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.

It's been a busy and eventful holiday season for sure! Christmas and New Year's Day brought with it snow, special times with family and friends, and lots of surprises, for sure! And no sooner did all the fun times come to an end, but a wicked cold winter settled in to make life even more complicated! It's a good thing there are plenty of good books to read! So grab yourself a blanket and a cup of hot chocolate and curl up with something fun to read! Here's what I've been reading over the last few weeks:

Snow Lane by Josie Angelini

I had the opportunity to read a digital ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for this review. I was expecting this to be an interesting novel about a fifth grade girl growing up during the 1980s. I was pleasantly surprised by just how compelling this story was. The book takes readers through a year in the life of a very troubled and dysfunctional family. At first I kind of thought they were quirky because they were a big family. But as the story developed, I realized that this family situation is abusive and unsafe for everyone in it. While I found myself feeling tense and even kind of depressed for the circumstances in which Annie found herself, I really felt like I had to find out what was going to happen.

I’m not sure who to recommend this book to. The main character is a fifth grade girl, so it would be of interest to that age group. However, there is definitely a lot of strong, profane language and criticisms of her family’s religious (Catholic) and ethnic (Italian) background that might make educators or parents pause to consider whether it’s appropriate for particular groups of children. Definitely consider the maturity of your reader(s).

The subjects of abuse and mental illness are both very important. And I think a lot of what Annie and the rest of her siblings experience might resonate with those in similar circumstances. So, this could be a really important book to share, especially if it helps kids decide to reach out for help if they need it. It’s also a book that might help others understand what families like this are going through and bring compassion and empathy to the situation. Annie’s positive attitude - her strong desire to try to make things better rather than complain, can serve as an inspiration to all readers.

Winterhouse (Winterhouse #1) by Ben Guterson

I had the opportunity to read a digital ARC of this middle grade novel from NetGalley in exchange for this review. For middle grade students (grades 5 and up) who enjoy mysteries and puzzles, this would be a fun and entertaining read. Elizabeth Somers’ guardian aunt and uncle are taking a winter vacation and have sent her to spend Christmas break at the Winterhouse hotel. When she arrives at this extravagant resort, she is blown away by how wonderful it is. She makes fast friends with another young guest, Freddy, and the two of them explore all of the hotel together. As time passes, she starts encountering all sorts of weird secrets and mysteries, including an old book that seems to have magical powers itself. The plot twists and turns take readers through an adventure to determine what message this book is trying to share with Elizabeth and what it all means for the fate of Winterhouse and everyone in it.

I believe that mystery lovers will enjoy this book. Young readers that like reading about resort hotels and solving puzzles will have some fun with it. I do think that the plot development drags in several spots. My attention started to wander through the descriptions of the time spent solving the big jigsaw puzzle in the lobby, Freddy’s work to develop his invention of the Wonder Log, and the exclusive Winterhouse-made candy, Flurschen. Through these extra details that aren’t as important to the actual mystery of the story, young readers might lose interest.

More Home Cooking: A Writer Returns to the Kitchen by Laurie Colwin

I bought this book many years ago, along with Laurie Colwin’s Home Cooking, and every so often I love to get these books out and be inspired to make real food. Colwin, who sadly is no longer with us, was a writer who also loved food. She loved reading about food, writing about food, and cooking and eating good food. Creating good food doesn’t have to be an ordeal, and this book makes me hungry enough to get in the kitchen and get to it! The essays and recipes in this book are just fun to read, too (even if you never do get around to fixing them).

Picture Books

How to Find an Elephant by Kate Banks, Boris Kulikov (Illustrations)

When we have as many gray, dreary days as we do in the winter, it seems we have a string of days that are just perfect for finding elephants! I love how the little boy in this book doesn’t sit around moping on cloudy days, but he grabs a blanket, his flute, and a lunch and goes out looking for elephants. Young readers will have fun looking, too. Because the clever, colorful artwork invites you to find the hidden elephants, too. This could be a great mentor text for young writers to create their own hidden animal stories.

Not So Different: What You Really Want to Ask About Having a Disability by Shane Burcaw (Goodreads Author), Matt Carr (Illustrator)

When young children see someone in a wheelchair or someone that is differently abled, then they naturally are curious and have lots of questions. The author of this awesome picture book was born with spinal muscular dystrophy, which makes his body grow smaller and weaker as he gets older. With awesome photographs and a relaxed, conversational text style, young readers can see that Shane is not so different from everyone else. This could be a great conversation starter about people with disabilities and kindness. It’s also a great mentor text for informational writing using photographs and text to help readers learn about a topic.

Why Christmas Trees Aren't Perfect by Richard H. Schneider, Elizabeth J. Miles (Illustrator)

This is a wonderful story with beautiful illustrations and a terrific message about caring and kindness. Little Pine was a beautiful tree and it was hoping to be selected as the Queen’s Christmas tree. But through the course of the winter, Small Pine opened its heart and sheltered and fed animals in desperate need. These acts of kindness resulted in damage to Little Pine’s branches. But these imperfections only made the tree more beautiful to the Queen because they were made by living for the sake of others.