Miss Missy’s School Book I: A Pack of farm Dogs Starts a School (2021) is so much more than an endearing family story. It’s also a place for children and their grownups to learn!

From the Introduction, “A Letter from Marica to you”

“I hope you make some new friends here at Miss Missy’s School! Before you begin reading the story, though, I must tell you something. Some of your new friends have foibles— minor shortcomings.

“Gilbert likes to say, “As someone once said…” and then he quotes a famous person. But he never tells us who said what! I looked up Gilbert’s quotes, found out a bit about the person who said what, and included that at the end of the chapters in which the quotes appear. Gil’s other minor flaw is that he sometimes talks as he did in his hippy days. Can you dig it?”

We call these short callouts, “As Someone Once Said.” Here’s one from “Chapter VII: Peter Rabbit.” Gilbert stopped in to visit Aubrey and her son, Little Tommy, while Aubrey was struggling to read Peter Rabbit. He offers to read the story.

After Gilbert finishes, Aubrey explains that she knows how to “sound words out, but… well, letters and words don’t always… they don’t always sound… Well, you know what I mean.”

Gilbert replies, “A word is half his that speaks, and half his that hears it, as someone once said. It would be my pleasure to join you from time to time in reading stories to Little Tommy, if you’d like.”

Preview the first three chapters and order Miss Missy’s School Book I: A Pack of Farm Dogs Starts a School at Miss Missy’s School

Also at Miss Missy’s School,

the Grownup Blog where the big kids can learn more about the different sorts of educational materials in the book, take a look at the Index, and read a few “Epilogue: Old Things & Ways Explained” entries,

and

the Kid Blog where kids can begin to explore some behind the scenes thoughts about writing and storybooks.

Finally, some free Missy and her pack short stories!

The Times Before Miss Missy’s School is a collection of short stories about episodes from the younger lives of Missy and her pack– from the times before Miss Missy’s School. Each short story has the same structure as Miss Missy’s School. There is a story, suitable for middle grade kids, young adults, and their grownups. Each has either “Missy-ism” or “As Someone Once Said” callouts, and a final short “Epilogue: Old Things & Ways Explained.”