Filled with dynamic images and interesting rhymes, Off to Plymouth Rock by Dandi Daley Mackall is the perfect book to introduce the story of the Pilgrims and the first Thanksgiving to young readers. Beginning with the Pilgrim's voyage to America on the Mayflower and ending with the first Thanksgiving feast shared by the Pilgrims and Native Americans, this book is sure to delight your preschool and kindergarten age readers. In addition to the wonderful rhymes on each page, the book is filled with illustrations full of life and detail. Every time you turn a page there is something new to captivate the reader and keep their interest.
Have you ever wondered what the Pilgrims ate and drink on the Mayflower? Or what was the first thing the Pilgrims did when the got on shore? Or what did they eat for Thanksgiving? These questions are more are all answered in Ann McGovern's ...If You Sailed on the Mayflower in 1620. Written in a question-and-answer format, this easy to read book answers any question you might have about the Pilgrims, how and why they came to America, and how they survived once they were here. Illustrated with colorful images, including a diagram of the inside of the Mayflower, this informative book is perfect for students in the middle grades (3-5) who want to find out more about the origins of Thanksgiving. Turkey Trouble by Wendi Silvano is the story of Turkey, who discovers that he is going to become the main course at this year's Thanksgiving. He decides that, Farmer Jake is unable to find him, he will be unable to serve him for dinner. The rest of the book follows Turkey as he tries to disguise himself as various other barnyard animals with each disguise more ridiculous than the last. However, his final disguise is both surprising and clever. And best of all, it saves Turkey for another year! This wonderfully imaginative tale is perfect for younger readers who will delight in the bright, colorful images and silly costumes used by Turkey. As you read the book, you will find the children you are reading it to will actively point out where Turkey is. One of my favorite parts of reading this story is to pretend that I can't find Turkey on the page and have the students "find" him for me. This imaginative book is a great story to share this Thanksgiving! Something is wrong with the vegetables in the Monroe household: they are mysteriously turning white! Harold and Chester, the family dog and cat, suspect it is the work of the newest pet, a rabbit named Bunnicula. This book by Deborah and James Howe is a fun twist on the classic vampire tale. Taking many of the elements associated with vampires (fangs, sucking blood, aversion to garlic, killing by a stake through the heart) and re-imagines them as if the vampire were a rabbit. The heart of the story is the found in the interactions between Chester and Harold. Chester is fully convinced Bunnicula is a vampire and will stop at nothing to prove it. Harold is more skeptical about the situation and doesn't believe a vampire rabbit really poses much threat to anything other than vegetables anyway. The push and pull between these two characters, especially as Chester's antics become more and more over the top, creates many of the story's best comedic moments. Bunnicula is a funny, heart-warming tale full of mystery and just a little scary. Check it out and if you like it check out the other adventures of Harold, Chester and their vampire bunny! Farmer Brown does not Halloween! But when he goes to bed early, he hears noises and sees a mysterious creature creeping around his farm. Meanwhile, the animals have decided to throw a Halloween party in the barn. What happens when Farmer Brown decides to explore? From Doreen Cronin and Betsy Clark, the creators of Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type, comes another tale of barnyard mischief and fun. Written in the same easy-to-read style and filled with colorful illustrations, Click,Clack, Boo! is a great story to introduce onomatopoeia, or words that imitate sounds. As the animals and other mysterious creatures creep around the farm, they create different creepy sounds ("crunch, crunch, crunching" and "creak, creak, creaking"). If you enjoy funny tales of animals doing crazy things, this is the book for you! A house filled with the undead. A haunted mask which becomes the wearer's face. A camera that can predict the future. Scarecrows that come to life. Enter the world of Goosebumps where the strange, fantastic and horrific are every day occurrences. As a child of 9 or 10, I was obsessed with R.L. Stine's Goosebumps series. Anytime we went on a car ride, I made sure I had a new installment of the series. This was my first experience with the horror genre, and it laid the groundwork for what has become one of my favorite genres to read. Goosebumps serves as a gateway to a world which includes such classics as Frankenstein, Dracula, and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. An appreciation of Stine's work can lead to a later appreciation of such masters as Stephen King, Edgar Allan Poe, and Henry James. Most importantly, Goosebumps can make avid readers out of students, especially boys, who have a hard time finding books they enjoy. As with all good horror stories, the heart of the Goosebumps series is not the terrifying creatures and nightmarish scenarios contained within its pages. Instead, Goosebumps tales are, at their core, cautionary tales. These stories contain as many morals as Aesop's fables or children's fairy tales. In fact, you might call them fables for the modern world. In these books, Stine emphasizes the importance of choices as it is often these choices which create the conflict in the stories. Whether they makes good or bad choices, these characters provide situations from which the reader can learn. In the end, whether you enjoy being