PAX by Sara Pennypacker. Illustrated by Jon Klassen. Pax by Sara Pennypacker is not your traditional story of a boy and his pet overcoming an obstacle together in life and living happily ever after. Instead it is a series of hard, heart-wrenching situations that culminate with trying to right the opening chapter's wrong. The story opens up with the sad scene of a boy, Peter, being forced to take his pet fox, Pax, out into the wild and release him. As the story progresses we learn that Pax has no idea how to live in the wild, but Peter is being forced to leave him there because his father is going to war, his mother is dead, and his grandfather's home is no place for Pax. The story then splits into two paths that the reader follows. The first follows Peter and the decision he makes to travel approximately 300 miles to find his fox. The second tracks Pax and all the hardships he endures as he struggles to learn how to survive in the wild. Both journeys are fraught with loss and harm. Many times humans are blamed for the difficulties that arise. HEADS UP- This book really does have a sad overall tone/mood to it, so be aware of that for those that have sensitive kids. There are some war situations and there is injury that occurs to two foxes. There is one other element that one of you members brought to my attention. There is a connectedness between Peter and Pax that goes beyond friendship. In fact, it's a Buddhist concept called non-duality. It's where things that appear separate aren't really separate. This member sent me a part of an interview with Pennypacker where she shares that she includes this Buddhist idea in her story. It's the idea that we can relate to things because we are connected.

THE MAPLE FESTIVAL by Poppy Green. Illustrated by Jennifer A. Bell. If you have a child that loves baking and loves fall then this easy chapter book will be a perfect fit! The Adventures of Sophie Mouse : The Maple Festival by Poppy Green is Book 5 in the series. You won't need to read the other 4 first to fall in love with Sophie Mouse and understand her sweet heart. Sophie loves the Maple Festival. Her mother bakes lots of wonderful treats to sell, and Sophie asks if she can help her this year. When some challenges arise Sophie jumps in and is quick to help come up with solutions. This book level would be similar to Magic Treehouse. It is packed full of great character traits such as honor, problem solving, hard work, thinking of others before yourself and more!

A RIVER IN WORDS/HOW TO WRITE A POEM I am a huge fan of Melissa Sweet's illustrative work! When I found two picture books by her that both focus on poetry, they went into my pile immediately. I'll start by talking about the picture books themselves and then dive into Melissa Sweet's work a little deeper! A River of Words: The Story of William Carlos Williams by Jen Bryant is the beautiful story of a man whose days from his boyhood to adulthood were always packed full. In the early years it was school and track practice and in adulthood it was his medical career. Despite all of this, he always left room for his love of poetry and constantly scribbled lines down wherever he could. In the beginning he tried to fit the accepted ideas of rhyme and meter, but he often found that the words that came to him did not fit the normal patterns. So, he created his own style. This book is a tribute to taking something you love and creating your own path within that love. It is a delight to read celebrating the possibilities of doing things in life that resonate with you! The second book, How to Write a Poem, by Kwame Alexander and Deanna Nikaido is the abstract journey of examining your senses, feelings, and imagination and combining them with observations of the world around you into a poem. This is not your traditional 1, 2, 3 step formula book. Instead it helps you examine what things move you inside. So- what am I going to do with these two books? I'm going to read them both out loud to my kids and then we'll all sit down and do some poem writing together! Yes, even me! Let's talk about Melissa Sweet for a moment! She is a master of multiple art mediums, and she unites them into amazing collages. In A River of Words she takes a box of discarded library books and works parts of them into her wonderful illustrations. In How to Write a Poem she takes sketches and pairs them with vintage and handmade paper circles and wheels. The color and movement is a delight to the eyes!

CIVIL WAR BOOKS

TH ONE AND ONLY RUBY by Katherine Applegate The One and Only Ruby by Katherine Applegate is the darling story of a little elephant named Ruby who is scared to face her Tuskday, Tuskday is a coming of age celebration for elephants, but for Ruby it is a hard day to celebrate. Ruby was born in Africa. Even though she is young she remembers the time spent with her herd, and she clearly remembers the day her mother was killed by poachers for her tusks. This started Ruby on a long journey that has had some good spots but also some very hard spots. Now she finds herself wondering how she can celebrate the very things that cause so many elephants to be killed and calves to be orphaned? This book focuses on friendships and the people (or animals in this case) that help us through the hard times in our lives. It also helps us look at each day and answer two questions: 1- What gifts did the world give you today and 2- What gifts did you give to the world? Coming from a Christian viewpoint I would change the questions to be 1- What were the blessings in your life today that you are thankful for and 2- How did you bless the people you encountered in your life today? I had to include my daughter's three stuffed animal elephants in the picture, because they cuddled up with us for every read aloud time of Ruby! HEADS UP- As stated earlier this book does deal with poaching and the stealing of and selling of young elephants. There is not a lot of intense detail, but be aware if you have a sensitive child.

