Beautiful (longer) picture book with especially beautiful illustrations. The only issue I had with it is that at various points, Calpurnia asks nature for something (whether it be a bear, or fish, or the river), and it's repeated in the text that whatever she's asking "says nothing" and she takes the silence as agreement. Regardless of whether or not kids would understand, I think it's a dangerous message to send that saying nothing equals consent. Word Count: 3,156Reading Level: 3.9Interest Level: P-2Accelerated Reader: reading level: 3.9 / points: 0.5 / quiz: 143552 (05/16/11) / grade: Lower GradesReading Counts!: reading level:3.4 / points:3.0Lexile: AD720L Calpurnia and her little dog Buggy Horse uses a tip from old Mother Albirtha, the wisest person in the forest,to find a secret river. Using a pink paper and roses fom her hair she catches a catfish that could feed the whole. swamp land —with some left over for Daddy to sell. She learns an important lesson about life when she goes back to find the river again and its gone. Mothe Albirtha goes on to help her find other ways to get through the hard times.
What do You think about The Secret River (1955)?
This was an interesting imaginative story. I especially liked the illustrations :)
—erica
Beautiful illustrations but I can't say that the story line completely made sense.
—Buttercup0804
Beautiful, calm illustration that match Rawlings' story.
—wdbisme
