The Remarkable Rescue at Milkweed Meadow by Elaine Dimopoulos illustrated by Doug Salati

Use your milkweed: Read this! Kirkus Star review

Butternut is a young rabbit. She lives with her family in a burrow near a meadow and also near a human home. The family of humans regularly fill a garden bird feeder with delicious seeds for the many birds that live in and around the meadow but each morning one bird named Blue bullies the other birds and squirrels and so none can get close to the delicious treats. 

Meanwhile in the burrow each evening the young rabbits take turns as storytellers. I love the names of Butternut's siblings: Lavender, Clover, Thistle, Goosegrass and Baby Sweetcorn are the girls and Kale, Chicory, Watercress and Mallow are the boys. Mum is Nettle and Butternut's grandmother is aptly named Sage because she is the wise elder of their family.

There is a violent scene in the first chapter of this book I would say it is for readers aged 8+. Blue is angry with Mother Firstfledge and so he raids her nest and takes one of her eggs - his actions are truly awful and brutal. After a few more weeks the other eggs - three of them - do hatch and Piper, one of the new young birds, is determined to show forgiveness. Piper loves the way Butternut tells stories and they quickly become firm friends even though this is not usually allowed - friendship between species. 

One evening a young fawn catches her leg in the roof of the burrow. Her name is Winsome and she is badly hurt. Butternut lives her life in fear of 'what if' but Piper convinces her they need to go out late at night and find the hurt fawn and offer their help. Piper is also sure there is a way to help Blue - surely there is a deeper reason why he is such a bully. Oh, and Butternut also has to overcome her fear and take the test that all her siblings have had to do, learning to cross the busy road and avoid being squashed by a car. 

Here are some text quotes to give you a flavour of the story and storytelling advice:

"Everyone in Milkweed Meadow still talks about the rescue, and if you stop hopping around like a kit that's found a banana slice, I'll tell you the story."

"Mother encourages strong beginnings. 'Snare them!' ... I suppose that's what a good story does. It digs into your skin like a silver wire and holds you in its grasp."

"Stories matter.  Interesting characters. A thorny conflict. A wood-gnawing climax. Details that let you smell and taste and touch."

"I wanted to say that he had me all wrong. That I was the most fearful and timid rabbit in my colony. That with the way my mind worked, every trunk in the forest would become a wolf, every twig a snake. But saying these things our loud would make them come true. There was a part of me that wanted to imagine that I could be brave. That I could tame my mind's brambles to help the fawn."

"If you ignore the creatures that can make a midnight snack out of you, then the forest at night is an enchanted setting for a story."

"Helping a creature is a good reason to take a risk. Isn't that what so many of our stories tell us to do? To help others?"

Blurb from author page: Apprehensive by nature, Butternut the rabbit believes the warnings she’s heard from her mother and grandmother. Egg-laying birds are inferior species. Deer bring ticks. Coyotes are terrifying predators. Only rabbits have the smarts to practice strategies for survival and to tell stories that entertain and inspire. In Milkweed Meadow, all species do best when they remain focused on their own kind. When the bully of the meadow, a jay named Blue, steals a treasure of her burrow and compels her to scale a trellis to retrieve it, Butternut forms an unlikely friendship with an irrepressible robin nestling, Piper, and later with Winsome, a deer fawn whose leg injury is a blow to her vanity. For the first time, the dangerous and fun adventures the friends have make Butternut question her elders’ teachings—and whether holding on to old prejudices truly makes creatures safer and happier. When the trio discovers creatures in crisis, their compassion is tested: Do they forsake the creatures or attempt the most daring rescue ever to take place in Milkweed Meadow, one that will require the help of multiple species, including the young humans that live in the adjacent house?

Here are some detailed teachers notes. Listen to a five-minute audio sample. This book also contains a map of Milkweed Meadow. 

This enchanting animal adventure is made up of a series of interconnected short stories. In a beautiful narrative voice, and brought to life by Salati’s charming black-and-white illustrations, Butternut describes her own storytelling process. School Library Journal

This chapter book has a relatively rare and welcome level of depth, and the strong narrative voice, ecological awareness, and themes around the value of connection and community will call to many readers. Horn Book

Awards for The Remarkable Rescue at Milkweed Meadow

• A 2024 Massachusetts Book Award Honor Book
• An ALA Notable Book
• A Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Book
• A Kirkus Reviews Best Middle Grade Book of 2023
• A Bank Street Best Children’s Book of 2023 with Outstanding Merit
• A 2023 Booklist Editors’ Choice
• On Vermont’s 2024-5 Golden Dome Book Award List

Here is the sequel which was published in 2024:

Companion books:

Cress Watercress

Heartwood Hotel (there are four books in this series)

Appleblossom the Possum

The Legend of Podkin On-Ear

Bravepaw and the Heartstone of Alluria

Kirkus relate The Remarkable Rescue at Milkweed Meadow to this book Toaff's Way which I once have on my to-read list. Sadly there is no ebook version but Amazon do have a new copy for - gasp! AUS$140! I do find it odd that this book didn't really reach us here in Australia - Cynthia Voigt is such a famous author. I talked about this previously here. 

