Well, it’s Mother’s Day and I just received phone calls from both of my sons, so it’s been a good day! This book, This is Sadie, is all about a child and her imagination. I loved this book for many reasons, but probably most importantly because it reminded me of my own kids when they were growing up. Just like Sadie, they had lots of toys and art supplies, but some of the most fun they had, at least in my memory, were the times when they were lucky enough to have an appliance box to play with. It would morph into so many different things from a ship to a Millennium Falcon to a castle. In the winter there were always pillows and blankets, along with the dining room table to help them hatch a new idea for another adventure. I hope your Mother’s Day was as special as mine, and your days are full of happy memories with your little ones. 💕

My last post was about new picture books and chapter books for kids. There were so many picture books that I wanted to include in that post, but the list was getting a little lengthy, so I decided to write about some more new picture books this week. I’ve included ideas about using the books, which I hope are helpful. These are books that were published recently, and I didn’t want you to miss them!

I WISH YOU MORE BY AMY KROUSE ROSENTHAL AND TOM LICHTENHELD

This is a heart warming story that would be a perfect graduation or baby gift. The narrator wishes the children many things from “I wish you more ups than downs,” to “I wish you more stories than stars.” And each wish is accompanied by a darling picture which perfectly illustrates the wish. In fact, I just put it into my Amazon cart so I’ll be prepared for those graduations!

Read aloud for all ages; great baby or graduation gift

ASK ME BY BERNARD WABER

The illustrations in this book by Suzy Lee captivated me when I first saw it on the book store shelf. The golds, oranges, and reds are so alive and so happy. Ask Me is a heartwarming story about a walk that a father and daughter take through the park and woods. We learn that this is just an ordinary walk on an ordinary day, but each of them are delighted to be with one another, to be outside and to be enjoying and observing everything around them. The little girl keeps up a running narrative telling her dad to ask her lots of questions about everything from ice cream cones to lightening bugs. This continues until Daddy tucks her in with a good night kiss.

Read aloud preK – grade 2, illustrations, families.

LITTLE RED BY BETHAN WOOLLVIN

The illustrations are all black and white except for a tiny bit of red on each page, which gives a sinister feel to the story from the very beginning of this “fractured fairy tale” about Little Red Riding Hood. This Little Red isn’t at all afraid of the Big Bad Wolf. She sees through his disguises and his trickery and decides to play along, which leads to an unhappy ending for the wolf. The story requires a lot of inferences throughout the book, which will lead to many discussions whether it be one on one or in a class setting. In fact, I am using this as an example of an updated fairy tale when I am a guest teacher in some second grade classes.

K – 6; fractured fairy tale example; inferences

FINDING WINNIE: THE TRUE STORY OF THE WORLDS MOST FAMOUS BEAR BY LINDSEY MATTICK

From the amazing end papers through the family photo album at the end of the book, the story and the illustrations in this year’s Caldecott Winner,tell the story of the little bear who inspired the Winnie the Pooh books, It was written as a true story for the author’s son about his great great grandfather and his bear who became Winnie in the A.A. Milne books. I think this is going to be my new “go-to” gift! This is one to keep!

Read aloud for all ages; baby gift

LITTLE TREE BY LOREN LONG

Little Tree loves his life in the forest and especially loves his leaves. When autumn arrives, he refuses to let his leaves fall, although all of his friends surrounding him have shed theirs. In the spring, he notices his friends have grown a bit, but he’s just the same. This continues for many years until Little Tree is by far the smallest tree in the forest, which finally convinces him to let go of his leaves and to begin to grow. This sweet story encourages us to have the strength and the bravery to face change and to welcome the future. Loren Long, the author of the Otis books, has given us another very special book to add to our libraries.

