Sweet Stories

We have really happened upon some sweet stories on our trips to the library.  I tend to scout out the stories that are or could be real.  I let the girls read/look through whatever books they desire while at the library, but I monitor the books coming home.  I want to want to read them when they get here or they will stay in the bag until we have to haul them back, and it is a haul!!  Our library bag gets packed, because it is hard to put an appealing book back on the shelf.  So, here are a couple sweet tales that we've read recently:

Miss Bridie Chose a Shovel
Written by:  Leslie Connor
Illustrated by Mary Azarian

It is about a single woman immigrant who could have had a figurine or a clock, but chose the shovel off of the barn wall as she left her family home.  It shows how she used along her journey through life.  She dug a garden and sold plants, she cleared a skating "rink" on the river, where she met her husband.  She used the shovel to earn a living, to plant flowers, to remember her husband by planting a tree.  She even made a new handle when the original burned in a fire.  I should also mention that this book has a sweet sing-song rhythm despite the fact that it doesn't rhyme.

The Story Blanket
Written by:  Ferida Wolff and Harriet May Savitz
Illustrated by:  Elena Odriozola

A village was snowed in and couldn't receive goods from other towns.  A woman, Babba Zarrah, beloved by the children and townspeople for her wisdom and stories, saw a need and met it.  Need after need was met and the townspeople were mystified, until all the items put together pointed to Babba Zarrah's missing story blanket.  That night the townspeople left a surprise on her doorstep...and the generosity continued!

A Little House Birthday
Adapted from the Little House Books Written by:  Laura Ingalls Wilder
Illustrated by:  Doris Ettlinger

The title gives the summary of the story.  I decided to add this book because one of these "My First Little House Books" often makes it home with us from the library.  My kindergartener knows exactly where they are and sneaks it into the library bag.  I chose to keep it in the bag this week because of the birthdays coming up in the next month.