Francine Poulet Meets the Ghost Raccoon by Kate DiCamillo

Long a fave of mine, I will read just about anything by Kate DiCamillo. And I will read just about anything by said amazing author/ America's Children's Literature Laureate. So with my second graders, I just launched right in with Francine Poulet. They had no background schema, no knowledge of any of DiCamillo's work ( tragedy right there for SURE!). And we went into the story.

At times, it was a little slow for my guys but there is absolutely no question that they wanted to know what happened, that they wanted to see the pictures, that the y wanted to laugh and guffaw with Francine and the other seriously crafty characters in the book. And they wanted to know about the ghost raccoon. They savored the last little bit of the book, they kept demanding more, they knew we had something crazy on our hands. And they smiled at the end. All 23 of them. What a sweet moment.

You probably want to know why Francine Poulet, of fame and fortune around all things involving animal rescue, had a little loss in her life. Maybe if you are lucky, you have read the prior adventures involving Francine and the porcine wonder Mercy Watson. Maybe if you are really lucky, you have read all of the Mercy Watson series and know exactly where DiCamillo is going. All I can say is read them, all of her books that involve Mercy Watson and/or Francine Poulet....you will want to know the twins for sure. And more, so much more....butter!