Timna by Lucille Travis (Herald Press, 2009) shares the story of the wife of Shem aboard the ark as the world is flooded. With supposed Biblical accuracy, this middle grade novel also captures the perspective of two dogs who “stowaway” to enter the ark along with the other animals. The dog’s developing faith echoes that

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The picture book Wild Symphony by Dan Brown, illustrated by Susan Batori (Rodale Kids, 2020) is a combination of so many genres it astounded me the first time I found it. It is a set of animal poems, an app with related musical pieces, a seek-and-find book, and a scrambled letters puzzle. Although it is

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One girl goes on a very unique trip to Grandma’s house in The Bus Ride by Marianne Dubac (Kids Can Press, 2015). At first, as she boards a bus with her mother’s watchful eye, the reader may believe she is just any kid traveling to Grandmother’s house. To the reader’s surprise, this girl enters a

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A Friend for Mole by Nancy Armo is about a mole who stumbles out of his hole and feels lonely because he’s afraid of the light, as well as a wolf who got lost from his home in the middle of the night and is afraid of the dark. Since they are afraid of the opposite

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In Stop, Thief! by Heather Tekavec and illustrated by Pierre Pratt (Kids Can Press, August 2014), the farmer entrusts Max the dog with a special mission: find the thief that is stealing all the carrots, berries, beans, and cherries. Full of confidence, Max chases a bug, believing it to be the thief. Of course, when he

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It’s always fun when picture books play on words to get your attention. When my son (age 5) first started reading Pig and Small by Alex Latimer (Peachtree, August 2014), he commented, “The author should have called this book Big and Small because Pig is big and the bug is small! They are opposites.” He

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Penguin wonders how he can contribute to the community talent show in Penguin’s Hidden Talent by Alex Latimer (Peachtree, 2012). Predictably, he finds he does have a talent, and his friends greatly appreciate it in the end. Although Penguin’s Hidden Talent follows a predictable format, it is still a heartwarming book about finding your place in a community as

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Now that he’s reading a mile a minute, it’s time to hear from my six-year-old again! The Mouse and the Motorcycle by Beverly Cleary. Ralph is a mouse. Keith is a boy. Ralph and Keith meet in a hotel. Keith gives Ralph a motorcycle. It is a toy motorcycle. If Ralph makes a sound, it moves! I

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