Meet Toaff: a lovable squirrel, and new standout character, searching for a place to call home in this gem of a story by a Newbery Medal-winning author. Toaff is a small squirrel full of big questions. Why must I stay away from the human's house? Why shouldn't I go beyond the pine trees? Why do we fight with the red squirrels across the drive? His sister shrugs--that's just the way things are. His brother bullies--because I said so. And the older squirrels scold--too many questions! Can Toaff really be the only one to wonder why?When a winter storm separates him from his family, Toaff must make his own way in the world. It's a world filled with danger--from foxes and hawks and cats to cars and chainsaws. But also filled with delight--the dizzying scent of apple blossoms, the silvery sound of singing, the joy of leaping so far you're practically flying. Over the course of a year, Toaff will move into (and out of) many different dreys and dens, make some very surprising friends (and a few enemies), and begin to answer his biggest questions--what do I believe and where do I belong?

You can see other books illustrated by Doug Salati here. 

Read Aloud K-2 from the NSW Premier's Reading Challenge book list

PRC K-2 Read aloud suggestions

While helping a friend add PRC stickers to books in her library I noticed lots of favourite titles among the picture books. 

Sebastian lives in a hat

Miss Lily's fabulous pink feather boa

Wombat Divine

Some teachers and Teacher-Librarians like to read PRC books to their K-2 students as a way to assist the children to complete their Premier's Reading Challenge. The challenge for this age group involves listening to thirty books. I have looked through the list of 157 titles and picked out books I have talked about here on this blog and other books which I think would make good read aloud titles for this group. 

Along with reading some PRC titles in your library, and in classrooms I also think it is important to encourage parents and caregivers to share books each week with their child/children. Early in the year some (not all) of these shared books could come from the PRC list. You might consider sharing the Mem Fox ten reading commandments with parents.

For class teachers I think it important to only share books the teacher loves. AND - Why not just enjoy the book - no worksheets; no comprehension questions; no 'time filling' craft or colouring pages - just enjoy heaps of reading. 

Please note I may have shared a different cover image to the copy in your library collection. Also my grouping of the books is just random - these are not intended to be "sets" of books. Kindergarten will enjoy very different books to those you share with Grade One or Two.  Teachers and Teacher-Librarians will easily decide which books will work best with their group and this is why I always suggest reading a book for yourself first just to see how the story works, any tricky words or ideas etc.

Our tree named Steve

Professional crocodile

Murgatroyd's garden by Julie Zavos

Pecan pie baby

The Little mouse, the red ripe strawberry, and the big hungry bear

Another important book by Margaret Wise Brown

Knuffle bunny

Puffling

Chatterbox by Margaret Wild

Wombat stew by Marcia Vaughan 

Lucy Goosey

Little Humpty

Miss Lily's fabulous pink feather boa

Ugliest dog in the world and The  Little white dogs can't jump by Bruce Whatley

Yoko by Rosemary Wells

Frances series 

Max's chocolate chicken

Leonard doesn't dance

Squeak street

The Tin forest

Peggy

Aranea

Can't you sleep, Little Bear  and  Let's go home, Little Bear by Martin Waddell

Owl babies

The Sea-Breeze Hotel

The Park in the dark

Lisette's green sock

Press here

Amelia Ellicott's garden by Liliana Stafford

Omar the strongman

Caps for sale by Esphyr Slobodkina

Bear and Chook   Bear and Chook by the sea

Gary by Leila Rudge

Bob the builder & the elves by Emily Rodda

Hark, it's me, Ruby Lee!

