Ahhh, what a week it’s been. I can’t get into it too much at this point but suffice it to say the love affair I have with my job has taken a huge hit in the last 10 days. While all that has been happening I’ve been reading this soothing and poetically written gem by Katherine Hannigan.
(2011)
355 pages
It’s not soothing as in everything is all hunky dory-the book has two major conflicts-but Hannigan has a unique style of writing. She’s also created a very quirky cast of characters. Delly (short for Delaware) Pattison has trouble not getting in little bits of trouble. She is picked on by a bully, Novello, who for the sake of loving Delly can’t help but be mean to her at this point in his life. It makes them miserable and includes some fierce wrestling/spitting matches on the playground. She also has run-ins with a local grocery store maven and Officer Verena Tibbetts has Delly on her “list of The Worst Children in River Bluffs.” (4)
Her reputation follows poor Delly wherever she goes even when she’s trying to help caged-in chickens at the county fair or borrowing a boat for a little river adventure. She gets fed up with her own ability to find trouble when she sees her mother cry over a recent incident. Delly vows to change her ways to make her mother proud. I like this thread of Delly’s tale as it shows a child’s thought process in trying to work out how and why her trouble happens.
Delly in her quest to have better days starts allowing her little brother, RB to hang with her more often. He is able to keep her calm in several situations and even teaches Delly about counting to keep calm. While her and RB are off trying for adventure without trouble-making they see a young boy, sad as can be, drive through town in a beat-up old green Impala. On Monday she finds out the boy is actually a girl named Ferris Boyd. Delly’s teacher, the wonderful Mr. Terwilliger, informs her that Ferris does not speak and is not to be touched. Hmm. Delly’s curiosity is peaked. Delly has her own vocabulary throughout, cataloged in a Delly Dictionary by Hannigan, which adds to her charming character:
After school Delly ran to Ferris Boyd. “Hey,” she said softly, and fell in beside her, like they’d been friends forever.
She waited till they were at the bridge to ask, “Ferris Boyd, did you see? I didn’t fight.” Then she told her, without saying a word, I heard you.
Ferris Boyd stopped and turned to Delly. her eyes were still sad, but there was something else in them. Something like a smile.
It was only a second. Her head went down again, and she was shuffling along the road.
It was all Delly needed. Ferris Boyd had heard her, too. “All right then.” She grinned. (168)
This tale gently shares many themes with the reader and would make a wonderful read-aloud to understand more about bullies, abuse, anger management, good teaching and the rough road to friendship. Students will cheer for Delaware Pattison.
“Happy Hallelujah”~ Delly
I was encouraged to pick up True because I loved Ida B, her first book.
Hannigan is an Iowa author!
Both books are green and share similar sentiments inside; “We care about the health of this planet and all of its inhabitants. So the first hardcover printing of this book used 100% postconsumer recycled paper (that means that no trees were cut down to create the paper). And that paper was processed chlorine-free, because when chlorine is used to bleach paper, the process creates toxic by-products called dioxins and furans that can make people and animals sick….”
A book company, Harper Collins, that I can fully support! How come more books aren’t produced in this method? To find out more information go to http://www.papercalculator.org.
As my Groovy Girl emerges as a stronger chapter book reader we pick out less and less from the picture book section of the library. Luckily, she is her mama’s girl ‘cuz last week at the library she went right to the NEW section and picked out a bag’s worth of books.
Here’s the catch though; she no longer wants me to read her picture books (it’s degrading somehow?) so she reads them and pulls the ones she thinks are “peaceful reader”-worthy!
Little Ida, who wears the cutest outfits to school, takes her space lunch box and her best/beast friend, Dotty. Dotty is a large cow-like creature with big pinkish-red polka-dots led by a blue string. Others in the classroom have imaginary friend animals with them as well but as the school days progress these students start leaving their “pets” at home. Ida can’t give up her friend Dotty and Dotty won’t let Ida give her up either. Just as Ida’s about to lose faith she finds out a very special secret about her teacher, Ms. Raymond! Dotty would make a wonderful read-aloud to students at school or home. Extra points for the polka-dot end papers!
Nobody
Liz Rosenberg; Julie Downing
2010
“When George awoke early one Sunday morning, Nobody was up and about.” This simple play on words will have children smiling as George and Nobody make a mess here and there around the house as they make a very funny “feast” in the kitchen. George’s parents wake up and he acknowledges that “nobody” has been at work helping him. Cute illustrations that will help kids understand this funny word twist.
