Paula and Maggie have been friends forever. Paula thinks Maggie is the best—until mean girl Veronica says otherwise. Suddenly, Paula starts to notice that Maggie is big and clumsy, and her clothes are sort of snuggish. Rather than sticking up for Maggie, Paula ignores her old friend and plays with Veronica instead. Luckily, when Veronica turns on Paula, Maggie’s true colors shine through.
This moving friendship story has all the heart and emotion of The Giving Tree and Kevin Henkes’s Chrysanthemum. The gorgeous artwork and important message make this a book to treasure. It’s truly a classic in the making.
Poopsie the cat spends her days licking her paws and rubbing her ears and looking fluffy, until the pushy narrator of this story pressures her to do something a little less boring. Adventure is waiting, after all! So off Poopsie goes, out the cat door, across the lawn, and . . . through a gate covered in Danger signs. Soon Poopsie is lost in a jungle full of menace, from a vine that’s actually a snake to a crew of tigers to a river full of crocodiles! All the while the narrator keeps pushing her to keep going. Will fluffy little Poopsie make it out of the jungle in one piece?
Jane is an ordinary dog in an extraordinary circus. She isn’t strong, graceful, or brave like her family. When she tries to be those things, Jane just doesn’t feel like herself, but she also doesn’t feel special. Is she really meant for this kind of life? Her Ringmaster thinks so, but not for the reasons Jane believes.
Ordinary can be extraordinary!
Hannah Harrison is an award-winning illustrator whose first book, Extraordinary Jane, received three starred reviews and was a Kirkus Reviews Best Book of the Year. This was my introductory to Hannah as well. I got the book via Bookroo the most wonderful book box I used to get new picture books into my sons hands that were excellent and not the “trend” book to read. I read Extraordinary Jane to my classrooms I read with and they LOVED it. So began my following this author and getting her books to read a loud. The art is amazing as well and children love looking at the animals and fall in love with them.
With her trademark humor and warmth, Hannah E. Harrison puts her own irresistible spin on the classic alphabet book. The result is a story families will treasure for years to come.
Fun to spend this month with one author.
