Seven Perfect Things

by Catherin Ryan Hyde

Really good.  The narrative of this book is presented from the point of view of three characters:  Abby, age 13; her mother, Mary; and Elliot, a recent widower.  Abby and Mary both live in an unhappy home because of Stan (father and husband), who is extremely controlling and abusive in other ways. 

Abby sees a man throw a burlap bag into the river.  When she sees movement in the bag she jumps into the river and retrieves it before it sinks to the bottom.  She finds seven puppies inside.  She takes them to the pound, only to learn that there is no room and they would have to be put down.  She remembers an abandoned cabin not far from her home—a cabin that had been broken into—and takes them there to care for them.  A few days later the owner of the cabin, Elliott, goes there to mourn, only to find that his cabin and shed have been broken into, items were stolen, and there are seven puppies in the shed.  Abby and Elliot meet and develop a friendship.  Abby imagines what it might have been like to have had Elliot as a father.  When Mary and Elliot meet, Abby is even more helpful, but there is her father....  

I really liked Elliot’s even temperament, his perceptiveness, his calm demeanor, and his willingness to help.  I also liked Abby’s maturity. 

There is some confrontation and abuse in this book but no language.

nm

Little Blue Truck

by Alice Schertle, Illustrated by Jill McElmurry

Adorable!  I loved this little board book, told in rhyme.  Little Blue Truck travels from one place to the other, meeting animals along the way (toad croaks, sheep baaa, cow moos, pig oinks, Blue says Beep, plus plenty of other animals, too.)  A big-shot dump truck comes along ignoring everyone and ends up stuck in the mud.  Blue tries to help it out of the mud and gets stuck, too.  All the animals come to help Blue and they get out.  The dump truck admits, “Now I see a lot depends on a helping hand from a few good friends.”

What a great way to teach children about helping others.

nm

Once I Was a Pollywog

by Douglas Florian, illustrated by Barbara Bakos

Oh, cute.  A board book with names of  infant animals and adult animals:  piglet/hog, cub/bear, leveret/hare, gosling/goose, etc.





nm

Penguin the Magpie. The Odd Little Bird Who Saved a Family

by Cameron Bloom and Bradley Trevor Grieve

This was a dual story: the author’s wife fell off a second floor balcony, cracked her skull in two places, and broke her spine, thereby becoming paralyzed from the arms down. Soon after that, their sons found a baby magpie and the family chose to nurse it back to health.

Many, many wonderful photos accompanied by words.  At the end is an essay by the author and one by his wife, who writes directly to others who have dealt with a spinal cord injury.

Quotes

“You don’t have to be superhuman to survive the bad times and you can’t always be at your best.   But even when things look their worst, you can still feel positive about the future.  Being optimistic is simply a choice made possible by being creative and proactive.  The means to achieving the breakthrough you need may be a lot closer than you think."     p. 146

“A happy ending begins with having faith in your own story, and looking for ways to create joy for yourself and others.  Time and time again Penguin showed us what a difference it can make just by giving our family and friends a reason to smile when they see us.”      p. 149

“Most importantly, Penguin taught us that helping others feel better is the easiest and best way to help yourself feel better."      p. 162

nm