Gobble, Quack, Moon a hit in the Middle East

Letters from readers are especially sweet when they come from far away. From Kuwait in the case of this note from American teacher Alex Hogan and the students at her bilingual school:

“This week at our school is ‘I Love To Read Week!’ I was the mystery reader for two classes. I read them Gobble Quack Moon. They LOVED it! I taught them the part that all the farm animals say together – had it up on a poster. And they loved participating in reading!! Below is a picture of me. Little Hamad is the one carrying the book. So fun!”

And here’s what I wrote in response: “Thanks so much for your note and pictures. They made my day! I’ve always felt that if more children around the world were treated to gentle stories, by people who used books to simply have fun and connect with people of different backgrounds, the world would be a more comfortable place. So I’ll keep going on this side of the globe, you keep reading aloud and spreading joy on that side. My best to you, little Hamad and the gang.”

Details in the photos that caught my eye: The children’s artwork of SNOW on the wall, the beautiful Persian carpet on the floor, and the WORD WALL in the background to help the Arabic-speaking kids learn English. Or animal sounds if they keep reading my book: “Gobble, gobble, MOO! Gobble-gobble, haw-quack. MOO-quack-a quack-a MOO. Just like that.”