A single pearl by Donna Jo Napoli illustrated by Jim LaMarche

This story begins with a simple grain of sand and ends with a pearl.  A diver finds the pearl and sells it to a prince.

"The prince, in turn, gave it to his beloved wife, who said it glowed like the moon.
She saved it on a slip of velvet in a gold cup until she had a daughter who laughter was as light and whose face was as lovely as the moon."

Why am I selecting these seemingly random books for my blog?  Over the next few weeks we are working our way through our picture book and junior novel collections - culling out our older titles. It is always a joy to 'rediscover' books I have read in the past and that is how I came to talk about A single pearl.

I have discovered that this story was inspired by a Persian poem.  I wish I could find it but I don't know the title.

I especially like the emotional arc in this story.  At first the grain of sand feels hopeless and insignificant and then despair as it is trapped in the oyster but all this changes with the pearl.

"The grain of sand sat in the center of the pearl. And it mattered."

The illustrations in this book are especially beautiful.  Jim LaMarche makes the pearl look luminous.

Here is a review from Publishers Weekly.  Donna Jo Napoli writes amazing novels for Young Adults.  Check out this list.

You might like to look for these other books about pearls in our school library.

Marguerite's fountain by Rachel Elliot illustrated by Petra Brown

"Every day Benjamin watched Marguerite dancing 

around the fountain. He longed to be friends with her 

but Benjamin was shy and didn't dare."

Marguerite dances alone but one day Randolph arrives.  He wants exclusive rights to the fountain so first he flatters and flirts with Marguerite and then he banishes her to the sewer.  Benjamin is distraught.  He knows he must take a stand and rescue Marguerite. He may not he brave but Benjamin is a problem solver.  He finds a way to turn off the fountain then he tells Randolph :

"The fountain is missing Marguerite."
"The fountain is unhappy because Marguerite is unhappy."

Randolph goes underground to investigate the problem but emerges dirty and unsuccessful. Benjamin then steps into the drain and when he emerges not only has he 'fixed' the fountain but he has found his voice.  He declares to Randolph :

"You are a coward! ... your heart is stony as the cathedral and as tiny as a single drop of water ... Leave now."

I have read some criticism of Marguerite's Fountain.  Yes Marguerite is a white mouse, Randolph is black and Benjamin is brown and perhaps this is a cliche but the illustrations (here is Petra Brown's web site) are very special and I think the message is too - bullies should not be allowed to 'win'.

Firstborn by Tor Seidler

I am so glad Firstborn does not contain any illustrations apart from some maps, the cover and the title page - this is quite a blood thirsty tale at times as we read the gory details the details of wild animals killed for food by this small group of wolves living in Montana, Wyoming and Idaho.

"And it was Blue Boy who caught the scent and gave the cry of the chase: the same bone-chilling cry I'd first heard on that split-rail fence back on the triple Bar T ... he was standing over a deer stretched out on a platter of blood-soaked pine straw."

Not to mention the fights for supremacy of the wolf pack itself.

"When I could bring myself to look up the slope again, Raze's father lay on his side with blood gushing from his torn throat. Blue Boy lifted his bloody snout and let out what must have been an instinctive howl of triumph."

The heart of this book is about relationships - between Maggie the magpie and her 'family' of wolves, between the wolves themselves and also one special relationship firstborn son Lamar forms with a coyote called Artemis.  The tenderness these wolves show for one another and for Maggie and the way they look after each litter of new pups is very special.  I don't think this is a book everyone will enjoy but if you like survival stories and animals look for this book.  This quote from Chris Raschka really sums up my feelings about Firstborn.

"... there's lots of danger, excitement and beauty; but there are also things we know from human families like love and loyalty, bravery and honor.  You won't ever want to leave Blue Boy's wolf pack in the heart of the Rockies."

We also have A rat's tale by Tor Seidler in our library.  A very different book from Firstborn and a book I really enjoyed.

Readers among you will know the significance of the dedication of Firstborn:

In remembrance of

Jean Craighead George

You might like to read the New York Times review.  Click here to listen to an extract where you will hear the voice of Maggie the Magpie.  Here are a set of discussion questions.  Take a look at this review by my fellow blogger Mr K.

A rich tale of the wild that quickens the pulse and fills the heart. 

