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.

I hope that everyone had a wonderful time celebrating Passover and/or Easter with family and friends. Hopefully the weather will follow suit, and we can enjoy some warmer weather. For now, winter seems to be playing a little bit of an April Fool's Day prank with cold wet weather and a few inches of snow. But, I can take a joke...And so, I'll just grab my books and head for the comfy sofa! Here's what I've been reading this past week...

Picture Books

Dance, Dance, Dance! by Ethan Long

This fun early reader for primary kids celebrates the joy of movement, as Horse just can’t hold still. He expresses his happiness by dancing about and tries to get his friend, Buggy, to do the same. But Buggy is reluctant to boogie, until Horse turns on the music. Simple text, funny digital art, and humorous allusions to some favorite movie dance moves will make this a fun book to share. It might even encourage readers to turn on their favorite tunes and create their own dance moves.

I'm a Duck by Eve Bunting, Will Hillenbrand (Illustrator)

When you’re growing up, sometimes the world is a scary place. The little duck in this beautifully illustrated story is afraid to go in the water like his brothers. He is certain that he will sink and drown. I love that no one in the story gives him a hard time, but they all encourage him and offer whatever help they can. This could generate a good conversation about how we can be kind when someone we care about is frightened and needs support. The softly colored mixed media artwork and lyrical rhyming text make this a terrific book to share with young readers.

The Magician's Hat by Malcolm Mitchell, Dennis Campay (Illustrator)

Fans of NFL star, Malcolm Mitchell, are in for a treat when they sit down with this inspirational picture book that celebrates the magic and joy of reading. At the Family Reading Day at the library, a flamboyant magician shares amazing tricks with the audience. But the best trick has children reach into the magician’s hat and pull out books that will help them achieve their dreams. Beautifully detailed illustrations of the library and the magician along with the engaging story will help inspire readers of all ages.

Unplugged by Steve Antony

In this day and age, so many of us spend so much time glued to our screens and devices. It’s not unusual to go to a restaurant and see families sitting at tables with their eyes on their phones rather than each other. Blip is a little robot that spends all of her time plugged in to her computer, until one day their is a power failure. I love how the artwork is black and white until robot finds herself outdoors, then the pages are beautifully colored. Once unplugged from her computer, Blip learns how much fun it is to play, sing, and enjoy time spent with friends in the “real world”. This could be a good book to share with young readers to talk about ways to strike a balance in our ever increasing technological world.

Florette by Anna Walker

Moving to a new home in a new city can hard, especially for youngsters. Mae’s family moves to a new home in the city, and she misses her friends, and the trees, and all of the green places to play. Young readers who have moved will definitely be able to relate to Mae and her feelings of loneliness. Kids might also be inspired to make the best of their own yards and neighborhoods when they see what becomes of a small sprout Mae finds and plants in a jar. The watercolor illustrations are awesome and complement the story nicely.

A Lady Has the Floor: Belva Lockwood Speaks Out for Women's Rights by Kate Hannigan, Alison Jay (Illustrator)

This picture book biography tells the story of a woman determined to fight for fairness and equality for women in schools, courtrooms, and at the ballot box. Belva Lockwood, born in 1830, believed women should be treated the same as men. She fought for the right to attend college and law school. As an attorney, she fought for the right to present arguments before the Supreme Court. With the help of other pioneering women, she fought for the right to vote. Well researched and beautifully illustrated, this book is a great nonfiction resource for the bookshelf.

Thank You, Earth: A Love Letter to Our Planet by April Pulley Sayre

Using amazing photography and lyrical rhyming text, this “Thank You” letter to the Earth celebrates all of the wonderful creatures and natural wonders of the world. This would be a great book to share with young readers in the days leading up to Earth Day. The end notes give readers more ideas on how to help the environment and detailed notes about the photographs.

The Book about Nothing by Mike Bender

This book kind of reminds me of the Seinfeld TV show, which was described as a show about nothing. This book takes a humorous look at some of the ways we talk about nothing: cleaning up so there’s nothing left on the floor, eating all of your meal so there’s nothing left on the plate, etc. There is even some potty humor designed to make the most immature readers giggle.

