Ellen Miles (1) (1957–)

This is our third experience with this the Taylor-Made Tales series and I must say, we are quite pleased with what we read here. In The Cowgirl’s Luck, we are getting to know both Mr. Taylor (a new teacher for the students) and his class a little better. This tale focuses specifically on Molly, she is chosen as the student who gets to choose the five special items for the tale that Mr. Taylor will weave from them. The entire premise of Taylor-Made Tales is that this new teacher allows one show more student at a time to pick five items and he then tells a story that must include those five items and the story progresses interweaving the normal life and classroom activities of the student (focusing mainly on Molly this time out) with the special story that he is creating from Molly’s chosen items.

Molly chooses a magic pot, a star, a heads-up penny, a pair of golden scissors and a pony and she even has the type of story that she THINKS Mr. Taylor will tell with those items (think fairy tale). She is somewhat distressed when Mr. Taylor begins to weave an excellent tale about Jessie and it’s a classic old western cowboy yarn…not what she was expecting at all, but she puts her faith in Mr. Taylor to tell a great story.

I really enjoy how each story is divided between the Taylor-Made part and the "classroom" or real time events that include Molly and the rest of the class. The story takes a week time to tell and the students must work to earn more bits of story time, so it's both a creative process and a motivating one, something that keeps the students excited about learning. There is a certain excitement for young readers to watch for the items selected and see how and when they come into play in the story. One of the interesting things about the creation of the Taylor-Made tale is that the author manages to weave together Jessie’s adventure and a sort of (perhaps intentional) message for Molly (who we find out is incredibly shy but very talented in basketball which she refuses to tell her classmates about because she is so shy).

Overall I give The Cowgirl’s five stars. It would make a fine read aloud...but I think its strength is in young readers who have made (or are just making) the transition from picture books to chapter books. There are a few illustrations to help the story along and it's slightly more complex than most beginner chapter books in that the reader has to work out the division of "real time" story (about Molly, the class and Mr. Taylor) and the story...the text makes the division clear (bolder text for the Taylor-Made parts), but for readers who have not experienced such a division in their reading, it makes for an interesting reading experience. The story overall is entertaining and well done, it’s not heavy handed in the message that Mr. Taylor creates. I'd recommend it heartily for readers ages 5-8 as a read aloud and ages 8-10 as a read alone book and highly recommend it for beginning chapter book readers. show less

This is a cute and very short book about a family and a stray cat named Callie. Mia and Michael have been wanting a pet for a long time, but their parents refuse to allow them to get one. Mia wants a cat and Michael wants a dog. When the family comes across a hurt stray kitten, they have to figure out what to do about it.

I liked this book. It reminds me a lot of the Animal Ark series I used to read as a kid, but it is shorter, simpler, and allows a little more animal perspective. I thought show more it was fun and that it could be a good series to look into more. show less

This is our first experience with this author and this series and I must say, we are quite pleased with what we read here. In The Pirate's Plot, we meet Mr. Taylor (a new teacher) and his class...specifically Leo, the student who gets to choose the five special items for the tale being told here. The entire premise of Taylor-Made Tales is that this new teacher allows one student at a time to pick five items and he then tells a story that must include those five items! Leo loves soccer but is show more not feeling happy with how the new coach handles the practices, so blurts out in class that he wants to quit the soccer team (a very big decision for him).

When he's chosen to pick the items, Leo is sure that he can stump Mr. Taylor...he chooses a pirate ship, a huge hunk of cheese, a six toed cat, a brass key and a mop. To his surprise, Mr. Taylor begins to weave an excellent tale about Tom a ten year old boy who wants something more than daily routines and roast on Sunday...a boy who longs for sometime different and who thinks he might find that in Barbados...so he stows away on the Adele and gets much more than he bargained for...sure he gets adventure but he also gets much, much more!

It seems that the books in this series are written in such a way that the story is divided between the Taylor-Made part and the "classroom" or real time events that include Leo and the rest of the class. The story takes a week time to tell and the students must work to earn more bits of story time, so it's both a creative process and a motivating one, something that keeps the students excited about learning. There is a certain excitement for young readers to watch for the items selected and see how and when they come into play in the story. One of the interesting things about the creation of the Taylor-Made tale is that the author manages to weave together Tom's adventure and lesson therein with Leo's soccer dilemma, creating an entertaining story AND a lesson for Leo that the entire class can appreciate, learn from and be entertained by!

Overall I give The Pirate's Plot five stars. It would make a fine read aloud...but I think its strength is in young readers who have made (or are just making) the transition from picture books to chapter books. There are a few illustrations to help the story along and it's slightly more complex than most beginner chapter books in that the reader has to work out the division of "real time" story (about Leo, the class and Mr. Taylor) and the story...the text makes the division clear (bolder text for the Taylor-Made parts), but for readers who have not experienced such a division in their reading, it makes for an interesting reading experience. The story overall is entertaining and well done, its not heavy handed in the message that Mr. Taylor creates about drilling and practice in the story which Leo can draw from to help him solve his own dilemma with his future on the soccer team. I'd recommend it heartily for readers ages 5-8 as a read aloud and ages 8-10 as a read alone book and highly recommend it for beginning chapter book readers. show less

Another puppy rescued by Charles and Lizzie Peterson. Charlie really enjoys this series and it's a good one for him to read aloud to us, but I'm getting a bit wearied at this point, and honestly, I think Miles may be, too.