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.
My husband John and I celebrated 22 years of marriage. We had a wonderful together. Thankfully, we had beautiful weather to walk outside together and enjoy some time and restaurant dinners together. I'm very fortunate to be married to such a sweet and patient man.
I also had time to read a lot of terrific books this week. Hope you've had some good weather and time to get outside and enjoy some reading, too. Here's what I've been reading.
Middle Grade Fiction
I had the opportunity to read a digital ARC from NetGalley of this middle grade novel. This book gives readers so much to think about. Cora, her special-needs sister, and her mother are homeless after the sudden death of her father. They have to move to different shelters all the time, many of them not very safe or pleasant. Cora struggles academically, socially, and emotionally as she has to deal with bullying, moving around so often, and missing her father. All she has left to remember her father is his Tree Book, which he used to identify trees in the community.
Sadly, many kids in our communities and schools experience homelessness. I think this book and others like it help young readers develop empathy and respect for their neighbors that are affected by poverty. This book could help start some great discussions about what makes a home, ways to respond to bullying, and ways to support friends that might be experiencing the things that Cora experiences. This book would be appropriate for middle grade kids in grades 4 – 8.
It’s been many years since I’ve read this classic fantasy novel. The story of the magical wardrobe that is the portal to the land of Narnia has adventure, a great theme of good triumphing over evil, and excellent writing! The wintry forest of this magical country is a great way to cool off on a hot day!
Picture Books
This lovely picture book tells a sweet story about a little boy's imagination being honored and encouraged by a loving grandmother. The little boy sees mermaids on the ride home with his grandmother/abuelo. He is mesmerized by these ladies. When they reach home, Julian lets the mermaid inside of him run wild. Young readers will be able to appreciate the abundant and unconditional love of this grandmother towards her grandchild.
The beautiful artwork and the sweet narrative text combine to make a wonderful story of one boy's creative way of remembering his grandfather's stories. In order to honor his grandfather's memory, a young boy builds a boat on the beach. Tired from his hard work, he takes a nap and wakes up to find himself on a fantastic ocean voyage to the place where the ocean meets the sky. Readers will be drawn into the book, with so many fantastic details. Definitely a great one for any young person's bookshelf.
With simple rhyming text and beautiful artwork, this awesome picture books has a wonderful, uplifting message for all readers - We are stronger together than we are alone - Love wins. According to the book jacket, the cut-paper collages "are made using ephemera, such as catalogues, old books, receipts, letters and ticket stubs." I found myself gazing at the gorgeous illustrations and trying to read the bits and pieces of the cut-paper. These are scary and discouraging times for many people as we are headed into an uncertain future. But this book encourages readers to embrace the future and the love that is spread throughout all of the world for us.
I love how this beautiful wordless picture book has so much to say with simply gorgeous artwork. Painted digitally on a tablet, this book tells a story of one family's grief for the loss of a beloved pet and one girl's discovery at a beach that allows her to look at the timeless wonder of the world around her. When I was young, I was always fascinated by different rocks that I would find. I would wonder where all in the world any particular rock had been; how far back in time would the rock remember if it could? The story in this book taps into that curiosity and will definitely have readers looking back and forth through it over and over again. I also love that the front and back endpapers show a map of the journey this particular stone took to find it's way into the little girl's hands.
When a baby brother or sister is on the way, it is an exciting time in a family. This warm, sweet picture book looks at a mother's growing belly through the eyes of a little girl who is excited, but a little apprehensive about the changes that are taking place. The little girl has all sorts of questions for her mother, is glad to be able to help, but at the same time is a little sad that her mother's growing belly means that there's no room on her lap to cuddle her. This would be a terrific book to share with kids who are getting ready to welcome new siblings into the family.
