The Elephant's Girl (Celesta Rimington)

 

I loved this book. It was a grade 3 book club pick. I chose it for October because it has ghosts and paranormal activity in it. It wasn't scary though. It was a beautiful story.

The voice in this book trailer is not the voice I imagine Lexington to have at all. It's way too young.

The theme of figuring out who you are and finding ways to accept yourself are great for young readers. Throughout the book, Lexington communicates with the wind and with an elephant and through it, learns to accept herself and find the strength in her own uniqueness. She also learns to allow her friends to be themselves and be unique as well. I loved how she stood up for herself and worked hard to discover what was lost (literally and figuratively). 

Goodreads says:
An elephant never forgets...but Lexington Willow can't remember her past. When she was a toddler, a tornado swept her away from everyone and everything she knew and landed her near an enclosure in a Nebraska zoo, where an elephant named Nyah protected her from the storm. With no trace of her family, Lex grew up at the zoo with her foster father, Roger; her best friend, Fisher; and the wind whispering in her ear.

style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #1e1915; font-family: "Proxima Nova", Montserrat, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px;" />Now that she's twelve, Lex is finally old enough to help with the elephants. But during their first training session, Nyah sends her a telepathic image of the woods outside the zoo. Despite the wind's protests, Lex decides to investigate Nyah's message and gets wrapped up in an adventure involving ghosts, lost treasure, and a puzzle that might be the key to finding her family. Can Lex summon the courage to hunt for who she really is--and why the tornado brought her here all those years ago?

Little Fires Everywhere (Celeste Ng)

 

This was a really enjoyable read. It's kind of an adult approach to the concepts in The Giver. Shaker Heights is this place where everything is just right, especially in Mrs. Richardson's world. However, the more she digs, the more problems come to light. Her youngest daughter, who she has a difficult relationship with, sees through all this and cannot stand the cognitive dissonance. There are current tales and tales in the past that all weave together to make it quite a compelling story.

Goodreads says:
Everyone in Shaker Heights was talking about it that summer: how Isabelle, the last of the Richardson children, had finally gone around the bend and burned the house down.

In Shaker Heights, a placid, progressive suburb of Cleveland, everything is meticulously planned – from the layout of the winding roads, to the colours of the houses, to the successful lives its residents will go on to lead. And no one embodies this spirit more than Elena Richardson, whose guiding principle is playing by the rules.

Enter Mia Warren – an enigmatic artist and single mother – who arrives in this idyllic bubble with her teenage daughter Pearl, and rents a house from the Richardsons. Soon Mia and Pearl become more than just tenants: all four Richardson children are drawn to the mother–daughter pair. But Mia carries with her a mysterious past, and a disregard for the rules that threatens to upend this carefully ordered community.

When old family friends attempt to adopt a Chinese-American baby, a custody battle erupts that dramatically divides the town – and puts Mia and Elena on opposing sides. Suspicious of Mia and her motives, Elena is determined to uncover the secrets in Mia's past. But her obsession will come at an unexpected and devastating cost . . .

Eyes That Weave the World's Wonders (Joanna Ho)

 

This story is beautiful. It would be perfect for anyone that is adopted....all the wondering about how you came to be adopted. 

Goodreads says:

From  New York Times  bestselling Joanna Ho, of Eyes that Kiss in the Corners, and award-winning educator Liz Kleinrock, comes a powerful companion picture book about adoption and family. A young girl who is a transracial adoptee learns to love her Asian eyes and finds familial connection and meaning through them, even though they look different from her parents’. Her family bond is deep and their connection is filled with love. She wonders about her birth mom, and comes to appreciate both her birth culture and her adopted family's culture, for even though they may seem very different, they are both a part of her, and that is what makes her beautiful. She learns to appreciate the differences in her family and celebrate them.

The Patron Saint of Liars (Ann Patchett)

 

I was reading a different book in preparation for my book club meeting when I realized I was reading the wrong book and so I quickly switched to this one. LOL I still didn't get this one read before book club, which I really regret because this would have been a great one to discuss. I feel like there was some kind of symbolism between the healing water spring where the hotel/home for pregnant girls was built and the main character's inability to make connections and give/feel love and connection....but I struggle to put that together succinctly.

The ending was quite surprising and quite unresolved. Call me weird, but I kind of like a book that leaves you sitting there stunned, in the middle of the road, like I did with Cecilia. 

