Hello, Tree (Ana Crespo)

 

This story was written after a fire in Colorado in 2013. In the last 12 years and I'm sure into the future, there have been and will be many more fires like this. This story is told from the tree's perspective. It is really beautiful and would bring comfort to someone who has gone through a huge fire, I think.

Goodreads says:

Inspired by the 2013 Black Forest fire and told from the viewpoint of a tree watching its home destroyed, Hello, Tree is about the kinship between humans and nature, and preservation of the environment.

It was a swallow who called it first.
“Fire’s coming!”
And the animals ran away.
Even the insects tried to flee.
The girl and her family left, too.
All I could do…was wait.
 
When a wildfire comes roaring into the forest, all the animals and humans flee. But all the tree can do is wait. Wait until many days and nights pass. Wait until the fire loses the battle. And wait until the forest is still before the forest can be reborn and the animals and the girl can come back.

Gentle Giant (Michael Morpugo)

 

The story really captivated my class. They felt sad for the giant. 

We talked about how fiction stories (this is a fairy tale) can also have facts in them after reading the afterword that said that water really can be cleaned by stitching straw together.

I've never read a Michael Morpugo book I didn't like.

Goodreads says:

A tale of compassion, love, and the healing powers of nature from an awardwinning team. On a small island in the middle of a silver lake, there once lived a sad young man. He was sad because he had grown up into a giant of a man—very big, very strong, and very frightening. Because no one liked to go near him, his only friends were the wild creatures that lived around him. Then one day, he saves a girl from drowning. Little does he know that she will change his life forever. Drawing on all the arts of traditional storytelling, Gentle Giant weaves a tale of extraordinary relevance to our world today. Michael Morpurgo is one of the most respected children’s authors working today; a winner of the Smarties Prize and the Whitbread Children’s Book Award, he has also been shortlisted for the Carnegie Medal and the Guardian Fiction Award. Acclaimed illustrator Michael Foreman is a winner of the Kate Greenaway Medal as well as the Smarties Prize. The author–illustrator team have collaborated on a number of highly praised books, including Farm Boy.

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.

Can We Please Give The Police Department To the Grandmothers? (Junauda Petrus)

 

I'm not sure this is written for children. It touched my heart - but I don't think kids would really love it. 

Goodreads says:

Based on the viral poem by Coretta Scott King honoree Junauda Petrus, this picture book debut imagines a radically positive future where police aren’t in charge of public safety and community well-being.

Petrus first published and performed this poem after the shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri in 2014. With every subsequent police shooting, it has taken on new urgency, culminating in the 2020 murder of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer, blocks from Junauda's home.
 
In its picture book incarnation, Can We Please Give the Police Department to the Grandmothers? is a joyously radical vision of community-based safety and mutual aid. It is optimistic, provocative, and ultimately centered in fierce love. Debut picture book artist Kristen Uroda has turned Junauda's vision for a city without precincts into a vibrant and flourishing urban landscape filled with wise and loving grandmothers of all sorts.

The Wild Robot Protects (Peter Brown)

 

I was so excited to hear that there is a third book in this series now! I picked it up the day it came out. It doesn't disappoint! 

I have read the previous two books aloud to my class a number of times. I thought it would be a good idea to plan for a parent/child book club and have my students read it and we plan to get together early in January to share our experience. I will return and report after that happens. 

Goodreads says:

The action-packed third installment in Peter Brown's internationally bestselling The Wild Robot series takes Roz on an under-the-ocean journey to save her beloved island!

Life for Roz and the animals on their island is perfect: wild, natural, harmonious. Her son Brightbill has even found a mate! But then, one day an injured seal washes ashore and warns of dangerous, cloudy waters that are flowing toward the island—and soon the animals are forced inland to fight over dwindling resources.

 

Roz calms and organizes the animals, but the poison tide takes a terrible toll on the island. And when the robot discovers that her new body is waterproof, she marches into the waves and sets out across the ocean, determined to stop the poison tide.
 
