Still Sal by Kevin Henkes

Sal is excited. She is about to begin Grade One. Sal has all her special supplies ready:

At the moment, the school supplies were the things in Sal’s life that made her most happy; the things that gave her a little joyful lift just by thinking about them. The box held brightly colored pencils with glittery stars on them, an eraser shaped like a cupcake for the top of a pencil, and two folders and two notebooks with photographs of baby animals on them—piglets, kittens, puppies, lambs.

Her outfit is ready too:

Sal got dressed in the outfit she’d been planning for days. Pink-and-blue plaid tights. Pale-green corduroy pants that came just below her knees. A shirt patterned with yellow and orange suns. Red sneakers. ... Sal had picked out a cloth headband—her most comfortable one. It was white with purple stripes. She was avoiding her hard plastic ones with teeth. She pushed the headband on and patted it into position. “Ready.”

Then a letter arrives and it seems Sal and her best friend in the whole world Griff (Griffen Babcock) will be in different classes. Griff will have a teacher with such a wonderful name - Ms. Flowers. Surely there is a way Sal can change classes and not be in Ms. McCormick's class.

Ms. Flowers’s hair was dark and curly like Sal’s, but cut very short and accessorized with an ABC barrette. She was wearing red sneakers, also like Sal’s, and jeans that were frayed and fringy at the bottom. Her belt appeared to be a tape measure. She looked like a fun babysitter. She smelled like strawberry jam. Sal’s heart leaped.

This is a year of change for Sal. Her baby sister Poppy has moved into her room and Sal is not happy. Griff seems to be making new friends. AND everything, just everything that can go wrong at school, goes wrong. For example my heart broke for Sal when she saw her name label was wrong (this happens me too):

She was looking at her name tag with narrow eyes. There was a new problem. Although Ms. McCormick had cut off the second L and the Y, she’d made her cut so close to the first L that if you didn’t look carefully, you might think Sal’s name was Sa. Also, there’d been a nice border around each name on the name tags, and now the border on Sal’s was gone on the right side. And, the cut edge was crooked. Sal’s name tag didn’t look professional anymore, and it was different from everyone else’s. Stinging tears came to Sal’s eyes. She knew she shouldn’t ask Ms. McCormick to fix her name tag again, but, still, she found the whole thing upsetting.

Kids in Australia are sure to enjoy all the clothes Sal wears - here children wear school uniforms. Sal's choices each day reminded me of Goonie Bird Greene. 

I love the way Sal tries to convince her parents that two-year-old Poppy should not move in:

“I just don’t think she’ll be a good resident of this room,” Sal had told her parents, trying to be as serious as possible, narrowing her eyes, tilting her head, and pitching her voice to sound important. “I just don’t think she’s responsible enough to be here.”

I also love Sal's dad - he is a parent with quiet wisdom and he can make delicious pancakes.

With a group of older kids in Grade 3 perhaps, you could use this book to talk about the way teachers are different - not to criticise just to explore different ways teachers might cover a topic or relate to their class. You could also talk about the way Sal observes the kids in her class. Oh and I cheered when Sal does speak up - she certainly is not a shy child but she does have an understanding of some adult rules such as not using the teacher's first name even though she is so delighted when she makes this discovery.

I think my hairdresser would enjoy reading chapter 19:

The hair salon was called Hair We Go and it smelled important. Like the smells of a doctor’s office and a flower shop mixed together. Brooke was the name of the woman who was to cut Sal’s hair. Brooke’s thin, straight hair was shoulder length and streaked with pink and green. Sal couldn’t take her eyes off it. She wondered how old you had to be to get pink and green hair, although she wasn’t sure if she’d actually want to have it.

As an adult reader I adored this fourth book about the Miller family - I hope young readers aged 7+ will also enjoy this book but they might find the tone used by Sal a little too mature? I need to think about this a little more. The Kirkus reviewer says: Fairly sophisticated language and observations stretch the target audience to include third and fourth graders for whom first grade may be a distant memory. I was delighted to see Kirkus gave Still Sal a Star review:

Henkes’ graceful, easy prose, sharp insights, and impressive ability to convey the way children think shine here. He invites readers to empathize with Sal, feeling her disappointment and annoyance with a world that doesn’t always understand her as well as the satisfaction with small victories that bring her back to herself: getting used to a major haircut and learning to connect with Ms. McCormick. ...  A delightful, understated triumph.

