Blueberries for Sal by Robert McCloskey 🟌🟌🟌🟌🟌

Picking blueberries is hard work and Little Sal would much rather be eating berries than picking them. At Blueberry Hill Little Sal and her mother are picking berries to be canned for winter. Eventually she becomes tired and sits down in a clump of berries to rest and of course eats more berries. Meanwhile on the other side of the mountain Little Bear and his mother were getting ready for winter by eating lots of berries to prepare for their long winter nap. Little Bear and Little Sal lose track of their mothers and both venture from their resting place to find them. In their attempt they pair up with the wrong mothers. Oh No!

“Blueberries for Sal” is a timeless story. It was one of my favorites as a child and my 5-year-old granddaughter enjoyed the book. Even though it was published 75 years ago both the illustrations and text are relevant for today’s preschoolers. The story has suspense without being scary. I think every child at one time, or another comes behind a person at the grocery/mall thinking it was their mother only to find out its somebody else. A must for every home library.

Fun Activity: If possible, go berry picking and then make something with them; pie, muffins or jam.

Published In: 1948
Publisher: The Viking Press
Age Level: 2-5 years
AR Level: 4.1
Pages: 64
Stars: 5
Awards: 1949 Caldecott Honor

 

Across Five Aprils by Irene Hunt 🟊🟊🟊🟊🟊

 

“Across Five Aprils” is an historical novel that takes place during the Civil War. Jethro Creighton is a nine-year-old boy living in rural southern Illinois when the Civil War breaks out. He watches as his brothers go off to war and he is left at home to take care of the family farm. He endures many hardships over the next five years, his father’s heart attack, the family barn burns down, always worrying about the crops and if his brothers will come home from the war.

The book is hard to read whether you are an adult or a middle schooler. The words are written as they are pronounced but the dialect is 1800’s farm county which takes a couple of chapters to catch on to what the characters are saying. The author gives a lot of details about the battles and Generals. The history is accurate but it’s easy to lose interest in the story. I was much more focused on how the family was going to survive the war then which General fought what battle. The book is a classic, but your child will need encouragement to finish it. A book for the student in your family.

Relevant Information	Content Review
Published In: 1964	Profanity: No
Publisher: Follett Publishing Company	Violence: War
Age Level: 12-16 years	Sexual Content: No
AR Level: 6.8	Mature Themes: Racism
Pages: 223
Stars: 5 Awards: 1965 Newbery Honor

One Cool Friend by Toni Buzzeo 🟊🟊🟊🟊🟊

“One Cool Friend” is one cool book. The very proper and polite Elliot takes a trip to the aquarium with his father. His father settles on a bench to read his newspaper, and Elliot is left on his own. He skips the saltwater tank, the jellies display, and the hands-on tide pool. He heads straight to the penguins. Elliot knows he has a lot in common with the penguins and one of them would be a perfect pet. So, he puts a penguin in his backpack to take home. How will his father react once he finds out about Elliot’s new pet?


Published In: 2012
Publisher: Dial/Penguin
Age Level: 5-8 years
AR Level: 3.1
Pages:32
Stars:5
Awards: 2013 Caldecott Honor

Hot Dog by Doug Salati 🟊🟊🟊🟊🟊

It’s summertime in the city and one dog has had enough of the heat, noise and crowds. The hot dog lies down in the middle of the street and refuses to move one more step. The dog’s owner has an idea, she picks up her pet and calls for a taxi. The two of them take off for an adventure at the beach. This is just the trip to revitalize both dog and owner. When they make it back to the city, they are ready to face the stress of city life. The book has more illustrations than words which make it a great discussion book. My 4-year-old granddaughter enjoyed talking about all the beautiful pictures and narrating her own side story.

Published In: 2022
Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers
Age Level: 2-6 years
AR Level: N/A
Pages: 40
Stars:5
Awards: 2023 Caldecott Honor

Trayaurus and the Enchanted Crystal by DanTDM 🟌

The book is written by a popular You Tuber and Minecraft gamer, DanTDM. The plot of the book “reimagines the minecraft-style world and characters”. My 9-year-old grandson read the first 30 pages and he had enough. Even though he is into gaming and watches You Tubes he didn’t like the book. He told me the main character was not interesting and kind of boring. Which is too bad because I thought the book had great potential.

I did make an attempt to read some of this book myself but I have to say graphic novels are not my thing. I am not sure if it’s all the pictures on the page or the small print. I never know what panel to read next. I had a very hard time following the story. I did notice that it was all the DanTDM fans that gave the book 5 stars. Wish I could rate it higher, but Nana gives it 1 star.

Published In: 2016
Publisher: Harper
Age Level: 7-9 years
AR Level: 2.7
Pages: 192
Stars: 1
Graphic Novel

Stone Soup by Marcia Brown 🟊🟊🟊🟊🟊

“Stone Soup” is a children’s classic tale that has been retold by many authors. This version was written in 1947. Some of the older Caldecott books do not age very well, but this one does stand up to the test of time. Three soldiers are on their way home after fighting in the wars. They are very hungry when they come to a village. They ask the villagers for some food and a place to sleep. After the villagers say no to their request they have an idea, let’s make stone soup. Can stone soup turn in to a feast? This vintage book is a must for the home library.

Published In: 1947
Publisher: Macmillan Children’s Publisher
Age Level: 3 -8 years
AR Level: 3.3
Pages: 46
Stars:5
Awards: 1948 Caldecott Honor

Alphabatics by Suse MacDonald 🟌🟌🟌🟌🟌

I have read a lot of Alphabet books and this one is my favorite. I love the way the letters become part of what they represent. Such as the letter C for clown turning into the clown’s smile. The colors are great, and the pages have just enough activity without becoming cluttered to keep the reader turning the pages. This is a wonderful book for the toddler who is learning the alphabet.

Fun Activity: Shape letters using pipe cleaners

Published In: 1986
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Age Level: 3-6 years
AR Level: N/A
Pages: 64
Stars: 5