Tuesday, September 30, 2014

The Book Whisperer by Donalyn Miller

The Book Whisperer: Awakening the Inner Reader in Every Child by Donalyn Miller

Rating: 5 sister

My big sister once suggested to me that I read parenting books and summarize them, so to save parents the time of reading the whole book but give them the invaluable stuff of what's between the covers.  This is my first attempt at doing that...

Donalyn Miller is "the book whisperer."  She's not an expert according to degrees on her walls; she is an expert according to the students she's taught, encouraged, and inspired. And although I'm not a reading or Language Arts teacher for middle school students like most of the readers of The Book Whisperer, I am a reading mom--a reading mom with a children's book blog. So, I thought I might have something to learn. I thought right!

I kept a running list of things that we parents can do to get our younger children off to the right start at home before school even starts and also augment the "reading is great!" message that is (hopefully) being preached at school.

Here are lessons from her book for us parents of younger children:

1. Independent reading time is crucial! Give them time to read. 

Make time for reading, when most other things aren't available to your young child. At our house we have Quiet Time, just 30 minutes in the afternoon when we all take a break from each other and read in our rooms. Of course the kids often do things other than read--Ben likes to look at and reorganize his baseball card collection, and Lorelei will often engage in some artsy thing--but mostly I suggest they take up a pile of books and read them. And, mostly, that's what they do.

2. Let kids choose their own books. 

From time to time in the library I hear moms say "Let me choose the books. You know I choose good ones for you!" That makes me sad if the kids are told to sit on the sofa and not touch anything. But I believe in doing a mix of both--your library bag should be a combination of what you think they want or need and what they want. Go to the library and enjoy saying "YES!" for a whole hour (or seven minutes if you've got any kid under two years old)--because books are free and 50 is the limit (at least here in Fairfax County). Have them ask the librarians for help!

3. Validate their choices. 

This is an extension of #3, but very important to remember and DO. Read the books that they chose, even if it's the 300th time you've read it. Ask them why they like a book. Pick up a book that they chose from their school's library and express interest. Stop what you're doing to sit and read it. If you have a grade school child, ask them what their favorite book has been and then read that book. Like, right now. Validating their choices make them more confident in their choices--both as readers and as humans.

4. Read yourself! Be a reading role model. 

Parents can definitely do this, too!
Be excited about books! Enthusiasm is contagious. Tell them what you're reading, and read aloud interesting bits. Ask them what they're reading, and invite them to read funny or interesting or heart-pulling segments to you. Share with them your favorite books from childhood, and ask their aunts and uncles and grandparents and sitters to become part of this reading community if they are not already.

5. Read with them. 

Of course, the readers of the world go to college more often than not and get higher grades and score higher on all the tests out there. Well, that's great and all, but I love that reading has given me a great way to communicate with my children today. We have jokes from board books that we've read again and again, ways we remember things and reference points for life. Our relationship is deeper because of it, and I really do think books will help me through some of the angst-filled years that are ahead of us because we'll have something to talk about besides ourselves. (Or, we'll have a way of talking about ourselves in code.)


Other than these great take-aways and lots of insightful anecdotes, she points to five useful books and websites to encourage reading.  I'll share them with you (they're on page 116 of her book). Click on them for a link:


With the exception of Jen Robinson's Book Page, most of these websites and books are for older readers, but they are good to know about.

There you go!  No need to read the book...unless you're like me, and you just kinda sorta want to...!


Goldy Luck and the Three Pandas by Natasha Yim

Goldy Luck and the Three Pandas by Natasha Yim, illustrated by Grace Zong

Rating: 4 stars

At the rate we're going, we're going to have to keep renewing this book until the Chinese New Year! (It is late September as I type this...)  Kiefer will not let me return it--he's pulled it out of the library bag twice already.

It's definitely worth telling you about, and since it's been sitting around our house, I've been reading it almost once a day for the past few weeks.