Love this book. Love her illustrations. Sweet Holly recounts how her parents purchase a run-down old farmhouse and how exciting it was to live there with a wild array of animals. She envies the older neighbor girls as they ride their horses down the gravel lane. Holly creates an imaginary horse friend to share the barn. When her birthday rolls around her mom tells her to run to the barn to find her gift, which she is able to ride right out of the barn! Great memories and one that will have girls panting for their own ponies.
What picture books have caught your eye this week?
I just finished and am overwhelmed with how wonderful this book was to read. Cashore created a world of kingdoms ruled by kings where two people, Katsa and Po, meet and become friends in the truest sense. Both Katsa and Po are graced with a special talent far beyond what others can imagine. Katsa, orphaned at a young age lives with her uncle, King Randa, who has control over her and uses her killing grace to his advantage but through her own rebellious feelings she forms a council to right some obvious wrongs. On one of the council’s missions she meets Po, a prince from one of the seven kingdoms, and things begin to change in her world as Po teaches her that no man, especially Randa, can control her; that her control always lies within her.
I don’t want to go into detail as much of what was great about this book took me by surprise; points I don’t want to now hand to you, if you haven’t read it. I like fantasy and I thought Cashore built a believable world with very likeable characters. I liked how the characters from part one were not forgotten as I liked Raffin and Helda. I want to know more about Po’s family, Katsa’s decisions and Bitterblue’s struggles.
Last night we drove for two hours home from a music fest and I couldn’t put the book down, even though my head was nodding, begging for sleep and I was reading with a tiny book light. I woke up this morning, picked the book up again, read, made breakfast, read until I turned the last delicious page. I think I will probably be at the library when the doors open tomorrow morning to get Fire.
After Thoughts: I’m a little perturbed because I did some research about Fire, the “sequel” to Graceling and it’s about a different character and as much as I can gather does not further Katsa and Po’s story. (How many of you already knew this…?) I will still read it but am not racing to the library to get it.
I also read a few other reviews and want to comment. The whole relationship issue was believable to me…this is something many people grapple with today and marriage is complex. Can you marry someone and not feel a little “owned” even when you love that person? Yes, but it’s not always easy and the book makes that argument. Katsa and Po are not high school teenagers either and Katsa hasn’t had any positive guidance in this area either. She knows she doesn’t want someone to be in charge of her life. I think it is a worthy debate and thought the example of love was done well; showing depth from both characters.
I did think the book ended quickly but I didn’t think it let the story just drop off. I was ready to read about Katsa’s lessons with Bitterblue and Po’s journey home. I think Katsa and later Bitterblue offer strong female characters for readers and great examples of friendship and self-esteem exist in the book.
Find Kristin Cashore at her blog, This Is My Secret.
Find Graceling at an Indie Bookstore near you.
I am blesssed in many ways but one thing that sets me apart is my friend, Janice, who comes almost every day to my school library and helps me in the library. She volunteers at our school because her granddaughter is a student. Long ago all school libraries had an aide, someone who came in to check-out, reshelve, and do extra things around the library. We live in an age where school districts don’t have the money to have library aides anymore. I’m so glad to have Janice working with me almost everyday. So many of the massive creative projects I take on wouldn’t be completed without her help. She cut out all the snowmen shapes so first grade students could make larger-than-life snowpeople.
She makes my library dreams a reality!
Last week I mentioned I it would be cool to change our holiday evergreen tree, decorated with snowflakes, into a Valentine tree. Within a few short hours, after reshelving all the books, she transformed that mini-tree into a treat that looks sweet. She will never let me take her photo so instead I share her creation. She made all the decorations using a book…of course! The Valentine Express by the amazing Nancy Elizabeth Wallace. Check it out!
This is the cutest little book told from a gopher snake’s point-of-view. I never would have picked it up myself (big dislike for snakes) but Patrick Jennings is coming to town and I thought Groovy Girl and I should read a few of his titles. He obviously has a thing for animals as many of his other books are animal-related, like Guinea Dog.
