Monday, February 25, 2019

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.








There are 23 days left until Spring! We get glimpses of it every now and then. Here in central Ohio it'll be 56 degrees one day and below freezing the next. We're getting to the place in the year where we really are over the snow and just want to be able to go outside and enjoy a nice day. But, I'll stop complaining, or at least try to! I have a huge stack of picture books from the library, so this past week I've been working on those. So here's what I've been reading lately: 








It's Not Hansel and Gretel (It's Not a Fairy Tale #2) by Josh Funk, Edwardian Taylor (Illustrator)


I had the opportunity to read a review copy of this picture book that was sent to my #BookRelays group to share. This is such a fun twist on the traditional Hansel and Gretel story. Hansel and Gretel want to tell their own story, and just because different elements are traditional doesn't mean that's the way it always has to be. Gretel is bold and sassy and determined to have things her own way. The brightly colored illustrations really add to the fun of this book. This book could be a great mentor text for young writers looking to make their own fun twists on traditional fairy tales or even create their own. And the hilarious way the characters take over the book will have young readers wanting to go for this one again and again.






This ABC book uses adorable illustrations of little kids in animal costumes playing together and simple, rhyming text to make a nice read aloud picture book to share with young children. This is definitely a nice collection of play time activities and children getting along together.







This cute picture book shows young readers the importance of patience. Colorful digital illustrations and a fun narrative text tell about Mama Hen and her three eggs. One by one each of these eggs hatches, until the last one. The whole family and the entire barnyard eagerly awaits the arrival of the last chick and several even try to help it along. Young readers will enjoy the chicks that sing, tell jokes, and read stories to encourage the little egg to hatch. This would be a fun book to share with kids during the days leading up to Easter.






William wakes up and is all excited because it's springtime! With bouncy, rhyming text and softly colored illustrations, young readers will become excited too as each animal wakes up and pitches in to help William welcome his special guests. There are some cute lessons about friendship and helping each other out. This would be a fun read aloud book as winter gives way to spring.






We are big Beatles fans in our house and so this is one of my favorite songs. It's really neat that the song is now in this fun, colorful picture book. This would be a terrific one to share in music class and definitely pair it with a recording of the Beatles song. And even if you don't have a recording, it would be fun to share this and just sing the words instead of reading it. This would definitely brighten anyone's day!





Dealing with unpleasant emotions such as sadness, fear, and grief can be very difficult for anyone, but especially for young children who may not have learned helpful coping skills. This lovely picture book uses language that is gentle and soothing along with softly rendered illustrations that show Sadness as a melancholy visitor that needs attention. I like that the book offers suggestions to help youngsters calm themselves with quiet activities in order to get to a place where maybe they can let the sadness go. This book would be a great companion to Me And My Fear by Francesca Sanna and What Do You Do With a Problem? by Kobi Yamada.






This uplifting picture book is an affirmation to young readers that all lives matter and all stories matter. The term "Hands Up" has a negative connotation from tragic stories of racism in the news. But the author of this book wanted to highlight the ways that she has "experienced that phrase as part of everyday life: at home, at play, in church, and at protests with young people leading the way." This could start a good discussion about how we make sure that everyone understands how important they are.






Sometimes when we're playing around and having fun, we make mistakes. It can be scary to own up to them, especially if we're worried that someone we care about might get upset or angry with us. Owl had a big, red balloon and he asked his friend, Monkey, to hold it for him for a minute. Unfortunately, Monkey was getting a bit carried away with the balloon and it popped. Owl returns and wants his balloon back. Young readers will enjoy the silly way that Monkey tries to substitute other objects like an orange pillow or a big, red chair for the balloon. This could be a terrific way to talk about how friends take responsibility for their mistakes and also how we forgive our friends for mistakes.





With the issues of immigration reform and how we deal with undocumented immigrants that arrive across our country's southern border in the news and in political debates for the foreseeable future, it is good to have high quality books to share with young readers that will help them understand what's happening. This beautifully illustrated picture book is written in both Spanish and English and tells the story of a boy and his father who were desperate to help their hungry family in Mexico. The book details how they were taken advantage of by a "coyote" who took their money with promises to help them cross the border only to disappear, how they walked for days through difficult terrain, and how they were eventually reunited with their family. The events of this book take place thirty years ago, but they are very relevant today. Author's notes and photographs at the back of the book supplement the story nicely, making this a good nonfiction resource to have on the bookshelf.






I rarely work jigsaw puzzles because I often don't have the patience or the stamina to figure out where each piece goes, especially if it's a large puzzle with tiny pieces with a title like "The Wheat Field"! The temptation to pound a piece in to "make it fit" often comes to my mind. This clever picture book helps me take another look at the jigsaw puzzle from the point of view of the puzzle piece who can't find where he belongs. The frustrated little piece looks all over for his spot and he even tries to change his color and change his shape to make himself fit. This picture book would be great to share with young readers as a way to encourage a growth mindset and to teach them to be themselves and eventually they'll find a way to fit in.














































































6 comments:

  1. I'm so glad you enjoyed It's Not Hansel and Gretel -- Josh Funk has such a fun way of remaking these tales. When Sadness is at Your Door is a new title to me. I'm definitely adding this one to my list. Thanks for sharing, Jana!

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  2. Just got All You Need Is Love and Hands Up! though I haven't read them yet. I'm glad you liked them, Jana. I loved It's Not Hansel and Gretel, a new fun fairy tale re-make. Others are new to me and I've put them on my list, like Where Oliver Fits. Thanks much!

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  3. I am behind on reading Josh Funk. I just went to my library and put a hold on everything I haven't read. It will be Josh Funk feast when they all arrive.
    Although I liked Where Oliver Fits, I had trouble with it. I really wish there had been something about changing the social consciousness of all the groups so that you didn't have to be the 'same' to fit in.

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  4. Only 23 days until spring! That sounds promising. I haven't read many of these and they all sound great!

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  5. Another picture book week for you! Really love the Balloon books, they are very humorous!
    There seems to be no end in sight for winter in the Chicagoland area. We haven't had any "light at the end of the tunnel" kind of moments. It's snowing as I type this....

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  6. I keep hearing about Hands Up so must see if I can get a copy from my library. Peeping Beauty looks adorable and glad to hear it that patience is a theme in the story. Thanks for sharing! Have a great week!

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