A Place to Hang The Moon (Kate Albus)

 

I loved this book! I ended up reading it in a 24 hour period. It was a Children's Lit book club book but I kept putting off reading it because I figured it'd be a quick read plus I read a review that if you've read The War That Saved My Life, it's pretty much the same - which I have read. However, that reviewer was wrong! I don't think they're the same at all. 

I loved how the children in this story loved to read. It was really what led them to finding a new family after being orphaned and then having their grandmother die. Reading really does save lives.

The title comes from a saying that William tells his siblings his mom used to say - that her children could hang the moon, meaning that they were the most amazing humans. The children look for someone who feels the same way about them and in the end the person who does become their new family actualy ends up saying this very thing by chance.

p. 25 The first words of a new book are so delicious - like the first taste of a cookie fresh from the oven and not yet proerly cooled.

p. 102 "What about Anne of Green Gables?" she asked.
"Is it another orphan story?" Anna asked.
The librarian chuckled. "I suppose there are rather a lot of orphan stories out there."
"Why do grown-ups write so many of them?" William asked.
"I hadn't really thought about it, "Mrs. Muller confessed. "Perhaps they think children fancy the notion of living on their own, without adults to tell them what to do. It's quite daft, if you think about it."

p. 243 "I believe it was the poet, Mr. Yeats, who said that the world is full of magic things, patiently waiting for our senses to grow and sharper?" 

Setting: June 1940 in England

The Pearce family: Edmund (a bit of a trouble-maker type child), the youngest Anna, and William, who is 12.
Mrs Collins - their housekeeper
Harold Engersoll "does not have that gift for explain complex things to children"
Frances
Miss Caw
Mrs. Warren 
Ms Norton
Mrs. Griffith
Mrs Mueller

I looked up Operation Pied Piper and found some really interesting information. I shared this video, called The Mothers Who Waved Goodbye, at our book club meeting:

Goodreads says:
Set against the backdrop of World War II, Anna, Edmund, and William are evacuated from London to live in the countryside, bouncing from home to home in search of a permanent family.

It is 1940 and Anna, 9, Edmund, 11, and William, 12, have just lost their grandmother. Unfortunately, she left no provision for their guardianship in her will. Her solicitor comes up with a preposterous plan: he will arrange for the children to join a group of schoolchildren who are being evacuated to a village in the country, where they will live with families for the duration of the war. He also hopes that whoever takes the children on might end up willing to adopt them and become their new family--providing, of course, that the children can agree on the choice.

Moving from one family to another, the children suffer the cruel trickery of foster brothers, the cold realities of outdoor toilets, and the hollowness of empty tummies. They seek comfort in the village lending library, whose kind librarian, Nora Muller, seems an excellent candidate--except that she has a German husband whose whereabouts are currently unknown. Nevertheless, Nora's cottage is a place of bedtime stories and fireplaces, of vegetable gardens and hot, milky tea. Most important, it's a place where someone thinks they all three hung the moon. Which is really all you need in a mom, if you think about it.

Fans of The War That Saved My Life and other World War II fiction will find an instant classic in A Place to Hang the Moon.

Minnow - The Girl Who Became Part Fish (Willie Poll)

 

I'm just an Alberta teacher who loves the earth but also feels a little guilty when I read books about how we should not have pipelines. 

Goodreads says:

A young Indigenous water protector named Minnow goes on an underwater journey, learning from our ocean-living relatives. When she returns to the surface, she gathers her community to help make a change.

This story is told in lyrical rhyme and helps children gain a better respect for Indigenous after and land protectors, the environment around them, and helps show children activism at an early age.

We all come from Mother Earth, we all learn from her, and we all live from her. Mother Earth has many children, not just humans. These children are all our relatives, including animals. This book focuses on our relationship with our ocean-living relatives and teaches us what we all must do to nurture and protect them.

Kenneyism (Jeremy Appel)

 

I've never been a big fan of Jason Kenney. Jeremy Appel REALLY isn't a fan of Jason Kenney. He actually makes him seem dangerous. Sometimes I had to roll my eyes at the hate-on he had for Jason Kenney. For example, in the chapter on immigration, I at first thought there was nothing wrong with Jason Kenney's policies...only let people who have skills in industries we need apply for immigration status. However, as he goes on to explain the underlying policies Kenney put in place, I was rather horrified. I also think he totally got it wrong with education, specifically with charter schools. It drives me crazy how so many news outlets go to the SOS (Save our Schools) organization to get comments about the problems with charter schools. They spew misinformation and fear. 

