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

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.