Read aloud for all ages; growing up; bravery

IDEAS ARE ALL AROUND BY PHILIP STEAD

The newest book from Caldecott Medal winning author, Philip C. Stedman, which has earned four starred reviews, is a remarkable and simple picture book with a mixture of photographs and splatter art, as well as ink and watercolor drawings. It is the story of the author and his dog’s wanderings through their neighborhood as they notice everything around them from the frog in his pond, to the line at the soup kitchen, to a train roaring by. As the author sits and talks with his friend, Barbara, and his dog, Wednesday, chases squirrels, he realizes that thoughts lead to more thoughts and that ideas are truly all around. You just need to know where to look!

Read aloud for all ages; imagination; creativity

Octopuppy by Martin McKenna

Edgar wanted a dog for his birthday, but somehow he ended up with an octopus named Jarvis. Edgar does his best to make Jarvis into a puppy, but Jarvis just doesn’t fit in. After disappointing Edgar many times, Jarvis leaves. This book teaches a great lesson that we need to appreciate our friends for their talents and not expect them to change into someone we want them to be.  Be sure and check out the amazing end papers!

PreK – grade 2; friendship

last stop on market street by matt de la pena

This book won almost more awards than you can count. In addition to the 2016 Newbery Medal, it also won a 2016 Caldecott Honor Book Award,  a 2016 Coretta Scott King Illustrator Honor Book Award,  a New York Times Book Review Notable Children’s Book Award of 2015 and a Wall Street Journal Best Children’s Book of 2015. It tells the story of a boy and his grandma’s bus ride through the city on a Sunday after church. Grandma’s appreciation of everyone and everything they encounter helps CJ to find the beauty in the world that he never thought about before.

Read aloud PreK – grade 5; appreciation of beauty; optimism

please mr. panda by steve antony

I learned about this book through an Instagram post by Appyreading.com. By following Appy Reading, I have learned about many wonderful books, including this one. Mr. Panda has an entire box of donuts he wants to share with his friends. He asks each friend, and they always have an answer, but it’s never the right one until one friend knows the perfect way to ask for a treat! Your little one will be willing each animal to ask the “right way”. The story provides a great opportunity for a conversation about the polite way to ask for something, whether it’s at home or when they’re at the library or a restaurant!

Read aloud preK – grade 2; manners; sharing

this is Sadie by sara O’Leary

The charming illustrations of this book pulled me in and then the story captivated me. As you can tell, I love this book! It describes all of the places and all of the things a child can do with imagination. It’s tells about the childhood that we dream about, and wish for all of our children. It’s definitely on my baby gift list!

Read Aloud; PreK – grade 2; imagination, illustrations, baby gift.

who done it?  by Olivier tallec

I learned about this through an online friend, who writes amazing book reviews on her blog and on Instagram, averyandaugustine.com. This book provides lots of opportunities for conversation with your preschooler, which in turn gives them practice in conversing, and helps teach inferential and early reasoning skills. It’s going to be a favorite for both of you, because you’ll love hearing your child’s different answers every time you read, Who Done It?

Read aloud; PreK – grade 2; inference, questioning, early reasoning skills.

the dark by Lemony snicket

I was first attracted to this book because of the author, Lemony Snicket. He was a favorite in my library for many years, because of his chapter book series, A Series of Unusual Events. I was curious about what his picture book might be about. As it turns out, it is just what the title suggests! It tells the story of Laszlo who is afraid of the dark (as I sometimes am during the dark winter days in northern Michigan!). It would be a great read aloud with your child who might be feeling the same way. It brings up lots of thoughts and ideas about the dark and why we need it. A wonderful bonus for this book, are the illustrations by Jon Klassen. You may recognize his style from another very popular book during the last year, Sam and Dave Dig a Hole.

Read aloud preK – grade 3. Fear of the dark.

raindrop rolls by april pulley sayre

I first learned about this book, through a review on A Storybook Year blog. This is an ambitious family project where they read aloud a new storybook every day and then share a review on their blog. I’m sure you’d find some new books, if you browse through the posts.

