Taking a Bath with the Dog
Scott Menchin
If you appreciate the little things that bring joy to your life, you’ll relate to this list of happiness bringers: riding a bike, slurping spaghetti, staying up late, blowing bubbles, singing, baking cookies with faces, etc. A little girl, who is feeling a little blue, surveys people in her life to find out what makes them happy. A joyful list ensues that would make a great spring board for a class book.
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The OK Book
Amy Krouse Rosenthal 
With the pressure kids seem to feel to be the best at everything...this book is a lovely reminder that it is alright to be ok at a lot of things. “I’m an OK skipper. I’m an OK climber. I’m an OK marshmallow roaster. I’m an OK tightrope walker....One day, I’ll grow up to be really excellent at something. I don’t know what it is yet...but I sure am having fun figuring it out.” How much do you love that message? We do! In fact, we will probably write our own “I’m OK” books with our students as we get to know each other, establishing our learning community as the new school year begins.
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They Wore What?! The Weird History of Fashion and Beauty
Richard Platt
Wow! It is all in here. From miniskirts to beehive hairdo’s, wild and wacky hats to perfumed wigs, corsets to piercings, false teeth to poisonous cosmetics and everything in between. It was a fascinating read!
The message is “Fashion may seem like fun, but as you’ve seen, it can be ridiculous and harmful, too. Looking just the same as everyone else may be reassuring, but it is also expensive and wasteful. Why should this summer’s colors, fabrics, and styles be different from last summer’s? Don’t be afraid to escape from the herd. Be yourself, and wear something completely different!” It’s time for back to school shopping. Don’t we want our children to hear that message loud and clear?
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Artful Reading
Bob Raczka
Through a variety of era’s and artistic styles we are introduced to places and reasons for reading. Simple text accompanies each work of art: “Read by yourself; Read with each other; Read one good book; Then read another; Read to discover what something means; Read to escape to a place you can dream.” One line per page perfectly accompanies the selected work of art. In small print underneath are Artist, title, year and where it is hung. More interesting tidbits can be found in the very back next to a thumbnail of each piece, for example, Paul Cezanne (1839-1906) French.
Because Paul Cezanne’s father was a banker, he read a newspaper that was popular with businessmen. But as a little joke, Cezanne painted him reading L’Evenement, the newspaper preferred by French artists and writers.
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Chickens May Not Cross The Road and Other Crazy (But True_ Laws
Kathy Linz
This is a fun and quirky little romp through cartoonish illustrations and a line of colorful text stating a true and crazy law that either is, or has been, on the books somewhere. Interspersed between them are single pages of text describing: Why some crazy laws exist; Why laws are necessary; The oldest laws; and how our branches of government function to create laws. A couple of our favorites are
- It is against the law to carry an ice cream cone in a pocket. (Lexington, Kentucky)
- No one may take a lion to a movie theater. (Baltimore, Maryland)
- It is forbidden to fish for whales (Oklahoma state law)
- Policemen are allowed to bite a dog if they think it will calm the dog down. (Paulding, Ohio)
- Trout Fishing is Against the Law if you are sitting on a Giraffe’s Back. (Idaho State Law)
- Riding an Ugly Horse is Illegal in Wilbur, Washington
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