Imagine meeting someone who understands you perfectly, even if you’ve never seen each other in person. Sounds mysterious, right? This is what happens in the book “You Go First”, by Erin Entrada Kelly, a captivating novel about an unlikely friendship between two kids, Charlotte and Ben, who are separated by a great distance.

Through online Scrabble games and late-night phone calls, Charlotte and Ben form a deep bond, sharing their struggles and dreams with each other. Sometimes you don’t quite fit in or need someone to talk to, and you end up laughing, crying, and thinking about the importance of human connections, only to find someone who deals with the same challenges.

Charlotte and Ben, the two witty, curious, and brave children who fight to survive middle school and its classical crises, will teach you never to give up – you will find a true friend when you least expect to. Continue reading ““You Go First”, by Erin Entrada Kelly” →

Two classmates, two girls who look alike… Time passes, and in spring, one of them grows taller and taller, the other feels smaller and smaller… With summer vacation coming, they receive a homework assignment – each student chooses a plant to take care of. Again, the smallest of them ends up with the last plant, without flowers. What is the lesson of summer vacation? When you have no hope, when you are left behind, when you receive the most modest flower… you learn that friendship is beautiful, when it goes through changing seasons. Continue reading ““Growing Season”, by Maryann Cocca-Leffler and Irene Vandervoort” →

As a great joy, little Georgina Hayes receives a gift… the puppy Wiley. However, what would you do if your family and the situation at home no longer allowed you to keep your pet? Poverty, the parents’ attitude regarding the resources needed to take care of the new member of the house separate Georgina from her four-legged friend. How does she feel, how does she fight, is she making good choices? – these are the big questions. Would you follow Georgina’s example? Continue reading ““How to Steal a Dog”, by Barbara O’Connor” →

Take courage, don’t give up, when you teach others how to succeed, they also win! Family and friends can support each other, be brave and be kind, as an example!

Is it hard to write your name, to skate, to paint, to count, to recognize geometrical shapes, to catch the ball, to dance, to tie the shoelace, to ride a bike? Characters from “Sesame Street” learn how to never give up: read “You Can Do It”, be a little stubborn, in the end great things you will discover!

Fă-ți curaj, nu renunța, când îi înveți pe alții cum să reușească, și ei câștigă! Familia și prietenii se pot susține reciproc, fii curajos și amabil, oferă exemplu!

Este greu să-ți scrii numele, să patinezi, să pictezi, să numeri, să recunoști forme geometrice, să prinzi mingea, să dansezi, să legi șiretul pantofilor, să mergi pe bicicletă? Personajele din „Sesame Street” învață să nu renunțe niciodată: citește „You Can Do It”, fii puțin încăpățânat, până la urmă lucruri grozave vei descoperi!

You Can Do It! A little book about the big power of perseverance, by Craig Manning, illustrations by Joe Mathieu, Naperville, Illinois, Sourcebooks Jabberwocky, 2019, 32 p.

I know, I know. Other children also have large dogs. Really big. And some of them are red dogs. But they do not compare to my dog, Clifford. My dog ​​is bright red and is the largest dog in the world.

To be clear: Clifford is bigger than a house. When we play hide and seek, I always find him, because he simply has no way to hide. When we go camping, it takes the place of my tent. He also has some pretty nasty habits: he overthrows cops, sometimes catches cars, scares lions from the zoo… Continue reading ““Clifford: The Big Red Dog: board book”, by Norman Bridwell” →

A from alligator,

B from baby,

C from the camel hanging from the ceiling upside down…

A fun method of learning the English alphabet. Just as fun for adults.

A de la aligator,

B de la bebeluș,

C de la cămila ce atârnă din tavan cu capul în jos…

O metodă amuzantă de învățare a alfabetului în limba engleză. La fel de distractivă și pentru adulți.

“Dr. Seuss’s ABC: An Amazing Alphabet Book!”, by Dr. Seuss, New York, Random House, 1991, 20 p.

