Sing Down the Moon by Scott O'Dell 🟌🟌🟌🟌🟌

"Sing Down the Moon” is a historical novel that highlights the atrocities enacted upon the Native Americans during the 1800’ s. Bright Morning a Navajo girl and her friend are captured by Spaniards while taking care of their sheep. They are taken to a Mexican town where they are sold to work as kitchen help. The resourceful and determined girl find a way to escape. With the help of her future husband, Bright Morning finds her way back to the tribe.

Soon after Bright Morning returns to the tribe another tragic event occurs, US soldiers destroy all the tribe’s crops and livestock. The US government is purposefully starving the Navajos in order to remove them from their land. Once the tribe surrenders, they start what is called the 300-mile “Long Walk” to Ft. Sumner. Bright Morning retells this event with a very real and harrowing narrative.

O’Dell’s writing style makes it easy to visualize the land the Navajos lived on but also understand their traditions and way of life. As you read each chapter you hope the Bright Morning finds a way to keep going. When I read a novel that has such life altering experiences for its characters, I wonder would I have been up the trials that she faced. This is a great introduction for young reader to learn about the Native American history and culture. Critics of the book claim that some of the historical facts are inaccurate but the book is Historical Fiction with the emphasizes on fiction. “Sing Down on the Moon” is a book I am putting on the list of must reads for my Grandchildren.

Fun Activity: American Indians have Pow Wows in major cities across the US. These are gatherings of First Nations tribes that showcase their music, crafts, culture and heritage. Try to find one in your area to attend.

Published In: 1970
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Company
Age Level: 10+
AR Level: 4.9
Pages: 124
Stars: 5
Award: 1971 Newbery Honor Book

Billy the Borrowing Blue-Footed Booby by Shelia Bair - 🟌🟌🟌🟌🟌

Billy is a blue-footed booby who lives on the Galapagos Islands. He loves to have a nap after lunch, but it’s always raining that time of the day. So, Billy wants to buy an umbrella so he can nap without distraction. The Selling Seal will sell an umbrella to Billy for 10 sardines, but Billy doesn’t have this amount. The Seal and Billy come to an agreement that Billy can have the umbrella for 20 sardines, and he doesn’t have to pay him until the end of the month. Now Billy finds all kinds of other things he wants, and the Seal is willing to sell for more and more sardines to be paid in the future each time another item is purchased. By the end of the book Billy owes 320 sardines to Seal and has no way to pay him. Just like in real life, when you don’t pay your debts, items are repossessed.

Some would say the Selling Seal should be called a Loan Shark and not a Seal. Either way the message is clear, buy what you need not what you want. This is a hard concept for a child to grasp but the book does an excellent job of delivering it. The second lesson is to be careful about promising sardines or payment in the future as the amount can easily get out of hand. The book is a great introduction to financial responsibility. Shelia Blair has written 5 other books in the Money Tales series that addresses money and I look forward to sharing them with my grandkids.

Fun Activity: Pull out some money from your pocket or purse and practice making change. Go to your local bank and set up a saving account for your child.

Published In: 2021
Publisher: Albert Whitman & Company
Series: Money Tales
Age Level: 4-8 years
AR Level: N/A
Pages: 32
Stars: 5

Watercress by Andrea Wang 🟌🟌🟌

With all the awards this book has received I really wanted to love it but… it was just OK. The target audience is for middle schoolers, not elementary school kids and definitely not preschoolers. The book’s message was clear, as parents and immigrants our lives were so much harder than yours. The author is lecturing the main character throughout the book and as a reader I started to feel sorry for her.

I read this book to my 9-year-old Grandson and while the book did hold his attention, there were a lot of follow up questions that I had to address. Not once in the book did any of the family smile. The book is dark and sometimes confusing. The death of the mother ‘s brother is never fully explained and the thought that a person could die from hunger was overwhelming for a 9-year-old.  The message in the book could have been delivered with a more hopeful future. Watercress is a book for the 5^th and 6^th graders, the content is too grave and sad for younger children. I give it 3 stars.     

Fun Activity: Find Watercress either at the grocery store or growing outside, then make watercress sandwiches.                