Blurb from Kevin Henkes web page: Sal has been looking forward to first grade for a long time. But her excitement quickly turns to disappointment when she learns that her best friend, Griff, is in the other first-grade classroom and has the most popular teacher. Then Sal’s name is spelled wrong on her name tag, she trips in front of the cool fifth graders, and her self-portrait doesn’t turn out the way she wanted it to. In fact, everything about school is an absolute disaster. Poor Sal! Luckily for Sal, she has understanding parents, a terrific new teacher, and empathetic friends who remind her that it takes time to adjust to change. And sure enough, after a few days, Sal feels like herself again.

Still Sal highlights themes of family, friendship, social and emotional growth, resilience, and adapting to change. The fourth stand-alone book in the Miller Family sequence includes black-and-white illustrations by Caldecott Medal winner Kevin Henkes on almost every page and is an excellent choice for early elementary grades, for readers ready for a short novel, and for family and classroom read-alouds.

AND there will be another book in this series later this year - Poppy.

If I worked in a bookshop I would love to make a window display of this series. Here are the four titles from the series so far and I also think all Primary school libraries should own every one of them - you can read more from the links below. All four of these have Kirkus Star reviews:

The Year of Billy Miller; Billy Miller makes a Wish

Click on the Kevin Henkes label on this post to read about more of his books - for all ages!

A House by Kevin Henkes

 

Yes this is the cover of A House. The title and author name appear on the back cover.

What makes a house a house? A roof? A door? A window? A floor? What makes a house a home? A cat? A dog? Someone to love? You?

Book description: Where is the door to the house? Do you see any clouds? What does the house look like when it is sunny outside? When it is raining? And what will the house turn into when its family returns? A home. Caldecott Medal-winner Kevin Henkes employs interactive questions, declarative sentences, basic shapes, and a limited color palette in this brilliant and classic picture book. A House introduces young readers to shapes, numbers, the weather, and the parts of a house, with a rhythmic, repetitive text and remarkable illustrations. A story about home, family, community, and belonging, A House is an excellent choice for emergent readers, for social and emotional development, and for storytime sharing.

This is an incredibly simple book and yet it is utterly charming and I am certain your preschool reading companion will enjoy interacting with this book.  It is also sure to be one that you revisit many times.

Henkes has put together a charmingly and deceptively simple interactive book that helps young readers identify shapes, delve into the concept of counting, and recognize meteorological phenomena. The soft colors and gentle questions serve to invite participation rather than coerce it. Kirkus

I am a huge fan of Kevin Henkes. He is the author of over sixty books. Junonia has a very special place in my heart and I love little Chrysanthemum and little Billy Miller. Take a look at the Kevin Henkes web page. I was a little amazed to discover A house is a title on our NSW Premier's Reading Challenge list for K-2. The inclusion of this book seems very strange but I do think this is a book that should be included in all preschool collections. 

The board book of A House will arrive in Australia later this year. 

Junonia by Kevin Henkes

I first talked about Junonia here on this blog in 2011. I suggest you begin with my previous post. On a recent visit to Gleebooks in Sydney I spied this book on their shelves. I really cannot list my top ten or even most favourite book but Junonia is a book I do think about from time to time and it is certainly a firm favourite so I decided (since I had left my beloved copy behind in my former school library) that I should buy a copy for myself. You probably already know I am a huge fan of Kevin Henkes. 

This morning I sat down and re-read the whole book again - I think this might be the third time I have read Junonia. Then I re-read my blog post and I was surprised by my own writing - well done to me!

Here are a few text quotes:

"Alice concentrated entirely on the pelican. The bird was so odd and silly looking, a mysterious, mesmerising wonder. ... She'd seen pelicans before, every year that she had been here, but when you see something only once a year it's always new, as if you're seeing it for the first time."