The cover photograph of Raindrops Roll gives you an idea of the delight you will feel as you turn the pages of this photo illustrated nonfiction book. Raindrops Roll tells the story of what happens to all of nature in a forest, both during a rain shower and after the rain stops. It includes a brief science section at the end of the book that explains what is happening to the water on each page.

When I was with a three year old this past week, who was fascinated with taking pictures of his aunt to be as she tried on her wedding gown, I had an idea about this book. This would be a great introduction to your children about photography and science, and perhaps they could make their own photographic science book!

Read aloud all ages; science of water cycle; nonfiction; photography

Are there some new picture books you’d like us to know about? Please let me know in the comments!

There were so many biographies in my library that were never touched by the kids. Mostly those were the ones that were at least an inch thick and contained very few pictures. Although I had based my purchases on the respected reviews that I had read in a variety of library sources, these books were ignored. The
kids taught me very early in my career which biographies I should be buying or the books would simply sit on the shelf! They liked the to read the ones which gave them lots of facts, but not using too many words to relay the information. They liked indexes and table of contents. And most importantly they liked pictures!

 BIOGRAPHIES FOR YOUNG READERS

 

In the Common Core Curriculum, which is now found in schools across the country, children are being exposed to many more biographies. I found when I shared biographies with first and second graders, they were fascinated and rushed to check them out. A series that is great for this is First Biographies from Capstone Press.These books are available in public and school libraries, as well as from Capstone Press. The books are 32 pages in length, contain many pictures, as well as an index and table of contents. They are perfect for pleasure reading or research.

BIOGRAPHIES FOR oLDER rEADERS

Another publisher I really like for nonfiction is Bellwether Media and their Blastoff Readers. A great series for older readers, third grade reading level and above, who are looking for biographies about authors, is the Children’s Storytellers Series. These books are 24 pages in length and contain a table of contents, index, glossary, timeline and fun facts about the authors. They are perfect for both pleasure reading or research. 

JANE GOODALL BIOGRAPHIES for home and school

A new biography that I recently discovered is Untamed The Wild Life of Jane Goodall by Anita Silvey, with a foreword by Jane Goodall. Lexile Level 1100, Accelerated Reader 7.4

I was initially drawn to this book when I read a review on the site, The Nonfiction Detectives. I have been an admirer of Jane Goodall for many years. When my son was a freshman at Beloit College, he had the opportunity to attend a lecture given by Ms. Goodall. Immediately afterwards, he called me to tell me all about it. If you have ever been a mother of a college boy, you may recognize the importance of this call! First of all, he actually called me immediately after hearing the lecture and was extremely excited! He was very impressed and motivated after hearing about her work in Africa and her mission to make the world a better place for animals. He wanted to buy some of her books for me! His enthusiasm led me to read many books about her and to share picture biographies with the children in my elementary library every year to introduce the biography section of the library. This included early reader biographies, as well as Me, Jane by Patrick McDonnell and The Watcher: Jane Goodall’s Life with the Chimps by Jeanette Winter.

However, I never had a Jane Goodall biography to offer to the older students. Untamed is that book! It reinforces the stories the children learned in the previous biographies, and then expands on that. It follows Ms. Goodall from childhood through the present as she travels the world to teach about conservation. It includes many photographs on every page with very descriptive captions. The vibrancy of these photographs and the engaging text will appeal to children and inspire them to continue reading.

What are some of your favorite biographies? Is your child looking for biographies about a particular person? Please let me know in the comments and I’ll try to help them find that “perfect book”!

 

 

 

 

 CHILDREN’S BOOKS FOR CHRISTMAS

Part 2: children’s Chapter Books

Here is the promised second post about children’s chapter books that would make good holiday gifts (or at any other time of the year!). It took me a little longer than the four or five days that I promised in my post on Sunday, but I’m sure you all know about this time of year. The days just seem like they go by so quickly! On top of that, the weather here has been amazing for December. We’ve had fifty degree days all week. This means that Dennis and I had to get outside and enjoy it while we can. This included many walks to our local downtown area. It’s about a two mile walk each way and we always reward ourselves with a stop for tea or coffee, so it makes it extra fun! In fact it was such a good day on Thursday, rather than drive downtown to do some Christmas shopping we decided to walk down and stop for lunch. Every time we do this, we feel like this might be our last opportunity for several months, so we’re loving it while we can!

