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.

Winter caught up with us! We had a taste of it in Iowa, but escaped. But it came early here with three inches of snow and bitterly cold temperatures! So now is the time to get cozy with my books with a cup of tea by the fireplace. Here's what I've been reading this past week:

Finding Kindness by Deborah Underwood, Irene Chan (Illustrations)

In a world where so many people seem angry and ready to be mean, it's awesome to have a book to share with young readers that celebrates all the ways people are nice to each other. When you take your eyes off of the news and away from your tablet or phone, you can see that there are lots of good people in our communities and we should follow their example. This could definitely generate a good conversation about all of the ways we can be kind and to look for the people that are helping their neighbors in our world. This could also inspire young writers to write about their own experiences being kind or enjoying the kindness of someone else.

Max and Marla Are Flying Together (Max and Marla #3) by Alexandra Boiger 

Good friends help each other by encouraging each other to overcome fears. Max and Marla are close companions and really enjoy spending time together. Max becomes excited by the windy, autumn weather and builds a kite. He really thinks it would be awesome to have Marla fly beside the kite, so they could be together in the sky. But Marla is afraid to spread her wings and take off. I love the way that Max gently encourages her, without putting pressure on her. This is a good book to start a discussion about friendship, and the illustrations are awesome.

The House at the End of the Road by Kari Rust 

Sometimes it's kind of scary to reach out and befriend people that are different than you, especially when that person is from a different age group. I like that the kids in this story discover that there's more to Mr. Peterson than a ghostly figure staring out a window. The story starts off with three cousins staying at their grandmother's house for the summer. When they check out what they think is an abandoned house in the neighborhood, they think that there's a ghost. When they go back the next day, they meet Mr. Peterson and become good friends with him. They realize that he has so much to share with them in old stories, photographs, books, and other artifacts from the past. Mr. Peterson soon has to go to a retirement home and the kids are moved to put together a gift of memories for their new friend. This book could start a good conversation about the benefits of developing relationships with those that can share so many wonderful memories. It might even inspire young readers to look for opportunities to learn the stories and memories from older friends and family members in their own lives.

My Little Book of Dear God Letters: We Are All So Different...All Individual Designs by Annie Fitzgerald 

This sweet books in this awesome series are written in question and answer format. This might be a great way to introduce prayer and other religious concepts in a comforting way for children. It also might be a good way to have devotional time with your child at the beginning of the day or at the end of the day. Each page has a question or comment to God such as, "Do you every take a break?" There are adorable illustrations, an answer to the question or comment, and a Bible verse to memorize or look up and read.

Animal Masquerade by Marianne Dubuc, Yvette Ghione (Translator)

This cute picture book will have young readers giggling as the animals get dressed up to go to a masquerade party. There are some pretty clever disguises. This might be a good way for young writers to imagine their own fun stories about characters in disguise.

In Front of My House by Marianne Dubuc, Yvette Ghione (Translator)

This clever picture book gives young readers a fun journey into a fantasy land starting at home and ending at home. The book takes readers from the front yard, beyond the fence, and up into the clouds and into forests. Readers meet up with some of their favorite characters from other storybooks and a host of other surprises. This would be a great way to talk with elementary children about prepositional phrases and might even be a good mentor text for young writers to tell about their own fantastic adventures.

Merry Christmas, Ollie! (Gossie and Friends) by Olivier Dunrea 

It's tough for young children to wait patiently for Christmas. Little Ollie's brothers and sisters have hung their socks in the barn and are headed for their nest. But Ollie doesn't want to wait any longer for Father Christmas Goose. This cute picture book would be fun to share with young readers. It might be a good way to think of ways to make the waiting more fun.