Morris the Village Voice

Publisher:  Createspace
Pages:  32
Source:  review copy from author in exchange for my honest review
Genre:  Children's Picture Book

Summary
When a small village's advertising column is to be replaced by a flashy neon billboard, only the heart and perseverance of two young children can save him and keep him in the town's center.
Morris is a very proud advertising column.  Topped with bronze that has turned green over the years, he rotates in the center of a wonderful, small village and informs its inhabitants of thee important events happening in their tiny hamlet.   From puppet shows and concerts to sporting events and the much ballyhooed circus, Morris is a respected member of the community whose role is essential...until the mayor and town advertising council decide to replace him with a neon billboard.

Can you imagine?  Well, needless to say Morris is deeply hurt.  Enough so, that he decides to speak out and ask village children Anna and Jason for help.  He also prays to his guardian angel to protect him and bring back the love and respect of the villagers--he's not taking any chances! Anna and Jason clean him up, give him a fresh coat of paint and new advertisements, and start to spread the word about their community's formerly favorite citizen.  Soon the town's residents realize how they have taken him for granted and neglected to honor him for all he has done.  The question is, do they realize their neglect before it is too late?

My Thoughts
I look at almost every book I read through one of two lenses; what message can this book provide for my students or my grandchildren?  In this case, for my students I could teach them about personification since the author decided to give the advertising column human qualities.  This book also as a message about taking care of the things we have around us.  We need to care for our environment.  If we don't, who will.  This is the second book I have read by this author and I am very please with her passion for teaching a message that is subtle, yet important.  Another thing I really enjoy are her drawings.  She is the illustrator of her books.  Her colored pencil drawings are charming.  That was the first thing my granddaughter noticed about the books.  Her comments about how people were being mean and not taking care of Morris, told me she got the message.  I whole heartily recommend Doris Rueger's books.

Author Bio:
Born and raised in Germany, Doris Rueger attended college in the United States and graduated with a master's degree in literature and journalism.  After a thirty year career in the scientific community, she now pursues her love for literature by writing and illustrating children's books.  ms. Rueger lives in Bellport, New York.

Awards:
Winner of the Summer 2012 NABE Pinnacle Book Achievement Award for "Ella the Pink Elephant".

The Land of Whoo - Ryan O'Brien

Publisher:  Ryan O’Brien
Pages:  226
Source:  I received a copy of this novel from the author for my honest review
Genre:  Middle Grade/Young Adult Fantasy

What parent or teacher doesn’t want to see positive character qualities in their children or students?  As I read this book I immediately thought of the IB (International Baccalaureate) Learner Profiles we teach in my IB school.  We teach them that they should be caring, balanced, risk-takers, reflective, knowledgeable, thinkers, principled, open-minded, inquirers and communicators.  As I read this book I found that it had all of those qualities throughout.

Michael Henry’s adoptive parents have fallen on hard financial times.  Students and adults today could definitely relate to that.  They have to sell their home and move away.  Michael makes a new friend named Savannah.  One night Michael has a dream where he sees a cavern full of portals to other places/worlds. This is where I started thinking about the learner profile.  To act on his dream Michael had to be open minded and an inquirer.  He and Savannah go through a portal into the Land of Whoo.  That screamed risk-taker to me.  Michael learns that his grandfather King Titus is the ruler of the Land of Whoo but is oppressed by the Dark Wizard.  He is the one who killed Michael’s parents.  To help the people of the Land of Whoo he sets out to find a powerful medallion that had belonged to his parents.  It isn’t enough to find the medallion.  It will only work for him if he can pass five different tasks.  One of the conditions is that he can’t show any malice for anyone or anything in the land of Whoo.   He has to be balanced, caring, principled and a communicator to accomplish this.  To accomplish everything he must do he is going to have to become a critical thinker who is reflective of his actions.

Now before you run away because I have brought so much education into this, think about it.  Don’t you want your children to read books that bring those qualities to light?  I do.  It definitely helps that the book is action packed to help carry the reader along on this ride.  The great thing is this is only the first book in this series.  I can’t wait to put it on my shelves at school.

Student Saturdays: Steps to Courage -Sandra Stiles

Student Reviewer: Daniel G.

From  Goodreads:
Trina Lacy knew all about survival. Since her accident, she has been determined never to feel like a victim, but live life as a survivor. Her classmate, Mark Jacobs did not think he deserved to be a survivor. Plagued by guilt for his role in his parent’s death, he felt life was not so great. Trina’s ex-boyfriend Lucas James felt guilty for the accident he caused that left his former girlfriend scarred. When Trina proposes a fundraiser to be held at Windows on the World for their community service project Lucas and Mark jump at the chance to help. Each of them has their own reasons. Once in the Towers, they decide to divide and conquer. They had not expected someone to fly planes into the Towers. They never expected to face escaping the burning towers with all the odds stacked against them. Now the fears they have been carrying with them must be dealt with as they take steps to get out. The question is, will they survive the events of 9/11?

 Student'sThoughts:

Steps to Courage is one of my favorite books to read because it was a thrilling and scary story.  I think you should read it because it tells you a little about history and is a really thrilling book.  It is about three kids and what and where they were when 9/11 happened.  This is why I think you should read and enjoy this book!