There are so many chapter books for me to suggest. My niece Sarah and I brainstormed a list and it’s way too long for one post! Some of the titles have been around for a long time, but are still available and are still great books. Others are newly published within the last few years. What I thought I would do, is list the title, the author, the genre, the level and a short summary. This is similar to the “Book Blasts” that I used to do with my classes at my school. After one of these, the books flew off the shelves! So here goes – hope you find one or more that might appeal to the children in your life!  Oh, by the way, these are in random order and there are links for each one which leads you to one of the many places where you might purchase these books.

The Witches by Roald Dahl.   Lexile 740; AR 4.7

Fantasy

This is a fantasy about a seven year old boy and his encounters with a REAL WITCH and how he tackles his problem with the help of his magical grandmother.

This is just one of Roald Dahl’s many amazing fantasies that will intrigue and entertain your child.

Flora and Ulysses by Kate Dicamillo.   Lexile 520; AR  4.3

Fantasy

This is a story with lots of comic book type illustrations and lots of humor. Flora is a girl who discovers Ulysses (a squirrel) and after a terrible accident with a vacuum cleaner, Ulysses is born anew as a squirrel with super powers. This was the 2014 Newberry winner (best chapter book of the year). If your child enjoys Flora, be sure and introduce Kate Dicamillo’s other books, especially The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane.

 Great Illustrated Classics AR 4.2 – 6.0

Historical Fiction

I first learned about this series when I was looking for books for my son many years ago. These are adapted versions of many of the classics. The books are so popular with children, because in addition to the great stories (big favorites are always 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, Moby Dick, Treasure Island and The Secret Garden, among others) there is a full page illustration on almost every other page. This is especially good for those children who are resisting leaving behind the illustrations of their picture books and early chapter books.

The Penderwicks series by Jeanne Birdsall.  Lexile 800 – 940; AR 4.7 – 5.6

Realistic Fiction

This series is a refreshing, cozy tale of four sisters, two rabbits and their friend named Jeffrey. The first book takes place during one summer on Jeffrey’s seaside estate and describes lots of adventures and lots of fun.

Love that Dog and Hate that Cat by Sharon Creech. AR 4.5 – 5.0

Realistic Fiction

These are short books, which are great for reluctant readers, because they are both written in poetry form. Therefore, there isn’t as much text on the page (which helps with those children who are resisting reading a chapter book), but the story will still draw the reader in. If your child enjoys these, Sharon Creech has written lots more books, many with a meaningful message.

Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of Nimh by Robert C. O’Brien.  Lexile 790; AR 5.1

Fantasy

This book holds a special place in my heart, because my husband read this to my two sons many years ago and they loved it. This is a perfect book for the animal lovers in your family. It is a story of a widowed mouse and her family who are helped by the Rats of Nimh, highly intelligent extraordinary creatures, to solve their life threatening problem. This is the first of three books in the series. If your child enjoys these, you can suggest The Redwall series by Brian Jacques next.

From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E.L. Konigsburg. Lexile 700; AR 4.1

Realistic Fiction

This is one of my all-time favorite books. Claudia and her brother Jamie decide to run away and Claudia insists that their destination be an elegant one. She chooses the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City! The story describes their adventures as they hide from the guards and avoid detection for several days, as well as their investigation into the mystery statue the museum purchased at a bargain price. Is it really by Michelangelo and therefore worth millions?

If your child enjoys this, be sure and look for many other titles by E.L.Konigsburg.

Jeremy Fink and the Meaning of Life by Wendy Mass; Lexile 770; AR 4.5

Realistic Fiction

It’s a little difficult to choose the genre of this book or any of Wendy Mass’s other books. They are predominantly realistic fiction, but there is always a little bit of magic or fantasy in each one that will leave the reader wondering long after they’ve finished the book!

