Let's Get a Pup!

Let's Get a Pup! is a sweet story about a family that wants a new puppy to complete their family. They begin their search in the local newspaper when they come across an ad about an animal shelter. They visit the shelter and see all kinds of different dogs, but none of them seem right until they met Dave, a small and energetic puppy. On their way out with Dave they meet Rosie, an older dog with a sweet and polite demeanor that touches their hearts. After a night with Dave they decide to go back and adopt Rosie as well. The two pups bring all of them what they had hoped for in a new pet as if they were meant to be all along.

This story was painfully sweet and cute. I loved that it promotes adopting shelter animals as opposed to paying thousands of dollars for special breeds. The story teaches children that puppies can be great but the older dogs need a good home, and can bring just as much joy. I used to work at the Humane Society and there were so many dogs in need of good homes, so I'm glad there are books like this one to encourage adoption.

I also liked that the family wasn't a stereotypical looking family. The mom has a septum piercing and tattoos and the daughter is a tomboy which I think a lot of children these days can relate to.
I would recommend this for K-3rd but I think its good for everyone to read to encourage adopting shelter animals!

"ISH" by Peter H. Reynolds

"Ish" is a sweet story about a little boy named Ramon who loves to draw. He draws anywhere and anytime, whatever he feels, whatever he sees. One day his older brother makes fun of his drawings asking "What is THAT?!" as Ramon drew a picture of a flower vase. Ramon started seeing his drawings as "not right" and crumpled them up and tried again until one day he just gave up. With his hopes crushed Ramon finds that he has an admirer. His little sister Marisol had been rescuing his drawings from the trash and hanging them on her wall. He tells her the vase doesn't look like a vase at all, she responds telling him it looks vase-ISH! This sheds a whole new light on Ramon's drawings and he begins drawing again despite his drawings not looking completely "right.."

I LOVED this story. I loved to draw as a kid and even into adulthood, I almost became an art teacher because I had such a passion for it. I think so many kids love to draw but are faced with such critical negativity for their creativity. I know growing up and even as an adult I was criticized for my drawings not looking "right" and it definitely discouraged me.

I think this story shows children that your imagination and creativity is unique in that it may not always "look right" to someone else, but that doesn't make it any less beautiful. It teaches children not to be so hard on themselves and to embrace their creativity.

I would read this book to my kindergarten class because of the simple language and illustrations. As a pre-k teacher I hear all too often "Her picture's ugly!" or "He's scribbling!" so I think this book could show them that not all people draw the same, or see things the same way. That's what makes us all so unique!

The Journey That Saved Curious George; The true Wartime Escape of Margaret and H.A. Rey

The Journey That Saved Curious George by Louise Borden is a children's biography of the life of H.A. Rey (the author of the Curious George series) and his wife Margaret. The German born couple existed during a time of war when Hitler was taking over and causing chaos among Europe. The author and his wife escaped the violence by biking through Paris, boating to Brazil, and then finally making it to America where Curious George was finally published.

This book is interesting in that it is ultimately a biography meant for children (3rd-4th grade). It has real photographs of H.A. Rey's personal calenders, passport, and illustrations as well as illustrations to go with the story. The reader learns a lot about where Curious George started (originally called FiFi the Curious Monkey) and the author who created him.

I liked this book because I have always loved Curious George and it was cool to learn a little more about the author and story behind the series. H.A. Rey had an interesting life and I think this book would be a good one to use in a 3rd grade classroom when introducing writing and researching authors, something I remember doing at that age. The story was long but full of interesting pictures to keep the readers attention.

I would highly recommend this book to teachers as well as anyone who would like to know more about this author.