When I was a kid, I always wished I could have a treehouse. We didn't really have the kinds of trees in our neighborhood that were big enough for that. And if I ever did find a big tree, I didn't have the materials or the know-how to build one. So we always had to settle for trying make cool forts behind the bushes in the backyard. This beautifully written and illustrated picture book helps kids like me live vicariously in the imagined treehouses rendered on the pages. By the time you read about all the different kinds of treehouses and the books you'll enjoy reading in them and the snacks you'll like to eat in them, you'll know what it is to have a wonderful place in the treetops!
This fun picture book would be terrific to share with young children at bedtime. Ostensibly aimed at the child that is reluctant to go to bed, the book offers a deal - the longer the book lasts, the later one can stay up. But every time you blink, you have to turn a page. The funny little owl has all sorts of suggestions to keep from blinking, but they really seem to make a person blink even more. I know, because I tried several myself! This could definitely become a favorite on the read aloud shelf.
This is a sweet picture book that tells the story of a grandmother and granddaughter who miss each other in more ways than one. Grandmother wants to see her granddaughter and vice versa, so they each set off from their homes to pay a visit. Unfortunately, they miss each other several times as they go back and forth to catch up. This could be a good way to talk about conflict and resolution and making predictions. This book was originally published in Japan in 1979, before everyone started walking around with cell phones. The obvious questions today's readers will have, why didn't they call or text each other first?
This fun nonfiction picture books takes a look at all of the different types of tongues. Children love to stick out their tongues, and this book will help them understand the function of different tongues, including their own. Humorous illustrations and extensive notes on each animal make this a great informational resource to have on the bookshelf.
Funerals, which are obviously times for grieving and saying good-bye, can be confusing and mysterious for young children. This would be a good picture book to share with kids who maybe are about to experience their first funeral or just have attended a funeral. Norma's great uncle just passed away and the family is attending the funeral service for him. While Norma knows that this is a sad event, she's also happy about getting out of school for the day and getting to see her favorite cousin, Ray. The author does a nice job of showing young readers what they might expect to see and hear at a church funeral service, focusing on the comforting and uplifting parts of this type of experience. The lovely artwork "was done in acrylic and ink on Masonite. The dimensional elements were made from cut paper, masking tape, rolled-up twine, cardboard and scroll-saw Masonite, all painted with acrylic. A few pieces were processed digitally."
This cute book uses repetitive rhyming text to tell the story of a dinosaur that hatched from an egg in the children's section of the library and Max's attempts to warn all of the grown-ups around that it's eating up the books. It always bothers me a little when children in stories try to tell the adults in a story about something that's happening and no one believes them. We want kids to feel comfortable telling grown-ups when there's something going on and not to worry that they won't be believed. The book does have a list of ways to take care of library books at the end, so it might be a good book to share with young children who are new to the library.
Young children will have an awesome time rocking on along with the punk rock farm animals in this fun picture book. During the day, Farmer Joe runs a typical barnyard. But when nighttime comes and Farmer Joe goes to bed, the barn becomes an awesome punk rock scene with the farm animals tuning up their instruments, plugging in the amplifier, and putting on a great show! This book begs to be read aloud, or sung aloud, for a fun story time. You can check out the video trailer of this book that features the punk rock version of "Old MacDonald" at http://www.studiojjk.com/punkfarm.html.
The barnyard punk rockers are at it again. Only now they're taking their act on the road. Farmer Joe has left the farm to attend the National Tractor Society Conference, and in his absence the band fixes up the broken down van and goes on tour. Young kids will get a kick out of singing along with the band's unique version of The Wheels on the Bus, as the band travels across the country, getting into one problem after another. Just as with the first Punk Farm book, this sing along/read aloud story will be lots of fun to share with kids.
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.
My husband John and I celebrated 22 years of marriage. We had a wonderful together. Thankfully, we had beautiful weather to walk outside together and enjoy some time and restaurant dinners together. I'm very fortunate to be married to such a sweet and patient man.
I also had time to read a lot of terrific books this week. Hope you've had some good weather and time to get outside and enjoy some reading, too. Here's what I've been reading.