scared silly or you just enjoy a thrilling tale, give the series a try, but be warned: they may give you Goosebumps! Halloween has come to Bear Country, and Brother and Sister have decided to go trick-or-treating by themselves this year. They have everything planned: a group of friends to go with, costumes and a map of all the houses they are going to visit. There's one house, though, they will not be visiting: the creepy house of old Witch McGrizz. Written in Stan and Jan Berenstain's easy-to-read text and illustrated in the same classic style as the other Berenstain Bears books, The Berenstain Bears Trick or Treat is full of the fun and frights that Halloween brings. Perfect for younger readers who are just starting out (or even those a little older who might want something a little easier), this book helps kids understand the importance of not judging others based on how they look. For just as the Brother and Sister learn, appearances can be deceiving. When the weather turns rainy and windy, the time has come for a good scary stories. I've often wondered what it is that makes us read or watch something with the sole intention of being scared. Perhaps it is the adrenaline rush you get without any real risk of danger. Whatever the cause, our desire to scare each other and be scared invariably reaches its peak during this early days of fall. While a good horror novel can be perfect on a gloomy fall afternoon, in my opinion, nothing beats the collection of folktales and campfire stories collected by Alvin Schwartz in his Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark anthologies. These three classics (Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark, More Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark, and Scary Stories 3: More Tales to Chill Your Bones) as well as his collections for younger readers such as Ghosts!: Ghostly Tales from Folklore and In a Dark, Dark Room and Other Scary Stories, can inspire fear in even the bravest of souls. When read while in the correct mood, these stories will have you looking around every corner, checking under your bed and wondering if that noise outside is really just the wind. In these books, Schwartz has collected many of the best known tale from the worlds of folklore and urban legend. The stories range from tales of the supernatural and real-life horror to humorous tales of misunderstandings and "jump" scares designed to elicit the best reaction from the hearer. This, in fact, is one of the greatest aspects of Schwartz's books: retelling the stories to others. While the books are enjoyable on their own, sharing them with someone else for the first time and watching their reaction serves as a reminder of why humans have been telling stories to each other since the first campfire was invented. Of course, the truly terrifying aspect of the Scary Stories series are the illustrations created by Stephen Gammell to accompany Schwartz's tales. Many a child (and an adult) have been kept awake at night after looking at these images. I must confess that, as a child, there were certain stories I would skip because I didn't want to look at the pictures. But again, there is just something about being scared that makes us look at those pictures anyway. So whether you are looking for a good scary story to read or a tale to use on your friends at the next slumber party, try out Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark and be prepared to be scared! One of my favorite stories to read this time of year is Washington Irving's "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow." This short story follows Ichabod Crane, a gangly and skittish schoolteacher, who comes to the tiny hamlet of Sleep Hollow. Famous for the character of the Headless Horseman, many readers are surprised upon reading the story to learn that he doesn't show up until the very end of the story. Most of this tale focuses on Ichabod's rivalry with Brom Bones over the beautiful Katrina Van Tassel. Bones and his gang pull a series of pranks on our hero which escalate and lead to Ichabod's encounter with the Headless Horseman. The reputation of this story is based not on jump scares and gore but, instead, on the mood and tension created by Irving's amazing prose. Consider the following quote: "Certain it is, the place still continues under the sway of some witching power, that holds a spell over the minds of the good people, causing them to walk in a continual reverie. They are given to all kinds of marvellous beliefs; are subject to trances and visions; and frequently see strange sights, and hear music and voices in the air. The whole neighborhood abounds with local tales, haunted spots, and twilight superstitions; stars shoot and meteors glare oftener across the valley than in any other part of the country, and the nightmare, with her whole nine fold, seems to make it the favorite scene of her gambols." This quote sets the mood for the tale we are about to read. Clearly, this is a ghost story set in a rural valley where the citizens believe ghosts must truly be real. Yet, Irving leaves room for interpretation. Are these ghosts real, or are they just a bunch of hocus-pocus? It is this feeling of the unknown, a questioning of what is real, which makes Irving's tale an enduring classic. For even at the end of the story, the reader is not entirely certain what has happened. This ambiguity is the greatest strength of "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow." So give this story a read this October and see what you think: Is the Horseman real or a figment of our imagination? |
From Mr. SmithFor as long as I can remember, books have been a part of my life. They can take you to new worlds and discover new ideas. My hope is that you will find the same joy in the books you rea Archives
April 2015
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