Hooray for Baby Lincoln

I was a Baby Lincoln when I was young. I was the youngest (by 4 minutes) and very shy. In fact, I was so shy, my parents thought about giving me an extra year at home and letting me start school in grade one. Fortunately, they decided to let me try out kindergarten and boy, did I find myself!

Baby Lincoln didn’t find herself in Kindergarten. She has never managed to come out from the shadow of her older sister, until now.

We learn the back story of the Lincoln sisters and Baby’s real name!

Publisher’s Summary: What if timid Baby Lincoln broke free of her bossy sister and set off on an unexpected journey? Kate DiCamillo presents a touching new adventure set in Mercy Watson’s world.

Baby Lincoln’s older sister, Eugenia, is very fond of telling Baby what to do, and Baby usually responds by saying “Yes, Sister.” But one day Baby has had enough. She decides to depart on a Necessary Journey, even though she has never gone anywhere without Eugenia telling her what to take and where to go. And in fact Baby doesn’t know where she is headed — only that she was entirely happy in the previous night’s dream, sitting aboard a train with a view of shooting stars. Who might Baby meet as she strikes out on her own, and what could she discover about herself? Will her impulsive adventure take her away from Eugenia for good?

A lovely story of self discovery.

Digging Deep

In fourth grade we are all about digging deep, re-reading to find evidence to back up our ideas and opinions.

In Sam and Dave Dig a Hole  by Mac Barnett and Jon Klassen, two boys are digging in order to find something spectacular.

There is humor here, lots of dead pan humor, as well as a little dog who is very wise, and a surprise ending. Here’s the trailer Mac & Jon made.

If you have a slightly more Gallic sense of humor, you might enjoy Three Little Peas by Marine Rivoal.

Here, two little peas go on an adventure of a different sort and eventually end up underground. The artwork in this is stupendous and tells more of the story than the text does.

I have a fondness for stories about peas. Seriously. In first grade, I wrote a story called “The Pea Family” and later, in grade seven, I returned to it during a writing unit and wrote “The Pea Family and the Yellow Beans”, a story a bout cultures clashing. I used felt for the peas and beans. Very cutting edge. It was the 70’s after all.

Enjoy!

Library Shenanigans and the Willing Suspension of Disbelief

I just finished Escape From Mr. Lemoncello’s Library by Chris Grabenstien, an action-packed, fast-paced middle-grade novel.

The story, in a nutshell,  involves twelve-year-old Kyle. He is one of a group of students  gets to stay overnight in the new town library, designed by his hero, the famous game maker Luigi Lemoncello).  Come morning Kyle must work with friends to solve puzzles in order to escape.

The disbelief comes with the library. Mr Lemoncello’s library is full of holograms, video screens,  locked doors and all kinds of gadgets. But at its heart, the book is a giant scavenger hunt and the kids involved need research skills, logic and a love of reading. The book is full of references and allusions to kid lit. Mr. Lemoncello is a 21st century Willy Wonka.

I can see the book being popular with kids who already read a lot, but it would be an excellent read aloud. Kids would be inspired to pick the book up themselves, but might also be inspired to read the books mentioned in this one.