The Book Search

 We started back to school three weeks ago and it's so great to be back with the kids!  We spent a lot of the first week getting organized so I hope this week we'll get to talk books because there are some great new ones coming out!  These two are both stories about animals.  What's great about them is that even though it's fiction (we can't REALLY know what's happening in animals' heads!) we can think about what their life experiences are like and further think about how our actions might impact their lives.  Pretty cool idea... The first one is called Violet and Jobie in the Wild. It's written by Lynne Rae Perkins, who wrote the 2006 Newbery award winner called CrissCross.  She's also written several other novels and picture books and this new one is a middle grade reader and I think the kids are going to love it.  It's about Violet and Jobie, a pair of mouse siblings.  They live in a house with their extended family and they have figured out a...

It's sometimes hard to find a book that will get kids to think deeply about anything.  We seem to be firmly entrenched in a sound bite, 140 character limit, emoji laden world, so having something to consider thoughtfully is a real treat.  Here are two books that might make you go "hmmmm". The first one is a picture book.  It's called "Crocodile's Crossing: A Search for Home" by Yoeri Slegers.  The book opens with Crocodile already on his way somewhere new.  He's scared and hopeful because at home where he used to be happy, it's no longer safe.  He finds new places that are very different and not very welcoming to crocodiles.  He is about to give up, when he finds a community of mice who welcome him.  Things are not like they were at home, the food is different, but Crocodile tries and eventually makes a place for himself and is able to bring his family with him.  This is a marvelous story about immigration.  The art work surrounding the ...