Harris finds his feet Catherine Rayner

Finding Monkey Moon

Our school fete

Dreadful David by Sally Odgers illustrated by Craig Smith

Annie's chair by Deborah Niland

Peace at last by Jill Murphy

On the way home by Jill Murphy

Six dinner Sid

Fly 

The Man whose mother was a pirate

Pog

Eight

Three

Rainbow bear

Mutt dog

Where does Thursday go

Edward the emu and Edwina the emu by Sheena Knowles

Good-night, Owl by Pat Hutchins

Houndsley and Catina

Blue sky yellow kite

It's a miroocool

The Ricker Racker Club

Rose meets Mr Wintergarten

Max

Let's get a pup

Greetings from Sandy Beach by Bob Graham

Ellie's dragon

A Bus called Heaven

Buffy, an adventure story

Ivanhoe Swift left home at six

Go go and the silver shoes

Banjo and Ruby Red

Ollie and the wind

Possum magic

Koala Lou by Mem Fox

Ella Kazoo will not brush her hair by Lee Fox

The Jolly postman or other peoples' letters by Allan Ahlberg

Jeremy by Chris Faille

Stickybeak by Hazel Edwards

There's a hippopotamus series

Unfortunately by Alan Durant

The Lion and the bird

The Terrible plop by Ursula Dubosarsky

Honey and Bear

Dougal the garbage dump bear

Sebastian lives in a hat

Papa, please get the moon for me

The Hug Machine

Would you rather ...

Avocado baby by John Burningham

Through the magic mirror by Anthony Browne

A Dark Dark tale by Ruth Brown

The Wrong book by Nick Bland

Mister Magnolia by Quentin Blake

Thelma the unicorn by Aaron Blabey

Reggie, queen of the street

My dog's a scaredy cat

Jeremy's tail by Duncan Ball

Herbert and Harry by Pamela Allen

Two left feet by Stacey Apeitos

Mr McGee series by Pamela Allen

Who sank the Boat by Pamela Allen

Julia Donaldson - all titles

Time to Smell the Roses by Michael Hoeye

Why oh why are the Hermux Tanamoq Adventures out of print. They are just so utterly engrossing, funny, clever, and well simply wonderful. Time to Smell the Roses is the final instalment which began with Time Stops for No Mouse followed by The Sands of Time and the third book No Time like Show Time.

In this fourth instalment we have the evil cosmetics tycoon Tucka Mertslin plotting once again to overthrow a rival. She is vain, she is manipulative, she is truly awful but also an utterly splendid villain. Her limousine number plate is VANITY.  In this episode she enlists the help of Killium Wollar to help her destroy Reezeor Bleesom.

"Tucka closed her eyes, and the scientist of her dreams took shape with astonishing speed. His smile was incandescent. He had thick, glossy fur with golden highlights. His eyes were burning pools of passion ringed with thick dark lashes. He wore a spotless white tailored linen lab coat. And he lived for one thing only - her."

Tucka believes:

Wealth is the key to happiness

People are the key to wealth

Envy is the key to people

Killium Wollar has designed a killer bee (yes the sting can actually kill) and knowing the vanity of Tucka he has added something underneath the bee:

"Hermux turned it (the bee) over. Its abdomen showed curious markings. Hermux removed his magnifying loupe from his vest pocket. ... He held the bee close and examined it. The fur on the bees belly seemed to grow in a distinct pattern. It looked as though two letters were spelled out in golden hairs amongst the black. "

Later Hermux discovers the letters are TM - Tucka Mertslin. 

Reezeor Bleesom, used to work for Tucka. He makes his all natural perfume using roses grown by Androse DeRosenquill in Thorny End. In the meantime Androse has summoned Hermux Tantamoq to solve a mystery. His son and heir Plank is missing. This means Hermux and Tucka will face off once again but the true hero this time is the little ladybird Terfle. I think I held my breath through the whole of chapter 62 after Terfle is captured by those killer bees.

This instalment is all about smell and Michael Hoeye is a master with his descriptions:

"He touched the tip of his nose to the centre of a flower and sniffed again, this time more deeply. Very nice. Honey with raspberries and spice. And something else. Something sweet and enticing. Hermux buried his face in the roses and breathed in deeply ... He remembered apple orchards in April. Honeysuckle summers. The sharpness of lemons."

Michael Hoeye gives readers his trademark fabulous clothing descriptions and delicious food such as this meal shared by Hermux, Linka and young Twigg at the Inn in Thorny End:

"Then you know what sounds good to me?' (Linka) said. 'The walnut loaf with baby carrots.'  ... Terfle settled for a child's portion of silverfish pate with some crumbs of toast. Hermux ordered a blue cheese cornburger and crispy fries."