I read a lot of reviews that said they did not like the main character, Rose. I found myself really sympathizing with her and feeling bad for her. I wanted her to find happiness....but she never did. (I added disabilities as a tag because I felt like Rose had a disability when it came to making healthy connections with other people).

Goodreads says:

In 1992, celebrated novelist Ann Patchett launched her remarkable career with the publication of her debut novel, The Patron Saint of Liars. On this 25th anniversary, read the best-selling book that is “beautifully written . . . a first novel that second- and third-time novelists would envy for its grace, insight, and compassion” (Boston Herald).

St. Elizabeth's, a home for unwed mothers in Habit, Kentucky, usually harbors its residents for only a little while. Not so Rose Clinton, a beautiful, mysterious woman who comes to the home pregnant but not unwed, and stays. She plans to give up her child, thinking she cannot be the mother it needs. But when Cecilia is born, Rose makes a place for herself and her daughter amid St. Elizabeth's extended family of nuns and an ever-changing collection of pregnant teenage girls. Rose's past won't be kept away, though, even by St. Elizabeth's; she cannot remain untouched by what she has left behind, even as she cannot change who she has become in the leaving

Before We Were Yours (Lisa Wingate)

 

I really enjoyed this story. It bounces between the present and the past and I found myself engrossed in each of the stories and then eager to get back to the other one as it came up. I read this book for my book club and everyone seemed to enjoy it. 

Before We Were Yours also has a non-fiction companion book of sorts. It is called Before and After: The Incredible Real-Life Stories of Orphans Who Survived the Tennessee Children's Home Society.

Before andGoodreads says:

Memphis, 1939. Twelve-year-old Rill Foss and her four younger siblings live a magical life aboard their family’s Mississippi River shantyboat. But when their father must rush their mother to the hospital one stormy night, Rill is left in charge—until strangers arrive in force. Wrenched from all that is familiar and thrown into a Tennessee Children’s Home Society orphanage, the Foss children are assured that they will soon be returned to their parents—but they quickly realize the dark truth. At the mercy of the facility’s cruel director, Rill fights to keep her sisters and brother together in a world of danger and uncertainty.

Aiken, South Carolina, present day. Born into wealth and privilege, Avery Stafford seems to have it all: a successful career as a federal prosecutor, a handsome fiancé, and a lavish wedding on the horizon. But when Avery returns home to help her father weather a health crisis, a chance encounter leaves her with uncomfortable questions and compels her to take a journey through her family’s long-hidden history, on a path that will ultimately lead either to devastation or to redemption.

Based on one of America’s most notorious real-life scandals—in which Georgia Tann, director of a Memphis-based adoption organization, kidnapped and sold poor children to wealthy families all over the country—Lisa Wingate’s riveting, wrenching, and ultimately uplifting tale reminds us how, even though the paths we take can lead to many places, the heart never forgets where we belong. 

Dinosaur Bob And His Adventure With the Family Lazardo (William Joyce)

October 12, 2018: After we read this book, one of my students had put on his Special Student poster that the pet he would most like to have is a whale! It was totally plausible to everyone because we knew of Dinosaur Bob.

Re-read Feb 10, 2020: My class LOVED this story. It is a great example of use of imagination and entertaining. Who wouldn't want a dinosaur for a pet?!

Goodreads comments:
" it’s a charming little tale totally for young readers out there who want to travel to exotic places, love baseball, and wishfully dream of a dinosaur for a pet."
 - Apokripos

 I like this story because it is different from most children's stories because there is not a moral at the end of the story, it is a story for the sake of a story. No grand lesson to be learned. I think this book would be wonderful in the elementary grades. It could be included in a unit on love, the love the Lazardo family has for Bob and the fact that they are ready to walk away from their home rather than be separated from him. 
- Melissa



Goodreads says:
Proclaimed "the most adorable of dinos" by The New York Times, Bob is grander and greener than ever in a definitive new edition of modern picture book classic. This deluxe volume features seven new illustrations, an additional adventure, and a song ("The Ballad of Dinosaur Bob"), with easy-to-play arrangements.

Tell Me Again About the Night I Was Born (Jamie Lee Curtis)

Today was a special day for one of my students. It was her adoption day. She asked if she could bring in our book for today. I had assumed I would read it to the class but she really wanted to read it, and I’m so glad she did. I probably would have gotten a little teary over it all. LOL I got to know someone after she came to my town when I was growing up. She had come there to have a baby and have her be adopted. It was quite a learning experience for me. It was something I will never forget.

