The Secret Cave

"The Secret Cave - Discovering Lascaux" by Emily Arnold McCully did something beautifully that I tried many a time to have my Grade 7 students do and that is to write about what it must have been like to be the first in 17,000 years to see the stunning art work done in caves by prehistoric man almost 35,000 years ago.

Just think of a group of children literally stumbling down into a small narrow passage, not knowing where it will lead, and finding amazing pictures of all sorts of animals painted and etched high onto the walls of the caves. It was the discovery of a lifetime.

This book indeed is a fictional story but based on the anecdotal accounts of those young boys and the stunning illustrations lay out clearly the excitement of that time.

Giant Steps to Change the World

Spike Lee and Tonya Lewis Lee have written an amazing book; "Giant Steps to Change the World". Quotes, ideas and inspirations taken from men and women who have had a dream, who have persevered, who have overcome great obstacles and who have succeeded. People like Harriet Tubman who said "every dream begins with a dreamer" or Albert Einstein "a person who never made a mistake never tried anything new" .

This book challenges the readers to dream and dream big and never give up even though...

"there will be dark days and lonely nights. Press on through the darkness and keep going - "

Read this, read this every morning at the start of each day.... to all children....and encourage them to take that first step. Wouldn't the world be a better place?

13 Words

13 very random words ( at least they seem to be very random but of course who knows) is the premise of Lemony Snicket's picture book.

Words that seem to have no connection at all, but that is what is so brilliant is that our author takes those words and weaves a tale that indeed does connect all 13. Words like bird, despondent, cake, convertible and even panache are brought together in a wild and wacky story with wonderful illustrations that also spark our imagination.

Writing 101 here we come!

Splinters

Who is Kevin Sylvester? I have never heard of him before and now he is everywhere... first 2 books with the amazing Neil Flambe as the main character and now a picture book..... "Splinters", a charming Cinderella story about a poor young girl named Cindy who loves hockey and whose big dream is to play for a real team.

But the costs of hockey are a lot for our heroine so off she goes in her mothers old equipment only to be the brunt of jokes from the mean Blister Sisters. However hardwork and talent pay off with a little help from Cindy's fairy goaltender!

Read and Enjoy