosch pretends to join the school track team but spends his days walking for miles, absorbed by the thoughts in his head.
Caden Bosch is split between his allegiance to the captain and the allure of mutiny.
Caden Bosch is torn.

Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard reminded me of many books but it was in all the good ways. This book with its page turning action kept me reading long into the night and has kept my students reading as well. You know it is a great book when it is never to be found in your classroom library.

From Amazon:

Mare Barrow’s world is divided by blood–those with common, Red blood serve the Silver- blooded elite, who are gifted with superhuman abilities. Mare is a Red, scraping by as a thief in a poor, rural village, until a twist of fate throws her in front of the Silver court. Before the king, princes, and all the nobles, she discovers she has an ability of her own.

To cover up this impossibility, the king forces her to play the role of a lost Silver princess and betroths her to one of his own sons. As Mare is drawn further into the Silver world, she risks everything and uses her new position to help the Scarlet Guard–a growing Red rebellion–even as her heart tugs her in an impossible direction. One wrong move can lead to her death, but in the dangerous game she plays, the only certainty is betrayal.

Orbiting Jupiter by Gary D. Schmidt is also a book that is never found in our library even though I have 3 copies of it. Every time a student finishes it they come and tell me that it is the best book. I believe it. Orbiting Jupiter is one to remember.

From Amazon:

The two-time Newbery Honor winner Gary D. Schmidt delivers the shattering story of Joseph, a father at thirteen, who has never seen his daughter, Jupiter. After spending time in a juvenile facility, he’s placed with a foster family on a farm in rural Maine. Here Joseph, damaged and withdrawn, meets twelve-year-old Jack, who narrates the account of the troubled, passionate teen who wants to find his baby at any cost. In this riveting novel, two boys discover the true meaning of family and the sacrifices it requires.

With the release of the final book in the Lunar Chronicles series, Marissa Meyer has secured her spot as one of my favorite authors. Winter is a masterful conclusion to a riveting series that even self-proclaimed sci fi haters love to read. That says a lot about the power of the series.

From Amazon:

Princess Winter is admired by the Lunar people for her grace and kindness, and despite the scars that mar her face, her beauty is said to be even more breathtaking than that of her stepmother, Queen Levana.

Winter despises her stepmother, and knows Levana won’t approve of her feelings for her childhood friend–the handsome palace guard, Jacin. But Winter isn’t as weak as Levana believes her to be and she’s been undermining her stepmother’s wishes for years. Together with the cyborg mechanic, Cinder, and her allies, Winter might even have the power to launch a revolution and win a war that’s been raging for far too long.

Confession: I have yet to read this book but just received an email from a student that had not read a book this year. Until she read Illuminae by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff in one night. That is enough recommendation for me.

From Amazon:

This morning, Kady thought breaking up with Ezra was the hardest thing she’d have to do. This afternoon, her planet was invaded.
The year is 2575, and two rival megacorporations are at war over a planet that’s little more than a speck at the edge of the universe. Now with enemy fire raining down on them, Kady and Ezra—who are barely even talking to each other—are forced to evacuate with a hostile warship in hot pursuit.
But their problems are just getting started. A plague has broken out and is mutating with terrifying results; the fleet’s AI may actually be their enemy; and nobody in charge will say what’s really going on. As Kady hacks into a web of data to find the truth, it’s clear the only person who can help her is the ex-boyfriend she swore she’d never speak to again.

Dumplin by Julie Murphy filled a void I didn’t know I had in my classroom library; books that feature a self-proclaimed fat girls whose mission in life is not to become skinny. Hallelujah. Great book for anyone to read that needs a reminder that being ourselves is good enough and who wants a great story.

From Amazon:

Dubbed “Dumplin’” by her former beauty queen mom, Willowdean has always been at home in her own skin. Her thoughts on having the ultimate bikini body? Put a bikini on your body. With her all-American-beauty best friend, Ellen, by her side, things have always worked . . . until Will takes a job at Harpy’s, the local fast-food joint. There she meets Private School Bo, a hot former jock. Will isn’t surprised to find herself attracted to Bo. But she is surprised when he seems to like her back.

