By Corey R. Tabor
Fox theTiger By Corey R. Tabor Here’s an enjoyable “I Can Read!” book that preschoolers through Kindergartners should ask for often. Fox wishes he was a big, sneaky, fast tiger and he paints stripes on himself to make this wish come true. Turtle likes fox’s idea and becomes a race car, while Rabbit becomes a robot. All good until the rain comes and brings disappointment. Then a new friend appears who exclaims that Fox is the bestest animal of all. An imaginative day reveals a simple, satisfying, self esteem story that kids will soon be retelling or reading by theirselves.
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The Capybaras By Alfredo Soderguit Trouble By Katherine Battersby I held on to this picture book for a few weeks before making sure that I wanted to share it with others. I wanted to make sure that it was as decent a book as I first thought. It is! It is a very simple story line illustrated with black and white pencil drawings accented with some reds and browns throughout. Life in and out of the henhouse is predictable and acceptable for the chickens until the capybaras show up. They are being hunted and need a refuge. The chickens reluctantly accept these, “wild animals” but insist that they follow four indisputable rules. When the babies of each animal form a friendship, the grown ups forbid this until the capybara saves the chick from an even bigger wild animal and the rules have to change. Life moves to a new, good normal for both species. When hunting season is over, the capybaras say thank you and go off, but they are not alone as the chickens have learned how much better life can be when they accept others and that there are more possibilities beyond the humdrum life in the henhouse. As I said, simple and predictable but also a poignant story that is very calmly pleasing to the eye. This is an excellent picture book for a classroom read aloud and discussion for grades K-3. It would also be a thoughtful read aloud for this same age group between an adult and their special child. A short entry for a good picture book about prejudice told through the story of Squirrel and her new next door neighbor, Bear. Squirrel wants only peace and quiet for herself and her pet mouse. She is convinced that Bear’s strange clothing, loud noises and odd activities means that Bear, who she calls Trouble, is not to be trusted at all. When an accident happens, Squirrel interprets it negatively until she finally comes to see that her actions and stereotypes are the cause of the problem. This is a perfect book for a conversation starter about understanding differences and resolving our feelings towards them. Very useful as well as enjoyable read aloud for preK- Grade 2 children.
Lily Quench and the Dragon of Ashby By Natalie Jane Prior I am a big proponent of reading aloud to kids.I have been for my whole career. Read alouds promote family and community much like sit down, altogether, mealtime. Read alouds allow kids to hear language and inflection and pauses all while they listen and imagine about the settings and characters in the book. Read alouds allow feelings to emerge and connections to be made.
My personal reading has found me in the middle of, “The Reading Promise: My Father and the Books We Shared,” by Alice Ozma. This memoir tells of the relationship between Alice and her school librarian father and their promise to read aloud together, first, for one hundred nights and then for one thousand nights. For me, it is a confirmation of my strong belief that kids should be read aloud from early on through high school, and when Ozma wrote, “Reading to someone is an act of love,” it really hit the spot! There are many good read alouds on my list. I have now added, “Lily Quench and the Dragon of Ashby” to this list. It is a chapter book of 150 pages that is very easy to get into. When the town of Ashby is besieged by a fire breathing dragon, Lily, a young girl, who comes from a long line of dragon slayers, is given the task of destroying it. Lily kind of reminds me of Ronald Dahl’s Matilda and Miss Moldavia, the book’s meanie, reminds me of his evil Miss Trunchbull. As a matter of fact, the few illustrations remind me of Quentin Blake’s black lines ones as well. This is a fun, endearing, adventurous, fantastical romp through the Empire of the Black Count. One loves the bonding between Lily and the Queen Dragon. One cheers them on as they fight the scourge that has destroyed their town. Finally, when the book ends, one looks forward to the next one in the series. (Great for second graders after they’ve heard, “My Fathers Dragon.” After hearing this one read aloud, stronger readers might want to read the others on their own.) More Than Sunny By Shelley Johannes Well, Shirley Johannes has certainly delighted me with this picture book. The combination of illustrations of two very agreeable siblings as they romp through the variable weather systems of the year and the large, kid-like, crayoned word rhymes make this one optimistic and imaginative picture book. The word pairings beg to be read aloud: “sunny and ducky”, “bedtime and sheepy”, “winter and waity”. The book blurb says that this is a, “buoyant picture book”. I agree. There’s nothing better than to read about kids embracing each other, their parents, their homes, the seasons, and enjoying all of this to their fullest. I think preschoolers will love the expressions on the characters faces. I think they’ll carry the word pairings with themselves as they venture and play throughout their own days and I think they’ll end up making their own new bright word combinations. This is a good one to share!
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Author For 29 years I had the best job as School Librarian in the Aaron Kushner Library for grades Pre K-3 at the Solomon Schechter Day School of Greater Boston. Although I am retired, I remain Lori the Librarian. Archives
January 2022
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