BOOK REVIEWS Reviewed by Lorna McGrath
Good Boy
by Sergio Ruzzier
This is a fun book in which a boy
and his dog (or a dog and his
boy) do things together! There
are one, two, or sometimes
three words or phrases on
most pages of the book. All
of the words except for two
are verbs or verb phrases. The
illustrations are wonderful as
they depict the actions so well.
They are colorful, fun, and
somewhat believable. A few
pages have no words at all—
just lovely illustrations. This
is great for beginning readers
and for children learning about
the function of words. In this
case ‘doing’ or ‘action’ words.
The Young
Adventurer’s
Guide to (Almost)
Everything
Written by Ben & Penny Hewitt
Illustrated by Luke Boushee
This is a great book for families
that like to be out in the wilderness.
It has outdoor activities and
lots of ‘how-tos’ for kids in the
elementary years. Here are some
of them (the parentheses are my
comments, not the authors’).
�� Outrun a bear (in FL it would
be an alligator)
�� Navigate by the stars
�� Make a friction fire
�� Brush your teeth with a stick
(Really?)
�� Transform a tarp into a tent
�� Make your own fruit leather
(what’s that?)
�� Turn an acorn into a whistle
�� Eat a bug (Yuck!)
�� And lots more!
So out you go adventurers. I’ll be
at home reading another book.
Editor’s Note: I live on 20 acres in
Florida that is connected to a state
park. While I have not read this
book, I can tell you from personal
experience that we are making a
serious mistake to underestimate
wild life. Running away from scary
creatures (including a roaming
pack of feral dogs I encountered
in downtown Washington, DC)
almost never works. In fact, it
usually doesn’t end well for the
human, dog, cat, or calves that
are stolen from their moms by
packs of coyotes (which we fondly
refer to as ‘killing machines’).
Unless you are exploring with
Bear Grylls, don’t eat bugs. They
could be sprayed with pesticides
or just be poisonous. Don’t go
after cute little frogs, either. They
are poisonous and kill many dogs
every year here in Florida.
Sorry to be ‘Debby Downer,’
but it’s all too true that humans
have invaded the territory of wild
animals, and these animals are
forced to look for new places to
live. A few years ago, when many
acres of land were being cleared
for subdivisions, I woke up one
morning to find a herd of 30 or
more wild boar in my back yard—
with tusks that will slice a dog to
a painful death.
We love and respect nature; however,
there’s a reason that we have
two ‘guard’ donkeys on our property.
Yes, this could be a Jeopardy
trivia moment, but did you know
that you can usually find a few
donkeys on properties with pets
and livestock? Most pets, people,
and livestock will run from coyotes.
Not donkeys! They go after
the coyotes and a swift, painful
kick is usually a deterrent to coyotes
looking for their next meal.
Here are our loving guardians:
Jasper and Jezebelle. —Joyce
A Ride to
Remember: A Civil
Rights Story
Written by Sharon Langley
& Amy Nathan
llustrated by Floyd Cooper
The authors open this storybook
with a thoughtful message about
the horses on carousels and
equality.
I love carousels.
The horses come in so many colors—
black, white, brown, gray,
a honey shade of tan, sunny yellow,
fire engine red, or even a soft
baby blue. But no matter their colors,
the horses all go at the same
speed as they circle round and
round. They start together. They
finish together, too. Nobody is
first and nobody is last. Everyone
is equal when you ride a carousel.
This is the story of Sharon
Langley’s ride on a carousel in
Baltimore, MD in 1963. It tells
about peaceful protests for equality
and desegregation. It gives
hope that things can change and
faith in the human spirit. The illustrations
are lifelike and have an
interesting grainy look to them.
This would be a very good book
to introduce elementary students
to the story of the treatment of
African Americans and their quest
for freedom and equality.
Put on Your Owl
Eyes: Open Your
Senses & Discover
Nature’s Secrets
by Devin Franklin,
Flying Deer Nature Center
The subtitle alone let’s me know
that this is a book for Montessori
families, Montessori
teachers, and after-school programs
in Montessori schools!
OPEN YOUR SENSES & DISCOVER
NATURE’S SECRETS! Devin
Franklin “guides students away
from the need to connect with
electronics and busy-ness to find
comfort and solace in nature.”
26 TOMORROW'S CHILD © �� OCTOBER 2020 �� WWW.MONTESSORI.ORG
/WWW.MONTESSORI.ORG
