Recent Kid's Reads

I've been trying to do a better job of reading with and to my kids, so I've picked up some kids books recently. I'll just give a quick overview of what I've been reading.

14 cows for America (Read as part of the POC, Young Readers, and Support Your Local Library challenges) This is the story of a student from Kenya who was studying in America on 9/11/01. He was so troubled by the event that he traveled home to his village to determine what they could do to assist the affected people. The most valuable commodity in this village is a cow. Altogether, the village presented 14 cows to the American ambassador as a gesture of solidarity with the Americans. The empathy and generosity expressed in this book touched my heart. I was taken back to the level of emotion that I felt at that time, and I found myself teary-eyed after reading this story. The illustrations were beautiful and contributed to my ability to feel the emotion of the time.

A Chair for Always (Read as part of the POC, Young Readers, and Support Your Local Library challenges)
I own two other books in this series (A Chair for My Mother, and Something Special for Me), so I couldn't resist checking this one out. Though the illustrations were similar to the other books, I didn't feel this one as much. While the excitement of a new baby is special, I couldn't get into the telling of this particular story. It seemed more like the author was capitalizing on previous success rather than telling a story that I needed to hear.

Violet's Music (Read as part of the POC, Young Readers and Support Your Local Library challenges)
This was the story of a girl being herself no matter what and being rewarded for her perseverance in the end. I enjoyed the illustrations in this one.

The Unexpectedly Bad Hair of Barcelona Smith. (Read as part of the Young Readers, Support Your Local Library, and Support Your Local Authors challenges)
This was also the story of a boy learning to be accepting of all aspects of himself. Nice pictures.

Dear Mrs. Larue (Read as part of the Young Readers and Support Your Local Library challenges)
This is a humorous tale of a dog's attendance at obedience school. My children enjoyed the dual perspectives illustrated in this book.

   The End (Read as part of the Young Readers, Support Your Local Library challenges)
This is a fairy tale told in reverse. It illustrates cause and effect.

Lost and Found (Read as part of the Young Readers and Support Your Local Library challenges)
I enjoyed the illustrations in this book. The story was about the value of friendship.