Miss Bridie chooses one special item to take with her when she moves to the U.S.. Not a beautiful, small statue but a shovel. Thoughout her life, she uses the shovel to make money, to have fun, when she gets married and builds a farm and raises a family. One of those deceptively simple stories that connect to so many questions we ask about our values, our histories, and our choices. (Grade level 2)
Miss Bridie Chose a Shovel by Leslie Connor
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
From the first sentence – “She could have picked a chiming clock or a porcelain figurine, but Miss Bridie chose a shovel back in 1856.“ – I knew this would be a rare picture book. The sentences contain ample information without laying it out too obviously, they are complex and rhythmic, and they build on each other smoothing, inevitably, like the steps in a journey. The illustrations, too, provide more information than a reader may at first realize, with a figure on one page becoming the husband on another. A particularly good example of the beauties contain within the English language. read it aloud to some one you love!
