Queen of Christmas

Mary Engelbreit's distinctive illustrations perfectly align with this heartwarming story about a little girl and her " list".

The list is so long... and everything Ann Estelle does reminds her to put more and more items on her list. Hmmm.. does she sound like anyone you know?

Well, needless to say, Ann Estelle does not get everything on her list but at then end of the day she happily tells her parents "It was Christmas exactly the way I wanted".

Baking cookies with her mother, sledding with her father, skating with her grandmother...these are the things that made it perfect. "It's not just the presents that matter," she tells her dad. "Don't you know that? "

Redheaded Robbie's Christmas Story

I am a huge huge fan of this book. Of course it does not hurt that I have my own redheaded Robbie and have his Grade 2 school picture pinned to my bulletin board.

In "Redheaded Robbie's Christmas Story" by Bill Luttrell, Robbie is the lucky Grade 2 student who gets to tell a story at the Christmas Assembly. There is only one problem.. Robbie gets all his words mixed up when he has to speak in a crowd. I know how that feels!

Robbie needs the best story to tell so he goes to his friends for help. Well they certainly give him ideas.. like getting as many presents as you can, throwing cool parties and paying back your little sister...but Robbie knows that that is not what Christmas is about.

The big night has come and when Robbie gets tongue-tied up on the stage his friends come to his rescue and tell what they have learned from a little redheaded angel about sharing, being kind and forgiveness.

Flurry Flickmas to all!

The Christmas Magic

Every once in a while a book comes along that is magical. "The Christmas Magic" by Lauren Thompson is such a book. I came across this gem last year and could hardly wait to share it again this Christmas.

Listen to this...... "Far, far north, where the reindeer are, there is a snug little house with a bright red door. And in that house lives Santa Claus." And the pictures....more magic.... you are indeed looking down on a little house that has a bright red door standing alone on a vast snowy plain.

But my favourite lines are " Santa runs his fingertip down the crinkling pages. One by one, he reads each child's name aloud and smiles.
For Santa loves them all, and he knows what each child at heart wants most.
Then he chooses a certain toy and tucks it into his creased leather sack.
And always the magic draws closer."

I think the words say it all. Enjoy.

Chickens!

I have come across two books that simply made me laugh. Fun characters (chickens!), fun stories and fun language with some good messages to boot... If you like Minerva Louise you will love these. However, I must admit they are not very flattering about the intelligence of our feathered friends!

"Chicken Big" by Keith Graves is about a very humongous egg in the chicken coup which hatches a huge yellow .. well the others are not sure what it is. It might be an elephant or a squirrel or maybe even an umbrella. But when it saves the day one final time they realize that "only one thing could be so smart, so kind, so warm and so brave. A cow??? No, he's a .......... "


And "Big Chickens Fly the Coop" by Leslie Helakoski also does not show chickens in a very good light. "It's nice and safe at home in the coop..... We should always stay home. We could always stay home... except we've always wanted to see the farmhouse" and off they go except what they think is the farmhouse isn't! But try, try and try again they do.....

I love the pictures in both and hope you will too.

I Love Books Too!

I know which book I am going to read aloud to our Grade 1's and 2's during our DEAR morning on October 25 during National School Library Week! "Miss Brooks Loves Books (and I don't)" by Barbara Bottner is just perfect.

Miss Brooks is the very enthusiastic teacher-librarian who loves books - hilariously so I might add - and while I can relate to loving books - I don't dress up in costumes which Miss Brooks does as she tries to make the stories come alive to her students. During Book Week the students are to dress up as one of their favourite characters but of course there is one student who dismisses all suggestions and that would be Missy. "too flowery, too furry, too clickity, too yippity" she responds until she hears one word that grabs her attention - warts! Is there a book about warts? You bet and I think you know it's engaging character too.

You see, as different as we all are, there is a book for everything and everybody and finding it for you is both challenging and rewarding. And that's why I love my job!

I Love My New Book

" Pete the Cat - I Love My White Shoes" by Eric Litwin is, for sure, my new favourite book for our Kindergartens! It is so simple and so fun.

Pete the Cat strolls down the street singing his song.... "I love my white shoes, I love my white shoes, I love my white shoes".... until he steps on a huge pile of strawberries and... his white shoes turn.... red! Does he cry? Goodness, no.. he keeps walking along and singing his song ... now "I love my red shoes"....until he steps on a huge pile of .....