In this book Jeremy is going to turn 13 in a very short time. He and his friend, Lizzy live in New York City and are on their own for much of their days while their parents work. Jeremy would rather not venture more than a few blocks from his apartment, but Lizzy is already to go anywhere for an adventure. Jeremy’s life suddenly changes when a mysterious wooden box arrives. It is a gift from his late father and is said to contain the meaning of life, but there is a problem. The keys to the fascinating box are missing. This is the story of Jeremy and Lizzy’s adventures as they explore the city to find the keys and how they meet some intriguing people along the way.

Counting by 7s by Holly Sloan. Lexile 770; AR 5.6

Realistic Fiction

This is a relatively new book, and it was probably my favorite of the past year. Willow, a 12 year old genius, loses her parents in a car crash very early in the story. Hearing that, you would assume this is going to be a sad and grief filled book. There is grief, but there is so much joy as well, as Willow fights through her sadness and finds a loving home in a totally unexpected surrogate family.

 

Fablehaven Series by Brandon Mull. Lexile 700 – 790; AR 4.8 – 5.6

Fantasy

Kendra and Seth are sent to spend the summer with their grandfather, who they barely know. He warns them to stay out of the woods surrounding his house, but of course, Kendra and Seth can’t help but venture into the forest. Their explorations lead them into many adventures after discovering the mythical and magical creatures that live there.

 

As I said in the beginning, there are far too many wonderful chapter books to be included in one post! Be assured, I will write more in the new year and add some titles to the list. Meanwhile, please have a wonderful time choosing some books for the children in your lives, either at the library or the bookstore. I look forward to your comments about these titles and your suggestions about more titles to add to the list!

Finally, I wish you a holiday season full of love and peace with your family and friends!

 

 

 

 

 Children’s picture books for

Christmas gifts 

Holiday Gift Ideas

Last week sixteen members of our family gathered at my sister, Lisa, and brother-in-law, Scott’s home to celebrate Thanksgiving. We were fortunate to have such a large group, but we were certainly missing some who were unable to join us. However, we still had a fun time together! During the after dinner conversation, talk turned to my blog and there were lots of questions… When was I going to announce it on Facebook? When was I going to announce it to my friends? I was having a hard time answering, because I’ve been really nervous about announcing to the world that RedCanoeReader.com existed! But then finally a question that I could answer: Would I write a post about book gift ideas for kids of all ages? So here is my first list, which is a compilation of children’s picture books.

Board Books

Whenever I’m invited to a baby shower or I need a baby gift, I turn to concept board books. After all, it has been proven that babies need to hear thirty million words by age three to best develop their brains and what better way to accomplish this, than to read aloud to your child whenever you have the chance! The board books I choose have very simple content or have a concept on each page, such as counting, animals, the alphabet and opposites. Here are a few examples with links to Amazon. I’ll probably also add a few classics to the gift box such as Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What do you See?  Children love the language in this book and it can become a game as you read it aloud. And finally I might include On the Night You Were Born, which is a simple story that tells children how much they are loved.

                      

  Dr. Seuss’s ABC          first 100 animals       Baby Touch and Feel Animals  

                                                                       

Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What do you See?                  On the Night You Were Born

Early Picture books

When it comes to early picture books, there are literally thousands of books to choose from. If you are interested in a newly published title, I suggest going on Amazon and reading about the best picture books of 2015. There are some wonderful ones, both humorous stories and those with a message. Probably my favorite of the year, is Waiting  by one of my favorite authors, Kevin Henkes. The story tells about toys that are each happily waiting for something amazing to happen.

                                                                                                           

     Waiting                                                                                                                   Lenny and Lucy

My other favorite is Lenny and Lucy by Philip C. Stead and illustrated by Erin E. Stead, the author and illustrator of the 2011 Caldecott award winner, A Sick Day for Amos McGee. This is a special book about the uncertainty and scariness of moving to a new house and it’s also a great lesson in empathy.

