CPS Library

It’s Career Day and all the kids in the class have parents with interesting jobs: Elizabeth’s mother is a jeweler, Emma’s dad is a UFO hunter and Aidan’s mom is a racecar driver. So why would anybody in the class be interested in one dad’s boring job of changing a lightbulb? (Hint: What’s on top of the Empire State Building?) Author Elizabeth Cody Kimmel and Robert Newbecker, illustrator, present quite an adventure.

The author, John Frank, gives us a story of how to tame the roughest, toughest pack of cowboys to ever ride the open range. In an unexpected turn of events, the cowboys learn tasks and adapt their ways to accommodate a special pet. Zachary Pullen’s illustrations add such dimension to the characters, students will be entertained from start to finish!

Even though this post is not about one specific book to read aloud to you class, I would like to invite you to check out this website:

http://www.mrsp.com/  Mrs. P.com Magic Library

On this site, an actress (from the Drew Carey Show) sits beside a virtual fireplace and reads stories aloud. The bookshelf from which a story is chosen by the listener has different genres. I particularly like the LOL section. Wait until you hear what Mrs. P did when she met the Queen of England! Students will enjoy this reader whose accent is a bit different from South Mississippi.

Children of Christmas by Cynthia Rylant

With all the excitement of Christmas season generated by decorations and advertisements, this collection of short stories evokes thoughtful contemplation of the symbols and personalities at Christmas. From the story of the bag lady to the small mountain boy who looked forward to the Christmas train, these stories paint pictures of the spirit of the season, and yes, some may provoke tears.

Looking for variations on the traditional fairy tales? Here are two charming ones!

Falling for Rapunzel by Leah Wilcox

We remember the story of Rapunzel who used her hair to great advantage, but alas the Rapunzel in our story is having a bad hair day. And to boot, she must have beans in her ears because she just doesn’t get what the Prince is asking her to do. Students will have a great time guessing rhyming words to see what will come out of that window next!

Waking Beauty by Leah Wilcox

The Prince is attracted to the sound of a beauty snoring and proceeds to try to wake her. The fairies try to tell him what will do the trick, but the Prince keeps interrupting before the instructions are completed. Wilcox has created an entertaining variation of this well-known fairy tale.

‘Twas the Night Before Thanksgiving by Dave Pilkey

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Dave Pilkey has adapted Clement Moore’s classic poem for another holiday. The day before Thanksgiving finds eight boys and girls taking a field trip to a turkey farm. Although Farmer Mack Nuggett seems kind at first, the children eventually discover his horrible plan to kill the turkeys for Thanksgiving dinners. Smuggling the turkeys home with them, the children save the birds, who join eight families for vegetarian dinners.