Princess Scargo loves all living creatures, especially those that live in the water. One day, a neighboring chief sends her an amazing gift, a huge pumpkin decorated with carvings of all the land animals, and filled with a miniature lake stocked with fish. Princess Scargo spends many hours caring for and talking to her new pets.
Not long after, a terrible drought begins to destroy her tribe’s food source, drying up all the ponds and streams. Though the tribe does everything they can to preserve their land, only Princess Scargo and her pets hold the secret that can avert disaster.
This book is an adaptation of a well-known Native American legend. Many versions of the tale can be found, but none as delightfully innocent and childlike as this. Children will exclaim over colorful illustrations, and their imaginations will join Scargo in a culture long forgotten.
Amy loves to draw, but like many little artists, she isn’t very good at following instructions. Wonky circles and scribbles become pandas with personality and pirate princess crocodiles. Sometimes, if the instructions are too boring, she imagines herself as something else and forgets to draw at all! No matter what anyone else says about them, Amy’s drawings make her happy.
This book perfectly captures and celebrates the free spirit of childhood. Through Amy’s imagination children see the beauty and possibility of imperfection. They will connect with the pencils that roar and crayons that scribble nothing in particular just because they can. Best of all, they will spend hours giggling over an absolutely delightful story.
Remember that old woman who swallowed a fly? This zany monkey takes her appetite to a whole new level with a slew of odd decisions, starting with a frog. A host of jungle animals (and a dancing mango) parade in silly formation into the old monkey’s stomach.
This book is a delightful new twist to an old favorite. Kids cackle at every new meal choice. The repetitive verses make a hilarious read-aloud. The wacky illustrations add another level of fun as each animal eaten is given its own unique personality, and they all seem to have a party inside the monkey’s expanding stomach. Wouldn’t that give you a belly ache?
What child doesn’t turn a junk heap into a whole magical world of race cars, rocket ships, and airplanes, and spend their days saving the world from horribly evil enemies? Jeremy and Jemima Potts were no different, and when their favorite rusty old wreck of a car is about to be destroyed, they just can’t let that happen. Fortunately, they have two dollars and an inventor for a dad.
With some junk of his own and a little imagination, Mr. Potts transforms the old car into a thing of beauty with a slight stutter in the engine. With their new friend Truly, the family takes Chitty for a test drive around the countryside, but Chitty isn’t just any old car. She has ideas of her own, and before long her antics land Jeremy and Jemimah in a battle to save their precious car from the selfish Baron Bomburst.
This delightful book is an early reader adaptation of the original Ian Fleming book based on the 1968 movie version of the story. It’s bright-colored illustrations will draw children into the Potts family adventure and inspire wonderful backyard escapades. As a bonus, the original novel is still sold on Amazon, along with sequels written by Frank Cottrell Boyce and the movie starring Dick Van Dyke as the eccentric Mr. Potts.
Hattie loves to make pictures. While her brother and sister play cards with the maids and torment the nannies, Hattie draws. While the family mixes with society at the seashore, Hattie walks the beaches alone and paints. While her sister gets married and her brother becomes a businessman, Hattie paints.
Hattie can’t play beautiful music on the piano like Mama. She can’t sew beautiful needlework like her sister. Even her hair won’t curl properly. But she can draw barges that Papa says are seaworthy, and she can paint the wild waves.
Hattie is every child with a dream. As readers walk Hattie’s journey with her and her family, they will unconsciously learn lessons of self-awareness, hard work, and never giving up. Although set in the early twentieth century, the appeal of this story is timeless and it’s message always relevant.
Have you ever been on safari? Bought a juicy mango from a street vendor? Searched for the elusive crown of Mt. Meru in the clouds? If you live in Tanzania, chances are you have at least chanted about doing all these things and more while playing childhood games.
Tanzania’s rich and varied cultural tapestry is beautifully painted in Nikki Grimes’ simple poems. Ancient traditions and native foods blend with crowded bus rides and modern adventures in the pages of this book, just as they do in Tanzania itself. Every young reader can experience the cozy hut in rainy season or run from the hungry lion.
The language in this book is simple enough for children to read on their own, but we had so much fun using this as a read-aloud. We enjoyed stumbling over the swahili words introduced by Ms. Grimes, then checking our pronunciation on the glossary page at the end of the book. Perhaps your children would enjoy making up tunes or dances to the catchy rhythms of the poems.
Harry and Leah have a problem. There’s a fish in their bathtub, but that isn’t the problem. The problem is that the fish is dinner.