Girl Running: Bobbi Gibb and the Boston Marathon by Annette Bay Pimentel, Micha Archer (Illustrator)

With beautiful illustrations that were rendered in oil and collage, using tissue paper and patterned paper created with homemade stamps, this fascinating picture book biography tells the story of a young woman who was determined to run in the Boston Marathon. Bobbi Gibb had always enjoyed running, this was how she expressed herself. Because girls in the 1960s weren’t allowed to run on track teams, she would spend her free time running in the woods with her dog. After seeing runners in the Boston Marathon, she spent two years training to enter the race. When she was told women weren’t allowed to participate, she did it anyway. This book would be awesome to share with young readers to help develop a growth mindset. It also could be the basis for some great discussions about the obstacles women have faced to be allowed to do all of the things men are allowed to do. There is an afterword that tells more about Bobbi Gibb and a bibliography. In the bibliography, there is a web address to an awesome YouTube video called “Where the Spirit Leads” - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list... This video shows Bobbi Gibb telling her story. It would be fun to share this with students after reading this book together.

Kate, Who Tamed the Wind by Liz Garton Scanlon

As we come into the windy days of spring, we know what it’s like to have messy hair and all kinds of stuff blowing around. The man that lived at the very top of the hill in this story was dealing with some powerful, gusty winds. His clothes were blowing everywhere, his home was a dusty mess, and the boards of his house were coming loose. It became so difficult for him to cope with that, he cried out in distress. Kate, a little girl in the town below, heard his cry and came up with a plan to help him by planting trees. In time, the trees solved the problem. The author has included an endnote discussing the importance of trees and some resources to become involved in the protection of trees, making it a great book to share with kids in the days leading up to Earth Day. But it also could generate a great discussion about how we can help our neighbors. The lonely man at the top of the hill was beside himself as he tried to deal with these destructive winds. I love how the little girl in the story felt his anguish and felt compelled to help him find a solution, not only to his wind problems, but by being a true friend to him throughout the course of time.

Shaking Things Up: 14 Young Women Who Changed the World by Susan Hood

Biographical poems of fourteen amazing women, illustrated by thirteen awesome artists come together in this terrific resource. Readers of all ages can learn a lot about some of the most fascinating achievements of these ground breakers. There were a few of these women that I was unfamiliar with: Molly Williams, Annette Kellerman, and the Nearne secret agent sisters. The easy-to-read lyrical style of the poetic text, along with breathtaking artwork will keep readers coming back to this book again and again. An extensive list of sources, books, and websites make this an awesome nonfiction resource to have on the bookshelf.

Can I Touch Your Hair?: Poems of Race, Mistakes, and Friendship by Irene Latham (Goodreads Author), Charles Waters, Sean Qualls (Illustrator), Selina Alko (Illustrator)

Irene, who is white, and Charles, who is black, are partners for a poetry writing project. At first they are reluctant to work together because the barely know each other. Their poems deal with topics such as hair, recess, family situations, and church. Their poems, written in kid-friendly text, along with the awesome collage artwork, will definitely inspire much needed conversations about race. This is definitely an important book to share with young readers.

Middle Grade Fiction

Harriet the Spy (Harriet the Spy #1) by Louise Fitzhugh

I really enjoyed this book - when I was in fifth grade myself. I recently ran across my old copy of this book, and as nostalgia grabbed ahold of me, I curled up with it and started reading. Sometimes things are better left alone, I didn’t like the book as much. Written in 1964, the plot and the characters are dated and I’m not sure if kids today can relate to a protagonist with a nurse and a cook in the home. Harriet spends every moment she can spying on folks around her New York City neighborhood. She takes copious notes in her notebook, most of which are very mean and insulting to the subjects. One day, the notebook falls into the hands of her classmates, and everyone is rightfully angry at her. The troubling part of the story is that Harriet doesn’t see that she has done anything wrong, and actually doubles down on her unkind behavior. And even when it’s all said and done, she still doesn’t seemed to have learned anything. If Harriet was around today instead of fifty years ago, she would probably be blogging all of her nasty observations. Her mean comments and threats would amount to cyber bullying and definitely warrant some serious intervention. At any rate, I’m sure there are some kids who will pick it up and enjoy it. It might be worthwhile to remind them that the world was different back then, and this isn’t really the way we want to treat our classmates and friends in this day and age. And I’ll still keep mine on my shelf with the other books that made me a reader.