A New Star Is Born....Gracie La Roo, a Synchronized Swimming Pig! You Will Love Sharing Her Stories Too!

I have always loved reading to my family. It is one of my most favorite things to do.  

When I get new picture books in the mail, I love sharing and reading them aloud to Hagan...

and of course, Eric too. 

And even though Brianna lives all the way in Belgium, I still share, read and talk books with her and Jaden over Skype.  

So, last week when we were at the annual Capstone meeting in Mexico, 

my favorite new pig character Gracie La Roo (aka...author and friend Michael Dahl), introduced us to four new picture books that I couldn't wait to share with my family.  

Gracie La Roo, a synchronized swimming pig, who has a new series for 2018 from our friends at Capstone.

The series includes Gracie La Roo at Pig Jubilee, Gracie La Roo Sets Sail, Gracie La Roo Goes to School and Gracie La Roo on the Big Screen.  

 Marsha Qualey, the author of Gracie La Roo, and...

Kristyna Litten, the award winning children's book illustrator, has done a beautiful job bringing Gracie La Roo to life in her heart warming adventures.  

We read Gracie La Roo at Pig Jubilee.  

According to the description on the Capstone site, 

Gracie La Roo is the youngest pig to make it to the Pig Jubilee in synchronized swimming.  As the star of her team, the Water Sprites, the pressure is on!  But Gracie can't seem to concentrate and land her signature move-the one sure to lead them to a victory.  Gracie has to find a way to get her concentration back, find her confidence and land the move to bring home the gold medal and to make her team proud. 

This charming four chapter story will keep readers engaged and wanting to read what happens to Gracie La Roo next.

Especially when it said,

She knew the routine by heart.  But she read through it again and again. She could see every step in her mind like a slow-motion movie.  The Razzle, Dazzle Ring.  The Wiggly.  Piggly Pyramid.  The Sooey.  Sooey Star. And the grand finale: A Pig Flies. 

We laughed so much at words like Sooey and A Pig Flies.  Growing up on a hog farm in Iowa, I am well aware of these common pig connections, so it sure did make me smile a lot.

The adorable illustrations of Gracie and other other characters, made us smile too as we talked about each one.  I love how Kristyna captured Gracie's personality throughout the story. They too had Brianna and I laughing out loud.

At the end of the book, there is a Glossary filled with words from the story.

I really enjoyed the two different sets of questions at the end.

You will find Talk About It and...

Write About It, a terrific way to extend and enhance the reading, learning, creating and sharing experiences that are taking place throughout the book.

I especially love the Write About It activities including a chance to write a letter, become a reporter and write a story using imagination, creativity and knowledge.  Each title can be expanded and enriched with these vocabulary works, questions and projects.

To learn more about Gracie La Roo, the author, illustrator and how to order them for your library, please visit Capstone here.

I know she will bring lots of joy and laughter to your students.  

And I sure hope that will bring these home to share too with your own family too.