BRUCE AND THE LEGEND OF SOGGY-HOLLOW by Ryan T. Higgins For all of you Bruce lovers out there and/or lovers of The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, author Ryan T. Higgins offers us a fun spoof on this traditional Halloween story in Bruce and the Legend of Soggy Hollow. Bruce doesn't like holidays, especially Halloween, so this year his little family decided to try acting out a scary story to help get him in the spirit. What follows is a hilarious series of catastrophes that has a satisfying ending for everyone at Bruce's expense. Oh and there just might be an extra, little, ghostly visitor that shows up in the middle of it all!

THINGS IN THE BASEMENT by Ben Hatke Things in the Basement by Ben Hatke is not just a fall read. However, I have put it here for those of you who enjoy a little thrill and chill this time of year! The idea of Things in the Basement is brilliant. It is a graphic novel that encompasses just about every child's thoughts of their basement and the unknowns that could exist there. Thinking back I'm pretty sure all my kids went through a stage where they refused to go in the basement by themselves. Hatke understands and brings this childhood fear to life. In the novel we are introduced to Milo. One of Milo's infant twin sister's socks is missing. His mother sends him into the basement of the home they have just moved into to find it. What starts out as a trip to a traditional dark, dank basement quickly turns out to be quite the journey. Milo discovers that his basement is actually a series of rooms, chambers, and caverns. During his search for the missing sock, he encounters a skull, the ghost of a young woman (who has been searching for her missing sock for years), a green jelly monster that gobbles up everything in its path, strange little mushroom guys, a one-eyed octopus, and more. It is a long quest that will test Milo's bravery, develop perseverance, and help him understand what it means to be a friend (even to some unique creatures). We also find out where all the missing socks in the world go! HEADS UP- As mentioned before there is a skull, ghost, and other unique creatures that take the trip with Milo. He is asked if he is a wizard due to some of his traveling companions. The one part that bothers me a bit is when they enter into a Gothic-styled church. There is some type of woman there who is obviously a sort of caretaker of the church. She also has goats. She is dressed like a nun, but she has no face. Where her features should be is a cross. One of her goats is missing. The goat has a very unique name - Ibn Battuta. The real Ibn Battuta was a Muslim who lived in the 1300s. He was quite the traveler which fits this goat. There are some objects in the church and in this book that I wish I knew more about. They are a little odd and although I hate making assumptions, I get the feeling that Hatke is purposeful behind what he draws into his pictures. I looked for interviews to see if he discusses it at all, but not yet. After the book is out for awhile maybe we'll know more about it. Hatke does thank the National Gallery of Art for their "inspiration" and also database of open-license pieces that he uses in his work in his acknowledgements.

A GIFT FOR NANA by Lane Smith Grandparents can hold special places in the hearts of their grandchildren. A Gift for Nana by Lane Smith is the super sweet story of a little rabbit who wants more than anything to find the perfect gift for his Nana. It is not her birthday, it is not a holiday. He desires to bless her for who she is to him. So he sets out on his quest. This beautiful picture book is packed full of great action verbs, descriptive adjectives, and a few similes that make it a fun lesson for older kids as well! Smith is a two time Caldecott winner. This book does not disappoint in the illustrations area! Using a mix of gesso, oils, and cold wax yet drawn with an Apple pencil in Procreate, this book is delightful to the eyes!

THE LABORS OF HERCULES BEAL by Gary D. Schmidt The Labors of Hercules Beal by Gary D. Schmidt is an absolutely brilliant read! It is one of my TOP PICKS for the year, but it does come with a little warning, so make sure you read the HEADS UP section. Hercules Beal doesn't live up to his name. He's a scrawny little middle schooler, but that's not the biggest of his problems. His parents recently died in a car crash and his older brother, Achilles, has come home to run the family nursery/greenhouse business. On top of it all, he's starting in a new school and one of his teachers is a retired Lieutenant Colonel from the military. To make matters worse, Lieutenant Colonel Hupfer is assigning each student a Greek Mythology project, and Hercules's project is to consider each of the mythological Hercules's 12 Labors he had to perform as they might be done today and then write a follow up paper reflecting on each labor. Unexpectedly, life dishes Hercules Beal his own set of labors to overcome that will leave you laughing, crying, cheering, and so much more! Schmidt's idea in the creation of this book is absolute genius! HEADS UP- There is 1 cuss word in the book early on. There is what I would call crassness where the word "jerkface" is used often. Stay with me on this next one a moment - Hercules thinks his brother's girlfriend might be a vampire. She isn't. The book never refers to her as goth or emo even. She is a beautiful person who is a medical student. I almost get the feeling that Hercules is sorting through his pain and she gets labeled in the process. They deal head on with the vampire thing in the end.

