Kellee

Review and Giveaway!: Can You Canoe? and Other Adventure Songs by The Okee Dokee Brothers

June 10, 2016June 10, 2016 by Kellee

Can You Canoe? And Other Adventure Songs
Author: The Okee Dokee Brothers
Illustrator: Brandon Reese
Published April 19th, 2016 by Sterling Children’s Books

Summary: Can You Canoe? invites you to journey cross-country with The Okee Dokee Brothers through twelve of their irresistible, boot-stompin’ tunes. You’ll encounter hungry black bears and tall-tale spinners; quiet canoes and cozy camping tents; a jumpin’ jamboree and a bullfrog opera. As you listen to the songs and follow along with the illustrated lyrics in this collection, you might even be inspired to head out on some outdoor adventure of your own!

Kellee’s Review: We love music in my house, so anytime a book and music can be connected really makes me happy. I think the Okee Dokee Brothers’ music is catchy, knee-slapping, sometimes funny, and have great messages. I love how they all promote the out doors and adventure. And just when you think it cannot get any better, you see the illustrations. Brandon Reese’s illustrations are perfect! They are so colorful and loud and cartoon-ish. Just the type of fun you think would be in a book by the Okee Dokee Brothers.

Ricki’s Review: This book is pure fun. My toddler was bouncing around the room as I played the CD. My husband is an outdoorsy guy, so he particularly liked the messages within the songs. The rhymes are great, and they will help my son learn the lyrics as we listen/read. I’ve never been to an Okee Dokee concert, and now I want to go to one! We’ll be bringing this CD along for long car rides. Below, we include an illustration, and you can see the pure beauty of this text. I will be buying it as a gift for my music-loving friends.

Teachers’ Tools for Navigation: We love using music during my poetry lessons because it helps students hear poetry and not be as afraid of it like they are with classics. Starting with music and lyrics allows you to help them understand how to read poetry differently than prose while using something they can easily understand. Can You Canoe? would be a perfect text to use this for because you can analyze for poetic elements and meaning, but the Okee Dokee Brothers also have a field journal in the back which help give background information about each song making analyzing them less of a guessing game.

Can You Canoe? would also be a wonderful poetry mentor texts. The authors talk about how they find ideas for their songs and many of their songs have a format that could be emulated (like Jack in Love that Dog) if you wanted to go that route in class.

Discussion Questions: How do the authors use rhythm and rhyme in their lyrics?; What is a time that the authors used descriptive language to help the reader imagine the scene they are describing?; What is a time the authors used figurative language to add imagery to their songs?

Flagged Passages:

“There’s a country store
In a country town.
Every Friday night
The people dance around.
It don’t look like much
And it ain’t no chore,
But while they’re dancin’
They polish that floor.

They play this song
Right on key.
They play this song –
It’s called JAMBOREE.”

Okee_Jamboree_1000 — (c) http://www.brandonreese.com/

Check out their You Tube channel to hear some of their music:
https://www.youtube.com/user/OkeeDokeeBros

Read This If You Loved: Goodnight Songs by Margaret Wise Brown, Fresh Delicious by Irene Latham

Recommended For:

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**Thank you to Lauren at Sterling Publishing for providing a copy for review!**

Candlewick Nonfiction Picture Books: Who’s Like Me? by Nicola Davies; Can We Help? by George Ancona; Belle, the Last Mule at Gee’s Bend by Calvin Alexander Ramsey & Bettye Stroud; and The Boy Who Fell Off the Mayflower by P.J. Lynch

June 12, 2016June 8, 2016 by Kellee

Nonfiction Wednesday

Nonfiction Picture Book Wednesday is hosted by Kid Lit Frenzy and was started to help promote the reading of nonfiction texts. Most Wednesdays, we will be participating and will review a nonfiction text (though it may not always be a picture book).
Be sure to visit Kid Lit Frenzy and see what other nonfiction books are shared this week!

Who’s Like Me?
Author: Nicola Davis
Illustrator: Marc Boutavant
Published February 28th, 2012 by Candlewick Press

Goodreads Summary: Lift the flaps and learn about animal life in this fresh, fun-filled book for curious preschoolers.

A bunny is furry and breathes air. Who else is like that — a pigeon, a fish, a chameleon, or a fox? Some animals have fins to swim with, some have feathers and a beak, some have skin that is scaly, or smooth and wet. But whatever features a creature has, someone else has them, too. Can you guess who? Big flaps and a matching spread at the end make animal classification fun.