Thidwick is a very gentle and kind moose. When asked for giving a place to stay on his antlers, he cannot say no, because it’s not polite to refuse. The situation becomes embarrassing when the first hosted creature invites other creatures, one after the other. A spider, some woodpeckers, a squirrel family, a bobcat, a turtle. The hospitable Thidwick is deserted by his friends when he cannot get rid of this company, because a host must be nice to his guests, isn’t it?… Furthermore, the creatures decide, by voting against him, that he cannot go across the lake for eating moose-moss along with his friends, because he has no right to take their home so far. Even worse, they ask in some more creatures to join them: a fox, some mice, fleas, a big bear and a swarm of bees! Continue reading ““Thidwick, the Big-Hearted Moose”, by Dr. Seuss” →

Can you mail a parcel of penguins?

Does the pack of wolves prepare any luggage when they go on vacation?

Can a string of tied ponies stop a bus full of a drove of sheep?

Do a labor of moles with a business of flies wear at work polka dot ties?

Can a band of entertaining gorillas be frightened by the stench of skunks?

… A book with many weird questions, for lovers of English language and animal life.

Poți trimite prin poștă o colonie de pinguini?

Haita de lupi își pregătește vreun bagaj când pleacă în vacanță?

Un grup de ponei legați poate opri un autocar plin cu o turmă de oi?

Cârtițele ce au ca patroni roiuri de muște poartă la serviciu cravate cu buline?

Poate fi speriată o familie de gorile pusă pe distracție de mirosul unui grup de sconcși?

… O carte cu multe întrebări ciudate, pentru cei care iubesc limba engleză și viața animalelor.

 

“An Ambush of Tigers”, by Betsy R. Rosenthal, Minneapolis, Millbrook Press, 2015, 36 p.

Nine orphans, the only inhabitants of a fairytale island, where everything is perfect: from the sunrise and sunset, the fruits of the trees, the wind that supports them in the air above the rocks, to the venomous snakes that do not bite and lay down quietly in the sun.

Once a year, a boat without a boatman brings a small child. According to tradition, the oldest of the orphans must leave in his place by boat, disappearing forever. The rules are strict and respected, because the children know that any violation of them can destroy the island.

But what happens when the eldest of the orphans revolts, does not want to leave, endangering everyone else? Is the island an enchanted place or an illusion of children?… Read the book to find out the outcome of the story!

Nouă orfani, singurii locuitori ai unei insule de basm, unde toate lucrurile sunt perfecte: de la răsăritul și apusul soarelui, fructele din copaci, vântul ce îi susține în aer deasupra stâncilor, până la șerpii veninoși ce nu mușcă și se tolănesc cuminți la soare.

O dată pe an, o barcă fără vâslaș aduce un copil mic. Potrivit tradiției, cel mai în vârstă dintre orfani trebuie să plece cu barca în locul lui, dispărând pentru totdeauna. Regulile sunt stricte, iar copiii le respectă pentru că știu că orice încălcare a lor poate distruge insula.

Ce se întâmplă însă atunci când cel mai mare dintre orfani se revoltă, nu vrea să plece, punându-i în pericol pe toți ceilalți? Este insula un loc fermecat sau o iluzie a copiilor?… Citiți cartea pentru a afla deznodământul poveștii!

“Orphan Island”, by Laurel Snyder, New York, Walden Pond Press, 2018, 276 p.

Keith and his parents are staying at the Mountain View Inn, in California, in room 215. The mother, a perfect housewife who loves cleaning, is sure they will find… mice! But Keith does not look scared. Moreover, he has a super toy motorcycle bought from his own savings. He doesn’t even imagine that he is not the only one who has a passion for it – a little spy saw it in the hotel room and from that moment the idea of driving it came to him. Who could he be? Continue reading ““The Mouse and the Motorcycle”, by Beverly Cleary” →