Scrambling to find a gift for Mom or Grandma? M Liz Boyle has an idea for you. It’s a craft that’s so easy, a child can make it. Even a preschooler can team up with a parent to assemble it. Take it away, M Liz!
Are you struggling to come up with something nice to give your mom or grandma for Mother’s Day? I have a solution if you want to give a sweet gift but you are: a. limited on money b. limited on time c. limited on creativity d. limited on crafting ability (everything you try to make […]
To answer the title question, I did write a review that was posted last month on Story Warren. There you’ll read more about the historical novel for middle graders called The Bobtails Meet the Preacher’s Kid. But this is no ordinary preacher’s kid; this preacher’s kid is a troubled one.
This book was written by Arthur Yeomans, who, like me, writes book reviews for Jennifer Hallmark’s blog “Off the Beaten Track.”
In honor of this very special day, here’s a children’s book about how a little girl and her family impacted a man’s life. Thank you, Ms. D, for sharing The Flowering Cross with us.
Note: This video was made three years ago, so that’s why she mentions social distancing. But the ideas she shares apply to even today.
Hachiko Waits is a fictionalized story based on a true account. It takes place in Japan, starting with Hachiko’s puppyhood and his close relationship with his owner, the Professor. He develops the habit of following the Professor to the train station when the Professor goes to work. The dog leaves the station, then he comes back to greet his master.
This story would endear any dog lover, though it does have sad parts. The Professor dies unexpectantly at his job, and Hachiko still waits for him to return. He faithfully waits for him throughout his life, and a fictional boy, Yasuo, helps the Station Master care for him. Spoiler: Hachiko himself dies. The book says he dies of natural causes, though it has been found that the real Hachiko died of cancer and an infection.
Despite the bleakness, this book contains humor, an “awwww” worthy dog, and a happy ending involving a memorial statue and Yasuo getting engaged.
This story would be great for third grade to fourth grade. As you read, you’ll have a fascinating glimpse into Japanese culture, and there’s a glossary of Japanese words.
Notes for discernment: There’s a brief discussion on lucky numbers. That is, the Professor explains why he named Hachiko after hachi, the Japanese word for eight. The reason is that eight is his “lucky number.” He is sure Hachiko would be lucky, as he’s the eighth dog he has owned (though it is debatable whether Hachiko was his eighth dog in real life). There are people who pet the dog for “good fortune,” and someone says there’s possibly a train that takes passengers who’ve obtained Enlightenment up to Heaven. A Shinto priest expresses gratitude for the ancestors.
I’ll post more middle grade books about canine animals in the future. For now, I’ll have one more review after this week. Here’s the book for today.
Roverandom by J.R.R. Tolkien
Roverandom is a dog who rips a wizard’s trousers, and that wizard turns him into a toy. Only at night can he move freely, Toy Story-style; children certainly would love to read about that.
A mother brings the toy dog home from the store, and a little boy has him. Later, he falls out of the boy’s pocket and lands on the beach. Another wizard changes him into a real dog, only fairy-sized (A fairy-sized dog would be fun to see in real life.). A seagull takes him to the moon, where lives the Man-in-the-Moon with his dog. Roverandom has adventures there, including a run from a dragon and a reunion in “dreamland” with the boy who lost him. The boy plays with Roverandom, and I love how the dog stands on his head and makes the boy laugh. Since the child lost his beloved toy, this adds sweetness and merriment to the tale.
Roverandom goes to another location, the watery world of mer-folk. Tolkien shows that he could have a zany imagination as the little animal obtains webbed paws, a fishy tail, and a mackintosh-like coat. The dog faces the wizard who had changed him into a toy, and the wizard refuses to change him back to his true form. But after a disaster happens (involving a chaotic sea monster), he transforms the dog back to what he was. Roverandom has another happy reunion, which I won’t spoil here, but this reunion would satisfy any avid reader of children’s fiction.
Teens would like this, as well as older middle grade readers who don’t mind extensive scenery descriptions. The story has advanced vocabulary, but it’s laced with humor and whimsy that delights eight to twelve-year-olds.
Notes for discernment: None that stands out, except a wizard curses the poor main character at the beginning of the story.
If you want to have illustrations of the tale, try Tales from the Perilous Realm, a volume of Tolkien’s stories that includes Roverandom. The black-and-white pictures are pencil-drawn by Alan Lee.
Here’s another mini-review of a middle grade book.
A Dog’s Life: The Autobiographyof a Stray by Ann M. Martin
It’s a fantastic story about a dog who lives most of her life as a stray. The dog, called Squirrel, tells her story in first person.
Her mother is a stray herself, so Squirrel doesn’t have an owner to begin with. When her mother goes out and doesn’t return, Squirrel and her brother start surviving on their own. She and her brother get separated, and she lives alone, foraging for food. Another dog comes into the picture, and they become friends, but something happens that takes them apart. Squirrel lives with a family for a time but then goes back to being a stray.
Living as a stray can seem bleak, but Squirrel does experience a sweet surprise as a town feeds stray dogs at Christmastime. And she does get her happy ending, which I won’t spoil here. 🙂
This book is for advanced readers, from fourth grade to eighth grade.
Note for discernment: Squirrel passes by different places in this book, including a house with children and two women. It isn’t clear who these two women are. Some readers may interpret this as a family with two moms, but it can also be a mom and an aunt or even a mom and a grandma.
Here’s another version of the cover. I personally like the other one. 🙂
All right, friends. You have been seeing me give reviews on picture books with canine characters. Are you wishing that I throw out recommendations on middle grade books with similar animals?
During the next few weeks, I’ll post a quick review of a book I recommend, and each will include notes of discernment.
Here’s the first one!
Silver by Gloria Whelan
This is a sweet story about an Alaskan girl named Rachel, who dreams of racing sled dogs.
One of her father’s sled dogs has puppies, and her father gives her the runt as a birthday present. The plot kicks up as she loses the pup and braves the snow to find him. Thankfully, she finds him and takes him home, but not without the puppy protecting her from an aggressive wolf pup. Because of his fierceness, he convinces Rachel’s father that he’s a potential lead dog.
This book is great for students who are beginning to read chapter books (around second or third grade).
Notes for discernment: Rachel mentions rocks that are “a million years old,” but that’s a tiny part in the story. The book uses the word “Eskimo” for the Inuit, but this was written back in 1988, long before “Eskimo” became politically incorrect. And the Inuit are painted in a positive light.
Do you have a manuscript for your book? Are you looking for an editor? S.E.M. Ishida has a nice tip for having a good relationship with your editor. Take it away, S.E.M!
Before publishing my first book, Nick Newton Is Not a Genius, my editor and I disagreed about how the last paragraph of the last chapter should end. She commented that the ending would “gild the lily,” but I thought those last few sentences added a sense of closure and finality.
The extra sentences stayed in until the copyedit, where my editor again recommended leaving them out. I finally went along with her suggestion despite liking those extra sentences.
Why did I finally give up those last sentences? Not merely because she’s my editor. She’s also more experienced than I am. Maybe she sees something I can’t. And maybe one day I’ll see it, too. But leaving or including those last few lines didn’t diminish the story’s theme or overall plot, so it was no big deal either way.
I suppose the publishing relationship is a lot like any other relationship in that I have to…
Looking for more dog books for your young kids? Here is one called “Larry Gets Lost in the Library,” written by Eric Ode and illustrated by John Skewes. It’s about a dog who gets trapped in a bookmobile and is whisked away to a library. I haven’t read the full book myself, but K.A. Cummins has written a review on it, and it looks like a fun and cute story. The link to the review is here:
K.A. Ramstad 