"Alice had a pale, watchful face. She had straight brown hair and brown eyes and a brown spot the size and shape of an apple seed near the corner of her mouth. The spot was a mole, but Alice hated the word mole and referred to as a speck. She hated the speck ... "

"When Alice's father unlocked the door to the pink cottage and Alice stepped inside, she brightened up instantly. Sunlight streamed through the windows. The walls of the main room and each smaller room were panelled with honey-coloured wood, once highly polished ... Alice felt as if she were entering an enchanted house from a fairy tale ... All  of the cottages were named for seashells. Alice's cottage was name Scallop. ... 'Hello, Scallop,' said Alice, twirling around. 'It's so good to see you again."

Junonia was first published in 2011. As I said, I purchased my copy a couple of weeks ago. Have you ever noticed book shop price stickers often have a date? My copy of Junonia was added to the shop inventory in December, 2020. I only paid $15 which was terrific. If this book is difficult to find in a shop perhaps it will be in your school or local library or perhaps you can borrow an ebook version. I do highly recommend Junonia for sensitive readers aged 9+. 

Kevin Henkes has created a character in Alice who deftly balances the line between girlhood and early adolescence. Her voice is authentic, and her worries, fears, and disappointments are spot-on. James Patterson

Henkes understands childhood disappointment in a way that really resonated with me, and I think Alice's perspective matches that of many real children whose lives are also changing as they move closer to adolescence. Read at Home Mom

An only child surrounded by affection, routine and attention, Alice has the space to realise that life can be an adventure experienced independently, even while held closely by those one loves. Kirkus Star review

Australian readers might need a map to understand where Alice lives (Wisconsin) and where they holiday each year in February (Florida).

Image Source: Wisconsin Auto transport

Here are some of the shells mentioned in this book including the wonderful but elusive junonia.

Image source: Southwest Florida Shells

I would follow Junonia with these:

Turtle in Paradise

Shouting at the Rain

The Grand Genius Summer of Henry Hoobler

Check out other Kevin Henkes books on this blog by typing his name in my search bar.

Billy Miller makes a Wish by Kevin Henkes

"When Sal had told him that Mr Tooley had died, Billy thought that it was his fault because of the wish he'd made. The world - including himself - had seemed to shift and unravel, to dissolve into a million pieces. And, now, just like that, everything had come back into place, into focus. Billy felt steady again. Solid. He felt like a normal eight-year-old boy."

I am getting ahead of myself with this quote but I just wanted to share these sentences which hopefully allow you to read and hear the delightful way Kevin Henkes expresses his ideas.

Here are the opening sentences of Billy Miller makes a Wish: "When Billy Miller blew out the eight candles on his birthday cake, he made a wish. He wished something exciting would happen."

Something does happen but perhaps this is not the kind of excitement Billy anticipated. An ambulance and police car arrive in Billy's street. His elderly neighbour Mr Tooley has sadly died. Billy is wracked with guilt. Did his innocent wish cause this terrible event? 

It is the summer holidays and when school returns Billy will move from the comfort and security of second grade up to grade three which Billy is sure will be filled with huge kids and frightening teachers. For now, though, Billy and his sister are at home with their mother and father enjoying every day activities. Billy is kind to his little sister Sal but she can be a handful. One of the best presents Billy is given for his birthday is a huge set of fifty deluxe markers. Sal is desperate to use them but Billy knows she won't be careful and all of his fears are realised when Sal uses the markers to copy the butterfly tattoos she has seen the legs of their mail carrier. This is a small thing perhaps but at the same time it is a very realistic family disaster. This story is filled with tiny incidents like this - tiny family dramas, all seen though the sweetly innocent voice of Billy. 

One aspect of the writing in this book that really appealed to me is the way Kevin Henkes references our senses:

"He got a T-shirt with a bat printed on it ... the shirt smelled new. Billy repeatedly pulled the shirt up, buried his face in it, and inhaled deeply."

"Billy smelled his soccer ball the way he'd smelled his shirt. It, too, smell new. And it looked new - the white parts were so white. And it felt new - smooth and shiny and polished."

"When he finally breathed normally, he realised that Mr Tooley's house smelled like the old fashioned hardware store with creaky floors that Papa liked to shop at. It was a good smell."

"The basement was the coolest place in the house. Billy could feel the temperature change as he walked down the stairs. He went up and down a few times just to feel the sensation. It was like magic."

"The warm night air felt like a blanket of softness. All around the trees were dark, like a border hemming the sky. It seemed to Billy that the day had been a long one - it felt like a year. And it seemed as if Papa had been gone forever."