I suggest if you can find this book you should order a box of donuts, make a big pot of hot chocolate and settle down with your young reading companion for an evening of wonderful storytelling. Hermux especially loves cherry-rosehip-peanut crullers. Here is a picture of a cruller which is a deep fried pastry similar to a donut.

Image Source: e2bakesBrooklyn

If you have been reading my posts about Hermux you will want to check up on the romance between Hermux and Linka. Yes they are planning to get married and here are the final words of Time to Smell the Roses (spoiler alert)

"Then he pulled her into his arms and kissed her."

Huge sigh of happiness from me.

I would've loved to hear what sort of doughnuts were served at the Tantamoq/Perflinger wedding. Kelly Book Stuff

Pierre's not There by Ursula Dubosarsky illustrated by Christopher Nielsen

"Lara had always wished she was a dog, and one day, 

just for a short time, she actually became one."

From the first few pages Ursula Dubosarsky had me intrigued. Where were Lara and her mum going for the day? Why were they going there? And most pressing of all -  why is there a the cast list on the first page? I love that the opening of this book is clearly in Sydney starting at our Circular Quay ferry wharf but the story also has a universal feel. Perhaps the ferry is heading to Rose Bay or is this Manly? 

"In front of the wharf was a long, green park with thick grass and tall Norfolk pines with drooping dark-green branches. Beyond the edge of the grass was a smear of beach with white sand, sparkling like glitter."

Lara's mother has come to clean a house. She has clearly been here previously as she knows where to find the hidden key. Lara is on holidays so she has come along too. Standing in the garden, Lara notices a small boy at an upstairs window. How is this possible? The house is supposed to be empty. Lara heads up stairs and she finds a boy - Pierre - and he shows her something very special:

"It was a puppet theatre! Made of wood, painted with curls and columns in faded gold and silver, like a temple from ancient Greece. At the front there were two velvet curtains and behind them a sheet of scenery gleamed in the darkness, snow on top of a mountain."

Pierre needs Lara to help him. He tells Lara his whole family have been eaten by a pack of wolves. His mother has told him, if he is ever alone, he must find his grandmother. Pierre grabs a puppet from his collection and begins to tell a story. He tells Lara to find a puppet too. She reaches into the box without looking and picks up the wolf puppet. 

Lara is transported into the story as a wolf. Pierre is terrified of her but Lara can talk (luckily) and she explains that she is not really a fierce wolf, she is actually just a friendly dog. It is time for the play to really begin and so the text now changes form into a script. Lara and Pierre have a long way to go, there are dangers to overcome and new friends to help them. Pierre must find his grandmother and as a reader we must reach that all important happy ending.

If you've never read a play before you are in for a treat. The really delicious parts I think, that add so much to this format, are all the little stage directions. I didn't ever write plays the way Ursula did as a young child but I did love reading them in one of my first books - The Youngest Child's Ominbus and also in the NSW School Magazine. And later as an adult I did enjoy acting in a few small town amateur theatre productions too. There is something very satisfying about reading a play script - the action just zooms along and before you realise it you have reached the final act.

I think this one would make a great first chapter book or even a story that could be read together over several nights. BookBook Owl

Here is an interview with Ursula by Joy Lawn and a link to a set of teachers notes.

I am going to make one of my predictions and say this book Pierre's not There will be one of the titles on the CBCA 2021 Notable list and I also hope it might make the final six short listed titles too. I think I smiled through the whole story. This book would be a perfect addition to a school library or home collection and teachers could consider buying multiple copies to use with a group of children so they can act out the play! You will probably want to investigate a few fairy tales (Little Red Riding Hood) and also find out more about Punch and Judy shows too. Punch is such a diabolical fellow - boo hiss.

Ursula Dubosarsky is our 2020-2021 Australian Children's Laureate and in this Covid year she has been an amazing ambassador for kids and reading and libraries and Australian books and so much more!

In our NSW School magazine you can find other plays written by Ursula. She also wrote this little Nibble title many years ago about a puppet show:

You should also look for these - just a handful of titles which I loved written by Ursula:

Tales of all Kinds

Leaf Stone Beetle

Jerry

I found some other plays by Ursula Dubosarsky on the NSW School Magazine site:

• The fastest Girl in the World
• Arachne Spider girl
• The boy who could fly

Teddy & Co. by Cynthia Voigt illustrated by Paola Zakimi

 

These toys are not saccharine or perfect. Each of them have endearing qualities and foibles. 