Guess who sang with him? Yep... me and all the Kindergartens! We could not help ourselves.
A positive outllook on life is for sure what this song, er, story is all about.

P.S I also have a "Pete" who dances along with us. He is adorable!

You Have to Write

This is the title of a very powerful book by Janet Wong. I was talking with one of our teachers who does an amazing job of teaching writing and she was sharing her students' poems on being thankful. I love to share too so out came "You Have to Write". What I think is so absolutely wonderful about this book is the way it addresses "voice".

"You want it to be good, to make us cry or bust up laughing when the room is quiet".

Students are encouraged to look around and write about what they have seen and what is meaningful to them. In the author's words; "Reach inside. Write about the dark times. Write about the bright times. Take your mind for a walk back to this morning, back to yesterday".

... and lots more.

Thank you

"Thank You, Miss Doover" by Robin Pulver is a must for all those boys and girls who write (or should write) thank you notes for presents they receive or for their teachers!

In this story Miss Doover is the teacher who is diligently trying to teach her class the art of writing thank you notes. Jack is writing to his Great-Aunt Gertie and thinks he will be done in a flash.

"Dear Great-Aunt Gertie, Thank you for the present! Love, Jack". Done!

Not done.... as Miss Doover keeps giving her students more and more tips to add to their letters with Jack trying to follow her advice, sometimes with success, sometimes not. Editing is the key word here! (Note the "drafts" on the cover).

When I was little I remember sending thank you notes for all the wonderful presents my grandparents sent to me. "Thank You, Miss Dover" brought back those memories. Thank you.

Winston Who?

Anytime is a good time to talk about our saving our environment.

Winston is a polar bear in this very wonderful story called "Winston of Churchill, One Bear's Battle Against Global Warming" by Jean Davies Okimoto. Winston lives near.... Churchill, Manitoba and he bears a striking similarity to another famous Winston. He fears global warming is melting the ice so he uses the stirring words of his namesake to rally the troops. (We will fight them on the beaches...) He and his fellow bears make signs that read "Solar Power" and "Turn Down the Furnace" etc. for the tourists who come to watch them. He even gives up his cigars to do his part! But in the end it is the message that counts and while young ones will not fully understand the parallel to another place and time they will understand that they must do their part to in making the world a better place.

It's Coming...

Christmas is coming and it does sneak up on you so get ready. I found two Christmas books this week that I love.

"A Porcupine in a Pine Tree" by Helaine Becker is a Canadian Twelve Days of Christmas and is wonderful. Did you see the Olympics Closing Ceremony? This reminds me of that! In this book Mounties frolic and squirrels curl. Love the pictures by Werner Zimmermann too.


And who can resist David? "It's Christmas, David!" by David Shannon is another hilarious look at naughty David who is trying very hard (sometimes) to be very good so he doesn't get coal in his stocking. Hmmm , can David be good?

My favourite David story so far...

It's a Book

Laugh out Loud! "It's a Book" by Lane Smith is so timely. We seem to be surrounded by computers and technology and we have all the buzz words to go along with it. In this wonderful book as one character is reading his book the other has all sorts of questions;
can you scroll down? no... it's a book.
can you blog with it? no... it's a book!
can it tweet? no....

you get the idea.... very cute and I think our tech savvy kids will love it!

Thank you, Kimberly, for this wonderful present.

Have to Have

You have to have "The Junkyard Wonders" by Patrica Polacco. This book carries on where the amazing "Thank you, Mr. Falker" leaves off. They are both such wonderful, heartwarming stories based on true events that celebrate the extraordinary influence teachers have on their students. Trisha is in a new school and in a special class called The Junkyard however Mrs. Peterson, their teacher, does not allow her students to think of themselves as misfits and encourages a sense of belonging and unity by creating tribes within the class. Here students are made to feel they are special, just like the junk they find in the junkyard. These students have friends for life and Polacco even updates us with the amazing things these students have accomplished in their lives.
Truly inspiring.

Thinking About Thanksgiving

Do you know this book? It is a wonderful look at Thanksgiving - if you are a moose or a turkey! "A Turkey for Thanksgiving" by Eve Bunting is definitely a favorite of mine.