During her undersea journey, Roz encounters amazing geological formations and incredible creatures, and she sees the devastation caused by the toxic waters. Creatures she meets along the way direct her to a mysterious character known as the Ancient Shark, who explains that the poison tide is caused by a huge station that floats on the waves; a station operated by humans and by robots. To stop them, the Ancient Shark is prepared to attack with an army of sea creatures. However, Roz hopes to find a peaceful solution, instead. Can the wild robot save the ocean and her island and everything she loves?

 

This thrilling third installment of the Wild Robot series takes readers on a new adventure under the ocean and to the frigid northern waters where Roz may have to make the ultimate sacrifice.

Harriett's Ruffled Feathers

 

This is the true story of a lady who had an awakening about how they were using feathers as fashion and she changed her ways and got all her friends to change their ways....even Queen Elizabeth! 

My class wasn't totally enamored with this story. There was a lot of play on words that they didn't catch on to. If I read it again, I'd take the time to talk about those things so they can catch the double-meanings.

Goodreads says:
This picture book tells the story of Harriet Hemenway's boycott of fashionable feathered hats, which saved millions of birds and led to the founding of the Audubon Society. 

The Curious Garden (Peter Brown)

 

This is beautiful! I love how the author talks about how the garden had its own personality. It's true that if one person starts to make something beautiful, others will get interested! The plant life started a life of its' own.

Best comment from one of my students: I was surprised that one kid could make that big a difference. 

Goodreads says:
One boy's quest for a greener world... one garden at a time.

While out exploring one day, a little boy named Liam discovers a struggling garden and decides to take care of it. As time passes, the garden spreads throughout the dark, gray city, transforming it into a lush, green world.

This is an enchanting tale with environmental themes and breathtaking illustrations that become more vibrant as the garden blooms. Red-headed Liam can also be spotted on every page, adding a clever seek-and-find element to this captivating picture book.

The Barren Grounds (David A Robertson)

 

This book is bound for greatness! I see a multitude of classrooms doing novel studies. It is going to become a classic, I'm sure of it.

Topics for the classroom:

- foster care

- anger 

- environment

Fun reason to read it: I will never  forget how fun it was for my daughter to get the Harry Potter books as they came out. People would like up at the bookstore at midnight to get it on the first day and start reading immediately. This book is the first in a four part series. Book one and two are out and three and four are planned but not out yet. This is a chance to get in on the new books when they come out!

"Stories always lead people somewhere, "Arik said. "To a place, to a memory." (p. 232)

Setting Winnipeg in November

Characters:
Morgan - 13 Grade 8, in 8th foster home
Eli - always has a drawing pad, in grade 7
Kate - a teacher
James - a doctor
Emily Houldsworth p. 18 Calls Moran "Ghost"
Arik p. 124
Fischer p. 62
Mrs Edwards ELA teacher p. 21 Always overdressed
Elaborative detail:

p. 194 setting


Notice and Note Signposts

Again and Again
p. 40/41 wind bows when Eli draws (C&C?)
p. 44 adults apologizes for mistakes
p. 47Morgan hates  them trying so hard to  make her feel at home
p. 170 Morgan's dreams of mother (p. 170)

Ah Ha Moment?
p. 122 Eli feels more alive in the cold barren grounds
 Eli being taken by the wolf (p. 172) = Morgan being taken?
wolf = persecution by white men?

p. 181 nature of the wolf is to attack. White man's nature is....??

p. 191 Moran realizes she belongs on the land

Goodreads says:

Morgan and Eli, two Indigenous children forced away from their families and communities, are brought together in a foster home in Winnipeg, Manitoba. They each feel disconnected, from their culture and each other, and struggle to fit in at school and at their new home -- until they find a secret place, walled off in an unfinished attic bedroom. A portal opens to another reality, Askí, bringing them onto frozen, barren grounds, where they meet Ochek (Fisher). The only hunter supporting his starving community, Misewa, Ochek welcomes the human children, teaching them traditional ways to survive. But as the need for food becomes desperate, they embark on a dangerous mission. Accompanied by Arik, a sassy Squirrel they catch stealing from the trapline, they try to save Misewa before the icy grip of winter freezes everything -- including them. 

