Adapted from a poem by Karl-Erik Forsslund
A hungry fox, named Reynard, visits a farm hoping to capture a hen. The Tomten, who has watches the farm, approaches the fox and dissuades him from his pursuit with a bowl of oatmeal. The author talks to Reynard directly throughout the story.
I just learned earlier this summer that tales about Reynard the fox were written during the medieval era. I wonder if the original poem is referencing the medieval fox tales?
-Borrowed via ILL.
Clever, engaging poems about trains
Perfect way to introduce a train-loving child to poetry.
-Borrowed from the library.
When Ah-Fu's grandfather asks him to bring the ox home, Ah-Fu's confidence dwindles as various creatures instruct what he should not do as he bring the ox home. The ox is a gentle creature and assists Ah-Fu to gain confidence.
A feast for the eyes-the reader will linger on each page. The artwork is beautiful and offers unique perspectives.
A book that celebrates imagination
**Highly, highly recommend.
-Borrowed from the library.
The Big One has been spotted. The villagers are packing their gear to catch The Big One. Nana, the oldest elder, and Mina, the smallest villager, form a team to catch it. Do they have the grit and gumption to be successful?
I loved this book-the word choice, the figurative language, the detailed illustrations (many different perspectives). The end pages are creative/clever. I learned something too-- I had never heard of sea-wolves!
*Highly, highly recommend.
-Borrowed from the library.
A package is packed with love and care. Along the way, it flies out of the mail transport truck and lies on the city street. Will the recipient ever view its contents?
A sweet book about traditional mail and a brief look into the postal service.
Mr. Ho unashamedly exalts the USPS (his author's note is very interesting!).
*Highly recommend.
-Borrowed from the library.
Sarah Mackenzie recently recommended this picture book on RAR.
The Outermouse Mouse loves her life along the ocean in a small cottage. One day she notices the tide coming closer & closer to her home. Even though she tries to block the ocean with a line of sand and a wall of shells, the ocean just devours and scatters them. Eventually the man even leaves. A storm descends upon the house and mouse. Will our mouse find the courage to endure?
I love the illustrations as much as the words, especially the depiction of shells and sea glass.
*Highly recommend.
-Borrowed from the library.
Ms. McDonald illuminates how the bell (eventually called the Liberty Bell) was hidden from British soldiers during the Revolutionary War. A farmer & his son haul it to Bethlehem, PA, where their wagon breaks down. Another farmer carries it to its final hiding destination-Allentown's Zion Reformed Church. I found the author's note interesting.
The bold illustrations and first person narration will make this story appeal even more to kids.
-Borrowed from the library.
What a lovely collection of stories about the Meadow Family-Sullivan, Eva, Ray, and Willie who live in Blue Hill, VA with their dogs, Lady & Sam. The four stories, one for each season, focus on Willie, a third grader. Over the course of a year, Willie gains two dogs, goes fishing for the day with his father, gets stuck in a blizzard at his teacher's house, and gives his mother the best Mother's Day gift ever.
The illustrations suit the tone of the stories perfectly!
**Highly, highly recommend.
-Borrowed from the library.
Originally written in German
Griswald loves living in his rain barrel. Each short chapter focuses on a different adventure he experiences. The narrator is a human who owns the garden and lives in the house.
The illustrations are beautiful. 106 pages
-Borrowed via ILL.
The chickens are content with their mundane lives. Then the capybaras arrive. They are different. Can they be trusted? Until hunting season is over, the chickens agree to allow them to stay. Rules are established. The rules are broken. Then a capybara performs a heroic feat and transforms the chickens' opinions of them.
I liked the dry, subtle humor. The illustrations add to the story. While reading it, I was wondering if the author was trying to express his opinion on immigration.
-Borrowed from the library.
Three siblings pack a bag with sweaters, socks, mittens, and earmuffs and decide to live in different locations-a tree, a raft, a cave ,and by the sea, until an event occurs to convince them to move to the next place.
Would be a fun book to share with toddlers & preschoolers!
-Borrowed from the library.
A boy assists his father in delivering wood on their large sleigh. When it breaks, the boy utilizes the material to build his own small sleigh. The tradition continues when the boy becomes an adult.
Part of a series-modes of transportion with the word "old" in the title.
-Borrowed from the library.
Two-page spread with a poem on each, featuring an animal. Each poem is signed by the animal that "wrote" it.
A great book when discussing opposite and also younger children to develop their vocabulary.
These poems' rhythm and rhyme did not appeal to me. The poems are free verse and were translated from Dutch. Maybe those two factors are why the poems did not sound so pleasant to me.
-Borrowd from the library.
Jeongsoon dreams of becoming a princess so she can offer food to the hungry children in her village. When she is invited to compete in the Princess Challenge, she dashes off to the palace. The girls must participate in three challenges-Manners Test, Wisdom Test, & the Sleep Test. Although Jeongsoon is nervous and fumbles through some portions of the test, she passes all of them and becomes the next princess of Korea.
