From the Library

First graders have been reading some fun and thought-provoking books recently, many of them with themes of fairness and compromise. Bryan Langdo's Tornado Slim and the Magic Cowboy Hat was a big hit. Ask your daughter about how hot the chili was (five alarm? six? seven?) In Candace Fleming's Clever Jack Takes the Cake, the main character has almost nothing but manages to make a beautiful cake. Ask your daughter what he has left by the time he arrives at the palace and what he gives the princess as a gift. The Big Red Lollipop by Rukhsana Khan led to a lively discussion about siblings and fairness.  Mary Ann Hoberman's The Seven Silly Eaters is a great tale of how people with very different tastes (and ideas) can work together to make something terrific. Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day, Judith Viorst's classic story of undeserved misfortune, reminded us that we all have the occasional bad day, and led to a quick geography lesson on Australia. A Fine Fine School by Sharon Creech had us talking about how much school is the right amount of school and where else do we learn. Onward to Strega Nona tales we go. We can't get through the rest of first grade without learning about the magic pasta pot!