Must Read Monday: Dog Lovers Edition!

I'm so excited that I can finally link up with Amanda from Teaching Maddness for her Must-Read Monday linky! This week her focus is on books for dog lovers, so I decided to link up another "doggone" good read!

We all know that I have a soft spot for my two rescued fur babies... even when they fight over the same Yoda toy! So, I was thrilled to join up with a new favorite book for dog lovers!

My new favorite dog lover book is actually historical fiction! The book is called Kizzy Ann Stamps by Jerri Watts. This is my second year for using the book as a read aloud during my integrated Civil Rights unit. The book is about a young African American girl growing up in rural Virgina during the school year of 1963. The girl realizes that racial tensions are high and she doesn't quite fit in at her new "white school." However, her dog, Shag seems to be the perfect buffer between Kizzy Ann and her new classmates! Written in journal style, this book is super easy to read and is a great introduction to historical fiction. My students are loving this novel (both boys and girls)! If you love Because of Winn Dixie, this book has many similar themes.

You can listen to the first chapter of Kizzy Ann Stamps via Amazon. You can also check out a summary and short video of the novel by downloading the Scholastic Book Fair app. I also plan on showing my student this short video from Animal Planet's Dogs 101 about Border Collies.

In the book, Shag makes a great herding dog and is learning how to herd for an important training competition that not only tests Kizzy's skills but breaks down the color barrier as well! 

I highly recommend this book for 4th - 5th graders who love dogs! According to Scholastic, the book's DRA level is a "T" and lexile level is 920. This book is also great because you don't have to read "every" entry if you want to use it for a read aloud or short genre study on historical fiction. It's definitely worth checking out at your Scholastic Book Fair or library! Go check out Amanda's blog for some other great dog picks... she has a few of my favorites posted!

What novel are you reading in you classroom?