Published In: 2021                          

Publisher: Neal Porter Books
Age Level: 6-10
AR Level: 3.7
Pages: 32
Stars: 3
Awards:
Caldecott Medal Winner -2022
Newbery Honor Book -2022

Hello Lighthouse by Sophie Blackall 🟌🟌🟌🟌🟌

You would think that living in a lighthouse would be boring and mundane, but “Hello Lighthouse” shows how active and enjoyable life can be on the tiny island. There is always a task that needs to be tended to or natural phenomenon to view. As the seasons pass the author draws the reader into the daily routine of the keeper. The book is a wonderful example of what living in the “olden days” would have been like.

“Hello Lighthouse” is a great children’s introduction to lighthouses. Living in landlocked Tennessee my 5-year-old granddaughter and I had a long discussion on the purpose of a lighthouse. The illustrations captivate and support the story and are delivered artistically. This is a great book regardless if you live by the sea or in the heartland. A must for your the home library.

Fun Activity: Make a plastic cup lighthouse, I like this one:

https://www.pbs.org/parents/crafts-and-experiments/plastic-cup-lighthouse

Published In: 2018
Publisher: Little, Brown & Co.
Age Level: 2-6 years
AR Level: 3.4
Pages: 48
Stars: 5
Award: 2019 Caldecott Medal

Long Lost by Jacqueline West 🟌🟌🟌🟌🟌

“Long Lost” is a tale of two sets of sisters that lived one hundred years apart. The family of 2020’s has moved to Long Lost, MA so the older sister, Arden can chase her dream of becoming an Olympic figure skater. It seems to Fiona, the younger sister, she is aways playing second fiddle to Arden. Fiona enjoys hanging out at the library and this is where she goes when her family only has time for her sister. Here she finds a mysterious book that travels around town and writes its own story as she is reading it. The story is about Hazel and Pearl the second set of sisters and the death of one of them. It is up to Fiona to find the truth about the death of Hazel.

“Long Lost” is a ghost story with an abundance of creepy characters. I really enjoyed the steps that Fiona takes to solve the mystery of Hazel’s death. The parallel story of Arden and Fiona’s struggle for attention from their parents is the classic tale of sibling rivalry. Any pre-teen girl who likes books about the supernatural will enjoy “Long Lost”.

Published In: 2021
Publisher: Greenwillow
Age Level: 8-12 years
AR Level: 4.7
Pages: 276
Stars: 5

The Princess In Black Series By Shannon Hale and Dean Hale 🟌🟌🟌🟌🟌

Princess Magnolia is a prim and proper princess who turns into the Princess In Black when her lands are under attack by monsters. When her monster alarm, a glitter ring starts to Brring, Brring! she knows she must stop the monsters from eating the kingdom’s goats. Princess Magnolia and her faithful unicorn Frimplepants are ready at a moment’s notice to tun into superheroes and ward off any dangers that enter their lands.

There are currently 10 books in the series. As they progress additional princesses are introduced. Their adventures become more heroic always with a touch of humor added to each story. My 5-year-old granddaughter loves all the books in the series. Each time I see her she asks if I have the next book. After I have read the book to her, she then begs her parents to read them again. I know she will re-read these books once she enters elementary school and can read them on her own. They are great beginning readers and along with the colorful illustration they are an easy read. The Princess in Black is a great alternative to the typical Disney Princess books.

Published In: 2014-2023
Publisher: Candlewick Press
Age Level: 4-7
AR Level: 3.0-3.5
Pages: Varies
Stars: 5

I Eat Poop. A Dung Beetle Story by Mark Pett 🟌🟌🟌🟌🟌

Dougie is a dung beetle, and his favorite food is poop. Gross! Once you get past the visual of eating poop the book is really funny. Dougie goes to school with a bunch of other bugs and they all have unique personalities that mirror their actual traits. He is worried that once his classmates find out that he eats poop they will make fun of him. As it turns out, they accept his eating preferences and then they all voice their own unusual and weird attributes.

My 5-year-old granddaughter who is a girly girl enjoyed the book immensely. She especially loved the pictures in the back of the book of all the bugs. We had to read each one and then discuss them, which was very educational. Who knew that bugs could be so much fun.

Fun Activity: Go outside with your child and see how many of the different kinds of bugs you can find.

Published In: 2021
Publisher: Roaring Brook Press
Age Level: 4-8 years
AR Level: N/A
Stars: 5
Pages: 48