Natasha Yim wrote a great Chinese twist of Goldylocks and the Three Bears. On Chinese New Year, Goldy Luck's mom asks her to bring a plate of turnip cakes to her next door neighbors. Once there, she tastes the family's congee rice porridge, determines the one in the plastic bowl is just right and gobbles it all up. She feels sleepy so tests the three chairs available, favoring the fun rocking chair--she ends up rocking it to pieces. Oops! She still feels sleepy and wanders to the bedrooms, selecting the third bed, a little futon, and falling fast asleep.

The (panda) bear family come home to this mess and finds the messy intruder fast asleep...until she is startled awake by their presence and runs back home immediately, embarrassed by her behavior. She thinks of her neighbors all day, and returns--with a fresh bowl of congee--to help clean up and celebrate the new year together.

There are lots of lessons to draw from this book, or you can simply enjoy the nice version of a classic story with wonderful illustrations by Grace Zong. Better yet, make the turnip cakes from the recipe in the back of the book and bring one by my house, please!

Friday, September 26, 2014

Big Little Mother by Kevin Kling

Big Little Mother by Kevin Kling, illustrated by Chris Monroe

Rating: 4 stars

I was prepared not to like this book, based on the title and cover. Then I reminded myself that that whole "don't judge a book by its cover" thing exists for a reason, so I did my best to suspend my disbelief and read the book. Glad I did! It's a a cute story.

The little brother in this story will always have a) a big sister and b) a cat, Kittywumpus, that is also older than him. Kittywumpus is that big sister's chosen playmate nine times out of ten; sometimes, if she's in just the right mood, that little brother gets to play along a little, too.

Until the day that Kittywumpus bolts out the door, and that big sister is forced to turn to her little brother and play with him. Things go well and things go smoothly as they play Adventures in Cardboard, Couch Cushion Treasure Hunt, and Sweet Moves in Groovy Threads. They pause between games to look for Kittywumpus, but then go back to each other and their creative play.

There's a sprinkling of mean-big-sister stuff in here, and I really dislike how she's mean--and how the little brother goes along with it as if he has to, as if his assertiveness needs not apply when dealing with his older sister.  I don't love this part of their relationship, though no sibling relationship is certainly perfect.

The end is fairly predictable, but not in a bad way. Kittywumpus does return, but the little brother remains in the big sister's circle of chosen playmates. The little brother is ecstatic to be accepted by her, even with the sprinkling of cool unkindness.


(My problem with the title/cover: I don't like the idea of oldest girls being "little mothers." Because I have an oldest girl and two younger boys, I hear "Oh! Is she like a little mother to them?" way too frequently. That's my own pet peeve I didn't mean to throw onto an innocent picture book...but did anyway...)

Thursday, September 25, 2014

Rupert Can Dance by Jules Feiffer

Rupert Can Dance by Jules Feiffer

Rating: 5 stars

I have a magnet on my refrigerator with the suggestion "Dance like nobody's watching!" I think Rupert would appreciate that. But check out the picture on my blogger profile--clearly I don't care if anyone is watching, I'll still bust a move how I please...

Rupert is a cat belonging to Mandy. Mandy is a dancer extraordinaire--there's nothing Rupert likes more than to watch Mandy dance. Well, there might be one thing he likes more, and that happens the moment Mandy falls asleep each evening.  Rupert grabs her dancing shoes and dances the night away!

Dancing is his secret. It is the last thing he wanted Mandy to find out.

But one night, she does. She wakes up unexpectedly and saw him.  She is overjoyed; he is horrified. She wants to teach him how to dance, whereas he loves the freedom of doing his moves however he wants. So he stops dancing (much to both of their disappointment). For him, the joy was taken out of it once he was discovered. For her, she could not share the thing she loved the best with the cat she loved the most.
They could have gone on this way for years.
And in fact, they did.

Sad times indeed.

Then one day not too far after, Mandy acts dumb, and asks for his help in some dance steps. Rupert falls for this old trick and, happy to be needed as an expert, teaches her what she wants. She gets him dancing again, and they happily dance together ever after--taking turns leading.

