PPBF: Maurice's Valises

Today's PPBF - the last until September - is actually a new series for which I've been helping write teacher activities, so you can imagine that it's a product I firmly enjoy and endorse!

Title: Maurice's Valises: Moral Tails in an Immoral World

Author: J.S. Friedman

Illustrator: Chris Beatrice

Publisher: Mouse Prints Press

Date: September 3, 2013

Suitable for ages: K-grade 4

Fiction

Themes: integrity, empathy, honesty, trust

Brief Synopsis: Travel with Maurice, the mouse, as his journeys take him through the fables. In the first of this book's series, Maurice, a master storyteller, recounts his story of The Rat Who Cried Skunk, a nice parallel to the Aesop's Fable, The Boy Who Cried Wolf, to help his offspring learn the value of telling the truth.

Opening pages: Since my office is being cleaned for the summer, I'm unable to get to my copy of the book so that I can share the opening pages.

Resources:  Visit the author's website {here}.

Activity ideas and an App for adults {here}.

Check out the book's Facebook page {here}.

Enjoy the illustrator's beautiful work {here}.

Download it or listen to a sample at iTunes {here}.

Using a double bubble graphic organizer, compare and contrast Aesop's The Boy Who Cried Wolf with the skunk tale in this story.

Why I like this book: I find it delightful revisiting the old fables coupled with this author's entertaining twists through the eyes of a Mouse. New vocabulary introduced and the moral scrolls both cleverly tie the present back to the past. The valise totally lends itself to a discussion about a Character Case, so my activity suggestions {available soon} revolve around what a student would put in his/her character case were they to travel the world like Maurice. I can see it being used as a wonderful springboard for cultural integration as well.

Check out this series; 

I think you'll enjoy this Mentor Mouse 

and his lessons learned.

**************************

Since Father's Day is just around the corner, 

I wanted to take this opportunity to share a recent father-child outing. Here's a seven-minute musical clip from a small polka band that John put together for the local German Restaurant.

Enjoy John Loessin on trombone,

My husband on tuba, 

our son, Jacob, on trumpet,

and our daughter, Kaitlyn, on clarinet.

Notice that in the last song, a K student from my school

tried his hand at directing, then came back with 

a dollar looking for "the money jar." It was tooooooo cute!

Then visit our friends at Happify to see the interesting facts 

that they shared on their Dad's Infographic.

I'm going off the grid for a little bit, so

here's to all the Dandy Dads out there; 

enJOY your special day on Sunday!