Stagecoach Sal by Deborah Hopkinson, illustrated by Casron Ellis. I thought First Son would love this book, as a "bad guy" features prominently, and there's even a snake. He was not all that interested, though. He and First Daughter mostly paid attention when I sang the lyrics to the folk songs (and I was pleased there was only one tune I didn't know). The illustrations are fine, but they are not really my preferred style.
Helen Keller by David A. Adler is one of his early readers. I thought the story of Helen Keller would fascinate the kids, but neither of them were very impressed. I suppose they may be too young to understand the concept of deafness or blindness, especially since the closest they've come to such things would be the Signing Time videos.
Lucy's Summer written by Donald Hall, illustrated by Michael McCurdy. I love this story and Lucy's Christmas, in which Mr. Hall shares some of the stories of his mother's youth. They give a wonderful glimpse into an earlier time.
When Jessie Came Across the Sea by Amy Hest, illustrated by P.J. Lynch, is another of my favorite stories. Courageous Jessie leaves her grandmother and her tiny village to live with a woman she's never met in New York City. She works diligently for years to earn enough money to bring her grandmother to America, enjoying her new home and (presumably) not experiencing some of the terrible hardships of new immigrants. (We sometimes read about death in our picture books, or at least encounter it, but I do try to shield my little ones from too much suffering. They are still quite young for such realities.)
A Picture Book of George Washington Carver is one of David Adler's many picture book biographies, this one illustrated by Dan Brown. First Daughter was not interested at all. First Son was only mildly interested, and then really only because George Washington Carver invented peanut butter (one of his most absolutely favorite things). Even so, he announced proudly to Kansas Dad that George Washington invented peanut butter. I was a little worried about discussing race relations, but First Son just accepted it. (We'll be talking much more about race later, of course, as we read about Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King, Jr..)
Hattie and the Wild Waves: A Story From Brooklyn written and illustrated by Barbara Cooney is another of my favorites. The children have never been too interested in this particular book, however, and it certainly doesn't compare with Miss Rumphius. I liked including it with our history and culture books as a bit of a juxtaposition with stories like Jessie's above, as there were also some affluent immigrant families. And then, there's my thing for New York stories.
We'll be reading more about life just before the Great Depression in March. Suggestions welcome as I'm stretching what I've found so far to fill our days.
