Prudence is one super cool little girl. In Prudence Wants a Pet, she desperately want a pet of her own. When her parents say no, does she cry and complain? No. She decides to make the most of the world around her and turn ordinary items like a rock, branch, and an old shoe into pets. Her free spirit and zeal for life make Prudence my favorite character of 2011.
I was completely obsessed with the release of Darth Paper Strikes Back. I went to far as to throw a party this summer with students to celebrate the release Darth Paper. Kids loved The Strange Case of Origami Yoda so much that the Sequel couldn’t come fast enough. Darth Paper was actually released about a week early in Europe, so I bought a copy from a bookstore in England and got it shipped express, so that I could read it a couple of days early (shipping cost me more than the book).
On page 90 of Hound Dog True Principal Bonnet says to Mattie, “You can’t have brave without scared.” That line sent shivers through my body. I feel like every word in Hound Dog True is placed on the page with precision. Linda Urban is a master storyteller. She makes the ordinary seem extraordinary.
Everyone that I have talked to about Me…Jane wants to talk about the same thing: the beautiful page turn that you get to experience at the end of the book. I won’t give it away, but if you’ve read the book you know what I’m talking about.
Kids love to talk about whether or not they would want the magic bread box from Laurel Snyder’s book Bigger Than a Bread Box. It is really exciting to have this discussion with them as they proceed through the book. At the beginning they are all about having the bread box, but as they read on their feelings start to change.
What kid wouldn’t want a Whiz-Bang for Christmas? Babymouse is dying to get her hands on this gadget that reminds me a an Ipad. I loved how through her journey go get her hands on this killer toy, Babymouse learned the true meaning of Christmas.
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