She explained that it was a special day for her and talked about how this book was a little different than her situation but it was about being adopted and she really loved the book. The kids were glued to the story and the conversation flowed beautifully. I was so impressed with how comfortable she was sharing her story and how the kids receive it so easily without many questions.

After, I asked the class if they had asked their parents about the day they were born and many had not and so I encouraged them to go home and do that. I was really grateful that this student could share her experience and have it overflow into an opportunity for a great discussion at home for everyone else.

Goodreads says: 

Jamie Lee Curtis and Laura Cornell, the New York Times bestselling team behind Today I Feel Silly and I’m Gonna Like Me, bring us a tender and funny picture book for every parent and child. Tell Me Again About the Night I Was Born is a special celebration of the love and joy an adopted child creates for a family.

In asking her parents to tell her again about the night of her birth, a young girl relives a cherished tale she knows by heart. Focusing on the significance of family and love, this a unique and beautiful story about adoption and the importance of a loving family.

A beautiful adoption story, Tell Me Again About the Night I Was Born also speaks to the universal childhood desire to know more about the excitement, awe, love, and sleeplessness that a new baby brings to a family.

Tell me again about the night I was born.

Tell me again how you would adopt me and be my parents.

Tell me again about the first time you held me in your arms. 

Gaston (Kely DiPucchio)

I know someone that this book would be perfect for. She doesn't look like her family and so sometimes she thinks she doesn't fit in her family....but she does.

Goodreads says:

This is the story of four puppies: Fi-Fi, Foo-Foo, Ooh-La-La, and Gaston. Gaston works the hardest at his lessons on how to be a proper pooch. He sips - never slobbers! He yips - never yaps! And he walks with grace - never races! Gaston fits right in with his poodle sisters.But a chance encounter with a bulldog family in the park-Rocky, Ricky, Bruno, and Antoinette-reveals there's been a mix-up, and so Gaston and Antoinette switch places. The new families look right...but they don't feel right. Can these puppies follow their noses-and their hearts-to find where they belong?

Train to Somewhere (Eve Bunting)

Oh my gosh. This is so heartbreaking! We read this, hoping all along the way that Marianne would meet her at one of the stops.

She never did.

And it ends like that.

My class sat and stared at me. Then someone said, "That's it?"

Interesting to read a story that doesn't end happily! We thought maybe we could write an ending so that it actually feels like it ends.

I don't think it's a bad thing for kids to read books like this though. It certainly brought out some emotions. It started a great discussion about adoption and orphans and appreciating our parents. And it sounds like we will have a good writing project! We also had a good discussion about historical fiction.

Goodreads says:

Marianne, heading west with fourteen other children on an Orphan Train, is sure her mother will show up at one of the stations along the way. When her mother left Marianne at the orphanage, hadn't she promised she'd come for her after making a new life in the West? Stop after stop goes by, and there's no sign of her mother in the crowds that come to look over the children. No one shows any interest in adopting shy, plain Marianne, either. But that's all right: She has to be free for her mother to claim her. Then the train pulls into its final stop, a town called Somewhere . . . 

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (Frank Baum)

I recently saw a stage production of the Wonderful Wizard of Oz. I had wanted to read the book ahead of time so that I could see the differences between the original story and the stage production. Although I didn't find the book in time, I'm still glad I read it.

A lot of the book is pretty much the same as the stage production, until you get to the end. The end of the book goes on much longer after Lion and Tinman and Scarecrow receive what they're seeking. The wizard gives them a much bigger run around in the book and there seems to be a lot more violence, which is often the irony in fairy tales written for children - except for that lady who wanted to take Toto. I don't remember her in the book at all. The other thing is in the book it wasn't a dream, like the movie or the play...thank goodness! I think that is a pansy way of making sense of a story. I liked that about the book! Also, Dorothy wears silver shoes in the book, not red. There seem to be a lot more witches in the book. I couldn't keep them straight. Every point on the compass has a witch, it seems. I also couldn't keep track of all the places in Oz in the book. Mifkets? Merryland? The Land of Ev? They were also things I couldn't really keep in my head.

I'm glad I read the book.