Mr Bear Branches and the cloud conundrum by Terri Rose Baynton

c o n u n d r u m

I do like this word.  I like the sound of it and I like the implication of a puzzle to solve.

Mr Bear Branches and the cloud conundrum is a book where science and imagination can meet. This is also a story about compassion and friendship and clouds.

Bear Branches is a scientist.  "he was reading - books on quantum physics, pterodactyls and the biology of amoebae."  Liftfrey Longfellow is a dreamer.  Together, though, they do enjoy watching clouds.  "They would lie on the soft, cool grass and watch as the clouds drifted by.  Bear Branches called it 'Cloud appreciation' and Lintfrey certainly appreciated them."

One day Liftfrey talks about sitting on a cloud.  Bear Branches offers a scientific explanation about why this would be impossible.  He mentions condensation and evaporation.  Lintfrey becomes sad. Bear Branches recognises his friend has a dream which he has, perhaps inadvertently, crushed so the pair pack supplies, including a flask of peppermint tea, and set off out of town.

There are some beautiful words and phrases in this book :
through gullies and grass
tender toes
cramped calves
buoyant clouds
gesturing
cottony clouds

While the illustrations in this book seem quite simple I did like the retro pallet of cream, brown, black and red accents and I do like books about clouds. One of my all time favourites is a very old book called Clouds by Peggy Blakeley.

Make sure you take a look at the end papers of Mr Bear Branches and the cloud conundrum.  At the front there are lots of buttons - is this our scientific and man-made world? At the back are leaves and seeds - perhaps this represents nature.  Compare these with the end papers in the Anthony Browne book The Tunnel.  Here is a set of teaching notes.  This book also reminded me of Henry and Amy right-way-round and upside down by Stephen Michael King.

Are you curious about why I picked up this book?  Is was published in 2012 and so has been in our school library (undiscovered I imagine) for four years.  We have begun to cull our picture books. This is a difficult process but our shelves are too full.  I have begun pulling out older books and some of the very simple picture books which might not appeal to our students. Among them I found Mr Bear Branches and the cloud conundrum.  I picked it up to read and noticed it came from a trusted supplier. Naturally I bought it home to read and now I have shared it with you.  It won't go on our culling pile.

Terri Rose Baynton is from New Zealand and she is the daughter of the award winning author Martin Baynton.  You may have read his Jane and the Dragon series or seen the animated films.

The friendship riddle by Megan Fazer Blakemore

 

The Friendship Riddle is a very long book and at times the reading felt like a marathon but if you can put in the effort the final scenes are rewarding.  Oddly this is another book about spelling bees.  I seem to have read quite a few lately - perhaps this is a new genre.  It is also about solving cryptic puzzles and reminded me of Mr Lemoncello's library.  At the heart of this book though is our need for friendship and the importance of truthful communication as our friendships ebb and flow.

Here are a few books I have read recently with competitions including spelling bees :

Ruth had a best friend but now the girls have reached middle school Charlotte has made friends with one of the 'cool girls' called Melissa.  She no longer talks to Ruth.

"It's not like she ditched me or we had a fight.  It's like all this shifting and sorting out happened.  Like we were dumped into a colander, and all of us small, less interesting pieces fell through and left the big, juicy berries inside.  Charlotte is a berry.  Me, I'm a lone world.  I'm that hawk flying above it all, the quiet observer on the sidelines. And that's the way I like it."

Ruth is an avid reader of a book series called Taryn Greenbottom by Harriet Wexler.  This is a fictitious book series and I did like the way Megan Frazer Blakemore wove it through this book. Here is one of the riddles found by Ruth.  There are twelve in total.  They are found in a random order and this help keep the plot moving forward.

The Friendship Riddle will be added to our senior collection for our Grade Six students.  It does discuss issues of puberty and same sex relationships and probably will have more appeal to girls.

You can read a little more about this book on the author web site.  I agree with the comments here from Ms Yingling.  Jen Robinson liked this book and she makes some interesting observations in her review.

Skink no surrender by Carl Hiaasen

He was right.  Honestly, I wasn't too surprised that the hunt for Malley was playing out this way, that her rescue would depend on just the two of us - a one-eyed hermit with a mangled foot, and me.

