What Color is Ceasar ( Maxine Kumin)

We listened to this story on Tumblebooks.

I should pay more attention to Tumblebooks stories. I tend to use it when I need to be doing something else.

He's a dog trying to find himself?

Goodreads summary:

One dog’s quest for self-definition is anything but black and white in this delightfully droll, enlightening tale by an acclaimed former poet laureate.

Caesar is a large white dog with a great many black spots. Or is he a large black dog with even more white spots? That’s the trouble: he doesn’t know which, and though nobody in the family seems to care, he won’t rest until he uncovers the truth. So off he traipses, beseeching one animal after another to find out what color he is, basically. From celebrated poet Maxine Kumin comes a doggedly quizzical hero, brought comically to life by Alison Friend’s expressive watercolors — a lovable picture-book character who ultimately learns that it’s not what’s on the outside that counts. 

The Teeny-Tiny Woman (Paul Galdone)

One of the boys in my class is really into scary stories, so  I was searching for more books he could read after finishing Haunted Canada. This one came up. I loved this book as a child! I really remember it well. I would laugh and laugh and how the teeny-tiny woman shouted at the voice, "Well take it!" when he kept badgering her about the bone she had taken.

Now I know it's something that was definitely better in my memories. What is it with kids these days?? When I finished it they stared blankly at me and said, "I don't get it."

Truthfully, I didn't either.

Maybe it'd be better at Halloween time. :)

....Next time I should review other people's reviews on Goodreads though. Good comments here!


Goodreads summary:

A droll rendition of the old English ghost story about the teeny-tiny woman who found a teeny-tiny bone in the teeny-tiny churchyard.

Max's Words (Kate Banks)

This book was recommended by our literacy expert trainer, Patti. It really is a cute book and great for writing and talking about planning words we use in our writing.

Goodreads summary:

Max’s brothers have grand collections that everyone makes a big fuss over. Benjamin collects stamps and Karl collects coins, and neither one will share with their little brother. So Max decides to start a collection of his own. He’s going to collect words. He starts with small words that he cuts out of newspapers and magazines, but soon his collection has spilled out into the hall. All the while, his brothers are watching. Benjamin brags that he has one thousand stamps. Karl is just a few coins short of five hundred. But a thousand stamps is really just a bunch of stamps, and a lot of coins is only a heap of money. A pile of words, however, can make a story.

Bright, bold pictures incorporating clever wordplay accompany this highly original tale about a younger brother’s ingenuity.


Max's Words is a 2007 Bank Street - Best Children's Book of the Year. 

Sylvester and the Magic Pebble (William Steig)

This book is part of the book tournament we are doing at our school. It is a great story.

We were thrilled to figure out that William Steig also wrote Shrek!

When we discussed the story, the kids said they were impressed with the nice wishes that the main character made in the beginning. We were a little sad when the parents kept searching and searching and he was actually right there (he turns into a rock where the parents have a picnic). It was a relief to see the happy ending!

We learned a lesson. Be very very careful about what you wish for.

Reread September 24, 2019

Goodreads summary:

One rainy day, Sylvester finds a magic pebble that can make wishes come true. But when a lion frightens him on his way home, Sylvester makes a wish that brings unexpected results.

Ramie Nightingale (Kate diCamillo)

Nancy Clancy: Super Sleuth (Jane O'Connor)

One of my students has been reading Fancy Nancy books. I didn't know there were Fancy Nancy chapter books. I decided I should check one out....all part of my attempts to be up on the books my students are reading.

I was really happy with this book. The author does a great job of teaching. Nancy often uses big words, and then explains what they mean in a very direct way. She will have a sentence with a word like "trench coat" and then say: A trench coat is a long coat with buttons that spies often wear. Nancy Clancy also really loves writing. She talks about things she needs to do when she wants to write well, like use good descriptive words. I also love how Nancy talks about books she loves. She is a big fan of Nancy Drew, for example.

I also really liked the other characters in the book. Bree is a cool best friend (they have a rope between their houses where they send messages written in secret code in a bucket). Her little sister is cute and makes reasonable mistakes.  Mom is a good role model. Dad seems to have a great sense of humour. 

Goodreads summary: 

Nancy Clancy is growing up and ready for a whole new adventure . . . in her chapter book debut! 

Nancy and her best friend, Bree, have everything they need to solve a mystery, from their totally professional trench coats to their top-secret code. 

But when crime strikes in their classroom, will these super sleuths be able to crack the case?

Find out in the glamorous start to an all-new chapter book series featuring everyone’s favorite fancy girl!

Happy People Read and Drink Coffee (Agnes Martin Lugand)

I was very excited to received an advance reading copy of this book from Harper Collins through The Reading Society at The National Post.

Now that I have read it, I am less enamoured. At least I didn't pay for this book!

Don't be fooled by the title. This isn't about reading. It isn't about drinking coffee. It isn't about happy people. There is a bookstore called Happy People that the main character leaves and comes back to...but that is about it. It kind of reminded me of a bad mix of Wild by Cheryl Strayed and Labor Day by Joyce Menard....but with terrible writing. The idea of escaping to somewhere beautiful to find oneself is lovely....but she came off as stupidly hooking up with a jerk, like in Labor Day. 

The first chapter was great. I gasped at the narrative about easy going fun banter between a husband and wife and their child suddenly ending with death:

"They left, laughing and feeling around as they went downstairs.

"I found out they were still fooling around in the car when the truck crashed into them. I told myself they were still laughing when they died. I told myself that I should've been with them."

It is all downhill from there. The story is flat and poorly developed and terribly predictable. I kept saying, "Are you kidding me?!" with chapter. 

Run away. Move into a place next to this inexplicably seriously grumpy and rude neighbor. He does one nice deed and the next thing you know (like....that day) he invites her to join him on his business trip and she strangely, accepts. Of course, they call in love. In walks in the old girlfriend with catty skills straight out of high school. Of course, he chooses the nicer girl after seeing through the manipulation a of the old girlfriend.....only to have her get a hold of herself and return to her bookstore and clean the place up.

Phew....that was a waste of a Friday night.

Glad it was a quick read.

Goodreads summary:

She fled Paris to lose herself. The love she found would change everything.

Diane seems to have the perfect life. She is a wife, a mother, and the owner of Happy People Read and Drink Coffee, a cozy literary cafe in Paris. But when she suddenly loses her husband and daughter in a car accident, her life is overturned and the world as she knows it instantly disappears. Trapped and haunted by her memories, Diane closes her shop and retreats from her friends and family, unable and unwilling to move forward.

But one year later, Diane shocks her loved ones and makes the surprising decision to move to a small town on the Irish coast, finally determined to heal by rebuilding her life alone-until she meets Edward, a handsome and moody Irish photographer who lives next door. At first abrasive and unwelcoming, Edward initially resents Diane’s intrusion into his life of solitude . . . until he can no longer keep her at arm’s length. Along windy shores and cobbled streets, Diane falls into a surprising and tumultuous romance. As she works to overcome her painful memories and truly heal, Diane and Edward’s once-in-a-lifetime connection inspires her to love herself and the world around her with newfound inner strength and happiness. But will it last when Diane leaves Ireland, and Edward, for good?

At once heartbreaking and uplifting, Diane’s story is deeply felt, reminding us that love remembered is love enduring. (less)