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    ALLen Reads is a one-book program under the leadership of the Friends of the Allen Public Library.  It is unique in one-book programs in that related books are chosen as “companions” to the main book to promote families and all generations reading and talking together.
      
    Visit the ALLen Reads website for more program information.  
     
    Download the 2018 ALLen Reads brochure for information on all events and programs
     
    Main Book:
     
    The War That Saved My Life
    by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley
    recommended for Grade 5 through Adult
     
    war that saved my life 2016 Newbery Honor book
    Winner of the 2016 Schneider Family Book Award 
    #1 New York Times 

    Ten-year-old Ada has never left her one-room apartment. Her mother is too humiliated by Ada’s twisted foot to let her outside. So when her little brother Jamie is shipped out of London to escape the war, Ada doesn’t waste a minute—she sneaks out to join him.
     
    So begins a new adventure for Ada, and for Susan Smith, the woman who is forced to take the two kids in. As Ada teaches herself to ride a pony, learns to read, and watches for German spies, she begins to trust Susan—and Susan begins to love Ada and Jamie. But in the end, will their bond be enough to hold them together through wartime? Or will Ada and her brother fall back into the cruel hands of their mother?
     
     ~from the publisher
     
     
     
     
     
     
     Make plans to meet the author, Kimberly Brubaker Bradley, at Allen Public Library on October 18th, 2018
    6:00 PM - 8:00 PM
     
    Presentation beginning at 6:00; reception and book signing to follow!
     
     
     
     
     
      
     
    Companion Books:
     
    Diana's White House Garden
    by Elisa Carbone
    Recommended for Grades 3 and 4
     
    Diana's White House Garden Diana Hopkins lived in a white house. THE White House. World War II is in full force across the seas. It is 1943, President Roosevelt is in office, and Diana’s father, Harry Hopkins, is his chief advisor. And Diana wants to be part of the war effort. After some well-intentioned missteps (her quarantine sign on her father’s office door was not well-received), the President requests her help with his newest plan for the country’s survival: Victory Gardens!

    From award-winning author Elisa Carbone comes the true story of how Diana Hopkins started her own Victory Garden on the White House lawn under the tutelage of Eleanor Roosevelt. With dedication and patience, she showed the nation that the war effort started first on the home front.
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    A Hat for Mrs. Goldman: A Story about Knitting and Love
    by Michelle Edwards
    Recommended for Grades K through 2
     
    A Hat for Mrs Goldman
     
     Mrs. Goldman always knits hats for everyone in the neighborhood, and Sophia, who thinks knitting is too hard, helps by making the pom-poms. But now winter is here, and Mrs. Goldman herself doesn’t have a hat—she’s too busy making hats for everyone else! It’s up to Sophia to buckle down and knit a hat for Mrs. Goldman. But try as Sophia might, the hat turns out lumpy, the stitches aren’t even, and there are holes where there shouldn’t be holes. Sophia is devastated until she gets an idea that will make Mrs. Goldman’s hat the most wonderful of all. Readers both young and old will relate to Sophia’s frustrations, as well as her delight in making something special for
    someone she loves.
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     

    As you read, discuss the themes of this year’s books:

    • What makes a family a family?
    • Children can be helpers, no matter their age. How do Ada, the main character in The War That Saved My Life; Diana, the main character of Diana’s White House Garden; and Sophia in A Hat for Mrs. Goldman; all provide help to the adults around them?
    • How were people in different countries affected by World War II? Ada lived in England, while Diana lived in Washington, DC. 
     
    Educator Resources:
     
     
    Educator's Guide from Penguin; includes discussion questions and author interview.
     
    Teaching Guide from TeachingBooks.net for The War That Saved My Life. If you need to login to view resources, click here for your login information. (You can access the login information for all of our databases -- use your Allen ISD credentials.)
     
     
     
    Makerspace:
     
    A Hat for Mrs. Goldman would be a great book for a makerspace! At the end of the book are instructions to make pom-poms just like Sophie does in the book!
     
    To make pom-poms:
     
    • Take an index card and fold it in two (along the shorter side).
    • Halfway down the width of the card, cut a slit o either side leaving about half an inch in the middle.
    • Wrap your yarn 35 times around rht middle of the card over the folded side.
    • Cut the yarn from the ball.
    • Cut another piece of yarn about 6 inches long and tie it through the cut slats. 
    • Cut the wrapped ends of yarn, remove the card, and trim the ends. Voila!
    • Using the yarn needle and a 6 inch length of yarn, sew the pom-pom onto the hat...or tie it to your backpack! 
Last Modified on December 4, 2018