Ruby's Sword

Ruby's Sword by Jacqueline Veissid and illustrated by Paola Zakimi is a new picture book I found this week at the library.  Ruby is younger than her brothers and  they leave her behind so she has to play by herself.  Walking around, she finds three stick swords.  Ruby shares two of them with her brothers in hopes that they will include her.  It is not successful, but she continues to play alone until her brothers find her playing in a fort she built.  Not quite ready to include her brothers, she changes her mind when they return with a peace offering.  This short story is probably a book most preschoolers and younger elementary students would enjoy. 

Leaflets Three, Let It Be!

Leaflets Three, Let It Be! by Anita Sanchez and illustrated by Robin Brickman is a book to add to your picture book collection.  Children like books about real things, and this book about poison ivy will make your child curious to know what it has to say.  The book starts in the spring and follows what role the poison ivy plant has in the woods over the course of a year.  Some animals actually eat it and others find shelter under this low lying plant.  This book will be on my "check out again" list because the author has done an excellent job at using words to tell the story.  Sanchez repeatedly used words to create sentences that were just right.  This book is a good resource for nature educators as well as science and writing teachers.