Instead of finding new heights of self-assurance in her relationship with Bo, Will starts to doubt herself. So she sets out to take back her confidence by doing the most horrifying thing she can imagine: entering the Miss Teen Blue Bonnet Pageant—along with several other unlikely candidates—to show the world that she deserves to be up there as much as any twiggy girl does. Along the way, she’ll shock the hell out of Clover City—and maybe herself most of all.

Walk on Earth A Stranger by Rae Carson took me by surprise, I did not think I would like this book. But with its riveting story of Lee, a girl with a secret, trying to make it to the California gold rush I had to see if she would make it. I was happy to see that this is part of a trilogy.

From Amazon:

Lee Westfall has a secret. She can sense the presence of gold in the world around her. Veins deep beneath the earth, pebbles in the river, nuggets dug up from the forest floor. The buzz of gold means warmth and life and home—until everything is ripped away by a man who wants to control her. Left with nothing, Lee disguises herself as a boy and takes to the trail across the country. Gold was discovered in California, and where else could such a magical girl find herself, find safety?

Everything Everything by Nicola Yoon was another book that took me by surorise and just how much I wanted to keep reading. I just book-talked this book to my students and have not seen it since.

From Amazon:

My disease is as rare as it is famous. Basically, I’m allergic to the world. I don’t leave my house, have not left my house in seventeen years. The only people I ever see are my mom and my nurse, Carla.

But then one day, a moving truck arrives next door. I look out my window, and I see him. He’s tall, lean and wearing all black—black T-shirt, black jeans, black sneakers, and a black knit cap that covers his hair completely. He catches me looking and stares at me. I stare right back. His name is Olly.

Maybe we can’t predict the future, but we can predict some things. For example, I am certainly going to fall in love with Olly. It’s almost certainly going to be a disaster.

This list would not be complete without Need by Joelle Charbonneau. This masterful page turner is sure to make even your most reluctant readers read late into the night.

From Amazon:

Teenagers at Wisconsin’s Nottawa High School are drawn deeper into a social networking site that promises to grant their every need . . . regardless of the consequences. Soon the site turns sinister, with simple pranks escalating to malicious crimes. The body count rises.

The Darkest Part of the Forest by Holly Black started my reading year off right with its tale of love, murder and the inexplicable that surrounds us.

From Amazon:

Hazel and her brother, Ben, live in Fairfold, where humans and the Folk exist side by side. Tourists drive in to see the lush wonders of Faerie and, most wonderful of all, the horned boy. But visitors fail to see the danger.

Since they were children, Hazel and Ben have been telling each other stories about the boy in the glass coffin, that he is a prince and they are valiant knights, pretending their prince would be different from the other faeries, the ones who made cruel bargains, lurked in the shadows of trees, and doomed tourists. But as Hazel grows up, she puts aside those stories. Hazel knows the horned boy will never wake.

Until one day, he does….

Which books did I miss? Which books are you buying for the YA lover in your life?

Stay tuned for the best picture books and middle grade novels to give this year!

aha moment, Be the change, being a teacher, being me, mistakes

When We Fail A Child

November 27, 2015 Pernille Ripp

This originally appeared on The Guardian’s Education Blog

He was dragged into my classroom, clutched firmly by the arm as if he would try to escape. “I don’t know what you will do with him, but we have given up,” I was told. “He is done with school.” I extended my hand to the mother in front of me, told her my name, and welcomed her and her son into my class. It was the first day of school and my first introduction to Peter*.

For the next five minutes Peter stood in front of me while his mother told me all the things he needed to work on. She told me how she was ready to give up and hoped I could fix him – but she wasn’t holding her breath. With every word she spat out, his shoulders slumped further and his eyes stared more intently at the linoleum floor. I smiled, and did my teacher talk, soothing the ruffled feathers as best as I could. Then I thought to myself: “This year will be great. I will make a difference. Wait and see, he will love school again. I will fix him.”

I had every intention of keeping my promise, but I didn’t. I tried to connect with Peter. I tried to make him participate, to find his voice, to fall back in love with learning. But when he did not do his homework, or messed about in class, I followed my rules for punishment. He lost recess, pizza privileges and had to speak to the principal on many occasions. When he did not conform, I punished him. When he did not work, I gave him Fs. After all, that was what teachers did when a child didn’t follow their rules; they handed out the consequences whether they made sense or not. At the end of the year, when he was suspended on the very last day for yet another bad choice, I knew that I was not meant to be a teacher – or at least not the type of teacher that overrode her own common sense to conform to what society thought good teachers did.

