Category: Critical Thinking-Problem Solving

Bunny’s Book Club Goes to School

~ Uplift Stories ~ Leave a comment

Bunny and his forest friends meet at the town library every Saturday morning for book club. But one summer day, their library buddy Josie confesses to Bunny that she’s nervous about starting school. Bunny has an idea: He’ll go with her! Soon, Bunny’s friends Bear, Raccoon, Bird, Porcupine, Squirrel, Mole, Mouse, and Frog decide to join him—and Josie’s first day of school turns into a critter-filled adventure! 
For any child starting school, here’s a comforting, funny, and very fuzzy celebration of friendship that will make everyone excited to hit the books.

Kindness, Perseverance, Initiative, Critical Thinking-Problem Solving, Leadership, Innovation, Responsibility, Teamwork, Patience, Trustworthiness, Adaptability, Creativity, Effort, Cleverness, Excellent Attitude

Fiction

New or Not Yet Leveled

Our Library

~ Uplift Stories ~ Leave a comment

When Miss Goose announces that the library is going to close forever, Raccoon and his friends spring into action. Where will they get the help they need to save their beloved library? In books, of course! This cheery tale shows how important libraries are to every community. Bright, playful illustrations enhance the light treatment of this serious subject, in a story that celebrates the value of books in everyone’s lives.

Adaptability, Courage, Critical Thinking-Problem Solving, Initiative, Kindness, Optimism, Perseverance, Patience, Responsibility, Self Confidence, Teamwork

Fiction

AR Reading Level 2.4

AR Point .5

Word Count 744

My Rows and Piles of Coins

~ Uplift Stories ~ Leave a comment

51oUx-D8-QL._SX398_BO1,204,203,200_

The market is full of wonderful things, but Saruni is saving his precious coins for a red and blue bicycle. How happy he will be when he can help his mother carry heavy loads to market on his very own bicycle–and how disappointed he is to discover that he hasn’t saved nearly enough! Determination and generosity are at the heart of this satisfying tale that captures the warmth of Saruni’s family and the excitement of market day.

 

Initiative, Critical Thinking-Problem Solving, Effort, Empathy, Patience, Responsibility, Self Control, Gratefulness

Fiction

AR Reading Level 3.8

AR Point .5

Word Count 1256

Ada’s Violin: The Story of the Recycled Orchestra of Paraguay

~ Uplift Stories ~ Leave a comment

61eoh6+tHcL._SX258_BO1,204,203,200_

Ada Ríos grew up in Cateura, a small town in Paraguay built on a landfill. She dreamed of playing the violin, but with little money for anything but the bare essentials, it was never an option…until a music teacher named Favio Chávez arrived. He wanted to give the children of Cateura something special, so he made them instruments out of materials found in the trash. It was a crazy idea, but one that would leave Ada—and her town—forever changed. Now, the Recycled Orchestra plays venues around the world, spreading their message of hope and innovation.

Critical Thinking-Problem Solving, Innovation, Perseverance

Nonfiction

AR Reading Level 4.6

AR Point .5

Word Count 1297

Leah’s Pony

~ Uplift Stories ~ Leave a comment

Leah’s pony was swift and strong. Together they would cross through cornfields and over pastures, chasing cattle as they galloped under summer skies. Then came the year the corn grew no taller than a man’s thumb. Locusts blackened the sky. The earth turned to dust. Gone were the cornfields and pastures where Leah and her pony once rode. It was the beginning of the great drought. Now Leah’s papa faced losing the family farm. Set in the Dust Bowl of the 1930s, this deeply felt story, vividly portrayed through stunning oil paintings, tells of one child and what she would sacrifice for love of her family.

Courage, Critical Thinking-Problem Solving, Empathy, and Kindness

Fiction

AR Reading Level 3.3

AR Point .5

Word Count 1333

Margaret and the Moon: How Margaret Hamilton Saved the First Lunar Landing

~ Uplift Stories ~ Leave a comment

51XVAVAm4yL._SX390_BO1,204,203,200_

Margaret Hamilton loved numbers as a young girl. She knew how many miles it was to the moon (and how many back). She loved studying algebra and geometry and calculus and using math to solve problems in the outside world.

Soon math led her to MIT and then to helping NASA put a man on the moon! She hand wrote code that would allow the spacecraft’s computer to solve any problems it might encounter. Apollo 8. Apollo 9. Apollo 10. Apollo 11. Without her code, none of those missions could have been completed.

Critical Thinking-Problem Solving, Responsibility, Initiative, Innovation, Leadership

Nonfiction

AR Reading Level 3.7

AR Point .5

Word Count 722

Sky High: George Ferris’s Big Wheel

~ Uplift Stories ~ Leave a comment

61T0XefB6CL._SX331_BO1,204,203,200_-1

This fascinating story describes the invention of the first Ferris wheel—an engineering marvel. The 1893 World’s Fair organizers wanted something big to draw people to Chicago . . . something that would rival the Eiffel Tower. George Ferris, an American engineer, had the idea for an observation wheel that passengers could ride on. People disagreed! They said it would never work. But it was a huge success, with thirty-six cars that could hold over 2,100 riders! That’s some big wheel! Ferris wheel lovers can thank George Ferris for never giving up his dream.

Critical Thinking-Problem Solving, Creativity, Initiative, Innovation

Nonfiction

AR Reading Level 3.0

AR Point .5

Word Count 761

Saving the Liberty Bell

~ Uplift Stories ~ Leave a comment

51DFW103S4L._SX374_BO1,204,203,200_

Some tall tales are actually true. This is a grand one, told with rightful pride by a boy who was there in the city of Philadelphia in 1777 and was lucky enough to play a role in the American Revolution.
John Jacob Mickley, eleven years old, and his father were in the city when the Great Bell began ringing Brong! Brong! BRONG! from atop the State House to warn the citizens: “Redcoats! The Redcoats are coming!”
And come the British did — with their muskets and their cannons and their will to keep the colonies for their king. Looting they came and stealing any metal they could get their hands on to melt down for the making of more weapons. And the prize above all? The Great Bell itself — metal for many a cannon!
But these clever Patriots had other plans for keeping the Bell safe from the British.

 

Critical Thinking-Problem Solving, Initiative, Perseverance, Responsibility, Teamwork

Fiction

AR Reading Level 4.0

AR Point .5

Word Count 1660

Samson in the Snow

~ Uplift Stories ~ Leave a comment

61cMTINS6BL._SY458_BO1,204,203,200_

One sunny day Samson, a large and friendly woolly mammoth, encounters a little red bird who is looking for yellow flowers for her mouse friend (whose favorite color is yellow). As she flies off with the flowers, Samson wonders what it must be like to have a friend. He wonders this for so long, in fact, that he falls asleep and wakes up to a world covered in snow. In the midst of a blizzard, Samson finds and shelters the little red bird and flower-loving mouse in a tender tale of kindness and unexpected friendship.

Kindness, Critical Thinking-Problem Solving

Fiction

AR Reading Level 2.9

AR Point .5

Word Count 677