Pug

 We are a multi-generation pug family, which means all of us are a little crazy about all things pug. Theodore Seuss Geisel award winner, has penned another funny book for the earliest readers, Pug.

It is snowing, Pug sees Peg, Pug wants to go out to see Peg. Mom is wrapped up in a blanket reading, Dad just got finished shoveling but Tad is sleeping. Pug makes it clear he wants to go outside, after a little blackmail, Tad agrees to take him for a walk. Where is Peg? All ends well as Tad and Pug and Meg and her pug go for a walk in the snow.

The words are simple, the humor is in the artwork. The publication date for this book is July 30, 2016, so I have no library information at this time. Here is the link to Ethan Long's other early readers at the Sonoma County Library.

My Goal

Couldn't have said it better myself! My goal for each student  is to make a life long reader.

What A Great Idea!

This is from Littlewood Elementary School in Gainesville, Florida. Three of my grandkids attend school there. The media center is open 5 nights during June and July and kids can check out and return books. I love this idea!

This is not the only school in the country to do this. School libraries and media centers sit unused during summer vacation and many kids have few resources for reading materials. Kids need books, libraries have books, sounds like a match made in heaven to me. Some library nights are funded by the district and some by the school's PTA. 

If You Ever Want to Bring an Alligator to School, DON'T!

Most of my grandkids live in the city that is the home of The University of Florida. The university's mascot is the Gator, friend to the fan and foe to the opponent. Even though you see alligators at Lake Alice on campus (from a respectable distance), they don't seem as primeval there as they do in say, Santa Rosa, California. If You Ever Want to Bring an Alligator to School, DON'T! caught my eye for the artwork but even better, the book is laugh out loud funny.

Magnolia wants to bring something exciting for a nature show-and-tell at school. Nothing boring like sparkly rocks or hollow sticks. An alligator would be perfect. Her teacher says, "Alligators are trouble". Magnolia knows all about them and promises that the alligator will be quiet and good and won't eat anyone. During spelling, the alligator draws funny pictures and gets Magnolia in trouble for laughing. In art, an airplane lands in the teacher's hair, a result of the alligator giving origami lessons. During math, the alligator seems hungry, so Magnolia gives him three sticks of her favorite gum which he will smack and twirl and get all over the classroom. By this time Magnolia's name has been written on the board with three check marks AND underlined. That means a trip to the principal's office after school. The alligator seems less exciting now. How does Magnolia solve her problem?

Elise  Parsley is both the author and illustrator. Told in the second person, this makes for a great read aloud The AR is 3.7 The Sonoma County Library has three copies.

Raising A Reader

Hat tip: Reading Is Fundamental

Summer Reading Challenge

 The Sonoma County Library has a summer reading challenge aimed at kids from birth to age twelve (there is a teen program, too). Prizes are available! Check it out here.

Uni the Unicorn

A couple of my granddaughters were unicorn true believers. They loved this story about Uni, who unlike her unicorn friends and family, believes that little girls are real.

Uni dreams of a strong, smart, magical little girl who would be her best friend. They would run fast, explore and help creatures in need or they could just sit and talk about important things. But most fun would be sliding down rainbows together. Not too far away, is a little girl, who unlike her friends and family, believes that unicorns are real; who is just waiting to be Uni's friend.

The author, Amy Krouse Rosenthal, wrote one of the blog's favorites, Exclamation Mark, a book in story, style and design about as far away from Uni the Unicorn as you can get but the theme is similar: believing in yourself. Bridgette Barrager illustrations are exactly what a six year old would want to see.

The AR is 3.2 but it would be a good book for beginning readers with good phonics skills because there are few words on each page and the text is large and well-spaced. The Sonoma County Library has twelve copies.