It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? is a meme hosted by Sheila at Book Journey as a way to share what you have read and/or reviewed in the past week. It's also a terrific way to find out what other people are reading.

Jen Vincent, of Teach Mentor Texts and Kellee Moye of Unleashing Readers have given this meme a children's literature focus: picture books, middle grade novels, etc. They "encourage everyone who participates to support the blogging community by visiting the other bloggers that link up and leave comments for them.

 

 

 

 

 

Only a few more days and then I'll finally be on Spring Break!  In the mad rush to get state testing started, get papers graded, and getting ready for an awesome vacation, I've not done as much reading as I'd like. That'll be fixed very soon! In the meantime, here's what I've been reading this week:

 

 

 

 

 

I Just Want to Say Good Night by Rachel Isadora  

 

 

This would be a a great book to share with young children at the end of the day, as preparations are made for bedtime. Set in the African plains, the sun is setting and it's time for bed. Like young children everywhere, Layla isn't ready to hang it up for the night, and so stalls by saying "Good night" to all of the animals in the neighborhood. The illustrations, rendered in watercolor and ink, are just beautiful.  

 

 

 

 

 

All Ears, All Eyes by Richard Jackson, Katherine Tillotson (Illustrations)  

 

 

With lyrical, poetic text and beautiful illustrations, rendered in watercolor, this book is a celebration of all the nighttime noises in nature. As spring is approaching, and the windows are starting to be opened at night, these nighttime sounds will be a great backdrop for this picture book if it's read as a bedtime story.

 

 

 

 

 

The Road Home by Katie Cotton, Sarah Jacoby (Illustrations)  

 

 

With poetic verse and beautiful illustrations, this picture book explores the journey home for several different pairs of animals. As the parents and their children fly south for the winter, or build nests for winter weather, or hunt prey together they go with the refrain, "This road is hard, this road is long, this road that leads us home." This book would be a lovely way to explore the concept of home being wherever you are loved and safe.  

 

 

 

 

 

The Secret Life of the Red Fox by Laurence Pringle, Kate Garchinsky (Illustrations)  

 

 

Using fascinating, informative text and beautifully drawn illustrations, this nonfiction picture book takes readers into the relatively unknown world of red foxes. Because foxes generally live alone or sometimes with a mate, we don't often come into contact with these creatures. Told from the perspective of Vixen, a female, readers learn about the fox's hunting habits, how they find places to live, and how they care for their young. Young readers typically enjoy well-illustrated books about animals, so this book would make an awesome resource to have on the bookshelf. 

 

 

 

 

 

When the Rain Comes by Alma Fullerton, Kim La Fave (Illustrations)  

 

 

This riveting picture book tells the story of a brave young girl in SriLanka who must face brutal weather and the resulting flash flood to pull an oxen and cartload of rice shoots to the safety of the family barn in order to prevent the young plants from being lost in the storm. When Malini is asked to watch the oxen while the driver goes into the cafe for a break, a storm breaks and she is separated from the driver and her family by a flash flood. It's up to her to save the family's plants or they would experience a devastating loss to their income and main food source. The illustrations are bold and work so well with this dramatic narrative.  

 

 

 

 

 

The Tree: A Fable by Neal Layton  

 

 

With spare text and lovely wash colored drawings, this picture book tells the story of a tree that is home to several different animals and a couple that comes along and wants to build their dream home in the same place. As the couple realizes their impact on these creatures, they start looking for ways they can all enjoy the same space together. This book could be a great discussion starter when talking to kids about ways people can live in harmony with nature.