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is a jewel of a book with drop dead gorgeous illustrations. Children will find parts of it sad. Loosing one’s freedom is always sad. But they will delight in Chee-Lin’s special relationships and their imaginations will be sparked by far away cultures in a long ago time.
I love this picture book. It is about a father and daughter reconnecting after he returns from World War II. The author remembers an adored over-sized flannel shirt from her own childhood. A similar shirt plays a pivotal role in Crow Call, as do slices of cherry pie and a crow call. With these simple elements a father and daughter begin to know each other again. The Andrew Wyeth like illustrations are stunning. This is a great selection for father's day.
Ages 6-12
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Activity: Who will be the first in your family to spot a crow? How many crows will you spot before school starts again in the fall? Here's what to look for...
down. Then, when I read this story of a stray dog in Iraq connecting with an American soldier stationed there and of the great lengths they went to be together, I confess, I cried.
, Albert Einstein: Young Thinker
, Crazy Horse: Young War Chief
and Paul Revere: Boston Patriot
.
TITLE: The Bravest Dog Ever: The True Story of Balto
AUTHOR: Natalie Standiford
WHO WAS WHERE IN THE SNOW? Gunnar and his team of dogs led by Balto were living in Nome, Alaska in January of 1925 when two children came down with diphtheria.
AMAZING FACTS ABOUT THIS EVENT: Diphtheria would surely kill the two sick children and spread to others if the serum could not be brought to Nome from Anchorage, 800 miles away. A train attempted to make the journey with the serum but became stuck in deep snow after traveling 100 miles. It was decided to set up a dog-sled relay. Balto's team was to be the second to last team. They nearly lost the medicine in a snow bank, nearly lost the team in cracking ice, and nearly lost the trail in a blowing snow storm. Then, when there was no sign of the next relay driver, Gunnar drove his exhausted team on to Nome. After being on the trail for 20 hours straight and traveling 53 miles they successfully delivered the serum.
Your child will feel the sense of urgency as he or she reads this Step Into Reading Level 3 book. It’s an inspirational story delightfully told.
Ages 4 to 8
Hanna’s Cold Winter
Activity: How well can you take care of the animals at the zoo? Try taking this Zoo Vet game for a test drive.
It’s that time of year for a sleigh and reindeer.
Click here for free Lapland nomad clip art.
Sea Biscuit, Man o’ War and War Admiral were all extraordinary race horses that could trace their sire line back to one special stallion. That stallion is the origin of the Thoroughbred. Marguerite Henry tells a romanticized version of his life in King of the Wind: The Story of the Godolphin Arabian
Sham, one of the Moroccan Sultan's many fine horses, is sent as a gift to the king of France with his mute Muslim stable boy and five other prized Arabians. When they arrive in Paris, they aren't much to look at after being starved by a cruel ship captain and then enduring a grueling overland trek. To add insult to injury, King Louis XV mocks the Arabians small size, as the preferred breeds in Europe were much larger. More misfortunes ensue for both horse and boy, including cart pulling for the horse, prison time for the boy, and exile for them both after Sham makes time with a beautiful mare, Lady Roxana, who was intended for a prize stallion at The Earl of Godolphin's Estate. But close to two years later Sham's offspring wins every race imaginable. So Sham and the boy, Agba, are retrieved from their swamp home and Sham is finally prized for the rest of his days. This is an enjoyable story for anyone, but is a must read for all horse lovers.
Awards: 1949 Newbery Medal WinnerActivity: Can you match the breed of horse to their country of origin? To make your own poster, print this link (two legal size horizontal pages), and with color pencils, color the name of the horse breed the same color as it's place of origin. Color all of the horses and the map and cut everything out and glue on poster board. Shannon used a half sheet of standard poster board.
, what a fabulous movie! It is an incredible yet true horse racing story that happened during the Great Depression. A down on their luck horse, jockey, trainer and owner came together to form an unbeatable team and provide inspiration to a down on their luck nation. Full of heart. I highly recommend it!
When did a wolf become a dog? According to Jan Brett, in her book The First Dog
Jan Brett's works are always a visual treat and this one is no exception. You can practically smell the great outdoors. My daughter is a little old for this book and pointed out how unlikely it was for a cave boy to travel alone and to look like he had just been to Great Clips, but for the younger set, this is a book they shouldn't miss.
Ages 4-8
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Activity: Paint your own First Dog, here's how. First find a suitable rock and make sure it's clean. Sketch your wolf in pencil. We used Jan Brett's sketch from the title page for inspiration. We then drew our lines with a black Sharpie marker. We painted everything but the black lines gray. If you don't have any cave wall paint around you can use craft paint like we did. We added white paint to the gray paint we already used and added some hair details. We painted the eye green and then added a pupil with black paint.