Now I’d like to tell you about some “oldies, but goodies”. These are books which may have been published after you were reading picture books so you aren’t familiar with them (and the children receiving them won’t probably already own them), and because they are somewhat older, aren’t showing up on the “best of” lists and in the library displays.

Journey by Aaron Becker

This tells the story of a lonely girl and the magical world she creates with a red marker. It is a wordless picture book that was the Caldecott winner in 2014.

That is NOT a Good Idea!  By Mo Willems

I’m sure many of you know the Piggy and Elephant books by Mo Willems, but this is one you don’t want to miss. It is a very fun read aloud that keeps you guessing until the very end!

Officer Buckle and Gloria by Peggy Rathmann

I decided to add this book to my list after a holiday dinner with my local nieces and nephew. Although, they are teenagers and beyond, they have many fond memories of picture books and we had a lively discussion recalling their favorites. While we were talking about the blog they told me that this was an extra special one because of the characters and the humor. It was a favorite of the Caldecott committee, as well, because it won the award in 1996.

Lost and Found by Oliver Jeffers; Up and Down by Oliver Jeffers

You really can’t miss with any of Oliver Jeffers books, but these two are especially touching stories about the importance of friendship between a penguin and a boy.

children’s Picture Books 

When I first opened my elementary school library 22 years ago, I needed to make a decision about how I would refer to the picture books. Many libraries call it the “Easy” section, but I disagreed with that for two reasons. First of all, many picture books are written on fourth grade level and higher. Secondly, and perhaps most important, I didn’t want the older kids to consider them just for K and 1. So the picture book section became the “Everybody Books”. I’m a firm believer that picture books are truly for all ages. I always keep two or three on my coffee table to share with my guests. When my nieces and nephews visit someone is always reading one (and they are just about all grown up now)!

Here are a few more of my favorites with concepts that might appeal to children beyond pre-school age.

How Rocket Learned to Read  by Tad Hills. This is a delightful book about friendship and the power of learning to read.

The Night I Followed the Dog by Nina Laden. After waking up early and seeing his dog hop out of a limousine, a little boy decides to follow his dog the next night. A great read aloud!

Interrupting Chicken by David Ezra Stein.  This is another great read aloud. Papa tried to read some favorite bedtime stories to Little Red Chicken, but before Papa can finish, little red chicken jumps into the story and interrupts. Will he ever get to sleep?

Say Hello to Zorro! by Carter Goodrich. This book tells the story of what happens when a new dog joins the family. It’s a story of friendship that any dog lover can identify with.

Courage  by Bernard Waber. This book explores and celebrates all kinds of courage, big and small.

Ask Me by Bernard Waber. When I was checking to make sure Courage was still in print, I saw this book, which was just published in July. I couldn’t help but add it to the list. The illustrations are amazing – very soft and comforting. The story tells about a father and daughter, their walk through their neighborhood and all of their many questions about what they see and what they like. It would be a great conversation starter for you and your child.

Otis by Loren Long. There is a series of Otis books. Otis is a special tractor who loves his job and all of his friends on his farm, especially Little Calf. Happily, Otis also always manages to save his friends from disasters, as they have fun at the end of a long work day.  These will remind you of Virginia Lee Burton’s Mike Mulligan and his Steam Shovel and Katy and the Big Snow where Mike and Katy both save the day.

Of course there are so many more children’s picture books I would recommend, but I’m going to move on to the early chapter books. These are books with a more limited vocabulary and written on second and third grade levels.

