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Tuesday Tucks Me In

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Submitted by Ms. Tess!

Tuesday Tucks Me In, by Fmr. Captain Luis Carlos Montalván, is an wonderful true story about an U.S. Army veteran and his service dog Tuesday. Every morning Luis wakes up to Tuesday licking his face. Tuesday helps Luis get dressed, and take his medicine. Luis has flashbacks, and gets nervous when there are people around, or sudden movements, or loud sounds. He lives in a city, so Tuesday sits with him outside their apartment and helps him calm down. When they walk together, Tuesday stays right by Luis’s side. They go everywhere together. Even the bathroom! Every week they visit the veteran’s hospital, and the park. Today they are taking a ride on the subway. The train in very crowded, so Luis hugs Tuesday while they ride. The ride seems longer than usual… Where are they going? The beach! What a fun day they have there! Back home Luis and Tuesday have dinner, brush their teeth, then lie down to sleep, together, of course. This is a lovely book about a brave man and his loyal dog, sure to pull on your heartstrings. See this book listed in our catalog

Lively Elizabeth: What Happens When You Push

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Submitted by Ms. Sue!

Lively Elizabeth: What Happens When You Push by Mara Bergman and illustrated by Cassia Thompson. Elizabeth is a lively girl! She runs and shouts and stomps about, she laughs and points and will tease and kick. Sometimes she does things she shouldn’t do. She will hide and jump out, yelling “Boo!” One day, just for fun, she pushed Joe, who in turn knocked Ethan on Annabelle, who bumped Norine against the wall of books that fell on Saul, who flew into Evangeline, who bounced back, then Shaheen and Dan toppled on Germaine and Anne! The noise they all made upon the fall sounded like crash, bash, ouch, and smash! The whole classroom became quiet and each child looked back to point at the person behind, just to find Joe. He grew very angry and looked straight at Elizabeth, took a big breath, and yelled “What have you done?” “I’m very, very sorry.” she said. Joe thought, then said “OK.” And at that they all went outside to play, where they all played very, very well together! See this book listed in our catalog

Clancy and Millie and the Very Fine House

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Submitted by Ms. Sue!

Clancy and Millie and the Very Fine House by Libby Gleeson and illustrated by Freya Blackwood. Clancy has moved to a very fine dwelling. Or so Clancy’s father said when they moved in. “It’s too big,” whispers Clancy. He remembers his old cubby house, where he used to live, where everything was smaller. His parents think the new house is bigger and better than the old one. Clancy goes outside and discovers a very large pile of boxes–moving boxes that held the new stuff in his new house. He pokes and crawls around them, and even crawls inside one when he hears a voice say, “Can I play too?” Millie introduces herself to Clancy, and they begin to play, creating towers and stories to act out with them. “It’s the best house,” says Millie. “It’s a very fine dwelling,” said Clancy. Making friends is what makes a new house a home. See this book listed in our catalog

Whimsy’s Heavy Things

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Submitted by Ms. Amanda!

Everyone has stress in their life, or been down from time to time, even kids. Whimsy’s Heavy Things by Julie Kraulis is about just that. This book is not for everyone, not for a group, but it is a great way to show little ones how to understand the stress and sadness in their lives. Whimsy feels weighted down, and is pictured with black balls surrounding her. The reader can tell she is sad. Whimsy comes up with many ways to deal with her heavy things. She tries to sweep them under a rug, hang them in a tree, fly them in the sky,  and even float them in the sea. Every time her heavy things just came back. Finally, Whimsy decides to try to deal with one heavy thing at a time. She is able to break up her heavy things one by one, with the help of her friends, and the beauty of nature. Whimsy begins to feel lighter and lighter with each heavy thing she breaks into bits. Paired with soft, gentle artwork, this is a sweet story about changing the things that weigh us down into things that lift us up. Share this with a little one who might feel weighed down too. See this book listed in our catalog

Bluebird

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Submitted by Ms. Allana!

Bluebird by Bob Staake is a very touching and beautiful wordless book. The boy in the story is lonely, has very few friends, and seems unhappy, until the day a little bluebird appears. The bluebird waits for the boy after school, and follows him through the city. Although the other boys and girls tend to ignore the boy, and don’t invite him to play, he has acquired a new and unusual friend! They play hide and seek together, they walk through the park and play sail boats with some younger children. Unfortunately, they also meet some mean kids there… The amazing technique of the artist fully captivates the “reader” who can share this book in their own unique way with a young preschool aged child. See this book listed in our catalog

The Invisible Boy

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Submitted by Ms. Carol!

The Invisible Boy by Trudy Ludwig, illustrated by Patrice Barton, is a story that is good for a child who is quiet, and shy, and maybe has a hard time making friends. The story is about a little boy named Brian. Brian is very quiet and really just stays to himself. He is always the one that gets picked last for kickball, or maybe doesn’t even get picked at all. He is the one that eats lunch all alone and listens to stories about birthday parties that he wasn’t invited to. He is the one that plays by himself at recess. He feels invisible. One day a new boy comes to Brian’s school. The new boy is laughed at by the other children at first. Brian tries to make the new kid feel better by sending him a note, and the new boy starts talking to Brian. Of course, now the other kids accept the new boy. and Brian is left out again… Or so he thinks. Then the new boy starts to include Brian in the activities. He invites him to sit with him and the other kids at lunch, and he invites him to be in his group for their special project. Brian starts to fit in and he finally feels like he is no longer invisible. The book has great illustration: Brian is all in black and white at the beginning of the story, but he gradually has color added to him, and in the end he is shown in full color like all the other children. This is a great story to share with a child who may be having trouble fitting in. See this book listed in our catalog