Emma and the Silk Train (Julie Lawson)

A great little piece of Canadian historical fiction! It was a great way to introduce this genre to my students. There is some great vocabulary in here as well.

My students were totally captivated by the story. They had a lot of questions after. I didn't know about silk trains at all so this was a learning curve for myself too!

Goodreads summary:

A young girl's longing for a piece of silk almost leads to disaster when she risks her life to recover a length of fabric from the churning waters of a river.

Leave Me Alone (Vera Brosgol)

Oh my gosh. I love this book! My book club is reading Quiet by Susan Cain this month and this book fits perfectly with it.

We had a lot of good chuckles as we read this in class. When the grandmother went to the moon to be alone one of the students shot up his hand and said that that was impossible. Someone else replied, "The point is, she sure wants to have some alone time!"

They got it. We had a great discussion about how important alone time is and that some people need more than others...and that's ok. I loved how this book ended...she came back and didn't say a word about anything.

That is just what many of us need.

Goodreads summary:

An epic tale about one grandmother, a giant sack of yarn, and her ultimate quest to finish her knitting.

One day, a grandmother shouts, "LEAVE ME ALONE!" and leaves her tiny home and her very big family to journey to the moon and beyond to find peace and quiet to finish her knitting. Along the way, she encounters ravenous bears, obnoxious goats, and even hordes of aliens! But nothing stops grandma from accomplishing her goal--knitting sweaters for her many grandchildren to keep them warm and toasty for the coming winter. 

Those Shoes (Maribeth Boelts)

Great story. Have you ever just wanted something because you felt like life would just be better? You'd just be a little cooler? We could all relate. Often, everyone just wants to fit in. In our school kids wear uniforms and they're well aware that one of the benefits of uniforms is that we don't seem to have those issues as much - but they still got the concept. We all had empathy for Jeremy when he just wanted to have the same shoes as everyone else. We felt excited for him when he found some in the second hand store and we understood the crazy idea of squishing your feet into the shoes he finally found even though they were too small. When he gives the shoes away, our hearts sang. There is a great lesson in this story about learning the difference between wants and needs and what really matters when it comes to fitting in.



Goodreads summary:
But all the kids are wearing them! Any child who has ever craved something out of reach will relate to this warm, refreshingly realistic story.

"I have dreams about those shoes. Black high-tops. Two white stripes."

All Jeremy wants is a pair of those shoes, the ones everyone at school seems to be wearing. But Jeremy’s grandma tells him they don’t have room for "want," just "need," and what Jeremy needs are new boots for winter. When Jeremy’s shoes fall apart at school, and the guidance counselor gives him a hand-me-down pair, the boy is more determined than ever to have those shoes, even a thrift-shop pair that are much too small. But sore feet aren’t much fun, and Jeremy comes to realize that the things he has — warm boots, a loving grandma, and the chance to help a friend — are worth more than the things he wants.

Boy Soup (Loris Lesynski)

Great Tumble Book story! The kids loved the trick. I loved the verse. Great rhymes. In the end, the giant is glad he didn't eat the boys. Lots of good descriptive adjectives in here!

Goodreads summary:

When Giant wakes up with a big hurting head and a sore raspy throat, he finds the cure is a bowl of Boy Soup! Giant captures five boys and Kate, who all protest his plan. But Kate soon comes up with her own remedy and convinces the Giant that the soup should be made, not of boys, but by boys.

In a Sunburned Country (Bill Bryson)

Before this, I didn't know about Bill Bryson. When I was carrying this book around people would comment, "Oh! I love Bill Bryson. Have you ever read...."

I definitely have some more reading to do.

I really didn't know anything about Australia before this. His book was a great way to learn about Australia. I learned that you could die there. They have some seriously unique animals and plants and a lot of danger. I think I'll stick to the coastal areas, if I go there. Although, the lure of undiscovered gems and minerals in the wide open outback is a bit of a temptation!

I really enjoyed his humour. I found myself chuckling often. I read this while hanging out in the lodge on our school's ski days and my friends around me would often ask what I was chuckling about. We enjoyed it together. I was glad I had those two days to sit and read. I wouldn't want to spread this one out over too many more days...it could take forever to read this one, if you let that happen. Instead, I totally immersed myself. It isn't that long, but the font is quite small....very dense!

It is interesting to me that so many countries have a part of their history where they were abusive to the indigenous people that were there when they arrived. There doesn't seem to be much shame in that on the part of Australians though. I found that quite curious.

I did find him a little more verbose than necessary. He does like to go on and on and on. Mavericks was the same way. (I never did finish that one...it's more of a long term project type book) It had a lot of great information, but there was just so much of it! I wondered if more people would read these kinds of books if only they were a little more succinct. He also likes to use crazy words. At first I'd look them up. Then I just started making a list to look up later. Most of the time I discovered that there was usually a word that would be just as effective that he could have used.

Goodreads summary:

Every time Bill Bryson walks out the door, memorable travel literature threatens to break out. His previous excursion along the Appalachian Trail resulted in the sublime national bestseller A Walk in the Woods. In A Sunburned Country is his report on what he found in an entirely different place: Australia, the country that doubles as a continent, and a place with the friendliest inhabitants, the hottest, driest weather, and the most peculiar and lethal wildlife to be found on the planet. The result is a deliciously funny, fact-filled, and adventurous performance by a writer who combines humor, wonder, and unflagging curiousity.

Despite the fact that Australia harbors more things that can kill you in extremely nasty ways than anywhere else, including sharks, crocodiles, snakes, even riptides and deserts, Bill Bryson adores the place, and he takes his readers on a rollicking ride far beyond that beaten tourist path. Wherever he goes he finds Australians who are cheerful, extroverted, and unfailingly obliging, and these beaming products of land with clean, safe cities, cold beer, and constant sunshine fill the pages of this wonderful book. Australia is an immense and fortunate land, and it has found in Bill Bryson its perfect guide.

The Storytelling Princess (Rafe Martin)

This was a great read aloud! My students gasped at the right times and chuckled at the right times. They really got a kick out of the story. It kind of reminded me of a Bill Peet story. There are lots of twists and turns and it's longer than you might think a picture book should be - but it sure works well!

I loved that the princess was a strong character. I also loved that they both loved to read and knew many many stories!

At the end, we talked about the lesson from the story. I said perhaps the lesson was that we should always listen to our parents, after all, she ended up marrying the prince that they had picked for her. One student wisely responded that maybe the lesson is that we should trust kids because they'll make the right decision if we let them. Wisdom!

Goodreads summary:

Having survived a shipwreck, a princess tries to tell a prince a story whose ending he does not know and thus qualify for his hand in marriage.

Don't Cross The Line (Isabel Minhos Martins)

This was a strange story. It was a little difficult as a read aloud. There is a lot in every illustration. We loved the illustrations.  This story seemed right for this bizarre Donald Trump era...but no one really made that connection in my class. They just thought it was funny. It is cool how the illustrator made the line the half of the book. We chuckled as the people started to cross the line.

It would be a good book to read to talk about standing up for injustices and creating change peacefully.

Another reader's summary:

 There is a wonderfully subversive tone to the entire book, winking and laughing at the threat of not being able to cross what is not usually a boundary in a book. Still, there is a real general and a real threat that is disarmed by numbers and action. It is a wonderful book to share when talking about the importance of demonstrating and standing for causes.

Goodreads summary:

This slapstick postmodern tale is also a profound statement about dictatorship and peaceful revolution, from an award-winning author/illustrator team.