Cat lovers will relish Pilgrim Cat
Ages 4-9
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Activity: Color the Mayflower.
Reading about Laika brought to mind a movie my whole family thoroughly enjoyed and watched time and again. October Sky
is the true story of some West Virginia school boys whose rocket project won the national science fair in the late 50's. In one scene, Homer, the main character is doing what he swore he would never do...going down into the coal mine to work (due to family circumstances). As he is lowered into the mine shaft he sees Sputnik 1 trekking across his last glimpse of sky. The cage begins it's dark descent and an old timer says to Homer regarding his headlamp, "turn your light on boy." We love this line!! My husband and I often tell our son as he is leaving the house for the bus stop on dark winter mornings, "turn your light on boy."
, a pet is left behind when a family flees from approaching British troops during the American Revolutionary War. Out of desperation young Letty leaves a note for the soldiers pleading with them to spare her beloved gander, Solomon. Even though this book is an "I Can Read Book 3", it's sparse words effectively convey the anxiety of leaving your home not knowing what you will find when you return. My daughter was aghast at the notion that soldiers would enter a private residence and take stuff. In the end Solomon is saved, but the rest of the gaggle is not so fortunate. Letty finds a reply to her note as well as payment for the geese consumed. A well told story of an actual event. The nice illustrations include interesting details. 
is about an atypical World War II hero. In this account a messenger pigeon named G. I. Joe saves an Italian village from an American bombing raid. Unbeknownst to the Yanks the Germans have already fled the area and the only thing they would be bombing are innocent civilians. In this "Ready-to-Read Level 2" story G. I. Joe overcomes tough odds to deliver the message in the nick of time. The raid is called off, the village is saved and G. I. Joe receives a medal of honor. It is fascinating to learn how pigeons were used during the war. For instance, they were kept on battleships and even submarines to be released with notes in the event of danger. Children will be enthralled with this story.
We put on leather shoes, slip into fleece jackets and chow down on hamburgers with no drama. But for thousands of years the Plains Indians coaxed their moccasins, robes and burgers to be into a thundering stampede that they then lead to the edge of a cliff. The Buffalo Jump
is a beautifully illustrated book that tells of this ancient hunting method through Little Blaze, a young member of the Blackfeet tribe. He is upset that his older brother is chosen to lead the stampede, even though he is the faster runner. Little Blaze's true motivation is his longing for an adult name, which is earned after an act of bravery. I think your children will find this to be a satisfying story. And they might even read the author's historical notes about buffalo and buffalo jumps. 
is a picture book based on Abraham Lincoln's only memory of the war of 1812. In his biography his secretaries published in 1890 he is quoted to have said, "I had been fishing one day and caught a little fish which I was taking home. I met a soldier in the road, and, having been always told at home that we must be good to the soldiers, I gave him my fish." The author, Jen Bryant, dexterously weaves this little bit of information with a sense of Lincoln's childhood family dynamics, their hardscrabble cabin living, his love for words and his reflective nature. The illustrations complement the story perfectly, resulting in a pleasant read that children will be drawn to.
is a well told account of the happenstance discovery of an ancient and long thought to be extinct fish. Sally M. Walker does a remarkable job of recounting the initial discovery in 1938 by Marjorie Courtenay-Latimer, a museum director, and all subsequent research up to 2001. The author has a gift for turning comprehensive information into a fascinating easy to digest story. Great photos complement the text. Don't miss this true history of scientific inquiry.
Maybe you have heard that the OBamas got a dog? Bo has been a resident of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue for less than a month and he is already the subject of two books, Bo, America's Commander in Leash
and Bo Obama: First Dog of the United States of America
. This got me thinking about the canine/president relationship and I uncovered a couple of interesting books along that vein. 
by Elizabeth Van Steenwyk. Fala was Franklin D. Roosevelt's Scottish terrier and constant companion. Children will learn that FDR was president during World War II and the events of Pearl Harbor and D-Day, that he had polio, that he was the only president to serve three terms and that Fala's likeness sits beside FDR's memorial statue. Includes cute Fala anecdotes and is nicely illustrated.
by Frank Murphy, takes place during the Revolutionary War. After a battle (Germantown) the colonials find a dog and discover that the name inscribed on its collar is non-other than William Howe (the British General!...Washington's nemesis!) Even though the officers think they should keep the dog out of spite, George Washington makes no bones about returning the dog to it's master. He writes Howe a note to that effect (this is really cool - a copy of the actual note is in the back of the book!), arrangements are made, and the dog is reunited with it's rightful owner. After that, word gets out back in England and British hearts are softened by the kindness of George Washington. The book incorporates interesting facts I had never considered. For example, it was not uncommon for soldiers to take their dogs with them as they could track, help hunt and guard against wild animals. Great book.
