Mary, Mary (Quite Contrary) Nursery Rhyme Series by Elizabeth Rose

      

            Raven Birchfield is not real thrilled to move into a house once owned by her dead aunt. The house hasn’t been opened up in a long time. When Raven, her brother and mother arrive they realize how strange their aunt was. Raven begins school only to find herself bullied by one of the most popular girls in the school. She is placed in a horticulture class, which is not something she really had an interest in. After almost letting her flower for her horticulture class die, she brings it home and clears out an area in the back yard to plant it. In the process she makes a couple of discoveries. The first discovery is an old cemetery at the back of their yard along with a creepy raven. The second is an old book she digs up while digging the hole for her flower, and a quartz necklace. Both of these things will have a major effect on her life.

            Raven suddenly finds herself in the body of Mary from the nursery rhyme, but she learns how nasty this person was in real life. When Mary is in control of Raven’s body and mind she is not the most pleasant person. The battle to remain Raven and not Mary is real. The question is, who will be the strongest and win the battle?

            I loved that this was based on a nursery rhyme instead of a fairy tale. Most people don’t realize that nursery rhymes were an accepted way of talking about real people who were not the most pleasant. Everyone knows that bad-mouthing a queen could get your head taken off. Write a nursery rhyme that has a hidden meaning and you could spread your thoughts about that person all you want. This was the first book in the series. I loved it so much I purchased it and the other two books for my classroom.

            I loved that this book had a message about loving and accepting who you are. Maybe this will be the vehicle used by teens to learn this lesson.

Three Cute books by Arline Cooper

Be Brave,Little Puffy
Puffy is a pufferfish who doesn't like his spikes. He pulls them out and pricks his friends with them. He decides to go out and try to find some new friends because no one else wants to be friends with him.  He meets many wonderful fish, but none of them want to be his full-time friend.  When danger comes their way Puffy must rely on the thing he hates the most to save himself and his friends.

Enjoy, Slow Little Puffy
Little Puffy swims very slow. When all of the other fish go flying past him it makes him sad. It also makes him wish he was like the other fast swimmers. Then he meets the lionfish and several other fish that teach him that sometimes it is bests to slow down and look around. Puffy will use this lesson to help save a friend.  What a great lesson to teach children.  Great lessons in a colorful yet simple book. What a great book to teach self-esteem.

Be Friendly, Little Puffy
Puffy and another fish greet each other one morning. However, it soon becomes a contest about who is the most beautiful fish. They swim off to see the all wise octopus. The octopus teaches them that they are each special in their own way. She teaches them that their looks don't matter. She sends them off to find a gift for the other. Through this lesson they learn much.

Torpedoed: The True Story of the World War II Sinking of "The Children's Ship" by Deborah Heiligman

I am always telling my students to read the back or inside cover to pick a book. I tell them not to pick it simply based on the cover. This is one time I didn't follow my own advice and I am glad I did not.  We have a surplus store not to far from us. My husband decided a week ago that I needed to go and buy some books because it had been several months since I had been there for that reason. This store buys overstock. The first one-eighth of the store, right inside the doors is their book section. I can buy books that are regularly $17-$18 for  As low as $2-$3. Most of these are hardback books. Sometimes they are the third or fourth in a series and I must go elsewhere to purchase the first ones. Since we recently read Maus and did a Holocaust study in my high school credit class I have kept my eye out for books about World War II. I have a student who is quite an expert on this war. So, when I came across this book and read the title I put it in my cart.

This was a story unfamiliar to me. I am aware that during wartime they had the Kindertransport that took predominantly Jewish children away from parts of Europe that the Nazis were beginning to take control. There was an effort I was unaware of until this book. The CORB was an organization that took both poor and wealthy children and relocated them to Canada. From there some went to live with relatives or friends either in Canada or the United States.

The passenger ship SS City of Benares was one of these ships. There were 406 people on board this ship.   This passenger ship was torpedoed and sank in 30 minutes. Only 148 people survived. This book tells the story of many of those courageous people. It shows how hope, determination and sometimes just human decency can mean everything when it comes to survival. The author has done a tremendous amount of research and her bibliography is so informational for people like me who would like to learn more. It was truly one of the best books for kids I have read on this time period. I highly recommend it.