Gobbolino the Witch's Cat (Young Puffin Modern Classics)
Gobbolino the Witch's Cat is the 2nd chapter book in a series by Ursula Moray Williams, published in 1942. The first, The Adventures of the Little Wooden Horse is a family favorite. This tale of a kitten trying to find a home is very interesting, a great book for young children to hear.
 | author: Ursula Moray Williams rating:  asin: 0141323264 binding: Paperback |
Summer of the Monkeys
This book is an absolute gem! We all loved this book as a family. Set in the late 1800s, Jay Berry is a 14 year old boy who has an amazing adventure trying to capture 29 monkeys that have escaped (from a circus trian) and are living in a wild part of his family's 60 acre farm. It is hillarious, it made us cry, it was a little scary at times. At one point I thought it was to scary to read to our girls (then ages 9 and 6) because when Jay Berry is catching a couple monkeys, the rest of them jump on him and bite him and his dog all over. However, they are not seriously hurt, Jay Berry simply lays in bed for 3 days and he's better. Also, know that Jay Berry's goal is to get a pony and gun, it was simply part of the lifestyle of a boy living back then. Overall, this is a fabulous read and I'm sure we'll return to this book over and over again throughout the years.
 | author: Wilson Rawls rating:  asin: 0440415802 binding: Paperback list price: $6.99 USD amazon price: $6.99 USD |
The last thing a fourteen-year-old boy expects to find along an old Ozark river bottom is a tree full of monkeys. Jay Berry Lee's grandpa had an explanation, of course--as he did for most things. The monkeys had escaped from a traveling circus, and there was a handsome reward in store for anyone who could catch them. Grandpa said there wasn't any animal that couldn't be caught somehow, and Jay Berry started out believing him . . .
But by the end of the "summer of the monkeys," Jay Berry Lee had learned a lot more than he ever bargained for--and not just about monkeys. He learned about faith, and wishes coming true, and knowing what it is you really want. He even learned a little about growing up . . .
This novel, set in rural Oklahoma around the turn of the century, is a heart-warming family story--full of rich detail and delightful characters--about a time and place when miracles were really the simplest of things...
Alligator Arrived With Apples : A Potluck Alphabet Feast
 | author: Crescent Dragonwagon rating: asin: 0689716133 binding: Paperback list price: $6.99 USD amazon price: $6.99 USD |
There's going to be a feast! And everyone is here with food from A to Z! There is Elderberry Elixir from Elephant and Mocha Mousse made by Mouse. By the time Zebra Zips in with his Zaftig Zucchini, there will be enough food to feed a zoo! So come and join the party and don't forget your appetite!
Dear Fish
 | author: Chris Gall rating: asin: 0316058475 binding: Hardcover list price: $16.99 USD amazon price: $11.55 USD |
DESCRIPTION: Dear Fish, Where you live is pretty cool. You should come visit us sometime. Plus, my mom makes good pies. Sincerely, Peter Alan What happens when the creatures of the sea take Peter Alan up on his offer? Something fishy, of course! Watch out for a bucking bull shark at the rodeo, the invasion of a slimy school of fish, and other playful pictorial puns hidden within the illustrations. Endpapers identify more than 30 species of fish that appear in the book!This is a fantastic flight of fancy that every child will savor!
The Five-Dog Night
 | author: Eileen Christelow rating: asin: 0395928621 binding: Paperback list price: $6.95 USD amazon price: $6.95 USD |
When Old Betty tries to advise Ezra on how to survive the cold winter nights, Ezra rebuffs her concerns because he has his own private source of warmth.
Mik's Mammoth
 | author: Roy Gerrard rating:  asin: 0374318913 binding: Hardcover list price: $15.00 USD amazon price: $15.00 |
The Cat Who Went to Heaven
 | author: Elizabeth Coatsworth rating: asin: 1416949739 binding: Paperback list price: $4.99 USD amazon price: $4.99 USD |
In ancient Japan, a struggling artist is angered when his housekeeper brings home a tiny white cat he can barely afford to feed. But when the village's head priest commissions a painting of the Buddha for a healthy sum, the artist softens toward the animal he believes has brought him luck.
According to legend, the proud and haughty cat was denied the Buddha's blessing for refusing to accept his teachings and pay him homage. So when the artist, moved by compassion for his pet, includes the cat in his painting, the priest rejects the work and decrees that it must be destroyed. It seems the artist's life is ruined as well -- until he is rewarded for his act of love by a Buddhist miracle.
This timeless fable has been a classic since its first publication in 1930, and this beautifully reillustrated edition brings the magic and wonder of the tale to a new generation of readers.
Twas The Night Before Thanksgiving (Bookshelf)
If you plan on eating a turkey for Thanksgiving you may want to skip reading this book.
 | author: Dav Pilkey rating: asin: 0439669375 binding: Paperback list price: $6.99 USD amazon price: $6.99 USD |
The incomparable Dav Pilkey adapts Clement Moore's classic Christmas poem to tell his wacky Thanksgiving tale. The day before Thanksgiving, eight boys and girls take a field trip to a turkey farm. They have fun playing with eight exuberant turkeys but are shocked to learn that Farmer Mack Nuggett plans to kill all the turkeys for Thanksgiving dinners. So the children decide to smuggle all the turkeys home, and all their Thanksgiving dinners become vegetarian this year. The turkeys' lives are saved!
The Itsy Bitsy Spider (Board Book)
The song you know plus 5 more verses of how the itsy bitsy spider keeps going through obstacles. The last verse is sweet completion: "The itsy bitsy spider climbed up without a stop. / She spun a silky web right at the very top. / She wove and she spun and when her work was done, / The itsy bitsy spider rested in the sun."
 | author: Iza Trapani rating:  asin: 1580890148 binding: Board book list price: $6.95 USD amazon price: $6.95 USD |
A board book version of a favorite nursery rhyme with added adventures.
Love That Dog
Another great chapter book that I read in about 40 minuets was Love that Dog by Sharon Creech. Jack (age 8 or 9?) has a diary of sorts for school in the subject of poetry. Laurel is especially fond of journals, especially journalsthat are shared with an adult for the purpose of learning and expressingoneself. This journal is funny and sad and so moving. This novel also deals with the death of a loved one, in this case a dog. Ella especially enjoyed this story and gives it 4 1/2 stars. I think it's a great book too and I look forward to hearing the next in the series.
 | author: Sharon Creech rating: asin: 0060292873 binding: Hardcover list price: $15.99 USD amazon price: $10.87 USD |
"I guess it does
look like a poem
when you see it
typed up
like that."
Jack hates poetry. Only girls write it and every time he tries to, his brain feels empty. But his teacher, Ms. Stretchberry, won't stop giving her class poetry assignments -- and Jack can't avoid them. But then something amazing happens. The more he writes, the more he learns he does have something to say.
With a fresh and deceptively simple style, acclaimed author Sharon Creech tells a story with enormous heart. Written as a series of free-verse poems from Jack's point of view, Love That Dog shows how one boy finds his own voice with the help of a teacher, a writer, a pencil, some yellow paper, and of course, a dog.
