News from the Curriculum Resource Center

White, Ruth.  Little Audrey.  New York:  Farrar Straus Giroux.  2008.  ISBN:  9780374345808.

     Ruth White shares a tender autobiographical story of growing up in Appalachia in the 1940’s.  Told from the point of view of her sister, Audrey, 11 about a pivotal spring in the lives of her family.  Audrey is a lovable, skinny big sister to the “three little pigs” Yvonne, Eleanor, and Ruth Carol.  Life in a coal mining camp is tough as Mama is sad and distant and Daddy drinks away his paycheck before his family can be fed for the week.  White (Tadpole, Way Down Deep ) reveals … Continue Reading

Cabot, Meg. Allie Finkle’s Rules for Girls, Book 1: Moving Day.  New York: Scholastic. 2008.  ISBN:  9780545039475.

Allie Finkle’s parents break some really big news:  her family is moving!  Fourth grader Allie isn’t so sure this is will be a good thing.  What about her best friend, Mary Kay, or her teacher, Ms. Myers at Walnut Knoll Elementary, or her geode collection?  Animal-loving Allie narrates the most recent offering from Meg Cabot (The Princess Diaries).  Allie is a spirited, creative girl who just wants to be a good friend to Mary Kay, Brittany, and an aging snapping turtle.  Fans of Cabot will … Continue Reading