3rd Grade Summaries

3rd Grade Book Summaries

Mr. Popper’s Penguins by Richard and Florence Altwater

A classic of American humor, the adventures of a house painter and his brood of high-stepping penguins have delighted children for generations. More than 60 years have not dated this wonderfully absurd tale--it still makes kids (and parents) laugh out loud. Poor Mr. Popper isn't exactly unhappy; he just wishes he had seen something of the world before meeting Mrs.Popper and settling down. Most of all, he wishes he had seen the Poles, and spends his spare time between house-painting jobs reading all about polar explorations. Admiral Drake, in response to Mr. Popper's fan letter, sends him a penguin; life at 432 Proudfoot Avenue is never the same again. From one penguin living in the icebox, the Popper family grows to include 12 penguins, all of whom must be fed. Thus is born "Popper's Performing Penguins, First Time on Any Stage, Direct from the South Pole." Their adventures while on tour are hilarious, with numerous slapstick moments as the penguins disrupt other acts and invade hotels. (139 pages)

Freckle Juice by Judy Blume

Nicky has freckles -- they cover his face, his ears, and the whole back of his neck. Sitting behind him in class, Andrew once counted eighty-six of them, and that was just a start! If Andrew had freckles like Nicky, his mother would never know if his neck was dirty. One day after school, Andrew works up enough courage to ask Nicky where he got his freckles. When know-it-all Sharon overhears, she offers Andrew her secret freckle juice recipe -- for fifty cents. It's a lot of money, but Andrew is desperate. At home he carefully mixes the strange

combination of ingredients. Then the unexpected happens… (48 pages).

Tornado by Betsy Byers

A tornado appears in the distance, and Pete gathers everyone into the storm cellar. While they wait for the storm to pass, he tells the family about the dog dropped down by a tornado when Pete was a boy. Named Tornado, Pete′s pet was no ordinary dog -- he played card tricks, saved a turtle′s life, and had a rivalry with the family cat. By the time Pete tells all of the stories, the storm has passed, and another family has been entertained by this very special dog. (64 pages)

Muggle Maggie by Beverly Cleary

At first, Maggie is just being contrary when she tells her parents she doesn't need to learn cursive. Then her teacher, Mrs. Leeper, says Maggie's cursive is so untidy her name looks like "Muggie," and Maggie decides she will never, never read or write cursive. Nobody can make her. But when Mrs. Leeper appoints Maggie class mail messenger, the notes Maggie must carry are in cursive. Maggie can't read the notes, but she suspects some of them are about her. Now she really has a problem! (96 pages)

Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes by Eleanor Coerr

Born in Hiroshima in 1943, Sadako was the star of her school's running team, until the dizzy spells started and she was forced to face the hardest race of her life-the race against time. (80 pages)

Molly’s Pilgrim by Barbara Cohen

Sparkling new illustrations refresh this Thanksgiving classic based on the true experience of a member of Barbara Cohen's family. The touching story tells how recent immigrant Molly leads her third-grade class to discover that it takes all kinds of pilgrims to make a Thanksgiving. Originally published in 1983, Molly's Pilgrim inspired the 1986 Academy Award winning live-action short film. (32 pages)

James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl

A little magic can take you a long way. After James Henry Trotter's parents are tragically eaten by a rhinoceros, he goes to live with his two horrible aunts, Spiker and Sponge. Life there is no fun, until James accidentally drops some magic crystals by the old peach tree and strange things start to happen. The peach at the top of the tree begins to grow, and before long it's as big as a house. Inside, James meets a bunch of oversized friends—Grasshopper, Centipede, Ladybug, and more. With a snip of the stem, the peach starts rolling away, and the great adventure begins! (160 pages)

My Father’s Dragon by Ruth Stiles Gannett

My Father's Dragon is a children's novel by Ruth Stiles Gannett about a young boy, Elmer Elevator, who runs away to Wild Island to rescue a baby dragon. Both a Newbery Honor Book and an ALA Notable Book, it is the first book of a trilogy whose other titles are Elmer and the Dragon and The Dragons of Blueland. It was made into an anime film titled, Elmer's Adventures: My Father's Dragon. The narrative mode is unusual, in that the narrator refers to the protagonist only as "my father", giving the impression that this is a true story that happened long ago. The illustrations within the book are black and white done with a grease crayon on a grained paper, done by Ruth Chrisman Gannett. The story was cited as a runner-up for the Newbery Medal in 1949 and was an ALA Notable Book. It was also nominated for the Ambassador Book Award in 1948. In the story, we meet some tigers, a rhinoceros, a lion, and a gorilla all leading to the baby dragon. There is also a river, an island, and a bridge. (68 pages)

Stink: The Incredible Shrinking Kid by Megan McDonald

Every morning, Judy measures Stink, and it’s always the same: three feet, eight inches tall. Even the class newt is growing faster than he is. Then one day, the ruler reads three feet, seven and three quarters inches! Can it be? Is Stink shrinking? The creator of award-winning Judy Moody series have, by popular demand, put themselves in a very Stink-y mood. (102 pages)

Boxcar Children by Gertrude Warner

The Aldens begin their adventure by making a home in a boxcar. Their goal is to stay together, and in the process they find a grandfather. (154 pages)

Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White

Charlotte's Web is the story of a little girl named Fern who loved a little pig named Wilbur—and of Wilbur's dear friend Charlotte A. Cavatica, a beautiful large grey spider who lived with Wilbur in the barn. With the help of Templeton, the rat who never did anything for anybody unless there was something in it for him, and by a wonderfully clever plan of her own, Charlotte saved the life of Wilbur, who by this time had grown up to quite a pig. How all this comes about is Mr. White's story. It is a story of the magic of childhood on the farm. The thousands of children who loved Stuart Little, the heroic little city mouse, will be entranced with Charlotte the spider, Wilbur the pig, and Fern, the little girl who understood their language. (184 pages)

Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalis

Laura Ingalls's story begins in 1871 in a little log cabin on the edge of the Big Woods of Wisconsin. Four-year-old Laura lives in the little house with her Pa, her Ma, her sisters Mary and Carrie, and their trusty dog, Jack. Pioneer life is sometimes hard, since the family must grow or catch all their own food as they get ready for the cold winter. But it is also exciting as Laura and her folks celebrate Christmas with homemade toys and treats, do the spring planting, bring in the harvest, and make their first trip into town. (256 pages)