The other delight that comes from reading this book is the way Mama reacts to every 'disaster'. Her good sense and patience just made me sigh with happiness. After the butterfly marker pen incident Mama says:

"Well, ... we'll do a little scrubbing. Maybe a lot. Don't worry." 'Will it hurt?' asked Sal. 'No,' said Mama. 'Will there be a happy ending?' asked Sal. Mama smiled. 'Yes."

"He felt the weight of Mama's hands on his shoulders and he somehow knew that everything would be okay."

I also enjoyed the tiny moments of tension in the story - anticipating Sal getting her hands on Mama's old letters for example. Sal is very keen to deliver mail in their street and Mama is a little distracted.

The events of this book take place over just a few days when Papa is away at his art camp. I like to think that Papa is really Kevin Henkes himself!  

Henkes’s phenomenal ability to tap directly into the hopes, fears, and annoyances of an eight-year-old boy with beautiful clarity make this not only relatable for young readers, but for adults as well ... the laugh-out-loud antics of his little sister Sal make this a darling addition to early middle grade collections for most libraries. School Library Journal

Full of heart and depth. Kirkus Star review

I feel as though I have had this book on my to read list for years and years so when I embarked on a long (12 hour) train journey last week this was the first book I opened on my iPad. I loved every reading moment. 

The way Billy Miller makes a Wish focuses on small everyday events made me think of this quote from Max by Bob Graham. 

"Let's call him a small hero doing quiet deeds. The world needs more of those."

Billy Miller makes a Wish can stand alone but I highly recommend you look for the first instalment.

The Year of Billy Miller

Penny series by Kevin Henkes

Easy Fiction Treasure

My easy fiction treasure posts are focusing on beginner books that have recently been culled from my former school library.  The Penny series titles are: Penny and her Song; Penny and her Doll; Penny and her Marble;  Penny and her Sled. These are so SPECIAL I simply cannot fathom why they were removed from the collection. Kevin Henkes is one of the best US writers. His famous titles include Chrysanthemum; The Year of Billy Miller; Junonia (one of my most favourite books of all time); and Wemberly Worried.

Penny and her Marble and Penny and her Doll have Kirkus Star reviews. The first three Penny books are available in paperback and are very inexpensive.

In the first book Penny comes home wanting to sing her song but her mother explains the babies are sleeping.

From Kevin Henkes web pages

Penny and her Song

Penny is an energetic young mouse with a song she just can’t wait to sing. Her mama’s name is Jane, her papa’s name is John, and her twin baby siblings are Tilly and Pip. Meet Penny and her family (and her new doll!) in this brand-new series for brand-new readers.

Penny and her Doll

When Penny receives a surprise box in the mail from Gram, she is thrilled. The surprise is a doll, and she is absolutely perfect, from her head to her toes. Penny loves her immediately. She introduces her new doll to Mama and to the babies and to Papa. But then Papa asks what the doll’s name is, and Penny realizes that she doesn’t know.

Penny and her Marble

Penny found a marble as blue and perfect as the sky. The marble is smooth and the marble is fast, but the marble does not belong to her. It belongs to her neighbor, Mrs. Goodwin. Now Penny is worried she’s taken something important, but a chance encounter with Mrs. Goodwin puts all her fears to rest.

Penny and her Sled

Patiently, Penny waits and watches for the snow to appear. She puts on her scarf and hat. She sleeps with her mittens. Maybe if she’s ready, the snow will finally come. But day after day, the snow does not arrive. Finally, Penny decides she will use her sled for other things—it’s too wonderful not to!

With a little imagination, the sled becomes a bridge for her glass animals to cross. It becomes a bed for her doll, Rose. It becomes a magic carpet that takes Penny and Rose on adventures all around the world.

These gorgeous books should be in every Primary school library. They are books to treasure and share with young readers who are gaining confidence with independent reading. Add them to your shopping list today!

Sun and spoon by Kevin Henkes

"Spoon Gilmore's grandmother had been dead for two months when he realized that he wanted something special of hers to keep."