My Thoughts: This flap book is going to be a big hit in my house both because it is entertaining and because it is informative. First, the author does a great job making the identification of animal types a game including flaps and comparisons/contrasts then she ensures that factual information follows the matching to explain the type of animal and the characteristics of the type.

Can We Help? Kids Volunteering to Help their Communities
Author: George Ancona
Published August 25th, 2015 by Candlewick Press

Goodreads Summary: Real kids make a real difference in their communities in this vibrantly photographed chronicle by George Ancona.

George Ancona celebrates the joy of kids giving back. In one after-school program, middle-school students mentor and tutor younger children. Via a special partnership, schoolchildren help professionals train assistance dogs for people with disabilities. At a community farm, families plant, grow, and harvest produce for soup kitchens and charities. In these and other examples of volunteering, kids of all ages work together knitting hats and scarves for those who could use warm clothes, packing hot meals to deliver to housebound people, and keeping roadways clean. Young humanitarians reading these accounts may well be inspired to find ways that they can help, too.

My Thoughts: I think this picture book would be a wonderful one to read in conjunction with the 31 Ways to Change the World because that book includes suggestions while this one gives us narratives about those actually making a difference. I love the variety of ways the author highlights: from knitting to a community farm to training dogs and mentoring. These stories are inspiring and will make the reader (adult or child) want to do something to make a difference!

Belle, the Last Mule at Gee’s Bend
Authors: Calving Alexander Ramsey and Bettye Stroud
Illustrator: John Holyfield
Published September 13th, 2011 by Candlewick Press

Goodreads Summary: A true story inspires the moving tale of a mule that played a key role in the civil rights movement– and a young boy who sees history anew.

Sitting on a bench waiting for his mother, Alex spies a mule chomping on greens in someone’s garden, and he can’t help but ask about it.””Ol Belle?” says Miz Pettway next to him. “She can have all the collards she wants. She’s earned it.” And so begins the tale of a simple mule in Gee’s Bend, Alabama, who played a singular part in the civil rights movement of the 1960s. When African-Americans in a poor community– inspired by a visit from Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.– defied local authorities who were trying to stop them from registering to vote, many got around a long detour on mule-drawn wagons. Later, after Dr. King’s assassination, two mules from Gee’s Bend pulled the farm wagon bearing his casket through the streets of Atlanta. As Alex looks into the eyes of gentle Belle, he begins to understand a powerful time in history in a very personal way.

My Thoughts: This story adds an extra truth to the story of Martin Luther King that many of us know. MLK was an advocate and leader and activist for all African and Black Americans and this meant a lot to so many communities of people around America including Gee’s Bend. To learn about Belle and King’s reason for having Belle pull his coffin really just shows how true his intentions of being a man of the people while fighting for the rights of all. And I loved how this story was told as a story from a Bender to a young boy visiting the town. Gee’s Bend is such a historical place, and I love this new part of their history that I didn’t know. (I love the quilts produced in Gee’s Bend! If you haven’t viewed them, Google it now!)

The Boy Who Fell Off the Mayflower or John Howland’s Good Fortune
Author and Illustrator: P.J. Lynch
Published September 22nd, 2015 by Candlewick Press

Goodreads Summary: In the first book he has both written and illustrated, master artist P.J. Lynch brings a Mayflower voyager’s story to vivid life.

At a young age, John Howland learned what it meant to take advantage of an opportunity. Leaving the docks of London on the Mayflower as an indentured servant to Pilgrim John Carver, John Howland little knew that he was embarking on the adventure of a lifetime. By his great good fortune, John survived falling overboard on the crossing of the Atlantic Ocean, and he earned his keep ashore by helping to scout a safe harbor and landing site for his bedraggled and ill shipmates. Would his luck continue to hold amid the dangers and adversity of the Pilgrims’ lives in New England? John Howland’s tale is masterfully told in his own voice, bringing an immediacy and young perspective to the oft-told Pilgrims’ story. P.J. Lynch captures this pivotal moment in American history in precise and exquisite detail, from the light on the froth of a breaking wave to the questioning voice of a teen in a new world.

