Family Reads

Martha Speaks Comes to PBS

What if your pet suddenly gained the ability to talk? This is just what happened to a dog named Martha after she ate some alphabet soup. You can read all about it in Martha Speaks and the hilarious books that follow, all by Susan Meddaugh. And soon you can watch a Martha Speaks show on PBS!

The animated show debuts on September 1, created by the same people who bring us Arthur and Curious George. The author will be serving as creative producer and the goal of the series is to help kids increase their vocabulary. With a purpose like that and Ben's love for these books when he was in the Level 2 stage, we hope Martha Speaks will be a success!

Cool fact about the Jungle Book

We learn so many interesting tidbits from the weekend edition of the Wall Street Journal. This Saturday, Brian found a piece on Rudyard Kipling's The Jungle Book which revealed a surprising fact. Did you know that there is a strong connection between The Jungle Book and the Cub Scouts? Apparently, the Scout's founder, Robert Baden-Powell, used some of the stories as inspiration for important pieces of the organization, including their pledge to obey the Law of the Pack. To this day, they use the names of Kipling's animals in their groups. Here's a bit more on the Wikipedia page.

If your family has been active in the Cub Scouts, did you learn about this connection early in your involvement?

Dear Max

Dear Max

by D.J. Lucas, a.k.a. Sally Grindley
© 2004, 141 pages Level 3 (all about levels)Learn More on Amazon

 

"When a world-famous author, D.J. Lucas, gets a letter from Max, a boy with a big imagination, anything can happen." What begins as a fan letter from Max to his favorite author, D.J. Lucas, leads to a correspondence between the two which eventually develops into a sweet friendship.

Max shares his day-to-day life and troubles in his letters to D.J., like the fact that he is being bullied at school because he's smaller than everyone else. He also talks about his ideas for a story he wants to write, and D.J. offers advice and encouragement along the way. In turn, she tells him about a book she's working on, plus a story she's recently been inspired to write...which just so happens to bear a striking resemblance to the life of Max.

I loved the tone of DJ's letters to Max—honest, down-to-earth, wryly humorous, and sympathetic, but never condescending. And Max's letters to D.J. are real, curious, creative and enthusiastic. Plus, they feature great illustrations, courtesy of Max. The characters are both English and just enough of their dialect shows through to add extra charm.

This was my second book in a row that consisted entirely of letters, and I've become a big fan of the format for several reasons: 1) It almost guarantees a quick reading pace, 2) when it's done well, the letters are dialogue, plot, and character development all rolled into one, and 3) you get all the pleasure of eavesdropping with none of the guilt ;)

Two books follow Dear Max and allow us to keep up with his further adventures: Bravo Max, in which Max decides to write a play, and Relax Max, where Max reveals his feelings through poetry.

Full Previews of Picture Books

Sometimes the goodness to be found on the web amazes me. It's like a little fairy godmother flits around the internets granting information wishes. For example, as I was researching a picture book for Family Reads the other day, I thought, "I wish they would let you see a complete picture book online when you're evaluating it. It's not like you're going to cozy up with your child and your laptop when it's time to read a story, squinting at some small preview window." Days later, Praaang!, my wish was granted! I found a link to Lookybook, a site where you can "view entire books, from cover to back in all their splendor." I love it—an open source approach to picture books which is confident that the power of a book in your hands is irreplaceable!

Library Mouse

Library Mouse

by Daniel Kirk
© 2007, 32 pages Level 2 (all about levels)Learn More on Amazon

 

Sam was a library mouse who lived in a little hole behind the children's reference books. Every night after the people left, Sam read and read and read. Soon his imagination was so filled up with facts, information, and images of far-away places that it brimmed over with wonder and fantasy. He decided he must write a story of his own. This book was so well-received by the library visitors and staff that he wrote several more: The Lonely Cheese and The Mystery of Mouse Mansion. After a while, his readers wanted to meet this talented writer!

"But mice, as a rule, are very shy when it comes to meeting people! Sam could not understand why people thought that writing and making up stories was so hard. If only they would try, they might find out that writing was really lots of fun."

It was this thought that gave Sam an answer to his dilemma, and also served to inspire many people who had never written a book before to tell stories that had never been told.

This story reminds me of the beautiful series of Anatole books, which have been family favorites for years. Library Mouse is sweet, smart, and full of vibrant, detailed illustrations. And if you're looking to encourage your readers to write, pair this tale with Mr. Putter and Tabby Write the Book, and watch the words fly!

Mole Music

Mole Music

by David McPhail
© 1999, 32 pages Level 2 (all about levels)Amazon Reviews

 

Mole, who spends his days digging tunnels and his evenings eating supper alone in front of the TV, begins to feel that something is missing in his life. One night, he sees a man on television playing the violin and decides that he wants to make beautiful music too. After he receives the mail-order violin, he picks up his new instrument with excitement and begins to play. But instead of a beautiful symphony, Mole creates scary, screechy sounds. He pushes past this initial disappointment and keeps working until he slowly learns to play scales, then songs, and eventually the beautiful music he had imagined. Mole dreams of what it would be like to play for people—queens, presidents, huge audiences. He wonders if maybe his music could even change the world. If he only knew.

In David McPhail's illustrations, we have the advantage of observing two worlds as they co-exist. While Mole goes about his quiet, unassuming life, he doesn't get to see the profound effects his music has on the world above. And though it sounds sad that he never receives public recognition, instead, it's really a lovely picture for each of us. As we go through our days performing small, seemingly insignificant, acts of goodness, Mole Music reminds us that our beautiful notes travel far beyond what our eyes can see.

Castle of Books

Castle of Books

by Bernard Clavel
© 2002, 30 pages Level 2 (all about levels)Amazon Reviews

 

Castle of Books tells the story of an imaginative boy named Ben who lives with his father, a writer, in a house filled with books. What could be a better choice for my first review?

Actually, the boy's name is Benjamin and his father is a poet, but I nevertheless felt very close to this story from the first time I read it with Ben. Also, my own father loved words and wrote poetry constantly in his later years. The book was originally published in France and remains rather hard to find, but hopefully you can track down a copy.

In the book, Benjamin wants desperately to live in a castle and decides to build himself one out of the thousands of books that fill his house. His father is intensely focused on his latest poem, so he doesn't notice as more and more of his books go missing. The two continue their projects separately, building the castle and the poem bit by bit, until things take a turn and the father and son discover the joy of shared pursuits.

The book is a bit different than the typical tale, but it celebrates creativity, even in failure, and is a pleasure to read.