Spoon had loved his Gram and his grief is deep and personal.  It is summer and his teachers parents are busy with their gardening, his older brother has gone to stay with Evie - his other grandmother in Oregon and so Spoon and his sister are spending their days together.  Spoon really wants time alone to solve his problem - a special item to help him hold onto his Gram.  A photo won't work but visiting his Pa he sees the special playing cards his Gram used when they all played together.

"Spoon had been dreaming about her since her death.  Not frightening dreams. But dreams in which she would pass through a room quickly, or be sitting in a chair in a shadowy corner, watching. At first, the dreams were constant, every night, but they were growing less frequent.  Spoon was loosing what little was left of her - his memories. He was afraid of forgetting her.  That's why he wanted something of hers."

Taking the cards has unexpected consequences.  Spoon needs to heal his own hurt but also the hurt he has caused others. I adore the name Spoon.  You may have guessed there is a history to this name but you will need to read Sun and Spoon for yourself. Spoon's relationship with his sister Joanie is also very important and filled with special moments and wisdom.  The voice of Spoon reminded me of another fabulous book by Kevin Henkes - The Year of Billy Miller which is a book I utterly adored. I have also included an alternate cover which I like better than the one in our collection.  Here is a set of lesson plans for Sun and Spoon.

Sun and Spoon is a perfect book for a sensitive reader and it is a book I highly recommend.  You might also enjoy Missing May.  For a younger child this book also reminded me of Miss Lilly's Fabulous Pink Feather Boa and Wilfrid Gordon McDonald Partridge.

Henkes deftly delineates characters and relationships with brief conversations and small personal or family rituals, folds in motifs--hands, the sun--to give the plot a pleasing rhythm, and consistently finds the perfect words to evoke each moment's sometimes-complex feelings. 

The Zebra Wall by Kevin Henkes

I picked up The Zebra Wall because I adore Kevin Henkes. You might like to read my reviews of Junonia and The Year of Billy Miller.

The Zebra Wall has so much to recommend it but sadly it also has one low point.  I am going to explain this because this issue does worry me.  Two of the main adult characters in this book are smokers. This book was written in 1988 and I am sure we were aware at that time about the dangers of smoking.

In this story we follow the emotional journey of Adine the oldest girl in a family of five girls.  Baby number six is about to arrive and everyone is sure this baby will be another little girl.  The family have lovely rituals to celebrate a birth - they write lists of suggested names, the nursery walls are painted with a special mural and everyone celebrates with  delicious home cooked treats.  In some ways the Vorlob family feel little like the Silks.  Each child is given a name following the alphabet - Adine, Bernice, Carla, Dot and Effie. The new baby will have a name beginning with the letter F (Adine has set her heart on Florinda) and the mural is filled with thing starting with F just as for Adine when it was filled with things that started with A.

I imagine you have guessed the new baby is not a little girl.  He arrives quite early and is tiny.  Nothing is ready and so Mrs Vorlob says for now they will call him Baby.  To complicate matters Aunt Irene has moved into the house to help with the new baby.  Adine finds life with her eccentric, cat obsessed and seemingly thoughtless aunt very difficult and worse news of all is that Irene will name the baby.

There is some very special writing in this book that just made me sigh with happiness.  Here is an example. When mum and dad are at the hospital Adine cannot sleep (she is sharing her room with Aunt Irene) so she moves into their room.

"The room was empty, the bed made.  Adine pulled the spread and the blankets back and climbed under them, sinking into the bed like syrup.  She loved the spread on her parents' bed.  It was the color of tea with milk, patterned with bursting, deep gold chrysanthemums."

I wonder did Kevin Henkes write his famous book Chrysanthemum before or after The Zebra Wall? Actually he did!  Chrysanthemum the picture book was published in 1991.

Back to the issue of smoking.  During her pregnancy Mrs Vorlob does not smoke.  Instead she holds onto carrot sticks.  Sadly the moment she arrives home from hospital she takes up smoking again.  Adine is disgusted :

"Mrs Vorlob reached into the pocket of her peppermint-striped jumper and pulled out a pack of cigarettes and her lighter. Adine frowned.  She had hoped her mother wouldn't take up smoking again.  Pretend-smoking vegetables may have looked silly but at least they didn't stink and they were good for you.  TV commercials about cancer frightened Adine."

If you enjoy The Zebra Wall you might also enjoy Lavender by Karen Hesse and also The naming of Tishkin Silk by Glenda Millard.