The messy sketches of Jules Feiffer might not be my first choice of illustrations, but they capture the movement--and the joy in the movement--of these two characters really well. As for the moral of the story, all kids sure do need it. Dance like nobody's watching should be tattooed (hmm...children tattooed? some of you might object to that) on the inside of their foreheads before they start wilting from self-consciousness in middle school. Here's to hoping that yours and mine will remember their dance moves despite their peers' gaze.

Thursday, September 18, 2014

Shackleton's Journey by William Grill

Shackleton's Journey by William Grill

Rating: 5 stars

The Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition. Ernest Shackleton. 1914. The Endurance. The greatest survival story ever. Reading more about it is on my to-do list; I'm aiming to get to that when the kids are in late middle school, so that I can teach them lessons about this extraordinary man while also drawing on his courage and perseverance as I face my kids' teenage years.

In all seriousness, I'm just not sure I can do this book justice.  I found it on a list of Caldecott hopefuls, and I've been blown away ever since.

Funding and recruitment
William Grill has created a masterpiece here. In thirty-two short chapters--most just a double spread long--he shows rather than tells of the expedition that made Shackleton one of the best explorers ever. He begins by telling us a little about Shackleton and his background, then discusses the funding and recruitment for such a voyage.  By highlighting fascinating tidbits ("Shackleton quizzed candidates on their practical skills, but also about more unusual things, like if they could sing well.") and providing detailed drawings--such as the line of people who stood to apply to go with Shackleton--Grill hooks kids in to his unusual style.

Grill goes on, page after huge page, to illustrate the adventure.  He illustrates the equipment and supplies. He captures the excitement in the moment of "bon voyage." The expedition map shows Shackleton's route and the ice he's up against. I'm as impressed as the kids with the pack ice they ram through, complete with videographer hanging from the stern to film it. And then they're stuck! The entire crew stays where they are for years, eating and living and entertaining themselves.
Meanwhile on Elephant Island

"Extraordinary detail" doesn't begin to describe how great Grill's drawings are. Each little sketch is a story of itself, worthy of many minutes' study. And Grill uses colored pencils as his medium--just colored pencils. The book makes me think of those huge DK books that show the inside of a castle. But it is also a story, with one of the biggest, most unbelievable, completely TRUE plots ever!

I am confident this book will capture the imagination of at least one person in your house. The recommended age for this book is 7 to 11, and I agree with that, although having a picture book in your hand in these later years is definitely odd for some kids.

Then again, at 38, I have no problem having a picture book in my lap...especially one as extraordinary as Shackleton's Journey.

Monday, September 15, 2014

Grandfather Gandhi by Arun Gandhi and Bethany Hegedus

Grandfather Gandhi by Arun Gandhi and Bethany Hegedus

Rating: 5 stars

Arun and his family arrive at Sevagram, his grandfather Gandhi's service village, and go straight to Gandhi's hut. They touch his feet to show respect; he hugs them tightly in return. Gandhi is impressed that the boy had walked the entire way from the train station. "That walk is a test of character. I am impressed." The boy's heart swells.

And so begins Arun's time at Sevagram, a time of simple beds and early mornings, guided meditations and chores, and of wondering if he could live up to the Gandhi name. Wherever the boy came from, it was quite different from where he is now, and the new places frustrates him to no end.  Here, in this place where he is supposed to be still and peaceful, Arun feels fidgety and annoyed all day long. Finally, he gets into a shouting match during a soccer game, and feels singled out for his quickness to anger.

He goes to seek counsel from his grandfather.  Gandhi is busy doing more important things, but he wonderfully shoos away his colleagues and puts away his papers in order to make time and space for his grandson.

"We all feel anger."
"Even you?" I asked.
"Even me," said Grandfather.
"Tell me what has you so upset," he says.  The boy's story spills out, and the fear of never being at peace or living up to the great Gandhi name hangs in the air. Gandhi assures the child that everyone feels anger--even the great Gandhi himself.

