I will admit, when I first read The Important Book by Margaret Wise Brown, I wondered, "what is the point of this book?" (Honestly, I thought the same thing about her more famous book, Goodnight Moon. But I grew to love it as I read it to my babies before bed.) However, after reading The... Continue Reading →
Soldier’s Heart
The newspapers today are full of stories of soldiers struggling to re-adapt to civilian life, living with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among other things. It made me ask the question - what about the soldiers of the past? Did veterans of World War I or II suffer from similar issues? What about those who fought... Continue Reading →
The Mouse with the Question Mark Tail
Mouse Minor is what everyone calls him, but it's not his real name. The hero of The Mouse with a Question Mark Tail doesn't have a name. And it bothers him immensly. He never knew his parents either. He lives with Aunt Marigold under the Royal Mews, the carriage house of Buckingham Palace. Mouse Minor... Continue Reading →
Xander’s Panda Party
Linda Sue Park is one of my favorite authors (see reviews of other books here, here and here), so when I saw she had written a picture book, I snatched it up. I was hoping it was as good as her chapter books, and I was not disappointed! Xander is a panda, and a panda... Continue Reading →
Uncle Vova’s Tree
I am continually in awe of author Patricia Polacco's childhood. She must have grown up in a family rich in storytellers, because many of her picture books come from her own experiences, or family history. Uncle Vova's Tree is one such book. Some of her ancestors came from Russia, and celebrated the Russian Orthodox Christmas... Continue Reading →
Maria: A Christmas Story
The whole town of San Lorenzo is preparing for the annual Christmas parade. Eleven-year-old Maria Gonzaga listens longingly to her friends' plans for their floats. Their families are hiring designers to create breath-taking floats - and Maria longs to participate. But San Lorenzo's parade has long been for the wealthy Anglo ranchers, not the Mexican-Americans.... Continue Reading →
It’s Thanksgiving
If turkey's thought, they'd run away A week before Thanksgiving Day, but turkeys can't anticipate, And so there's turkey on my plate. My children and I always enjoy a good rhyme from author Jack Prelutsky. In It's Thanksgiving, Prelutsky entertains readers with short and long poems about Thanksgiving. Written for beginning readers, this book has... Continue Reading →
Little House on the Prairie
If your library does not include the Little House books, the semi-autobiographical novels by Laura Ingalls Wilder, put them on your Christmas list! Every home should have a set of these. The series start with Little House in the Big Wood, where Laura and her sisters live with their parents. She includes all sorts of interesting... Continue Reading →
The Lord of the Rings
Technically, JRR Tolkien wrote The Lord of the Rings as a sequel to The Hobbit. However, while The Hobbit is a great story for upper-elementary-aged children, The Lord of the Rings is a darker story, much more intense and scary. And like The Hobbit, learning how to read The Lord of the Rings will greatly increase... Continue Reading →
The Hobbit
I will admit to trying to read The Hobbit by JRR Tolkien many, many times as a preteen and a teenager. I could not get through the first chapter. It wasn't until I was an adult, and took a class on Tolkien, that I was able to force myself through the book. So why am... Continue Reading →
Cultivating Readers 