Where I Belong Hardcover – Picture Book, March 15, 2016

Lots of life lessons in this colorful book!

Love giving my grandchildren Linda Kranz books as gifts. So colorful and fun to read together!

not nearly as good as the previous books. the snakes were very unrealistic looking, like total bad cartoons.

On the surface, WHERE I BELONG is a story about family accepting each other in spite of their flaws and about family allowing each other to learn from their own mistakes. At least, I think that is where Linda Kranz was going with things when she wrote the story. Rather than illustrations that children’s books are known for, each page depicts little wooden snakes photographed in various environments. This is a creative approach, for sure. This does not help the book to overcome the bizarre, confusing plot.When Max feels like the rest of his family is ignoring him, he decides to show them by going to Red Mountain where he will be appreciated. While Max is gone, presumably finding himself, the rest of the family discusses their own visits to Red Mountain. They all imply that it is a bad place and that Max will be back, but no one ever explains why this is the case. Rather than showing the reader what happens at Red Mountain, Kranz eventually has Max return to his family vowing that his days at Red Mountain are over.WHAT THE HECK HAPPENS AT RED MOUNTAIN, LINDA KRANZ?I read the book a few times to see if I was missing something. Did I skip a page? Were two pages stuck together? Did I repress my memories of Red Mountain? Maybe Red Mountain is what the reader makes of it--maybe we all have our own Red Mountains. Mine was too much beer and bad dating decisions. Is WHERE I BELONG meant to help us see our own dark sides? OF COURSE NOT, IT IS A CHILDREN’S BOOK. That brings me back to my original question--what the heck happens at Red Mountain?I decided to read the book to my daughter to see if I was maybe missing something that a kid would notice. She is much more forgiving than I am. She asked me to stop reading it somewhere toward the end saying it bored her. She never gets bored with books. We trudged on, though. At the end, she asked me what happens at Red Mountain. I tried to make something up, but I struggled to come up with any explanation for a five-year-old considering I had no idea myself.Instead of explaining Red Mountain to her, I said that the book was about family loving each other and unconditional acceptance. Then I gave her a hug. The book brought us closer together...not because of that message but because I promised never to read it to her again.Still, nice pictures and nice overall message. It had potential.In the interest of full disclosure, I received a complimentary advanced electronic copy of WHERE I BELONG from the publisher.

What a wonderful book! Being an elementary art teacher, I'm always looking for books to use with my classes. Sometimes I use a book for the story, and sometimes for the artwork...this book has both! My 2nd graders absolutely adored the story about Maximilian and his friends, and could relate to the importance of treating everyone with kindness so that they feel like they fit in. As I read the story, each page was greeted with joy as they looked for the hiding Maximilian, or identified which beautiful snake was talking. It was so much fun getting to know the characters, each with their own unique pattern. They wouldn't let me put the book down until I had read each and every one of the inspiring messages on the end-papers. Plus, since those were all different snakes than in the story, they were presented with even more examples of clever patterns for their own snakes. We had a lovely discussion before beginning our paper maché sculptures. The students couldn't wait to get started, full of excitement to paint each one with their own special pattern idea (although a few looked an awful lot like Maximilian and Vivian!).I look forward to using this amazing book again next year, and recommend it to anyone who wants to experience the joy of combining reading and art with their children.

While vastly different from her previous novels, Linda Kranz' new book "Where I Belong" is charming and beautifully put-together.People often criticize snakes, but the snakes in this novel are colorful and have kind personalities - no stereotypes here! As a snake owner, I am pleased that the dipiction of snakes here are pleasant and charming! No biting or venom!The story follows a family of snakes who share and afternoon with each other and one snake in particular - Maximillion - chooses to go his own way to Red Mountain- a place where he feels like he will "belong" because he's different, despite the bad reputation of Red Mountain.He returns to his family later, realizing that it wasn't all he thought it would be and it brought out the worst in him and that it was not the place for him, because he knew where he belonged.Children often become confused or even angered because they are different, and they even sometimes feel like they must leave and go off on their own - even to dangerous places - to feel like they belong. To me, this book encourages using wisdom in being different and encourages those to welcome those who leave home and return again.An almost prodigal-son story, with colorful photos and very beautifully painted clay snakes! I've been very much looking forward to this book and I really do value the message it tries to get across!

When you buy one of Linda's books you get so much more than just a story. It is a wonderful tool to foster interaction on several different levels with the child or grandchild in your life. The photography is outstanding. The artwork amazing. It is fun to pick out Maximillian's black and white tail in the early pages as he secretly follows the others through their day of exploration. The words paint a picture of their own. You can imagine how the cool green meadow would feel in the hottest part of the day. I appreciate the way that she allows the children to think and draw conclusions without spoon feeding every part of the story to them. And I'm so happy to see that Linda has once again incorporated those fantastic endsheets. This time they are set up with pairs of adorable, colorful snakes that offer words of wisdom, advice and encouragement. One of the remarks on the back page says, "Inspire Others." Once again, Linda has done just that.