FOR CHILDREN
Every day each of us makes countless decisions and choices, and children are no exception. We make choices about what we say or fail to say; we choose to act in a certain way or not to act; we decide how we will treat our friends and how we will treat strangers. The list of daily decisions and choices is endless.
Consider the words of Margaret Lee Runbeck in her 1947 book, Hope of Earth: “A man leaves all kinds of footprints when he walks through life. ... A man doesn’t think about it, but everywhere he passes, he leaves some kind of mark. All these marks added together are what man means.”
The books reviewed today hint at this in three distinctive ways, nudging the reader/listener to act with forethought.
BOOKS TO BORROW
“Three Good Deeds” by Vivian Vande Velde, Harcourt, 160 pages Read aloud: age 8 and older Read yourself: age 9, 10 and older The old woman that lives near the pond loves and protects the geese there, and when she catches Howard stealing their eggs just for fun, she turns Howard into a goose to teach him a lesson. The kids used to joke that she was a witch, and now Howard knows they were right! On top of being a goose, the old woman tells him he can’t go back to being a boy until he does three good deeds. But how do you do that when you’re a goose?
Hilarious on every page with subtle messages that are important, this book is terrific.
LIBRARIAN’S CHOICE
Library: Groton Public Library, 52 Newtown Rd., Groton Library Director: Betty Anne Reiter Children’s Librarian: Kim Balentine Choices this week: “Before You Were Mine” by Maribeth Boelts; “True Gift: A Christmas Story” by Patricia MacLachlan; “The Wednesday Wars” by Gary Schmidt
BOOKS TO BUY
“What Does It Mean To Be Kind?” by Rana DiOrio, illustrated by Stéphane Jorisch, Little Pickle Press, 2015, 32 pages, $17.95 hardcover Read aloud: age 4 to 7 Read yourself: age 7 What does it mean to be kind? Being kind is both an attitude and an action that follows, such as smiling at the new kid in the class. Being kind means sticking up for the person who is being bullied; forgiving someone who has hurt your feelings; celebrating the differences in others. The list of what it means to be kind goes on and on in this lovely, important book.
This seemingly simple picture book does an outstanding job in delivering its message. While very direct in its approach, the combination of text and illustrations make the book seem far less didactic and more of a gentle lesson on what it means to be kind.
“Schnitzel: A Cautionary Tale for Lazy Louts” by Stephanie Shaw, illustrated by Kevin M. Barry, Sleeping Bear Press, 2016, 32 pages, $16.99 hardcover Read aloud: age 5 to 8 Read yourself: age 7 and 8 Young Schnitzel is the apprentice to the world-famous wizard Sir Willibald, who has a daily list of chores for Schnitzel to complete and doesn’t tolerate shortcuts. Schnitzel is the opposite of Willibald: he is slow, lazy and doesn’t like to work. (He dislikes vacuuming most of all.) While Schnitzel’s duties are clear — keep the house clean and leave the spells to Willibald — Schnitzel always seems to fall short.
Late one night, the doorbell rings. Schnitzel drags himself out of bed, opens the door and finds a salesman with fangs wearing an opera cloak. The man is selling vacuum cleaners and offers to demonstrate his product and vacuum the whole house at no charge. Schnitzel is delighted and invites the stranger in. What follows is utter mayhem.
Written in rhyme, this story is a retelling of the classic poem “The Sorcerer’s Apprentice.” Loaded with humor and perfectly complemented with hilarious illustrations, this selection abounds with good stuff.
kendal@sunlink.net