Christopher Francis (1) (1974–)

A really cute picture book about a farmer who is concerned because his turkey won’t plump up. He takes him to the vet, a Zoo and other places. He feeds him extra, yet he still won’t plump up. What is a farmer to do? After all Thanksgiving is coming and he needs a plump turkey. This was a fun book to read. It begs the question, which is more important, food or a friend?

Meeting Henry Greenfield by Christopher Francis
Alex Thomas has started sixth grade in the worst way possible. He has found himself partnered with the new kid, and gotten himself on the radar of the biggest bully in Timpleville. If I had been introduced to this author earlier I probably would have looked at the order of books. I know some of them are middle grade and some are upper elementary books. There is a carry over between them. I have already read “Remembering Kaylee Cooper” and show more “Alex Was Here”. Both of these books are about the main character in this book. In this book Alex has just started sixth grade. His best friend has moved away and his brother has moved on to high school. Then Alex is paired up with the biggest and newest kid in the school, Henry Greenfield. I was happy to see how the character of Henry had changed from the book “There’s an Ogre-Beast in the Playground”. It is a small change but that is what we want to see in a book. If not the characters feel flat. I think I am loving these books because I teach middle school. For us this begins with sixth grade. I know a lot of places still have sixth grade as elementary. I see the pecking order that is shown in this book and understand what the characters are going through. It is an awkward time for kids. Christopher Francis has done a wonderful job of capturing this in his books. I have to say well done. I have somewhere between 10 and 12 more of his books to read and think I will read and review at least half of them before I move on to other books. After all, why deviate when you have such good books? show less

In this first story we are introduced to Paisley a young Dream Catcher on her second assignment and Destiny her trainer. How she handles this assignment will determine whether she becomes a member of the Dream Catcher Rescue Squad. This assignment is a young girl named Abigail who has a fear of falling. When they enter her dream they find her on a rope swing hanging on a thin branch over a high cliff. It is their job to help her change her fear into something positive. One thing I really show more liked was at the beginning Paisley tells you the origin of the Dream Catchers and how humans often make dream catchers to hang in their room. I thoroughly enjoyed this story as an adult. I can only imagine how my grandsons are going to enjoy it. show less

For the first time reading a book by Christopher Francis, I found myself crying. This was probably one of my favorites of all of his books. Maybe it is because I am a teacher and see the effects of bullying at school. This last year was particularly hard on a couple of students. I tried really hard to be there for some of them. It is one thing to have a teacher in your corner and another to have true friends stand up for you. That is what this book is truly about. Yes there is a ghost in show more this story. He is there because his ties the bullied to the bully. He makes an appearance to get help. This is not a ghost story. I have read reviews about this book that thought the "ghost story" was lacking. Because a ghost appears it doesn't mean it is a scary ghost story.

The author did a great job of keeping the story flowing and letting us see how the characters changed over time. Does everyone change? No, just like in real life not everyone changes. I read this as an ebook. I have since purchased it for my classroom. That is how good I feel this book and its message is. Well don Mr. Francis, Well done! show less