Fiction Fridays Week 5

        I'm back from my grandmother's house.  I had a great time!  It's funny at 32 years-old going back to school shopping but I love it!  My gramma always buys me my first day(s) of school outfit.  This year was no exception.  We found two cute little dresses at JC Penney so I'm ready for August 19th...well, almost :)

        Between visiting with her, shopping, etc... I was able to squeeze in two more SSYRA books.  This week I read Fake Mustache and The One and Only Ivan.

        First up Fake Mustache by Tom Angleberger.  This book was hysterical.  Some of the parts were so goofy you couldn't help but crack up laughing.  It is centered around a boy name Lenny and his best friend Casper.  In the beginning of the book Lenny and Casper are your typical slightly nerdy seventh grade boys.  But everything changes when Casper buys a man about town suit and a Heidelberg Handlebar Number Seven mustache.  Somehow everyone in the town of Hairsprinkle is under a spell and Casper is bound and determined to take over the town, the state, the country, and then the world!  The book is great.  I definitely plan on using it as a read aloud.  The chapters are quick, the characters are likable and the plot is funny-what more could you ask for, right?!?  Also, I'm super stoked about making handlebar mustaches and taking individual and a class picture of my kiddos.  I think that it will be tons of fun!

        The second book I tackled this week was The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate.  Let me first say that I had heard a LOT of hype about this book and I was a little reluctant to read it because I thought that there was no possible way that it could live up to all the great things I had heard.  Well let me just say I was wrong!  This book is heart warming and absolutely beautiful.  There is a strong message of friendship and perseverance and that's all I'm going to say except that you NEED to read this book!

        Thanks so much as always for hoppin' over to Tadpole Tidbits and checking out what's new.  Now don't forget to hop on over to Andrea's Reading Toward the Stars and Amanda's The Teaching Thief for more great must reads of the week.