New Books

Greetings!
I have four new books for you this week.

Red and Lulu by Matt Tavares. The first one is a Christmas book. Look for it now, because the holidays come much too fast! Red and Lulu are cardinals that live in a large tree. The family who lived in the house near their tree would decorate it with lights and gather around and sing “O Christmas tree, O Christmas tree, Thy leaves are so unchanging. . .” Red and Lulu loved this and sometimes sang along. One day Red flies off to find something to eat and when he returns, his tree had moved! It was tied to a big truck and then the truck drove away. Red flies along trying his best to keep up with the tree that still has Lulu in it. But before long he loses sight of the tree. In a big city, he tries to find his tree, and after a few days, he hears singing. “O Christmas tree, O Christmas tree, Thy leaves are so unchanging. . .”
He quickly flies toward the music and there is his tree with Lulu still there. The two birds have a happy reunion. Soon workers come and take their tree away, but Red and Lulu stay behind this time in the park surrounded by trees and friends.
There are a number of wordless pages in this book. Students of all ages will enjoy the story.

I Walk With Vanessa by Kerascoet. I really like wordless picture books and I found this next one to be just perfect for our school and really any school. Vanessa is the new girl in school and is being bullied by one of the children. A little girl sees this and decided the next day that she can walk with Vanessa and be her friend. Along they way to school, other children join them and when they arrive, there is a large crowd of children walking with Vanessa. The boy who was bullying her the day before, is red-faced to see that everyone else is standing up for Vanessa instead of bullying. What a great lesson to be an upstander!

What’s Your Favorite Color? By Eric Carle and Friends. Many of you may know Eric Carle as a talented artist. If you don’t know him by name, think of The Hungry Caterpillar, The Grouchy Ladybug, and more. In this book Eric gathered together fifteen children’s book artists and each tells what his or her favorite color is giving an explanation and then illustrates the color beautifully. Some stories are just a few sentences and others have a paragraph or two. I LOVE color and I LOVE children’s books and this has both! What a treat!

Lost and Found Cat: The True Story of Kunkush’s Incredible Journey by Doug Kuntz and Amy Shrodes. I am in process of collecting the Washington Children’s Choice books for the 2019. This book came just this week and the illustrations were so lush I sat down to read it immediately. A family in Iraq is escaping a dangerous situation and leave. Sura, the mother, decided that they could not leave without their beloved cat, so she hides him in a small carrier basket hoping that he would stay quiet. The different problems that fall to them as they meet smuggler after smuggler helping them. After crossing the sea in a very small boat, Kunkush is left on the sand while the older son helps the rest of the family. Kunkush is frightened and escapes his carrier and runs off. The family is heartbroken, but after hours of searching, finally must continue on to safety. Thanks to a number of kind people, and the magic of technology and Facebook, Kunkush is reunited with his family. There is an author’s note that gives more information plus a map to show Kinkush’s journey and the last few pages have photos of little Kunkush and his family. I have already decided my favorite of the Washington Children’s Choice books. THIS one.
I love that the story is true. The refugee crisis is very real and this book tells just one small story of one family trying to find a better place to live.

Have a great weekend.
Audrey