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November 16, 2004
"Thanksgiving at the Tappletons'"
"Peter Pan and Wendy"
Another Barry.
Teacher Featured Book: "Knuffle Bunny"
"A Christmas Treasury"
"A Confused Hanukkah"
"The Attic Christmas"
A Bit of Inspiration.
Greetings from Gaylene,
Have you ever had a Thanksgiving dinner that went haywire? I'm sure we
all have
our stories we could share... I'll stop myself from sharing one that comes
to
mind, but I'm sure you each have your own!
"Thanksgiving at the Tappletons'" by Eileen Spinelli
(HarperCollins, ISBN
0060086726, $5.99) is a nice Thanksgiving story about the Tappletons, a
family
of wolves (or perhaps foxes?) whose Thanksgiving dinner does not go
according to
plan. First, the turkey slipped out from under Mrs. Tappleton's arms
and flew
out the door, sliding through the snow. Mike the milkman chased it,
but it was
long gone. Mr. Tappleton went to the bakery for pies, and by the time
the line
was gone, there were no pies. He hated to disappoint Mrs. Tappleton,
so he
asked them to give him two empty pie boxes tied with string to take
home. Kenny
was to make the salad, but didn't have the heart to tell his mother he had
given
all the vegetables in the crisper to the animals in Mr. Butterworth's class
earlier. Jenny's job every year was to make the mashed potatoes.
She wanted
them to be fluffier than ever, so she decided to use the mixer, but an
untimely
phone call meant mashed potatoes went flying all over the room, leaving none
in
the bowl. Things continued along this path until the relatives
arrived, "hungry
as elephants".
Hungry stomachs and disappointed faces around the table lamented there
was
nothing to say a prayer for that Thanksgiving. Grandmother, of course
reminded
them there is more to Thanksgiving than a turkey and the trimmings. (What
would
we do without Grandmas?) Her Thanksgiving prayer reminded them
all...
"Turkeys come and turkeys go
And trimmings can be lost, we know.
But we're together,
That's what matters--
Not what's served upon the platters."
Amen.
-
If you are a fan of Peter Pan, there is a lovely new edition out illustrated
by
Robert Ingpen. "Peter and Wendy" (Orchard Books, ISBN 0439672570,
$17.95) has
the original text by J.M. Barrie. In the forward by Barrie's great great
nephew,
David Barrie, I learned that Barrie donated all his rights to "Peter
Pan" to the
Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children, and it was stipulated in his
will
that the value never be revealed. Copyright in these works would have
expired
50 years after the author's death and the royalties to the hospital would
have
ended, but an act of Parliament in 1988 granted the hospital the rights to
all
royalties from Peter Pan and its derivatives in perpetuity. It is a
rather nice
thing to know that when you buy "Peter Pan" in any form, you are
indirectly
supporting a children's hospital!
-
Not to be confused with the Barrie above, Dave Barry the humorist has tried
his
hand at fiction for young readers with an adventurous story "Peter and
the
Starcatchers" by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson (Hyperion, ISBN
0786854456,
$17.99.) This fast paced adventure for readers ages 10 and up features
Peter
and his mysterious friend, Molly, as they overcome pirates and thieves
while
trying to keep a secret safe, thus saving the world from evil. If you
or your
students enjoy skullduggery, battles at sea, and adventure, this book will
fit
the bill!
-
Teacher Featured Book: "Knuffle Bunny" by Mo Willems
(Hyperion, ISBN
0786818700, $15.99, $11.19 with 30 percent discount.) Those of you who
are
familiar with the winner of the Caldecott honor for "Don't Let the
Pigeon Drive
the Bus", will enjoy "Knuffle Bunny" - a tale of what happens
when Daddy is in
charge and things go hilariously wrong!
-
Ok, I know it's early for Christmas, but let's face it, we all try to
shop
early, and from the way the holiday books are disappearing from the
shelves,
I think I'd better mention some good books for the holidays now!
"A Christmas Treasury" illustrated by Christian Birmingham
(Running Press, ISBN
0762421517, $16.95) is an heirloom edition of holiday classics. I know
there
are many of these treasuries, but this one has especially beautiful
illustrations and includes The Christmas Story from the Bible, (Luke 2:
1-17,)
"A Merry Christmas" from "Little Women," Christmas
carols, "Yes Virginia, There
is a Santa Claus," "The Little Blue Dishes" and more.
-
"A Confused Hanukkah" by Jon Koons, illustrated by S.D. Schindler
(Dutton, ISBN
0525469699, $16.99) gives a rather humorous look at Hanukkah one year in the
village of Chelm when the rabbi disappeared, and no one could remember how
to
celebrate Hanukkah without him. They chose Yossel to travel to the
nearest town
to ask what should be done. Yossel got a little lost and did not end
up in
Tevka, the next village, but in a large city. Asking how to celebrate
the
upcoming holiday, the local man gladly showed Yossel how to decorate a tree,
talked about having lots of candles (which did sound familiar) and referring
to
a fat man. Yossel arrived home excited he had found out how to
celebrate
Hanukkah. The villagers were perplexed, but followed his directions,
cutting
and decorating a tree with matzo balls, dreidls and menorahs, and even
asking
the butcher, the fattest man in town, to wear a special velvet suit and be
"Hanukkah Herschel". Obviously things had gotten out of hand, and
just in time
the rabbi returned to try to sort out the confusion. The
villagers remembered
the real way to celebrate, and had the best Hanukkah ever.
-
I have always had a problem with theme Christmas trees, because frankly,
then
what do you do with the reindeer and glittered stars your kids made in
elementary school? I can't bear to part with those, so I will never
have
anything but an eclectic tree filled with ornaments we've been given by
our
kids, friends, family & students, including ones partially chewed by the
dog or
colored on with marker by our son when he was two-years-old. In
"The Attic
Christmas" by B.G. Hennessy, illustrated by Dan Andreasen, (Penguin
Putnam for
Young Readers, ISBN 0399234977, $15.99) Christmas ornaments living in Lily's
attic await the change from the smells of pumpkin and turkey at Thanksgiving
to
the smells of gingerbread and evergreen coming up the stairs every December.
They know their time to shine is coming. Silver Bell was the oldest
ornament,
given to Lily on her very first Christmas. Camel was Lily's when she
was 6
years old. Each ornament has a character and its own story and
history.
(Evidently Lily didn't have a theme tree either.) Lily is now an
elderly woman
and this year, no scent of gingerbread or evergreen comes up the stairs to
the
ornaments in the attic. The ornaments realize Lily is not
coming. What will
happen to them? How will they have Christmas? I imagine you
might guess the
ending, but I'll let you find out for yourselves.
-
Karma Wilson has teamed again with illustrator Jane Chapman with a new
Christmas
book you will want to see: "Bear Stays Up" (McElderry Books,
ISBN 0689852789,
$16.95) Of course winter is Bear's time to hibernate, but his animal
friends
insist he must not miss Christmas, so Bear stays up. This is a very
cute book,
like all her other ones!
-
I found a book my own kids had given me a few years ago that I always kept
on my
desk for moments when I needed a reminder of why I was teaching. A
quote I took
from it for my bulletin board is one I'd like to share, since I think it
fits
the bill for teaching and for the season...
"One looks back with appreciation to the brilliant teachers, but with
gratitude
to those who touched our human feelings. The curriculum is so much
necessary
raw material, but the warmth is the vital element for the growing plant and
for
the soul of the child." - Carl Jung
I hope you each have a wonderful Thanksgiving!
Until Next Time,
Gaylene
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