This newest book by Carl Hiaasen will not disappoint his fans.

Richard is interested in the natural world. Turtles scoop out nests lay their eggs on the beach near his home. Richard goes down in the evenings to find the new nests and mark them out for protection against poachers.  As this story begins he finds a curious nest site with a straw sticking out.

"A full grown man shot upright in a spray of sand, ... Built like a grizzly ... on his chiselled block of his head he wore ... a flowered plastic shower cap.  Even weirder, his left eye and right eye were pointed in totally different directions."

This man, Clint Tyree, (he is one of the most eccentric characters you will ever meet) and Richard are about to become the closest of friends as they embark on a wild search to find Malley - Richard's cousin - who has run off with a man she met online.  Malley is a rebel but Richard knows she is in danger.

You can read the first three chapters here.  This is an action packed story and you won't put it down until Malley and Richard are safely back home.

In our Primary school library this book will be available only for our senior students as it does contain some violence and, while we do not discover what happened to Malley, the suggestion of what might have taken place when she joins an older man she meets online is not appropriate for our younger students.  We do have all of Carl Hiaasen's books.  I recommend starting with Hoot.

This review in the Guardian will give you further insights into the plot and themes of this book.  If you are using this book with a class in high school here is a set of teacher notes.  Here is a terrific little trailer made by Le Grande school library.  Here is the Kirkus review.

This is a dive in head first and read 

until you're dizzy book, so utterly brilliant 

and readable it’s scary! 

The Wolf Wilder by Katherine Rundell illustrated by Gelrev Ongbico

Feo shook her head: she couldn't speak.  The moments in which the world turns suddenly kind 

can feel like a punctured lung.  She stood in the marble hall and cried ...

We can take our fear back.  And I don't know if we'll win but we have the right to try.  

The adults, they want us to be quiet and careful, 

but we have a right to fight for the world we want to live in, 

and nobody has the right to tell use to be safe and sensible. I say, today, we fight!

The Wolf Wilder is one of those absolutely delicious books that is a true a feast for the reader.  This is also one of those books that I read late into the night, picked up over breakfast and raced home to finish.  This is a ten out of ten book.  You should rush out and grab a copy today.

This is the third book I have read by Katherine Rundell and I am now a confirmed fan of her work. Her writing gives a strong sense of place and you will fall in love with her central characters especially Feo or Feodora in this book.

Wolf Wilder is set in Russia.  A cruel General called Rakov is the commander of the Tsar's Imperial Army. He set to claim money for an elk owned by the Tsar and recently killed by wolves.

At this time in Russia wolves are taken as pets for the aristocrats.

"The captured wolves wear golden chains and are taught to sit still while people around them laugh and drink ... But a wolf cannot be tamed in the way a dog can be tamed, and it cannot be kept indoors."

Fedora and her mother are wilders.  It is their job to take rejected wolves, 'untame' them, teach them to survive in the wild. Feo has spent her whole life surrounded by wolves living with her mother in a remote cottage. Rakov arrives and he destroys everything.  Marina is taken to a prison in St Petersburg.  Feo is now on the run with three of her special wolves and a wolf pup.  It is cold and dangerous but she does enlist some loyal companions and you can be sure good will triumph over evil.

"We don't give them human names ... Wolves have their own names. They don't need ours.  So we call them by a colour, or description - like Tenderfoot."

The illustrations are a special feature of this book.  You can read more about their creation here.  You can hear Katherine Rundell reading from the beginning of her book.  You should also read this interview with Katherine about the inspiration for this book.  Here is the Kirkus review.

“A triumph! Exciting, moving, highly original, fierce, completely convincing”

 –  Philip Pullman 

The Wolf Wilder is one of the most beautifully written books I've read in a long time 

Here are some of the other covers.  Which one do you like?

I also love these descriptions of cold  :

"There were, in Feo's experience, five kids of cold.  There was wind cold, which Feo barely felt. ...There was snow cold, which plucked at your arms and chapped your lips ... it was Feo's favourite weather and good for making snow wolves. There was ice cold, which might take the skin off your palm ... Then there was hard cold. ... Hard cold could be cruel ... And there was blind cold. Blind cold smelt of metal and granite.  It took all the senses out of your brain ... "