Mama’s special Passover dish is gefilte fish, special fish balls made from a carp. The best fish always sell out early, and dead fish spoil quickly, so the carp has to live in the bathtub for a week waiting to be cooked. Harry and Leah love to feed the carp, and especially appreciate that as long as the fish is there they can’t take a bath.
But Harry and Leah cannot bring themselves to eat gefilte fish. Who could eat a friend? And thus year’s carp is extra special; he is smart and friendly, and his name is Joe. They have to think of a way to rescue Joe before Mama turns him into the Passover meal!
The Carp in the bathtub is a delightful story about understanding and responsibility. For my children it was also an introduction to a time and traditions different from ours while demonstrating that children everywhere and in every age are all the same. By the way, Harry and Leah still don’t eat gefilte fish.
A legend of quiet courage becomes the centerpiece of a tale of adventure and intrigue in this lovely classic. The Hejnal, still played to the broken note in St. Mary’s today, plays only a minor role in Kelly’s story, but is a symbol for the goodness and innocent courage in the hearts of Joseph and Elzbietka. Two children on the brink of adulthood, they are plunged into a private battle begun hundreds of years before they were born.
Joseph’s ancestors have for centuries guarded a secret, a crystal to which the ancient scholars attributed mystical powers and whose beauty rivals that of the purest gemstone. Now their secret has been discovered, and danger threatens their precious charge on the eve of its fulfillment. But the children have a secret of their own, one created as a childish joke but that may prove the salvation of both the crystal and Joseph’s family.
Although written nearly a century ago about an age long past even then, this book is a timeless example of the human story. I love The Trumpeter as a read-aloud, even for young children. While the more formal writing can be difficult for younger readers to decipher on their own, when read aloud it breathes life into the characters of a time long gone, transporting listeners into lives they could not otherwise understand.
In my quest to read aloud all of my childhood favorites to my own children, this was the latest challenge. It is a challenging read in many ways, although as a child I simply enjoyed it for the adventure. I had no idea at the time how much my heart was being shaped.
Three unlikely heroes – the children Meg, Charles Wallace, and Calvin – are summoned to cross time and space in order to save their long-missing father. The villain is evil itself, centralized in a disembodied brain on a far-distant planet, but with shadows that threaten to engulf Earth itself. The children are the only ones capable of rescuing their father, according to the beings of light that summon them, but before they can succeed they must face the potential darkness within themselves and learn to banish it.
Though the language is simple, the lessons for the reader are deep. Love is more rare but stronger than hate. Emotions are only as bad or good as how we use them. Cold logic can be dangerous if misapplied. Confidence and arrogance are not the same thing. Character traits are neither good or bad; their nature depends upon their application. Evil disguises itself as order, safety, equality, and comfort, but truth is always discernable for those willing to look beneath the surface.
My favorite thing about this book is the contextual use of scripture and literary quotes. When Meg doubts her ability to do what is required, the reassurance given is that “God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise, and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things of the mighty.” When Calvin is told where to find the missing father, the hint is given in the form of a quote from Shakespeare’s The Tempest. In this very natural way the meanings of some of the deepest principles become plain to children.
An ancient weapon. A missing father. A warrior son. An infamous villain. A community of happy woodland creatures. Aged companions. A tale waiting to be told.
A tale Martin desperately needs to know. All his life he has carried his father’s sword and used it to defend the helpless and innocent. His prowess with a sword and his good heart has earned him a warrior’s renown, as well as many loyal friends, but until he knows what happened to his father Martin cannot rest.
Long ago, an evil pirate captain who terrorized the seas raided Martin’s home and killed many, including Martin’s mother. His father, Luke, though a kind, peaceful farmer, vowed to avenge the deaths and destroy the tyrant once and for all. He left his sword with his baby son and promised to return victorious, but Martin never saw him again.
Martin’s friends, wanting only for him to be happy, organize a journey to Martin’s old home in search of answers. Few of them have any experience with adventuring or battle, but what they lack in skill they make up for in determination. Along the way they attract an unlikely collection of helpers and companions, who with imagination and ingenuity help them reach their destination safely.
None of them expect what they actually find when they reach Martin’s childhood home. The end of their quest begins a true tale of friendship, courage, and heroism. Martin will finally know what happened after his father embarked on his own quest, and why he never returned.
My kids chose this book for our bedtime read, and as we made our way through it a few chapters at a time, they quickly fell in love with the adorable woodland characters. We laughed together over the creatures zany antics, cheered for their courageous exploits, and cried when they were sad. This is a must read for all ages and a captivating read-aloud for families.
The Word Worker 