Henry Climbs a Mountain by D.B. Johnson

 Mr. Johnson extracts a portion of Henry David Thoreau's Civil Disobedience and displays it via a main character, a bear who is jailed because he won't pay his taxes to a state that allows slavery (just like Thoreau). While Henry the Bear is in jail, he draws with crayons on the wall and becomes part of the scene. I found it weird and am not sure how much kids will like it. I have not read Civil Disobedience , so maybe there are more connections to the bear's drawing on the walls than I realize. 

At least two other picture books feature Henry the Bear, depicting parts of Thoreau's life.

-Borrowed from the library.

Sparrow Being Sparrow by Gail Donovan illustrated by Elysia Case*

 Fourth-grader Sparrow is energetic. Her exuberance, however, causes trouble. Like breaking Mrs. LaRose's hip. Like telling her class she had seven cats (really, Mrs. LaRose has the seven cats). Like breaking a coffee cup in a cafe. Like passing a note during class and getting caught. OR her exuberance can accomplish the impossible. Like finding a home for seven cats plus kittens! It is just "Sparrow being Sparrow".

A book featuring a relatable girl with loving parents. A great book for those readers who love Junie B. Jones (a lot better story and character than Junie B.) and Romana Quimby. 

*Highly recommend.

Considerations: Sparrow has never been to church. When she and her parents initially attend, her views on church are not positive. The Sunday school lessons were not focused on actual Bible stories. The church observes the Blessing of the Animals day, which some readers may not understand if they attend an evangelical church. Sparrow's opinion of church evolves as the novel progresses. 

The Secret Lake by Karen Inglis

 Stella and Tom have moved to England from Hong Kong. Strange events occur in their neighborhood's garden-a gardner protective of the moles, an elderly woman's dog who disappears for days at a time, a hole in the ground which leads to another time period. . .  Stella and Tom unearth (literally) new friendships and adventures.

Although the plot idea was good, I found the writing, plot development and punctuation lacking.

-Borrowed from the library.

Grandfather's Dance by Patricia MacLachlan*

 The fifth and final book in the Sarah, Plain and Tall series

The aunts from Maine and Sarah's brother, William, travel west to attend Anna and Justin's wedding. As the aunts and family members prepare for the wedding, Jack, the youngest Witting, follows Grandfather and imitates his every move and word. Humor, love and understanding abound in this beautifully told story about life and family.

Points to discuss/heads up: Cassie wants to marry a dog instead of a man! Grandfather gives her a  wedding to marry Nick the dog. A beloved main character dies.

*Highly recommend.

-Very short chapters.

-Borrowed from the library.

More Perfect than the Moon by Patricia MacLachlan*

 Book #4 in the Sarah, Plain and Tall series

I have read books #1-3 in this series but for some reason I did not know about books #4 & 5. 

Cassie is concerned about Mama.  She believes she is sick. When Mama shares that she is pregnant, Cassie becomes more worried and decides to watch Mama all.the.time. Secretly, she despises the thought of sharing Mama with the baby and does not want it to arrive.

Sparse but perfect prose.

*Highly recommend.

-I own this book (apparently this book is difficult to find online or in bookstores. I was able to purchase it at my local bookstore for less than $2!).

Jesus Superpowers and the Bully by T.M. Barton

Adventures from the Throne Room #1 

My aunt gave this autographed book to me. 

Troy's parents run a hotel. Luke, a guest Troy's age, leads Troy to Christ. Whenever Troy prays, he enters God's throne room and interacts with Jesus. Jesus outfits him with armor to combat the enemy. As Troy matures in his faith over the next few weeks, he learns how to use his armor and to recognize demons and their lies. He also befriends Brock, a new boy who relentlessly had made fun of him. Born with a partial arm, Troy experiences a miracle; Jesus heals him! Troy has a guardian angel and interacts with him.

Points to discuss: demons, spiritual warfare, lying, skipping school, guardian angels, angels who appear to be human,  healing, Brock's grandma had died before he moved to Troy's town, Jesus tells Troy to share with Brock that his grandmother is in heaven with him

The book ended abruptly. More plot development was needed to make the ending credible.  A lot of scripture was incorporated into the book and then listed in the book to encourage memorization. As I was reading, I was reminded how I can become apathetic about spiritual warfare.