BEFORE THE EVER AFTER by Jacqueline Woodson Fall = Football, right? Jacqueline Woodson brings us an absolutely wonderful, but highly emotional sports story, in Before the Ever After. ZJ's dad is a famous football player. Everyone knows him. Everyone loves him. But recently he hasn't been himself. He's dealing with debilitating headaches, he loses his temper easily which is very uncharacteristic, and his memory is shot. There are times he can't remember his closest friends' names. It's dumbfounding. How is this even possible? ZJ's dad has always been superman - invincible. After visiting multiple doctors, the consensus is all the concussions he's experienced over his career are now taking a toll on him. The question ZJ finds himself wondering is is this the new forever for his dad? Read past the next sentence I am going to tell you. This book is written in non rhyming verse. BUT it doesn't read like poetry, it reads like a story. Don't be afraid of it for your kids even if they typically dislike verse. The verse set up gives the book a very focused and extra emotional push due to the limited word choice that probably wouldn't happen the same way in a traditional chapter book. This book is fantastic, and I highly recommend it!

OCTOBER, OCTOBER by Katya Balen October, October by Katya Balen is the story of October, an 11-year-old girl who lives off the grid with her dad in the woods outside of London, England. Named after the month she was born, October and her father love the solitude, the wonder of nature (October rescues an owlet who becomes her constant companion), and the idea of living off the land. October's mother is still alive. She lived the secluded life with them once but hit a point, when October was young, when she couldn't handle the lifestyle anymore. She packed up to move back to London. Trying to take October with her, October, as a toddler, fought not wanting to leave her wooded home. Her mother agreed to leave her in the surroundings she loved so much with her father. Since then, October has held a bitter spot in her heart towards her mother for leaving. Every time her mother comes and visits she runs away and hides. One of these times her father follows her and climbs the tree October has hid herself in. He ends up falling from the tree and is hospitalized for a long time. While she waits to find out if her father will recover, October has no choice but to move to London with her mother. Everything is loud and stinky and she struggles with it all. (Think of a modern day Jungle Book story.) In the middle of it all is the fact that the city is no place for her precious owlet HEADS UP- SPOILER ALERT October has a very vivid imagination. She is constantly making up stories. She has some special rocks that she does deem her healing rocks and she leaves them with her dad in his hospital room. The book never gives credit to the rocks for the recovery her father makes. It honestly felt like a child giving something that is important to her to her injured father. This story is a story of redemption and forgiveness within a relationship. While the family never comes back together as a unit, they remain committed to each other. I really fell in love with this story while reading it. It is complicated and a bit messy. October is coming from the wild and has never been around society. She melts down and screams on many occasions. There is a lot of bitterness. At one point she whispers that she hates her mom and her mom hears it. But then there is a turning point. A bridge begins to form and a terrible accident leads to healing in more ways than one!

A WALK IN THE WOODS by Nikki Grimes. Illustrated by Jerry Pinkney and Brian Pinkney. Wow, I have been reading some lovely fall books the past few days! The first one I'm going to share is a picture book titled A Walk in the Woods written by Nikki Grimes and illustrated by Jerry Pinkney and Brian Pinkney. (More on our illustrators in a minute!) A Walk in the Woods is not specific to the fall season. However, it has to do with death and time spent in the woods. This moving picture book opens up with a boy looking in the mirror at himself. He is angry, because it's his father's eyes staring back at him, his father that has just recently died and been buried. Opening a letter that his dad left for him, the boy is sent on a walk in the woods to seek something his father hid for him. The woods are a special place where the two of them spent a lot of time together, so the boy is not looking forward to entering this hallowed space. But this place is exactly where the boy needs to go. If you are not familiar with the wonderful illustrative work of Jerry Pinkney, you will want to be. His work is amazing. A Walk in the Woods is impressive as well, but not in Pinkney's usual style. Jerry Pinkney actually passed away during the illustrating of this book. He completed all of the tight sketches for the manuscript. Jerry's son, Brian Pinkney, who is also an illustrator was asked to finish the work. (How interesting is that when the entire theme of the book deals with loss, specifically that of a son losing his father.) The pictures are swirly and not as defined as usual as you can see from the front cover. This gives the book an air of the loss and mixed up feelings we often encounter after losing a loved one.