So that summer I found the courage to change the way I taught. I realised that the nine-year-old me would have hated everything about the classroom I had created. I would have been the child with the failing grades and the marks against them. I had to change. I had to create a classroom that I would want to be a student in, that I would want my own children to be a part of.

When we started the new year, I threw everything out. I got rid of my punishment system – no more lost recesses or phone calls home in the middle of class. Instead we would have a conversation and I would ask my students why they acted the way they did, rather than just assuming I knew. I got rid of almost all homework and made a deal with my students that if they gave me their best during school then they could have their after school time back. If they worked hard in class then we could learn what we needed to.

I limited grades, pushed back against classifying students by letters, and instead invited my class to reflect on their own learning, to take control of how they needed to grow and what they needed to do to get there. We discussed when assignments were done and we set goals. And slowly, my students started to ask why they were doing these things, if we could change what we were doing, and whether they could try something new. I said yes, instead of no, and then tried to be the very best teacher I could be.

I won’t lie, it was hard. It still is because every year, I am honoured to teach a new group of students who ask me why I teach this way. Every year I help students realise that they have a right to a voice within our classroom, that their voice matters and that school should be a place for them to thrive, not just survive.

But the system fights us every step of the way – school is made of boxes to define our students. My district is doing everything we can to break those boxes and tear down the notions of what it means to be a traditional school, and to truly make it about students again. We want to make school about curiosity, discovery and about each child, not just each teacher.

A few years ago, I saw Peter again. He had grown up and was no longer the kid with the slumped shoulders. I asked him how he was and he told me just fine. He had switched districts, but he liked his new school better. “I am sorry.” The words slipped out before I could catch them and he stared at me, confused. “I am sorry for not being a good teacher to you,” I said. He stared at me and then finally said, “No big deal, you tried.” And I thought to myself, yes, I did, but it does not matter how hard we try if the path we are on is wrong. And that is why I changed the way I teach. That is why I try to give the classroom back to my students and make school about the kids.

*Name changed to protect his identity.

If you like what you read here, consider reading my book Passionate Learners – How to Engage and Empower Your Students. Also, if you are wondering where I will be in the coming year or would like to have me speak, please see this page.

aha moment, being a teacher, being me

A Much Needed Reminder

November 26, 2015 Pernille Ripp

For the month of November, I have seen all of the practiced thankfulness. The posts on social media sharing what we are thankful for, the handwritten notes passed from person to person, the drawings and cards sent home from classrooms. November, it seems, is the month that reminds us just how good many of us have it. And for that, I am truly thankful.

Because we have it better than we think. At least, most of the time. We have it better than we realize. Many of us are surrounded by people who care about us. We have the things that give us a good life. We have jobs that even when they are tough center around the love of learning. We get to work with children. We are lucky, even when we forget it.

As I sit in my heated house, with the lights on, with food in the fridge, and new outfits for the kids, I cannot help but be humbled by all that we have. By all that we take for granted, and not just today, but every day. My kids are safe in our neighborhood, they have access to great schools, they are loved and protected by their family. They are given access to a life that many children around the world, and even here in my very own country, can only hope for.

So I hope this Thanksgiving will be a reminder to be more thankful. To see the good in the bad. To realize that even on our toughest days there is still love around us, there is still happiness. That sometimes the things we get so caught up in really should not be worth our time. That the things that upset us pales in comparison to what others go through.

So I give thanks to the little things. And strengthen my commitment to not remember that we are the fortunate ones. That we live privileged lives. Even on our bad days.

aha moment, being a student, being a teacher, being me, student choice, Student dreams

All The Things I Have Not Done

November 25, 2015 Pernille Ripp

It is time for me to make a confession. It is time for me to come clean. Because it is easy to speak about all of the things we do in our 7th grade classroom, it is easy to share ideas, to give advice, to hopefully help others engage students more. And yet…some of those things that I love the most we are not even doing.

