Archie

Written and Illustrated by: Domenica More Gordon

Bloomsbury Books for Young Readers, 2012, Hardcover Edition

Target Audience: Ages 3-8

Genre: Fiction

Themes: Trying something new, following your dreams, self-confidence

How We Discovered This Book: My son chose this book during media class, and brought it home from the school library.

Summary:

Archie decides to make his dog some new clothes. Soon, they are the talk of the neighborhood and everyone wants cute clothes for their dogs too.

What I Liked:

This book is wordless, which is not usually the type of picture book I gravitate towards. However, the story flows along nicely without the words, and my kids could follow along without any explaining from me. The illustrations are charming and minimal.

What Did My Kids Think?

My kids are very interested in animals right now, so a book full of dogs is very appealing. They find it funny that dogs would have dogs as pets. My astute son even noticed that all of the dogs in the story have the same type of dog as they are (a boxer has a boxer as a pet, for example), except Archie. He appears to be a lab type dog, while his pet is a terrier. Curious…

Resources:

There are no existing resources for this book, so I’ll get a little creative this time.

The author is an artist known for her miniature felt dogs. Check out a story here about her dogs and the inspiration for the story.

There is another Archie book, Archie’s Vacation, which we have not yet read.

If you have dogs in your life, maybe you think they need some cuter clothes themselves? There are plenty of instructions on pet clothing and other related projects.

Maybe you really like the illustrations, and would like to try your hand at drawing a dog.

The Fox and the Falling Leaves (originally titled Fletcher and the Falling Leaves)

Written by: Julia Rawlinson

Illustrated By: Tiphanie Beeke

Scholastic Books, 2006, School Paperback Edition

Target Audience: Ages 3-8

Genre: Fiction

Theme: Transformation, Caring for Nature

How We Discovered This Book: Several times a year, my daughter’s preschool sends home a Scholastic flyer with suggested books for purchase. This one looked like a good addition to our library for the fall.

Summary:

Fletcher the fox has a favorite tree, but one day he is disturbed to find that it is losing all its leaves. He tries to help it keep its leaves, but he cannot stop the inevitable. Then he discovers something beautiful when all the leaves are gone and the air turns cold.

What I Liked:

Fletcher is adorable (both in illustration and in text), and his eagerness to “save” his favorite tree is very sweet. Several animals try to take the fallen leaves for their winter nests, and Fletcher is distraught. He even takes the last leaf into his den to protect it.

What Did My Kids Think?

Elizabeth liked Fletcher, especially since he is a little animal (anything smaller/younger than her makes her giggle). She liked that she figured out what was going on with the tree long before Fletcher did. She felt very smart.

Resources:

Scholastic has a study guide for this book with discussion questions, activities, and other stories about the seasons and nature.

The Activity Idea Place has links to a huge list of crafts, activities, games, field trip ideas, snacks, and songs… all around the theme of leaves.