My Thoughts: I have to start my review with discussing the art work. Describing P.J. Lynch as a master artist is a perfect statement. His watercolor and gouache full page plus illustrations are so lifelike and beautiful that the reader will spend time on each page viewing the art in addition to reading the text. And what makes the book even better is that the text is interesting. Told in first person from John Howland’s point of view, we travel from London to America through storms, a fall off the Mayflower, death, disease, famine, and shows how friendship and kindness pay. In the classroom, this text would be an informational and interesting introduction to the Mayflower voyage and Plymouth.

All Recommended For:

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? #IMWAYR 6/6/16

June 6, 2016June 6, 2016 by Kellee

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? From Picture Books to YA!

It’s Monday! What are you Reading? is a meme started by Sheila at Book Journeys and now hosted by Kathryn at The Book Date. It is a great way to recap what you read and/or reviewed the previous week and to plan out your reading and reviews for the upcoming week. It’s also a great chance to see what others are reading right now…you just might discover the next “must-read” book!

Kellee and Jen, of Teach Mentor Texts, decided to give It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? a kidlit focus. If you read and review books in children’s literature – picture books, chapter books, middle grade novels, young adult novels, anything in the world of kidlit – join us! We love this meme and think you will, too.

We encourage everyone who participates to support the blogging community by visiting at least three of the other book bloggers that link up and leave comments for them.

Last Week’s Posts

**Click on any picture/link to view the post**

Tuesday: Ten Non-Shallow Beach Reads

Wednesday: Mastermind by National Geographic

Thursday: Thunder Boy Jr. by Sherman Alexie

Friday: Kate DiCamillo: Collaborative Summer Library Program Summer Reading Champion for 2016

Sunday: Author Guest Post!: “Finding the Joy in Writing” by Laurisa White Reyes, Author of The Kids’ Guide to Writing Fiction

Last Week’s Journeys

From Thursday to Sunday this week, I was at the Future Problem Solvers International Competition at Michigan State University, so I was not able to write my IMWAYR post. I’ll update you all next week 🙂

Ricki

Many of you know Emmanuel Guibert’s graphic novel Alan’s War. Guibert is a French cartoonist who tells the true story of Alan Cope, an American GI in France in WWII. How the World Was: A California Childhood depicts Alan’s earlier childhood experiences, growing up during the Great Depression in California. The graphic novel is unlike others that I’ve read, and I really enjoy Guibert’s style. The chapters read like vignettes of Cope’s childhood; some of the scenes are graphic, and many are quite moving. This text would be excellent for close reading, and I don’t think readers even need to read it in its entirety to appreciate and understand each chapter.

I finished The Honest Truth by Dan Gemeinhart in one sitting, and I totally agree with the hype. This book is excellent! It took me awhile to get to it, and I am glad I was finally intrigued enough to pick it up. It reminds me of so many works of literature that I love, yet it was quite different. I highly recommend this one.

Henry and I also read a lot of great picture books this week. This morning, we sat in his room for two hours and read about 50 books in a row. He enjoys laying across my pregnant belly and tells me he is reading to his baby brother. It’s these moments that make me love life. I won’t list the books here because most of them are older books or rereads. We did enjoy Chupie: The Binkie That Returned Home by Thalia.

This Week’s Expeditions

Ricki

I continued reading the unnamed book by my author friend. I am 75% done and enjoying reading it before bed. It’s a great sci fi, but she’s asked that I not reveal any information yet. She’s feeling really shaky about it. I have lots of feedback for her, so I am excited to see where it goes!

The Dark Endeavor by Kenneth Oppel has been on my TBR list forever. I added it to my #mustreadin2016 list this year, and am happy to say I am 2 hours away (audio) from finishing it! At first, I didn’t like it, and I was so bummed, but I realize now I made a huge mistake. This book is simply fantastic! Kellee’s voice was in the back of my head. She told me it was a great read. Because we usually agree, I give it a second chance.

Upcoming Week’s Posts

top ten tuesday

Tuesday: Ten Reasons We Love Being Moms to Readers

Wednesday: Candlewick Press Nonfiction Picture Books

Thursday: What Do You Do With a Problem? by Kobi Yamada

Friday: Can You Canoe? And Other Adventure Songs by The Okee Dokee Brothers

Sunday: Author Guest Post!

So, what are you reading?

Link up below and go check out what everyone else is reading. Please support other bloggers by viewing and commenting on at least 3 other blogs. If you tweet about your Monday post, tag the tweet with #IMWAYR!