We Can’t All Be Rattlesnakes begins:
I had shed a skin the day of my capture. As always, the sloughing left me famished, so I curled up under a shady patch of creosote and eagerly awaited the first rodent to cross my path. Gopher was at the top of my list, though I was so hungry that I’d gladly have settled for even a nasty, gristly shrew. A rodent did not cross my path first that morning, however. A lower life form did: a human. (1)
And so it goes that the human, Gunnar, captures the gopher snake, taking him out of his natural environment and thrusting him in a cage, right next to other prisoners/animals; a tarantula, a desert tortoise, and an alligator lizard. Gunnar is a despicable boy, who loves his video games more than the animals he captures. Oh sure, for awhile he dotes on Crusher, the name he bestows on his new pet snake, but he is not a loving caretaker. He reminded me of the mean boy, Sid, in Toy Story-remember him! Gunnar is more dim-witted but he is not the character we are meant to love. I really wanted the mom to tell him “NO more animals” but she never does. Only for the point of funny fiction I let it go!
This book does such a marvelous job of thinking like a snake, in complex detail and Groovy Girl and I enjoyed how Crusher deciphers the human world. The other fantastic detail of this story is the communication that occurs between Gunnar’s “zoo”- thoughts are transferred to each other so what Crusher thinks is transmitted to the others in cages near him…other animals that he might eat if he weren’t trapped in the glass box. It’s funny to hear the animals sarcastically “teach” Crusher how it’s gonna be in captivity and hear how Crusher tries to work his relationship with Gunnar. Relationships form between the animals, you could call it friendship, even with a mouse dropped into Crusher’s cage meant for dinner. The thrill of eating a mouse in captivity doesn’t seem fair and the mouse and Crusher share the cage much to the great disappointment of Gunnar.
I plan to book talk this with my 3rd-5th grade students-my guess is it will be a hit with boys first. It’s a quick read-we finished within a week, reading a few of the 13 chapters a night. I think this would make a perfect read-aloud to show students what “voice” is; to put themselves in to another being would be a great writing assignment. I’m anxious to now meet the author who writes such quirky stories for kids-he must be funny. His website is funny. He must be funny.
Hurrican Katrina swept through the city of New Orleans almost 6 years ago. Wow. I remember watching it unfold on the news every day and wishing I had the means to get there and help-do anything. Even though I watched it I can’t imagine what it would be like to be there-this book gave me the feeling of being there. If I had been there I would have wanted to be with Lanesha.
Synopsis:
Twelve-year-old Lanesha lives in tight-knit community in New Orleans’s Ninth Ward. She doesn’t have a fancy house, like her uptown family, or lots of friends, like the other kids on her street. But what she does have is Mama Ya-Ya, her fiercely loving caretaker, wise in the ways of the world and able to predict the future. So when Mama Ya-Ya’s visions show a powerful hurricane-Katrina-fast approaching, it’s up to Lanesha to call upon the hope and strength Mama Ya-Ya has given her to help them both survive the storm.
My thoughts:
This is the powerful story of Lanesha, raised by Mama Ya-Ya, able to see ghosts, especially her dead mother. Her mother died in childbirth and Mama Ya-Ya, the mid-wife, raised Lanesha as her own, loving her and filling her with knowledge of signs and the world around her. The relationship between Lanesha and Mama Ya-Ya is strong and both of them have special talents that set them apart from their neighbors. Even though Lanesha has had trouble fitting in she is now in a new middle school and she’s met a new friend as well as a teacher who sees talent in her. She is busy dealing with her day-to-day life when Mama Ya-Ya senses the storm’s arrival. Lanesha shines as she takes the predictions seriously enough to get her and Mama Ya-Ya to the upstairs bathtub where they live through the hurricane. Lanesha’s strength shows through as she gets them to higher ground and takes the neighbor boy with them to the attic. The scene in the attic is amazing as Lanesha figures out what she must do and is able to leave behind everything that is familiar to her. Ninth Ward made Katrina come alive for me as a reader. I could feel the water rise and Lanesha’s panic as well as her ability to see what they had to do to stay alive. She figures it out step-by-step like a math problem; something to be solved and move on to the next step. Students will love reading about Lanesha’s struggles with friendship even as she conquers the rising flood waters. I’m so glad to have read this story-I feel richer knowing more about how this time in New Orleans unfolded so quickly.