Early Chapter Book Series

Henry and Mudge by Cynthia Rylant, AR 2.2 – 3.0, Lexile 340 – 500

Frog and Toad  by Arnold Lobel, AR 2.5 – 3.0, Lexile 300 – 400

Billie B Brown by Sally Rippin; AR 2.2 – 2.9; Lexile 400 – 500

Amelia Bedelia  by Peggy Parish, AR 2.0 – 3.0, Lexile 200 – 400

High Rise, Private Eyes by Cynthia Rylant, AR 2.3 – 2.6, Lexile 150 – 350

Ivy and Bean by Annie Barrows, AR 3.1 – 3.9, Lexile 440 – 520

Ballpark Mysteries by David A. Kelly and Mark Meyers, AR 3.7 – 4.0, Lexile 480 – 600

Magic Treehouse Mysteries by Mary Pope Osborne, AR 3.0 – 3.9, Lexile 250 – 500

A-Z Mysteries by Ron Roy, AR 3.0 – 3.9, Lexile 410 – 590

I’m going to stop here, because this post is getting to be so long! Please look for another post within the next four or five days about chapter books!

Do you have any questions about any of these children’s picture books, or you are looking for more ideas for a great book for your child? Just let me know in the comments and I’ll get back to you soon!

 

Hi! I’m Susan, a wife, a mom and a recently retired elementary school librarian with 22 years of experience. You may be wondering what brought me to the decision to write a blog about kids’ books. It all began about a year ago during a conversation with my brother during our annual reunion at Thanksgiving. We were talking about my upcoming retirement in June of 2015 and I was admitting to feeling a little panicky about what I would do (actually a lot of panic was already setting in!). You see, I’ve always worked with children and books since I graduated from Purdue in 1973 and I’ve always loved seeing the light go on in children’s eyes when they begin to learn to read. I believe a big part of that is making sure the kids have the right book. Because of that belief, 22 years ago I made a decision to accept an elementary school librarian job (my second major at Purdue) in Naperville, IL, and it proved to be one of the best decisions I ever made!  Through the years, I was able to help children find a perfect book or author, time and time again and I was always rewarded with big smiles and that light in their eyes. I don’t want to walk away from that joy. I may not be able to see the light in your child’s eyes, but I’m hoping you’ll share their joy with me, if one of my blogs leads them to find the perfect book for them.

Well, it turns out that writing a blog is a little harder than I expected! It has taken lots of thought, lots of support and lots of help from my husband, my two sons, my nieces, my nephews and my siblings. But thanks to all of them, I’m finally doing it! My goal is to write at least one post a week. These postings may include my thoughts about a series you might not be familiar with or had forgotten about, my suggestions about new books, both fiction and nonfiction, as well as low reading level/high interest level fiction books. In addition I hope to share my suggestions about tips and techniques for parents to use as they read aloud or share reading with their children. I want to assure you that I will only include books that are currently available in public libraries and book stores, so I don’t send anyone off on a frustrating quest! And finally, I will include the reading levels of the books I suggest using both the Lexile level and the ALTOS level which is used to determine the Accelerated Reader (AR) level. This will help you determine if the book might work for your child. However, I want to remind you, even if the Lexile level is below your child’s reading level, the content might be perfect for their maturity level and might include some concepts you would like your child exposed to.

Finally, you may be wondering why this is the Red Canoe Reader. As I mentioned earlier, I requested help from my family as I began to create my blog. I received lots of wonderful suggestions for names – thank you everyone – and then my sister, Lisa, who follows many blogs, suggested it needed to be something personal to me. When she mentioned Red Canoe Reader, I knew I had found the perfect title! A red canoe has been a big part of my life since high school. At that time my dad bought a red canoe and we immediately began our adventures. He was a huge fisherman, so we would take the canoe to the local reservoir on many summer evenings and carry it from the car to the water. (I wonder, now, how we ever did that. It’s an extremely heavy fiberglass canoe!) We always had it with us during our annual two week lake vacations and it is now a permanent resident of our Michigan lake house. There have been so many happy and crazy adventures connected with that red canoe through the years, that it seemed like the perfect title for my blog.

If you have any suggestions for blog ideas, or questions about specific books, series or ideas, please make a comment. I look forward to hearing from many of you, as I begin to explore the world of blogging!