Read-Aloud Thursday: Nora's Ark & Spotty

Like Amy at Hope is the Word, a little bit of randomness for Read-Aloud Thursday this week. We've read two new-to-us book that we have thoroughly enjoyed and I want to pass on.

The first is Spotty by H.A. and Margaret Rey. Around here, we are big fans of George and really anything that the Rey's have their hand on. (You can see my review of Pretzel here, the original Curious George books here, and a kid-sized biography of the Rey's here.) Spotty is the story of a young rabbit who is a little bit different from the rest of his family. While his mother and eight rabbit siblings are all white rabbits with pink eyes, Spotty is covered in brown spots. His family loves him even though he is different, however, they are concerned about taking him to meet Grandpa Rabbit because it might upset him ... Spotty looking so different and all. This would be a great little story to read with your kids to introduce differences people have such as skin color and how sometimes people that don't look like us can be treated differently (or how it was in the past). I bought this one for our B-Boo's birthday (sight unseen because it was written by the Rey's) and was not disappointed.

The second book I'll highlight is one that we picked up on a whim at the library a few weeks ago. Little did we know how timely it would be to read! Nora's Ark is the story of young Wren who lives with her grandparents in Vermont. The story tells about the real-life events that occurred during the 1927 flood in Vermont. It shares how farmers tried to save livestock and household items and at the same time were watching out for their neighbors and making sure they were safe. It was written by Natalie Kinsey-Warnock and illustrated by Emily Arnold McCully who is a Caldecott Medal illustraion winner. A well-written story to show how this community pulled together during a natural disaster and rebuilt their homes and farms after it was all over.

For more good read-aloud recommendations, visit Hope is the Word. : )