The Sad Little Fact (Jonah Winter and Peter Oswald)

 

When you put these kinds of things into a picture book, somehow it becomes so profound! While this is a book for kids, it might be a great one to use with older kids when talking about discerning AI or fake news or conspiracy theories. My guess is there will be a lot of people of a certain political persuasion who will NOT like this book. Another Goodreads reader said it should be paired with The Rooster Who Would Not Be Quiet. I'll definitely check that one out too!

Goodreads says:

In these days of fake news and lies masquerading as truth, comes a read-aloud to prove the truth is out there, just waiting to be discovered.

Follow a sad little fact who is locked away for telling the truth. In its underground prison, it meets other facts, all hidden away because they could not lie. Finally, with the help of a few skillful fact-finders, the facts are able to spread truth- something that ultimately can't be denied.

Though some people continue to ignore them, the facts are out in the world ready for anyone who wants to hear, because "a fact is a fact," and that's that.

Saints (1815 - 1846): The Standard of Truth

Last year, there were only a few chapters of this book out. Now the entire thing has been published and I just finished it. I started it once seminary was finished....which was kind of counter intuitive, but it was a little overwhelming to read it while working and teaching seminary. I have really enjoyed it. It's very readable and gives a good perspective on many questions I have had about church history issues.

I'm looking forward to the next editions!

Goodreads says:

n 1820, a young farm boy in search of truth has a vision of God the Father and Jesus Christ. Three years later, an angel guides him to an ancient record buried in a hill near his home. With God’s help, he translates the record and organizes the Savior’s church in the latter days. Soon others join him, accepting the invitation to become Saints through the Atonement of Jesus Christ. 

But opposition and violence follow those who defy old traditions to embrace restored truths. The women and men who join the church must choose whether or not they will stay true to their covenants, establish Zion, and proclaim the gospel to a troubled world. 

The Standard of Truth is the first book in Saints, a new, four-volume narrative history of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Fast-paced, meticulously researched, Saints recounts true stories of Latter-day Saints across the globe and answers the Lord’s call to write history “for the good of the church, and for the rising generations” (Doctrine and Covenants 69:8).

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. 

Two Truths and a Lie (Ammi-Joan Paquette and Laurie Ann Thompson)

This book is fabulous. It should be required reading for every adult before the post anything on Facebook (my current pet peeve is the STUPID falsehoods people put on Facebook). This would be a great book to use to start off a unit teaching students who to discern information that is useful and information that is not useful, especially online. This book would be a great way to teach kids to question what they read and seek back up information. The vocabulary in the book is quite impressive and might be tricky for younger grades.

I can't wait for the next volume to come out!


Goodreads says:

Two Truths and a Lie is the first book in a new series that presents some of the most crazy-but-true stories about the living world as well as a handful of stories that are too crazy to be true—and asks readers to separate facts from fakes! Did you know that there is a fungus that can control the mind of an ant and make it do its bidding? Would you believe there is such a thing as a corpse flower—a ten-foot-tall plant with a blossom that smells like a zombie? How about a species of octopus that doesn’t live in water but rather lurks in trees in the Pacific Northwest?

Every story in this book is strange and astounding. But not all of them are real. Just like the old game in this book’s title, two out of every three stories are completely true and one is an outright lie. Can you guess which? It’s not going to be easy. Some false stories are based on truth, and some of the true stories are just plain unbelievable. And they’re all accompanied by dozens of photos, maps, and illustrations. Amaze yourself and trick your friends as you sort out the fakes from the facts! 

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

Mossy (Jan Brett)

Mossy is truly a beautiful book. It is a story about a turtle that has moss and flowers growing on it's shell (does that really happen?). She is caught by a biologist and taken to a museum so everyone can see her. However, Mossy is sad and soon the people who care start to realize this. In the end they discover a win-win resolution.


I love how when children read books they soak up all the information in the pictures without saying a thing. I found myself doing that with this book. It would be an interesting book to read prior to visiting the zoo and having a discussion about zoos keeping animals, especially if you accompanied this book with one about the wonderful things that zoos do for animals.

That Book Woman (Heather Henson illustrated by David Small)

I put this book on hold first because it is illustrated by David Small. I love so many books he has illustrated: The Library, The Underneath, When Dinosaurs Came With Everything and Imogene's Antlers. I seriously love books he is involved with!

That Book Woman seemed a little put-offish at first. The language is kind of tricky for kids:

My folks and me-
we live way up
as up can get.
So high
we hardly sight
a soul -
'cept hawks
a-winging in the sky
and critters
hid among the trees.

However, it kind of grows on you, and in the end I thought, this is a book kids need to learn to enjoy because it has a great message!

The story is about a lady who brings books to a family that lives out in the boondocks. Turns out there really were people who did this in Kentucky back in the 1930's to help increase literacy. The boy in the story talks about how odd she is and how he doesn't have time to looking at chicken scratch in books, but eventually he becomes curious. He wonders what could be so fascinating - and that is the beginning of him getting hooked on reading.

I'm all for any book that talks about getting hooked on reading!

Finders Keepers (Andrea Spalding)

 

This is kind of a good news, bad news story.
Good news: the kid's in book club chose Inkheart for this past month!
Bad news: it was too overwhelming for some, and some kids got too scared reading it
Good news: I found a great new book, and it came with great reviews from my son!
Bad news: I was later informed that the Gr. 4's use this book as a novel study (No wonder we had so many in our library
Good news: Hardly any of the Gr. 3's that I ended up getting this book for have read any of it (or is that bad news??)

I don't know. At least I enjoyed a good read!

The story is set in Alberta. Fort Macleod, as a matter of fact. I remember, as a kid, reading stories set in place I lived and being so thrilled by it. I still feel that way! It is kind of cool!

There are a lot of neat threads woven through the story. Learning disabilities, history and cool artifacts, relationships with white people and First Nations, and, did I mention, it is cool to read a book set in a place I know so well?

Definitely a book worth reading! It isn't too long either. I think it would make great read aloud.

How They Croaked (Georgia Bragg)

This is a great book. It is not unlike driving by a train wreck. It's ghoulish and I find myself thinking I shouldn't be looking, but I can't help it!

The author of this book has a great sense of humor and entertaining writing style. The introduction is a warning, that if you don't have theguts for gore, you shouldn't read the book.

How to encite the curious, or what?!

The author says:

Remember when you watched Bambi for the first time and you got to the part where Bambi's mom dies? And the sweet movie about a family of deer turns into a horror flick? |What the heck was that?" you thought. And in that second ou realized that if Bambi's mom can do, so can everybody else.

How They Croacked is like reliving Bambi's mom's death over and over again. Except it's worst because it's the blood, sweat, and guts of real people. In this book are the true stories of how some of the most important people who ever lived - died.

The author tells the endings of King Tut, Julius Ceasar, Cleopatra, Christopher Columbus, Henry VIII, Elizabeth I, Pocahontas, Galileo Galilei, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Marie Antoinette, George Washington, Napoleon Bonaparte, Ludwig Van Beethoven, Edgar Allan Poe, Charles Dickens, James A Garfield, Charles Darwin, Marie Curie, and Albert Einstein.

You've got to read this one!

Just a Second (Steve Jenkins)

This is a great book for teaching time! It talks about what can happen in one second, one minute, one day, one week, one month, one year, and even what can happen in less than a second. It also talks about things that take a really long time and occur very rarely. Kids who love facts will love this book....on other words, all kids will love it!