Image source: Paola Zakimi

Characters:

Teddy "He was a brown ball of a bear. He had a furry round brown head with bright buttons eyes, a short brown snout and little brown ears. He had no neck and stubby arms, a round brown belly, and he had lost his legs a long time ago."  Qualities - optimist; thinker; explorer; leader; needs to help of others to push his red wagon.

Umpah "a soft grey elephant". Qualities - baker; kind and thoughtful of others; wise.

Sid has a "long striped body ... long thin shape, good for wrapping around branches." Qualities - always hungry; loves to eat muffins made by Umpah; loves picnics.

Peng lives alone in a remote cave."Peng was made all of wood, so it was awkward for him to turn from one side to the other. Also, it was hard for his wooden brain to change the way it thought about something." Qualities: loner; introvert; can be a pessimist; capable of heroism.

Prinny (small pig) "was young and blue and silly ... She had white and gold flowers printed all over her, so everybody wanted to be nice to her." Qualities: happy disposition; kind; gaining confidence.

Zia (large pig) "was as round and as bright a pink as a scoop of raspberry sherbet. Her ears were a deep, dark fuchsia, as were her little hands and her tiny feet. Two black eyes sparkled in her bright pink face, as if she was about to go dancing, and four black stitches ran in a row down her soft pink belly, where long ago someone had sewn up a tear in her shining pink satin."  Qualities: Carries an icecream cone; happy to share icecreams with her friends; loves to clean her cosy pink house; mother figure to Prinny.

There are nineteen chapters in this book which can be grouped into four short stories. 

Teddy's Idea

Teddy is a thinker. He asks questions. He is sure there must be a world beyond the apple trees so after some discussion he convinces the other toys to set off with him exploring. They make the most amazing discovery about their home because by keeping the sea on their left they somehow eventually find their way back home. Yes they have walked in a circle because their home is on an island!

The arrival of the first stranger and learning to swim

Prinny finds a new toy on the beach. He calls himself Mr B and he is a rabbit with long floppy ears and a ruffled collar around his neck.  Mr B is quite rude to the other toys except for Peng but Peng has no interest in making friends with Mr B.  Meanwhile, Teddy has been thinking about water and raindrops. He decides Prinny should learn how to swim. Peng can swim, he is a pengiun; Sid can swim; Mr B can swim that's how he arrived on the island; and Umpah can swim. Zia does not support this idea but the friends go down to the water and very carefully and patiently Umph teaches Prinny to swim. 

Clara arrives - she is the second stranger

What they saw "was a very large doll seated on a big white wicker chair with a high curved back and wide curved arm rests."  Clara declares she is their queen and this gives her the right to set the rules (in the end there are seventeen of them). Clara also wants a palace and she awards titles to each of her subjects such as Royal Thinker (Teddy); Royal Advisor (Peng); Royal Announcer (Sid); and Royal Housekeeper (Zia).  Prinny is to be the Royal Princess.  After all this nonsense good sense does eventually prevail especially when no one can remember all the rules and Teddy makes a great plan to build the palace.

The rainy days

Teddy wakes up to a rainy day. The friends gather at the pink house to play games but some of the toys are not very good at this and squabbles ensue. The next day it rains again. This time the friends gather at Teddy's house where they invent a play with costumes and Teddy enjoys being the writer and director. By the third day of rain everyone is getting a bit fed up. Prinny notices that Teddy is sad and so she thinks of the most wonderful surprise - a party, a surprise party for Teddy. "Not a birthday party, because it wasn't his birthday, and not a party Teddy gave, because the party was to cheer Teddy up."

Junior classes from the school I visit each week (where I borrow books from their wonderful library) have a theme or focus for one term each year on the topic of toys.  There are so many wonderful books about toys but one that caught the eye of the Teacher-Librarian was this one - Teddy and Co. by Cynthia Voigt. Oddly this book seems to be impossible to purchase in Australia even though it is fairly recent (2016). I did a little research and we found a way to contact Cynthia directly to enquire about her book.  You may already know I am a huge fan of Cynthia Voigt (Mister Max) (Tillerman books) so we were thrilled when she offered to send a copy of Teddy and Co. to Australia!  

Although the tone is decidedly different from her earlier work, Voigt’s writing remains masterful, and her attention continues to be on what makes a family, how we can live together in harmony, and how individuals overcome their difficulties. Kirkus

It’s an affirming celebration of friendship, kindness, and embracing new experiences and relationships. Publisher’s weekly

Teddy and Co. is a chapter book so it is similar to Winnie the Pooh; The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane and books by Rumer Godden. This book also reminded me of these picture books: