Title: Moving to the Peaceable
Author: Grami (Caryl) McAdoo
Series: Grami’s Stories for Children, book 1
Major Themes: Moving, Chickens, Texas
Synopsis: By telling the story of how a flock of chickens moved to a new location, children can be reassured that a move to a new home is a good thing.
I have seen a lot of different books that were written to help children adjust to life changes, and I have not been impressed with any of them. Moving to the Peaceable is a lot better than most in this genre. Grami McAdoo wrote this book to help children adjust to the idea of moving to a new house.
When one of Grami’s friends needed to find a new home for her flock of hens, O’Pa and Grami took them. They built a temporary home for the hens, and then spent a long time moving the run and coop, too. Meanwhile, Grami needed to learn how to care for her new pets.
Part of this book is narrated by the hens, as they express their opinions about the move, the new house, and their new caretaker. These pages have large print and big, colorful photographs of the hens. Other pages, with more, smaller print, are written from the author directly to the child reading the book. These pages tell the story of the move in much more detail from the human viewpoint, and in these pages, she also reassures children that moving can be fun and an adventure, and that they can trust their parents. At the end of the book are several pages in which terminology about chickens is explained.
Moving to the Peaceable is a beautiful book that should appeal to any young child who loves animals, specifically chickens. My little girl enjoyed looking at the pictures and hearing the story. I did skip most of the pages in which Grami McAdoo talked directly to the reader, and just read her the story from the point of view of the chickens. She has never moved, since she was born in this house, and has no concept of moving or living anywhere else. If we were going to move, I would read her the entire story.
I received a complimentary copy of this book from the author, and these are my honest thoughts about it.
No warnings!
Age levels:
Listening Level—Ages 3 – 4, 5 – 8
Reading Independently—Ages 8 – 12
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