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.

Wow! The Christmas season seems to have snuck up on us! Now that it's December, it seems that the rush is on to decorate, bake cookies, finish shopping for gifts, and prepare to visit relatives. With all of that hustle and bustle, I hope you have a chance to take a few moments to reflect on the true meaning of the season and to appreciate all of the blessings we have to share this year. There are lots of good books that celebrate the birth of Jesus and also to reflect on the spirit of love and giving. I've listed several of them. It's also getting so cold out, that resting by the fireplace with a good book and a cup of tea is essential to surviving the season! Here's what I've been reading this past week:

Middle Grade/Young Adult Fiction

Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys

This book has been sitting in my Kindle for over a year, and what a treasure I have been missing! Lately I've been struck by the number of unread books that have been collecting in my home and tablet and I've been making a point to read some of them before I purchase anything else! At any rate, I'm angry at myself for letting this one go unread for so long. As soon as I started reading it, I was completely drawn into this story of desperate refugees trying to escape the advancing Russians towards the end of World War II. This well-researched and wonderfully written novel takes us on this harrowing journey through the woods, across frozen ice, and onto the ill-fated ship Wilhelm Gustloff. I absolutely loved how the author used the stories of four different young people to bring this part of history alive for me. Before reading this, I had never read much about the evacuation of East Prussia and how the dual threat of Russians and Nazis affected those desperate to find safety. I also had never heard of this ship and how it was the largest maritime disaster with thousands of victims. The author includes interviews with people that have spent a lot of time studying this ship and what happened. This book definitely makes me want to learn more about this ship. And I think the book is a good one to share with middle grade and young adult readers that want to learn more about World War II. It definitely leaves the reader with a lot to digest and shows that there is horror and tragedy for all sides in a war.

Picture Books

Refuge by Anne Booth, Sam Usher (Illustrator)

This book shares the story of the first Christmas from the point of view of the donkey that carried Mary to Bethlehem. This telling, however, focuses on the family fleeing to Egypt to protect the newborn Jesus from Herod. Herod was determined to kill this child because he saw him as a threat to his hold on power. This made the family refugees, looking for the help and kindness of strangers. The easy to understand text, along with the drawings, will help those understand the refugee crisis in the context of the Nativity story. This might be a great story to share with Sunday school kids that are ready to think a little more deeply about global issues.

The Gingerbread Man Loose at Christmas by Laura Murray, Mike Lowery (Illustrations) 

This fun rhyming picture book has everyone's favorite Gingerbread Man helping his classmates at school make a merry Christmas for all of their friends and neighbors. The class gets busy making Christmas cards, Christmas treats, and poems to distribute to the folks in the neighborhood near the school. But as the weather starts turning nasty, Gingerbread Man may not get his chance to thank someone very special to him. The bold, holiday-colored illustrations along with the rollicking text make this a great book to share with young children during the days leading up to Christmas.

Samurai Santa: A Very Ninja Christmas (Samurai Holidays #1) by Rubin Pingk

This is a fun holiday Christmas book with a surprising twist. Yukio sees the wonderful Christmas Eve snow and all he wants is to have an epic snowball fight. But all of his friends are worried that Santa won't leave any gifts for them if they participate. Yukio decides that he needs to chase Santa out of town if he's to have any fun on Christmas. The digital illustrations with a limited palette of black, gray, and red show the unfolding of a huge snow battle with a samurai, snowmen, and ninjas. When all is said and done, Yukio realizes that Santa really does want to give Yukio a wonderful time and the spirit of Christmas is in the giving and the fun to be had. Ninja fans of all ages will enjoy this story.

The First Christmas Night by Keith Christopher 

This Christmas picture book uses lyrical text in the style of the famous poem "Twas the Night Before Christmas" and gorgeous paintings to tell the story of the birth of Jesus. The artwork really brings this story to life. At the end of the book, the author includes the Biblical story of the first Christmas. The rhyming text along with the illustrations make this a good book to read aloud to young children during the holiday season.

A Christmas Tree for Pyn by Olivier Dunrea

This heartwarming picture book tells the story of a little girl and her father and how a Christmas tree helped them rebuild their relationship after grief had put a strain on it. The little girl, Pyn, and her woodsman father lived in a small cottage together. The little girl did everything she could to make the home warm and cozy as the father went to work in the woods every day. She longed to have a real Christmas tree that she could decorate to bring cheer to their home, but her father never wanted to have one. As Pyn persisted, her father relented, and the rest of the story shows how the love that had been there all along warmed and the relationship began to be restored. The story is beautifully illustrated and the change in the father's attitude and demeanor will give young readers a lot to consider. This story could lead to a discussion about how to encourage others who might be having a difficult time during the holiday season.

Listen to the Silent Night by Dandi Daley Mackall, Lou Fancher (Illustrator), Steve Johnson (Illustrator) 

There is so much frenzied activity during the holiday season that it's easy to forget the real gift of Christmas. This book celebrates all of the sounds that must have been present on this Not-So-Silent-Night. Gorgeous illustrations and lyrical rhyming text have readers considering what it must have sounded like on that first Christmas - one can imagine the sounds of sandals on pavement, the crowds in Bethlehem, the animal noises, and a baby crying. This would be a terrific book to share with children as a bedtime read aloud or to a group of kids in a church setting.

Christmas Is Here by Lauren Castillo (Illustrator) 

This Christmas picture book combines the story of Jesus' birth from the Bible with Lauren Castillo's warm, inviting illustrations to make something special to share with youngsters during the holiday season. I always want to climb inside Castillo's artwork and hang around with the families enjoying their time together. This book would be a terrific holiday classic to have on the shelf or as a way to remind children of the true meaning of Christmas.

The Nativity by Julie Vivas 

This version of the Nativity story uses Vivas' folksy illustrations and combines it with the Bible story of the birth of Jesus. This would be a nice picture book to share with young readers during the Christmas season to help them understand the true meaning of the holiday.