Middle Grade Fiction
Sadly, many kids in our communities and schools experience homelessness. I think this book and others like it help young readers develop empathy and respect for their neighbors that are affected by poverty. This book could help start some great discussions about what makes a home, ways to respond to bullying, and ways to support friends that might be experiencing the things that Cora experiences. This book would be appropriate for middle grade kids in grades 4 – 8.
It’s been many years since I’ve read this classic fantasy novel. The story of the magical wardrobe that is the portal to the land of Narnia has adventure, a great theme of good triumphing over evil, and excellent writing! The wintry forest of this magical country is a great way to cool off on a hot day!
Picture Books
This lovely picture book tells a sweet story about a little boy's imagination being honored and encouraged by a loving grandmother. The little boy sees mermaids on the ride home with his grandmother/abuelo. He is mesmerized by these ladies. When they reach home, Julian lets the mermaid inside of him run wild. Young readers will be able to appreciate the abundant and unconditional love of this grandmother towards her grandchild.
The beautiful artwork and the sweet narrative text combine to make a wonderful story of one boy's creative way of remembering his grandfather's stories. In order to honor his grandfather's memory, a young boy builds a boat on the beach. Tired from his hard work, he takes a nap and wakes up to find himself on a fantastic ocean voyage to the place where the ocean meets the sky. Readers will be drawn into the book, with so many fantastic details. Definitely a great one for any young person's bookshelf.
With simple rhyming text and beautiful artwork, this awesome picture books has a wonderful, uplifting message for all readers - We are stronger together than we are alone - Love wins. According to the book jacket, the cut-paper collages "are made using ephemera, such as catalogues, old books, receipts, letters and ticket stubs." I found myself gazing at the gorgeous illustrations and trying to read the bits and pieces of the cut-paper. These are scary and discouraging times for many people as we are headed into an uncertain future. But this book encourages readers to embrace the future and the love that is spread throughout all of the world for us.
I love how this beautiful wordless picture book has so much to say with simply gorgeous artwork. Painted digitally on a tablet, this book tells a story of one family's grief for the loss of a beloved pet and one girl's discovery at a beach that allows her to look at the timeless wonder of the world around her. When I was young, I was always fascinated by different rocks that I would find. I would wonder where all in the world any particular rock had been; how far back in time would the rock remember if it could? The story in this book taps into that curiosity and will definitely have readers looking back and forth through it over and over again. I also love that the front and back endpapers show a map of the journey this particular stone took to find it's way into the little girl's hands.
When a baby brother or sister is on the way, it is an exciting time in a family. This warm, sweet picture book looks at a mother's growing belly through the eyes of a little girl who is excited, but a little apprehensive about the changes that are taking place. The little girl has all sorts of questions for her mother, is glad to be able to help, but at the same time is a little sad that her mother's growing belly means that there's no room on her lap to cuddle her. This would be a terrific book to share with kids who are getting ready to welcome new siblings into the family.
When I was a kid, I always wished I could have a treehouse. We didn't really have the kinds of trees in our neighborhood that were big enough for that. And if I ever did find a big tree, I didn't have the materials or the know-how to build one. So we always had to settle for trying make cool forts behind the bushes in the backyard. This beautifully written and illustrated picture book helps kids like me live vicariously in the imagined treehouses rendered on the pages. By the time you read about all the different kinds of treehouses and the books you'll enjoy reading in them and the snacks you'll like to eat in them, you'll know what it is to have a wonderful place in the treetops!
This fun picture book would be terrific to share with young children at bedtime. Ostensibly aimed at the child that is reluctant to go to bed, the book offers a deal - the longer the book lasts, the later one can stay up. But every time you blink, you have to turn a page. The funny little owl has all sorts of suggestions to keep from blinking, but they really seem to make a person blink even more. I know, because I tried several myself! This could definitely become a favorite on the read aloud shelf.
