The Story Blanket by Ferida Wolff immediately got my attention with its cover illustration of children sitting on a quilt. Since reading and quilt-making are two of my favorite things, I knew chances were that this book would be a keeper. It is a sweet story about a close community that takes of each other and the illustrations...well, you could get lost in them they are so captivating. I can't wait to read this to my first graders, complete with a story blanket of our own that will provide a place for us to brainstorm about how we can be a community of givers.
Who says working at school during the summer doesn't have its rewards? I went in yesterday to work on some projects and found that some new books from Junior Library Guild had arrived. I fell in love with this particular one....Tell Me the Day Backwards by Albert Lamb with illustrations by David McPhail. The story and warm illustrations make this a happy read and - bonus!- the story does a beautiful job of teaching cause and effect and the concept of what comes before, i.e., "Before that, I lay on top of the big rock, sunning myself. It made my fur get toasty!" A bear cub with toasty fur is a fun visual for children while they wrap their active brains around the concept of putting together the day's sequence of events in reverse order.
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