Mr. & Mrs. Moose are having their Thanksgiving dinner for all their friends. But what is missing is a turkey. Mr. Moose and his assorted friends set out to find a turkey and find him hiding in his nest surrounded by signs that say Do Not Disturb. Mr. Moose explains "We just want you for Thanksgiving dinner" which only confirms Turkey's fears. Never fear - Mrs. Moose wants him at her table, not on it.


And of course don't forget " "Twas The Night Before Thanksgiving" by Dav Pilkey. A humorous look at a field trip to the turkey farm.


"Turk and Runt" by Lisa Wheeler is another hilarious winner ... hmmm - strange that all these books are from the turkey's point of view. In this story Turk is the biggest and the best - but his little brother Runt knows that that is not necessarily good - around Thanksgiving!

Ready or Not - Here It Comes

The beginning of August arrives and back to school is everywhere! Wait a minute - I still have a whole month before my mind turns to school. However these cute books have grabbed me and you will love them too. "This School Year Will Be The Best!" by Kay Winters asks the question "what do you hope will happen this year?" Simple answers and adorable pictures sum up both students and teachers thoughts.
I don't think there is anything quite so exciting as starting kindergarten! Sure it can be a little scary but Annalina in "Kindergarten Diary" by Antoinette Portis shows there are lots of new and exciting things to look forward to - meeting your teacher, playing on the monkey bars and making new friends. Read her diary to find out what she's doing the month of September and how she is feeling on September 30th when she has been in school for a whole month!


"First Grade Jitters" by Robert Quackenbush addresses the fears we all have when starting something new. Aidan is not acting like himself as he worries about all sorts of things - will his friends be there? will he have to know how to read and spell? what if he can't understand anything the teachers says? His friends help him realize he has nothing to worry about!
"Is Your Buffalo Ready for Kindergarten?" by Audrey Vernick takes a silly look at at Kindergarten jitters from a student who is very unique and of course has to learn all sorts of things like no grazing at recess! But it also shows all sorts of daily routines and issues for all kindergarten students. I think you will love it!

"Jake Starts School" by Michael Wright is also one of the very funny ones about starting school. Jake is a clinger, one of those who just won't let go, so his parents have to stay. However it's not much fun when
"they tried to take a seesaw ride,
but didn't have much fun.
It's just no good when one side's light
and the other weighs a ton."

Cartoon-ish pictures add to the hilarity.


"One Smart Cookie - Bite Size Lessons for the School Years and Beyond" by Amy Krouse Rosenthal is another book that offers life lessons around cookies - preparing, baking, sharing and more. Here is a fresh batch of words that demonstrate wisdom about life in general and school in particular for all ages. And there is a cookie recipe at the back of the book!

Fall into Fall

"Leaf Trouble" by Jonathan Emmett is an adorable story of leaves and fall and fun! This is the perfect book to welcome fall and it beautiful leaves. Pip Squirrel is shocked one morning when the tree that he lives in starts falling apart. The leaves are no longer green but yellow, orange and red. To make matters worse the different coloured leaves keep falling off the trees. In a panic Pip starts to race around catching leaves to put back on the tree only to have the wind keep blowing them off again. It isn't until Pip's mom comes into the picture that he finds out why the trees lose their leaves.

" Fletcher and the Falling Leaves" by Julias Rawlinson is another wonderful choice about falling leaves. Fletcher, a little fox, worries his favourite tree is sick and rushes around trying to put all the leaves back onto the branches. Realization dawns and all is well.


"The Little Yellow Leaf" by Carin Berger is a charming poetic look at leaves falling... except the little yellow leaf is not ready to fall.
"I'm not ready yet, thought the Little Yellow Leaf as a riot of fiery leaves chased and swirled around the tree." It was only when it is cold and the first snow has arrived that the Little Yellow Leaf takes flight - with a friend. The illustrations are creative and eye catching. Sigh...


"Hooray for Fall" by Kazuo Iwamuara.... is very cute about little squirrels again who are noticing all the changes of colours around them. Mama has a surprise for her three little squirrels- three bright red sweaters to keep them warm throughout the fall. Imagine their surprise when they find that everything in the autumn woods- the leaves, the berries and even the setting sun - is red too, just like they are.


Lois Ehlert has two wonderful picture books done in her collage style - "Leaf Man" and "Red Leaf, Yellow Leaf".

And of course some good non fiction choices are important too!