Willodeen (Katherine Applegate)

 

I was mystified by the cover and title...so to explain that, Willodeen is the name of the main character who is sensitive about nature. The little bear with wings is a hummingbear and they're starting to disappear. They sound really lovely and I wish they were real! The big green eyes and animal with the horns is a less than snuggly animal called a screecher. Willodeen has an appreciation for screechers that most people don't. It's kind of like a warthog but also has a really bad smell. 

I think kids in my class would really love this book since they're often more sensitive to the environment than adults are. There are lots of lovely words of the wiser in this book that come from young people. (January 2022)

Read with my class in February/March 2022. As usual, I got much more out of it when I read it aloud and discussed it with my class!

- Read aloud May 2024. This isn't my favorite book to read aloud. My mouth doesn't bend around the phrasing that well, for some reason! 

Pairings for classroom "book clubs":
The Wild Robot (nature)

Characters
Pa, Ma and Toby - p. 14 fire kills them ("The Great September Fire")
Willodeen - likes animals, people confuse her (p. 17)
Mae and Birdie - take Willodeen in (p. 14)
Duzuu - pet hummingbear
Connor - makes sense of nature with art

Themes:

Connection: humans/nature and  humans with each other

Humans/nature

p. 236 One touch of nature makes the whole world kin. (Shakespeare) - Mae

p. 237 We are all connected. People and plants and fish and birds and yes, even screechers.

Human to human connection quotes

p. 50 I was good, it seemed, at burying things

p. 135 There's magic in all of us," Birdie said. "Just a bit. You're born with it, like fingers and toes and fuzzy baby hair. Some of make use of it. And some do not."

p. 180 Our conversations were often like that, just a handful of words. I liked it. The silences were comfortable as an old sweater.

Speak up!

p. 232 With enough whispers, you can make a roar.

Elaborative detail: 
p. 5 screechers
p. 23-23 hummingbirds
p. 52-54 Mae and Birdie

Signpost Notes:

Ah ha Moment
 

p. 72 Birdie and Willodeen recognize that Willodeen's anger or angst inside of her is something she shouldn't ignore and should use to accomplish her great work she needs to do (but what is it?!)
Birdie squeezed my hand. "Don't stop being angry, Willodeen. It's part of who you are. You see the world differently. You care. That's a gift."

Words of the Wiser

p. 88 Connor: "My father says being different makes life more difficult."

This ends up being true because Willodeen has to go through some difficult and soul searching times trying to fight for the screechers.

p. 135 "There's magic in all of us," Birdie said. "Just a bit. You're born with it, like fingers and toes and fuzzy baby hair. Some of us make use of it and some do not."

Willodeen had wished for magic on her birthday when she blew out the candle. (p. 73)

The magic that had happened was that the screecher Connor made came to life. They knew it was his screecher because of the bow around his neck and the notch in his ear (Willodeen had cried after the town council meeting and her tear fell on the screecher puzzler that Connor had made for her)

Memory Moment:

p. 56 Willodeen's last birthday party

Tough Qs:

p. 7 Why do we love what we love

p. 55 Did animals remember things the same way we did? or did they just exist from moment to moment

p. 70 What did I want? I tried not to long for things. Even if you got what you wanted, it could be snatched away in a moment.

Goodreads says:

The earth is old and we are not, and that is all you must remember . . .

Eleven-year-old Willodeen adores creatures of all kinds, but her favorites are the most unlovable beasts in the land: strange beasts known as “screechers.” The villagers of Perchance call them pests, even monsters, but Willodeen believes the animals serve a vital role in the complicated web of nature.

