Snakes Don’t Miss Their Mothers is a delightful tale centered on the Critters Animal Shelter. Located in the Hamptons and set just before Christmas Eve, Critters Animal Shelter is home to dogs, cats, and even a king snake named Marshall!

The story begins with the adoption of Placido, a one eyed Siamese cat. From the moment Placido is adopted, there are bets on how long it will be before he will return to the shelter. You see, this was not Placido’s first placement. In fact, there were many before this nice new family, according to Irving, a 12-year old German Short-haired Pointer, a lifetime shelter resident who just loves watching the adoption interviews.

Placido moves to live with a child performer and her widowed father on a houseboat. Surprisingly enough, he fits in nicely. However, he leaves behind many friends who we are able to get to know. We meet Goldie (Rex), a yellow Lab who is separated from his family, but eventually finds his way home, Marshall a King Snake who has never had the pleasure of meeting his mother, and Catherine an old, retired Greyhound. Finally, we have Irving the loyal Critters shelter pet.

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Book Ten, Phillis Wheatley: Young Revolutionary Poet, of the Young Patriots Series by Patria Press offers an engaging and insightful look into a female poet that most children know little about. Recommended for ages five to twelve, Phillis Wheatley is an engaging, entertaining read that also provides educational benefit.

You can read this book as a family, or assign it to an older child in homeschool or for extra reading practice. We read this with our son who is home schooled and 12 years old. From the first page until the last he was entertained. In fact, he didn’t want to put it down.

He found the information to be interesting and it brought up some questions that we answered about slavery and the times when Wheatley was alive. Many of the spots had him laughing and reading on his own when we planned to take a break.

As an educational supplement, a home schooling addition, or a traditional book kids can read on their own time, most kids will love this book. Phillis Wheatly is excellent because you have the benefit of reading, which is fun for many children, but it also allows children to learn something historical, as well.

This is a good book to show children that not all slaves were treated poorly and that there were slaves that were able to make an impact on society. They were able to become something and they also were able to learn and grow despite their oppression.

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