Books for your family

BOOK RECOMMENDATIONS

For Kindergarten through Grade 3: 

A Walk in the Rain with a Brain by Edward M. Hallowell, M.D., illustrated by Bill Mayer.

Synopsis: "Lucy is a young girl who meets Manfred, a brain who has lost his head. Together, Lucy and Manfred (or "Fred" for short) go on a search for Fred's head. Along the way, Fred teaches Lucy that everyone is smart in their own way and that there is no "best" brain. The last five pages of the book provide a discussion guide for parents and teachers to help children learn about the power and uniqueness of their brains."

The above-listed book was recommended by Eric Chudler, Ph. D., Washington State University. Dr. Chudler publishes the Neuroscience for Kids Newsletter.

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For Grades 3-5: 

The Shoe Tree of Chagrin by J. Patrick Lewis, illustrated by Chris Sheban.

Description from ALA’s Booklist - "For Grades 3-5, younger for reading aloud. Susannah DeClare travels the Ohio Valley taking orders for all types of shoes. Tall enough to repair a bell clapper in a church steeple on her tiptoes, the elderly cobbler makes shoes that last a lifetime. In Chagrin Falls, newcomer Reggie Kinsgsbury is skeptical that the townspeople will ever see the cobbler or their money again. When DeClare fails to appear at the expected time, the worries increase until people discover a tree, hung with dozens of shoes."

We recently drove past "The Shoe Tree," which is located on Savage Rd., in Bainbridge, Ohio. My daughters and I immediately recognized it as the tree from this book, which we had read several years ago. We were with friends who had seen the tree before, but didn't know about the book. I thought there may be more of you who would enjoy reading this story and visiting the tree. Children love visiting a place that they have read about in a story. Frohring Meadows Park is near the "shoe tree," so if the weather is nice, you might want to go there to read the story and then walk over to see the "shoe tree" up close!

Waymarking, a website that lists GPS coordinates for many interesting places, included a fascinating story about “The Shoe Tree.”