In Our Reading Basket

Stories read and reviewed by a mother and son.  Here are this week's reads:

Mustache by Mac Barnett

A story with a moral about a vain king who cares much more about himself than about his subjects. Great illustrations.  Story was a bit lacking, but the illustrations made up for it.  Little Guy laughed and and liked it.

The Longest Night by Marion Dane Bauer

A story (/poem/open mic night submission?) about winter.  The sun is gone and the animals want to bring it back. Parts of the story are a little strange, but it has captured Little Guy's heart.  We've read it almost daily since checking it out of the library.  Little Guy absolutely loves it.

Madison and the Two Wheeler by Dr. Vanita Braver

Madison is a little girl who is afraid to ride her bike without training wheels.  The story makes the analogy to a bird leaping out of the nest for the first time.  It was great timing for us, since Little Guy has been nervous about removing his training wheels.  Little Guy liked the story, but it didn't make him run to the garage and hop on his bike!

The Faeries Gift retold by Tanya Robyn Batt

A magical little story about a woodcutter who helps a faerie in the forest, and in return, is given a wish.  He must decide how to use his wish while his family members each make a plea for him to use the wish on what they want.  In the end, he finds a way to make everyone happy.  Little Guy and I both really liked this one.

River by Debby Atwell

Great story with a great message.  It's basically about the land (and the river) and how human progress has affected it and the wildlife.  Little Guy and I both loved it.

 The Shaking Bag by Gwendolyn Battle-Lavert

A story about a kind woman who entertains a stranger and his magic bag.  A nice lesson to show that when you are selfless and kind to others, good things may come your way.

See Me Run by Paul Meisel

I love finding books that are full of sight words for Little Guy to read to me.  This one was perfect for where he's at with kindergarten sight words.  Other than BOB books, it's really tough to find easy readers that are actually easy readers.  This one was definitely perfect.

Kumak's Fish by Michael Bania

A tall tale from the far north.  Kumak uses his uncle's lucky fishing stick to make a huge catch that gets the whole village involved.  Cute story, Little Guy really liked it.