We haven’t started blogging yet. This monumental cornerstone of our classroom has not found its hold. It lurks on the horizon, taunting me, reminding me of its presence, and yet, we are not bloggers. We haven’t had many discussions of how to change education, how to share our voice with the world, how to make a change so that the schools we go to become better with us in them. We have not been geniuses or innovators. Nor have we Skyped much. We have not taken the system apart only to put it back together. And I am ok with that. For now.

Because while we have not done all of those things, we have slowed down instead. We have gotten to know each other, we have read picture books, we have book shopped for half a class. We have written stories for our eyes only, the classroom so quiet I barely dare move. We have talked about what it means to be a reader, a writer, a human being. We have stopped when we needed to instead of forged on. And the ease at which we now operate in our classroom is profound. The conversations that slowing down has allowed me to have with my students are irreplaceable.

So while we are not global students. While we are not innovators. While we are not out there changing the world, I know that it is only a matter of time. That my students will get to experience those things when they fit into our day. When we feel the need to take our voices further than our own four walls. I know it will happen, it just has not happened yet. And I am ok with that.

being a teacher

Not Just for Little Kids – What Picture Books Have Taught My Middle Schoolers

November 23, 2015 Pernille Ripp

I never thought of leaving picture books behind. Of giving them away. Of hiding them away in a closet, only to be brought out when the need was immediate. To save them for a certain lesson or day. When I packed up my 5th grade classroom my beginning picture book collection came with me. No questions asked. And when I unpacked my boxes of books, out they came, proudly on display, ready to be read and shared and remembered. And since then the collection has only grown, only multiplied, and their hands keep reaching, and their eyes keep reading. You can say we are a picture book classroom.

Yet, it is not just the books themselves that have made us love them. It is not just the fact that they are on display, nor that they are oh so inviting to the students. You cannot just buy a few picture books and then wait for them to do their magic. The books are not enough, even if they a brilliant start. For the real change comes in how we use them. How they take center stage on the very first day and never leave. How they allow us to build our community, to strengthen our trust, to have incredible hard conversations, and also allow us to laugh.

You can say that picture books are the thread that bind us altogether and we would say that you are right. And yet, when I share this love some think I am crazy. That picture books are too easy for 7th grade and not at all what they need. That they need advanced texts that they can analyze and work with, that will test their skills of comprehension and push their thinking. And so to those that do not quite understand. To those that may doubt their place. To those that think that picture books are just for little kids, I offer the following.

Picture books taught my students that being a better person can sometimes happen too late to fix a situation. That every word matters and so does every action. That stories do not always have a happy ending and that we make a choice every day to be better human beings or not.

Picture books taught us that someone finding their courage to be their true self in a world that wants to stop them need our protection and friendship. That even though someone may choose differently than we would, does not make them less than. Does not make them somehow wrong. even if we don’t understand why. Even if we cannot relate.

Picture books taught us that sometimes innocent illustrations are not so innocent at all and carry far more damage than can ever be expected. Our job then is to notice and pause and discuss and then do something about it.

Picture books taught us to trust ourselves. To fight for our own beliefs and to have confidence in what we discover. That the world has room for more than one right answer and that we all deserve to be heard.

Picture books taught us that reading should move us. Whether to laugh, to think, to yell out in injustice. They taught is that we still have much to learn and much to investigate. That sometimes all we need is a short story for us to follow a path into a larger one. That the world is filled with stories waiting to be discovered if we just start to pay attention.

Picture books taught us that reading does not have to be hard to be worthwhile. But that we can handle the hard when it happens. That we do not have to struggle through complex texts but can instead access them in smaller pieces and that doesn’t make us dumb, or bad, or any other label we may have had before then.

So when people act surprised that I would ever hand a picture book to a 7th grader, I ask them to try it. To build a community that believes in the power of picture books and uses them for good. To create a community where all reading counts, not just the assigned texts, not just the grade level books. Where students are encouraged to read for fun, to read to learn, to read to challenge themselves and their opinions. Where picture books help us become better human beings, not because the teacher told us we had to work on it, but because within their pages we saw something to strive for.

So yeah, picture books may be for little kids as well. But for the big kids, for the ones I teach, they are an entirely new world that doesn’t judge, that doesn’t frustrate, that doesn’t make them hate reading. That helps them become what we all hope they do; better readers, better thinkers, better writers, but most of all, better human beings. All in the power of picture books.

PS: Want ideas for which picture books to have in your classroom, here you are!