Student Saturday: A Land Remembered - Patrick D. Smith

Publisher:  Pineapple Press
Pages:  235
Genre:  Middle Grade, Historical Fiction
Student Reviewer:  Mirielle

A Land Remembered is a book that takes the reader on a journey back in time to a more difficult era.  In many ways it was a much simpler life as well.  The story takes place in the Florida scrubs and the year is 1858.

The main characters start with Tobias MacIvey who is a husband and father.  he has strong moral values and is looking for a better life for himself and his family.  Emma MacIvey is his wife and mother of their son.  Her quiet strength and never ending support for her husband is to be admired.  Zech MacIvey is their son.  He starts as just an infant when the story begins and turns into a curious and outgoing boy as the story goes on.

This story tells of a man bringing his family from Georgia to the Florida wilderness.  They are escaping the Civil War in Georgia and also trying to make a better life with a fresh start for his family in Florida.  There are many challenges to surviving the Florida wilderness.  Tobias is known to be a fair and honest man who respected the land and the people on it.  Tobias and his family start out with almost nothing but through strength and tenacity they surprise even themselves by the magnitude of their accomplishments.  Along their journey they become friends with the Seminole Indians and they also make friends with an ex-slave both of which help them immensely.  The family's livelihood came from herding wild cows in the scrubs.  The story goes on to tell about their hardships and successes.

I wish that I could have been there with them on their exciting journey into the wilderness.  This book however did make me feel as close to really being there as I could be.  I would recommend this book to anyone who loves to explore the world how it once was.  From this book I learned so much about the Florida wilderness of that time and the people that lived there.  I truly loved this book.

Stripey Follows His Dream – Gail Shumway

Publisher:  Snow in Sarasota Publishing

Pages:  60

Source:  Purchased

Genre:  Children’s picture book

Reading Level:  Ages 4 and up

As parents and teachers we look for books that will mold and shape our children.  We also want those books to be wonderfully engaging, and to hold the attention of those children.  The images in this book, taken by the author are absolutely gorgeous.  The writing creates images in the mind that are as vivid as the photographs.

The story follows a very colorful tree frog in the rainforest who decides to follow his dream.  What is his dream?  He wants to see the rainforest in the daylight.  He usually sleeps during the day.

  As you read you learn about his life, and life of other animals in the rainforest.  The book is rich in vocabulary.  As a teacher I could see this book being used in a unit on the rainforest.  There so many directions this book could take the reader or the teacher.  I purchased this book as a gift for an elementary school.  I plan to order several for Christmas gifts.  I can think of nothing better to give to my grandchildren.

I had the privilege of meeting author Gail Shumway at our local fair where she was talking about, and signing her wonderful book.  I believe every fair should have author's selling wonderful books.

About the Author:

Author, wildlife photographer, and graphic designer, Gail Shumway has been photographing wildlife since 1985. Her fascination with butterflies and amphibians has drawn her to many parts of the United States, Ecuador, Peru, Trinidad, Costa Rica, Belize, Honduras, Panama, Guatemala, and Southeast Asia. In 1990 she was invited to participate in the exhibition "Hunting with the Camera" in Vienna, Austria, and her images have been exhibited at the Natural History Museum in London. Gail has won numerous national and international awards for her photography, along with the Distinguished Achievement Award of the Educational Press Association of America for excellence in educational journalism.


To learn more got to her website:  www.gailshumway.com

Tashi and the Tibetan Flower Cure- Naomi C. Rose

Publisher:  Lee & Low

Pages:  42

Source:  Netgalley

Genre:  Children’s Picture Books

Tashi’s grandfather is not well.  He used to tell her stories of how people in his village were cured by flowers.  Tashi makes arrangements with a local nursery to bring her grandfather to sit among the flowers to make him better.  He agrees but doesn’t get better.  Mr. Wong the nursery owner asks him to come back the next week.  When they go back the next week they serve all of the customer tea and cookies.  People come to talk with him.  In Tibet, people sit and visit in the gardens.  This is what they call the “flower cure”. 

I love the book.  The illustrations were beautifully done.  The message of friendship and love carried all through the book.  I know when I am sick that being out doors makes me feel better. 

This is a wonderful book to teach about caring for others, as well as teaching about the Tibetan culture.  There were a lot of Tibetan words used throughout the book.  Great book.