-I own this book.

Rosetown Summer by Cynthia Rylant*

 Flora loves her quiet, predictable town in Indiana. She finds comfort in her friends, the cozy shops and her routines. When she learns that Miss Meriwether, the owner of a book store, may move to Montana, she is not sure how she will deal with the change.

A quiet book with a reflective character. Children who read for plot may not like this book. Beautiful writing (reminds me of Kate DiCamillo's books/writing).

*Highly recommend for those who like character development and who are more reflective.

-Borrowed from the library.

The Hedgehog of Oz by Cory Leonardo

 Marcel, the hedgehog, resides in a movie theater with two chickens.  After theatergoers leave, the threesome feasts on the leftover candy and popcorn.  Despite this pleasant arrangement, Marcel misses Dorothy, his former owner.  When the theater closes and Marcel is dumped in the countryside, Marcel commences traveling back to the city and to his Dorothy.  Along the way he forms new friendships and begins to deal with his past.  

A lot of connections to The Wizard of Oz.  I am not a huge fan of The Wizard of Oz so the connections did not excite me! 😉

Warning: One of the characters dies.

-Borrowed from the library.

Bo at Ballard Creek by Kirkpatrick Hill illustrated by Leuyen Pham

 When Bo was a baby, her mother, who was a "good-time" girl, handed her off to Arvid, a blacksmith in a mining camp, telling him to take her to an orphange.  Arvid did not know what to do with the baby.  Jack, a cook at the mining camp, pitched in to help Arvid.  Both of them decided they could not leave Bo at an orphange and committed to raise her together.   

The story takes place when is Bo five-years-old, loving her life with two miners as her papas and experiencing the miner camp with many interesting miners, Eskimos and two good-time girls.  While reading this book, the reader will learn a lot about the life of a miner, the Alaskan natives, and life during the 1920s. The characters are likable and humorous.

Ms. Pham's illustrations are adorable.  

Points to discuss/warnings: two papas (no hint that they are romantically involved-they have just agreed to raise Bo together), swearing-a few times, "good-time girls", smoking, drinking, the kids like looking at naked pictures in the National Geographic magazines, one miner explains rocks/life via evolutionary/old earth lens.

-Borrowed from the library.

Winnie's Great War by Lindsay Mattick & Josh Greenhut illustrated by Sophie Blackall

 Ms. Mattick's great-grandfather, Harry Colebourn, bought a bear on his way to WWI.  He named her Winniepeg after his home town.  Soon Winnie, which was her nickname, became the Second Canadian Infantry Brigade's mascot.  To save her from the perils of the war, Lt. Colebourn takes her to the London zoo until the war ends.  Since she was so friendly, visitors could actually enter her enclosure and interact with her.  After the war Lt. Colebourn realizes that Winnie would live a fuller, happier life at the zoo, so he donates her.  It just so happened that one of her regular visitors was a boy named Christopher Robin.  As his father observed Christopher's interactions with her, a story developed . . .Winnie-the-Pooh!

Ms. Mattick divides the book up by Winnie's different settings (the woods, White River, Valcartier, Atlantic Ocean, Salisbury Plain etc).  The story also revolves around Lt. Colebourn's journal entries, which she includes in the book.  Although the book is based on fact and research, a lot of the dialogue, relationships, and events are imaginary.  Additional information and photographs are included after the story finishes.

Very interesting and cute!

-Borrowed from the library.

Skunk and Badger by Amy Timberlake illustrated by Jon Klassen

 Badger has Important Rock Work to complete each day.  Thankfully his aunt Lula has given her brownstone to reside so the Important Rock Work can continue each day.  When she also permits Skunk to stay in the brownstone, Badger is appalled.  Skunk disrupts his work.  He squashes all of the boxes in his box room.  He launches a potato in the kitchen and leaves it sitting in the corner.  He invites chickens into the brownstone.  Skunk must go!

A sweet book that will cause the reader to think about kindness and friendship.

The writing is superb and clever.  The quirkiness of the story and characters is endearing.  It sort of reminds of Kate DiCamillo's unique writing style and characters.

-Borrowed from the library.

