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These past few months have been defined by an anger born of despair, and by a loss of kindness born from want of hope. It seems this season of light and joy is in dire need of healing.
Hope comes from many places: your family, your friends, your heart, your faith.
Where I find hope is in stories. Every writer and poet, every teacher and parent – everyone who has lived a life – knows that life isn’t always easy. Life isn’t without its fears and despairs. In fact, dare I say, it is impossible to experience life without experiencing pain. Complete freedom from pain, says Daniel Taylor (
The Healing Power of Stories, 1996), means separating yourself from life.
Stories remind us what it means to be human. Not perfect, by any means. But certainly Human. As Taylor suggests, we are the product of all the stories we have heard and lived. Our stories are interwoven, and we cannot live our stories separate from each other because we are characters in each other’s story. Stories fill us with the courage to face life’s possibilities. They show us the way to be more than what we are now. They remind us of what we are capable of doing, if only we work together.
While there were many great and inspiring stories published, I offer the following stories -- and by coincidence, all animal stories -- that reminded me of this hope, demonstrating what can happen when the best of humanity comes together.
And they make me smile. Grant and Tillie Go Walking, by Monica Kulling (July 2015), is a gently wise picturebook on the power of friendship. Grant Wood struggles to find his artistic voice and runs off to Paris to find himself. However, he soon discovers there is no place like home. He learns to be true to himself by painting what makes his heart sing. And in this case, it's beautiful and peaceful Tillie.
Call Me Amy, by Marcia Strykowski (May, 2013), is a wonderful coming-of-age tale about friendship, teamwork and community responsibility. The three protagonists – shy Amy, quirky Miss Cogshell, and the mysterious Craig – come together to save a stranded, injured seal pup.
And speaking of animal rescues, what a powerful story of human achievement and connection is Robert Burleigh’s
Trapped! A Whale Rescue, illustrated by the incomparable Wendell Minor (April, 2015). Burleigh tells the true story of an adult female humpback whale tangled in fishermen’s nets. Despite the dangers, a team of rescuers and divers fight the odds to save her life. At first, the terrified whale struggles against her rescuers. But in the end, as she is freed from her prison, she circles the divers in recognition and appreciation before she returns to the sea.
And finally, Lee Wardlaw offers a charming tale told in haiku,
Won Ton and Chopsticks (March, 2015). Irascible cat Won Ton needs to learn how to get along with the new “baby”, Chopstick the puppy. It’s a struggle, to be sure, but finally the two discover they have more in common than not, and finally make peace.
Isn’t that the story of the day? What are your stories of hope?
Bobbi MillerDon't forget to check out the other Teaching Authors' series of unforgettable books
. JoAnn adds her favorites, with some wonderful reads. Esther highlighted one that carried her heart in its heart. April offered her poetry favorite of the year and Mary Ann listed three memorable YA novels. 
Daylight Starlight Wildlife
By Wendell Minor
Wendell Minor’s “How Big Could Your Pumpkin Grow?” and “My Farm Friends” are read-alouds that infuse fun facts about the world of nature via giant pumpkins or farm friendly nature nesters, for your young readers to get to know.
Farm living, for us, definitely has us in touch with the pulse and pace of life, and the seen and unseen wildlife that make their home both in and on the farm; invited or not!
So, I had a jump of recognition to many of these wildlife day/night visitors in Mr. Minor’s lifelike paintings. I’ve seen them, but they are still there whether seen or unseen.
And now, in “Daylight Starlight Wildlife,” he provides, through magnificently detailed paintings, a glimpse for your young reader of red-tailed hawks flying, ( we have one on our farm named Hannibal), and a conglomerate of other day and nighttime animals juxtaposed on opposing pages, surrounding us in both sun filled skies and sunless nights.
Sunny visitors may include butterflies, turtles, rabbits, wild turkeys, squirrels and woodchucks.
Red foxes, (ours is named Fred), skunks, flying squirrels, warty toads, opossums, ground hogs, (ours is called Geoffrey), coyotes, and brown eyed barred owls prowl sometimes unseen, in their nighttime environs.
I have often wanted to go up to the farm at dusk and have a chat with the nighttime denizens.
Young readers can pore over the delightful, and realistic, sunlight and starlight visitors surrounding backyards, forests and glades.
“If you truly love nature, you
will find beauty everywhere.”
Vincent van Gogh
At the back of the book are a series of “Fun Facts” about each animal detailing when they are active, and a small nugget of interesting facts.
For instance, Cottontail rabbits can get up to 18 miles an hour when chased by predators, woodchucks can eat one whole pound of veggies in a sitting, turtles can live up to 80 years and chipmunks can pack in food to those cheeky pouches, some three times bigger than the size of their heads!
Gaining a positive respect and perspective on the wildlife that surrounds us, has been Mr. Minor’s mission through his picture books.
And with his latest, his young readers, book in hand, are in for fun filled explorations on upcoming summer days and nights!
This is my last picture book in the series of books I wanted to suggest as part of your Earth Day celebrations next Wednesday. Title: The Last Polar Bear Written by: Jean Craighead George Illustrated by: Wendell Minor Published by: Harper, 2009 Themes/Topics: polar bears, … Continue reading →
I’ve been a fan of Robert Burleigh‘s writing for the past few years. I was delighted to receive an advance review copy of Trapped! A Whale’s Rescue, his newest picture book that’s out later… Continue reading →
This is the fifth picture book illustrated by Wendell Minor that I have reviewed! It has just recently been published and I thought it would be a great follow-on from last week’s review on A GRAND OLD TREE. It is, after … Continue reading →
Tony Johnston and Wendell Minor's new book, Sequoia, will be published later this month. Recently, both of them were gracious with their time and granted me interviews. Hear what they have to say about writing and illustrating. Get a sneak peek at this exquisite text you can use to infuse your students' informational writing with poetry. 
Title: Galapagos George Written By: Jean Craighead George Paintings By: Wendell Minor Published By: Harper, 2014. Themes/Topics: Galapagos Islands, giant tortoise, extinction Suitable for ages: 7-11 Opening: This is a story that took so long to happen that only the stars were present at the … Continue reading →
GALAPAGOS GEORGE is the story of the famous Lonesome George, a giant tortoise who was the last of his species, lived to be one hundred years old, and became known as the rarest creature in the world. This incredible evolution story by renowned naturalist and Newbery Medal winner Jean Craighead George gives readers a glimpse of the amazing creatures inhabiting the ever-fascinating Galápagos Islands, complete with back matter that features key terms, a timeline, and further resources for research.
Here are some Common Core objectives that GALAPAGOS GEORGE can help meet:
Identify the main purpose of a text, including what the author wants to answer, explain, or describe. Use information gained from the illustrations and words in a book to demonstrate understanding of its characters, setting, or plot. Describe the overall structure of a story, including describing how the beginning introduces the story and the ending concludes the action.
And you can use the following questions to help start a specific discussion about this book or a general discussion about informational texts and/or literature:
- How does a reader determine the genre of a particular book? What characteristics apply to GALAPAGOS GEORGE? RI.2.5, RL.2.3
- What elements of a book help the reader determine the main idea? What details support the main idea? RI.2.2, RL.2.2
- How do the illustrations contribute to the text (characters, setting, and plot)? RI.2.7, RL.2.7
GALAPAGOS GEORGE will be available next week!
In the interest of full disclosure, I need to make a confession: I am a former railway conductor. I worked for Midland Mainline, a railway operating company in England, for four years, working my way up from trolley dolly to guard. There was a time when I knew every bump in the line from Sheffield to London. Whenever I stand on a station platform, and watch a train leave, I am sorry for the
