The Incredible Journey by Sheila Burnford

The Incredible Journey by Sheila Burnford was published in 1961, and if you have a reader who loves animals, they will enjoy this story. I found this copy at a local Little Free Library. I love our Little Free Libraries. I think I need one.

The novel is set in Canada, and tells about two dogs and a cat who do all they can to get home to their people. The book is well illustrated by Carl Burger, and this book would be great for middle grade and middle school students.

I listened to the audio version which as well done, but the pictures in the book really add what the audio version can not. As a person with dogs at home, I could see the love and caring that these three animals had for one another. I also could understand when they got annoyed with one another. Animals are so much deeper than we may ever know. I liked how the animals took care of one another and the kind people who also helped them along their way.

Animals are smarter than we often realize.

Link to our NICU book registry if you'd like to donate books to babies in the newborn intensive care unit so their parents can read to them while they grow. You can also donate gently used books to our project by sending them to me or to Angie. Email me for a mailing address. We can use both English and Spanish books. If you have a graduate of the NICU, or if you have a baby whose life you would like to honor by donating books to this project, let me know, and I can make a book plate with their name for the books you donate.

Read to a child today even if that child is you. 

The Hidden Oracle by Rick Riordan

The Hidden Oracle by Rick Riordan is the first book of The Trials of Apollo series and was published in 2016. This series is connected to the Percy Jackson series, but the main character is Apollo who has been cast to earth by an angry Zeus as a mortal teen complete with acne and without his god like good looks, strength, or agility.

Percy Jackson takes him to Camp Half-Blood, and Apollo learns he must restore five lost oracles. This book, just like all of Riordan's work, is fast paced with never a dull moment. He makes good use of white space and short chapters, so even students who have hard time with text, should do fine with the formatting of this book.The cover is completely awesome.

I enjoyed seeing the changes in Apollo as he learned what he had been putting his children through when he sent them struggles, and now that he has no special powers, he must rely on the half-bloods to help him.

I also like the positive references to the LGBT+ community. Apollo is bisexual and encourages his fans to study Greek history to learn more about his background, although he does tell about the two main loves of his life - one male and one female. His son is also gay in this novel. Riordan doesn't make it a big deal, it just is. I appreciate that students who are LGBT+ will see themselves in this novel in a positive way.

Riordan is always a good choice for students. My grandson, Isaac loves all his books, and I enjoy them as well even though I am way older than his target audience.

My niece, Michelle of The Cleaning Artists, donated these books for the NICU babies. I appreciate her donation as we're low on books right now. Thank you, Michelle. 

Link to our NICU book registry if you'd like to donate books to babies in the newborn intensive care unit so their parents can read to them while they grow. You can also donate gently used books to our project by sending them to me or to Angie. Email me for a mailing address. We can use both English and Spanish books. If you have a graduate of the NICU, or if you have a baby whose life you would like to honor by donating books to this project, let me know, and I can make a book plate with their name for the books you donate.

Read to a child today even if that child is you. 

Once We Were Brothers by Ronald H Balson

Once We Were Brothers by Ronald H Balson was published in 2010. This book is historical fiction set during WWII and into modern day.

The story begins with Ben Solomon accosting Elliot Rosenzweig at a social event and threatening to shoot him. Ben accuses Elliot of being a Nazi SS Officer during WWII and of committing war crimes. However, Elliot has a tattoo from being a prisoner at Auschwitz, and the mystery begins. Ben believes Elliot was named Otto Piatek, and believes he recognizes him as the foster brother who was taken in by his parents during the depression in Germany, so they were raised as brothers.

Solomon convinces an attorney to help him bring Otto Piatek to justice. The story grabbed me right in and although the time shifts from present to past to present again, it is well written and compelling. I could see how this story could have come to pass even though it is fiction. I won't tell you if Ben is correct or not, but Balson makes his reader think.

Link to our NICU book registry if you'd like to donate books to babies in the newborn intensive care unit so their parents can read to them while they grow. You can also donate gently used books to our project by sending them to me or to Angie. Email me for a mailing address. We can use both English and Spanish books. If you have a graduate of the NICU, or if you have a baby whose life you would like to honor by donating books to this project, let me know, and I can make a book plate with their name for the books you donate.

Read to a child today even if that child is you. 

The Wild Robot by Peter Brown

The Wild Robot was written and illustrated by Peter Brown and published in 2016. This is a darling early and middle grade book. There are just enough pictures to make it a fun chapter book. The cover does not look at all babyish, and both boy and girls should like this introduction to science fiction.

A shipment of robots is sent out, but in a storm, a container of them fall overboard and end up on an island. All the robots but one are broken when their cases hit the shore, and that one robot, Roz, is accidentally activated by some curious otters.

The animals on the island think she is a monster and are afraid of her. Their fear causes Roz damage because the animals act out against her. She is a learning robot, so she learns to adapt to life on the island with the elements and animals.

This book has important themes: working together, adapting and learning, taking responsibility for your actions, finding initiative to create, and the importance of learning about those who you see as different.

This is a fun story with a lot happening, so a child will not be bored. I need to get the next book in this series called The Wild Robot Escapes.

My mom, Rolean, donated another 100 zipper bags to our book project. Thank you, Mom. This keeps the books safe at bedside and allows me to spend more money on books.

Link to our NICU book registry if you'd like to donate books to babies in the newborn intensive care unit so their parents can read to them while they grow. You can also donate gently used books to our project by sending them to me or to Angie. Email me for a mailing address. We can use both English and Spanish books. If you have a graduate of the NICU, or if you have a baby whose life you would like to honor by donating books to this project, let me know, and I can make a book plate with their name for the books you donate.

