Nightmares!

Of all the books we read over Christmas break, Nightmares! by Jason Segel and Kirsten Miller was the biggest hit.

It’s a fabulous look at how children learn, grow, and conquer fears.  

It’s a good mix of creepy, fun and growth from experience.

Nightmares! offers opportunities to talk about:

Fears

Friends

Family

Grieving

Art

Lifestyle choices

Super heroes

Individual strengths and weaknesses

And, things that go bump in the night.

We have dozens of helpful links on our Pinterest board to help you get started. 

Are you ready to face a fear?

How about starting with an easy challenge: Charlotte’s pancakes.

More books like this one:

Nightmares! The Sleepwalker Tonic by Jason Segel 

House of Secrets by Chris Columbus 

Coraline by Neil Gaiman 

Demon Keeper by Royce Buckingham 

No Passengers Beyond This Point by Gennifer Choldenko 

The Shadows by Jacqueline West

The Bridge to Terabitha by Katherine Paterson 

The Book of Lost Things by John Connolly

Swindle by Gordon Korman

(lexile: 710; AR book level: 4.9; 252 pp)

Meet Gordon Korman, author of Swindle.

Swindle offers a wide variety of exploration activities: It's a story of haunted houses, baseball cards, money troubles, friends, and big plans.

First of all, is there a haunted house near you?  What is its history?  How could you go about sorting out what was fact and what was fiction about the house?  Would you spend a night in the house if you were given the chance?

Suppose you found something valuable inside- what would it be?

What do you think of Griffin's decision to try and steal the card back for the dishonest dealer?  Do his reasons justify the act?  What would you do in his situation?

Let's do a little math. 

The baseball card in Swindle was estimated to be worth a million dollars.  If you were to design the ultimate heist, who would be on your team to retrieve this baseball card? What would their specialty be? How many ways would the money be divided and how would each team member envision spending their portion?

Now let's get ready for the big heist.  Hone your observation skills by playing this game.  

And, learn to play backgammon- you never know when you might need to distract a nosy neighbor.

But, alas, even the best laid plans can go wrong.  You've gotten yourself caught and grounded.

Never fear.  Use your time wisely, by inventing a new gadget that will make you millions of dollars instead of a life of thievery.

Plot a way to convince your parent to let you have a doberman to train as a guard dog.

Or, design your dream skate park.

Even better news?  You will have plenty to read while incarcerated in your room.

Swindle, Zoobreak, and Framed, the first three books in this series are all on sale for the kindle during the month of November.  Score!

Need more to read?

The Homework Machine by Dan Gutman

The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart

Millions by Frank Cottrell Boyce

Scat by Carl Hiaasen

A Week in the Woods by Andrew Clements

Holes by Louis Sachar

Then, when you finally earn time off for good behavior, there's even a movie adaption of Swindle.

Rules by Cynthia Lord

(AR level 3.9)

Rules by Cynthia Lord is a book full of fun and fabulous opportunities to see the world through the eyes of those who have special needs, as well as those who love them.

Catherine is a typical 12 year old, with typical thoughts and feelings, but a not-so-typical life that she sometimes has a hard time with.  Her brother has autism and it always seems as if his needs come before anyone else.  He has a lot of needs.

Rules has one both a Newbery Honor and a Schneider Family Book Award  for the humorous and sensitive way it portrays life with disabilities.

There is a fabulous set of teaching aid available for this title on Scholastic’s website.

And, here are some further book extension ideas to consider.

Every character in the book has a different way of coping with their problems.  Can you identify each person’s talent/personal therapy measures?  What are yours?

Have you ever considered learning to draw, or playing an instrument such as the guitar or piano?

Do you know someone with special needs? How would you draw a picture of their life?

What it’s like to have a brother with autism?

Or, be in a wheelchair?

Consider rules or schedules you have in your own life.  Do the help with daily life of feel restricting? If you could define your own set of rules for life, what kinds of things would you include?

Find and write out a list of all the rules Catherine creates in the book. What is your favorite rule in Catherine’s book for David? Practice writing it in different creative ways and turn it into an art project.

Consider how you feel about spending time with those who have special needs.  How does your time with them make you feel or think about life?  Do some research into what it's like to have a career as an art therapist, music therapist, speech therapist, or occupational therapist.  In what other ways can you use your own talents and interest to help others and build a career?

Also, if you really enjoyed this book, there is an opportunity to write to the author on her website.

Want more books like Rules?  Try these:

Al Capone Does My Shirts by Gennifer Choldenko

Out of My Mind by Sharon M. Draper

A Crooked Kind of Perfect by Linda Urban

Wonder by R. J. Palacio

And just because we think it’s totally awesome, check out this fish tank.  But remember, No Toys in the Fish Tank!