Detective Gordon: The First Case by Ulf Nilsson and Gitte Spee

I'm utterly charmed by this little mystery.

It's set in a forest in the depth of winter. A squirrel discovers that someone has been stealing his nuts and takes his case to Detective Gordon, a toad. Along the way to solving the case, Detective Gordon nearly freezes to death but is rescued by a small mouse. He ends up making this mouse his assistant. Between the two of them, they manage to find the culprits who have stolen the nuts. 

I am enchanted by the relationship between the aging Detective Gordon and, Buffy, his young mouse assistant. I especially appreciate that they dine on cake for breakfast, lunch and dinner. In this image, they are waiting to come up with an idea while the cakes tantalize and motivate them. 

Spee's glorious watercolour illustrations accent the essence of the forest and add extra emotional impact to the story. 

I am seduced by the nuanced morality and ethical conundrums that are laid out in this short novel. There is something Dickensian and at the same time, modern in this. Look at this quote to see what I mean. 

"How many nuts do you own?"

'Fifteen thousand, seven hundred and four," the squirrel said quickly. "One-five-seven-oh-four."

The detective nodded.

"We must have a forest where everybody is happy," he said. "The crime shall be punished. But if someone is in trouble--say they're dizzy and about to faint and need a bite to eat--we're understanding. We must make allowances in our forest. All of us."

"All of us! Allowances!" The squirrel scoffed. "Now I'm so angry I can't speak. I'm going."

This book in it's morality, language, and illustrations is reminiscent of William Steig's The Real Thief. I enjoyed it, but I'm worried that, like Steig's title, which enthralled readers when read with me, but languished on the shelf in spite of my cajoling otherwise, won't endear itself to independent reading. 

It's written at what I'm guessing is about a grade four reading level. This will make it fine for sophisticated younger readers, but I'm not sure it will entice many of my readers at this age level. That said, I believe it will make a very fine read aloud for grade four and younger. Maybe even older students will enjoy it. After all, I did. 

#IMWAYR June 15, 2015

On Monday's I am happy to take part in #IMWAYR. It's when bloggers share their reading for the week. I am especially thankful to Jen from Mentor Texts and Kellee and Rickie from Unleasing Readers for hosting this event. The only real downside (aside from it being expensive,) is that my 'to read list' keeps growing faster than I can read. 

Walk on the Wild Side by Nicholas Oldland (from Netgalley)

3 stars

Moose, Bear and Beaver are together again. This time the three pals decide to climb a mountain. Unfortunately, once they get to the base of the mountain, they decide, just to make it more interesting, to race to the top. This nearly ends in disaster as Moose and Bear fall over a cliff. Thankfully, Beaver comes up with an ingenious way to save them. In the end, the three friends enjoy the rest of their climb taking their time to enjoy the sights on the way up. 

I read this with Max, my 3 year old great-nephew this weekend. He wanted to read it numerous times. I think this means it passed the kid test.

Budding Reader Series by Melinda Thompson, Melissa Ferrell & Doug Oglesby (illustrator) (from Netgalley)

3 stars

These are books that come in sets and each book has increasingly complex text. I'm always interested in resources that will help struggling readers become successful. I'm not sure if these are ideal, but I'll leave that up to the Special Needs Support teachers at our school. On the other hand, the brilliant Max, who I mentioned earlier, loved the wordless books. 

Lulu Bell and the Sea Turtle by Belinda Murrell And Serena Geddes (illustrator) 

4 stars

Thank you Carrie Gelson and your wonderful daughter for loaning me this book. It is charming! 

Lulu's family heads off into the far reaches of Australia so their mother can meet with local aboriginal artists and leaders in preparation for an art show. The family camps on one of the local families properties and the children learn a lot about the aboriginal way of life, both past and present. It involves the making of spears and a fishing trip in the ocean. 

I liked that the story highlights ecological issues. Lulu saves a turtle that has been tangled up in abandoned fishing line. There is also a conversation about how the people hunt and fish to feed themselves, but they don't take more than they need. I wasn't too happy that they used paper plates at the going away feast, but I can live with it. 