Anger is like electricity, Gandhi explains. It can strike like lightening and split a living tree in two. Or it can be channeled and transformative, and it can shed light like a lamp. In this way, anger can illuminate. It can turn darkness into light. We can work to use our anger, instead of letting it use us. The choice lies in each of us: lightning or lamp.

--

There is so much goodness in this book.  The ability to talk about anger, and how it is a natural feeling, present in all of us, is the best part of the book, but there are others. Namely, how he wonders if he'll ever live up to his family's name, how Gandhi makes time for him, and the introduction of a great man like Gandhi.

I did my best to live my life as light.
But the anger part is so important.  Back when I was obsessed with Gandhi in college, I was attracted to his stoicism.  I wished I had what I thought to be his ability to push down all his feelings and feel at peace.  I think because I was young and still very naive and hadn't yet felt a full range of emotions that I thought this was possible. Now, at an older and, yes, wiser period of my life, I realize that pushing emotions down deep and putting on a certain, expected face is a skill to be cast away, not idolized.  Transforming those very human and very deep emotions is trickier and healthier and what I now aim to do. Living with feelings and using my emotions are things I'm actively figuring out how to do, and how to teach my kids.

I could go on and on. But I won't. The book is wonderful, a great read though not an incredibly fun one. How great to read this with your child (or class), then be able to remind yourself (and for your child to remind you) of the choice we all have when we feel anger: lightening or lamp. The book's simple message has the potential to live in my children and your children for decades. And that is a hallmark of a truly wonderful book. A small critique: I wish it were slightly more accessible for kids.  The illustrations, while beautiful and artsy and Caldecott-worthy, are like poetry--gorgeous but difficult to understand, and they could be a turn off for some kids.

Do read the book for yourself--this might be a picture book your child never reads, or doesn't love.  But you should read it. So check it out for you this time around.

Friday, September 12, 2014

The Streak: How Joe DiMaggio Became America's Hero by Barb Rosenstock

The Streak: How Joe DiMaggio Became America's Hero by Barb Rosenstock, illustrated by Terry Widener

Rating: 4 stars

Of course I'm a sucker for a baseball book.  And, like I've written so many times, baseball is a wonderful vehicle for teaching about life--history, character, decision making, consequences...  You name it, you can explain it through baseball.  None of this is very helpful for those of you with kids who dance or play hockey, but... This one goes out to all of you who have, like we do, bats and gloves and balls either in use or planted in the middle of the yard, ready at a moment's notice.

This isn't my favorite baseball book, but it does teach a wonderful American history lesson and provides insight into one of the greats, Joe DiMaggio.

In the summer of 1941, Joe DiMaggio of the New York Yankees began a hitting streak in which America happily got swept up. In one game after another, DiMaggio came to bat and earned hit after hit.  Thousands became followers of this streak, and they didn't have to love the Yankees. Why? Well, it's not like they had a ton of distractions like we do today, and Americans were happy to be distracted that summer because the country was readying itself for war. Up to this point, the biggest streak in American baseball stood at George Sisler's 41 games and Wee Willie Keeler at 44 games. When DiMaggio tied and then surpassed these streaks, everyone took notice.

Now the papers shouted Streak loud and clear,
pushing back news of the war marching overseas.
Rosenstock writes in a thrilling way, and she builds suspense well. This suspense builds nicely to the problem in the book, when DiMaggio's lucky bat, named Betsy Ann, goes missing. Up to this point, she writes as if the streak was a partnership, with equal responsibility going to man and bat. She doesn't talk of the superstition in baseball--or in all sports--but I'm guessing many kids understand the need for a certain bat, a certain hat, certain shoes or certain socks that they need in order to win. She remains missing throughout the game, and the streak looks dead in the water until "DiMaggio went to work anyway." And he got the job done.