The Year of Billy Miller by Kevin Henkes

A few weeks ago I watched a video of a literary event in Boston featuring Kevin Henkes talking about his newest book The Year of Billy Miller.  As a part of this hour long event Kevin read the second chapter of his book and I held my breath.  I have been holding my breath all this time waiting for my copy of this special book to arrive.  It came on Friday and last night I sat down and read the whole thing - now I can breathe again.

Kevin Henkes has written my book of the year!  The structure of this book is perfect.  There are five parts and each part has five chapters.  Within each part something happens to young Billy that will make you gasp but then in the careful and skilled hands of Kevin Henkes each disaster or potential disaster is gently resolved.

In part one, Billy is heading off to school for the first day of Grade 2.  He is excited but also filled with awful doubts about his own abilities.  Over the past summer Billy had a bad fall and while unharmed he did score a huge lump on his head. In an unfortunate twist of events Billy overhears his Papa and Mama talking :

"I'm worried about him,' said Mama.
'He's fine,' said Papa.  Everyone said he's fine. And he seems fine. He is fine.'
'You're probably right,' said Mama. "But I worry that down the line something will show up. He'll start forgetting things."

There is a shadow hanging over Billy. He enters his new classroom, meets his new teacher Ms Silver (she is wonderful.  Read this book and find out why I love her) and finds his new seat.  His seat is beside an awful girl called Emma Sparks but Billy is so distracted with worry that he when she says her nick name is Emster he hears Hamster.  This earns him a scowl from Emma and so begins one part of his year where Emma will take every chance to dent Billy's happiness.  The first instance comes shortly after they meet.  Ms Silver has two red chopsticks holding up her hair.  Billy thinks they look cool. When Billy gets mad with Emma he picks up two red markers from his table and holds them above his head staring at Emma with the "meanest expression he could manage".  At that moment Ms Silver walks by.  Billy had intended the markers to look like devil horns but he immediately realises what he has done :

"Ms Silver thought he was making fun of her.  She thought the two red markers were meant to be her two red chopsticks. She thought the ugly face he'd make at Emma was an imitation of her, Ms Silver.  Billy didn't know what to do. What he wanted to do was run and run and run around the playground.  Running always made him feel better.  But he couldn't do that, so, in his journal, he drew a picture of a hamster and wrote: Hamsters small bad."

This is the part of the book that Kevin Henkes read.  I was so worried for Billy.  I wish I could tell you what Billy does to fix his mistake but I can only say read this book.  Actually I am going to say that again.  Read this book.  Every part of this book is brilliant especially the final section entitled Mother.

Kevin Henkes is famous for his picture books like Chrysanthemum, and novels like Junonia.  If you know any of his previous books I am sure you will be able to make links between them.  I am a huge fan of Kevin Henkes and this newest book is such a joy to read.  You could read this book aloud with your family.  When you read the part called Father try to find a copy of Sloppy Kisses by Elizabeth Winthrop - the perfect picture book to accompany this section.  I am so impressed by this book I am going to ask our NSW School Magazine bookshelf editors to include it for 2014.

If you need to read more of the plot here is a review in the New York Times. Here is the Kirkus review. The quote below comes from the SLJ.

To point out that the writing in this book is superb is akin to pointing out that air helps one to breathe. 

It’s obvious. This is Kevin Henkes, after all.

One Hundred books continued

Over the next seven weeks I plan to read one hundred books to one hundred classes. So far it has been very exciting to see the reaction of different groups of children to some of my cherished favourites.

In addition to the titles mentioned in the last post about this project by the end of last week we had read Where's the Baby by Pat Hutchins - there are four books in this series, Chrysanthemum by Kevin Henkes, The Mouse with the too long tail by Banni McSpedden and Princess Smartypants by Babette Cole. The search of identity within a family seems to be a link.

Pat Hutchins has created a delightful cast of characters in her monster series staring the wonderful Hazel and her little monster brother Billy. In the first book little Billy is lost. Hazel can see all the mischief he has been up too but the true delight comes from the reactions of the grownups - Grandma and Ma who, blinded by love perhaps, think all these horrible things show how marvelous Billy truly is. He paints the walls, spreads the chimney soot all over the white carpet, floods the bathroom and even cuts up a new dress Ma has been making. For Hazel the worst is yet to come when Billy attacks her room but the final scene is the one all children love. Where did those eggs come from?

