Wednesday, September 4, 2013

Learning | Charlie Goes to School

SSJCPL bloggers have been posting about the back to school theme quite a bit lately. I hope you can indulge me while I write about yet another book on the topic of school.

Most of our back-to-school posts are assuming that children are learning in a school building that is designed only for that purpose. They leave their home in the morning, have their lessons in the school building with children from other families, and return home at the end of the day. Of course, there are plenty of families whose children are homeschooled, in the same building where they live, like the characters in Charlie Goes to School.

[Cover]Charlie Goes to School is a picture book by Ree Drummond, with beautiful illustrations by Diane de Groat. You may already be familiar with the main character from Ree Drummond's I Can Read Book, Charlie the Ranch Dog: Where's the Bacon?  Charlie is based on Ree Drummond's real-life basset hound. 

Charlie sees his human family learning at home on their ranch, and he starts thinking about all of the things he knows. It isn't very long before he decides to open his own school.  His students are the other animals on the farm--and he encounters a few classroom management issues. (Can you imagine teaching a kitten and a puppy to read and count?  It wouldn't be easy.)

Homeschooling families will especially enjoy this book. Children who like animals will like it, too. It reminds me of a story about one of my sons' favorite preschool teachers, Miss Barbara. Miss Barbara's mother told me that she used to pretend she was a teacher when she was a little girl; she put all of her dolls and stuffed animals in chairs, and wrote assignments on the blackboard.  I can imagine this book inspiring a child or two to teach their pets, friends, siblings or toys how to say the alphabet or count. 

The target audience for Charlie Goes to School ranges from preschoolers to third grade.  

P.S.  Here's the link for Ree Drummond's The Pioneer Woman Cooks : Food from My Frontier, which Rena mentioned in her comment below.  




1 comment:

  1. I'd also like to share that Ree Drummond is a culinary celebrity on the Food Network. She cooks her on a show called "The Pioneer Woman".

    The library also carries her books. Check out, The Pioneer Woman Cooks: Food From My Frontier. The pictures are drool inspiring and the food is easy and delicious!

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