Lately, though, nature has seemed angry indeed. Perchance has been cursed with fires and mudslides, droughts and fevers, and even the annual migration of hummingbears, a source of local pride and income, has dwindled. For as long as anyone can remember, the tiny animals have overwintered in shimmering bubble nests perched atop blue willow trees, drawing tourists from far and wide. This year, however, not a single hummingbear has returned to Perchance, and no one knows why.

When a handmade birthday gift brings unexpected magic to Willodeen and her new friend, Connor, she’s determined to speak up for the animals she loves, and perhaps even uncover the answer to the mystery of the missing hummingbears. 

We Are Water Protectors (Carole Lindstrom)

 

While I understand the fear of oil pipelines, I am not sure I agree with the concerns. However, I did read the book. My kids were intrigued by it and did notice it is likely a First Nations story. It's always good to present a different perspective to my classroom of children whose parents are often employed in the oil industry? 

Goodreads says:

Inspired by the many Indigenous-led movements across North America, We Are Water Protectors issues an urgent rallying cry to safeguard the Earth's water from harm and corruption--a bold and lyrical picture book written by Carole Lindstrom and vibrantly illustrated by Michaela Goade.

Water is the first medicine.
It affects and connects us all . . .

When a black snake threatens to destroy the Earth
And poison her people's water, one young water protector
Takes a stand to defend Earth's most sacred resource.

Where The Crawdads Sing (Delia Owens)

 

Kya is a girl who grows up alone because she is abandoned by everyone. Her father is abusive and this affects her mother so that she eventually leaves. She doesn't ever really recover from having her mother leave her, and eventually we find out that her mother never recovers from abandoning her children. No one really knows Kya. Even the people who do get close to her don't know her. She protects herself because of all the people that leave her. People make judgments about her and don't really ever give her a chance. It's heartbreaking to watch her endure the scorn from other people. Her ability to make sense of people through connections to her understanding of nature and animals is amazing. She has enough skills to survive on her own, but growing up so isolated really becomes a problem for her that she never really gets over. This was particularly interesting to think about in the midst of the pandemic right now where maintaining connections with people is not easy.

The wonderful thing about Kya is she really teaches that we can all do so much more than we think we can do. When things get really difficult, we usually find out we can do way more than we realize we can do. Kya pulls off everything she needs to do. She's witty and gritty and she gets it done.

When I finished this book I had just had to sit with the feeling it left me. The ending is a surprise and made me feel like I needed to sit and be in it for a while longer. 

This book reminded me of so many other books. It's a little bit like Hatchet because she has to survive on her own. It's a little bit like Tara Westover in Educated because her father is abusive and her family abandons her and even though she never goes to school, she learns to read, one day writes books and earns an honorary degree. It also reminded me of Looks Like Daylight, which was full of stories of First Nations kids and their connection to the land. It also has a murder trial just like To Kill A Mockingbird.

Meaning of the title: when Tate and Kya are looking for a place to hang out, her friend, Tate, suggests that they go somewhere “where the crawdads sing.” He explains to Kya that it means “far in the bush where critters are wild, still behaving like critters.”

Goodreads says:

For years, rumors of the “Marsh Girl” have haunted Barkley Cove, a quiet town on the North Carolina coast. So in late 1969, when handsome Chase Andrews is found dead, the locals immediately suspect Kya Clark, the so-called Marsh Girl. But Kya is not what they say. Sensitive and intelligent, she has survived for years alone in the marsh that she calls home, finding friends in the gulls and lessons in the sand. Then the time comes when she yearns to be touched and loved. When two young men from town become intrigued by her wild beauty, Kya opens herself to a new life–until the unthinkable happens.

