Read Aloud Thursday #2

Hope Is the Word is the home of Read Aloud Thursday, which is a weekly meme in which bloggers share their families’ read-alouds of the week.

Books we've read since Monday, March 1st.


In the original story by Helen Bannerman, Little Black Sambo must tread carefully, lest his clothes be stolen from him by a gang of tigers. Today, it is the teller of the tale who must tread carefully, lest the forces of political correctness attack, charging racism. Because of the names she chose for her characters, the book has become a symbol of intolerance in the century since it was written. Strip away race, however, and the tale underneath is both simple and affecting. To make it more palatable to modern readers, Julius Lester has recast the tale in a "Southern black storytelling voice."

Cat beat Mouse at checkers. Again. "That's the third time you've won", complained Mouse. Let's play crazy eights now." "I hate crazy eights", said Cat. Mouse Left in a huff.
Cat needed another friend... fast! He put an ad in the newspaper. But the oddball characters who come to Cat's door are not quite what he had in mind...
AM Monson's comical story and Lynn Munsinger's lovable pictures about the give-and-take of friendship are sure to make your young reader giggle and give Wanted: Best Friend to their own best pal.

Rhyming text introduces a variety of trains as they leave a station, rush along the tracks, and arrive at the platform where travelers are waiting.

From the Caldecott Medal-winning author/illustrator of Mirette on the Highwire, comes this dramatic, multi-layered story of two legendary women warriors, Wu Mei, the "beautiful warrior", and her most famous pupil, Mingyi.