I have to say, Jason Kenney is a bit of a mystery. He claims to be a loyalist to the crown and a hard-core Catholic....but he sure has harsh policies for the citizens....which doesn't seem congruent.

Goodreads says:

The harsh moralistic worldview of Jason Kenney has spurred right-wing populism to the mainstream in Canadian politics, but he unleashed forces he couldn’t control.

From Jason Kenney’s days as an anti-abortion activist at the University of San Francisco, and through his years as a Canadian Taxpayers Federation lobbyist, Reform MP, top cabinet minister in the Harper government, and Alberta premier, he has been single-mindedly driven to bring his harsh moralistic worldview into the mainstream.

Kenney took on the old guard of Canada’s liberal consensus and won, playing a key role in shifting the country’s political discussion to the right. But the very right-wing populist forces Kenney cultivated would come back to haunt him.

Jeremy Appel has observed Alberta politics and reported on various aspects of Kenney’s agenda since 2017, when Kenney made his way across the province in his big blue pickup truck to rile up aggrieved conservatives. Kenneyism examines Kenney's political beliefs, his rise through federal political ranks, and his ultimate resignation from the leadership of the United Conservative Party.

Those Darn Squirrels (Adam Rubin)

 

Our librarian read this to us. Everyone seemed to understand what a meal old cat would look and act like. This book did not disappoint. Super fun! 

I have a neighbor who leave peanuts out for squirrels so I get the "those darn squirrels!" sentiment!

Goodreads says:

Old Man Fookwire has a plan. He'll build some birdfeeders and fill them with yummy seeds and berries. That way, the wild birds he loves so much will stick around for the winter--instead of flying south. But there are other hungry creatures in the forest, and the have plans, too...Those darn squirrels!

I Could Be a Million Things (Jessy Humann)

 

Great story for the end of year or for 'what do you want to be when you grow up' conversations/writing.

Goodreads says:

A poetic celebration of a world full of possibilities, and the beauty of a million things to be and do. Go on a journey across oceans and mountains, gift smiles while traveling far, and find magic in the skies above.

I could look for magic

or find a million stars.

I could be a helper

or cross the deep blue sea . . .

but my favorite thing in all the world

is choosing to be me.

I Could Be A Million Things is a beautifully illustrated ode to what surrounds us and the inspiration to be found in nature, dreams, and the power we all carry inside of us. 

A beautifully illustrated, poetic picture book about a world full of possibilities. For jacks- and jills-of-all-trades ages 4 years and up.

Just Because (Matthew McConaughey)

 

I had no idea Matthew McConaughey was an author nor that he has a business for high school students trying to live with good mental health. 

This is a lovely story that is well illustrated. The lesson: You can change the ending! 

Goodreads says:

The debut picture book by Academy Award-winning actor and #1 New York Times bestselling author Matthew McConaughey

Just because I’m in the race,
doesn’t mean I’m fully ready.
Just because I’m shaking,
doesn’t mean that I’m not steady.

Have you ever felt worried and excited at the same time?

Have you ever had your feelings hurt but forgiven someone anyway?

Have you ever thought there was more than one right answer to a question?

That’s because contradictions are all around us. And they make us who we are.

Filled with his trademark humor and wisdom, Academy Award–winning actor and #1 New York Times bestselling author Matthew McConaughey has crafted a soulful and irreverent collection of life lessons that empowers readers, big and small, to celebrate how we are all full of possibility.

Why? Just because.

A Few Beautiful Minutes (Kate Allen Fox)

 

We weren't in the path for a total solar eclipse in April 2024, but this book gave me the vibes I was hoping for if I had experienced it. The poetic style of writing brings a peaceful feeling. 

It didn't take too long for my students to notice that people in the book weren't wearing glasses when they looked at the eclipse though. Perhaps they need a second edition. 

Goodreads says:

A lyrical, exquisitely illustrated tribute to the solar eclipse.

What happens during a solar eclipse? The sun vanishes. Light becomes dark. Day animals sleep, and night animals wake. The moon takes over the sky. People stop what they’re doing and together, they look up. The whole world changes for a few beautiful minutes.

Celebrating the magic of this favorite wonder of the universe, A Few Beautiful Minutes encourages young readers to (safely) discover each stage of a solar eclipse—and to experience how this incredible phenomenon can connect us to one another.