Another great find at The Boulder Book Store... Our Tree Named Steve. When I picked up this book (mainly because it was illustrated by David Catrow), I had no idea how good it would be.
It's perfect mentor text to teach letter writing, but it's more than that, it's a wonderful story about family, and change. In the book, a father writes a letter to his children explaining that their tree "Steve" (named by the youngest child who couldn't pronoun "tree") to tell them that the tree fell during a storm. The tree had drawn the family to the property originally and "Steve" became an important part of the family's life--holding swings, laundry, a hammock... and the secrets of first crushes and loving parents.
I laughed and cried when I read this story... it's both endearing and bittersweet. Its simple text combined with perfect illustrations make for a special read. I read it aloud this week to a group of adults... they loved it too. It would be perfect for inferring... using the illustrations of the dog especially.
I would read this for the title alone! Thanks for bringing my attention to it!
ReplyDeleteOne of my students showed me this in my first year in the library. It's one of the few "not new" books I've read in THE PIT.
ReplyDeletethis book means the world to me.
ReplyDeletemy dad died in april of 07 and his name was steve.
when my aunt bought me this book and read it to me and my sisters and brother i cried and cried. this tree was just like my dad, strong and protective. it amazed me. this book was written just for me (:
I'm glad you responded... isn't that the greatest gift, when we feel like a book was written "just for us." Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDelete