Grace Maccarone

It's too foggy for a jet plane to take Emily Elizabeth's family on a trip, but it's okay because they can ride Clifford instead.

Whaaaaaaaa? This story left me with so many questions.

Why does the jet pilot come along on the trip when his plane is grounded? Is he acting as a navigator for Clifford? How is he getting back to his plane?

They bring the pilot, but no luggage for anyone?

Are they taking off from Birdwell Island? Does part of the journey not shown have Clifford swimming to the show more mainland with everyone on his back?

If the journey initially required a jet plane, how long does it take for a dog to run the same distance? Were they on Clifford's back for hours or days?

That was a pretty small jet. Is it a small airline or are the Howards so rich they can afford a charter or private jet?

Were Charley and his father intending to go to the same place as the Howards all along? Or did they, like the pilot, just come along for the ride? Or is Clifford going to take them to another destination after dropping off the Howards?

Just because it's for kids doesn't mean it can't make some sort of sense. show less

A rarity: Jetta Handover gets to co-star with Clifford, and Emily Elizabeth is a no-show in the story. And Jetta even gets to show off her friendly side, doing dog tricks with Mac, Cleo, and Clifford instead of being the antagonist. That's gotta be worth an extra star.

The Gym Day Winner is a fiction book that discusses the fun of gym class while also touching on the topic of bullying. I didn't enjoy this book because of its overall message. The book is a Kindergarten/First grade level which means that it is very simply. Most of the words are cVc to help children learn sight words as well as word families. However this book touched on the topic of bullying in a way I didn't agree with. In the book a classmate named Sam is constantly failing at gym class, show more he trips during tumbling, he loses during the races etc. However, once Sam makes a shot in basketball he is suddenly everyones equal peer and friend. I didn't agree with the big idea that you have to be good at what everyone else is good at the fit in. This isn't a message I would want to spread to my students. I would most likely not have this book in my classroom. show less

The Lunch Box Surprise by Grace Maccarone is a fiction book about a group of kids who are excited for lunch. When they get to lunch they open up their lunch boxes to see what their parents packed them. Sadly one of the students lunch box is empty. Together the rest of the kids share a piece of their lunch with the child and then everyone has something to eat. The author does a good job teaching kids the importance of sharing. Also the book has a student that is in a wheelchair but instead of show more using the wheelchair to define the child they called the child by their name and that was what was most beautiful to me about this story. The more inclusive books,movies, and tv shows are the more inclusive the world would be. I would recommend this book to anyone in second grade or younger. It’s important to teach kids these values early on. show less