Fannie in the Kitchen by Deborah Hopkinson illustrated by Nancy Carpenter*

 I loved the clever layout of this book-first course , second course etc.

Readers learn how Fannie Merritt Farmer realized the importance of writing exact instructions for cooking and baking while she was a mother's helper in Mr. and Mrs. Charles Shaw's home.  While she was employed there, she taught young Marcia Shaw cooking and baking techniques.  The story is told from Marcia's point of view.

Interesting illustrations.

*Highly recommend.

-Borrowed from the library.

The Lost Boy's Gift by Kimberly Willis Holt illustrated by Jonathan Bean

 Since I grew up in the same area as Mr. Bean, I try to keep up to date with his publications.  The reason why I borrowed this book was because he had illustrated it. 😊

After his parents divorce, Daniel moves to a quaint village with his mom.  He misses his dad.  His mom works into the evening.  To combat his loneliness, he wanders his street discovering interesting individuals and animals.  His neighbor, Tilda Butter, notices (with the help of her animal friends with whom she can communicate) that Daniel is a lost boy and needs some help.  

To be honest, I did not care for Daniel.  I loved Tilda Butter and Dewey Wonder!  The setting and characters reminded me of Kate Dicamillo's Deckawoo Drive.  I wanted to know more about Agatha Brown and what made her finally begin to actually play her saxophone.

Mr. Bean's illustrations are expressive.  The map of Falling Star Valley is intricate.

Points to discuss: divorce, lying

A delightful neighborhood and characters!

-Borrowed from the library.

The World of Composers-Handel by Greta Cencetti

Divided into short chapters, this book reads like a story and shares the life of Georg Friederich Handel, composer of Water Music and the Messiah.
I read this aloud to my sons during our composer study.
-Borrowed from the library.

River by Elisha Cooper*

I read this beautiful picture book aloud to my sons since we are learning about New Netherlands (NYC) and Henry Hudson (Hudson River).
A woman (a mother) canoes the Hudson River from Henderson Lake into the Atlantic Ocean.  Her encounters with nature and the river are recorded in beautiful prose.  Mr. Cooper's attention to detail in his illustrations is amazing.  Observing the differences between the end pages in the beginning and the end and also the illustrations before the title page and on the author's note page is a worthwhile activity.
A great book to model asking questions while reading.
*Highly recommend.
-Borrowed from the library.

A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving DVD

We watched this DVD to add some fun to our study of the Separatists/Pilgrims and Strangers.  The Special Feature, The Mayflower Voyagers, help cement some of our learning.
Idea: While watching, eat toast, popcorn, pretzel sticks, jelly beans and drink juice.
-Borrowed from the library.

Hana in the Time of Tulips by Deborah Noyes illustrated by Bagram Ibatoulline

The illustrations are like masterpiece paintings!
Readers travel to Holland when the tulipomania is consuming its residents.  Hana misses her father.  He use to pretend with her and smile.  Now he is focused on tulips.  When the tulip market crashes, Hana listens to Rembrandt's wisdom and steers her father back to what is important.

I read this aloud to my sons to support our study of the Dutch during this time period.
A great book to immerse children into this period in the Netherlands.
-Borrowed from the library.

Once Upon a Time . . .by Alan Garner illustrated by Norman Messenger

I was looking for another one of Norman Messenger's books and came upon this book in the library.
Three unusual folktale-like stories entertained my nine year old and me one evening.
They had us puzzling and marveling!
-Borrowed from the library.

Into the Woods by Robert Burleigh paintings by Wendell Minor

John James Audubon Lives His Dream
In preparation of visiting Mill Grove, my nine year old and I enjoyed this picture book about John James Audubon.  In rhyme, the text reveals tidbits about Audubon's development as an artist.  On the same page, there are excerpts from his journal to support the text.  His journal entries are displayed in cursive font to offset them from the rhyming text.
-Borrowed from the library.

Sir Francis Drake His Daring Deeds by Roy Gerrard

The faces in this book made my nine year old and I laugh.

In poem format the reader can learn about Sir Francis Drake's entire life and his accomplishments.  The illustrations are lush and full of detail (well researched).

Warning: Some of the men are naked when drying their clothes over a fire in South America.
-Borrowed from the library.