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Kate DiCamillo: Collaborative Summer Library Program Summer Reading Champion for 2016

June 3, 2016 by Kellee

Two-time Newbery Medalist, former U.S. Ambassador for Young People’s Literature, and bestselling author Kate DiCamillo has another title to add to her growing list of accomplishments. She is the 2016 National Summer Reading Champion for the Collaborative Summer Library Program (CSLP) for the second year in a row.

“I know this sounds kind of funny,” says DiCamillo, “but I feel like I was born to be the CSLP Summer Reading Champion. The library was such a magical place for me as a kid—a place of possibility, safety, and promise. And my being a Summer Reading Champion is all about hoping that kids and their families will get the chance to feel the same way about their own local library. Kids and libraries belong together all year long, but the summer is particularly special—a time of freedom and fun in reading. And freedom is how lifelong readers are made.”

CSLP is a nonprofit consortium of state libraries that work together to provide an annual unified summer reading theme and professionally created, evidence-based materials for member libraries to enable them to provide high-quality summer reading programs to their communities at the lowest possible cost. They reach approximately 15,000 member libraries nationwide, representing all fifty states.

The 2016 theme is “On Your Mark, Get Set . . . Read!” CSLP has created a comprehensive array of resources for libraries to use in their summer reading programs, including program ideas, booklists, posters, clip art, and activities for four age groups, from babies to adults. All materials are available in English and Spanish. DiCamillo has provided a top ten list of reasons to join a library summer reading program and will also create a list of her favorite recommended summer reads for 2016.

“We think the 2016 theme is perfect for an Olympic summer and have created a host of materials that are easily adaptable to any community,” says CSLP board chair and Mississippi Library Commission’s Senior Library Consultant Mac Buntin. “We’re absolutely thrilled to have Kate DiCamillo as our Champion. Her passion for summer reading and love of libraries—and librarians—is inspiring and infectious.”

Turn learn more about CSLP, visit their website at http://www.cslpreads.org and view the official press release here.

As a fan of DiCamillo, including her newest Raymie Nightingale, we are so happy to see her promoting not only summer reading, but book and library love in general.

Kellee Signature

Blog Tour with Review!: Mastermind by National Geographic

June 1, 2016 by Kellee

Nonfiction Wednesday

Mastermind: Over 100 Games, Tests, and Puzzles to Unleash Your Inner Genius
Author: Stephanie Warren Drimmer
Puzzles by: Julie K. Cohen
Published May 10th, 2016 by National Geographic Children’s Books

Welcome to Stop #7 on the National Geographic Kids Mastermind Blog Tour!

This summer, National Geographic Kids Books is inviting kids to “Unleash Their Inner Genius” with the release of Mastermind (May 2016, ages 8-12). In this fun, interactive book, kids learn what type of thinker they are and are given the chance to exercise different parts of their brains with games, tests and puzzles.

Each stop on the National Geographic Kids Mastermind Blog Tour brings you one step closer to becoming a Certified Mastermind. Be sure to stop by each stop on the tour and challenge yourself to unleash your inner genius with fun quizzes, optical illusions, and brain teasers, and learn tips and tricks for improving brainpower and explanations for the science behind navigating your mental map.

Are you ready to put your genius to the test with some word puzzles? Check out below and tweet your answers using #Mastermind!

Goodreads Summary: Ready to exercise your brain? Let zany superbraniac Ima Genius be your guide in this interactive book full of fascinating brain facts, puzzles, games, and challenges. Learn what type of thinker you are and the geniuses that share your special type of intellect. Discover why your brain does what it does, and how that affects vision, hearing, touch, smell, taste, spatial reasoning, language, memory, and problem solving. Each chapter is filled not only with fun and games, but also famous historical cases, crazy quizzes, exciting experiments, and a glossary of Genius Jargon, invented for advanced brain-related vocabulary.

The cheeky narrator and self-proclaimed “Mastermind” Ima Genius and her talking dog, Atom, guide the reader through short and snappy explanations of the science behind why the brain does what it does and how it affects the senses, spatial reasoning, language, memory and problem solving. As kids work their way through the book completing experiments, brain teasers, mazes, quizzes and games, their efforts (and smarts!) are rewarded with a Certificate of Mental Achievement declaring them as a Certified Mastermind. Or, in the words of Ima Genius:

“When I’m finished with you, your brain will be so huge that your average-size neck will no longer be able to support your massive noggin. Ha! I kid. That’s only happened once.”