Read to a child today even if that child is you. 

Nat Turner by Kyle Baker

Nat Turner by Kyle Baker is a graphic novel that tells the story of Nat Turner and his slave rebellion in 1831.

Baker uses Turner's own words as the majority of the text in this book which is nearly wordless otherwise. The art in this book is absolutely raw and beautiful and horrifying. This is the first book I've read that is completely about Nat Turner, and although it is marketed to young readers, it is not for the faint of heart: however, it is an important part of American history and a story that is often untold as it is so brutal.

I liked that Baker allows the reader to make their own judgments about the characters in this story. He presents what happened, and he doesn't sugar coat it. This book is not didactic at all and leaves the reader feeling unsettled because as Americans we share some very sad, unfair, and awful history.

I wonder what Nat Turner could have done in his life had he been born into a society that respected black Americans and slavery did not exist. He was brilliant but saw so much brutality towards his family and people. What he and his companions did was horrific, but it was no more horrific than the realities of slavery. The system of slavery and the brutal men who enforced the law of slavery created their own executioners.

I think this is an important book because of it realness. The end of the book contains notes that are important to the story and sources to obtain more information. This book was published in 2008.

Yes, it is somber and sad, but we need to know our history if we want to do better. 

Link to our NICU book registry if you'd like to donate books to babies in the newborn intensive care unit so their parents can read to them while they grow. You can also donate gently used books to our project by sending them to me or to Angie. Email me for a mailing address. We can use both English and Spanish books. If you have a graduate of the NICU, or if you have a baby whose life you would like to honor by donating books to this project, let me know, and I can make a book plate with their name for the books you donate.

Read to a child today even if that child is you. 

Almost Home by Joan Bauer

Almost Home by Joan Bauer was published in 2012 and is the first book I've read for a while that makes me want to rush back into the classroom just so I could read this book with a class. 

Sugar Mae Cole, the main character, is in sixth grade. She has a gambling addicted absentee father and a mother full of sunshine and gratitude. Unfortunately, her father has borrowed money on their house, and she and her mother become homeless. This is their story of trying to get off the streets.

Sugar had a grandfather who wrote a book for her and her mother that is full of great advice, but he is no longer living. Sugar also rescues a dog right before they lose their home, and she hopes to keep this dog with her. This dog, this dog, oh, if everyone could have this dog. I love Sugar's attitude and strength when it comes to taking care of and keeping this dog with her. 

Sugar's mom taught her to write the best thank you notes, and gratitude is a theme throughout the book. I want to be more like this - to have gratitude in my heart for all around me. 

This book made me laugh, cry, and think. Although this book was written for middle grade and middle school, I think adults would also enjoy it. There is a lot of great advice in this book for people of all ages. There is also poetry. 

Some quotes I loved:

Page 54 - "It's not fair but sometimes a kid has to act older than their age. You just pray hard to know what to do."

Page 63 - "Whenever you go through a fat mess of a time, try to learn something from it so you don't have to go through it again."

Page 94 "If you've got a place to live and money in the bank, you can sit anywhere. If you're homeless it's called loitering."

Page 138 "We celebrate the wrong people sometimes. We should wake up and see who the real heroes are and give them the star treatment."

Page 140 "You understand that when you take a plant out of starter box, it gets nervous."

Page 141 "I'm always looking to see somebody do something well, so I can copy it. King Cole said you can learn a lot about how the world works by watching people do things right."

Page 173 "Sometimes the best thing that can happen to a person is to have a puppy lick your face."

Page 189 when speaking of peacocks "I'm not sure they're proud as much as they know what they've been given and they're not ashamed to show it."

Page 217 "This little tree here? It can't survive on it's own. The wind will knock it down. So we've got to give it support to grow while it's young."

Page 223 "You just keep taking steps forward little one."

Page 241 "You told me a kind answer turns away anger. And that being kind doesn't mean you are blind."

There are so many good characters in this book. I love Sugar's grandpa, King Cole. I love Lexie, Joonie, and Shush. The characters grow and change, and did I mention there is a wonderful dog in this story?

Link to our NICU book registry if you'd like to donate books to babies in the newborn intensive care unit so their parents can read to them while they grow. You can also donate gently used books to our project by sending them to me or to Angie. Email me for a mailing address. We can use both English and Spanish books. If you have a graduate of the NICU, or if you have a baby whose life you would like to honor by donating books to this project, let me know, and I can make a book plate with their name for the books you donate.

Read to a child today even if that child is you. 

Peter and the Starcatchers by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson

Peter and the Starcatchers by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson is a series of five books, but I have only read the first three books.

If you liked Peter Pan, you will enjoy this series of books that explain all the magic in Peter Pan. The first three books explain Pixie dust, how Tinker Bell and the mermaids came into being, losing your shadow, and how Tick-Tock became Tick-Tock.

All three books have illustrations that add to the stories. The characters are fun and grow during the series. Friendships and loyalty are important, and magic is prevalent. I will be getting the next two books in this series.

I think the covers of these books are beautiful.

Luckily, we've had some NICU book donations lately as we almost ran out of books. Thank you to all you sent books.

Caitie brought these cute books over.

Heidi found these beauties for the NICU.

Angie brought this selection to me.

Link to our NICU book registry if you'd like to donate books to babies in the newborn intensive care unit so their parents can read to them while they grow. You can also donate gently used books to our project by sending them to me or to Angie. Email me for a mailing address. We can use both English and Spanish books. If you have a graduate of the NICU, or if you have a baby whose life you would like to honor by donating books to this project, let me know, and I can make a book plate with their name for the books you donate.

Read to a child today even if that child is you.