Throughout the book it feels like the author is respectful towards Australian Aboriginal ways of being, but I don't really know enough to affirm this.

5 stars

Finding The Worm by Mark Goldblatt

If I wasn't already a Goldblatt fan, this would have turned me into one. Readers who are familiar with Twerp, will recognize the same characters. It's a sequel, but it sands on its own. This time the 34th street crew have to deal with the serious illness of one of their own. I love Goldblatt's realistic boys. They are smart and sensitive, with just the right amount of rambunctiousness thrown in. 

2 stars

I abandoned All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven because it was too intense and emotionally exhausting for me to read in June. On top of this, having a bipolar friend and a bipolar family member, means reading differently. On the one hand it was interesting to get a glimpse inside someone's brain. But when I learned that there would be a suicide, I got angry. I'm waiting till I am less emotionally exhausted from my real life and may have another go at it, but I doubt it. 

Currently I'm listening to Magic Marks the Spot, the first of The Very Nearly Honorable League of Pirates by Caroline Carlson. It's lots of fun. I'm reading, with my eyes, All Four Stars by Tara Dairman. 

Up Next, I have to get back at my to read list. I've got The School of Essential Ingredients by Erica Bauermeister ready to listen to. I think I'll bring All the Answers by Kate Messner from school to read. That will get two of them checked off the list!

Happy reading everyone!

Budding Reader Series by Melinda Thompson, Melissa Ferrell & Doug Oglesby (illustrator)

This series was created to help struggling readers. There are five sets of books. Each set focuses on words with a specific short vowel sound. There are 10 books in each set. Each book has the same story in the illustrations, but the the first book in each set is wordless, and each successive book adds more words to the text. The final book in the first set, Cat and Rat, has 11 words. By the time readers finish the fifth set, Hens, there are 22 words.
You can see how the text becomes increasingly complex from the following screen shots.

 

One of my casual hobbies is collecting old readers. In the past I have helped struggling learners become successful readers by loaning them to them. (Unfortunately, I have also lost more than a few this way.) There is something about repetitive vocabulary with incremental additions of new words that builds confidence in readers. Are they good literature? Not at all, but they get the job done. I'll never forget a reading interview with a grade one boy who paused in his reading of John and Janet, to say, "Cheriee, these people talk funny." 

This series reminds me of these. Of course these illustrations are much brighter and more colourful. Still, the concept remains the same. I'm going to let our special needs teachers have a look to see what they think. Although I remember reading the same book umpteen times to my boys when they were young, I'm not sure how students will react to the same story retold so many time.

I tried two of these out with Max, my three year old (brilliant) great-nephew. He liked being able to tell his own story, but wasn't enthusiastic about then reverting to simple one word narration. 

Finding The Worm by Mark Goldblatt

Reading this book has been like connecting up with an old friend. 

5 stars

Unfortunately, things are not going so well for Julian Twerski. He's got an older kid at school who doesn't like him. Someone scratched his initials on a painting and the principal blamed him. Now he has to write a two hundred word essay on good citizenship, even though he's innocent. His friend Beverly wants to race him, even though he will beat her. He's also starting to be confused about his feelings towards her. And oh ya, one of his best friends, Quentin, is really sick with a tumour in his head.

What I liked about this book:
It worked for me right off the bat. I didn't struggle to get into it. Maybe it's because I loved Twerp, and the place and people are the same, but it seemed like everything was familiar to me.
I really admired Rabbi Salzberg. He's a kind, supportive mentor as well as a guidance counsellor and spiritual leader.
Goldblatt's boys are so real and loving and authentic. I remember boys like them growing up in the 60's They are the kind of boys I like to read about. They are the kinds of boys I want as role models for all boys. The friendship between these 34th street pals is so refreshing and sweet. I loved that the game of piggyback tag emerged spontaneously to ensure everyone was included in their fun.
If a book makes me cry I'm happy. I cried. Not in an angst filled way, but in a sluppy kind of way.

What I don't like about this book:
There isn't another one waiting for me to start.