A Teacher's Reflections

Norman and the Smell of Adventure,
By Ryan T. Higgins

Norman has a best friend – Mildred.  She’s a tree.  While they have favorite things they do every day, Norman is getting bored.  He wants to do something new, but Mildred refuses.  Norman storms off to search for adventure, without Mildred.  In his journey he discovers many things – most of all missing Mildred.  This book is adventure, humor, and friendship, all wrapped into a delightful story.

The Wombats Go WILD For Words,
by Beth Ferry

Evergreen Forest is nice and quiet, but dull.  The wombats arrive.  They love words, and their quest is to transform Evergreen Forest.  They greet the animals they meet along the way with words, changing their ordinary words into wonderfully exciting words – parched instead of thirsty, famished instead of hungry.  With the help of a little duckling, the animals become excited about new words, and Evergreen Forest is no longer dull.  This book introduces children to new words, which is what reading is all about.

In the Winter Woods,
by Daniela Kulot

Fox and his friends, Mouse, Crow, and Squirrel, are hungry.  It’s winter and food is scarce.  Winter is not willing to share.  Squirrel has stashed his autumn stockpile away, but he cannot remember where.  The nuts and seeds and dried berries are all anyone could wish for.  When his friends arrive, Squirrel is not willing to share, and scampers off to find his stockpile.  He soon realizes he needs help.  Together he and his friends set out to find his provisions.  The message of friendship and  helping others is perfectly written.  This book is one in a series, each based on a season.

In the Autumn Forest,
by Daniela Kulot

The next book in the series is Autumn, hot off the press.  Fox knows he must soon say goodbye to his friends, Mouse, Crow, and Squirrel (who is like the classic grasshopper, always happy yet never prepared.)  When a storm arrives, everyone gets to shelter except squirrel.  How the friends come together after the storm and discover a bounty of food is a surprise.

Bears Don’t Read
and
Bears Don’t Cry,
by Emma Chichester Clark

I discovered the new book (cry) and then found the first book (read) that was written ten years prior.  Together they tell the story of a bear who wants more,  He’s bored.  He goes on a search and discovers a book with a picture of a bear – just like him!  The problem is, he must learn to read.  What he does is quite an adventure, including making a friend with a little girl who is also learning how to read.

The Wild Robot On the Island,
by Peter Brown

I was skeptical that the award-winning chapter book, The Wild Robot, could become a picture book.  I’m happy to say this picture book is wonderful.  It follows the story of Roz the robot and the island – perfectly.  This book is a simplified version, to introduce readers  to the chapter book.  The large, colorful illustrations bring the story to life.

 Big Enough,
by Regina Linke

This is a classic tale of a boy who must bring home the cow – yet the cow is an ox, and the boy is an oxherd boy in China.  He is scared.  He must be brave.  He is not big enough for many things, and other animals remind him of that as he journeys to find the ox.  The twist in the story is, the ox is scared, and he needs the boy to be brave in order to find the way home.

Sea Dog Rescue,
by Astrid Sheckels

This is the sequel to Sea Dog, the adventure story of  Walter the dog who longs to be a seafaring dog like his long line of ancestors.  Instead, he is a baker.  He gives his cakes to the king under the sea, and makes many underwater friends, including merpups.  In this new book, Boris, one of the sea creatures, is in trouble.  The entire village is up in arms, and it takes a brave young merpup to get Walter to help Boris.

I hope you have enjoyed these new books.  They certainly made my summer!

Jennie