It's a good story and I like that baseball is placed accurately in the context of a war that kids will soon learn about.  Even if kids don't fully appreciate the difficulty--the near impossibility--of a streak of 56 runs, this is a fun book to read to any baseball-loving kid (and his big sister). The end of the book is filled with statistics and a longer Author's Notes for parents or kids who want more information.


Baseball books are some of my favorite to review. For a list of all reviewed baseball books, click HERE.


Monday, September 8, 2014

Gus, the Dinosaur Bus by Julia Liu

Gus, the Dinosaur Bus by Julia Liu, illustrated by Bei Lynn

Rating: 4 stars

Two of my three young kids ride the bus to and from school.  It's exciting stuff: walking up those big, huge steps, past the sweet driver Mrs. G, walking down the aisle with your mostly empty backpack bumping on the seats...

But I'm pretty sure they'd trade in their yellow school bus for a brachiosaurus any day of the week.

Gus, the dinosaur bus, takes kids to and from one particular school in this (I'm guessing?) fictional town. There's no need to walk to the curb--he just puts his head up to your window and you can slide down his neck to the general seating area on his back.  Wheeeee!

There are difficulties, of course.  His feet leave giant potholes, his tail gets tangled in wires, and crossing bridges is risky business when you weigh as much as five elephants!

And so, Gus gets retired. (He cries so hard at the news that he creates a cool new pool in the gymnasium.)  The school has to keep him around--the kids love him too much to part with him--so they make him part of the playground. He IS the playground, actually... (that last page is very similar to Superworm, a hilarious book you really should know about).
But life is not perfect for a dinosaur bus.

The illustrations by Bei Lynn are simple, unique--like well planned out scribbles.  It's a nice change of pace from the norm: books with sweeping, impossibly perfect illustrations that draw in the reader but also intimidate budding artists.

In all, a fun book to add to your pile.  My kids could not get enough of the story and pictures!


Saturday, September 6, 2014

Three Bears in a Boat by David Soman

Three Bears in a Boat by David Soman

Rating: 5 stars

Imagine this: It's dinner time after the first day of school.  A day filled with a whole lot of emotions: excitement, fear, happiness, pride, uncertainty, and relief. Ben went to kindergarten at a new school, with his big sister Lorelei, and is proud of himself for having survived the day full of way too many New Things. He is relieved to be home, but his relief comes out in whining and excess energy.  All are hungry and tired, past the point of being polite to each other.

What do I do?  I look for a story that can make them forget theirs for a minute.  A story that their imaginations can get wrapped up in.

I reach for Three Bears in a Boat, written and illustrated by the co-creator of Ladybug Girl, so he's got a few good books under his belt. While I like Ladybug Girl and the subsequent Bumblebee Boy, Soman is on a whole new level with Three Bears in a Boat.  A whole, new, wonderful level.
The bears in the third boat seemed a bit busy.

Three young bears (my kids loved that there was a girl and two boys) play roughly inside and knock over their mama's beautiful blue seashell. It smashes in a hundred tiny pieces all across the floor. They scatter and come up with a plan to fix the situation. They decide to find another seashell, and put it in the place of the broken one.  Their mama will never know.

The trio sail off in their boat, past other bears in boats that provide them and us comic relief but not much assistance in where to find another beautiful blue shell. They finally meet a salty old bear who reckons he can help them. "Just over yonder," he points with his big old paw.

"Over yonder" brings them past a lot of different places--some fun, some not so fun--into places they never knew existed. Finally they arrive at their destination (how they know it is just one of those magical moments in children's books--they just know) and they begin to search for the shell. They open fish mouths, search in trees, look up high cliffs, and peek in caves. But no beautiful blue seashell. They are empty-handed, and far from home.

Their voyage was not without incident.
They get back in the boat, and begin to argue (they are past the point of politeness, too), each blaming the other for breaking the shell. Around them, the waves and the weather begin to mirror their unhappiness, and the sky becomes dark, the water cranky. "BOOM!" Thunder startles them, finally interrupting their anger.  Scared, they huddle together.  "They are all in the same boat," writes Soman. Yes, indeed. Each accepts responsibility for his or her part in the seashell accident as they cling to each other very tightly.

