Education Extra Book Picks.Byline: The Register-Guard "The Animal Family" By Randall Jarrell Noun 1. Randall Jarrell - United States poet (1914-1965) Jarrell ; illustrations by Maurice Sendak HarperCollins, 1965 Recommended age group: 5 and up A teacher walked into my library recently and asked about "The Animal Family." It wasn't on the shelf. "I'm sorry, Marti, I don't think I know that book." "Oh you know - the Newbery Honor The Newbery Honor is a citation given by the Association for Library Service to Children of the American Library Association (ALA). The Newbery Honor is given to worthy runners-up for the Newbery Medal, a higher honor. book written in the '60s in exquisite prose about the hunter and his animal family - you must have it." And I had to admit that not only did I not have it, I knew nothing about it. Slightly horrified hor·ri·fy tr.v. hor·ri·fied, hor·ri·fy·ing, hor·ri·fies 1. To cause to feel horror. See Synonyms at dismay. 2. To cause unpleasant surprise to; shock. , Marti put a copy in my hands. I devoured it, and immediately purchased three copies for my school library - though I must say that constant circulation means they're rarely on the shelves. "The Animal Family" is one of those rare books - like "Winnie the Pooh" or "Charlotte's Web" or "The Little Prince" - that has equal appeal to children and adults; they will simply be read at different levels. What do they all have in common? Lyric prose that doesn't talk down to kids, a good story and a gentle message that is never didactic. Consider the opening words: "Once upon a time, long, long ago, where the forest runs down to the ocean, a hunter lived all alone in a house made of logs he had chopped for himself and shingles shingles: see herpes zoster. shingles or herpes zoster Acute viral skin and nerve infection. Groups of small blisters appear along certain nerve segments, most often on the back, sometimes after a dull ache at the site; pain becomes he had split for himself." And at night, "when the logs had burnt to embers and the embers had burnt away to coals, the man would lie in his bed warm under the bearskin, and listen to the great soft sound the waves made over and over." The hunter, one night, is awakened by a mermaid's beautiful song and they slowly get to know each other. A dreamlike quality pervades the story as over time, a bear, a lynx and finally an infant boy complete the family. With each addition, the dynamics change and the relationships become richer - and we begin to understand what it means to be part of a family. Its squarish-shape and wide margins make this book fun to hold and much shorter than it might appear. Told with humor, insight and a poet's touch, "The Animal Family" is as appropriate for a 5-year-old as a bedtime story as it is for an adult looking for Looking for In the context of general equities, this describing a buy interest in which a dealer is asked to offer stock, often involving a capital commitment. Antithesis of in touch with. a bit of solace in this sometimes disheartening dis·heart·en tr.v. dis·heart·ened, dis·heart·en·ing, dis·heart·ens To shake or destroy the courage or resolution of; dispirit. See Synonyms at discourage. world. - Wes Young, librarian, Lincoln Middle School Lincoln Middle School may refer to:
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