Kellee’s Review: I love the variety of puzzles and games found within this book! They are quite clever and are definitely brain exercises. I also always love National Geographic books because of the quality of not only the text inside but also because of the photographs. Mixed in with all the puzzles are perfect animal photos and other science-y photos. For example, even the maze within the book is finding your way through a maze within a spine! Although the puzzles definitely are fun, I think my favorite things within the book are the “Atom’s Brain Breaks,” “Myths: Busted,” “Fun Facts,” tests, and other fun knowledge that was shared within.

Ricki’s Review: This would be the perfect road trip book. There are so many puzzles and games, and they are all quite different. I am tempted to save this for my son for when he is a bit older, but I know my neighbors would love it. It’s a great book to share with others because it will appeal to kids of all interest levels. As with most of the National Geographic books we’ve reviewed here on Unleashing Readers, this book is jam-packed with awesome facts about animals, science, etc. This book will last a long time—there is so much to learn and do! The narrator (Ima Genius) is a perfect guide, and she made me smile.

Teachers’ Tools for Navigation: Although this book may seem like an individual book, it would definitely be fun as a whole-class bell work activity. It is almost exactly one page per school day if you did one each day. It would be a fun way to mix literacy and science!

Discussion Questions: What myths were busted that you thought were true?; What’s the difference between how dogs and humans see the world?; How do the different parts of your body work and work together?; What fun facts did you learn that you didn’t know before?

We Flagged: See above!

Read This If You Loved: Interactive books with puzzles, brain teasers, tests, or other games

Recommended For:

Thank you for stopping by and being a part of the National Geographic Kids Mastermind Blog Tour! Did you master all of the quizzes, puzzles and brain teasers? If so, congratulations Mastermind! Here is your Certificate of Mental Achievement!

If you missed one or two, visit these stops and become a Certified Mastermind!

Blog Tour Schedule:

5/23 – Reading is Better With Cupcakes

5/24 – Mother Daughter Book Reviews

5/25 – Geo Librarian

5/26 – Mrs. Mommy Book Nerd’s Book Reviews

5/27 – Always In The Middle

5/31 – Mundie Kids

6/1 – Unleashing Readers

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**Thank you to Karen at Media Masters Publicity for providing copies for review!!**

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? #IMWAYR 5/30/16

May 30, 2016May 30, 2016 by Kellee

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? From Picture Books to YA!

We encourage everyone who participates to support the blogging community by visiting at least three of the other book bloggers that link up and leave comments for them.

Last Week’s Posts

**Click on any picture/link to view the post**

Tuesday: Ten Books We Feel Differently About After Time Has Passed

Wednesday: Boyds Mills Press Nonfiction Picture Books

Thursday: Dump Truck Duck by Megan E. Bryant

Friday: Doodle Adventures: The Search for Slimy Space Slugs! by Mike Lowery

Sunday: Aspiring Author Guest Post!: “Four Books that Challenge Gender Roles” by Ainsley Izzie

Congratulations to Casey O. for winning a copy of Bubonic Panic!

Last Week’s Journeys

Kellee

Book clubs are over! This week I finished Undercurrents by Willo Davis Roberts, Kingdom Keepers by Ridley Pearson, Peak by Roland Smith, and Heir Apparent by Vivian Vande Velde. I am so proud of myself that I was able to finish seven of the nine book club books in the four weeks we did them in class! And my students all really loved book clubs! They’ve given me some good feedback, and many of them are going to be in my class with me again next year, and I cannot wait to do lit circles again with them next year.

touching

We also finished Touching Spirit Bear in my 2nd period. I am so glad these students chose to do the whole class read aloud. I think they really connected with Cole and the novel. They actually have asked if for the rest of the school year we could listen to the sequel also. This was a class that we had a very hard time finding community; I really think this novel has helped finally build up our community.

Ricki

My family loves Brian Floca, and Five Trucks was no exception. 🙂

We’ve been reading Sandra Boynton since Henry was born, but this week, he seemed to become obsessed with the fact that they each have songs. We’ve reread all of them dozens of times this week. He can’t get enough of them.

I found Crossing by Philip Booth in the library. The illustrations are absolutely stunning.

I adored Trains Go by Steve Light. Each page features a different type of train with its matching sound effect. This is very fun to read.

