In Library we read two books in which characters are swallowed whole by lions: Maurice Sendak's beloved Pierre, and then Mac Barnett's Chloe and the Lion. Ask your daughter how these books were alike (not very, except for the lions) and how they were different. We then moved on to two books about coats: Jim Aylesworth's My Grandfather's Coat, in which a young immigrant sews himself a wedding coat and wears it until it's worn out, then makes from the good parts, a smart jacket, and then a snazzy vest which he wears to his daughter's wedding, a beautiful tie, and then a toy for his grandson. A mouse uses the remaining scraps for her nest. Finally nothing is left of the coat except the story about it. We then read Lauren Mills' The Rag Coat. In this story the leftover bits are put together into a patchwork coat, each rag with its own memory and history.
Girls have been challenged with reading, before the end of the school year, a book from our paperback offerings and a book from the sometimes-overlooked bottom shelves.