Perfect for fans of Barbara Kingsolver and Karen Russell, Where the Crawdads Sing is at once an exquisite ode to the natural world, a heartbreaking coming-of-age story, and a surprising tale of possible murder. Owens reminds us that we are forever shaped by the children we once were, and that we are all subject to the beautiful and violent secrets that nature keeps. 

Spoiler alert:

Why did Kya keep the shell necklace?

The shell necklace that Kya gives to Chase becomes a manifestation of the dissonance between her desire to be loved and her wariness to let other people into her life. ... However, Kya ends up putting the shell on a necklace that she later gives to Chase as a gift.

One Wild Christmas (Nicholas Oldland)

Bear is not going to let a tree get cut down!

I love this series.

Goodreads says:

Best friends the bear, the moose and the beaver have been so busy getting ready for Christmas, they have forgotten the most important decoration of all - the Christmas tree! Rushing through the snowy forest, they reject one tree after another. And then they spot it. A pine tree that is just the right size, with soft needles and a wonderful scent - it's perfect! But just as the beaver is about to chop it down, the bear stops him. He can't allow this tree to be harmed, it is simply too beautiful! But the moose and the beaver disagree. Is there a way they can have a perfect Christmas - without chopping down the perfect tree?

Crickwing (Janell Cannon)

I love these books by Janell Cannon! Verdi and Stellaluna are both beautiful books.

The vocabulary in the books is quite challenging - but it works.

Goodreads says:



Artistic flair and the spirit of cooperation save the day!
Crickwing never set out to be a bully. All he wants is to create his art in peace. But it's not easy being different--a cockroach with a cricked wing and a flair for sculpture is a ready target for the bigger creatures in the forest. Crickwing just wants to even the score, and leafcutter ants are so easy to pick on. ...
Big mistake. INobody/I angers the leafcutter queen and gets away with it.
In this epic adventure beneath the foliage, Crickwing and the leafcutter ants go head-to-head. Then a swarm of ferocious army ants threatens, and suddenly everyone is in danger. Crickwing has to do something, but what? He's an artist, not a fighter. What the leafcutters need is a hero. Or, maybe, a cockroach with a really clever idea...
About the Author: Janell Cannon's picture books have won many awards and are beloved around the world. Before she became a full-time creator of books for children, she designed and produced summer reading programs at her local public library. Born and raised in Minnesota, Ms. Cannon now lives in Southern California. 

The Promise (Nicola Davies)

This works well with our decodable: Chinlow of Singboat.  It's about making something beautiful and changing the world.

I had to pause on these pages:

Her bag was full, but when I tried to snatch it from her, she held on with the strength of heroes.

and then: ...and I understood the promise I had made. I held a forest in my arms, and my heart changed. 

The illustrator wrote about it on the Nerdy Book Club blog.


Goodreads says:

An allegorical tale of hope takes on new life in this stirring, gorgeously illustrated story.

On a mean street in a mean, broken city, a young girl tries to snatch an old woman’s bag. But the frail old woman, holding on with the strength of heroes, says the thief can’t have it without giving something in return: the promise. It is the beginning of a journey that will change the thieving girl’s life — and a chance to change the world, for good. Here is the story of a magical discovery that will touch the heart and imagination of every reader, young and old. In an exciting collaboration, author Nicola Davies joins forces with illustrator Laura Carlin to create a contemporary tale inspired by Jean Giono’s 1953 story, L’homme qui plantait des arbres.

The Great Paper Caper (Oliver Jeffers)

This seems to be one of those books you could look at again and again and discover something new every time. There are so many little interesting details to look at and discuss in the illustrations. I wish we had a little more time for it in class because it seemed to cause a bit of a pause when I read it to my class.

Goodreads says:

The picture book features funny looking characters with dots for eyes and stick for legs who live in the forest conveys a sense that everyone is responsibility for the environment in which we live.

Crystal the Snow Fairy (Daisy Meadows)

I read this during DEAR time so I could do a book-talk with my students and use it for a Reading Response.

