Illustrated in full color. Selina's family has a conflict of its own when the American Civil War breaks out--they are Mennonites and their religion forbids them to go to war. Learning that they are in danger, Selina's father decides to move the family to Canada, where they can start a new life free from religious persecution. Before they leave, Selina's grandmother presents her with a patchwork quilt, a gift linking the generations. Authentic quilt designs frame each of the illustrations in this moving story about family values and the importance of passing on traditions.

The study of children's illustrated books is located within the broad histories of print culture, publishing, the book trade, and concepts of childhood. An interdisciplinary history, Picturing Canada provides a critical understanding of the changing geographical, historical, and cultural aspects of Canadian identity, as seen through the lens of children's publishing over two centuries. Gail Edwards and Judith Saltman illuminate the connection between children's publishing and Canadian nationalism, analyse the gendered history of children's librarianship, identify changes and continuities in narrative themes and artistic styles, and explore recent changes in the creation and consumption of children's illustrated books. Over 130 interviews with Canadian authors, illustrators, editors, librarians, booksellers, critics, and other contributors to Canadian children's book publishing, document the experiences of those who worked in the industry. An important and wholly original work, Picturing Canada is fundamental to our understanding of publishing history and the history of childhood itself in Canada.

No-sew quilting activities give students a combination of individual and cooperative learning.

Includes a recipe for shoo-fly pie.

After a move to a new home, comfort comes from a surprising place. Long ago, a young girl named Abigail put her beloved patchwork quilt in the attic. Generations later, another young girl discovers the quilt and makes it her own, relying on its warmth to help her feel secure in a new home.

This resource provides teachers, librarians, parents, and others who work with children with an annotated bibliography of children's books that contain characters who display positive values as they relate to others. These stories will help children build associations related to their family values, help them understand the importance of the way values support a family, and recognize how values help overcome certain obstacles. A feature of this volume is the inclusion of sample activities and lessons related to the books in the bibliography. Educators and parents can use the activities as Dr. Roberts presents them, or they can use them as starting points for their own activities and lessons. The activities extend the literature by providing thought-provoking exercises and topics for discussion. They reinforce the sometimes subtle presentation of moral qualities by focussing the student's attention on the decision and actions that express them. Parents and educators, including home schooling parents and instructors in religious settings, will benefit from this helpful resource.

The essays in Home Words explore the complexity of the idea of home through various theoretical lenses and groupings of texts. One focus of this collection is the relation between the discourses of nation, which often represent the nation as home, and the discourses of home in children’s literature, which variously picture home as a dwelling, family, town or region, psychological comfort, and a place to start from and return to. These essays consider the myriad ways in which discourses of home underwrite both children’s and national literatures. Home Words reconfigures the field of Canadian children’s literature as it is usually represented by setting the study of English- and French-language texts side by side, and by paying sustained attention to the diversity of work by Canadian writers for children, including both Aboriginal peoples and racialized Canadians. It builds on the literary histories, bibliographical essays, and biographical criticism that have dominated the scholarship to date and sets out to determine and establish new directions for the study of Canadian children’s literature.

The Harry Potter series of books and movies are wildly popular. Many Christians see the books as largely if not entirely harmless. Others regard them as dangerous and misleading. In his book A Landscape with Dragons, Harry Potter critic Michael O'Brien examines contemporary children's literature and finds it spiritually and morally wanting. His analysis, written before the rise of the popular Potter books and films, anticipates many of the problems Harry Potter critics point to. A Landscape with Dragons is a controversial, yet thoughtful study of what millions of young people are reading and the possible impact such reading may have on them. In this study of the pagan invasion of children's culture, O'Brien, the father of six, describes his own coming to terms with the effect it has had on his family and on most families in Western society. His analysis of the degeneration of books, films, and videos for the young is incisive and detailed. Yet his approach is not simply critical, for he suggests a number of remedies, including several tools of discernment for parents and teachers in assessing the moral content and spiritual impact of this insidious revolution. In doing so, he points the way to rediscovery of time-tested sources, and to new developments in Christian culture. If you have ever wondered why a certain children's book or film made you feel uneasy, but you couldn't figure out why, this book is just what you need. This completely revised, much expanded second edition also includes a very substantial recommended reading list of over 1,000 books for kindergarten through highschool.

What's your plan? If you're not sure, this great big book has the answer! With 52 weekly plans, it's easy to come up with appropriate learning experiences that children will love. This essential classroom resource covers special holidays, seasonal topics, everyday plans, and other things you've probably never thought of, such as National Pretzel Month or National Pancake Day!