Perfect Quote:
“Do you know why your momma is still here?” (Mama Ya-Ya) I swallow. “She wasn’t sure you were going to be all right. The world can be a hard place sometimes, Lanesha. You have to have heart. You have to be strong. Not just any strong, mind you, but loving strong. Your testing should’ve come much, much later. But when it came, you shined with love and strength.” “You’re my strength,” I say, confused my Mama Ya-Ya’s words. I’m not sure what I’m feeling. It’s not pure happiness, but something sour. Bittersweet. (144-145)
I have to get this one back out on the library shelves…students are clamoring for it because many read 11 Birthdays by Mass last year. I read Finally a few weeks ago and will be happy to share it with students-I think they will like it more than I did. Hmm, don’t get me wrong, I liked it, I just didn’t love it.
Straight from the back cover…
I’m a big wisher. I’ll wish on anything. Shooting stars, stray eyelashes, dandelion tops, coins in fountains. Birthday candles (my own and other people’s). Even when my glasses fog up. When I was younger, the wishes used to vary. A pony. A best friend. A new bike with streamers on the handles. A baby brother or sister. some of these even came true (not the pony). But over the past year, every wish has been spent wishing I was 12 already, a date I’ve waited for my whole life and one that is only six weeks away. Looking back, I wish I had saved one of those wishes because, if I had, I wouldn’t be stuck in this drainpipe right now. Yes, drainpipe.
Rory gets herself stuck while on a field trip and an elderly woman rescues her. This has some of the same mystical, magical charm that 11 Birthdays did as well as intertwining characters. Amanda and Leo (from 11 Birthdays) attend Rory’s school, so we know we are in the same community. Kids will love meeting up with these characters!
Rory has this whole list of things she wants to be able to do once she turns 12, most things her friends can already do. The first half of the book we get a nice understanding of her family and why she wants all these things to happen. She feels like she has the strictest parents in the universe…(she wouldn’t want to come live atmy house).
On the big day, Rory has a chart ready to share with her parents and her parents are prepared to let this list of demands become reality. Some of them are normal: she wants to babysit so she takes the beginner’s Red Cross course for babysitters (I did this myself back in the day!). She gets an IM account, a cell phone (which she loses way, way too quickly) and is interested in getting a rabbit and her ears pierced.
It’s a lot of demands and all of it turns out hilarious. My favorite part was the ending, which was filled with warm feelings and great resolution but the middle made me a little overwhelmed. Kids will love it though-especially the murderous bunny!
6:00 this morning I received this special announcement…Snow Day!!! Yahooo! I immediately crawled back in bed and tried to finish my first fiction book of 2010. I didn’t quite make it to the end-I fell back to sleep, which isn’t a bad thing either!
A few months ago I recieved one of those lovely padded envelope packages we so look forward to opening. This one came from a marketing person and held 4 books for me to look at and review. Two of them are chapter books, Runt Farm #1 and #2 and as of yet, I have not read them. Recently Peaceful Girl and I read through both the board book and the picture book that were included in the package.
Dear Baby; What I love about you!
by Carol Casey and illustrated by Jason Oransky
2008
The pages are bright and very attractive; eye-catching for the youngest book readers. The lines are catchy and make you smile as you read. It begins: “I love the way you laugh and smile…I love your sassy baby style” accompanied by happy baby illustrations. I don’t have any more tiny ones around this house but I can just picture snuggling a little one close and reading this to them. This is a very sweet book to read with a new baby and would make an excellent baby gift, especially with the guest sign in spot at the back of the book.
Scarecrow Finds a Friend is a lovely read with very unique illustrations to match. Scarecrow is finished protecting the farmer’s crops and is happy to smell the delicious smells of Thanksgiving approaching. As he takes a little nap in the field he reminisces about the fun he had on Halloween. He remembers Tally, the friendly witch granting him one wish; to go trick-or-treating like the farm children do. As Scarecrow is thinking about his past fun with the witch, Tally shows up again needing a wish for herself. Scarecrow returns the favor and helps Tally get her powers back. Scarecrow’s plan is to get the
wishbone from the Thanksgiving turkey to help Tally.
The story is simple, seasonal and delightful to read. I enjoyed how it used the age-old tradition of making a wish using a wishbone. I remember the excitement over the wishbone, and even as I became a vegetarian the wishbone still held its power. We never even paid attention to the fact that our specific wishes didn’t come true-it was just fun to pull and hear the snap.
Luckily, Tally’s wish does come true and she is able to fly again. I love the illustrations of Tally, truly magical, adding to the special friendship theme of the story.
Highly recommended-elementary
5/5 peaceful stars
Thanks to Paula Krapf for sending me these copies.
Peaceful Reader 