I Lay My Stitches Down

By Cynthia Grady

This book consists of poems from slavery in America. Although the poems are sometimes worded awkwardly, there is an explanation of the poem right below it, which I think would help children understand the concepts in the poems better, because they don't have to infer. It has poems about how slave owners did not care if families were torn apart in the process of selling slaves, and how some slaves liked to be "domestic slaves" (meaning not field workers) but that meant they were always in closer proximity with their masters.

Overall, this book was very interesting and offers wonderful insight from the point of view of slaves. The author took a year to compose these poems, researching and reading old journal entries and diaries to make these poems as accurate as possible. I think it would be a wonderful book to introduce into the classroom about history and/or Civil Rights. The book also has very vibrant and patterned pictures that would draw the children's attention.

The Vengekeep Prophecies

The Vengekeep Prophecies

Jaxter Grimjinx comes from a family of thieves, and isn't the most nimble person. On his first raid by himself, he accidentally sets fire to the Castellan's house. His whole family ends up in jail because of it, but are later released. This is due to the unveiling of a tapestry that tells of the year's forthcomings, and it shows the Grimjinx family as the heroes of the year's catastrophic events. However, this tapestry was woven by Jaxter's mother in case the family ever got in a tight situation. Unfortunately, she wove it on Fateskin- a fabric that is virtually indestructible and all events woven on it will come true. Jaxter must go on an adventure across the Five Provinces of his homeland to gather ingredients to try to destroy the Fateskin before all of the prophecies come true and his home is destroyed.

This would be a great book to do in a read aloud, because Jaxter, even though he is born into a family of thieves, he learns that he doesn't need to follow in his family foot steps. He lets his family know that he has other passions, and they urge him on to follow his dreams and are behind him one hundred percent.

I really loved this book. It was interesting and it also had bits of magic and magical creatures thrown in. If you like Harry Potter (who doesn't?!), I'm sure you'll love this book. It's an easy read and keeps you interested.

The Cavendish Home for Boys and Girls

By Claire LeGrand

Victoria lives in a town where everything is perfect and up to par. She's a perfectionist from her tidy room to her perfectly bouncy curls. Plus, she's top of the class at the academy. The only downside is that she does not have any friends. Pretty soon, Laurence shows up in town and is the exact opposite of Victoria- always late, shirt is untucked, hair not brushed, etc. She decides to make him her "project" to try and straighten him out. One day, he goes missing, and no one seems to notice, not even his parents, classmates, nor teacher. Only Victoria does and she finds out that she really does miss him. Victoria thinks it's the orphanage at the end of the street that is up to this, and soon is taken by Ms. Cavendish, the Orphanage's head. Victoria realizes that Ms. Cavendish was somehow able to brainwash the whole town, as well as brainwash the kids in the orphanage to become "perfect little children." Eventually, Victoria and Laurence ere able to escape, and the Orphanage, as well as Ms. Cavendish, disappear. 

This book was really weird. The house was alive with all the people that found out Ms. Cavendish's secret and were taken by her roaches, and there were random hallways that would appear in the house, making it bigger on the outside than on the inside. Did I also mention that Ms. Cavendish was seemingly immortal and half roach? Yeah, it's that weird. It's a mediocre scary story. I thought at first it would be more like a Nancy Drew story or something relatable, however, it became a story of magic, bugs, and a dystopia created by Ms. Cavendish. The only way I find that it can be used in a classroom is the moral that friends are important; Victoria eventually realizes that Laurence is her best friend and not just a "project."

Overall, if you like weird mysteries like this, than I would definitely recommend this book. It's not the greatest book I have ever read, nor the worst; I found it more-so interesting. And weird. Very weird. 

Hans my Hedgehog

Retold by: Kate Coombs
Illustrated byL John Nickle

This book is about a farmer and his wife, how they are lonely, and how they want a child. The Farmer tells his wife that he would be happy with a child, even if it's half hedgehog! Lo and behold, the wife gives birth the next day to a child that's half human and half hedgehog. His parents are very supportive and get Hans a fiddle, which he plays amazingly. Hans develops a bond with the pigs on the farm, and they often accompany him on his adventures into the forest, where he is the only one to never get lost. One day, he can't stand being an outcast, so he tells his parents that he is going to go into the woods to live and that they can't stop him. He takes his band of pigs and they venture into the forest, where he teaches his piggies directions with different tones of his fiddle. One day, a lost king comes along, and Hans makes a deal that if he helps the king, he gets the first thing that the king sees when he gets to his castle. Turns out, his daughter is the first thing that he sees, but the king and daughter agree that she will not go to Hans. Soon, another king comes along and Hans strikes the same deal. When the king gets back to his palace, his daughter runs out to see him, and they decide to keep their promise to Hans. News eventually gets back to Hans about the two kings, so he takes his band of pigs and raids the first king's castle, stealing most of his treasure. He then goes to the second king's castle and marries the king's daughter. During the wedding, he starts playing his fiddle so majestically that his hedgehog skin falls off and he turns into a handsome prince!

This story is retold, because it was originally written by the Brother's Grimm (you can access the original story here). Obviously, Coombs' story is a lot more cheery and not bloody/gory. The main differences are that his parents are neglectful, the first princess is stabbed by his quills (not raided), and he sheds his skin and the guardsmen throw it into the fire for him to be able to be a man in the Grimm's tale.

This story would be great in the classroom, because it teaches children that if you keep your promises, good things will happen. However, it might show kids that it's not okay to be different, because Hans was an outcast when he was still living with his parents, but he did learn to be friends with his piggies. Overall, this was a very amusing book and I would recommend it to anyone who would like to read a story about a hedgehog riding a rooster with a band of piggies, playing a fiddle.