This is a sweet picture book that tells the story of a grandmother and granddaughter who miss each other in more ways than one. Grandmother wants to see her granddaughter and vice versa, so they each set off from their homes to pay a visit. Unfortunately, they miss each other several times as they go back and forth to catch up. This could be a good way to talk about conflict and resolution and making predictions. This book was originally published in Japan in 1979, before everyone started walking around with cell phones. The obvious questions today's readers will have, why didn't they call or text each other first?
This fun nonfiction picture books takes a look at all of the different types of tongues. Children love to stick out their tongues, and this book will help them understand the function of different tongues, including their own. Humorous illustrations and extensive notes on each animal make this a great informational resource to have on the bookshelf.
Funerals, which are obviously times for grieving and saying good-bye, can be confusing and mysterious for young children. This would be a good picture book to share with kids who maybe are about to experience their first funeral or just have attended a funeral. Norma's great uncle just passed away and the family is attending the funeral service for him. While Norma knows that this is a sad event, she's also happy about getting out of school for the day and getting to see her favorite cousin, Ray. The author does a nice job of showing young readers what they might expect to see and hear at a church funeral service, focusing on the comforting and uplifting parts of this type of experience. The lovely artwork "was done in acrylic and ink on Masonite. The dimensional elements were made from cut paper, masking tape, rolled-up twine, cardboard and scroll-saw Masonite, all painted with acrylic. A few pieces were processed digitally."
This cute book uses repetitive rhyming text to tell the story of a dinosaur that hatched from an egg in the children's section of the library and Max's attempts to warn all of the grown-ups around that it's eating up the books. It always bothers me a little when children in stories try to tell the adults in a story about something that's happening and no one believes them. We want kids to feel comfortable telling grown-ups when there's something going on and not to worry that they won't be believed. The book does have a list of ways to take care of library books at the end, so it might be a good book to share with young children who are new to the library.
Young children will have an awesome time rocking on along with the punk rock farm animals in this fun picture book. During the day, Farmer Joe runs a typical barnyard. But when nighttime comes and Farmer Joe goes to bed, the barn becomes an awesome punk rock scene with the farm animals tuning up their instruments, plugging in the amplifier, and putting on a great show! This book begs to be read aloud, or sung aloud, for a fun story time. You can check out the video trailer of this book that features the punk rock version of "Old MacDonald" at http://www.studiojjk.com/punkfarm.html.
Just Under the Clouds is one I will probably purchase. My favorite book on homelessness (that I think really brings the realities to life for readers who don't quite understand), is Cooley's Shelter. Congratulations on your anniversary!
ReplyDeleteHappy anniversary!! Oh, so many wonderful picture books, where do I even start?!?! :-D
ReplyDeleteI have Just Under the Clouds on my TBR list, and it sounds like everyone is really enjoying it. I'm also eagerly looking forward to reading Julian is a Mermaid! You have so many good books on your list that keep popping up in my feed, I don't know where to start! Thanks for sharing, Jana! Have a wonderful reading week!
ReplyDeleteLots of picture book reading for you! Some I've read and own, some are new to me.
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely loving Just Under the Clouds right now. I'm just about done with it and I feel like it's really an important book.
Happy anniversary! I have never read The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. I should put it on my TBR list.
ReplyDeleteSuch a wonderful photo of you and your husband - Happy Anniversary! Julian is a Mermaid sounds amazing. Our copy just arrived
ReplyDeleteHappy Anniversary! You have a lot of my recently read favorites such as Just Under the Clouds, Terrific Tongues, Julian is a Mermaid and Mama's Belly. I just borrowed a Stone for Sascha from the library. Can't wait to dive in!
ReplyDeleteI have A Stone for Sascha in my shelves - picked it up from the library last weekend and really looking forward to reading it, finally. Julian is a Mermaid looks exactly like my kind of read. There are so many great titles here, thanks so much for sharing. And yes, happy anniversary!
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on your anniversary. I hope you enjoy many many more years together.
ReplyDeleteAnd wow! you read a lot of fabulous books this week. I'm familiar with some of these, but haven't read any of them yet.