EVELYN DEL REY IS MOVING AWAY

Written by Meg Medina
Illustrated by Sonia Sánchez

Touching. Meg Medina captures in a lovely way the feelings friends often have when they become physically distant from each other, as in a move to another town or city and the changes that occur in their relationship. The illustrations are vivid and quite realistic. They are reminiscent of Ezra Jack Keats’ style. The words come alive through these images. Jumpstart and Read for the Record are two organizations whose purposes are to help reduce the cycle of poverty through providing high quality books and reading. They have provided ideas for adults to enrich the reading experience with children through notes about how to interact with your young reader. Children 4 to 8 years old enjoy exploring the subject of friendships and how life circumstances can change relationships.

Written & illustrated by Marie Boyd

This book is illustrated using quill art techniques except for the worm (pen and ink) and the blue sky (digital). Its eye-catching colors and designs are quite beautiful. The author gives readers a lesson in quill art at the end of the book. The story itself is about the worm affirming that it is more than ‘just a worm.’ Along the way, the worm discovers how other garden insects contribute to the garden world. If you look closely, you’ll find the creature coming up on the next page. Although the story is wonderful for children from 3 to 7 years old, the quill art takes quite a bit of fine-motor control. It may be frustrating for children 3, 4, and possibly 5 years old, while 6 and above may really get into making quill art.

Written by Dorothy Harman

Parents, this is a book to put at the top of your “must read” list! It’s so user friendly and packed with such important information for all of us: parents, teachers, caregivers, and extended family. When I was halfway through it, I couldn’t put it down. My grandson is in Montessori school, and I wanted to send a copy to his parents immediately!

Dorothy Harman has so much wisdom to share and inspiration to offer about parent-teacher relationships, keeping the child’s best interests as the common goal. She has created a book that has only 39 pages, and it is formatted in such a way that you can read whatever topic is of interest to you or is needed for your child. AND, there is a section within almost all the topics called “An Idea for Consideration,” where you can write notes. This section includes the idea, your reflections, your next steps, and discussion with the child’s teacher. It is such a great tool for gathering your thoughts.

You can purchase it through Montessori Services: www.montessoriservices.com/building-parent-teacher-partnerships