I see a lot of girls reading these Daisy Meadows book. Who the heck is Daisy Meadows anyway?? I might need to read a few more before I gain a great appreciation for them.

These kinds of books totally wreck my lessons on fiction versus non-fiction. Many of the kids are pretty sure that fairies really are real.

This book reminded me of a book I read a long time ago. It was a true story about two little girls in England who took pictures of paper fairies, but made them look real. They fooled people and soon all sorts of people started believing they had really captured pictures of fairies. They even fooled Sir Arthur Conan Doyle!  It was called the Fairy Ring by Mary Losure. There could also be a good discussion about global warming after reading it! :)

Goodreads summary:

The Weather Fairies have lost their magical feathers! Rachel and Kirsty search for one in each Weather Fairies book. Read all seven books to help bring the weather back to Fairyland! 
Fairyland is home to the seven Weather Fairies! They use magical feathers to bring all of the weather to Fairyland. But when the feathers disappear, the weather turns wacky. The Weather Fairies must fix it -- fast! 
In this book, Crystal the Snow Fairy has lost her magic feather. Now it's snowing in summer! 
Find one feather in each book and fix the weather in Fairyland!

The Cloud Spinner (Michael Catchpool)

Today we were able to take more time with our story and discuss as we went. I am really realizing the value of reading stories every day. My students are starting to bring up connections with other stories. Today, while we were looking at the pictures, they pointed out the geese in the sky, and someone yelled out, "Honkers!" (That is what the Grandpa called the geese in Through Grandpa's Eyes)

I also saw again how children often see much more in the story than I do. They noticed the cute smiles all over the place. They noticed the pictures in the clouds. They had a laugh at the fat king and queen. They chuckled over his hair. They commented on the tropical weather, like the weather in India. Each of those things was an opportunity to connect to something we had learned.

They had no idea about weaving and spinning and how cloth is made. This was a great introduction to that topic, which we will cover more in Social Studies later when we talk about the weaving Peruvians do.

And then, most important of all, there are the lessons in the story:

• greediness never works out in the end
• only take what you can use
• don't boss people around

Goodreads summary:

One small boy has a special gift—he can weave cloth from the clouds: gold in the early morning with the rising sun, white in the afternoon, and crimson in the evening. He spins just enough cloth for a warm scarf. But when the king sees the boy's magnificent cloth, he demands cloaks and gowns galore. "It would not be wise," the boy protests. "Your majesty does not need them!" But spin he must—and soon the world around him begins to change.

From author Michael Catchpool and illustrator Alison Jay comes a magical tale about the beauty and fragility of our natural world, and the wisdom and courage needed to protect it. 

Verdi (Janell Cannon)

This is another beautiful story by Janell Cannon (author of Stellaluna). Reading this story reminded me of what it is like to share Bill Peet stories. There is vocabulary that is beyond the children, yet the story is easy for them to grasp. Children can relate well to Verdi who doesn't want to grow up because adults just don't really seem to have fun most of the time.

Goodreads summary: 

Young Verdi doesn’t want to grow up big and green. He likes his bright yellow skin and sporty stripes. Besides, all the green snakes he meets are lazy, boring, and rude. When Verdi finds a pale green stripe stretching along his whole body, he tries every trick he can think of to get rid of it--and ends up in a heap of trouble. Despite his efforts, Verdi turns green, but to his delight, he discovers that being green doesn’t mean he has to stop being himself. “Cannon is on a roll, her gift for creating memorable characters and scenes on glorious display in this tale of a feisty python hatchling.”--Publishers Weekly

Wump World (Bill Peet)

I love Bill Peet! I hadn't read Wump World before so we gave it a whirl today. I wanted to introduce my students this year to Bill Peet. This story is a great one on recycling, looking after our world and being environmentally friendly. Lots of good vocab in here too. Did I mention I love Bill Peet?

Some aliens, named The Pollutians invade the Wump World and turn the green meadows into a concrete jungle.