The storm peters out and the sea is calm again. They sail for home. They know what they must do. As they pull their boat up to their own shore, they find another beautiful blue seashell, right near their home. They carry it, sobered by their experience, up to their mama, and apologize for breaking her shell.  They offer the new one to her.

She hugs them up in a big bear hug, and forgives them, grateful that they are home again.  Mama feeds them supper...but they don't get any dessert!

The illustrations are top-notch--beautiful, sweeping pictures of imaginary places that you just want to set sail to right away. My three kids--especially the two school going ones--were as swept away and calmed by the story that had a mama at the end of their journey.  Just like that bear mama, I was so grateful my little cubs were home after their adventure of their first day of kindergarten and second grade!

A Dance Like Starlight by Kristy Dempsey

A Dance Like Starlight by Kristy Dempsey, illustrated by Floyd Cooper

Rating: 5 stars

I'll get right to the moral of this story: Dreams do come true.

Don't you just love it already?

Meet one little girl--a little black girl--growing up in the 1960s who wants, more than anything, to be a ballerina.  Her mother works at the ballet school; she cleans and sews costumes there. She is heartbreakingly close to where she wants to be, but is not allowed in. (Do they not have the money? Or is it because black students are not allowed? Dempsey never says, though I infer the latter.) This little girl tries on the costumes, and twirls around and around, practicing moves she's seen but not been taught in the fanciest of all fancy costumes. She wishes on stars and cradles hope for her dream to come true.
"Brava, ma petit," he told me.

One day, while waiting in the wings with her mother during a show, this little girl dances the entire dance, having memorized it from the wings.  The Ballet Master sees her, watches her. When she finishes, he cups her face with his wise, white hands and says, "Brava, ma petite. Brava."

Her hope grows a little.  In Dempsey's words, "That's when hope picked my dream up from the floor of my heart, and it started growing."

The Ballet Master made an arrangement for this little girl to dance in the back of the class each day, one black girl behind many white girls.  But all have the same dream: to become a prima ballerina.

Then one day, her mother tells her that it has happened. The first African American has become a prima ballerina at the Metropolitan Opera House! Her mother scrapes up the money for the two of them to go, to watch Miss Janet Collins on opening night.

It's like she's dancing for me, showing me who I can be.
This one little girl in the audience stands to applaud and yell "Brava!" at the top of her lungs and her hope soars just like Miss Janet Collins soars across the stage.

This is a beautiful book in many ways.  I love the simple story of a little girl dream that might become true, and I love how she works hard for her dream, and doesn't give up on herself. I love how her hope grows and grows and grows throughout the story.

If there is a little dancer in your family, I hope this book finds its way to a shelf near her (or him!).

Wednesday, September 3, 2014

Papa Is a Poet: A Story About Robert Frost by Natalie S. Bober

Papa Is a Poet: A Story About Robert Frost by Natalie S. Bober, illustrated by Rebecca Gibbon

Rating: 4.5 stars

Sometimes I think I'm overdoing it just a bit.  I mean, how many serious-ish nonfiction books do kids really want to read?  I rationalize my filled-to-the-brim-with-books household by telling myself that I pick out books and leave them lying around, available, in case curiosity motivates one or two or all of my children to pick it up and read it. I also let them choose plenty of books on their own; they are not left to my nerdy selections.

Papa Is a Poet is long and wordy and serious, so it is definitely in that last category.  Bober tells the story of Robert Frost--as told from the perspective of Lesley, one of his daughters.  She tells us, the reader, of the day they returned from a two year, poetry-writing stint in England, when her father saw at a newsstand a published collection of his works, North of Boston.  He was surprised! Frost hadn't been told by any American publisher of its creation, but was overjoyed to have met success on this side of the Atlantic.

