New Picture Book

[Rhonella Brelinski <brelinsk@scnc.csd.k12.mi.us>]

Hi everyone,

I held my grand finale for my AR/reading incentive program today with
an all-school assembly for award presentation.  We had a theme of
"Read Around Michigan" and as the students read and earned AR points
my aide and I would travel around Michigan on an imaginary trip
bringing home to them facts and treat which were somehow connected to
the places we were visiting.
To make a long wonderful story short--I was able to present to each
classroom a marvelous new book that I just discovered last Thursday.
It is newly released and I feel it is a real winner.  I wanted to
share my enthusiasm for this book.  It was sooo appropriate for my
project on Michigan. It is called THE LEGEND OF SLEEPING BEAR by
Mary-jo Wargin and published by Sleeping Bear Press out of Chelsea,
Michigan.  This is a brand new book.  Their website is
www.sleepingbearpress.com

The illustrations and language are very powerful.  It is the story of
the mama bear and her two cubs being forced to flee a forest fire and
jump into ominous Lake Michigan and swim to safety on the other side.
The cubs are lost at sea, but mama manages to get to the shore of
western Michigan and climb to the top of a hill.  She waits longingly
for them to appear but they are truly lost.  (This part gets really
emotional for the reader)
She waits for years on top of the dune (which is really Sleeping Bear
Dunes National Lakeshore in Michigan) while the wind blows sand upon
her.  One day the cubs mysteriously appear out of the water and become
what is now called North and South Manitou Islands.  Mama Bear keeps
her lookout post forever on top of the dune where she can keep a
watchful eye on her young ones.

The choice of words and wonderful illustrations make it a great gift
or just a neat love story to stir the emotions.  I had many teachers
crying while and after they read it to their students.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-==-=
To quit LM_NET (or set NOMAIL or DIGEST), Send an email message to
    listserv@listserv.syr.edu    In the message write EITHER:
 1) SIGNOFF LM_NET 2) SET LM_NET NOMAIL or 3) SET LM_NET DIGEST
  * NOTE: Please allow time for confirmation from Listserv.
For LM_NET Help & Archives see:  http://ericir.syr.edu/lm_net/
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=--=-=-=