Good reads says:

HarperCollins is proud to present its new range of best-loved, essential classics.‘“Come along, Toto,” she said. “We will go to the Emerald City and ask the Great Oz how to get back to Kansas again.”’Swept away from her home in Kansas by a tornado, Dorothy and her dog Toto find themselves stranded in the fantastical Land of Oz. As instructed by the Good Witch of the North and the Munchkins, Dorothy sets off on the yellow brick road to try and find her way to the Emerald City and the Wizard of Oz, who can help her get home.With her companions the Scarecrow, the Tin Woodman and the Cowardly Lion, Dorothy experiences an adventure full of friendship, magic and danger. A much-loved children’s classic, The Wizard of Oz continues to delight readers young and old with its enchanting tale of witches, flying monkeys and silver shoes.

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings (Maya Angelou)

This is one of those books I had thought I should read for a long time. It's also a book that it's great that we read it for book club because I got so much more out of discussing it than just reading it on my own. Some books do not foster a lot of discussion. This book is the exact opposite! There were so many themes to discuss. At our book club meeting, we didn't really get past segregation and prejudice. Those are big ones! 

Other potential great discussions:

Home: Maya and her brother live in many different homes. They are mainly raised by their grandma but have times where they try living with their mother and with their father, who are not together. Many pivotal moments occur because of their lack of a "home".

Rising from the ashes: Maya isn't penned in by the beliefs of society and the people around her. She is matter of fact about her optimism to do anything anyone else can do.

Matriarchal Society: Men in this story are not positive role models in Maya's life (except for her brother, Brother and her Uncle). Women forge on and succeed despite their place in society.

Literature: Books save Maya. Her first love is William Shakespeare. She is well read and highly influenced by literature.

Beauty: Maya thinks she is ugly. She wishes to be whiter in order to be more beautiful. 

I think we could have had a couple of book club meetings on this book!

Goodreads Summary:

Sent by their mother to live with their devout, self-sufficient grandmother in a small Southern town, Maya and her brother, Bailey, endure the ache of abandonment and the prejudice of the local "powhitetrash." At eight years old and back at her mother’s side in St. Louis, Maya is attacked by a man many times her age—and has to live with the consequences for a lifetime. Years later, in San Francisco, Maya learns that love for herself, the kindness of others, her own strong spirit, and the ideas of great authors ("I met and fell in love with William Shakespeare") will allow her to be free instead of imprisoned.

Poetic and powerful, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings will touch hearts and change minds for as long as people read. 

Goodreads summary about Maya's life:

Maya Angelou, born Marguerite Ann Johnson April 4, 1928 in St. Louis, Missouri, was an American poet, memoirist, actress and an important figure in the American Civil Rights Movement. In 2001 she was named one of the 30 most powerful women in America by Ladies Home Journal. Maya Angelou is known for her series of six autobiographies, starting with I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, (1969 which was nominated for a National Book Award and called her magnum opus. 

Controlling People (Patricia Evans)

Interesting perspective on why some people feel the need to be controllers. Would have liked more insight on how to deal with people who treat you poorly and are controlling. This book was a good one to start on this topic. 

I listened to the audio book.

Goodreads summary:

Learn how to 'break the spell' of control with Patricia Evans' new bestseller. Already hailed by Oprah Winfrey, "Controlling People" deals with issues big and small - revealing the thought processes of those who seek to control in order to provide a 'spell-breaking' mind-set for those who suffer this insidious manipulation. Invaluable insight and advice for those who seek support. (less)

Dragon's Extraordinary Egg (Debi Gliori)

Very well written. Captured my student's attention immensely. It was interesting to have a discussion after. The book doesn't use the word adoption, however, it came up in our discussion. Some kids figured the dragon must have been a penguin wearing a costume. Their experience told them penguins have penguins for parents. One boy in our class, however, knows about adoption and suggested that they could be adopted. We had a great discussion about what adoption means.

Goodreads Summary:

In this heartwarming story, a dragon in need of an egg finds an abandoned egg in need of a mommy. It seems like the perfect fit, but when that egg hatches, the little baby doesn't look like all the other dragons. In fact, he looks a lot like a penguin! Of course, his mommy loves him no matter what. But the other young dragons aren't so sure. Little do they know that their feathered friend's differences will save the day! Sometimes things happen for a reason . . . and some families are just meant to be together.