The author based the princess on an actual Korean princess and incorporated Korean Joseon culture.
I loved the vivid illustrations and how the reader will be exposed to Korean culture and history. The story was a bit simplistic (but very sweet).
-Borrowed from the library.
Another book recommended by Abigail Dodds on the Home Fires podcast
Mark recounts a summer day helping his grandmother and extended family at their seaside food stand. After they close the stand for the day, his grandmother takes him on night boat ride for an encounter with moonjellies.
Based on a true event from the author's childhood
I love the depiction of a family working hard together. The word choice & incorporation of the senses immerse the reader into this seaside, summer day.
I would have loved more pages/words spent on the moonjelly encounter. When I started reading the book, I thought I would be experiencing an extended interaction with Mark and the moonjellies. Instead it was one page.
The pastel illustrations are not my preference.
*Highly recommend for the robust depiction of family working together and celebration of the ordinary.
-Borrowed via ILL. However, initially no libraries in my state were fulfilling my request. So I pre-ordered it (Purple House Press is republishing it). The day I pre-ordered it, I found out a library had shipped it to my library. So I read a library copy. After June 1st I will own it.
Oswald Robbins, who wants to be called Wally, is a new kid in the Maple Ridge one room schoolhouse, making the total number of students an odd 21. Judging him from his looks and mannerisms, the students label him as odd and suspicious. When a coveted book goes missing from the brand new school library, Wally is the number one suspect. Fortunately, Logan wants to investigate and makes a new a friend.
I liked this story the best out of the five I have read in this series.
Discuss: judging others, welcoming new & different people to a group, jumping to conclusions
-Borrowed from the library.
Even though it is still fall, the Pryce family begins to "winterize", preparing for winter. Tess observes how frantically the squirrels have been gathering and storing nuts lately and predicts winter is coming soon. The oldest brother Drew scoffs at her conclusion. A blizzard does blast into their town while Drew is in the forest finding firewood. Logan utilizes his newfound knowledge of a homemade compass to find him.
I like how in each book Logan is working on something in his Fix-It Shop. This hobby reinforces the importance of being innovative and being creative and also being a problem-solver.
Consideration/discuss: When Logan's mom asks where Drew is, Logan lies because he doesn't want to ruin Drew's surprise of bringing in a lot of fireword. Drew's job is to find trees, chop them for firewood, and haul the wood back to the house. He had found a huge tree and was excited to surprise the parents with a huge load of firewood. He had told Logan not to tell because he wanted to surprise the family. So once again, lying seems to be almost justified. Good topic to discuss with children-is this wrong? What could Logan had done differently? Logan does not get into trouble for lying in the previous book nor in this book.
-Borrowed from the library.
Ms. Larsen explains that according to the ancient Norse story, our world was created from the enormous frost giant, Ymir, the father of all trolls. Even though trolls are extinct, she claims that you can find parts of them in creation. The bulk of the book is dedicated in sharing how one can trick a troll through old Nordic tales retellings.
Kids will love hearing these short, clever stories. My oldest son would have loved this book as a preschooler/early elementary student!
Considerations/discussions: How was the world truly created, Did trolls ever exist?
-Borrowed from the library.
A Princess, spoiled by her doting father, thinks only of herself and demands that her every desire be fulfilled. Men look at her and fall immediately in love with her. She views no one worthy of herself, of course! One day a Prince proposes to her and lays a casket of pearls at her feet. She overturns the casket, causing pearls to spill all over the floor. The only way she will marry this Prince is if he brings her the Singing Ringing Tree. He travels many miles and discovers the tree. An ugly Dwarf guards the tree. He allows the Prince to take the tree. But if the Princess refuses to marry him, they must return to him under his power and in whatever form he selects. The Princess refuses. . . .
I did not enjoy the style of the illustrations.
This legend has its roots in Germany & Slavic folk and fairy tales.
-Borrowed via ILL.
After skipping stones across Juniper Creek with his sister Tess and best friend Anthony, Logan calls his dog Skeeter to come home as the sun sets. Skeeter, however, remains in the dark woods. The three children enter it to convince Skeeter to obey. He is sitting at the base of a tree and peering upwards. A flash of white at the treetops causes the leaves to shake. Instantly, whatever it was disappears. The children think it is a ghost. Over the next couple of days the children hear about the ghost legend of Juniper Creek. Logan decides to create and to set a ghost trap.
A second storyline is included. An astute thinker will perceive quickly how these two storylines mesh.
I think the illustrations in this series are adorable. This book's ending is humorous.
Considerations/discuss: ghosts The conclusion is that they are not real. When Logan's little sister, Annie, asks what he is making, he lies. He doesn't want her to know it is a ghost trap and be scared. The author calls it a "fib", almost making it seem benign. Good discussion-is it ok to lie like this?
-Borrowed from the library.