I loved Doodle Adventures: The Search for Slimy Space Slugs! by Mike Lowery. I am having difficulty deciding who I will gift it to because it is so awesome. We reviewed this last week, but I didn’t have time to put it on my finished books because I read it so late!

This Week’s Expeditions

Kellee

I don’t know what I am going to read! I know I have some novels that I have in the queue for review, but I feel kind of lost because I don’t have the lit circle books anymore. I did get approved for some new graphic novels on Netgalley, so I cannot wait to jump into those.

I’m almost done with Grimm’s Fairy Tales, and I would love this production! The narrators are amazing!

I also have a big pile of picture books to read including some of the F&Gs that Ricki has shared and some nonfiction picture books that I’m reviewing next week.

Ricki

Like Kellee, I’m also almost done with Grimm’s Fairy Tales. I love it!

I am also reading an unpublished manuscript for an author. At her request, I can’t share anything about it, but it is a great work of fantasy!

Upcoming Week’s Posts

top ten tuesday mastermind thunder boy jr Screen-Shot-2015-12-13-at-1.01.23-AM-e1452184891507

Tuesday: Ten Non-Shallow Beach Reads

Wednesday: Mastermind by National Geographic

Thursday: Thunder Boy Jr. by Sherman Alexie

Friday: Kate DiCamillo: Collaborative Summer Library Program Summer Reading Champion for 2016

Sunday: Author Guest Post!

So, what are you reading?

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Aspiring Author Guest Post!: “Four Books that Challenge Gender Roles” by Ainsley Izzie

May 29, 2016 by Kellee

“Four Books that Challenge Gender Roles”

Most adults were probably raised on the idea that boys did one thing while girls did another, that boys love blue while girls love pink. It’s neither correct nor incorrect to believe in traditional gender roles, but people are more wary these days of such stereotypes and inequalities between the sexes. It’s wrong to discourage a girl from studying engineering as it is a male dominated industry, as it is wrong to deem a boy homosexual just because he has an interest in clothes, and this has inspired numerous parents around the world to support the movement of gender neutral parenting, or GNP as it’s more commonly known. Although the uninformed may see androgyny to be the result of this parenting style, Everyday Feminism explains, “The whole point of GNP is that it doesn’t force any preconceived gender norms onto a child in the hopes that they can find their own comfort spot on the continuum we call gender.”

Parents aren’t the only ones working to eliminate society’s prejudices on gender. From clothes and toys to literature, businesses and individuals are redefining gender roles in various ways. Several companies are doing quite well in the arena, including the unisex clothing brand Tootsa that focuses on colors and patterns that any child would love without the gender biases. Clothes are a great way to express one’s thoughts on the subject and show their support for fluidity, but for anyone that is unaware of the gender continuum could use a lesson or two from a few writers that have changed our outlooks on what it’s like to be masculine or feminine.

Writing about a gender neutral character is a difficult skill to master, but a handful of authors have managed to do it so eloquently that it's time that we help young students break any gender stereotypes they may have.

All I Want Is To Be Me by Phyllis Rothblatt

Gender neutrality is all about individuality, which is exactly what All I Want Is To Be Me promotes through this story of children expressing their personalities with the clothing they prefer and activities they like.

Not All Princesses Dress In Pink by Jane Yolen and Heidi E.Y. Stemple

The typical princess is expected to be dainty and damsel-like, but not these royal family members. Jane Yolen shows us that princesses come in all shapes and sizes, and that loving sports and adventure don’t make them any less of a princess, no matter what anyone says.

Jacob’s New Dress by Sarah and Ian Hoffman

In the story of Jacob’s New Dress, a young boy is made fun of when he shows up at school wearing his new favorite outfit. But role models such as his teacher and his mother show him that there are lots of ways to be a boy, and that it’s just a matter of accepting and loving himself.

Ballerino Nate by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley

Ballerino Nate is about a boy that discovers his love for ballet, but finds it difficult to pursue his dream to be a dancer when his brother says that only girls can be ballerinas. That’s when his mother takes him to a real ballet and meet a real male dancer, in hopes that he will persist no matter what obstacles may come his way.

About the Author: Ainsley Izzie is an aspiring writer. She has been working on sharpening my skills for about 4 years now and has had some of her work published online. Her published works can be viewed on Techie Doodlers and her personal blog.

Thank you Ainsley for this post about such an important topic!

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