Lesley thinks back to simpler times, before her family sold their farm to raise the funds to go to England.  They lived on a farm, and Robert Frost was a poultry farmer.  Theirs was a nature-filled childhood, with streams and flowers and trees and each other to play in and around and with. Robert and his wife home schooled their children, and their life was full of books.  Their days were "ordinary but meaningful. The cupboard was often bare, yet life was filled to the brim."

Poetry--playing with words, finding the humor or beauty in simple things, and creating metaphors--ran through his veins, but he felt that it wasn't an acceptable pastime for a father of a large family.  He felt he was a "disappointing failure" in the eyes of neighbors and family, so they sold the farm and moved. They flipped a coin to decide where to go. The coin landed on heads, so they went to England--if it had landed on tails, they'd have gone to Vancouver. Choosing to be a full-time poet was a crazy, almost reckless decision, but he did it. And look, he did it so very well.

Why tell this story, read this book to young girls and boys like Lorelei (age 7)?

  1. Robert Frost is one of the greatest American poets, and now she has a little background, a little context to the lesson she'll soon get from a teacher. She'll know he was a dad and had kids and made up little rhymes for his family, and maybe...maybe his poetry will be not be so intimidating.
  2. I don't love how Bober sprinkles in Frost's poetry.  I think she feels obligated to, and I appreciate her attempt. While I don't think it usually works, I love that his most famous lines (see below) are in there, and that Lorelei knows about them and we can talk about them when making choices.
  3. Speaking of choices, I really like that this story is about one man struggling to make a choice--and it's a tough one for a man with poems in his head but mouths to feed.  I'm always telling Lorelei and her brothers that there are lots of choices, but no perfect one, but you have to trust your gut, take a risk, and then give that choice your all. Robert Frost did that.
  4. Personally, poetry didn't make a lot of sense when I was in school.  I realize now how fun it can be, how poets play with words and say things in tricky ways that challenge the reader to think, and I want to introduce that concept to my kids little by little, stanza by stanza.
  5. Their days were "ordinary but meaningful." The book is worth it for just that--a reminder that we don't need lots of gizmos and gadgets.  The simple things, especially when done with humor and appreciation, sure do mean a lot.

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I--
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.


Other books on poetry you might want to check out:
Guyku: A Year of Haiku for Boys (Raczka)
Poem-Mobiles: Crazy Car Poems (Lewis)
Runny Babbit (Silverstein)
And pretty much anything by Dr Suess, of course!


Tuesday, September 2, 2014

Millie and the Big Rescue by Alexander Steffensmeier

Millie and the Big Rescue by Alexander Steffensmeier

Rating: 4 stars

Oh the silliness of it!  Just the idea of all the farm animals playing hide-and-go-seek on a warm afternoon makes my kids curious and puts a smile on their faces.  One chicken hides under a flower pot (can you find his skinny chicken legs?)...  One pig hides in a tub-turned-watering-spot (can you spot his snout?)... One horse hides behind a big bush (can you see his blonde tail sticking out?)...

And Millie, the sweet heifer/main character, is super excited to have found the best hiding spot of all: a tree!  She perches her spotted rump way up high in a tall, tall tree, where she gazes out on her favorite farm and the surrounding land.  She sits and waits.  Waits and sits.  Sits and waits.  Sigh.  A little more sitting, a little more waiting...  Until she's bored.  And then Millie realizes that she is stuck.

Instead of helping her down, her barnyard friends get the silly idea to go up to join her! Pretty soon even the farmer joins her animals, and gets stuck up there herself when her ladder falls down. One chicken trots out to the neighbor for help, and when he comes, he calls the fire department.

The good-natured fire fighters have the silliest rescue of their careers (and the good-natured readers have a grand time looking at the illustrations of all this silliness).

This is a crowd-pleaser of a book!

P.S. Millie and her friends have had a few other adventures equally as silly.  Check out Millie Waits for the Mail and Millie and the Big Snow!