Author name: Kay Phillips

THE SKELETON AND THE CAT

Book Reviews /

THE SKELETON AND THE CAT is a gentle, humorous story of friendship between two very unlikely characters.

Skeleton lives loves her quiet life of gardening, reading, and drinking tea. Then one day Cat knocks at her door and asks if she would like to have a friend, to which she answers, “No.”

Cat is not deterred. He persists and by telling a ridiculously funny knock-knock joke, he gains entrance into Skeleton’s world.

The book is divided into five short stories, the Knock, the Sandwich, the Garden, the Book, and the Night Sky. As the story progresses through each of these short vignettes, Skeleton and Cat gradually develop a sweet friendship.

Brimming with color and sprinkled throughout with perfectly timed dry humor, THE SKELETON AND THE CAT is delightful exploration of friendship.

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WHAT IF NIGHT?

Astronomy, Book Reviews, Dark Sky Preservation, Science, Stargazing /

WHAT IF NIGHT? Is a wonderful way to introduce small children to the value of the dark night sky.

Paul Bogard’s book is a very gentle and soothing exploration of the importance of the night for nocturnal animals and for human health.

Children will learn many things and be delighted by the nighttime adventures of Bogard’s main characters, a little girl and her faithful canine companion.

Children will also learn simple things they can do to help preserve nighttime darkness. Highly recommended.

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THE WANTING MONSTER

Book Reviews, Emotional Intelligence /

The Wanting Monster by Martine Murray, illustrated by Anna Read, is a modern fable illustrating the disastrous consequences of unchecked wanting.

The Wanting Monster is furious that he is initially ignored by everyone in the village he has approached. He devises a clever plan to plant ideas of wanting more and more in the minds of the adults in the village.

His plan succeeds, resulting in a devastation of the village by unchecked appropriation of resources by the villagers. The villagers must now leave their uninhabitable home.

As they are leaving, the Wanting Monster is laughing and exulting in his success. Everyone can hear him, but only Billie Ray, the youngest child in the village, can see him.

“It’s a wanting monster”, she announces. Then Billy Ray proceeds to brilliantly expose what has been needed all along to heal the Wanting Monster and the village, love and kindness.

A highly recommended journey toward greater emotional intelligence.

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STEP RIGHT UP

Animal Stories, Book Reviews, Book Reviews, History /

STEP RIGHT UP: HOW DOC AND JIM KEY TAUGHT THE WORLD ABOUT KINDNESS is a deeply inspiring book about a brilliant horse and his kind trainer. Together they taught the American people that animals have feelings, a sense of humor, and the ability to reason just as humans do.

The astonishing abilities of Beautiful Jim Key to spell, do mathematical calculations, answer random questions from his audiences, and thoroughly charm the millions of people who came to his performances were nothing short of astonishing.

Doc Key emphasized over and over that all of Beautiful Jim Key’s training had been done with kindness. Doc and Jim became part of the growing movement in the early 1900s to treat animals humanely. Over two million children “stepped right up” to sign the official Jim Key Pledge: “I promise always to be kind to animals.”

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THE KEEPER OF STORIES

Book Reviews, History /

THE KEEPER OF STORIES is the moving retelling of a huge community response in New York City to a tragic fire at the Jewish Theological Seminary Library that occurred in 1966.

The fire reduced thousands of books to ash and left over 170,000 books waterlogged, in danger of being destroyed by mold.

A cadre of volunteers from all faiths, all walks of life, all neighborhoods in New York City, came together to restore these books by placing paper towels between the millions of pages in these books to dry them. The books were restored.

The Jewish Theological Seminary Library lives on today as the “keeper of stories” of Jewish life through history because of the community which came together to help, came together and by doing so became part of the stories.

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THE GARDENER

Book Reviews, History /

Set in the mid 1930s depression era America, THE GARDENER is a tale of optimism and seeing the glass half full.

Young Lydia Grace Finch must go to live with her Uncle Jim in the city while her Papa looks for a job. Lydia Grace takes her love of plants and flowers to Uncle Jim’s somewhat dilapidated bakery and crafts a transformation of the bakery and curmudgeonly, unsmiling Uncle Jim.

This is a tale of steady optimism that will warm your heart, especially if you love the magic of flowers.

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SMALL HANDS CAN HELP! MINNESOTA

Book Reviews, Dark Sky Preservation, Science /

SMALL HANDS CAN HELP! MINNESOTA is a treasure for those wanting to “…bring families outdoors and foster a love of all things Earth friendly “.
The natural world in Minnesota is explored in this book through eight “indicator species “whose presence or absence gives valuable information on the health of Minnesota’s ecosystem.
The book presents a wealth of information in multiple ways — through detailed information, poetry, QR codes, beautiful artwork and graphics. Highly recommended for the entire family.

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A BUS CALLED HEAVEN

Book Reviews /

A Bus Called Heaven by Australian author/illustrator Bob Graham is a story of community, hope, and the power of one small individual to make a difference.
Young Stella sees the potential of the abandoned bus that appears one day in front of her house with a destination placard that says “heaven”. Neighbors rally and transform the bus into a vibrant community center.
When the bus is towed away to the local junkyard, Stella challenges the junkyard boss to a game a table soccer. Stella wins the bus which continues to be a haven (heaven) for her neighborhood.

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It’s a Terrible Day (Not Really) Let’s Count by Twos

Book Reviews, Math skills /

IT’S A TERRIBLE DAY (NOT REALLY): LET’S COUNT BY TWOS is a beautifully illustrated, valuable introduction to the math skill of counting by twos.

The main characters, Lisa and Charlie, romp through their neighborhood, helping neighbors by supplying two, four, six, up to ten things that each neighbor needs.

At the end of the book, Lisa and Charlie, declare that it has not been a terrible day at all because “We can fix our problems. We can help each other. Welcome to this great day, kids!”

Highly recommended book for teaching math skills to young children in an accessible and enjoyable way.

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Millie Fleur Saves the Night

Book Reviews, Dark Sky Preservation, Stargazing /

MILLIE FLEUR SAVES THE NIGHT by Christy Mandin is a delightful, beautifully illustrated story teaching the importance of the dark night.

Millie Fleur loves the Dark. She is upset that the citizens of Garden Glen where she lives are afraid of the dark. Town lights are blazing from dusk to dawn.

Milly sets about to help people understand at the dark is not dangerous. “you just need to get to know her,” Millie says.

Millie introduces the children of Garden Glen to her gorgeous, perfumed night garden, urging them to be brave and turn off their lanterns.

The children get to know many night, creatures and learn that “…there were things dark could share that couldn’t be found in the light”.

This is a wonderful book to teach children about the importance of eliminating light pollution and enjoying the wondrous dark night.

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