Chrysanthemum is loved by her mother and father and life is happy and filled with warmth until the day she goes to school. Her beautiful name becomes a torture and each day is harder than the one before until the wonderful Mrs Twinkle turns things around in an unexpected way. We also have the Weston Woods video of this story and it was very special to see how the children were caught up in the plight of Chrysanthemum and how the actions of the bullies enraged them.

Years ago I read The mouse with the too long tail to a group and one little boy who had a fairly severe physical disability declared at the end that it was the best book he had ever heard. I could see him cheering for "Mouse with the too long tail" - the fifteenth child of Mr and Mrs Mouse. Our little hero has to discover that sometimes differences can be an advantage. At first he hates his tail but after a special dream everything is turned around. "The only difference was how happy he was - now that his tail was some thing everyone looked up to." Once again this is a very old book long out of print but well worth looking for in your library.

Finally we read Princess Smartypants to a group of Grade One children. I think parts of it may have been a little too difficult for this group although one child loved listening to this story as it was clearly a personal favourite. Babette Cole does not water down the vocabulary so the teacher needed to do quite a lot of talking all the way through. I have always loved defiant princesses and Smartypants is a wonderful example. There are two sequels to this book in our library.

Where to next? I think we should continue this theme by reading The very worst Monster by Pat Hutchins, Wemberly Worried by Kevin Henkes, Trixie the witch's cat by Nick Butterworth and The paperbag princess by Robert Munch.

Next post I will talk about some longer picture books we are sharing with Grade 3 and the next in my series of holocaust picture books for Grade 6.

Junonia by Kevin Henkes

We read to know we are not alone (CS Lewis). I wish I had read Junonia when I was a Primary school child, Alice Rice and I have so much in common. Alice is a quiet, compliant and well mannered child. As an only child with older parents she spends a lot of time in the company of adults. She travels to the same special holiday house in Florida year after year and Alice especially loves celebrating her birthday with the most special food, presents and happenings that she can imagine. Finally Alice has a little mole on her face which she has very mixed feelings about.

Each year as this group of three, mother, father and Alice, arrive at their holiday destination they have a little competition. Who will spot the first pelican, dolphin, heron, ibis and seagull? But as they approach the familiar holiday house Alice is overcome by a feeling of dread. It seems things are destined to be different this year.

One thing that that has not changed though is her room :

“The sun-bleached bedspread was printed with a pattern of a seaside Chinese village. Alice ran her fingers over rooftops and archways, over billowy swarms of butterflies and blossom-covered tress…. Here and there the bedspread was threadbare but Alice hoped it would never be replaced. She often fell asleep imagining that she was part of the village, wandering the twisted streets among the butterflies, collecting armfuls of fallen blossoms.”

Alice loves to collect shells and Henkes has thoughtfully included an illustration of all the shells that are found in this part of Florida. One shell that has alluded Alice is a junonia. She hopes that this year, the year she will turn ten, she will find this special shell washed up on the beach. Living near the beach I also find shells absolutely fascinating. Here is a video of the author talking about his book.

One of the biggest differences for Alice this year is the composition of the fellow holiday makers. Her holiday friends Colin, Chad and Heather are not coming and her beloved Aunty Kate is bringing a new friend called Ted and his young six year old daughter, Mallory.

Alice has to adapt to all this change but at least, it seems, her birthday celebration will be perfect :

“The hot dogs were perfect. The potato chips were perfect. Even the carrot sticks were perfect; they were sweeter than ever, and crunchy, and the most pure orange colour imaginable. Can food somehow know it’s your birthday and change to become more delicious? Underneath it all lay the faded red-and-white-checked tablecloth that Alice’s mother had found in the back of the cupboard. It was perfect too.”

You will hold your breath I am sure as the magic of this celebration crumbles around Alice.

My list of favourite books constantly changes and expands and now I am happy to add the gentle and emotional book Junonia. By coincidence we read Chrysanthemum to our Grade One classes this week and now that I think about it I can see lots of links between this very special picture which is essentially about identity and this novel by the same author, Junonia.