Fiction Friday 2015: Chapter 1

Greetings all you wonderful book lovers!

Today marks the first official Friday of summer vacation (for me) and with that comes the start of my favorite summertime linky party... Fiction Friday!

Fiction Friday started four years ago (gasp!) when I first started this little ol' blog. Each summer, using the Texas Bluebonnet Nominee and my district's 4th grade Battle of the Books list, I read as many books as I could to help encourage and inspired my students to get reading in the fall.

To help hold myself accountable and share these wonderful new books I discovered along the way, I started Fiction Friday.  Soon others started joining in and that is where the fun really began! As people started linking up with their favorite books (chapter and picture) I learned about even more great books that my students would love. My Amazon wishlist grew longer and longer and so did my love of children's books.

I hope you will join in our journey together this summer as we celebrate one of the best genres out there - children's literature!

 This week I read...

Quinny & Hopper
by Adriana Brad Schanen

In this lively story of friendship, Quinny and Hopper are polar opposites of each other. Quinny is loud and spunky.  Hopper is shy and calm.  But when Quinny moves in next door to Hopper they discover their unlikely friendship leads to the best summer yet, especially if they can catch Freya, the killer zebra chicken!

The story is told with alternating perspectives between Quinny and Hopper throughout the whole book.  The reader can't help but fall in love with both characters who are so different and yet so similar - both children with very big hearts. You are rooting for them from the beginning!

As the story unfolds, both characters face personal challenges that are all too real to children these days. Nothing feels fake or made up or too whimsical to be true.  Hopper has big bully older brothers and no friends at school. Quinny finds herself in the middle of a group of mean girls who boss her around and make her feel less than she is worth. Together, these two discover what it means to be a real friend and how to embrace being yourself! Children will instantly connect with these characters and love the story of friendship, growing up, and embracing change for the better. The story is accompanied with charming illustrations that capture the heart of the story and the characters.

I would recommend this book as a read aloud for 1st through 3rd grade and as a great independent read for grades 3-5. Students who enjoyed reading the Gooney Bird Greene books would love this novel!

Book Information:

• 230 pages
• 660 lexile
• Guided Reading - Q
• Grade Level Equivalent - 4.0 

Now, it's your turn! Join us in our celebration of Children's Literature by linking up anyday, anytime, with anybook. I can't wait to hear about all the new books you've read and loved this year.

Happy Reading!!

An InLinkz Link-up